STARTING OUR 2012 FALL/WINTER VEGGIE GARDENS - PT. 3

Oooohhhh acid reflux, yikes. Sorry to hear that. Remember, your plants need you :)

I should consider growing broccoli from seed...maybe I'll sow a few seeds tonight (I think I have a package of Goliath seeds somewhere.)

I need to add more cabbage to my garden, I only have two 8" plants right now. Maybe some red cabbage, too. Anyone ever make their own saurkraut? I just read an article on Rodale that mentioned it, so I thought I would try that recipe when I harvest.

Thanks, Jo, and er, John, LOL!

I'm praying to race home and drop a few seeds into RB #1. Any tips on seeding the 4x8 bed with beet and turnip seeds would be appreciated. I'd like to get the seed spacing right. I absolutely HATE wasting a seed or a seedling, so my goal is to keep thinning to an absolute minimum.

Thanks!

P.S. I've decided to use two 25-gallon molasses tubs to grow the carrots in, rather than in RB#1. The depth is there, and I can do standard length carrots in one, and shorties in the other.

Linda

Fermented foods are great! You'll like this: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/12/dr-campbell-mcbride-on-gaps.aspx and there's a great video on that page with Caroline Barringer showing how to make fermented food in canning jars.

Thanks Solace! I'll check that out.

John, if you've never tried fermented sauerkraut it's quite different than the vinegar version. There are a few canned brands that are actually lactofermented, and I'd suggest trying one of those before embarking in a home fermenting project just to be sure a) you like it and b) so you get an idea of what direction you are going in.

If you have tried it, nevermind, :)

For those who are fermented food fans, Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions" has a lot of recipes for lactofermentation.

Good points, Nicole. I did not consider how the taste varied between fermented and vinegar-based sauerkraut so, yes, I should sample the fermented variety first. I do enjoy the vinegar version so that will be something I will look into for sure.

Well, the rest of my fall garden is a bust. Both Mark & I have been feeling less than wonderful with sinus crap. This has caused Mark's asthma to flare up so it's a struggle for him to breathe much less do anything requiring much physical exertion. One of these years, I'll get it together enough to have a full fall garden.

But, Steph,
You still have from now until at least the beginning of December to plant winter stuff out, right?

Ya'll need me to move to Fort Worth?

I sure hate to hear ya'll are under the weather over there.

Allergies have been particularly bad for me as well this year, I've noticed. Sinues are congested and my eyes are in a constant state of watery/ itchiness...

Anyway, we got a good rain yesterday so that was good...I forgot my umbrella so that was bad...

We got good rain here, too. All the transplants are standing at attention! Great!

Still no energy to go out and build the frame for the garlic...or throw seeds in a cup...

Question: I planted the broccoli and cauliflowers on 12" centers, and, there's a nice patch of space between each plant. Could I possible be successful with sprinkling some spinach or lettuce seeds down there? The tall plants would shade them. Maybe two plants in between each? Nothing too crowded.

Lemme know.

Thanks!

My tomato and pepper plants are setting like crazy there is no way I can pull them up. I will sow a few lettuce blends around the garden tho.

I went ahead and planted spinach in a narrow strip at one end of the brassica bed. I covered the seeds with vermiculite, then laid a strip of damp burlap over the site, to keep it moist until germination, and to avoid rainwater runoff.

I can transplant the seedlings to other available spaces once they're up.

Planted garlic, cilantro, and spinach today. The broc plants are getting eaten alive by the cabbage worms. Will need to get spraying to deter them. I have one red bell pepper plant that's just loaded with peppers, too! I planted the garlic in the space to the right of the broccoli you see in the second picture.

Might get some rain tomorrow as a cold front is supposed to move through. This is great because I got summoned for jury duty tomorrow and will have to walk a few blocks to the courthouse once the bus lets me off. :(

Mostly a "working" weekend here: reworked the soil in the back garden, adding a huge amount of compost, soil, and mulch over what I haven't been able to get turned over yet. Hoping by spring, it'll be a bit more workable. Planted some malabar spinach seeds, and I've got a few left if anyone else wants to try them!

