Linda.
But, sometimes, I do get mistaken for Lisa, LOL!
Yesterday, I harvested and steamed a broccoli head that was showing a tinge of blossoms. Actually, I dropped the florets into my crab boil!
YUM-MY!!!
Contrary to the prescribed method of hardening off the tomato seedlings for a few hours a day at a time, I raced to get them outside yesterday around 2:00p. It was sunshiny, so I put a few trays under the covered patio on a table. They all wouldn't fit, and I didn't want any to sit .on the concrete pad. Higher up tends to keep any crawlies off.
I had more trays, so, I spied around for a half-shady/sunny spot. There was one patchy spot on a fallow raised bed I had covered with plastic to keep the squirrels out. I put two trays of the hardiest Sioux seedlings there, and left everything outside overnight. It dipped to 54°, and, I just held my breath.
Checked on them this morning, and every seedling is fine. I think the slight chill actually has helped them.
So, they're out for the long haul -- no "in and out". Out is OUT, LOL!!! The high yesterday was 80°. Today's high will be 74° and not as much sun, so, I the Lord, is hearing my plea. They won't fry in the heat, LOL!!
Hugs! ^^_^^
This message was edited Feb 17, 2016 10:07 AM
This message was edited Feb 17, 2016 10:11 AM
FALL/WINTER Gardens 2015 Pt 1
Ooops, sorry Linda. My bad.
Not a problem. I get that a lot, LOL!
Wow, temp. is going to be in the 80? I do have serious zone envy. Happy gardening. :)
My tomato's hoop houses are ready !!! I will transplant out on Sunday !
The first picture is a trunk of one of my pepper plants: look at the leave sprouting !!!
It has never happen before !!
I have a "lettuce's forest"
I harvested a lot of kale yesterday ! Love it !
Well, my various peas are finally popping up. I wish I had remembered to soak them overnight. We also have chard, turnips, & beets just sprouting. I'm thinking they'll be toast way before anything edible forms:(. Luckily, we left a spot for some tomato plants. I'll probably go hunting for a few varieties this weekend.
I'm almost embarrassed to say I have about 100 beet seedlings growing in 6 oz. yogurt cups, long past when they should've been transplanted into individual cups.
Life, and death, got in the way of that uppotting project. Only one tray got separated into separate cups, and those are doing fantastically well. Time for me to set them out into the veggie bed.
I think I'll shoot the dice, and transplant the remaining ones directly into the garden, too. Nothing beats a wish but a try, and I've been very successful transplanting beets.
The tomato seedlings are ready for transplanting, too, having been hardened off for the past three days. It was sink or swim, and they've survived, LOL! No molly-coddling in my veggie garden.
Only the strong survive!
Many of my tomato seedlings are ready to be potted up to larger cups! Out of the 20 cups of peppers I planted, only 2 didn't sprout. Woohoo for wonderful germination!
Great Stephanie! How long did the P. peppers take to germinate?
About 10 days or so. 3 out of the 5 cups I sowed sprouted. I usually put 2 seeds per cup, but not all of the six seeds germinated. Not great germination rate.
Still better then nothing. : )
Yes, and we can see how productive they are and increase the number we plant in future years. This will be a great number to practice with. :)
Today was just the perfect day to transplant the tomatoes outside: warm ,cloudy and no wind !
I might have planted too many ... oh well I couldn't decide.
I will let nature decide for me.
Tomatoes are under a layer of perforated plastic and one layer of heavy row cover.
For the next month I will cover and uncover and worry about these plants ... with the hope of a fantastic harvest as reward !!
loving all of those tomato plants, i froze a few bags last year of the excess and then made veggie soup with some of it a few weeks ago
loving the daffodils also
thanks
We ate all of the roasted tomatoes/onions I froze last year ... I thought I did freeze a lot !
So this year I must harvest more tomatoes ... they are delicious in the winter ...
We also finished all the salsa ... I still have some tomato sauce and Marinara. We just love it !
Glorious weather here in Irving !
My tomatoes are so happy outside. Today I even had to open the perforated plastic on top of the hoop house. I was so warm.
I have at least 20+ extra tomato plants hardening off ... just in case I will need to replace some of the plants outside ... but so far everything looks great !
Lettuce is growing fantastic and I keep eating one bawl every meal !
More kale will be ready to harvest real soon !
I just love this time of the year !
Cucumbers, melons and squash are growing indoor (started one week ago)
Also eggplants and peppers are growing indoor. I have started to take them outdoor because the weather was so warm !
interesting, i thought that cucumbers, melon, and squash were strictly direct seed only plants
The weather was gorgeous today! 43° and full-on sunshine!
I transplanted half a bed of beets and three tomato plants. Sowed cucumbers in two Earthboxes, green beans in a 4x8 bed, and two flats of eggplants. Harvested collards & spinach, and thanked God I hadn't pulled up all the broccoli plants yet. The weather has turned cool enough that they stopped heading toward blooming and started tightening up again!
We're expecting a cool spell through next Wednesday, so I'll continue to monitor them in the weather for signs of blossoming.
Hardening off 5 flats of beets and tabasco peppers.
