What's your garden schedule this year?

Hi Folks,

I recently reserved a 19' x 30' plot from the Naperville Park District and am preparing and to start my vegetable garden for this year.

I was just curious what all of you out there are planting, and what activities you are engaging to enrich your soil, etc. ?

Officially, the Napeville Park District opens April 25th, so until then I am biding my time, trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible and starting to explore the world of vermi-composting in preparation for the season.

So far, this is my plan to prepare my soil:

1. Double Dig
2. Incorporate partially composted organic matter
3. Enrich the soil with Llama manure and worm castings
4. Prepare the soil with a blend of beneficial mycrhozial, bacterial and fungal species from fungiperfecti.com
5. Introduce an on-site composting trench for the production of worm castings throughout the year
6. Innoculate the site with garden giant variety mushroom spawn

So far, these are the seeds I've ordered:

Valentine's Day Radish Mix
Chioggia Guardsmark Beet
Matt's Wild Tomato
Costata Romanesco Zucchini
Provider Bean
Lemon Cucumber
Improved Rainbow Mix
Cylindra Beet
Lacinato Dinosaur Kale

I'm also interested in growing: More varieties of tomato, corn, summer squash, ground cherries, carrots, pak choi, mustard greens, etc.

At any rate, I'd love to hear what you guys are up to concerning your kitchen gardens, and am open to minded to any feedback you might have!

Thanks,
Josh

Hope that llama manure is well-aged, or ideally part of a pre-existing compost. You could have some serious problems if it's fresh manure. Best to put anything like that on in the fall, spade it in well, and let winter do its job, IMO.

Do you always do that much soil prep in the spring? Not a criticism, just curious.

Josh,

I have my plot too...5KK, in the organic section. I started my broccoli seedlings a couple of weeks ago with the poblano and green peppers. On Wednesday, I started the tom's, 3 varieties, and they have popped through the soil and are now under my homemade lighting system.

I will start the squash and the cuces this week. I plan on direct seeding the sugar snap peas when the ground is warmer. I will round everything out with some herbs...

I am planning on renting a tiller from Depot, PM me if you want to share it and save a few $$....

KevinT

Sundevilpeg:

Although I've done a bit of research, I'd love to hear your opinion. I've been container gardening for years, and admittedly, it's a much different beast. As far the llama manure goes, I believe that this manure has been pre-composted. I'll be sure to inquire before I proceed with the purchase however.

Do you have any techniques that you'd recommend for preparing your soil in the spring?

KevinT:

Nice. I am def. interested in the possibility of splitting a roto-till rental with you. I'll PM you after I finish this message.

What are you planning on doing in terms of preparing your soil?

Do you think it's too late to start seedlings indoors? I've been slacking and am now considering whether just buying starts might be more economical. What kind of lighting set up do you have? I'm debating with myself whether the $50-$60 required to get a good lighting set-up would be better spent on a quality starts, that were started at the proper time.

Are the organic plots the same size as the conventional ones? I'm excited about all the space.
It's good to hear there are some LTH'ers gardening in Naperville.

Josh, it's not too late to start seedlings, depending.....

Seedlings usually need a minimum of 3 and upwards of 8 weeks before you transplant them. Then, once you transplant, you determine how long it will be for them to supply you with the rewards based on the packet. And, if that is 80-100 days or longer, it would be hard to get any crop in. As you noted, you also need to have a decent lighting system (doesn't have to be anything expensive - in a past life, I hung grow lights from some old cabinet I had - I used that for years). Bottom heat isn't necessary for many of the things we put in gardens. As long as the house is at least 65-70, most things will do just fine. (Of course, there are many things that need very specific growing conditions - I'd stick with the things that are pretty basic until you've had some experience - or try those things with a back up plan in case you have a learning experience that doesn't result in a plantable plant.)

As long as you choose items that transplant well (some seeds just do not like transplanting) and choose varieties that have a shorter growing season than, say, 75 to 80 days, you should be fine. That will mean some peppers and tomatoes are out of the picture, but some are still fine.

And, if you don't mind starting to harvest in September, you could plant just about anything. Not quite, but just about.

The opposite of that are things that need cool weather. Unless started already, they might not have enough time to grow and harvest much before they bolt. So, those might be better started in July for an August planting and a September-November harvest.

Per the ground, it's been a long time since I've had the outdoor garden. I tended to be a bit lazy in the fall and would not do anything beneficial to my soil. I bought vetch and other things to grow as a winter crop and then till in the spring....but never planted them. So, as a bit of a lazy gardener in that regard, I settled for using well-composted materials. I had my own compost heap and used what was completely done. I also had a horse and had varying piles of decomposed manure. I only used the stuff that was no longer hot.

