I had to bring plants inside, one of which is a pineapple I planted from the top of a pineapple fruit from the store. At least it used to look like a pineapple.
1. Pineapple plant
2. Pineapple plant chewing varmint (don't let that innocent look fool you)
Jeez it was 27 last night. Not the kind of weather I want to go out in.
It's supposed to hit 27 here tonight. I had to bring in the potted citrus and olives and bananas and drip a couple of spigots that are out in the open.
My outdoor reading is 37.6 at 7 am this morning.
And I've got a farmers market to set up for!!
Steady et al,
That daily "priority" list is forcing me to "slow my roll."
Last year I gave away 27 out of 28 cabbages cause I ran out of freezer space. And,my quest this whole year was getting a freezer, which is now sitting proudly and waiting to be filled -- with the mustards and Woody cabbages that need to be harvested, last week!
So, gotta get that done before I jump off into another major task of sowing tomato seeds... And, after reviewing ya'lls comments, I had to rethink exactly what I plan on sowing, and who, besides me, is gonna be willing to do what it takes to protect them thru possible freezing weather.
Totally different picture!
So, thanks for ya'lls perspectives. I'll only be sowing the tomatoes I'm going to take care of thru the frosts. In January, I'll start short season tomatoes that can go out in March for everyone else..
Pity there're only a few short season seeds in my repertoire...
This message was edited Dec 22, 2012 1:12 PM
I got out and spread another 6 trash bags full of coffee grounds, installed the new garden gate, did some weeding and the boy made my a new compost bin so I can let the existing compost settle up good for use next year.
It's a bit nippy out there, but not too bad in the sun.
Good score on that freezer. My freezer is still posted on the list of things I need to get when the money is available. I think Im also procrastinating on the freezer due to not knowing exactly where it might fit in my limited space.
My cabbage (red only ) is still heading... broccoli is done and due to Serg's mom being in ill health and not sure what's going to happen on that front I'm not starting more. My brussell sprouts are looking nice, but doesn't look like I'll get my wish of having them to pair with the Christmas prime rib. I enjoyed the greens but next year will limit it to just collards, won't do the cabbage again but will have tons of broccoli as Serg loved it!
Nicole, where did you score that large amount of coffee grounds?
Nicole, where did you score that large amount of coffee grounds?
im jealous of u southern gardeners..u get months head start on
all of us northerners.. sigh
i am going to put up the cold frame after new yr.. and get some
lettuce.and spinach started though..
last yr..i planted both in jan..in flats..kept in south facing area..then dropped
the whole flat into garden soil ..with cold frame protection.. worked great..
so..im hankering for fresh greens.. :)
a very merry christmas to all
We have had an up and down week, up to mid 80's then down to 43 one night and will do it again tomorrow night and wind gusts up to 55mph which blew one of my silver row covers off a squash bed along with the squash! My poor cauliflower and broccoli were blown over and 16 were broken off at the soil line. I realized direct seeding is not good, their roots are not deep enough and they get blown over easily. Lesson learned. A few of my experiments have failed this fall, but some turned out well.
I have ripe tomatoes in the greenhouses, along with cucumbers, peppers and eggplant. We bought a bumblebee hive that can be moved between the two greenhouses for pollination. They're so cute!
Calalily, I have never heard of this bumblebee hive that can be moved could you explain. Thanks
Green Methods is the company where I bought it, but it is a Koppert hive. It is Class A, size D that lasts 3-4 months. They sell a "Hotel Hive" but the lady said just set the entrance to "Home" and wait 2 hours before moving. The Hotel Hive is for large greenhouses (1 acre size) and is used when moving hives from one area to another in case bees get left behind, they can use the hotel hive over night to sleep but she said with my small (3000 sq ft per house) greenhouses just set to Home, wait and move to the next house. She said move them in the evening. They always know where their home is, as long as you don't move it while they are out. They don't mind being moved and they aren't agressive, one just has to remember to close the exit of the hive before moving! Big commercial greenhouses move them before spraying chemicals and put them back the next day.
Crazy weather, it is going to be near 90 today and drop to 40 tonight. Our weatherman (works for NOAA, volunteers at the farm) said it will move in between 3 and 4. Thankfully not as much to cover this year because most tender plants are in the greenhouse but still need to cover my baby broccoli and cauliflower. We will have to have the greenhouses open while the temps are high, but need to close them when they start dropping. I will set the bee's hive enter/exit to "home" and wait before closing up the greenhouse just in case any of the bumbles are still outside. I picked my first big red tomato yesterday! We are growing oriental, english, slicing and pickling cucumbers. The oriental cucumbers look like alien beings and are absolutely loaded with fruit.
