Hi everyone.

I recently purchased my first home and will be moving in on May 27th.

It has a very large, slightly sloped backyard and I live in
Cincinnati, if anyone is familiar with the climate and strange weather
we have here it may be helpful I guess.

I haven't had a garden since I was a kid, so there is a lot I don't
remember.

Can anyone give advice on what to do to get a start on a garden for
next year, and how to plan my garden now?

What I would like to grow is:

Carrots
Lettuce
Tomatos (cherry and plum)
Corn (couple staulks)
Green Peppers
Green Onions
Onions
Banana Peppers (can you grow those in the US?)

I would also like to try some strawberries because in the back portion
of my yard is a pretty good slope in a shady area and I remember from
being a kid that they grow best in the shade and on a hill. I would
also like to try to grow some blueberries and maybe some blackberries.

In addition to all that (as if that's not enough) I would like to try
a little herb garden with some garlic, mint, cilantro, ginger,
parsley, and bay leaves. Would the herbs be best off in the garden or
should I try that in a window box?

I do plan also on starting a compost pile for use next year.

I guess one of my biggest hinderences to the yard preperation this
year might be that we have 17 year locusts, and this summer is the
17th year so they will be swarming. Does anyone know if this is really
a hinderence or just an annoyance?

Well... I guess I have written a long enough post here. I will try to
shorten them in the future, I am just pretty excited about it I guess.

Thank you in advance for your assistance everyone!

Cinnamon L - Cincinnati Ohio

"Cinnamon" wrote in message
om...
Hi everyone.

I recently purchased my first home and will be moving in on May 27th.

It has a very large, slightly sloped backyard and I live in
Cincinnati, if anyone is familiar with the climate and strange weather
we have here it may be helpful I guess.

I haven't had a garden since I was a kid, so there is a lot I don't
remember.

Can anyone give advice on what to do to get a start on a garden for
next year, and how to plan my garden now?

What I would like to grow is:

Carrots
Lettuce
Tomatos (cherry and plum)
Corn (couple staulks)
Green Peppers
Green Onions
Onions
Banana Peppers (can you grow those in the US?)

You sure can.


I would also like to try some strawberries because in the back portion
of my yard is a pretty good slope in a shady area and I remember from
being a kid that they grow best in the shade and on a hill.

I've read that Strawberries require full sun. Mine seem to do well in full
sun. Word of advice on them: plan ahead because they like to send runners
out and will quickly overgrow an area. Space them apart and use landscaping
fabric and straw in-between rows to prevent the overgrowth. And prune the
runners.


I would
also like to try to grow some blueberries and maybe some blackberries.


I believe blueberries require acidic soil.

In addition to all that (as if that's not enough) I would like to try
a little herb garden with some garlic, mint, cilantro, ginger,
parsley, and bay leaves. Would the herbs be best off in the garden or
should I try that in a window box?

Maybe you could try those on the hill.


I do plan also on starting a compost pile for use next year.

I guess one of my biggest hinderences to the yard preperation this
year might be that we have 17 year locusts, and this summer is the
17th year so they will be swarming. Does anyone know if this is really
a hinderence or just an annoyance?

Well... I guess I have written a long enough post here. I will try to
shorten them in the future, I am just pretty excited about it I guess.

It's fun to garden and try new things.


Thank you in advance for your assistance everyone!

Cinnamon L - Cincinnati Ohio

Can anyone give advice on what to do to get a start on a garden for
next year, and how to plan my garden now?

Mark the area off and break ground.

Go to the other corner of the yard and close to your back door and
start a compost pile.

By fall you will probly be able to plant some fall crops.

Good luck.

Craig

I wanted to establish new beds last year and now. Since I wanted to do
intensive gardening I dug up the dirt and sifted out rocks. I went
down 18" for my main tomato beds. Go as deep as you can and figure out
how deep your topsol is. I hit some clay which I removed. Other areas
I went 6-9" down--it *IS* a lot of work, but you only have to go to
that extreme once. I mixed in peat moss, composted manure & humus,
vermiculite/perlite, and some water retention crystals that will last
3-5 years. I had a very nice crop of tomatoes, 30 lbs from two
plants--first year gardening. I just prepped two lawn areas. I covered
them with black garbage bags for a few week to kill off the grass and
weeds and dry them out. I then dig them up, turned them, pulled big
weeds like dandelions, and tossed out stones. Fresh grass is strong
and too much work to tear up, let the black bags weaken it first. I'm
added my amendments probably today and seeding them before the
weekend.

