I would like to know what homesteaders are planting right now and how it should be planted and protected against the weather. I am especially interested in zone 5. Thanks

-- Kathy (jubilant@ncweb.com), October 11, 2001

Answers

I am in a zone 8 so I don't have to worry about protecting anything for a while. I have kale, brussels sprouts, radichio, lettuce, bok choy, beets, carrots, minutina, spinach, snowpeas, mesclun mix and violets. I have row hoops over my beds just in case I need them but our winters are pretty mild.

When I lived in much colder climates, I grew in hotbeds and cold frames. My hotbeds were trenched about 3 feet deep and filled a 1 1/2 with hot manure, horse, chicken or goat, cold compost and garden soil on top of that with row hoops and covers. Wow! It sounds like a lot of work, I was so much younger then!

-- Laura (ladybugwrangler@hotmail.com), October 11, 2001.

Laura, what is minutina? I've never heard of it. Here in NY, gardening is done except for kale, collards and brussel sprouts.

-- Cathy in NY (hrnofplnty@yahoo.com), October 11, 2001.

Hello Kathy, We too live in zone 5 (Ozarks). Our garlic was just planted. Our turnips are growing well and will probably be harvested in a couple more weeks. We planted corn the same time we planted the turnips but, the seeds were old and only three stalks came up. We had to harvest the rest of our tomatoes (green). Since we have had three frosts in the last two weeks. I planted some tomato and lettuce seeds in the greenhouse but, they are not doing too well. I think I will try them again, in the house instead. Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), October 11, 2001.

Middle of NE. We have already had a frost that killed the tomato and vine crops. I still have lettuce growing on our back porch(very young, as it came from seeds gathered from the summer garden). My mangle beets are still growing and green out in the garden.

-- notnow (notnow05@yahoo.com), October 11, 2001.

Minutina is commonly called miners lettuce. It grows wild and is one of my favorite wild vegetable.

I actually got a few red tomatoes this year from my porch. I need to bring the green ones indoors, not because of frost but because of rain.

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@hotmail.com), October 12, 2001.

I planted 2 kinds of lettuce and a row of spinach a few weeks ago and I think I will pick some today for a green salad. I put hay bales (spoiled hay) around the bed and covered it with old windows when the weather got cooler. I am hoping it will keep producing until we go away for Christmas but not taking bets. :o) I too am a zone 5.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), October 15, 2001.