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What to plant in a raised garden this time of year?

Posted on 5/13/20 at 11:08 pm
Posted by Buck Dancer
New Orleans
Member since Jan 2008
4680 posts
Posted on 5/13/20 at 11:08 pm
What would be good to plant in a raised wood box garden this time of year. Can do seeds or transplant already established plants. This is my first time getting into this, so looking for beginner suggestions.

Would Herbs like rosemary, mint, basil be good starters this time of year?

Any suggestions On what to plant for a first go at it?
Posted by Buck Dancer
New Orleans
Member since Jan 2008
4680 posts
Posted on 5/13/20 at 11:22 pm to
And where is a good place in the metairie/New Orleans area to get seeds or plants? Perino’s
Is close by.
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5266 posts
Posted on 5/13/20 at 11:58 pm to
Okra, hot peppers. Any retail garden center should have those. Okra from seed, peppers from transplants.
This post was edited on 5/14/20 at 12:02 am
Posted by LSUEnvy
Hou via Lake Chas
Member since May 2011
12101 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 12:06 am to
Okra and the pepper
LINK
Posted by awestruck
Member since Jan 2015
10939 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 1:15 am to
quote:

. Okra from seed
Soak okra seeds in bleach for one hour then plant. (...eta) then rinse to keep from handling full strength bleach.

Yep, bleach as in Clorox.

This will soften and crack open their tough husks. Alternately soak overnight in water; however the bleach method in my experience actually seems to have a better effect (at least visually) on bursting through husk. And no I'm not playing games with your mind.

Dwarf Clemson Spineless is my favorite, their less itchy and not as tall, which I think would be better in a raised box.
This post was edited on 5/14/20 at 1:22 am
Posted by cgrand
HAMMOND
Member since Oct 2009
38770 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 5:21 am to
along with he okra and peppers, you can still plant herbs as well.
rosemary is a woody shrub though so don’t plant it in a raised bed unless you want it there for good, put that in a pot. Mint is a perennial so it will come back year after year and likely take over the bed, like most herbs.
Posted by LSUfan20005
Member since Sep 2012
8814 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 7:26 am to
Another vote for okra. Added bonus: okra flowers are really pretty.
Posted by hungryone
river parishes
Member since Sep 2010
11987 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 9:08 am to
Okra, but only if you like to eat it. It gets stupidly productive as summer wears on, and then you think, why in the hell did I plant so much okra? LOL.
--hot or bell peppers
--peas; such an easy crop to grow. Plant pinkeye purplehulls or another bush-type bean. Nothing finer than fresh peas you just shelled yourself (preferably while sitting on the back porch under the ceiling fan, drinking iced tea)
--herbs like basil (keep pinching it back so it doesn't go to seed), rosemary, mint, chives, oregano all thrive in hot weather. Plant sage if you've got a really well drained spot (I keep mine in a pot b/c it likes less water than everything else)

Perino's is fine, but can be more expensive. Try Bantings in Bridge City, too. Jefferson Feed (original location on Jeff Hwy at Central) and don't overlook the seed racks at your big box stores too.
Posted by PillageUrVillage
Mordor
Member since Mar 2011
14786 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 9:13 am to
According to the LSU Ag planting guide you can still put eggplant in the ground right now. I may try to find some transplants myself.
This post was edited on 5/14/20 at 9:14 am
Posted by muncy
Member since Sep 2018
405 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 9:33 am to
With the long growing season we have in the south, you could get away with transplanting almost any established plants right now. Any of the herbs you mentioned, okra, peppers as mentioned and tomatoes would grow too
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5266 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 9:36 am to
Eggplant does indeed grow and produce well in hot weather, particularly the Asian varieties (e.g., Ichiban) so that is another good option.
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5266 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 9:43 am to
quote:

Okra, but only if you like to eat it. It gets stupidly productive as summer wears on, and then you think, why in the hell did I plant so much okra? LOL.


