Spring veggie garden thriving

Anyone else plant theirs on or around the traditional date -- March 17? Mine are doing great! Lettuce already has first leaves, bok choy almost to harvestable stage; carrots sprouted, ditto beets, peas shooting up already. The early herbs I seeded are still sulking -- they sprouted, but won't put out true leaves, just staying at the cotyledon stage.

Yep, I am also so crazy I planted my 'maters outside. It has been in the 70's for a week, so the plants settled in and have resumed their growth. Supposed to go below freezing tonight, so they will be covered with floating row and then plastic.

I do love spring :)

It was too too TOO wet here to plant on the 17th, but I was able to gets peas and onions in the wkend before! Also some lettuce plants! This past wednesday I put out 100ft of taters, and a second batch of peas. Other than that everything else is going full blast in the ghouse!

Oh yeh, asparagus is sending up shoots now, too! Spring has sprung!

You bet! I was thrilled to be able to plant various seeds, such as, Beets, various colorful Lettuce, Peas, & Spinach in the Spring Garden! Usually, it is too wet & cold at that time of the year, but this year has NOT been the norm from the get-go!

Shoe, did you start your Asparagus from seeds or did you purchase them as shoots? I have some Asparagus seeds that I need to get started. Has anyone else grown them from seed?

Shirley...I planted mine as "shoots" (or crowns) 4 or 5 yrs ago. I was too impatient to start from seed, and I got a great deal on two yr old crowns at that time. Have no actual experience with seeds of them so can't help you there (have only read that they take a while to really produce).

Me too! I have planted peas, beans, lettuces, spinach, radishes, & parsley. Everything growing well this far. I have the tomatoes and peppers under lights and they are coming along fine. I'm determined to grow disease free tomatoes this year. Wish me luck!

We had a nice day yesterday, temps in the 60's. Whoo hooo!

It was 28 at 6 am today; 'maters at 11 am are thriving under their warm temporary greenhouse. Just have to make sure the sun doesn't sneak out from behind the clouds and cook them.

I don't have experience growing asparagus from seed either; I planted crowns too. After 3 years of growth, 7 out of 8 mysteriously failed to appear last spring... still no clue what happened. Bunny or mouse victims maybe...

This is the first year I have planted when I was supposed to. LOL Yes, I planted on the 17th and I cannot believe that I have little baby veggies up all over the yard. I planted many, many kinds of tomatoes, peppers, peas, soybeans, some squash and lemon grass. We have had a turn in the weather and it has been in the 40's and very windy. I think this year will be a better year than last year. I already have twice the grapes I had last year, and my fruit trees are flowering differently.(I'll cross my fingers that those yummy fruits stay on the tree) I hope my plum tree keeps it's promise to behave this year so I don't have to spank it again! LOL

Welcome, Jul :)

I was afraid to write before that I beat my trees! My neighbors think I am nuts, but it sure works. Glad to see other people do it.

How 'different' are your fruit blossoms?

Oh man!! You all are planting seeds OUTSIDE already? I gotta move a few zones southward. We have snowbanks again. That stupid white stuff was all gone until two days ago, then more shows up. Not huge snowbanks, but still snow.

Okay, who's in zone 6, 7 or 8 that really needs a good neighbor? I'm outahere!! LOL

P.S. I need a good banker too.

Lupine,

In the previous years this tree did the normal, all blossoms and no leaves, then finally leaves. This year I got some blossoms on the lover part of the plant and then some leaves. It progressively bloomed and leafed out all the way up to the top, which is still flowering and leafing out. This has taken 3 weeks. I can still see lots of new buds. In the previuos years I saw only flowers in mass, then later leaves. I do not know much about fruit trees, but this was a dramatic change. I have noticed that a lot of the buds are still attached, a massive amount of them. I am so happy. We will just see what the final verdict is. I so want to keep this old tree. We gave it an ultimatem, who knows maybe it will listen! LOL

Joan, c'mon down here! I would LOVE to have you for a neighbor! Zone 6 :) Sorry, can't help you about a banker anymore LOL

Jul, that does sound odd. Plum trees usually aren't terribly long-lived, but for it to change its flowering habit so much this year is peculiar. Maybe it is because of a late cold spell? Some of my trees do that: if the early buds get chilled, the tree develops new ones, whether or not the early buds die from the cold, and the flowering season is prolonged. It means more work thinning the fruit during the summer, but most growers welcome varieties that have that capability. Maybe you have something special that you didn't know! If the tree shows poor health during the summer, though, you may want to call a local tree surgeon. In the meantime, if you post a question on the "trees and shrubs" forum you will get help from some commercial growers :) I am not a commercial fruit grower, just a tree-lover.