This year I varied the fertilizer I added using bonemeal, bloodmeal &
greensand. I make sure I use areas I've cleared of stones nice and
deep for tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onion, etc, since they benefit
from so few rocks underground.

(Cinnamon) wrote:

Hi everyone.

I recently purchased my first home and will be moving in on May 27th.

It has a very large, slightly sloped backyard and I live in
Cincinnati, if anyone is familiar with the climate and strange weather
we have here it may be helpful I guess.

I haven't had a garden since I was a kid, so there is a lot I don't
remember.

Can anyone give advice on what to do to get a start on a garden for
next year, and how to plan my garden now?

What I would like to grow is:

Carrots
Lettuce
Tomatos (cherry and plum)
Corn (couple staulks)
Green Peppers
Green Onions
Onions
Banana Peppers (can you grow those in the US?)

I would also like to try some strawberries because in the back portion
of my yard is a pretty good slope in a shady area and I remember from
being a kid that they grow best in the shade and on a hill. I would
also like to try to grow some blueberries and maybe some blackberries.

In addition to all that (as if that's not enough) I would like to try
a little herb garden with some garlic, mint, cilantro, ginger,
parsley, and bay leaves. Would the herbs be best off in the garden or
should I try that in a window box?

I do plan also on starting a compost pile for use next year.

I guess one of my biggest hinderences to the yard preperation this
year might be that we have 17 year locusts, and this summer is the
17th year so they will be swarming. Does anyone know if this is really
a hinderence or just an annoyance?

Well... I guess I have written a long enough post here. I will try to
shorten them in the future, I am just pretty excited about it I guess.

Thank you in advance for your assistance everyone!

Cinnamon L - Cincinnati Ohio

DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
2nd year gardener

DigitalVinyl wrote in message . ..
I wanted to establish new beds last year and now. Since I wanted to do
intensive gardening I dug up the dirt and sifted out rocks. I went
down 18" for my main tomato beds. Go as deep as you can and figure out
how deep your topsol is. I hit some clay which I removed. Other areas
I went 6-9" down--it *IS* a lot of work, but you only have to go to
that extreme once. I mixed in peat moss, composted manure & humus,
vermiculite/perlite, and some water retention crystals that will last
3-5 years. I had a very nice crop of tomatoes, 30 lbs from two
plants--first year gardening. I just prepped two lawn areas. I covered
them with black garbage bags for a few week to kill off the grass and
weeds and dry them out. I then dig them up, turned them, pulled big
weeds like dandelions, and tossed out stones. Fresh grass is strong
and too much work to tear up, let the black bags weaken it first. I'm
added my amendments probably today and seeding them before the
weekend.

This year I varied the fertilizer I added using bonemeal, bloodmeal &
greensand. I make sure I use areas I've cleared of stones nice and
deep for tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onion, etc, since they benefit
from so few rocks underground.

(Cinnamon) wrote:

Hi everyone.

I recently purchased my first home and will be moving in on May 27th.

It has a very large, slightly sloped backyard and I live in
Cincinnati, if anyone is familiar with the climate and strange weather
we have here it may be helpful I guess.

I haven't had a garden since I was a kid, so there is a lot I don't
remember.

Can anyone give advice on what to do to get a start on a garden for
next year, and how to plan my garden now?

What I would like to grow is:

Carrots
Lettuce
Tomatos (cherry and plum)
Corn (couple staulks)
Green Peppers
Green Onions
Onions
Banana Peppers (can you grow those in the US?)

I would also like to try some strawberries because in the back portion
of my yard is a pretty good slope in a shady area and I remember from
being a kid that they grow best in the shade and on a hill. I would
also like to try to grow some blueberries and maybe some blackberries.

In addition to all that (as if that's not enough) I would like to try
a little herb garden with some garlic, mint, cilantro, ginger,
parsley, and bay leaves. Would the herbs be best off in the garden or
should I try that in a window box?