A cardboard box for a bumblebee hive. Strange. You say it lasts 3-4 months. Will the the young queens reproduce into the wild? Since you don't use many chemicals (right?) it might be a good way to jumpstart a local population if it were lacking. Provided, of course, the species were able to survive locally.
One colony of mine is right by the ramp to my shed. I've seen how much work it is for them to chew up leaves and grass to keep their entrance clear, so I do it for them. I don't know if I'll have a colony in that hole again this year. It's a good spot... but I guess they don't normally reuse hives.
I didn't know bees lived in ground. Interesting.
All I've seen here in the ground is yellow jackets. Of course they will also provide pollination.
Calalily ~ we'll be interested in seeing how you like the new greenhouses this winter. Best wishes with them.
Merry Christmas all!
The outside is made of cardboard with a removable lid and an entrance/exit that can be set to closed, leave and return or return only.All workers return to the hive every two hours. I cannot leave the door closed for more than three days or they will die. Inside the box is where the hive lives which is a plastic cage like apparatus with fiber bedding sitting over a nectar bag with a wick. The hive comes with a mated queen and a few young workers. She will continue to lay eggs and raise workers until her life is almost over (bumblebees are short lived) when she will hatch several queens who will exit the hive, mate and start a new colony. If I want to keep a queen I must have an empty hive with bedding and nectar for her to start her brood. In the US bumblebee hives that are purchased must be native bees. Mine are bombus impatiens, native to the eastern and part of the western US. Mexico (20 miles from my farm) is allowed to import bombus terrestris which is not native here. Here is Green Methods link http://greenmethods.com/site/biocontrols/bombus/
We don't use chemicals although some chemicals are compatible with bees if they are given a delay between spraying and re-entry. Some chemicals are not compatible even when they are dry and 24-48 hours have elapsed (like imidicloprid and some synthetic pyrethroids). Biological compounds like Bt are safe with bees, but not all organic products are safe for them.
Strange weather here, too. Windy as somewhat today, i brought the Meyer lemon into the garage, along with some of the newer plants in pots.
My potatoes are sprouting away, the carrots are crying for more dirt, and the kale and cress are being eaten as soon as they sprout (by me), along with one doozy of a pickling cucumber and lots of sugar snaps.
Merry Christmas to all! Hope we don't all blow away!
Snow and frigid weather has put a stop to all outdoor activities here in SE Oklahoma
Does anyone have experience with cold frame kits? Or lights for starting seeds indoors? I'm getting anxious...I can tell you that last year, I bought "cow-pots" to start my seeds and LOVED THEM. No more Jiffy pots for me!
Light shelf
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/48/
Very EZ. Get your shelf boards cut to fit your space, and stack 'em on the cinder blocks. I use eye hooks on the undersides of each shelf to hang regular 48" shop lights side by side, for a total of two lights per shelf.
Linda
This message was edited Dec 27, 2012 10:03 AM
We just used an old shelving set from the garage. We put two lights side by side on each shelf. Found the lights on Freecycle! Then hubby took plastic and draped over the whole thing to make like a tent. We stuck a small heater under the bottom shelf and it acted like a green house. This year, I plan on sprouting my seeds in a roaster oven.
Grayce tell me about the cow pots never heard of that before LOl guess you heard about the redneck that when asked where he wanted to be when the world ended?? he replied "Oklahoma cause every thing gets to Oklahoma 25 year later than any other place"
Here are a few pictorial updates on what's going on in my garden now:
#1 Soloist Cabbages (overgrown) in an Earthbox
#2 Cabbages in RB #2
#3 Broccoli heading
#4 Cauliflower heading
#5 RB #3 with cauliflowers (l) and broccoli (r)
We dipped down into the mid-30s these past two nights, so I watered the garden well. I covered the hoops Christmas night with old bedsheets because of the 36-45 mph winds. I was never worried about the cold. Everything looks fine.
Oh, I never did get around to covering up the cauliflower heads, but, they seem to be doing fine, too.
Linda
Beautiful.....Good job......
Here's an update of my garden. LOL Today, I ordered my seeds for my spring garden. :)
It snowed in Ft Worth? Wow!
Beautiful veggies Linda.
Way to Go! Linda. It kinda makes you forget about August in Houston when you see a garden in December/January doesn't it?
Thank you, all, for the encouragement. And, for sharing so much of yourselves and your love here in the garden!
Steph,
Before your picture, I could only imagine what people had been saying about snow! Right over there in Dallas?? Wow!
