[Gardening] Winter Gardens

[Heineken]

I dunno. In earlier historical eras many people (whole cultures, even) were expert foragers but they starved anyway in hard times. Just more slowly.

[RedStateGreen]

I dunno. In earlier historical eras many people (whole cultures, even) were expert foragers but they starved anyway in hard times. Just more slowly.

Well, heck, why not just shoot yourself and be done with it then?

I'll die when it's my time, and not a second before, working to outsmart it the whole way.

[hardtootell]

I feel your pain.
When I lived in Vancouver, hail ripped every blossom off of a dozen fruit trees two yrs in a row! Nature can be cruel. I like the idea of always growing an excess, keeping some under glass and planning multiple overlapping crops and sprouting.
Its always a good I dea to plant extra (e.g.75%) in case of crop failure the next yr

You would prefer the other option I take it??

Why, yes. Yes I would.

Note that you did not specify what that "other option" was. I have applied my own *ahem* perspective.

Ahhh, but you do know what the other option is. Pretending otherwise doesnt change it.

[Jenab6]

I really feel for gardeners in the shorter growing season climes, we chose our general area primarily for rainfall and the 200 days growing season - gives a person a chance to stumble a time or two without falling on their face.

JD & Heinie, you two are sure tougher than me! We got that late frost here too, 3 nights below 20*, burned some little garden we had planted and 7ac. of alfalfa to the ground and knocked back the fescue so bad the summer weeds took over the whole country.

Pretty crappy hay last winter.

There's no way to predict which longitude the last winter blast from the poles will spill down. In 2007, North America got it. This year, I think Asia did.

[Heineken]

I dunno. In earlier historical eras many people (whole cultures, even) were expert foragers but they starved anyway in hard times. Just more slowly.

Well, heck, why not just shoot yourself and be done with it then?

I'll die when it's my time, and not a second before, working to outsmart it the whole way.

You can outsmart Death?

Lots of people shoot themselves every time they open their mouths.

Wishing you a hearty struggle right up to the last, gasping second.

"And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all."

[gnm]

Rained hard all day yesterday, I wake up this morning to find ice all over everything and 30F.

-G

[roccman]

Rained hard all day yesterday, I wake up this morning to find ice all over everything and 30F.

-G

I am feeling your pain brother.

Winter storm in May/June...wow!~!

[patience]

There is no way to get a guarantee on agriculture, so the best I've been able to do is multiple options. Like Dad said, if you want to be sure you keep your butt covered, better wear a belt AND suspenders, and be ready to make a grab if they both give out.

We plant a couple crops of potatoes, and also trade work for wheat and corn. One way or another, we'll probably have starches. Planting seeds in the ground intsead of setting out pre-started plants lets the seeds decides when it is safe to sprout, based on ground temp and moisture. Not perfect, but a useful adjunct to starting early plants.

Also, we keep planting. Our salad stuff goes in early with the peas, coles/brassicas. After the worst danger of frost is past, we do the traditional stuff, corn, beans, carrots, and beets. Squash and maybe some pole beans go in with the sweet corn, and when the first salads are done, more beans and late potatoes. Keep planting salads. Some early tomatoes are good, but we also like Rutgers field tomatoes, since they bear heavily during a shorter time to facilitate canning. Come July, we put in the late beans and turnips and kale for fall crops. Most of our kale wintered over this past year, and is now bolting to seed, but we ate off it all winter, sparingly.

Then, like Pops said, can enough to do for more than one year, so that you still lave some through a failure. And store everything you can get your hands on! It's a sort of shotgun approach, aiming to hit every possibility. If anyone can add to that, I'm always looking for more ideas.

[RedStateGreen]

I dunno. In earlier historical eras many people (whole cultures, even) were expert foragers but they starved anyway in hard times. Just more slowly.

Well, heck, why not just shoot yourself and be done with it then?
I'll die when it's my time, and not a second before, working to outsmart it the whole way.

You can outsmart Death?
Lots of people shoot themselves every time they open their mouths.
Wishing you a hearty struggle right up to the last, gasping second.
"And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all."

[katkinkate]

Snow storms in summer!! Wow. Glad I'm in Australia. Can grow something year-round. May just need a greenhouse for a while in winter and shadecloth for the worst of summer.

That is when you have water.

