Gardening 2024

[GeorgiaPeachie]

It is time to start planning your gardens for the coming year. My gut says we all had better be growing everything we possibly can!

Personally, I still have brussel sprouts, collard greens, cabbage and broccoli growing in the garden. As well as garlic I planted in October. A somewhat of a test are the potatoes I planted in September that ended up getting their stocks frozen with an early freeze. I left the potatoes all in the ground and covered them with straw. We will see if they start growing again in a couple of months! In the greenhouse I have kale, arugula, spinach and a few herbs growing.

 

[poltiregist]

The thread title gardening 2024 - ain't quite got here yet but preparations are in order . Perhaps of interest to someone , we got our first killing frost around the last few days of October . My wife picked all the green tomatoes just before the frost and brought them inside and placed them in buckets and boxes in the hallway or sometimes sitting on the table . We have been eating ripe red tomatoes as they ripen . Here it is now after Christmas and we are still eating garden grown tomatoes and appears we will be eating tomatoes into the year 2024 . -- In case someone is interested , they are " ACE 55 " tomatoes . ACE 55 is a heirloom tomatoes , medium size , yields good , good flavor and obviously a tomatoes that can be stored to last for months if picked green . ---- My choir for today is picking a mess of mustard greens , if last nights frost didn't damage them .

 

[poltiregist]

Last year I simply typed in the search " the most productive okra ". The results came back " jade " . So I ordered some Jade okra seeds . My experience was bad . They didn't produce a very good stand and what did make it to the production level had a meager yield . Seeing what was happening early on replanted with my heirloom saved seeds " red Burgandy " and had a successful growing season with them . I did not destroy the " Jade " plants and let them do as much as they would but they never performed well . I believe Jade okra may perform well for some . Perhaps it was my dirt are something else that I did to get that kind of result . --- My plan for 2024 is to follow " Dirt Diva's " lead . She planted " heavy hitter " okra . I ordered and received my heavy hitter okra seeds months ago . Those seeds were expensive but are heirloom , so will be a one time buy .

 

[Arcticdude]

We got our first seed catalog in the mail last week.

 

[poltiregist]

Today I woke up to see a light dusting of snow . The lowest temperature that I have seen on my thermometer was 19 degrees so for this winter . Despite this I picked a mess of spinach today . Also the mustard greens are doing good and ate a mess of them about two days ago . Neither the spinach or mustard greens are covered by anything but the sky . -- Keeping adequate mustard green seeds and harvesting my heirloom spinach seeds each year I put these crops high in my survival plans . These crops plus the normal summer crops provides for a year around or near year around food source for when and for whatever reason going to a store to purchase food is not an option . -- Of course gardening is only a portion of the non-ending re-generating food resource for my group . --The unexperienced that think they can watch a video or read a book , take their survival seeds out of that can and instantly grow a successful garden may be in for an un-pleasant awakening . --- Looking back in my journal the spinach that I planted August 19 in the year 2022 , I ate on all winter and finally harvested the seeds from the plants June 10th in the year 2023 . I am in growing zone six at an above average elevation height . It is common for the temperature here at my site to be three to five degrees colder than what the weather personnel report .

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

We received our first seed catalog yesterday. One I’ve never heard about…R.H. Shumway’s out of Randolph, Wisconsin. Anyone ever ordered from them?

They are selling an Alabama Black Eye Lima Bean. Heirloom too. Call me silly, but I’ve never eaten a Black Eye Lima Bean, just Blackeyed Peas. They also have some Turkey Craw Pole Bean from Tennessee. The beans are stringless too!

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

 

[bigpaul]

Yesterday I received the seeds I ordered after Christmas, got a seed merchant that supplies only heirloom seeds, nothing is planted here until the last frosts have been and gone. probably late march early april.

 

[poltiregist]

I am still eating out of my garden . Prediction is for the temperature to go " below zero " here in a few a more days . My spinach might survive that temperature but I seriously doubt my mustard greens will . Likely we will get snowed in tomorrow . When that happens we simply build a fire in the wood heater and enjoy the seclusion . --- I think my wife used the last of our tomatoes a few days ago that we picked last fall "green " and let sit around in buckets and cardboard boxes as they slowly ripened .

 

[bigpaul]

its been around freezing here for the last week and it looks like its going to continue.

 

[Robinjopo1]

It was such a nice day today, I checked on plants and gardens. I planted onions from seed in the Fall and today I found 2 or 3 plants. I was hoping to have a crop, but it's not looking good.

Also, the elderberry I planted last Spring has new growth. I hope the freeze doesn't kill it.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

I am still eating out of my garden . Prediction is for the temperature to go " below zero " here in a few a more days . My spinach might survive that temperature but I seriously doubt my mustard greens will . Likely we will get snowed in tomorrow . When that happens we simply build a fire in the wood heater and enjoy the seclusion . --- I think my wife used the last of our tomatoes a few days ago that we picked last fall "green " and let sit around in buckets and cardboard boxes as they slowly ripened .

You and me both! Still eating out of my garden. Don’t look for my mustard greens, cabbage, broccoli or brussel sprouts to make it. Will be getting everything I can from the garden today. My spinach, arugula and kale should be fine in the greenhouse though. Going to cover my fruit trees that are in the greenhouse and put the heater close to them.

My onions and garlic are growing like wild. No doubt they will be killed off. We are expecting to get down to 7.

 

[Robinjopo1]

Yes to the garlic. Mine is doing great. Hate to lose any. I will put straw on Saturday because today the wind would just blow off.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

The above is a Chokeberry Bush. I’ve never grown these and not sure I’ve ever eaten them. Grows in zones 3-9. What intrigues me about this bush is the health benefits of these berries and they grow in wet soil! I have a rather nice sized area that gets sun, but is wet a lot.

Has anyone eaten these to tell me what they taste like? Or has anyone grown them?

 

[Cindyd]

Weee doggies! We got a turnip out of garden! Not much of a turnip, but I love raw turnips, too bad I'm on a strict carnivore diet right now!

 

[DrHenley]

I went full carnivore for a few days. I didn't poop for three days and had to use an enema to get things moving again.

 

[Cindyd]

You didn't give it enough time! Lol. I'm certain things would have "kicked in" soon enough..lol

 

[Robinjopo1]

Weee doggies! We got a turnip out of garden! Not much of a turnip, but I love raw turnips, too bad I'm on a strict carnivore diet right now!

I like them raw too. Not cooked

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

They are starting to come after our home gardens folks! This will not go well for them!!!


Reminds me of My Cousin Vinny
Gambini: So, Mr. Tipton, how could it take you five minutes to cook your grits, when it takes the entire grit-eating world 20 minutes.

Mr. Tipton: I don't know. I'm a fast cook, I guess.

Gambini: I'm sorry, I was all the way over here. I couldn't hear you. Did you say you're a fast cook? That's it?! Are we to believe that boiling waters soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen than on any place on the face of the earth?!

Mr. Tipton: I don't know.

Gambini: Well perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove! Were these magic grits? I mean, did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?!