I have tried watercress salad in Spain, and have also seen it in the food markets there as well, I love the flavor it's almost kind of buttery but unfortunately I have not grown it myself. I would say try it and see how well it grows in that raise bed, you really don't have much to loose.
Hey guys a quick question, I have been trying to grow some swiss chard, the ruby type and the rainbow color ones and I have not had much success, the plants just don't grow very tall at all and then the leaves just look like they are burning on the tips the whole plants are kind of a mess, I am wondering if it is because swiss chard does not take the cool weather, my spinach and kale are just thriving in this cold weather, and I do cover my beds with plastic every time we get really cold at night.
Zones 8-9 Fall/Wntr 2010 IS UNDERWAY - Part III
Calalily,
I've seen watercress growing in the wild in small shallow streams and in the flow of mountain springs. It didn't seem to grow where the water wasn't at least a trinkle, but you never know.
Dane
C - I grow swiss chard all winter long, planted in October and early November. We had 2 nights at 30° or below and they did fine, not covered. It may be too cool for the seeds to germinate well now. I think we can replant here in February so you can try a spring crop maybe in March?
Thanks Kelly I might try that. I might try to grow some inside and then transplant, see if they have a better chance that way.
You're welcome;o) I've never started them inside and transplanted them since they normally germinate so fast, especially in the spring. If you do try let us know how they like being transplanted;o)
Germination temps for Swiss Chard Min 40^, optimum 85^, max 95^.
From Colorado State University Extension
Is that soil or air temp?
"I might try that. I might try to grow some inside and then transplant, see if they have a better chance that way"
Carmin (Carmen?), I sell Swiss chard seedlings at the mkt in 6-pks and/or 4-pks and they do very well. They easily transplant but be sure to time it so the plants don't get too rootbound.
By the way, Swiss chard will like the cooler weather much better than your summer heat. They should be fine in the little bit of coolness Alabama offers (then again, I realize Alabama comes a bit further north than what I normally think of!)
I'm wondering, "and I do cover my beds with plastic every time we get really cold at night.". If your plastic is touching the leaves during those cold spells then that might be why they are showing signs of burnt leaves. Would be better to keep the plastic so it won't touch the leaves.
Speaking of cold, going down to the mid teens tonight and I'm heading up to the house to chill, er, uhh, make that heading up to relax, not chill!
Shoe
That is soil temp 4" under.
Here's the link
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/gardennotes/720.html
Dane
85-95 degrees 4" under the soil for Swiss chard? That sounds like the middle of our summertime. When I grew Swiss Chard for the first time, seedlings were set out Thanksgiving weekend. They loved the coolness and bright sunshine. However, when the temps got too warm, they started fainting and swooning...
Horseshoe, I have the plastic on some pvc arches that my DH made it looks like a mini green house it really works very well, and the leaves do not touch the leaves at all, the temps got really cold last night for us so I left the hoop house on all day long. I will leave the swiss chard in place and see if I get any growth later on.
I started all m y kale inside and then transplanted it out when it was a nice size so far is been working good for me. I tend to do it with all the veggies except the root ones like carrots, turnips etc.,.. also I direct seed my peas and beans.
I planted my chard, in the ground, 9-26. It came up along with the bibbed lettuce with in 2 weeks. Can't remember the temps but it was just after the summer broke.
Dane
oK, dmtom, that season makes sense to me!
We grow swiss chard year round, it does much better in the winter than summer. It can take a hard frost without cover, but you will lose some plants and get severe damage to the leaves. (last Jan we had a freeze) Several bugs will damage the leaves including cucumber beetles, diamond back moth caterpillars and beet leaf rollers. Wind will turn the edges black, especially if something is touching them (like a row cover).
Swiss chard also needs ample nitrogen to get nice big leaves.
Calalily, Thanks for that helpful information. I have a whole new picture of growing Swiss Chard!
But, why does the phrase, "it's sorta like climbing Mount Everest" come to my mind?
Cala, thank you. I wonder if maybe the fact that I watered the plants when it was still very cold could have burn the leaves, I use rain barrel water to water all my plants and know that the water was pretty cold. As far as anything touching the plants, my plastic does not touch the Swiss Chard at all since the plastic goes on top of the pvc arches my DH built. In the Broccoli bed some of the plastic did touch the leaves and I do have a little black on the tips where the plastic was touching but other than that the plants are healthy.
