How about when you use your Christmas $$ on dirt? Or, better still, when you have the relatives so well-trained they don't even ask, but automatically give you gift cards for dirt?
Zones 8-9 Spr/Sum 2011 Veggie Gardening is UNDERWAY- Pt l
*SMILE* You are lucky!
I ask for seeds and that's what I got. I'm very happy with my gift and will remember all season long where they came from. I'm just happy to know I'm not the only one.
I'm going to use this method to see if I can beat BER this spring!
Bob Webster’s “Tomato Cone” Method - Build the cones several months in advance of tomato planting time in the spring:
3 T Epsom Salt (*)…Bob uses “a handful” lightly sprinkled over row
½ C Medina Micro-nutrients (unless you have improved organic soils)
2 C Organic fertilizer
1, 3-7 Gal. bucket of compost
Steps:
1 - Sprinkle 2 C organic fertilizer on the spot where tomato will be planted
2 - Sprinkle Micro-nutrients (if needed) on top of fertilizer
3 - Sprinkle Epsom Salt over and around planting spot
4 - Dump bucket of compost over planting spot
5 – Hand form into a cone with indented center (upside down volcano)
6 – With hose water into cone soaking entire mound, let drain, water again
Note: Water into cone frequently to keep soil moist until tomatoes are planted. (My comment – apply mulch layer to help keep all moist.)
Plant 1 tomato (or 2 if you have a very large cage) into each cone, sprinkle whole ground cornmeal on cone surface (fungal disease preventative), cage mulch, and stand back!
(*) The addition of Epsom Salt prevents “blossom end rot” – a very common problem in cool spring soils in combination with swings in soil moisture – when calcium isn’t carried to the end of the tomato fruit.
Bob Webster is an Aggie horticulturalist and owner of Shades of Green Nursery in San Antonio…
Ms. Tommie
You can listen to Bob's show on KTSA on Saturday mornings, too. You can probably find him online as well. My dad listens to him, even though my dad doesn't garden! LOL He calls me and gives me all the tips he learned on the show.
Thanks butterharrell for the BER recipe, I had some problems with BER on the first tomatoes that came out last spring and had to throw some fruit away unfortunately, I had heard about Epsom salts before to combact BER but never tried it out before.
Actually my DH gave me more raise beds plus the dirt to fill them out for Christmas, he still has to build them, he's been very busy with another project but I am sure very soon I'll have them in the ground, you can never have too much growing space. :)
My Arugula and mustard are about to finish, they are getting a little wilty, I think they are just too old, they are getting some mites as well which is a sign that the plants are getting a little past due they time. I am thinking of planting more arugula and spinach as well, my spinach is doing great and I really enjoy it in salads.
Cala I agree with JohnCrichton75, I love hearing the things you are growing, it gives me ideas as well of new things I should try for next time.
Sounds like I am in good company with Christmas money going to gardening stuff, lol.
Yeah, one thing I will *absolutley* do this spring is use epsom salt with my tomato transplants.
Well, it drizzled all day today and the temps were around 60 deg, yet it was humid enough to where it was just a "blah" day. Yet, I got going somehow and sowed a bunch of stuff.
I WS'd the following:
Tomatoes: Costoluto (6 seeds), Margherita (11), Cherokee Purple (6) & Roma (12)
Sweet Peppers: Big Dipper (~10), Chinese Giant (~12)
Hot Peppers: Jalapenos (6)
Yellow Crookneck squash (3)
Spineless Beauty zucchini (3)
Sowed under lights (yesterday)
Tomatoes: Cherokee Purple (4), Big Beef (4), Supersweet 100 (4)
Also, I sowed (3) Salvia Whopper Lighthouse seeds.
I sowed these in peat pellets but ran out...I think I have a little more Christmas money, though. :)
This is the 3rd time I'm typing this...not a happy camper...
I was beginning to despair of having spring veggies, after having NO winter garden.
I sowed saved seeds from 2007-2008 under fluorescents last Monday, January 10th, and have checked every day with nothing. I left for church this morning and came home to find the WHOLE flat of Black Krims had popped! And, by 9pm this evening the Cherokee Purples are popping and at least two cells of Pruden's purples are up.
