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applestar
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Late Fall to Winter Gardening with protection

This is SO inspiring! I wish I could do the same, but it gets too cold here (negative single digits °F). I’ll be noodling ways adapt some of these ideas to my Zone 6B garden with extremely freeze hardy crop, at this late date, and with what kind of added protection.

...is anyone else growing late fall/overwintering gardens? I imagine in the really hot southern gardens where summer heat shuts everything down, this is the time of the year when you are really getting into growing some of those wonderful winter crop. :D


FYI - Based on his temperature notations and location, at upload time of the video, Fukuberry’s gardens were in Zone 8b.

— He always preps the raised row beds by adding lots of organic matter/compost, home made bokashi fermented fertilizer made with rice bran, fermented green weed juice, brown/raw sugar, fish meal, fish bone/crustacean meal, and seedcake/meal. This is fortified with screened ash/char at time of application.

- He uses black plastic mulch with spaced holes for planting, low hoop tunnels and mesh covers to initially protect from insects, then covers over the insect mesh with vented plastic.

- the broad/fave beans are only protected from frost with the lean-to of cut grassy bamboo stems

- already well-grown Chinese cabbage are wrapped with their own outer leaves and tied to protect the inner leaves until they are ready to be harvested

To help with all the Japanese subtitles in this context, he is noting the dates when the seeds were succession sown — in Japanese, dates are written as { X month Y day }
— so today would be { 9 月 29 日 } ...9th month 29th day.

菜園だより111219越冬野菜・シート張り
Vegetable Garden Diaries 2011-12-19
Overwintering vegetables • [weedblock] sheet [for the blueberry orchard walkway]

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applestar
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By the way, I’ve been looking up Daikon growing instructions, and they are sown 4~6 seeds at approximately 12 inches apart, with row spacing of 2-3 feet, and are thinned to 3 seedlings at 1-2 True leaves, then thinned to individual plants at 4-5 True leaves when you also side dress and hill.

(this is a Japanese page for growing heirloom Miyashige winter daikon)
https://www.pref.aichi.jp/nogyo-keiei/no ... index.html


They seem to tend to use hole mulch as weed block and freeze protection, though obviously not absolutely necessary. Lots of lime using Dolomitic lime for magnesium and manganese, etc micro minerals and clubroot prevention. Nematodes might be a problem also — the commercial culture market farmers always till in nematocides in the bed before planting.

