N&C Midwest: October Happenings!

Took the day, gorgeous!  Windy!  Walked Z, did not get to the plants.....

Sunny and near 70.  Had to Carpe Diem!   

Hope stuff is still doing its thing!  

Scorpio Rising wrote:"Black Seeded Simpson".

SCORPIO: Have you ever planted "GREEN ICE" leaf lettuce?  I always planted Black seeded Simpson until a friend introduced me to Green Ice many years ago.  It's very dependable, easy to grow as the Black seeded Simpson and has a much richer green color and a mild flavor.  You'll notice the difference right away.

  My garden was truly blessed this year. Seems I could do no wrong.. (except plant my garlic WAY to early )
  All of my beds were new this year with fresh MM and new store bought seeds.

  I usually have a good fall garden and this is one of the best I've ever had. I planted everything I thought would grow in cool/cold weather and it took off like a rocket. I'm guessing it was just the right timing, weather and moisture. I was able to keep my rain barrels full during most of the hot weather.

Here are a few pics taken about 3 weeks ago. I'll try to post updated pics later today.

   Carrots-Turnips and beets. The carrots are now growing over the side of the bed.


                                                        16 head lettuce.

Beautiful!
My fall lettuce bolted while still small. I couldn't believe it since the temps were consistently in the 60's and below. Can only guess that the hot sun must have done it. Will keep covered next year.

CC

MrBooker wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:"Black Seeded Simpson".

SCORPIO: Have you ever planted "GREEN ICE" leaf lettuce?  I always planted Black seeded Simpson until a friend introduced me to Green Ice many years ago.  It's very dependable, easy to grow as the Black seeded Simpson and has a much richer green color and a mild flavor.  You'll notice the difference right away.

  My garden was truly blessed this year. Seems I could do no wrong.. (except plant my garlic WAY to early )
  All of my beds were new this year with fresh MM and new store bought seeds.

  I usually have a good fall garden and this is one of the best I've ever had. I planted everything I thought would grow in cool/cold weather and it took off like a rocket. I'm guessing it was just the right timing, weather and moisture. I was able to keep my rain barrels full during most of the hot weather.

Here are a few pics taken about 3 weeks ago. I'll try to post updated pics later today.

   Carrots-Turnips and beets. The carrots are now growing over the side of the bed.


                                                        16 head lettuce.

Gorgeous plants, Mr. B!  No, I have never heard of Green Ice!!!!  Germination?  BSS is a little limp for my tastes, I really prefer Matchless or a butterhead.  But BSS is so dependable....Can you find it in the stores, or does it need to be ordered?    Got a few for me to try?  I would reciprocate!

After seeing Kim's perfectly groomed boxes on SFG Facebook, I need to top my old boxes off.  They have deflated, and the MM has leached out the bottoms where there are holes in the old window boxes.  Need to get stuff for some MM this weekend!

And figure out the compost sitch.  I have a finished pile, ready to spread.  I also have a bale of straw, 2 pails of cow poo, aged, and maples ready to drop a half acre of leaves.....makes my back hurt just thinking about it !  I stopped composting most kitchen stuff other than coffee grounds when somebody on here put up an article about just doing leaves....so, decision time.  I have 2 pails of coffee grounds/filters too.

At least I have options....

SR, If you add veggies then you will have five (5) ingredients for composting, right?

Mr. Booker,  Gorgeous beds.  I'm glad your first year using SFG was so successful.  But, then again, you have gardened before.  I'm still on a learning curve, not as steep as the first year, but I still keep learning.

sanderson wrote:SR,  If you add veggies then you will have five (5) ingredients for composting, right?  

Yes, and honestly, my compost pails always got stinking and disgusting, but yes.   I eat a ton of fruits and veggies.   And it is better in the winter as far as stuff like smell and maggots!

Scorpio Rising wrote:

MrBooker wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:"Black Seeded Simpson".

SCORPIO: Have you ever planted "GREEN ICE" leaf lettuce?  I always planted Black seeded Simpson until a friend introduced me to Green Ice many years ago.  It's very dependable, easy to grow as the Black seeded Simpson and has a much richer green color and a mild flavor.  You'll notice the difference right away.

  My garden was truly blessed this year. Seems I could do no wrong.. (except plant my garlic WAY to early )
  All of my beds were new this year with fresh MM and new store bought seeds.

  I usually have a good fall garden and this is one of the best I've ever had. I planted everything I thought would grow in cool/cold weather and it took off like a rocket. I'm guessing it was just the right timing, weather and moisture. I was able to keep my rain barrels full during most of the hot weather.

Here are a few pics taken about 3 weeks ago. I'll try to post updated pics later today.

   Carrots-Turnips and beets. The carrots are now growing over the side of the bed.


                                                        16 head lettuce.

Gorgeous plants, Mr. B!  No, I have never heard of Green Ice!!!!  Germination?  BSS is a little limp for my tastes, I really prefer Matchless or a butterhead.  But BSS is so dependable....Can you find it in the stores, or does it need to be ordered?    Got a few for me to try?  I would reciprocate!

