Starting FALL GARDEN 2011 in Zone 8

Lisa ~ came home from the flea market today and found the rainbow chard had germinated. It took a week and no, I hadn't soaked them. One type of chard left to germinate ~ sunrise chard.

Gardening treasures found at the flea market ~ one of those scooter trikes to sit and weed and a kneeling bench that can be reversed for a seat. Life needs to start getting easier with age I'm thinkin'! 8 ) Both used and good buys.

Ive started 8 different types of Chard (I soaked them first) and each one took a different amount of time to sprout. Congratulations on your Chard and your gardening treasures. Sure would appreciate a picture of you on the scooter thing. HEHE

Uh, yeah. A scooter pic Plez!!

I might arrange that if you don't expect me to be on it at the same time... 8 )

Lisa and Pod,
What're your average daytime temps now? We're expecting three days of 100 degrees this week (again!), then they PROMISE the temps will start dropping by the weekend (yah think???)

I've not put my seedlings out just yet, but, I might this evening, on the covered patio. Started prepping my eBuckets, and could plant out this weekend, if I put a press on. Next time, I'll pull the entire tomato plant out of the potting mix when I cut it down, instead of leaving a handhold of a stem to dry out in there. Once it dries out, all the roots just snap off into the potting mix. A live rootball will stay intact, better. Live, and learn!

Gymgirl ~ not much different from your weather. 100° daytime temps and 70° at night for the next week or ten days with no moisture in sight.
Our temps actually have dropped from the 110° temps we have been blessed with and for that ten degrees, I am grateful!

I am going to comment:

I do not believe that our seedlings object to the heat anywhere near as much as we do.
In fact warm/hot temps are better for germination as is evidenced by germinating on hot mats and with heat lamps.
I have never and will never start seedlings indoors so they can adapt to the a/c.


The primary concern with germination and seedlings and cuttings outdoors is hydration.
If you do not keep seeds or seedlings or cuttings moist, they will be toast.


The problem is when the temps are high, it draws moisture out of the soil and the plants.

Due to work and other distractions, we are not there to wet nurse them.
Therefore, we need to place them in shade and perhaps add a bit of mulch to help the soil retain the humidity.

It works for me...

Its supposed to be about 104* here today. It was hot this weekend and the heat is supposed to stay most of the week. All my stuff is already outside, under a covered deck so it gets bright shade. MY advice would be to keep your stuff where it is until this short "heat wave" is over. Granted its not going to get a lot cooler and I wouldnt even recommend this except the temps are supposed to go down again, so at least there is hope. if possible you could put them in a warmer part of your house to help acclimate them. I put some of my plants in a grow window in my laundry room, to get them used to the heat. When I put a thermometer in the window it showed 116*, I didn't realize it got that hot there. I think my plants were happy to go outside just to get away from that temp. LOL

Drthor ~ a question on your Fava beans please.

Which cultivar are you growing?

I notice not all types are as cold hardy as others.





All right ~ this was the scooter sans a rider. lol

Thanks, for the comment, Pod.

I've learned a lot about indoor seedling hydration needs, from my sowing experiences this year. I think I'm just a bit scared of how to handle the seedling hydration issue outdoors, which is why they aren't out yet. And, they need to be hardened off and into the big, bad garden-world by this weekend!!!

My usual watering method is to fill the trays with about 1-1/2" of water and let them wick it up for about 20-30 minutes. Then, I remove any remaining water. I haven't left them sitting in water indoors when I hydrate them, and I don't think I should leave them sitting in water when I put them out, either, right? I've been watering in the evenings between 7-9pm, or about 2 hours before the lights go off for the night. It's fascinating to wake up and see the measurable, overnight growth!.

Since they'll be out all day under the covered patio, should I switch the watering schedule to mornings, so they are adequately hydrated for the daytime heat?

A big concern I need advice on is fighting mealybugs. They love to attack wee seedlings in moist environments! More comments/suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Linda , who will cut the apron strings this week...sniff....

P.S. That's a might fine riding saddle on wheels! Great score!

This message was edited Sep 12, 2011 12:33 PM

podster,
I have grown the FAVA BEABS from this page: http://www.gourmetseed.com/category/gourmet_seed.vegetable_seed.bean___fava/
What I planted yesterday are the 2 varieties that I found in my seed box:
Fava Bean Delle Cascine
Fava Bean Extra Precoce Violetto

I am not an expert of Fava Beans yet ... but I love them.
Buy the way they are not a bean ... they are a wetch

Read this article by Leslie F. halleck, our Dallas gardening expert:
http://growlively.typepad.com/growlively/2009/03/rolling-in-fava-beans.html


I was outside this morning in a very hot heat .... aaahh

I transplanted all my greens.

Even if hot I have noticed that the greens I transplanted a week ago are doing great and they are shooting lots of new leaves.

