Zones 8-9 Spr/Sum 2011 Veggie Gardening is UNDERWAY Part III

sshhhhhh... It is just pure luck ....

Look how beautiful MELROSE PEPPERS

Okra BURGUNDY RED

My harvest today.
Finally 7 OKRA ..... yeeeahhhhh ..... definetely the plants are starting to produce more fruits after I trimmed the bottom leaves. I freeze the okra right away to use in my gumbo.
Right now I have too many cukes to eat ... and I learn that : "eat what you can ... and freeze what you can't"
2 zucchini ... yeaahhh SVB ... I am confusing ya ... !!! This year I have planted zucchini in my flower beds to distract the SVB ... so far I had more zucchini that I ever had in my previous years .. not many ... but at least some ...
I think those are my final tomatoes ... and little red "melrose" peppers.

I am attaching the August 2011 calendar page by Maria Thun.
You can see the suggested planting dates for flower, or fruit , or root or leaf crops.
I am planning to remove soon my tomatoes plants and start seeds indoor at the beginning of August of the following crops:
FLOWER days: broccoli
LEAF days: brussel sprouts, cauliflowers, kales and fennel for now
I am planning to transplant them outside at the beginning of september

drthor, that page is fascinating, and I'm going to print it out and hang onto it, as well as your notes.

I am totally ignorant about paying attention to lunar cycles and such, but given your continued success, it's obviously something I need to learn more about. Thanks for taking the time to share it.

Also, good tip about confusing the SVB. I guess I need to pay some attention to flowers, which I have been largely ignoring up to now.

Man, there is so much to learn and so much to do -- but I love it!

LiseP,
yes I have been following the moon planting dates suggested by Maria Thun ... I'd like to believe that's why I have been so lucky and succesfull this year.
Her calendar is very easy/no brainer to follow ... so I will keep doing it.
Inside the book there is a fold-out. I cut it and have it laminated. I have this calendar up near the area I start my seeds.
It is really a good help ... so I am not always in teh garden ... Just in the correct dates.

I have pre-ordered her 2012 calendar on Amazon. Here are the information:
"The North American Biodynamic Sowing and Planting Calendar 2012"
http://www.amazon.com/American-Biodynamic-Sowing-Planting-Calendar/dp/0863158234/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1311005886&sr=8-3

I forgot to tell that this calendar is on Easter time, so here in TX you need to subtract ONE HOUR from the calendar.

How do you read the thing? LOL

ditto

It is very easy.
For example : Broccoli is a FLOWER crop, so I will look for the day that has the YELLOW color and says FLOWER.
So I can start from seeds/or transplant outside on: August 3rd from 4am to 9am .... or on Aug. 6 from 11 am to the next day at 5am ... or my next window will be in more than a week. Look for the yellow color ... Aug. 14 from 4am to Aug.16 at 1am.

When there are just dots you don't do anything at all.

When you read Maria bokk it all will make a lot of sense.

I did plant a few tomatoes in the wrong dates (example on ROOT days) ... and those plants they grew half of the size of the tomatos planted on regular FRUIT days, they also didn't produce much and they were the only one that got attached by pests.
True or false or magic ... it seems to work for me.

DITTO!!

SPOOKY. Doubt I can get up at 4am to plant anything! Even 9am is tough to be outside for me! Janet

bariolo duhhh
you find the time it is best for ya !!! off course nobody is out there at 4am ... I think ... I am not ...
anyway ... next time I will keep my secrets for myself .... or at least I know that hrp50 will do what "I say" ...

This is the first year I've planted Honey Dew melons. The first one picked was over ripe and I need to know when to pick.

Thanks

Dane

This is the first year I've planted cantalopes. The first one picked was over ripe and I need to know when to pick.

Thanks

Dane

Yes, it's true. If drthor, via Maria Thun, says that 4:00 AM is the time to plant, I'm out in the garden at 4:00 AM planting. No if's, and's or but's.

I still haven't figured out how to read the calendar but I haven't given up yet.

This message was edited Jul 19, 2011 10:07 AM

I always wait for the cantaloupe on it's own to become detached from the stem and then they are ready to pick and eat. This method has always worked for me, you just have to check them every day toward the end.

hrp50, it is very easy.
Don't worry about all the other symbols, follow the date and the color of the crop you wanto plant.
When you will receive the book it is explained really well. My English is not yet suffucient to give perfect instructions.

Drthor,
Your English is just fine. Just make sure Hrp50 has a candle, a black cat, and a pointed hat when she goes out at 4AM to plant so she can scare off anything that's out there lurking! No "ifs, ands, or buts!"

Ya'll LOL hear? It's only me poking fun!

But, seriously, 4AM? Maria Thun had a LOT of time on her hands....

I have the book, have read it twice and still don't fully understand the planting guide. Maybe I just have a mental block, but like I said, I'm still trying to comprehend it and won't give up until I'm an expert like you. Well, I'll probably will never get to your level of understanding.

And I think your English is fine, it just took a while to get used to.

Thank you hpr50

WOW ... you don't need to go out there at 4am in the morning.
You just go out when you want during those hours ... duuuhhhh
There are a lot of choices in her dates.

I will post the dates when I will start to sew my broccoli seeds in August ... so be ready.
Broccoli is a FLOWER crop, so look for the yellow color in the calendar.

I will also start LEAF: Cauliflowers, Brussels Sprouts and Kale

The fog is clearing and I'm starting to see the picture. I guess it was determining what is a flower crop and what is a leaf crop and what is the other (root?) crop that had me confused.

great, here some example of crops:
ROOT: garlic, radishes, turnip, carrots ...
FRUIT: tomato, eggplant, pepper, okra, cukes, zucchini ...
LEAF: lettuce, kale, spinach, kohlrabi, cauliflower ...
FLOWER: broccoli, artichoke ...

