SteveC wrote:
> Looking to start a back yard garden this spring. Any pointers,
websites,
> advice would be great.
>
> Looking to plant Lettuce, Carrots, Potatoes, Turnip, Broccoli,
Cauliflower,
> cabbage and might try green peppers and tomatos. Also some spices as
well.
First thing...start off small and grow. Start with things that are easy
to grow like carots, turnip, cabbage, tomatoes and potatoes. They're
easy to care for and will grow just about anywhere. I built some 4x8
raised beds using simple 2x8s. Three 8 foot lengths and a few nails will
built you a bed...then add about 30 bags of soil, 1/4 or so of a bail of
peat, some composted manure, bone meal and compost.
With that, just add the seeds (carrots, turnip, cabbage). Turnip (and I
believe cabbage too) needs to be covered by a floating row cover for the
first few weeks so that the flies won't lay their eggs on the plants.
When they hatch you get root maggots that feed on the roots of the
plants. I've never tried cabbage, but believe it is also a victim).
Potatoes get buried about 8 to 12 inches down and hills made above them
(you can get two rows in a 4x8 bed). Tomatoes are best planted in
(cedar) pots filled with potting soil. Potatoes and tomatoes share
diseases so they can't be planted together or follow each other. Yukon
Gold are my favorite spud and Scotian my favorite tomato.
You can try lettuce. Just be aware that the slugs like them and when
they reach a certain point, they'll bolt and will be pretty well useless.
I tried broccoli and cauliflower but found they needed more care and the
results were not worth the effort. I tried green peppers and got nothing
worthwhile except a lot of aphids.
Peas (Little Marvel) are an easy crop and what you don't use can be
frozen for a couple months. You can pick them for three weeks or more
and have fresh peas every night (pick them just before they get to full
size...once they get big, the pod gets ****ny and the peas are bitter).
Onions are another easy crop and like the others I mentioned above, they
are easily stored. Just buy a pack of onion sets and stick them in
(pointed end up) about an inch down and watch them grow. Yellow onions
are my favorites.
Slugs are your biggest pest and are best controlled with mulch (which
tears up their soft belly so they don't cross it). You can also surround
your 4.8 beds with some copper. They won't cross that. (Bait and traps
are messy and costly and only partially effective). The slugs loved the
cauliflower, broccoli and lettuce I planted. They don't touch my
carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, onions or turnip.
That's just some info off the top of my head as I watch the
Miami-Pittsburgh post game....
:)
--
We must change the way we live,
or the climate will do it for us.
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