Well, we had our first killing frost last night, 27 degrees. The garden looks quite different than it did 24 hours ago. But I'm not really disheartened at all. All in all, it was a good year for the warm weather crops,even with the record-breaking heat and what seemed like a never-ending drought.
I'm now looking at my cool weather plantings, and they're looking great. The broccoli are beginning to bud; we've been eating lettuce, radishes, and collards; and the kale, spinach, carrots, sweet peas, and cabbage are all doing fine. On the plus side, the frost freed up 4 more EB's for lettuce and whatever else I can think of to plant. I really want to try some of the oriental greens that I've not yet sampled. I'm open to suggestions along that line from DG'ers, particularly those in Zones 7,8, and 9. Paul
This message was edited Dec 5, 2009 3:25 PM
Bye-Bye, Cucumbers; Sayonara, Squash; Adios, Okra!
Congratulations on your good season, and now on to the cool weather crops!
Glad you had a great season Paul! We got pretty close to 30° last night here in Phoenix of all places. Covered my tomatoes (fall crop) and while they did receive some frost damage on the tips, the plants may not be goners unless we get another cold snap too soon.
I would suggest bok choy or pak choi (never really sure what the difference is - lol) - any and all varieties... Right now I have lots of Tatsoi and Canton Bok growing. They are a staple in my garden and are excellent in stir frys and such! Martha Stewart has an exceptional Bok Choi and Broccoil recipe;-) Easy as pie to grow, too.
Kelly
Kelly, Tatsoi is one of the types I've been considering along with Pak Choi. Some of these Oriental greens are claimed to be heat-tolerant, but I'm wondering if they're tolerant of the type of heat that we get in late spring some years. Of course, mid-summer heat in Texas and Arizona is surely NOT what they're referring to. I guess this is as good a time as any to start these types of vegetables. Right? I reckon I'll hit Evergreen's website and get this thing going. Paul
lol - just like full sun doesn't mean full sun here... This link is the planting calendar I consult. It's for the low desert, but if your weather is anyway similar to ours maybe it might help you out to guesstimate planting times.
http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/TheUrbanFarm/wp-content/uploads/Planting_Calendar.pdf
Another good website is www.botanicalinterests.com. I love their seeds! They may not have the selection some bigger companies have, but their prices are good and I've always had excellent results with their seeds.
It got cold here in Louisianna that night to!I had to drag alot of brugmansias to the greenhouse last night and they were heavy!Collard greens should tast great next week.Mine look like four foot palm trees.It's strange that such a hard frost did not hurt my Peggy Martin rose which was in full bloom.
I drug a few peppers and a tomato into the greenhouse yesterday. The weather liars said it would get down to 29 and snow was likely. It quit drizzling about midnight and everything is still green. Now here I go again. Tonight is supposed to be 29. It's rare to get so cold this early.
Cactusman I love my bok choi. I don't notice a lot of flavor but it compliments all the other vegs and meats you add to it. I love the crispy texture of the thick stems and it has to be healthy. It makes a very quick crop and was a blessing while I waited for the broccoli and cauliflower. Summer didn't really seem to end here until November and I started eating it in October. A couple plants started bolting just in the past week. It holds in the garden for a good while. I think it will do very well to extend the season in the spring.
In China they sell bok choy just as the flowers appear.Nappa cabbage(mustard) is great also.