Illinois...

[jdragonwings]

I started early this year in mid February. Tomatoes needed to be up potted twice. They went from starters to 4" pots and then 6". I got the 4" and 6" pots cheap in bulk on Amazon. Peppers got up potted once to 4" pots. Tomatoes and peppers need bright light and room for their roots. Tomatoes need a lot of water. Peppers need to be waterer sparingly, I found that letting the dirt get dry before watering again worked well. If you are growing other things this year, I'm happy to add some advice for other crops.

Thanks that's helpful. I did my calculations wrong and started way too late. But I am also going to plant cucumbers, cantaloupe, pumpkin, corn... I started carrots, peas and lettuce a few weeks ago outside ( those look good).

 

[Molpet]

So... the weather

Seriously though, it's finally going to start warming up, but there's 8 straight days of rain forecasted started Sunday. Agh!

Well we do need the rain. Not as much as the last 3 years, but enough to get out of the drought.

 

[BReeder!]

Well we do need the rain. Not as much as the last 3 years, but enough to get out of the drought.

My yard is in not a drought at the moment. That's my problem. It seems I've received adequate rain over the past few weeks to keep the ground moist. Exposed dirt dries at the surface but is moist just below at about a 1/2" down.

 

[Molpet]

My yard is in not a drought at the moment. That's my problem. It seems I've received adequate rain over the past few weeks to keep the ground moist. Exposed dirt dries at the surface but is moist just below at about a 1/2" down.

Before the last rain, which was 2.5", I had a tenth of an inch of rain for the drizzling week. Also my cousin in Elwood dug post hole and it was dry 3 ft down.

 

[BReeder!]

Before the last rain, which was 2.5", I had a tenth of an inch of rain for the drizzling week. Also my cousin in Elwood dug post hole and it was dry 3 ft down.

I need to dig a post hole for a gate into the duck pen before the rains come. I'll let you know what I find.

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

I dont hear many people talking about growing broccoli. I've grown it several times and it's a good plant.
Start it very early. Just cut off the crown as needed before it shoots. In summer when it's too hot it stops growing but leave the stalks and when it cools off it will start growing again.

Also look, my wheelbarrow did art

 

[BReeder!]

I dont hear many people talking about growing broccoli. I've grown it several times and it's a good plant.
Start it very early. Just cut off the crown as needed before it shoots. In summer when it's too hot it stops growing but leave the stalks and when it cools off it will start growing again.

Also look, my wheelbarrow did art
View attachment 2667037

That's actually a really cool picture. That would likely sell in an exhibit. Sort of ridiculous that such simple things would sell for something, but I'd hang a print of that.

 

[BReeder!]

I dont hear many people talking about growing broccoli. I've grown it several times and it's a good plant.

Do you grow it form seed? I've had no luck with it.
I also direct sowed it when I attempted and couldn't tell the difference from broccoli sprouts and some weeds so it was just a mess. I now start things indoors and transplant as much as possible, especially if I never grew it before and am not sure what the sprout should look like.

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

Do you grow it form seed? I've had no luck with it.
I also direct sowed it when I attempted and couldn't tell the difference from broccoli sprouts and some weeds so it was just a mess. I now start things indoors and transplant as much as possible, especially if I never grew it before and am not sure what the sprout should look like.

Yes I've grown from seed. But I've tried other times and seeds never sprouted so might be hard to grow from seed? Not sure. Last year I got 3-4 harvests from each plant. They are cold hearty. I was chopping last fall with snow on the ground.

 

[BReeder!]

Yes I've grown from seed. But I've tried other times and seeds never sprouted so might be hard to grow from seed? Not sure. Last year I got 3-4 harvests from each plant. They are cold hearty. I was chopping last fall with snow on the ground.

If I find a spot, I might decide to add some to the garden. It may be late for a Spring harvest, but the idea of a Fall/early winter harvest of broccoli is a tasty one. DS likes broccoli too. He calls it dinosaur trees (reflecting how we got him to eat broccoli).