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Old 14-02-2016, 06:20 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 851
Default Spring is upon us

Warming weather, blue skies, temps around 70F and up. Looks like spring
is almost here. Tearing out the winter garden in bits. If it looks like
it might bear a bit longer we let it live. Eggplants are gone, one sweet
chili left with at least two fruit on it. Lots of chard, spinach,
mesclun mix, beets and other greens to harvest. Will do our best for those.

Soon we will be going to our favorite garden store and picking up
tomatoes, eggplant, sweet chiles, etc. Black crowder peas came in
yesterday from Victory Seeds, will plant those along the back fence with
string to climb. Have seeds for green beans and everything else we will
plant.

The kumquat tree still has about a dozen fruit on it that will be picked
tomorrow. We make a tossed salad with sliced kumquat fruit mixed in that
is very tasty. Fig and pear trees are starting to put on buds. Need to
prune the pear tree, to many "rain" limbs on that one. Won't take long
to lop them off and set the limbs aside for possible smoking meat later
in the year. We're hoping to get at least a small crop of the Tenousi
pears, a mix of European and Asian pears that is supposed to be tasty.
Tenousi is self pollinating according to the ag agent.

The blueberries are starting to put on buds too, seems the Christmas
tree limbs we laid around the bushes are helping as they slowly turn
into a nice mulch. Need to find a place to rake up a bushel or two of
pine needles to help with the blueberries, they need the acid of those
plants.

We've been getting some days up into the mid-seventies that make me
happy. I could not survive somewhere it gets cold and stays that way for
months. I guess it is because the USN ship I was on in '58-'59 was
always poking around the Atlantic ice shield looking for Russian subs.
Never found one but it was always cold on the bridge, my duty station. I
reckon we Texans from SE Texas just never adapt to cold. I was 18 years
old before I ever saw snow and that wasn't in Texas.

George
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Old 15-02-2016, 04:14 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Default Spring is upon us

George Shirley wrote:

Warming weather, blue skies, temps around 70F and up.
Looks like spring is almost here. Tearing out the winter
garden in bits. If it looks like it might bear a bit
longer we let it live. Eggplants are gone, one sweet chili
left with at least two fruit on it. Lots of chard,
spinach, mesclun mix, beets and other greens to harvest.
Will do our best for those.

Soon we will be going to our favorite garden store and
picking up tomatoes, eggplant, sweet chiles, etc. Black
crowder peas came in yesterday from Victory Seeds, will
plant those along the back fence with string to climb.
Have seeds for green beans and everything else we will
plant.

The kumquat tree still has about a dozen fruit on it that
will be picked tomorrow. We make a tossed salad with
sliced kumquat fruit mixed in that is very tasty. Fig and
pear trees are starting to put on buds. Need to prune the
pear tree, to many "rain" limbs on that one. Won't take
long to lop them off and set the limbs aside for possible
smoking meat later in the year. We're hoping to get at
least a small crop of the Tenousi pears, a mix of European
and Asian pears that is supposed to be tasty. Tenousi is
self pollinating according to the ag agent.

The blueberries are starting to put on buds too, seems the
Christmas tree limbs we laid around the bushes are helping
as they slowly turn into a nice mulch. Need to find a
place to rake up a bushel or two of pine needles to help
with the blueberries, they need the acid of those plants.

We've been getting some days up into the mid-seventies
that make me happy. I could not survive somewhere it gets
cold and stays that way for months. I guess it is because
the USN ship I was on in '58-'59 was always poking around
the Atlantic ice shield looking for Russian subs. Never
found one but it was always cold on the bridge, my duty
station. I reckon we Texans from SE Texas just never adapt
to cold. I was 18 years old before I ever saw snow and
that wasn't in Texas.

George


Rub it in, George. I'm getting snow, changing over to
sleet and freezing rain this afternoon here in SE VA.

I am planning on getting the timer set up for my plant
light and starting some seeds: broccoli, cabbage, and
lettuce. Later I'll add in some tomatoes and other warmer
weather seeds once we get closer to a real spring.

Last year's garden was a disaster. Planted out a month
later than usual due to colder weather lasting an extra
month, then in the summer it was too dry and too hot and
too buggy for anything to produce well.

But we're gardeners! We'll try again next year and every
year with the undying hope that things work out. Besides,
it's like playing the lottery; if you don't play you can't
win. Having had a few jackpot gardens in the past, a repeat
is always something to try for.

