nice Willie... you have made me hungry!!
Edibles - '09 - Part 2
Dahlianut. I love that recipe. So should I dig them now, mid summer or is this a fall thing? I now can justify ordering more, as a safety net in case we have some sort of famine. Wait till I tell hubby that I have ordered hundreds to grow, just in case! I put more dried beans in the pantry this spring.
I did go out to see if mine had spouted and they have. I just planted some random short red ones that I picked up at Agway after my coop order never arrived. I did get my money back. So sadly I have only a few. No pictures yet. I may see if I can find some healthy looking ones when I am off island next week.
We need to find some broccoli starts, as the few we bought look horrible and now the farm is out of them here. I killed those seedlings too.
I need to take lessons from WNYwillieB come next spring. I am going to try to remember to start a post where WNYwillieB and the other very good growers can tell me blow by blow what to plant and when, come the first of March. I need someone to hold my hand as I have killed so many seedlings. Plus WNYwillieB post's such good pictures that I might be able to actually manage not kill everything. Me bad. Patti
I like that thinking Patti!!!
I'll be watching that thread also. Sure wish I had paid closer attention to my father when I was growing up. My broccoli looks awful, too.
We joined a CSA this year and the first week for the pick-up of our basket is next Sat. There will be:
arugula
basil
cabbage
carrots
beets
kale
spinach
Any good recipes for those goodies? Don't know the amount there will be. We got enough for 3-4 people with the thought of sharing with our son.
DH had planted more broc. seed and they have germinated today, so maybe we will have some afterall. Patti
Awe, Robin .... Don't fret .... sometimes these setbacks don't matter in the long run, esp. if they happen early enough and things aren't decimated.
I have found the with veggies, they tend to catch up by the end of the season. Even if planting late.
Otherwise, I am sure I will have a plethora of bounty to share .... we'll just have to overnight you some! ^_^
Not sure how I know what I am doing here, Patti!! Could there be such a thing as genetic memories?? Maybe some elders of mine were superb gardeners?? That, along with the GH and CFrame!!!!
I was fortunate (I guess!) that my mom was into growing veggies. Probably for the same reason I am now .... they cost WAY too much to buy fresh at the grocer! Plus, dad was in construction (Asbestos Insulator '60s - '80s) and there were times between projects when things were on the tight side.
From what I have been gathering, broccoli likes it cool, Jan .... almost chilly cold. Like Brussel Sprouts, they do not like the heat of summer, and don't do well in the south very much at all, unless thought of as a winter crop, I think.
And .... it's a date! Let's start our seedlings together next winter!! I started this year March 1, which was WAY too early, but worked well! I just started to run out of room as the weather improved enough to allow the move out to the cold frame. (Now, remember my cold frame is more like a tiny, "mini" GH, just unheated. Not those low to the ground type, where you lift the top during the day)
The only things I wouldn't start so early are the broccoli raab and the basil .... Well, it was nice having fresh basil all winter, so plant that at any time! A bit early for the summer savory, too.
I was thinking that for 2010 I would not start until March 15 or April 1 (If I can stand it to wait that long!!)
I might start the perennials March 1 next year, as they aren't as scheduled as veggies. I started them much later than the veggies this year. I think I got those around April 1... I'll have to check that.
Here is a shot of my cold frame from last year behind the ficus elasticus. The roof is peaked to 7 foot in the center, and simply covered with poly on the lumber, inside and out (separated by the 2x4). I built it with recyclables from home improvements when replacing house windows and adding on the GH.
It's probably 9 or 10 foot by maybe 5 foot wide. Has two levels. One at window sill level and one at the top of the window, where the roof meets the sides (which can only hold shorter things).
I wonder if I have any pics that show the inside ..... hmmmm.
My Bhuts are tiny tiny tiny ... I have some in the ground and two still left potted up. You can see them here sitting on the plank between the tiny, not yet kicking in cukes.
My other sweet and hot peppers, see above, are less than a foot high .... probably between 6-8 inches only.
Harper - someone else may have answered this.....I had to speed read through the above posts in case I lose the internet again, but 8 hours of sun is plenty for veggies. Mine that get 6 do pretty well, but 8 is much better!
Willie - awesome garden! Love the Pumpkin Mommy!!!
I'm glad somebody has a tiny bhut!!! LOL Good for them!
Well, we're certainly getting the 2" of rain that was predicted! Jan, I like beets roasted---peel, quarter, drizzle with EVOO, & bake at 400 till tender----or boiled, then peeled, mixed with sour cream & fresh snipped dill---sometimes I add a diced seedless cuke---serve cold. And how about stuffed cabbage rolls for the cabbage? If you want a recipe, D-mail me.
I was just waiting for the 'tiny bhut' comment. Hee-hee!!
