Those are fantastic plantings. Show us pictures every month!

Wow, that's a really big garden. I'm exhausted just looking at the pictures! But those are some beautiful veggies!

Again, when it gets cold, you put up a row cover presumably. What thickness? Then when it gets colder you put up greenhouse film over that. What type? TIA.

Dan

I am going to put up Agribond 19. I wanted heavier, but that is what I had on hand and I don't want to order more. About the greenhouse film, I probably won't be using any. It is going over broccoli and cauliflower and I think it will survive just fine for 2-3 more weeks after the 15th of November. I am basing my dates of what I did last year with no cover. However, one big snowstorm can change everything!

The hoops are 1/2 and 3/4 inch EMT pipe. I do have some later broccoli and cauliflower that I will probably cover, but I will only cover it with some cheap plastic and scraps that I have.

Jay

jrslick-

Watch for early Nov blizzards :) That broccoli looks awesome. Do you spray or use Bt or something? Mine gets blitzed by cabbage moths.

When do you stop planting?

Ah, so you don't overwinter, you just extend your season by x-y weeks, depending. Thank you,

Dan

I transplanted almost all the broccoli and cauliflower around August 8th. I wanted it to go out prior to that, around the 20-25th of July, but we had a heat wave of temps in the 100's for about 2 weeks and I didn't want to stress the plants that bad. They were growing in my basement grow room.

Frank: Yes I sprayed with Bt about every week or so or after a rain. There was some leaf damage, but I haven't sprayed since mid September. It hasn't rained much since then either.

This is the first year I have really tried to do a lot of succession planting. I have experimented a lot in the past, but this year I put together everything I have done and everything that I have read. I have more spinach, tatsoi and lettuce planted that will go out in 3 weeks, once I loose the peppers in the tunnels. It probably won't grow too fast, but it will be ready for harvest this spring extra early.

Dan: I don't think the broccoli would over winter, but every year is different. I might try, but who knows! I am planning on experimenting with the few later planted rows, but I am already harvesting the earlier stuff so I won't have much on them except side shoots.

Jay

Wow. That looks great, Jay! I presume you do this for a living (at least partially)?
Taking a page out of Eliot Coleman's book, I'm going to experiment with putting 4-mil poly over Agribon-19 inside my unheated greenhouse (where I plant into the ground). The row cover is already in place, with bok choy,kale, turnips, radishes and spinach growing underneath. It's amazing what some protection can do! At 6", soil temps. are already just 45 degrees outside, but 55 under the setup.

I have several different configurations and materials to overwinter, which prompted my question to see if I can do anything better. I use 6-mil poly and Agr19 for my hoops and wire structures in a raised bed on south side of my house. Coldest nights I'll throw a sleeping bag/blanket over.

Dan

If I could do what I want to do, I would cover with Agri-19, then cover with some Tufflite plastic when it starts to get real cold and see what happens. However, since most of the main crop will be picked, I am being cheap. Maybe next year.

Also, I have crops in the tunnels, so I will spend my money on keeping them going.

Jay

I'm ~40% complete with a new rig, a 3' x 6' x 24"h little house using two layers of Sunmaster 6mil anti-condensate sheeting, with a little auto vent on top & have some Agr19 for insulation. Pretty sure that will work & 4-5 nights below zero will get a sleeping bag...

Dan

Jrslick, just wanted to say that is a beautiful layout you got there. Well done!

I priced EMT yesterday at Menards, 1.64 per 1/2@10', but decided to make my next two hoop trellises of rebar instead. Cost was 3.47 per 3/8@20', I'll cut off 4' with a grinder and tie two together with lengths of concrete reinforcing wire. It will be too rough to cover with plastic, but good for plants to climb. I can make small greenhouse tunnels of plastic over pvc instead.

Are you guys using a pipe bender on that EMT? To make nice hoops? My next hoophouse will be homemade, after the one i bought turned out to be garbage (it works/just junky). I want to go 10x22 or so..

You definitely need a pipe bender. I made my own from scrap wood laying around, Johnny's Seed carries a nice - albeit expensive - bender.

{{gwi:117813}}

Dan

I bought the hoop bender from Johnny's, well the people who make it for Johnny's. Lost Creek.

Check them out. It cost $39.99 with free shipping.
I thought it was well worth the $, because I am too busy to sit down and build one.

Jay

Here is a link that might be useful: Lost Creek

Just wanted to say GREAT job. My low tunnel didn't get built this year but I'm just a backyard gardener learning a little more each year. I enjoyed going thru your album.

Jay, mine took about a half-hour to build, not including glue drying. I don't bill my time to myself at 40/hr, so it worked out for me. Now my cattle panel mini-greenhouse, that's another story...

Dan

Your bounty is to die for. Everything looks so healthy. I plan to plant my sinter garden next week.

Here is a link that might be useful: mysisterdalesgarden

That's NOT a garden, that's a FARM!!!!!!! LOLOL
NT

I agree with Nancy J ...that is a farm. If you do that all on your own, that is very impressive.

Thanks for calling my operation a "farm". There are days that it feels like a "farm" and other days it feels like a garden.

I do everything by myself. I get some, very limited, help from my wife and 4 girls. However, they are too young to be too much dependable help. They are great for easy tasks and when you need an extra hand.

DR Hort: It is amazing what you can do with some row cover and plastic. I am amazed every day! As I said before, this is my "summer" job. I am a middle school math and science teacher the rest of the year. After I figured out how to grow earlier, later, year around?, I decided that my summer job is going to 12 months!

