imafan26
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Re: Applestar’s 2019 Garden

I like your spoon labels. I use knives instead. I tried forks but they break if you use it to dig in a pot. I don't have a lot of spoons around and it is harder to write on a curved surface. I usually sprout seeds in compots so I don't use the spoon zip method at all. I don't start as many seeds as you do either.

I know it is late but I am just catching up to this post re: the cow's tit tomatoes. They look "udderly" delicious.

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applestar
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LOL thanks @imafan! :()


...seems appropriate to follow YOUR post with this —

It’s 6:02am, first light (pre-dawn) and unexpectedly 28°F cold... and Also surprisingly I hear a Carolina Wren singing outside. Maybe it’s happy that it’s morning and sun is coming up after the very cold night. Ah... I’m starting to hear other birds that have started to sing too while I was composting this post.

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applestar
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Subject: 2019 What's the weather like where you are?
applestar wrote:^^^ Heh :() ^^^

.... currently 29°F instead of the predicted 33, and in worst case scenario, temps will drop another 3 degrees before dawn. Not what I was expecting/prepped for.

What will I find in the cold light of the morning because I do intend to go out and look this time....
28°F at dawn and hard frost to light frost almost everywhere as expected — especially the front lawn looked as if it had snowed:

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Skim ice and up to 1/16” thick solid ice on surface of most exposed location buckets and containers of water. But the mud was not frozen, so not “had freeze” :wink:

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TomatoNut95
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Brr. That makes me cold just looking at it. Hey, do you still have Fwoggy? :)

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applestar
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Yep — I still see Fwoggy hanging onto the rim of the vase. But more of the baby snails are gone, so I’m concerned food might be running out. I’m thinking of moving the Marimo vase to the Garage V8 nursery — where I’m experimenting with flood-and-drain and aquaponics later on so constant water supply will be available — and opening the lid. There are usually some kind of bugs in the garage... and soon, I will be releasing ladybugs. If it gets too cold, maybe it can just hibernate in one of the container plant’s soil mix? Do treefrogs and peepers do that ?

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TomatoNut95
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You know, I don't know where tree frogs and water frogs go for the winter. Perhaps under leaves, tree bark, fallen logs/branches or down in old stumps. I know toads bury themselves, or hide in holes. I saw both a water frog(don't think it's a peeper) and toad this morning. Toad was in a hole made by a T-post, and frog was in my garden and almost got stepped on. I let him play in one of my rain buckets for a bit., then put him back in the garden.
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applestar
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I don’t recognize what kind it is. That’s so cute! (wart and all :wink:)

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applestar
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The hoop house project is progressing slowly ...I don’t really know what I’m doing, plus all the rain has turned the muddy ground into soupy muck through which I had been wading... but which has dried out into boot sucking mud trap. It’s taking forever just to make my way around the area, slipping, stuck in place when the mud won’t let go... and I don’t know how many times I dropped stuff in the mud — for a while tek screws etc. would immediately sink — now they just plunge halfway and come up all muddy. Finding safe place to put things down has been a challenge too....

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I took the two pvc hoops I needed from under the current tunnel — those last two rows still have the low wire hoops which I had been using to support the buckwheat with, so they won’t be flattened, but all the excess mesh and plastic are probably causing some distress. With all the delays, I’m not sure that I can be finished tomorrow.

I still have the door and vent/window to construct — I’ve been having fun designing them around some cast off window screens and a subfloor automatic vent. A those weird dimensional lumber that are being used are because I’m cleaning out the shed and using up all the stored lumber — I think I found almost all the pieces I needed. I just need some PT lumber to frame the doorway, and possibly a few more pieces to frame the back end wall. I need more screws and a few other things, so I’ll have to go on a supply run tomorrow.

The hoops need those pipes to keep them straight right now — otherwise, they tend to lean. I think this is because I still have not secured/screwed down all the connections tightly yet. But today, I figured out how to secure the roof frame to the ground anchor posts (still need to drill the bolt holes in the metal emt), so I’m feeling better about the design — last night I was in despair thinking none of this matters if the structure isn’t properly anchored down....

...only trouble is, I think my drill is dying ... can’t decide if I should spring for a new drill now or just try to finish up. Also, I’m using self-drilling/tapping screws but I have to drill a pilot hole for each one because otherwise the screws just skitter around. Is it that my drill is underpowered, or is it because I’m not strong enough to press down sufficiently? I use a punch to make a dimple for the pilot hole drill bit — but that’s not sufficient for me to drill the screw in.

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TomatoNut95
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Not to sure what kind of froggy he was either....gotta be either a cricket frog, or a wood frog; I couldn't find anything exactly close to him in the book. Maybe I should Google photos...

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applestar
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I’m FINALLY feeling better. Outside temperature was in the 50’s yesterday, almost 60°F today, and although I wasn’t up to it yesterday, I braved the overcast weather and went out to take care of some much needed cleanup and final harvest in the garden.

I was worried that the super cold dips down to upper teens last month might have destroyed the fall-planted root crops, etc. in the SunflowerHouse beds ... I was hoping to see some of the daikon ready to harvest ....

Well, they were all still up and growing, with bunch of weeds that needed to be removed. There were carrots that could be harvested — up to 1” diameter and 3-4” long, but the daikon were still too small. (those white things are either radish or turnip) Some of the radish were ready, and I thinned the broccoli where there were two plants growing together. Turnips were growing well as were Tronchuda (though they were not harvest size).

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- I overestimated my ability to get everything done in a 2-3 hour rain-free break in the weather, and I ended up continuing to work in drizzle and rain — got soaked.

- I covered up the SunflowerHouse beds with the medium tunnel covers and added an extra layer for good measure.

- Oh, and I caught about 1/2 dozen gigantic slugs, slugging around under the tunnel among the daikon, carrots, and radishes.


...I dunno ... it might have been better to just harvest all the undersized carrots as baby carrots and call it done, but I’m still hoping they might all overwinter. A bit bummed I couldn’t finish the high tunnel/house, but them’s are the breaks.


ETA — DD’s report that these carrots are sweet and tasty — in fact they had eaten two of the biggest and I had used some of the medium sized ones by the time I took the above photo, and the biggest carrots have been steadily disappearing since :D ...carrots harvested after frost/snowfall In colder regions into winter are called "under snow" carrots 雪下にんじん in Japan and are considered seasonal specialty produce and sold carefully packed and shipped or sold for the regional tourism and catering industry. Mine aren’t in any way as fancy as that, but I’m glad my DD’s are enjoying them. :)

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TomatoNut95
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Some Diatomacious(however you spell it) Earth would probably help stop those snails. And those are cute carrots and radishes(or turnips)! I've got some carrots coming up but I've been neglecting them. I've either been too busy, too lazy or it's too cold outside to go out. But I did get some more ornamental cabbage and a few pansies planted.



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