Planting/Growing Your Own in 2016

[RetiredAt63]

@Tris Prior

This has been a weird gardening year for me too.  My tomatoes and peppers have not even tried going outside, I managed to kill my broccoli seedlings (a first) by planting them out too early, and my seedlings don't look good.  I have friends who said all their seedlings died, I am wondering if there is something off in the potting mixes this year.

By the time we are warm enough for hardening off the sun is gong to be very strong - I may use my front porch instead of my back deck at first, it is mostly in the shade.

I have bad knees, they are hurting in sympathy for all those trips up and down stairs.

[Tris Prior]

Yeah, I haven't tried putting the peppers outside (they are still wee so don't need to go in the ground any time soon, I'm more concerned about my gargantuan tomatoes who really want out of their pots), and I learned my lesson with the eggplant.

I haven't seen a correlation between plant health and what soil they're in. I used potting mix for some, and Tomato-Gro soil for some, but not all, of the tomatoes. Compost for a few because that's what I had on hand. Everything that's a cool-weather crop is doing really nicely (OK, the strawberries aren't bearing, but the plant looks healthy), which tells me the problem is most likely shitty weather.

I think I stressed the container tomatoes by a) bringing them outside too soon and b) drying them out by having a fan on them in my boiling hot apartment. I mean, I know my body's totally confused by the wild temp swings we're having. (70 yesterday, high of 46 today, WTF). So the plants must be too.

[Frugal Lizard]

Tris: I think hardening them off can be done in a couple of days.  I have put them out on the asphalt driveway with full sun but then arranged mesh lawn chairs around them so they are only getting part sun.  I have done this a couple of days and then into the ground late in the day and voila - done. 
Just wondering if you used pure compost - it could be too rich for the plants.  Not sure why the root system is not full.  Too much nitrogen can cause too much green leafy growth. 
If you are passed your frost date - I would say - put them in the ground.  You can make tents with whatever if it is going to be cold.  It might be better for the plants if the soil moisture is stabilized.

Peas are up, strawberries are blooming and we are eating basil, lettuce, spinach, collards and parsley from the greenhouse.  If the asparagus and rhubarb were mature enough, we would be picking it.  The arctic kiwi vine made it through the no snow winter and is beginning to leaf out.  I got my black cherry shrub and pear trees on Sunday and planted them despite the hail and sleet and snow that alternated through the day.

[RetiredAt63]

The peas should be up.  I checked and most are not in the soil any more - I think birds ate them.  This is a new problem.  I would plant them in pots to transplant size but I know the roots would be cramped before the shoots were any size.  Hmm, maybe sprout in wet paper towel until a bit of root and then plant and cover?  If I did them in a line I could cover with a light board, but I was planting in circles around tomato cages for support.  Problems, problems. 

[FerrumB5]

The peas should be up.  I checked and most are not in the soil any more - I think birds ate them.  This is a new problem.  I would plant them in pots to transplant size but I know the roots would be cramped before the shoots were any size.  Hmm, maybe sprout in wet paper towel until a bit of root and then plant and cover?  If I did them in a line I could cover with a light board, but I was planting in circles around tomato cages for support.  Problems, problems.

Exactly same problem in my garden. Out of 16 only 1 is up. The rest is gone :(

[Frugal Lizard]

The peas should be up.  I checked and most are not in the soil any more - I think birds ate them.  This is a new problem.  I would plant them in pots to transplant size but I know the roots would be cramped before the shoots were any size.  Hmm, maybe sprout in wet paper towel until a bit of root and then plant and cover?  If I did them in a line I could cover with a light board, but I was planting in circles around tomato cages for support.  Problems, problems.

Exactly same problem in my garden. Out of 16 only 1 is up. The rest is gone :(

I don't think peas are happy about transplanting.  I would soak them overnight to break dormancy and then cover them with mesh to help them avoid getting eaten.