It could be confusing for ex. for broccoli, you would think it is fruit ... instead it is a flower ... I leave to Maria and her study to decide if broccoli does better on flower days instead on fruit days.
Or kohlrabi is a LEAF ...
... Maria has done researches for years and I just don't worry anymore, I just follow the calendar.
I just need to learn what is what ...

it really makes a lot of sense because the moon phases regulate the moisture on the soil ... so the calendar tells you when it is the best to sow or transplant or harvest

An excellant explanation if I may say so.

Now, do you think that I should warn my neighbors that if they hearing noises coming from from my backyard at 4:00 AM for them not worry, it's not someone trying to break into my house?

The weather would at least be more tolerable at 4AM! LOL LOL LOL

My harvest today ... things are slowing down at this time of the year ... but I harvested more vegetables this year that is soo hot than the previous 2 years ... go figure.
Finally Okra is starting to produce more .. still cukes.... but in funny shapes ... zucchini ... just a few ... yeaaahhh
Eggplants have definately slown down , while I have lots of peppers in the vines ... I will pick them friday before I am gone for a week.
My DH will be in charge ... ooouuuccchhh

My harvest today and that's it for an another week.
I am leaving my garden to my DH ...hoou hooo

Got some rain yesterday and sun today. Still picking okra.

BTW this thread is getting a bit long

Ok. New thread coming up!

Found this tomatoe in the neglected area of my place. This picture was taken befor the rain we just got and has not been watered, very drought resistant. Must be a grape tomatoe as they are small.

I am back ... I spent a week in beautiful and "cool" California.
This was my harvest today.
My DH was also gone the all week, so nobodytook care of my garden and veggies.
Huge cucumbers. Look at the yellow one on the top right. After the picture it went straight to the tortoises.
I have tried a few of the other larger cukes and they were still good. (lucky)
Huge zucchini !! The seeds are PARTHENON (parthenocarpic from Johhny's). The larger one must have been 18". I grilled them last night and they were delicious.
Lots of huge Okras ... ouch !! I cut them and froze to use on my Gumbo.
Also lots of peppers, very small and some ful of seeds, which is telling me how much stress the plant are under this heat.
I have lost maybe 5 pepper plants ...ooohhh
Eggplants have stop to produce, but I am sure that they will start soon after this incredible heat or maybe some rain.
My swiss chard is growing like crazy ... I will need to harvest some real soon ... but I have no energy.
I truly cannot wait to start my fall crop and get some delicious greens.
Enjoy

My harvest today.
Finally lots of Okras, I will sautee' them tonight.
I am starting to harvest from my second crop of cucumbers, my first three cukes from Corinto's.
Two small tomatoes ... tomatoes are done ... still lots of small green ones , but the plants will be remove really soon.

Anybody else is harvesting?

I'm harvesting okras, and rooting cuttings from my existing tomato plants for plantout September 1 for my fall tomato crop. ^^_^^

Im still getting a few eggplants and peppers. Canteloupe's are still making. (I wait 'til they fall off and they have not been too ripe.) They are better if I even wait an extra day after harvesting to eat them. Okra is cranking up. Harvested couple dozen from my two plants. Tomatoes are finished; composting the vines. Cucumbers on last legs. Whiteflies took over. Have started tomato plants to plant in Sept. Will start broccoli, brussel sprouts, lettuce, snow peas and carrot seeds this month. Man, is it ever hot out there!!! My water bill was $150 last month. Rain barrels filled up with last shower we had but Ive used that already so guess this month's bill will be high as well.

Will you direct seed or start seeds?

TX_gardener & Steadycam3,
I've got my light kit set up, and tonight I will start sterilizing potting mix. Tomorrow I will start seeds indoors for cabbage, brussels sprouts (first time), broccoli, and cauliflowers. The heat outside will just make them stall even more, so I'll keep em as cool as I can indoors until plant out October 9th. That's 9 weeks of growth, and I'll be shooting for the largest seedlings I can get by then. I read somewhere that one factor in a good fall/winter garden is how far along the seedlings are when you plant them out. Bigger IS better, in this case, so I'm hoping the cool inside will encourage fast, steady growth.

I'll stagger the seedlings out every 2-3 weeks after the initial 10/9 target date, so I'll have a steady harvest (prayerfully) through the late winter and early spring, up until around mid-March (pray!)

I'm going to wait until mid-September to direct sow my lettuce, spinach, carrot, beet and turnip seeds in HEBs outside. By then, there should be a(n) imperceptible!!! change in the weather, and maybe the seeds will notice it!

Here's my light kit. Three shelves and 12 fluorescent lights. Those are cat liter trays to hold the seedlings. Bought at the $1 store (for a dollar!). They don't collapse or bend when full of seedling cups!

Linda

very good job Gymgirl.
I am also ready to start my fall seeds tomorrow.
I plant by the moon dates and tomorrow and sunday are good days to start my fall garden seeds.
I will seed once a week, so I will have a continuous harvest.
Normally I set out my broccoli and brussels sprouts transplant at the beginning of september and I start to harvest broccoli in October.
Good luck and I hope this heat will stop real soon.

oohhhh dream of cool weather ....

Thanks, Drthor,
Do you have a pic of your brussels sprouts from last season? Any special growing instructions you can pass on would be appreciated, since this is my first time trying to grow them. I LOVE BS!

Linda

P.S. Here's a pic of my harvest this morning! 22 Okras, and 20 jalapenos!

This message was edited Aug 5, 2011 2:41 PM

Brussels Sprouts need lot of time to make fruits. Also they like cold weather. Their flavor will improve with a freeze.
what do you do with 20 japalenos? ouch !!