Lupine,

I was taking a good look at my tree today and I can see lots of little baby fruit. We have just had a cold spell the last 3 days with high winds and rain. I am amazed that the fruit is still on the tree. We have more of a wind break this year than we had last year. I hope that helps. Thanks for the tip on the tree area. Now I just need to learn how to grow onions. Had no luck last year. You know anything about that?

I grow Egyptian onions mostly; the perennial kinds. I have grown regular ones from sets, but mine never got very big. Other people would be able to help you more. Start a new thread asking for help and I know there are many who can give you good advice :)

I planted early also and now we have had over four inches of rain in the last 48 hours, garden a swamp, hope my seed potatoes don't rot in the ground. Onions, spinach, peas and radishes look good, afraid the carrots might have gotten washed away.

Sparks

Same here, Sparks...lots and lots of rain. Had to dig a ditch to keep it from running into the shoffice again.
My taters are planted, not up yet, and I'm crossing my fingers they'll either grow like Jack's bean stalk this yr (and NOT be rotten or drowned). My onions are doing fine so far, and both the pea beds seem to be okay, so far.

Hang in there...it'll happen!

Shoe,
Saturday was our first sunshine day, went out and dug up one seed potato in the wettest portion of my garden. I was really happy, sprouts looking good and roots coming out.
Saturday was suppoesed to be mow the yard day, I need grass clippings to mix with my last years leaves. Grrrrr, my manual recoil starter went belly up, had to order a new one but wont be here until late next week. Have called neighbors and apologized for the way the lawn looks and will look before I can cut. LOL
I see in our Winston-Salem paper that starting next weekend they will have free leaf mulch available and the city will load. I have a little 1981, long bed Toyota truck that I only use for pulling my fishing boat and hauling stuff. It doesn't get a lot of use but the starter went out on it last week but hopefully it will be fixed this week. I need the leaves for my coming summer grass clippings.
Don't take this as a sob story, just minor challenges that will be easily overcome.

Sparks

Sparks...get dem leaves! Not just for your compost but they are great for those potatoes as mulch. I can never get enough leaves. You should make a day of it!
♫Mulch mulch mulch mulch...♫♫ mulch mulch mulch mulch...♫

(A boat eh? One day, when I grow up, I hope to have a boat.) (Now you know, crappie are gonna be beddin' down soon, so better get your poles ready!)

Shoe,

I have always used straw as mulch for my potatoes, thought the leaves would pack to much for the sprouts to get through. Do you put on a little at a time and as you see sprouts starting to show, add more? How deep in the ground to you plant your potatoes? I want to try the leaves as a mulch.

Shoe your like me, you will never grow up! lol The drought really hurt last year, only went fishing once in the spring. High Rock Lake (my favorite fishing place) was down 26 feet at one time. It is full now but nobody catching anything much except small crappies. Should it get good I will invite you down to go out with me one day.

Sparks

Howdy Sparks...the years I've had available leaves (from the city) I would put the tater eyes in a furrow and cover with a few inches of soil. Not sure that was necessary but did it anyway. Then I'd throw 6" of leaves on it. When the plants "declared" I'd let 'em get up 4 to 6" then put more leaves on, over and over, etc. They did great! The leaves didn't pack down.

By the way, I bet High Rock is full now! And the crappie should be bedding real soon, if not already~! Give me a holler when you're goin fishing...I'll bring the beverages!

Thanks Shoe, will try the leaves.

About the beverages, if you come down here to fish I will furnish the beverages, I am the host. Just let me know what beverages you like.

Sparks

Never heard March 17 as a start date for spring garden. Of course prior to this year my veggie gardening was in the greenhouse, and or in pots. Is that related to "average last date of frost for a particular growing zone. I'm sorry to say I've only THOUGHT about planting some lettuce. Wish I had some seeds started. O, well. My fruit trees look great and I'm getting bulbs planted.

Koko, I think it is an American Irish legend -- if you start your veggie garden on St. Patrick's day (March 17) it will drive all the pests away LOL. Not sure of the rationale behind the legend, but it is commonly spoken of around here ;D

I love it!