Who has a garden?

[Ga9mm]

I've been thinking about growing some vegetables when the weather gets a little warmer, but I'm not sure of how to start it. I've got a lot of space that gets about 7 hours of sunlight each day that I want to use. I think I'm going to have to elevate it (railroad ties to box it in) because I'm afraid it won't drain well if I don't. Does anyone know of any resources that would let me know when to start planting, types of fertilizers, and whatever else?
Thanks.

[Tucker's Mom]

What sort of vegetables do you want to plant? Some like tomatoes do not need a lot of space really...cucumbers, lettuces, cabbage requires quite a bit of space. Beans, snap peas...the world is your oyster. Start your research now in the net. Google "what to plant in spring" or what to plant in summer" and you will find a lot of resources on when to plant and when to start the next batch. I usually have seedlings around end March/April ready for planting around mid-May when the frosts are over. But we are here in Missouri...so it depends on what area you live. During winter, I winterized some of my herbs so i still have them all year round.

[Dave]

Amazon.com: The Vegetable Gardener's Bible: Discover Ed's High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions (0037038172126): Edward C. Smith: Books
This is the best/most complete book of info I know of.
Also don't forget any area college web sites. Missouri has some of the best sites.

We have had 3 gardens for over 30 years. Along with fruit trees, berries, Grapes a greenhouse and more.
One garden is raised beds. 5 beds 4x28 feet we use for smaller stuff.
Keep in mind raised beds take a LOT of water. IF you have free water there great, but in a hot
climate (Missouri) you will need a lot of water. I have access to a lake and have a pump that push's
1850 gallons an hour over 800 feet too water 3 acres all at once.

Anyway that book is very good and covers about everything you will want to know.
Like holsters I have way too many not very good garden books

Gardens will drive you crazy at first until you learn the better ways.
Also check for local garden groups/clubs.

[Ga9mm]

Thanks for the info. I want some peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, maybe some peas and whatever beans I can get to grow. I cook a lot, and it would be nice to have more of an assortment in my yard instead of having to go to the store all the time. Herbs would be good, too. I had some in pots on my porch for a while, but usually forgot about them I'm a little south of Atlanta, Ga, so it gets pretty warm... Water is not an issue. I'm on a well, and I have four rain buckets already. I'll probably get a few more when the time comes, too.

Tucker's Mom - thanks for the suggestions. I was trying to find a way to get everything going at the right time so everything was ready at the same time. Google showed me the way!

Dave - I am about to order the book now. Thank you.

[Dave]

For those in the midwest or similar climate.
Missouri colleges and land grant colleges and MU Columbia has a great AG school as well as Vet.

Some of the links.

G6400 Frequently Asked Vegetable Questions | University of Missouri Extension
G6202 Disease Prevention in Home Vegetable Gardens | University of Missouri Extension
G6201 Vegetable Planting Calendar | University of Missouri Extension
G6461 Growing Home Garden Tomatoes | University of Missouri Extension

Just some of the seed I usually order. These are Burpee's

Item # Product Qty Price Each Total Price
67150A Lettuce Braveheart - 1 packet (500 seeds) 1
$3.75
$3.75
$3.75
54080A Lettuce Little Caesar (Romaine) - 1 Pkt. (500 seeds) 1
$2.95
$2.95
$2.95
56007A Cucumber Sweeter Yet Hybrid - Packet (30 seeds) 1
$3.75
$3.75
$3.75
53496A Lettuce Summertime (Crisphead) - 1 Pkt. (500 seeds) 1
$3.75
$3.75
$3.75
63750a EZ Serve Lettuce - Packet (500 seeds) 1
$4.50
$4.50
$4.50
50161A Cantaloupe Ambrosia Hybrid - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds) 2
$2.95
$2.95
$5.90
65115A Radish Perfecto - Packet (200 seeds) 1
$4.95
$4.95
$4.95
61374A Cantaloupe Burpee Hybrid - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds) 1
$2.95
$2.95
$2.95
60392A Broccoli Bonanza Hybrid - 1 Pkt. (200 seeds) 1
$4.95
$4.95
$4.95
52746A Sweet Pepper Carnival Hybrid Mix - 1 Pkt. (50 seeds) 1
$3.75
$3.75
$3.75
63339A Carrot Sweet Treat Hybrid - 1 Pkt. (1500 seeds) 1
$3.75
$3.75
$3.75
66803A Radish French Dressing - 1 Pkt (400 seeds) 1
$4.95
$4.95
$4.95
50179A Carrot Short 'n Sweet - 1 Pkt. (1500 seeds) 1
$2.95
$2.95
$2.95
63045A Radish Fire 'n Ice - Packet (300 seeds) 1
$4.95
$4.95
$4.95
54023A Cucumber Sweet Burpless Hybrid - 1 Pkt. (30 seeds) 1
$3.75
$3.75
$3.75
69526C Summer Squash Collection - 4 Pkts. (1 ea.) 1
$11.50
$11.50
$11.50
60335A Cucumber Straight Eight (Slicing) - 1 Pkt. (100 seeds) 1
$2.95
$2.95
$2.95
52977J Lettuce Green Ice (Looseleaf) - 1Pkt. (3500 seeds) 1
$8.50
$8.50
$8.50

Bodacious Hybrid (se) Sweet Corn
Bodacious Hybrid Sweet Corn - Corn Seed - Vegetable Seeds - Gurney's Seed & Nursery
This is the only corn we have planted for years. Usually about 20 thirty foot rows. A few rows every
couple of weeks.

