The Dawg Patch

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#781

Post: # 82142Unread post GoDawgs
Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:12 am

The last time I tried planting beets was fall '19. Seems like I've been planting in mid October to avoid the heat of September but this time September seemed to work somewhat. At least I have some plants. I did the "hoe a trench and fill with water a few times" thing, covered it over, planted and kept it watered. I guess that beat the heat. Maybe.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#782

Post: # 82270Unread post GoDawgs
Sat Nov 05, 2022 9:57 am

One of the "toys" for this year's garden is Celtuce. It's a "stem lettuce" that is grown mainly for it's big crunchy stalk. It's an odd looking thing!

https://www.rareseeds.com/green-mountain-winter-celtuce

Never grew it before and had never heard of it but it caught Pickles' eye in a catalog so it was ordered. I did a four-pack just to see what's what. For sure it's a cool weather thing. That's the seed start date on the label.

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It's supposed to prefer shade and lots of water; not quite swampy but constantly moist. I ended up planting one directly in a garden bed in mostly shade and planted the other three in a triangle in a big bucket up by the house in filtered light where I can keep an eye on the moisture level. We'll see.

In the bed next to the brassicas I've got about 8' of daikon radish growing. The right half is hybrid seed from the pack and the other half is from seed I collected from the hybrid last year. They're swelling up and starting to push up out of the ground.

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It seems that for the most part the foliage on the hybrid is bigger but the radishes of the collected seed are a bit larger. I'll probably pull one radish from each seed type for a good taste test today. Mmmmm, nice and crunchy and juicy! These are from the collected seed:

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I've sown 5 or 6' more feet of collected seed to finish out the row. They're up and going now so I won't have a ton of daikon ready at once.

Yesterday I got soil pulled to the leeks for the first time. There will be several more times as I'm trying to get a longer white portion. Meanwhile the leeks look like they're happy.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#783

Post: # 82475Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Nov 07, 2022 10:19 am

It's a beautiful morning, about 61 when I got up. It's best to enjoy these nice temps while we have them and it's great for getting out into the garden early. Since the 3/4" of rain the day before yesterday things have jumped in the garden. There's nothing like real rain watering the garden to get plants going.

The carrots are up enough now so that I could do a final weeding this morning and then mulch without covering them up. The left side of the bed (Bolero and Danvers) was first sown 9/19 but it might have been too hot and they came up spotty so I resowed the skips on Oct 11 and they did come up. The right side of the bed (Napoli and Envy) was also sown on Oct 11. It will be a staggered finish in spring which is what I want.

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The first head of broccoli (Packman) was still tight but thinking about loosening up so I cut it. It was 5.5" wide, a bit smaller than Packman gets but good enough. I also pulled another ten scallions and a small handful of beans. The bean plants look like hell but they're still trying to make a few more so they'll have the chance to do that before Mr. Frosty comes.

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I also pulled the first daikon radish to see where they are as they're pushing up out of the ground. Half were started from hybrid seed and the other half from seed I collected from that hybrid last year. This was one from collected seed and it's a bit out of shape although that could gave been from some growing condition. We'll see as I pull more later. Regardless, it's very mild tasting which is good as we've had some warm temps and I was hoping they wouldn't be spicy! But I guess it wasn't hot enough to make them that way.

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Still growing in buckets are two jalapeno plants with peppers on them. They're in the black stage of ripening and they've been that way for a long time now so maybe they won't reach red. Not enough sun? Their formerly sunny spot is now shaded most of the day. I think I'll move one of them to a full sun spot later today and we'll see. We're running out of warm days.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#784

Post: # 82662Unread post GoDawgs
Wed Nov 09, 2022 11:44 am

I'm growing some baby bok choi in a window box on the front porch and made the first cutting today, clipping all the larger outside leaves. Cut and come again!

