What a great trip you had, Chris. Love seeing all of the photos, too. Not too much snow up there either, surprisingly. Did you happen to ask anyone about that? My parents had a garden that was built basically with seaweed from a pond at the back of their property. Everything thrived in that garden.

John - What is the most productive and most resistant to disease/fungus peach tree? Dwarf or semi-dwarf? I am not asking you to send me some, just looking for information, thanks.

Chris- I think they farm 12 aces total now. Thanks for the photos!

Harvested giant kale today

Cindy

I haven't done a lot of research on peaches. I'm happy with what I have. I googled disease "fungal resistant peach" and came up with a page on Stark's web site. They list Venture peach as resistant to Bacterial Spot and Brown Rot, also Redhaven as resistant to leaf spot. Also Contender and Sentry as resistant to bacterial spot.

If you have a specific problem you're trying to avoid I'd suggest you go to the link and enter "peach bacterial". Since you're looking for info not sourcing varieties I'd suggest you check unavailable and historic. I did that search and came up with Dwarf Elberta resistant to defoliation bacterial spot. This search returned 17 varieties, the rest I didn't look at. When I searched "peach fungal" or "peach fungus" it returned nothing. But search for peach and the specific problem your avoiding and you may have more luck by name.

Something I've noticed searching apples is that sports of a variety have differing amounts of resistance to problems. I seem to remember McIntosh sports with a range of 1, 3, and 5 on a scale of 1-10 for resistance to Fire Blight. Searching McIntoshes Marshall McIntosh has a resistance rated at 2.

Thank you Naturegirl, I appreciate it. Chris I planted them about 4 inches apart, but had about 1/4 of the onion sets out of the ground. When I watered them it uncovered them even worse. I think I need to listen to Naturegirl and plant them deeper. I have about 20 sprouts in one of the onion trays and the other one I had outside got 2 inches of rain on it so some of the little seeds might have washed out. Hopefully some will start to sprout soon. My kohlrabi, baby bok Chou, and 6 kinds of squash have sprouted well and 4 types of squash that haven’t sprouted yet.

Thanks, John. Will go your link next.

Today is the coldest day that we will have for awhile here. Down to 25 last night. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week it's predicted to hit the 60s! In February, which is supposed to be our snowiest month.

Just found this on the Stark site:

https://www.starkbros.com/growing-guide/how-to-grow/fruit-trees/peach-trees/pest-and-disease-control

It’ll be mild here also. I have a hyacinth that has flowered and the daffodils will open in a few days. Yesterday on my way home from work, I noticed a tree flowering. I didn’t get a good enough look at it but my first thought was that is was a redbud. It seems awfully early for a redbud. It’s probably something else. I’ll get a better look at it

Cindy - Thanks for that link to Stark Bros about peach trees. I was sad to see that they didn't offer anything for the Plum Curculio that I don't already do. My new attack this year will be to spray the flowering crab trees in the yard too since I learned that the critters are drawn to those trees too.

I've got some really nice days coming up too. I have to get past the next couple days first, but then: Saturday, sunny and 58; Sunday, sunny and 66! Gotta love it. I need to hit up a Starbucks or two for some coffee grounds for the compost.

Cindy - they had a snowstorm the weekend before I went, which is why there was snow on the ground. I'm not sure how much they got, but I'd say 6-8". With the temps being warmer and with rain falling one night, a good deal melted. We hiked around Jordan Pond on Saturday and there was more snow then. I'll send a pic of what it looked like.

Yes, I feel like having seaweed is a game changer, since they are full of micronutrients. Think of all the liquid and granular ferts out there with kelp in it!

I noticed the rise in temps coming next week :-/ I hope winter levels out a bit during the last 2 months.

Jamie - oh wow! That's more than I would've thought, to look at it. There could be more to the farm than what I saw, though.

Oh and I can't remember if anyone here mentioned Bridger onions a while back. Four Season Farm had a bunch of those seedlings coming up in the greenhouse as well.

Jordan Pond

Almost record rainfall here in Seattle area in January 2020 and long rage forecast to continue in Feb. it is warm too, soil temps are in low 40's. It feels like false spring setting up for a freeze event.

