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little_red_hen

I'll be moving from FL to TN....

Little_Red_Hen
19 years ago

more specifically, N. Fl zone 9 to the Jackson, TN area. We will also be going from a small suburbian garden to a small farm, with extensive planting. Can anyone give me any tips for the new area that might be helpful?

Comments (17)

  • wilmington_islander
    19 years ago

    You poor thing...replace your jacket/windbreaker with a HEAVY winter coat.

  • PeaBee4
    19 years ago

    Have you checked out the Tennesee Forum? The only thing some of us would know is that a lot will depend on whether or not you are on a mountain or surrounded by several. You'll have an entirely different kind of soil and sun exposure. And ROCKS.

    You should have a ball learning new things and finding out about the many wonderful plants that can't make it in the Florida heat.
    PB

    Here is a link that might be useful: Tennesee Forum

  • anntn6b
    19 years ago

    Perhaps the first really great discovery you'll make is that weeds don't grow full speed through winter. There are different weeds that grow through winter, but they don't make woody centers if you stop weeding in November.
    Near Jackson, there aren't many rock outcrops and you will enjoy seasons. Most tropicals can't handle the zone 7 conditions.
    You'll still feel summer heat but some summer nights can be open window nights.

  • wilmington_islander
    19 years ago

    And Jackson is a wonderful little town. They have a nice railroad museum, a quaint downtown, a nice Double AA baseball park, and it's only 1 1/2 hours from both Memphis and Nashville, but without nearly as much crime. As to plants, there are some things you may want to try to make you feel more tropical, like for a banana, a "musa basjoo", for passionflowers, try "P. incarnata", plant a peach tree and a paw-paw tree...and lots of cannas do quite well there.

  • rosie
    19 years ago

    A small farm--you must be so excited. Congratulations! Coming from a small garden myself, though, I can tell you you can pretty much give up on controlling weeds by pulling them as they pop up. That'll still work for the barrel of mint by your kitchen door, but by midsummer the rest of your property will be head-high and growing (thank goodness for that winter break!), so plan from the outset on large-scale control. For that, first and foremost, you REALLY need to be able to identify your weeds so you can learn their growth habits. Shady woods will pretty much take care of themselves, and the demons advancing over fairly level open ground can be easily defeated with a mower/bushhog. It's those in-between areas that will require 99% of your attention. Have fun, :>

  • Monarchbaby
    19 years ago

    I'm sorry that I have little advice. But I will give you this... don't be nervous about meeting new people. I don't know you so I don't know whether you are the nervous type or not, but everyone is a little nervous when they move. I recently moved away from my parents for the first time. By the way, I live in z9 FL. In Palm Bay. Where do you live? Or used to live in z9 FL?
    ---Monarchbaby

  • PRO
    Nell Jean
    19 years ago

    You'll be able to grow peonies, lilacs, tulips, trumpet daffodils and some other things that die out in the heat and humidity where you've been.
    Bloom where you're planted and enjoy the new discoveries you'll make.

    Nell

  • deep_south_gardener
    19 years ago

    Congratulation! Wow what a move. What an adventure. I'm in zone 9 in south LA so I don't have any advice on gardening in Tenn. I have visited there and know it's a wonderful area of the country. Good luck and do keep us posted on your adventures. God bless you and yours.

    Granny Brenda
    Harvey, LA

  • DeltaTropicsGuy
    19 years ago

    I really am not understanding all this talk about Florida heat as opposed to TN's heat. TN is every bit as hot, if not hotter then Florida in the summer from lack of moderating bodies of water.

    There are plenty of tropicals available to TN, especially West TN. West TN gets cooler than North Florida for example, but not That much cooler. Memphis Jan avg = 50/32. Pensacola Jan Avg = 61/43. That's only an 11 degree avg difference. Tallahassee's low this past winter was 18. My backyard low in Memphis was 19 this winter, 17 at the airport.

    And anything that dies from Florida heat will certainly die from TN heat. I also don't know about this cool summer nights talk. Memphis summer nights are incredibly warm and humid. You can expect to wake up in a pool of sweat if you leave the windows open in our summers.