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It amounted to 8 oz of greens, including stems. I chopped the stems into 1-2" pieces and stir fried them with some onion before adding the chopped leaves. Good eats and and it will be a nice spinach substitute since I don't have very much luck with that.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#785

Post: # 82830Unread post GoDawgs
Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:37 pm

TS Nicole has trotted on by and on her way to go bother someone else. It was one of those "meh" events here. We got 9/10" of rain which we'll gladly accept while wishing it had been more and a few 20-25 mph gusts of wind. Pretty much a nothing burger.

It's time to start inventorying the contents of the seed box and put into the seed "vault" anything that won't be used again in the next year or two. I've used this old metal bread box to keep seeds in for literally decades. And some of those old zip lock bags don't zip all the way anymore but hey, they still work. That big bag with beans etc has smaller bags in it; one for pole beans, one for bush beans, one for peas.

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The contents of the box are also on a spreadsheet that I'll update as I go along. It's handy for seeing what I have without having to root around in the box. I'm sure I'll find something that gets planted every year will need ordering. When I almost use up something I try to make a note on the sheet to re-order it but you know how that goes. Sometimes intentions just get forgotten. :? The annual march of seed catalogs will be starting soon. Last year the first one arrived on Nov 16th from Pinetree Seeds. Oh, I can go online and look at stuff but there's nothing like just settling into the recliner with the paper version, note pad and pencil nearby and wander off into Garden Land. Dreams of Spring. :)

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#786

Post: # 82970Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Nov 13, 2022 10:03 am

It's a beautiful day but with a chilly NNW breeze. This time yesterday it was 75 out there. Right now it's 48. Yep, the predicted cold front is arriving and has pushed away any hints of Nicole. Low temps will be 30 tomorrow and then low 40's for the next seven days with highs in the 50's. Fall is finally here.

Yesterday while the wind was down I went ahead and covered some beds with a light row cover. The brassica plants wouldn't have any problem with 30 or frost but some of the young succession plantings could get frost burned so on goes a cover. It won't keep plants warm but that's ok. It will keep frost off. Garlic, onions and leeks can fend for themselves.

This morning I had to tend to the micro tomatoes. They're been producing well but are coming to the end of their run. I'm trying to keep funky foliage cut off. And two of them (far left and far right in the photo) are dropping tomatoes even though they are not dry or overly wet. I've not encountered that before.

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The one with the biggest problem, Red Robin, will be tossed soon. Of all the micros I've grown it's usually one with the least problems but it's got a big one now.

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In addition, tomatoes on Red Robin and the Hardin's Miniature on the far left have whitish yellow splotches on them. To me it doesn't look just like an unripe spot. It almost looks like cold damage but that's impossible. Another mystery.

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Of the four the best one is Pinocchio Orange. Although it's supposed to be determinate, it finished a first round of cherries and is now covered with blooms and babies for a second run with very few foliage problems.

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These four plants have been putting out a large handful of cherry tomatoes every other or every third day for a while now so the ones at the grocery store can sit there a while longer.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#787

Post: # 83023Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Nov 13, 2022 4:18 pm

It's supposed to go down to 30 tonight. The last time it dipped down it was Oct 19 and I thought the brassicas would be OK not being covered. Generally that would be true but I forgot about some in the beds that were real young and they got badly burned when it hit 33. So I covered stuff today.

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Of course there's always a bit of improvising....The Bedsheet Boogie.

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...and a roll of short fencing wrapped in a piece of row cover.

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All this for one night. Lows in the 40's starting Tuesday. Oh well, it was a good drill to shake the rust off since it's been a while since I had to do this. Tomorrow I remove the sheets but will leave row covers clipped on the three brassica beds and just raise the sides up about 3/4 of the way.

