I am new to this topic on FR and looking for general advice and criticism on a garden expansion.
I’ve grown tomatoes and squash for several years, with moderate success most years. I’ve also had strawberries and blueberries for a decade with amazing success, although the strawberries dropped off the last two years. I’m thinking of branching out a lot. My main goal is to have something to harvest in Maryland, on the zone 6/7 boundary with plenty of rain in the spring and fall, as much of the year as possible, using minimal but not necessarily zero chemicals.
My plan . . .
1. Prepare the soil starting next month.
2. Plant at the appropriate time over the next eight or so months, for harvest in the month indicated (obviously with the harvest delayed a few years for some plants):
- Galletta strawberry - late May - early June
- Ovation strawberry - mid June (yields on both strawberry varieties the last two years have been down. Any suggestions on treating the soil, when to water, or something else to do?)
- Montmorency or North Star Cherries mid June - mid July (suggestions?)
- Blueberries late June - early August (high and low varieties, already thriving)
- Honey crisp Apples - early September
- Empire Apples - late September - early October
- Pink Lady Apples - late October - early November
- Spinach - early June
- Beets - late June - July
- Squash - June - August
- Tomatoes - late July - Sept
- Pumpkins - October
- Spinach - October
- Beets - October
Is there anything on my list that is particularly hard to grow or prone to pests? Any suggestions on what else I ought to plan or weigh in my plans?
Have you had a soil test done to test for nutrients and micro-nutrients in the soil ?
Use a well balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer for your fruit trees and garden.
Dig a $20.oo dollar hole for a $10.oo dollar tree to encourage spreading root development.
Plan on applying a "dormant oil spray" in early springtime for your cherry and apple trees, as it will suffocate insects and pests prior to leafing out on the trees.
Protect young fruit seedlings from mouse damages with metal screening, and remove any mulch accumulation from around tree base to discourage mouse setting up housing.
Possible deer damage requires more taller, sturdier fencing.
It looks pretty good to me. I’m not sure by what you mean with prepare the soil. I am in zone 5. What I do this time of the year is continue to harvest tomatoes, corn, peanuts, etc.
I have a small space that I will clear and add in compost to plant garlic and some lettuce, endive, and/or spinach. The rest of the garden will be planted in cover crop such as rye and/or hairy vetch till spring.
Come spring, the cover crop will be turned and worked into the bed 2-4 weeks prior to spring planting. I will then add compost and whatever additional nutrients I feel are needed based on what will be planted. I plant potatoes April 1-15, and early crops such as lettuce shortly before or after the potatoes depending on the weather outlook.
I do a 4 year rotation using the guide: Legumes, Leaves, Fruit, Roots. Legumes such as peas or beans are followed the next year by Leaves such as lettuce that require a lot of nitrogen. Leaves are followed by fruit bearing veggies such as tomatoes, potatoes. Roots are garlic, onions, carrots.
For strawberries, after 3-4 years of production, we start a new patch, and pinch the blooms off the first year to make for stronger plants. After that we have berries around June of each year.
We have some dwarf fruit trees, but none have actually really taken off as they were located too close to a black walnut tree.
This year has been too cool and wet for many of the plants we usually enjoy. Be prepared, there will be ups and downs when you tackle growing your own. Our biggest harvest this year has been potatoes and zukes.