When nothing was happening, I thought a) my seeds were too old, b) they had rotted or c) I hadn't saved them properly in the first place. But, there is hope!
I sowed:
One flat of Black Krims (~25-30)
One flat of Cherokee Purples (~20-25)
Two 15-cell Deep Rooting Systems of Pruden's Purple (30)
One flat of Romaine Lettuce (millions....I'll harvest microgreens to thin when they grow..IF they grow...)
I'll pot up to 16 oz. Red solo cups, plant deep, and add soil as they grow up. I'm thinking I may even put half the cups outside in a large Sterilite container (to protect them from the wind) to either a) kill them or b) enlist the aid of the chill to help me get fat, stocky seedlings for planting out on February 19th. I need sturdy 6"-8" seedlings for planting out by then. This will be a calculated experiment based on WSing observations from a very successful attempt last January.
I decided not to go with WSing veggie seedlings outside this go round, because of my short planting out window. My intent was to have them WS outside by mid-December, but that didn't happen. So, I'm rushing them along under the lights inside.
I was wondering if I was the last Houston gardener to sow seeds, but my brother John just made my day. I'm off for two more days, and guess what's on my schedule? SOWING SEEDS! I'll sow a few more tomato varieties (Momotoro, Sioux, Eva Purple Balls), and eggplants and bell peppers.
I'll post a pic of those Black Krims in a minute.
Let the games begin!
^^_^^
I never have BER on my tomatoes so I must be doing something right. Before planting my tomatoes I add compost (vegan, no animal products), cottonseed, kelp and alfalfa meal, greensand, dry molasses and a little bit of sulfur (our pH tends to run high here, usually 8.5 and some greensand raises pH so add sulfur to counteract)
I loved Eva Purple Ball, it had tomatoes until July for us. I lost my seeds, so haven't had it in a couple of years.
Bob Webster's radio program (550AM, KTSA...live stream it from the Internet) is scheduled Saturday, 5:30 AM - 9 AM CST and Sunday 8 AM - 11 AM CST. I listen via my Walkman while out in the garden!
I think I might be a garden addict! DH used to give me a truck load of mulch every year for our anniversary! He's branched out into fencing and tractor implements now, but I still remember the thrill of having that truck pull up into the driveway, how that nursery owner used to laugh at me when I would say it was my anniversay present, and the odd looks for the neighbors!
John, I've grown Spineless Beauty zucchini before and liked it very much. It did have a couple of spines but it was vigorous and hearty.
Sowed Today:
Tomatoes
Momotoro
Sioux
Bull's Heart
Peppers
Emerald Giant Bells
Fooled You Jalapenos
Linda bulls heart is delicious, I planted it last year and even though I did not get huge production the tomatoes were delicious, not a lot of seeds either. I will be planting my maters soon, probably the last week of Jan, I have so many seeds I really don't know where to start.
Monday and Tuesday I was able to work in the garden a little bit (no markets). Here is what I planted:
Cilantro
Profit zucchini
Fortune yellow squash
patty pan yellow squash
several mesclun mixes
romaine
Alicante bush beans
red kuri squash
delicata squash
buttercup squash
Indian Brave butternut squash
Sweet Dumpling squash
Bon Bon squash
Transplanted chocolate cherry, orange paruche, sweet treat, Ananas Noire, Copia tomatoes (plus some more, I forget the names right now)
bell pepper replacement plants
siberian, red russian and white russian kale
mariachi, tiburon, carmen and anaheim chili peppers
transplanted my winter onions to their final bed, I have two kinds one is Sunset, the other is I think Candy
planted in seedbed more broccoli (marrathon), cauliflower(cheddar and cassius) and cabbage, pac choi and eggplant, rosa bianca, a white one and two japanese types.
carrots rainbow mix, yaya and ingot and deep purple
spinach
potatoes peruvian blue, red thumb, russian banana, rio colorado and one more I forgot the name
today I will be planting 12 more raised beds
Lady Calalily,
When you say "planted" do you mean DS seeds or are you transplanting seedlings?
Also, how are you able to start cole crop veggies like [quote]more broccoli (marrathon), cauliflower(cheddar and cassius) and cabbage,carrots rainbow mix, and deep purple spinach{/quote] at this time? It'll be warm here by the 3rd or 4th week in March, and I remember my plants starting to bolt. Please advise.