Roasted beets sounds good. I never would have thought to put dill with beets. Thanks.
Thank you Louise! Allison said she gets sun from 10 am, to sundown, but Allison, is that when the sun hits the tops of the trees, or when the sun hits the horizon?
Okay, good. 8 hours is enough. I was worried I'd have to have 10-12 hours! Sun up to sundown!
Willie, your garden looks beautiful!
it just peaks over the tops of the trees at that time in the morning... might be a bit earlier... but that's when that spot can get real hot in the heat of summer... I usually retreat to the back yard to get more shade... I never get sunup to sundown anywhere here
My garden is a morass--our town had the second most recorded rainfall yesterday in the state---I'm not too happy!
sorry to hear that robin.
there is a critter in my garden that keeps eating the cukes as they come up and has eaten half the swiss chard - not happy - i think i have put down cuke seeds three times - the coyote urine is out and if that does not work i have other methods!
You have company coming, use them. :)
LOL, Jan!!
Aphids?
nuke em
Sevin?
We've been having some rain here finally ..... still an inch behind average. Wish we could have gently taken an inch of Robin's.
Thanks, Harper!! Things have almost doubled in size again already!! Still have crisp nights and warm days. It has been raining lightly, off and on, for the past couple of days, which the plants seem to like, too. Nothing like Robin is getting. Clouds not too heavy, still bright, just no direct sunshine.
sounds like aphids, KILL EM!
They will suck the life out of your plants, Sherrie! I wish I could give you some rain, Willie---this is ridiculous---weather report is for 4 more days of this.
ewwwwwwww! "they squish easy"... I am too squeamish.
So far, I have been trying to hose them off and then safer soap them.
Haven't had to bad an infestation, yet, but give them time, and forget it. Get them quick!
So far (knock wood) I have only had problems with the peppers and the eggplant, but the eggplant also has some holes chewed in them (only a couple plants, and only a couple leaves).
I bought Sevin, but am hesitant to use it on the veggies if I don't have to, since I read that it shouldn't be used when the bees are actively pollenating things. I am saving it as a last resort.
Any comments on Sevin in the veggie garden?
I am sending you some clear skies, Robin ..... Be on the look out!
I'm afraid of Sevin because of the bees, Willie. Does the soap work? How about hot pepper spray? I blend up my own in a blender and pour it on the plants. It probably wouldn't work well with all this rain though.
I was up at my garden area tonight and I see tunnels of a mole or vole just outside the garden fence. Bummer. My biggest crop is the gallant soldier weeds. They just love this weather.....there are a billion in my garden. I'll try a new tactic this year.....pull them only when they get really tall and start choking out the crops. grrrrrrr.
This is my 6th year w/veggie garden. I have never seen this. Every year - hornworms.
I use sevins but not normally this early. Normally start in mid July. I put it on today - why? Its going to rain tonight and tomorrow and it will knock most of it off. Do I want to kill bees - NO but there is no way I am going to loose the whole veggie garden over my dead body. It will be over many aphids dead bodies!
My friend that started me into gardening 75 years old has used sevins for many years. He says - Nothing has gone wrong using it and I am not dead yet so I will continue to use it.
I was thinking that I could treat small areas at a time, and cover that area with one of those large thingies you put over your fruit trees to keep the birds, etc. away, but lets sunlight and rain in.
Cover the treated area for a day or two while the Sevin works, and keep the bees and others out until the Sevin has done its job on the aphids.
Then, I can uncover that section, water it well to wash the Sevin off and into the soil, and move on to the next section. I wonder how long Sevin remains active and dangerous to bees and good pollinators.
I read somewhere that a good deterrent for aphids are dead aphids! Leave the remains!
Thanks, Willie for the blue skies wish---my veggies are just drowning---it looks like a delta forming where the tomatoes are planted.
Great link on Sevin Sherrie and I agree, rice would of been the crop to plant this year!!
Just went out and took this pic. They are stinking aphids I count around 32 of them! I put the sevins on yesterday around 4ish. Here is just one leaf - I am loaded! Evidently they have to eat the leaf with some on it. How are they going to die if the sevins is on the top of the leaf? I got to do something or I am goig to get sucked dry!
Thanks for the info sherry! I was going to look for just that page!
I think I am only going to use it IF needed on the peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin, eggplant, etc., but not on the swiss chard, basil, lettuce, herbs, etc. Maybe get some ladybugs and try those first.
I am watching for the squash bugs and such ..... don't want ANY of that action either.
4 or 5 years ago the weather here was constantly wet and cold all summer. Not flood wet, but just very damp and always drizzle. Everything had powdery mildew. Nothing produced. The lawn did look great all summer, though.
I got the sevin dust. I think you need to apply it to both sides of the leaves.