Thanks for your welcome and the info. I sure will visit those two places and might start growing some citrus trees as experiment.

Okay . Who else is gardening in the area ? ( zone 8a/b in Carolina?).

Which tomato varieties do best there ? Do you guys have 2 growing seasons ? I mean for tomatoes.

Lets spread the word. I am a kind of multi faceted gardener and do landscaping and flowers as well.

Sey

Welcome to NC! I'm in Zone 7b, not far from 8a. It's a good place for growing things. Hot & kind of Humid summers though. If you are into citrus, then you're lucky to be near the McKenzie farm. He's got some good varieties that will grow in NC. I wish I could recommend tomatoes, I haven't had much luck with them the last few years, except cherry tomatoes. I guess I haven't found the right variety for the area, or I just stink at growing them (mine have been in containers).

I'm planning a big garlic bed this fall myself. Trying to narrow down on the varieties to plant right now. Last year I planted a few elephant garlic (not true garlic) and they grew ok. I'm going to try music garlic, I've already decided on that one.

Good luck with the move!

I am a pro familiar with the Florence area although we live a bit westerly. A few suggestions based on years of experience assisting Carolina gardeners.

1. Construct and vegetable garden in raised beds. A much easier and more productive method for the home gardener. Our soils are a challenge. Blend your own in raised beds. Start a compost pile. Amend raised beds from the surface as they are fast draining.

2. Florence has an excellent Farmer's Market. Haunt it. Talk to the growers. Find out who is growing local garlic that you can purchase for fall planting. Seek out the locals for advice. Soft-neck garlic grows best here. In the spring you will be able to purchase tomato plants and other seedlings at the Farmer's Market. Again, your local growers should be able to help you select the best tomato varieties. No, we do not have two tomato growing seasons. But, the season can be prolonged a bit by a second tomato planting three weeks after the first planting.

3. Take advantage of the winter gardening opportunities. It is my favorite growing season. Research cold loving oriental veggies. Some interesting flavors to discover.

4. Best to raise your own seedlings. Start them in sterile soil.

Welcome to a different growing experience! Very similar to the Atlanta area.

Hi Nandina! Glad you see you're still on GW.

Thanks a lot, Dave , John and nandina. Great advice. Appreciated.

I will get as much local advice that I can get. I think 2017 will be my kinda exploratory year. But having gardened in Georgia The climate should not be a big surprise for me. Maybe soil will be. GA native soil is basically red clay and on the acid side ( low pH) that needed lots of amendments.

I hope to get my hands dirty with fall planting some cool crops and also some garlic. And in the mean time I will work on establishing summer garden.

Couple of questions about planting garlic.

1- where do you buy your seeds, if you are planting then for the first time. This is other than farmers markets.

2- I read the variety name " Music " what size bulb do they have and how is the taste ? Mild ? intense ?

3- When do you plant them ? I used to plant in late November, early October in Atlanta. So they would have green before the frost.

Thanks,

Sey

OK. I am very active in main GW forums, especially in "Growing Tomatoes". That is my post popular garden vegetable. I also grow host of other things like peppers, herbs, eggplants, squash, okra, cukes, bean, peas ....

Now that I am in Carolina , I would like to get to know other gardeners with similar interest and make this forum more active.

I got here a bit late and then there was Matthew. So I did not get a chance to start a fall planting. But I will plant some garlic later this month. I wanted grow some other cool weather loving veggies but anywhere that I went (nurseries, BBS ) the did not sell any seeds. TOO bad.

Anybody is growing cool crop ?

Sey

I grow 'Music' - it seems mild. I think it is the classic garlic found in most grocery stores. I don't know of any local garden centers that get the spicier or hotter garlics, everyone I know orders them online through catalogs. I have no trouble growing garlic from grocery store bulbs - just break up the bulb and plant the cloves. I even plant the small ones. I try to get them in the ground by Thanksgiving and harvest them by the fourth of July.

Most years I grow a broad range to cool crops but this year I need to refresh the soil in my raised beds so I am not planting anything.

I grow quite a few varieties of garlic- Definitely softneck /artichoke varieties do better in our hot humid climate. I live in the Sandhills about an hour from Lumberton, very much the same heat and soil conditions as you. Lots of good choices from the very milds like Applegate, to a good medium like Rouge River Red, to a robust like Transylvania . These all give me good sized bulbs . I ordered on line from a southern source several years back after failing with my hard necks I used to grow in North Dakota. Varieties suitable for our area is the key! I also plant in October- harvest Early summer depending on variety.

