On the border between 10A and 10B Not much Chill hours and no blasting heat for many days. Mission Figs won't work here although a few miles inland they do. Peter's Honey Figs love it. Sometimes, too moderate a climate works against gardening. Y'think?
Depends on what you want to grow. I live in 7B which is decent for just about year round gardening of some sort or the other if you add a little winter protection over your cool season crops. Only one decent snow and I ended up with mustard/turnips/kale all winter long. Didn't eat them all winter long, but I had them. I plant early as possible so I can forego doing much between the 4th of July and late August due to heat, insects, starving deer. That is my "clean out the DVR" month
I also live in zone 7b. And I also slow down during the hottest months. Kale, turnips, lettuce, and cabbage do well in the winter months...and broccoli before the major cold weather. I usually use the cool season to grow a lot of greens for the goats.
Any of you ever grow artichokes? It's my favorite vegetable. How about Jerusalem artichokes, which are probably tubers, with a nutty taste that I also like. I will give artichokes a shot this Fall.
I grow what works and is as little effort as possible. I am a free range gardener believing it stresses plants out to be forced into unnatural rows.
That might work in beds and such, but out in my field, if you can't till between them, all you are ending up with is crabgrass, poison ivy, and morning glories having a fight to the death. I do randomly plant in my raised beds though. when I harvest a few square feet of something in them, I will replace it with seeds for something else.
I don't think a plant knows if it is in a row or not. I grow in rows for ease of harvest and for running trellises. But to each his own. It is your garden and if it works for you more power to ya.
Rows have a few advantages such as making sure each plant gets roughly the same light and produce at the same time, and they work as ways to optimize water and minimize runoff/erosion. I am one of those people who doesn't want all of a crop to come in at once though, so it is all good with me.
After the record drought last year I started importing pine straw. I did not till this year and my soil is crowded with earthworms and the soil underneath the pine straw stays moist. The very top of my soil has already began to turn black. I don't think I will ever till my garden again. A steady supply of moisture keeps my plants growing at a steady rate and the soil stays cool. Weeding is kept to a minimum. The only disadvantage is the amount of straw I haul in. But for me it is worth it. I hauled another pickup load of pine straw today. Picking the right plants and timing can keep a Gardener harvesting all season rather than one big harvest. Pole beans over bush beans... and indermintate tomatoes over determinate are examples. Or planting peas and then planting more peas later.
I learned also not to plant corn when it isn't warm enough. When 4" tall it will tassel. So peas in the winter - spring. They die in May and then, corn. Relocated 19 squirrels. And I'm in suburbia, not the farm.
I always check soil temps for corn and watermelon. In my area we have a small window for good corn yields. This is due to the dry season we get about June through August. I am working on a drought proof garden so I don't water.
As long as you are gardening all is well. Shredded leaves also work. I use them too. My Hickory King corn is now over 6 ft high and it is growing in sawdust and horse manure. It is also growing mushrooms. I have also grown good carrots in rotten hay.
I use shredded leaves, shredded paper, cardboard, mulch and grass clipping in addition to what comes out of my compost pile, but I still till.
my Kentucky wonder green beans. Planted two double rows. And a row of sunflowers. I have Lima beans planted in between.
Because bush beans produce less, and produce the crop within a short time. And pole beans mean less bending to pick. It won't be long before the pole beans are as tall as me...over six feet.
I think a lot of it is the variety of corn you plant. Bantam corn is genetically predisposed to be small. I have Hickory King over 6 ft. tall now. It is supposed to grow to 12 ft. and it is well on its way. Corn also needs superior soil and lots of water.
Thank You. It is in a planter box and gets preferential water. My bet is the temperature. It hardly ever being above 70F. I've been planting some hybrid with both yellow and white kernals and 2 ears per stalk. Previously it has worked best for me. Thanks again.
I am by the coast, about a mile inland with line of sight to the ocean being on a bluff. Fruit trees starve for chill hours and Mission Fig doesn't get enough heat. Pecans love it. Best Wishes
