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Garden Gate:  Help needed for a beginner vegetable gardener  |
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Mommyswanson
True Blue Farmgirl
463 Posts
Laura
Waukegan
IL
USA
463 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 04 2011 : 08:11:13 AM
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Hi Gals
I have never been a vegetable gardener, I stick mostly to flowers. But... my Junior Girl Scout Troop is planing a raised bed garden at our church to provide some fresh produce to the local food pantry. The bed is narrow, about 20 feet by 5 feet. Any suggestions on what to plant? We are in the northeast corner of Illinois. Thanks so much!!
Laura
"That which does not kill us makes us strong!" "I cast all my cares upon you Lord." |
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embchicken
True Blue Farmgirl
1487 Posts
Elaine
Ocean
NJ
USA
1487 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2011 : 08:32:46 AM
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Tomatoes and cucumbers are great companion plants!
~ Elaine
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
embchicken.blospot.com
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Pasthyme
True Blue Farmgirl
99 Posts
Gail
Mountain View
AR
99 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2011 : 09:13:03 AM
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Leaf lettuce is easy. I like mesclun which is a mix of a variety of leaf lettuces. Plant the lettuce when it is cool out. Once all danger of frost is past, plant the tomato & cuke in the same area. They will need to be staked or grown up a fence. By the time it is hot and the lettuce is about done, the tomatoes and cukes will be ready. They will also shade the lettuce from the hot sun. Cherry tomatoes are easy to grow. Green beans are also easy to grow. Bush beans for a larger area, or pole beans if you have a trellis or fence.
Other easy things to grow are radishes, spinach, or whatever you like to eat. I check out books from the library for inspiration. My favories are 'Square Foot Gardening', and 'Lasagna Gardening'.
Gail
www.pasthymesfashions.webs.com
www.ozarkfolkcenter.com |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2011 : 09:20:32 AM
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Tomatoes are always good. What about green beans, the bush variety is easy to grow and great harvests. No need to stake them. They are easy to pick also. Tomatoes can be touchy in your part of the country. You will also have to have cages for them. If the Girl Scouts are helping you may I suggest easy to grow plants that don't take up much room. Cucumbers and zuchini need a lot of space. Look into the Square Foot Gardening concept. Instead of rows you grow plants per square foot. I am in the same growing zone as you are. Tomatoes and peppers don't go into the garden around here until mid to end of May. Good idea to start the seeds indoors or buy plants. Peas, broccoli, cabbage, beans, carrots, squash, beets, radishes and sweet corn seeds can be sowed directly in the soil by mid to end of April. Just watch out for rabbits eating the baby plants leaves clean off.
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Happy to be a "Raggedy Ann" in a Barbie World!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
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MrsRooster
True Blue Farmgirl
1168 Posts
Amy
Seabrook
TX
USA
1168 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2011 : 10:22:06 AM
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I can only recommend Square Foot gardening book. You can get it at the library. It is great.
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2011 : 12:58:29 PM
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SQUARE FOOT GARDENING!!! A definite must for your situation. Love the book. Love the method.
And remember, color and diversity. Children love it of you plant flowers with the veges. Marigolds are a must for keepin out aphids and onions are a must for keepin out rabbits.
If you have a deer problem contact your local dog groomers and ask them to keep dog hair for you. Scatter it through the bed and the deer will stay away. You can also lay bars of regular dial soap around the edges. Deer don't like dial soap.
Look into different colored carrots and red cabbage, maybe even some flowering kale, the kind you can eat. Kids like the colors, so don't make everything all green.
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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Mommyswanson
True Blue Farmgirl
463 Posts
Laura
Waukegan
IL
USA
463 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2011 : 1:15:22 PM
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Thanks Ladies!! We are meeting tonight to do some planning.
Laura
"That which does not kill us makes us strong!" "I cast all my cares upon you Lord." |
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pmburk
Farmgirl in Training
24 Posts
Pamela
Fort Worth
TX
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2011 : 5:39:43 PM
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Tomatoes are very easy and always seem to do well. Leaf lettuce & spinach are both pretty easy to grow and are good producers, they just won't do well once it gets really hot outside. Peppers are another good choice.
The only things I have had issues growing, that I might not recommend for beginner gardeners, are any root veggies and some squashes. |
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Mommyswanson
True Blue Farmgirl
463 Posts
Laura
Waukegan
IL
USA
463 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2011 : 5:55:37 PM
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How hard is cauliflower? One of my girls really wants to grow cauliflower.
Laura
"That which does not kill us makes us strong!" "I cast all my cares upon you Lord." |
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MrsRooster
True Blue Farmgirl
1168 Posts
Amy
Seabrook
TX
USA
1168 Posts |
Posted - Apr 05 2011 : 07:05:50 AM
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You have to pull the leaves over it so it stays white. It does better further south.
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
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Garden Gate: Help needed for a beginner vegetable gardener |
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Help needed for a beginner vegetable gardener
