2017 SFG in Brooks, Ga

Just a couple of pictures to help some of you get through the snow and cold.

This is a Rhododendron planted when we moved into this house in 2007.  It now reaches to the eve of the house.  Gigantic and beautiful.  It is blooming very early this year because of the warm winter.


A few shots of my Fava Beans.  I only had to cover them once this winter when the temps went down below 18*F.  Many flowers but no beans setting on.

Gorgeous rhodie.

Thanks CN and Sanderson.  I did make a typo in the above post.  We did not move into this house in 2017 but in 2007.  10 years ago.

Planted some cool weather crops today.  I started them from seed on 1/21.

Broccoli - Super Dome - 9
Broccoli - Packman - 9
Broccoli - Summer Purple Sprouting - 9
Broccoli - Early Green - 3
Kale - 5
Pak Choy - 9
Spinach - 4

Lots of exciting things going on here, Yolos! I've never seen a rhodie like that with yellow centers. I thought it was a giant gorgeous zinnea bush of some sort. Just beautiful.

Must feel so good to plant out your cool crops! I just started my seeds today. When will you cover, right away?
CC

CapeCoddess wrote:Lots of exciting things going on here, Yolos!  I've never seen a rhodie like that with yellow centers.  I thought it was a giant gorgeous zinnea bush of some sort.  Just beautiful.

Must feel so good to plant out your cool crops!  I just started my seeds today.  When will you cover, right away?
CC

Not sure if you are asking when I will cover to protect against an invasion of bad bugs or to cover to keep them from freezing.

So, I will not cover for bugs right now.  I have not seen any moths flying around so I hope they will be ok for a while.  That particular bed only gets about 5 hours of sun in the winter so I do not want to do anything that will decrease the exposure to sun.  But I guess I better get my Tulle out and cut it to size so I will be ready.

So, I will only cover for cold weather if the weather gets below freezing.  And the 10 day forecast does not show any freezing weather.  But I have washed and sterilized my 6 mil plastic so I will be ready if I see any hint that they need to be covered for cold weather.

Today's carrot harvest that was planted early last fall.  I still have 4 squares ready to harvest and then they will be all gone.

Very nice!!!
I have a few squares that I think are ready to be pulled, but I have to make the time.

Yolos, What do you do with all those carrots when they are pulled at once?

They are for my grandson to take to school with his lunch.  If there are too many, he takes a bag to his teacher and the principal.  Substitute for an apple.

Last year I canned some but nobody would eat them because they were too mushy.  We usually only pick 4 - 5 carrots a week but this week I needed the space for the potatoes so 4 more squares of carrots had to be harvested.

sanderson wrote:Yolos,  What do you do with all those carrots when they are pulled at once?

0
Good question...I thought carrots kept well once harvested, but I guess not. My 1 little one that my wife pulled up got all soft and bendy after a few days on the counter. Maybe if it was in the fridge it would've done better

ralitaco wrote:

sanderson wrote:Yolos,  What do you do with all those carrots when they are pulled at once?

0
Good question...I thought carrots kept well once harvested, but I guess not. My 1 little one that my wife pulled up got all soft and bendy after a few days on the counter. Maybe if it was in the fridge it would've done better

yes, you have to put them in the fridge.  I think some people put them in wet sand in a cool basement or something.

I read that you need to cut off the greens otherwise, they pull the moisture out.

Garden update - Just had three nights below freezing with the lowest temp being 23-25*F.

I had one tomato in a 1/2 whiskey barrel size container.  I put Agribon 19 and 4 mil plastic over and around the container.  The tomato froze and died.

I had two more tomatoes in 1/2 whiskey barrel size containters.  I had two strings of outdoor Christmas lights strung around the cages.  Then covered that with a very thin sheet of plastic.  Then solar blanket on top (not on sides).  Then 6 mil plastic on top of that.  I almost cooked those two tomatoes.  Way over compensated for the cold.  I had to remove some leaves and branches but I think they will recover.


I have gotten tired of covering and uncovering the tomatoes so went back to my old method.  A tomato wagon that I just roll in the garage at night and then back out during the day.  Usually, our daytime temp is above 50*F so this works great.  I will plant them out in the garden around 4/15.


I also got spring fever real bad and decided to try some corn (Silver Queen).  I am going to try to plant a 3' x 4' block of corn each week that way they all won't come ripe at the same time.  I don't know how much the cold temps will affect their production.  I usually don't plant corn until around 4/15.  Also, I have never started seeds indoors before so we shall see if this will work.  I strung Christmas lights in the bed, then a layer of Agribon 19 and then 6 mil plastic.  They stayed fairly toasty under that but I did lose 3 plants the one night that the temps went down to 23*F.



