Fall/Winter Gardens

[Wake]

One of my favorite cold-weather crops are brussels sprouts. They're nothing like Wal-Mart's sprouts. Let the frost get them a few times, and they sweeten up. Delicious when roasted.

Next year I'll try some winter squash, beets, and winter cabbage.

 

[sameech]

Hey Congrats Sameech and I hope you find something good to grow at your new place.

Around here, zone 4A, for fall we have to water a lot before the ground freezes. Especially if it is something newly planted. We have very wet springs and early summers with lots of storms, and normals rains usually in the summer, but fall is always dry around here so I learned to water thoroughly in fall.

Speaking of trees that mess with drain pipes. We had a huge willow in our yard in the last house we lived in and had to have the guy out to clean the pipes at least a couple times. So no more willows.

I also can't stand silver maples. Tons of them around here. I get so many darn seedlings all over the yard, it drives me nuts. That's another tree I won't ever grow on purpose. Plus, they don't do well in storms and lose a lot of branches.

The city planted an oak on our boulevard. Not sure what kind but it looks like it might be cool. I've been watering it since they water it when they plant it and then leave it so I've been taking over. I really hate when the city plants trees in places and doesn't take care of them after they are planted. At least I know better.

I am getting a few spots of sunshine onto the ground there. I have been sneaking over for a few hours each day with an electric chainsaw all ninja like and whacking away. I like maples and they certainly fair storms better than oaks or pines in my area. Couldn't tell you how many times I have seen those latter ones completely uprooted in storms during wet months. I will do the safe ones and have a tree company do the not so easy ones once I officially get the keys. There is a 1/4 acre wooded lot next door I will buy at some point just to take down 3 trees that could flatten my house. The tree removal will cost as much as the lot itself. Technically there are 3 lots beside it but I just want the one. The others I want to sit there wooded to keep a barrier between me and 3 houses crowded around that corner. They have been there 30 years with the original developer unable to sell them, so they will sit there 30 more because the cost to clear and level them would be so high.

 

[Wolfsister77]

Hey Congrats Sameech and I hope you find something good to grow at your new place.

Around here, zone 4A, for fall we have to water a lot before the ground freezes. Especially if it is something newly planted. We have very wet springs and early summers with lots of storms, and normals rains usually in the summer, but fall is always dry around here so I learned to water thoroughly in fall.

Speaking of trees that mess with drain pipes. We had a huge willow in our yard in the last house we lived in and had to have the guy out to clean the pipes at least a couple times. So no more willows.

I also can't stand silver maples. Tons of them around here. I get so many darn seedlings all over the yard, it drives me nuts. That's another tree I won't ever grow on purpose. Plus, they don't do well in storms and lose a lot of branches.

The city planted an oak on our boulevard. Not sure what kind but it looks like it might be cool. I've been watering it since they water it when they plant it and then leave it so I've been taking over. I really hate when the city plants trees in places and doesn't take care of them after they are planted. At least I know better.

I am getting a few spots of sunshine onto the ground there. I have been sneaking over for a few hours each day with an electric chainsaw all ninja like and whacking away. I like maples and they certainly fair storms better than oaks or pines in my area. Couldn't tell you how many times I have seen those latter ones completely uprooted in storms during wet months. I will do the safe ones and have a tree company do the not so easy ones once I officially get the keys. There is a 1/4 acre wooded lot next door I will buy at some point just to take down 3 trees that could flatten my house. The tree removal will cost as much as the lot itself. Technically there are 3 lots beside it but I just want the one. The others I want to sit there wooded to keep a barrier between me and 3 houses crowded around that corner. They have been there 30 years with the original developer unable to sell them, so they will sit there 30 more because the cost to clear and level them would be so high.

We had a big storm here a couple years ago and I couldn't believe the number of completely uprooted adults pines all over the neighborhood. I like Maples, just not Silver Maples. Sugar Maples are gorgeous in the fall. Tree removal fees are a bitch. We had a huge elm taken out due to Dutch Elm and it was a boulevard tree so the city paid for part. It was still over $1,000 just for one fricking tree!!

Very nice you have a wooded lot next door. I'd love to have that space. We have a neighbor right next door with big Ash trees in between and a RR track on the other side.

Good luck with your new home and possible lot and all the tree removal!!

 

[Moonglow]

I planted sweet peas and will plant leaf lettuce this week...I used to eat mustard greens, but not so much, I now eat more spinach....140% vit A

 

[whitehall]

Pumpkins and squash in zone 6 on the east coast are going crazy this year. We have two volunteer pumpkin vines that have several basketball size pumpkins still green and the planted squash has yielded ten pound stuff. Unless we have an unusually early frost in late september it promises to be a banner year.