Hmmm, there are also a few plants that will need to come in off the front porch.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#788

Post: # 83109Unread post pepperhead212
Mon Nov 14, 2022 3:32 pm

That's weird that you have a freeze warning, the same night I'm getting my first one up here! Unlike you, however, I only have a hoophouse with cold weather greens - others, too, but nothing I have to cover, then uncover, as it's pretty much over, here. Good luck with those crops you covered.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#789

Post: # 83112Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Nov 14, 2022 4:11 pm

SWINGGGGG and a miss! It only went down to 38, not 30. Geez, Louise! So this afternoon I folded up the sheets and rolled the sides of the three tunnels up to the top as we have rain coming in tomorrow and everything needs a nice drink. Now they're saying that starting Thursday we'll have a seven day stretch of lows from 32-36. We'll see. I'm tempted to not do anything but you all KNOW that the minute I don't, it will go down to 28. :roll:

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#790

Post: # 83116Unread post pepperhead212
Mon Nov 14, 2022 4:58 pm

It is better when they are wrong the good way. :lol:
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#791

Post: # 83147Unread post GoDawgs
Tue Nov 15, 2022 7:16 am

Well, I'll be covering stuff back up tomorrow as a seven day stretch with lows around 32 and a few 28's sprinkled in there.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#792

Post: # 83149Unread post karstopography
Tue Nov 15, 2022 7:31 am

46° here. The forecasters got it correct. A switch was flipped in the upper atmosphere and all this cool air invaded from the Arctic and that pipeline of chilled fluid from the north has apparently established itself for the foreseeable future. Nothing close to freezing predicted so that makes things easier. Cool weather generally improves the quality of most of current garden denizens like cabbage, kale, spinach, lettuce and the like.

So most everything out in the garden now is cool with the cool. The two remaining tomato plants just need to hang in there until the warmth returns, whenever that is.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#793

Post: # 83356Unread post GoDawgs
Fri Nov 18, 2022 6:44 pm

The heavy frost looked like snow this morning as it got down to 28. I'm sure glad I buttoned everything up down in the garden. Around 8:30 last night Pickles asked if I was going to bring the porch plants in. Ack! I had forgotten so she helped as the official door opener/closer as I went in and out toting plants.

This is the rosemary, parsley, bok choi and arugula. I've had that rosemary, a Tuscan Blue, maybe five years now. The bok choi is ready for the second cutting for a stir fry. I wonder how many cuttings I'll get. The thyme and oregano pots are sharing digs with the micro tomatoes right now.

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The poor Thanksgiving cactus is about bloomed out but it was gorgeous this year. The two golden pothos plants are the results of Pickles splitting the big one in half early last month. She did the peace lily too as it got waaaaay too big! I was given that peace lily 12 years ago when my mom passed and it's been divided just about every year since then. Happy plant! All of these guys will just have to hang out indoors before they can go back outside. 

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Under the lights I've got some sage cuttings growing in a coke bottle mini greenhouse. The cuttings were stuck on the 7th and when I gave them a gentle tug this evening I found they've rooted. The basil seed is up but not the fernleaf dill and sage seeds. There's a Maglia Rosa tomato started and that will replace the micro cherry tomato plants which are almost done. Maglia is new to me, one of last year's MMMM so I'll be excited to see how it does.  

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#794

Post: # 83386Unread post PlainJane
Sat Nov 19, 2022 8:12 am

I hope you like Maglia Rosa. It was one of the stars in my garden this season and I plan to put 2 plants in next year.
I’ve tried rooting sage cuttings in water without much luck. I’ll try your mini-greenhouse soda bottle next time.
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#795

Post: # 83431Unread post Shule
Sat Nov 19, 2022 3:47 pm

GoDawgs wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 4:18 pm It's supposed to go down to 30 tonight. The last time it dipped down it was Oct 19 and I thought the brassicas would be OK not being covered. Generally that would be true but I forgot about some in the beds that were real young and they got badly burned when it hit 33. So I covered stuff today.

Image

Of course there's always a bit of improvising....The Bedsheet Boogie.

Image

...and a roll of short fencing wrapped in a piece of row cover.

Image

All this for one night. Lows in the 40's starting Tuesday. Oh well, it was a good drill to shake the rust off since it's been a while since I had to do this. Tomorrow I remove the sheets but will leave row covers clipped on the three brassica beds and just raise the sides up about 3/4 of the way.

Hmmm, there are also a few plants that will need to come in off the front porch.

