Strat's Florida winter crops this year: Swiss Chard and Broccolli, what about you?

[Strat]

Where are you on our blue skied planet, and what are you planting this season? It's winter on this side of the Hemisphere so I planted swiss chard and broccoli. This is my first time with swiss chard but my second time with broccoli. Check it out, swiss chard on the left and broccoli on the right:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8225/8353906759_13cfab7cb3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78265658@N03/8353906759/)
IMAG0236 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/78265658@N03/8353906759/) by JDShimp (http://www.flickr.com/people/78265658@N03/), on Flickr

I also have oregano, basil and rosemary but I couldn't plant it because I am 1 bag short of compost. Hopefully I can get some tomorrow.

I also made a video of me double digging the garden before planting, sort of a how-to. I'll load it up but I want to edit it first because it's like 40 minutes.

[CD7]

Helllooooooo fellow Flooorider!

Yes planted broccoli and u can see its gettin there! Ive started out small by gardening in buckets....next step is to make much bigger boxes in the ground at least 8 feet wide...ill keep inching my way bigger as i get the hang of this gardening. Next pic is of peppers.....peppers are easy to grow and grow fast! Had my first home grown pepper last month and it was good...alot better tasting then the grocery store peppers


I have a compost, and have found tht definitely helps plants...also keeping up on the watering...

Keep gardening neighbor! :)

[Earth Angel]

today the entire view of my world is covered in snow...very pretty ....but I wish I was planting peppers and swiss chard!! anybody in the north snow belt planting indoors?? any suggestions ??

[Ammit]

Over here in the UK, all is ready to go for this years growth but with the constant change in weather , I believe now is not right maybe another month or 2.

[DeDukshyn]

I live in Alberta Canada .. no crops this winter, lol ;) I have to wait at least three - four months before anything will grow.

[DeDukshyn]

today the entire view of my world is covered in snow...very pretty ....but I wish I was planting peppers and swiss chard!! anybody in the north snow belt planting indoors?? any suggestions ??

I was thinking a small indoor herb garden might be useful, but I may have to wait until spring to get that started. Most of the nurseries and garden shops are closed for the season.

[Ammit]

DeDukshyn, have you considered a small pollytunnel affair with a small compost either end to keep inside warm??

[Strat]

also keeping up on the watering


GOD yes. Especially in the summer, it's seemingly impossible to over water. Last year I over watered my tomatoes once, and that was because I was checking to see if it was physically possible in FL.

[Erich]

Our mango trees are flowering and one early bloomer already has fruit. We have chili peppers all year and moringa leaves. I dry them and make powder. If you haven't tried the moringa powder it tastes much better than the raw or even cooked leaves. We also have winged beans, basil, spinach, kale, papaya, leaf pepper, pandan, bananas, mulberry, mustard greens, eggplant, pak choy, tomato, pepper, and pumpkin.

[Selene]

today the entire view of my world is covered in snow...very pretty ....but I wish I was planting peppers and swiss chard!! anybody in the north snow belt planting indoors?? any suggestions ??

Yes! Wait, wait before planting, before starting your seeds. It’s wa-a-a-a-y too soon in the mid-upper northern hemisphere. Later is better.

Reason:

1) You very likely/most likely will not have enough strong winter sun – nor do you have a working greenhouse – to force an actual crop started now to harvest before the summer season. You can really only start seedlings indoors to set outside April-ish (or perhaps earlier if you’re below N35 Latitude).

2) Seedlings started indoors too early are still ecologically dormant: they will be slow to germinate with stringy, feeble growth, weak stems, poor root systems and leggy branching. All in all, not the kind of strong, dense specimens you will want to plant outside for the summer. This is not a reflection on the quality of the seed, but of the winter climate and the timing of germinating them.

3) These same seeds started in the last week of March or early April – when the earth’s energy fields have shifted into post-equinox Aries and beyond - will show a vigor and eagerness to germinate that is uncanny. It’s all in the timing. They’ll germinate, grow faster and more vigorously in 10 days than in the previous three weeks of wilting hopefulness. These will outstrip your early starts every time, and be ready to plant out toute de suite.


Bottom line: Don’t start seeds too early. April is your garden’s friend. And if you don’t live in a region that is populated by fat, happy commercial greenhouses growing whatever – there’s probably a reason…. Learn from their failures and successes. What works in your area?

Having said that: Yes, you can grow a lot of wonderful stuff as long as you don’t try to fool mother nature timing-wise. And this does not take away from the science of growing a few selected cold-weather crops under plastic or glass: spinach, kale, green peas, some lettuces etc. But that’s a different art…..

Cheers,

Selene


I'm in Toronto N44, zone 5.5

[Gardener]

Last year has been very poor for growers in most areas of UK especially us northerners. Much rain and hardley any sun, roots did ok and I am still picking turnip and spinach. Also Leeks are developing for this year.
I lost the complete potato crop and also tomato crop, runner beans were only a quarter of the usual crop and onions mostly less than half size. All entirely due to the weather and lack of sun. My patch has 10 raised beds as the ground is too wet and heavy so it is draining ok, it is more likely that it is lack of sun. I know I am not alone though so...
Hoping for a better year this year :)

Can't plant out until late May for outside, the seeds are started in a polytunnel march onwards, and potatoes go in about late march early april but have to cover them at night with late frosts.

[TigaHawk]

I tried growing food on my balcony garden in the city..... as you can expect it did not work! I'm only on level 3 and the wind was a major cause of my plant's death's... that and my furry son (teh cat) insisted that the earthbox that contained the tomato's was his litter box..... that and i just planted stuff, i have no concept of seasons and which plants do best when....