Chris - I could be wrong about the size- I’ll check his book when I get home.

len- lets hope it’s an early spring for everyone

Chris

One of my dreams is I win the powerball and buy some ocean front property in Maine. I recently did some research on how to trap lobsters. Every thing seemed doable, by me, except you have to be a resident to buy a $55 license. Otherwise I'd be afraid with my fatigue to go out into the ocean, but since they like rocky ridges and the beaches are rocky I'm guessing I wouldn't have to go very far out. One other problem is DW can't eat shellfish.

Jamie - Correct me if I am remembering incorrectly. Did you say that you put a layer of potting mix or vermiculite over the top of your micro-green seeds?

John - We have family who live at Cape Cod all year round. The uncle there who has a boat said that years ago there were so many lobster traps in the bay that it was difficult to get his boat through. He also said that most of the lobster trappers have moved further north because the waters are getting too warm for a good harvest to be had now.

Cindy, I got your seeds today and sent yours off with the postman without all the fragile warnings, so hopefully you will get them much quicker. Are the loose seeds in the package from the new candy roasters you just cooked?

Richard - Those are from the seeds that I actually ordered last year from BC. Candy Roaster seeds.

Glad that they arrived in less than a month!

John - I have a very similar dream as you! Retiring to some nice property on the coast of Maine, maybe not directly on the coast. I want a good chunk of land that I can live off of. Small amount to farm, some for a little livestock, a small orchard and most definitely some lobster cages to catch my own meals. Endless amount of beautiful hikes. Oh man! You'll have to grow something else for her.

Cindy- I do not, but I believe Kevin and Jack do. I just press the seeds into the top of the soil and leave them uncovered

Thank, Jamie.

Cindy - I was just gonna say, I'm pretty sure Kevin recommended adding vermiculite or some potting mix on top to help with germination.

Thanks, Chris.

The last day of the month. It seems like it’s been a long one. I’m planning to start some more cool-weather greens this weekend and maybe a few peppers. Do the rest of you have plans?

Jamie - yes, watch the Superbowl!

I won't be starting anything for a few weeks yet. Broccoli and cauliflower on Feb 22 and peppers and dwarf tomatoes mid March.

The first of my recent seed orders arrived yesterday. Time to get serious. I will hope to get some cleaning accomplished in my seed starting area. Need to sort through the packs of seeds from years past and get ready to start anew.

Yesterday I scored a big bag of coffee grounds at two different Starbucks on the other side of town. Tomorrow and Sunday will be great days to work them into my compost bins.

Oh, and there's something about a little football game on Sunday. ;-)

Jamie...I'm interested in you starting peppers this early? I have them on same schedule as tomatoes.

Raining steadily again today...if it ever stops we need to build the asparagus bed. I'm thinking about growing grapes up from ends of that bed onto an arbor above. Bed east-west with full sun against a picket fence where lots of ornamentals grow now.

Jamie - I will be starting onions and garlic chives this weekend. Maybe even some viola.

Len - I also start my peppers about a month before I start my tomatoes. They grow more slowly so they need the extra month. Herbs, too.

Harris Seeds is offering free shipping this weekend with the following codes: CHIEFS or 49ERS. It expires at kickoff on Sunday. Cute promo idea. I don't need any seeds.

Len- I decided to go a bit early because I have had bad luck with peppers the last couple of years. I wanted to let them get a little bigger before transplanting- basically giving them a couple of extra weeks to grow than I did last year. Last season I started tomatoes on Feb 15 and they got a little *too* large at transplant time so this season, I will wait until March 1 (or shortly before). I will also probably start some determinate tomatoes this weekend. If I do, I'll plan to transplant them the first weekend in April rather than waiting until the middle of April. They'll be under cover for a couple of weeks though, in case we have a late frost. I would pull the determinate plants around the middle of July (or whenever the plants finish producing) and maybe plant a late crop of squash or beans) then use that bed for fall greens.

Also- I forgot to add, that Feb 13-15 is the traditional time for starting warm-weather seeds in West Tennessee.

