PNW: Winter updates

Okay, Mother Earth News does not have a planting chart for November, December, or January. So we'll keep this thread going through the next three boring gardening months to keep tabs on one another and we'll start a fresh thread come February when we all begin seed starting again. Sound good?

Let me know what y'all have been up to. I know I haven't been hit by any hard frosts yet, and only a couple of my potted tomatoes have succumbed to too much cold and rain. I bet if I had some hoops I could still be enjoying lettuce and such. But I've abandoned my garden by now and am focusing on what I will do different next year. I want to get a few of the 2'x3' cement mixing tubs and build bases for them to be used at table height. I'm thinking they would be easy to make covers for to extend the season.

thanks for starting our winter thread

is this where we should update if we are trying to garden thru the fall and winter?......i have been updating in the thread....fall garden planning

i also would like to know if anyone else is gardening with hoops and or a green house curious what they are growing..... :drunken: ....how or if they are using some kind of heating.....

we have hoops and a small green house that have a few things growing for harvesting in the fall.....we also are going to see if we can keep things growing over the winter.....just recent we planted some more seeds in the green house

hugs
rose

update on the green house....

the snow peas are about 6 inch tall now

lettuce, spinach, onions and tunips seeds are up still waiting to see if the carrots will sprout....

the transplanted celery is doing great!.....
the tomato is hanging in there....still waiting for it to turn color....

peppers are looking ok still but im not sure they are growing any longer, but they look good and green still.....

the basil died ...no surprise there....its getting cold

the hoop box's of lettuce, spinach and cole crops are all doing great!

havent pulled up the carrots out in the SFG area, still waiting for a frost...... the fall sugar snap peas seem to be done and the spring planting of brossel sprouts are ready to pick....

hugs
rose

I woke up to 29 degrees this morning! Highs in the 40's here until next week and we should have a few days in the low 50's according to the news.
I covered the 4'x12' yesterday with the lettuces, spinach, turnips, arugula, kale and four VERY trimmed tomato plants (maybe I can get a few more to ripen?).
I covered a 4'x8' this morning and pulled 4 tomatoes and left the fall crop of arugula, lettuce, beets and late planted bush beans that are still producing.
I have a 4'x4' and a 4'x'8' that will be covered also. The rest of the beds will not have hoops this winter, they will simply be covered, compost added and allowed to rest during the winter.
All of the large clay planters have been tipped and several emptied back into the garden beds so they will not crack during freezing temps. I have about 8 of the really big self watering pots that still need to be emptied. I am slowing getting the garden cleaned up before winter.

I have a general comment on what I do with MM during the winter..........My beds are all at least 12" tall. With 6-7 inches of MM in them. I remove my lathe grids and empty my planters back into the garden beds, add compost, mix lightly and cover for winter. In spring, I add more compost, mix again and fill my planters back up.
What do you with your Mel'x Mix for pots/planters during the winter when not in use?

*What do you with your Mel'x Mix for pots/planters during the winter when not in use?*
.

we also will dump pots that had tomato plants growing into other garden area's where tomato plants will not go next year.......

the other pots that didnt have tomato plants in them ....come spring time....we will dump into a wheel barrel.....add fresh compost....stir well....and place back into washed out pots for next years tomato plants.....

larger containers and self watering containers we will just add fresh compost come spring time....give a light mix/fluff...add fresh wood chips on top and plant.....

larger planters that have flower bulbs or garlic bulbs in them we added some compost and top them off with a thick layer of wood chips to over winter.....come spring we will feed them with some compost tea..... ....and/or organic fertilizer

our weather here has turned frosty....woke up to some dead plants in the green house.....(peppers & tomato plants) ....the snow peas look a bit iffy ....still havent put up any heat source in there yet

the cole crops and other fall plantings in the hoop box's still look great!

we pulled up a carrot today.....oh man....so sweet!

hugs
rose

Gwennifer, Suggestion: get your cement mixing tubs now and put Mel's Mix in them, wet slightly, and keep outside under cover until February. You'll be surprised at how much the MM compacts, and you may well decide to add more before planting. Speaking from experience here. Nonna

anyone else have anything growing for the winter?

would love to hear from everyone!!.....i miss all of our PNWestiners what are ya all doing over the winter??

