“Speaking of buying plants, I checked a couple places for pepper plants, like Lowe’s and some garden centers. What ridiculous prices. Lowe’s didn’t even have the 6 packs. They had individual plants for $4 each!!!!!! $4 for one tomato, one cucumber, one squash, whatever. And they were pathetic looking things.”
I lucked out that my local Southern States co-op plant prices were about the same as last year and nice looking plants too. Our Lowes seems to be the last stop for the plant truck. ;)
Got the tomatoes and peppers all planted today. It seems to work best for me if I plant a variety, so I put in some Early Girl, German Johnson, Mortgage Lifter, Red Brandywine and Romas.
Beans and corn are coming up. Potatoes are hilled. Now, I’ll have a couple of weeks to play with flowers and herbs before I have to start weeding.
For tomatoes I got some heirloom seeds, so I could save them.
I have Heinz sauce tomatoes, Old Brooks, 10 Fingers of Naples, Slava, and a grape variety called Red Pear.
Most of them are indeterminate and have good blight resistance.
The Heinz are determinate and the blight tends to get them every year, but they are great sauce tomatoes. Great flavor and they ripen pretty much at once time, so you get the crop in, can up the tomatoes, and then can pull up the spent plants.
I put them in super early so should have a good crop.
But when your garden is producing, so isn't everyone else's......maybe a farmers market or local stand is more cost effective? I dunno.
Plants are 4.78 around here - west Michigan, all from Bonnie. The local grocery has them for 3 for 12.00. But you have to buy 3.