STARTING OUR SPRING VEGGIE GARDEN Pt. 2

Kev, it is just way too early for Okra seeds. Wait til May.

With the early warm season we had last year, plus the predicted one for this spring, I wanted a little earlier jump this year. Once I pot up to the 3 gallon Root Pouches, they will go to a small GH outside and should be warm enough by then. Just looked at Aggie Planting Guide, but it's for Travis County, just north of us, and it says a April set out date. I know I've seen the Hays County guide, but would have to dig to find it.

Remember, it never gets too hot for okra.The hotter the better. it wont quit until November.

kevcarr59,
I agree with you. A lot of the garden centers here in the DFW area say that we are going to be 4F degrees warmer this year and that summer is coming earlier. They even have tomatoes for sale now ... which it is very unusual.
I will keep my okra growing indoor until it is warm outside - no worries.
weeee ... dreaming of fry okra !
I still have my freezer half full of okra.

Last year, the aphids did in the Emerald Green Velvet okra I had, but the Hill Country Red produced like crazy! I still have packages frozen in my freezer from last summer's harvest. I saved seeds from the Hill Country Red if anyone wants some.

Last year I had a banner crop of eggplants and okra. I think I will do a "Little Fingers" eggplant this year, instead of all of it "Black Beauty". I wish I had saved okra seeds, but I already picked up some new ones for this year. "Lee" is supposed to be a shorter variety of okra. Has anyone tried either of these varieties?

Lee is good. only one i recog

Tomato plants are on sale here too. Like the sales person said it almost guarantees 2 sales 1 now and another after the next freeze. Lol. The temps are nice so people think it's going to stay that way.

People are asking for them so they stock them. It was 31 here this AM. I never heard anything about a possible freeze. I was shocked it was so cold. I just don't have the free time to mess with plants any longer then I have to. I want them up and out.

I luv okra I sow seeds when the heat has taken other stuff out. Kevin we can compare our experiences with root pouches but im in Williamson, almost Burnet County.

My sample of the Boxer Brown Root Pouch finally arrived today, and those are going to last a long time, the material is very thick and I think having the sizes I want should make this season go pretty good. The okra I've already started needs to hold off for another week for me to get the pots & the little GH outside set up and then I can take advantage of this warmer weather. If I can get the okra out of the house that will give me enough room for the rest of the veggies. It's nice having 72 cell trays to germinate seed, but then you've got to have a place to keep them going. The only veggies not going into Boxer Browns will be cukes, zucchini, and squash, they have residency in the raised bed. I'm actually going to use the okra in the front of the house to hide the rain totes coming in the next months...

Lisa>> I'm in the northeast corner of Hays county just east of I-35. We're just a stones throw from Hays, Travis, & Caldwell county intersection. As the crow flies we're probably about 60 or 70 miles apart. I figure were on average about 2 or 3 degrees warmer than you, and as far as freeze goes, we were about 35 or 36 this morning. One of the other things I notice is we USUALLY get more rainfall that you do. The last couple storms haven't dropped too much rain on us either. Your comment about people thinking we're safe is what's making me get the little GH, just to be prepared for the worst. If it will hold the 15 or 20 okras, it will be worth it. Momma can use it after that....

drthor>> We had so much zucchini last year it was driving us crazy. I never liked zukes until last year, we had it every way imaginable, grilled, fried, breaded, sauteed, to name a few. We had one plant that sprawled out over 8' and produced right into the start of fall.

The thing is I didn't know it was going to freeze last nite so I wouldn't háve covered anything. I'm just glad I didn't take the covers off the plants that were already covered.

It's those few degrees that really make a difference...

stephanie>> Curious as to where you purchased your HCR okra seed, I've had bad luck so far last and again this year, with the Baker Creek seeds. I got some HCR from Seed Saver Exchange and will give them a shot in about 2 weeks, once I can move some other items out to their new homes. My wife & sons really like okra, and I guess this year I may give it a try.

kevcarr59
how is this POSSIBLE?
"We had so much zucchini last year it was driving us crazy. I never liked zukes until last year, we had it every way imaginable, grilled, fried, breaded, sauteed, to name a few. We had one plant that sprawled out over 8' and produced right into the start of fall."

What is your secret? do you use any kind of chemicals? no SVB in Buda?

I am also very disappointed from Baker Seeds, even if I love the company. Their germination rate was 20% of most of the seeds I bought from them. So sad.

Even if it were 31° if there was no moisture to touch into frost the plants ought to be ok. esp since I think it didn't drop that cold til that last hour before dawn. Yup- there will be a few more cold daylites even with Spring sliding in now. Was in the Panhandle yesterday- they are still cold enough and dry enough thatplants are still dormant. Tulsa today for sunrise. brrr. but dry.

