Pulpiteer said:
Hey Rick - I've lurked on this glog off and on when I've had time throughout the season, you've always got great stuff and cool food ideas. I've not made it through the whole thing, so I was hesitant to comment.
A couple of pages back you all were talking about cover crops and you linked a biodymanics (I think) method. Just wondering if you are familiar with permaculture - it has many of the same principles that you were talking about, it's systemic thinking, uses cover crops - your comment about building soil with nitrogen fixing cover was right on, all that sort of thing. I was just curious. This stuff fascinates me.
Second, how exactly are you prepping your plants for over wintering. I'm going to try that again this year. I'll check out Greg's (Pic1) glog from last year because he had a good description. I got hammered by aphids last year and want to avoid that this year, so I'm curious what your methods are.
Thanks!
Hi Andy, You're probably right... Permaculture is synonymous with Biodynamics without the "mystic" element... Definitely something I need to read up on and incorporate more into my grows. My current experience is in overwintering an old Rosemary plant that we've had for about 7 years. We kept it inside in a pot when we rented our apartment in Holyoke, MA, but when we bought the place in Greenfield, we've been keeping it outside with the pot set into the soil of the herb garden during the growing season and bringing it inside for the winter.
This'll be my first year attempting overwintering myself. Thanks for the heads-up on Greg's thread on the subject... I'll have to read that myself. Greg's a master northern grower, and I'm sure he has it down pat, so no need to re-invent the wheel, eh? I'm just going to try to give the plants just enough water to keep them going, but not so much that I make a good berth for the Fungus Gnats. I'll have 24 watt 6500k CFLs in droplights on a timer. I still have to figure out how many hours a day the plants will need while in dormancy.
Jamison said:
Rick where are the hoop houses? I thought you always did that, unless I missed that. Sucks that the frost is there already man, but it is inevitable. Time for a break!
I don't use them at the end of the season J... the plants have outgrown the kind of space I can protect with them... I guess technically they're not hoop houses... they're low row covers, but they function the same. They're only waist high and 5 feet wide, and the hoops bend into a half circle, so the branches on the mature plants would be crushed against the sides of the row cover... not good. Besides, I want a break from the garden through the fall and early winter so I can clean it up along with the yard, and spend time preparing for the holidays. After New Year's is plenty of time to start the next round.
Devv said:
Rick enjoy your Anniversary!
Do it! The yellow 7 is a great pod!
Thanks Scott, We went up Mount Greylock... the highest point in Massachusetts, and spent a gorgeous, sunny day grooving on the scenery and watching folks with para-sails and hang-gliders launch themselves from the cliff just below the summit on the windward side. The foliage near the top has already fallen, and is past the peak of the fall color on the lower slopes, but it was a beautiful view, and the air was so clear we could see all the way to Concord, NH.
Today, I dug up and potted my Butch T and Manzano plants to go with the Douglah that's been potted up all summer. I just need to get another bag of potting soil and a 5 gal. airpot, and I'll do the same for the Yellow 7 plant. I prepared a place to set them down cellar, but no hurry just yet since no freeze is predicted for at least the next few days.
Manzano
Douglah
Butch T.
Have a good holiday all!
