Anyone getting ready for spring gardening?

[lonewolf04422]

I know its still a little early for us mainers for gardening but im starting to get excited. Last yr was my first garden up here since i moved from south jersey i planted many things but only a couple grew.

I planted:  egg plant, pumpkins,carrots,turnips,cabbage,broccoli,sunflowers,peppers,
tomatoes,
cherry tomatoes (i started from seeds :-) ), potatoes,corn,lettuce, and green beans (bush & pole),watermelon,summer squash, cucumbers um i think thats it :lol: .

Out of all of them only some grew the turnips,sunflowers,tomatoes (both types),potatoes,green beans. For some reason the pepper plants were just leaves no peppers formed after 2 months bought them already started. The corn well it grew got ears then turned a rusty red the stalks started to thin then they died. The regular tomatoes i didnt use cages this yr so this might be the problem but they were deformed none had the blight stuff they were just deformed and nasty looking was it because they were on the ground? This yr im gonna make some cages.

This yr i might start a little vegetable stand and i will mostly be planting green beans,tomatoes,peppers,egg plant, cucumbers, some potatoes (that was alot of work) , and might try some other vegetables. Also i think i will be planting some flowers this yr i already have 2 morning glory seed packets one is clarkes blue heavenly and mixed color also got a garden flower seed packet.

I might try and save some seeds this yr from my plants but dont know exactly how u do it or if it is worth the time does anyone here have experience doing this?

Now i have two pest problems but am only worried about one of them since they caused the most damage. cucumber beatles im not sure if this is exactly the one since there similiar to stink bugs but there eating my green beans any way to get rid of them?. The potato beetles i got some pesticide for free from someone but only seen 3 last yr so im not really worried about them just the cucumber beatles. Note to people i dont like bugs so squishing them with my hands is out of the question :? . I did have problems with deer coming and eating the tops of my potatoe and tomatoe plants but i fixed that problem with mono fishing line around the whole garden.

[jvs]

I have been ready for Spring since last November.

I checked my berry plants this week and the small buds are starting to bust open.  Then the weather turned colder and it snowed, which will put things on hold for a while.

Since you are in Maine, you may want to check on how long your growing season is.  I am positive it is much shorter than most other areas of the country.  I did some searching on the internet for information concerning gardening in Maine and I found the website from the Extension Service at the University of Maine.  >--->>  http://www.umext.maine.edu/  <--<< That should be a big help to you.  Others who come here may also have pointers for you.

Another website available to you is titled "Gardening in Little Siberia, Maine"  which sounds like you may have your hands full when it comes to finding crops that will grow there.  Generally speaking, members of the Cabbage family should do good there.  Plants that like hot weather or warm nights may not.  I would guess that Maine has a shorter growing season, so keep your eyes open for the 'Maturity days' on the plants you buy.  You need a short maturity cycle.

Maine is a place that I kow I will visit sooner or later.  I have friends who hunt up there every year.  Some day I will tag along.

[longwinters]

We are getting another foot of snow tonite and tomorrow are looking forward to -40 degrees, with the wind chill.  I think my garden is about 3 months away.  And it makes me mighty sad.

Long

[lonewolf04422]

Thanks jvs. From looking at there site it appears to be a stink bug eating my green beans but there grey instead of the usual green. Yes i did know we do have a shorter season then most areas. Im not a gardening expert so i still have alot to learn i mostly get plants from nearby farms or start some from seeds i find at walmart or the dollar store (were i got all my seeds last yr the cherry tomatoes came out nice :-) ). Its not just my garden so sometimes my mom buys plants for the garden so i just plant them to make her happy. See all the seeds and stuff i saw in catalogs there maturity dates are only maybe 45-60 days which is like 2 months we have at least 5 good hot months ranging from 60-90f so why wouldnt some grow? I think its basically just me im not really good at gardening last yr was the first year growing from seeds and well i think i may have waiting too long to transplant them i tend to think they should be the height of farm grown plants am i wrong? I put 3 cherry tomatoe plants out last yr and they were at the tallest 3 inches but grew into big healthy plants should i just stop thinking they will turn out like farm grown plants and transplant them when i think they will grow? Im glad i found this seems to be quite a few gardeners on here i can get some help and information from.

[jvs]

The web address I gave you for the Maine Extension Service is the best place for you to start.  After that the local plant nursery will have all of the products and info you could ever ask for.  Finally, your computer gives you access to any subject you want to know anything about.

First you should probably do a soil test and send it to your State Extension Service to make sure your garden is up to par for the things you want to plant.  Next thing to do is go to your local plant nursery with the results of your Soil test and start correcting your soil.  Usually local plant nurserys have alot of knowledge concerning your area.  They will also have the right strains of plants and seeds that will do best in your area, compared to the big Stores that order seeds by the ton and distribute them all over the country.

If you type  ' Starting a Garden '   in Google, it will come up with hundreds of thousands of websites pertaining to that subject.   The same goes with problems in your garden.  Your computer is a treasure trove of knowledge for you.  I am postive you can come up with a few thousand websites if you just typed   ' Stink Bug '  in the Google search engine.

We sure would like to hear of your successes and your problems through the year and how you dealt with them.  In the mean time... visit this website for some pointers.

http://www.gardenguides.com/articles/veggie.htm