Tag Archives: frost free date

Planting the Summer Garden

20 May

When the nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees here in Michigan, I know it’s finally a safe time to plant the warmer summer season crops such as beans, squash, cucumbers, corn and tomatoes. This next week the temperatures are going to be very warm, so with a little water, seeds should germinate quickly and transplants should root in nicely.

planting bean seeds

When planting seeds, make sure you follow the directions on the package. As a general rule, you will plant a seed as deep as up to twice its diameter. For instance, you plant beans about 1″ deep. Some seeds you may just sow directly on top of the soil and barely cover. The most important part when planting seeds is that you keep the soil moist until it has germinated and is growing. If the root begins to emerge from the seed, and it dries up before it is able to become established in the soil, it’s a gonner.

loosing the rootball on this tomato plant

When transplanting vegetables or flowers to your garden, make sure you loosen the rootball of the plant and bury it in the soil at the same level it was growing in the container.

This rule can be broken for tomatoes, which when planted deeper in the soil, burying a leggy stem, will develop more roots on the soil covered stem, which is better for the tomato plant overall.

planting tomatoes to encourage additional root development

Even though we have reached our frost free date, and the nighttime temperatures are consistently over 50, I will wait another week or two to plant basil, eggplant, and some of my favorite peppers. I don’t want to take any chances and these plants really like to grow in warmer temperatures.

So when planting, keep in mind the following five tips:

  1. Make sure you know how deep to plant the seed or transplant
  2. Check the seed packet to see how far apart to place each seed  (or plant).
  3. Lightly pat the soil around the plant.  Don’t smash or compact the soil. 
  4. Water thoroughly and continue to check daily for watering.  Keep moist, but not soggy. 
  5. Label each planting with the name and date planted.  Then you can estimate the time of harvest.  Yum!

Happy Planting!

 

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When do I plant (insert veggie or flower here)?

4 Apr

This has been the question of the week. Yikes! My weekly posts are not enough. So here is a little extra. Don’t forget, you can click on the GrowVeg.com banner for a 30 day trial to help plan your garden. They offer e-mail reminders too! Something I’m not ready to do yet, unless you sign up to receive an e-mail each time I post on this blog. There’s an idea! Also, while I’m at it, please share My Urban Farmscape with your garden friends via Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, or any of the sharing links below. Keep in mind my Garden Revolution Resolution!

For Michigan, our frost-free date is typically May 20. You can plant cool loving vegetables and flowers prior to this date, starting the first week of April for spinach and peas, but save the majority of your planting until after the frost free date. Remember to “harden off” your plants that have been growing indoors. This just means to acclimate them to the outdoors by setting them out during the day, bringing them inside (or protect in a garage or shed) at night for a few days before planting them. First frost dates are determined by historical records. This year, spring has sprung a lot earlier, but we are back to freezing temperatures and frost can still occur after our first frost date. If that happens, you should protect your plants using lightweight fabric or newspapers. Don’t use plastic if it will touch the plants.

This may not be everything that you want to grow, but it’s a start. Refer to earlier posts and make your calendar!

Start indoors 8-10 weeks before frost date. Transplant in the garden AFTER first frost date.

  • Peppers (Best to plant at least two weeks after first frost date)
  • Eggplant (Best to plant at least two weeks after first frost date)
  • Snapdragon
  • Forget me nots
  • Coleus

Start indoors 6-8 weeks before frost date. Transplant in the garden AFTER first frost date.

  • Tomatoes
  • Basil (Best to plant at least two weeks after first frost date when nighttime temperatures are consistantly above 50 F. Can also be directly sown in the garden at that time)
  • Calendula
  • Gomphrena (Globe Amaranth)
  • Marigold
  • Strawflower
  • Zinnia

Directly sow outside in the garden 4-6 weeks BEFORE frost date. Provide protection if freezing temperatures occur at night.

  • Peas
  • Spinach (can also be started indoors 4 weeks before planting in the garden)
  • Mustard Greens (can also be started indoors 4 weeks before planting in the garden)
  • Mache (corn salad) (can also be started indoors 4 weeks before planting in the garden)
  • Kohlrabi (can also be started indoors 4 weeks before planting in the garden)
  • Kale
  • Radish
  • Carrot
  • Flowering Sweet Peas

Start indoors 4 – 6 weeks before frost date. Transplant to the garden two to three weeks BEFORE first frost date.

  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Swiss Chard
  • Lettuce
  • Parsley
  • Cilantro

Directly sow in the garden (you can start 2-4 weeks before frost date if you wish, but not necessary) AFTER first frost date.

  • Beans
  • Cucumber
  • Corn
  • Squash
  • Pumpkins
  • Melons
  • Cosmos
  • Morning Glory
  • Nasturtium
  • Sunflower

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Contained Chaos

18 Mar

My gardening style is what I like to call, Contained Chaos.  I like the look of wildflowers growing in nature, but I also like neatly arranged plants, like using boxwood as a border, or rows of plants like grown in a farm field or orchard.  I think that’s why when I designed the culinary garden at My Urban Farmscape, I wanted my veggies to be planted in raised beds.  Each raised bed is laid out in neatly arranged patterns providing several individual sections to grow my veggies, fruits and herbs.   But that doesn’t mean that when the plants start growing outside of thier boundaries I want to hold them back.  They are allowed to wander and intermingle as much as they like.  It’s like, I try to control them, but then I give up because I know they will grow where they want.  Plants have a mind of their own right, or maybe, the instinct and desire to follow the sun.

When I decided to make my raised beds, I researched the options and chose to make them with 2” x 12” pine lumber.   DO NOT use treated lumber of any kind for growing anything edible.  I looked into options for preserving the wood, but then realized that the wood I chose will last a very long time, and by the time it was rotted, I would have gotten my money’s worth just using the plain pine and it wasn’t worth the added expense.  So, here is what I did.