I did transplant my broccoli last year at the beginning of september and I thought too that they were going to dye or to bolt ... indeed I had lots of broccolis from the end of October.
The picture below was taken on October 28, 2010

So here it is a broccoli picture on October 28th of 2010.
I hope for the same thsi year ...

Thank you for that link and the cultivars that you have grown.

I was interested in planting a hairy vetch groundcover this fall/winter but may try the Favas instead to fix nitrogen as well as eats.
Do you use an innoculant before you plant these Favas?

This was the other flea market treasure... a folding bench that will work for kneeling with arms to help one get back up and turned the other way to make a seat for this tired behind...

Drthor,

Beautiful broccolis! Which variety is in the pic?

I'm growing Arcadia, Calabrese, Di Ciccio, & Georges Favorite this time. I've only grown Green Comet before.

Linda

Yes fava beans are really great for many reasons: they are delicious and they fix nitrogen.
I normally grow cukes where I grew Fava Beans.

Also the tender flowers are like delicious in salads.

Nope ... I never used innoculant on my beans ... but I have to start seeds indoors because I have those monsters (pill bugs) that eat them ...
I normally soak them for 1 hour.

Below is a picture from April 2010

Good luck

Gymgirl I am guessing it was Marathon ... I don't remember.
This year I am growing: Premium Broccoli, Calabrese, Romanesco ... Waltham 29 ... and I forgot the rest

On the Favas ~ the cookbook says the Favas need to be peeled before eaten? Do you?

Yes, it is correct ... but you can leave the peel if you want. It will come out by itself if you sautee them.
Or you will blanch them for a couple of minutes and after you sautee or others.
The taste it is just superior. In the USA you eat Fava Beans only in upscale restaurant (ex. last week I ate them at the "Le Cordon Bleu" restaurant).
In Italy are very common.

My first harvest of greens for the fall season:
Bok Choi, Pak Choi, Kale and Swiss Chard yummy salad today

My Parsley is finally germinating.

Friday and Saturday are great days to start LEAF CROP by seeds.
I will start KOHLRABI indoor (yes it is a LEAF crop and not a ROOT - by M. Thun)

►My seedlings are finally outside for hardening off.

►►Have started prepping the eBuckets for the seedlings, and hope to plant some this week.

►►►We got ONE INCH of rain yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Linda

From left,
Pak Choi (very slow growing), Bok Choi (delicious), Premier Kale, Kale Vates

All my transplants are growing really fast. I am harvesting a ball of greens every day.

From left:
Kale Vates, Lacinato Toscano Kale, Chinese Kale

Growing well ... but look at the difference from transplanting the out just ONE week later than the previous picture !

Those babies survived the scorcing 100F of two weeks ago !!

Black Eye Peas starting to produce finally after the rain

Black Eye Peas

My cukes are still going strong. I picked 13 today!!

This is CORINTO cuke (parthenocarpic from Johnny's)

My "Violetta di Firenze" eggplant was loaded of fruits today.
The other eggplants are starting to make fruits too ... finally !!

Broccoli growing good !
Pill bugs have arrived after the rain ... huuuggrrrr monsterssssss

Arugula has germinated and it is growing.
Soon time to thin it out.

Also Swiss Chard has germinated and it is growing slowly ...

I have to ask.

Was this thread set up mainly for discussing/sharing information regarding our growing process (what we're growing, when we started it, how we started it, etc.) with a few back-up pictures to clarify the discussion, or for posting pictures of what's growing now with minimal discussion, or for posting pictures of everything we harvest on a daily basis?

I'd like an idea of what the consensus is. I don't wanna flood the thread with my day-by-day posting of the same things....

Linda

this thread tile is:
Starting FALL GARDEN 2011 in Zone 8

LETTUCE
I am tempted to start to "DIRECT" seed lettuce seeds ... but it is still mid 90s for the next 10 days .. oohh
I think it might be too hot for lettuce to germinate. Even if night temperature will be dropping in the 70s.
I have Arugula already started, but I think it is much hardy than lettuce.

Has anybody already direct seed outside lettuce in zone 8 this year?

Hi Dr.Thor - I've direct-seeded lettuce this past week and it's sprouting. I am Zone 7B by the various maps - I'm in Middle Georgia - so definitely cooler than you are. Our first and last frosts and overall temps here behave more like 8A than 7B. I planted English peas two weeks ago and those are up too (amazing). They are definitely a risk in terms of producing before hard frosts.

I've set out plants for arugula, various lettuces (buttercrunch/head types), brassicas, and other greens. The cabbage is growing furiously - never saw cabbage go so well. Arugula is quite happy too - lettuce is slow. We just had 2.25 inches of rain overnight - this is the most rain I think we've had all summer. I'm sure I'll see a flurry of growth and hopefully it will rejuvenate my poor tomatoes.