Anyone else in the Houston area still sowing seeds for cole crops at this time, please chime in. Thanks!
Linda
P.S. Here's that flat of Black Krims that came up in 4 hours...
Well those little maters are eager, aren't they?!? LOL
Did you sow them in an aluminum pan?
Steph,
The flat in the pic is a plastic Baby Spinach container from Sam's. It's about 4-5" deep. I sowed Black Krim's in one, and Cherokee Purples in the other.
My other seeds are sown in a Deep Rooting System 15-cell greenhouse with a clear plastic dome from Gardener's supply Co.
http://www.gardeners.com/Seedstarting-System/SeedstartingKits_Cat,35-657,default,cp.html
I figured that out when I looked at the picture again. That's a great idea!
Linda, planted: put little seeds in the seedbed, lol. I plant broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, and other cole crops (all seeds) etc in the ground until March 1. I tried planting later into April last year, broccoli did okay, cauliflower and kohlrabi didn't do well, but carrots and beets will grow year round here (and taste sweet).
I also transplanted some plants into rows. I plant every 2 weeks to keep a steady supply for the market.
We are not as hot as Houston in summer, rarely reach 100 and not as cold in winter, rarely go below 39 in winter. I grew arugula all last summer, had leaf lettuce all except August and part of September. I use remay, I buy it on 1000 ft rolls 2 rolls at a time.
I didn't get the 12 beds planted yesterday, a friend's restaurant went out of business and we bought his commercial refrigerator. 7 feet wide, lots of room to store veggies for market! Took all day to get it in the garage because the refrigerator was 1/2 inch taller than the garage door. (idiot house builders framed the garage door at 6'11 1/2" instead of 7 feet.)
Lady Lily,
So how long did it take ya'll to saw off the top of the freezer so it would fit? ☺
Ok. Tell me. I believe my absolute cut off date for any cool/cold weather veggie to start bolting from heat would be approximately April 15 or maybe even early as April 1 -- it starts getting warmer, with our avg. temps being 79.2-60.7 in April, and 72.4-60.7 in May. By June it's 89 degrees, and by July 1st it"s around 92 degrees and climbing!
So, based on your knowledge, should I sow my cole crop seeds up to around the end of January for a potential harvest in April?
Thanks.
BTW, who is Ms. Tommie? She's been lurking and when she posts she's starting to remind me of Dr. C! She totally rocks. Doesn't say much. But when she does, E.F. Hutton listens!
Thanks Linda for posting the questions, I am curious as well, I am wondering as well how long can I extend the Cole crops in my area. The broccoli that I planted a while back is doing O.K, it got big heads but then the side shoot did not come in like forever and I was already about to take the plants out when I started seeing some side shoots in some of the plants, they are however not very big at all but tasty, the leaves are starting to turn yellow especially the old ones, does this mean it is time for me to pull out the plants?
Got my order of onions yesterday, according to the package it says I can leave it outside the box for about 3 weeks and they'll be fine, I really need the extra weeks since my DH has just finished the last project and has to pick the compost still and also build more raise beds.
My DH was asking me the other day if I could grow lettuce during the summer, he really is enjoying the greens that we are growing right now.
I think that should work for you. If I'm planting late, I look for varieties with the shortest time to finish (broccoli Pacman finishes 3 weeks earlier than Marrathon, Cheddar cauliflower finishes in 58 days, Graffiti takes 78-85, etc) With cabbages I like the ones with smaller heads so I can space them closer together. We're growing Charmant this year and it's a nice cabbage with very firm heads.
As for the refrigerator: it is on wheels so we jacked up one side, took off those wheels, put "sliders" under the corners, push as far into garage as possible, jack up other end extra high because of wheels in the middle, put more sliders under those corners, push into garage, jack up one end, replace wheels.................it took all afternoon. Bud was looking at the frame around the garage door and I said "don't even think about it" he said "if I took the saw and cut this section, I think it might fit" I hid the saw!
Now the compressor is cycling off and on every 30 seconds, so have to call friend who is in refrigeration.
Let me get this straight. Bud is now in refrigeration because he wasn't thinking about sawing and cutting out the section of your garage overhang that would've allowed you to push the refrigerator in in 15 minutes versus the hours it did take, and now a compressor is cycling the garage every 30 seconds looking for a saw?
