January Jump-Start (Garden Dream and Plan Thread)

[NH Homesteader]

Lol! Yes but we have such a short growing season, if you plant a week late you have issues!

 

[Beekissed]

Y'all are so organized. I garden by the sawed off shotgun method. Just pull the trigger and blast it. Back tracking on the calendar from planting date to planting date? My planting dates are because I want to plant NOW, so I do.

Texas, Bay....it's warm there. You can basically stick anything in the ground all year round and expect it to grow and make food. Here in the cooler states it takes some planning if you want food.

 

[baymule]

I have to deal more with it burning up from heat than freezing from cold. LOL

 

[Mini Horses]

Amazing to realize all the "different" gardening issues we have amongst everyone. Just like weather and feeding, etc. Makes you really think, right?

Some areas have a little bit of many things but, other areas have way, way too much of some It's interesting.

 

[Hinotori]

We get mostly dry and warm for 2 months of the year in most years. We have cabbage years and tomato years. Cabbages love the years with cool rainy summers, like the one where we only hit 80 five times. Tomatoes get late blight and die before the fruit ripens in those years. Cabbages do great.

Squash does good here. I know this so will be planting a lot this year again. Along with peas if I can keep the stupid deer from eating the plants. Cucumbers have been requested by hubby. He wants me to make lots of pickles.


I had the round zucchini type squash last year. They aren't as good as the black beauty zucchini. Do just great shredded though and last better after being picked. They do get more of a seed problem if you let them get big. I preferred them the size of grapefruit at the biggest. I pick my zucchini at 8-10 inches as well because I prefer the soft tender things. If I'm thinking of grilling them, I'll let the get a little bigger. Grilled summer squash is awesome.

 

[Mini Horses]

Deer -- have you ever tried tying dryer sheets out there? I've heard that helps some. The deer on my own farm have so much cropland and woods, they don't mess with my garden, although I do see they like the pastures at some times of the year.

Luckily my area supports a huge variety of plants. We have hot summers & cold/cool winters & both are rarely extreme. Generally things do well with a little watering in summer. It does get super hot some years & setting fruit is hard for tomatoes, etc., mostly a short term issue. If we do have a long spell with little rain -- drought a few years back -- then my pastures obviously suffer. Can water smaller gardens as my water source is a private deep well. No restrictions.

 

[baymule]

It’s sunny and gorgeous today, but winter isn’t over yet. I sure want to go plant stuff!

 

[Hinotori]

Next two weeks are all I need to bear. That will tell me if we're going to hard freeze again. I very much doubt it at this point.

If the ground dries enough for me to take a wheelbarrow in the main chicken pen, I'm going to haul some litter out to a raised bed to mix in. I can plant peas after I do that.

On a side note, the peas I planted last fall are not dead. The snow and ice managed to kill off the tops and I'd given up on them. I should go trim them and they may start growing more

 

[Mini Horses]

They may very well grow and give you more peas!

Bay, I want to plant but -- one day sun, next snow, then sun and cold. Now....rain, then sun, then poss flurries AGAIN! It wants to be Spring but old man winter just keeps hanging on!!

I am going to start seeds next week!!!!! Won't be transplanting until March but that's fine.

 

[CrealCritter]

If the weather cooperates, I'll be working the spring / fall garden in the next week or so. I need to change out the deep bedding in the chicken coop, so that will get tilled into the garden. Seed sowing will start a few weeks after that. It's only the end of January so I got lots of time still. I'm in southern IL USDA zone 6 or 6A.

I've went by the old farmers almanac for many years and have had pretty good success depending on if the spring floods play nice... One year my garden was under a foot of water

Old Farmers Almanac planting calendar, just change to your zipcode.
https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/zipcode/62922