I do plan also on starting a compost pile for use next year.

I guess one of my biggest hinderences to the yard preperation this
year might be that we have 17 year locusts, and this summer is the
17th year so they will be swarming. Does anyone know if this is really
a hinderence or just an annoyance?

Well... I guess I have written a long enough post here. I will try to
shorten them in the future, I am just pretty excited about it I guess.

Thank you in advance for your assistance everyone!

Cinnamon L - Cincinnati Ohio

DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
2nd year gardener

That's an interesting note about the strawberries, when I was growing
up we had woods behind our house on a hill and we planted the
srawberries there. They did well too...

Thanks for all of the advice (and letting me know about the banana
peppers (that's gonna be awesome!).

I will keep reading and taking notes from you all until I break ground
on my garden next year (or hopefully fall) at the very least, I think
I would like to start the beds as Digital Vinyl recommended.

Thanks to all of you! All advice on this is still welcome!

You might want to try alpine strawberries for your shady slope. They
need a little watering late in the summer but they're everbearing.
Other shade tolerant berries a wintergreen, lowbush blueberries and
there's also a groundcover raspberry...

http://virginiaberryfarm.com/Fruit_b...oundcovers.htm
http://www.raintreenursery.com/catal...%20Raspberr y

Bay and ginger may not be hardy enough for zone 6. Maybe grow all
your herbs in pots then move them outdoors later -- after the locusts.
Good luck!

(Cinnamon) wrote in message . com...
Hi everyone.

I recently purchased my first home and will be moving in on May 27th.

It has a very large, slightly sloped backyard and I live in
Cincinnati, if anyone is familiar with the climate and strange weather
we have here it may be helpful I guess.

I haven't had a garden since I was a kid, so there is a lot I don't
remember.

Can anyone give advice on what to do to get a start on a garden for
next year, and how to plan my garden now?

you can start this year if you roundup the grass (or cover with
cardboard and plant through the cardboard), then fertilize, and that
will probably give you a handle on how to start organizing your garden
for the fall. Three things come to mind:

1) which wildlife at your site? You will probably suffer some damage,
but you will get an idea what you need to defend against. You will
almost certainly need some defenses eventually, at least for some of
the plants (herbs need no defense, but greens almost certianly do).
The cicadas will love your young vegetation, so you may want to
protect with an insect cover or wait to plant the lettuce until
august.

2) which plants where? some plants strongly prefer full sun, but I
always plant strawberries, lettuce or chicory in the shadiest part of
my garden. Start getting an idea about what grows where.

3) where to put the garden? full sun, say I, with automatic
irrigation. everything else matters less. You will never grow very
good peppers in a place that only gets 4 hours of sun. You can still
have satellite beds for strawberries (I have two for strawberries, two
for raspberries, one for mache, and one for herbs)..

The soil type (clay or sand) only matters from the point of view of
whether you need, or not, raised beds. In all cases you will have to
come up with large amounts of organic material by the fall, I would
start with at least two inches of compostables, to be laid down by the
fall (if you start garlic this fall, make sure it is under something
it can poke through in the spring. Matted leaves can kill it). All my
beds have over the years received at least one foot of compostables.
You probably also want a soil test. In time you will learn what
prefers fresh compost and what can go on a bed that was composted the
year before. You will also learn that some plants like your site and
some do not. If you have heavy clay, it will be quite a few years
before you have acceptable carrots. If you have acidic soil, the
onions will be unhappy. All can be corrected over time, but if my
experience is any guidance I learned to be satisfied with what grows
without problems.

For herbs, forego the tender herbs like ginger or bay, and concentrate
on those that grow well at your site (thyme, mint, oregano, and sage).
Give them a well drained, permanent spot in full sun, don't fertilize,
and put some rhizome barrier (I use old vinyl siding) because they
are all quite invasive and cover all their allotted space.

The cicadas will love your young vegetation, so you may want to
protect with an insect cover or wait to plant the lettuce until
august.

As I understand it, periodic cicadas feed almost exclusively on young tree
branches and twigs. I don't think your lettuce is as risk from them,
although slugs and earwigs may end up being your nemesis.

