Posted on 12/29/2018 6:10:27 PM PST by greeneyes
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds.
From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
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how cold does your area get?.......can this lettuce survive really cold temps?
Do you cut your own firewood? Firewood here is $300 to 350 a cord so we put in a gas insert. We have chosen to not install window curtains because of the views out side and that adds to our heating costs. My vetch overcrop is staying ahead of the weeds and looks great...
I have not harvested turmeric yet. I had some tubers given to me end of last winter which I transplanted. Then I just dug them up and repotted to let them grow some more.
Several I thought were dead, but the person who gave them to me told me that if I planted them, they would “come back” and they did. It took a couple of months and so they weren’t very big. I did have one that had stalks about 30” tall-probably could have harvested, but didn’t-just transplanted to bring it in.
I’d think that any citrus fertilizer would be good for banana, but I have no experience/knowledge. I use dyna-gro 7-9-5 which has minerals too for all my veggies and fruits that are potted-it works well on the lemon tree too, even though it’s not specifically for citrus.
We get temps from around -5 to 49 in the winters. Usually not below -5 F, but have had worse. Typically though, the temp changes quickly, so freezing isn’t prolonged.
Some winters though we do have a couple of months of non-stop freezing cold. It’s been years since we had one of those, but I do expect them to start up again, due to lack of solar activity.
One of the colder winters, I put some straw on top of the row covers to give it additional protection. Sometimes on a sunny day in the 40s I will roll up the row cover in the afternoon for additional sun and mold prevention and then cover it up again when sun starts to go down.
Little Gem lettuce also did well in winter.
When the kids were small, the neighborhood guys used to go out to the nearby Federal Forest and cut up the wood and bring it back - neighbor was a Forest Ranger, and always knew where the trees marked were.
Now we have lots of wood stacked, but rarely use it-from the trees hubby cut down as he built more and more gardens. We also have 20 uncleared acres north of town, in case we would need it.
In the 80s and 90s we could get a load of wood for 50 bucks. I have no idea what it costs today. Next time I have a local paper I’ll check to see if the price has gone up.
Nice pics. Thanks for sharing.
Another thing I could do, which hasn’t been necessary yet:
One of the raised beds is against a retaining wall, which has an outdoor electrical out let. I could plug in a 100 watt bulb and get enough heat for the coldest nights. I have about a dozen stashed away along with some 75 and 60 incandescents.
I’d encircle them with something to keep the row cover off the light. Might even be able to use a crock pot when I have no more light bulbs.
Avoid creosote-treated wood.
It is deadly poison and will leach into the soil.
Utility poles and RR ties in some locations still use this product to keep bugs at bay.
Koppers Corp is the main importer from steel mills in Mexico.
Me neither!
An illuminted light bulb inserted in the boat’s I/O engine compartment will ward off a freeze as long as it isn’t really really cold.
It appears some people actually consume it intentionally.
That might be worth trying.
Linseed is mixed as an extended with paint.
I have suffered a similar fate coming from the 'snowey climes' into citrus & palm country gardening.
I suggest you contact the nearest Farm Bureau, Agriculture college, and or Co-Operative Extension office.
Many of these non-profits will offer free, or low cost, brochures and information fact sheets.
They can offer information as to the local climatic season planting/ harvesting cycle, pests, and will be happy to do it.
Use local garden supply centers for information about what cultivars do best in your area;
the smaller suppliers will be the most helpful, and will take time to explain.
Stay in touch, and keep us informed as to how you are doing;
you will learn more from your failures, ..than you will from your successes !
Exactly true !
There is a cold frame for spring start-ups, and by adding more compost there is heat given off
Then , by adding a "hot manure" (high nitrogen content)like fresh horse or chicken manure
the compost gives off heat to the soil while oxidizing and breaking down.
Instructions for cold frames and hot beds (cold frame with manure)can be found at :
http://www.savvygardener.com/Features/cold_frames-hotbeds.html
It should be known that George Washington used both 'Cold frames' and "hot beds" in colonial times in Mt. Vernon.
The hot bed is nothing new; it's a cold frame with a Nitrogen source; it's just a forgotten horticultural practice.
If using untreated wood, use wood that is rot resistant:
spruce , locust, cedar (but cedar is expensive).
Contact a local sawmill in your area to see what they suggest, given your application.
We have done our own wood for 34 years. Our 10 acres is mostly red oak, a little cherry and sassafras. Our house was built in 1984 and is super insulated. We burn less than 2 cords a winter in the downstairs woodstove. We only burn in the evening. The rest of the time it’s LP gas we have “the pig” outside. So our LP bill is pretty low. Plus our house is passive solar. That extra insulation was really worth it. We have lots of glass too, two 8 foot sliders and one 16 foot slider. No curtains. Great view.
I’ve actually been very happy building my beds with cinderblocks. I turn them hole-side up, fill them up with dirt, and use them as flowerpots for herbs/bush beans/other small plants, up to about broccoli size.
Cool and damp in Southwest Missouri this weekend. We’re shacked up in a condo in Branson for a few days. No water coming out of Table Rock which has made the trout fishing on Taneycomo less than good. We’ve managed to fool a few, but we’re not breaking any records for sure. Rain chased us off the lake this afternoon. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
I’ve considered using some sort of masonry, but unless I cement it together and pour some sort of a footing I expect it would fall apart after a few years.
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