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Post by littleminnie on Aug 11, 2012 7:32:26 GMT -5
Ferdzy, I hope you have better luck with King of the Garden than I did. The year I grew them I never had enough at once to be worth cooking, and barely got back as much seed as I planted. Still, it's been several years, and I've learned a lot since then. Maybe I should give limas another try. Minnie, some honeydews exhibit a dramatic color change when ripe, but even the standard green ones show enough of a golden shift to make them recognizable. You can also shake them to test. The seeds and fibers loosen somewhat inside ripe melons, and you can hear them move when shaken. Cowpeas are not new to my kitchen and table, but they were new to my garden and my direct attention this year. A good experiment, but I think I'll go back to letting my b-i-l grow them. He always has more than plenty anyway. I also have several new-to-me varieties of melons growing at the moment. I'm expecting melons and squash to increase a lot more next year. MB I have been shaking them but worried I would not hear what I am supposed to hear LOL.
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Post by Drahkk on Aug 11, 2012 14:37:58 GMT -5
Would love to hear suggestions for lima beans. What we have learned is that they are a bit like sweet potatoes - don't plant too early or they will not germinate - but will rot. They are also a magnet for things like slugs and snails - extra tasty. We planted decoy bush beans after loosing about 2/3 of our original planting. We are growing 16 linear feet of king of the garden + 8 shaded feet of king of the garden. They have climbed 7+ feet and are trying to make it to low earth orbit. Definitely slow to produce, but they look extremely healthy. Hopefully, this has not been a typical year. I meant that I'd learned a lot about gardening in general, not so much limas in particular. Like you noticed, they don't germinate well below 70°F, and they like to grow in the 80s. I'm not sure they do as well in the high 90s and 100s that make up the majority of my season, so if I grow them again I was thinking about hanging a half sheet of lattice over them like I do for heirloom tomatoes to provide filtered sunlight in the worst of the heat. You'll have to let me know how the shaded ones do versus full sun. Now that I think of it, though, the Thorogreen that my inlaws favor and the Fordhook they have planted this year are producing like crazy. I may just need to pick a different variety for my garden. Regarding King of the Garden, you're seeing what I saw. 6 foot vines before the first pods start filling out at around the 1 to 2 foot mark, but fairly low overall production. I've seen several experienced folks post elsewhere about how productive they are, but they weren't for me. As far as slugs and snails, a little DE around your seedlings works wonders. It is the birds I fight with... I have been shaking them but worried I would not hear what I am supposed to hear LOL. Make sure you're shaking side to side, not stem to scar, and close to your ear. It's just a little internal movement, not a rattle; if you hear anything they're probably ready. To me, the shift from green rind to ivory/creamy yellow is the most telling sign. Kinda like watermelons, though, in that I had to cut a few unripe ones before I figured it out. MB
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Post by ilex on Aug 12, 2012 8:51:39 GMT -5
I planted GRIN spinach from Spain. I definitely do not have a Mediterranean climate!!! For the sake of diversity, I allowed some of them to contribute offspring to my spinach landrace. Do you have more details on where it came from? Spain is extremely diverse, not all is under a Mediterranean climate.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Aug 12, 2012 11:21:15 GMT -5
Do you have more details on where it came from? Spain is extremely diverse, not all is under a Mediterranean climate. I didn't record accession numbers in the cloud (where I can find them). If I come across paper notes I'll post them.
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Post by Drahkk on Aug 19, 2012 13:14:59 GMT -5
OK, I'd never even heard of roselle until last November, and I've definitely never grown them before. I waited too late (according to the books, anyway) to plant, so I put them in a whiskey barrel expecting to bring them inside at the end of the season. Anyway...
I let them dry out a few times in the heat we've had lately, they lost some leaves a couple of times, and I thought I'd neglected them to the point of needing to just give up and try again next year, but they surprised me. I went out on the patio this morning and discovered them covered with blooms. Apparently the rain showers and slightly lower temps of the last few days were all they needed. Now I'm excited again! Hopefully I'll get enough calyces to make a batch of jelly, even if it's a small one.
Can anyone with experience tell me how long from flower to usable fruit, and how much longer to mature seed?
MB
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Post by lieven on Aug 19, 2012 16:00:01 GMT -5
My new crops this year: Fava: (wild fodder type x unknown culinary type) F2 - taste is ok; very variable; Avena strigosa: nematode killer, grows very well; Perennial rye: lodging & hungry little birds! Joseph's & other allium fistulosum varieties: all gracefully mixed up & gorgeous. I'd love to try fistulosum x bulb types; Bolivian coriander: doing great in the greenhouse; delicious; Eggplant Morden Midget & some strawberry-shaped early red, thick-walled sweet pepper: good yields in the greenhouse; Corn: Astronominy Domine & Buhl - in separate fields, of course. First cobs next week, I guess. Very sturdy plants: Buhl is so productive. Lots of amateur tomato novelties: some of them are very good! Sarpo types TPS: still harvesting; our Belgian 2012 July was so wet (very good blight testing conditions); Oca: lots from Orrflo. Sadly, the names on the labels faded almost immediately - so much for waterproof/lightproof garden pens! Cabbage: San Michele x Red Rock Mammoth; already harvesting; good yield & taste, but next year I'll be sowing this one in May for fall harvesting.
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