I know that there are plant zones based different characteristics. I'm in a zone that has an average of 114 frost free days a year. The average day for the last frost is May 23. Plants must be hardy enough to with stand a winter temperature of minus 46 C (minus 45 F). However, for this post I'm not worried about that as I'm dealing with a vegetable garden with annual plants.
I seed my garden about May 21. The soil temperature has risen high enough for germination to take place. Plant development is very slow until mid to late June. Then with long hours of sunlight , the plants develop as if by magic. All of a sudden pea pods are ready to form. Lettuce and radishes have been eaten for a while. So we have long days at this time of year and that makes plants develop rapidly.
We also receive most of our yearly precipitation from late May to early July. We receive annual precipitation of 12 inches per year. That's right...12 in per year! Since it comes at the right time we produce huge amounts of grain.
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Corn is difficult to grow. This variety will get about twice as tall. |
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| Potatoes are starting to spread out. |
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| Beans are not too far from forming pods, but the carrots haven't got started yet. |
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| And I've got tomatoes on my plants! |
only 12 inches in a year?! wow!
ReplyDeletei'm the opposite end. growing up in wisconsin, i helped my mother garden and got used to that season. here in texas, the few attempts i made at growing veggies ended with dried and fried plants. have never gotten the 'spring' and 'fall' gardening thing down.
I would have to get the spring and fall gardening as I couldn't do with out a garden.
DeleteThat looks very impressive.
ReplyDeleteWe are still getting nineteen hours of daylight. The bracken has just unfurled and it is a wonderful green colour.
You're getting more daylight than us. We got 16 hr and 32 min yesterday.
DeleteWe have bracken in the mountains here.
I love seeing and hearing about other people's vegetable patches. We don't have the cold extremes but we have cool springs, so it takes a while for our vegetables to get going too.
ReplyDeleteYou also have to put up with a lot of cloud too. Some of the coast has soil that has nutrients leached out so that's another challenge.
DeleteGood heavens! Plants do grow fast in Canada.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that you only get 12 inches of rain a year - that is almost like a drought!
Still all of that snow, I suppose???, does keep a lot of moisture in the soil.
I have to agree 100% with you, home grown vegetables are far more nutritious than the refrigerated ( and for God knows how long) that you buy in supermarkets.
Here weekend produce markets are a real buzz for getting fresh vegetables and good eggs.
Well done "Red".
The temp. here (Brisbane, Australia) for tomorrow is 6c to a max. of 20c. - that to me is bloody cold!
THAT to me is freezing!
I hope the anti-rabbit etc decoys and/or whatever are in place???
Colin (Brisbane. Australia)
PS: Rain would be most welcome at present for lawns and gardens.
12 in. of snow produces 1 in. of water. We get by with 12 in total precipitation because it's cool. I the ave. daily temp rose we would be very arid.
DeleteNice looking garden. We have gotten 12 inches of rain in June and have a good start on July. I cannot imagine getting only 12 inches of rain all summer.
ReplyDelete!2 in works as we get 90% of it at the exact time we need it.
DeleteHi Red,
ReplyDeleteIt's all looking very good in your garden. We try to grow as much of the vegetables that we eat as we can, and supplement the rest by buying from local growers, as supermarket fruit and vegetables are just too risky to eat nowadays, let alone tasteless and rarely ripe properly. Have you always grown edibles yourself?
Ever since I've had my own place I've grown veggies. However, my plot is very small. I was raised on a farm at a time when much of their yearly supply of food was raised.
DeleteGood luck with your vegetables. I have given up trying to grow anything other than weeds which I seem to have a real talent for.
ReplyDeleteIt does take work to get a garden to produce.
DeleteFreshly picked is healthier and tastes so much better. I discovered fresh picked eggplant a few years ago. We have
ReplyDelete160-250 frost free days...but our mid growing season is very hot and dry and hard on most plants.
New potatoes out of the round? Wow! Nothing like it. Tomatoes off the plant? They're the best.
DeleteIt looks all well done and it is nice to have your own vegetables fresh from the garden.
ReplyDeleteThe effort is worth it. I really don't like store bought produce.
DeleteWhat a tidy garden and it looks like it's well along in spite of your colder climate.
ReplyDeleteGathering food from the garden always feels like magic to me. How did that seed or seedling turn into a tomato or cucumber??
Each plant zone has varieties that will succeed and then there's technique.
DeleteWow Red you have a real nice garden I think yours is much better than mine we have a few more days of gardening than you do in Ontario but it does not seem to matter for my attempts. Oh I can't wait for tomato sandwiches. B
ReplyDeleteYes , tomato sandwiches. My favorite...toasted cheese whiz and tomato.
DeleteIt looks wonderful! I've given up on veggies. Too many critters, too many weeds, too little time, too many bugs!!!
ReplyDeleteYou do have some negatives. I guess there's a point where gardening doesn't make sense.
DeleteTrue that! I've been working on my ornamental gardens beside the house. Fewer bugs there!
DeleteYour garden looks really great, Red. I am quite impressed! Those long days, as you said, really make for quick garden development. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to see stuff mature in such a short time.
DeleteLove to garden, and love to eat the products. When I plant corn I always do 4 rows to insure germination. It is coming to stands here now.
ReplyDeleteI don't have much room in this plot so there's not much corn.
DeleteGreat looking garden. We need rain where I live.
ReplyDeleteThe Canadian prairie has too much rain. There's major flooding in Manitoba.
DeleteI admire people like you who can grow things. Unfortunately, I have a "black" thumb.
ReplyDeleteWell I couldn't paint a picture to save my soul. Look at the tree stump I had and did I carve it?
DeleteYour garden is so pretty. My garden is on the down side now. The bean vines are turning yellow from the hot dry weather.
ReplyDeleteDon't look too close or you will see the mess. We may get hot weather but we usually get cool nights.
DeleteDon't look too close or you will find the mess.
DeleteWow - great garden and good for you! There's just nothing like fresh, home grown produce!!
ReplyDeleteAll the effort to garden is worth the taste.
DeleteYour garden looks great! Look at all the goodies out there. It's wonderful growing your own fresh food. And it's a fantastic hobby, too. Not to mention the exercise you get while you're out there.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on all points.
DeleteWell done, that looks like a great garden. How you manage it with so little rain a year I don't know.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Because we have cooler temps we can get by with less water.
DeleteYour plants look so healthy! I think it's so interesting to learn about the different growing seasons in different zones. It really is a different experience depending on where you are.
ReplyDeleteMy! You have a wonderful, garden, Red! I'm afraid the weeds have taken the lead in mine!
ReplyDeleteYou have a great garden Red - reminds me of how my Uncle kept his garden - all neat n tidy and most lush looking. I can agree with you about the growing part - pretty well the same here too, except for the grain. I love watching something I put in the ground grow in its different stages of life. Nice post and interesting. Have a wonderful day. We still have people without power till early next week - maybe? Cheers to you an MM :)
ReplyDeleteColor me jealous- I would give anything for garden tomatoes right outside my door!
ReplyDeleteI'm very impressed by your vegetables.
ReplyDelete