Jubilee Farm

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS

  ABOUT THE GARDEN...

Ok.... I was just in the garden and after 4 or 5 days of hard rain, I was finally able to see what is up with the growth. I live in southern Ohio so think about that when reading the questions..

Tomatoes were started inside, then unfortunately I think I scared them and put them   outside without getting them adjusted first. Out of 2 fairly long rows, I only have 7 plants still leiving and they don't even look like they are happy.  So the question with the tomatoes...

*Do i try to plant some seeds outside again in the rows where my plants failed, or do I buy plants from the store and plant those?

*I already have seeds, but is it too late for them to succeed? 

*Should I put hay around the plants or seeds to protect them some more?

*How many plants are ideal for a family of 7 for me to use to can?

Corn is looking good, 5 rows of corn growing,

*They are yellowish though... Is this normal? They aren't a striking green, but a little more on   the sickly side.

*What should I do with them ?

Green beans, out of 2 rows I have maybe 7 plants. I just planted seeds, not inside but right into the ground. Bush beans.

*Do I try seeds again, was it too early?

* Do I buy plants at this point?

Potatoes are doing fantastic!!! No complaints there, the best thing in the garden going fo   rme so far. I am so happy with that, may need to plant more if we can't get these other things going.

Herb garden still needs to be put in. I have chives, oregano, lavender, mint, maybe a couple of others.

*Should I wait to plant the seeds outside or is it time?

My other ventures with seeds. I have most of the other things that are common in seed form. Onions, pumpkins, acorn squash, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers (which I did plant some   and none came up), watermelon, canteloupe, jalepeno peppers, green peppers, carrots....

Am I going to waste my time putting seeds in the ground or is it just not warm enough yet? 

  This is a lot of work to not have a success of some sort at least. It isn't a lack of rain, we have had plenty.  Just curious if I should try these seeds first or not. I hate to have to buy plants when the seeds are so much more economical.

And another garden question on weeding, which will sound silly, but there are a lot of weeds...

* Do I just weed things in the row with the plants in it or do I do the in between areas too?

I appreciate the insight. I sure want to make this whole gardening experience a fun and succesful one :)

Melanie

Untitled Comment

{ 10:18, 2006-May-20 } { Posted by sunnyflowers }

Hey there! I'll try to remember all your questions but I've got fuzzy brain so I'll probably have to leave you a bunch of comments...hee hee

The bush beans - just plant some more seeds. They grow quick. I plant them every two weeks up till mid June so they all don't come in at once.

The tomatoes - You may get away with directly planting the seeds of an early variety. Check the seed packet for maturity date and look for something around 50-60 days. Problem is, by the time you find out that the seeds might not take, you won't be able to find plants anywhere. I'd put at least some plants in at this point. Cherry tomatoes ripen a lot quicker than the large varieties. I just planted seeds right in the garden last week. On how much tomatoes to plant...3 plants should give you about 20# of tomatoes. I plant 12 plants for us (4) and we have plenty to eat, can, freeze, and share.

Ummm..I knew this was going to happen! I'll be back in a sec! lol

Untitled Comment

{ 10:29, 2006-May-20 } { Posted by sunnyflowers }

Ok...:-)
on the weeds...I use black plastic "mulch" between my rows. I think there is a pic with C planting the onions on my blog where you can see how I have it layed out. It isn't pretty, but it is low maintenance and effective. You want to try to keep as much weeds as possible out of the whole garden area. Once they go to seed, they aren't picky about where they land and are just better dealt with from the get go.

All the rain we've been getting is good for the garden IF it is warm enough for the seeds to germinate, which it hasn't been here (and I was in your neck of the woods Thursday night and it was in the 40's!! Brr!!!) I've lost a lot of seeds too - zuke, cuke, and some yellow squash. It is still early enough to replant. I'm even going to wait until it warms up a bit.

the bush beans again - they don't transplant well, so just do the seeds. :-)

Congrats on the potatoes!! I never have much luck with root crops. Radishes do ok, and the shorty carrots, but my turnips, beets, and potatoes are always pathetic. lol

And I have to tell you - I'm so impressed with the way you jumped into this farming thing! You are doing fantastic!

Love,
Me

Gardening Fun

{ 09:46, 2006-May-21 } { Posted by Anonymous }

Hi Mellie, You always ask such good questions. Here are a few things I've learned....hope they are correct info. tomatoes~you should definitely straw. DH always insists on this, and said they always did that as a kid when planting tomatoes; corn~you need to be sure and thin the corn as directed on the package. i can't remember right now, but it might be one plant every 4 inches; beans~yes, keep planting seeds every two weeks all season; herbs~i am thinking it might be late to plant herb seeds, but not sure; weeding~we discussed this earlier..lol.......can't wait to hear about all your success~~

Ooops

{ 09:47, 2006-May-21 } { Posted by Anonymous }

...forgot to sign the above comment....just from me...Jeani @ Rosehill