Posted on 09/26/2014 12:43:51 PM PDT by greeneyes
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/891/
I've overwintered geraniums by just pulling them up, shaking most of the dirt off, putting them in a tightly closed blaqck plastiv garbage bag, and then putting that bag next to the house, covered with leaves all winter to keep it from freezing.
I am in TX, so your locale gets a lot colder..Out of 12 geraniums, 9 survived when I replanted them in the spring.
I remember my Mom just burying begonia leaves halfway in little pots, and propagating new plants that way...
Hubby likes the heirlooms, because of the seed savings. However, for some reason when he goes to the local ranch/feed store he doesn’t ask too many questions.
Example what is the most popular corn that people like to eat? Answer: peaches and cream - ok I’ll take some of that.
Example what is a bush bean that can be used for both green beans and dried beans. That one? ok I’ll take it.
When he gets home he doesn’t usually know the name, and he never knows if it’s heirloom or GMO free.
He does know that it’s really cheap.
Mr. T has always preferred buying transplants, but if it wasn’t for him, I’d never have learned how to grow vegetables. We’ve been on this journey together, and it’s been so much fun. :)
” So now I’m wondering if I can do this same kind of thing with other plants that I usually think of as annuals.”
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Many people think of peppers as annuals, but they are really perennials. I have a prize Gypsy pepper that has about 15 almost ready peppers on it now, and it’s still blooming, but the best part is the cuttings that I have been able to start. One of the cuttings is only about an inch or so tall so far, but it already has visible multiple bloom buds! Now my main problem is going to be keeping them alive thru the winter. (”Gypsy” is a hybrid, so seeds are not reliable.) It is the best pepper I have seen for Central TX, and I strongly recommend giving one or more a try if you can find one. Bonnie plants has them on their website, but they didn’t have any for sale this fall.
http://bonnieplants.com/products/vegetables/peppers/gypsy-pepper
We have both been having fun too. It’s a team effort. I do research and order seeds, he does the brawny work, and buys the local stuff, and saves the best of all - native plants already in the yard that produce goodies.
“When he gets home he doesn’t usually know the name, and he never knows if it’s heirloom or GMO free.
He does know that it’s really cheap.”
HA! LOL, my husband did the same until this year. Now he has “caught on”.
And oh, the only tomatoes I put on “my” side of the garden this year were three heirlooms and one hybrid, the heirlooms are still green and have little green tomatoes, in spite of two frosts, and the hybrid was totally dried up and done. In NY! Says something I think.
I am hoping he’ll get the message soon.
I did have one hybrid this year that I bought as a plant already started, since my initial seed starting failed, and I wanted to get something transplanted. It was DET variety so it’s already done, but the roma heirlooms are still producing and they are DET too IIRC.
A famous quote from Richard Petty back when he was racing stock cars was “I would rather be lucky than good any day”
Good luck is a good thing.LOL
Gunny G: Unusual Bamboo...
http://gunnyg.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/gunny-g-phyllostachys-praecox-viridisulcata/
Dick Gaines
GunnyG @ gmail.com
*****
“Division of labor” is a wonderful thing. :)
when cleaning up the gardening pots, I discovered baby egg plants! How long does it take for them to mature?
I have some pix of Shaw if you’re interested...
Sand and compost (moisture retention fiber) will help.
Too much sand , root corps will dry out
Compost and fiber (leaves,sawdust with nitrogen) will allow for soil compaction and will allow for straighter root production, less mishapen roots .
Were they killing frosts , or "hoar fost"
Killing frost (below 31 degrees for a lenght of time)will kill all vegetation.
"Hoar frost" is frost crystals on leaves , but plants may survive.
Cloche or cold frames plantings will still survive.
Try to extend your season through innovation, micro-climate , and possible error - the process of learning !
You still have a number of days of warm weather.. at least 10 days to get a fall garden in..
Limit your losses , but stretch yourself out !!
You are at least two temperature zones warmer than me, and I am still planting .
Farmers - the worlds first gamblers, who try to defy "mother nature", by bringing in a crop when other say you can't !!
For some reason I am recalling that you can take successive cuttings for certain plants, up to 24 -32 generations , depneding on the plant .
Apparently, the genertic code goes all 'wookie-wobbly' between the 24-32 generation cuttings thru gentetic mutations, and reverts back to the original plantings.
Thats not Gospel, but that is how I remember it according to a geneticist at Co-operative Extension.
For example : first cuttings from geraniums can be held over till next year, but flowers will shatter easier, but will be hardier to frost,
and keep producing flowers moreso than seedlings, even beyond a light frost due to genetic mutations . YMMV
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