This initative of mine spread to my parents, whom now grow banana's and tomato's in their front yard, kale, more tomato's, broccoli, cucumber and silverbeet in the backyard.

they've also taken up trying to regrow plants from the supermarket...... but with no success, they are all sterile (GMO?) and produce nothing.... once they determine that they do not buy it from there anymore. (even the "Macro Organic" ones..... all from Woolworths btw, they refuze to shop at coles as they re-shuffle the stores every few months so you spend longer walking down the isles looking for stuff...)


Is there any way to make the hertigate carrots (purple ones!) more juicy, natrually??? They are awesome to eat, purely because they are purple! but they are significantly less juciy.

[Ki's]

My garden is under 6 inches of snow so I'm only pouring over seed catalogs. (Baker Creek Heirloom seeds) Will be starting cole crop seeds indoors by end of next month though. I am sooo ready to get my hands dirty again!

[DeDukshyn]

DeDukshyn, have you considered a small pollytunnel affair with a small compost either end to keep inside warm??

Sounds like a great idea. But still our winters are too unpredictable, we can get a few days of -30C sneak up on us, or a blizzard without warning. Usually occurs at least once per winter. That said, it has been quite a mild winter so far this year ...

Something like that might be great for getting the planting done a little earlier in the spring or keeping a season further into the fall though, without risk of frost. Thanks for the tip ;)

[blufire]

Hey Strat . . . . .

I thought I would share my winter garden with you and Avalon. We threw up these tunnels, in an afternoon, last fall as temporary high tunnels or green houses that have no electricity or installed irrigation . . . . just 6mm plastic and 1” pvc pipe bought from Lowes. For the three tunnels the cost was around $185.

Here in SW Virginia our growing zone is 5 and the temperatures can get as low as -10. Last week our nights got down into the high teens. We have the tunnels open right now because we are having a very warm spell with daytime temperatures in the mid to high 60’s. The pictures were taken yesterday.

We have 2 types of kale, 3 types of swiss chard, collard greens, spinach, garlic, carrots, turnips and we are finishing up on the lettuce bed that had 3 types lettuce and arugula.

Next week we will start seedlings of tomatoes (6 kinds), peppers (both hot and sweet several types of each), tobacco (for barter and trade), culinary and medicinal herbs, flowers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, bunch more . . .

Using the tunnels we will have tomatoes and peppers by May.

[CD7]

Blufire tht is AWESOME! i would love to have an area tht big someday...

[blufire]

DeDukshyn, have you considered a small pollytunnel affair with a small compost either end to keep inside warm??

Sounds like a great idea. But still our winters are too unpredictable, we can get a few days of -30C sneak up on us, or a blizzard without warning. Usually occurs at least once per winter. That said, it has been quite a mild winter so far this year ...

Something like that might be great for getting the planting done a little earlier in the spring or keeping a season further into the fall though, without risk of frost. Thanks for the tip ;)


Hey DeDukshyn . . . . Our winters when I lived in Kansas were brutal at times, we also had many nights and days we were 20 to 30 below 0. In additional to the ‘high tunnels’ I also used agricultural fabric in heavy density. It is like a blanket that lies directly over the beds during the really cold periods. We also used hay and straw in thick layers between the beds and outer plastic wall and in the walkway between the beds in the tunnel. The beds would go dormant the month of January and the ag fabric would get the vegetables through these cold periods and growth would resume in February. Eating kale, chard, carrots, rutabaga, radishes, turnips and other greens in the middle of January is always a blessing.

[DeDukshyn]

DeDukshyn, have you considered a small pollytunnel affair with a small compost either end to keep inside warm??

Sounds like a great idea. But still our winters are too unpredictable, we can get a few days of -30C sneak up on us, or a blizzard without warning. Usually occurs at least once per winter. That said, it has been quite a mild winter so far this year ...

Something like that might be great for getting the planting done a little earlier in the spring or keeping a season further into the fall though, without risk of frost. Thanks for the tip ;)


Hey DeDukshyn . . . . Our winters when I lived in Kansas were brutal at times, we also had many nights and days we were 20 to 30 below 0. In additional to the ‘high tunnels’ I also used agricultural fabric in heavy density. It is like a blanket that lies directly over the beds during the really cold periods. We also used hay and straw in thick layers between the beds and outer plastic wall and in the walkway between the beds in the tunnel. The beds would go dormant the month of January and the ag fabric would get the vegetables through these cold periods and growth would resume in February. Eating kale, chard, carrots, rutabaga, radishes, turnips and other greens in the middle of January is always a blessing.

Thanks Blufire!, I'll look into this more! I assumed it wouldn't work that well below -10 or so ...

[blufire]

DeDukshyn, have you considered a small pollytunnel affair with a small compost either end to keep inside warm??

Sounds like a great idea. But still our winters are too unpredictable, we can get a few days of -30C sneak up on us, or a blizzard without warning. Usually occurs at least once per winter. That said, it has been quite a mild winter so far this year ...

Something like that might be great for getting the planting done a little earlier in the spring or keeping a season further into the fall though, without risk of frost. Thanks for the tip ;)


Hey DeDukshyn . . . . Our winters when I lived in Kansas were brutal at times, we also had many nights and days we were 20 to 30 below 0. In additional to the ‘high tunnels’ I also used agricultural fabric in heavy density. It is like a blanket that lies directly over the beds during the really cold periods. We also used hay and straw in thick layers between the beds and outer plastic wall and in the walkway between the beds in the tunnel. The beds would go dormant the month of January and the ag fabric would get the vegetables through these cold periods and growth would resume in February. Eating kale, chard, carrots, rutabaga, radishes, turnips and other greens in the middle of January is always a blessing.

Thanks Blufire!, I'll look into this more! I assumed it wouldn't work that well below -10 or so ...

Well . . . I have got beds through -15 and prolonged 0 temperatures