December?? NC Midwest..

Yup....hardly anything going on.

How's that for short?

nothing?!?!?

I got my graphing paper out and I'm trying to find the best way to add 2 4x12's and I have some room for another 4x4 but I'm discussing with the parents what size bed they want for the asparagus bed. I'm growing it, they eat it. LOL

Trying to calculate what to grow next year and how many. I already know the cucumbers have to be at least 18 plants. Pickles were a HIT with the family.

I was looking into the Simpson Elite you grew last year and also the shorter varieties of carrots.

I was just telling Dad tonight that broccoli has to be started NEXT month. Geesh! Time flies. Oh, I have the PVC and plastic for my second hoop house but just need the motivation to get out there and cut the pieces and install it!

I was talking with Boffer about making a table for my dad's coldframe. He is getting to the point his back interferes with his gardening.

I just it's safe to say, December is my planning month!

Anyone else got some ideas floating around in the brain?

I spent last night drooling over the Totally Tomatoes seed catalog!

Gosh, guys....I was kidding. I was buying time to put a little something together. Thought you'd get a chuckle....knowing I can't be short-winded....even in winter.

I thought your post was a little short but I actually thought you were extremely busy with the kids,christmas and concentrating on your Bird series.

So what ya got for us? Can you give us hint?

Anyone else look at Burpee's New 2012 items and get a little dissappointed? It's mostly hybrids. I want to go all heirloom this year, or at least try.

me too madnicmom! Since we are both close to Cincinnati we should share more information with each other. I grew a few heirlooms last summer - Brandywine and Cherokee Purple. What they produce is very tasty. However, they took a long time to fruit and ripen and I did not get as much of a yield as I did with the hybrids. I will grow them, and others, again. Perhaps I need to grow more plants to get the yield I desire.

I know what you mean. I grew 13 roma's and it took 30 tomatoes to make 1 batch of spagetti sauce. I'm not complaining since it was a hit with the family. But yes, I need to increase the number of plants on those also.

I'll let you know what varieties I decide to go with this year.

You know what? I forgot to get back to this. So sorry. I can tell you what I do in December....or try to do.

I like to look at seed catalogs. I like to take an inventory on my seeds in the fridge so I know what I need to order. I like to load my SFG with compost and let it lay fallow through the winter. I like to recharge my compost pile with all the leaves that I pick up from the fall.

This year, though, I will be redesigning my hoophouse and my netting. Last year, I lost the netting to the dog and some field mice. That won't happen again. Also, the hoops were too flimsy to stay forever, and were something I wanted to dress up this coming spring anyway.

I will also be rebuilding my lighting station. Believe it or not, mine is too big. It's literally a monstrosity in the basement. I plan to design a smaller, more efficient one that uses space more effectively.

Almost everything I read online, from various parts across our region, are only suggesting covering things with mulch and cleaning garden tools. I hate to tell you this, but I don't provide any maintenance to my trowel, scissors, or fingers. Well, a periodic washing of all three seems to suffice. Good luck to all of those non-SFG'ers that have all those tools to clean and all those chemicals to double check and toss. Just another way Mel saved us time.

Enjoy the holidays and eat goot!!

Well, December is half over and I am in the planning stage for next spring's garden. Hubby promises to help me move my former free-standing oven cabinet now sans oven down to the basement next weekend (the circa 1950's oven that was probably the original installed in the house when the city first got electricity FINALLY died). As soon as it is happily installed in the basement I can permanently attach the 6 under-counter lights into the former oven space (been using 3 in various temp homes such as a baker's rack), which will become the new seed starting station. I have already hit the TomatoFest Seed Sale, and thanks to TomatoFest and Quiltbea, I now have 13 heirloom varieties of tomatoes that I just HAVE to get into my garden this year! Fortunately 2 of them are determinates and I have the PERFECT place for them without using up precious square footage or blocking a trellis! The raised 'L' bed at the corner of the house will be perfect. That only leaves 11 varieties to put into my 13 allotted tomato zones in my SFG's. I will be working on the Excel Garden Plan on my computer later this evening and figuring out how much space I really have before I place my order with Baker Creek (www.rareseeds.com [all heirlooms, all the time - gotta LOVE it!]).

What are all the other GWN'ers doing?

GG

I also have 10 items in my rareseeds.com cart. Just waiting for mom to double check the peppers and make sure these are something she wants.

Would you all believe my spinach and romaine are still alive? I still have blooms on my peas!! Nothing is producing, but nothing is dying. They would all still be classified as sprouts. Nothing is more than 2 inches high, except the peas which are about 18 inches up the trellis. The spinach and lettuce only have 2 true leaves each, too. But, again, nothing has died. I'm amazed that we have been so far below freezing, I have used no covers whatsoever, and nothing has been nipped. Now, that said, we have had an unusually mild fall/winter thus far, too. We haven't had any sustained cold yet. But, boy oh boy those are some tough little buggers.

