I plant them early, at least 3 or 4 weeks before the last spring frost date, and also later in the season so they can mature in the cool weather of fall.
A couple of years ago, Jan and I picked our first heads of broccoli a few days before Memorial Day, and cut the last ones from our fall planting on Thanksgiving Day. If you live south of my homestead, you can easily get a longer season of cabbage family crops—especially in the fall. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s a guaranteed way to get hard-to- germinate parsnips and carrots to come up in a few days!
Parsnips, carrots, and other slow-germinating seeds take so long to come up—often 2 weeks or more—that weeds often overtake the row.
If you’d like to get these slowpoke crops to come up in just a few days (or if you want to speed up other crops such as onions, lettuce, beets, etc.), my wide-row seed tape planting idea is for you.
- Roll out one layer of reinforced paper towel. Get the toughest towels you can. The cheap brands fall apart during the sprouting stage.
- Moisten the paper towel, using a spray bottle. Read the rest of this entry »
