23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Peter1142, could you protect carrots with a simple low tunnel of garden fabric? I have a portable one I use to protect a late planting of bush beans from frost. We usually get a frost mid-September but if they can get through that we get some good weather and fresh beans. I just planted bush beans after harvesting garlic.
I've had good luck with spinach wintering over without protection. Even without good snowfall, it started growing in early spring. So, if it doesn't get big enough for harvest, you can always wait until spring.
Mollyjane, I think you can plant broccoli, spinach, lettuce, greens and beets. When is your first frost date? I used Johnny's Seeds calculator to get a list.
Peter, I have had carrots do fine with the first few frosts (mine is usually October 15th). Even after that, even if the tops die, a layer mulch makes mine harvestable for some time into the winter. I would start them now, in fact, I need to go out and start some.
RIght now, I've got squash growing in the direction of the cabbage, that I'll be harvesting on an ongoing basis. Just like I have zucchini gradually taking over the space where the lettuce has been.
Of course, the plants don't always grow on my schedule.
I know. I don't quite understand that article's point. I wish they would develop them for just that reason. Gardeners with limited space don't want to devote a whole vine's worth of ground to a pollinator they don't want to eat.
But what I can't understand is the failure/inability/indifference to developing a parthenocarpic cucumis melon.
Bush beans, okra, a couple of dwarf tomato plants, Brussel Sprouts, plus any of the Fall vegetable crops can be planted in a couple of weeks - leafy greens, etc. Check out all the other 'what can I plant now' discussions running here right now for more ideas.
Dave
I am concerned aboout the botulisim scare. And is there any way to know for sure that the garlic bulbs and/or scapes are free from botulism. Are there any bloggers that know a lot about this subject?
It is important to keep botulism in perspective rather than to let it scare you. First understand the c. botulinum spores are all around us all the time in the air and especially common in soil. You live with them all the time.
But the spores pose no threat to you. The threat is from the toxins they produce if food contaminated with them is stored in an anaerobic environment and you then ingest that food. So in this case your fears are totally unfounded.
Is there anyway to know if your garlic is free from spores? The odds are high that they are not, that they do have spores on them as well as other soil-borne bacteria since they were grown in the ground. But those spores won't hurt you anyway so there is no need to worry about it. Before you would eat the garlic anyway you would wash and peel it and likely cook it in some way. That eliminates the problem.
Not sure why you would want to read a blog about it. Blogging is just one person's personal opinion, not facts. If you want to learn more about it go to a legit info source on botulism like the CDC website or NCHFP.
Dave
Thank you everyone for helping with my question on garlic scapes. I realize now that I harvested the scapes too soon and they are not developed enough to plant this fall. And yes I do know that each seed will give me only one clove and not a bulb. I enjoy experimenting. this is my first time experimenting with scapes to eat. so......I waited too long to harvest the scapes to eat. They were too big. Lesson learned. And I will check out the info sites you mentioned Dave. Thanks again everyone. (note:) Its a good thing I only tried this with a few scapes. I still have enough bubils that are almost ready to cut for seed. So next year's garlic crop I'll remember to cut some of the scapes when the tops are still small so I can try some recipes I've found online.
Thanks, galinas. We had a lot of clouds over the weekend so I thought that would give the plants some time to bounce back. They have perked up a bit, some better than others but the tomato plants have continued to curl up (the entire branch, not just the leaves), although one did set fruit. This morning, to my horror, I noticed that the edges of the leaves of several of the plants have black/brown edges. Is this just stress from all the rain or a bacterial infection? Should I pull these plants up so it doesn't spread?
A couple of weeks ago deer browsed some bush beans with big catnip plants growing on two sides. I don't think it's much of a deterrent, though it's a great bee plant. I let it reseed and keep 3-4 plants a summer.
Panels of fencing laid on the ground beneath fruit trees helps some -- the deer don't like stepping on it. Ditto sheet metal roofing.
Thanks Planatus,
That is why I asked! I didn't think it would work!
I picked up some old pallets from our shipping dept. as a quick fix and laid them around my other fruit trees. Because I didn't think they would cross them, so far so good.
I'm about done picking the rest of the nectarines and I'm waiting on the few apples that I have. A late frost killed almost all of my fruit tree blossoms and fruit. I didn't get a single peach, cherry, or pear.
All your questions are discussed and answered in detail in the many other discussions here about SVB that the search here will pull up for you. Just type SVB in the forum search bar at the bottom of the page. That way we don't have to type all the same info over and over again. :)
As to row covers, you only briefly uncover to hand pollinate then replace the cover. Bt is the abbreviation for Bacillus Thuringiensis, a bacterial-based pest control specifically for caterpillar type pest. It is sold under several brand names including Dipel and Thuricide.
Dave.
Here in the great North (near Detroit) I have seen no signs so far, and they usually show up for the 4th of July. I have painted the stems with old BT liquid (very stinky, I use Dipel now but it is a good way to use that mess) so I can not be 100% sure it was the winter, but one neighbor has planted zucchini for the first time, no BT not anything else, and they are completely unblemished. We are close to the northern range of SVB and I wonder if this winter has pushed the range south 100 miles or so.
It is very likely your soil mixture is unbalanced. In what way is nearly impossible to say. Peat has nearly no fertility in it and compost is extremely variable. Bagged composts are notoriously crap, often made with "forest products", meaning lumber mill sawdust. More marketing goodness than anything else. Your 2-5-3 fertilizer has only three things in it out of many needed for healthy plant growth. And as far as you know, none of these were actually deficient in your soil mixture to begin with. You may in fact have too much of something. That's why I prefer to use half soil and half organic materials in raised beds. That way I can add lime or whatever as indicated by my other (not raised) garden bed soil tests.
When you throw together materials for raised beds, it's often a guessing game as to whether it's adequate or not. That's why old Mel tells you use five different sources of compost. Because then you have a better chance of getting the things you need. But it's still a crap shoot.
It sounds like you have Jobes organic fert am I right? That stuff is good, but it doesnt give the plants the nitrogen kick I think they need to get you going in a container. It just takes too long to become available and sometimes it may be washed out of the container before it can even be used. I do use Jobes, but I also supplement with compost tea and Alaska Fish emulsifier at least once a month or more often if needed. It is also at Lowes/HD. It works great at getting your plants through those slumps.
A better comparison would be daylilies. Asparagus is not hard to please and will generally grow anywhere daylilies would do okay.
In most climates the purpose of the winter mulch is to prevent winter weeds and contribute to soil fertility, so just about anything will do. It does not have to be 6 inches deep unless you're in a cold climate with scant snow cover.
Just right for peas. And they add nitrogen to the soil.