Nandina gave you some great advice for gardening in our area. Sand is a challenge, amending the sand is a challenge. Raised beds and mixing your own blend has worked for me. Some organic choices I have used along with leaves/compose are coffee grounds( I am friends with a local coffee shop and they save me 5 gallon pails of the used grounds). I also purchase egg shell compose soil by the yard in Southern Pines.

I didn't plant a Fall garden this year also giving my areas a break. I usually plant by mid August what I harvest now through Christmas. I am still pickin from the garden peppers. Eggplant, bitter melon , sweet potatoes, onions, lettuces, fennel, basil, carrots, etc Most of my gardens were damaged by Matthew and I don't have time to do anything about them till after Christmas. I will start again in January planting seeds indoors- extreme hot peppers start first indoors. By seed, peas can go out in Feb. potatoes soon after, lettuces etc early March. You should be able to garden to your hearts content once you get your soil ready. I'd go to your local Extension office for a listing of when to plant in your area, and for soil sampling,

Thanks lorabell and John

I have already made about 500 sq-ft garden. To do that as raised bed (by purchased material ) would be too costly for me. So I will justbtry amending as much as I can.

Here is a view of my garden layout.

Now I am done amending and I will let the bed rest until spring planting then I will till it again and will amend some more then,

But I will have to try some garlic soon, just for fun.

sey

You can make raised beds without using any form of edging, just mound stuff up and plant in it. The mounds will break down over the course of a year but still they are easy to regulate the drainage and keep the plants happy.

John, thanks for the comment.

I am doing just that by adding all the organic matter that I can get (free). I have added loads of fall leaves, wood ash, and pine straw. And I will continue doing that. My garden is already higher than its surrounding by about 6-8".

I am also composting and gathering top soil from the wooded areas.

I don't need to spend money on edging or framing stuff.

sey

It has been over 2 months since my last post. We had a cold December and early January. But the weather has been real nice lately.

My garden beds are coming along nicely, just by sitting there and digesting the added organic matter. I will till them around early march and will get a soil test via county extension center.

I have also collected more top soil from the wooded area, with nice aged organic matter. I will add those to the garden before plant out. That should further improve the texture of the native sandy loam soil.

I have already germinated my first batch of tomatoes and peppers, now growing under light. I want to test the waters by trying to plant out some by mid March, weather permitting at the time. I will hold the second batch to be planted out in first half of April. My intention is to get some harvest before the high heat and humidity arrive in July/August. At that time I will try a second planting for late summer and early fall.

Other than tomatoes and peppers, I will also plant eggplant, okra, beans and melons.

So what vegetables are you planning to grow this year ?

Sey

You might want to buy a soil thermometer and test the soil temps before you plant out that early. If the soil isn't warm enough the plants will suffer. The only early tomato I grow is 'Stupice' which though more tolerant of cool temps, it also suffers during cool wet springs and the flavor on the early fruit isn't so great. 'Stupice' is from Europe, in Czech it is pronounced Stoo-peech-ka. If flavor matters to you, you will find that just because they're early doesn't mean their good.

People that grow tomatoes for market often plant new seeds every month or so. Young plants are more tolerant of the high heat of mid summer and they say you get better looking fruit from younger plants. By the high heat period I am usually sick of eating them so I gladly move over to melons and cucumbers.

I only really worked my soil in the very beginning when I was building the garden. Now after 5 years I do not till or double dig any more, it just brings weed seeds to the surface. I mulch like a mad man and let the earthworms rotate the soil.

The only thing new(ish) this year will be more asparagus. It appears that the place I have them isn't the best spot for them and I barely get enough to eat from it - so I'm clearing a new spot and planting way more.

John, You are right. Soil temperature is crucial. But I have heard that here , with sandy soil , it get warm pretty quickly.

I do have couple of stick thermometer and I do check the soil temperature before plant out ( at ~8 inch depth). I think 53F (+) is fine for tomatoes but not for peppers.

According to historical weather data , our average march temperatures are 40F for low and 66F for high. . If that is what happens to be around mid March, then soil temperature should be acceptable. But I will check it at any case to make sure.

Sey

I'm in Raleigh and the only tomatoes I plant out early are 'Stupice'. And if the weather gets cold again I really work on keeping them warm. I also start a second batch of seeds just in case we get a surprise freeze after everything warms up. I've seen a killing frost in the first week of May before. This year looks like its going to be warm, my fruit trees are all budded up and about to burst which is almost two months early. I'm also spoiled in that I have a greenhouse so if the weather gets arctic I can pot up my tender plants and grow them in there until spring has sprung for good.