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Gary350
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Re: Whats your favorite vegetable?

applestar wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 1:54 pm
FWIW — You might remember last year I was really binge-watching this Japanese YouTuber. He originally worked in ministry of agriculture, and after retiring, started a blueberry farm and has a teaching position at an agricultural university and a co-op.

This is a video from last November (11/5/19) when he was planting green pea seedlings started in small pots —- looks like about 3 inch? — 3 to a pot. He is planting them 20cm apart under a narrow arch-tunnel covered with what looks like — this blue mesh — commercial wind break mesh (in the US I have found them advertised for athletic fields, too). There is a later video of a different market farmer posting video for progress on his pot-started snap peas and broad beans on 11/25/19.

— so the common technique for them is starting the seeds in containers and transplanting well-started Plants —

I’m not sure without watching more videos whether he will later cover the tunnel with Greenhouse plastic, but the area he lives in is similar in seasonal climate to TN or GA. He doesn’t talk in his videos but a caption at the end said “Looking forward to the spring harvest!” And his “spring” videos are labeled as such starting around mid-February (which in my area is still Winter....)



- in the opening slide-show, he shows current progress of garlic in the ground (the way the greens are growing are indicative of his climate NOT being same as mine — somewhere further south with less freezing), daikon growing in potting mix/fertilizer bags, pot-started broad beans and snap peas which he is apparently not planting yet, etc.

...watched the video again — in caption, he mentioned that in addition to the wind-break mesh on the north side, the arch is under where the massive bird-proof netting, which during the summer season covers the ENTIRE blueberry planting area Is GATHERED against the wind-break mesh covered border fencing framework and secured during the off-season. So he doesn’t think any additional frost-proofing would be necessary.

...BTW this model — covering the ENTIRE blueberry orchard by surrounding with wind-break mesh fencing and covering high overhead with bird-proof netting on wire cable support — is something I’m trying to adapt in obviously much smaller scale for my own garden...
WOW that is a nice crop of peas. I wonder if each pot has more than 1 plant per pot. Picture show 9 peas per pod for 3 pods then 10 peas in the other pod. His plants are loaded with big pods. He made a soil mound under an irrigation pipe.

My plants never look that good, they are skinny like they need, more sun, more fertilizer, more water, with not many leaves & not many pods & pods are small with few peas. Pods average about 1 to 3 peas per pod.

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Gary350
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TomatoNut95 wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:48 pm
ElizabethA wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 12:12 pm
I love growing peas! They seem to love it here in the Pacific Northwest! I have many volunteers that come up every year from the previous season!
Peas are something my family has grown for years. What type of peas do you like? My folks always grew purple hulls and cream peas. This year I grew Holstein and Hog Brain cowpeas and I was satisfied with both.
What do you call these green color peas? Alaska snow peas seem to grow best. I can grown purple hull peas no problem 40 lbs in a 40 ft row they grow like beans but we don't care much about them.

What fertilizer do peas need?
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applestar
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The one in his video is a Japanese cultivar called “Magoyutaka” (Many Grandchildren). I can sometimes find Japanese varieties in the US, but didn’t find any on search, and even in Japanese, I only came across 2 seed sources in Japan — one I clicked on was a ag co-op and sold out. This could mean that it is a brand new cultivar — he still has many connections to agricultural industry and seed developers, and sometimes receive experimental varieties that are still under development to trial. It could also mean, though, that they have a next generation that will be rolled out for next season.

He described it as somewhat short plants, but the seed vendor described it as 1.2m (47-1/4 inches) With 9-10 peas per pod. It reminded me of a variety I’ve grown — productive long pods, almost 4 ft — called EMERALD ARCHER. This variety was touted as improvement on the popular Green Arrow. It grew well for me. Here’ a photo from 2019 (bottom-left in the collage) :
applestar wrote:
Sat May 25, 2019 5:03 pm

PEAS —
Image

* Top Left and Center - Sugar Magnolia
* Bottom Left - Emerald Archer
* Top Right - Sugar Sprint
* Bottom Right - Iona Petit Pois

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TomatoNut95
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My neighbor tried to grow some Wando sweet peas this fall. The plants just seemed puny and spindly, reminding me of the time I tried to grow some. Her peas got injured a good bit in that first bad frost we had. I have a feeling sweet peas are not easy to do...

