I am wondering if anyone in the forum has encountered this problem and how you dealt with it. Thank you for any information you can provide.
At this rate there could be a repeat of the year without summer which was in the early 1900's. I did get some beets planted, but I don't think they will sprout in weather like this.
Meanwhile the indoors stuff is begging to go outside, if only it would warm up enough. I am just considering this a great learning opportunity on the way to growing and processing my own food. A great challenge to help us learn how to deal when things aren't perfect.
Have a great weekend. God Bless.
IBTP!
Pinging the List.
Models indicate the weather might do something similar (albeit a bit warmer) again next week.
Hope those models are wrong wrong wrong.
We might get FROST tonight. Unheard of for the first week in May. Thankfully I haven’t put any tomatoes or peppers out yet or actually planted any warm season stuff at all. We’ll have to cover our blueberries tonight and bring in all the stuff on the driveway that’s waiting to go in the garden.
I have 3 256 divot trays of rice seedlings now. I’m guessing about 80-90% germination. So far I’ve started the Hmong Sticky and the Carolina Gold. Those have to go out next weekend regardless of the weather.
Good Evening!
Stuff is really growing great in my little balcony herb garden. Now every omelet, every salad, and every sauce has real, freshly cut herbs. Gourmet Dining Al Fresco!
Saw the ‘ping’ and thought “what? it’s Friday already?” Evidently so!!
I did get my brand new, very small (36 sq ft) garden hacked out of the front pasture Wednesday. The sod/grass is off, now need to dig the soil out deeper and amend it with compost, etc. Saturday or Sunday is looking like the day. My SIL planted her stuff earlier (2-3 weeks ago) & most of her plants have brown ‘cold burn’ spots so I’m not feeling too bad about not having planted yet .... still pretty chilly around here.
I planted a few squash and cucumber seeds last week thinking we wouldn’t have anymore below freezing weather. Fortunately the plants haven’t come up yet. Our latest frost on record is May 6 or 7 but this has been a year of broken records both highs and lows (Texas Panhandle).
I am wondering if anyone in the forum has encountered this problem and how you dealt with it. Thank you for any information you can provide.
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Armenian cucumber
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Various squash and melons.
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Other side of the squash patch.
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First Snapdragon bloom.
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Tomatoes on the Topsy-Turvy.
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Banana pepper.
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Zucchini squash,
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Some kind of bug. Any ideas?
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Cherry tomatoes.
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First Sunflower bloom.
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I watched the darndest little drama unfold in my garden earlier this week. I watched a wasp land on one of my Zinnias and crawl under the flower petals. He must have done something under there, because in about 5 seconds this green caterpillar came rushing out of the middle of the flower. The wasp in turn rushed up to the top of the flower and ate that whole caterpillar right then and there! I found out later it was probably a Paper Wasp. Apparently, plants put out some kind of distress odor when they are being attacked by caterpillars. These wasps sniff around for the scent, and when they find it, know just what to do. Amazing.
It has been generally warm enough to plant for 3 weeks here, but we have had 2 late frosts in that time. One was a real hard freeze. Got all my pears, plums and apricots.
Blackberries are blooming, strawberries are just beginning to put on, early crop of figs looks good,
I just planted 2 cherry bushes today. Have no idea if they will produce here, but am hoping, My brother’s girl friend ordered them for me with some of her trees.
Wheat crop (seed wheat) is still very much in doubt. It will produce but extreme dry winter conditions will limit production and the late freeze might have damaged some of the heads. We had no carry-over last year so we really need the production to take care of our normal customers.
We had a cold front again yesterday and last night. It came close, but did not freeze last night. I do not remember ever having a frost in May.
Hope your weather begins to be cooperative soon.
Best regards my FRiend.
Well, here in Alpharetta, Ga. it has been unseasonably cool and plenty wet, especially just when time’s available to get outside.
After a late start planting last Spring, I swore to be more timely this go round. So here I am overflowing with seedlings started weeks ago. Many of the beer cups I used are starting to become root bound, so come whatever the weather short of monsoon, stuff’s going in this weekend. The potatoes and tomatoes already in the ground have looked so lonely. Plus I can tell my wife’s tolerance in my turning her sunroom into a potting shed is getting old.
As an amusing aside, yesterday she likened summer gardening to childbirth. She’s qualified to say anything she likes after 4 boys and a girl. Anyway, some time after giving birth, the pain and discomfort of all those months seem to vanish, so much so that after a sufficient time has passed, one might even consider doing it all over again. She says that’s why we don’t do a fall garden. We first need to forget all the summer’s prolonged hard work that seems to hit us around September each year.
Lastly, I ran upon a new term the other day, which was used in one of those trendy backpacking/outdoor catalogs that portrays the models pictured in some adventurous, planet saving, activity we mere journeymen can only dream about. So I’m wondering if we have any “EXTREME GARDENERS” here. Quite a fetching title. And I do wonder if this is something a conservative can possibly even hope to aspire to someday?