 

[sameech]

Pumpkins and squash in zone 6 on the east coast are going crazy this year. We have two volunteer pumpkin vines that have several basketball size pumpkins still green and the planted squash has yielded ten pound stuff. Unless we have an unusually early frost in late september it promises to be a banner year.

Seems like no matter what the weather, it is a good year for some stuff and a bad year for others. My tomatoes haven't hit on much really--just a sporadic stream, which is unusual--but my corn, which seldom does well, is taller than it has ever been.

 

[whitehall]

All the 'maters seem to be turning red at the same time. Canned about 4 quarts off two plants and ate the rest. Still some greenies left. Canned a couple of quarts of cucumber pickles and bread/butter pickles but the squash plants are covering them. Zucchinis are in the five pound class. A wet spring and a relatively cool summer with moderate watering and gentle application of powdered bug stuff has produced a bumper crop. The chicken coop poop dump where the squash plants are didn't hurt.

 

[sameech]

All the 'maters seem to be turning red at the same time. Canned about 4 quarts off two plants and ate the rest. Still some greenies left. Canned a couple of quarts of cucumber pickles and bread/butter pickles but the squash plants are covering them. Zucchinis are in the five pound class. A wet spring and a relatively cool summer with moderate watering and gentle application of powdered bug stuff has produced a bumper crop. The chicken coop poop dump where the squash plants are didn't hurt.

Did you plant determinant tomatoes? If so, that explains it. I purposely try to stick with indeterminate so I don't end up getting flooded with all my tomatoes during a couple three weeks. My squash assortments have done well enough--at least the bugs haven't eaten them all yet like they did last year before they ever produced a single one.

 

[FuzzyCat]

I'm in the south, zone 8b, but most of the time my particular area acts more like zone 9...we are on a hill.
Fall crops here are broccoli, cabbage, greens (if you like them, I don't), spinach, radishes, all kinds of lettuce, peas...both shell peas (English) and snap peas & carrots.

I will also be planting my onion seeds shortly so they will be ready to go into the garden in Nov. We grow short day onions down here, so they grow all winter.

I have used floating row covers before. I purchased a 100' roll of it from Gardener's Supply...don't remember the cost as that was a few years ago. There are different weights will which protect for different temperature drops...like 4º protection, 10º protection, etc. Down here the 4º will generally protect from an over-night freeze and it sure protects from frost damage...and cabbage worm moths. But you can also get different lengths including some much shorter pieces.
We have made a "tunnel" for it. DH pounded some rebar into the ground about 3' apart. Then we bent PVC pipe over it for our "frame" for the FRC to rest on & to hold it up off the plants. Not hard to do at all and we anchor it down with old bricks.
Just one word of caution...it will NOT withstand cat's claws...we have 6 outdoor cats who think they need to get on top of it look around!

 

[JWBooth]

Started seed trays with broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, and spinach. Did the work on Sunday, already sprouting today.

 

[sameech]

Started seed trays with broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, and spinach. Did the work on Sunday, already sprouting today.

This is the time of year I get jealous of you Texans. Your winter is like 4 months of spring. I wouldn't be able to plant cool weather crops like that until mid march at best. I did plant some cabbage in July but am not sure I will get anything before the hard freeze--sometime between Turkey Day and Ham Day.

 

[sameech]

...
When I moved in here, we had a ton of Elms. They are all gone-due to Dutch Elm Disease. A tragedy that has destroyed a lot of our beautiful Elms around here. Luckily, we have a lot of other trees...

By the way, I discovered from the tree guy yesterday that most of the trees that I thought were overgrown mulberries I have been cutting down left and right are actually elms

There is one gigantic one that I am going to have to have a pro limb because it overhangs the house some. That sucker is as big as a full-grown oak tree. Fortunately the trunk leans the other way so I just need to have one leader limb maybe 40 feet long taken off.

 

[sameech]

Got some mustard and creasy greens in the ground this week. Tilled up a small bed (maybe 15x20-25) at the new crib. I am really pushing it because we are about two weeks from first frost which is my move weekend as well. Fertilized the heck out of it; supposed to have some rainy days, and the bed is under an elm tree which I hope will keep the frost off long enough to get some growth going. I may have to cover the bed until I get some good foilage going.

 

[Wake]

2014 wasn't that good of a year for me when it comes to the garden. Too much work, and I have to drive eight miles to get there.

What I want to do is grow a great bounty of beets. They're delicious. Tasty. Expensive. At Wal-Mart they want around 3 dollars for two or three tiny little beets. I want beets that are big, like a grapefruit or a softball, and perfectly solid and sweet on the inside. Prepare, peel, cube, and steam those bad boys. Serve them piping hot with a tad of butter, cracked pepper, and sea salt. Ya.

