What are you guys planning for you 2012 Garden?

[matt walker]

Good list George. I wish I could grow melons here!

I'm getting too excited about this growing season. I got my seed order yesterday, and have been planning the garden fairly seriously these last few days. I started some onion seeds inside a week ago, and they are coming up well. I'm going to put them out in a hoop house hopefully in another 5 weeks or so, and start some of the early spring greens to put in there as well. It's one of my earliest starts, we'll see how it goes.

[Lollykoko]

My roommate and I were discussing seed starts a few days ago. She once worked for a greenhouse and says it's already late to start seed for spring planting in May. I object to the root bound starts I have purchased from greenhouses in the past. With no cold frame or hoop house to rely on I think starting seed after Valentines Day will give me plenty of time.

Feedback?

[matt walker]

Lolly, I agree. I learned after a few years that if I just wait until it is truly warm enough, everything grows so much better and it's so much less effort. Plants that go through hardship when they are young never seem to produce as much as the ones I forced early. I've even had some things I started from seed sown in the garden surpass much earlier starts and produce not only more, but earlier. I am jumping the gun, I think because I've been thinking so much on my garden, and just need to do something! I also spent a bit on onion sets last year, and would like to expand my onion patch this year, so I thought seeds might be the way to do it. If I were you, I'd wait. Less work, better crop.

[Lollykoko]

I will probably take some older packets of seed and sow them wildly in a Zone5 area that sees lots of deer traffic. I'm hoping that some things will grow where the wildlife like to be, so they don't need to travel to the garden I want to harvest from. This spot is the southernmost portion of my land, near the natural wetlands. Trying photo option here ...
This shot is very near the camping area. The trees were down when I bought the place six years ago and will be a good start for a hugelbeet, I think. Right now I have the backhoe under a tarp, to keep it somewhat protected from bad weather. Moving deadwood can start about anytime, since the ground is frozen. The added height of a raised bed will help screen us from the road till the trees leaf out in the spring.

[pa_friendly_guy]

Has anyone tried to push the envolope and plant something that should not grow in their area? I visited down south a year or 2 ago and saw crape myrtle in bloom for the 1st time. WOW What a Beautiful tree, I want one. But they are not winter harty normally this far north. I did find one supplier that claimed their plants would survive in zone 5 [ The zone I have always used as my guide ] But their closest supplier is 3 1/2 hours away from me and they will not ship them to me directly. I still want one though and may just have to take a day trip or maybe try to visit an old friend who lives not too far from them. From what I have read about the plant their claim of zone 5 may be BS, but I felt it was worth the $35 to find out. I have never seen any crape myrtle growing here in Pa, but I did see one guy North of me that had planted one of these zone 5 plants. That is how I found out about them. I saw that he had put up protection around them this winter, so they may need help to survive. I do not want to have to " Baby "' any of my plants. If they want to live here good, if they don't Oh Well. But I wondered about how I might make an area that may be protected enough for the plant to live. I did fall in Love with those beautiful plants. I really do want to try and plant one, even though I go with the No Work theroy of Gardening.

[matt walker]

There's only one way to find out for sure. Go for it! Perhaps you have an area that is slightly higher ground to shed the cold air and maybe even underneath something for frost protection? I would worry that it might do fine for a few years and then a bad winter would take it out. Still, it would be worth trying in my opinion.

[Lollykoko]

I'd suggest a rock garden or stone wall very close to that crepe myrtle tree. The mass will absorb heat from even the winter sun, radiating it back in the evening.

I'm looking at Zone 8 citrus and wondering ... can get a heated glass room with some sort of house behind it by fall? I want the citrus in heated grow beds (rocket mass heater, no doubt) that can be irrigated with gray water.

[pa_friendly_guy]

Citrus this far north is DEFINATELY pushing the envolope Lolly. Inside a green house I think you have a chance, but even then I think it will be tricky. Opening a door and haveing a cold draft hitting it alot could do it in, be careful. I liked the idea of a rock garden mulch around the base to hold and rediate heat back to the tree, or is it more of a Bush? I am on the top of a hill so the frost does settle down hill away from me. The houses in the village below me does get frost that misses me. That said I am still in western pa next to the Chestnut ridge, it gets cold here. The new map shows me as a zone 6a, less than 10 below. On the Ridge 2 miles away I think they have a zone 5. I have always used zone 5 here, if something grows in zone 5 I figure I am golden. I agree with Matt that its worth a try, I came to that conclusion last year. I just didn't have the spare day to drive 6 hours for a bush. The $35 cost of the plant will be the small part of that transaction. At $.50 per mile I will have $100 in gas turnpike tolls and car expenses. I have to drive east of Harrisburg to pick up the plant. Maybe I should buy 2 and Dallor cost average then down.

[pa_friendly_guy]

I got notice that 2 of my gooseberrys have been shipped, one of them has not been shipped yet. I know they will be here soon so today I got my power pick out and decided to start getting a space ready for them. For those of you who do not know what a Power Pick is, it happens to be my very old 8HP Roper Front Tine Tiller. Roper has been out of business for about 20 years now, I do not know how old the tiller is, it was used when I got it. The rope return on the starter broke so the last owner just put on an old spool with a slot for the knotted rope to fit into. You hand wind the rope around and pull, if it does not start, [ which it never does 1st pull ] then you start wrapping the rope around again. The reason I call it a Power Pick is that I use it like a pick for digging holes and getting out rocks. It bounces and bucks but shes a digger. Turns out I am Hell on equipment, I had put out 4 sticks to mark the width and length of the bed that I wanted to till up. It was sod so it was fairly hard to till anyway. I started by the garden end of the bed between the 2 sticks and started to till toward the stick at the other end. When I got to the other end I did not see the 2nd stick, I thought , Oh Well, it must have gotten kicked over or something. I tilled the new bed several times over until it was very good, I also stopped the tiller in the 3 spots that I wanted to dig the planting holes and got them pretty deep. This afternoon I as ready to really dig the planting hole for the gooseberrys. I stepped off the distence between the new bed and the Black Berrys, it was not right. Then I looked down the bed and saw the 2nd stick that I had put in. I had tilled out side of the place for the new bed, sort of at an angle to the far post. I was 4 feet off. What a DUMMY,,,,,,,,,,,lol. I had a good laugh, dug the 2 holes that I needed on the end that started in the right place, [ I had planned on planting the 1st 2 on the other end of the bed ] Oh Well, lol. Tommorrow I will try and get the old Power Pick started again and redo the job correctly. There is never enough time to do the job right the 1st time, but there is ALWAYS enough time to redo it. I tell this on myself because we are trying to learn from other members mistakes, and I certainally made a Big one today.

[matt walker]

Oh man, I'm glad to hear you had a laugh at it. Nice to know I'm not the only one who does stuff like that. I fenced the orchard last week, told myself to get that hot wire on the top before I let the cows in the upper pasture, where the orchard is. Let 'em in there this morning, telling myself I'd get right over and put the hot wire up. Got a call, went and did some work in town. As I was leaving to meet the customer I drove past the orchard and that danged bull was already over the fence and in there.

I strung the wire this evening. Lol.

So, can you use the area you tilled on accident?