April Garden

This is the space between my house and the driveway.  It is the sunniest space in the yard, which is what I needed for the culinary garden.  So…..out with the old and in with the new!  I didn’t remove the lawn though.  No need, since 10” of soil would be on top of it, it won’t grow any more.  I did have to transplant the shrubs and cut down an ornamental tree. 

The 2” x 12” boards were cut to the desired lengths.  If you don’t have a saw, you can ask your lumber store to cut them to the lengths you want.  They will typically do this at no charge.  It is easy to ask them to cut a 2” x 12” by 8’ board in half.  Do this for two boards and you will end up with a 4’ x 4’ garden.  I chose to use 3” deck screws to screw them together.  There are fancy type corners you can get, but it was getting a little too expensive for my garden.  Some of my beds are 2’ x 8’ or longer, so I added a board in the center for additional strength and/or to keep it from bowing.

Autumn Garden Showing Raised Bed Design

Once the boxes were made, they were place directly on the ground.  I filled them about 3/4 full with topsoil.  If you don’t have access to free topsoil, then try to purchase it by the yard.  It is cheaper.  Otherwise, you will have to buy it by the bag.  A 4’ x 4’ box takes about 1/3 yard of topsoil to start.  I then mixed in compost to the remaining portion, ending a couple inches from the top.   My cost for a 4’ x 4’ garden last summer was about $25.00 each.  That is the wood and the topsoil and compost.  You can make these any size you like, and they will fit in most every Urban Farmscape.  These will last for years.  If the ends start to come apart or the boards warp, I will make small adjustments as they come.  I just found this method to be the most practical and affordable. 

September Garden

The first year I was able to harvest a bushel of tomatoes from a 2’ x 12’ raised bed.  I spaced the tomatoes diagonally about 2’ apart.  So in a 2’ x 4’ space I was able to plant 3 tomato plants.  They were indeterminate types which I pruned and staked them.  I will talk about that more when I write about tomatoes.  I also planted blueberries, corn, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, squash, beans, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, sage, thyme, and several edible flowers.  I planned space for cold frames also.  I overwintered carrots under straw (see poem on Winter Carrots).

Winter Garden

This will be the second season for the culinary garden at My Urban Farmscape.  The warm weather we have been experiencing has made it EASY to clean up and prep my gardens, but the only thing I am planting are my cool season crops such as spinach, arugula, lettuce, carrots, beets, and radishes to name a few.  And that is still in my cold frame (open ends and tops off for now).  Don’t be fooled by Mother Nature!  Our frost free date is about May 15th, still a long ways away.  For now, continue planning and if you like your garden chaos contained like I do, start building your raised beds!  Before you know it, it will be time to plant for the summer!

Coming soon to a garden near you…

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Seed Sowing Calendar

15 Jan

“A garden is half-made when it is well planned.  The best gardener

is the one who does the most gardening by the winter fire.” 

~Liberty Hyde Bailey

 

 

 

Seed packets and seed starting supplies are beginning to pile up around my house.  Soon there will be hundreds of little plants in sunny window sills and sprouting under grow lights.  I’m already anxious for spring, but know that I need to wait until the right time to get started.  After doing an inventory of seeds, and ordering what I want for this year, it’s time to plan my seed sowing calendar. 

When preparing to sow seeds, you need to start at the end by thinking of when it’s safe to plant them outside.  Our frost free date here in Mid-Michigan is about May 13th.  This is a good time to plant most vegetables and flowers outside without worrying about the dangers of frost.  Eggplant, peppers and basil don’t do well in cool soils or air temperatures.  I have had better luck waiting until Memorial Day weekend to plant those outside.  Or, you could use season extension techniques which I will talk about closer to planting time.  What about cooler season crops?  Spinach, arugula, lettuce, beets, peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, chives, cilantro and violas are just a few that can be planted outside in April, about the first or second week. So, should you start sowing all the seeds you have right now?  How to you figure out what to sow when?

            First things first.  Get a calendar.  A really big one that you can write all over and see every day.  Or, if you prefer, a planner type calendar, or a spread sheet.  Whatever works best for you.  Mark your first frost free date.  That is going to be your starting point.  You can also add something like, “Plant Cool Season Crops” on a day in the first two weeks of April, and then around Memorial Day, “Plant Warm Season Crops” so you know when to plant out eggplant, peppers and basil.  I am going to use tomatoes as an example to get you started.  When you look at the cultural information for tomatoes, typically it will say start indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost.  Starting on the calendar at May 13, you will count backwards 6-8 weeks.  So any time between March 18th and April 1st would be an ideal time to start your tomato seeds indoors.  Continue to do this with everything you are going to grow.  Some seeds, such as beans or nasturtium do best planted directly in the garden so don’t start them indoors.  Follow directions from your seed supplier, or better yet, get the book The Seed Starters Handbook  by Nancy Bubel.  She covers in detail everything you need to know about seeds.  A must have resource for every Urban Farmscaper.  As you continue to work on your seed sowing calendar, you will probably start to notice that, with a few exceptions, most seeds will need to be started in March.  Some cool season crops such as broccoli will be started at the end of February. Your calendar will also serve as your planting calendar and a record for future years, so take good notes.  You should start shopping around for seed starting supplies such as “No Damp Off” seed starting mix by Mosser Lee, Heat Mats, Seeding Trays (like the 20 row seeder available at Johnny’s Selected Seeds) and full spectrum fluorescent lights.  Soon I will be sharing with you my tips and tricks for success as I start sowing my seeds.

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