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Weekly Gardening Thread – 2011 (Vol. 41) October 21
Free Republic | 10-21-2011 | Red_Devil 232

Posted on 10/21/2011 5:04:45 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232

Good morning gardeners. We have had the first frost of Fall this morning in East Central Mississippi. It will warm up into the 70s the next few days and possibly even up to 80s by Tuesday. Not much gardening will be going on for me until next Spring.

I hope all your Fall gardens prosper.

If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Gardening; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: garden; gardening; recipes; weekly
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To: Red_Devil 232

We were forecast to freeze, our low just kissed 32. I haven’t checked my pepper plants. I am hoping for the best, but if they are damaged then it wasn’t meant to be. I’m sure my cole crops are happy, though. My Brussels sprouts are small, but they are home grown. :)


21 posted on 10/21/2011 9:39:24 AM PDT by Marie Antoinette (Proud Clinton-hater since 1998.)
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To: tubebender

All the aspen leaves have fallen here in the Colorado Rockies. An early freeze has ended my gardening this year.


22 posted on 10/21/2011 10:01:07 AM PDT by MtnClimber (The left wants our power generated by unicorns running on treadmills. What dopes!)
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To: Red_Devil 232

26F two nights this past week. Brought in the curing squashkins that the earlier frosts had kissed, so the freeze wouldn’t ruin them.

Nothing left but the Fall tilling & mulching.


23 posted on 10/21/2011 10:10:05 AM PDT by ApplegateRanch ("Public service" does NOT mean servicing the people, like a bull among heifers.)
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To: MtnClimber

Did you see that Berkeley Ca had a couple of EQs yesterday?


24 posted on 10/21/2011 10:14:38 AM PDT by tubebender (She was only a whiskey maker, but I loved her still.)
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To: Red_Devil 232; All
Thanks for the thread, Red. We were supposed to get our first frost last night, but looking at the veggies, we think it did not materialize.

I covered the tomato bed and winter greens bed with a row cover. I have a citrus tree full of flowers indoors, and a batch of baby spinach. Soon I will trim off all the tomato branches for indoor pots.

This weeks harvest included Wild Rose Hips, American Persimmons, a few tomatoes, and Trucker's white corn. I also harvested the last country gentleman corn, and hung it up to dry for next spring’s planting.

We had some good rain this past week, and a lot of garden chores to get done this week. It is a great sunny day outside. Just right to do yardwork with a light jacket.

Have a great weekend. God Bless.

25 posted on 10/21/2011 10:15:26 AM PDT by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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26 posted on 10/21/2011 10:39:55 AM PDT by TheOldLady (FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list)
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To: tubebender
Here is the USGS site showing earthquake activity. Latest earthquakes in the last 7 days
27 posted on 10/21/2011 11:30:58 AM PDT by MtnClimber (The left wants our power generated by unicorns running on treadmills. What dopes!)
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To: Red_Devil 232

Absolutely beautiful weather in New Mexico this time of year. My biggest problem has been squirrels eating my Knock-out roses down to the bone. They killed one and today I took plastic lightweight fencing material and made a cover for the other 2 they have gone after. Hopefully there is time for a bit of recovery before winter sets in. I am going to have to move them in the spring to a less-friendly-to-squirrels part of my property. I have tried a chemical from Garden’s Alive that was supposed to be hated by squirrels but mine just love it.
It was not a good year for tomotoes here. I probably paid $2 each for every good one given the amount of work, and equipment and feeding required.


28 posted on 10/21/2011 2:17:33 PM PDT by JudyM (JudyM)
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To: JudyM

Yep, my Tomatoes never had a chance this year either. This was due to me not getting an earlier start to let them mature and develop a good root system before the big heat wave hit.


29 posted on 10/21/2011 2:37:11 PM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: Red_Devil 232; JudyM
We had poor luck too. I also got my tomatoes out a little late.

Even though Hubby got his out on time, we had a cool spring with too much rain. Then the big heat wave, and attack from beetles.

We just now have a batch of decent tomatoes, so if Indian Summer continues, we may salvage the effort somewhat. Mine are in a 2 x 4 raised bed, with pvc pipe forming a dome and covered by row cover. Hoping to extend the results past Indian summer.

30 posted on 10/21/2011 4:35:10 PM PDT by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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To: Texas Fossil
Hope that is a sign that the drought we have endured for the past year is nearing an end.

