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Eco-Friendly Family
when do you start a garden in New England?
Are there any other gardeners up here? Our house (knock on wood) has two raised beds in the backyard that we would very much like to use this summer.... we won't be closing until April 15th. Is that way too late to start something?
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Re: when do you start a garden in New England?
Hi there - The almanacs in our area actually advise to wait until after either Mother's day or Memorial day - I can't remember which.
Last year I grew from seed and put them outside in late April and a lot got killed. I started more from seed right before Mother's day and transplanted around mother's day and it was fine.
If you are buying plants, they'll be a little bigger.
I didn't get anything out of the garden until late June I believe. Reaped June - September and a few things into October since we had that very early one day freeze in the fall - that zapped a lot of my things.
depends on what you're planting. bulbs i've seen typically planted in the fall. everything else though - small plants, veggies, seeds, etc all have to wait until after the threat of frost is over which is typically heralded as after memorial day though obviously varies year to year.. so you should have plenty of time to get moved in and get your beds set up with whatever you want!
*is jealous* lol..
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Really just depends on what you are growing....cold weather plants may be fine earlier (sugar snap peas, kale, collards, lettuce, spinach, etc.) but tomatoes, peppers, etc will really have to wait.
Check with your local extension service online...they will probably have a planting time table for your area that is very specific to your 'zone.'
If you can't start the seeds, go with already started plants this year. Then you can see what does well. Our first two years with a garden was hit and miss. And definately nothing in the ground until Mother's Day. And even then you might have to cover it for a week or so.
Last summer was so rainy that the soil in the beds might need lots of compost. We lost a ton of good topsoil out of our beds last year. We are expanding the garden this summer and are eating tons of organic fruit this winter to have enough good stuff to add into the soil!
Yeah, we were thinking we'd probably have to replace the soil in the beds. Partly just becuase we don't know what the guy was using who lived there before and partly becuase we don't know if he was using them regularly or not, but maybe we can tell that when we look at them more in a couple months?
I wouldn't think that would be too late. Most of our stuff can't go out before May and we're in a much warmer climate zone than New England.
If you're in Massachusetts start here for the BEST information - your extension office: https://www.umassextension.org/index.php/information/gardening
If in another state google "home vegetable gardening in *state*" and look for the extension office's website. Some are better than others. It will tell you what to plant and when for the different areas of your state. Most also have done research on what varieties are best for your soil/climate
You can replace the soil or you can (again) contact your county extension agent for pretty cheap testing. They can tell you if the soil is safe for edibles (no lead etc) and also it's composition so you'll know exactly what it's deficiencies are -- if any.