gumbo2176
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Just ordered some seeds for spring

Went on-line to Johnny's Seeds and ordered a bunch of seeds in anticipation of my spring garden. I should be able to put some stuff in the ground by mid March if things go as they usually do with the weather. By the time the seeds get here, I'll need to be starting some of them to be ready when I need them.

My broccoli is about done but I will continue to harvest the tenderest leaves for greens, the brussels sprouts are going crazy and I harvested about a gallon off the plants yesterday and still have a lot more getting bigger on the stalks. The leafy greens are being picked regularly but are growing faster than I can eat them, so my neighbors and extended family are enjoying the extras. My sugar snap peas are still coming in and by the amount of flowers on the plants, I should have them for a few more weeks. This has been one of my most productive fall gardens and the working conditions have been nothing short of great.

For those that remember a previous post, those fish parts are going in the garden in a few days. I pulled some of the plants that were done and now have room for the stuff I froze a few weeks ago. I hope is stays relatively cool till it breaks down. :wink:

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applestar
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Sounds great! You've been reporting some really amazing harvests. :D

... so difficult for me to even picture that you're doing this NOW, considering it's 19ºF outside and my garden is frozen solid.... :o

gumbo2176
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applestar wrote:Sounds great! You've been reporting some really amazing harvests. :D

... so difficult for me to even picture that you're doing this NOW, considering it's 19ºF outside and my garden is frozen solid.... :o

This past Monday I got in the garden to pull what remained of my tomato plants that were finally killed by a recent freeze. When I got done pulling the plants and removing the bad tomatoes I decided to harvest lettuce, chard, kale and other salad greens.

I wound up filling two 5 gallon buckets packed with various greens and almost filled a 2 1/2 gallon plastic paint bucket with some broccoli side shoots and brussels sprouts and sugar snap peas.

Thank goodness I have a good size double sink to clean all this in. I had to use 2 bath towels on my counter top and kitchen table to place the stuff to dry off a bit before putting it in some plastic grocery bags to store in my fridge. I gave away 2 plastic grocery bags full, one to a neighbor who's kitchen is being renovated and one to my in-laws.

Matter of fact, later today I'm making a nice pan of lasagna with some of the swiss chard I gathered and am looking forward to a nice garden salad and some garlic bread with it for tonight's dinner.

Gardening this time of year in my neck of the woods is a pleasure and SO different from the summer drudgery of heat, humidity, pests and plant diseases.

garden5
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It sure does sound like you have has quite the year so far for gardening. Hope you can even outdo it again in 2011!

I'm trying to us up as many of the seeds that I have now before I start accumulating many more. That's what's nice about seeds: you seldom use up all of them in one season.

gumbo2176
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garden5 wrote:It sure does sound like you have has quite the year so far for gardening. Hope you can even outdo it again in 2011! I'm trying to us up as many of the seeds that I have now before I start accumulating many more. That's what's nice about seeds: you seldom use up all of them in one season.

I'm going to try the zucchini and yellow crook necks again in the late spring and hope for the best. I lost all my plants on 3 different occasions due to squash vine borer infestation. Just about everything else in the spring/summer garden did fine until the July/August heat took its toll.

I know what you mean about seeds. The packets I ordered cost between $1.00 and $2.95. Some of the packets contain up to 250 seeds-----far more than I need at any one time or even throughout the entire season. They will be saved and used at a later date or given away to others that can use them. With my climate, many of the plants that grow in the early spring can be sown in late summer for a nice fall harvest.

Desirai
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I'm a newbie to vegetable gardening but wow it sounds like you got great harvests off your plants!!!

DeborahL
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Gumbo, I've been reading your posts for some time now. I always thought California was year round gardening until I saw your posts. WOW !
It's like you never stop. I especially like that you share your abundance with others.

gumbo2176
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DeborahL wrote:Gumbo, I've been reading your posts for some time now. I always thought California was year round gardening until I saw your posts. WOW ! It's like you never stop. I especially like that you share your abundance with others.
Well, mild winters generally mean brutal summers. Southeast Louisiana turns into a hothouse in the summer and makes gardening a real chore. I find myself doing much of the hard work early in the morning or late in the afternoon. That is why I love gardening in the fall/winter. I don't think I've broken a real sweat since October.

I'm glad I can grow vegetables year round and fortunate that my garden, for the most part, produces more than my household can eat. I like sharing some of what I grow since a lot of it is not found in local markets and it opens folks up to trying different things. I must have about 15 different plants that can be used for salad greens and the colors and shapes really catch the eye. I've not had anyone tell me they didn't want what I've offered them once they've tasted how fresh and flavorful it is.

lily51
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It's hard for me to imagine gardening in January--lucky you! Those of us in Ohio are trying high tunnels to prolong our season.
Right now there are 3 new inches of snow on the ground!

