Got a shipment of Yakon, figs, and comfrey. Yakon and figs were worse for wear - I think they might have gotten frozen in transit.
Winter wheat, rye, and garlic continue. Rest of the week is cloudy some rain, but finally nights in 40s and 50s are predicted.
I received a FRmail giving weather forecast from 4/16 which I'll share:
Just heard todays’ Bastardi video He said that our unusual cold in the Spring correlates to El Nino years, and generally in El Nino years there is also an early Fall.
Coincidentally, Europe, he believes is a “bell-weather” canary in the tunnel for what we can expect this summer, and right now they are unusually hot; signifying a very hot summer for us in the USA.
That translates to a shorter than usual growing season. I think you judged wisely when you selected short season crops, at least one climate zone colder than what you have in Missouri.
Hope all is well with you. Have a great weekend. Prayers up for all. God Bless.
Pinging the list.
I seem to recall that someone asked to be added to the gardening list. However, if so, I failed to write it on my to do list, and I can’t seem to find it.
Apologies, if you are that person. Please send me a FRmail and I’ll try to do better next time.
I’ve read that Zone 4/5 is going to have it hot and dry this growing season, too. I’m not happy to hear of an ‘early’ Fall! Dammit! Mother Nature OWES US! We are at LEAST ONE MONTH BEHIND! Grrr!
We had 6” of SNOW on Wednesday and then 45 degrees on Thursday and 58 degrees, today! All of the snow is gone, except on the north side of the house where it never melts until Memorial Day Weekend. ;)
I saw BATS for the first time this season, but I’m thinking they’re not going to find a whole lot to eat yet, though there was a big hatch of everyday houseflies, today. ;) Eat them!!
We had to stop construction on the Greenhouse due to missing parts, so we are driving to Iowa on Monday to get what we need. If we ordered from Farm Tek, our order was about $30 but the shipping was $140.00!?!? HUH?
So...Road Trip! I ordered the parts needed today and we will drive the 3 hours round trip, have lunch along the way and make a day of it for $140 bucks! Yeesh!
I’m kinda EXCITED to see Farm Tek in person. I have a feeling that we’ll end up SPENDING the $140 in shipping we were trying to save. ;)
CAUTION! This site is CATNIP! You have been warned!
http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/home
Thank goodness my romaine lettuce is finally mature. No E. Coli for me!
Got the upper patch (pretty shady) tilled a couple of days ago, now trying to decide what to plant up there.
Got some nasturtium and sunflower seed in the ground, spiked all the fruit trees, and got the lawn mowed JUST before it rained...
Will taters do ok in a relatively shady spot? It gets direct sun for only about 2-3 hours a day, as it’s nearly totally surrounded by 40+ foot trees on 3 sides, and a 6’ hedge to the SE (all belonging to the neighbor). Nothing else I’ve tried has done well up there, so I am open to suggestions.
Oh, the poppies I was worried about have come on really strong all of a sudden. Where it was bare, looks like lawn now, with the first sets of leaves just starting to show.
Very amateur gardener here in Southern California.
1. Our chard is wimpy and small despite that we planted it a couple of months ago. It’s about 6 inches and that’s it.
Should we eat it and move on with life?
2. I know four leaf clovers are supposed to be rare, but we have a patch of oxalis in our yard that has produced a whole lot of four-6 leaf clovers, and one eight leaf. (Yes, these are weeds, not intentional plantings).
3. At least the onions are following directions.
God bless all of you who grow things. I hope to follow your garden path....
Hello all from Louisiana! I am getting somewhat acclimated and a friend of mine is getting some planting success with some tomatoes and basil etc.... I am doing the trimming and lawn work to get used to basics . Lot’s of clay down here as opposed to the rich top soil in Maine that I was accustomed to , butit seems to me that I should be able to grow just about anything down here with the climate as it is!
Interested in hearing everybody’s favorite tomato variety. I love Cherokee purple, mortgage lifter, a good beefsteak. So do the deer. :(
The past several years my production has gone way down. I end up with plants that just look diseased. It has been frustrating as I have thought it was soil nutrition/minerals. I need to build raised beds so I can start with fresh soil.
I’m in Atlanta and going to wait another week to plant.
Started cleaning up the garden yesterday and will till today.
No point in jeopardizing the 200+ seedlings that I started from seed.