Guess my point is that there are many ways to do it - lots of fertilizers, soil amendments, etc. Find one that you can do given your schedule and the type of person you are. I needed to do it organic, based on what was important to me, so that's what I did. But, I also needed a bit lazy, since I usually am a bit stretched regarding how many things I'm doing. And, I'm cool with the inexpensive and inventive way - like making a grow stand out of an old rack or cabinet. (My set up now is made from a towel rack bought for a few bucks.)

Loftyendeavors:

First off, it's 'peg,' not 'pig.' Second, uncomposted manure from any animal applied directly to the soil can burn the new foliage, as well as introducing harmful organisms into the soil. Also, as noted, most of my prep is done in the fall - it's better to till and introduce compost into the soil then.

Much depends on what you are growing, as well. My garden is predominantly composed of bulbs, herbs, and perennials, with judiciously chosen veg and annuals added when the soil warms. Veg-wise, upon review of your list, DO NOT PLANT ANYTHING TOO EARLY. Planting peppers, eggplant, or especially tomatoes prior to the end of May will prove to be a frustrating experience, as cool soil literally retards the growth and progress of those plants tremendously. Be careful. And use that rototiller!!

Hey Peg, so sorry for the name mix up.

I appreciate the advice. I've been getting some mixed messages on when to plant things, but I'll def be sure to err on the side of caution. And yep, I think I'll be doing some rototilling. My back will certainly thank me.

Lofty - there are a few things we can plant before May 15 in Zone 5 - the general area in and around Chicago - the city by the lake (not sure how far inland) is a sub-zone and can handle doing things a bit earlier.

But many things we grow, from okra to tomatoes to peppers to beans, are from areas of the world where there is no cold weather or frost. They do not do well when planted when it's cold or when there is a danger of frost. So, May 15 is usually the earliest if we have no protection for those plant. Things like Wall-of-water allow you to plant tomatoes earlier (and pepper, etc.)

I haven't used this, but it would probably be a good thing for anyone to have. This one, on a Website, looks very good for here - notice the shading is for planting indoors vs out. This is a chart that seems nicely done that is to use for spring planting. And, another chartto use based on frost dates for fall planting.

These should all say approximately the same thing. The key date is the frost date (not the freeze date). Frosts are often not recorded, so often you use the last freeze date and add a bit of time to it. Here is an articlethat explains that well. Notice that there was a freeze as late as May 23 in 2002 at O'Hare! But Midway's that year was much earlier.

Have these garden plots been in use for several years? Do you know what was planted on them previously? Does the PD have any guidelines? Just some things you might want to check out and maybe test the soil before you decide types of compost. I've used horse manure before but put it down in early winter, many places in the St Charles-Wayne area will let you have it free if you dig and take away.

Are the organic plots the same size as the conventional ones? I'm excited about all the space.

Yep, the organic and non-organic spots are both 19 x 30. There is a good map of the area here:

http://www.napervilleparks.org/docs/9811ef17-5b87-467a-a585-838661eb3cbf.pdf

Kevin T

Right now I have Peas, Radishes, Lettuce, Cress, Arugula, Chard, and Carrots in the ground. The Peas and Radishes just came up and are doing great - based on past experience they should do fine even if we get a couple light snows. I also have a few types of lettuce, spinach and carrots that I planted late last week. There is a very slight chance that a really cold spell could kill them off, but seeds aren't that expensive and I have plenty to spare.

I usually start indoor stuff during the first round of the NCAA Basketball tournament, so I have Tomatoes, Sunflowers, Leeks, Bok Choi, Peppers, Eggplant, Tomatillo, and a bunch of spices doing very well indoors.

I'll start Cucumbers and Squashes in the ground in early May, and will be transplanting the last of my indoor plants outside at the same time.

Here's a partial list of the specific types I'm growing:
Tomatoes: Danko, Glacier, Moskovich, Tiny Tim, Principe Borghese, Lincoln, Oxheart
Lettuce: Rouge D'Hiver, Green Salad, Oak Leaf, Tom Thumb, Little Gem, Quatre Saison
Carrots: Nantes, Chantanay Red Core, Atomic Red, Little Finger, Cosmic Purple
Greens: Arugula, Upland Cress, Swiss Chard
Radishes: French Breakfast, Daikon

I've found that all of these deal pretty well with cold snaps, and I've never lost any of them to spring cold yet.

I just transplanted little baby lettuces outside. I didn't harden them off as well as I normally would; I'm leaving out of town tomorrow and wanted to get at least some in the ground. If they don't make it, I have thirty more baby plants inside for when I get back.

I direct planted chard, spinach and gai lohn today.

Inside, the tomatoes, basil, sunflowers, okra, and something I can't remember (a packet from last year, but not sure what I put in...) are all up, some with their first set of real leaves. The okra is amazing - I know it grows tall, but gee! It's sooooo tall.