WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD JAN. 12, 2018

freerepublic | JAN. 12, 2018 | greeenyes

[greeneyes]

Greetings from Missouri. Huge thanks for all your prayers. At the last hour, the medications and treatment finally worked, and surgery was averted-so prayers were answered.

We are back at home, still nursing a cold, but feeling almost human again. Thanks to all again.

Very cold weather here, but Wed. and Thurs we had temps in fifties and rain. Drizzling turned to sleet late Thursday and continued as temps fell to teens. Sheets of ice every where - school was canceled.

I brought most of plants in from the green house during the cold snap - temp there has stayed about 10 degrees warmer that outdoors during the evening.

Hubby bought me a short 1ft. tall about 5" wide heater that oscillates. Has been a big improvement in the computer corner.

We have several more seed catalogs to look through. Have been reviewing climate and weather reports around the globe. Looks like we could be in another cycle similar to the early 1800s-solar minimum and very cold.

So glad to have the greenhouse to give us a better jump start and extension of the season for fresh foods and herbs. The lemon tree is beginning to form buds again. Should be blooming soon.

Hope you are all doing well. Have a great weekend. Prayers up for all. God Bless.

[greeneyes]

Pinging the list.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

I just started 24 hot and superhot pepper seeds on a heat mat this morning. I have no idea what they are going to be because they were sent to me by a grower in one of my pepper growing groups who was afraid they may have been crossbred. My plan is to get the seedlings going then share them out to several people then, later in the summer when they start fruiting, get everyone together to share the different varieties that come up.

I am also starting known varieties in the Aero Grow hydroponic unit I got for Christmas, starting with Death Spirals. They get their name from the ridge of bumps that circle around the pepper from top to bottom. I'll also be doing Primo Pot 7's directly from the grower who developed the strain, Chocolate Habaneros and Yellow Ajis. It won't get really warm at night for another couple of months so I have plenty of time to get the seedlings going. My older plants get left outside all winter and actually have some peppers fruiting on them as I write this.

[KarlInOhio]

Gurney’s just had a 50% off flash sale so I ordered a couple more raspberries, 50 strawberries, lettuce seeds, hostas and far too many sunflower seeds. I plan on lining my fence with sunflowers.

[Ciexyz]

Snow on the ground again in western PA. At 3 PM Friday, temps were 62 degrees, then temps fell 30 degrees in three hours.

[cherry]

got my Dahlia catalog today...going to order “junkyard” dog...

[greeneyes]

Storms can hit quickly and those temps likewise. At least here in Missouri-the worst is usually confined to 2 months of Jan and Feb.

We spent one year in S. Dakota - Snow on ground from Oct to June. Ugh.

[greeneyes]

Those are some very pretty peppers.

[greeneyes]

I need to try sunflowers again. They didn’t do well last time.

[greeneyes]

Interesting name.

[MtnClimber]

It is 25F outside tonight. I need to get starts going inside because the growing season is so short here in the Colorado Rockies at high altitude.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Those are some very pretty peppers.

Info, heat level and seeds

[native texan]

Anyone here know anything about raising red night crawlers (worms)? I understand they are good for gardening. But my interest in them is helping an Eastern screech owl have enough food through our tough times in Jan/Feb.

[Redleg Duke]

Are they marked as Class B Explosives?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We sent our seed order a week ago.
The starting equipment will come down out of the attic in a few days.

Holy cow, it’s cold !

[CottonBall]

i never thought about growing lettuce in pots. would you keep them in the house or greenhouse?

the arugula and romaine might have survived if i covered them during the coldest nights - i found leaves that were still looking good on both of them close to the ground. They must be pretty cold tolerant because it got down to 9. i’m thinking of possibilities for next winter...i miss my free salads!

[Mercat]

I don’t want to hijack the thread but I’m going to post about birds. I follow two eagle threads on Facebook. In Minnesota the bonded pair have been building their nest and are now flirting. Eggs expected within the month. Similar on front range Colorado. But my joy are the birds I feed. This is our first year on our farm and although we fed birds in the suburbs, we’re getting more variety. The gold finches are starting to turn gold and there are dozens of them. We have what is either a sparrow or a large finch, ground feeders but the ubiquitous juncos chase them off. We call them badger birds because they have black and white striped heads. Lots of chicidees and purple finches. A few cardinals. Yellow bellied sap suckers and Donnie’s. We live about 40 miles west of KCMO.

[Ladysforest]

Snow and cold after a couple of warm days. I don’t enjoy looking out at the garden because of the state that fence is in. Yikes! New one this spring for certain.

For now I am enjoying the pickles we made, the peach and the raspberry jam. And the occasional green beans. Hubby still has various pickled squash and some frozen. I think we just finished the last loaf of zucchini bread. Used the last of the tomato sauce in chili last week. Definitely makes a noticeable difference in the taste.

[tob2]

Glad to hear you are feeling better. No gardening these days as it is too cold. Planters covered up against the weather. One morning, VA tied with a 100 year old low temperature in the morning - 15 degrees! A three day warm-up is eroding because of the rapid drop in temperature! I have been looking at the seed catalogues, wishing there was enough room for me to grow much more than I do now. Happy New Year!

[greeneyes]

Jalepeno is the hottest I can handle, and hubby can’t even handle putting canned green chilis in my Chili con Carne.