It makes for some really long days (18-20 hours), especially the night before my market, but with my wife in school and 4 kids, we need all the money we can save so we don't get into that credit card debt. Been there, done that and I hope we don't have to go back!

Keep up the great work! I'm not familiar with haikuri turnips so I googled them. Look like something tasty to try. I've been growing choy sum because I can only find it a Asian grocery stores. Here in NH I should be able to extend my growing season like Eliot Coleman, just need to get those tunnels built.

4 girls! I grew up with 4 sisters and my mom... Oh God! It was really bad. I was the youngest and it was the 80's...i can still taste the Aqua Net and hear Richard Marx.

How much of that do you keep for yourself? Do you can, freeze, or dry anything? That broccoli would go right in my freezer :)

Defrost: The Haikuri Turnips are great! Try them, you won't be sad. I have had to do a lot of talking to get them sold because around here turnips have a purple top, these are all white. I don't have to do much talking if I just give them a sample. Once they have tried them, I have repeat customers!

Also, most people think the turnips should be big, while these are good bigger, I prefer them a little larger than a golf ball.

We just eat them all raw. Tried them cooked different ways, but why go to the effort when they are so good raw.

Franktank: We do can and freeze. I also make and sell jellies at my booth. We have 17 different varieties. I really push the jellies in the spring and fall. In the summer I have too much produce and they take a back seat, but I still sell them.

The broccoli that we don't sell will go into the freezer or if it doesn't look like it will hold much longer in the field. We will harvest it all, blanch and freeze.

The greens we will eat all winter. We usually try to can tomatoes or other tomato products, we didn't do much this year. We didn't have any extras. We were selling so many that my wife just took a tub when I was gone and canned them.

Jay

these are just great. looks like more than veggies farms :)

That looks awesome!! Everything looks amazingly healthy!

Here's a picture of my kitchen garden. Ideally, it's a place to grow fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers, but it's needs a little work :)

After digging out the grass next spring, I'm still trying to decide whether I want to put in asparagus, or all annuals in the front beds. The arches are for climbing peas and beans and flowers. The arbor has purple and white clematis, with roses and herbs around it.

{{gwi:25285}}

LL, looks like a nice space! Why not save yourself the trouble of digging out grass when you can just put down cardboard/lasagna mulch, or black plastic, and the grass will be gone in a few months by itself?

Jay, I'm just curious...do you keep temperature records inside the hoophouse and also underneath the row covers? How much warmer are the nights (on average) in both cases compared to outdoors?

Jay, I'm just curious...do you keep temperature records inside the hoophouse and also underneath the row covers? How much warmer are the nights (on average) in both cases compared to outdoors?

Ooh, I'm curious about that too.

And Lavender_lass, what a beautiful space that will be! I envy your view. Here in CA, I spend most of my time trying to block the view of the neighbor's siding.

My fall garden isn't nearly as impressive. We're in transition mode between summer and fall:

{{gwi:117814}}

Dr. Hort:

I have not kept track of the temps. While I would like to, I just have never taken the time. Maybe I can try this year.

Jay

Hi Loribee,
I Love Your Garden... It looks sooooo tidy, I'm in Love

lavender lass; I just love your garden area. Just one thought Asparagus ferns are quite tall, they might block the view if put in the forefront.
Loribee ;How tidy and great.
jrslick; I have a high tunnel too all 28 square foot of grow space ;) still love it I am new to it this year and Thank you for the inspiration to build it. Keep up the good work.

Curt

I agree, much more like a mini-farm than garden, but still awesome. I'd love to have that kind of space. :)

Great discussion on what kind of plastic to buy, we are thinking about a homemade greenhouse at the moment so we can start seeds earlier.

lavender lass, what beautiful arbors! I agree that lasagna beds would be a lot easier. Start building them now. Top with composted manure in the spring and you'll be ready to go. I also would not put asparagus in the front since it gets tall and messy but I would consider tomatoes because you want to be able to grab and go or blueberry bushes (except netting wouldn't be very pretty). I would also consider some peppers plants. Both tomatoes and peppers should look good all season. Scarlet runner beans on an arbor or climbing nasturtiums (edible, but I never eat mine).

loribee, your raised beds are beautiful! so nice and neat.

Oh, the grass is no problem. We just dig it out in the spring and put in a lot of aged manure. We have horses, so we have plenty of, um, fertilizer.

I'm thinking of putting the asparagus, where the grass is, since there's a slight slope (we have clay soil) and I don't mind the view being blocked from the road. We just like to keep the view open to the creek.

All my arches and arbors were on sale/clearance at Fred Meyer. They have great garden stuff. I don't work there, but I love their garden department :)

Loribee- Your garden is so pretty and well organized. I wish mine looked that put together!

Jrslick- Wow! Your gardens are just amazing.

JR, I've been wanting to try Pak Choi and Napa Cabbage. Do you get your seed from Evergreen? How much seed is in their "small packet'? Did you ever hear of someone getting sick from eating too much of it? The wiki said this

Toxic effects

Bok choy contains glucosinolates. These compounds have been reported to prevent cancer in small doses, but are toxic to humans in large doses. In 2009, an elderly woman who had been consuming 1 to 1.5 kg of raw bok choy per day developed hypothyroidism, resulting in myxedema coma.[3]