Applestar and me the only ones doing a fall garden or what?

[tedln]

Lots of gardeners keep journals or write blogs they can reference in the future. I'm not that diligent at recording data. Since I grow in raised beds, I simply use a black magic marker and write everything on the frame of the bed. I typically write the variety, planting date, projected days to harvest or first harvest date. If I am unhappy with something, I draw a line thru it. If I am happy with it, I circle it. By the following spring, my writing has faded to the point that I can barely read it, but I can see enough to know what I liked last year and what I didn't like. I then write over last years notes with this years notes.

Ted

[crobi13]

That's a great idea, Ted!
I am regretting not writing anything down but I will certainly try to next year.

[gixxerific]

I agree, good idea Ted, see that why I love this site. I get all kinds of ideas some good some bad. But I don't have any real gardening friends to ask about life experiences. Not that you guy's aren't my cyber friends.

Dono

[SP8]

Maintaining a garden scrapbook is vital and a hell of a lot of fun to look back on!

[tedln]

SP8,

I love your patio garden. I also admire your diligence in recording data. I am not inclined to do that. I know a lot of people who keep relevent data on their activities. I just decide if I like something or I don't like it.

I am curious about the seasonal conditions on the Gold Coast of Australia. I know your seasons are reversed from ours in the U.S. Do you experience below freezing temps in the winter or excessively hot in the summer. What months are your primary gardening months? Is the Gold Coast an agricultural area, tourist area, or manufacturing area of Australia? You mentioned problems you were having with aphids in your notes. What are some other common gardening pests you have?

Ted

[kgall]

I would love to do a fall garden. I am a new gardener and I think it's too late for my area. Our first average frost is Sept 19. Maybe by next year I will be wiser!

[SP8]

Cheers!

The Gold Coast is Australia’s main tourism city and is a great spot for gardening all year round!

December/January/February and Summer
Mean temperature: 24.1 C - 75.4 F

March/April/May and Autumn
Mean temperature: 21.1 C and 70.0 F

June/July/August and Winter
Mean temperature: 17.20 C and 63 F

September/October/November and Spring
Mean temperature: 20.00 C and 68 F

The ‘wet’ season is typically in late Summer to early Autumn.

[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/SamhainP8/GC.jpg[/img]

In regards to pests, as I'm up on the 3rd floor and container based, my biggest problems to date have been from aphids and the occasional Currawong (bird). I think the aphids got introduced and established after I purchased some seedlings without checking them thoroughly….. Thankfully my homemade brew seems to have all but finished them off.

[cherlynn]

I just thought that I'd join in the Fall Garden Planting fun! The last week in July I direct seeded snap peas, freckled romaine lettuce(delicious!), radishes, carrots and spinach. I also planted some broccoli starts for fall. However, I didn't realize that I could plant corn for fall....I wonder if it's too late?!?!? I'm going to check my seed packet and give it a try! Excellent idea to plant corn where the bush beans are growing, Applestar!

My earlier corn was not that productive...there are five stalks with ears growing...enough to enjoy with the grandkids! The pole beans are enjoying the climb up the stalks...still waiting for their harvest!

Believe it or not...we are still getting snap peas from the early spring planting...just a few, but yummy!


Happy Gardening!

[tedln]

I planted some asparagus yard long beans where my pole beans had been earlier. They have sprouted and are growing rapidly. I understand they are a tropical plant that thrives in high heat.

I also planted more cucumbers and yellow squash to start producing in late September for a fall crop. Both the cucumbers and squash popped a few plants out of the ground and decided this place is to hot for them and promptly died. I will wait for a cooling trend in the weather and try again.

I can't say that I blame the cukes and squash for dying on me. I only stick my head outside in the cooler mornings and evenings.

I bought some tomato plants to plant for a fall crop in addition to my still alive but dormant spring tomatoes. They are just sitting there with their feet in the cool ground waiting for cooler weather. They are not dying or growing. They are just waiting.

