On Dec 5, 7:00*pm, Billy wrote:
In article ,
*"Dan L." wrote:





In article
,
*mleblanca wrote:

Well it was COLD this am. It has been in the 60-70 range
the last few days, but last night was 33 F the coldest so far
Add to that the fact that it was foggy and damp and it was
definitely Cold. I guess that took care of the last tomato plant.
( We had the last toms for Thanksgiving)
I have in the garden Lettuces, spinach, broccoli and onions.
Only a tiny trace of rain, alas..................It did get up to 60
this pm for about 2 minutes!
Emilie
Nor Cal

Hmmmm...

Well it was COLD this am. It has been in the 20-29 range
the last few days, but last night was 17 F the coldest so far
Add to that the fact that it was snowy and damp and it was
definitely Cold. Last month took care of the last tomato plant.
( We got the last turkey in the store for Thanksgiving)
Looking to next spring to grow Lettuces, spinach, broccoli and onions.
Only a tiny trace of snow, alas..................It did get up to 29
this pm for about 2 minutes!

Enjoy Life ... Dan
South East Michigan

Dan seems to be very competitive with his adversities ;O)
Me thinks that we need a gardening report from bungadora to
put him in his place, otherwise I fear that we will soon be reading
the account of his upbringing, which features him and his twenty
siblings growing up in a shoe box, in the middle of an interstate, where
he had to get up, half an hour before he went to bed, so that he could
work twenty-eight hours a day, eight days a week, down at the mill, and
when he got home his dad would cut into him with a bread knife, and then
sing glory halleluja while dancing around his grave.
So, Bungadora, if you be there, please put this up start in his place ;O)
--



My dear Billy, cold is relative and there isn't much glory in living
in the frozen (but not the most frozen) arse capital of Canada.

However, high of -24C today plus wind chill. My local garden group is
talking about the insulating powers of snow, and wondering if their
car batteries wouldn't freeze if their cars were deeply buried enough.

On the plus side, garden catalogues are starting to come out and if
nothing else the cold weather keeps tone deaf carollers at bay.

Dora
http://www.picturetrail.com/bungadora

In article
,
bungadora wrote:

On Dec 5, 7:00*pm, Billy wrote:
In article ,
*"Dan L." wrote:





In article
,
*mleblanca wrote:

Well it was COLD this am. It has been in the 60-70 range
the last few days, but last night was 33 F the coldest so far
Add to that the fact that it was foggy and damp and it was
definitely Cold. I guess that took care of the last tomato plant.
( We had the last toms for Thanksgiving)
I have in the garden Lettuces, spinach, broccoli and onions.
Only a tiny trace of rain, alas..................It did get up to 60
this pm for about 2 minutes!
Emilie
Nor Cal

Hmmmm...

Well it was COLD this am. It has been in the 20-29 range
the last few days, but last night was 17 F the coldest so far
Add to that the fact that it was snowy and damp and it was
definitely Cold. Last month took care of the last tomato plant.
( We got the last turkey in the store for Thanksgiving)
Looking to next spring to grow Lettuces, spinach, broccoli and onions.
Only a tiny trace of snow, alas..................It did get up to 29
this pm for about 2 minutes!

Enjoy Life ... Dan
South East Michigan

Dan seems to be very competitive with his adversities ;O)
Me thinks that we need a gardening report from bungadora to
put him in his place, otherwise I fear that we will soon be reading
the account of his upbringing, which features him and his twenty
siblings growing up in a shoe box, in the middle of an interstate, where
he had to get up, half an hour before he went to bed, so that he could
work twenty-eight hours a day, eight days a week, down at the mill, and
when he got home his dad would cut into him with a bread knife, and then
sing glory halleluja while dancing around his grave.
So, Bungadora, if you be there, please put this up start in his place ;O)
--



My dear Billy, cold is relative and there isn't much glory in living
in the frozen (but not the most frozen) arse capital of Canada.

However, high of -24C today plus wind chill. My local garden group is
talking about the insulating powers of snow, and wondering if their
car batteries wouldn't freeze if their cars were deeply buried enough.

On the plus side, garden catalogues are starting to come out and if
nothing else the cold weather keeps tone deaf carollers at bay.