Modern hybrid cultivars mature much earlier than the Heirlooms and there are “mini” varieties that are more suited to hard soil.


~~~~


...the cultivation methods using weed block film mulches and low tunnels are not my favorite — my knee-jerk reaction is “too much plastic!” ...But I can see where they would be super useful and convenient if you are forced away from the garden for several days or even a whole week at a time and daily inspection and tending are impossible for weed and pest control. It’s also a compromise that makes sense if you want to avoid using chemical herbicides and insecticides.

— I have to admit these will have to be my next set of NEW PROJECT experiments to see if they can compensate for my diminishing available time and physical energy.

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applestar
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In the following video, he is harvesting “fall” potatoes — variety is called Andes Red (in another video or diary, he mentioned a 2nd variety he was trying to grow along with Andes Red that couldn’t withstand the dips in temperatures during the fall and wilted/died)
...BTW I already tried looking it up, and Andes Red doesn’t come up in search except from Japanese websites (here’s one in English — Andes red potatoes 1 kilo – Nagano, Naturally
https://naganonaturally.com/product/and ... es-1-kilo/ ) but it’s probably a short season cold tolerant variety.

- and how to store Daikon — once freezing temperature arrives, harvest all Daikon because the above ground exposed neck will freeze. Trim tops and bury up to their necks on a slant to preserve in fresh condition until spring.

- multiple layers of insect netting used to for Chinese cabbage low tunnel as protection

- he also demonstrated how he preps a wide row raised bed after harvesting the potatoes
— ボカシ = Bokashi
— 草木灰 = weed/wood ash


菜園だより141205秋じゃが・ダイコン
Vegetable Garden Diaries 2014-12-05
Fall Potatoes • Daikon


- According to his diaries, Andes Red seed potatoes were planted on August 29th, and sprouted in the row on Sept 19th, at which point, he covered with black film mulch and cut holes to let the sprouted growths through (neat idea!)

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digitS'
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I have had good success growing Asian greens in a bed on the floor of an unheated, 9' x 20' greenhouse. A heavy bench has to come out and some hoops put in so that I can pull a tarp over the bed when the forecast is for below 15°f, outdoors.

The intention was to do that this year even though I have to do some work on the south wall. Seed was sown in an outdoor bed for transplants. The slugs moved in on them in a major way. Discouraging. I can still sow seeds inside the greenhouse and those plants will grow but not be harvested until about the first of March. Transplants would be available right into the winter weeks.

Ya know, I had decided that the coastal Pacific Northwest of the US and Japan have comparable climates. However, it seems possible that the mid-Atlantic States may also share some climate similarities. Of course, plant varieties exist to expand the range of possibilities. A little aside: I once thought that "Southern" Giant mustard was from the southern US. Not so, :D . It's from "South" Asia, India ... if I understand right.

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Daikon, if you are growing the long varieties (minowase) depend on soil depth. The shorter Tae Baek or Seoho radish (better for kim chee) grow less than 12 inches deep. Daikon, like beets will lift out of the soil when they are mature. It grows better in my alkaline plots and not so good in my home garden because I have too much nitrogen there. I have a lot of compost in my alkaline gardens so it is soft and very alkaline pH 7.8.

You are right now is the time to grow the seasonal (for Hawaii) crops. Broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale (can grow anytime but will be sweeter in cooler weather and it does not mind frost), Onions (from seed. You will need to get the right type for your area. I can only grow southern varieties), garlic (ditto right type for your area), carrots (need to mature in temp lower than 75 degrees).
I can still grow tropical corn as it only needs 12 hours of daylight. I can still grow some summer crops like beans, squash, gourds. Asian greens are best now. I will wait on cilantro and lettuce a little longer since it is still too hot for them now. Tropical and Asian varieties will do better than western varieties because they tolerate heat and don't have as many issues with fungal disease in the rainy season. Long beans, wing beans, Poamoho beans (rust and nematode tolerant), snow peas (December), Won bok, Kai choi, bok chois (pee chai, bok choi), gai lan, mizuna (for New Year), Gobo ( I have to grow it in a barrel since the root will be 3 ft long. It is easy to grow, but hard to harvest. I have yomogi in a pot, it is too wild to let it grow on the ground. I lost my mioga, it is hard to find. I can grow tomatoes year round, but tomatoes and cucumbers and most squash or anything with hairy leaves will have issues with fungal disease this time of the year unless they are grown in a hoop house (which I do not have.) Sweet potato leaves can be grown all year round. I might use it as a ground cover. The HOA may not know what it really is.

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digitS'