Ted

[gixxerific]

Cherlynn I direct sowed snap peas myself and they are getting big for just over a week old. I hope they do well my spring crop did not I think I ate one bean pod and that was straight off the plant, before they went down.

Ted sorry to hear about your squash and cuc's, but hey I believe you are a lot like me plant and hope for growth if no growth try again or try something else. I think I have a problem, I just love to grow stuff whether it will make it or not. It's a game of sorts with tasty fruits of beautiful flowers as the reward.

I have too many cuc's to even think about planting any more, I'm actually getting tired of them.

Dono

[cherlynn]

gixxerific said...

I think I have a problem, I just love to grow stuff whether it will make it or not.

I think I have the same problem. Fortunately most of it does just fine!

[applestar]

I'm still amazed that one little seed can grow and produce so much bounty.

Even the pests are kind of interesting even if they're destroying my garden in the process. I discovered squash borers in one of my Yellow Crookneck squash.
I found 6 FAT 3/4" grubs when I dissected the crumbly remains of the vine. :evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:

I've planted my [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17804&view=next&sid=c329d30140267ce3adfe96108d012110]washing machine corn starts[/url] -- 2~3" tall with 4" roots -- in its place. Matures in 62 days... I'm cutting it close -- hope they make it.

I'm pretty sure 2 zucchini plants have been invaded too. Well, I still have more washing machine corn to plant.

[crobi13]

kgall:
It's not too late for you to plant fall veggies. I'm in MA & I have not planted my fall garden either. I'm going to plant Onions, Garlic & Carrots to let them grow over the winter. Hopefully, by spring, I'll have a big bounty

[crobi13]

Does anyone know if potatoes will grow over winter? I found a website that ships them in Sept. I was not sure if that was for planting then or in preperation for spring. Any thoughts?

[kgall]

I am going to try the garlic. The carrots I planted in the spring are not quite ready yet! I picked one yesterday and it looked like it was growing just fine...just slow! I am not too sure about the onions yet. I have never planted them before!

[gixxerific]

Does anyone know if potatoes will grow over winter? I found a website that ships them in Sept. I was not sure if that was for planting then or in preparation for spring. Any thoughts?

Yes they are a cool weather crop they don't like heat. Though I'm no expert on this I have heard many different way s to get them going some say with seed potatoes to put an apple piece in with hem to help them sprout. I believe it is a chemical called ethylene (sp) Google "planting fall potatoes" I am going to try this year myself I have a bunch of little potatoes form this spring I am going to try out.

Live and learn, it can't hurt to try.

p.s. just as I hit the 'submit button' I thought call the company you are looking at with Sept shipped potatoes they should be able to tell you what, where and when to plant for you climate zone. If they can't I might look elsewhere.

Good luck

[crobi13]

Thanks, Dono!! I think I'm gonna try the potoatoes, can't hurt.

[Diane]

Does anyone know if potatoes will grow over winter? I found a website that ships them in Sept. I was not sure if that was for planting then or in preperation for spring. Any thoughts?

The plants freeze when it gets too cold. My last pot last year did.

[crobi13]

Diane:
Did the plants die with mulch or straw?

Maybe I can grow them in my basement?

[kimbledawn]

I just replanted lettuce a second batch of carrots and spinach. My mustard and kale are finally growing( I planted them too early) and I will have to thin and eat them soon. I hace sweet potatoes that I have been growing in a bag and hope to harvest one day and I still have peppers, tomatoes, cukes, eggplant, zuccini and squash growing.

[Diane]

Charlete, the green part above ground froze just like a tomato plant freezes.

[somegal]

We are also doing a fall garden. We have planted various lettuces, bush beans, tomatoes and by the way some of which are cuttings from last seasons tomatoes so we have a little bit of a jump start and onions. We are also planning on cauliflower, broccolli, sweet potatoes and winter squash. Yum, Yum nothing like fresh garden veges.

[gixxerific]

The plants freeze when it gets too cold. My last pot last year did.