The cherry tomatoes all got repotted in something a bit bigger and more heat-insulating, side dressed the strawberries, collards and chard, and buried the garlic a bit deeper hoping that I didn't, in fact, plant it too early.

Also, picked up a brand-new Aerogarden for almost nothing in Baton Rouge, trying to think of what to start in it! Maybe the carrot seeds, as there's still time to set them outside?

This weekend, I planted 5 varieties of carrots in two 20-gallon SmartPots. Two long varieties in one, and three shortie varieties in the other. Different planting mediums in each container, so will be watching carefully.

Also planted three different types of beets. Did anyone else sow beet seeds? I soaked them for 5 hours beforehand, in some water with a capful of H2O2. At first, it was a true pain placing each of those seeds in the shallow trench I made. Then, I dried them off some, and it got easier. I'm trying to control the spacing so I don't lose so many seeds to thinning. Otherwise, I'd have just thrown them out. I think the soaking will speed up the germination.

I checked under the burlap, and 1/2 the spinach seeds have germinated (the Space variety). The Bloomingdale Longstanding aren't up yet.

I spent Friday night organizing the garage until almost midnight. But, I was ready to rock and roll Saturday mor...er...when I got up...

I was too pooped to tackle emptying and refreshing 5 EBs to plant greens. I've got lots of time for them since they grow so fast. Besides, I think my lettuce would have bolted by now. We're heading back into the high 80°s all this week.

Gotta remember to document where everything is planted, so I'll know the rotation for next season!

Hugs!

Linda

This message was edited Oct 22, 2012 10:59 AM

I also planted Bloomingdale spinach!

Y'all are killing me with all the progress on the fall garden! I was set to start prepping the garden for planting the first week of September. Then somehow, I managed to get hospitalized with a septicemia/blood infection that was causing a 103+ degree fever on the Friday before Labor day. IV antibiotics started the cure, then I was hit was some other viral infection that put me back in the hospital. Seems like I had every test and lab known to man and the doctors were unable to identify the culprit. To make a very long story short, I left the hospital the second time on September 11th, stick sick with the virus. I finally got over the virus after about three weeks at home. By the end of the second week of October I finally felt like doing something. Last week I ACTUALLY did chores around the house and went to follow-up doctor appointments (I have at least four different doctors, now).

This week I am working in the garden. I figure that since we rarely have much cold, that I can grow the cool-season vegetables even if I am really late starting. I will get some reemay and make PVC arches if it looks like we are going to have a short freeze later in the year.

Now, actually to the garden....

Today I hope to till in a layer of compost for the area that I'll be growing fall stuff. I bought it in bags for ease of handling and since I still can manage getting the front-end loader on our baby Kubota tractor. The bags only weigh about 20 pounds each, so I manage that much. I have all the bags laid out already. I just need to open them and spread everything a little bit. I hope that a two-inch layer, tilled in, will lighten up the soil some for the root crops.

I have two different broccoli that I'm trying: Bonanza and Green Magic. I planted in Jiffy pellets on last Thursday and about 75% of the seeds are already up. The Green Magic is fully up, and about half the Green Magic are peeking through. I'm going to harden them off as soon as they have a few true leaves.

Other items:

Sugar Snap peas; Spanish Roja and Chinese Pink garlic; Black-seeded Simpson, Buttercrunch, and Flying Saucer Red lettuce; Bloomsdale Longstanding and Melody spinach; Detroit Dark Red and Chioggia beets; Tokyo Cross turnip, Danvers Half Long carrot; and Cherry Belle radish.

I'm also trying celery this year, Tall Utah 52-70R Improved. The seeds haven't started germinating, but they were only planted last Thursday. I think I will actually put the celery in E-buckets on the back porch. That should help me keep them uniformly watered, since they are heavy drinkers. It will also make it very convenient to pull a few stalks from a plant when cooking. It seems like almost anything I cook uses celery. Also, if the celery is in e-buckets, then I can easily pull it inside if there is going to be a longer freeze.

Since I'm starting late, does anyone have any other suggestions for vegetables that I can direct seed for my winter garden? I haven't planted anything, so new items wouldn't be any later than the ones I have planned.

