tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post508707548572222703..comments2023-10-21T03:54:12.029-04:00Comments on A Gift Universe: MiscellanySheilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-67690273120083700582011-04-07T11:00:50.603-04:002011-04-07T11:00:50.603-04:00Peas are great, and are a cool-weather crop, so if...Peas are great, and are a cool-weather crop, so if you sow them in August (I think -- depending on where you are and how soon your summer season ends, you can get in a crop before the big freeze). The only drawback is that you have to plant zillions of them to get any kind of yield. The best pea crop I ever had grew in almost pure compost, which I'd dumped into a hole in a deck, formerly occupied by a hot tub. They've done all right in the very so-so soil of my current garden. I live in a red-clay area, and while the space for my kitchen garden had obviously been a garden before, with amended soil, it's not great. <br /><br />Don't forget container gardening! You can stretch your home-grown food supply without necessarily having to till up and improve a lot of ground. Many varieties of tomato do well in containers, as do peppers, cucumbers (esp. if trellised or caged) and bush beans. <br /><br />I'm lousy at starting seeds -- I always forget to water them, or else over-water them. I read recently that the thing to do is dampen the soil and put a film of plastic wrap over the top to keep the moisture in, like a greenhouse. Then when the seedlings sprout, you can take it off. <br /><br />Speaking of poor soil, the best cucumber vine I've ever grown was in horrible soil, on the patio of an apartment we lived in about eight years ago. I'm not sure I even planted it on purpose; we might just have dropped a seed. That vine sprang up and flourished and gave us fresh cucumbers all summer, in what was otherwise a depressing living situation. So you might try one and see if it rewards you. <br /><br />Happy house-closing and gardening!Sally Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05014351173194941624noreply@blogger.com