My tomatoes are in the ground.
Yesterday was just the perfect day !! Sunny and with no wind !

I went to cooking school in the morning at Le Cordon Bleu. The class was "the art of French bakery".
I did ask the chef to rush because I told him than I needed to transplant my tomatoes from 2 to 5pm because the bio dynamic calendar and the moon told me so. Also ... you should have seen his assistant face when I ask to collect all the egg shells we used so I could put them in my garden to give Calcium to my plants ... they both look at me like I was very "strange" ...

After eating all of that sugar ... yep there were more pastries that are not in the picture below ... I run home and I started at 2pm to transplant all of my tomatoes. I finished at 4.55pm - perfect timing.
The week before I put down coffee grounds and egg shells and 2-3" of compost on top of my bed (there were so many worms already while I was digging)
In the planting hole I used: bat guano, DE, green sand, azomite and mycrorizite.
I did trench the plants. Some of them were 2' tall, which it was perfect !!
I didn't have time to take pictures of the plants ... maybe today.
What you see will be only a couple of leaves, because the rest of the plant is all underground,
I mulched with pine needles.
Cover the hoop with the perforated plastic. On the inside I put a few gallons jugs full of hot water.
Cover everything with blankets .. and took a picture just before the sun went down !!!
I did water just a little bit ... last year I learn that tomatoes don't like to be wet and cold at the same time. This year I will not water until I see the plants drooping down ... I think the moisture in the soil is enough ...

Last night the temperature went down to 37F .. aaaah but on the inside of the hoop house it never went below 48F. I am sure that everything will be ok. Now I can rest and ... eat my sweets !!

Zucchini loves dry air, i usually plant mine on a mound and water inside the mound- and I have to give them huge amounts of room. Use rather a bit higher nitrogen or just plant in green horse manure- which I dont consider rich by any means. I miss my gardens guys. Am not accustomed to okra seeds Ever being less than 100% germination when you sow by June tho.

I have no problem growing beautiful zucchini ... until the squash vine borer comes and kill them all ...
I know that gardeners outside of TX don't understand this ... but this SVB is a monster !!!

Drthor- my grandmother Never watered after transplanting. She did add 1cup of water to the hole before setting the transplant in. Then we watered maybe a week later. Your goodies look as if they taste awesome.

Drthor? Everyone detests squash vine borers- but they also battle armies of other bugs that are equally as awful. Wireworms, armyworms, your leaf footed bugs- all of these are worse outside of the cities in the wilds. Minnesota I know hates svb and is constantly searching for ways to fight them

Kev, I got my HCR seeds from Baker last year. Every single one I planted germinated.

Podster, I have Jambalaya okra seeds for this year too. Maybe we can compare notes at the end of the season.

I'm trying a spaghetti squash this year, that I haven't tried before. Hope it does ok for me. We have a local area that is a community garden, and almost everyone I spoke to last year had squash vine borers. We were at 34 degrees at 6 am this morning. I did cover my little tomato volunteers, and my newly planted Meyer lemon, and my pink jasmine that is beginning to bloom. Tonight will be about the same.

Queryy about the Meyers? Daughter has one in 5gal bucket I was afraid was rootbound its been in there 2 years. Pulled it out, squished 2 or 3 snails. but it has no roots to speak of... Fertilized. new soil. It has leaves in the Spring, but grasshoppers seem to adore it and strip it down to the branches. Why hasn't it got roots?

Don't know the answer Kittriana. I've got three citrus in containers and now you make me want to go do a root inspection. lol

Spectator gallery , Something is chewing the roots
Time of year ,plant is at rest
It is not a healthy plant , Any of these a could be .

Things like; a few willows. Hibiscus, Some Bamboo.. These all may seem to have few if any roots when dormant(some not all) Only assuredly those roots are there....

Root rot maybe? I don't know. But if it's still getting leaves, then I would just take a 'wait and see' approach.

As usual as soon as I plant out the tomatoes the "windy season" starts in Dallas.
I was so lucky yesterday that it was so good.
Here are the tomatoes under cover in a good start.
The soil temperature inside the hoop today was almost 65F ... so far so good.

Half of the cucumber seeds I started on the 15th germinated already - only two days !!!

Kittriana-does the lemon tree look ok? The reason im asking is bc if it looks ok I'm not messing with it. Lol
I usually see roots growing out the bottom of my potted plants but now you've got me wondering...

Sorry tryin to answer. This poor lemon has had a rough life. Froze back 1.5 yrs ago; i chopped the dead top and used a lower branch to be a main. Had 2 lemons I pulled this past Fall just before another cold spell. The grasshoppers had stripped every bit of leaf off and now the leaves are growing again. There were small roots yellowish, and I shook off soome of the old medium and saw no sturdy roots. I am honestly surprised at how hard it works at living. I just seem to remember another one I grew and it did have a different and decent rootball. What there is looks healthy... not at home right now. Sitting in 34° windy Illinois tonite.

