Planting Guide (More Hints)


OK, for February you should have finished up the ONIONS you didn't get out in January and your GARLIC you didn't get out in October.

You should have planted:
Beets 2/20
Broccoli 2/15
Brussel Sprouts 2/15
Cabbage 2/15
Carrots 2/20
Cauliflower 2/15
Swiss Chard 2/15
Collards/Kale 2/15
English Peas (if you didn't get them going in January)
Potatoes 2/1-2/14
Spinach 2/1-3/15
Turnip 2/20 If you didn't--do so now!!!

Now for March:
Plant your:
Asparagus plants--ours is coming in already this year and is delicious!
Bush Beans--3/10
Pole Beans--3/10
Lima Beans--3/10 (For all beans we wait a little later because of the April 1st freeze we always have)
Sweet Corn--3/1--tolerates a little more cold than field corn
Lettuce--3/1--Plant several varieties, but plant also several times so there is a fresh supply longer
Cantaloupe--3/15--WE ALSO WAIT UNTIL 1ST OF APRIL
Mustard Greens--3/15
Parsley--3/1
Sweet Potatoes for slips--watch for frost
Radish--3/1
More Spinach--thru March 15
Summer Squash--watch for frost

You CAN put tomatoes out but will have to be guarded for frost--so we wait until April 1st and come out ahead Watermelon--3/15

Now for the long waited for April:

As we have said the old timers in East Texas told us we could quit replanting so much if we would wait until Good Friday to plant. When we would lose two weeks of solid planting (by hand!) we listened and have maintained what we were told. Some years the crops could have made it but we also noticed that they grew so slowly that we really didn't benefit by planting early.

A last planting of lettuce More radishes Pole and Bush Beans--wait until we warm back up for better planting of these Lima Beans Sweet/Field Corn Cucumbers Eggplants Cantaloupe and Watermelon if you waited Okra--wait till we are real warm or it will grow too slowly Purple Hull, Zipper Creams, etc (Cowpeas)--these are best waited until mid-month Peppers Summer Squash Winter Squash Sweet Potatoes Tomatoes Don't forget to keep your potatoes hilled! COVER them completely with dirt should we have a freeze before the weekend.

Have any of you ever grown peanuts? They are fun, pretty and delicious! They will be especially delicious if everything crashes!

Don't forget to look for a manure source to store up enough manure to keep your gardens growing and put up some lime, phosphate, cottonseed meal, and ashes to keep your gardens healthy and going. During the winter while you are emptying your fires put the ashes straight onto the garden, just keep track of where you have left off for the next emptying. Ask friends to save for you.

Have you stored a few basic tune up parts for your tiller/tractor? Have you stored up the fuels to keep them going? It doesn't take near the fuel you might think to let them work for you. Check you tool handles, a broken hoe or garden rake isn't much fun to deal with.

Have you acquired barrels, tanks to collect rain water if you don't have a spring or water source that won't go dry?

Have you stored your seeds? Sprays like dormant oil and sulfur? Diatomaceous earth, rotenone, or insecticidal soap to help keep insects down.

Have you begun to increase your bird population to help with the insects? Winter feeding, sunflowers, others that birds like will keep them coming around and bird houses will keep them staying around and multiplying. We have many purple martins everywhere and seldom ever have trouble with mosquitoes (I never get bit) and many of the other insects they eat daily. Read about them sometime and see the amazing jobs they all do.

How are your bees? Are they ready to pollinate and make bigger, better, more fruits for you? Keep them healthy and they will serve you well with an abundance of fruits and vegetables along with the honey.