???
Yes, I think that about covers it.
Linda--
I thought that I'd seen the name related to gardening in the Austin area. A little Dave's Garden "stalking" and a quick Google shows that Tommie Clayton is a central Texas master gardener. She's been heavily involved with Central Texas Master Gardners and volunteering with Zilker Gardens in Austin. Looks like she may be sharing an ID with BusterHarrel. It is always nice when an expert steps in!
David
"Great Scots, Holmes!" " We must secure her true identity at all costs, and protect her from that dreaded Moriarity! No wonder she was operating under an assumed name. She fears for her veggies, Sherlock!"
"I'm Watson.". " And, the game is afoot!" (or, in this case, a veggie garden...)
"Have no fear, Ms. To... er... BusterHarrell."
"Holmes and Watson are here!"
^^_^^
dreaves, my Stevia seeds came yesterday- Thanks so much.
The onions have landed in my kitchen! Woohoo! I'll plant them in a couple of weeks, I think. I might plant them tomorrow. Who knows if it's safe for me to plant them now. Our avg. first freeze date is March 15th.
I have some that didn't grow from last year & I just pulled them from the soil...would they still be good to replant this year??? or just throw them out?
Cindy, I have no idea!
Step, mine have been down siNce JAnuary 8th, and have done fine in the chill with a cardboard tent over them. We've dipped low as around 31-34 for a coupla hours every night this week. Same Forecast for next week.
Well, we were down in the upper teens a couple of nights ago! Yikes! However, last year, I had one onion that didn't get plucked the summer before and it survived 14" of snow, so I guess it'll be okay to plant them!
When I lived in zone 5, sometimes we wouild let the onions winter over. The onions will either go to seed or the bulb will split into more bulbs.
stephanietx, I planted mine New Year's day. They seem to be doing fine. I did have them covered with about a foot of grass clippings. When I checked on them Friday night almost all of them have taken root (when you give them a gentle tug they don't move), they are starting to grow more green tops, and they just generally look very healthy. I've pulled the clipping away to let some air circulate around them and so that they can get more sun. So far, so good.....If it doesn't rain today I may even start to water.
I'm headed home to pot up seedlings. My question is should I pot up in the same seed starter mix or can I, should I, start cutting in some of the MG potting mix they'll eventually be growing in?
I'll be using Tapla's 5:1:1 container mix of pine bark:peat (MG):perlite.
Thx
Ok. I got as far as the Black Krims. I went ahead and potted up using the same seedling mix as I started them in.
45 Black Krims
Forty-five Black Krims? Are you having a garden sale? I bet all your friends run when they see you coming with tomato plants...my friends liked having plants the first year or two, but only the dedicated will take more than one or two plants from me these days! : )
David R
Yah know, I've been asking myself the same question. I'll have about 40 Cher Purples, 45 Pruden's Purples, 10 Sioux, and 10 Bull's Hearts and 10 Momotoro's when it's over. I should have about 30 Bell Peppers.
I also have about 10 "fooled you" Jalapenos.
Still have to Sow the eggplants.
Have 4 EBs of onions.
I might have to resort to seedacide.
This message was edited Jan 25, 2011 9:02 AM
If you have extras you can't get rid of you might call a nursing home. I've been noticing in the local newspaper that a couple of the nursing homes are setting up veggie/flower gardens for some of their more mobile residents to get involved in. I think that is a wonderful idea. Don't know if this is a local thing or what....
Love the pictures of you set up. Looks about like mine. Sigh, come on spring!
It took me 2.5 hours to pot up those 45 seedlings last night. I should be done by Saturday...here's a better picture.
What I like about the shelving system is that as the plant growth expands, the shelving system can expand upward to accommodate. I have two more shelves for the warm room (germination), and I'm setting up two shelves in the cool room for the newly potted up seedlings (for slow growth and fattening up).
This year I'm taking more careful notes on the sowing and growth timeframes, and what I did, and getting better organized with the shelving system. Once I get some garage shelving in, I'll have organized storage for the seedling supplies, too.
Hugs.
This message was edited Jan 25, 2011 9:09 AM
This message was edited Jan 25, 2011 9:09 AM
