I planted a bunch of stuff over the last 4 weeks or so. I am wondering if I planted beans too soon? I have squash, cukes, and tomatoes in the ground doing well, but my beans either germinated poorly, or died after germinating. I have them in seperate plots also, and all of them did poorly. I'm in the mid Willamette Valley, Lebanon, Oregon. Is it too early to plant beans?
Dig up some of the seeds and see if they rotted. They want the soil to be quite warm when they're planted, or they can rot before they germinate.
Hm, I can't really tell. However, it's not been that warm. Mostly cloudy and rainy. We had a dry spell where the soil *finally* dried to the point where I could dig it, but it wasn't that warm. So I'm thinking I just planted too early. Can I expect my corn to do the same? I risked a small plot of corn,
3 rows, 8 feet long, to see if it would grow.I gather squash and tomatoes can tolerate cooler weather? My squash and tomatoes are doing well (I thought I'd risk a half dozen squash and cukes to see if I could get an early start with them). Well - actually, we had a late surprise frost, before the squash/cukes/beans had germinated, and I lost 3 tomatoes. Everything else I have is cold weather stuff that is growing just fine.
If the other stuff is growing, then you're lucky. Next year, if you want to get a jump on the season, put down some clear plastic a couple of weeks ahead. Stick your hand down in the soil from time to time and see if it feels better than soil nearby without plastic on it. And, you might consider getting a copy of an old book called "Crockett's Victory Garden", by James Crockett. Each chapter represents a month, and his planting advice is quite accurate. He worked in Boston, which may be ahead of or behind your planting zone. But, it's easy to use his advice, and make adjustments based on the planting zone map.
Good advice and a great book. I have it in front of me as I was looking for an ISBN #. Doesn't have one.
Perhaps the OP may want a day trip to
I forgot to mention that Crockett's advice on chemicals should be avoided completely. The guy was over the top! I wonder if that's what killed him.
I'm higher in elevation than you, but the soil here is still too cold for beans -- stick a thermometer in the soil. Suggestion: stop by the library (or buy your own) for a copy of Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, by Steve Solomon. I think you'll find it quite helpful.
Kay
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