So I'm trying sooo hard to put together a "growing" calendar for myself and a few others, and to make it veeery dummy proof.
I just want to make absolutely sure about sow and harvest dates.
For example, watermelon that says "80 days". is that ... harvest around 80 days after it sprouts true leaves, or after it starts flowering? I know it might be shorter or longer depending on the weather but I'm gardening in south florida and long-distance gardening with some inexperienced folks and I'd like to be able to be specific when I send seeds + instructions.
Or snow peas - it says 50 days - is that 50 from flowering or from true leaves?
Spinach (I found a hybrid that's 30 days) - 30 days from true leaves, I imagine.
That's just a sample of what I'm doing, I just don't want to say "if this sprouts by June 1, you'll be harvesting watermelon sept 15th" when it's actually "if this FLOWERS by june 1, you'll be harvesting watermelon Sept 15th".
Thanks.
If I'm correct, I think everything pretty much means from true leaves to harvest time when it give you a "days to maturity" time frame. Of course like you said, temps, rain, bugs, etc all play big roles. Peas grow very fast for example. And when you see flowers, its only about another week before you have pods to start eating.
Things like spinach pose an even different question. Do you want baby spinach? or fully mature leaves to eat? Baby spinach is probably ready only 15 days after true leaves appear.
Watermelons....color and a good thump on the rind should tell you when it's ready. For most veggies it's pretty apparent when they're ready. And a little early pick won't hurt anything, heck most are a little sweeter.
I can appreciate that a beginning gardener would want very detailed instructions. However, you may be over thinking it on this one. You know what a ripe tomato looks like, and most other things that need to reach a certain maturity before being consumed at peak flavor are pretty easy to tell. Everything else (ie squash, lettuce, spinach, etc) can be a little late or a little early.
lol..nothing will make a plant grow slower than counting days. It's like the old saying "a watched pot never boils". A watched garden never blooms.
Things like spinach pose an even different question. Do you want baby spinach? or fully mature leaves to eat? Baby spinach is probably ready only 15 days after true leaves appear.
Watermelons....color and a good thump on the rind should tell you when it's ready. For most veggies it's pretty apparent when they're ready. And a little early pick won't hurt anything, heck most are a little sweeter.
I can appreciate that a beginning gardener would want very detailed instructions. However, you may be over thinking it on this one. You know what a ripe tomato looks like, and most other things that need to reach a certain maturity before being consumed at peak flavor are pretty easy to tell. Everything else (ie squash, lettuce, spinach, etc) can be a little late or a little early.
lol..nothing will make a plant grow slower than counting days. It's like the old saying "a watched pot never boils". A watched garden never blooms.
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Tilde
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Thanks, glad I'm thinking in the right direction.
Overthinking is kind of needed for this project as the intent is to build a calendar that's reasonably accurate; staggered plantings to give them very young gardeners something to do every couple of weeks while it's still wintering around them at first.
Later on, to give them something to look forward to as the spring continues "this week you should have some peas to harvest!" to keep the momentum going. They're used to a calendar with school and other activities, so balancing it is turning into an interesting project.
Glad I thought of it now ... I've got about a month before I need to ship the "kit" off for end of year gift.
Overthinking is kind of needed for this project as the intent is to build a calendar that's reasonably accurate; staggered plantings to give them very young gardeners something to do every couple of weeks while it's still wintering around them at first.
Later on, to give them something to look forward to as the spring continues "this week you should have some peas to harvest!" to keep the momentum going. They're used to a calendar with school and other activities, so balancing it is turning into an interesting project.
Glad I thought of it now ... I've got about a month before I need to ship the "kit" off for end of year gift.
If I may make a recommendation for you calendar, Applestar is working on a list of phenological indicators in the "seed starting" section. Read it over. I followed it as best I could this past season and got a jump on most of my seeds. And everything that I followed the indicators with was successful.