hugs
rose

Well, Rose, now that you ask, we have fall-planted kale and Swiss chard coming on, big enough for occasional harvests; late-summer planted carrots mostly hunkered down under a light blanket of leaves and waiting for spring; overwintering Purple Sprouting broccoli is up about 7"; experimental planting of cabbages may, and may not, head up, but the Fielderkraut cabbage I cut for kraut last August has put out another, smaller, head. In the sunroom, one of the fish peppers has two tiny peppers on it. Pot of Bloody Butcher tomatoes moved in from the deck has tomatoes ripening on it. And, we still have lots of potatoes stored in the basement, over a quart of dry Good Mother Stallard beans in the "bean drawer"; and a half dozen winter squashes on racks in the basement, too. Nonna.PapaVino

Thanks to the hoop house (now with two layers of frost cloth), I look forward to harvesting a few tiny carrots, lettuce leaves, beet greens, snipped green onions, and Asian greens for a Thanksgiving salad. There may even be a couple of peas to shell and add.

Yes, the square of peas is still blooming, and some of the pods are trying to fill out. If I can just beat the WPM....

And then there's my original square of spinach, which previously produced at least 3 servings; another is ready to be harvested!

donnainzone10, I am so glad your hoops have been protecting your garden. I know you get cold weather in your area so I am glad your frost cloth is working. February then January are my coldest months of the year and I have been browsing the web for frost cloth to try and keep the greens growing all winter long.

We are going to get up to 56 degrees today so I opened/vented the two beds that are covered and WOW! I was actually surprised, I have to pick green beans, trim the tops from the green onions and thin the lettuce. Kale, spinach and turnips are actually still growing under the hoops. I forgot to start some fall raddichio so I guess I will be doing without that in January this year.
The celery, beets, chard and leeks that are in another bed (uncovered) are looking healthly and I will be covering that bed as soon as I remove the trellis from the east end.
Happy winter gardening to all!

so glad to see updates!!!

thank you for sharing your winter gardening

Nonna......cant wait to see how your overwintering Purple Sprouting broccoli does i think its pretty cool you have peppers and tomatoes still going!....when growing up we had a sunroom....i always thought it was a wasted room....as my mom didnt garden and there wasnt really anything in there....now....i would love to have a room like that in our house

don.....glad to hear you have been harvesting!!....please keep us posted on how your hoops do we only have one layer of plastic over our hoops and i think we are losing our cauliflowers....the plants look fine but the small heads look like they may have gotten frozen....

happycamper......exciting to read you have veggies still growing under your hoops!!....so far our lettuce, spinach, cabbage, swiss chard are all doing ok....the other cole crops not so well.....looks like its too cold under the hoops for them.....

a peak at under the hoops



we put up lights tonight in the green house to give them a little extra heat..... ....picture is blurry...sorry...but the seeds have all sprouted....

top row....carrots, turnips, celery, bottom row....lettuce, spinach, onions



close up spinach



close up turnips



close up onions from Guam that our friends gave us



snow peas



some more celery



outside....some purple cabbage



dog kennel planter...with cole crops



carrots in box 2 SFG



some baby leaks that we will use for transplants come spring



some green onions that i transplanted after cutting the tops off



baby walla walla onion seedlings to be used come spring as transplants



hugs
rose who posted picture over load tonight

Rose, we're glad to share in your "picture overload!" The dog kennel planter is genius! And to think I've passed them up at garage sales. A side note: our sunroom originally was for a hot tub, then we retired and price of electricity went up, so hot tub is empty. I'm still trying to convince PapaVino that we should fill it with Mel's Mix and plant more tomatoes, peppers. Whadda 'ya think? Nonna

um Nonna......that.....would.....be......AWESOME! :drunken:

hugs
rose

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:Rose, we're glad to share in your "picture overload!" The dog kennel planter is genius! And to think I've passed them up at garage sales. A side note: our sunroom originally was for a hot tub, then we retired and price of electricity went up, so hot tub is empty. I'm still trying to convince PapaVino that we should fill it with Mel's Mix and plant more tomatoes, peppers. Whadda 'ya think? Nonna

OOO, good idea..... or maybe a citrus orchard,,,,

Funny you should mention that, Turan. Every winter I move a large potted lime tree in for the three coldest months and it rewards us with a few limes each summer. It's a constant battle for me those three months trying to eradicate the citrus scale. Outside I have natural predators to help; inside, it's just me and a spray bottle. Nonna

well.....a bit disapointed

under the hoops all of our cauliflower and broc's did head up some larger then others....but....they turned brown and it seems that the slugs have turned it into their breeding grounds

the lettuce, spinach, bok choi, collard greens, swiss chard, cabbage and one lonely leek is doing ok.....did find some slugs and cabbage worms this is our first year growing in winter.... so we are still learning and glad to see that there are some veggies that can grow thru winter under the hoops as long as we are able to keep the slugs under control.....

we unplug the lights in the small green house....things are growing in there but sooooo slow we are feeling its not worth the exspense.....slugs found there way in here as well

we do have some carrots growing out in our SFG we pulled a few that were about 4 inch and very sweet!.....slugs out there as well....but they havent hurt any of the carrots ....just slime

how are all of you doing??
hugs
rose

Awww shucks. I do love broccoli and cauliflower and mine put on little heads and shriveled up too. It seems like the plant is hardy enough for the weather, but not the flower - which is what we're wanting in this case.

