[Food] Production – Gardening, General pt 2

[nocar]

Dawn, I have a greenhouse about that size and I love it. Get extra openings right away. Even here in cool Sweden it can get overly hot in summer, and your sun is a lot stronger. I do not heat it in winter either - I would have to add light as well in winter for growing things. Besides, I believe it cuts down on pest problems if you let it freeze in winter. Do spring cleaning inside the greenhouse before you sow things, afterwards it is hard to reach everywhere without stepping on plants.

I got mine with plastic 'glass' which I now regret. It was supposed to insulate more, but I do not think is makes much difference. The temps at night go down to outside temps most of the time anyway, although frost forms less that on the outside. Real glass lets in more light, which is lacking here in the fall. For you it might not be a problem. Mine is in a wind sheltered spot, too - you were concerned with wind.

[PeakOiler]

Dawn,

Please don't forget about the Greenhouse Thread in this forum. I recently supported a local business that builds and delivers greenhouses. Try to buy your greenhouse from a local source if you don't want to build one yourself.

[PeakOiler]

I've not had any success with bulbing onions, PeakOiler. I think it's a latitude/day length thing.

I doubt it's latitude thing, Ludi. Lots of jumbo yellow onions (the kind I'm trying to grow) seem to do very well from "The Valley" in South Texas. That's not that big of a latitude difference from Central Texas.
I'm sure it has more to do with the temperature fluctuations, and that's directly related to timing.

[PeakOiler]

Yesterday I tried posting a garden update, but there were technical difficulties with the web site. So here's another try:

I harvested a few more strawberries and updated my Garden Logbook 2009 spreadsheet (workbook):





Some of the rows of the spreadsheet are hidden, and will be un-hidden when that produce item is harvested. The list just keeps getting longer... I need to add some of the calorie-calculation formulas too, (radish for example). The dollar "payback calculations"--vs. the local grocery--are not seen in this view of the spreadsheet.
Three more strawberries are almost ready to pick. I'm kinda surprised the birds haven't messed with them.

I think the baby peaches are ok too. (They survived the light freeze last weekend). They're getting bigger...

[Ludi]

My peaches still have not bloomed. My apricot is blooming. Plum is about to bust out.

[PeakOiler]

Below is an image of the (nearly) full list of stuff growing (or trying to grow) around here:



I still need to insert two new rows in the spreadsheet to include carrots and create the links to it's page in the workbook. At that point the spreadsheet rows go off the screen and would have to be scrolled to be seen. More editing to do... Caloric values for the new items in the workbook need to be looked up.

Apologies for the poor resolution of the image.

Oops. Forgot to add pineapples too, but they're still over a year away from producing. (They'll be in the 2010 Garden Logbook).

[frankthetank]

What do u guys use for soil when starting seeds? I think i need to stockpile some seed starting ingredients. A couple bags of soil mix would last a long time.

[PeakOiler]

What do u guys use for soil when starting seeds? I think i need to stockpile some seed starting ingredients. A couple bags of soil mix would last a long time.

Bagged potting soil is dirt cheap. (For now.)

I buy a few bags every year especially since the native soil here sucks, and needs constant amendments, especially as the garden and small orchard expands. The compost I do make from stuff around here is not enough.

[frankthetank]

I've been using a leaf compost and its just too thick and heavy. It would be good for a garden, but for starting seeds it sucks. I'm going to pick up a few big bags and just store them for next year. I like to start early.before they even put it in the stores.

I've thought about mixing my own with bark fines, perlite and some peat moss. I've noticed those bag mixes are mostly bark fine compost...

[PeakOiler]

I covered most of the garden with sheet plastic and moved the potted plants (e.g. potatoes) into the greenhouse in light of the possible freeze tonight, I'm watering the garden as I type this, and harvested three more strawberries for the labor.

YTD strawberry harvest now to 128 g, (0.28 lb.) and more to come...

[nocar]

For seed starting, I just use the soil from the garden. In the fall, I fill a couple of pails with soil and keep them frost free, and dig into that when the starting seed period starts in Feb-March and the ground is frozen under a snow cover.
What is the big idea about special seed starting mixtures? When you sow directly you use garden soil, why not indoors?

nocar

[PeakOiler]

The bell peppers shown below are how they look today. These are on plants that were over-wintered in the house, now transplanted back into the garden.



One of the bell pepper plants and one of the jalapeno plants died before they were transplanted back into the garden. The (nearly) 5'-tall bell pepper plant is ok.

Meanwhile, most of the produce items listed earlier in this thread are coming along ok. The recent storms knocked some of the peaches off the trees, but most still remain. There are still hundreds of peaches and it's about time to break out some bird netting for protection.

Yesterday I measured the rainwater in each tank. Approximately 6,570 gallons total. It will be interesting to see the US Drought Monitor map for Central Texas this week. We may actually be going from extreme to just severe drought conditions. At least we aren't in the "exceptional" category anymore...

[PeakOiler]

Just a reminder yall, I'm a gardener, not a farmer.

Today I transplanted the fourth of six pineapple plants into a larger container:



In the background is one of the 1,550 gallon rainwater tanks, under a deck, with grape vines growing on the lattice on the other sides. After the latest rains, I'm over 85% ( > 6,500 gallons) of the current rainwater storage capacity.

[Ludi]

Love those pineapples!

[PeakOiler]

Love those pineapples!

Thanks Ludi, I like pineapple too, but wow those pineapple plants are getting big! The leaf-tip-to-leaf tip diameter of the plant shown above is just under a meter (ca.3') in less than a year. Gettiing them in and out of the house for over-wintering may become an issue. (Reminder: I've read the diameter of adult pineapple plants can be over 6' (2 meters).

The peaches and pecans may be the big harvest this year if the rains keep coming and storms aren't too severe. We'll see how those trees do. Pecan harvest is in November of course.

[wisconsin_cur]

The largest local paper and resources are starting to help people new to gardening.

Experts offer advice to help people grow green thumbs

square foot gardening

creating compost

[PeakOiler]

Today I transplanted my first banana tree into the ground near the AC condenser drain pipe:



I still need to add mulch around the tree. The tree will receive about five hrs of direct sun per sunny day in this location, but I think moisture may be more important than sun-hours for this plant in this environment. We'll see...

Edit: Just wanted to add that the AC is not turned on until late June around here and used sparingly, and then used more in July, August and September. So until then, the banana tree will be primarily watered with rainwater. The AC condenser water will just be a supplement.

[DoubleD]

The overwintered pepper plants are outstanding! Color me impressed.

[oldchuck]

Really nice peppers. You southerners do have some advantages. I suppose I could compensate somewhat with a greenhouse. Not yet, but it's on the shopping list.

[wisconsin_cur]

Really nice peppers. You southerners do have some advantages. I suppose I could compensate somewhat with a greenhouse. Not yet, but it's on the shopping list.

Even we in the north can over-winter peppers. I have in the past though I did not try this year. I have about a 50/50 success rate though. It does lead to a lot earlier and larger harvest.