Smallish post for the moment, to reply to some questions and comments made on prior posts :)
I've been asked a few times over the last couple of months about where I live as well as the grow seasons in my area.
I'm in a fairly populated area of the US, largely in usda grow zone 9-10.
Where I'm at in particular doesn't get snow, but further upstate does. (Those areas can't grow yr round, not without some adjustment such as greenhouses.)
Technically, I can grow almost all yr round. But once the Temps start hitting 100*f regularly it's too hot for us and most plants stop flowering or fruiting (pollen starts getting damaged at 95*f, but multiple 100*f days is bad for both plants and most pollinators) so we end up just letting what can struggle along till its cooler or we take everything up and solarise (Personally i Iet the plants that'll grow grow, keeps the soils covered, where it belongs and gives a fresh food source for my chickens that isnt trucked in everytime.)
In winter, we do get cold, but not too many frost days. When we do have frost days, often I can toss a few thin blankets over most crops at night and be good till the next day. If I only plant winter crops, I don't even need to do that.
I also do not follow a lot of the planting guides available. I often use them as a rough draft (like starting tomatoes in pots/grow cells in November around Thanksgiving. So their ready to be planted around valentines day).
Side note, 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌻🌻🌻 If your looking into starting gardening or farming and are in the USA, I 1000% would say check with your local county extension office or county extension ag office. Some of the larger state collages as well have offices dedicated to answering plant questions. You don't even have to be in the same state
I've asked for help with potatoes through 3 different counties (including the state I live in) each one has given valuable info, advice and several different answers. They are amazing resources if you don't have someone to buddy up with!
Sadly, I cannot give much info for such programs outside the states as im unknowledged in the possible resource shares. I believe most countries do have a similar equivalent though. 🌻🌻🌻🌱🌱🌱
Because I'm in an urban area (surrounded by neighbors and city), it does mess with the microclimate a bit. This means some crops do way better at different times than expected.
For examples, armenian cucumbers do great yr round.
Regular cucumbers? Only winter/fall. I don't grow them much, though cause they've tasted terrible.
Carrots are more a fall crop here and are much tastier and sweeter. Spring/summer carrots are hit or miss. Edible but less enjoyable.
Spinich? Haven't had any luck in either season yet. Either in ground or in raised bed or pots.
Regular potatoes? Soils too hard in the ground and the raised beds I've tried so far get too dry or too wet. :'( next try i intend to try a raised row/straw method.
Sweet potatoes? Vines grew and flourished well throughout the whole summer! I've yet to see what the spud harvest will look like yet, but I've gotten around 10 lbs of greens, plus a few pounds of vines that the chickens demolish quite eagerly. To me, that's a win, plus the vines trellis easily and can double as a nice shade structure when trained on trellis.
@oh-he-grows carrot seeds do smell fantastic! I was quite suprised how nice they smelled! Tbh I've been a little interested in collecting some umbells before they open next time and seeing if I might infuse some olive oil for a soap batch.
@tinyshe Thank you for your encouraging words! I hope as well to encourage more people to look into growing gardens, saving seeds, doing more small scale things to eventually make a positive difference for future and current generations :)
And to wrap up today a lil appearance from two of our lovely gals :)
🌻🌻🌻 Happy Homesteading🌱🌱🌱
10 8 2023