[Tucker's Mom]

Thanks for the info. I want some peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, maybe some peas and whatever beans I can get to grow. I cook a lot, and it would be nice to have more of an assortment in my yard instead of having to go to the store all the time. Herbs would be good, too. I had some in pots on my porch for a while, but usually forgot about them I'm a little south of Atlanta, Ga, so it gets pretty warm... Water is not an issue. I'm on a well, and I have four rain buckets already. I'll probably get a few more when the time comes, too.

Tucker's Mom - thanks for the suggestions. I was trying to find a way to get everything going at the right time so everything was ready at the same time. Google showed me the way!

Dave - I am about to order the book now. Thank you.

You know what I learned during the years? -- plant those wet loving plants together, e.g., parsley need to be wet all the time, so if you have a little slide in your backyard that sunlight reached and sometimes not, it's the best place to plant them along with some loving wet plants...

You know those green onions you can buy at the supermarket with their roots on? -- plant them anywhere, they will even grow under weeds. I have some of them in places I had forgotten until doggie dug them up and got sick so I found one of them...Anyway if you have a dog, onions are very toxic. barricade the area where you plant them. The good thing about onions is that it does winterized easily and you can have them all year round.

Herbs you can winterized are thyme, oregano and mint varieties. I tried rosemary this year but I do not know how it will come out yet...

Cucumbers are good...but green peas do not have a chance to go inside our house because hubby pick on it as soon as he sees them...

Plant some carrots but remember that when you dug a hole for the seed, to put the fertilizer in first before the seed, then cover with soil. If you put the fertilizer on top, they will be mis-shapened.

[Ga9mm]

TM and Dave, thanks again. All good info. I'm copying all this and printing it, and saving the links!! This will help me pass some slow days at work over the next few weeks.

[PascalFleischman]

Here's some pics of my garden....all 48 sq. ft. of it. I usually plant tomatoes and cucumbers, and depending on my mood, a hot pepper plant of some sort, zucchini, and/or green beans. I'm in Memphis, and my planting schedule is probably the same as yours. Don't be tempted to plant your garden when it first starts getting warm in March. Remember the "Easter Freeze" in early April a couple years ago? I generally wait until the 3rd weekend in April, or even push it into May. Your harvest might be delayed for a copule weeks, but come September, it won't matter anyway. Use "Sevin Dust" after about 3 weeks, or the aphids will start taing over.

Tomatoes - common misconception is that it needs a lot of water. It doesn't. And don't water the leaves. Why? I don't know. Your best bet is to run a soaker hose before the plant gets too big, and maybe run it 10 minutes in the morning and 10 at night. You can also over-fertilize tomatoes. Best bet is to go 50/50 with topsoil mix and composted manure. Top with mulch and prune the "suckers". It'll do fine.

Cucumbers - get a trellis. If you can get them to climb vertically, you won't worry about it crawling over your tomatoes.

Squash - get LOTS of room. It reminds me of those ashy "snake" fireworks. It just grows from the root & gets longer, with elephant ear leaves. Plan on a plant with a 6' or better footprint.

Green beans - if you dno't keep them growing upwards, they will droop and look like a kudzu wall. Don't let the beans get too big, or they get stringy as hell and hard to eat.

Basil - grows better than Bermuda. It's a GREAT herb to have, and versatile as hell. Grows like a tree.

[ricbak]

We don't take the time to get back to the dirt, But we do give a local farmer $350 each spring to join a "Group". Starting in as early as late May we start getting fresh home raised strawberries, greens and veggies. Their Onions, Leeks and beets are just great.

[Tucker's Mom]

Here's some pics of my garden....all 48 sq. ft. of it. I usually plant tomatoes and cucumbers, and depending on my mood, a hot pepper plant of some sort, zucchini, and/or green beans. I'm in Memphis, and my planting schedule is probably the same as yours. Don't be tempted to plant your garden when it first starts getting warm in March. Remember the "Easter Freeze" in early April a couple years ago? I generally wait until the 3rd weekend in April, or even push it into May. Your harvest might be delayed for a copule weeks, but come September, it won't matter anyway. Use "Sevin Dust" after about 3 weeks, or the aphids will start taing over.

Tomatoes - common misconception is that it needs a lot of water. It doesn't. And don't water the leaves. Why? I don't know. Your best bet is to run a soaker hose before the plant gets too big, and maybe run it 10 minutes in the morning and 10 at night. You can also over-fertilize tomatoes. Best bet is to go 50/50 with topsoil mix and composted manure. Top with mulch and prune the "suckers". It'll do fine.

Cucumbers - get a trellis. If you can get them to climb vertically, you won't worry about it crawling over your tomatoes.

Squash - get LOTS of room. It reminds me of those ashy "snake" fireworks. It just grows from the root & gets longer, with elephant ear leaves. Plan on a plant with a 6' or better footprint.

Green beans - if you dno't keep them growing upwards, they will droop and look like a kudzu wall. Don't let the beans get too big, or they get stringy as hell and hard to eat.

Basil - grows better than Bermuda. It's a GREAT herb to have, and versatile as hell. Grows like a tree.

Great infos. Now I am starting to copy and paste too in Word so I do not forget these things....me who thought I know it all.... I haven't seen a Basil tree though...

Thanks, matey...!! you're a big help...