Gardening 2011

[grammafreddy]

LOL - that all-night sunlight gets things growing pretty good, eh? They used to get some good gardens in Dawson City, too. (and some nice gold )

[Tootsie]

to Jenny - re:

My garlic has a new green shoot coming up. What's up with that?

I'm thinking what you might be seeing is a "garlic scape" (I don't know how to post pics - Google it & you'll see). I've never used them but I know they sell them for big bucks at the store when they're in season.

I harvested my garlic well over a month ago and it was beautiful ! I planted it last fall. I follow the advice a lady I met a couple of years ago gave me (she had a commercial garlic farm) and have had great success !

Plant your cloves in the fall when it's cold but not freezing (last year I think I planted mine just before Halloween). Plant the healthiest biggest cloves you have not the little crappy ones. (I only plant mine about an inch maybe 1 1/2 in.down into the dirt).Throughout spring & summer keep an eye on it and then when the first scape shows wait till it curls once. Before it curls a 2nd time snip the scapes off (and use them or sell them or whatever!). This ensures that all the energy is going into the bulb itself and not the leaves & scapes. (or else she was just bs'ing me & I fell for it ! I don't know but it seems to work !!!)
Finally when the leaves start getting all yellowish and dry, poke around the dirt & lift one up & see how it's doing. Not big enough ? Then shove it back in for awhile longer. Then when it's finally ready dig them up. I shake the dirt off them & then let them dry thoroughly on newspaper in an old shed we have that gets really hot in the summer. Then I clean them up and store them in the basement over the winter in a dark dry spot.

Last year I made it pretty much through the whole winter with just the garlic I planted (I use a LOT of garlic). One thing I think does help though is that every fall I empty my compost bins into the raised beds that I grow my garlic in. I think garlic likes good drainage & raised beds seem to be good for that.

Good luck in your garlic adventure ! I only started mine a few years ago after I got tired of paying $8.50-$10.00 a pound for the good local stuff & not the Chinese mass-produced chemically sprayed crap sold for dirt cheap in the stores in those mesh bags.

[JLives]

Awesome information. Thank you very much. I'll give it a try in some garden pesto.

[Lady tehMa]

Temperature is dipping D: My furnace came on this morning. And my tomatoes are really just getting going!

[Queen K]

We have no and mean no large tomatoes left to get going. Everything is tiny right now.

Question: does one just pull up plants that are green but not producing, or just leave them til frost kills them off? I always debate this one.

[grammafreddy]

We have no and mean no large tomatoes left to get going. Everything is tiny right now.

Question: does one just pull up plants that are green but not producing, or just leave them til frost kills them off? I always debate this one.

What kind of plants? Tomato plants?

Mine are still producing like crazy - lots of blooms and lots of tomatoes. I have a couple ripening every day.

My problem with my tomatoes is that they are too heavy - and they keep falling over even though I have them anchored to the fence with the velcro tape stuff. They just break the velcro seal and down they go.

Next year I am going to work smarter. I'm going to build my own special tomato cages using four corner sticks and turkey wire fencing. I'll anchor the wire to the four corner posts and then I can velcro the plant branches to the wire to hold them up and support the fruit. The round tomato cages in the stores are not big enough for my plants. I always grow the Ultra Girls.

I cover my tomatoes at night with old sheets when frost is imminent. I leave them producing until the leaves start getting black and frozen, then I pick everything on them and wrap the green balls in newspaper and put them in single layers in boxes and hide them under the bed in my spare room. They will still ripen slowly and I can also use them for Fried Green Tomatoes. Yum.

I've never had tomato plants that didn't produce right up until frost. Usually they are still trying to bloom then, too.

[Lady tehMa]

I made tomato cages out of welder's mesh - working great. A friend of mine has used it for years.

I love sweet millions, they produce really well. Mine are about 7 feet tall now.

Anyone have an farmer's almanac? I'm wondering when the first frost is predicted . . .

[oneh2obabe]

Farmer's Almanac long-range forecast for Kelowna
http://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange/BC/Kelowna

Frost forecast - first frost October 8th
http://www.almanac.com/content/frost-chart-canada

[Lady tehMa]

Thx for that 'babe! I won't worry TOO much about stuff getting ripe for the next month then.

[Glacier]

:biggrin: Thx for that 'babe! I won't worry TOO much about stuff getting ripe for the next month then.

I wouldn't take Farmer's Almanac predictions seriously except to note they are loosely based on averages so they'll generally be right give or take a few weeks.

[oneh2obabe]

:biggrin: Thx for that 'babe! I won't worry TOO much about stuff getting ripe for the next month then.

I wouldn't take Farmer's Almanac predictions seriously except to note they are loosely based on averages so they'll generally be right give or take a few weeks.

I don't take Environment Canada or Farmer's Almanac seriously ... Mother Nature is going to do what she wants, when she wants and that's that.

[Lady tehMa]

I wouldn't take Farmer's Almanac predictions seriously except to note they are loosely based on averages so they'll generally be right give or take a few weeks.

Are you trying to get me worrying? I'm looking for peace of mind, not a crystal ball :s

Like 'babe said

Mother Nature is going to do what she wants, when she wants and that's that

. This just sort of gives me a heads up on when to roughly expect it.

[Lore]

FROST WARNING TONIGHT.

You may want to cover your tomatoes.

[grammafreddy]

Thanks for the warning!!! Off to do that now.

[grammafreddy]

Ran out of sheets to cover the plants - tomatoes and peppers are done. Hope the zukes will be okay. Anybody know?