Early Spring Garden Looks Good

Discussion in 'Crops & Gardens' started by Ed Marsh, Feb 14, 2023.

  1. Ed Marsh

    Ed Marsh Very Well-Known Member
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    Good morning to all-
    We're eating fresh lettuce and green onions, and the main crop of onions looks very promising. Snow peas are reaching up to the support strings, and broccoli plants are all doing quite well, too.
    Don't want to jinx myself, but I think we're going to do well this year since most everything seems to have recovered from our nasty cold freeze of a couple of months ago.
    How are you all doing garden-wise?

    good day to all- Ed
     
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  2. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    Wellll, we just had home grown brussel sprouts from last fall. Spring won't be here for another couple of months. I have some micro greens growing in the kitchen and I am trying to get some hazel nuts growing after having them in the fridge for a while...I pulled out some cattails from the freezer and they were not too bad with butter. I usually only like them fresh.
     
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  3. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    We had a very mild spring / summer until just recently when we started getting heatwaves ( not only South Aust ) allot of states have had weird weather this summer …it’s resulted in many gardeners including my self ….having a total failure of most summer types of veggies like my tomatoes and cucumbers just being a total waste of garden space …even hardy parsley that normally grows like weeds has struggled.

    Normally I’d have a good crop of eggplant giving me a good supply to share with friends and neighbours however I’ve not had one suitable for picking they just didn’t get to any size …..but since we started getting this extreme heat about a 2 weeks ago ….dozens of tiny fruit is forming on the 6 egg plants……..

    .and I think it can all be put down to the unseasonable temperatures……as we near the end of summer in Aust …we are experiencing major heat waves like we’ve not had in years ( our hottest summer months are usually Dec into early / mid Jan ) so it will be interesting what sort of growing season most of gardening members experience during your up coming summer months .
     
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    Last edited: Feb 23, 2023
  4. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    That is too bad. Maybe try some fall crops and hope that it is warmer than normal but not so hot as summer? Shade screens?
     
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  5. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    Yes I made up shade screens for my raised garden beds as I only have a typical Aussie small back yard not much bigger that the house ….so I have a couple of raised garden beds and a bit of room down each side the house where I have most of fruit trees planted .
    I’ll look if I still have photos on my iPad that shows the wind screens I made up using my sewing machine ( made out of shade cloth )we live about 500 mtrs from a beach so we get lots of wind @Mary Stetler
     
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  6. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
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    You can see eggplants in photo they look heathy but haven’t produced any fruit ( I’d suppose you call them )
    The shade cloth sides I made to give the plants a windbreak
    5B5D5033-DBF1-48AC-BBEF-F3C49E4C4CED.jpeg
     
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  7. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    Looks pretty good to me--those egg plants. Maybe fall will get them to develop. What are the spots on the cukes? Fungus? or just the heat stress?
    Did your fruit trees do ok?
     
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  8. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    It just occurred to me I am chatting with someone from Australia!:)
     
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  9. Ed Marsh

    Ed Marsh Very Well-Known Member
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    Good morning to all-
    So with the weather being as it is, I planted our first set of tomatoes yesterday. I'm trying containers this year.
    Our early spring stuff- lettuce, green onions, spinach- all looking good, and the salad greens are delicious.

    I figure this weekend I'll work up beds and plant potatoes and later next week, green beans go in.

    Yep, I'm betting on spring time- the birds and the insects and the fruit trees and blueberries blooming all tell me it's so...
    you all be safe and keep well- Ed
     
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  10. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    Ed! I am so jealous! We just got a foot of snow.:(
     
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  11. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Nothing growing in it yet, but we managed to get to the big greenhouse, and, since the temperature outside was 42 F., I decided to start a fire in the greenhouse woodstove. Now understand that the chimney was still well under the snow despite having it cleared of snow midwinter. It was 42 F. outside but only 26 inside the greenhouse due to the snow insulation over the top. It was smoky to start but slowly smoke worked its way through the snow until a small channel was created and the smoke could escape. I developed a system whereby we plant green things in the beds and cover them with snow. Lettuce is planted in one bed and currently under a cover of snow about 8 inches deep. Once we can get the sun into the greenhouse, it will warm nicely when the sun is out. The snow will then melt and the lettuce will sprout. We have spinach planted in the little greenhouse and it has been covered with snow also. Wife trimmed the herbs and such in the attached greenhouse that we heat to just above freezing all winter, and that stuff has now sprung to life.

    I think spring starts tomorrow after all. We still have several feet of snow covering the ground but with temperatures like today, it will soon be reduced.
     
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  12. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    It'll be the middle of April before we'll be safe from nights below freezing.
     
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  13. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    It will be the end of May before we see that.
     
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  14. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
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    Doing my happy dance. I have a few fruit trees heeled in from last fall to plant when the ground thaws and lots of seedlings begging to get out for a peek at the sun this week. I don't have a greenhouse anymore so have to bring them in at nite.
     
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  15. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
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    Oh my. Of course long hot summers aren't that great either, our growing season stops down here soon after yours begins.
     
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