PNW: October 2013

It's freezing tonight, it's time to lower the plastic on the beds that have the fall/winter greens in them.

I had already setup the PVC and had the plastic on the beds but it was rolled up.  So far I have the 4'x12' and two 4'x8's covered.  I will cover one of the 4'x4's and the rest of the beds contain winter hardy items such as kale, spinach, parsnips and a few others.  
Last year I discovered that China Rose radish did well and will be planting some in the south 4'x8' before it is sealed up tonight.  I love gardening in the Spring and Summer and it seems that Fall/Winter gardening works well also, it is very low maintenance.  
I have to remember to check the beds to be sure they are moist instead of repeating past mistakes by letting them dry out too much!

Your hoops look so neat. Some of my stuff at home is covered, but I set up actual hoops at my neighbor's place today. Rebar to put the hoops on is a little pricey per bed, but luckily it's the kind of thing that lasts a long time. Still, gardening ain't cheap.

My hooped beds look pretty cheesy because I need more clips to fasten them right. Right now they look like a drunk did them (and then fell on them). When I was bending the five-foot sections of PVC pipe to fit over the rebar, I wondered if they were going to explode in my face and shrapnel me blind. But they didn't, and I imagine they'll be fine. Thank goodness they're schedule 40, because with the pressure they're under, I need them durable. They are definitely rock solid under that much tension, that's for sure. It is hard to get any kind of seal around the bottom to keep bugs and slugs out, though, which bothers me.

Picked the last of my green peppers today and some more green tomatoes. Starting to spread my green tomatoes out all over the house because they've been too close together and are starting to ripen too quickly. No sprouts yet from the onions I planted. Brussels sprouts seem frozen in time. I wonder if the row cover will give them a little boost.

Had some of my green tomato/green apple chutney with a pork roast I made today. Really good combo! Apples always go well with pork, and luckily the other flavors all did too, strong though they are.

Gotta go out and get copious bags of leaves tomorrow.

"Brussels sprouts seem frozen in time. I wonder if the row cover will give them a little boost."

I swear that BS take forever to do anything, at least for me. The plant from the seed I planted Feb 15 is about 7" tall, but I do see some buds!!

I learned the hard way a year ago last August that it's important to cover your hoop house with frost cloth or the like before adding the plastic sheeting.

If taller plants touch the plastic, they'll freeze!

"I swear that BS take forever to do anything, at least for me. The plant from the seed I planted Feb 15 is about 7" tall, but I do see some buds!!"

Thank goodness! So is that the sort of planting that is supposed to lead to a fall harvest?

"I learned the hard way a year ago last August that it's important to cover your hoop house with frost cloth or the like before adding the plastic sheeting.

If taller plants touch the plastic, they'll freeze!"

Good to know, thanks for the tip. It's only frost cloth for me anyway. Our winters here tend to be pretty light on snow, so I'm guessing that will be enough. Someone at the farmers market said sometimes it's good to use more than one layer, but I'm not sure I want to layer so much cloth over my delicate winter crops unless a die-off convinces me it's absolutely necessary.

Today, I straightened out my hoop houses and gathered up two huge bags of leaves and blended them into my very carbon-poor compost pile. I don't have a shredder, so they'll have to take a little longer to decompose. I suppose that's okay, as I don't intend to use the compost until next spring.

Marc, I don't really know about BS, but I planted 4 last month and am hoping that the 8 months until April will be better than the 8 months over-summering.

Well, if nothing else, they'll have had one heck of a long time to develop an outstanding root system. Sounds like they'll have plenty of opportunity to produce lots of healthy sprouts as long as they get enough water and nutrition.

Gonna pull up my last tomato plant today. So long, little feller, you've been great! It's my Better Bush II plant. Man, that thing was sturdy and productive. The most bullet-proof tomato I grew, for sure.