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imafan26 wrote:... Won bok, Kai choi, bok chois (pee chai, bok choi), gai lan, mizuna (for New Year), ...
There you go!

I am so often surprised that Imafan26 will sometimes grow the same vegetables and varieties that I do. Perhaps (only, perhaps) at different times of the year ...

It's hard to imagine how our climates could be much more different.

:) Steve

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Today, I got the greens, along with a bunch of onion sets for scallions, planted in the bed, then covered. Later, when it gets really cold, I'll remove the fabric and cover with plastic - a remnant greenhouse plastic.
ImageGreens ready to go outside. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageGreens in raised bed, ready to cover. 9-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageCovered raised bed 9-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I planted kohlrabi, lettuce, mizuna, and scallions on the outer rows. Senposai and komatsuna in the center, w/o something on the other side of the drip tape, since they get large; the rest - misome, chard, bok choy, shogoin - zig zagged on both sides of the drip tape.

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applestar
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Oooh the new raised bed looks great!

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Russian Red Kale is a good winter crop to grow no amount of cold weather around here kills it. Carrots, beets lettuce, chard, turnip greens all do good. Turnip greens is a good substitute for Spinach it has to get below zero to kill it. Now is a good time to plant turnip greens in a patch about 2ft wide along a sidewalk where you can get to it easy all winter. When it is 6" to 8" tall cut a large pot full with scissors cook it like spinach it taste better than spinach. I enjoy a winter break from the garden at the moment we are restoring an old house built in 1922. Today I bought another old 1963 camper to restore this winter. I usually build electronic project all winter. If I had a green house I think I can grow a lot of things in winter.

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By the map I'm 7b, but I suspect I'm more like 7a due to living in a generally warmer part of the city. I have some succession planted brussels sprouts that won't produce until the end of December. That should be fine since they only need to be covered below 26 (we rarely get that cold until January, if at all).

But, beyond that, I'm just going to buy a tunnel-style cold frame, and plant for the winter. Beets, turnips, kale, spinach, and brussels. If you can keep the temp under the frame above 25F, they should do okay. I'm going with clear plastic with a lot of vents, so I can close and open as required to keep them warm enough, but not burn them if it's 60F and sunny in February (boy have I been there).

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applestar
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Yep. I really think of that below 26 ...25/24 and lower as the magic number. Though there are a few that can go down to mid teens.

Here is a copy of my winter gardening notes. There is another thread somewhere with links to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in Virginia and Territorial Seeds in Pacific Northwest that I find useful. I’ll add those later when I get the chance.
Fall planting - Winter Minimum Temperature

Botanical Interests — Fall-sown Vegetable Crops Chart
:arrow: https://www.botanicalinterests.com/img/ ... hartv2.pdf


1st 10 hr day (in my area) = 11/14


This one at Texas AMU looks pretty good
:arrow: Fall Vegetable Gardening Guide for Texas


West Coast Seeds planting chart for Pennsylvania
https://1rxbfb2hflyo2jt6jd3f6sjr-wpengi ... lvania.pdf


Jelitto Perennial Seed | Plant Hardiness Zones
https://www.jelitto.com/Plant+Informati ... ess+Zones/


Sustainable Market Farming article — Winter-Kill Temperatures of Cold-Hardy Vegetables 2018
https://www.sustainablemarketfarming.co ... bles-2018/
—-

ETA — Southern Exposure's Fall & Winter Gardening Guide
https://www.southernexposure.com/southe ... ing-guide/

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digitS'
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There are variables. Plants may be able to build some resistance if low temperatures don't come on suddenly. I had some basil plants that had been exposed to lows in the low 40's Fahrenheit over a good number of days. Then, a storm with rain and snow mix. Temperature didn't rise out of the 30's that day! The following day morning low was 34°f. They didn't die and weren't even damaged - basil!

I've had basil die in high 30's when the cold came suddenly. I've killed tomato plants moving them from the greenhouse, when the heat was on and it was never colder than 60°, to a tunnel where the temperature was 37° the next morning. They were right beside the thermometer but ... stupid me. Monitoring the cold wasn't keeping them warm and the sudden change did too much damage to some of the seedlings.

Dehydration is a factor in frost damage. Just having them under plastic helps with that. However, my greenhouse does not hold heat/hold out the cold very well. It is 28° outside right now and the greenhouse is 37°. There was about 11 hours of daylight yesterday but clouds and no sun. As we move closer to the 16 hours of darkness on Winter Solstice for this location, the morning greenhouse temperature will be very few degrees warmer than the outdoors. If I have "cold-hardy" plants in there, I need to cover them ... well, I suppose that a spruce tree would be okay :wink: .

