I poked some seeds into the ground Tuesday, and the turnips are already popping up from the ground!
I put a few ‘French Breakfast’ radish seeds in this evening; maybe I’ll have radishes by Christmas?
There’s lots more that you can plant now; you can visit here for more crops.
I was on a roll, so I planted some snapdragons, alyssum, pak choi, and cilantro. We’ll see how the flowers do; I would really like to save some moolah there.
It’s so nice to have homemade compost handy for starting seeds- what a money saver!
It’s not too late to start a garden- the weather is beautiful for planting!
Coffee to Compost 
I am just beginning to learn about how to garden here and I have started small. I have already made some minor mistakes, but this is how one learns. Choose a spot that is a little too shady and also it looks like roots from either a nearby oak or somewhat distant mulberry have gotten into one of my beds. Since the roots are yellow I suspect the mulberry and their roots tend to be shallow, wandering great distances looking for nutrients. That bed actually does not have my garden but some seedling loquats that I plan to plant as soon as some more land is fully cleared. The other 4×8 bed, I have diverse things in it. So far the Japanese mustard and I think it is collard greens are doing the best. Part of this initial try is trial to find how to grow things. I have a lot of fruit trees planted already and some berries, but now it is learning how to garden. I would like to have especially greens available anytime that I need them. Biggest hurdle is getting large amounts of compost. Cotton waste is available in the northern part of the county. If I use it, I would only use it once since cotton waste likely contains residues for pesticides, maybe even some arsenic. Once time I think is ok, but keep using it and there could be build up of unwanted substances in your soils.
I want to try the three sisters this spring. So many plans and actually doing is the hard part.
I have found that my greens grow slowly in the cold, but seem to really take off in January. I blanch and freeze extras for later in the year. I have done kale, collards, and mustard this way, with the collards tasting the best to me. As far as fresh summer greens go, have you tried sauteed sweet potato leaves? They are tasty. I wish I had an endless supply of compost; wouldn’t that be great?
Hello, it is Oct 25, 2024 and I ‘m just now finding this blog based in Florida. I live in the Adirondack Mts of NY not far from Lake Placid and garden alot. My zone is 3-4, but my family in southern VA can grow vegetables similar,it seems, like northern Florida does and I do love greens especially collard greens. They grow very well up here and I start the seeds under a grow light in April and plant them late May. Our first heavy frost is June 6th and after that I plant tomatoes and such.
I was seeking a recipe for Keiffer pear preserves and this blog had one plus other uses and care of this pear. My tree I planted here over 25 yrs finally has produced well this year and I have pears in the barn for 2 weeks. Your blog’s recipes are very good and I can often and may use several of the recipes.
THanks for this information. Whomever started it, you are doing a great job. It was easy to navigate through. STay well,
Gina Doty