I have ordered seeds from 2 diffeent companies, having already received the first batch. That's one thing nice about winter here, gives one time to peruse and plan.

Keep us updated on what's happening around the country! Gives us visions of what's ahead for us! :D

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Avonnow
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I love reading your posts, caught some on the compost forum. You are one industrious man. Its Sherry in Florida (lots of Okra this summer). 8) I ordered those bean seeds you recommended the long red noodle ones that grow unbelievable lengths - I can't wait to try them. You were talking about the freeze there, I know in FL we are going to get more bad weather. We have had 6 freezes here, not as long each night as you guys, but it still does the damage. It seems that the last few winters have just been out of the ordinary for us. But I got lots of Christmas lights and I am hoping to keep what I have going through spring. I still have beans that are producing which is a shocker. My broccoli is just starting to get heads on it and I have a good bunch of tomatos and greens all working. Today for the first time I tasted a fresh pea - I know alot of people think I am crazy but I had to make everyone in the house try them - they were fantastic. I have bunches of those as well (probably not near what I need to make a real harvest) but it is exciting. I am following you! :P

DeborahL
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Sherry, the first time I grew peas, I stood outside scarfing them all. Not one made it to the kitchen. Talk about a feast !

gumbo2176
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Sherry, sounds like your garden is going well too. Glad to hear the okra did well and I think you will be real happy with the yard long beans. The red ones are included in some of the seeds I just ordered. Last year I grew the green ones. I've grown purple pole beans before and they cook up green once they hit the hot water or steam and I'm guessing the red yard longs will too. My broccoli is just about played out with the side shoots getting smaller and smaller, but they were quite productive. The sugar snaps I have are coming in and are not affected by the cold weather. They are so sweet and are great in stir fry, raw in salads or lightly steamed for something warm.

For the yard long beans, you should have some type trellis for them to climb on. You will be surprised how fast the vines grow for that variety. My trellis is 7 ft. tall and once the vines got to the trellis to cling on it, they got to the top in a matter of a couple weeks. That variety grows the beans so fast I'd swear you can almost watch them growing.

If you have the room, give soybeans a stab. They can be planted close together, don't grow very tall and are very productive. I love Edamame and that is what I use them for. They are loaded with protein and have a mild sweetness to them.

Keep us updated on your successes and occasional failure. Mine has been the inability to keep healthy squash plants this year. Better luck this spring/summer I hope.

gumbo2176
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[quote="lily51"]It's hard for me to imagine gardening in January--lucky you! Those of us in Ohio are trying high tunnels to prolong our season.
Right now there are 3 new inches of snow on the ground!


I have a good friend that lives in Bloomington, IN and he calls asking about our weather. A couple weeks ago after our second short freeze the weather warmed up and he called to say it was 1 degree at his house. I just had to tell him I was sitting on my back porch in slacks and a t-shirt and it was 68. He cursed me. :P

It must be frustrating for northern gardeners to take such a long hiatus during the winter. I have friends that do the same thing with their motorcycles and I almost hate to tell them about all the riding I can get in this time of year. Almost!!

Use this time to get the spring garden planned out, seeds bought and seedlings started. Tomorrow I'll head to our City Park and gather a couple truckloads of leaves to place between the rows to be tilled in come spring time.

wisconsingal
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I wonder if I should order seeds now rather than wait a few more weeks. Last year Johnny's was out of a few varieties by the time I placed my order in February.

gumbo2176
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wisconsingal wrote:I wonder if I should order seeds now rather than wait a few more weeks. Last year Johnny's was out of a few varieties by the time I placed my order in February.

I ordered yesterday and got everything I wanted and they were in stock with the exception of one variety on back order till 1-12-11 which is right around the corner. I really would love to grow some blackberries and grapes but I've just about run out of room in my back yard.

DeborahL
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Angela, what a marvelous website ! I've put it in Favorites !

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applestar
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...but I've just about run out of room in my back yard
Time to start re-designing the FRONT yard then! :>

gumbo2176
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applestar wrote:
...but I've just about run out of room in my back yard
Time to start re-designing the FRONT yard then! :>
I've thought about that but my front yard is really small and there is no fence around that area of my property. About the best thing I can think of is to plant a small herb garden out front but even that won't free up a lot of garden space in the rear yard.

Homes in many New Orleans neighborhoods, like mine, are built very close together. I have a driveway on one side and I have less than 2 ft. from the edge of my drive to my neighbors house. On the other side, I can stand in the alley between the houses and outstretch my arms and touch both houses. These houses were built long before the building codes we now have.



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