Minteeleaf wrote:

Hilary wrote:

In mid-April I'm going to be moving into a flat in Madison, Wisconsin
that has several raised veggie gardens in the back yard, as well as
blackberry bushes, pear trees, an apple tree, and grape vines. I'd
like to keep this up while I'm living there, but know nothing about
gardening. Are there veggies that come back every year or do I have
to start from scratch? When do I plant different vegetables (zuchini,
lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, onions) and should I use seeds or what?
Do I have to do anything to the fruit besides pick it?

I'd recommend a really excellent book with a highly unfortunate title:
"Gardening For Dummies." I am not flaming you nor is this
intended to offend. This particular book has the basics of
everything you'll need. It has been very valuable to me, & I've
gardened for many years.

When you plant veggies depend on what zone you're in.
Look it up on the net; search for last frost date for your city/town.
I'm right on the line between Zone 6/7 myself, my last frost date this
year is between April 20-30.

For the rest of your questions, search & study. Good luck,
gardening is fun. It's a thrill to see things grow & produce food
& beautiful flowers.

Minteeleaf


Hilary,
I'll add _Gardening in the Upper Midwest_, by Leon C. Snyder to the book
list.

I'm in southern Minnesota, and I usually start planting summer crops
around Memorial Day. I'm planting tomato seeds indoors today (a little
later than I like, but I've been too busy). I am going to try some cool
weather crops this year in April (cabbage, bok choi, onions, sugar
peas). You are much closer to Lake Superior than I am, so your spring
may start earlier and have more stable temperatures than here.

It's gonna be tough growing apples and actually getting any usable fruit
without using pesticides. I spray mine with "Fruit Tree Spray" every 2
weeks after petal drop until late July. Then I spray them twice with
Diazinon to control apple maggots, and I stop spraying them after that.
I only have one tree. I need to investigate "integrated pest
management", or whatever it's called, because I still get too much
insect damage.

Best regards,
Bob

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