2014 SFG in Brooks, GA

I wasn't made for winter.  I WANT MY FLIP FLOPS BACK !!!

Last night and tonight the prediction was for 30* F.  Don't know what the actual temps were last night but I had to bundle up when working on the compost pile yesterday and today.

Yolos, I'm not wild about this weather either.  I've got fennel, kale and cold weather lettuce beginning.  My Yugoslavian Lettuce that I let bolt has become some volunteer seedlings among my garlic spikes (planted garlic where it was).  I still have sungolds (under tarps ... still ok after last night).  Picked the eggplants though.

Yolos... I didn't notice your post about the buckwheat...   Very interesting.    I'll like to know how it works for your soil fertility.  It sure did grow fast.

Windmere wrote:Yolos... I didn't notice your post about the buckwheat...   Very interesting.    I'll like to know how it works for your soil fertility.  It sure did grow fast.

Windmere, after I cut down the buckwheat, I planted annual rye grass and winter peas in the same bed.  I am trying to get a mass of organic mater decomposing in the bed instead of all decomposing in my compost pile.  I waited to late to plant the buckwheat (although 2 to 2.5 feet wasn't bad growth) but then I planted the rye and peas too late.  I am anxiously waiting to see if they sprout.  It will help this week when it warms up a little.

IT IS COMPOST TIME
I have all the beds cleaned out (except the pole bean bed) and some are planted with fall veggies.  But it is compost time (the leaves are beginning to fall) so I cleaned up my compost area.  In the following picture, on the far right is my 4 x 4 x 4 compost bin made from pallet skids.  The next bin is 3 x 3 x 3 made with 2x2's and hardware cloth.  Then next to that is a holding bin for finished compost.  It is 2.5 x 2.5 x 4 and is filled to the top with finished compost ready to refill the beds in early spring.  On the far left is a small bin, about 1.5 x 2.5 x 4 where I put material that needs to be shredded.  Those two bins on the left are stackable and I can move the stackable parts between the two bins as needed.

Yolos, Very clean and organized

I long for the day when I am done with my beds and I can clean up in the fall , then prepare for spring...
I know my wife does....LOL.....
Yes Yolos, nice and tidy

Yolos, want to come over & help me?  I've got SO MUCH to do yet!

Yours looks great!

Yolos, you are the poster lady for perfect organization.  Looks really good.  That took a lot of work, you must have a great sense of accomplishment!

I said I was not going to cover any veggies this fall.  But, I just couldn't let them die early.  I have about 50 Broccoli plants and only a few with very small heads and many things still small.  I did not cover my peas so they will probably be history.  It was 16 - 19 degrees last night.  I have not uncovered the veggies yet to see how they survived.  I will have to wait until tomorrow after work to uncover them.

Isn't it a pain to tarp?  So far so good for me... no lost plants.  Time will tell if they make it through all this nonsensical weather.

Yolos, Just curious about your covers. Does rain go through? And do you have to uncover if it is a warm sunny day?

sanderson wrote:Yolos,  Just curious about your covers.  Does rain go through?  And do you have to uncover if it is a warm sunny day?

Sanderson - I have two different type covers. 

One cover is the 4 mil plastic sheeting.  As you could guess, rain does not go thru and you have to take it off on a warm day. On a sunny day it can be up to at least 30* hotter inside the cover.  I bought some automatic vents but have never installed any yet.  Someone mentioned putting some slits in the top of the plastic so the slits can act as vents and they can let off the heat during the day and then you can just lay a covering over the vents at night.

The other type of cover is Agribon 19.  According to Johnny's website, it provides frost protection down to 28* F and 85% light transmission.  I was told by an experienced gardener that you need to take the agribon 19 cover off during the day to get maximum winter sun.  But they supposedly do not have to be removed because of heat build up during the day.  They are supposed to let rain thru but I have not tried to verify this.  I left the Agribon on for about 3 days because the weather remained cold even during the day and was fairly cloudy.