David R

David,
Sorry to hear about your health issues, but glad you're on the mend!

You can set onion transplants in late-November, mid-December, and mid-January (order them from Dixondale Farms). Also, cauliflowers can be started, and mustard and collard greens seeds thrown about.

You can keep transplanting seedlings right up until around mid-December, so keep starting seeds inside in the cool. I'd like to start a 2nd batch of cabbage seeds this week for transplanting out in early December. I'd keep sowing, too, if I had another RB in place. That might still happen!

I've got floating row cover (FRC) and perforated plastic protection ready for my hoops, in case of any dips. I should put the FRC on now to keep the cabbage moths off my brassicas, so they can't lay eggs now. Fewer worms hatching in the springtime.

Also, if you start more seeds inside later (after the winter Solstice), you'll have transplants ready for early spring!

I'm learning we really do have a long fall/winter season here. I'm starting the tomato seeds on or near the Winter Solstice (December 20th or so), for transplanting out in mid-February, with all sorts of frost protection.

Linda

Scored on the side of the road, in my favorite recycling neighborhood, on the way in this morning.

I've been needing a sifter for my pine bark fines, forever!

Ain't God good?

Linda

Beets are up! Three days
Spinach is up! Five days
Carrots are up! Three days

UP!

Jealous here! My spinach came up but promptly died in the upper 90 degree heat.

Lady Lily!
I can NOT imagine you being jealous of anything I do!!! Before I know it, you'll be harvesting veggies while I'm trying to figure out what happened!!!

One note: I sprinkled the seeds, and then covered them with VERMICULITE. Then, I laid cut up burlap sacks over the planting site. I wet the burlap down every day after sowing, and checked every day for the first sign of germination, then removed the sacks.

I think keeping the seeds moist helped with the fast germination, cause last year my carrot seeds took all of 21 days to germinate! This is a record for me!

Linda

Well it seems my tomatoes have late blight, we are battling it as I type but it isn't looking good. *sigh* Below might be the only tomato we get...and since I lost the plant out list O.O

The greens and such are growing but I'm worried about this heat..since this is the first year I've planted I'm winging it.

Thinned my broccoli seedlings today. I had almost 100% germination, so I had to thin about 50% of the seedlings. I planted two seeds per Jiffy pellet, to allow for poor germination. It was sad to kill 70 baby broccoli! Also, I am starting to see emerging celery seedlings in the starter tray. I've never grown celery before, but thought that fall and central Texas winter might have reasonable temperatures. The plants are tiny, hair-fine shoots. I planted an entire seed packet in one standard flat, so I may have really thick seedlings.

David

David!

You did NOT have to kill 70 baby broccoli seedlings...

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=9278131

Hugs!

I'm confused by the link, Linda.

Steph,
Where it says I "ripped apart roots". I saved them all in the potting up process...

I think I'm seedling obsessed. Can't stand to lose a seed or a seedling. Which is why I end up with a gazillion plants!

Hugs, David! Hope you know I'm just pulling your leg(gy) seedlings! LOL!

I'm like you GG I can't kill a seedling, at least not on purpose. I'd have to find a place 4 them. Lol

The link takes me to a pic of a harvest of eggplants. However, I have no problems throwing away seedlings. My husband on the other hand would like to replant EVERY seedling. UGH!

I was stuck, literally. The seedlings were in Jiffy pellets, and they are too tightly packed to uproot one of the seedlings without uprooting both. I like starting in pellets, since that eliminates the first transplant. It does mean that I have to thin seedlings, though. : ( [ I was just practicing for the beets in the garden. Each one of those seed bodies is actually multiple seeds, it's impossible to grow beets without thinning.]

David.

PICTORIAL UPDATE:
#1 Sweeties starting to fade
#2 Caladiums still going strong
#3 Beets are up! Three days under burlap bag.
#4 Space Spinach is up! Five days under burlap bag
#5 Long Carrot is up! Three days under burlap bag

PICTORIAL UPDATE #2:
#1 Broccs and Caulis doing well
#2 Cabbages doing well
#3 Eggplant trying to grow back!
#4 Onions continuing to beef up
#5 7 o'clock, and all's well!

