Spring Gardening

[laynes69]

Well spring is around the corner. I have my rye growing, my plots spread with composted manure and I have a healthy compost pile for my berries and my gardens. One thing that I normally don't do is plant seed. I live in northcentral ohio and was trying to figure out what I want to directly sow in the ground. I know that beans and corn will be directly sowed along with cucumbers, but I'm not sure what all else. I'll have my hydraulics rebuilt on my tractor soon, my plow and disks and cultivator is ready. I also recently aquired a 2 row corn planter. This year I will sell giant pumpkins, sweet corn and various other vegetables, besides canning for us. I can't wait to start working the ground.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I can't wait, either. I've got my seeds all picked out and ready to order when I can scrape up the spare change. Used to be $50 for seeds, but now it's more like $75--and that's keeping it simple.

I usually start sets of things like broccoli and tomatoes and maybe bush beans if I get anxious to get a good start. I usually direct plant things like carrots, lettuce, zuccini, cukes, spinach, swiss chard, peas, etc. Stuff that's a little harder to start I'll usually germinate in bunches and then transplant. That includes basil, some lettuce and other herbs like parsley.

I've got some nice broccoli plants started in pots right now, and they'll be one of the first things I put out in April. They're very frost tolerant, and I'm hoping they will thrive in the cool spring conditions and maybe provide some good eating before the rest of the stuff gets going.

If you garden, you have to know how to hope, and if it doesn't work out, to cope.

 

[laynes69]

Yeah last year I put out 175 roma plants, 75 green pepper plants, 300' of beans, 600' of sweet corn, over a dozen plants of bush pickles, melons, pumpkins, eggplants, cabbage, etc. I haven't grown potatoes, or carrots, the root vegetables yet. Last year I had 12 pound heads of cabbage. We canned over 600 jars of food. This year I have over an acre ready for planting. Plus I put out a 100 foot row of strawberries, and this year I will add another 100 foot of strawberries, and 100 feet of rasberries. We have a dozen cherry trees here, black rasberries and black berries to pick. We always hope for the best, but have had some bad luck in the past. Last year was an excellent year. I currently have a 5 gallon bucket full of steelhead trout scraps I am thinking about grinding and putting over the sweetcorn patch for nitrogen. Then plowing it under? Ever used fish as fertilizer?