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duluth, MN
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Posted by bonniejean 6, Osage County, OK (My Page) on Sun, Jul 20, 08 at 13:40
| Hello,
I may be pursuing a job in Duluth.
A big concern of mine is growing plants and vegetables there. From what I can acertain, Duluth is in Zone 4a-b? Am I correct?
What is your safe date for planting tomatoes? Do you start them indoors to get a jump start?
Thanks for your help.
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RE: duluth, MN
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Bonniejean,
There is a Minnesota forum. You will probably get more answers if you post there. good luck |
RE: duluth, MN
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| Hello, welcome to Duluth! I live about twenty miles from Duluth. I usually plant tomatoes around the first week of June. It can and does freeze after May 15. I only plant varieties that reach maturity in less than 70 days. This year I was unable to start any plants from seed so I was forced to buy plants. I planted Mr. Stripey, Oregon Spring, and Sun Sugar. This is the best I could come up with after shopping at about eight or nine greenhouses and nurseries. I am beginning to believe all anyone here wants to sell or plant is Early Girl. Boring. One factor that you need to pay attention to is whether the plant sets fruit in cooler temperatures. The Mr. Stripey is just this week getting blossoms. The Oregon Spring is doing well with a lot of tomatoes. This is my first year trying Mr. Stripey, so I am assuming we needed warmer nights for it to fruit. Oregon Spring has done well for me in the past. Silvery Fir Tree, and Ropreco for a paste tomato do well. Many say Stupice is a good producer here. I plant my hot peppers in pots so I can move them around in the fall. Many vegetables that are planted directly as seed in the ground further south, must be planted as seedlings here to be productive, cucumbers and zucchini are two examples. You can even buy lettuce seedlings. The city of Duluth is in zone 4, but the further you are from Lake Superior the more likely you are in zone 3. I hope this helps. Welcome to Minnesota! |
RE: duluth, MN
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| Hello from Duluth. We've always been considered zone 4 (perhaps 4b on the new maps) here, we get a little "moderation" because the city raps around the shores of the Greatest of the Great Lakes. Usually safe to put tomatoes out around Memorial Day - that's the safe date for just about anything going into the ground since the ground temp is 50 degees or so by then. I don't do seeds, for anything other than zinnias which are direct sown in the ground, or vegetable gardening - if I want a tomato plant or pepper plant I'll buy established plants and raise them in pots on my patio, like I'm doing this year. People do start seeds and have successful vegetable gardens, however. There are plants you grow in OK that wouldn't survive the winter here, of course - but we certainly don't lack for all manner of perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees and conifers. And no Japanese beetles if you're a rose fan. I grow daylilies, Asiatic, Oriental and true Tiger Lilies, delphiniums, platycodon, sedums, Veronicas, Salvias, hostas (can take full sun here), double pink baby's breath, tall bearded iris, Siberian Iris, northern grown azaleas, coral bells, nepeta, peonies, dianthus, artemisias, astilbes, ferns, garden phlox... and the list goes on. Clematis does beautifully here as do lilacs. The beauty of this climate is that it's rare for things to burn out or get overgrown and floppy over the course of the summer. |
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