Well it's not 34 here but it is windy. I'm just wondering what the roots of some of my plants look like but I'm not lookin unless the plant itself looks bad. Lol

stephanie>> Thanks for the info. I sent some to Gymgirl and she had the same results I did, so I surmised it was the seed.

Cucumbers sprouted after 2 days.
Okra sprouted after 3 days (seeds were soaked in water before planting)
Heating mat set at 85F and tall humidity dome full of moisture drops

Tomatoes alive outside ... I am so glad that I have the perforated plastic ... otherwise the plants would flown to Florida by now !!!

These winds are blowing the winter away, they SHOULD be March winds tho...normally they would pull wet winter moisture out of the ground for planting, but we need what little moisture we have this year...cover your bare earth!

My Weekend Update:
While I hoped to get my tomato seedlings in the ground this weekend, that didn't happen...Kinda glad I didn't, 'cause the wind here has been a kicker this weekend.

►Harvested beet greens and turnip greens. I think they'll stay in about two more weeks, if I can spare the space in RB #1. Seems like it took all day to process these greens for the freezer. How're ya'll processing your greens? I bring them in, agitate them in a sink full of cold, salted water (a mountain of salt), rinse them under running water, quick blanch them in a gumbo pot of boiling water, shock 'em in a cold bath, then rough chop, and into the freezer bags. From garden to freezer takes me approximately 20 minutes. Am I doing this correctly, or causing myself a bunch of unnecessary steps?

►I am still trying to figure out how to sink sleeves for two uprights on the other end of the raised bed, so I can extend my tomato frame without this end being permanently sunk. The opposite end is permanently sunk down 2' into the soil, but, I want the flexibility of removing the uprights on the other end after the season is over...suggestions are WELCOMED

►Attended a local gardening class that told me nothing I didn't already know (which I learned from you guys and others here...). It amazes me that I could be holding these same classes in my own back yard, and collecting the fees for walkabout tours....at the very least, I could do seed-starting 101 classes!

Ended up with two of the class attendees following me home to rescue 16 tomato plants from my collection. At least I know they're going to good homes. My elderly neighbors aren't inclined to wanna be out on freezing nights protecting them this early...soooooooooooooooo, I've got babies to foster out to those willing to do what it takes to keep them alive between now and mid-March!

Was too tired after the class to do anything else...need to feed the worm bin...

Marty,
Here's an update on the broccoli seedlings. They are growing FAST in Roots Organics. They needed some steroids. I have found that brassicas babies are "hungry hippos!"

That's all.

Linda

Linda,

I would suggest using conduit brackets to hold the ends of your support. Put two or three vertically on the outside of your raised bed and slip the end of your tomato trellis into the brackets. The local hardware or big box hardware will have several sizes of the brackets. Here's a sample image from a manufacturer's website (http://www.nehrwess.net/).

David

aaah I found cutworms hanging on my tomatoes babies this morning !
They decapitates my Sapho tomato !!! oohh ....
I killed as many as I could ... squish squish !! sprinkle DE all around and at dusk I will apply BT.

David,
That's a good suggestion, but the uprights will stand 7'. I don't think the brackets will hold the galvanized pole upright. I needs to be sunk down into the ground.

I'm actually creating a "box" frame over the bed, with lines stretched between the uprights on either end. Then, I'll slip tie guide lines around the base of each tomato plant, and throw the excess lines over the lines. As the plants grow, I'll wind them around the lines. I'll train them to only one/two main stems each (a line on each "vee"), and pinch suckers diligently.

I have the two holes dug. Is there such a thing a wrapping the post in some plastic or something, and setting it in quikrete, such that it'll leave the hole impression, but the posts won't be stuck? My posts are standard 6mm galvanized steel fence posts, and I can't find any pvc or conduit that's just big enough to fit around them as sleeves I could sink in the holes...

Thanks!

Linda, would sinking PVC "sockets" in the ground work, and then you could slide your uprights into them? I sink mine into the ground about 18" (which can be really fun with as many rocks as I have.) They are pretty much in the ground for good; very few of the ones I had to remove for the garden reconfiguration survived the extraction process.

Here's a pic of the permanently sunk end...

It's set 2' down into the ground, and held 5 tomato lines that averaged about 30-40 lbs of plants loaded with tomatoes...

NicoleC,
LOL, that's exactly what I'm trying to do! Except, I can't find anything to use as a sleeve that will fit over the galvanized post uprights! PVC was my first choice, but it was either too small, or too big. I looked at conduit, too. So, now I'm thinking about how to make a concrete mold I can bury in the ground, like those concrete blocks you set 2x4s for pergola uprights into.

Help!