Good morning from CA

I’ve been a lurking member of this group for years but figured it’s time to introduce and learn more. I’ve been a SqFt Gardner for many years and have certainly had my share of successes and failures. I try to maintain a 100% organic garden, which might explain some of the failures, but I continue to plug on. I wasn’t able to have a spring/summer garden this year but am starting to push forward with my fall garden. I did a big clean-up of the garden area, removing a couple of dwarf citrus trees that were planted in raised boxes, that were being eaten away by termites, and the trees were constantly having to be pruned to maintain a less than 6 ft round presence (I believe both trees were mislabeled or they really liked their environment) Looking forward to learning more and stretching out of my comfort zone.

Leslie, Hi neighbor! Welcome to the Forum from north Fresno.

I also try to be pesticide free and it's hard to get stellar crops, what with the red spider mite, plus the heat. Winter crops are so refreshing in this area. What do you grow during the winter?

Photos, we love photos.

Thank you, from Sanger. Oh how I love my Fall/Winter plantings in our hot climate. Love planting my Brassicas, snow peas, radishes & spinach. I’ve tried carrots, without too much success. They seem to take FOREVER, not the 69 days to maturity, like the package says. Maybe my soil is lacking in something for them. I tried Bok Choy, but it was super bitter. I just started some Arugula, but in the past, like my radishes, it is super spicy (hot) so a little goes a long ways....LoL. How about you? What do you grow. I want to try more things this year now that my time is more readily available to tend to, and watch, my garden.

Winter planting and sowing:  snow pea, Strike bush pea, cauliflower, broccoli, toy bok choy varieties, Tendersweet carrots that are ready in the spring, French Breakfast radishes (pull and plant another seed), Rainbow Swiss chard, different kales, leaf lettuces and cilantro (I save the seeds for ground coriander late spring).  I have perennial walking onions that are great for sauteing, and perennial New Zealand spinach.  I cover all but the peas with bridal tulle against the white butterfly.



Here's the good, the bad and the ugly covering a little over one year.  http://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t22075-sanderson-s-urban-sfg-in-fresno-california

I just don't understand how you can plant and grow broccoli now with the temps in the high 90's.  I have been waiting for the temps to stay below 90 but it just isn't happening.  Maybe I am wrong and the temps don't need to be that low when planted.  I know you have sunshade but does it really bring the temps down low enough.  Or maybe you are not planting the broccoli outside now but just sowing it inside. ????????

Yolos - I’ve not started planting it’s just what I like to plant in my fall garden. At the moment, I only have some radishes, spinach and arugula starting from seed. I had some old Bibb lettuce seeds, but they’ve not done anything, as I kind of expected. A few more weeks, hopefully, and I’ll start planting.

Sanderson - I love your set-up. I’ve been wanting to put up pvc frames or a system, with cattle panels, for protecting areas that don’t need pollinators, or maybe even to protect the garden during a freeze.. Maybe that will be my next big project.
We also have an occasional visitor so it needs to be something he/she won’t get tangled up in. It looks like what you have might work for that.

Yolos - I’ve not started planting it’s just what I like to plant in my fall garden. At the moment, I only have some radishes, spinach and arugula starting from seed. I had some old Bibb lettuce seeds, but they’ve not done anything, as I kind of expected. A few more weeks, hopefully, and I’ll start planting.

Sanderson - I love your set-up. I’ve been wanting to put up pvc frames or a system, with cattle panels, for protecting areas that don’t need pollinators, or maybe even to protect the garden during a freeze.. Maybe that will be my next big project.
We also have an occasional visitor so it needs to be something he/she won’t get tangled up in. It looks like what you have might work for that.

 From Ohio!  So glad you are uncloaked!  I too have seeds in for radishes, spinach (well, it’s actually a chard kinda thing), turnips, and lettuces.  

Can’t wait to see what you have going on when we are under snow!

Hi Leslie. Here's an OFFICIAL welcome from Atlanta, GA. Glad you've come out of the shadows...

You have a beautiful set up!

Welcome, Leslie!
It's good to hear from a Californian anytime; it gets me going on my garden when I read they are planting, then I get planting, too.

I haven't started any Fall planting, but just yesterday I saw a cilantro seedling on one of me raised beds from last year's plants, or rather this spring's seeds which I didn't harvest.  That's a sign I need to get sowing.

Love your neat garden.

R

Leslie, Is that a wild peacock? Wow!

What do you use as mulch?  From the photo it looks like E-Z Straw.

Yolos, I start my veggies in seed pots, or if I have pulled the summer plants and amended a bed, I will direct sow.  It looks like Wednesday will drop into the 90s so that is my target date.

Yes....he is.  He’s lived at the end of our block for about 1 1/2 yrs now.  He spends most of his time nearer the curve, and away from the busier road, but makes an appearance now and again.  There used to be quite a few that lived near a ranch behind us, but the population has dwindled, unfortunately. 

Yes, I believe it’s called EZ Straw.  I found it at Tractor Supply.  With the heat, it seems to help keep the roots cool enough.  Even though the boxes heat up during the day, with the sun, they cool down quickly at night, so I don’t worry about that. 


Cheers!

@countrynaturals wrote:

@yolos wrote:I just don't understand how you can plant and grow broccoli now with the temps in the high 90's.  I have been waiting for the temps to stay below 90 but it just isn't happening.  Maybe I am wrong and the temps don't need to be that low when planted.  I know you have sunshade but does it really bring the temps down low enough.  Or maybe you are not planting the broccoli outside now but just sowing it inside. ????????

My new theory is to time it so the weather cools off before the plants are ready to blossom or bolt. I'm going to try it with radishes and lettuce, too. I'm hoping anything that's still in the growth stage can tolerate a little heat. Fingers crossed.

The big challenge in Cali.  Getting things planted early enough they grow like weeds but now too early that the heat kills them.  Then the spring is the opposite, getting started so they grow big enough before the heat kills them but not so early that they struggle to grow.