The Druid Sustainability Resource Forum

[Hrafn]

When is a good time to start getting a new garden area reading for planting?? I've been looking in other places for information, just curious what your thoughts are here.

[Angharad y Deri]

It depends on where you live. Since I am in the north, with a very short growing season, I tend to do alot of prep in the fall before it freezes, then cover with some mulch. That way in the spring, I can plant as soon as the ground warms up enough (with protection around the plants, of course!). You don't want to do too much while the soil is wet from rains or thaws either, or it will compact.

Hope this helps!
Angharad

[John Michael Greer]

Any time the ground isn't actually hard frozen, you can begin work. The garden in our current place was started a few days after we moved in, at the beginning of July in 2006! Most gardeners would have given up until the following spring, but we managed to get a respectable crop of fresh tomatoes, fall peas, cabbages, and a few other short-season crops. A lot depends on your climate and soil, but as long as the ground isn't frozen or too wet, you can start digging in compost, clearing out weeds, and preparing the beds for planting.

[emage]

Greenhousing and raised beds can also extend the planting time. There are plenty of articles in good magazine on how to build simple greenhouses.

When I was growing up in Pine, Colorado (I think it is actually on the map), my family made a simple teepee style greenhouse, using lodge pole pine and translucent plastic. We had huge cabbages, broccoli, califlower, carrots...the whole garden salad. Only cost a few dollars to make, but increased our yields significantly.
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Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.

-William Wordsworth

[Frater OM]

I started late this year yesterday as a matter of fact.
Where I did the tilling used to be a compost heap and seemed to be pretty easy, and the worms were in great numbers.
I have found that if our garden or lawns need help buy some worms and toss in also when till some shred up newspaper also helps.

[GoldBerry]

I planted late also, although my pumpkins were done on time. I left the soil alone for a few years in the back patch. There were an abundance of worms and the soil was so rich. My husband and i had dumped a huge compost on that patch of ground, left it alone for a few years. So far so good. Just getting down and tilling the soil was such a revelation of calm and peace and accomplishment.
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[shadowfoot]

I planted some things on time and some not this year. Some things I had to plant twice because the first ones didn't make it (funky weather and possibly something in the potting soil, as all the seed I put straight into the ground did pretty well).

Will be planting more peas later this month, for a fall crop. Planning on planting stuff like winter wheat (experiment), garlic, and more onions in August/Sept.

I'm in western Massachusetts at 1,000 feet above sea level. Technically we're zone 5, but at this elevation some less hardy plants may or may not survive even if the garden books say they will.

We do a fair amount of mulching in our gardens too -- keeps down the weeds, keeps in moisture (less watering), and keeps the soil from getting washed away. My father-in-law likes to turn last year's mulch/past plants into the soil in the spring, but I have a couple of areas where he won't be doing that next year (just moved up here last October). I'm hoping to just poke holes/make space in the mulch for seeds next year. Some of my plants are perennials, so it'll be nice to not have to to disturb the soil so much.

Plus, I can control whether or not manure gets put on it -- manure disagrees with potatoes, and causes parsnips to fork (or so I have read). Potatoes do like some pine needles being spread on them though -- helps prevent scab. That I have tried, and it works.
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You must be the change you want to see in the world.

- Mahatma Ghandi

[skitter]

I planted really late this year, too -- and learned my lesson because of it! It got hot really early, and everything kind of screeched to a halt and we haven't had anything produce yet as a result. Now I'm just trying to nurse the plants through the heat until fall and hope to get something out of it besides a learning experience.

I'm looking forward to cooler weather so that I can start putting in more raised beds for next year (the hard packed clay soil here almost requires raised beds) -- I have plans to eventually get rid of the back lawn and fill the entire back yard with veggie/fruit garden.

[Tully]

[skitter]