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digitS' wrote:
Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:57 pm
...The summer green that makes the best growth for me is amaranth...
I shouldn't allow my 2 year experience with a new amaranth variety to cause me to ignore the green I have most through the hot weather of Summer: kale.

DW especially likes kale. We grow Scotch kale every year. Italian and Siberian kale are common in fewer numbers and I especially like Portuguese kale. These greens make most of their growth, early and late. However, we are eating leaves right through the Summer.

Steve

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Gary350
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TomatoNut95 wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 6:31 pm
My neighbor tried to grow some Wando sweet peas this fall. The plants just seemed puny and spindly, reminding me of the time I tried to grow some. Her peas got injured a good bit in that first bad frost we had. I have a feeling sweet peas are not easy to do...
James talked me into planting Wando Peas, they were terrible but I planted at the wrong time. Maybe they do better for him it his soil and cooler weather.

Plant seeds 1" apart, several rows 1" apart.

Peas are a 3 month crop.

Peas do not like temperatures above 75°.

Seeds will not germinate below 50°.

Seeds take about 1 week to germinate.

I have been reading about peas for several hours. Sugar snap peas you eat the pods but if you let them grow peas you can still eat the pods & peas.

Sugar daddy peas are a cross between sugar snap peas & regular peas. You eat the pods & peas, but they have strings. These are low producers about 1/2 as many peas as Sugar snap peas.

Nitrogen fixing does not work well unless you fertilize with nitrogen this gives plants a jump start when roots grow larger then you get much better results with nitrogen fixing.

Plant seeds 1 month before last frost, that will be March 20 for me. Peas will not germinate until soil warms up above 50°F that will be about April 10th for me. Seeds will germinate about April 17 and it will be 95° 2 months later. Too HOT for peas. OK no wonder peas I planted a few years ago had almost no peas it was about 100°.

Plant 4 pea seeds in each plant tray 1 month before last frost inside the house. Transplant to garden April 20. then 2 months later June 20 will be 95°. Again weather is too HOT for peas.

Our spring weather is too short for peas out temperature go from 50° to 95° in 2 months.

First frost is Nov 1 to 7. Plant pea seeds directly in the garden soil Aug 1 to 15. Harvest will be Nov 1 to 15. If you pick peas every day this promotes more blossoms and more peas. Plants will continue to produce more peas until it gets too cold.

If we have mild weather next fall we might get a 2nd & 3rd & 4th harvest of peas in Nov & Dec.

About 25 years ago I planted a fall crop of peas that did ok until freezing rain killed them. I have no clue when those seeds were planted.

No information online about fertilizer but I'm guessing they like nitrogen.

Soil 6 ph is good.

Now I know pea seeds need to be planted very close together, a 3 month crop, 50 to 75 degrees.

ElizabethA
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The kinds I have grown are the organic sugar pod snow peas and the other was called sugar snap peas. They are so yummy fresh and in stir fries!

Vanisle_BC
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My pea experience: In our cool wet spring they are likely to rot if planted too early. It's possible to plant them mid Feb with protective measures like planting in hills for drainage, with some cover; but the only time I succeeded with this, a second 'normal' sowing a month later caught up with the earlier pampered ones. They all matured together. Now I sow Mid to late March. They have survived August temps of 100F in this location; actually slightly over - 39+ Celsius.

My favorite peas are:
Maestro - early, 2-3 ft tall and semi-determinate for a somewhat extended harvest.
Green Arrow - 4 ft tall, mid season, V. productive but all-at-once.
Oregon Giant - 4 to 5 ft, harvest all season; huge edible pods, string-less, with big sweet peas inside. Perfect in stir-fry. This one gives me my max yield (weight) per ft of row.

These are all open pollinated non-hybrids so I save my own seed. I grow in double rows across my raised beds, supported on each side of a mesh stretched between stakes. I don't grow any tall vining peas, simply because I don't want to have to do very high staking.