Visited a local commodity garden that was growing everything under the sun, and it was all for sale to the general public. Amazing production and even more amazing prices on produce cut straight from the garden!
I always direct sow my cucumbers and melons. I have less problems doing it that way. Of course, I also wait until the soil temps and day/night temps are more to their liking before planting. No need to force them to produce early as they are always prolific.
ive been trying to see if there is a plant files entry for two specific types of oregano: origanum heracleoticum, or viride. But i seem to have a horrible time now finding anything much with the new plant files search layout.
I know that there is a lot of confusion on the plant markets and often times a store THINKS they are selling oregano when it may turn out to be anything but. and im hoping to find the real thing.
Jmc, have you tried googling them?
Or go to the DG updates forum and post on the plant files thread.
jmc- I was told by a grower of giant pumpkins, that yes you can start cucurbits inside, but give them a large pot and do not disturb the roots.
That's about all I can add here- zone envy!
jmc- I was told by a grower of giant pumpkins, that yes you can start cucurbits inside, but give them a large pot and do not disturb the roots.
It works for me here ... and I am not careful about the roots. I DO disturb them.
Wish me luck for this year !
So far this fall/winter garden has been the best for GREENS !
I keep harvesting delicious lettuce and tons of kale.
I am having the hardest time with this HOT wind lately !
The tomatoes are just so young and they don't like the HOT wind ... if I keep the plastic closed ... they don't like that either !
WOW .. normally at this time of the year I complain about the cold wind !!
Folks say you can't start beets inside and transplant them out, because they don't like that long taproot disturbed.Which is why I start them in the wide-mouth, 6 oz. yogurt cups. Just tip 'em over and set the entire root ball.
I continue to be amazed. The beets I transplanted last Saturday looked like death warmed over when I set them in. This was the set that never got separated into individual yogurt cups. They were a tangled mess. However, I peeped under the hoop cover yesterday, and those beets are standing up at attention, as crisp as if they had been direct sown there!!!
So, now I'll go ahead and transplant the remaining 2/3 of the 4x8 bed!!! There are still some poor, tired, huddled masses, but, I also have a batch that are growing in individual cups. They look great already, so I'm not really worried about them...maybe I should...Murphy's Law?
Hugs!
will the beets bolt right away with this heat?
well you guys have definitely convinced me to maybe experiment a little, lol.
Hey, drthor,
That's the $64,000.00 question, LOL!
I visited a nearby commodity garden that had beets growing that were about the same size as my transplants. The gardener told me they would be ready in about 3 more weeks, so, I took that to mean there was time for them to make it.
I'm praying the temperate weather cooperates and it doesn't turn into a scorcher, too soon. Although, I have perused a couple of Houston-area planting schedules, and they all list beets as a spring planting. If nothing else, I will definitely have beet greens (tops) to cook. They are delicious!
The commodity garden is an allotment of land given to some African refugees with farming skills -- they work the whole allotment, and sell to the general public -- the veggies in this garden are a-ma-zing!!!
I'll post a few pics...
#1 Beets
#2 Romaine Lettuce
#3 Lettuce
#4 Carrots
#5 Giant Nobel Spinach (I'm growing this same spinach in my EBs. To date, I've harvested three bags, and, will harvest more today. It's under a hoop, and continues to thrive). The taste is spectacular!
Hugs!
I observed a lot in this garden, and plan to hang out there often as a volunteer, in order to learn his growing practices. He just planted out some tomatoes Saturday. I had planted mine that morning, so I guess I know a thimble full, LOL!
The thing that struck me most is that NOTHING there was being protected from the elements. No hoops or covers anywhere! Everything just out in the open, exposed to all that sunshine, wind, and rain, LOL!
People bring bags of veggie peels for his huge compost bin that's filled with leaves and other stuff (grass?).
I watched him cut a bag full of spinach for sale. He just grabbed a handful and snipp snipped with the scissors. And, here I am, cutting one leaf at a time in my garden, LOLOL!!!!!
Will DEFINITELY be watching and learning!!!
I visited a nearby commodity garden that had beets growing that were about the same size as my transplants. The gardener told me they would be ready in about 3 more weeks, so, I took that to mean there was time for them to make it.
I am just curious. When did they planted their beets?
Greens and roots grow really well during fall/winter in TX. I bet his beets have been in the ground for a while, right?
I have that same question. Since beets take anywhere from 50+ days, I'm figuring he threw the seeds down in that bed (it was only one bed) sometime in late-December or early January.
I'm going over tomorrow. I'll ask him, if he's there.
Sorry, drthor,
I've been home sick the past two days. Haven't had a chance to go over. I try to get there Monday, and let you know.
The climates in Houston and Irving are very different, not sure if you can compare the growing conditions. GG-i hope you feel better.
I got my babies potted up into larger cups last weekend. Had to catproof them yesterday after one of my cats chewed off the leaves of one of the jalapeno plants. She then proceeded to barf it up. I hope the little plant survives! I also sprinkled cinnamon on them since I was seeing a little bit of mold. The ceiling fan has been running 24/7 since the beginning of February, but when we added additional shelves, it seems that the ceiling fan isn't enough. I also added a small fan in the room to aid in air circulation.
