WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 8 FEBRUARY 22, 2013

Free Republic | February 22, 2013 | greeneyes

[greeneyes]

It's a cold, cloudy day with plenty of snow on the ground. Not much good for gardening, but the kind of day when you want to put a stock pot on the back burner, and turn on the oven to bake bread, casseroles, and/or roasts. All to make you warm inside and out.LOL

I have been reviewing some of the heirloom grains this week and need to narrow the list down to 2 or 3 that I will order. Teff and Quinoa are 2 that may make the cut.

I will be planting some crimson clover this week or next as a soil conditioner in a few beds to turn under in April or May. The rest already had winter rye planted last fall.

Have a great weekend. God Bless.

[o_zarkman44]

Bad snow storm yesterday and digging out today in Mid Missouri. But was a good day for a pot of chili and some smothered mushroom deer steak. I’m thinking it’s still a bit early to plant starters but not by much. Kicking all kinds of ideas around about the garden this year to boost production from the same space.

[fidelis]

A bowl of chili sounds good, and it's not even that cold here!

I have a friend in St. Joseph-- she says she can't even think of growing anything yet.

[TEXOKIE]

Thanks, Darth! I am such a newby...with ambitions to match, I’m afraid!

I only have the one sweet potato head which is sprouting. I appreciate knowing about the approx 18” requirement for space for its little toes so I can find a pot which would be appropriate for it. That makes sense about loose soil.

How do I know when babies might be available? I’m guessing late summer early fall?
(Zone 6B, according to http://www.garden.org/zipzone/index.php )

[TEXOKIE]

“Having a master gardener you can ask questions is a darn good thing to have in the local area.”

How do I find those? Is there a place to put in zipcode or something to find one?

We have some box stores with gardening sections, a couple of nurseries and a few garden clubs of various kinds in the area, plus an ag college within an hour ....there ought to SOMEONE of that description in our area...but it would be nice to know about if they are certified Master Gardener or not!

(We all KNOW I’M certifiable....LOL!)

[JRandomFreeper]

I would call the county extension agent, they should know, since they hold a lot of the classes. They should be able to point you in the right direction.

I lost 3 pepper plants overnight. I darn near lost a certain male cat when I caught him chewing on them. Grrrr.

That's why I always start extras. You just never know what's gonna try to kill 'em.

/johnny

[Sarajevo]

Do you mean the same peppers have been growing that long, or do you mean that you have successfully grown pepper plants from seed the last 5 years(new plants each year?)?

It's the same tabasco plant. It's now 5ft tall, and new leaves and shoots are sprouting.
Thai and habenero peppers are doing the same. The smaller, more tender branches die back in the chill of winter, and new foliage sprouts off of the older woody stems.

[TEXOKIE]

Thanks for the advice, both on county extension agent and the need for multiple starts. Sorry about your loss of plants and possible lost of a certain cat! LOL!

[TEXOKIE]

Ahem...make that “LOSS” not “lost.”

[JRandomFreeper]

He did get lost quickly, or he would have experienced a loss. I put on my TSgt voice with him. ;)

/johnny

[Darth Reardon]

I’ve seen recommendations that they’re ready when the leaves start to turn, but definitely before something called a frost. I think I’ve also read 3-4 months, depending on climate. I just feel around in the dirt for something about the size I’m looking for. I’m actually still pulling some from last March’s planting, they’ve sort of gone native.

[Sarajevo]

5 Year old tabasco "tree", budding again.

Last years habenero plants coming back.

...And before anyone tells me, I know the beds need a good cleaning and topping off with fresh manure ;)

Just to poke a stick in everyone's eye that lives up north-

Orange Blossoms

Apple Blossoms

Peach Blossoms:

Plum Blossoms:

The unseasonably warm weather has plants all mixed up. We've had enough of a freeze to destroy all the buds on the Japanese Loquat, but I don't think we've had the needed chill hours for the stone fruit trees. It was forecast to be in the lower 30's at night this entire week, so we still can't plant warm weather veggies, and have to cover the cool weather veggies. Tender plants will have to come back indoors.
What we really need though, is rain; about 2+ weeks worth.

[TEXOKIE]

LOL! I was wondering if they would do that;go native, as you say. Thanks for the further info.

[TEXOKIE]

LOL!

[greeneyes]

Thanks for sharing those pictures. Especially the pretty blooms. It helps to cheer up the day when we have lousy weather here.

Of course, there is always a little twinge of envy.LOL.

[greeneyes]

This is good news. I am happy for you.

[fanfan]

I have finished my winter sowing, and will post pictures tomorrow. With a few exceptions, I used old seed, because I don’t know if it’s going to work.

I did 6 more containers. Broccoli, parsley, foxglove, fennel, red pepper, and Romaine. I only used 6 red pepper seeds out of 25 in the package, as it is a new package which I ordered for my granddaughter, so I have to make sure I have a back up plan. :-)

[afraidfortherepublic]

Winter sewing?

[no-to-illegals]

May the little one come forth. May the pictures be of a healthy newborn smiling ear to ear. May the Pride swell as another Lion enters. Thank you fanfan for keeping us updated!

[tubebender]

Cooking with Carlo is back for Easter...http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2991142/posts

[Vigilanteman]

I would very much appreciate it if you could ping me for the next gardening thread because I'm probably too late to get my question answered on this thread.

Nonetheless, I will give it a shot because most Freepers are quite knowledgeable about a variety of topics.

Here goes: I have an area in the back yard measuring roughly 12' x 18' bounded by the house on the south (including my walkout basement door), a steep hill to the west, a shed to the north and my driveway to the east-- about the only direction from which sunlight is consistent.

Thus it has a combination of poor light and poor drainage. I've built up the area by 3.5' or so on the house, so it is really about 8.5' x 18' with the 3.5' area being under the eaves and a good place to store the trash cans, barbecue grill and garden hose.

I've experienced with different plants over the years. Clover: hydrophillic but not good with all the foot traffic which occurs. Grass: good for the foot traffic but not the poor drainage. Paving stones: look nice, but sink and receed from year to year. Mulch: Same as paving stones.

What I mostly get now is peat moss which, while useful for gardening elsewhere on my land, really isn't my wife's favorite. What I am thinking about next is digging down a ways, dropping in a water permable weed barrier and filling it up with gravel on the bottom and sand on the top. I need to mention that I need to keep good drainage because, if I don't, there is occassional basement seepage during the massive downpours we sometimes have in SW Pennsylvania.

If I was made of money, I'd build a deck and roof it. But I really need to look at low budget options which would make the best use of the poor drainage, poor lighting combination and keep water away from the buildings to the north and south.