I would guess wind and cold more than anything has damaged the edges. Just cut the leaves, trim off the damage and cook as usual!
We are getting ready to add "low tunnels" to many of our rows to keep the wind from ruining the plants (like squash and cucumber). Bud is making the frames out of PVC. I am growing sweet potatoes completely under cover even though the soil temps are a bit chilly for them. I'll let everyone know how it works.
Now I have to go out and cut back some overgrown spinach. I planted the rows too close together.
Question on row direction.
I have a small garden, 20x20, and plan on adding another patch. I've been thinking, in the dead of summer the sun has a higher, broader arch and if the rows ran north and south that they would give each other more shade.
The wind is usually E/W and think that it would help the corn pollenate, because the wind would be blowing across the rows instead of through them.
Currently they are E/W and summer really beats it up. I'm also going to try a "block" of corn to see if it help pollenation.
Any thoughts?
Dane
Planting in a block for corn is a good idea for pollination.
My beds all run east to west. Plant taller crops north so they do not shade other crops. I use a shade cloth in the summer. East to west is optimal growing conditions;o)
Kelly,
glad you stopped me before I built my beds running N-S along fence on the west side of the yard!
Now I gotta go regroup on the RB layout....
That set up may be good for summer Linda, but I find that when the sun is lower in the winter anything I have planted too close to that west side wall doesn't get nearly enough sun;o(
I almost hate to ask, but does anyone on the gulfcoast grow artichokes? Or is it a fool's errand? My research seems to indicate that it is difficult at best, but I wanted to hear any experiences from the group. Asparagus would be great, too. I might have better luck at alchemy.
Or, how about growing artichokes indoors?
I have asparagus growing I can't get rid of it. I don't know what kind, no idea about artichokes. I completely agree with the alchemy lol Newton had good luck with it.
This message was edited Dec 20, 2010 9:12 PM
Excellent, Lisa. Well, asparagus at least appeared on the Harris County Vegetable Planner, but all planning dates were considered "marginal." I think I would have the better chance of success with asparagus.
However, I will study how to grow artichokes and maybe try and grow them as an experiment. Maybe even indoors, too.
I would still like to hear from anyone else's comments on the matter, though.
I have 5 seeds I plan on planting after winter. Looking for any info.
John, many of my friends here successfully grow Artichokes;o) You should be able to grow them there. I hear they need a lot of room, so keep that in mind...
dmtom, I am planning on sowing my artichoke seeds the beginning of January, I will have them under lights for at least a couple of months and then I will transplant them to the garden. This is my first year growing them so I can't be of much help.
Dmtom, there is a large veggie grower here that grows artichokes for market. Timing of planting is critical, they need vernalization when they are small.
I grew them quite a few years ago (or have I already posted that in this thread?).
This past week I bought seeds for some from Johnny's. Check out their site, dmtom, for growing instructions as it says they need some cool temps once they are germed. By the way, I think I got them thru their big SALE page so you can get them cheap right now. Matter of fact, all of ya'll should check out their sale page, prices on some wonderful items are drastically reduced.
Shoe (headin' towards a ham biscuit!)
This message was edited Dec 28, 2010 10:09 AM
Shoe you probably got the same artichoke seeds I got from them, I already had a few seeds of the purple variety but when I saw the sales from Johny's I could not resist. By the way have you seen the prices on artichokes lately here in the US, if you like them it definitely is worth growing them in my opinion. In Spain we use them for a lot of of dishes and my mom has the best artichoke and rice recipe, I really like it.
Hope this isn't a thread-jack, but I could use some advice on "What next?" in my zone 8-9 garden?
My one deep raised bed is half-full of broccoli and cauliflower that are doing well, but the other half is pretty empty (except for a few half-hearted beets that are tee-tiny and not doing much).
I have all the lettuce I can use elsewhere in the garden -- is there something else I could be doing in that half-bed for a little while? I don't want to do garlic or anything that's going to hog the bed for months, because it won't be long before I'm going to want it for tomatoes and peppers. What would you do with it?
And... I have some empty metal shelves against the side of the house (sunny side) -- what to do with that?