[JoRocka]

I tried to start a compost pile. My BF is having none of it. The fence died in the back yard- and we have to have the land lord come over to have a conversation about it- and he was like- "enough of that pile of shit"- and either buried it or threw it out.
Sigh. Oh well.
I think I'm going to do some hanging planters with tomatoes and call it a day- I don't have the energy or finances with the wedding coming to really do any sort of garden over haul. So- poop. :(  tiny projects for me it seems.

[RetiredAt63]

I had soaked the first batch, they had broken dormancy, nicely swollen, ready to go - and they went, I guess the birds thought I did it just for them.  If they were in a row I could cover, but it is the tomato cage thing.  I had a thought (coffee is good that way) - I have 1L milk cartons that I was going to use for tomatoes, that I can plant them in.  They will have several inches of root room, so hopefully not much disturbance when planting.  I can put some in a row along the cages and cover, then plant the rest in the boxes and move them when they are a few inches tall.  We shall see. . . . . .  The next batch is soaking now.

I don't think peas are happy about transplanting.  I would soak them overnight to break dormancy and then cover them with mesh to help them avoid getting eaten.

[Tris Prior]

Tris: I think hardening them off can be done in a couple of days.  I have put them out on the asphalt driveway with full sun but then arranged mesh lawn chairs around them so they are only getting part sun. 

Will this work even if I don't have a consistently sunny spot to put them in? I live in an apartment building that has a tiny common yard, which is the only place I can put plants out. It gets sun periodically throughout the day, as the sun moves past the various tall buildings that surround mine. By the time I get home from work, there's still a bit of evening sun but it's not strong or long-lasting. The weekends have been cloudy and rainy so no sun then either.

I did use mostly compost in some of the containers as I didn't want to buy yet more potting mix for plants that are only going to spend a couple weeks in their containers before going in the bed. Oddly, those are doing well. It's just the determinate tomatoes that are in bigger pots that are failing. Those are either in the Tomato-Gro soil or in potting mix.

We are past our frost date but in the past we've gotten snow after that date. Of course, that year I did have tomatoes in the ground, which I covered and they ended up doing pretty well in the end. At this point I'm pretty much at the f-it, they're going in the ground stage.

[Frugal Lizard]

retiredat63 - if you can keep their feet cool - peas like it cold, I don't see why it wouldn't work

Tris - just put them in the garden and give them shade for the first day or two and they will be fine.  The plant just has to ramp up the coolant system.

[Tris Prior]

It was decent outside yesterday when I left work - so, F it, three tomatoes are now in (that's all I could carry onto the train, considering I was also hauling a bag of fertilizer, or else it would've been more.). :) I put a frost blanket around their cages as the nights are still getting pretty chilly here. Hopefully that helps shade them too.

[RetiredAt63]

They can go in the basement, it is cool.  And I only need a couple of inches of top growth, it is just to get them past the "bird treat" stage.  The only disadvantage to untreated seeds, tasty for everything.  We are almost into tomato planting weather, the night-time lows are looking warmer - finally.  This year it has been freeze or cook.

retiredat63 - if you can keep their feet cool - peas like it cold, I don't see why it wouldn't work

[Frugal Lizard]

Pulled the big pots of greens out of the greenhouse because they can't take the heat.  Even with the roof vents and the door open it is hitting 32 degrees.  Tomorrow I will bring the tomatoes out for the later part of the day for a break from the heat and to start hardening off.  I am going to wait a full week after last frost for planting out in the garden.

[FerrumB5]

Going out of town for 3 days tomorrow, so said F it and planted out all my remaining tomatoes. It will be upper 40s low this weekend, so they will survive. Cucumbers are still inside and two of them are foot and a half tall at least. Will plant out Monday - low mid 50s

[Primm]

My mango tree is having a bipolar moment.

We got no (well, maybe 1 or 2 that the possums ate) fruit this summer. Mango season here is December/January. But then it started flowering, and I was a bit confused (turns out not half as confused as the tree).

It fruited, and the fruit are now - 5 months late - starting to ripen on the tree. AND the tree is flowering again!

