Applestar’s 2022 Garden

[pepperhead212]

I eat mizuna in salads, mixed with leaf lettuce, and always some herbs. I also use a lot in place of spinach, in Indian dishes, since it is very mild, and given the strong flavored dishes I use them in, is not even noticed. Not traditional, but works well, and spinach simply does not work well for me, indoors or out! Even the slightly stronger mustard greens I grow - komatsuna, senposai, and mbuna - are good in those types of dishes.

[imafan26]

I use mizuna in salads when the leaves are young, stir fries, and for New Year for ozoni ( mochi soup).

[applestar]

Love all the ideas— I’ll have to keep them in mind, too.

Today, DDs helped bring the container figs (which have lost all their leaves and are ready to be put to winter dormancy phase) into the unheated garage, just inside the garage door. They won’t get any supplemental lights, and this week’s subfreezing temps should help settle them down.

I had an idea, and bought this giant bag of coarse perlite to layer over the black eco-film mulch in the Sunfliwer Hoophouse so the crops will benefit from the reflected light.

Top center and top right photos are same bed half finished and completed, for comparison.

Bottom-right shows the garlic with the perlite just around them in the mulch hole and daikon with solid layer.

BOTTOM CENTER — the resident pond frog was still hanging around the rice today.

[applestar]

They are slow to disperse, but I need them to get going and patrol the pepper plant they are on — I think I see signs of mite infestation …although there might be predatory mites already at work …in which case, the assassinbugs might also eat the predatory mites….

…I found the macro lens for the clip-on iPhone lens holder

[applestar]

We’re looking at mid- to low-20’s overnight for the weekend and then down to 20°F Sun night-Mon

DD helped me add one more layer of floating covers directly over the greens inside the Sunflower Hoophouse.

I’ve included her in the collage today … and another challenge for you — a Cooper’s Hawk among those branches

Pulled these radishes, beets, and carrots, and harvested Mizuna and some of the Dazzling Blue Kale that are out in the open ahead of the hard freeze.

[pepperhead212]

Not getting as cold here, but I harvested some cauliflower greens today - didn't get any heads, but their greens taste good, like most brassicas.

[applestar]

Almost 2am — Official temp is currently 26°F, but my Sunflower Hoophouse thermometer is already reporting 22.8°F … hopefully it’s a little more moderated underneath the individual low hoop tunnels inside which are double covered with vented plastic and floating cover, plus another layer of floating cover directly over the plants.

The Patio Hoophouse is reporting 26.4°F even though it is less tightly covered and only single layer — probably due to the massive thermal heat sink provided by the house.

We’re headed down to official forecast of 20°F. by sunrise.

I didn’t get to wrapping the White Marseilles fig out there. It’s possible it needs another year or two to establish more, but, even though Chicago Hardy survived last years winter without hardly any killed branches and had surviving breba summer crop as well as the bountiful fall crop, White Marseille failed to manage to fruit at all.

So I’m thinking it’s too borderline here without wrapping during the winter. 20°F is actually nothing — it can get down to negative single digits here, so I may still try wrapping it before the REAL winter arrives.

Here are the participants in my overwintering peppers and eggplants project — except for the ones that were waiting to ripen fruits, they’ve all been pruned down to major scaffold branches and are starting to respond to having been brought inside to warmer temps by leafing out and producing flower buds …some are even setting fruits.

[applestar]

With several upcoming overnights above freezing, I went out and removed the extra protective layers from the low tunnel greens, etc. in the Sunflower Hoophouse. They really needed this opportunity to get more sun exposure.

Sunflower Hoophouse

I was able to harvest a bunch of salad greens.

shiitake

I also noticed that this “failed” shiitake totem had decided to grow some after all… but I didn’t realize and they had already frozen solid then turned into brown mush. Hopefully I’ll catch them when they wake up in spring.

I also took the opportunity to turn and re-construct the compost pile, securing it somewhat better with the wire fence surround.

compost pile

I was delighted to discover a pocket of actively breeding red wigglers (I thought I’d missed my chances for gathering some for the indoor winter vermicompost bin.

[applestar]

• Overwintering project Eggplant — one of them has bloomed and has been shedding pollen every time I shake it for the past couple of days. Maybe it will set fruit?

• Two of the three mini napa cabbages that were brought inside to hopefully head up. You can see the inner new leaves are starting to roll.

