Yeah but I set them out a few weeks ahead of any planting to warm up the soil then plant. You would be amazed the difference it makes. Even in the the 20's I have success with cold season plants like lettuce and spinach. You can grow them well into late Fall after frosts.

I would NOT put out plants like tomatoes. Be dead quick.

Thanks for posting info on cold frames guys. Made one this weekend, and ready for broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce now. Will give time for soil temp to rise as bean suggested.

Question though - how "air tight" does it need to be for the cold nights? Seal all cracks?

I would seal it as best you can. I am going to show you the difference to what happens when a cold frame is used in Spring and Fall. The followwing pics are one w/ cold frame and one is dirt right beside it. All I was doing with this one was to warm up the soil. Makes a difference.
Put the stuff in the ground and it will be ok.

My mom found this on the Internet....

Put Epsom salt and sugar into each hole with your plant. It makes them grow larger, leafier, and greener...

Use about 1 Tablespoon in a 1 to 1 ratio. You can also dissolve 1 Tablespoon into a gallon of water and use it to water your plants.

I read this weekend about mixing up evaporated milk according to the instructions and then water your tomatoes and other plants with it. Fast effective way to get calcium to the plants. We picked up 15 more two year old crowns of asparagus to add to what we already have. Just waiting on the ground to dry out to plant them. Gonna add a load of manure later his week too.

I keep a shop light over new pepper and tomato plants through the night. If they are light deprived they will become tall and spindly, and may even die.

I try to keep the light tubes within an inch or two of the young plants.

I always put epson salt in with my tomatos that way they dont get brown spots. My tomatos are about 10 inches tall. I have them in big plastic tubs. when it is warm I wheel them out cold back in. Had tomatos last year by end of May.

NO horse poop when planting asparagus it will burn it up. Trust me I did it on 50 plants several years ago. Stark Bros sent me another 50 plants though.

Lime dust helps too.. free from most mills down hete

Im planting some of my garden this weekend, lettuce, peas, parsnips, broccoli and such. I was going to till my garden today but I'll wait until Friday. Long term forecast looks good. Ive also got a few oat/clover food plots to plant but the ground is to wet in the areas I want to plant. h.h.

I tilled and planted spinach and lettuce today. I wont plant any more until the frost date is over. h.h.

We got sugar peas, lettuce, spinach, onions, and potatoes planted today. I will plant a second sucession in 2 weeks.

I overdid it today and had my doc all over me to go slower w/ my new knee. Luke helped me out in a big way today, so we got some stuff done. Let it rain

Planted potatoes today, lettuce and spinach earlier this week. Now just nursing along my tomato, brocolli and pepper plants.

Ground moisture was perfect this morning for tiller, only did enought to get a row of red potatoes in. Waste of fuel to till it all up this early.

So has anyone built a raised bed yet? If so, could you post some pics....

After reading some of you are planting potatoes I planted two rows, one row red and one yukon gold. h.h.

Reading my mind Joe. We did the same thing but I added sugar snap peas to the mix. My kids love em.

For those looking at raised beds there are tons of pics, just Google pic it. There are many ways to make a raised bed.

Asparagus is up

Anyone ever planted potatoes in tires before. I got them up to 3 tires high last year then I made a boo boo. They say you can go up to 4 tires high then lift tires off an push mound of dirt over an there they are.

Several years ago a friend of mine planted taters in tires. He used straw in the tires and when he dumped the tires over it was full of mice and no taters....lol I saw video the other day where they used an old plastic trash can with holes in the bottom and store bought compose. They put 6" of compose in, planted 4-5 seed taters and covered it up with 4" of compose. They keep adding compose as the plants grew up. Sounds good if you have a old trash can.

I will say any time Ive tried growing vegetable in plastic buckets they take a lot of water. h.h.

I cut ground all day yesterday... lime and fertilized a quarter acre and sowed it in wild flowers.. much more to do..

I tried to grow vegetables in buckets last year and it failed terribly.....

Planted 15 asparagus crowns and a bed of lettuce last week. My established asparagus is up about 3 inches as of Wednesday.