17 years ago, on the eve of the last go round of the 17 year cicadas, we had
lots of young trees and saplings. We purchased a huge roll of black plastic
netting, that made a bit of a dent in the budget of young homeowners, with
the intent of protecting our tree investments. Well, the cicadas came, but
were a bit of a bust in our locale.....we only saw a few, and they didn't
seem to touch our saplings. We still have most of the roll of netting, and
I have learned to relax considerably when in the face of presumed disasters.

Cheers,
Sue
--

Zone 6, South-central PA

"SugarChile" wrote in message ...

As I understand it, periodic cicadas feed almost exclusively on young tree
branches and twigs. I don't think your lettuce is as risk from them,
although slugs and earwigs may end up being your nemesis.


now that I have found out more about them, you are probably right. I
have never experienced them directly, but an article I read earlier
said young vegetation in general.

"SugarChile" wrote in message ...
The cicadas will love your young vegetation, so you may want to
protect with an insect cover or wait to plant the lettuce until
august.

As I understand it, periodic cicadas feed almost exclusively on young tree
branches and twigs. I don't think your lettuce is as risk from them,
although slugs and earwigs may end up being your nemesis.


sorry to double.

http://www.msj.edu/cicada/

gives the map coverage of cicada Brood X emergence (now only days
away). Looks like Ann Arbor is at the very edge of the range.

(simy1) wrote in message . com...
"SugarChile" wrote in message ...
The cicadas will love your young vegetation, so you may want to
protect with an insect cover or wait to plant the lettuce until
august.

As I understand it, periodic cicadas feed almost exclusively on young tree
branches and twigs. I don't think your lettuce is as risk from them,
although slugs and earwigs may end up being your nemesis.


sorry to double.

http://www.msj.edu/cicada/

gives the map coverage of cicada Brood X emergence (now only days
away). Looks like Ann Arbor is at the very edge of the range.

Interesting you posted that site SugarChile, it is a college in the
part of Cincinnati I grew up in, Delhi Township.

In 1987, the last go around, we had them BAD. Couldn't even open the
car windows. I live in Cincinnati, on the west side of Cincinnati, and
we are expected to get hit the hardest on this side of town.

For those of you unfamiliar with them, an interesting fact about them
is that if you dig one up when they are not brooding there is a P on
their wings... if you look at one when they are, you will see a W.
It's weird but true. The old folks say it stands for war and peace...
I dunno, but it's an odd thing.

We're already seeing some and they expect them to really start
sometime this week. I can't wait to MOVE IN IT! Hopefully the current
homeowners will have netted the shrubs! I never thought about that
until now!

DigitalVinyl wrote in message . ..
I wanted to establish new beds last year and now. Since I wanted to do
intensive gardening I dug up the dirt and sifted out rocks. I went
down 18" for my main tomato beds. Go as deep as you can and figure out
how deep your topsol is. I hit some clay which I removed. Other areas
I went 6-9" down--it *IS* a lot of work,

Only some clay? And it was actually removable? Lucky! We have so much
clay, digging 18" deep is out of the question. Unless you want to
break your back.

I have a feeling my garden plants would envy yours.

il 11 May 2004 15:26:30 -0700, (Liashi) ha scritto:

DigitalVinyl wrote in message
. ..
I wanted to establish new beds last year and now. Since I wanted to do
intensive gardening I dug up the dirt and sifted out rocks. I went
down 18" for my main tomato beds. Go as deep as you can and figure out
how deep your topsol is. I hit some clay which I removed. Other areas
I went 6-9" down--it *IS* a lot of work,

Only some clay? And it was actually removable? Lucky! We have so much
clay, digging 18" deep is out of the question. Unless you want to
break your back.

I have a feeling my garden plants would envy yours.

I have a friend who lives over natural volcanic concrete. I offered
to plant a shrub. Years later it's still tiny. I needed a crowbar to
break that stuff but all I had was a puny spade and my feeble
strength.

--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

I have a friend who lives over natural volcanic concrete. I offered
to plant a shrub. Years later it's still tiny. I needed a crowbar to
break that stuff but all I had was a puny spade and my feeble
strength.

Wow, I'd think a jackhammer would do ya even better tho. Sounds like a
place were one grows many plants in containers . . . o.O