The Dawg Patch

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#801

Post: # 83931Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Nov 27, 2022 8:00 am

It's raining and this is a good thing. Everything's loving it. It will be a good indoor day to do some gardening dreaming and planning. Time to make a list of any seed I'm running low on. It would seem that with all the seed in that box that not a thing would be needed. However some things are still hybrids because I can't find a suitable OP substitution, some seeds have become low germinators etc so there will be a few things ordered or bought locally.

Yesterday I pulled two more daikons, one hybrid and one from the collected seed of that hybrid. Also got the first three turnips. Since the turnip greens were pretty, those will be cooked with the turnips today and seasoned with a little smoked hog jowl.

Image 

The hybrid on the right weighs 1 lb 9 oz and the other is 1 lb 5 oz. Those will be cubed today and fermented ala a Korean recipe I have called Kakdooki (alternately spelled Kkakdugi). Kind of like daikon kimchi. It will use some of the garden scallions too.

Meanwhile, I hear the other daikons and turnips out in the garden laughing in the rain and making bets with each other as to who can get bigger faster. :)

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PlainJane
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#802

Post: # 83939Unread post PlainJane
Sun Nov 27, 2022 9:33 am

Lucky you! We ended up with only clouds and mist from this system so I’ll have to do some watering today.
Going through seeds also; makes for a nice Sunday interlude.
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

friedgreen51
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#803

Post: # 83969Unread post friedgreen51
Sun Nov 27, 2022 5:34 pm

GoDawgs wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 8:00 am It's raining and this is a good thing. Everything's loving it. It will be a good indoor day to do some gardening dreaming and planning. Time to make a list of any seed I'm running low on. It would seem that with all the seed in that box that not a thing would be needed. However some things are still hybrids because I can't find a suitable OP substitution, some seeds have become low germinators etc so there will be a few things ordered or bought locally.

Curious as to what tomato hybrids you like to grow? I grow a few hybrid tomatoes too, mainly to combat bacterial wilt and fusarium wilt.

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#804

Post: # 83995Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Nov 28, 2022 7:42 am

@friedgreen51 , right now Bella Rosa is the only F1 I'm growing. Thinking about a Celebrity this spring because I have seed due to growing them every year for a friend.

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#805

Post: # 84015Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Nov 28, 2022 4:34 pm

Today I started a composting experiment by burying some fresh and semi-composted kitchen scraps in holes where cucumbers will be planted late April. I've already pretty much identified what beds will have what come spring so I marked off and dug the seven planting holes in the future cuke bed, added a good shovel of scraps from the top of the compost pile and just covered them with soil. No mixing. Sticks marking the hole locations were replaced.

There are three reasons I'm doing this:
- I want to see how much the scraps decompose in the next four and a half months. As the National Inquirer says, "Inquiring minds want to know". :)
- I want to see if any critters dig anything up.
- And since higher biomass in the soil is supposed to help deter nematodes, I want to see if the addition of this stuff will help.

While I was at it I took the scuffle hoe and scraped up the beginnings of henbit that's already starting to grow in that bed. Tomorrow I'll mulch the bed with leaves and call that bed good until spring. The next bed for "pre-composting" will probably be the future okra bed.

friedgreen51
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#806

Post: # 84022Unread post friedgreen51
Mon Nov 28, 2022 6:57 pm

GoDawgs wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 7:42 am @friedgreen51 , right now Bella Rosa is the only F1 I'm growing. Thinking about a Celebrity this spring because I have seed due to growing them every year for a friend.
Thanks. I grow Park's Whopper and Florida 7514.

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PlainJane
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#807

Post: # 84043Unread post PlainJane
Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:06 am

I’m betting you’ll have success with your dig and drop composting experiment. I’ve done this in the orchard area and noticed a definite increase in worm presence afterwards. Have not had critter digging.
Whether dig and drop or worm bin composting the 2 things that take the longest to decompose are avocado skins and eggshells.
The nematode battle is always interesting. I can’t do anything about the area where the fruit trees are but I might try putting crab or lobster shell in the bottom of the raised beds when I fill them. Depends on cost.
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#808

Post: # 84092Unread post GoDawgs
Tue Nov 29, 2022 7:27 pm

Got the second Green Magic broccoli head this afternoon and the first mess of Premier kale. This spring was my first time trying Green Magic and it didn't do so well but it's doing a lot better in the fall. The kale will go into Portuguese Kale and Chorizo Soup for lunch tomorrow with broccoli salad on the side.

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We're getting into "greens time"; turnip greens, kale and collards. I like growing the flat kale rather than the frilly kales. This is perfect aphid weather and frilly kale gives them a thousand little nooks and crannies to set up housekeeping in. With flat kale I can spot them in a heartbeat and deal with them before their numbers start growing!

