Veggie Tales - December 2018
Jamie
5 years ago
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John D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agocindy-6b/7a VA
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRelated Discussions
Veggie Tales - December 2017
Comments (96)Jack - that is the greatest chia pet ever. And I mean GREATEST! The best. Like none other... I've been absent from the boards for just about the whole month of December (too busy brewing – have done 40 gallons of beer and 15 gallons of wine so far!), but Sunday I went through all my seeds and put in my order at Johnny’s. Also sowed some lettuce, kale, and spinach for S&G…should have done that a long time ago but better now than never – maybe it’ll last long enough to transplant outside when it starts to warm up (we’ve been at or below zero wind chill just about every day since Christmas - I have a hunch we are going to have a long cold winter). Jack are you doing regular onions from seeds this year or just bunching? I think I remember you thinking that seeds weren’t worth it based on the last couple years results. I’ll be doing seeds if only to have something growing in January – Monastrell, Walla Walla, Sierra Blanca, and Moonshine from Johnny’s. I have to start planning my plant start donation/sale benefitting my moms MS Walk team. Last year was a hit even though it was poorly planned and spur of the moment. I did tomatoes and peppers only but had some people asking about cukes, zukes, and herbs so I might add those to the list. Problem is keeping the varieties o a reasonable number. I had 10 tomatoes and 7 or 8 peppers last year. Here’s my list so far (subject to change - let me know if there's anything glaring you see missing): Tomatoes – Big Beef, Amish Paste, Black Krim, Black Cherry, Big Boomer Cherry, Moskvich, Sun Gold, Giant Garden Paste, Cherokee Purple, Early Girl, Brandy Boy. Peppers – Jalepeno, Baron Poblano, Hungarian Wax, Lunchbox, Habanero, Ghost Chili, Doux D’espagne. 1 slicing Cuke, 1 pickling (variety TBD) Yellow squash, zucchini Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Parsley Might pull up some strawberry runners to sell. Probably will sell some of the onions starts too. I need to get my greenhouse built !!! That has to be a priority this year....See MoreVeggie Tales - January 2018
Comments (218)Chris, Farmers' Almanac, I think, has our frost dates as April 14 and October 22nd. I think Dave's Garden is a bit more accurate from experience, at least for our area. I very much like their moon sowing articles and guides, and their growing guides are very informative. Their weather forecast always seems to be fairly good as well considering how far in advance it is made. I guess the groundhog has predicted 6 more weeks of winter. I have a feeling this spring is going to be very sporadic, as it has been all winter. I kind of hope that it won't be like spring in 2014 where we woke up to 2-3" of snow on May 3rd. Not saying we'll get that, but the point is how sporadic that spring was. It was awful screwy lol. I notice they're calling for drought this summer as well. We had a very wet/cool summer last year, hardly topping 80 other than a few exceptions, such as late July, early June, and late Sept., mainly because all it did was RAIN!! I wouldn't mind a break from that so that Septoria Leaf Spot goes down, but I won't wish for what I don't want. Drought could cause quite a few other issues. I worked on my "greenhouse" a bit. It hit 40 today, and the temperature inside the cover while being vented ever so slightly was about 70-75 F. Once the sun got off it this past evening it maintained 55-60 F. Not bad! I'll definitely wait until mid March to sow warm weather crops like tomatoes and peppers, once the daylight hours reach 12 hours, much more ideal for those, rather than our current just above 10. I have started Rouge Grenobloise lettuce, Rocky Top mix lettuce, Bloomsdale Long Standing spinach, peas for salad leaves, mustard greens, collards, and kale for hopefully putting out in early March under cover. I'd love to be picking when most people are planting greens in late March/early April around here. I love the Rouge Grenobloise lettuce, because, not only is it cold tolerant and delicious, but being a Batavian, I can start to harvest lower leaves 4 weeks after it's put out, continuously picking throughout the spring. It's much better than, say, 1 pick from iceberg. Norm, I bet gardening in zone 10 can be nice. I like the break that winter brings for planning, seed ordering, etc., but being able to grow all at this time of year outdoors would certainly have its perks. Of course, the really long summers would probably be a pain, considering how many cool weather crops we eat. Good luck on your garden this year. Mulch would probably be a good idea. Keeping that soil cool would be another benefit of the mulch, which would probably help you grow more cool weather crops if the summer comes on too quickly....See MoreVeggie Tales - April 2018
Comments (421)Thanks for the welcome! @itsmce - 14 of my tomatoes are in the ground, I ran out of space in my beds. It's a work in progress. We built our house on 24 acres, 2 years ago, on the 2nd highest hill in Missouri (I'm kidding, mostly) so I'm still getting things cleared and setting up. My goal is to fill the remaining space with more beds, after getting my greenhouse up this fall. We bought a 60x18 hoop house 3 years ago and it's been sitting, patiently waiting every since. I'll definitely get some pics up tonight to share, I'm kinda proud! @LoneJack, I love the Ozarks too. It has been and always will be, home. We float and fish the rivers frequently, have a lake home on Tablerock and love the seasons - unless we don't get a spring, which seems to happen frequently. Raised beds are sure a whole lot easier here... last year I went at it with the ground.. the garden did OK, but it sure was hard on my knees when it was time to pick pests or weeds. That coupled with the fact that it was on a hill, made watering tricky. The winters here literally grow rocks, so even if you manage to get a nice plot turned up and cleaned, by the next year it's full of rocks again. Still, despite the rocks, our soil is GREAT. Lots of worms, not too much clay, so I level and set my beds and don't use anything but gravel around the outside to keep the dirt in. Most are much deeper than 10". Zucchini never goes to waste in my house! Pasta, bread, fried, frozen, pickled, relishes, chickens, it all gets used one way or another. We love it! I was really shocked that my plants did so well through 4 hard freezes. I did nothing to protect and they're all healthy and thriving. I'll have to hit you up for advice on sweet potatoes, we love them too, but I haven't grown them yet. As for the chickens, if I let mine free range, I'd have the same problem as you! We've got foxes, bobcats, and my german shepherd... she'd eat them, given the chance. We built a chicken fort-knox with a large extended run. My plan is to eventually build tunnel runs around the garden's perimeter... One day! @jacoblockcuff - I'm in Nixa, about 10 miles south of Springfield. I think we've definitely seen the last frost, now the only question is will we actually get a nice spring, before the temps start hitting 90's and 100's? Speaking of blackberries, we've got about 10 acres of nothing but wild blackberries, AND my favorite.. black raspberries. I make a ton of pies and cobblers every year. I want to try some jams this year, if I get the time. I'll stop by the Ozarks sub forum!...See MoreVeggie Tales -August 2018
Comments (229)Wow. Another week gone by and a lot going on. This year has been a fairly disappointing harvest for me so far due to all the pests, however. I caught four rats this week in the Ratinator and was able to drown them out of my garden. And I have two Jarrahdale pumpkins that must be 20lb a piece. Don’t think I’ll get much melon but we will see I guess. The one spot of success this year was the purple corn and the beans! Having a drip system set up made me realize how much I’d been underwatering food crops. I picked about 2lb of beans today and there’s tons left. Also got about 10-12 ears of the corn, although some of it wasn’t as big as I’d hoped , I had to get it picked before the rats got it. Darn critters. Anyhow. Got six new chicks this week so that’s been keeping me busy. First time raising them from babies. I think having a constant supply of fresh eggs has eased the pain of getting hardly any tomatoes this summer. However the basil is doing amazing - I have a pound of pesto in the freezer and will be able to make as much pesto as I can, provided I have the cheese! So I’m doing that tomorrow. I asked a local landscaper to come by and give us a quote for the front yard and he didn’t even bother. So we are thinking about doing that ourselves, and I’m also rethinking my plan to do an expensive retaining wall in the front, maybe thinking we will cut back the cactus as much as we can(it is edible and delicious) and then use the sloped part of the front yard for herbs. I got a lot of cuttings of African blue basil and Cleveland sage from a friend today, both are perennials in this climate and loved by pollinators. Always the same issue - not enough space!! Wondering how people prefer to plant for maximum yields? Especially in small spaces. Any advice welcome. Hoping everyone is doing well. Lookin forward to this heat being over......See MoreJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agocindy-6b/7a VA
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agonaturegirl_2007 5B SW Michigan
5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agocindy-6b/7a VA
5 years agoRD Texas
5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agoRD Texas
5 years agoJamie
5 years agocindy-6b/7a VA
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
5 years agocindy-6b/7a VA
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agoRD Texas
5 years agoRD Texas
5 years agoRD Texas
5 years ago14tomatoes_md_7a
5 years agocindy-6b/7a VA
5 years ago14tomatoes_md_7a
5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agoRD Texas
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRD Texas
5 years agoLen NW 7a
5 years agoRD Texas
5 years agoRD Texas
5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agocindy-6b/7a VA
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoitsmce (zone 6b, Kansas)
5 years agocindy-6b/7a VA
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRD Texas
5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agoStacy (Zone 7a Piedmont)
5 years agocindy-6b/7a VA
5 years agoJamie
5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agoLen NW 7a
5 years agoRD Texas
5 years agoStacy (Zone 7a Piedmont)
5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agoLen NW 7a
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoKevin Zone 6b - PIT, PA
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
5 years agoLen NW 7a
5 years agoKevin Zone 6b - PIT, PA
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJamie
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
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Chris (6a NY)