All my Google-fu tells me is that trees sometimes have weird-arse fruiting periods like this when they are in their death throes. I hope this is not the case. Can anyone enlighten me further about trees (not necessarily mangoes) fruiting totally out of season? Or is this local evidence of climate change in action? If global warming means I get fresh mangoes 365 days then I'm not sure I have a problem with that... ;)

[horsepoor]

OMG - moving to Australia just so I can have a mango tree.  If I had that and an avocado, I'd never have to go to the grocery store.

[Primm]

So I probably shouldn't tell you what we just planted in the other back corner of the yard then...

[horsepoor]

Do you need a roommate?

[Frugal Lizard]

OMG - moving to Australia just so I can have a mango tree.  If I had that and an avocado, I'd never have to go to the grocery store.

+1 I would also have a peach tree, lemon tree...and grow watermelons.

[meerkat]

OMG - moving to Australia just so I can have a mango tree.  If I had that and an avocado, I'd never have to go to the grocery store.

+1 I would also have a peach tree, lemon tree...and grow watermelons.

I have a peach, lemon, orange, and nectarine tree (one of each tree). Technically my husband is the one growing the watermelon and we've only got the one melon growing so he'd probably be annoyed if I gave it to internet strangers. The only thing ripening up right now are the peaches, but you're welcome to those and next winter's lemon crop if y'all are willing to come do yard work for us. Oh, we have blueberries too but so far 98% of the crop is going to squirrels and birds.

The lemon tree took off pretty much as soon as we planted it a few years ago but the orange tree is just now starting to get the hang of things. I need to make some time to go prune all the fruit trees but I think it's the wrong time of year right now, I need to check.

[10dollarsatatime]

I'm headed out after breakfast to get my garden in!  It's been warm enough, but this is the first day I've had off of work that it isn't raining.  I mean... it's always sunny and gorgeous on days I have to work.  Today is overcast, but it will do.  It takes me a bit longer to get things in, because as I set out my rows, I also set up the drip watering system.

Half of my garden will be going in as seeds... corn, beans, some of the squash, carrots, parsnips, potatoes.  I bought tomato and pepper seedlings though.

I managed to control myself when it came to tomatoes this year.  I'm only doing two rows as opposed to the four that I've been doing.  It's just me, so 14 plants is still way too many, but this is the first year I'll have less than 26. 

The fruit trees in the back yard are behaving wonderfully this year.  They were planted just before I bought the house 2 years ago.  The first year, I got exactly one peach (which tasted amazing).  Last year, the apple tree gave me about a dozen.  This year, the apricots, peaches, and apples are just covered in little baby fruits.  Even the cherry tree is contributing something this year! 

I'm now trying to decide the best place to plant blueberries and a few other fruiting shrubberies.

[Primm]

OMG - moving to Australia just so I can have a mango tree.  If I had that and an avocado, I'd never have to go to the grocery store.

+1 I would also have a peach tree, lemon tree...and grow watermelons.

Except peach trees don't grow and fruit well where avocados and mangoes do, and vice versa.

We have pretty diverse climactic conditions from one place to another. It's big, you know!

[Tris Prior]

Eight tomatoes in! I have been covering them at night just to be safe, and they all seem happy.

Going to try and post a pic of the bed as an attachment.

[Frugal Lizard]

I would have to do more research before moving - favourite fruits - how long is the season etc....

I had to unload the greenhouse today. It was 38C at 10 am with all the windows and doors open.
All the plants are now either under some trees near the greenhouse or on my driveway.  Hopefully the squirrels stay back.
Planted some more seeds tonight.  Made a huge green salad and a curry with spinach from the greenhouse greens.  Will need to haul water to my allotment garden tomorrow.  It is going to be summertime hot this weekend. 

