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jennifer_gardener

starting a garden

jennifer_gardener
18 years ago

I am starting a vegetable garden from seed. There will be tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash and brussel sprouts. I was wondering if any one knew when to start the seeds indoors and what month i need to plant them outside. I live in alabama in zone 7

Comments (3)

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    18 years ago

    You've got a mix of both cool season and warm season crops there. I would have started the brussels some time ago - they are very definitely a cool season crop, often started in early fall and allowed to grow through the winter, as cold weather/frost imparts a sweetness to them. Starting them now may allow sufficient time for them to mature and harvest before warm weather hits, but I wouldn't bet on it. Too much heat will cause them to bolt and not develop the sprouts well. And the taste can be very bitter if grown with too much heat.

    Warm season crops (tomatoes, pepper, squash) are generally started about 8 weeks before last frost date - the seed packs should be more specific. They will need to be hardened off (gradually acclimatized to outdoor temperatures) before transplanting outside. Unless soil temperatures have warmed sufficiently, these will just sit there and languish. In my zone 8 climate, one is cautioned to never plant these out before Mother's Day at the earliest, sometimes not before June 1st, but then we tend to be very mild and soils and air temperatures don't warm up sufficiently here until well into June.

  • meldy_nva
    18 years ago

    Buy a cheap instant-read thermometer to check your garden's soil temperature (3" below the surface). The "last frost" date is an average and can vary by weeks in reality. And even the definition can be confusing, since sometimes it means the last time temperatures dip below freezing and sometimes it really does mean frost, which may or may not form in below-freezing temps. But last frost date is a good general guideline, so use it to compute backwards: count the days-to-germination (on seed packet) and add at least another 2 to 4 weeks to give the seedlings time to grow true leaves; now subtract those days/weeks from your frost date, and that will tell you the average date to start the seeds for tiny plants. Tomatoes and peppers actually need 4 to 6 weeks after sprouting, while squash isn't too fond of being transplanted so no more than 3 weeks after sprout is time to get them outside. Beans also don't like being transplanted and are usually planted right where they are to grow. Green beans can go into soil that is 62F+, so can the tomato babies. Limas want 68F+. Squash and other cucurbits seem better off if the soil is at least 70F, also a good temp for the pepper babies (but note that chilis prefer even warmer soil). You can speed up the soil warming by mixing compost into the top 10" or make the growing bed from lasagna; add water if needed to moisten the soil to damp; and cover the row with "row cover" (a special ultra-lightweight material) and then with a sheet of plastic - cheapo dropcloths from box stores does just fine. A couple weeks of sunshine is usually sufficient to raise the soil temp by 15 degrees -- which may give you another month prior to frost date! If you do pre-heat the soil and plant into it, keep the row cover handy to cover the seedlings at night and again when the days are frosty. The plastic should go over the seedlings only when temperatures are frigid -- sun through plastic can raise the air temp high enough to cook the plants and you don't want that. So actually you have lots of flexibility as to just when the seeds get started and the babies graduate to the big outdoors. You notice I use a shorter-than-usual time span from germination to outside for most vegs, that's because I've found that IF the soil temp is okay, the vegs do far better if moved while very small rather than having their young roots possibly/probably cramped in starter pots until the top portion is larger. Air temps can be moderated with the use of row cover. In general, most vegs will tolerate fairly cool air provided their roots are comfortable.

  • meldy_nva
    18 years ago

    I forgot to recommend getting a copy of 'Square Foot Gardening' by Bartholomew. Used is fine if you can find one. It has excellent advice for beginning gardeners, and lots of common sense for planning/planting. I still use my original first edition when plotting the veg garden as it has a great section on sucession planning: charts that make sense of seed-to-harvest timing -- after all, unless you are planning to freeze or can the extra produce, who really wants to pick/use 10 lbs of beans every day or 30 pounds of squash?!

    I've noticed no one seems to warn you: squash plants have very prickly stems! Grow the plants in a large pot or a separate area all by themselves, with lots and lots of room to walk around them - at least a 6'x6' square for each hill. Wear a long-sleeved nylon jacket/windbreaker and latex gloves when picking; and don't forget that a happy squash plant will need to be picked every day or two. BTW, surround the planted squash seeds with radishes (any kind) and let the radishes grow; they seem to be very effective at prevent squash borer.

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