As promised, I dragged my two boys away from their video games and we went to the Mega Store to buy some plants. We picked up some tomato and peppers and bought cucumber and watermelon seeds (my boys picked the seeds of what they wanted to grow)
Knowing the unpredictable Kansas weather, I waited until the 21st of April to plant the young vegetable plants. Alas!, it was not to be. On Monday, we got a torrential downpour with plant-destroying hail; then, on Tuesday, the overnight temperature dropped to 25 degrees.
As I’ve said before, the motto for Kansas gardeners should be “Resistance Is Futile”.
And of course, my fruit trees lost all their blooms. So no fruit either.
I can only hope the cucumbers and the watermelons do well so I can have something to post here.
Grow And Tell 
April 24, 2013 at 5:00 pm
David, it’s been a late Spring all over the US….here in Texas as well. Cancelled my mowing service today. Grass just isn’t high enough to bother.
March 6, 2014 at 4:00 pm
Howdy! I was searching for a Kansas gardener who does square foot gardening in hopes of a little guidance. I am a first time gardener and essentially have no idea what Im doing, lol, and am trying to plan my boxes with companion planting, sunlight/shade needs, sprouting dates and all that in mind. Its a bit overwhelming. Im not sure what to combine with what, whether i should buy transplants since its my first time, where to buy plants from (im in wichita). Any guidance at all would be most appreciated. I hope u find time to garden this year. Ive been reading thru ur old posts and am really looking forward to sum updates. I have seven kids and am planning four boxes… But maybe thats too ambitious lol. Well see. 🙂
March 10, 2014 at 5:26 pm
Hello and thank you for stopping by!
I really hope to get back to growing veggies this year. I will probably buy some starters somewhere.
I tell you, if I have any advice on square foot gardening is this: If you can do it, make your boxes two foot wide instead of square. It will be SO much easier to tend that way.
Watering will be one of the most time consuming aspects of doing any gardening and weeding will come next. Making your boxes narrow (say 2×5 instead of 4×4) will help a lot in both those factors. I think four boxes is manageable if you have help. Just don’t go crazy planting tomatoes! It will ruin your life LOL!! Just kidding. I love them but they are such a needy plant if you want nice healthy tomatoes. I planted garlic in one of my boxes and I still get garlic every year without doing anything. Somehow I always miss a bulb and that’s all it takes for me to get more garlic the next year.
Companion gardening is a science/art of its own. I’ve never tried it but have books on it.
If you’ve never gardened in Wichita, Spring may break your heart. I’ve had more plants killed by late frosts and killer hail than I care to count. But I always persevered and then lived to curse all the watering I had to do during the 100+ degree days of Summer LOL! Oh but NOTHING beats eating your own veggies that you grew yourself.
My advice is to start slow. build four boxes and grow easy stuff like radishes (love them!). Get a couple of tomato plants going and at least a cherry-type. I prefer heirlooms because they are interesting but I can appreciate the disease resistant breeds. Plant peppers. You gotta plant peppers. Keep the area around the beds weeded. I’ve tried many things and I always lose. It’ll make it super easy to tend the boxes if you don’t have to worry about weeds or tall grass. Last, stay away from herbicides. They are bad news all around. Don’t hesitate to ask me anything. If I can help I will. Good luck and enjoy your garden!!
David