May Gardening in Coastal Maine – Planting Zone 6a
Yesterday as I was rooting around in the garage looking for my garden trowel, I came across a set of grow bags I had purchased back in 2019. {I paid $9.99 for the set back then, now they’re up to $20.99!}
I had seen the bags used in the kitchen garden at the Rough Point estate in Rhode Island, and thought I’d give them a whirl. Clearly, I must have forgotten about them. 😉
Since I didn’t order seed potatoes this year, I thought I planted the fingerling potatoes I bought last fall {and totally forgot about} that I found in the basement the other day.
Yes, the potatoes are a little shriveled and past their prime, but what would gardening season be without a few experiments, right? 🙂
I filled the grow bags with about 10 inches of soil, tossed the fingerlings in, and covered them with about 2 inches of dirt.
If all goes as planned, once I see a few green leaves poking up through the soil, I’ll add a few more inches of dirt around the base {and then repeat the process}. Hopefully by the end of summer, and a few drinks of water, we’ll have a few handfuls of fingerling potatoes to enjoy.
Note: I paid $4.00 for the 3 pounds of fingerling potatoes last fall, so as long as I make my money back {and a little extra for effort} the whole experiment will be a success in my book.
In other gardening news, I finally got all my pepper and tomatoes transplanted.
Although now I’m thinking I may have started them TOO LATE this year {normally I don’t set out my tomato and pepper plants until the end of May}. Because seriously, look at those temps! Not a single night near freezing.
Part of me wants to run down to the nursery and BUY a bunch of tomato starts.
On the other hand, if I don’t, that will just mean I won’t have to worry about canning all things tomatoes and peppers until the end of August/Early September and that will give me plenty of time to make all the jams I could possibly want.
The rhubarb I transplanted last week is doing well.
And the row {that survived} of garlic is looking pretty good.
And 7 of the 10 oregano plants I had at the far end of the kitchen garden made it through the winter.
The chives are doing fantastic, of course. Chives always seem to do well no matter where I plant them.
But the biggest thrill so far in the garden this season are the asparagus crowns I planted a few weeks ago. They’ve already begun to break through the soil and reach for the stars. Aren’t they cute?
It’s too bad we won’t be able to harvest any spears until the spring of 2024 {as they need a few years to build up their root systems}. I planted 25 crowns, which should be PLENTY for 2 people {and then some}.
And last but not least, the tulips are up as well. I figure by this time next week they’ll be in full bloom and I’ll have a nice bouquet of flowers to set on the dining room table.
May Gardening in Coastal Maine, it’s pretty awesome if you ask me.
What’s coming up in your neck of the woods? Something good I hope. 🙂
~Mavis
Julie says
Okay, here’s the annoying thing about growing potatoes in grow bags, killjoy that I am. By the time you get a lot of top growth you are watering those babies all the time.
Jamie says
I am currently harvesting lettuce, collard greens, French breakfast radishes, and a few herbs (lovage, rosemary and oregano). My peas are slowly starting to trellis, and the beans have their first set of leaves up. I just succession planted my second round of beans yesterday. It’s been warm in Maryland zone 7 the last few days and we are well past our average last frost date, so the tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, and nasturtiums are in… although a blue jay took off with the smallest pepper plant this morning while I was watching the garden from a window drinking my coffee. Under the lights I just started my pumpkins and (for fun) bee balm, phlox, and milkweed for my new pollinator garden.
Rosemary Calhoun says
I want to plant tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. I plan to buy plants this week and get them in the ground. I live in Florida and we have a longer growing season, so I hope I didn’t start too late.
Susan H. says
I plant potatoes in large containers. I put a few inches of soil, place the potatoes and cover them with more soil. I save my grass clippings and as the vines grow I alternate green clippings and browned clippings around them. I also have the pots in semi-shade (only place I have). I don’t have grow bags so I am going to try to use 40 lb bird seed bags in place of grow bags (with some drain holes of course) We are enjoying green onions and I am champing at the bit to get the rest of the garden planted here in northern Ohio!
Erin says
3 days in the 90s here in eastern Iowa. It feels like July!
Laura says
Lows still in the low 40s here in Seattle area. I think I will grow tomatoes on the kitchen counter at this rate. No end in sight to this weather. Sigh.
Kim says
There are 100 degree temps predicted for Dallas, TX next week. Not sure we can have much success with tomatoes if that holds.
Potatoes and onions are looking good, though.
Suzy says
To get potatoes ready to harvest earlier some people chit them. Which is let them sprout. I bet you get a good harvest. No matter they are shriveled.
Carole says
Here in south Texas, things are booming. Peas are done though, 100 degrees is not pea weather. Tomatoes peppers, eggplant, potatoes, carrots, green beans, onions, shallots, garlic, okra and squash. Its a bloomin’ truck farm!! As long as we don’t get hoards of grasshoppers later in the summer, should be a bountiful harvest.
LindaT says
I’ve got strawberries setting fruit, raspberries leafy, potatoes up in two places ( in a bag and in the end of the garden) We have peas over a foot high and I planted another row of broccoli today after the rabbits decimated the first row. It gets too cold at night for tomatoes and peppers so I’ll wait another week. Garlic and onions doing well. And we have flower beds needing to be tended. I wish I had the energy all this takes. Sigh.
Debi says
This week I planted peas, radishes, spinach, lettuce and onions (70 of them!). Everything else is in the portable greenhouse until the end of May. I’m in zone 5 and we’re not truly out of the “frost weather” until then. I’m planting potatoes for the first time this year, but I’m putting them directly in the ground.
Linda says
Hi Mavis,
The garden is in full production! The transition from winter to spring was easy. We continue to get carrots, and still some lettuce, my early starts are already producing summer squash, patty pan squash, zucchini, and beets, I had a 3 lb 8oz beet , it was hidden behind the artichoke plants. The peas are tall and beginning to produce, our grapes are forming and looking good. My spinach is bolting, and the arugula is going to seed along with the broccoli, as well as the green onions..there are so many with double flowers…flowering together? Still getting cabbage too! I see tomatoes starting and have already had two cucumbers! Also our artichoke plants are in super production! We’re having one every night with dinner! Don’t mean to brag on the garden production…. but livin in So. California has some advantages….great gardening, great weather, great beaches….everything else..well you know…….
Peggy says
The tomatoes and peppers WILL catch up! Don’t worry about them. Start to harden them off and come July, one day you’ll look at them and they’ll be lush and growing like crazy!!
Dee Patterson says
Could someone nearby give or sell you tomato plants ?
There must be someone who has planted too many and needs the space.