Wow, what an informative reply! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer each question! I saw your from Western Mass, and while I've never been to Massachusetts personally, I know you get some really cold weather too!
I really like your germination setup, and that may be something I could try in the future! That would definitely ensure you know exactly how many plants are going at one time! I'm currently having that issue, as only about half of the spinach that we planted germinated, and I don't think the carrots germinated either to be honest.
How far apart do you space your rows normally? Just enough to walk between them? And how far apart do you plant those plants? I do feel like my spacing could become a little bit of an issue for what I've already planted. I have been able to get in and start weeding, but now I'm questioning how much room I'll have after adding the warm weather plants!
Ooh, that's awesome! We have also been considering growing some of our own herbs, like basil or parsley, but wasn't sure if I should do little pots or if it was something I could line the garden with, almost acting as a border of sorts. (I've heard there are some herbs, like mint, that act as a barrier for ants and other critters because of the smell I guess?) We have a chocolate mint plant along the side of the house for decoration, but I will definitely have to do some research on invasive plant species for our area so I don't hurt the rest of the garden!
Our new puppy has been doing a good job of keeping some critters away, so luckily we haven't had to fight the squirrels or rabbits too much yet! My hopes with the chicken wire was just to keep out the critters while the plants were germinating, and it's doing an alright job, but I do want something sturdier! And I'm guessing you dig it into the ground to keep critters from digging underneath it? That is an awesome idea, thank you!
Wow, hay mulch! I do live in Amish country, so thankfully hay is pretty easy to find around here! I will definitely try that out! Do you mulch it yourself or do you buy it premulched? Just curious, as I would most likely just try to mulch it myself!
Thank you so much for all your advice!
Spinach will not grow inside. I've tried different temps and light and it doesn't come up. It should be direct seeded. Carrots are a taproot plant and any plant with a tap root hates being transplanted. They should be direct seeded. Most seed packets tell what the row and plant spacing should be. There are far too many plants to try to tell that info.
I used to do the recommended 12". 18" 24" and 36" row spacing. But I am not longer 18" wide so all my rows have gone to 24" or larger as required.
I would STRONGLY urge you to only grow any mint or plant from the mint family in pots. Mint is extremely hard to get rig of once it invades. If you grow herbs in small pots you will get small herbs. All plants need plenty of room to grow. And if you are growing herbs for medicinal purposes, they MUST have soil teeming with biology to make the needed essential oils you seek. That is only found in properly prepared soil in the ground.
Fencing should be buried a minimum of 9" deep and PLEASE don't use chicken wire. It won't last 5 years and leaves hundreds of very sharp rusted points everywhere, tetanus hazard.
Hay should NEVER be broken up from the leaves that come in the bales. For more infor:
https://steemit.com/gardening/@goldenoakfarm/about-using-hay-for-mulch
Wow, ok! Thank you for that tip! As of right now, the spinach is looking pretty good but I still haven't seen any carrot sprouts yet :(
As of now, since all my plants are kind of staggered, I'd say I have about 12-18 inches between each plant, but my rows themselves are only 12 inches between the plants, which I hope is enough room, but again, trial and error is the best teacher in my opinion!
After reading this, I definitely need to go out and check the chocolate mint we have outside and see just how far it's spread because it's been there for many years, my fiance's family planted them a while ago for decoration haha. As for the herbs, I'm really glad that I didn't buy own of those starter kits that you put inside on a window sill! Those may definitely have there own spot in the garden then!
I personally didn't want to use the chicken wire, but we had a good sized roll here at the house that was the perfect size to put up to temporarily keep critters out. I definitely don't want rusty metal hanging out in the garden, that's for sure, so I'll definitely start making some plans to build my own fence soon! (I really enjoy DIY projects!)
Holy cow, I'm glad I found you on here then! I wouldn't have even realized that you couldn't mulch hay from the bale! Thank you so much for all your help! I'm learning so much already and am so excited to apply all this knowledge to the rest of our gardening this year, as well as the many years to come!
I am glad to be of help. If you have other questions about gardening, just ask. I don't mind answering, as i'd like everyone to be successful at gardening. :))
Well thank you very much for that! I truly appreciate all of your help! And I hope that you have a very bountiful season as well! I'll make sure to keep you updated on how things are going! :)