Dora
http://www.picturetrail.com/bungadora

-11F?
I enjoyed your pictures. You have beautiful plants. How long is your
growing season?
I've started wondering about what to grow next year, and how much and
where to plant it.
Thanks for the weather check;O)
--

Billy
Republican and Democratic "Leadership" Behind Bars
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1044101.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net

On Dec 13, 10:59*pm, Billy wrote:
In article
,





*bungadora wrote:
On Dec 5, 7:00*pm, Billy wrote:
In article ,
*"Dan L." wrote:

In article
,
*mleblanca wrote:

Well it was COLD this am. It has been in the 60-70 range
the last few days, but last night was 33 F the coldest so far
Add to that the fact that it was foggy and damp and it was
definitely Cold. I guess that took care of the last tomato plant.
( We had the last toms for Thanksgiving)
I have in the garden Lettuces, spinach, broccoli and onions.
Only a tiny trace of rain, alas..................It did get up to 60
this pm for about 2 minutes!
Emilie
Nor Cal

Hmmmm...

Well it was COLD this am. It has been in the 20-29 range
the last few days, but last night was 17 F the coldest so far
Add to that the fact that it was snowy and damp and it was
definitely Cold. Last month took care of the last tomato plant.
( We got the last turkey in the store for Thanksgiving)
Looking to next spring to grow Lettuces, spinach, broccoli and onions.
Only a tiny trace of snow, alas..................It did get up to 29
this pm for about 2 minutes!

Enjoy Life ... Dan
South East Michigan

Dan seems to be very competitive with his adversities ;O)
Me thinks that we need a gardening report from bungadora to
put him in his place, otherwise I fear that we will soon be reading
the account of his upbringing, which features him and his twenty
siblings growing up in a shoe box, in the middle of an interstate, where
he had to get up, half an hour before he went to bed, so that he could
work twenty-eight hours a day, eight days a week, down at the mill, and
when he got home his dad would cut into him with a bread knife, and then
sing glory halleluja while dancing around his grave.
So, Bungadora, if you be there, please put this up start in his place ;O)
--

My dear Billy, cold is relative and there isn't much glory in living
in the frozen (but not the most frozen) arse capital of Canada.

However, high of -24C today plus wind chill. *My local garden group is
talking about the insulating powers of snow, and wondering if their
car batteries wouldn't freeze if their cars were deeply buried enough.

On the plus side, garden catalogues are starting to come out and if
nothing else the cold weather keeps tone deaf carollers at bay.

Dora
http://www.picturetrail.com/bungadora

-11F?
I enjoyed your pictures. You have beautiful plants. How long is your
growing season?
I've started wondering about what to grow next year, and how much and
where to plant it.
Thanks for the weather check;O)
--
Thank you. I'm planning to commandeer some public space next year
along the side of the house to plant alpines and such. I can't fit any
more into the garden and should thin it out a bit.

We usually get 115 consecutive frost free days per year, from mid-May
to mid-September. The nights are cool during the summer because of
the altitude and we don't get a lot of days above 20C which also
affects growth. Calgary doesn't get as cold as some other parts of
the prairies during the winter, but it's quite dry and there are a lot
of temperature fluctuations so dessication of plants can be a problem.
The temperature was 0C only a week or so ago, for example.

It's actually easier to garden in some parts of the prairies that have
a lower zone IMHO, because the temperature fluctuations are less
pronounced, it isn't as cool at night, and there is more precipitation
which also gives more snow cover during winter.

Two more months and I'll be starting the tomatoes.
Dora

In article
,
bungadora wrote:

Two more months and I'll be starting the tomatoes.
Dora

What variety of tomatoes do you grow?

When I start my seeds, it seems that once sprouted, the seedlings
stall in their development, then after six weeks or so, they begin to
grow again and continue their development. I'd love to stop this
stall. I germinate under a pair of 2" grow lights, on a hot pad set
for low.

Your garden seems to do quite well, especially given the temperature
constraints. I'm very impressed with your gardening efforts in the
rain shadow of the Canadian Rockies.
--

Billy
Republican and Democratic "Leadership" Behind Bars
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1044101.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net

On Dec 14, 10:43*am, Billy wrote:
In article
,

*bungadora wrote:
Two more months and I'll be starting the tomatoes.
Dora

What variety of tomatoes do you grow?

When I start my seeds, it seems that once sprouted, the seedlings
stall in their development, then after six weeks or so, they begin to
grow again and continue their development. I'd love to stop this
stall. I germinate under a pair of 2" grow lights, on a hot pad set
for low.