Good point on the okra. I plant 10 plants in a 5 x 3 bed, and i produce enough for my wife and me to last an entire year, and I bet I put 30% + in the compost bin b/c I get tired of picking them daily and let them get to hard and stringy to eat.
Posted by gumbo2176
Member since May 2018
15109 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 10:29 am to
A lot depends on how big your raised be is. This late in the season I'd go with plants already started, especially if you'd like to plant tomatoes since the summer heat usually gets to them by late June/early July.

Someone suggested okra, but I'd not plant them since they get huge and are space eaters and throw a lot of shade over the bed once they get to growing. Mine get to around 8 ft. tall by the time I'm ready to pull them out and get ready for my fall planting.

Don't do Perino's, head to Jefferson Feed on Jefferson Hwy. and Central Ave. or head across the river to Bantings on River Road not far off the Huey P. They have a better selection, cheaper prices and more seeds for starting direct sowing into the soil.

Again, before any real advice can be given, we need dimensions of your raised bed.
Posted by gumbo2176
Member since May 2018
15109 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 10:35 am to
quote:

I plant 10 plants in a 5 x 3 bed,



You piker!!!

I will have around 75 okra plants by the time all the seeds pop ground. I now have 2 rows that have plants near a foot tall and 2 rows that are just breaking ground.

Between pickling, smothering lots of it down for gumbos and soups, frying, grilling and giving it away, I use it all. I'll just save 4 or 5 pods to dry out for my seed for the next season and have way more seeds than I need since each okra pod probably has close to 6-7 dozen or more seeds in it.

Once they are producing heavily, I'm picking no less than 60 or more pods a day.
Posted by TDsngumbo
Alpha Silverfox
Member since Oct 2011
41596 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 10:50 am to
quote:

Soak okra seeds in bleach for one hour then plant. (...eta) then rinse to keep from handling full strength bleach.

Yep, bleach as in Clorox.

This will soften and crack open their tough husks.

An added bonus in today's world is that they also won't catch corona.
Posted by Romney Wordsworth
The Obsolete Fan
Member since Apr 2018
108 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 11:45 am to
Okra, Southern Peas, Pumpkins/Squash, Malabar Spinach, Long Beans, Amaranth, Collards & Hot Peppers
This post was edited on 5/14/20 at 11:46 am
Posted by coonasswhodat
Gonzales, Louisiana
Member since Dec 2013
4112 posts
Posted on 5/14/20 at 12:36 pm to
Okra seeds will sprout in a wet paper towel in less than 48 hours. I had a better than 90% success rate in getting the paper towel sprouted seeds to become healthy plants after being transplanted into a small container, then into the garden. Okra is without a doubt the easiest thing I have ever grown from seed to full fledged finished product.
Posted by Buck Dancer
New Orleans
Member since Jan 2008
4680 posts
Posted on 5/15/20 at 1:24 pm to
box is 6 feet long, 2 feet wide and 1 foot deep.
Posted by gumbo2176
Member since May 2018
15109 posts
Posted on 5/15/20 at 1:43 pm to
quote:

box is 6 feet long, 2 feet wide and 1 foot deep.



You aren't planting much in that small a bed. Most all summer plants get pretty big-----tomatoes can get to 5+ ft. tall and 3 ft. round, pepper and eggplant get to 3+ ft. tall and about the same round, okra get huge and tall, squash get huge and short but spread out a lot.

Things like lettuce, spinach, other salad greens won't survive the heat and are better planted in the fall.

Herbs, if you like fresh ones for cooking may be your best choice. Basil, Rosemary, thyme, oregano will all do well. If you like any form of mint, put that in a pot or it will take over a lot of area in short order.
Posted by The Dude Abides
Atlanta, GA
Member since Feb 2010
2227 posts
Posted on 5/16/20 at 12:00 am to
quote:

What would be good to plant in a raised wood box garden this time of year. Can do seeds or transplant already established plants. This is my first time getting into this, so looking for beginner suggestions.

Would Herbs like rosemary, mint, basil be good starters this time of year?

Any suggestions On what to plant for a first go at it?
I'm in a similiar situation, i went with 5 gallon buckets and did away with my raised bed though, just didn't have any success with it.

I built some cedar planters and have Mint, Rosemary, Lemon Balm and Mint in those. In buckets i have tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, poblano peppers, squash and cucumbers. So far so good.
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