Hello All! Garden newbie in a cold place

Zeedman said:

Welcome, @TwinCitiesPanda , from east-central Wisconsin! My own experience closely mirrors yours... early adulthood in Whidbey Island WA, then many years in San Diego & San Jose, followed by 20+ years in my present location. Having gardened in all those West Coast locations, the short seasons here took a lot of getting used to... but I've found that cheap land & abundant water more than compensate for the differences. Many vegetables actually do really well in our Midwest summers, provided you choose the right varieties... if the UofMN Extension is anything like the Extension here, they should give you some good recommendations for your area.

Yes, expect to put up fencing, if you plan on actually eating some of what you grow. In urban areas (where deer are unlikely) all you would need is about 3' of chicken wire fence, or any material with holes small enough to keep out rabbits. If you intend to have a compost heap, place it as far from the vegetable garden as possible, since mice & insects may nest there. Raised beds are beneficial, since they provide better drainage when we have heavy rains (a fairly frequent occurrence) but since you are living in a rental, be sure that the landlord is OK with your garden plans.

I've built up a seed bank of many vegetables that do well here, and would be happy to share seeds & advice.

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so lucky said:

I would advise you to buy seeds from a reputable source--at least a garden store. You can find them cheaper but sometimes the germination is down and the quality of plant you get is not good. Most unused seed can be saved for several years, stored in their packs then in glass jars or good plastic containers, in the freezer.
Welcome to TEG. I will follow your journey as you find ways to extend your growing season. We may all need to learn to do these things as the growing climate changes for all of us.
Oh, and Welcome!

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TwinCitiesPanda said:

Thank you. I purchased from Seed Savers (some from the site, most on the exchange). I hope it works out. I've had a poor track record with standard store seeds and I'm trying to support open pollination/non-patented plants.

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ducks4you said:

from Central IL, Zone 5b/6a.
Here are my 2 cents:
1) Assume that your last frost date is really later than the charts say.
2) Be prepared to cover cold weather crops if it decides to turn back to winter and you put them out.
3) Save your covers!!! Warm weather crops are Really T R O P I C A L and HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE the cold!!!! Tomatoes are the easiest and geraniums are super easy flowers. Peppers are trickier, sweet potatoes are difficult, regular potatoes do OK, as well as peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, broccoli and cauliflower can be fussy. Radishes make you feel great bc they come up fast and prefer the chill of early spring, plus early harvesting.
4) Don't be afraid to kill your plants!!! You will learn more from that than from success bc the success was really a lot more work than you remembered.
5) Make sure that your beds drain well. Few plants like it that wet, although seedlings need to live in the water or else their shallow roots dry out.
6) Cardboard is your very good, cheap and free, FRIEND!!
7) NO MATTER WHAT advice you read, do NOT be afraid to take it and experiment with it. If it doesn't work, somebody else has a better idea to try. Your University Extension office has a lot of very good advice bc the person that mans it is probably also a gardener.

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