Your garden seems to do quite well, especially given the temperature
constraints. I'm very impressed with your gardening efforts in the
rain shadow of the Canadian Rockies.

Thanks. There are some very good gardeners here to the point where
some of them are down right scarey. I'm just a bit left of a
putterer.

Tomatoes! I grow heirlooms most of the time - last year I grew about
7 or 8 types. 2 dwarves (Japanese dwarf, golden dwarf champion), 2
cherries (Camp Joy and Grape Olive), 2 siberians (Kimberly, Stump of
the World), plus 1 Golden Queen and a Silvery Fir Tree. Plus 2
chocolate cherries that I ended up giving away because there wasn't
room. Best producers were the Silvery Fir Tree and the 2 cherry
tomatoes. I was disappointed with the dwarves. The Japanese dwarf was
good, but not a big producer. The Golden dwarf was just really slow -
it was a late midseason type and so probably couldn't be expected to
do well here. The Siberians were OK. Big fruit, but not great
texture.

The tomato plants most likely to do well here are early to midseason
types, that is ones that mature in under 80 days. In fact, I'm
convinced that in order to produce well, the tomato has to be ready to
start flowering by June. Optimal temperature for setting fruit is
65-80F, and I've often had the experience of having plants covered
with fruit in late August that just refuse to ripen. So I start them
early and prune regularly.

I took a tomato workshop last year - recommended to cut back watering
after they've sprouted and only water them when they are at the point
of wilting. It forces the plant to develop roots to seek out water so
they can get on with the business of other growth more quickly.
Dora

In article
,
bungadora wrote:

I took a tomato workshop last year - recommended to cut back watering
after they've sprouted and only water them when they are at the point
of wilting. It forces the plant to develop roots to seek out water so
they can get on with the business of other growth more quickly.
Dora

Sort of reminds me of the $10 $ plant and the 1 dollar hole vs the 1
dollar plant and the 10 dollar hole. I lean towards 5 dollar plants and
3 dollar holes. )) The idea of suggesting that the roots will travel
makes sense to me but I have no science to back it up. Instinct.

Bill who never took a garden workshop but had a dad who had me with
hands on. )

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

On Dec 14, 3:24*pm, Bill wrote:
In article
,

*bungadora wrote:
I took a tomato workshop last year - recommended to cut back watering
after they've sprouted and only water them when they are at the point
of wilting. *It forces the plant to develop roots to seek out water so
they can get on with the business of other growth more quickly.
Dora

*Sort of reminds me of the $10 $ plant *and the 1 dollar hole *vs the 1
dollar plant and the 10 dollar hole. *I lean towards 5 dollar plants and
3 dollar holes. )) The idea of suggesting *that the roots will travel
makes sense *to me but I have no science *to back it up. *Instinct.

*Bill who never took a garden workshop but had a dad who had me with
hands on. *)

Well, yes. That's my way of saying it's only slightly better than
heresay. Too much effort to test it. However, I've never had a
tomato sit there and do nothing for 6 weeks without it eventually
damping off or getting some sort of fungal rot. Wouldn't cutting back
on the water also prevent that?

He also said to cut back on watering in August to help the plant
sugars develop. Gotta eat them all to test that one.
Dora

In article
,
bungadora wrote:

On Dec 14, 3:24*pm, Bill wrote:
In article
,

*bungadora wrote:
I took a tomato workshop last year - recommended to cut back watering
after they've sprouted and only water them when they are at the point
of wilting. *It forces the plant to develop roots to seek out water so
they can get on with the business of other growth more quickly.
Dora

*Sort of reminds me of the $10 $ plant *and the 1 dollar hole *vs the 1
dollar plant and the 10 dollar hole. *I lean towards 5 dollar plants and
3 dollar holes. )) The idea of suggesting *that the roots will travel
makes sense *to me but I have no science *to back it up. *Instinct.

*Bill who never took a garden workshop but had a dad who had me with
hands on. *)

Well, yes. That's my way of saying it's only slightly better than
heresay. Too much effort to test it. However, I've never had a
tomato sit there and do nothing for 6 weeks without it eventually
damping off or getting some sort of fungal rot. Wouldn't cutting back
on the water also prevent that?

He also said to cut back on watering in August to help the plant
sugars develop. Gotta eat them all to test that one.
Dora

The proof is in the pudding comes to mind.

Bill .....cutting back on water late sounds interesting too.

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA