Highalt's 2013 Grow - End of Season Wrap Up

GA Growhead · Apr 30, 2013

Speaking of maters... Thank you again Bonnie.
Hope the weather turns favorable soon! It's a skiers spring there!

stc3248 · May 1, 2013

I harden mine for at least 5 days...but it can probably be done with less. Things are looking awesome Bonnie! Almost time, don't rush it now!!!

highalt · May 1, 2013

GA Growhead said:
Speaking of maters... Thank you again Bonnie.
Hope the weather turns favorable soon! It's a skiers spring there!

You're most welcome! Did you get decent germination on them?

stc3248 said:
I harden mine for at least 5 days...but it can probably be done with less. Things are looking awesome Bonnie! Almost time, don't rush it now!!!

I think the plants are getting more impatient than I am! They are getting overcrowded, and I am having a hard time meeting their watering needs. When they were small, I watered all the trays once a week, and everybody was happy. Now by day 4 or 5, some of the pots still have plenty of moisture, but others are wilting on me. I almost killed one of the Ochsenhorns. It was down on the bottom section under the grow table, and when I was checking things after work, I found it completely shriveled up. Watered it real good, and it's starting to spring back to life, but that tells me it is time for these babies to hit the dirt, and fend for themselves!!!

romy6 · May 1, 2013

Man Bonnie your plants are loving life. Should be a banner year for ya :party:

GA Growhead · May 1, 2013

Every seeds i planted came up. Let's just say that i will be spreading the love!

I have that same problem, some need watering, others don't. Came home to one wilted plant today. I am trying to lift every plant and check by weight, which is time consuming! But gotta do what we gotta do.
Hope this is that last snow for you!

stc3248 · May 2, 2013

yeah...been there done that on the watering late in the indoor season. Never posted pics but my little helpers back home killed a few, luckily they were extras. I am a die hard bottom waterer but when they're on their own schedule just before plant out daily checks and sporadic top watering of a few thirsty ones becomes necessary. You'll get them there, won't be long!

highalt · May 2, 2013

The low got down to 28 degrees last night, and a few of the perennials looked a bit sad this morning, but everything has perked back up. I have some lilies that always get zapped by late frosts, but I covered them up with upside down pots, and they looked fine this morning. The sun is shining, it's 53 degrees with 15 - 20 mph winds. Not too bad. I spent the afternoon dividing and moving around some of the perennials, and also got the veggie bed ready for planting. My property has a serious bindweed infestation, so I dig out as much of it as I can every spring, but I still end up pulling it all summer long! The grass also makes its way into the beds over the winter months, so as I turn the compost into the soil, I am constantly digging out undesirables.

The rocks serve as stepping stones, but are really there to try and keep the drip irrigation hose below the soil's surface.

You can't tell in the photos, but on the back right along the fence the peas (yeah, the ones I planted in 45 mph winds!!!) are sprouting!!! Yippee! I planted a few more this past weekend just in case, so I should be all set for peas.

The tomatoes will go where the t-posts are that I never got around to removing in the fall. The peppers will go in front of them. On the left side will be lettuce and carrots, along the front will be basil, and on the right edge will probably be some cucumbers. Need to get the lettuce and carrots sown ASAP, and then I can start working on cleaning up the community garden plot. Now to find some free composted poo ...

stc3248 · May 2, 2013

Blah...blah...blah weeds this, weeds that...I've never seen a weed in any of your garden pics! Plot looks perfect! Can't wait to see it overflowing with plants like last year! Gonna be hard for a weed to find any sun under the forest you plant in there.

highalt · May 2, 2013

Hahaha! That's 'cause I don't take pictures of weeds. :rofl:

Went by the community garden while my daughter was at soccer practice this evening and FILLED the garbage can down there to the very top with all the weeds I pulled!!! The soil was nice and loose though and most of them pulled up real easy, well, except the bindweed. I'll have to go back with a shovel to dig that stuff out. The first year I was there, the dirt was like concrete. Four years of adding amendments has paid off with some pretty decent soil now.

stc3248 · May 3, 2013

Wait...are we talking GARBAGE CAN...or that little waist basket you put in the bathroom...I'm leaning toward #2 on that one. It wouldn't happen for me during a soccer practice...it would be phrased "this semester I pulled enough weeds to top off the local landfill and I am almost halfway done." Another week or two to plant out?

highalt · May 3, 2013

You are just crackin' me up tonight, Shane! Thanks for the laughs!!!

It's more like three weeks until plant out, but think I'll start hardening them off in another week or so. I may try a few tomatoes with the wall-o-waters pretty soon though.

I saw the irrigation guys working on the system yesterday, haven't heard from the HOA, but if I see the sprinklers kick on in the common areas, I'm going to fire up the system for a trial run this weekend, and maybe even cut the grass for the first time. That is if I can find time between all the soccer games. The soccer season only has two more weeks, not that I'm counting or anything.

