http://zone4garden.com This site is dedicated to gardening and growing fruit in the North Country-Zone 4 in Upper Michigan Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:43:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I know its early. But I just thought I would touch on this. I don’t think canning is really a dieing art. But with today’s busy life style it is clearly not as popular. But will the economy bring it back? There are some fruits and vegetables I prefer canned, and ... http://zone4garden.com/canning-fruit-and-vegetables/ Yes it can be done. It takes a lot of care. I live close to Lake Superior which has a tendency to create a micro climate. Very seldom does it get below 20 degrees below here. I have had some success with the Reliance peach variety. The peaches are a ... http://zone4garden.com/growing-peach-trees-in-zone-4/ If you started your pepper plants early like I did they are getting to be pretty good size. I spent a few hours this week end transplanting them to larger containers. I like to only move them once between the time I start them and move them into the garden. ... http://zone4garden.com/transplanting-pepper-and-tomato-plants/ Hopefully if you grow your own vegetable plants, and you live here in the North County- you have got a start on some of them. My green pepper plants have be growing for little over a month now, and looking very good. But compared to the tomatoes they grow so ... http://zone4garden.com/seedlings-for-spring-planting-in-zone-4/ In this part of the country around the Great Lakes we don’t get quite as cold in the winter time as they do inland. A big reason for that is the cloud cover off Lake Superior. Known as the Lake effect weather this area is so well known ... http://zone4garden.com/cheap-grow-lights-for-your-vegetable-seedlings/ [caption id="attachment_47" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Bell Pepper"][/caption] I just finished placing my order for pepper seeds. It seems early. But it is time. Pepper plants grow slow and in this part of the country I like to give them a long head start. With any kind of luck I may even ... http://zone4garden.com/growing-green-bell-peppers-in-zone-4/ This time of the year is prime for watermelons in all parts of the country. A lot of heat and enough moisture for rapid growth makes for a great tasting watermelon. Along with that comes some added benefits. Watermelon is 92% water. But look what you get in the ... http://zone4garden.com/watermelons-so-great/ I was out hunting mushrooms and came across some ripe wild strawberries. They are so good but also so small. They are no match for the present day strawberry plants we have available today. If you have wanted to start a strawberry bed but missed your opportunity this past spring. Get ... http://zone4garden.com/how-to-start-a-strawberry-bed-zone-4-strawberries/ After a long cold winter here in Upper Michigan it has carried on into the summer. I don’t think we have had one day above 85 degrees and many days 70 or lower with very cold nights. We have had plenty of moisture so most of my vegetable plants are ... http://zone4garden.com/cool-weather-pollination-for-your-tomato-plants/ It is a good idea to test your soil in an existing garden every 2 to 3 years. Don’t wait till you start having problems. By doing regular testing you can stay on top of it. Especially soil ph. Even if you have a good fertilization technique, the ph still ... http://zone4garden.com/how-to-test-the-soil-in-your-vegetable-garden/