[applestar]

Looking at the above photo, I noticed white peachfuzz spots on those napa leaves so I looked closer and they needed to be treated for powdery mildew. They look better this morning.

* “mulched the remaining two beds of the Sunflower Hoophouse with coarse perlite
* Also the overnight temp on Monday night was forecast to get below freezing so I put the plastic and fleece covers back over the low tunnels (it went down to 28°F). Looking at another mid-upper 20’s tonight and low-mid 20’s°F tomorrow night.

— Culled a few more daikon and napa, radish, mizuna, etc. + one kohlrabi (Finely chopped greens, sprinkled with sea salt and freshly ground black peppers, and dressed with EVOO, mayo, and mixed with sliced kohlrabi and mexican cheese blend shredded cheese — on buttered toast YUM!)

…They do look like they’re not getting as much light as they need. We’ll see how well they do when I put as much effort as I can into taking care of them, and if they are not worth the effort, I guess I’ll have to give up on trying to grow as late in the season… and concentrate on trying to start them sooner somehow so they can grow to be fully harvest-sized before the ground freezes.

[applestar]

So, we had another dip in the overnight temps when nobody stayed up all night in the TV Room where the Cool Gang plants are, and that eggplant blossom fell off the next morning. Oh well … there will be others (I wasn’t really expecting any fruit set let alone blossoms during the Persephone Days anyhow).


…I waited until the peppers started to shrivel to make sure they weren’t going to turn red — here are the best Goldfish X (orange-fruited Fish sport with a slight chance it had subsequently crossed with Giant Sweet Devil’s Horn due to somewhat larger fruit size*) harvest from this year’s plants.

• I am overwintering three plants (2 newly grown this year offsprings from seeds of the 3rd), but the two grown in the VG.SIP I think reliably produced full-sized fruits, whereas the one grown in a 2.5 gal container were sporadic and smaller in size.

• I’m losing track of my “SuperVar” Fish plants which are also getting old and less productive, but I had one on the Winter Wonderland bench with one last runty red fruit that I could use for color comparison.

* Looking at these fruits, they haven’t gotten any bigger than last year, and the color, while not the deep red of the original Fish type, is darker than the orange of Giant Sweet Devil’s Horn. But I’m keeping the “X” in the name while waiting to see if larger or less~no heat/sweet fruit segregate might turn up….

[applestar]

We had what might be the last couple of days time high’s in the upper 50’s over the weekend and Tues/Wed, and after missing out on the weekend opportunity, DD was able to help me to secure the bottom of the outermost poly layer of the Sunflower Hoophouse with wigglewires along the full lengths of the sides, and RE-SECURE the wide straps that hold down the hoophouse coverings CATERPILLAR TUNNEL STYLE one last time (I have found the caterpillar strapping to be absolutely CRITICAL for keeping these tunnels — high-medium-or-low— from unsustainable puffing in the wind. My Patio Hoophouse had thin nylon string caterpillar “strapping” that snapped in hurricane remnant winds — replaced and secured more snugly with thicker nylon rope since then.)

It would have been nearly impossible to manipulate the wigglewires to fit into the channel tracks once the temperatures got too cold and stiffened the plastic layers, and the ground stakes for the straps can’t be pushed into frozen ground, so it was critical to get this done.

Now, I can relax and let the bottom of the Sunflower Hoophouse poly be covered with leaves and/or freeze into the muddy ground for tighter and better shelter.

[applestar]

I’m continuing to sow winter greens here and there, but they will be grown in one of the Winter Indoor Garden spaces in the house or in the unheated Garage V8 Nursery.

New lettuce and spinach seedlings are up in the tray with earlier started lettuce and mizuna. I’m going to try something new this year to compensate for the limited headspace — will post about it once all set up and working…or not.

[imafan26]

The construction materials for the sunflower house wiggle wires and frames. Where do you get them and do you have to buy a kit or can you order just a few parts?

[applestar]

I looked at three sources — Greenhouse Megastore, Farm Plastic Supply, and Amazon in general. I also looked for construction videos and looked at the kits.

Ultimately my Sunflower Hoophouse was cobbled together from various materials including emt metal as well as pvc tubing/pipes, chain link fence parts, etc. so materials were obtained economically as available at the time, and built in bits and pieces.

I admit the end result probably wasn’t actually efficient nor cost-saving… but I had fun designing it and solving the problems and was committed to finishing it after a certain point. I went to local hardware stores for advice and to purchase tech screws, tools, and braces, etc. other common hardware.