Teaching your young gardeners to, for example, plant their potatoes when the first dandilions appear (if I remembered it right), will help combat the confusion of when to start things according to what zone you are in.
Let me know if you need help with it. I'd love to be a reference for you! These types of things get me through the winter lol.
Teaching your young gardeners to, for example, plant their potatoes when the first dandilions appear (if I remembered it right), will help combat the confusion of when to start things according to what zone you are in.
Let me know if you need help with it. I'd love to be a reference for you! These types of things get me through the winter lol.
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jal_ut
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Days to harvest? Good question. Take corn for example, 90 day corn may mature in 90 days in the area where the variety was developed, but will take longer in a cooler area, maybe up to 110 days.
The best use of these dates is to compare fast maturing varieties with longer maturing varieties. If you garden at high altitudes like myself and a few others on this board, you will want fast maturing varieties or they are not likely to make it.
Another use of these dates is to plant several cultivars all the same day for a continued harvest. One after the other.
I am thinking that the days to maturity given on a seed packet, means from the date of planting. Of course, there are lots of variables, so at best its just guestimate.
The best use of these dates is to compare fast maturing varieties with longer maturing varieties. If you garden at high altitudes like myself and a few others on this board, you will want fast maturing varieties or they are not likely to make it.
Another use of these dates is to plant several cultivars all the same day for a continued harvest. One after the other.
I am thinking that the days to maturity given on a seed packet, means from the date of planting. Of course, there are lots of variables, so at best its just guestimate.
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Tilde
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Thanks, I've seen the seed starter stuff. 
The pheno signs are great - I'll be looking for them in my own yard.
The kdis are a bit remote so I can't exactly pop over there and help; I can provide the layout and 'heads up' to the parents so stuff can be bought and planted.
"when to harvest" - more like when to expect the first harvest, and show them to watch for that after a certain date. They won't have melons or other curbits; just a basic jan to oct gardening season (including sprout indoor time).
Thanks
The pheno signs are great - I'll be looking for them in my own yard.The kdis are a bit remote so I can't exactly pop over there and help; I can provide the layout and 'heads up' to the parents so stuff can be bought and planted.
"when to harvest" - more like when to expect the first harvest, and show them to watch for that after a certain date. They won't have melons or other curbits; just a basic jan to oct gardening season (including sprout indoor time).
Thanks
Most dates for maturity are from either planting seed or transplanting. If transplanting, days to maturity is usually shortened by about 2 weeks give or take a few days.
Jal is right about the difference in climate - it will take longer in a cooler climate than a warm one. As well, it will take longer for some fall plantings to mature as the days are shorter.
I do a calendar every year to plan for seed starting and transplanting. Where I first started tomato seedlings in mid-March, I now start about April 7-14. I put them out in a mini greenhouse for a week or so in mid-May and they are more than ready to be planted 5/31.
The most important thing about a calendar is that it should be based on your growing conditions and garden location. If you are just beginning, it is good to keep notes about whether or not you started seeds too early or too late - too early and you may have leggy plants, too late and they may be small when planted and take some extra time to get going. As well, weather can make a huge difference in what happens to young transplants in the garden.
It is interesting to look back over the calendars/notes from previous years - a wealth of information for all future gardens you might plant.
Jal is right about the difference in climate - it will take longer in a cooler climate than a warm one. As well, it will take longer for some fall plantings to mature as the days are shorter.
I do a calendar every year to plan for seed starting and transplanting. Where I first started tomato seedlings in mid-March, I now start about April 7-14. I put them out in a mini greenhouse for a week or so in mid-May and they are more than ready to be planted 5/31.
The most important thing about a calendar is that it should be based on your growing conditions and garden location. If you are just beginning, it is good to keep notes about whether or not you started seeds too early or too late - too early and you may have leggy plants, too late and they may be small when planted and take some extra time to get going. As well, weather can make a huge difference in what happens to young transplants in the garden.
It is interesting to look back over the calendars/notes from previous years - a wealth of information for all future gardens you might plant.