[geekinprogress]

A bunch of my seedlings were getting too big for the living-room mini-greenhouse - squash and tomato plants were fighting for light and space, mostly.  I'm out of town for business this weekend and it's supposed to be pretty cloudy, so I figured screw it, I'd just transplant a couple of the tomato, squash, and lettuce plants out to my garden allotment and see how they do.  They only got a little bit of hardening off time but it's supposed to be cloudy this weekend, so I'm hoping they'll be ok until it gets sunny again.  I only moved out a couple of the biggest ones so at least if they die, I'll still have options.

Helpful to hear about everyone's pea issues - I hadn't bee planning on strategizing much about them but now I will, and if birds/critters get them, or they perish in mysterious circumstances, at least I know I'll be in good company :) 

[RetiredAt63]

The replacement pea seeds I have been soaking seem to be going nowhere - maybe a bad batch?  Both were the same variety, same supplier, same purchase location.  I'll put beans in their location (was tomatoes last year).

On happier news, my broccoli seeds that I planted in frustration (i.e. dumped whole package in 2 trenches) because the seedlings got frosted are up.  Tiny, and way too close together in some places with big gaps, but up.  We are supposed to have showers tonight, so the soil should be moist for transplanting tomorrow.

Tomatoes and sweet peppers and sweet potatoes are hardening off, should be able to go into the garden soon.

I donated a bunch of sweet pepper and sweet potato seedlings to a fund raiser sale, the organizer wasn't thrilled because didn't think they would sell - all the sweet potatoes sold, even the unrooted slips, and almost all the peppers sold.  Happy for the buyers, and feeling vindicated.

[ender]

Laid some irrigation today and spread a bunch of hay for mulch under a lot of tomatoes.

We know some friends who are serious farmers market farmers and we're volunteering to help them. Should be more fun than vicariously living through you all :)

[Rural]

Side dressed everything with compost today and watered it. (Except the bed that's right next to and slightly downhill from the bed I'm using for the compost heap - clearly it doesn't need it as everything in that bed seems to be on steroids - or compost tea.)

[horsepoor]

I transplanted my black beans yesterday.  I was a little worried at how sad they looked, but they'd perked up this morning, and should do fine.  We've got another week of semi cool and moist weather on the way, so they should have time to put down roots before it gets hot.

Still have corn, fennel, melon and more onion seedlings to put out (yes, the onions should have been out several weeks ago, but transplanting them is one of my least favorite garden tasks).

The tomatoes are about 2' tall now, and some are flowering.  The peppers have been sulking a bit, but I think they're starting to pick up.

All of my brassicas in one bed croaked, while the same cohort in another bed is flourishing.  Kind of strange, but I needed that space for my summer squash, and they seem to be liking the bed OK, so whatever.

Picked a huge bag of lettuce today and there's lots more where that came from.  Chard is starting to get the upper hand over the leaf miners, and the kale and collards are about ready to harvest.  I also have a couple cabbages coming on and strawberries ripening.

[Bracken_Joy]

Oregon can't decide what the weather is doing. It's now back to regularly scheduled weather: very grey and rainy and cool, but never cold. Also never warm.

This means my peas and radishes have EXPLODED. My neighbor even texted (communal yard): "those radishes are so big I expect 'em to knock on my door and ask for some coffee!" On the other hand, my tomatoes and pepper are the saddest looking plants I've seen in a while. When it was too hot a couple weeks ago, the bottom leaves on some turned yellow, presumably due to lack of moisture- our soil drains off really quickly. Now with the drizzle, they're leaning side to side. Got tomato cages on them, but between the still yellowish bottom leaves and the slight lean to the plants, my garden is looking quite bedraggled.

I need to get on top of weeding again. Was away for a week, and we got way behind. Also, slugs have found my lettuce, so I now have very Holy Lettuce. And not in a canonical way, either.

[backyardfeast]

Horsepoor, transplanting onion seedlings was MY least favorite garden task too!  I usually have 300+ to do, and I used to separate them into singles from the clumps they were in in their cells or blocks, then transplant them into their individual little holes.  It would take DAYS.  Sigh.

