Need advice from you gardeners

[Dargo]

I'm a straight novice in gardening. We've always had a garden at my place but it was actually planted and maintained by one of my wife's uncles. He passed away early last year from cancer and I bought a tiller and made a somewhat weak attempt at putting in a garden for my wife. I'd like to do better this year.

I have plenty of equipment including plows, disks, a 7' tiller and a small 6 hp walk behind 18" tiller. My wife wants the usual tomato plant or two, some squash and maybe some green beans and watermelons. Personally I mostly just want some sweet corn and a jalapeño plant or two. My questions mostly have to do with when to plant, how deep to till and what kind of sweet corn is best for big full ears that are great to eat.

So, given that limited information and my very limited garden experience, anybody have any suggestions? Last year I obviously put the watermelons too close as well as the pumpkins. They took over my entire garden! So, any suggestions on how much the above mentioned plants would also be appreciated along with what/how much fertilizer etc. Thanks!

 

[MossRoad]

Your climate is a lot different down there at that end of the state than up here. We had a freeze last night and another expected tomorrow.

I would check with a local farm supply store or garden center in your area. We have a feed mill here that also sells produce, gardening supplies, etc...

Buy your tomato plants started already. It is too late for you to start them yourself from seed. Same for peppers. Melons you can plant directly in the soil after last frost and they will do fine. As for sweet corn, I've tried several times, but each time I check it and say, "Tomorrow it will be ready to pick!" the racoons come out and eat it! So I've given up on that for now.
But I have been told by several folks that grow it succesfully to plant a patch every two weeks from last freeze to the start of July and you'll get a continuos crop until mid September. Good luck. Nothing like grabbing a ripe tomato and eating it fresh off the vine.

 

[charlz]

Here is a hardiness map for your state:

INDIANA USDA Hardiness Zone Map

This will help know what zone you are in for various plants.

Here is a list of last/first frost dates:

Frost Dates - Last Frost Dates In Usa - Forst Dates In The United States

That is a rule of thumb that can vary from year to year.... I use a date that is almost a month ahead of what they show for Boise. Some plants are tolerant of a light frost and some are not. Just be ready to cover.

Not sure exactly where you are but I just looked at the weather for Bowling Green... 35F tonight and then the 50F's for overnight lows..... I'd be planted already

There was a big article in the paper here this weekend that if you look at the last 10 years or so, global warming etc. that we are actually a zone 7 now vice zone 6 with the frost going away sooner and coming later in the fall.

Charles

 

[ToadHill]

My suggestion is to call your local extension office. They can send you liatings of the varities that do best in your area, as well as last frost dates and anything else you need to know. They can also test your soil to let you know how much fertilizer you need, ( why add more than you need) They will also let you know the pH of your soil and what you may need to do to amend it. They are a welth of free info.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'm a straight novice in gardening. We've always had a garden at my place but it was actually planted and maintained by one of my wife's uncles. He passed away early last year from cancer and I bought a tiller and made a somewhat weak attempt at putting in a garden for my wife. I'd like to do better this year.

I have plenty of equipment including plows, disks, a 7' tiller and a small 6 hp walk behind 18" tiller. My wife wants the usual tomato plant or two, some squash and maybe some green beans and watermelons. Personally I mostly just want some sweet corn and a jalapeño plant or two. My questions mostly have to do with when to plant, how deep to till and what kind of sweet corn is best for big full ears that are great to eat.

So, given that limited information and my very limited garden experience, anybody have any suggestions? Last year I obviously put the watermelons too close as well as the pumpkins. They took over my entire garden! So, any suggestions on how much the above mentioned plants would also be appreciated along with what/how much fertilizer etc. Thanks!

Here's my "stratagy" on sweet corn.

Planting date(s). Unless you want a BUNCH at once, then all gone, you might want to make several plantings. Stage them 10 to 15 days apart so your crops will mature at different times. I'm just a few miles south of you, but in a different world, climate wise. Since you're north of the Ohio River, and I'm south, our season starts a few weeks earlier. Soil temperature is critical in corn germinating. You want (at a minimum) 70 degree soil temps. I plant round 1 in mid April. I'd venture a guess you could go late April/early May. Then stagger plantings as mentioned.

Planting depth depends on a multitude of issues. Moisture, temperature, the soil itself, and to a certain degree, the lay of the land. My sweet corn patch is on a hill, high above most of the surrounding countryside. I liken it to being on a lake. The wind NEVER stops blowing. Corn tends to lodge (blow over) so I want it deeply rooted. Warmer temps/warmer soil allows a little shallower planting. Too much moisture and planting too deep don't mix well either. All things being equal, if you have ideal conditions (like that EVER happens) with 70+ degrees, perfect soil moisture, and good soil structure, I like to plant corn @ 2" to 2-1/2" deep. I planted the first of this years crop on the 19th of April, @ 2-1/2", and saw green above ground 7 days later.