This from a master gardener it has a lot of good info on fall\winter potatoes as far north as zone 6. https://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/adams/2005/fall_potato.htm

Diane not a 100% on this but maybe they didn't do well because they were in a pot. When in a pot they are more exposed to the elements than when in the ground. Like how bridges freeze before regular roads because the cold air goes underneath as well as on top. I have never tried fall...... anything but am trying to figure it out, this site has been super good helping me out.

Thanks all, try them in the ground if you can.

[crobi13]

Very interesting
I have not decided where I'm going to plant them (in buckets in the basement? or outside?) but I am going to try.

Thanks everyone!

[gixxerific]

Very interesting
I have not decided where I'm going to plant them (in buckets in the basement? or outside?) but I am going to try.

Thanks everyone!

Try a few methods or try them all. I will just plant outside and see how that goes. I think potatoes need a lot of room though I may be wrong.

[Diane]

From that article, if you time it just right you might be able to hill them before the ground freezes.

[Jewell]

Am off to pick up some composted manure for reviving some "blank" spaces in my garden beds from harvested vegies. With the fine rain today will seed spinach, beetberry, mesclun-sweet salad mix, and plant out my over-wintering cauliflower starts. Have a hunkering for radicchio but don't know if I can find the seed without mail order and may be too late to start. Will look today while out. Love, love the fine misty rain

Winter garden is beginning to look real good. Nero Di Toscan kale is with-standing the leaf miners better than the Siberian kale or mixed blend I tried last winter. Brussel sprouts are huge, but I have no idea what variety since I boutght them on sale last month. Hopefully they won't start forming spouts until fall .

Broad beans (3 varieties) are on order, but not sure if they will get here in time for planting . First time to try them in years and found some pretty red flowering varieties. Need them for replenishing the soil and will try them again for eating.

Happy gardening.

[tedln]

Jewell,

The broad bean or fava bean is a common plant in gardens in the United Kingdom. They do have a pest called the black fly which will devastate the broad bean crops if the gardener fails to pinch off the terminal buds in a certain part of the season. Apparently the black fly has a specific season when it is prevalent. Do you know if we have the same pest of the broad bean in North America? I don't think many U.S. gardeners grow them. Many people simply don't like them. In the U.K. they seem to eat them as a snack food.

Ted

[NaeMo]

You all have me fired up to plant a little more. We've had a mild summer so far, and I planted my spring starts very late (late June/early July). Nothing to harvest yet, but beautiful, lush plants with lots of flowers or little fruit.

Anyway, I have various lettuces to plant, peas and snow peas... I have a few brussels sprouts plants that are in pots and haven't done much growing that I will stick in the ground and hope for the best. I have broccoli and cauliflower seed, I wonder if I can direct seed it and get some actual food from it.

[Jewell]

Tedln - the black fly in the UK is actually what we call aphids (the black variety). They need to be kept hosed/sprayed off if they are a really bad, but I have lots of lady bugs and their larva in the garden so don't really have a problem. Oh yeh, I live in the Puget Sound, Washington state, so the amount of rain here is a natural spritzer (usually). How would they affect you in Texas?

[Jewell]

NaeMo, I don't know your first frost date or how hard they are, but you can always give it a try. There is a varieties of cauliflower and broccoli that will winter over and produce a very early head in spring (the cauliflower is the only variety that I am successful with because of our crazy summers). You can always use the leaves like kale/greens if it looks like the weather is going to get really cold or set a cold frame over them.

[tedln]

Jewell,

I have very few problems with aphids. I did get a small infestation in my yellow squash, but the natural predators quickly tooks care of them. I also have a lot of lady bugs.

Ted

[gixxerific]

This is great 5 pages so far, to tell the truth I had no idea this many people planted stuff so late. I never really did till this year. Every newcomer makes me fell that much better I started this thread.

All your ideas and suggestions are great, they give me new ideas. Can't wait to see what happens this winter when it is COLD, what will survive what will not.

I've been busy working on my truck the last two day's, and cutting my super extra growing grass to get in the garden but tomorrow is the day. Thing seems to be doing good though. I think a plant or two will be sacrificed and the thinning will begin.