When buying wigglewires, be sure to buy as set with matching tracks, and get from reliable source, not a middleman sales outlet, even if that seems less expensive — that was an obvious potential defect seen among bad reviews — I did not encounter this problem myself.

There are hoophouse parts that are way less expensive and apparently standardized in Japan, that are apparently sold in garden department of their big box stores and even dollar stores. It’s maddening to have to pay astronomically more here in the US (but I think COVID and shipping disruptions have also impacted). Anyway, I think most of those parts are made in China and when you consider the distance involved….. So I ended up mostly relying on what’s available on Amazon. Often I could find them individually offered at substantially better (wholesale or retail or sale) prices by specialty sources but they charged separate freight shipping that ended up totalling much much more.

[imafan26]

Thanks. I know the wiggle wire is used in pro hoop houses, but I have never seen part or tracks sold. I guess my best option is still the pvc route using rebar anchors. I don't have to cover anything with plastic, it will be mostly for shade cloth. The shadecloth has never blown off because the air passes through it, but I am probably going to have to break down and glue the pvc pipes together. The wind and the weight of the neighbor's hedge on my shade cloth is shaking the pvc frame apart again.

[Gary350]

I did Google search for wiggle wire and found pictures? This is interesting. Pics show aluminum extrusions attached to green house frame then polyethylene or net is clipped in place with wiggle wire. You can have poly green house in winter then net to keep out bugs & birds in summer. What are you growing under your poly in winter and your nets in summer? How much does all this cost? If it can be reused for 10 years that makes it cost effective.

Several months ago I bought a 8'x35' net and 8'x25' net to cover strawberry plants probably April to June 30. Nets are still in the package I was not going to open package until April when they are needed. Neighbor John throws nets over strawberry plants to keep birds out. I was planning to wait until April to figure this out our garden will be a mud swamp for 4 months.

[applestar]

I LOVE the wigglewires for the securely holding 1 to multiple layers with option to remove and replace.

I bought last time from Amazon. It turned out that this vendor was also selling thru Amazon and shipping was better with Prime.

I’ll try to dig up where or maybe I posted about them before.

Also, while trying to price the wigglewires, I bought individual W hook clips (meant for looping and securing string/rope/straps for wall panel and roof tie-down) which have been indispensable for small sections (like door windows) and also for “pinning” large swaths in place while positioning (like when sewing) prior to wigglewiring.

[applestar]

@Gary350 — depending on your temps, Insect screen mesh can provide that little bit of windbreak, then you might be able to use less securely placed low tunnels of either vented poly or non-woven fleece inside clipped on with pipe clips.

Also, if you layer birdnetting over plastic, it helps to tightly hold down and the plastic is less likely to puff and flap around.

If you are seeing white butterflies, you will need insect screen… and although 1/2” netting might be sufficient for white cabbage butterflies, if it gets warm enough for leaf miner flies and cabbage moths which are smaller, you’ll still need the insect mesh.

Another advantage is that you can release and keep beneficial predators INSIDE.

Summer — I am also loving how the totally insect mesh covered hoophouse kept out the squash vine borers and only occasionally allowed stinkbugs to sneak in, which were manageable by hand picking. Never saw leaffoots inside the hoophouse this year.

I never took the roof poly and the north side wall poly off during the summer— mostly due to not having the chance and then watching to see if it would work out since what I needed was warmer nighttime temps, but the north side poly was loosely attached over the insect mesh to allow airflow, while the south side wall was rolled up. (end walls were insect mesh only)

I currently have lettuce and asian greens, spinach, a smattering of carrots, daikon radish, mini cabbage, mini napa cabbage, kohlrabi, and turnips, and onions and Japanese single stalk green onions growing … and a sprouting broccoli leftover from last winter that has grown new stems.