[mommy22]

While we've had some cooler weather (40F in the nights) we have luckily had no frost since I planted. However, nothing is really "taking off" like in previous years...it took nearly a month before my peas started coming up. Things seem to be taking much longer than in years past.
Has anyone at this forum ever used an aerogarden? I saw one advertised online somewhere, and while it looks interesting (especially in light of the thought of failing garden years) I'd be interested in learning from someone who has used one. It's something like a hypodronic indoor garden.
Little Ice Age, anyone?

[bodigami]

My garden took a beating too, because of strong rainfall (I'm in Costa Rica).

The ones that are doing best are my papayas and oranges that I planted from fruit I eated. The tomatoes from packaged seeds didn't last long, because of the rainfall 2 of 4 (yeah, small garden) are basically dead. But papayas did great, a lot of them were born... so much that I needed to transplant some very young because they didn't have enough space in the containter I used. Some of this transplanted died, but not much. And the ones that are still on the container are growing more quickly.

I also planted what looked like beans (but taste horrendous) just to know if they can grow using the Fukuoka (sp? is that his name?) method of just laying them on the soil and to know what plant produces so much seeds here in Costa Rica... and some were born after this rainfall (others have fungus, but they are a LOT of seeds).

[bodigami]

While we've had some cooler weather (40F in the nights) we have luckily had no frost since I planted. However, nothing is really "taking off" like in previous years...it took nearly a month before my peas started coming up. Things seem to be taking much longer than in years past.
Has anyone at this forum ever used an aerogarden? I saw one advertised online somewhere, and while it looks interesting (especially in light of the thought of failing garden years) I'd be interested in learning from someone who has used one. It's something like a hypodronic indoor garden.
Little Ice Age, anyone?

I've used an hydroponic garden, but the best results come from planting directly at the soil. I like to plant, and the soil is rich in nutrients... I guess it's because my house is in a valley. lol, but every f* seed I plant my family (mother and 2 sisters) ask the why? And if in another time I talk about environmental collapse and hints of die-off they say something like "(I) being happy of all this deaths (and the deaths to come)"... well not at all! and I'm planting seeds so that we can grow some food in the "pet's toilet".

[mommy22]

It would be great to live in a warm, year round climate, however, in the winter, I have concerns about food supply, if tshtf at that time.
I would rather have something less tasty than nothing. Anyone use one of these things?

[Ferretlover]

No, I looked it up on their website (if we are talking about the same advertised product). It's $150 for basically a grow light, a tub, and some fertilized potting soil w/seeds.

[RedStateGreen]

every f* seed I plant my family (mother and 2 sisters) ask the why?

Tell them it's because you like to eat.

That's why I plant stuff.

[RedStateGreen]

I dunno. In earlier historical eras many people (whole cultures, even) were expert foragers but they starved anyway in hard times. Just more slowly.

Well, heck, why not just shoot yourself and be done with it then?
I'll die when it's my time, and not a second before, working to outsmart it the whole way.

You can outsmart Death?
Lots of people shoot themselves every time they open their mouths.
Wishing you a hearty struggle right up to the last, gasping second.
"And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all."

Hey, I thought you were joking around but then I remembered your family situation. I'm sorry if this upset you.

[Heineken]

No, I wasn't upset, RSG. I didn't even make that connection with my family dilemmas.

Was just sort of fooling around, myself.

Thanks for your concern, though.

[SpringCreekFarm]

Sorry I to hear Rocc and sorry I got here so late. Been a bit scattered lately. This kind of thing happens from time to time. If you've ever read any of Gene Logsdon's books, you'd be planting later than usual which is what he recommends.

I've planted past last frost date and had a wipe out twice now. All you can do is run back out and get more plants. Failure is not an option. You didn't put all that other work into it to let a little weather bring you down.

Actually this puts me in mind of what I can do with all the extra transplants I have. I raised my plants at the high school green house so had tons to choose from. Maybe I should transplant some of the remainder into pots to keep on hand in case of a catastrophe. The worst that would happen is that I have a few plants to sell or give away.

[Heineken]

I can't believe I'm still struggling with my tomatoes. I can grow them in my sleep. But not this year. The nights have been chilly almost throughout May, and the soil hasn't warmed up much and tomatoes hate that.

We are just now finally starting to feel a bit like summer. Very late for central Virginia.