Nyssa, who is staying indoors until this white stuff goes
away

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Old 15-02-2016, 04:31 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 851
Default Spring is upon us

On 2/15/2016 9:14 AM, Nyssa wrote:
George Shirley wrote:

Warming weather, blue skies, temps around 70F and up.
Looks like spring is almost here. Tearing out the winter
garden in bits. If it looks like it might bear a bit
longer we let it live. Eggplants are gone, one sweet chili
left with at least two fruit on it. Lots of chard,
spinach, mesclun mix, beets and other greens to harvest.
Will do our best for those.

Soon we will be going to our favorite garden store and
picking up tomatoes, eggplant, sweet chiles, etc. Black
crowder peas came in yesterday from Victory Seeds, will
plant those along the back fence with string to climb.
Have seeds for green beans and everything else we will
plant.

The kumquat tree still has about a dozen fruit on it that
will be picked tomorrow. We make a tossed salad with
sliced kumquat fruit mixed in that is very tasty. Fig and
pear trees are starting to put on buds. Need to prune the
pear tree, to many "rain" limbs on that one. Won't take
long to lop them off and set the limbs aside for possible
smoking meat later in the year. We're hoping to get at
least a small crop of the Tenousi pears, a mix of European
and Asian pears that is supposed to be tasty. Tenousi is
self pollinating according to the ag agent.

The blueberries are starting to put on buds too, seems the
Christmas tree limbs we laid around the bushes are helping
as they slowly turn into a nice mulch. Need to find a
place to rake up a bushel or two of pine needles to help
with the blueberries, they need the acid of those plants.

We've been getting some days up into the mid-seventies
that make me happy. I could not survive somewhere it gets
cold and stays that way for months. I guess it is because
the USN ship I was on in '58-'59 was always poking around
the Atlantic ice shield looking for Russian subs. Never
found one but it was always cold on the bridge, my duty
station. I reckon we Texans from SE Texas just never adapt
to cold. I was 18 years old before I ever saw snow and
that wasn't in Texas.

George


Rub it in, George. I'm getting snow, changing over to
sleet and freezing rain this afternoon here in SE VA.

I am planning on getting the timer set up for my plant
light and starting some seeds: broccoli, cabbage, and
lettuce. Later I'll add in some tomatoes and other warmer
weather seeds once we get closer to a real spring.

Last year's garden was a disaster. Planted out a month
later than usual due to colder weather lasting an extra
month, then in the summer it was too dry and too hot and
too buggy for anything to produce well.

But we're gardeners! We'll try again next year and every
year with the undying hope that things work out. Besides,
it's like playing the lottery; if you don't play you can't
win. Having had a few jackpot gardens in the past, a repeat
is always something to try for.

Nyssa, who is staying indoors until this white stuff goes
away

Yeah, we're hearing the same song as yours from my wife's siblings in
Southern Maryland. They've been hit with lots of snow at least twice
this winter. Weird weather seems to occur at least every other year.

Last year we had tons of rain, several folks died in floods, lots of
property damage. We're hoping for moderate rain this year. Doesn't cost
that much to water our wee little gardens but raised beds like ours need
more rain than gardens directly earth planted.

I'm down in my back again so won't be doing much stooping this season.
Thank goodness for the garden seat that rolls.
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Old 17-02-2016, 06:29 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Default Spring is upon us

On 2/17/2016 10:03 AM, Derald wrote:

Still have time to start tomatoes if I'm going to grow them this
year. Most years, I don't. Eggplant, too. Man, I can't even _give_
eggplant away around here. Except for peppers, I don't, as a rule,
start transplants but just wait 'til we have a couple of weeks with
nights over about 45-50 and plant tomatoes, eggplant, and basil outside
where they're going to live. This year, those all will be in
containers. Late tomatoes need an early start because the "spring"
season is short, made more-so by the containers.

We're trying to eat up all the eggplant delights in the freezer. Had
burgers and eggplant fritters for dinner last night. Looking in the big
freezer it appears that my dear wife has put up about six bags of
fritters, five more containers of ratatouille, another six containers of
eggplant stew. I'm afraid to look for more. G

Victory Seeds! Yay! I got zipper cream seeds from them. They,
Southern Exposure, and Sustainable Seeds are my three main sources for
store-bought seeds. Unfortunately, unless one is quick to telephone and
request it do otherwise, S.E. penalizes online customers with an
(unrequested) end-of-year paper catalog. The pages are too small to be
of much use in starting the wood heater but they do compost.

My first order from Victory, won't be the last. I have a bookmark with
nothing but seed companies in it and am trying to get back to the tried
and true heirloom seeds. I generally send all the useless catalogs to
the recycling bin. Now that we've bought a worm bin and are about ready
to start setting it up I may just use the catalog pages for worm food
and bedding. We're going to use red wigglers as they are good
composters. Have not seen a regular earthworm on this property yet.