I am feeling a little rushed this season, as we will be on vacation from April 18 through April 25. My mother-in-law will be staying at the house to look after the dogs and a friend will be coming by to feed my parrots. He will also water any seedlings and she will look after the garden. It will be easier on both of them if I have most everything in the ground before we leave. I'll probably leave the covers on the beds until after we get back, but I'll have to wait and see what the weather forecast will be like at that time.

Jamie, a friend of mine came by yesterday and I gave him about 20 tomato plants which we repotted for planting out about February 20. I repotted about 30 tomato plants in 5 gallon pots-one in most pots and 2 in about 6 or 7. They are growing like wildfire under the 2000 watt light which I have all of the colors in the on position. Even the dwarfs are looking pretty huge for being less than a month old. I am still going back and forth on them-either put them in 5 gallon containers or put 3 of them in the 10 gallon containers

I have kohlrabi in two containers and baby Bok Choy in two along with the squash which I have on the flat part of the roof with one of the trays of onions (roof onions are doing terrible that is why I bought the red onion sets). I have 7 or 8 containers with peppers, but only one super hot (Carolina Reaper).

I still haven’t gotten the Pro-Mix so I had to order 5 of the 2 cubic feet Miracle-Gro potting mix which arrived at my front door for the exact same price as one bale of the Pro-Mix. I guess I will be able to make a side by side comparison if the Pro-Mix ever arrives.

Planting 4-5 more containers with Red Norland and Yukon Gold potatoes tomorrow. Need to get some cheaper potting mix for them.

A lot of people around here will start planting out around Valentine’s Day as long as there are no imminent cold fronts. I usually wait until the end of February but it is just so mild this year and all of them are in small containers so I can easily move them inside if needed.

Cindy said "I don't need any seeds". Ha! Ya, right....

Thanks for the codes.

Margi- I got those messages from Harris seeds also and deleted them immediately- lest I be tempted. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I got three more seed catalogues today-the word must be out on me. Lol. Another Park Seeds, Seeds and Such, and Four Seasons-who sells fruit trees.

Richard - do the semi-hot peppers like Sugar Rush Peach, Serrano, Fish, and Starfish take longer to germinate and for the seedlings to grow than Jalapenos or bell peppers? I have read on the hot pepper forum that super hots are slow. Just wondering if I should start these semi-hots a week or 2 earlier.

Jack, the Starfish and Fish peppers take a little longer. The Sugar Rush Peach might be the fastest. The super hots definitely take longer but once they start to produce they go crazy. Ghost pepper plants produce hundreds of pods, habanero near 100, the Carolina Reaper is the worst producer, maybe 10-25 per plant. My starfish pepper plant is near 100 now, but it took it until the end of summer before it got prolific.

Go CHIEFS. Computer model is picking KC by 54-46%. I predict Mahomes is the difference in the game. He will make the play of the game with less than 4 minutes left in the game and KC wins by 3.

Jalapeños are also early producers around here too

Yesterday evening I accidentally dumped a tray of onion seeds and various 'choy' seedlings. The onions hadn't sprouted yet but the choys were about 1.5" tall. Since it was already dark outside at the time, I took the mess out to the garden this morning. Very upset with myself for being so careless.

Re-planted earlier this afternoon. That set me back a week.

you know you’re a real gardener when you kill a bunch of plants, Cindy!

Jamie - it's planticide!

Cindy

I'm wondering what'd happen if you took "that mess" and spread it a half inch thick or maybe an inch thick?? Would you recover that week?

Not sure, John. It is out in the garden right now and last I checked, the bok choy were still green. If we end up not having any more winter, they just might survive out there. I think that the onion seed will surely survive.

Thanks Jamie and Cindy...I will revise my schedule for starting peppers, especially the ones that are going in hoop house. Spent the day inside today on non gardening home improvement; may start on the Ark tomorrow.

Can I join you on the Ark, Len?

You might need to make room for us on that ark also, Len.

Three hours until February! At least in my time zone.

Jamie - are you ready to start the next thread?

almost, Cindy!

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5861222/veggie-tales-february-2020

let’s welcome February!!