Image
That reminds me of when I need to bring in all the watermelons at the end of the season. ;)
Location: SW Idaho, USA
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#796

Post: # 83550Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Nov 20, 2022 5:02 pm

Today I pulled another of those seedling daikon radishes grown from seed collected from an F1 hybrid this past spring. These seem to be pretty round. I'm more used to the oblong ones (like the hybrid) but they taste the same so no harm, no foul. 1 lb 2 oz, just slightly smaller than a softball and where the first one was almost sweet, this one has a slight bit of heat to it. I wonder if it's because it's bigger. It can't be because of warm weather!

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@PlainJane, I took your suggestion of chunking and baking it with olive oil and garlic and learned two things. First I need to do a double peeling of the daikon next time to get all the tough skin off. I thought I had but apparently not. Second, I need to either increase the baking time or cut the chunks smaller. Regardless, they tasted kind of like turnips. No hint of heat after roasting. Possibilities, especially since there are more to come. I think next time I will add a smidge of sesame oil to the olive oil. More kimchi needs to be made too so daikon will be added to that.

They say it's down to 25 by morning so the tunnel ends have been closed. It will be the last of the really cold air as lows will rise into the 40's. Tomorrow the plastic will be removed and put away and the sides of the row covers underneath will be rolled up. The plants will probably be really glad to see the sun again! I sure hope Mr. Funk hasn't come to play. Too cold, I hope.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#797

Post: # 83583Unread post PlainJane
Mon Nov 21, 2022 6:40 am

The daikon I grew were pretty thin-skinned so I didn’t peel them. Yours definitely looks a lot more robust.

And yes, they reminded me very much of turnips. In fact I was thinking of ordering turnip seed but now I’ll just use the daikon.
It’s been cool and drizzly for a couple of days but we aren’t supposed to see any huge improvement until Friday. At least there’s no frost in our forecast!
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#798

Post: # 83586Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Nov 21, 2022 7:25 am

@PlainJane, right now I have turnips going too. The first ones will probably be ready in about a week.

I sure screwed up the timing when I sowed them! There are 10' of them on 6" spacing; 5' of the F1 and 5' of the collected seed. Waaaaay too many ready at once! Then about two weeks after starting that I sowed another 6'. Well, if the turnips don't make there will be daikon. :D

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#799

Post: # 83603Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Nov 21, 2022 11:05 am

Once again the forecasted low of 25 was an actual 28. Fine with me. We are now over those kinds of lows which will turn into 40's. Off come the covers. I just finished taking off the big plastic sheets, rolled them up and put them in the cart for now. Old bed sheets over other beds were removed and hung on both sides of trellises to dry. They should dry quickly in the breeze so that I can take them down, take the plastic out of the cart and hang them on the trellises to dry.

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After I ran out of hanging room the one remaining sheet got clothes-pinned to the grapes on the fence. Again, "sometimes you have to make it up as you go along" . :) There's a good breeze out there so once the remaining row covers dry off they're getting removed from the beds too.

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I'm debating about taking the netting off the broccoli and daikon as their leaves are really pushing hard against it. I just might in those two cases. It's hunting season and the deer are on the move. I haven't seen any fresh tracks in the garden in a while now so I might take a chance.

When I first got to the garden this morning a ton of leaves were raining down in the breeze. Lots of them were green leaves from the nearby pecan tree, leaves that made it through the first 25 degrees a week ago but not this one. The ground is covered with a good layer of leaves in just a week's time and the hose is just barely peeking through. Time to bring in the riding mower with bagger and hoover up another addition to the growing leaf mulch pile. ;)

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#800

Post: # 83712Unread post GoDawgs
Tue Nov 22, 2022 7:38 pm

This afternoon we folded up the rest of the covers that had been drying on the big trellises. It was a two day process; bed sheets one day, long plastic sheets the next. All the plants came through fine. I wasn't worried about cold damage but was afraid of finding funk starting. Nope! Not a trace.

This is the turnip/scallion bed. The first turnips should be about ready in a week.

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The staggered carrot rows are happy.

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And this is the first of the hybrid daikon radishes I pulled. I wonder what shapes they crossed to get this longer one. The roundies were ready about a week earlier.

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