N&C Midwest: May 2023

**Scorpio Rising** 5/2/2023, 12:56 am

May!!!

Oh my goodness! It was cold and rainy for most of my locals today…not May typically? However, I looked over my notes and this is not unusual, Still I am not liking this.

I have some flower seedlings that I started; nasturtiums, marigolds and others. They look leggy, and need the sun….LIGHT!!!!

JAM23 5/2/2023, 7:33 am

Look like here in Northern Illinois today will be the last of the cold and dreary days for awhile. Above average temperatures are on their way through possibly Mother's Day. I'm going to start the process of hardening off most things while keeping a close eye on the temperatures. Need to get some stuff moved out into the garden!

On a side note, I have been able to pick up a few buckets of spent mushroom substrate from a local mushroom farmer and I'm looking for ways to use it in the garden. The first batch went right into my compost bin but I have been reading that you can also use it as a mulch. Does anyone else have experience with SMS?

Thanks and Happy May! Looking forward to hearing about how everyone's garden do this month!

OhioGardener 5/2/2023, 8:21 am

Four days of heavy rain, and not much going on in the gardens. Have peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and basil seedlings growing in the greenhouse waiting for their time to get transplanted into the gardens. Was fortunate to get the kale, bok choy, and napa cabbage planted in one of the beds before the weather turned back towards winter. They are doing good.

OhioGardener 5/4/2023, 2:39 pm

Beautiful sunny 70ºF day here in SW Ohio. I set the seedlings out for a few hours to begin hardening them off for transplanting in a couple weeks after they get a little more growth on them. The spring flowers around the gardens are in beautiful bloom, too.

**Scorpio Rising** 5/4/2023, 4:37 pm

I plant to get my seedlings out tonight to harden off a bit, then this weekend I should be able to get some in the ground—flowers at this point. Some aren’t ready but some are.

Then will get my super hotties going on the beat mat in the basement. Cukes, squash, pumpkins, melons AND I WILL DO BETTER LABELLING!!!!!

JAM23 5/4/2023, 4:55 pm

Got mine plants out yesterday for about an hour and they are out there now to get a few hours in. Just in the shade at the moment. Gonna keep getting them out there as long as the weather is good.

OhioGardener-your flowers look great!

Scorpio Rising-what flowers are you planting this weekend?

OhioGardener 5/5/2023, 4:18 pm

Planted some radish, lettuce (2 varieties), carrots, and beets today. It is starting to look like a garden again. Very Happy

**Scorpio Rising** 5/5/2023, 6:30 pm

JAM, I have Nasturtiums, marigolds Jester and possibly Cottage Red, Cleome, and Butterfly weed. Not sure but the nasturtiums are ready to go out, and the marigolds can be potted up. The others need time.

OhioGardener 5/6/2023, 4:53 pm

Transplanted the last 9 Bok Choy plants into the raised bed, one per square. They are a very fast growing plant, and we have already harvested several of them I put in last month.

**sanderson** 5/7/2023, 3:07 pm

Are the bok choy toy varieties? They can be planted 4/sq ft.

OhioGardener 5/7/2023, 4:37 pm

sanderson wrote:Are the bok choy toy varieties? They can be planted 4/sq ft.

They are Shanghai Green Bok Choy, which is listed as "a delicious jade green baby type" on Baker Creek's page. Their page also lists spacing as 12" for this plant. They are right about the delicious part, though!

I tried 4 per square, and they smothered each other. Then I tried 2 per square, and they still crowded each other. Now I am planting 1 per square, and they seem very happy. Fortunately, I have plenty of space right now since the Bok Choy will be finished before I'm ready to put in the green beans and summer squash.

https://www.rareseeds.com/bok-choy-shanghai-green

JAM23 5/7/2023, 6:27 pm

Look what my husband made me for my birthday! SO excited!

OhioGardener 5/7/2023, 6:47 pm

JAM23 wrote:Look what my husband made me for my birthday! SO excited!

And, excited you should be! Happy Birthday! N&C Midwest: May 2023 3170584802

**Scorpio Rising** 5/7/2023, 8:23 pm

You will love that cold frame, JAM! I use mine every year, almost all year round!

JAM23 5/7/2023, 8:28 pm

I have soooo much to learn about using it. Feel free to educate me on how you use it throughout the year!!

R&R 1011 5/9/2023, 11:09 am

That's a nice looking cold frame!

I might have neglected my house & kids for a couple of weeks, but Ive mostly finished the garden. I got everything in yesterday. Now the waiting game & prepare for the upcoming battle of garden pests. I finished my flower garden as well. It sits where a dead pine use to be. Everything seems to grow well in it. I guess I should work on getting the house caught back up! rofl

R&R 1011 5/9/2023, 11:14 am

**Scorpio Rising** 5/10/2023, 5:53 pm

JAM23 wrote:I have soooo much to learn about using it. Feel free to educate me on how you use it throughout the year!!

I use it as a normal bed in warm weather, and keep the top open. As the seasons get cooler, I plant cool weather crops, and may close the cover in the fall/early winter. I will try to keep up, I need to do better too.

The book, Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman is very helpful and inspired me to get my cold frame. I tried to get a link or picture but can’t.

OhioGardener 5/10/2023, 6:26 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:The book, Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman is very helpful and inspired me to get my cold frame. I tried to get a link or picture but can’t.

Here is a link to the book:
https://www.amazon.com/Four-Season-Harvest-Organic-Vegetables-Garden/dp/1890132276

**Scorpio Rising** 5/13/2023, 5:36 pm

It is a really great book….highly recommended..

JAM23 5/13/2023, 6:17 pm

Thanks! I put it on hold at my local library! While I wait, I just picked all this spinach, kale and radishes!

**Scorpio Rising** 5/14/2023, 8:22 pm

Yum! Enjoy!

OhioGardener 5/16/2023, 3:56 pm

Pulled a few Giant of Sicily Radishes for this evening's salad. The white marks on the radishes is where the sow bugs chewed on them.

OhioGardener 5/17/2023, 11:58 am

The Bok Choy are enjoying the wet & cool spring weather. These seedlings were transplanted into this bed a week ago at 1 per square - they grow very fast.

JAM23 5/17/2023, 4:42 pm

I love seeing everyone's pictures! So fun to see what is happening in everyone's gardens!

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