Posted on 11/09/2012 10:10:41 AM PST by greeneyes
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
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About 1 month before planting I will “plough” this green manure under, and add some real manure compost before planting. Also will cover with dark plastic this year to help warm soil and help prevent soil-borne problems.
Hubby plans on planting winter wheat and harvesting it so that we can grind our own whole wheat flour.
Lot's of people plant rye and hairy vetch after corn and follow that with Beans/Legumes. I don't use hairy vetch anywhere that I plan to have a harvest of grain-I read somewhere that there would be difficulty with the harvest.
However, common vetch is supposed to be a good crop to grow before Tomatoes. Buckwheat helps to reduce beetles and is a good crop to plant in the middle of the season after lettuce/salad crop and early tomatoes.
Tomorrow, Saturday, is supposed to be about 70 degrees.
after a few weeks in the 40s it will be a short lasting blessing. I plan on pulling the last of the beets for freezing.
Today I am going for maximum excitement . . . I am cleaning the house.
I have successfully had a winter garden for salads the last 2 years. Next to one of my southwest patios is a concrete retaining wall. I put a raised bed next to the retaining wall.
I bought a little white wire fence on sale from Walmart for $2.00, put it around the other three sides. I anchored a double layer of floating row covers on top of the retaining wall, cover the bed, and anchor it next to the fence with logs from our firewood supply.
The concrete heats up in the daylight, and release heat at night. Sometimes I also line the sides with milk jugs full of water. I add straw and other cover as needed.
To access, I lift up the row cover on the retaining wall for access. Very cheap. Everything except the fence was on hand already, and everything was reusable. It’s sort of a cold frame type of arrangement using row cover.
Carrots, spinach, lettuce, green onions, and garlic have grown well. I also have perennials this year in another such bed Rosemary, Stevia, tarragon, and lilac so we’ll see how it goes.
I have read that pee works with some critters, so I guess it is worth a try. LOL
Thanks, I didn’t know that Endive and Escarole were Chicory. We have lots of wild Chicory growing in Missouri. I am especially interested in a Chicory/coffe blend. When we visited New Orleans, I found out that I like that.
As coffee gets more expensive, I thought it would be a good stretcher, and add some additional nutrients.
thanks for the link. Lots of good stuff to look at and get ideas.
I need to clean house very badly. However, I need R & R from the stress of the political season even more. No news for me today and just lots of focus on gardens and plans for Thanksgiving.
This is for Red_Devil and anyone else that likes beer, dance, & drama. I can’t discuss the election yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=K-Rs6YEZAt8>
It is much too nice of a day here in Central Missouri to be at work, but here I sit. I managed to get the garden cleanup and garlic planting both completed last weekend. No big plans for this weekend. Maybe just watch football and drink beer. LOL
Where are you gardening that your winters are so harsh and your winds so brutal?
Excellent Excellent Graphics! When I was stationed in Japan I had quite a few Sapporo Beers! It was a good beer. Thanks for the link! I may use it in my weekly Homebrew Post a little later at Beer Thirty!
Hot jalapenos???? Tell me it isn't so :)
Try keeping their roots real moist so the fruit grow larger. That should tone down the heat.
Not with these deer. Believe me, I'm a guy ;)
I got my seed stash inventoried, that’s my response to stress. Works pretty well, too, just running my fingers through the bean seeds that I saved makes me feel better!
My budget for new seeds is pretty slim this year, due to losing my job in February, so I’m really glad I splurged last winter and bought all kinds of “survival” seeds. I’ve got wheat, barley, rye,spelt, hulless oats, buckwheat, amaranth, sorghum, corn . . . and those are just the grains! My inventory filled 4 pages, with 2 columns per page.
This year I think I’m going to try and get hold of some popbeans and some flour corn. Popbeans are a special variety of chickpea that you can pop like popcorn, which probably makes it the fastest-cooking legume in the world, and as an added bonus it doesn’t need water to cook. As for the flour corn, I came across something in a book that described how you can tell with flour corn which grains have been pollinated by a flint or dent corn, because it changes the translucency of the endosperm. Since GMO corns are dent corns, this would give me a way to stay safe from Monsanto lawsuits :)
Plus, the author of that book described how corn flour from a true flour corn (unlike the corn flour in the stores, which is made from dent corn) can be milled fine enough that she even makes angel food cake out of hers! Not something I would have thought to try. My cousin has celiac, she’d love that.
LOL. That’s a good beat. Thanks for the link.
I have been just sitting here soaking up the sun, and doing very little. Opening mail, looking at garden stuff on the internet etc.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll get out and do something more productive. LOL.
I’ll take your word for it. Tee Hee.
Wow. I did not know that about corn flour, or dent corn either. Really worth learning more and experimenting I think.
Sorry, can’t say, exactly, for personal and temporary reasons. But our temperatures have gone as low as -35 F and winter wind gusts over 100 mph (109 recorded last winter during sub-zero weather). Often sustained off and on for days at 60-80 mph. Spraying ice piled up last winter to around 3 feet of depth (not snow but ice with about the weight and consistency of sand). Gardening in summer is short season and/or covered. Winds also often run high for days in summer (very dry summers).
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