I keep reminding myself to take a couple pics...just cause....and haven't.

Another thing I'm in the process of doing....re-working my hoophouse. I have the PVC frame in, and it's set for me to cut down my hoops to the size I like. I plan on taking pictures of that after I get to a point I feel I can explain the process.

Anyone else??

We have had a mild fall/winter as well, but since we have gotten down to 0F at least twice, everything is definitely done! We still have not had sustained cold (yesterday got up to the mid 40's and our dusting of snow melted) so it will be interesting to see what Jan-April brings. I learned a few things with starting my seeds last year, so I hope to implement my 'adjustments' this year.
GG

Another thing I'm in the process of doing....re-working my hoophouse. I have the PVC frame in, and it's set for me to cut down my hoops to the size I like. I plan on taking pictures of that after I get to a point I feel I can explain the process.

I for one, look forward to seeing the pictures of your progress

All the updates are great!!

Update 1 should be the hoops/frame. Update 2 may be the seed starting station. I need to make one smaller and free up some room in the storage room. Yikes!

My hubby cut the PVC pipe for the second hoop house, now to get it in place over the carrots. I, too, have touchon carrots that are uncovered. They are about 4-5 inches in length and about 1/2 inch width. Tender and Sweet! We pick some every so often. My completed hoop house has buttercrunch lettuce, about 4 inches tall, beets,spinach and BS. not producing but not dying either. We picked all the radishes , since Dad had surgery and I knew he needed a pick me upper!

Cincy weather has been very mild also but tons of rain, more coming this week. It's in the 50's today,tomorrow and Wednesday.

A close friend in Cincy says you guys are nearing a record for the wettest year on record? It's weird to me how just a small shift in where the storms track can make such a dramatic change. We are a little on the dry side....not even close to a record. And, you usually get our weather the next day.

Hope those gardens stay afloat!

our wettest year til now was 50", we are now at 70" and it's still coming! Too bad I didn't have enough rain barrels to catch it all. LOL

madnicmom wrote:I also have 10 items in my rareseeds.com cart. Just waiting for mom to double check the peppers and make sure these are something she wants.

I just trimmed mine down to 11 before cashing out!
GG

Well, I just ordered the last of my seed-starting stuff. My 'mater seeds are either here or on the way, my rareseeds.com order of all other seeds is on the way, and I just ordered my cowpots & seed starting mix. The year I had the most success with my seedlings was when I used cowpots and the Gardener's Supply Germinating Mix (which is vermiculite and peat, with adjusted pH). For 7 bucks I am not going to try mixing my own and killing my seedlings with too much peat! They have it all ready for me, it worked last time, and 9 qts will definitely last me the seed starting season! It has all gone on the joint credit card so Hubby can monitor my seed spending.........

GG

I've been enjoying all the posts on this thread. Now that the Christmas hoopla is done and I've had time to breathe, I've been thinking garden again. I need to get my seed-starting stuff together and get a light of some sort, since my results last year were so poor. Literally, the only place in my tiny, overcrowded house that I have for seed starting is the 3-season porch, which is also the play room, TV room and kid craft room. My husband was going to insulate it this winter, but hasn't had time.

I laughed when I saw the comments about green things stil in the garden. I have one spinach plant, a couple of lettuces, and a bunch of carrots still out there under the hoop houses. They are still green in spite of frost and freezing temps. I thought of putting a straw mulch over them and seeing if they survive the winter, but never got around to it. Is it too late now? At any rate, I need to replenish my seed supply and get that light. I will check out the seed website you guys mentioned, too. Happy planning, and Happy new Year!

If they are still green, I doubt it's too late. I may do the same. I wonder if we get a real early start to spinach in the spring?

so far this month we've had more rain than snow <---- less than a half inch so far and its allmost 2012 be our luck it'll be snowing in june. jus lov this michigan weather:roll:



boog

It's been raining on and off here for the last day or so. RAINING! I've been here for 13 years and have never seen liquid precipitation in December. It scares me to think what may be holding off until May.....

Goosegirl wrote:It's been raining on and off here for the last day or so. RAINING! I've been here for 13 years and have never seen liquid precipitation in December. It scares me to think what may be holding off until May.....

We are hoping January makes up for things down here. I think it's amazing you haven't seen that before. That just tells me how rare this winter has started.

I look at weather models a lot, and there is a cool down coming for us, but it's kind of brief looking. I see a ridge coming that warms up above freezing all the way up into Canada in 10 days-ish.

Dec. 31st., a few miles south of Columbus, Ohio with no snow on the ground yet. Wow.