Fall Gardening or Spring Gardening?

11/5/2007 at 4:59:00 PM

Tracy,

My husband and I have been gardening for over 35 years! I would be happy to try to help you.

The first thing I would need to know is where do you live?

We live in the south and we usually have our big garden in the spring/summer.

Now would be the time for planting turnips, radishes,and some onions.

Of course there a different rules for different plants.

You may want to check with your local AG agency or farmer's supply or farmer''s market. Those producers are usually very friendly and will offer you some great tips!

Let me know if I can help.

12/5/2007 at 10:40:48 PM

My mom is a Master Gardner, and her #1 suggestion to me when I first moved here was to take a long walk around my neighborhood and see what other people are growing in their yards--and get some different ideas from their designs.

It also gives you a chance to meet your neighbors and strike up conversations--and people will gladly give you starts off of their plants and all kinds of tips if you get them talking about their yard!

4/10/2008 at 1:42:51 PM

I would think there'd be a different answer for where you live and what you're planting. I suppose that in states where it's warm all the time, you'd just plant whatever you want to at any time of year.

I'm in a "cold state" :-) so the vegetable gardens get planted in the spring, but bulbs for spring flowers and certain trees get planted in the fall before the ground freezes for the first time.

4/20/2008 at 4:35:46 PM

It really depends on where you live and what you are growing. Some "cold hearty" vegetables, like lettuce, are planted in early spring and late fall because they do well in colder seasons. Some vegetables have to be grown mid-summer to avoid frost.

4/21/2008 at 8:09:27 PM

Since we live in Colorado, our active gardening has to take place in mid to late spring. During the fall months, many people plant seeds that need the winter cold to germinate in the spring.

6/2/2008 at 1:14:49 PM

I have a gardening tip. For best results when beginning a garden, it's good to suppress unwanted vegetation. Simply use old black and white newsprint. This will save you money from buying rolls of black plastic 'mulch' or expensive weed mats or chemicals.

1. Lay down about four pages thick where you want to kill off lawn weeds. Cut holes where you plan to plant flowers or plants. Wet it down to keep it in place.

2. Then add decorative bark or homemade chipper-shredded cuttings to hide the paper. Wet it. Now plant

3. Another great tip: You can get free shredded branches by asking tree firms.

7/27/2008 at 12:13:34 PM

A good reason too to prepare your soil in the fall even if you only plan to plant in spring only is the winter snow that comes. The snow brings with it a lot of nitrogen and getting that into the prepared soil is great for your spring garden. So even cold states like Katharina's can get something out of the later seasons.