I covered my 4' x 32' bed with 6 mil plastic.  The broccoli, pac choi, spinach, kale, carrots, and unsprouted peas all survived easily.  


The potatoes in this same bed were covered with about 6 inches of straw, then a 4 mil plastic and then the 6 mil plastic over that.  The tops all survived.  Last year I lost about 1/4 of my crop of potatoes to a late freeze.  They almost all recovered but lagged behind all the other potatoes.  This year I succession planted 4 times (about  1 week apart) so we could eat fresh potatoes each week.  It will also tell me when the best time to plant.  This is one of the 4 plantings (2' x 4').  I have too more 2' x 4' areas and one 4' x 6' planting.


Artichokes started from seed.  I am waiting for the last frost to plant outside.  I think I am going to try to fool them by putting them in the refrig in the garage to give them the chill they need to produce artichokes (at least that is what I have read but this is the first time trying that).


My Sweet Potatoes I planted in seed starting soil to get starts to plant out in the garden after 4/15.  I started them way to early and I am just letting them grow until a few weeks from planting out and then I will set the vines in water to root.


I did not cover my Fava Beans.  They were too bushy and would have become frozen to the plastic if I covered them.  So they were exposed to 23-25*F temps.  A lot of the flowers died and also any beans that had started to form were frozen and are now toast.  


Here is a picture of one of the Fava's.  The Fava's can withstand a freeze mostly if they are properly supported.  When it freezes, the stems just fall over and put a kink in the stem.  If they are properly supported, they will not fall over.  This poor gal grew outside the supporting fence and just collapsed. 

Lots of experimenting going on there, Yolo's. Can't wait to see how the corn transplants. I'm sorry lost your tomato baby. Love the rolling cart though. I may have to try that. Your garden looks fabulous and you have a great start on it.

CapeCoddess wrote:Lots of experimenting going on there, Yolo's.  Can't wait to see how the corn transplants. I'm sorry lost your tomato baby. Love the rolling cart though. I may have to try that. Your garden looks fabulous and you have a great start on it.

+1

Very nice, Yolos!

Beautiful, Yolos. What a great, early start to the season.

Garden update - 03/26/17

Things are starting to really grow now that the nights are staying above 55*F (at least for the next 10 days).

My Garlic planted last fall.  I just put some blood meal down around the plants because they look kind of anemic.


Onions and leeks started from seed in January. 

Last 4 squares of carrots planted last fall.


Potatoes - two of my four spots planted succession over a few weeks.



Tomatoes - the tomato wagon is really doing quite well.  Even have a very small tomato on one of the plants on the wagon.  The other two tomatoes I planted out in the garden a few weeks ago still have not fully recovered from the cold and the heat from being over covered a few nights.



Broccoli, Pak Choy, Kale, Spinach - finally got it covered with tulle.


Strike Bush Peas (Shell) - just emerging


Corn - succession planted - so far three plantings of 3' x 4'.  I still have 3 more plantings to go.  I am planting them 7 - 10 days apart trying not to get all corn harvested at the same time.


Fava Beans - I lost all the baby beans that were setting on and a lot of the flowers in the last hard freeze about 2 weeks ago.  They are still growing, putting on more flowers and there are already some new beans setting on.

Lookin' good, Yolos.   I think I may be ready to put some of my babies out, but only the hardiest. Some of our nights are still getting down to the low 40s.

Beautiful!

Fantastic! Have you succession planted corn and potatoes before?

CapeCoddess wrote:Fantastic!  Have you succession planted corn and potatoes before?

Never succession planted either one.  One year I did plant corn varieties with different maturities but we decided that Silver Queen is the best and only want to plant that one variety,

I have also never succession planted potatoes.  That is usually not done around here because we have to get them in the ground as early as possible so they will have time to grow before the blight and hot weather hits.  But I wanted to plant some early but was afraid a hard freeze would kill the sprouts off or stunt them.  So I planted four different plantings (about a week apart) starting way early.  Not sure if this was a good idea or not but had the space in early spring so decided to try it.  Also was able to test covering the tops with thick straw and then the 6 mil plastic.  One of the plantings I only covered with the straw and 3.5 mil plastic.  Two of the ten potato sprouts in that planting were stunted with the hard freeze but did recover.

Harvested some Fava Beans today that were planted last November.  6.5 pounds before removing the outer casings.  There is still a heap of beans almost ready to be harvested still left in the garden.