Too bad about all those slugs. Are you anti-slug bait? You have to be diligent with it, but it does keep them away.

Family Garden, we have had fairly good success with Sluggo for snails/slugs and Sluggo plus for slugs/snails/earwigs/sowbugs. It's organic too! Might want to give it a try. We have also had really good luck with Deadline OUTSIDE of the boxes. It attracts the slugs/snails and the are dead in their tracks! good luck!

GWEN...its so true about how hardy the cole plants were....they were thick and green and looked awesome...yet the flower part couldnt take it..... it was just to wet and cold for them....

at least we know now and will plant more swiss chard, kale, lettuce spinach, collard greens, leeks and bok choi next year for winter

GWEN and SouthernG....we do use slugo.....but...we were lazy we ran out and didnt get more in time before the slugs took over...its our fault....its been so wet we didnt want to go out and look under the hoops next time we know better!

hubby is picking some more slugo up and we are going to put it down in the beds even if nothing is growing right now...just so we can get rid of them the best we can before spring....

hugs
rose

southern gardener wrote:Family Garden, we have had fairly good success with Sluggo for snails/slugs and Sluggo plus for slugs/snails/earwigs/sowbugs. It's organic too! Might want to give it a try. We have also had really good luck with Deadline OUTSIDE of the boxes. It attracts the slugs/snails and the are dead in their tracks! good luck!

I didn't know that Sluggo Plus could take care of earwigs and sowbugs! I could have used that during the Summer when I was overrun with earwigs! Thank you for this info. I will be proactive in the Spring with the Sluggo.

I planted onion bulbs in the Spring of 2012. Between cats and my garden hose, the tops got knocked over and I didn't get all of them pulled. While shredding leaves with my lawn mower yesterday, I noticed the onions were putting out fresh green tops. So what do I do with them? We have several inches of snow and expect 1-4 more inches before it stops. Will they be dead when the snow melts? If so, should I just leave them? Can the bulbs just keep growing, stopping, and growing again and still be good if I do manage to grow them to a reasonable size? What will they taste like, total yuck?

Winter can be a hard time for plants, especially in cold areas. And even in the warmer parts, plants can find the winter months hard going. Growth slows right down and problems become more evident when a plant’s in its cold- weakened state.

Trish the chances are that the onions will bolt in late spring .
However that is not a great problem for the green tops and stems can be used in lots of dishes such as . curries , stir fries , salads and as part of the greenery in crispy duck chinese style with pancakes & lashings of Hoi Sin sauce instead of using the usual shredded leeks with strips of cucumber .

Re hose damage to crops , knock a stout post/pole in at the corners of beds where the hose is likely to ride up over , it will tend to stay off the beds when pulled around the post .

Like Plantoid says, a barrier at the corners of your beds keeps hoses in the isles. My take on this is a relatively short piece of rebar driven in at the corner of the bed, then sheathed with a larger-in-diameter piece of aluminum pipe, which is not driven into the ground, but left to revolve around the rebar when the hose is pulled around it. My cheapskate take on some spendy hose barriers I saw in a catalog. Nonna

We're expecting a high of 82 today with some small showers. lol I will be finishing up building my box and combining my mix today.

Anyhoo, when I frequented these forums a few years back I think I remember people using copper wire or beer to control their slug problem?

If you put a copper ring around your plant, slugs won't slide across it..I think it gives them an electric shock.

You can also make a "beer trap" by entrenching a small bowl or water jugs/bottles in your garden and partially filling the bowl up with beer. I hear slugs are attracted to the yeast. They'll climb into your trap and get themselves too hammered to climb out and essentially drown.

For slug control I have found beer traps work well. Also have had good success with placing small boards in and around the garden where the slugs go to hide from the daytime light. I just flip the board and scrape the slugs off.

Copper is very expensive right now and I have not seen proof that it will work to deter slugs/snails, but I have seen proof that it doesn't.
There was a previous thread where there was a bit of discussion about electrifying the tape with a battery and that should work.