Zone 5 Gardeners United!

[Iluveggers]

Let's revive it!

Yes!

I am thinking of throwing in some arugula, seeded carrots in the rain last week (figures the moisture would help w germination). Maybe I’ll do snow peas, so I don’t have to wait for the pods to fill in? Maybe beets as well? Is there any quick cabbage?
Still waiting on ripe tomatoes, and pepper/eggplant fruit to grow. Just pulled my garlic & it looks great!

 

[21hens-incharge]

Just now getting red tomatoes from my early girls. The better boys are trying hard with a ton of tomatoes set on. Most of my tomato plants are about 6' tall and doing well.
Bell peppers are loaded with nice looking peppers too.

For fall snow peas and leafy greens are good stable choices. I may plant some regular peas as a I hope there's time plant.

I am listed as zone 5b but as years past has proven challenging I garden as if I am zone 4.

 

[Sally PB]

I have a couple tomatoes thinking about turning. Maybe by Friday...?

I will probably have to buy tomatoes for canning this year. Boo. I was hoping this would be the year that I get enough of my own to can the 55-60 quarts we use in a year.

That's not impressive; my neighbor has 100 plants and cans 150 quarts, besides what they eat fresh (a LOT).

 

[Iluveggers]

Wow! I took one cherry tomato off that was close enough to ripe to eat. Heaven in my mouth! But nothing else looks close! To complicate the matter, I grew Berkeley tie dye and Green zebra tomatoes which don’t actually turn red. How can I tell when a green tomato is ready? Lol
I think they’ll be coming soon but I am so impatient!

 

[Sally PB]

How can I tell when a green tomato is ready?

That's why I've never grown green tomatoes! I bet they do get a little softer, though, so maybe you can give 'em a squeeze.

 

[Frankiegirl]

What a great thread and greetings from SW Michigan! I read through this thread and someone asked about a cover crop to overwinter their garden area.

I recently moved into a new home and am holding off on doing a lawn or landscape. I planted annual rye grass this spring and let the clover take over to add some green to amend the soil before plantings and lawn go in. Not the prettiest, but I know it is going to add nutrients to the soil. I went to a local grain mill and bought the annual rye.

They were very helpful and I also purchased some seeds for veges to plant at at later date.

This year’s garden is consisting of a few container plants of early girl, beefstake, sweet 100 tomatoes. Some purple and red peppers, and a couple of marketmore cucumbers. My soil is simply too sandy to do anything else right now and the land is too new to know where to put the garden.

Good luck everyone and thanks for sharing your tips!

 

[Sally PB]

My soil is simply too sandy to do anything else right now and the land is too new to know where to put the garden.

So this is the time to figure out where to put your garden next year.

#1 concern is sunlight. #2 is the ability to water it when there's insufficient rain. #3 is the soil.

If you get #1&2 right, you can work on #3. Chickens help a LOT with that.

I have two gardens, and one is very sandy soil. Mulch, mulch, mulch. Can you say, Mulch? It's really helping, that's for sure. Also, compost. Chicken poop has totally revolutionized my compost. Last year was my first year with chickens. I had the best compost ever, and the best garden harvest ever. I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence.

I have raised beds (just mounded soil, not boxed in or anything fancy) and a large flat area for the squash, which I let sprawl. I cover that area with leaves in the fall, and I mean COVER. It's several inches thick with leaves in November. That is turning into a wonderful, rich dark soil, without any work on my part, other than hauling the leaves there and spreading them out.

 

[Frankiegirl]

Hi All how is your garden harvest coming along? I dont have a garden really but several pots of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. My tomatoes are coming in nicely and I got my first cucumber!! Very exciting.

It would be fun to hear what everyone is getting from their garden and what your planting for the fall. I was saying to another group that this is my first attempt at gardening really after leaving the suburbs that wouldn’t allow a garden without first getting approval for the plans…can you imagine??

Happy harvest time!

 

[21hens-incharge]

Getting enough tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots and beans to process for freezing.

I am really hoping the corn remains safe from the earwigs and the neighbor having the fence spray stained. Hubby put up 8' tall plastic mounted to pvc pipes and screwed to the fence.

 

[Frankiegirl]

Getting enough tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots and beans to process for freezing.

I am really hoping the corn remains safe from the earwigs and the neighbor having the fence spray stained. Hubby put up 8' tall plastic mounted to pvc pipes and screwed to the fence.

Yikes on the fence stain…

Sounds like you are going to be busy too! I have never done freezer processing. Would love some tips.

I am heading to the farmers market for tomatoes to can. I used to can a ton but when I started planning for the new house, I thought it best to not have to move a bunch of glass jars. So I get to start over! I always have plenty of tomato juice and chunk on the shelf, but would love to try marinara sauce to cut down on the time it takes to make sauce from scratch. We will see how ambitious I am when the bushel arrives

The excavators are planning to come in the next month or so to grade the property and clear out all of the brush on the front of the property. I live on 3 acres and the front half had an old house on it and the land was neglected for decades. It is a diamond in the rough for sure but I am so excited to get it leveled. I would love to show before and after photos, but always cringe what people might think. It is one heck of a project, and something I never thought I would to. My goal is to have it completed in the next several years and have a hobby farm to retire and keep me busy.

Chickens were my savior over covid and I could never imaging life without them now. They keep me grounded and at the end of the day, regardless of what you do for work, or where you live, they don’t know who you are, other than mom with the treat bag!