[applestar]

“wiggle wire” isn’t the only way these things are called …

I haven’t been able to dig up how much I paid for them back then but did find links to what I bought (the 2nd one was updated by Amazon to this one but looks the same)

Jiggly Greenhouse Wire and Channel Kit | 1" x 6.5' Aluminum Greenhouse Channel with 6.5' Steel Wire Jiggly Wire | PVC Coated Wire and U-Channel | Lock Channel and Wire (10 Pack)
https://a.co/d/54ZffRQ

SHANS Batten Tape Lock Channel Hook Greenhouse Parts (Lock Channel Hook 300 pcs)
https://a.co/d/gMHqdDm

Snap On Clamps, 3/4 inch 10 pack, Row Cover Clips for Greenhouse Plastic Shade Cloth Attachment - PVC Pipe or EMT Conduit Clamp
https://a.co/d/ekLxPc2


…prices will have changed so view these as references and ways to get recommended links for related/similar product offerings, and keep eye on prices if buying from Amazon by keeping them in your shopping cart or buy later list to get price change notifications. (I usually watch the prices go up and down to get an idea of price range the vender is willing to go, and wait for best price or look for others within timeframe I need them)

[Gary350]

“wiggle wire” isn’t the only way these things are called …

I haven’t been able to dig up how much I paid for them back then but did find links to what I bought (the 2nd one was updated by Amazon to this one but looks the same)

Jiggly Greenhouse Wire and Channel Kit | 1" x 6.5' Aluminum Greenhouse Channel with 6.5' Steel Wire Jiggly Wire | PVC Coated Wire and U-Channel | Lock Channel and Wire (10 Pack)
https://a.co/d/54ZffRQ

SHANS Batten Tape Lock Channel Hook Greenhouse Parts (Lock Channel Hook 300 pcs)
https://a.co/d/gMHqdDm

Snap On Clamps, 3/4 inch 10 pack, Row Cover Clips for Greenhouse Plastic Shade Cloth Attachment - PVC Pipe or EMT Conduit Clamp
https://a.co/d/ekLxPc2

…prices will have changed so view these as references and ways to get recommended links for related/similar product offerings, and keep eye on prices if buying from Amazon by keeping them in your shopping cart or buy later list to get price change notifications. (I usually watch the prices go up and down to get an idea of price range the vender is willing to go, and wait for best price or look for others within timeframe I need them)

I have seen Spring Clip Wire made in factories but I never knew what it was used for or that it is sold under several trade names. Once I learn trade names of the aluminum extrusions I can find sellers and prices. Sellers could be, green house supplies or nursery supplies.

[applestar]

I got another remote temp/humidity sensor and put it under/inside the low tunnel for the mini napa cabbages in the Sunflower Hoophouse, after putting down the direct contact floating covers under the vented poly + heavier fleece.

Even so, ahead of the freeze, I culled the few German Giant radishes which were right up against the north corner, Tokyo Bekana or Chirimen napa which were showing minor freeze damage already … and a whole bunch of the mini napa cabbages since they are not expected to head up now with temps fallen down to under 50’s and worse (Next year, I’ll have to start/plant them earlier than I did this time.) These are good sautéed or otherwise cooked and inner leaves can be eaten raw in salads and sandwiches.

At this point I need to keep the remaining napa from freezing solid — which can happen at I think low-20’s°F and below — then if they survive, they will bolt when temps warm up and produce tasty flower heads that are supposed to be sweeter than broccoli rabe.

As you can see, the napa tunnel is staying considerably warmer, even though the sensor for the interior Sunflower Hoophouse itself registers lower temp than the official temp. I’ll have to see if it needs to be recalibrated, but it IS hanging from the wire trellis directly against the north wall poly….

[Gary350]

My AZ napa did good at 21°F

[applestar]

Well, @Gary350, we’ll see if mine manages to pull through the next couple of nights…. I covered them with another layer of plastic painters cloth while also tucking them in more securely today.

I knew the cold front was approaching, but it caught me — the winds came roaring in, frozen rain started to fall, and thunder/lightning started ripping through the overhead clouds while I was taking care of the compost bin.

I took the “hint”, packed up and moved to the garage to add some covering for the overwintering container figs, and put another flattened large shipping box between them and the garage door.

Now the temperature is plunging….

[applestar]

8°F ….

…oh wait they just updated it to 7°F at 5am hour, and low forecast of 6°F, with wind chill advisory as low as -15°F

[applestar]

I FINALLY got the chance to get out in the garden today — I needed to prepare the Sunflower Hoophouse for the next few days of what feels like a “heatwave”

* Removed the floating covers that had been tucked snugly in direct contact with the greens inside the low tunnels, as well as the solid painters cloth poly tunnel layer.
* Also fixed the light front flap which had blown up and got caught askew during the Christmas weekend — it’s been rolled up and secured since it really doesn’t look like it will be needed
* Also put up the 1” PVC “supplemental snow load support” — not that it will be needed this week….