We're going down to 49° tonight, 42° tomorrow night, 43° Sunday night, and 45° Monday night.

Guess I'll be putting hoops over all the RBs tomorrow!

Ya'll have a safe weekend, yah heah?

LOL

Linda

Linda- my wife and my Sis were both telling me that the wind knocked over all three of my eBuckets this afternoon!! Two Cherokee Purple plants and one cherry tomato plant. Can you believe that? I watered yesterday evening so I thought that would have weighed them down enough but I guess not. Now I have several 2"-3" green tomatoes since lots of them fell off... :/

I was wondering earlier if I should cover my Toms but you have answered that question- thanks!

On a side not, something is chomping at the leaves of one of my cabbage plants again. I have not had the time to spray this week due to work, arrgghh! Maybe I can find the culprit tonight if I can catch it in the act...then bushwhack it!!! Hopefully....where do these things hide during the day??

P.S. love your garden pics!!!

3 day carrot germination?? Wow.

They are calling for 34F Monday night here. With a few days for the forecast to change, it might be time for our first frost. It would be about right on schedule -- Nov 2nd is our average.

John,
I've learned that our Texas wind does far more harm to the plants that the falling temps. I put a temporary plastic tarp over the beets when got home, cuz the wind was whipping up on them! Everything else will have to tough it out til morning.

Unfortunately, tomatoes in an eBucket become quite top- heavy, and the wind fills the foliage like they were windsails. Anchor them as best you can.

Our Houston average is Dec 7th, but I've been anticipating a much earlier date. Its been too hot, too long, and winter has to catch up to itself!

had frost the last 2 nights here in SE Oklahoma It was 27° last night would like to see a few more cold nights but looks like we are in a warming trend ..I have two beds at some city owned property that I would like to get cleaned out and started on fall plantings ..So far our main target is a couple of south facing roadside slopes that are scheduled for Crimson Clover the city sprang for 50lbs of seed so if we get any decent rain we should have a nice welcome sight for folks traveling thru...

We've been collecting leaves and such. My neighbors probably think I'm a little nuts... well more nuts than they already thought I was. I think they are nuts for putting all those lovely leave and pine needles in plastic trash bags.

Over the past few weekends, we got a load of city mulch/compost and spread it under some apple trees where I plan to keep the grass killed back and filled in with pine needles when we ran out of mulch. I spread oak leaves around the shed and such where I don't mind if it forms a mat and blocks the rain and trimmed back some low hanging branches that were annoying me. I distributed the coffee grounds I had sitting around (5 trash bags full) and the BF is now routinely checking behind the coffee shop for me when he passes by. :) And I still have a few bags full of oak leaves.

This weekend, I pulled the last of the radishes and look the excess to a local charity garden. I still have luffa gourds out and some turnips and radishes which aren't forming roots, plus the winter stuff (kohlrabi, cabbage). I have some celery in a pot still that's not quite ready for harvest, and I *still* have bell peppers coming. The garlic is planted and sprouted almost immediately

No frost yet but wind chills in the 20's. Once we do get a frost I can start my winter projects in earnest. A nearby city is outside right now doing a drainage project on my land, which is strange because I don't live in the city. My land slopes into a drainage area and I mow up to the ditch and leave the other side to go wild. Normally once we get a freeze I get out there and weedwhack all the dead giant ragweed and privet and such in the drainage ditch. Well, they not only cleared the ditch but all around my black walnut tree on the other side and all the way down the ditch for the length of my property back my about 12'. So much for the useful young trees I was trying to get started naturally with seeds, like persimmons and sassafras. :-/

Right now they are laying rip-rap in the ditch on the other side of the road. Wonder if I'm getting some in my ditch? Anyway, once they finish up I'll have to decide what to do. I may have a new project. Now that it's all clear I'd love to do wildflowers over there, although I suspect the privet, poison ivy and giant ragweed will just come back in the spring. I can't get my mower over there to keep it mowed unless I build a bridge. Hmmm...