24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

Planting garlic right now is fine I think, but you might not get to see any sprouts until spring time when the tulips and daffodils come up. But your skips will make roots. EXCEPT, we get a very warm rest of DEC and JAN.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
Creek-side(5)

I live in Iowa, and I planted garlic in February of last year, and I had a decent crop. They weren't big bulbs, but I just used some organic garlic I bought at Trader Joe's.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)(9/Sunset 14)

I am also in N Cal, 45 miles SW of Sacto. I did put out some garlic this weekend, and I've heard folks in cold places do this even after a freeze, but most things have been out for at least 4 weeks. I like to wait until it cools off, and after the first rain for sugar snap peas, chard, collards, and mustard, and try not to go later than Thanksgiving for the garlic shallots and favas. None of it is harvested until the spring, although I often get usable greens over the winter.

This December seems unprecedented though, and I have had to cover EVERYTHING this week. I usually like the fall/winter/spring garden because it takes less effort than gardening when it's 90 plus degrees, and dry.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
galasoneth(8b)

Thanks for all your help. I have really good planting schedules for my area received from our local extension office. It really comes down to that I need to experiment. Just wanted to get some thoughts. They recommend plant by nov 1st. But then we start our same plants around the end of January. Ill be mostly planting from the Brassica family and some lettuce. Ill try planting some end of Dec and see what happens.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

You can make pickles out of them. The recipe I linked to calls for using green, unripe canteloupe. I've never made the pickles nor tasted them though.

Rodney

Here is a link that might be useful: Canteloupe Pickles- NCHFP

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Well, I left these guys on until it froze, by which time the vines were long gone, then I picked them. I ended up cutting them up into chunks (they were flavorful and bright orange, but not that sweet), and I just made them into smoothies. Blend them up with ice cream, milk, and honey or sugar. Cantaloupy and really nice.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
qkrick(8b)

Planted spinach 11/7 and I already have a flower bed. :

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

You can still harvest and eat them. But it is amazing that this (bolting) happened in zone 8b. You must have had a very warm fall season.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

I would plant them closely and as they get bigger I would thin them for use.
Finally I will have them about 6" apart. I do this with swiss chard.
Younger chards, beets can be used just like spinach.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
carol_in_california

I received beets with lots of greens on top last week in my CSA box.
I cooked them with a little bit of bacon and onion. They are very tasty. (These are organically grown here locally.)
I roasted the beets and they are good, too.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
ceth_k(11)

Sprouts turned yellow and died, sounded like chemical burn to me.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
pnbrown

I have also had seedling failures with cheap "potting" soils. They are typically very crude mixes of nasty stuff high-N OM, sludges and manures. A large mature plant can handle it and even make use of it, but a seedling cannot, unless it is massively diluted.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
sunnibel7 Md 7(7)

Depends, I would think. If the pest is something that normally overwinters, then maybe a little extra predation and other death might happen compared to a mild winter. But if the pest is something that has really blossomed in numbers because of recent mild winters, then a long cold winter should knock them back considerably. I'm thinking of the nematodes in particular. Where I am is a borderline area for them since they don't withstand freezing well. Hopefully this winter will knock them back to the almost unnoticable population of a few years ago, after our last freezing winter. And of course that depends on whether the weather stays cold. Can't rule out another 80ð January/February yet.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

I agree with sunnibel7. If you live in a warmer climate and the pests are used to having mild winters, I would think the severe cold would have an affect on the next year's pest population. However, like here in Michigan where it usually gets cold the pests are used to it. So a quick cold snap like this isn't going to due much in terms of pest control. The adult pests have laid their eggs already, the adults are dead, and the immature stages of the bugs are already overwintering.

Rodney

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
ashita(10a)

Thanks, Planatus! I have four lots growing in pots, and they are using the grow lights. Last year I did this and they survived until about February, but I think my living room was too cold when I was out all day. I am thinking of putting them on the cat's heating pad (cat deceased!). As back-up I want to try to keep the vines in water going. They look absolutely wonderful right now, but presumably plants cuttings cannot live by water alone for very long, so I was wondering if I should be putting some kind of fertilizer in the water.