To help germination in high temps, I have deeply watered and put screens over the bed with the new seeds to reduce temps and it's worked well in the past. Row cover (agribon) can help with keeping a cooler moist environment for new seeds too.

Cindy

Thanks Cindy,
I might try to seed some out FRIDAY, which is a LEAF day.

I was thinking to seed them on the base of my Okra plants. In this way they will have some shade.
When the okra will be finished I will just trim the trunks down to not disturb the roots of the lettuce.
Here is the picture of my okras. I keep cutting the bottom leaves to incourage pods productions.
You can see in the bottom I have lots of empty space.

Do you think it will work?

Cindy,
What variety of cabbages are you growing? I started seeds on August 6th for "Soloist" Chinese Cabbage (looks sort of like a baby Napa), Late Dutch Flat, Early Jersey Wakefield, Brunswick & Dutch Flat.

So far, the Soloist (at 40-50 dtm) is growing like lightening! It has beautiful, velvety, Emerald green leaves that lay out flat like a carpet. Cant wait to sample it.

Rich,
My point exactly on how best to use this thread. With that in mind, I dedicate this record-keeping report to you!

I sowed seeds for cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, mustard and collard greens, on August 6-7th. My seedlings declared-peeped-popped within 3-4 days of sowing the seeds in very warm, microwave-sterilized MG Seedling Starter Mix, watered in with warm water, and immediately shoved into large, clear plastic baggies, which I vented slightly, but not enough to stop the condensation that formed on the inside of the bags (my auto-drip watering system). Soon as they peeped, they were shoved under bright, cool white, regular shop lights (four tubes per shelf), where they've stayed until they've gotten too tall for my shelves!

I also kept them inside longer than usual because of our brutal Texas heat (100+ degrees), and finally have put them out for hardening off, now that we're in the 90s.

There was a ceiling fan and a box fan (aimed at the seedlings) going in the room at all times. Turned my A/C off during the daytime (to 88 degrees) and on in the evening/nights (82 degrees). There was a definite minimum 10+ degrees difference between the daytime and nighttime temperatures, and I believe this was a VERY good thing.

The seedlings were under the fluorescent lights from 7am until 11pm, daily, and, in the beginning, received water when the soil looked dry. As they got older (within the last 3 weeks) I noticed they were starting to pale, and since I knew they were getting water, it meant (to me) the babies were HUNGRY! So, at that point, I started alternating watering between plain water and fertilized water at a rate of 1/8 tsp. Miracle Grow Water Soluble Plant Food for Veggies (24-8-16) to a gallon of water. As they took off, I gradually increased the baby formula to 1-2 tsps?? (the small side of that green spoon that comes in the box...) per gallon of water. The hardier seedlings got the 2 tsps. formula; the slower, smaller ones got between 1/8 and 1 tsp. of the MG in a gallon of water.

My seedlings were potted up to 16.5 oz. Ozarka water bottles, when they got between 1.5 and 2 sets of true leaves, again in sterilized MG Seedling Starter Mix (it was recycled from the spring seedlings...). Holes were drilled into the bottoms and all seedlings were bottom-watered in the trays until there was relative uniform moistness on the top of the soil. IMPORTANT: After every watering, I used a turkey baster to remove any excess water from the trays. Never were they allowed to sit in water overnight. I generally watered them around 7pm daily...

To date, I had 150+ seedlings to declare. I have not lost a single seedling to damping off. Which reminds me. On those first couple of plain water waterings, I always add 2 capfuls of HYDROGEN PEROXIDE to the gallon of water, to oxygenate the soil, to stave off any fungaluglies the microwave might have missed, or to divert any airborne molds that might try to settle on the top of the seedling mix. Works every time! And, I believe it is a preventative against damping off (which, I hear, usually occurs when you are TOP-watering seedlings...)

So. That's my report. And, I'm standing by it!

Hugs, All! ^^_^^

Linda

I attended a seminar at North Haven Gardens a few weeks ago and was told not to prune the bottom okra stems and leaves to promote growth and pod production. Instead she instructed us to prune off the top of the okra plant for the same reason. So I decided to do an experiment and try both methods. I can now report the results that pruning the bottom side stems and leaves creates substantially more pod production than pruning the top stems and leaves, at least over the short term of about three weeks. That might change over a longer time period but I will know that in a few more weeks.

Hey, Guys!

I started a separate thread dedicated solely to posting pictures of our fall garden harvests. I think the thread will provide lots of information to growers in all zones, if the details I suggested are filled in with each posting. Check it out here, and add it to your watch list:

"FALL GARDEN HARVESTS 2011. POST YOUR PICTURES HERE!!!"
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1221077/

Hugs!!