Garden Thread 2023!

[begreen]

We have a few small tomatoes forming on the Tiny Tim cutting. Yay! The lettuce and basil are going gangbusters in the main iDoo. This is after 3 harvests.

 

[EbS-P]

Lol. You should get one then!

This guy is just a few miles from me.

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[begreen]

Neat, taking note. This is our zone too. We just started meteological winter. Our lemons and lime are in the greenhouse now.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Very cool! I always found the oranges in Nebraska video fascinating.

I could probably get by with something like that in my garage for the winter. Something to think about, lol.

 

[EbS-P]

Neat, taking note. This is our zone too. We just started meteological winter. Our lemons and lime are in the greenhouse now.

We just moved to 8b. In general I’ve learned quite a bit from his channel. The Christmas lights are a great idea. We haven’t let our potted lemons even drop below freezing.

 

[begreen]

I did some looking around to purchase an Owari Satsuma. In the video he says they are cold hardy down to 12º but the sellers all say hardy down to 20-25, zone 9A.

This site says they are tolerant to brief drops down to 12-15º.

Owari Satsuma Mandarin Tree

Grow your own sweet citrus with Owari Satsuma Mandarin Trees. These cold-hardy owari satsuma fruit trees are easy to grow and produce delicious oranges.

www.fast-growing-trees.com

 

[EbS-P]

I did some looking around to purchase an Owari Satsuma. In the video he says they are cold hardy down to 12º but the sellers all say hardy down to 20-25, zone 9A.

This site says they are tolerant to brief drops down to 12-15º.

Owari Satsuma Mandarin Tree

Grow your own sweet citrus with Owari Satsuma Mandarin Trees. These cold-hardy owari satsuma fruit trees are easy to grow and produce delicious oranges.

www.fast-growing-trees.com

With his south facing wall of his house, water barrels, light and cover he’s protected them from the lower temps. And really we hardly ever have a day time highs below freezing. He really want to live in Florida so he’s trying really hard. I’m not sure he was growing citrus or these citrus trees when this hit us in 2018.

Extreme cold and snow of early January, 2018

What’s the longest time there been snow on the ground?

 

[begreen]

We've only seen 15º here a few times in the past 30 yrs. and that is briefly. Our proximity to Puget Sound acts as a buffer. Inland often gets 10º colder or hotter in the summer. I have a 6 yr old olive tree in the ground and it's made it so far. Normally we only have a few days that dip into the 20s if that. That's not to say that a polar freeze can't happen here. Most likely I would keep it in a pot like the other citrus.

This is our overachiever Meyer lemon pup. Behind it is the Bearss Lime which is also quite productive.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Begreen, your lemons and limes look great. My mom’s are just beginning to lighten in color; yours are definitely ahead.

We think that the mandarin orange tree that came with our house in Texas was the Owari Satsuma variety, but we don’t know for certain since we didn’t plant it. It matched the descriptions we read and was one most easily obtainable in local nurseries. We did not know what the tree was when we moved in in the fall, and the first winter we were there we had temperatures in the teens and a period of thirty-six hours below freezing. The tree seemed entirely unphased, but it wasn’t fruiting that year. It tended to bear alternately, so it would have a heavy load one year and next to no fruit the next.

During the long-lasting freeze in February 2021 we had temperatures down to six and nine degrees, if I recall correctly, and almost a whole week without sun to warm things up. We had wrapped the tree as best we could in frost cloth before the cold hit, but the snow weighed it down and opened up gaps at time. We also put two high-wattage incandescent bulbs pointed at the trunk. The tree lost all its branches during that freeze, but the trunk did remain alive and was regrowing sprouts. It had been eighteen feet in diameter before that cold, and it was probably less than five when we left it this summer, but at least it was alive. The freeze also killed our olives back to the roots and one of the pomegranates that lost its protection, but those regrew from the ground.

We brought one mandarin tree with us in a pot from Texas. It had to survive the trip on our open trailer. It had been dug up by a skunk a couple years back and nursed back to health in a pot. Once we knew we were moving back to Virginia, it just stayed in the small pot, though it did get upgraded to a larger one once we got here. It’s on my mom’s sunporch now with the lemon and the lime. Now that we’re in Virginia, it won’t get planted in the ground. Right now it’s still practically a sapling, so it’s easy to move. My mom’s lime tree is too big for one person to handle and has to be carefully manouvered through the sliding door because it’s too wide to fit. The lemon isn’t small either, but it’s easier.

 

[begreen]

DG, your indoor plants look great. I am going to try a pepper indoor but it's a long shot. Do you have any issues with funghus gnats or white flies.

Tiny Tims are starting to pop out.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Those Tiny Tims are cute, begreen. I take it you were pleased with the flavor?

My mom dug up a jalapeño plant from her garden in 2021 and put it in a pot to overwinter on the sunporch that year. She tells me that it was a plant that had volunteered later in the summer and had young peppers on it that she wanted to mature. She has kept it alive since then putting it outside in the summers and bringing it back in in the fall.

The pepper occasionally gets infested with aphids. Just recently we noticed the first outbreak for this season. My mom cut off the most heavily laden branch, washed the peppers, and discarded the rest. When the weather was a bit warmer we then moved it outside where she washed the leaves and sprayed it with something. After it was dry, I dusted it with diatomaceous earth, and she moved it back inside. Now when I go out to the porch, I’m greeted by what I’m now calling the “ghost pepper.”