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PlainJane
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#809

Post: # 84103Unread post PlainJane
Wed Nov 30, 2022 6:54 am

Totally agree on the kale/aphid problem.
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

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MissS
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#810

Post: # 84227Unread post MissS
Fri Dec 02, 2022 2:34 pm

I have tried the compost in place method and have been quite happy with it. Things decompose much faster in the soil rather than in my compost bin.
~ Patti ~

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#811

Post: # 84273Unread post GoDawgs
Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:12 am

It's been slow around here, mostly cutting another broccoli head or some kale now and then or pulling some daikon radish. Speaking of daikon, I found a recipe for daikon kimchi in a Korean pickling book I have and made a quart jar to try. It was ready yesterday and I like it a lot. It's more mild (not as hot) than my regular kimchi but the cubes of radish are nice and tangy and have really picked up the garlic and scallion flavors. Good stuff! And everything from the garden.

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The winter garden is not a pretty thing on a drab winter's day. But it needs its beauty sleep to get ready for spring.

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The brassica beds are doing well. The staggered broccoli planting (closest bed) is working well so far. The next bed has cauliflower on the right half and yesterday the button on one of them is now 3" wide so I made sure to make sure it's covered with the plant's leaves. The rest of the beds have the cabbage, daikon, kohlrabi, kale, collards, leeks, garlic and turnips. The two shallot bulbs I planted late have finally come up. It's not supposed to grow well here but the feed and seed had some so I bought just two bulbs to try. The variety is 'Nero', supposedly a traditional bunching shallot. We'll see.

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The leek bed has been a bit mulched by Mother Nature. I need to rake the leaves back so that I can pull more soil to the plants and then put the leaves back.

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And finally, two days ago a broccoli head turned into broccoli-bacon salad and the kale, garlic and tomatoes became a nice pot of Portuguese Kale and Chorizo soup, perfect for chilly days. Good stuff!

Image

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#812

Post: # 84409Unread post GoDawgs
Tue Dec 06, 2022 6:08 am

Yesterday and last night's rain turned out to be 1.3" for which I am grateful. No need to get the hose out! It was 53 this morning and headed to 65. 

I took a quick stroll through the garden during a break in the rain and took a shot of the two experimental pigeon pea plants. Unfortunately their Caribbean heritage means no frost tolerance which I knew going into this. The only seed I could find was a package of dried peas at a Caribbean grocery. Only two of eight seeds germinated. They produced neither the first flower nor pea and are now naked from the frost. The one in front is 9' x 3.5' and the other one is 7.5' x 5.5'! They have actual trunks, about 3" wide so we'll use the pickup and a tow strap to pull them out. A failed experiment but an interesting one.

Image 

All but one micro tomato have been dumped with the Pinocchio Orange setting a second round of cherries a lot smaller than the first round. I started a Maglia Rosa on Nov 2 and yesterday it got transplanted into its 2 gallon forever home pot. I'm wondering how tall it will get before it starts cascading and am just glad the lights can be raised. :)

Image 

What else to do on a rainy day? Take a pic of some oregano that's drying, the sage cuttings and a basil plant and an okra seed germination test.

Image

Today I think I'll start picking out some mid January indoor start dates for the spring brassicas that I want to set out at the end of February.

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#813

Post: # 84687Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Dec 11, 2022 9:21 am

We've been going through mild and gloomy weather and have gotten 2" of rain over the past six days. I'm grateful for the rain but the mild temps have caused the broccoli to speed up the maturing process. I cut one two days ago and will make broccoli salad with it today. So far I've been pretty happy with the staggered planting this fall and need to repeat that planting interval next fall. We haven't had any broccoli avalanches until just now.

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Yesterday I cut another one and gave it to a friend as the head was starting to loosen up and it needs to be used pronto. These are all Packman since the earlier Green Magic have been used.

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This morning I decided to cut the other two that are in the same condition and freeze them. That leaves one not-ready-yet plus side shoots. These are about 6" across.

Image

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#814

Post: # 84724Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Dec 12, 2022 7:20 am

Yesterday was another drab day, light sprinkles off and on during the afternoon. At least it's cooling off and the temp stayed around 55 all day. Lows in the upper 30's coming around the end of the week. This is a good thing for the brassicas.

I went to the garden to get that broccoli and as always mission creep happened. The leek bed was full of henbit and I felt like weeding so the henbit got pulled out. Then I realized it was time to pull more soil to the leeks so I did that too and will probably do it again in a month. Just nice little garden putters on a lazy Sunday.

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The four cauliflower plants that went in first are making heads and they're all different sizes which is a good thing. Three of them vary from 2-4". I'm trying to keep the heads blanched by pulling up some of the large outside leaves and pinning them together at the top with a clothespin. The second planting of four have a way to go before they start making buttons.

