# What should I grow this summer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 4, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691 "2003-02-04T15:00:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![leroy\_the\_mule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6a8cbe/32.png) [@leroy\_the\_mule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leroy_the_mule)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/21 "2003-02-05T06:09:54Z")
Squash! Build a strong wooden structure that looks like the framework for a telephone booth. Hang lots of twine in the openings. Plant seeds in good soil, stand back and watch the vines climb! Toward the end of the season, if all goes well, you will have lots of large, beautiful, tasty fruit dangling in mid air. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/22 "2003-02-05T13:17:56Z")
Damn you \*\*Welby \*\* You stole my line.::::kicks at dirt::::::: How about some no brainer’s for growing: Corn and pumpkins. You can plant them in the same rows at the same time and when the corn is ready for harvesting, the pumpkins then just take off and finish their growing time. Both are exceptionally easy to grow and low maintenence. Onions and garlic are also exceptionally easy to grow, and better yet, on a hot day, standing in/over their row, the air smells awesome in a oniony/garlicy way. They also have exceptional storage life. The word \*exceptional \* and it’s variants has appeared three times in the above post. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/23 "2003-02-05T13:26:40Z")
[Perfect for container gardening](http://www.gardeners.com/department.asp?CMP=IL8892&DeptPGID=16981) [Great source for inexpensive seeds and basic supplies](http://www.henryfeilds.com) (order $40 by 2/26 and receive $20 gift certificate. In catalouge coupon.) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/24 "2003-02-05T13:29:07Z")
\*\*Jonathan \*\* What Zone do you live in? It looks like Zone 6 for most of Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/25 "2003-02-05T13:48:57Z")
Hey, the only ‘zone’ I know of are postal zones for mailing purposes. A little help here? Onions wouldn’t be bad. I like to cook with them. Could I grow sufficient quantities in a container? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/26 "2003-02-05T13:50:03Z")
Ah. My ‘ZONE’ appears to be ‘7A’. Must be the altitude. But what does that mean? ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/27 "2003-02-05T14:03:04Z")
Hemp for freedom! ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/28 "2003-02-05T14:25:31Z")
Pot comes to mind, I don’t know why, I really never used the stuff. Other then that, If your going to live there for more then 4 yrs, go for the long haul and plant asperagas ( or the easier to find, harder to spell version). ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/29 "2003-02-05T14:52:50Z")
Heliotropes! I’ve only ever seen them in San Diego, but they have a very interesting and un-flowerlike smell: sort of nutty/spicy. I assume they can grow in Virginia, because Scott Joplin wrote a rag named _Heliotrope Bouquet_ and Missouri’s climate is not that different from Virginia’s. ---
**Author:** ![welby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@welby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/30 "2003-02-05T15:00:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\*Damn you \*\*Welby \*\* You stole my line.::::kicks at dirt::::::: > \*\* Grasshopper, you must learn to be as quick as the rattlesnake, and as clever as the weasel. Come now, try and take the pebble from my hand… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/31 "2003-02-05T15:18:19Z")
Oh, no, I won’t fall for that old gag twice. 😃 Back on topic: For interesting plants and seeds that are unusual, you \*\*Jonathan \*\* are welcome to look [here](http://seedrack.com/special.html) I’m thinking of growing my own coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/32 "2003-02-05T15:19:27Z")
A -\> . \<---- is missing from the above post. Insert where applicable. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/33 "2003-02-05T15:25:26Z")
I am not quite certain what the \*a \* means either. I am trying to google this and…uh…I think I broke google. Maybe because there were no references to boobs, dicks or hot sluts. 😃 Living in Michigan, which is mostly a Zone 4, except on every gardening zone map there is this yellow wart, if you will, on lower than the second thumb knuckle in our fair state that says \*this area is a Zone 5 \*. I may be stupid, but I am not that naive. I buy stuff suitable for zone 4 or 3. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/34 "2003-02-05T15:35:48Z")
OK, \*\*Zone 7a \*\* means: You can probably start your planting between March 30 - April 30, when the last spring frost occurs. Lucky bastard. Our plant date is June 1. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/35 "2003-02-05T15:38:31Z")
I don’t know about onion container gardening. You could probably do two or three bulbs in a container (depending on final growth size), but it isn’t as nearly as showy as tomatoes or lettuce in a container. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691/36 "2003-02-05T15:44:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\*A -\> . \<---- is missing from the above post. Insert where applicable. \*\* And perhaps a couple of -\> , \<- these. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-grow-this-summer/152691.md?page=1)