I’ve heard quite few local sob stories from people who planted a few weeks back.
Last year we had rain and nighttime temps in the low 40’s the first two weeks of May.
That mean one thing for maters - black canker!
Besides, summer crops *do not* like cold soil.
70+ degrees is the ideal temp for them.
Greetings from southern New Hampshire! It is sunny and 40 right now, but this past week, we had, you guessed it, about an inch or so of that white *^$&! That was the night after I tried to start the tiller. Need starting fluid.
Barb’s seedlings are doing nicely. Yesterday, I started on a long-delayed effort to clear the brush from a number of trees we had cut-down a couple of years ago. It will be a summer-long project, as for some reason, at 71, I am not able to wield a chainsaw all day and dance all night!
I did connect and pressurize the backyard water system, yesterday. That is the official start of warm weather. I hope to get started on the underground water distribution this week. It is supposed to be up in the 50s and 60s this for the next two weeks, so I may re-mount the snow thrower on the tractor!
Not much going on around here. Had some family medical drama so was late getting started with tomatoes, we’ll see if I actually get any tomatoes from those. Bastardi has predicted a hot summer for a while now so we’re going to focus on okra, blackeyed peas, lima beans, the long asian bean thingies and sweet potatoes. Also some rice, tef and sorghum.
Incidentally, Sand Hill has bimonthly specials now and sweet potatoes are on sale right now along with peppers and tomatoes.
https://www.sandhillpreservation.com/2016-year-in-review
Anyone know anything about required ambient temperatures for hydroponic gardening?
Was contemplating trying it in my basement, where the temperature is in the 50’s year around ... drifting up and down a few degrees with the seasons.
On the other end, I think it's the carrots going well, since I dropped soooo many seeds into the starters - too hard to see the seeds one by one, lol. I'm going to let them get strong and then maybe separate.
Down on that end I put Serrano Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Sweet Snacking Pepper, Red/Green/Orange Pepper. The distribution I didn't save - well they're going in the same long planter - so I'll be able to keep them in general groups. It's worked before. Might try to pull the Bell Peppers to somewhere else since they need more room.
My 3 little Early Girl tomato plants (in 2 containers) are staying healthy on the table (where everything is) and I have some Sweet Million Tomato and Cherry Tomato starting in an egg carton with Jiffy starters (bought a box of 36).
Those are a week or two from sprouting. Outside temps still swinging so don't plan on putting anything outside for at least a couple of weeks or more.
Got a small chicken wire roll and stakes to block off the yard garden - it's not too big - it will be getting the watermelon and the carrots eventually.
I NOW HAVE A WEBSITE. IF YOU WANT MY BOOK, “EMERGENCIES HAPPEN! BE PREPARED NOW!”, PLEASE GO TO THE WEBSITE, CLICK ON “CONTACT”, SEND A MESSAGE YOU WANT THE BOOK, AND I WILL SEND YOU A MESSAGE WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE.
THERE IS A GARDENING SECTION IN THE BOOK AND, IN THE CREDITS IN FRONT OF THE BOOK, I GAVE CREDIT TO THIS GARDENING THREAD FOR HELPING ME LEARN HOW TO GROW FOOD. I ALSO DEDICATED THE BOOK TO JRANDOMFREEPER, JOHNNY. I WANT HIS MEMORY TO REMAIN ALIVE. FREE REPUBLIC WAS HIS FAMILY.
Joe Bastardi is the “King” of weather. I always considered what he said when I was planning when to start seed under a grow lamp inside and when to plant.
Hadn’t paid attention to my onion bulbs. I kept back only the smallest bulbs of the 100 (supposedly) in the WM $3 bag.
So I’m guessing I put 75 down. I now have 60 plants coming up. Was surprised when I went out to water (now that the weather is turning). We had some snow and 2 or 3 really cold nights but they survived in the pots. Well 60 ot 75 did.
We got a lot of rain today and then Sunny the next few days with better temps. I’ll have to count again in 3 days to see if anything has changed.
Meanwhile, my indoor starts are doing well. The watermelon REALLY took off. The plants are all now 3-4 inches long. It’s fun to see how they turn away from the window at night to point towards the single lamp going in the living room.
Squash are coming on strong, too. I have GOT to find a place to put them. Same with the chives, and some tomato seedlings are starting.