Monitoring temperatures in protected growing is important on bright, sunny days. Fortunately or unfortunately, the greenhouse cannot warm up to dangerous high temperatures in late fall. Eliot Coleman wrote a book called "Four Seasons Harvest." I think that it is a good title for what I can do here. "Harvest" doesn't necessarily mean "grow." In fact, I can see no growth whatever to the Asian greens that I've had in there during January! That doesn't mean that I cannot harvest them but I need transplants during October for harvest during November into February. Of course, with a little 20' bed, I can have a fair amount of greens :) but I won't be self-sufficient on a fresh food diet. Never.the.Less -- I have lots of potatoes and onions in the basement, a whole bunch of celeriac roots in the fridge, many big carrots to sink into a pit in the backyard garden ..! Can I get to that greenhouse repair in time for my Asian greens bed in the greenhouse? Busy/Busy!

I like your links for research, AppleStar. It makes sense to have some idea for what one wants to grow and protect through the winter and their tolerances.

Steve

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digitS' wrote:"Harvest" doesn't necessarily mean "grow." In fact, I can see no growth whatever to the Asian greens that I've had in there during January! That doesn't mean that I cannot harvest them but I need transplants during October for harvest during November into February.
This is very true. I'm going to seed the brussels I plan to have under the cold frame starting in just a couple weeks...they'll get some nice warm weather to germinate and establish (long range model has it mostly in the low/mid-70's through the end of month), and then only get covered over when the temps get really low to keep them from being damaged. In theory, the cover won't go on until they're within a few weeks of harvest. Nothing will get *started* after maybe late November (depending on what the weather does, maybe earlier, maybe a little later if the warm trend continues...DC set an all-time record high for October today).

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And, @applestar, that last link basically comports with my experience, though everything I've ever grown has been in a raised bed or container in very sunny locations, so your mileage may vary if growing at true ground level or areas without so much sun in the cooler months. DC's weather also tends to vary a lot (extreme cold snaps don't last more than a few days...and half the time it over-corrects and is unseasonably warm afterwards*), so it's easy enough for cover to help for a short-term snap.

*My favorite "extremes of DC weather" moment was returning from a tropical vacation in late January a few years ago. My luggage got delayed on transfer to my final flight to DC due to ridiculousness at East Coast airports, since a winter storm had just dropped 20" or more of snow on DC, NY, etc. I had put my winter coat and close-toed shoes in my checked bag, so I departed the plane with a sweatshirt, jeans, flip-flops, slippers, and socks at my disposal. I decided that it was too uncomfortable to wear the socks with the flip-flops, and the slippers weren't really built for any wet environment, so I walked out of the airport wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and flip-flops on otherwise bare feet. There was over 2 FEET of snow on the ground, but it was almost 60 degrees. My Uber driver thought I was a stupid tourist who didn't pack for the winter. :) By the time my luggage was brought to my house the next day, all the snow except the plow piles at the corners and a drift in our north yard had melted. :)

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I have ONE onion left in my garden. It's not big enough to pull up and use, it's just got a lot of greens. After this coming rain the temperatures are supposed to plummet into the 20's and 30's at night, with a chance of snow. Do I need to protect the onion any by spreading leaves around it, covering with a bucket? Or will the onion ruin if it gets snowed on? And will it hurt any to put some leaves around my cabbage and cauliflower to?

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applestar
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I really don’t know what the best mode of winter protection is for your area. In my area, the winter is much more severe.

Check out the links I posted earlier/above that lists temperatures that various veg’s tolerate/survive during the winter. The hardneck and porcelain varieties of garlic I plant are hardy to zone 3, but you might be planting softneck and turban varieties which are more suited for the southern states.

You might want to try watching some of this vlogger’s videos even though captions are in Japanese and there is no dialog. I estimate he is in Zone 8b. In this video, he puts low tunnels of vented poly over his onions and garlic which are planted in raised rows covered with plastic mulch with planting holes. In an earlier video — few days ago? — he sprinkled rice hulls at the base of each onion and garlic.

菜園だより191111冬支度
Vegetable Garden Diary 2019-11-11 Preparing for Winter



...for onions, you might want to follow the onion growing guide at Dixondale Farms. I sometimes buy onion plants from this Texas-based company.

