Need some advice for healthier root crops next year, and winter prep
This year most of my root crops sucked. I planted radishes, beets, turnips, and carrots.
The only ones that made it were the radishes - and they were a 22 day variety but about two months had already come and gone by the time they were big enough to consider picking. I got ZERO beets, four turnips out of about 25 planted, and about 6 carrots out of around 45 planted.
Am I doing something wrong? The soil is all loose and new in raised beds. The green tops grow but the root parts stay spindly and often stick up out of the ground and fall over. Am I not planting them deep enough? They all say plant 1/4 inch deep but maybe next year I should plant half an inch or deeper.
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Also, I'm in zone 6, SE Ohio. Temperatures are dropping and it's quite chilly if not downright cold outside. Nothing is frosting yet (though I was up in Cleveland last weekend and the story is different up there), our lows are around 40s at night still, and it's been raining like mad (where were you this summer, rain? Huh?!) but I want to go dig up some celery that didn't finish, and my peppermint and rosemary plants to bring in for the winter along with my already potted basil, baby cilantro and baby parsley. I suppose now is the time to do that, eh? And time to plant some garlic?
Also when is the time that I should give up and start chopping all my plants down? I noticed a few weeks ago that the people up the street tore down their garden already, while mine was still producing! Should I rototill this autumn or wait until spring again? Does it matter? SO MANY QUESTIONS!
I'd love to update you with pictures but I broke my camera a few weeks ago. *sob*
The only ones that made it were the radishes - and they were a 22 day variety but about two months had already come and gone by the time they were big enough to consider picking. I got ZERO beets, four turnips out of about 25 planted, and about 6 carrots out of around 45 planted.
Am I doing something wrong? The soil is all loose and new in raised beds. The green tops grow but the root parts stay spindly and often stick up out of the ground and fall over. Am I not planting them deep enough? They all say plant 1/4 inch deep but maybe next year I should plant half an inch or deeper.
---------------------
Also, I'm in zone 6, SE Ohio. Temperatures are dropping and it's quite chilly if not downright cold outside. Nothing is frosting yet (though I was up in Cleveland last weekend and the story is different up there), our lows are around 40s at night still, and it's been raining like mad (where were you this summer, rain? Huh?!) but I want to go dig up some celery that didn't finish, and my peppermint and rosemary plants to bring in for the winter along with my already potted basil, baby cilantro and baby parsley. I suppose now is the time to do that, eh? And time to plant some garlic?
Also when is the time that I should give up and start chopping all my plants down? I noticed a few weeks ago that the people up the street tore down their garden already, while mine was still producing! Should I rototill this autumn or wait until spring again? Does it matter? SO MANY QUESTIONS!
I'd love to update you with pictures but I broke my camera a few weeks ago. *sob*