As always have fun and keep this thing going.

[earthenwings]

This is my first time planting, so we'll see how it goes (please, no more torrential rains!). I'm planning on starting some spinach, carrots, endive, onions, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and garlic. All within 70 square feet of screened in porch. Heh? Maybe I'm a bit too optimistic, but it should be fun!

[Tinybu88les8]

Ive been wanting to plant my fall garden but I'm afraid its still too soon yet for me being in so cali and all. Its supposed to be 90 something today. But when I do start planting I have blue cabbage, red brussels sprouts, purple spinach, russian truffle tomatoes, tiger melons, lemon cucumbers, soy beans, heirloom beans, romanisco (sp) broccoli, granex onions (grown in vadalia georgia) and leeks!

[tedln]

Hey bu88les8,

Sounds like a good plan. I'm in the same boat. I am just waiting for the temps to moderate a little. I think we are pretty close to 100 degrees today. Supposedly we will receive a cool front this weekend which will moderate the temps into the mid 60's at night and the high 80's in the daytime. Guess I will need a warm jacket while planting my fall garden. I already have my fall tomatoes planted. Will probably buy seed for the other stuff tomorrow.

I am curious about the onions you are planting. The granex is the parent onion of all the super sweets including the Vidalia, Noonday, and Maui sweet. The variety I plant is the Texas A&M 1015, but I can't plant them until February because we do have a few hard freezes here in the winter. If the fall planted onions are exposed to two freezes before spring, they will bolt quickly in the spring to produce seed and probably not produce a bulb. Did you obtain your seed / seedlings from Vidalia, or were you just referencing the similarity between what you are planting and the Vidalia? Most onion varieties are grown for seed or seedlings for specific areas or zones. If you received yours from Vidalia, Georgia; they may not do well in Southern California.

Just curious.

Ted

[Jewell]

Tinybu - you'll have to let us know how your different vegies do. It is interesting to see what will grow best in each of the different regions at different times/seasons of the year.

My broadbeans are up in their pots and the late season corn is tasseled. Won't be long before the beans go in there. The midsummer planted cauliflower got way too big??? don't understand why. Hopefully it will wait until spring to head up. Got too many vegies right now to eat. All the last seeded greens are coming up. Brussel sprouts are just beginning to form. I don't like them until after a frost and they sweeten so hopefully they will slow down too. It's all a guessing/trial-and-error hobby for me.

[Tinybu88les8]

tedln

I honestly don't know much about the onion. I ordered all of my seeds from amazon.com. The company is called Hirts Gardens I believe. Ive been a little confused about them myself. Says they are called Granex and come from Vadalia Georgia? I'm gonna give them a shot...they sounded so delicious! Ive been dying to make roasted onions with fresh herbs in a cream sauce! Ive been holding onto the recipe. YUM!

[tedln]

That does sound delicious. The sweet onion should be perfect. I grew a lot of them this past spring and everyone who ate them commented on how sweet they are. The herb sauce sounds great. Will you make a bechamel white sauce with butter? Which herbs will you use?

Ted

[gixxerific]

Cool still going.

The Vadalia is an awesome onion. I have never grown them but if just right they can be eaten like an apple, if your are into onions that is.

To some of the new comers is it trial and error for me as well. With the dramatic changes in weather. I have started seed that went bad. Started seed again with cooler temps, much better this time. I already have stuff in the ground. Broccoli, Cauliflower, Arugula, Swiss Chard, Blue Lake Beans, Snow Peas, Sugar Daddy Peas, Snowbird Peas, Brussels Sprouts, and Mustard Greens.

As seedling many of the same as well as Mustard, Onions(some Utah strain?) and carrots. The carrots are just today starting to sprout after about 2 weeks.

So Ted be patient with that lettuce as mentioned in your lettuce thread. Take care of them and they will come.

I will be planting more when the tomatoes have been removed, kinda waiting for them to go so I can renew what space I have.

Got Tea, it will be done thur, can't wait. Check this out https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17097