How about some garden updates??

Got the raised beds pretty well full with tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, squash, cilantro, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower.

I don't claim to be an expert, so need some feedback - how late will the colder weather plants produce? Just cut broccoli before this warm spell...is it getting too late for this and cauliflower and lettuce??

Bump

Any of you getting ready or makin' plans?

My tiller is sitting out there under about 2 feet of snow at the moment.

I can't wait for spring! I use a mix of oats, peas, and rye as a green manure each fall. I will hit this with some glyphosate and till it under in the spring. The peas are legumes and fix the N to make it bio available. It helps reduce fertilizer needs. I also supplement with horse manure.

I will be expanding my blackberry patch, growing corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, and peppers.

I did a speaking engagement in KY about 4 years ago and there was a guy in his 90's there. We got to talking at a dinner one evening about gardens. I guess he was famous for his garden and produce. He did the same thing you did and tilled it under when it got 6-8". He swore by it.

I used radishes this past Fall and had Doc bring down some primo mule poop.

Sounds like a good plan Chevy.

Going to increase the size of my garden this year. Looking at catalogs and may set up a hothouse this year. Going to modify my variety of veggies this year also.

where are you guys ordering your seeds from?

I am thinking of giving Harris seeds a try this year. I have ordered from Gurneys in the past with mixed results

http://www.harrisseeds.com/storefront/default.aspx

Had nothing but positives with Gurneys.

I am def. doing potatoes in tires again this year. They did very well an no digging is the best part.

clue me in on the tire taters

Get a car or truck tire an lay flat. Put dirt in an cover up 4 starter taters. When they get high enough add another tire an fill in with dirt carefully. I go up to 4 tires high. When it is time to pick lift all tires up on off an push over dirt. I got 50-80 per tire last year.

So when you say "high enough" does that mean covering up the plant all the way or covering just enough that some is left out? I guess just explain what you mean... thanks.

fill the tube area also or the rim area

I get my seeds from Burpee's and at the farm stores.

Cutting back on what I plant this year and only planting veggies I like to eat. The last couple years Ive been planting some veggies for other people and gave a lot away.

In the winter my brother buys cheap cellophane tape at the dollar general store and makes seed tapes, sticks a seed at the recommended spaces. He said it works great.

I plan on buying one of those planting wheels that you roll over the ground so I don't have to get down on the ground on my hands and knees. My back just ain't what it use to be. h.h.

http://www.amazon.com/Earthway-1001-B-Precision-Garden-Seeder/dp/B00002N66A

High enough meaning when I add the next tire an fill in with dirt there will be some green sticking up. I dont fill in the tube area. I get a heavy duty trash bag an as I go up I pull up the trash bag up it helps keep moisture in.

I just got one of those earthway planters and I really like the looks of it!!!

I have had excellent dealings with seeds from Totally Tomatoes. They have a wide variety of veggies, not just tomatoes. I started buying heirloom varieties, and save my seeds to replant, year to year. If I get tired of one strain, or I need a certain strain for canning, or spaghetti (spelling??) sauce, I usually have one "in stock". What's great is my Dad does it too, so we swap seeds every year. My favorite meal, year after year, is when your plate is covered in food you harvested, 100% from the field to the fork. Back strap, fried taters, wilted lettuce and REAL cornbread. Needless to say, my cardiologist doesn't get an invite.

+1 on the tires.

I till a deep row, hoe the dirt to both sides making a deep valley, then plant seed taters and cover with dirt as needed, same as the tires. You can do onion sets the same way, but use straw instead of dirt. You'll end up with onions the size of softballs by years end.

Going to grow my own seed potatoes starts this year.
What type of sweet potato does everyone plant?

I buy my seeds from Henry Field's, they have a big selection.
I store my seeds in the freezer until planting time.
The seeds I start early indoors, I soak in a cup of water for a day before I plant them. It really helps.

I always start about 5 tomato plants in large containers. If it is going to get cold I will pull them in the garage for the night then put back out. I always have tomatoes by Memorial Day.