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.

thank you for your reply!!! I do have some carrots going that I started and they are about 2 or 3 inches tall now. I would LOVE to do radishes because all my kids and I fight over them, but out of the 10+ times I have started radishes I have yet to get any radishes out of them, for some reason they don't make a radish and always go to seed. I wish I knew why! it is so strange. spinach, I tried some this spring and it went to seed as well. I wonder if it is because the ground wasn't so fertile in that area? I may try it again on the other side where it is better and I have space there as well, but I have space on the not so fertile area as wel l that didn't get any compost in it. the peas are doing great in that area, not sure why beets and radishes and lettuce and spinach are not doing well there...? I have pole beans going right now... I don't know if I'd also want bush beans as well... but I will consider it.

thank you! maybe I'll try for the 1291827th time radishes. they're suppposed to be the easiest thing to grow, yet I have no luck! maybe I'll try the spinach again too!!!

Dont know where you are located, but I'm going to plant more potatoes, to fill in where they were missing/didnt grow. Dont see why you also couldnt put some in, if for nothing else, just to see if they would grow.

im in southern maine...

Usually, when things go to seed without fruiting, it is either because the temperature you are trying to grow it in is not right (often too warm) or because the plant is stressed by something. I don't think you have fertility problems if your plants are so eager to bloom. They would most likely do the opposite.

hmmmmmmmmm... well, they do take a while before the blooming happens. it seems like they go and go and nothing produces and then they go to seed.