Thankfully we haven’t seen fungus gnats or whiteflies on the plants in the house. I’m glad the eggplant got a good start in life without flea beetles attacking it. We have had some stink bugs [prevalent around here in houses in winter] and fruit flies when we had more produce in the house. I had taken my mom’s sticky fly trap from the kitchen and hung it on the plant stand, but I inadvertently took it down when I got it caught in my long hair when pruning the other night. It’s back in the kitchen. The second eggplant fruit is growing fast and looking beautiful.

 

[EbS-P]

Quick update on the gutter / downspout hydroponics. They are doing ok. Not as fast growing as fast as I hoped but it’s December and they only get 3-4 hours of full sun so my expectations were to high. But everything is growing. Arugula is doing the best with a kale mix and red mustard greens. My spinach just got true leaves this week. I don’t think it’s a good cold weather variety. The net pots are growing faster than the big gutter. I’m guessing that’s temperature related. Thought about painting a downspout black but worried that might get too hot. Could be nutrients though as I have not needed to add any nutrient solution the gutter grow media. Coco core and perlite are super absorbent and hold lots of water. I want to make another vertical grow tower with the downspouts to save space on the patio.

Winter tower garden has been seeded a most germination complete (minus parsley). Probably needs more light and to be inside to get off to a decent start. All kale chard lettuce mustard greens and parsley. I don’t have a good system to get different levels of nutrients to plants I have started that need half strength for a few weeks.

I’ve been super impressed with my fordhooks giant swiss chard. It did really well in the heat and still growing in the cool weather. Went to my local farm supply store and seeds were $1.8 an oz so I have enough seed for quite some time.

 

[begreen]

Those Tiny Tims are cute, begreen. I take it you were pleased with the flavor?

I would say they were good, better than store bought, but not as good as sweet millions which are our summer favorites along with sungolds. I transplanted the tiny jocolo, baby, and bunny kisses today in both the new hydro unit and in pots. We'll see which does better.

Thankfully we haven’t seen fungus gnats or whiteflies on the plants in the house.

I started seeing fungus gnats a few days after I had the planters and pots in the house. There was only fresh packaged potting soil in them. So far yellow sticky cards seem to be keeping their numbers down.

 

[clancey]

Hey Free--wondering what you are up to and hope everything is okay..If your reading this please e-mail me because you became a friend.. Have a nice holiday season...clancey

 

[begreen]

Hey Free--wondering what you are up to and hope everything is okay..If your reading this please e-mail me because you became a friend.. Have a nice holiday season...clancey

Try a PM to contact.

 

[clancey]

BG--I tried that but the file says --limited contact or something and won't go through so this seems to be my only recourse unless I am doing it wrong or something which could be because I do not know that much about computers---but trying hard to learn things...Have a nice holiday season everyone...clancey

 

[begreen]

Using @Dan Freeman in the posting will send an alert. Hope he is doing ok.

 

[clancey]

Thanks BG I will try that right now...
@Dan Freeman ...If I get through I will keep you all up to date....Hope he and his family is okay...clancey

 

[EbS-P]

Tomatoes keep growing. They have been rolled in Monday -Thursday night. Looking like the first blossoms set well.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I think I discovered a spider mite infestation today. I’ve already pruned off the leaves with the webbing and the most visible creep-crawlies and submerged them in soapy water. Unfortunately this eggplant is in a larger planter and would be hard to move outside for treatment. There are also numerous other plants in the immediate vicinity.

I may see what I can do about finding some Neem and a spray bottle, but it’s going to be tough to control these. If anyone has other suggestions, I’m all ears/eyes. Thanks.

 

[begreen]

Bummer, go after them aggressively. Alternate between neem oil and safer soap treatments at least weekly.

I haven't tried this, but it is a safe alternative treatment.

BotaniGard ES Biological Insecticide (Beauveria bassiana) | Planet Natural

Contains active Beauveria bassiana spores that attack a long-list of troublesome pests....

www.planetnatural.com

 

[NHWS]

I think I discovered a spider mite infestation today. I’ve already pruned off the leaves with the webbing and the most visible creep-crawlies and submerged them in soapy water. Unfortunately this eggplant is in a larger planter and would be hard to move outside for treatment. There are also numerous other plants in the immediate vicinity.

I may see what I can do about finding some Neem and a spray bottle, but it’s going to be tough to control these. If anyone has other suggestions, I’m all ears/eyes. Thanks.

Please post updates as this progresses. I haven't had much luck with either soapy water or neem oil for spider mites.

 

[EbS-P]

I got all my starts in my tower garden. I left some chard an eggplant and a pepper plant to see what happens. The rest are planted with various varieties of chard, kale, and lettuce. Added the lights as I want this to kick into high production gear soon but it’s a bright sunny day so it gets rolled out. This tower has 28 sites. I will diy another downspout tower with idea that it will get only lettuce and free up space for big greens on the tower.

Time has come to make decision about topping my tomatoes. I have 3-5 setts of blossoms on most. So that’s probably plenty for this experiment. They have to be able to roll inside. . Second experiment will be keep one pruned to a single stem and let the other sucker out.

I think I need to start making a planting plan for the spring seeds. I just need to direct sow less and use more seed trays. It’s the easiest way to get things going faster.

And I need to clear a spot in my years for a garden space. Right not my wood pile is on prime sun ground. It’s a good 2 -3 cord stack. I went way overboard two years ago getting fire wood.

 

[begreen]

That's a nifty mobile garden there.

 

[EbS-P]

Anyone been successful with netting to keep squirrels out?
I’m thinking 3/4 inch bird netting.