You may do this already, but it was life-changing for me when I found out that onions grow fine in small clumps of 3-4 if you just space out equivalently.  So now, instead of 300+ individual holes carefully spaced 4" apart, I now thin my seedlings to 2-4, and then I can plant the whole clump together.  If I have 2 in a clump, they get 8" around; 4 get a square foot to themselves.  OMG.  SO. Much. Faster and less effort.

PEOPLE!  I ate raspberries today.  We have been eating peas all week.  We are racing the slugs to the few strawberries there are each day.  It is still May.  My brain is exploding.  Especially because, as Bracken Joy reports, we have had a cooler week or two.  Although we haven't had any rain in our little rain-shadow bubble of a garden, which is a shame.  It is VERY dry out there.  I must give a little extra water and fertilizer/compost boost tomorrow and then get my last mulching done...the beans have sprouted, but they look like they are drying out on the spot.

[horsepoor]

Horsepoor, transplanting onion seedlings was MY least favorite garden task too!  I usually have 300+ to do, and I used to separate them into singles from the clumps they were in in their cells or blocks, then transplant them into their individual little holes.  It would take DAYS.  Sigh.

You may do this already, but it was life-changing for me when I found out that onions grow fine in small clumps of 3-4 if you just space out equivalently.  So now, instead of 300+ individual holes carefully spaced 4" apart, I now thin my seedlings to 2-4, and then I can plant the whole clump together.  If I have 2 in a clump, they get 8" around; 4 get a square foot to themselves.  OMG.  SO. Much. Faster and less effort.

Going to try this, thanks!

[Tris Prior]

Gorgeous weather this weekend so I put almost the entire garden in. Just need to plant one more tomato that's still a little small to go in the ground, and the eggplant.

My snap pea is making pea pods! I'm so excited!

Starting tomorrow we're supposed to get storms every day for a week. I hope the entire garden does not drown. :(

[FerrumB5]

Transplanted 10 cucumbers out. 2 were very tall and now they look like shit since cukes are typically very sensitive :( Hopefully they will survive

[Rural]

Had five squash seeds start in virtually the same spot in the bed - no idea how since I spaced  out the seeds very carefully. But they did, and so this weekend, I very carefully transplanted two of the seedlings to different area of the bed with nothing growing. I thought they were both going to die yesterday, but today they perked up.  Still have three in a little clump, but I'm going to wait and see who looks like it's going to be the most successful.

[Allie]

I spent the weekend arranging things in the greenhouse, planting more seeds, weeding, and trying to find someone who wants a bunch of extra pepper plants.  I have no takers.  It'll be a bummer to send the dozen I have left over to the compost pile. 

So far everything is alive, but growing very slowly.  I get so anxious this time of year.  I know by July it will all be gangbusters, but now the seedlings seem so tiny and far apart.  So far on the still thriving list are sugar peas; lettuce; cilantro; kale; the peppers and tomatoes; currants; the raspberries; my new strawberry plants; honeyberry; gooseberry; pumpkins; and carrots. 

Last fall, right after I pruned, tied, and managed my raspberry patch a moose came along, ate a bunch of canes and got tangled in the wire/rebar supports I put up.  It pulled so hard, it bent the rebar.  I tried to get everything put back out last fall, but just finally went back out, pruned back the canes that failed to leaf out, and tied up the ones that are looking good.  We have little flowers starting to pop out on most of the canes now!  I can't wait for August.

[Frugal Lizard]

Did a lot of planting this weekend.  Half of the tomatoes, nasturtiums, are in the ground.  Beets, sweet onions, leeks, pumpkins, cukes, gourds, arugula, basil and a fourth planting of peas are planted. The parsley, garlic, chard and the peas are all up. Some of the potatoes in the potato tower are starting to appear out the sides.  In the hopes of having asparagus and rhubarb and strawberries next year - I top dressed the little plants with some manure from my dad's farm.  Loading it up was not fun - black flies and mosquitos are really out.   The shrub cherry I planted last weekend in the hail is flowering so I am giving it a good drink.  Everything is really dry here.  Hauled a garbage can of water to my allotment garden in the wheel barrow - thankfully it is downhill.  My daughter wants her own garden so she applied for a plot in the garden I have a plot in.  She is twelve and there is a rule of only one plot per household.  They had two unclaimed plots so she is getting one but if there is a waiting list she will have to give it up next season.  She has a plan to grow peas, lettuce, pumpkins and gourds.

