CC's Fruits, Veggies & Food 2023

[Crealcritter]

Me too-- but once they have been out for a week, mine stay out. I just took a layer of row cover off of several trays that have been outside undercover on the deck through 10 days of very cold, snow weather--- and they look like they just stepped out of a spa! Plants are amazing.

Looking good once our coles have a couple sets of leaves, in a couple of weeks. I'll be doing the indoor/outdoor shuffle to harden them off. Then set them out in the garden. Then it'll be the onions shuffle. Last expected 2023 frost date is April 11th ~ 20th for my neck of the woods.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[heirloomgal]

@Crealcritter I have had it happen to me that when I replace a bulb on my grow lights the leaves show a bit of stress because the old light had weakened and the new stronger light shocks them a little. I keep my plants close to the light as you do, so that I'm sure is part of it. I have always found that if I put more inches between the lights and leaves for awhile they adjust.

Where does the time go - exactly! Our last frost is typically (though we do get surprises in June sometimes) late May. I can't believe it's time to plant pepper seeds already, and tomatoes in only a month!

 

[AMKuska]

Me too-- but once they have been out for a week, mine stay out. I just took a layer of row cover off of several trays that have been outside undercover on the deck through 10 days of very cold, snow weather--- and they look like they just stepped out of a spa! Plants are amazing.

Honestly, I think they're relieved to be out. They're visibly perkier outside. Once they've been going in and out for a week full time I'll put them in their raised garden bed. I can cover them at night if needed and it's in a shady spot.

 

[AMKuska]

Looking good once our coles have a couple sets of leaves, in a couple of weeks. I'll be doing the indoor/outdoor shuffle to harden them off. Then set them out in the garden. Then it'll be the onions shuffle. Last expected 2023 frost date is April 11th ~ 20th for my neck of the woods.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

Have you done a lot of onions? I'm curious to know how big they should be before setting them out.

 

[Crealcritter]

@Crealcritter I have had it happen to me that when I replace a bulb on my grow lights the leaves show a bit of stress because the old light had weakened and the new stronger light shocks them a little. I keep my plants close to the light as you do, so that I'm sure is part of it. I have always found that if I put more inches between the lights and leaves for awhile they adjust.

Where does the time go - exactly! Our last frost is typically (though we do get surprises in June sometimes) late May. I can't believe it's time to plant pepper seeds already, and tomatoes in only a month!

I can't believe it's evening already again. Time just flys in earth. I struggled changing oil in our trucks. I couldn't get the oil filters off. Sensed myself getting frustrated and decided to try again tomorrow. Instead of becoming mr. grumpy gills... Life is too short to be grumpy, it's just a silly engineered K&N oil filter after all

Thank You for the lighting tips . I'll raise the LEDs.a chain link higher that I normally would with using florescents. Those LEDs are bright, more light more better though.

I try and not set tomatoes and peppers in the garden until the evening temps remain 50 degrees or above. Both seem to struggle for me in lower overnight temperatures. We had a good tomato year last year. Kind of surprised Farm Babe asked for more tomatoes this year. We do eat a lot of meals with tomatoes in it though.

I hope you've enjoyed your day today

 

[heirloomgal]

Sensed myself getting frustrated and decided to try again tomorrow. Instead of becoming mr. grumpy gills.

Can you teach my husband this technique?

 

[Crealcritter]

Have you done a lot of onions? I'm curious to know how big they should be before setting them out.

Here's how big our onions were last year when I set them out and mulched them in with hay. They weren't very big at all 3, maybe 4 true leaves. We had a good onion year last year. Grew some whoppers, well in excess of 1 lb both yellow and white sweet Spanish. They require copious amounts of nitrogen to grow big and strong around here.

The two rows of freshly set out onions are on either side of my shadow. Picture is from 2nd of April 2022.

Sowed two flats last year, 1 yellow and 1 white sweet Spanish. This year the same but I added one flat of ruby (red).

Jesus is Lord and Christ ​

 

[Crealcritter]

Sowed 3 flats of tomatoes last evening 05 March. Hopefully they won't grow 2 foot tall by the time I set them out in the garden, like last year.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[Branching Out]

Sowed 3 flats of tomatoes last evening 05 March. Hopefully they won't grow 2 foot tall by the time I set them out in the garden, like last year.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

The 2 ft tall tomato thing happened to every gardener here in Vancouver last year, due to the most bizarre 'spring' ever. Our tomatoes were so tall and horrid looking by the time it dried up enough to plant them out in late June; typically we would have them in the ground in late May. Oddly enough they not only recovered from the mistreatment-- but thrived once they had their roots in the soil.

Like you though I do not want to have a repeat performance of this. It was was too much work moving the pots of tomatoes around, and picking them up when the strong winds blew their containers over. I am waiting until April to start my main season tomatoes this year, and in the interim I am having one heck of a good time starting early season and dwarf tomatoes. They are small, cute, and much more manageable indoors.

 

[Crealcritter]

The 2 ft tall tomato thing happened to every gardener here in Vancouver last year, due to the most bizarre 'spring' ever. Our tomatoes were so tall and horrid looking by the time it dried up enough to plant them out in late June; typically we would have them in the ground in late May. Oddly enough they not only recovered from the mistreatment-- but thrived once they had their roots in the soil.

Like you though I do not want to have a repeat performance of this. It was was too much work moving the pots of tomatoes around, and picking them up when the strong winds blew their containers over. I am waiting until April to start my main season tomatoes this year, and in the interim I am having one heck of a good time starting early season and dwarf tomatoes. They are small, cute, and much more manageable indoors.

I planted our 2 foot tall tomatoes in a trench last year. I seem to recall about 6 or 8 inches deep. I left the end with leaves above the soil. When those 2 foot long stems took root. They took off and made tomato walls in the rows. I just don't want a repeat this year, that was crazy keeping up with three 72 cell flats of 2 foot leaned over tomatoes

Jesus is Lord and Christ