at this rate i don't know what to plant and when!!!

13 years ago

this is crazy - it's 1pm and the sun has yet to come out. i'm struggling, all snuggled up on my comfy blue sofa with a big cuppa tea, watching the trees bend in the blustery wind, trying hard not to turn the heat on.

i've got tomatoes that set and been on the vine for at least 4 weeks. the one poor lonely roma has been there for almost 6 weeks now, without a hint of blush. i'm not even going to mention my peppers.

i guess i shouldn't complain...right? haven't had to use the a/c at all this summer and i water much less now (thus saving on both PGE and water bills). my broccoli is going like gangbusters, and the cabbage i thought i'd have to pull out has gotten a new lease on life, along with the one little romaine lettuce plant i left as an experiment.

but with this 'off' weather, what's a newbie veggie gardener to do? just as i (thought) i had gotten my fall/winter planting all figured out, this is happening. now i don't know what to plant and when! i don't know when to pull the stuff i've got now, or if i should just let it go til it stops. and when in the heck do i start my seedlings???!!?

ahhh, there, i feel better now.

angela :)

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Comments (6)

dicot
13 years ago
I think we got very little useful advice from the experts on this for 2010, global fogging seems to have escaped any media's notice I've seen, but the marine layer and the winds it generates have governed everything I do in the yard this summer. I'm trying also to focus on the positives - I'm germinating native seedlings like white and black sage which never grow for me now, then I'm assuming we'll be hot & dry starting mid-Sept until later through Dec here, so I'll have time to get the sages to a good size for mid-November plant out. I'm working in beds I usually let bake through our normal higher temps, but I'm not growing any heat-loving crops like melons, peppers, cukes, eggplant, ...

The powdery mildew, rose rust, tomato septoria and other fungal pathogens have been brutal thus far, I'm about 5 miles inland in South LA, usually far enough from the beach to be fog-free most of the summer.
ladybugsmom192
Original Author
13 years ago
i totally understand dicot. and oh the wind and powdery mildew! i got so frustrated earlier that i gave up with the milk sprays and the baking soda sprays and i just hacked off a ton of leaves on my dahlias and zukes, lol!!

it's 7:34pm and with the winds and the fog and the dark clouds, it looks like there should be winter storm warnings!

hang in there :)
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13 years ago
Hi ladybugsmom, I'm also in the East Bay. I've been growing tomato for two decades and I don't know what to do this year. My brassica and chard are doing poorly as well. In comparison, you're doing great on the cool crops like brassica.

Not sure what other variety of tomato you grow but Roma can be late sometimes since most of them are determined. Also most heirloom are late. If you have any good size green tomato on the plant, don't pull them. They will ripe by Oct. They're just really late this year.

BTW I've been using the elec blanket throughout this summer if that makes you feel any better :-)
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13 years ago
Since I'm socal and inland its been warm here but still below normal. Mostly 80-90's but 100 is coming this Sat.
I just noticed this morning I have freesias coming up and its usually Oct not August.
scarlett2001
13 years ago
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dicot
13 years ago
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{{gwi:550697}}

The colder than normal upwelling waters are part of the fog equation and I guess the PacNW set a record for strongest winds off the coast (avg. over 10 mph) last month. Added to the inland heat, the entire coastal pattern doesn't show signs of abating anytime soon.