And...I have a whole lot of seeds and also some seed-starter mix (Christmas gift) and would like to try (again!) to start my own plants this year -- but I have no place indoors for starting seeds. Would it work to start seeds on outdoor shelves? Maybe put a clear shower curtain or something over the shelves for added warmth? The shelves get some good sun, but it's still a little cold out there.
Your thoughts would be appreciated!
You could plant RADISHES in the extra raised bed. They will grow really fast.
My favorite is WHITE ICYCLE.
Are you transplanting out your tomatoes mid march right?
so you will have 2,5 months. Radishes should be fine.
I have just cleaned up a small area after I harvested my last Kohlrabi and I will plant SPINACH.
Spinach love cold weather and I can still be planting the tomatoes around them in march.
Good luck !!
Lise, I would suggest Radishes as well. Or even Bok Choy or Spinach. Maybe herbs like Parsley and Cilantro. Alll that I mentioned will bolt quickly in warm weather so will definitely be out in time for your maters and peppers.
Thanks! I just harvested a few (red) radishes, don't know why I didn't think of immediately planting more. I'll have to look for those white icicles, I remember them from my youth. My dad used to grow them. I used to love radish sandwiches, lol, as a kid.
Parsley (I have only one small pot) and cilantro (don't have any) are other good suggestions. I need to get some seed! Hmm, bok choy - that's a new one for me but I'm game to try it.
I did plant a little spinach in a few pots around here yesterday and there's also a little already growing alongside my lettuce that I planted awhile ago. But the spinach never seems to do much. Lettuce outshines it every time, not sure why. Maybe it needs deeper root space? different pH? More sun? It just stays little.
Anyway, thanks for those suggestions. I'll use them.
Still hoping for some input on the shelving/seed question...? Thanks!
Talking about Spinach just collected some baby spinach for a warm spinach salad, my DH loved it, he was very surprised that the flavor was not strong at all, it was also very tender. Also collected my first small cabbage of the season, I am still wondering whether to use it for a cabbage salad or just make Sauerkraut for hot dogs and such.
I also have some empty spots on my raise beds as well, I am in the same position I want to fill them up but don't want the veggies to take forever to grow. I do have 1/2 bed where I had the turnips and I do want to try growing some carrots on that bed but for all the other beds I really want faster growing veggies. I am thinking just like kelly and dthor said to grow more radishes, I still have 1/2 pack of seeds left, more mesclum mix, I also have some stir fry mix that supposedly has bock choi and other oriental veggies in it.
Is the white icycle radish very spicy? The one that I am growing cherry belle is pretty spicy, I like it but my stomach just does not do very well on spicy things anymore.
Lise I am sure if you were to place some plastic over your shelving you could grow a lot of seeds in it. Usually what I do with mine is to start them on top of my refrigerator for some bottom heat and once they start sprouting you can transfer them to the shelving. You could also look into maybe some bottom heat mats if you are concerned about the cold weather.
dthor, meant to tell you how amazing your icicle radishes look!
carminator1, thanks for your comments. Space is at a premium in our little house and Hubby has little patience with trays of dirt around the house, lol. But I'm thinking I might be able to start the seeds on a couple of shelves above our water heater (I'll need to rearrange some things) and then move them outdoors as soon as possible. Knowing that the seeds won't be indoors for more than a few days certainly helps the "no room" situation. I'll give it a try, anyway, and see what happens!
That should work too, as long as the seeds can have a little warmth to help them sprout they should be fine.
OR, you can get some one gallon milk jugs from your local Starbuck's or other coffee shops and Winter Sow your tomato seedlings for plantout in March...
There's a whole thread that discusses Winter Sowing. Look for my posts that discuss WSing veggies for spring...
Lemme know if you can't find the thread. It should be under the "Winter Sowing Discussions from beginning to now" thread, or something like that. It contains links to the major Winter Sowing discussions that were held last year this time, when a bunch of us newbies first learned about it. There are VERY many questions and answers on the thread, so Iwould suggest you might take some time and read through them to get the gist of the process which is SUPER SIMPLE. And, if those shelves are out in the cold with some sunshine, you're 3/4 of the way ahead!
Ok.
Here's the link to the discussions. Enjoy.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1072154/