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As contingency in case the outside garden fails, I have my Garage V8 Nursery to play in — :-()
Image

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applestar
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Btw — re: growing onions

Subject: minimum planter depth for different vegetables
applestar wrote:I don’t know/suspect not that you could expect to grow good bulb onions that way — I have yet to be successful growing good full sized bulbs in the ground, let alone a container. I recently mentioned onion bottoms in my own thread so I didn’t elaborate... {let me go find the link} ......

Here we go.... They don’t grow to full size (at least for me) but will form small bulbs as if they were onion sets if left to grow under right conditions — mostly I use them to trim the greens as they grow / regrow for ready source of green onions.

Subject: Applestar’s 2019 Garden
applestar wrote: - Onion bottoms that were growing in the Garage V8 2018-19 Winter Garden and transplanted out in spring — the bigger pair on the left had been a large Spanish onion that had twin green core. I think the cluster had been separate onion bottoms in a 4 inch pot (or planted close together in a large pot and deemed too difficult to separate).
Image(ignore the weeds)
Ref :arrow: Subject: You are NOT throwing away your onion bottoms are you?

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Gary350
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applestar wrote:Btw — re: growing onions

Subject: minimum planter depth for different vegetables
applestar wrote:I don’t know/suspect not that you could expect to grow good bulb onions that way — I have yet to be successful growing good full sized bulbs in the ground, let alone a container. I recently mentioned onion bottoms in my own thread so I didn’t elaborate... {let me go find the link} ......

Here we go.... They don’t grow to full size (at least for me) but will form small bulbs as if they were onion sets if left to grow under right conditions — mostly I use them to trim the greens as they grow / regrow for ready source of green onions.

Subject: Applestar’s 2019 Garden
applestar wrote: - Onion bottoms that were growing in the Garage V8 2018-19 Winter Garden and transplanted out in spring — the bigger pair on the left had been a large Spanish onion that had twin green core. I think the cluster had been separate onion bottoms in a 4 inch pot (or planted close together in a large pot and deemed too difficult to separate).
Image(ignore the weeds)
Ref :arrow: Subject: You are NOT throwing away your onion bottoms are you?
Those onions look good, hard to tell how large they really are there is nothing in picture to compare their size too. Onion on left looks BIG I think that is bigger than anything I ever grew. I have not learned the trick to growing large onions yet even though I talked to several people at farmers market that are growing onions but none of their onions are larger than 2.5" diameter, that could be do to TN very short cool spring weather 30 to 95 in 6 weeks. Everyone says use lots of potassium 4 times more potassium than nitrogen and irrigation water for onions. University studies online say the same thing lots more potassium than nitrogen. How much is lots of potassium? I guess I am not using enough.

What are zones? I think I am in zone 6 but I always thought that had to do with first & last frost. Elevation here is about 800 ft, east of here 30 miles is 2200 ft they get snow and cold when we don't, they must be in a different zone what ever that means? I know our first & last frost & how hot it gets not sure zone tells me anything about that. Zones are a foreign language I don't know. I think I am in zone y=x+2
Last edited by Gary350 on Wed Nov 13, 2019 7:59 pm, edited 6 times in total.

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TomatoNut95
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If my brain is not too frozen, I believe there are 10 zones in the US. I am in the 8th. Zone 1 is the coldest, with the harshest winters and zones 9 and 10 are the warmest, with the mildest winters. You could probably find a map that shows the zones. That's why when you purchase a plant, you need to research the zone requirements on it to find out if it will survive in your zone.

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I thought zone designations were based on temperatures rather than first & last frost dates but maybe not. Regardless, local micro-climate has its effect. I see major differences in plant viability between my rural place and 'in town' or 'out at the lake.'

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applestar
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Yep, USDA zone designations are based on minimum winter temperatures.

It’s important for gardeners to know their first and last average frost dates in the local area— those dates typically influence your routine gardening (planting/harvesting) schedules more than the USDA Zone, but your zone will apply to choice of crops and sometimes specific varieties you can plant in the ground vs. containers (containers are at least 1 zone less protected on both hot and cold ends of the scale), as well as winter prep for perennials, shrubs, trees.

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TomatoNut95