    Green Ice is in most all of the seed catalogs. We find it at Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Rural King.
Germination has always been dependable for me. I'll look in my seed stash shortly and if I still have some, I'll gladly send it to you.  You may even want to grow some indoors under a light for a test. I'll let you know.

sanderson wrote:Mr. Booker,  Gorgeous beds.  I'm glad your first year using SFG was so successful.  But, then again, you have gardened before.  I'm still on a learning curve, not as steep as the first year, but I still keep learning.

  Thanks Sanderson. I attribute it all to the new MM this first year. Guess we''ll see as time goes along. I toyed with SFG back in the late 1980's when I first bought Mel's book. It was sort of a novelty for me back then as we already had about an acre garden across the street.

  A few years ago, we gave up the big garden and sold our 12 HP rear tine tiller and scratched out a few small plots for in ground gardens in the yard.  THENNnnnn......    I found this forum....

Good Job with your Fall garden Mr Booker!

I have 125 Little Gem lettuce.  This has repeatedly taken frost warnings and I suppose simply laughed at it.      This morning went around with my scissors and took baby leaves for a salad, some cherry tomatoes still available and a small 4 in. long bell pepper.  Added some nuts, raisins, creamy brined feta cheese, homemade dressing. Love Fall gardening!

llama momma wrote:Good Job with your Fall garden Mr Booker!

I have 125 Little Gem lettuce.  This has repeatedly taken frost warnings and I suppose simply laughed at it.      This morning went around with my scissors and took baby leaves for a salad, some cherry tomatoes still available and a small 4 in. long bell pepper.  Added some nuts, raisins, creamy brined feta cheese, homemade dressing. Love Fall gardening!

Thanks L M.  If you have any leftover salad, can you please email me some?     I see we're both in zone 6A. Isn't this fall weather something?  Looks like our first frost date could be about a month late. A few weeks ago, it got down into the upper 30's at night and my garden took off. Now it's back up into the 70's and low 80's and down around 60 at night.

I have so many salad greens growing, I can't eat them fast enough. Today is sweet potato harvest for one of my 18 gallon totes. The other tote looks like it's still growing really strong so I'll leave it for awhile. "IF" I have the will power.

Mr B,
This Fall weather is fantastic in our zone.  I too have had mid to high 30s some evenings. I love how lettuce laughs at it. Today I spotted new flowers on the pepper and tomato plants.  But those are all coming down tomorrow as I'm ready to clean up beds.
I cut baby lettuce from over 100 plants, this is one of the beds. A convenient table top.
The next picture shows broccoli under wraps so to speak, bridle tulle. The bug damage is old damage before I used the tulle and bT.  Plants don't seem to care and recovered nicely.   Happy Autumn !

Mr. B:  I would love to try the Green Ice, want to try any of the seeds I have? PM me!  

LM:  That is gorgeous!  I am going to finish cleaning out my garden tomorrow as well.  I have had one frost, 2 weeks later than usual.  

This fall has been so mild and gorgeous. I am hoping some of my radishes are ready!  And a few leaves!  

Will probably see what the forecast calls for, and go accordingly.

Took a walk outside, gorgeous day here today, windy and warm.  Grabbed some pics, bumblebee on my volunteer marigolds, a zinnia, asters, nasturtium, feverfew with a honeybee on it!  Fall splendor!

Spent 3 hours outside yesterday cleaning up the beds, spreading my entire compost pile on my raised beds, pulling and picking all the last of the peppers, tomatoes, mostly green, and the radishes.  

The only things still out there are one decent sized black seeded Simpson and one smallllll one, a few mache, and the Chinese red meat radishes that are being eaten lay something.  Everything else is history!

This is the first time I have gotten to use my own compost for all my beds!  It was a nice feeling, lots of critters in there!  For the containers on the south side, I will amend with blood and bone meal since they are not MM.  And I ran out of compost!  LOL!  

Plan to compost my kitchen scraps better, I kinda quit after reading something about "the only thing you should compost is coffee grounds and leaves". Well I can tell you from what I saw yesterday in that pile, my old "Everything Goes" method did just fine!

Scorpio Rising wrote:Plan to compost my kitchen scraps better, I kinda quit after reading something about "the only thing you should compost is coffee grounds and leaves". Well I can tell you from what I saw yesterday in that pile, my old "Everything Goes" method did just fine!

As Mel wrote, 5 kinds of compost, so everything goes is a good motto. Composted leaves and coffee grounds only makes 2 kinds.

sanderson wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:Plan to compost my kitchen scraps better, I kinda quit after reading something about "the only thing you should compost is coffee grounds and leaves". Well I can tell you from what I saw yesterday in that pile, my old "Everything Goes" method did just fine!

As Mel wrote, 5 kinds of compost, so everything goes is a good motto.  Composted leaves and coffee grounds only makes 2 kinds.

Yep, Mel knew his business!