13 replies to this topic

[GirlNextDoor]

A local church is starting a community square foot gardening project. I want to get started NOW while there is still a 4x4 plot left and I have no clue what to plant! Is there a website that shows you what grows in your zone and when so I can choose some things?

I live in an apartment with a dark, shaded patio & 2 cats that eat all my greens. This is my only chance for right now.

We get to keep 50% of our yield & 50% go to "the poor". It's better that not having any opportunity to grow at all. It also uses a huge dead area on the church grounds.

[Amishway Homesteaders]

One of the best sites - and one that is easy to use is:
http://www.almanac.com/
yup that's the good old Farmers Almanac online just like the book you get every year at Christmas time.

There is a garden area that will have everything you need : charts, lists and planting information too.
all very helpful and easy to print out.

Enjoy

[WormGuy]

All of the seed company web sites that I have looked at have a zone planting map on them, might check them out also.




John

[Ambergris]

I went to that almanac site and, by habit, clicked the command to block all cookies from the site. I can't get past the first page, which is darkened, with an advertisement flashing on/off/on/off over top of it.

GND, in Texas you are likely to be either in Zone 8, 9, or maybe 10.
10 means you don't get a hard frost most winters and people grow mangoes around you.
In zone 9 you probably don't know anyone who buys a heavy coat or "warm boots" for their children, and the kids wear shorts 10 or 11 months of the year. Citrus and avocado are commonly grown.
Lower zone 8 means you have four recognizable seasons, but only get snow once every several years. People grow pears, especially sand pears, and satsumas, but very few grow apples. Tea roses are somewhat difficult to grow but vining roses and floribundas are common.
Upper zone 8 gets a little slushy snow at best, in January, maybe, every year. Upper zone 8 means people grow lots of different kinds of apples but their bananas are purely ornamental.

For gardening, the higher your number the more interested you are in the heat resistance of your vegetables. Beefsteak tomatoes grow best where apples grow, while most cherry tomatoes can produce all summer no matter how hot it gets. Bell peppers sulk in the heat, while hot peppers thrive. If you like sweet peppers, look at the mildest of the hot peppers. Potatoes are difficult to grow in the heat, while sweet potatoes are easy...or are supposed to be. (sigh) Eggplant does well in the heat. Lettuce does not. Cucumbers get bitter in the heat. Summer squash thrives. Blue Lake beans wilt, while crowder peas and cowpeas (like purplehulls) thrive. Check your county agent for any charts of what does best in your area.

Edited by Ambergris, 08 May 2010 - 10:59 AM.

[CrabGrassAcres]

http://www.provenwin...arden/zones.cfm
Look in the far right column. Put in your zip code and it will give you your zone. There is also a map with the counties.

[GirlNextDoor]

Thank you so much, ladies.

[Amishway Homesteaders]

Thank you so much, ladies.

WORMIE, they are calling us GUYS ladies again! LOL

we understand but - some of us here are MEN and BOYS (me!) LOL

[Amishway Homesteaders]

I went to that almanac site and, by habit, clicked the command to block all cookies from the site. I can't get past the first page, which is darkened, with an advertisement flashing on/off/on/off over top of it.

That is just an AD so just click off the 'x' in the upper right corner of it and you will back to the main pager.

[Ambergris]

I went to that almanac site and, by habit, clicked the command to block all cookies from the site. I can't get past the first page, which is darkened, with an advertisement flashing on/off/on/off over top of it.

That is just an AD so just click off the 'x' in the upper right corner of it and you will back to the main pager.

I did...

[GirlNextDoor]

OK, I planted a 4x4 plot. 2sf of radishes, 2 sf of jalapenos, a sf of big red bell peppers, 2 sf of cherry tomatoes, a sf of okra & 2sf of spinach. Pastor is gonna ask the gents to put in a whole nother plot for herbs since I have so many seeds & she has more plants. There are about 10 plots there & Pastor's program made the news. The half of the food we donate goes to N.E.E.D which is a program for emergency assistance of families until longer term aid kicks in.

P.S. Very funny, guys.

[WormGuy]

I don't worry about being called one the ladies. I have been refered to one the the girls for many years now by some of my female friends and it makes me feel like I have a special insight into their world. I have a lot of female friends, actually more than I do male freinds. I just have the ability to interact with females a lot better than some men.




John

[Amishway Homesteaders]

I don't worry about being called one the ladies. I have been refered to one the the girls for many years now by some of my female friends and it makes me feel like I have a special insight into their world. I have a lot of female friends, actually more than I do male freinds. I just have the ability to interact with females a lot better than some men.




John

........... same here.

Edited by Amishway Homesteaders, 14 May 2010 - 05:26 AM.

[CrabGrassAcres]

Does that mean you two fellas are in touch with your feminine side? LOL


GND, that sounds like a lovely program.
If you are prepared to do more gardening, be aware that most people who start a plot at a community garden abandon the effort at some point. Someone needs to take those plots and finish the season. You might mention to your pastor that you are willing to take on abandoned plots as long as you get half the produce from each one you tend. There needs to be a time limit to determine if a plot is abandoned before it is too late to redeem it.

[GirlNextDoor]

CGA, she is not my pastor as I am not a member of that church. I am not Pentecostal.

I really like that idea, though. It is smart.