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According to the zone maps (Including Texas) I printed out yesterday, zones are divided into 'a's and 'b's. So I am in zone 8b.

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Gary350
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TomatoNut95 wrote:According to the zone maps (Including Texas) I printed out yesterday, zones are divided into 'a's and 'b's. So I am in zone 8b.
What does a & b mean? Is there c, d, e, f, g, etc?

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applestar
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Just a and b. USDA Zones were re-designated with sub-divided a and b Zones to indicate 5 degree differences. Originally the major zone differences were by 10 degrees. So 8a and 8b difference is by 5 degrees. 8b and 7b difference is by 10 degrees.

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Worth noting that the USDA zones are just about how cold a winter is, and winter survivability of plants. They have nothing to do with summer gardening. In Texas here, I'm in the same USDA zone as the Pacific Northwest, and our summer gardening conditions couldn't be more different. The Sunset zones are much better whole-year indicators of gardening conditions. Actually, if you want to tell me where you are, don't tell me a zone. Tell me a state.

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TomatoNut95
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This is the East Texas map I found. I had no idea zones were dived into a and b's.
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Gary350
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How do I look up zones? What if I want to look up my TN zone and compare it to and AZ zone or IL zone or MI zone.?

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TomatoNut95
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All I did was just Google 'US planting zones' to find my maps.

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Winter protection here is the same as summer protection. The doves have been eating the seeds from the pots again so I have to cover the seeds with another tray. Snails are out again in force so slug bait every two weeks and snail hunts whenever I water. The snails munched on more cucumber seedlings and the birds dropped a couple of pots that I recently transplanted. I am probably getting up too late. I am only seeing 4 snails on average, but they are huge. I usually find them together chewing on the same plants. I don't have to water as much now, so I have to add more perlite to my mix. Too much peat or compost in the mix will stunt and rot plants. The weeds love the rain. It is hard to find a day without rain for 24 hours to do Round Up. I have had to do hand weeding so I can only clear small areas at a time.

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TomatoNut95
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Would Diotemacious(If I spelled that right) Earth help deter the snails?

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Gary350
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TomatoNut95 wrote:Would Diotemacious(If I spelled that right) Earth help deter the snails?
Get some guinea birds they will eat snails and not your plants.

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Gary350
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Online zone maps can not be trusted none of them have the same information. Some maps say I am in zone 6, other maps say I am in zone 7. Some maps say nothing about zone a & b. Some maps say nothing about temperature. TV weather man said I am in zone 6a and 30 east where elevation is 1500 feet higher is zone 6b. I live 30 miles south of Nashville TN. Some maps claim zone 6 lowest temperature is -10 degrees F. Other maps says I am in zone 7 lowest temperature is 0 degrees F. I moved to TN from IL 1977 winter of 1978 has become known as the coldest winter is 100 years we had a nation wide blizzard it was -17 degrees here for a week but no information online tells it was every -17 degrees here. After living here 42 years I have learned our average low it about 15 degrees about 98% of the time. I think it was 2 years ago we had 6 degrees for a week. SO....what good is a zone hardest map it is about as accurate flipping a quarter, HEADS it will be 15 degree, TAILS it will be 5 degrees, if the quarter lands on its EDGE it will be -17 degrees. That is why I have paid NO attention to zones in 30 years. When someone says they are in a certain zone it makes me think, so what. I don't see how zone map has very much to do with gardening? If I am growing Russian Kale or Turnip greens I know they should survive, probably, maybe, it has to get below 0 to kill them. Most plants die when it frosts 33 to 39 degrees that has nothing to do with zones either.
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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I would go with the 2 maps based on1976-2005 extreme temps.

pepperhead212
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Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b

I agree with Apple, on the extreme temps. Same thing come spring. I'm always hearing all this junk about the "average last frost date", which means nothing to me. I think it's a sales gimmick, to get people to buy things that they shouldn't be planting! You have a 50% chance of the things getting a frost, so who does this? I guess there are a lot of gamblers out there.

