Uncle Mike’s Handy Garden Guide
Winter is almost here. The garden and seed catalogs are coming in the mail daily. I reminisce about wonderful gardens past. Next year I’m going to have the best garden ever. Then I remember that by July I’m sick of watering and weeding. I wonder what I was thinking, planting so many tomatoes.
Here’s the way I plan to plant and harvest this coming year. There are a couple of things I’ve learned the hard way and am going to pass on. For example, plant early and plant often. Animals and bugs will get some of your harvest, so plant extra for them. And my favorite, if you need only three tomatoes and plant only three, all will die. If you need only three tomatoes and plant a dozen to guarantee some survive, all twelve will live. Go figure.
If you want to have a great garden this year, follow my lead and you won’t go wrong.
Garden Tomatoes:
transplant seedlings from any of the great local nurseries & support your local businesses. If you don’t get the seedlings in the garden before June 20th, don’t bother. The season is too short for many varieties.
Plant May 15
Lettuce & Spinach:
plant seeds, they prefer cold weather and get very bitter with hot weather. I plant only for fun. To be truthful, the stuff from the supermarket is usually better than my own. Still, I can plant weird varieties to add color and texture to my salads. The neighborhood rabbits like them very much.
Plant
Head Lettuce April 1
Leaf Lettuce April 1
Spinach April 1
Onions, Shallots & Chives:
plant sets. Try to let them fully mature before harvesting. This can be very hard with sweet, wonderful shallots. They don’t like weeds or to be crowded. If you pick the tops for salad greens, always leave a few on each plant. Never cut them all. Chives can be left in place and will come back every year. Hint: cut the chive blossoms and place them in vinegar. Remove them after a couple of weeks. You will have a great salad dressing.
Plant April 1
Peas:
plant seeds as soon as the soil can be worked. Once they’ve gone by, pull them up. Dig them into the soil and let it rest. Then plant a second planting in the same spot. They fix nitrogen into the soil and are a great natural fertilizer. In my experience, the fall planting must be done between August 1st and 7th. Otherwise, you won’t have a long enough growing season.
Plant April 1
Beans:
plant seeds. They are very easy to grow. It’s a good kid’s project. But, they taste like shoe leather if you let them go too long before harvesting. They also have a habit of ripening while you’re away on vacation. Be sure to have a neighbor pick them. They can enjoy them while you’re gone. Bush-types are easiest for the suburban gardener.
Plant May 3
Carrots:
plant seeds. I plant them out of spite. Mine usually look like mutants from the black lagoon and taste like it too. But the tops are nice in a salad. My advice, buy them in the supermarket.
Plant April 1
Peppers:
Green or Hot: transplant seedlings, put in the absolutely sunniest spot in your garden. If you don’t get the seedlings in the garden before June 20th, don’t bother – season’s not long enough.
Plant May 15
Squash, Eggplant, Cucumbers & Pumpkins:
Transplant seedlings carefully. They are easy to grow from seeds, but they can overwhelm your garden if you’re not careful. I plant mine in groups of three. I create 4’ diameter mounds and mulch them with leaf mulch. Avoid field hay as it’s full of weed seeds.
The squash borers always find my plants. They kill them around the time we’re really getting sick of squash. So, I don’t care. If you do care, spray for the borers from mid-July on.
Plant
Summer May 15
Eggplants May 15
Cukes May 15
Winter May 15
Pumpkins May 15
Watermelon & Muskmelon:
Like squash, I usually throw some seeds on the compost pile. I position them far away from the garden. Then, I pick what the deer, rabbits, and crows don’t eat. I use them as a decoy, so the animals don’t find the real garden.
Plant
Watermelon May 15
Musk May 15
Corn– Sweet, Native American or Pop:
Plant seeds. They are easy to grow. This is a great kid’s project. I usually plant them too early. The ground really has to be warm for them to grow properly. Even if you don’t get any edible corns, the stalks are useful for Halloween decorations. Also the growing corn stalks make a great support for second plantings of climbing beans or peas.
Plant May 7-30th
This is my plan.
As I mentioned earlier, this schedule has been developed over a few years. I have found it ideal for Sudbury’s climate. I have every good intention of sticking to it. Still, as has happened about every year, some of the planting dates slip because of sports, work & life. Not to worry. You can vary by about a week without any negative impact on your harvest. This is true just as long as you don’t plant before these dates.
In the words of Yogi Berra, “It gets late early out there.” Get started early this spring. You’ll soon be enjoying a wonderful harvest of fresh vegetables next summer.
Besides being a really good gardener, Mike Hunter is an excellent RE Broker.
Text or Call Mike 978-580-1069 today.
His clients appreciate his commitment to delivering a streamlined, results-oriented deal every time.
People also ask about Sudbury Stuff
80% of my business comes from referrals and repeat customers.
Please feel free to send my profile to others who gain from my services. You can also learn more about how I can help them Sell with Confidence.