    Jackson's climate is somewhat cooler in the winter than Memphis, but the summers are just about equally hot and humid.

  • wilmington_islander
    19 years ago

    Its actually hotter at night in the summer in Memphis than it is Tallahassee, but the frequency, and duration of hard freezes, the lack of solar radiation relative to Tallahasse, all make it much, much more challenging to grow most tropicals. But it can be done.

  • PRO
    Nell Jean
    19 years ago

    It isn't the heat in growing plants like peonies and lilacs and certain bulbs, it's the lack of winter chill.

    There are many plants that do thrive father north that definitely will melt in summer in zone 8b. I've gardened 50 miles north of Atlanta and I garden 50 miles north of Tallahassee and in my humble experience there's definitely a difference. Extended cold spells in winter have a different effect than an occasional night or two of temperatures below freezing.

    Are growing conditions the same in Memphis as in Jackson, 1 1/2 hours away?

    Nell

  • DeltaTropicsGuy
    19 years ago

    In summer, there is not much of a difference between Jackson and Memphis. Maybe just a couple of degrees. In January there is a difference of about 5-10 degrees.

    But my point earlier is that summer heat in Florida is no difference from summer heat in Memphis. Summer brings 95 in St Louis, 95 in Memphis, and 95 in Tallahassee. So my point is that if it will not take Florida heat, it won't take TN heat. See what I'm saying?

  • PRO
    Nell Jean
    19 years ago

    I see what you're saying, Delta Guy.

    One can go to weather.com and type in any city on the Local Forecast bar at the top and see average highs and lows and record high and low temperatures. There's a month feature that lists the present month, the previous month and the forecast for the next month. All of it interesting, especially what the duration of extreme highs and lows are, both records and averages. There are features for humidity, too. So, Lil Red Hen, you can take a look for yourself at Jackson's weather.

    My experience with summer highs and humidity is that prolonged temperatures around 100 degrees starting in June plus high humidity cause many plants, dianthus for example, to eventually 'melt.' They seem to be able to tolerate extremes for a while but the prolonged heat combined with the humidty finally gets them. Caryopteris is another than melted for me after surviving the winter.

    I'm still envious that Lil Red Hen will be able to grow lilacs and peonies.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Weather

  • LoraxDave
    19 years ago

    I think trying to draw comparisons between Jackson, Tennessee and Tallahassee or Pensacola, Florida climatewise is a huge stretch. Even during last Winter, which was very mild in the Southeast, Jackson fell to 9 degrees. And in January 2003, Jackson fell below 10 on 4 nights in January (including an absolute low of 3 degrees) and 11 out of the 31 dates had minimum temps below 20 degrees!

    See the real data for yourself at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/meg/mklcli.html

    Cold weather like that would be unheard of in Tallahassee, Florida, which might see single digits once or twice in someone's lifetime.

    Jackson, TN is a solid Zone 7 climate, and that's what I would plan for if I was gardening there. Below zero weather is definitely going to happen at some point. Sure, there are nice tropicals that will grow there, and the Summers are definitely brutally hot and humid, but it's definitely NOT just a minor little change from Florida... no matter how much someone may wish that it was.

  • DeltaTropicsGuy
    19 years ago

    Some of you are not getting the point here. The main reason I first posted and have continued to post was on the topic of summer heat between TN and FL. This had nothing to do with winter lows. I only posted the avg lows because someone asked. The main point I was making was that summer heat is no different anywhere in the South.

  • PRO
    Nell Jean
    19 years ago

    I'm afraid we've really not been overly helpful to Lil Red Hen concerning what she can expect to readily grow in Jackson, TN. Lil Red, I hope you'll find the link below to be helpful.

    Nell

    Here is a link that might be useful: Tennessee Extension Service

  • merriss
    19 years ago

    God Bless You!! I moved here from South Carolina..it really was a shock for me. The soil here in my area is not as "loose" as S.C...learn the words, peat moss, perlite and a new experience. YOu will be able to now have the most beautiful SPRING BULB GARDEN, ever with such ease you will have a case of the "giggles!".
    If you need help..
    merrissandjack@hotmail.com

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