My peas are up about 3 inches since sowing them on April 15th and I just sowed string bean seeds. I think I will think of some way to shade the peas if it suddenly gets hot and hope that helps. I wonder if I should mulch them to keep the soil cooler? We do enjoy lettuce and bok choy so I am going to go ahead and plant those and eat them young and if they bolt early, I will leave one or two to go to seed for the fall. Brassicas will have to wait for a fall crop I guess. I wonder about Kale? I grow in raised beds organically and the soil is constantly mulched with leaves and grass clippings and I often add kitchen scraps around the edges of the bed under the mulch, so there are lots of worms and the soil is good and loose. I shld get some quick growth. Oh good, beets and chard. IâÂÂll give those a try in the next few days. Nila, I often put tomato starts out early but I always use a Wall of Water around them and that works very well for me. HavenâÂÂt had a frost damaged tomato plant using those. pnbrown, I was lucky enough to be able to stop at that vegetable garden of JeffersonâÂÂs. Just a gorgeous location with so much space and rolling hills in the background and they keep the veggie garden immaculate. Yes, I donâÂÂt really get how someone in Virginia can be zone 6b or 7a and spring starts the same time as Massachusetts? Makes no sense to me.

I don't know much about potatoes--I have only seen my very first potato emerge, from a piece of a grocery store-bought potato that mistakenly sprouted (it was also the only potato in the batch that didn't turn green the day after I bought them!). In zone 5, now is the time to start putting in a fall garden. You can already sow and plant some vegetables, but most of it is going to be put in during July and part of August. You're basically looking to sow/plant cool weather crops. Carrots - Choose a smaller variety that grows faster so they have time to mature well before frost. The nice thing about carrots is they don't take up much space so you can sow lots, and like most root vegetables, you can harvest at any stage, so in case they don't mature, you will still have a smaller crop that will be even more tender than mature carrots (you can even pull a tiny one with a five-inch top growth and garnish a salad with it, leaves and all - a thing of beauty!). Make sure, though, that you put it in very fine earth, and that they get regular water. Carrots mature here about three months after sowing, weather permitting. Yours, if you sow them now, would be sizing up around end of september. I suggest you stagger three crops by ten days each. Come end of season, you'll have a variety of sizes to use in a variety of dishes. Don't be afraid to sow a variety of carrots (doesn't anybody sell mixed carrot seed?) - orange is so out! :) Radish - Wait a month before sowing, though. Right now, radishes are kinda hot (mine are, anyways, and it will only get hotter). Rule of thumb: the warmer the weather, the hotter your radish. If you sow end of July and keep sowing weekly right up until the beginning of October, you'll get increasingly juicy, crunchy, smooth radish. As with carrots, you can harvest these at any stage as well--just don't count on them to be meaty. It is best to wait until you can see the stem thickening. Try White Icicle. It is a heritage radish that has a mild taste, doesn't get woody and it is thin and long like a carrot (six inches long - grow lots is a small space!) so it is great for slicing. What's not to like? It is ready in about five weeks. Lettuce - Once again, it is best if you wait for cooler weather. However, I still successfully grow fairly good lettuce. It doesn't beat spring lettuce, but it is decent and gets even better by fall. Don't put them in bright sun for long. Snap beans - This is not a cool weather crop, but it is fast enough for a good harvest. Better to grow bush beans now than runner beans. Runners will take a bit too much time and you may lose your harvest. Mine are not fussy about the weather and they don't seem to mind dry spells. I guess you could still sow beans for drying, but you would have to do it NOW and you would still be taking a chance. Spinach - Wait until end of July, up to mid-August even. They seem to prefer light shade in Montreal, so save a spot for them accordingly (maybe behind the bush beans?). Too much shade, though, is no good. Being a leafy vegetable, it is very easy to grow. Just keep the soil evenly moist and pick any occasional bug off the leaves. Also, if you go by a garden center, get chives. Perennial, good on practically anything, needs no care other than small regular harvests, never gets sick and reportedly even protects certain other vegetables from predators. To me, a garden without chives is not a garden.

I'm in Zone 5 here in northern Indiana and started my this past Saturday evening and I already have sprouts today. Which is much sooner than my previous record of 6 days.

Cool :) I started 6 nagas a week ago in a baggie and so far have 3 sprouted with a little help from a light bulb. Those are a beautiful. Kathy