The one favorite cold-weather crop of mine are brussels sprouts. They are so worth it. If you think you know what those little sprouts taste like, but you've only had them from a grocery store, then you don't know what brussels sprouts really taste like. Mine were sweet, solid, and not too pungent. You've got to let a couple frosts hit them first, to cause them to sweeten up due to chemical shifts. Sort of like those certain grapes that sweeten in the winter.

Asparagus is more of a late Spring/early Summer crop, and is the king of the garden. Rhubarb is one of my favorite Spring crops. After sinking my teeth into chillde, garden-grown cantaloupe and watermelon, I now plan on growing these as staples in the Summer. One of my clients, who had given me a cantaloupe, said he harvested 50 dense melons from only two plants. I want to grow 7.

Yet another favorite are Fall butternut squash, which another client gifted me two of. After a lengthy discussion she asked me to walk out back to see the 350+ butternut "squarsh" she grew. She donates them all to homeless centers as charity, to feed the hungry. I was choking up when she told me this, and she gave me two for myself to bake. Needless to say my love of gardening is growing, and I'd like to help feed the hungry long after she's passed away, too.

 

[sameech]

2014 wasn't that good of a year for me when it comes to the garden. Too much work, and I have to drive eight miles to get there.

What I want to do is grow a great bounty of beets. They're delicious. Tasty. Expensive. At Wal-Mart they want around 3 dollars for two or three tiny little beets. I want beets that are big, like a grapefruit or a softball, and perfectly solid and sweet on the inside. Prepare, peel, cube, and steam those bad boys. Serve them piping hot with a tad of butter, cracked pepper, and sea salt. Ya.

The one favorite cold-weather crop of mine are brussels sprouts. They are so worth it. If you think you know what those little sprouts taste like, but you've only had them from a grocery store, then you don't know what brussels sprouts really taste like. Mine were sweet, solid, and not too pungent. You've got to let a couple frosts hit them first, to cause them to sweeten up due to chemical shifts. Sort of like those certain grapes that sweeten in the winter....

yeah it was a bad year for me too due to other things in life keeping me from really working it as I should, from a late start to losing control of my garden in summer to getting such a late start on the new one. I have been more oriented toward moving landscaping from current to new house and from my parents' house as well . I could fill a truck with all the rocks I still need to move. Some of it will still have to wait until spring. fortunately since my neighbor really wants the front part of the current lot, I have the luxury of time. Unfortunately, a lot of the plant material I still want to salvage will require a backhoe to dig out like some leggy gardenias that are about 7 feet tall and 8 feet wide and other shrubs older than me.. I'll keep the back half of the lot, buy an adjoining wood lot with street frontage to join it, and sell the front half so my neighbor can expand his house. My current house is just too old to make it worth long-term upgrades and I got such a great deal on my new crib that is 50 years newer and still nearby so it just made more sense to do it this way. Rebuilding the same lot is just too expensive right now. My parents' house will be sold to help settle up my mom's estate and we will pool the excess money into some family properties where my dad was raised.

Boiled and then roasted with butter S&P is my favorite combination for beets. Unfortunately Iet most of mine go too long this year. I planted some Bsprouts, red cabbage, and broccoli a bit back. They are growing, but I am not hopeful they will produce anytime soon.

 

[MeBelle]

Carrots and taters!!
Anything considered a root veggie that grows deeeeeep.

It was 90 degrees here today, still waiting on the darn tomatoes!

 

[sameech]

Carrots and taters!!
Anything considered a root veggie that grows deeeeeep.

It was 90 degrees here today, still waiting on the darn tomatoes!

If you don't mind answering, where do you live that it is 90 in October?

 

[boedicca]

Carrots and taters!!
Anything considered a root veggie that grows deeeeeep.

It was 90 degrees here today, still waiting on the darn tomatoes!

If you don't mind answering, where do you live that it is 90 in October?

We had 90 in Oaklandtown yesterday...and today is going to be another gorgeous sunny one. Considering how cool and foggy the summer was, this little bit of Indian Summer is very welcome.

 

[MeBelle]

Carrots and taters!!
Anything considered a root veggie that grows deeeeeep.

It was 90 degrees here today, still waiting on the darn tomatoes!

If you don't mind answering, where do you live that it is 90 in October?

I don't mind...

Northern Cali...supposed to hit 100 today. I plan on sleeping through it, lol

I was outside a lot of the day yesterday, having fun, got a nice sunburn. My poor nose always gets it the worst.


I live in the O zone...












36

 

[ChrisL]

I'm so jealous of you all. I wish I had the room to have a garden! I've done an herb garden in pots before. I might do that again next year. It was really nice and convenient to just be able to go outside and pick whatever herbs I needed for a dish.