How come you don't put a hoop over your bed? Covered with sheets or frost blankets first, then with plastic sheeting, would keep the snow off the plants, at least. If the temps dip for too long, you could shove some hot water jugs underneath. Drthor keeps all her stuff alive like that. In fact, she turned me on to that perforated plastic sheeting from Territorial Seeds. The holes let the wind, rain, and sunlight through. Also, she figured out the proper spacing on the hoop ribs so it wouldn't collapse under the weight of the snow.
You want me to come help, LOL? I need a vacation!
Linda
I arrived back from South America just in time for the snow in Dallas.
I arrived home, checked the weather, changed to my garden clothes and run out to the garden.
I did harvest as much greens as I could and cover everything with the perforated plastic and the frost protection blanket.
At 22 F I thought that I lost everything ... ice and snow ....
I looked under the covers today and I couldn't believe how my tender lettuce was all standing up and survived !
What a miracle !
I will keep the cover on for a few days more because the temperature will deep down at 26-29 F at night !
By the way: I fell in love with Chile - what a glorious country !
The garlic will be fine. It survived a couple of years ago when we had 14" of snow. The rest of it was really already finished. There were just a few side shoots left on some of the broc, the maters were finished, and the bell peppers were done. Besides that, I'm lazy and don't have the "oomph" to use hoops and such. LOL
I never protect my cold weather crops and once they are established they have survived 14*. Snow and ice act as insolation. I have had lettuce burned but it came right back. I don't have the "oomph"either Stephanie, lol.
I've lost more by "cooking" it when I didn't get the "protection" off before the temps got too high.
I hear yah on that "cooking" thing. if it wasn't for the tornadic winds in my yard, tearing up the wee seedlings and snapping stalks, I'd never have to cover!
Today's chores include harvesting greens fir the freezer, dividing greens for giveaways, and sowing some late season tomatoes.
Then there's the requisite housework!!!
Cow pots are made from cow manure. I used them last year, and they seemed so much better than standard peat pots. You can get them from Gardener's Supply, in different sizes. I just ordered a two-level seed starting lighting station with lights, and I am really psyched! I had an experiment last year starting plants, and it went well, so I bit the bullet and bought this station.
I also got a simple cold frame, so this is THIS YEAR'S experiment!
Got some "rice pea" cowpea seeds to germinate quite quickly using a wet coffee filter in a plastic bag, and put them in a bit of sphagnum peat today. It's so sunny after a cold/rain snap that I just couldn't resist.
Tossed some poppies in around the edge of the veggie bed, too, and built a bit of a cold frame of sorts out of an old window, it's sitting over top of my lettuce and strawberries. By "built", I mean, found the glass and leaned it over top of some bricks.
Also, there's an area of our driveway that's marshy as all get out, so I put some leftover "sprout people" seeds I'll never use in there. Hope to improve the parking bog with at least SOMETHING.
The landlord also agreed to help me build a trellis instead of our butt-ugly non-working water feature, the place that gets the best sun in spring, and has the dryer vent nearby...passifloras, maybe? It's a tough spot, but anything that likes hot and steamy should do just fine...
And my "improved Meyer lemon" is putting on flowers. I've babied that critter - got it for a song from my favorite local nursery, as it's got the weirdest shape ever with thorns to boot. Can't seem to shake my container garden ways of jamming as much into a pot as will fit, so the Meyer lemon is being the anchor for my moonflower vine and a mandevilla laxa.
It's gonna be a jungle back here come summer...
Grits? we always claimed we were stepping back a century from the world when in Oklahoma - I loved living there. Winds in the south, snows were awesome deep in Little Rock, too - I was on the move and missed all but the edges of storms this last 2 weeks
Veggies look great Linda.
For everyone who wanted photos of the Compact Sunlite 2-Tier Garden, here are two for you. This unit came complete with horrible instructions, my favorite cowpots, 2 weird mats for placing underneath the pots, organic seed start soil, and 4 really nice sunlight-colored fluorescent tubes for lighting.
It is really neat how you can lower the lights, too. All in all, it took the two of us 4 hours together to get the thing assembled, and we are both very mechanically-inclined! Now I look forward to starting my seeds in style! No more light starvation for my seeds!
To give scale, the window is about 3 feet across. The height on the 2-Tier Garden is about 4.5 feet tall, and it is on rollers. Very sophisticated, very practical. Very expensive, too. Oh well, I keep telling myself that I have no pets, no kids, no more horses...just my garden and oh yes, my outside birds.
Don't know why these photos rotated, but bear with me!
Think it depends on the phone svc you use when you upload- Or sometimes tbe picture program. It looks fancy- poor Blue Spruce. Chuckl.