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The nicest head is about 6" across and I just might cut that one tomorrow while it's so pretty.

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Last year I tried a savoy type cabbage for the first time. 'Savoy Perfection' didn't do well so this fall I switched varieties and this one, 'Alcosa', seems to be doing really well. It's a smaller variety with a faster finish time, 72 days vs the 92 days of the other. Less time for things to go wrong! I cut the first one the other day. The others aren't heading yet. They're behind due to having been given a hard haircut by the deer earlier in the fall. Thankfully they recovered and are just starting to head up.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#815

Post: # 84921Unread post GoDawgs
Thu Dec 15, 2022 6:01 am

Time for an update on the Maglia Rosa tomato I'm growing indoors. It's now 23" tall and the first flower buds are open. The lower branches seem to weep but the rest of the plant is still heading straight up. The micro tomato next to it is the Pinocchio Orange with its second round of cherries. The first one of those was picked yesterday.

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We've had rain move through during the night with the most of it having just passed by. Just a little more before we're in the clear. There's 1" in the rain gauge. Yesterday the temp just got up to 47 and stayed around that all day and then it started getting warmer through the night as the front came through. 63 this morning but we're headed to a low of 26 by Monday morning. It will be time to cover some stuff again.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#816

Post: # 84925Unread post PlainJane
Thu Dec 15, 2022 6:29 am

Lol, I see that your mobile pollination device is handy.
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#817

Post: # 85143Unread post GoDawgs
Sat Dec 17, 2022 2:34 pm

It's dropping to 26 Monday morning so I got ahead of the curve this afternoon, picked what was ready and covered most of the rest of the things still growing. Daikon, turnips, kohlrabi in the bowl; cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli side shoots and indoor-grown Pinocchio Orange micros.

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That's the first head of Early Jersey Wakefield that's been ready and I covered the rest of those and the savoys. There are more cauliflower heads coming (too small) and six smaller, younger plants that were planted later so those got covered too. However I didn't cover the broccoli plants as I think I got the last of the side shoots.

The garlic, leeks, scallions and kale should be able to fend for themselves.

I've started figuring planting dates for spring, going over my notes for each veg to see if there were any telling me to plant this or that earlier or later, etc. Slow going but it's fun and there's not much else to do this time of year.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#818

Post: # 85146Unread post PlainJane
Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:20 pm

That’s sure a nice haul!
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#819

Post: # 85154Unread post GoDawgs
Sat Dec 17, 2022 6:30 pm

Thanks, PJ. Just trying to save what I can, for now. They keep lowering the forecast here. It looks like the 23rd-25th we'll have highs in the 30's and lows between 17 and 25 for those three days. On Christmas Adam (that's what I call the day before Christmas Eve) they show 39H, 17L, 22 mph wind and a 42% chance of rain. Rain? That sounds rather like a dusting of snow or some ice. We'll see. The wind chill won't be fun but I don't have to go out in it, just stay inside and be cozy. :)

I'm not sure the garden coverings will be enough now. Oh well, to everything there is a season and if the fall/winter season comes to a close that's OK. The alliums should be OK. Besides, the whole thing can change for the better in a heartbeat. Regardless, bring it on! We're not needing a thing here. No need to be among the unprepared hordes at the grocery stores. :shock:

Danny
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#820

Post: # 85207Unread post Danny
Sun Dec 18, 2022 2:29 pm

GoDawgs wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 6:08 am Yesterday and last night's rain turned out to be 1.3" for which I am grateful. No need to get the hose out! It was 53 this morning and headed to 65. 

I took a quick stroll through the garden during a break in the rain and took a shot of the two experimental pigeon pea plants. Unfortunately their Caribbean heritage means no frost tolerance which I knew going into this. The only seed I could find was a package of dried peas at a Caribbean grocery. Only two of eight seeds germinated. They produced neither the first flower nor pea and are now naked from the frost. The one in front is 9' x 3.5' and the other one is 7.5' x 5.5'! They have actual trunks, about 3" wide so we'll use the pickup and a tow strap to pull them out. A failed experiment but an interesting one.

Image 

All but one micro tomato have been dumped with the Pinocchio Orange setting a second round of cherries a lot smaller than the first round. I started a Maglia Rosa on Nov 2 and yesterday it got transplanted into its 2 gallon forever home pot. I'm wondering how tall it will get before it starts cascading and am just glad the lights can be raised. :)

Image 

What else to do on a rainy day? Take a pic of some oregano that's drying, the sage cuttings and a basil plant and an okra seed germination test.

Image

Today I think I'll start picking out some mid January indoor start dates for the spring brassicas that I want to set out at the end of February.
I am always so envious of all the room you have ! Garden looking great, too.

I would be tempted to use the pigeon pea trees as a trellis for peas and /or beans as they look sturdy.

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