Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
slinky_gw

Too late for planting veggies in zone 7?

slinky
16 years ago

i'm in Maryland and this week some coworkers and i decided to rent a garden plot (they rent them close to work). It seems so late in the game- my family just had their first squash and cucumber harvest. If we buy baby plants and get them in the ground ASAP, is it too late to start them? I looked around online for good ideas of what to plant and when, and everything I could find was really vague.

Thanks for any help.

Oh- what we wanted to plant were various herbs, bee balm (to attract bees), squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and maybe pumpkins.

Thanks again!

Comments (8)

  • aka_peggy
    16 years ago

    Go for it! You still have plenty of time if you can find some nice transplants. Squash and cukes only need about 50 days from seed to harvest. And there's still time to get pumpkins from seed in time for Halloween. And there's always fall crops of greens etc.

  • carol_71
    16 years ago

    Hi slinky! I also say just go for it!
    Sunflower attracts bees too, and what I found that attracts them even more than my beloved herbs, is the summer daisies, which stay in bloom till frost (longer than perennial herbs).
    Best luck!
    Carol

  • austransplant
    16 years ago

    Slinky,

    It's not too late at all. I succession plant through the summer things like green and yellow beans, small beets, herbs like basil, dill and cilantro, lettuce, carrots, radishes (they are a bit hot in the summer, but grow very fast and can also be planted quite late), all directly seeded in the garden. A lot of plants do not do well in our summer heat, but will grow well through to the fall if started within the next month. You will probably not find seedlings available for them this late, and what seedlings you do find will not be of high quality. But it is simple and cheaper to plant from seed that can be purchased on line at reputable seed companies (check out postings on this site). Around the end of June -- say next week -- you can start growing in seed trays the following: broccolli, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, fennel (will grow in summer, but gets much bigger if its main growth is in the fall), greens (many of these can be started much later -- e.g. arugula), radicchio. (You could start growing all these things in the ground, but pest pressure is getting intense, and you have more control over pests, I think, by starting them off in seed trays and then transplanting them when they get a bit bigger). Peas can be started later in the year for a fall harvest.

  • ruthieg__tx
    16 years ago

    yes I say go for it too...remember this...we all try to get a head start in the spring time with seed starting in cold damp soil and it takes forever for something to germinate but this time of year is the kind of weather veggies love...a bean seed will germinate in a few days instead of 10 days it takes in the early spring...so even if you can't find transplants...plant away...you'll have lots of time to harvest..

  • zippity_duda
    16 years ago

    I'm in zone 7 as well, and I just planted pole beans, Okra and herbs in the space where I pulled out spinach and lettuce that was bolting. I planted on Friday and I already have little bean and okra plants. Get everything in this weekend and you should be fine!

  • mickee311
    16 years ago

    It's definitely not too late! We bought our house at the end of May and moved in the beginning of June. I didn't get my garden in till July and I had all kinds of stuff! Cucumbers, tomatoes, winter squash, okra, peppers....And a bunch of other stuff. You still have plenty of time for most tihngs. Anything else, try to get starts from the nursery or something.

  • slinky
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    thanks so much! i went out at lunch and got 5 roma tomato plants (1' tall each), and 6 squash plants (only about 8" tall) and a couple of herbs for now. i'll probably get a few more things this week but thought that was a decent start!

  • Violet_Z6
    16 years ago

    You've plenty of time to prepare for a fall planting. Check with your state's Extension Service. Each county should have it's own Cooperative Extension Office which provides free publications and information for the asking. They will have valuable vegetable/gardening tables available specifically for your area determined by universities and horticultural research scientists who have collected data from growing those crops in your state. Your tax dollars are already paying for this service so you may as well get some use out of it.

    Vegetable Planting and Planning Calendar for Missouri (download the pdf) complete with spring and fall planting dates (underneath the spring planting dates for appropriate crops), how much to plant per person, etc. They can also tell you the average last frost date for your area and ideal planting times for specific crops and varieties in your area.

    See how detailed this example is:

    {{gwi:4005}}