Zone 5 Gardeners United!

[Justso]

I came across a most helpful gardening site: Tim's Square Foot Gardening
http://timssquarefootgarden.com/gardenlayout.comI'm going to poke around with these ideas, and modify with some purchased started plants.
Very helpful, especially the timeline list. According to Tim and the layout, if starting by seed we should have lettuce, celery, broccoli, cabbage and brussel sprouts starting. Peppers and tomatoes start 3rd wk March.
Feel free to share your own zone 5 garden plans!

 

[gmjarvi]

Zone 5a here! Trying to get a handle on my gardening plans tonight! I'll post my schedule here if anybody is interested.

 

[Justso]

Zone 5a here! Trying to get a handle on my gardening plans tonight! I'll post my schedule here if anybody is interested.

Yes please do! Surprised you're 5a up there, aren't you still coated in the snow?
5b here in DuPage county IL. Just getting crocuses blooming today!

 

[gmjarvi]

Yes please do! Surprised you're 5a up there, aren't you still coated in the snow?
5b here in DuPage county IL. Just getting crocuses blooming today!

Yep, absolutely covered in snow still lol. My garlic bed still has 4 feet of snow over it because that's where my husband blew all the snow from the walkway . My garden maybe has 2 feet of snow over it at this point. We got somewhere around 6 inches of fresh snow last week, but it should keep warming up soon. Hoping it will all melt away quickly so I can start my outdoor projects.

 

[Percheron chick]

I'me in the Denver area. Want to try my hand at raspberries and blueberries this year. Biggest challenge seems to be getting the soil ph right. So many good cold hardy varieties out there. Any favorites? Any duds?

 

[gmjarvi]

I'me in the Denver area. Want to try my hand at raspberries and blueberries this year. Biggest challenge seems to be getting the soil ph right. So many good cold hardy varieties out there. Any favorites? Any duds?

I wish I had some advice for you! Other than conifer mulch might help acidify the soil for you so the blueberries will be happy. I have a few planted blueberry bushes in my garden but they seem a little worse for wear...they were put there by the previous owner. I am going to try and perk them up this year.

I wonder if blueberries are similar to honeyberries (aka haskap) in that you need to plant a few varieties to really up the yield? I'm considering trying honeyberry as well, they are supposed to be hardy from what I understand!

 

[Justso]

I wish I had some advice for you! Other than conifer mulch might help acidify the soil for you so the blueberries will be happy. I have a few planted blueberry bushes in my garden but they seem a little worse for wear...they were put there by the previous owner. I am going to try and perk them up this year.

I wonder if blueberries are similar to honeyberries (aka haskap) in that you need to plant a few varieties to really up the yield? I'm considering trying honeyberry as well, they are supposed to be hardy from what I understand!

blueberries loves Sandy Sandy Sandy soil, that's why they tend to be duds here. I don't know, there might be a nice variety for this soil, I suppose I should check around as well. I'm sure it would mean amending the soil to be well-draining.
Raspberries go crazy here. No encouragement needed, especially the wild black raspberries which I love so much around 4th of July. I think that's correct about the pH of the soil, they seem to be collecting under my old pine trees the most

 

[gmjarvi]

blueberries loves Sandy Sandy Sandy soil, that's why they tend to be duds here. I don't know, there might be a nice variety for this soil, I suppose I should check around as well. I'm sure it would mean amending the soil to be well-draining.
Raspberries go crazy here. No encouragement needed, especially the wild black raspberries which I love so much around 4th of July. I think that's correct about the pH of the soil, they seem to be collecting under my old pine trees the most

Good point, maybe I should dig a soil pit to see what I'm working with. I know there's a USGS site where you can look up your soil series but I can't remember how to get to it right this minute.

 

[Justso]

We're going to give something like this a try this year for herbs

 

[gmjarvi]

We're going to give something like this a try this year for herbs

That's cool looking! I've been looking for creative herb planter designs, might have to show that one to my husband.

Never got around to my garden planning last night, but I am sitting down to do it now!

I started some flowers last week (sunflower, petunia, zinnia, helichrysum, marigold, milkweed) as well as celery.