The extreme weather forecast for Texas is horrible! Watched a long term forecast on Fox News around noon. The drought in Texas is predicted to run well into 2012. Horrible!

Sure hope they're wrong.

Some good news, though. We are predicted to have a warmer than usual winter. Maybe we'll put off a frost until Christmas or later. I might actually get some tomatoes.

Sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, and looseleaf lettuce is keeping the salad bowl filled. My Ichiban eggplant up and died. Crookneck squash seems to be thriving and so are the collards.

But them darn tomatoes just don't want to do nothin'

31 posted on 10/21/2011 4:35:27 PM PDT by Racehorse (Always preach the Gospel . . . . Use words if necessary.)
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A few weeks ago, frost killed half my garden. That half had stopped producing so I didn’t cover it. Now everything that had died is resprouting from the roots. I didn’t know cucumbers and sweet peas could do that!

The beans I picked before they were dry are drying nicely off the vine. I’m shelling them as the pods turn hard, I’ve got a nice big pile of seeds now :)


32 posted on 10/21/2011 5:51:24 PM PDT by Ellendra (God feeds the birds of the air, but he doesn't throw it in their nests.)
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To: Red_Devil 232

I was away from home all week so naturally we got a nice hard frost. Mrs. Augie picked the tomatoes and peppers, but she didn’t cover up my giant elephant ears. Hope they aren’t dead.


33 posted on 10/21/2011 6:31:48 PM PDT by Augie
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To: Augie

Those elephant ears will die back but come back next spring if that is what you are worried about! Some varieties can be almost impossible to kill off and invasive.


34 posted on 10/21/2011 6:42:17 PM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: MtnClimber

I have had that link in my Tool Bar favorites for years as this area is earthquake central. I got the six varieties of Garlic planted today and have decided to plant the tiny Vietnam pink again because it is such a novelty. The bulbs are only about the size of a quarter and cloves are a pain in the butt to peal so we just smash them and fish the skins out the few times we use it.


35 posted on 10/21/2011 8:46:24 PM PDT by tubebender (She was only a whiskey maker, but I loved her still.)
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To: Red_Devil 232

These are colocasia which is a tropical variety. They’re hardy to zone 8, I’m in zone 5. I chopped them down, dug the corms and stored them in my workshop last winter. I’ll dig them tomorrow and hope for the best.


36 posted on 10/21/2011 8:51:52 PM PDT by Augie
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To: handmade

I got my season-ending hard freeze here in NW KS early AM Thursday, 10-20.

I picked a bunch of peppers Wed. afternoon, and the last good tomato I found. Went out Friday afternoon and found a few more peppers that might be good diced and frozen, or good for a kabob tomorrow (planned) and for a few more days. Also brought in my pumpkins, not completely ripe. Hope they go all orange inside my shop.

I still have some beets and carrots that will be usable, but I need to get it cleaned off as soon as it dries and will burn.


37 posted on 10/21/2011 11:31:21 PM PDT by tdscpa
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To: Racehorse

“Sure hope they’re wrong.”

Sure agree with that.

My father does remember a year we had no frost. Cotton plants suckered out the next year, some actually made 2 crops with 1 planting. That is odd.


38 posted on 10/22/2011 3:32:25 AM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one)
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To: Texas Fossil
Good morning, Texas Fossil.

Just happens I'm up and visiting Harris-Mann Climatology & Long Range Weather. They have a nifty search page purporting to forecast the next 12 months for major cities. They forecast a rather mild winter for San Antonio.

San Antonio Normal High Projected High Normal Low Projected Low
Nov 71.4 72.4 48.6 49.6
Dec 64 66 40.8 42.8
Jan 62.1 60..1 38.6 38.6
Feb 67.1 66.1 42.4 41.4

Compared with what Fox News forecast for Texas as a whole, Harris-Mann predict near normal precipitation for San Antonio through the next 12 months. Sure hope these guys are right. But then, this is Texas and we all know what they say about Texas weather. -:)

39 posted on 10/22/2011 4:07:23 AM PDT by Racehorse (Always preach the Gospel . . . . Use words if necessary.)
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To: Racehorse

I hope they are right. I ran the data on my nearest reporting city and it showed the only month that we would have freezing temperatures was in January. Projected low temp that they gave for January was 26.8 degrees F.

I would certainly call that a mild winter.

How is their forecasting record?


40 posted on 10/22/2011 5:36:43 AM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one)
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