Those greens in my hoop house are doing great, but I'm not sure how long they will last. I got a thermometer under there, telling me what the temp is, which I'll watch closely, once those temps go way down.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Yeah. Another thing to keep in mind is that local micro-climate will affect temperature. Even just in my tiny patch, there is a difference between northward curve of the front lawn vs. the Vegetable Garden raised bed area for example, even though the front lawn gets more sun exposure than any of the the backyard areas where there is hardly any direct sun in the winter.

In addition to remote temp sensors in different parts of my garden, I keep track with both WeatherBug and WeatherUnderground network of amateur weather stations, in addition to the “official” weather forecasts — which is typically the least “accurate” (=match for my garden) since it’s recorded at the nearest airport - not close location, totally different kind of micro-climate. There is usually a temperature gap of 5 to 10 degrees. The reason can usually be reasoned out — this one is near the major throughway and business park parking lots, this one is in the open field, this one is surrounded by woods in the Pine Barrens (surrounded by trees and shade, sand vs. clay soil).... etc.

Basic horticultural rules apply too — if downslope from north-facing slope, it will get colder since cold air flows downhill ... area surrounded by thermal masses and heat sinks — pavement, rocks, water — will get moderating effects ... open area with winter predominant wind without any windbreak will be colder ... Nice extended period of snowcover in colder temperature area can provide protection for the roots/crown and allow perennials to survive better than where it is warmer but there is less snow, unless well mulched before the ground start to freezes ... etc.

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TomatoNut95
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Location: Texas Zone 8

Usually the average last frost date in my area is....well, I'd say it varies. You never TRULY know when the last frost of the Spring is. Usually around Eastertime. One of my gardening friends says he plants his after April the 1rst. And to be honest, April is probably a good month to plant. As much as I'd like to get stuff out in March, there's ways a chance of a sneak-attack frost. One year(probably in a March) I dug my stuff back UP from the garden and stuck it in the greenhouse when it started getting too cold at night. I just stand stand Texas weather!! It refuses to stay consistent!!

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Gary350
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Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

applestar wrote:I would go with the 2 maps based on1976-2005 extreme temps.
That will put me in zone 7.

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applestar
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Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I just watched another video — this is share garden adviser series that I’m trying to cherry pick/ garner ideas from — not directly applicable to my garden like most of these Japanese videos since most of the locations are in USDA Zone 8~9 equivalent winter temperatures.

Folks that garden in those zones might find this one informative though…. :wink:

I’m studying these methods with intention to apply them INSIDE my high tunnel hoop house AFTER all of the existing mistakes and issues have been ironed out and it is able to maintain a more protected environment through the winter months. :bouncey:

“What to do if direct planted crops suffer Jan Feb frost freeze damages”
- better to use plastic mulch during winter for protecting roots against soil freeze-thaw
- for baby~young crops partially damaged by freezing temperatures
* clean up and remove frost yellowed, dead and dried up leaves as well as severely weakened plants — keep young plants that still have 2 or 3 healthy new leaves, but not if roots are stunted due to freeze
* To encourage recovery, add floating cover + poly directly (with low lift from 12 inch U pins etc)
* PLUS well secured low tunnel of non-woven cloth and VENTED poly

[youtube]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7t8kIb5Ac ... e=youtu.be[/youtube]


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Gary350
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Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

{I think I fixed the link. Sorry about that … will try playing it when previewing for typos in the future — applestar}

About 35 years ago I was putting milk jugs of warm water next to garden plants then cover them with a bed sheet or tarp plants survived 20° many times. Once I had a tunnel over a row of plants I put milk jugs of warm water in tunnel plants were good in 15° nights. It appears a small amount of heat is enough to prevent freezing. It might be worth trying to put several milk jugs of warm or hot water in hoop house or tunnel to keep plants from freezing.

I have about 30 empty 5 gallon buckets to cover tomato plants & pepper plants April 1 to 20 our last frost is about April 20 and it freezes in April too. There is enough heat is our soil it keeps inside of the bucket warm enough plants don't freeze at night. I have no clue how warm it gets inside those buckets probably no more than 33° or 34°.



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