new garden

[Ernie]

Bought a Yardman rear tiller last month and seeds for myself and my sister. Yesterday I tilled up 300 sq. ft. and going to go over it again this morning before the rains. My sister is deciding if she wants here own or will help work this one. Ordered some bags for growing potatoes and have some covered containers for starting plants. This is my first garden and I am reading and asking questions for information in hopes of having some success for the first attempt. Will be planting carrots, onions, radishes, peppers, peas, beans, tomatoes, and potatoes. Michigan decided gardening centers are not an essential business so getting plants will be difficult. Glad I got seeds early. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

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[JEBar]

we no longer have a garden .... I'm really looking forward to following your project .... please post comments and pictures often

[CT_Shooter]

Your soil looks great, Ernie. My wife and I had a garden for several decades and at one time or another grew all of the veggies you're planting.

We grew sugar snap peas on a fence made of netting which worked really well to allow pollinators to get to all sides of it. They're an early crop, so you should get them in fairly soon. Once they start flowering, the peas will come rapidly and should be picked Daily. We grew our beans on a trellis and just like the peas, once they start flowering, they come rapidly and need to be picked daily. They can be hard to see, so you'll spend a lot of time looking for them at first. After a while, you'll get to know how to spot them more easily. Even still, we would often find them that had grown to about eight or nine inches. We used those for seeds.

Radishes and carrots need to be thinned just after they sprout to separate them if you want decent fruit. We had great success with radishes; not so much with carrots.

You can plant your tomatoes and peppers deep once the seedlings sprout. Starting both of them indoors is best and once they're about six inches tall, bring them outdoors every day for about a week to harden them against the breeze. Then, plant them up to their necks to give them a good strong root system. Depending on the variety of tomatoes, you'll need to prune the so-called suckers that grow out the sides and don't bear fruit.

We had better luck with potatoes than with onions and garlic. Of course, your results will vary. It's a fun activity; I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Good luck. I look forward to your photos.

[Vaquero]

Haven't had one in several years now, but I am going to do one this year, and similar size.
Those potatoes will be your biggest challenge, they need to be in mounds.
We usual just made that row one long mound, never tried carrots.
The others you have are pretty simple and straight forward.
Good luck, and enjoy.

RP

[GunnyGene]

I've had a backyard veggie garden here for about the last 20years. Since our climate and soil is much different than you have up there, the only advise I'd offer is to take a soil sample and have it tested. Most Co-Ops will do that for you for pocket change, and you'll get a read out about PH & what you need for fertilizer, amendments, etc. Well worth it. Give your local Co-Op a call and ask them about it.

[Ernie]

Haven't had one in several years now, but I am going to do one this year, and similar size.
Those potatoes will be your biggest challenge, they need to be in mounds.
We usual just made that row one long mound, never tried carrots.
The others you have are pretty simple and straight forward.
Good luck, and enjoy.

RP

Bought bags from Walmart to plant potatoes in that make sense (to me) in which you add soil and raise bag as they grow. This contains the potatoes which can be harvested through a flap in the side for young potatoes or just dumped out when done instead of trying to dig them up. I guess I will find out if this really works. Going out to pick up some tomato cages and compost this afternoon before they close down Lowes garden center.
Thanks for all the comments, need all the help I can get.

[Mags]

.
Used to do a garden for many years. Adding the above advice. For carrots, they grow best in sandy/loamy/loose soil for length. Otherwise they can end up short and squat. They are sensitive to over watering and can rot in the ground. We grew them in a raised box with brought in sandy loam, raised so that excess water quickly drained away. Similar for turnips and radishes.

We typically grew corn, bush beans, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkin, squash, cucumber, carrots and turnips with marigolds on the perimeter to draw away the bugs. Growing zucchini was forbidden by choice. Too prolific and invasive.

[Ernie]

Mags thanks for the advice on the carrots and radishes. I have no motivation to plant zucchini. CT I appreciate you input on everything you covered. In Michigan all garden centers are now closed but the local hardware store is apparently exempt so I picked up enriched gardening soil at 2 for one pricing for raised beds.
Thanks again to everyone for your help, maybe I will end up with something.

[GunnyGene]

Mags thanks for the advice on the carrots and radishes. I have no motivation to plant zucchini. CT I appreciate you input on everything you covered. In Michigan all garden centers are now closed but the local hardware store is apparently exempt so I picked up enriched gardening soil at 2 for one pricing for raised beds.
Thanks again to everyone for your help, maybe I will end up with something.

I really don't get why Michigan, and I suppose some other States, have shut down garden centers. Or maybe I'm confused by the terminology. Is a Farm Co-Op considered a garden center? If it is, how does the State justify shutting down the ability of residents to grow their own food? All our Co-Ops here are open and selling all the usual stuff - including ammo.

[Ernie]

Michigan is trying to keep people home. Stores now are limiting how many people can be in the stores. They will admit one person only (no couples or families) when someone else leaves once the quota is reached, they want you to get what you need and get out. No wandering around just shopping and landscaping was determined to not be essential. Since that is what the majority of plants at the box stores are about the state shut them down for shopping in as well as the paint departments. Saw where one of the local nurseries starting today was offering curbside pick up for phone in or internet orders. Don't know what the Co-Op in Cass County is doing.