Are you living in a gardener's haven?

[granjera]

Speaking of the US, it seems to me that some places are perfect for gardening. When I was living in Utah, my co-workers always left great veggies in the break room that they grew in their perfect gardens in the summer. Not many bugs in northern Utah, and seemingly no annoying critters. Warm days and not-so-hot nights. I now live on one side of a large park here in TX where the predators live. My mother lives on the other side where the rabbits are. She's plagued with them; I haven't seen them in many, many years. Still, this is Texas and we have heat, which dissects our summer. There's the Spring and there's the very late summer. The northern tier of the US seems to be a great place to grow, even if the growing season might be short. But so many people seem to have deer problems.

Elsewhere, I'm aware of rainy seasons, dry seasons, long winters or brutal summers.

If you have few outdoor growing problems and a fairly long growing season, where are you? Gardeners want to know.

 

[Beverly]

Ooops! I started to reply, but it looks like you just want to hear from gardeners in the US. Well, New Jersey is known as the "Garden State", i guess there might be a reason for that. Are there any New Jerseyites out there?

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I don't have any problems with deer, but living right next to a wooded park, rabbits can be a nightmare at times.

The dirt here is perfect for gardening, though. A lot of gardeners dream of the rich soil we have.

 

[marlingardener]

I, too, am in Texas on blackland prairie soil. We have a spring garden with the cool season crops and tomatoes and peppers, then everything shuts down until September. I keep the tomatoes and peppers alive through the summer, and get another good crop in October and November. That's when we plant the winter garden of cool season crops.
We had a rabbit problem, but the coyotes took care of that pretty much. Grasshoppers are our bane--they eat anything and everything and are a plague! We are surrounded by pasture land and corn fields, so the 'hoppers congregate in our green patch of vegetables and rose bushes.

 

[granjera]

@Beverly, my questions was for everyone. I'm curious about growing conditions everywhere.

 

[Beverly]

Okay dokie @granjera and thank you. I wasn't too sure about that and didn't want to crash your thread...i'm going to have to think about your question for a bit though.

@marlingardener...about the grasshoppers, if you can't beat them, eat them. Toasted grasshoppers have a good amount of protein and are a favorite dish in the state of Oaxaca, especially. They are called Chapulines and there are lots of recipes on the net. So you'll just need some way to trap them. I have not eaten Chapulines myself because i have a special fondness for grasshoppers and crickets but then i've never been plagued by them either.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Love my area. Winters are short, with one good cold spell and one good storm. There are the usual creatures, but they are limited. We have open spaces, rolling hills. Lots of Amish farms. Horse farms. Cows. Fields of grain. Two weeks in August it may hit 100 degrees, big whoop. My only complaint is there are a few shrubs that are in zone 8 I would like to get, since my limit is zone 6, but can't have everything.

 

[marlingardener]

Beverly, about the end of June, early July, expect a large box to be delivered to you. Never mind the thumping sounds coming from inside--it's just the grasshoppers. Fire up the grill and enjoy. When you want more, we can send an almost limitless supply!
I must admit, my hens enjoy catching and eating the 'hoppers. I think they burn off all the energy chasing the 'hoppers that they gain by eating the 'hoppers!

 

[Beverly]

i don't think they will make it through customs mg

 

[Bootsy]

I'm very happy with our climate here in England. It's perfect for gardens. We're Zone 8b but are able to grow most things apart from tropical. Even then, some tropical can be grown during the summer and protected in the winter.

Flowers, shrubs, perennials, annuals, trees, fruit and vegetables all grow easily in our garden. All it takes is some hard work and telling the plants how good they are