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Guess what plant this is! It often grows on rocks in full or part sun. The leaves are good in salads.
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ElizabethA
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Looks like there's a cute green frog in one of those! 😊

Vanisle_BC
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It was hard to spot the frog but the plant looks like Purslane. Or is it something else - 'hens & chickens'? But I don't know if that's edible.

imafan26
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I am growing snow peas now. I do get a successful crop as long as I don't try to grow them in summer. They are a little tedious to pick since I have to go out almost every day to pick them or they will be over mature. At least they can keep a few days or be frozen.

These are some of my favorite vegetables too, but they are seasonal. I also like butternut squash, kabocha pumpkin, and sweet potato.

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Vanisle- BC,
It is stonecrop! The leaves are good on salads!

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TomatoNut95
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ElizabethA wrote:
Sun Dec 20, 2020 2:38 pm
Looks like there's a cute green frog in one of those! 😊
Frogs are the cutest little things! I have silver and green tree frogs that find the strangest places to rest during the day. The silver ones I find much more often than the green ones. I have found my frog princes in my storage building, on or in my greenhouse, mushed up between the gutter and the porch posts and on my rain barrel. Once in my watering can. Had a big leopard frog jump down in my boot once...while my foot was still in the boot. 😆

Those are pretty succulents, I didnt know succulents were edible. Then again, I don't know much at all when it comes to cactus/succulents.

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Stonecrops, those flowering succulents, also known as sedums, encompass up to 600 species of plants. ... Red flowering sedum leaves, stems, and tubers are safe to eat raw in salads, but yellow flowering sedums have a mild toxicity and need to be cooked.

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Tomatonut95- I liked your comment about frogs! 😊

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ElizabethA wrote:
Tue Dec 22, 2020 12:14 pm
Tomatonut95- I liked your comment about frogs! 😊
Thank you! I hope to post pictures of next year's froggys when they start showing up. Not to mention my lizards. 😆 And itty bitty newborn toads that are the size of pennies. 😊

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I wish I had frogs & lizards in my garden they probably eat lots of bugs. I sometimes see toads..

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I did not like kale before even though I grew it. My friend told me how to prepare it and I know it tastes sweeter in the cooler months. I like it better now. I still have to find the right recipes for it and for Swiss Chard to make the best out of the nutrition it offers with less of the strong flavors that can be associated with them. My favorite new green is Komatsuna. It is a very mild mustard. If it is eaten young it isn't very bitter. I eat it when it is fully mature, and it still does not have a strong mustard bite and it is versatile for soup or stir fries.

I know that sum succulents and weeds are edible but I did not know that sedum was edible. It did have some medicinal uses.

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Gary350 wrote:
Tue Dec 22, 2020 8:46 pm
I wish I had frogs & lizards in my garden they probably eat lots of bugs. I sometimes see toads..
I thought you said you had cats. If so, your cats will get rid of frogs and lizards. If I could, I would send you some of my lizards. (Anoles) They don't do a good job anyway. All they do is sit around and poop on everything. But every great now and then I see a young one go after a small bug. They do love termites.

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Imafan,

have you grown Senposai? It's a komatsuna and cabbage cross. This variety shouldn't really count as being in the same column with the kales. Senposai is quite a bit different and quite mild.

Maruba Santoh is another very mild Asian green.

Steve

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I want to make a new thread about flowers, but I don't have a clue how to on this site! Any help would be appreciated! Thx! 😊

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TomatoNut95 wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 6:59 pm
Gary350 wrote:
Tue Dec 22, 2020 8:46 pm
I wish I had frogs & lizards in my garden they probably eat lots of bugs. I sometimes see toads..
I thought you said you had cats. If so, your cats will get rid of frogs and lizards. If I could, I would send you some of my lizards. (Anoles) They don't do a good job anyway. All they do is sit around and poop on everything. But every great now and then I see a young one go after a small bug. They do love termites.
Yes I forgot cats will have fun catching lizards & frogs. We had 3 toads this year they stayed in the garden for several months cats will not bother a toad they have a smell animals don't like. The smell of a toad can kill a dog. I remember my grandfathers dog saw a toad dog ran over to smell it then dog started foaming at the mouth and had a hard time breathing for 30 minutes.

