From top left: celeriac, green onions, escarole, green romaine lettuce, carrots, mini broccoli, leeks and cilantro, thyme's and oregano's, my winter tunnel set-up with many greens under mulch, and read leaf lettuce.
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
fall crops - what's growing in my garden now
My sister was surprised that I still had vegetables in my garden. Here's what's there now. I think the cold will move in soon. I'm keeping an eye on the forecast.
From top left: celeriac, green onions, escarole, green romaine lettuce, carrots, mini broccoli, leeks and cilantro, thyme's and oregano's, my winter tunnel set-up with many greens under mulch, and read leaf lettuce.
From top left: celeriac, green onions, escarole, green romaine lettuce, carrots, mini broccoli, leeks and cilantro, thyme's and oregano's, my winter tunnel set-up with many greens under mulch, and read leaf lettuce.
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8 comments:
Celeriac is something I've been considering for years. Glad to know it can take some cold and grow into the fall!
I think my kale is still hanging on after a couple of nights in the low 20s. Your garden is lovely with the raised beds and fence. How far from the house is it? I keep thinking mine is too far from the house, and with no decent access to water or electric (a must if growing sweet corn!) it gets looking fairly shabby by August. Out of sight, out of mind, especially after work during the week.
And thank you for the links to the British garden show, I'll be checking those out this weekend.
I have a spigot in my garden for watering. It's run manually. I suppose I could attach a timer. Before the spigot was put in, we ran a very long hose, several pieces put together, from the house to the garden. That worked just as well but I had to take it up in the winter and reset it in spring. Not much trouble for that. But the spigot is very nice.
Soon, I'd like to set up an automatic drop system. The problem with this is crop rotation and turning some beds in the fall or spring. I suppose it would need to be a very flexible system.
Ive also had trouble many things need regular water. Carrots in their first couple weeks. Onions and garlic particularly as they form their layers from April to June. I've had trouble in the past, before I had the spigot put in, with corn and carrots. Of course, this year was tough, as we couldn't do any automatic watering.
My garden is a good hike from the house. About 500 ft away and a 50 ft rise. I don't think that matters so much as long as you have a spigot or a long hose. I don't know why you need electricity. I don't have power at my garden.
Celeriac and leeks have the longest growing season of any vegetables that I grow. I plant seeds in late February for celeriac, leeks, and onions. Both celeriac and leeks are very hardy to cool weather. I'll leave them in the garden til just before the soil freezes unless I want to use then. In contrast, the early sowed onions are harvested much earlier, by mid summer.
Celeriac sprouts slowly and grows slowly. I have a friend that I share my seedlings with. She ends up with giant celeriac roots. Softball size at least. Mine are more like baseballs. I keep trying to grow them larger. I probably need more compost and more regular watering.
We've got lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, and chard. It's our first successful winter garden, and I must say that I credit our success to your example and your app. Thanks!
My current garden is not as far from the house as yours, perhaps half the distance and on the same level. I'd be OK with laying out the hose, if it weren't for the small detail that they need picked up every time the yard is mowed, sometimes every 3-4 days. I know - Wah! Wah! Wah! :-)
Electric - not a requirement if I go with Mr. Swain's recommendation and buy from a local grower. But if I do grow it, an electric fence is a necessity or raccoons will destroy the corn. We tried solar fencers, but they only last about 2 years it seems. Again, I can run a huge extension cord, and pick it up ever time lawn is mowed. OK, I'll quit whining...
I think what bothers me most about the location is the out of sight out of mind aspect. It's far enough away I don't see how big the weeds are, it's not really convenient to run out and pick a quick salad or tomato like I did in town (I know more "wah, wah, wah!" :-) ). I'll just hang on with the current situation for several more years, hopefully then I can retire and I have more flexible time for giving it more that the minimum I can get by with it gets now.
I'd really like to know how the farthest back corner of the yard became the default place for veggie gardens and fruit trees! I'd wager if they were front and center they'd get much more attention.
Gail
A friend of mine who uses solar boxes for fences finds they last much longer. I can get more details from her, but maybe a better grade would be an option.
I've never used solat and since youre near the house, My suggestion is to dig in 2 conduents, a fancy name for simple PVC pipe. One for electrical, one for water. Half inch pipe for each. By code, electrical and plumbing pipe are different colors and prices. The store will help you out. Usually $2-3 per 10 of pipe. 12 inches seems deep enough so no one would hit it with a rototiiler or other garden tool. For the water connect have the end next to your house water spigot and you can have your valves and connection there. For electrical have it run from an out door outlet.
In the fall drain the water pipe to which ever end is lowest. If your putting in water, seems like you might as well do electric too and grow that corn. Everything always tastes better when you grow it yourself and it's a great experience to do that.
Alternatively or in addition, put your vegetable garden in a very convenient place, like right in the front yard up close by the house! Definiltjy it is silly to allocate a beautiful garden to the far back corner.
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