23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

I think you can plant and grow successfully JUST ABOUT ANYTHING you want in that space, with 6 hours of sun, down in Memphis, TN. I am gardening in a situation that I get hardly 5 hours of direct sun and I grow tomatoes, potatoes, pepper, cucumbers, squash, garden bean, chard, ... all kinds of herbs.

Here are some plants that wont mind even less direct sun:

---- chards, parsley, sage, rosemary, lemon balm, any member of onion family (chives, onions, leeks, shallot,) any member of cabbage family,

But it might be a bit too late for some of them to start from seeds but you can always buy plants and plant them.

Thank you both for your responses, I appreciate it-great suggestions. Seysonn, we actually just planted a whole 8x4 bed with seeds of Swiss Chard and Kale. I know Kale especially is supposed to be a cool season plant, but we use Kale in smoothies and would be covering up up bitter tastes anyway. When you say it may be too late are you referring to the bitterness as the weather gets hot-or an issue with germination and growth? Thanks!

Basil is a heavy feeder and also prefers bright sun and heat. I mean, it's one of the few garden plants that I can count on through the summer in the extreme, Phoenix summer heat.

To make matters worse the conditions which slow the basil growth also favor many basil diseases. That is my main reason for only early starting disease resistant varieties like Nufar, Emily or Genoveser. Also use a potting mix with biofungicide if possible as added insurance and then you still need to keep young seedlings warmer than most other crops. Temps dipping into the mid 40s often leeds to "Tanning" of the leaves; low of

boil baking potatoes and an onion in good stock. Add spices and salt to taste (I like a little chili and salt). When cooked, blend the soup with one or two handfuls of sorrel leaves, stems removed. serve immediately. the secret is to blend instantly when leaves and soup are in the blender. then the soup will stay a bright green. if you wait, it will turn grey. Baking potatoes are much easier on your blender than waxy. Sorrel soup with waxy destroyed our previous blender.

I also add tallow or olive oil to the soup when serving. This is served in April and for Thanksgiving here.

Sorrel leaves effectively 'melt' when heated so you can make a quick sauce for grilled or fried fish by just cooking some gently in a little butter. It has the acidity you need and fulfils the same function as a slice of lemon.

Or you can make it slightly fancier by adding the fish juices and some crème fraiche.

Typical emergence in zone 2B is mid to late May, about the same time as the average last frost date, which is 5 to 6 weeks after snow cover disappears. That's in a typical year though. We still have snowbanks lying around!

We don't mulch in Zone 3 - maybe we should but the asparagus seems to emerge when it is ready - We would actually rather it come up a little later as others commented - the early warm break in the weather kicks everything in gear and then Mother Nature reminds us that winter is not over yet - the Asparagus has to shiver in it's boots for a day or two.

gallinis, thanks for the tip. Every year I wonder if it's ok to use the new leaves that grow late in the season.

"Same thing with kale and chard. Once bolted, they're done. "

Not so, for sure, IME. I have had chard plants go 3-4 years in well-protected locations. Kale plants are well known to produce for longer than that in greenhouses or very mild climates, though I have not had one go for more than about 3 years.

Jean,
The green house is about 75 of cloudy days and 80-85 with sun (then I open the vents). At night it gets to about 55-60.

What kind of potting mix are you using? Are you fertilizing them? Are you over or under-watering? A picture would be helpful.

Thanks terry_neoh for all those possible problems, it's really good to know all these. I will definitely look them up for more info and see if I can dig around to see what's down there.

And, the pollination, yes, I've been going out each morning with a tiny paintbrush to pollinate if I have to. It's kind of fun! I've also tried to plant more flowers around to attract the bees.

Thanks art_1! I had high hopes for Mel's Mix, but it was disappointing. The mix was just too light and needed more "substance" as my neighbor told me.

Looks like you may not have selected a suitable compost element for your Mel's mix. I've been using homemade compost in Mel's mix for years and it works well, as advertised and expected. Also, the bed doesn't look raised to me. The idea is to use Mel's mix on top of the native soil, not incorporated into it.

As was said, leafminers. Do as the other poster suggested.

BTW, did you know that the red russian kale is a superb self-sower? Let them go to seed and you won't have to buy seed again, most likely.

Pea sprouts are delicious. If you do need to thin make a salad or stir fry with the peas and micro-kale.

Still, the idea of eating seedlings is not attractive to me... So I'll transplant this Sunday before the rain.

Here's an update. They look a bit better now now that they have more air circulation and less watering. The peat pots actually got a chance to dry lately. Here's a closer look at the possible mold. Probably mold, yes?

A look at the curl and yellowing. The new leaf looks green and happy at least.

Thanks for catching that Slimy. I missed the okra completely.

Dave

Assuming the soil textures in equal condition, the one thing that decides plants watering need is the characteristic of their roots. The stronger, longer, wider, deeper root types need less watering(the exceptions here are those root crops that need a lot water ) and the shorter, weaker, shallower root types need as frequent watering as they could get(i.e. most leafy vege and squash family).

So Wayne, does corn have to be covered if there is a freeze coming. My soil is warm enough but my last freeze is May 15th. Of course, I could just try some and see what happens. Where else could I get my jollies for just a $2 packet of seeds?

Sweet corn is more tender than field corn and anything below 35ð or 36ð may damage them some. Freezing temps ? forget it.

Covering helps, yes.