[Tris Prior]

Dammit. I was moving my sugar snap pea container this morning, and the main vine got caught on the supports and broke in two. It was making pea pods!! I am so upset. It has a second vine starting but no flowers on that one yet, and it's supposed to be pretty warm for the next week. Maybe too warm for peas. Dunno.

This was pure greed on my part, as I was moving it to cram in Yet Another Tomato that I couldn't bear to give away; it was just so healthy and happy looking and was busting out of its pot so it needed to go in the ground.

dammit, dammit, dammit. I was looking forward to peas.

[10dollarsatatime]

I got all the drip irrigation in place in the front garden yesterday, which means I can finally do some planting up there.  It shouldn't be too bad in the back.  I'll be able to reuse most of what I had back there last year.  So here's hoping I can get everything in the ground today.

My list:
Tomatoes (Roma, Viva Italia, SunSweet Cherries, Black Krim, Pineapple)
Kohlrabi
Carrots
Parsnips
Radishes
Onions
Purple Potatoes
Corn
Squash (Red Warty Thing, Spaghetti, Delicata, Green and Yellow Zucchinis, and one more that I've forgotten the name of)
Beans (Scarlet Runner, Green, Asparagus, and an heirloom variety that was rescued from an adobe pot in some Anasazi ruin by the BYU Anthropology department... It's a long story.)
Scallions
Cukes
Radishes
Sunflowers

My gardens are not big enough for the things I want to do... Expanding is definitely on the do list.

[meerkat]

My list:
Tomatoes (Roma, Viva Italia, SunSweet Cherries, Black Krim, Pineapple)
Kohlrabi
Carrots
Parsnips
Radishes
Onions
Purple Potatoes
Corn
Squash (Red Warty Thing, Spaghetti, Delicata, Green and Yellow Zucchinis, and one more that I've forgotten the name of)
Beans (Scarlet Runner, Green, Asparagus, and an heirloom variety that was rescued from an adobe pot in some Anasazi ruin by the BYU Anthropology department... It's a long story.)
Scallions
Cukes
Radishes
Sunflowers

My gardens are not big enough for the things I want to do... Expanding is definitely on the do list.

Nice list! My problem is time. I was meaning to get three roma tomatoes so I can make some sauce but the nursery I go to was out of that particular type of tomato when I went and I haven't had the time to go back yet. I did make a risotto primavera last night but substituted in zucchini and tomatoes to use up our current harvest. We have two more zucchini growing but those will have to wait for future meals.

Do zucchini typically grow one to a plant or will they start to grow more as time goes on? Or only after I harvest what's currently growing?

[horsepoor]

Zucchini will grow many on a plant, and turn from finger size to baseball bat size overnight.  Soon enough you'll be scavenging the net for new and creative ways to use up zucchini and foisting them on coworkers and the mailman.

[10dollarsatatime]

My list:
Tomatoes (Roma, Viva Italia, SunSweet Cherries, Black Krim, Pineapple)
Kohlrabi
Carrots
Parsnips
Radishes
Onions
Purple Potatoes
Corn
Squash (Red Warty Thing, Spaghetti, Delicata, Green and Yellow Zucchinis, and one more that I've forgotten the name of)
Beans (Scarlet Runner, Green, Asparagus, and an heirloom variety that was rescued from an adobe pot in some Anasazi ruin by the BYU Anthropology department... It's a long story.)
Scallions
Cukes
Radishes
Sunflowers

My gardens are not big enough for the things I want to do... Expanding is definitely on the do list.