Last week when the temps went down into the teens, on some veggies, I used both the Agribon 19 and the plastic.  I did not want to cut my Agribon 19 up into lengths so on the beds with just the Agribon,  I just went back and forth over that long bed and ended up with about 3 layers.

Everything survived okay that I covered. I did not cover the peas and the very tops of the peas did not fair very well, but they are still alive.

Yolos, thanks for the Agribon 19 info.

The high is going to be 70*F today. 

We are having a mini heat wave here after the lows of 19*F a few weeks ago.

I have already filled one compost bin and turned it once.  I am headed out to collect and shred some more leaves to put in my holding bin until I can get more greens in the spring.  I am adding 5 gallons of coffee grounds to the leaves and wetting them so they can begin breaking down over the winter.  Then when I add more greens in the spring they should finish composting pretty fast.

Yolos, I used my protected dry leaf pile for my winter kitchen scraps. Anyone have any thought on me wetting the leaves a bit throughout the winter?

That was a lot of work.  Took about 4 hours of intensive work to get two 40 gallon bags of shredded leaves.  Then used 5 gallons of used coffee grounds and 20 gallons of water to wet it all down.
BEFORE

AFTER


Sanderson - yes I would wet it down if you want to partially compost it.  It really depends on how long it takes to compost those leaves compared to the greens you will add later.  If you want it to compost at all, you will have to wet it down just like you do your compost piles.

Thanks. I think I should go back and re-read leaf mold, also.

yolos wrote:The high is going to be 70*F today. 

We are having a mini heat wave here after the lows of 19*F a few weeks ago.

I have already filled one compost bin and turned it once.  I am headed out to collect and shred some more leaves to put in my holding bin until I can get more greens in the spring.  I am adding 5 gallons of coffee grounds to the leaves and wetting them so they can begin breaking down over the winter.  Then when I add more greens in the spring they should finish composting pretty fast.

Is this crazy or what?  I got some bulbs planted today (daffodils and allium).  I had some left over garlic I had forgotten about, so I figured "what the heck" and I stuck them in the ground next to our dying chrysanthemums (gotta cut that back).  

You certainly have been busy yolos.  Gardeners are never afraid of hard work, and you certainly fit the bill.

Fall Update:

I shredded another 72 gallons of leaves today and put them in large trash cans until I decide whether I want to start a new compost pile or just stockpile them until spring.

Here are some pictures of my garden as of 12/07/14.
Bed - 4 x 12 of cover crop of winter peas.  Slowly growing because not much sun on that end of the garden in the winter.

Another 4 x 12 bed I am growing a cover crop of winter peas and annual rye grass.  Also getting very little sun this time of year.

Broccoli in a couple of beds.


Some more winter veggies.  Winterbor Kale, Brussel sprouts, leeks, broccoli, carrots, radishes.

Garlic and and Shallots.  Really growing nicely but I hope they will last thru the winter.  We have had a warm spell and they all sprouted and took off growing.

Sweet Peas growing but not producing anything

And a few spinach

Textbook perfect yolos.  I love looking at your work.  Everything is so neat.  I also have managed to organize things and have a good start with kale, etc. 

Nice job!

yolos, I have just read completely through this thread and I am very, very impressed.
You are so well organised it puts my efforts to shame.  You deserve every success you have had and I hope to learn a bit from you.

Thank you for those kind words Windmere and Kelejan.

Windmere - I never planted any onion seeds.  Did you plant any?  I guess I will have to order some starts from Dixondale Farms this year and try seeds next fall.

yolos wrote:Thank you for those kind words Windmere and Kelejan.

Windmere - I never planted any onion seeds.  Did you plant any?  I guess I will have to order some starts from Dixondale Farms this year and try seeds next fall.

Sigh... neither did I yolos.  It was all I could do just to get my garlic and shallots in the ground.   I had the best intentions that never came to fruition.  I might... just for kicks.. try to start a couple inside.  I like to experiment.  It can't hurt.

Windmere wrote:Textbook perfect yolos. Nice job!

+1

Is it possible to take a long shot of your garden area, like from a ladder or step stool?