Got a gardening calendar for Christmas. I have been researching articles about the dreaded squash vine borer for several years now.
Here is the latest worth reading, IMHO:
Trying to figure out how to keep squash vine borers away from your garden squash this season? These pests wreak havoc on zucchini, and other types of squash every year. In this article, suburban homesteader and gardening expert Merideth Cohrs provides some of her top tips for keeping your squash...
www.epicgardening.com
MY solution is to plant so that each cucurbit that I want to grow/eat will flower After the vine borer season, which is, where I live, ending early August.
Many articles assume that Every squash family vegetable flowers at the same time. They.do.not.
I am figuring out how early and at what times I should start my zucchini, cucumbers, and even melons so that they all flower At or around mid August.
Since I will probably have my left knee surgery around end of June, it won't be impossible to start some crops on my porch as seedlings, and move them out to transplant late July/early August, especially if somebody else carries them out for me!
Watermelon, zucchini and cucumbers should be started in June.
Melons can be started late May since they take 8-10 weeks to flower. Pumpkins can be started in June, too, and they take 8-9 weeks to flower.
This will also determine how many plants I need. Nobody realistically needs more than 3 zucchini plants/season.
Any extra can go into the beds at DD's yard, just up the road. I am sure that they would take any extra melons, too.
This planting schedule also will help me determine how early I can start any of them. Chuck Vogt lives 100 miles north of me in Kankakee, IL. I probably can plant about one week earlier than he does.
Chuck Vogt's Seed Starting Schedule (Professor Emertis, University of Illinois, College of Aces, specialties in vegetables and herbs)
WHEN TO SOW FOR TRANSPLANTING FOR A SPRING GARDEN
January 15-February 15 (go out in March/April)
celery
celeriac
parsley
onion
shallot (from seed)
leek
chives
February 16-February 28
rosemary]]better off w/clone or cultivar
lavendar]]better off w/clone or cultivar
March 1-March 15(go out late March/early April)
cabbage
broccoli
cauliflower
kohlrabi
collards
kale
lettuce
oregano
March 15-March 31
fennel
dill
pepper
eggplant
sage
April 1-April 15
tomato (develop faster and go leggy if started earlier)
April 15-April 30
cucumber]]develop Very fast, put out when it has 1st true leaves
watermelon]]develop Very fast, put out when it has 1st true leaves
May 1-Mar 15
basil(don't put out before Memorial Day)
***
WHEN TO SOW FOR TRANSPLANTING FOR A FALL GARDEN
June 1-June15
brussels sprouts(bitter when grown for a spring schedule)(transplant in July)(harvest mid October)
==not going to make tight sprouts
==Glucosinolates in spring grown brussels sprouts
"The bitter taste of Brussels sprouts comes from compounds called glucosinolates and their degradation products, he explains. These bitter tasting compounds are an important part of the plant’s defence mechanism against leaf-eating enemies, such as insects, nematodes, slugs, and herbivores, like pigeons and deer. They are also responsible for many of the health-giving properties of Brussels and other brassicas, particularly their antioxidant and anti-cancer properties."
Brussels: a bittersweet story
www.soci.org
July 1- July 15
broccoli
cauliflower
kohlrabi
late cabbage
collards
kale (flowering and regular)
fennel (florence)
July 15-July 30
early cabbage
August 1-August 15
kohlrabi
lettuce
dill (for weed)(don't want to flower late, so big fronds)
