Fall/Winter plants coming along

SWC's are doing their thing again :)

So far I have planted....

16 Brussels Sprouts(Long Island Improved)
12 Broccoli(Green Comet)
12 Cauliflower(Early Dawn)
16 Snow Peas
8 Head Lettuce
4 Tomatoes(Momotaro and Better Boy)
Carrots and beets

Getting ready to plant Onions, Garlic and Radishes. Along with more of the aforementioned plants. Only going with 4 tomato and 2 pepper plants through the winter since December and January can get in the 30s at times. Decided to plant more since I only have about a dozen fresh tomatoes left :(

Here's a shot of 3 boxes doing pretty good...(L to R) Brussels Sprouts, Lettuce and Peas....

Momotaro Tomatoes doing pretty good(Can't say the same for the Better Boys)....

Broccoli starting to grow....

A few Beets.....

Head Lettuce box. I gave them a BT powder bath recently so that's the white stuff you will see....

Brussels Sprouts box....

Snow Peas....

One of my measly looking container carrots. Guess I need to thin again...

4 Brussels Sprouts and 2 lettuce in this box.....

Tabasco peppers still cranking a long....

Pequin Peppers....

Ray: Those are coming along beautiful, I love the lush green color. What kind of beets did you plant?
joy

They are Detroit Dark Reds. I told myself I was gonna go easy with my plantings this fall.....but.....I'm slowly planting more each week :)

All your veggies look terrific !!!!!!!!! Oh that California growing weather (best in the US)

Thanks Bob! Yeah, SoCal weather is 2nd to none. Growing year round is one of the main reasons I put up with the ridiculous prices here.

Everything looks great. I have pequin peppers on my list of desired natives for the yard. I am surprised to see them without leaves. I always thought they would be evergreen.

Hey Kathy, well they did have a many more leaves but they got attacked by Hornworms last month and it really didn't affect the production much. It's the tallest pepper plant I've grown in one season. It's almost 4ft now. They also have quite a kick too. OUCH! :)

Babe, your plants look great! I have to do some serious planting and will do the EB covers this time since we have very wet winter here up north.

Thanks sweetheart :) Ya, you are definitely gonna need the shower cap up there this time of year. I still have a lot of planting to do also. Just getting started as you know.

Too late for Christmas fingerlings though...but they are not EB material.

I still think you should try to grow some fingerlings, even though it is a bit late. Potatoes in an EB? Hmm, now there's one veggie that probably wouldn't do so well in a box. I wonder if anybody has ever tried? Noooo, I'm not gonna be the Guinea Pig :)

EB not deep enough. I grew them in Smart Pots last season.

Moonglow: We should be planted our potatoes here around January and I'm going to be trying out the smart pot also. How did yours do in the smart pot? I was told potatoes hate dolomite lime by the way is this true?
joy

Joy, my fingerlings did great. Thanks for asking. As for dolomite, try to Google it and read on. I don't know exactly...

Dear Marky,

1. A-ha! Just to say you did it in an EB? LOL
2. Waste of an EB space, really.

Then again, I'm talking to a gentleman who enjoys $6 M&Ms and truffle fries.

Hey! They were $6 PEANUT M&Ms....makes it worth it now, right? :)

Peas are starting to flower. Shouldn't be too long now....

Joy, I'm no Potato expert by any means so take it for what it's worth. I've only grown them on 2 different occasions. 1st time wasn't very good but learned from my mistakes and the 2nd time was much more successful. Here's my opinion on dolomite and taters....

As long as your PH is in a good range there's no need for Dolomite lime. It will only raise your PH and taters prefer a slightly more acidic soil(5.8-6.2...although they are pretty forgiving from what I've heard/read). Too much can cause more harm than not adding any at all since it's a PH adjuster. Here's a link for North Florida(Niceville, FL).... http://niceville.com/Garden/FYF/Guides/SoilPrep.htm It also has some growing tips on the left side of the page that might come in handy for your area.

PEANUT M&Ms that I didn't know. You're right, $6-worthy...No wonder you didn't leave me any. Bribing me with Jelly Belly beans...

I have to get peas! I just called Sloat Garden Center and they had some delivered late yesterday.

Did you notice there was no Black Jelly Beans left? Did I eat them all and then offer them to you? Or did I offer them to you because there was no black licorice ones in the bag initially? :)

Are they Sugar Peas? or English Peas?

I just noticed that every sentence ended with a question mark. lol



This message was edited Oct 21, 2009 10:23 PM

Ray: Thanks, I took two samples into the UFL extension office to see what the PH is in them, and then listed a bunch of questions like, can I plant my maters in this one, can I plant my strawberries in this one and which do I use for my potatoes. I have taken in the Jungle Grow potting mix for hanging baskets and the coconut coir mix to see which will be best for the potatoes. Thanks for the link, got anxious about the potatoes and ordered them from Henry Fields since no one else seemed to have them ready on line for ordering. Would have loved to have tried the red, white and blue ones that Burpees was advertising last year, but..... my season is different than theirs I suppose.

Already, your fall/winter garden is looking great, keep up the good work.
joy

licorice monster! speaking of licorice...did you find french tarragon locally?

sugar peas!

i hope you feel better, baby.

Feeling a lot better :) Guess that whiskey last night kicked the cold's butt! Lots of rest helped too. Surprised I feel this good after feeling so crappy yesterday.

I've searched and searched for French Tarragon but no luck. Seen about 3 different kinds but none are the french variety :(

And the tomatoes are starting again(Momotaro).....

Ray, It's a bit far for you, but I saw French Tarragon (or so the tags claim) in 4' pots at Armstrong garden center in Tustin on Tues.
Carol

I've checked 3 Armstrong's here and nothing. I do work in Foothill Ranch so Tustin isn't much of a drive from there. I could hit it up on a lunch break. Thanks Carol!

Ray, it's at 505 El camino real in Tustin. Don't know if mapquest can find it for you and I come from the other direction, but it's only a few blocks off the 005 and Newport Blvd. No Newport exit from N/B 005 , but you can get off at Redhill and make a left on El camino, then just follow it past Newport Blvd. It's in old tustin.
Carol

Thank you so much Carol! With your directions and Google Maps I'll get there.

All this over French Tarragon? But if it has a nice licorice taste like Pet says....I'm gonna be in heaven :)

What's Béarnaise Sauce without French Tarragon...Well, closer to Hollandaise, LOL.

Ray, If you don't have luck finding FT locally try http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=13729&bhcd2=1256391834

or just Google "French Tarragon Plants".

Good Luck

Jerry

Thanks Jerry, I did find a few places that will ship to California but I have had bad luck ordering plants online. They're never in good shape and can't compare to the quality of local nurseries.

Ray: Well I ordered locally, and thus far, my iceberg lettuce has bolted, my spinach has gotten sick and died, all but one plant and looks like it's bolting, even my cauliflower and broccoli looks like it's bolting now. My cabbages are looking sickly too. Don't know how beets are supposed to look; but I think mine are doing ok in the smart pot. My onions I think might make it, my radishes too and the pomegrante tree. I've been reduced to radishes, onions, a dwarf pomegrante, maybe some beets. Wish I could grow maters.
joy