DesertChris · May 3, 2013

Wow! 28° lows....I think we are past that....nights in the 50's and 60's...
But I think the hot weather may be sneaking up on me.
Speaking of seed sowing, I did the lettuce a few days ago, and the carrots this evening

Still so much to do though...

stc3248 · May 3, 2013

Yeah Bonnie...always can't wait for them soccer seasons to end...then they're gone forever! Don't rush them seasons or mother nature's seasons! Take care of them babies...and the green ones too!

highalt · May 3, 2013

DesertChris said:
Wow! 28° lows....I think we are past that....nights in the 50's and 60's...
But I think the hot weather may be sneaking up on me.
Speaking of seed sowing, I did the lettuce a few days ago, and the carrots this evening
Still so much to do though...

Yeah, I usually sow the lettuce in February in little mini-greenhouses (milkjugs), and then plant them out by this time. I'll have to direct sow since I'm running so far behind. The carrots are usually sown by mid-April, but it's still not too late on those. With your heat already setting in, I'm not sure how well the lettuce will do for you, unless you have some way of shading it. It bolts pretty fast in full sun around here!

DesertChris · May 3, 2013

highalt said:
Yeah, I usually sow the lettuce in February in little mini-greenhouses (milkjugs), and then plant them out by this time. I'll have to direct sow since I'm running so far behind. The carrots are usually sown by mid-April, but it's still not too late on those. With your heat already setting in, I'm not sure how well the lettuce will do for you, unless you have some way of shading it. It bolts pretty fast in full sun around here!

This year we made heirloom seed purchases of things that do well in the heat....
So I suppose I will find out if the heat tolerant lettuce really is heat tolerant...lol
I sowed the rows close together too, so maybe they will shade each other a little.
Or we just have to eat a ton of salad... hahahaha

highalt · May 3, 2013

DesertChris said:
This year we made heirloom seed purchases of things that do well in the heat....
So I suppose I will find out if the heat tolerant lettuce really is heat tolerant...lol
I sowed the rows close together too, so maybe they will shade each other a little.
Or we just have to eat a ton of salad... hahahaha

My experience has been that even the heat resistant/bolt resistant types will become kind of tough and bitter once the heat of summer really kicks in. I'm usually pulling the lettuce by July.

I did direct sow 3 types of lettuce, and 3 types of carrots today, so we'll see how it goes.

Spent some time this afternoon making maps of the community garden plot and the veggie bed here at the house. Here's the general plan - jalapeno types in the two Earthboxes, since they don't get very tall, mostly sweets and milds in the veggie bed here at the house, and all of the hotties and tall varieties down at the community garden. Last year, I didn't lay the community garden plants out very well. There were a lot of varieties that I had no experience with and wasn't sure how big they would get. I ended up with a lot of really tall plants in the middle, and the short habs in the back row didn't really get as much sun as they should have. It looks like I will have a place for one of everything I am growing, plus room for a half dozen or so duplicates!!! :dance:

I'll probably keep a handful around as replacements for the inevitable casualties, and I'll still have quite a few to give away! Getting excited about planting out now!

stickman · May 3, 2013

highalt said:
My experience has been that even the heat resistant/bolt resistant types will become kind of tough and bitter once the heat of summer really kicks in. I'm usually pulling the lettuce by July.

My experience too... Up to now I've just planted lettuce spring and fall, and relied on collards and baby bok choy during the heat of the summer. This year I'll be experimenting with Vegetable Amaranth courtesy of BigOleDude. I'll still be planting Collards this weekend though.

Devv · May 3, 2013

Bonnie, Dirt looks great, and will look much better chock full of peppers!

Can't wait to see your grow hit the dirt.

Weeds, not my favorite subject...

Here I plant Lettuce in succession starting mid Sept., LB my designated "picker" won't pick lettuce after early April as it's already getting tough and bitter.

highalt · May 3, 2013

Ooops! I was watering/feeding my peppers and tomatoes, and realized I left Shane's Fatalii off my maps!!! I was making the maps from my germination chart, and of course, the Fatalii wasn't on there. I have corrected the error. The other pepper not on the map is my lonely Yellow Manzano. I'm just not certain which spot would be the best. Choices are: in a pot on the patio where it would only get morning sun (I'm leaning towards this idea), in the veggie garden here at the house where it will get more sun, but consistent watering, or at the community garden where it would be in full sun all day, and irrigation is sometimes inconsistent.

I've still got three empty spots left on the community garden map. It is going to be hard to decide who the lucky extras will be ...

stc3248 · May 4, 2013

highalt said:
Ooops! I was watering/feeding my peppers and tomatoes, and realized I left MY Fatalii off my maps!!!

Looks better that way...Manzano's get really big, it will like the partial shade on the porch. I did grow a few in 5# containers that produced ok, but were stunted and rootbound by season's end...that being said, with your short season maybe limiting its size in a pot might not me a bad idea??? I had another one I had in a 15ish gallon...it still filled the pot with roots, but got much bigger. The inground got to be around the same size as the larger pot, but its root ball was over 6' across and almost 4' deep. Hope that helps.