A fairly large number of commercial growers is just down the road
from me. They all grow hybrids that were engineered to produce large
berries in warm winter climates (with human intervention). The
shallow-rooted blueberry plants are above grade directly in/on shredded
pine bark, which is top-dressed with fresh stuff annually, immediately
after plants are pruned. At the same time, they're fed a commercial
slow-release azalea or citrus (acidifying) fertilizer plus a healthy
soaking with humic acid. I may be wrong, but AFAIK pine needles do
little to acidify soil.


Probably right there Derald but it does make a nice root cover and is
very cheap around here. Until they built the new subdivision behind us I
could go onto that property, covered with pine forest, and rake up all
the pine needles I needed.

Same here. My first winter experience came while I was in USN "A"
school in Maryland and the second in Boston (I was in USS Boston's last
crew). Man, I can't imagine the circumstance that would compel me to
return.

I taught at the Navy schools there in Maryland for about three months.
Teaching YN's the "new" Navy format for filing. The WAVE boot camp and
schools were there so it was interesting to say the least. Beat the heck
out of cruising the Arctic ice but, alas, had to go back to that, just
in time for a Caribbean cruise. G
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Old 18-02-2016, 07:30 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Default Spring is upon us

On 2/18/2016 12:05 PM, Derald wrote:
George Shirley wrote:


We're trying to eat up all the eggplant delights in the freezer. Had
burgers and eggplant fritters for dinner last night. Looking in the big
freezer it appears that my dear wife has put up about six bags of
fritters, five more containers of ratatouille, another six containers of
eggplant stew. I'm afraid to look for more. G

+1!


My first order from Victory, won't be the last. I have a bookmark with
nothing but seed companies in it and am trying to get back to the tried
and true heirloom seeds.

Well, I only grow open pollinated varieties but don't pay much
attention to the "heirloom" appellation because it seems to have become
a rather flexible marketing term within the past 25-30 years or so. I
only have four seedsmen bookmarked. In addition to the three mentioned,
I get good results from Reimer. Many in the NG rely on Johnny's and on
Baker Creek (online as rareseeds.com, IIRC).

I generally send all the useless catalogs to
the recycling bin. Now that we've bought a worm bin and are about ready
to start setting it up I may just use the catalog pages for worm food
and bedding. We're going to use red wigglers as they are good
composters. Have not seen a regular earthworm on this property yet.

Earthworms would not be in my garden beds naturally: Native soil
is sandy with nothing much to eat. I introduce them with compost and
with "leaf mold", where they are abundant, and keep them well fed with
my soil amendments.

So far we have found no native earthworms on our property. Most likely
because there is five feet or more of clay fill under the property,
covered with a couple of inches of sand. We put some native earthworms
we bought into the raised beds last year, nary a sign of them since.

We're setting the bin up today or tomorrow to get it ready for the red
wigglers. Hoping for worm castings to add to our gardens eventually. We
have a barrel composter but it takes months to make decent compost with
it. We will run both I guess.


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Old 18-02-2016, 11:00 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Default Spring is upon us

In article ,
George Shirley wrote:

My first order from Victory, won't be the last. I have a bookmark with
nothing but seed companies in it and am trying to get back to the tried
and true heirloom seeds.


Not sure how well they play with you Southern folks, but Fedco Seeds
from Maine is well worth a look, IME, IMHO. Where there is overlap,
prices are MUCH nicer than Johhny's (but, they don't have nearly the
slick shiny color catalog business to support. They just recently got
web ordering - used to be mail in orders even from the website.)

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.
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Old 19-02-2016, 12:23 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Default Spring is upon us

On 2/18/2016 4:00 PM, Ecnerwal wrote:
In article ,
George Shirley wrote:

My first order from Victory, won't be the last. I have a bookmark with
nothing but seed companies in it and am trying to get back to the tried
and true heirloom seeds.


Not sure how well they play with you Southern folks, but Fedco Seeds
from Maine is well worth a look, IME, IMHO. Where there is overlap,
prices are MUCH nicer than Johhny's (but, they don't have nearly the
slick shiny color catalog business to support. They just recently got
web ordering - used to be mail in orders even from the website.)

I have Fedco bookmarked for some time, just have not ordered from them
as yet. I gave up on Johnny's Seeds after using them for several years.
The last two orders from them were really messed up, wrong seeds, etc. I
returned them and haven't ordered since.

I prefer buying seed from the small companies like Victory and Fedco
than buying from the big, high dollar catalogs that come in all the time
as I've had bad luck and bad seeds from some of them.

We save our own seeds on some heirloom plants we like. Seems to work
pretty good.
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