Garden is looking good. I have a couple of almost tennis ball size tomatoes on two plants. My lettuce and turnips are growing OK. Strawberry plants were a bust. Just a few berries this year. Still very dry here.
My sister in the San Antonio area lost her entire garden to a hail storm this past Monday. No big hail, but it tore the entire area up and the trees have no leaves. They did get 5” of rain before the hail broke the gage.
my dear husband it busy building a walk in cooler and meat shop...for our use, and family/friends....he'll build a smoker later...
Fortunately the temps did not drop below 30, so I am hoping my nearly in full bloom strawberries survived. The shock of this was that we reached the 80s and in a matter of few hours ‘old man winter’ blew in an Arctic blast’. I figure Obama’s scheme to go green energy is over reacting. (I can barely bear watching all the greenies on the Weather Channel these days.(s/)
It has rained on and off all day with the high reaching 37. Overnight is suppose to be 35. I have read strawberry blossoms will not get damaged if the temps stay above the 28 degrees without any kind of protection. It was impossible to cover these plants without the heavy rain then snow mashing them. So I left them uncovered and time will tell.
Hmmmm....it’s 80 today in western Oregon, but a cold front is moving our way, from what I’ve heard
I may have to institute a different type of pest control this year.
We built and planted a 3' x 18' raised bed using square foot gardening method for vegetables. Also creating an area - for the grand niece and nephew - for pumpkins. Container garden for herbs and going to try to grow small melons in containers using vertical technique - heard pantyhose were great to hold the melons off the ground??? We shall see...
Funny thing last weekend... went to Home Depot to get some bender board and the seed area was swamped with people.... many young families buying seeds. I have never seen this intense interest in gardening. The seed section was at least four times as large as it ever was in the past 20 years I have lived here. People are waking up... these skills are something they need to hone.
Hi greeneyes and all!
Well, we had our cold snap. Darlin had helped me with covering the roses and the bulbs which had been budding out. We uncovered them today and they survived nicely.
I found that a few more of the seeds I started in cups have sprouted...others haven’t yet. I started a few more - scalloped white squash, and spinach.
I’m hoping to actually plant some of the little guys this weekend, Al Gore or no Al Gore!
You said that weather is too cool for planting there in MO.
What does the low temperature need to be in order to plant? Upper 30’s aren’t freezing...although, a refrigerator is about 40 which slows down cellular metabolism. Hmmmmmmmm. Maybe I can hope all I want, but oh well, maybe I need to try to nurse the little seedlings along a bit longer.
It did get to a gorgeous 65-70 degrees this afternoon.
I agree about the learning opportunity you refer to. Precisely my thought as well!
Got spring greens and roots in and some cabbage transplants. That’s all. Usually I’m picking baby greens by now and starting to plant corn and transplant tomatoes. This is nuts.
Ugh from cold and soggy Central Missouri. #1 Daughter Leah is home from the USMC for a couple weeks of pre-deployment leave. We had plans to go see some dirt track sprint car racing in Wheatland, MO tonight but Mother Nature put the kabosh on that.
I did make it to the nursery earlier this week to get tomato, pepper and eggplant. Got all of the 44 tomatoes re-potted. Had to put everything I bought in the barn to protect from the cold nighttime temps. The forecast is looking up so I’ll bring them all out tomorrow morning.
I’m in Chicago for tech training all of next week so won’t be able to get a doggone thing done until the weekend. Hopefully the weather will be nice while I’m gone and I’ll be able to get all of the stuff I bought into the dirt after I get home.
QUESTION!!
I have a Great White Northern bean plant that got broken a couple weeks ago during all the backing and forthing from the kitchen to outside. It is about a foot tall, except it broke about 1/4 inch above the joint and droops. We have been amazed at it still somehow hanging on and thriving despite the break. I’m concerned that once I stake it, a little breeze might cause the break to completely sever.
I am thinking that the likelihood that it will survive is pretty slim, but as long as it is hanging on I want to give it a shot!
The QUESTION I have is:
Does anyone know if the adhesive on scotch tape, masking tape, or duct tape would be harmful?? I’ve been thinking that splinting it might be its best chance. Or do you have any other suggestions for me to help it out?
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Weather is in 60-70 range today. Took a deep breath and went ahead and planted some things.
Got the little SWEET POTATO sprout into the dirt. It’s in a pot which is filled about 1/3 up. Partially covered a couple of the vines. Plan to add dirt as it grows. That seems to be what will work according to what I’ve read. Have no idea. We’ll see.
Planted the AMARANTH sprouts. I ended up with two of them, and we’ll see how those do as well. I put one near the back door and the other in the bed with the bulbs.
Planted some TOMATO sprouts. They are in pots. Also planted some SPINACH seeds in a pot next to the oregano/thyme pot.
De-grassed about 2ftx6in strip next to bulb bed to enlarge it. Planted the 4 OKRA sprouts in the bed.
I wanted to plant my BEAN SPROUTS, but still haven’t worked out what will be my staking method.
Waiting on the new bunch of SUNFLOWER seeds to sprout. Lost the others.