# Getting garden ready



## Clarice

I am so ready to dig in the dirt. We have had about 10 days of 70's for highs and 40's for lows. We got the neighbor to disc the big garden for the first time this year, there will be 2 more discings before we actually plant. I know it is too early for most of the things we plant but I have the garden bug bad. We did finish our strawberry bed including the soaker hoses installed,the plants will be here in a couple of weeks. We planted 3 types of garlic and 16 cabbage plants. Got all the blueberries mulched and fertilized all the fruit trees. Cut up 20# of potatoes for planting. I know there will be another freeze before Easter but we will cover plants as needed. I love spring.


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## Emerald

All I can say is . My garden has about a foot of snow on it right now!

And there are tons of plants that love cool weather and can tolerate a bit of cold and light freezes.. Like spinach, and broccoli, Brussels Sprouts. Any of the Asian greens.. Peas, lettuces, radishes, Mache. The list goes on.. lol


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## MrSfstk8d

My snow melted off last week. This weekend we started seed trays. As soon as it's dry enough to work, we'll be working beds into this year's locations.


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## UncleJoe

Our snow melted off last week also. Today we were blessed with another 5" of global warming to replace it.


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## PamsPride

Same here Uncle Joe only with a nice layer of ice thrown in!


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## Woody

I have tomatoes and peppers just sprouted and transplanted into small cups. I still expect a hard freeze here so no cold weather crops quite yet. Soon… spring is right around the corner.


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## ar15bob

*garden*

looking were the garden is going there is still about two feet of snow we live on a mountain so snow last longer here well spring is just around the corner just how far is that corner


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## Clarice

We got the potatoes planted Wed. just in time for the rain on Thurs. Also the asparagus is in the ground.


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## MrSfstk8d

Well, nice wet snow again last night, sigh. Still gonna be a bit before anything goes outside.


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## Clarice

Worked in my herb garden this weekend. Pulled back all the old mulch and was pleasantly surprize at all the plants that made it. Only have to replace the cilantro & thyme everything else is putting on new shoots.


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## Sonnyjim

Clarice said:


> Worked in my herb garden this weekend. Pulled back all the old mulch and was pleasantly surprize at all the plants that made it. Only have to replace the cilantro & thyme everything else is putting on new shoots.


I WISH!!!! I still have until mid-end may until I can begin planting! I'm quite jealous. No problem though, for my fresh herbs I just wait until they are on the 'last day' shelf and I get them for 50 cents. Still not free though.

I think this year I will be doing a 3 turn rotation on the plants however to get as much as I can out of it. We'll see how it goes.


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## *Andi

Clarice said:


> Worked in my herb garden this weekend. Pulled back all the old mulch and was pleasantly surprize at all the plants that made it. Only have to replace the cilantro & thyme everything else is putting on new shoots.


Herbs are cool like that ...  ... I was checking mine the other day. They all look good, well except my chives. :dunno:

Need to find a new place for them.


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## Chinchbug

I tend to start my earliest germinations in larger buckets and go to smaller in order to have succension plantings. This way I am able to grow into the later fall,have fresh veggies and can them over a peroid of time instead of all at once. I'm in New England and the tomato sprouts are comming up


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## OldCootHillbilly

We can't plant till end a May first a June, but started my bell pepper plants indoors this week. Got some other stuff ta get goin next week. Still a ways off, but the stuff inside gives hope!


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## PopPop

Well we have had a good week for plowing and have taken advanatage of .In these times is so important to network with like minded individuals, I have partenerd with a niegbor who has 7 acres of outstanding bottom land, I have the equipment and we have both got the time. We have started 500 tomatoe plants. We will be planting corn, beans, butter beans, peas, okra ,turnip greens, onion, potatoa nd watermellons. We are working on a canning kitchen. We are planning to can, dry , picle or preseve all that we can and sell any surplus. And in the spare time we are building our chicken coop. Should be our little land ofn plenty. Oh and we plans for a sheep and goat pen and even some hogs!


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## Woody

Threat of frost here, had to bring in all the plants I was hardening off. Looks like early next week is going to be low 30’s in the mornings too. So, another week or so inside before digging holes. Andi might be getting some white stuff, I’m just a little south for that… I hope anyway!!


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## *Andi

Woody said:


> Threat of frost here, had to bring in all the plants I was hardening off. Looks like early next week is going to be low 30's in the mornings too. So, another week or so inside before digging holes. Andi might be getting some white stuff, I'm just a little south for that&#8230; I hope anyway!!


:gaah:

Cloudy... A chance of rain in the evening...then rain...sleet and snow after midnight ... 

I only have a few cool weather crops in the ground ... but the peach tree has started putting out.


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## OldCootHillbilly

*Andi said:


> :gaah:
> 
> Cloudy... A chance of rain in the evening...then rain...sleet and snow after midnight ...
> 
> I only have a few cool weather crops in the ground ... but the peach tree has started putting out.


Yall gotta be carefull of a statement like that in some places!


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## goshengirl

PopPop, sounds like you have a great setup! It's good to be around like-minded people - better yet to be working with them.  (I'm surrounded by folks who say they know who to come to when they need something, but no one to actually work with...)

We've plotted out our raised bed rows, but it's still too wet to till (I sold my old wedding ring and bought a rototiller ). We'll start this year with six rows that are 72 ft by 4 ft, planted in the raised bed/square foot/intensive gardening method. (Next year we'll be double in size.) We can't wait to really get started!!!


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## Woody

72’ x 4’?!? That’s a mighty BIG raised bed, unless it was a tpyo. I have a 30’ x 40’ main garden and that keeps me pretty busy after work.


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## *Andi

OldCootHillbilly said:


> Yall gotta be carefull of a statement like that in some places!


Sorry ... I've never been PC and (to be honest) never will be.


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## goshengirl

Woody said:


> 72' x 4'?!? That's a mighty BIG raised bed, unless it was a tpyo. I have a 30' x 40' main garden and that keeps me pretty busy after work.


Nope, no typo.  Six of 'em. 72' x 4'. And yes, we're insane.

Any time I say to DH, "I can always reconfigure and we can do less this year" - he always says, "no, we should grow as much as we can." And I'm really REALLY thankful whenever I hear him say that, because this is the only prepping thing that he's in on. (He did grow up on a farm, too, so that helps.) We know we'll make a lot of mistakes, but we also know we'll learn a lot, and we'll put that learning to good use the next year. It will be a full-time job for me, and the boys won't escape garden duty, either. 

Stocking up on those canning jars now...


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## BuggingIn

It's been so wet outside that I haven't had much of a chance to go direct seed the cool weather stuff into the raised beds, but I did get my tomatoes started inside and they are looking good. Nearly 100% germination on all but the oldest seeds that I tried - a few of those are only germinating at 20-40%, but as long as I get a few plants in and fruits harvested of them, I'm back in business with fresh seed for next year. Considering that some of the seeds were from 1997, I figure it's not too bad!

Planted some cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and 2 kinds of kohlrabi into flats - everything grew except the purple kohlrabi. I'm beginning to think I forgot to seed those 2 flats or something, 'cause not one seed sprouted.  

Wishing it would hurry up and get to real planting weather so I can play in the garden...I got so many new seeds to try this year from a seed train over on Homesteading Today that I can't wait to get them in the ground and see how they grow!


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