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ElizabethA wrote:
Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:02 am
I want to make a new thread about flowers, but I don't have a clue how to on this site! Any help would be appreciated! Thx! 😊
Choose the category you think would be best to post about your flowers. At top of the list of threads page under the category see the blue button marked 'new topic'. Sorry if I wasn't much help, the @webmaster would be better to help explain it better. :wink:

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Semposai. I haven't tried it. It is available from Kitazawa. Thanks for the tip. I'll add it to my order next time. I already got my seeds so I will see if any of my friends want to order more seeds to cut the shipping costs.

It says that it is a cross between komatsuna and cabbage and it is supposed to be heat tolerant. It does say it can be grown year round. I will need to look into that.

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Thx Tomatonut95!

Merry Christmas everyone! 😊

ElizabethA
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I love growing sprouts! I like growing the mix of broccoli, alfalfa, radish, and clover.
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Senposai is the green that I grow every year that takes the longest time to bolt, even in the heat. Also the largest green, and a "cut and come again", like many.

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What does Senposai taste like and how do you eat it? Do u have a pic of it?

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I like making sprouts during the winter, too, @ElizabethA. Cooler ambient temps make it more manageable than during the summer when there are plenty of outdoor harvest options anyway.

This is a screenshot from Spirited Away I mentioned in the Movies thread. Haku (and Sen) are sitting in front of what looks like a short hedge but closer details show to be pea trellis. Originally I thought they were flower sweet peas, but the pods depicted and the pink/magenta/purple blossoms I think point to snow peas? — I’m thinking of adopting this concept in my Front Yard Edible Landscaping garden bed in spring. I do have to fortify the rabbit-proof fencing in the area, and maybe be braced for rare but possible deer wandering through — normally they appear in the small woods in the back and never come out to the street and front yard but are spotted maybe 2 or 3 times each spring season.
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ETA — Swiss Giant might be a good candidate for this.... :()

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TomatoNut95
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I wish I had a greener thumb. I hate starting cold crops from seed because it's too difficult. For me, transplants are easier. Well...not always. 😆

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My favorite vegetable? Xxxxxx Xxxxx! (Deleted in deference to forum rules about politics.)

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These sprouts are simple to grow from seed! They take very little effort. If u are interested, I can tell you how to grow them!

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ElizabethA wrote:
Tue Dec 29, 2020 11:06 am
What does Senposai taste like and how do you eat it? Do u have a pic of it?
https://www.sustainablemarketfarming.co ... -outdoors/

ElizabethA
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Yum! I'd love to try some! I put that on my list of new veggies to grow! Thx for the info! 😊

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35 years ago I made sprouts. I put a tablespoon of alfalfa seeds in a quart jar with screen wire over the top. Keep seeds wet rinse 3 times a day they make a whole jar full of sprouts in a few days. I started a new jar every day & ate a whole jar every day. We did alfalfa sprouts for salad & sandwiches and navy bean sprouts for Chinese stir fry & salads. A 1 lb bag of dry navy beans is only 50¢. we had a larger kitchen then. You gave me an idea, sprouts are easier to grow than lettuce I need to make sprouts for tacos.

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Right on! They are super easy to grow! I made a taco salad tonight and threw in some of my sprouts. Yummy!

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ElizabethA wrote:
Tue Dec 29, 2020 10:07 pm
Right on! They are super easy to grow! I made a taco salad tonight and threw in some of my sprouts. Yummy!
Ooo, got a recipe for that??

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Sure! It's pretty simple. You cook ground chicken, turkey, or beef with chili powder, fresh chopped garlic, cumin, salt n pepper to taste. Set aside.
Make a deluxe salad with all of your favorite veggies. Top with organic corn dipper chips, sprouts, avocado, the meat, and a dressing like ranch. (I make a homemade ranch). This is simple, healthy, and good!

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Green beans, asparagus, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, carrots, cucumbers....and I refuse to eat onions. I will eat corn once per year only fresh with lots of butter and some salt.



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