Frost on it's way?

[seedcorn]

Thursday/Friday nite, it suppose to be in 30's. Chance for frost. After a disasterous year of gardening, I'm ready to call it over, run what is left threw chipper, pile on manure, till it in and wait for next spring. Is that a defeatest attitude? Normally, I'd be getting ready to cover my precious peppers and a few tomato plants.

 

[digitS']

. . . Is that a defeatest attitude? . . .

Not if you are already thinking about and planning next year's garden, Seedcorn.

I am sorry it has been a real weather roller-coaster for you in 2011! Years like this can't happen often . . .

Steve

 

[seedcorn]

Friend of mine (farmer) just say it's 2011. That covers it all. We've went from cold/wet to no rain at all (8 weeks) to 100+ degree temps, to mites one week to aphids 2 weeks later. Then all the "experts" saying we were 2 weeks ahead of normal GDU's. Now we're looking at frost or at the very worst 3 cold nites that will put the plants into a premature shut down. yes, it's 2011.

 

[wifezilla]

I resorted to swapping poultry for produce

I did have a great crop of tomatoes, have some huge pumpkins that are just about ready and got a decent crop of hot peppers and about 40 lbs of grapes. I didn't plant nearly enough peppers, but the ones I planted did well. The herb garden was productive as always, but I have plenty of fails on my list.

Zucchini (how do you fail at zucchini?!?!), apples, pears, peas, buttercup squash (@##%@# squirrels!!!), mini melons, etc... Then there was my neighbor and her spraying roundup all over my quinoa....ARRGG!!!

I guess the lesson this year is diversify, diversify, diversify. I consider having animals part of that diversity. Have a lot of drakes processed in the freezer and traded some hens for apples, spaghetti squash, tomatoes and patty pan squash.

 

[vfem]

My production was LOW... my cool weather crops have not even come up.

It's been in the 90's this week... they are saying Friday will be 64 degrees as the high now!? And finally getting rain, but temps at night will be 40's?! REALLY? Wasn't it just 105 the other day?

2011 is on my LAST nerve and I'm ready to start ripping out the rest of EVERYTHING and into the compost with it. So I know the feeling for sure.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

2011 is on my LAST nerve and I'm ready to start ripping out the rest of EVERYTHING and into the compost with it. So I know the feeling for sure.

Yup! Same here. Very frustrating.

 

[luvsdirt]

Same here in N. Cen. Texas...we got nothing this year except extended drought - no significant rainfall since October 2010 - days, days and days of temps. over 100 and up to 113...Soil so hot and dry nothing could produce before it just died! Yes, it was simply 2011. Time to forget it and make plans for 2012! :tools

 

[ninnymary]

This weather thing is interesting...My garden did much better this year. Last year my heirlooms, eggplant, jalapenos, and zucchini didn't do squat. This year they were very productive. Could be it was my first year using my chicken poop compost? I really can't tell a difference in weather here from year to year. Other local gardeners will tell me oh it's been a cool spring...it's been a wet year.. Really they all look the same to me.

Mary

 

[curly_kate]

I'm about ready to call it a day, too. I had some successes, and some failures, but at this point, everything is covered with powdery mildew or blight. The winter wheat we planted in the empty spots are doing well, tho! And the peppers look gorgeous, but now that the weather is turning cool, I don't bet I'm going to be able to get many to ripen. I replanted some fall stuff that got burned out in the 90 degree days that followed when I planted them. So we'll see what happens. It has been a rocky year in the midwest!

 

[seedcorn]

Just to make life more interesting talked to a grower of dry beans. World wide acres were 1/2 off because other crops produced more revenue per acre. After the growing year of 2011, the yields are about 1/2 of normal. Get ready for dry beans to go up in price. As we take more acres out of production into housing, we become much more dependent upon other people. Will we see the day where governments force us back into cities/small towns so that the small acreage houses go back to tillable acres?

So not only did my garden do terrible, so did fields.

And yes, due to squash bugs, I've had zucchini fail more than once.