My son says I am obsessed!!

Ashita

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
gardenlen(s/e qld aust)

they will live and grow for quiet a time in water, they are also a shade tolerant plant, growing their lives on the jungle floors with no sun.

they don't need to ramble keep the vines around in circles over itself will be fine.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens growing sweet 'taters and pineapples

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
gardensteph(9 Northern Calif.)

So how were your plants this evening, bucketgirl? After really warm fall, it was 24 degrees at my house this morning, everything frozen solid. Thought i would hsve only mush left after work.But, looks like most of it is ok. We had our first salad of four seasons lettuce and tyee spinach. Only the pea tendrils seem set back. To be safe, i draped plastic dropcloth over my container garden and put a warming lamp in. I hope last night was enough to finally kill the cabbage worms eating my kale.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

This is the unseasonably cold in the West Coast, in early December. Here in Saeattle, WA area we are hitting 14F tonight. The thing is that it has been in the freezing range(under 32F) for the last 48 hours and it will continue for at least another 48 hours. Probably brassica and alliums will sail through. But I suspect a lot of perennial shrubs and flowers might be wiped out. This is far beyond USDA hardiness zones 7b, 8, 9. Feels more like zone 6.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

I imagine that what you buy in the store is leaves. In which case the leaf stalk (petiole) won't grow roots.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
stuffradio

You shouldn't have to turn it over if you want Kale. This Kale plant i have is going into its third year next year. It went to seed once already, but it's still growing a bunch of new Kale on different stems! I just abuse this Kale by picking whenever I want, or cutting back, whatever. It is a strong plant. I am growing Lacinato Kale.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
ceth_k(11)

The female flower is not yet open. I don't see anything unusual here.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
Maxim1122

I had this problem before, the flower will start turning all brown, and eventually drop off the plant...

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
geosankie(5a NEPA)

If the upper side of the leaf has yellow spots then I suspect Downey Mildew. Lots of info on the internet on the subject.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Spinach is subject to all the same fungal and bacterial diseases as most other garden vegetables. Yours looks like Septoria or Cladosporium Leaf Spot to me because of the brown spots with white centers. Septoria is the most common.

But it can be difficult to distinguish from other fungal diseases. See the link below and scroll down to the Leaf Spot section and Google pics of Septoria to compare.

Treatment is a preventative use of fungicides.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Spinach Diseases

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
sweetquietplace(6 WNC Mtn.)

Good idea. Thanks. If I can get a hold of a few of these potatoes I'll see how they do in the mountains. I've got some Mama Amarillos tucked in the ground and mulched over heavily with the hopes that they'll hold 'til spring.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
planatus(6)

You might want to email Tom Wagner at TomWagnerSeeds.com. I don't see Amey currently offered, but he really liked it in the past and may know where to get some seed potatoes.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
rdback(Z6 VA)

Dave, you started out strong with Cherry Bomb, but faded fast after that lol. Looks like an Annuum, which eliminates the rest of them.

Without more info, I would guess Cherry Bomb (heat) or Large Red Cherry (no heat).

Questions to help narrow it down would be:

What's it taste like?
Is it hot?
Are the walls thick?
Are seeds centralized or are they distributed down ribs?

More pics, including interior, would help.

jm2c

Rick

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

I agree. You have to provide more info on TASTE and HEAT level. A long shot of the plant and flowers can be helpful too.

There are peppers, with similar looking, both in sweet and hot class. Foe example there is a cherry that is hot and one that is not. You can keep guessing.

This post was edited by seysonn on Thu, Dec 5, 13 at 7:33

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

McKenzie- went to the niners game today and BAKED! Probably at least 75* and no breeze! We got on the bus at 4:30 and it was still t-shirt weather! Nancy

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

BIG time cold snap for us this week, into the high 20s (I know, I know, but this is CA!)
BUT after the thaw, went out to the garden to read the paper, and as long as a breeze didn't come up, it was wonderful!
I came home from the dentist and couldn't find my hubby, then heard him whistling in the garden...hanging out reading! Soaking it up! Nancy

    Bookmark