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Tilde
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- Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:56 pm
- Location: Hurry-Cane, Florida USDA10/SZ25
Lol. Actually the 'remote garden' is in a city with a rather large Ag school. 
I found a few guides online, they have general guidelines that I'm working from (well more that I matched up now that I found my own list) and a few sites for teachers on building a class garden. Impressive stuff. A bit more abstract than they'll need but it's a relief to see what I'm working out confirmed by their expertise.
Although I am extrapolating weather based on what I remember of the climate (I used to live out in that area) it's been a while - I forgot about making sure the plants are wind-protected (I'd thought about sun scald and other issues but not wind).
Thank you for the reminder!
I found a few guides online, they have general guidelines that I'm working from (well more that I matched up now that I found my own list) and a few sites for teachers on building a class garden. Impressive stuff. A bit more abstract than they'll need but it's a relief to see what I'm working out confirmed by their expertise.
Although I am extrapolating weather based on what I remember of the climate (I used to live out in that area) it's been a while - I forgot about making sure the plants are wind-protected (I'd thought about sun scald and other issues but not wind).
Thank you for the reminder!
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Tilde
- Green Thumb
- Posts: 344
- Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:56 pm
- Location: Hurry-Cane, Florida USDA10/SZ25
Update:
Summary: trying to build a simple calendar and seed kit I can mail out for the winter holidays.
They do 'something' new every couple of weeks, starting with seedlings outside for the Florida kids and inside for the non-Florida kids.
So every two weeks or so they start seedlings on a couple of new plants, or they direct sow something inside that doesn't worry too much about pollinators ... and foods they'll eat.
Also have allergies to contend with, so no onions for some, no squash for another ... worked out food lists and gardening spots with the parents (some have X number of windows, some have to container garden, some are renters, and so on). Trying to stagger it so they won't have to buy more than 1 bag of dirt a month, everything else is either sent along or is reasonable scavengable in the area.
Since they're kids, mostly, it would be things like newspaper pots in cupcake 'green houses' (plastic cupcake containers I've been saving from the grocery store and are light to ship) and planting in pickle barrels (all live near FireHouse subs locations) or coffee 'cans' (we all work in large office buildings), and giving them "good eats" they can enjoy throughout the year.
Gotta time it to replacing plants, too - once the first carrots and rasdishes run out, switch to lettuce and peas, for example. They won't have to stop grocery shopping but they can have a good dinner once a week with a lot of the produce or snack on it all season long as things mature. I expect at peak there will be about an equivalent of a 9 foot square garden in their yards (not counting the Halloween plants/a few stalks of corn for decoration).
Summary: trying to build a simple calendar and seed kit I can mail out for the winter holidays.
They do 'something' new every couple of weeks, starting with seedlings outside for the Florida kids and inside for the non-Florida kids.
So every two weeks or so they start seedlings on a couple of new plants, or they direct sow something inside that doesn't worry too much about pollinators ... and foods they'll eat.
Also have allergies to contend with, so no onions for some, no squash for another ... worked out food lists and gardening spots with the parents (some have X number of windows, some have to container garden, some are renters, and so on). Trying to stagger it so they won't have to buy more than 1 bag of dirt a month, everything else is either sent along or is reasonable scavengable in the area.
Since they're kids, mostly, it would be things like newspaper pots in cupcake 'green houses' (plastic cupcake containers I've been saving from the grocery store and are light to ship) and planting in pickle barrels (all live near FireHouse subs locations) or coffee 'cans' (we all work in large office buildings), and giving them "good eats" they can enjoy throughout the year.
Gotta time it to replacing plants, too - once the first carrots and rasdishes run out, switch to lettuce and peas, for example. They won't have to stop grocery shopping but they can have a good dinner once a week with a lot of the produce or snack on it all season long as things mature. I expect at peak there will be about an equivalent of a 9 foot square garden in their yards (not counting the Halloween plants/a few stalks of corn for decoration).