Nice list! My problem is time. I was meaning to get three roma tomatoes so I can make some sauce but the nursery I go to was out of that particular type of tomato when I went and I haven't had the time to go back yet. I did make a risotto primavera last night but substituted in zucchini and tomatoes to use up our current harvest. We have two more zucchini growing but those will have to wait for future meals.

Do zucchini typically grow one to a plant or will they start to grow more as time goes on? Or only after I harvest what's currently growing?

As horsepoor said, zucchini will just keep going until you're so sick of them, you consider killing the plants.  I only plant two zucchini plants/year, and I try to keep up with picking them at 6-8 inches long.  I end up eating zucchini and eggs for breakfast nearly every day once they really get going.  Luckily, I'm the only one at work with a real garden, so I always have someone who will happily take my extras.

I spent five hours or so in the garden today.  The front bed is mostly planted, though I'm having some irrigation issues that I need to fix.  I now just need to plant the tomatoes, beans, shallots, and cukes.  And then I need to move onto my flower beds.  I also need to figure out where I'm planting the rhubarb I had totally forgotten about buying.

[Tris Prior]

I have a photo somewhere of my mother holding a zucchini next to her leg. The zucchini was bigger. And she had FOUR of them that size, which she foisted off on me. That was a LOT of zucchini bread....

[geekinprogress]

One of the (local?) jokes re: zucchini is that towards the back end of growing season, you will find a bag of zucchini in the front seat of your car if you don't lock your doors. 

This is my first year growing summer squash at all so I'm still in the "excited and unable to emotionally comprehend how I could have too much" phase, but I'm guessing I'll get that crushed out of me by pounds of zucchini :)

[ender]

We're buying a house which means we're going to be able to garden more than our porch! Super excited for that!

Assuming everything goes through early July is when we'll close and have the ability to start gardening there (oh and move in I guess).

What is good to start that late in Zone 5? Is there anything? July is normally really warm here, so I'm thinking this year will be more focused on building a garden bed or two and next year will be the actual planting timeframe.

 

[RetiredAt63]

A couple of tomatoes in pots - grow now, move them with you. Herbs in pots.  Anything else you now grow in pots.  If they are happy in pots you can just leave them all summer.

You have all summer to see where there is lots of sun and not enough sun, too much wind, etc., so you can pick the very best spot for your garden!  Raised beds are actually best made in late summer/fall.

What is good to start that late in Zone 5? Is there anything? July is normally really warm here, so I'm thinking this year will be more focused on building a garden bed or two and next year will be the actual planting timeframe.

[Rural]

One of the (local?) jokes re: zucchini is that towards the back end of growing season, you will find a bag of zucchini in the front seat of your car if you don't lock your doors. 

That's not just a local joke – it's told all over the Southern Appalachians, too. :-)

[Threshkin]

One of the (local?) jokes re: zucchini is that towards the back end of growing season, you will find a bag of zucchini in the front seat of your car if you don't lock your doors. 

That's not just a local joke – it's told all over the Southern Appalachians, too. :-)

Last year one of my neighbors put a basket of zucchini out by the common mailbox.  When she checked it the next day there were more in the basket than she put there.  We laughed about them multiplying overnight.  This went on for weeks.

[10dollarsatatime]

We're buying a house which means we're going to be able to garden more than our porch! Super excited for that!

Assuming everything goes through early July is when we'll close and have the ability to start gardening there (oh and move in I guess).

What is good to start that late in Zone 5? Is there anything? July is normally really warm here, so I'm thinking this year will be more focused on building a garden bed or two and next year will be the actual planting timeframe.

You can do short season vegetables.  I'm in Zone 5 and plan on planting a second round of carrots, peas, kale, and kohrabi for sure.  Maybe some greens and radishes a bit later on as well.

[FIreDrill]

I'm going to try to grow some veggies this year.   Just built a box and filled with topsoil.  Planning on planting my starters today.   I am pretty late to the party and don't know much about growing but I figured it's better to start late than never.  Also,  this way I have everything ready to go for next summer as well.  Here goes nothing!