When Do I Plant?

When i first moved to upstate New York, I asked the simple question: When do I plant?  In a previous post I talked about getting information from traditional resources. I'll list all of the bits of information I received and then what I, years later, do.

When can I put plants out?

• Plants can go out after May 15th
• You can put them out on Memorial day
• The first week of June

When is the last snow?

• May 1st
• May 15th

And then I met a little old lady that told me she saw snow, as a child, on June 12th.

Strawberries - Picture Of The Day 01-14-2013

I usually have 100 ever bearing strawberry plants. I used to grow golf ball size annual strawberries but I found that slugs loved them more that I did.  I got tired of getting excited about seeing a golf ball size strawberry grow only o see a slug on it when i went o pick it. The ever bearing are nice because they are constant source of supply of little flavor bombs. If I'm having a bad day, I just pop a couple in my mouth and things seem better. 

I have deep beds so the strawberry roots can get plenty of water.

Tonight the Forecast is 25F

Transplanting Nasturtium Seedlings In Peat Pods To Peat Pots

Transplanting nasturtium from peat pods to peat pots is simple. Follow the steps below:

Soak some potting soil.

Get your peat pots ready. I use 4".

Get a seedling in a peat pod ready.

Put moist potting soil in the peat pots. Not too compact.

Create a hole in the soil slightly larger than the peat pod.

Now for the trick !!!! As you put the peat pod into the hole, spin the peat pod slightly to get all of the root into the hole. The spin will prevent the tender roots from snapping off as you place it in the hole.

Repeat

And 2 weeks later they will look something like this.

Enjoy !!!!!!!

After The Coldest February And March In Recorded History - The Tree Peony Starts To Bud

The tree peony was given a healthy dose of rotted cow manure. The manure can work its way into the soil as the ground thaws and the spring rains begin. I'll mulch after the weather gets a little warmer. It can snow anytime until early June here. If the weather gets bad again, I'll cover the plant with a heavy duty 55 gallon industrial plastic garbage bag and some clothes pins.

A couple of sunny days and temps above freezing. Voila ! Buds !!!

Rudbeckia, Coneflower, And Other Plants July 4th 2013 Front Garden Status Part 2

Continuation of the previous post.

 Coneflower

 Rudbeckia

 Rudbeckia

 Zinnia

 Zinnia,  rudbeckia

 Rudbeckia, zinnia

 Rudbeckia, zinnia

 Denver Daisy

 Rudbeckia

 Red Currant

 Raspberry

 Rudbeckia

 Denver Daisy

Rudbeckia, Coneflower, And Other Plants July 4th 2013 Front Garden Status Part 1

I will post pictures of the front garden at various times of the year.

Since the sun hasn't been out in a week where I live, I decided to post some hot summer garden pictures to brighten things up. All annuals are grown from seed.

Lillies

Rudbeckia

Zinnia 

Marigold and Rudbeckia

Lillies

Coneflowers, rudbeckia, lillies, zinnias, weeds

Coneflowers, rudbeckia, lillies, zinnias, weeds

Hops

Zinnias, rudbeckia, denver daisy, coneflower

Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia, coneflower

Rudbeckia

Coneflower

Rasberries