Soil prep. Sweet corn varieties do best in a well prepared, loose seedbed. (plow then till?) Corn THRIVES on nitrogen. It takes a well balanced soil nutrient level, but just a tad heavy on the nitrogen. Soil ph in the 6.8 to 7.2 range.

How to plant. Corn doesn't do well in small patches. Corn needs MORE corn to pollinate. You want multiple rows in relatively close proximity rather than a long single row. I plant in minimums of 8 rows wide (and usually 100 feet long) I prefer narrow rows. (30") That gets me a crop canopy sooner than wider rows. That helps with controlling weeds somewhat. (cuts off their sunlight sooner) Don't mix varieties in a given planting. They'll cross pollinate and USUALLY net a poor crop. Overplant rather than underplant. You can cull through the best and depend on having enough. The fringes of a corn plot don't always produce as well.


What variety(s) to plant. I like Silver Queen. Not huge ears, but S.W.E.E.T.!!!! Also, I've had great luck with Kandy Korn, and Bodashious (sp) One of the best, most dependable, longest reigning popular varieties is the classic NK199.

If you have a seperate planing area where it won't cross with your sweet corn, popcorn is a real kick to grow. (Purdue Pop 410 variety) I've got 1-1/2 acres out this year.

 

[dooleysm]

I'm in southern Indiana also, near Jasper. Within the past week I've planted onions, peas, sugar snap peas, and green beans. I was planning to plant more beans, corn, and cucumbers last Sunday but didn't get around to it. Now I'm waiting for it to dry out and warm up from this cold front that's going through. I got some potatoes out too, but I think they got washed out in a heavy rain. I've got some more seed potatoes in the barn and I'm just giving the ones that I already planted a few more days before I till them up and starting over.

For sweet corn, my wife grew up with and likes Silver Queen. It's a slower growing variety, around 92 days I think. I bought some Peaches & Cream this year to plant also, it's a faster growing variety, at 78 days I think. My experience is that you can't really go wrong with the variety of sweet corn, it's all delicious when it's home grown.

With the tomatoes, there's so many different varieties it's hard to recommend just one. If you're just looking for an all round, medium sized, slicing tomato, you'll probably be happy with Better Boy or Jet Star. Those should be easy to find locally. In the past I've put out plants on the first sunny day of the spring and then diligently covered them when there was any inkling of frost. I didn't get any tomatoes any earlier than the folks that waited until mid-May to plant. Now I've given up on that and just wait until it's nice and warm before I bother with tomato or pepper plants.

If you've got any more specific questions, fire away.

 

[rcrcomputing]

Our garden is a bit differant than most.
We've boxes made of 2x12. We filled these with about 30% dirt and then compost. Add some nitrogen and bone meal.
Between these boxes, we have mulch over a layer of heavy landscape cloth. Mulch is free by the truckload from the city of tulsa. We have a dump truck guy that goes to Tulsa often and he backhauls a load for 120.00. That's ALOT of mulch. (NOTE: Kill the ants immediately if it has some!)
The point of all this? I never have to till again. We can plant closer together (more weed control) It holds water well, but drains water well. I can stick my hand a foot down into the dirt at any time.
We have no weeds. We do have worms.

Weed control is the worst part of gardening. We also take cardboard, wet it down, tear it up, put it around the plants with a cover like chopped leaves. Don't weed that either.
My tiller sits in the shed lonely these days... Gardening is MUCH less intensive. Now is way easy..

Other than the large hail a few weeks ago that beat everything to smithereens and caused us to replant.. Oklahoma.. gotta love it!

On a final note: We built a hoop greenhouse last year right next to the giant window by the giant wood stove. We were able to heat it.. So now, I get to build a deck, with removeable polycarbonite panels so we can grow all year long..

 

[MossRoad]

If anyone has a very small garden that you want to get the most out of, I recommend a book titled Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Increadibly productive methods. Heck, I just googled the title and he has a website (go figure, its 2008! ).

The Official Site of Square Foot Gardening and Mel Bartholomew, Originator and Author

 

[ScottOkla]

For sweet corn, we have had problems with Bodacious growing. One with similar taste (near perfection) but easier growing may be Honey Select.

Mostly just depends on your area, but Honey Select is amazing for us.

 

[4720 OWNER]

Also check out the companion plantings and keep within those groups.

Of course there always is planting by the phases of the moon. A waxing moon (getting bigger) for growing and a waning moon for pulling weeds.

Raised gardens are the best, much more comfortable to sit by and produce way better.