What should we plant now for fall harvest?
Primary tabs
Submitted by Truth Partisan on Thu, 09/04/2008 - 12:53pm
Departments:
Tags:
Indoors and out?
Out: lettuce, onions, radishes...is it too late for snow peas?
In: herbs? Maybe lettuce?
Do you need grow lights?
- Truth Partisan's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
Comments
Good advice--or a little too generic?
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...
what kinds
I always like Bibb...but Oak Leaf is good.
Mini versions are better for indoors?
Herbs with grassy stems?
"Herbs with grassy stems such as parsley, cilantro, chives and mint are fairly simple to grow from seeds for container gardens."
Do you agree?
"Herbs that grow well in pots include Thyme, Marjoram Savory, Tarragon, Basil, Parsley, Sage, Dill, Lavender, Rosemary, Chives and Oregano...(and)...Spearmint, peppermint, cat mint and lemon mint....In an 8 inch pot, you can plant 3 plants, in a 10 inch, 4 plants, in a 12 inch 5-6 plants and so on. If you use oblong planters, try to put 2 inches or so in between each plant. Small growing herbs--thyme, oregano, cilantro and marjoram--grow well in 6-inch -diameter pots. Chives, parsley, basil and mint grow a little larger and need an 8-inch pot. Large-growing herbs like rosemary, sage and lavender need plenty of room to grow --a 10- or 12-inch pot."
And misting 3 x week, full watering once...
And ..."the soil and compost mix 3 parts soil to 1 part compost mix for good results." Also fertilize additionally.
ummm
I have a mostly shaded porch, but morning sun, but potted herbs grow like crazy, and if you want them to grow fast you need more water than that.
mist daily or 2x daily.
Thyme seems to be more like an ivy and needs more surface area and less pot depth, but it also doesn't like over watering.
Basil will outgrow whatever it is in. I usually have to put in a bigger pot by the end of summer. Start from seed to 2' tall woody stem in a few months. The trick with basil is enough sunlight and mist the hell out of it. Dry soil or constant overwatering seem to be the only way to screw it up.
The soil with the moisture beads I find actually helps with herbs. Forget fertilizer, the summer isn't long enough to care if you start with decent soil.
I need some invasive herbs for partial sun
Mint, and... ?
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
intranets what about in the winter?
If you have the herbs inside, should you fertilize?
Lambert, Lady's Thumb
is a wildflower that grows lots of places and they do sell seed for it, although you can probably just find some along a path...the flowers are unusual and pretty. It grows in many soils and is very hard to get rid of--the Flower Farmer gave me some seed last year, I did not replant this year, but now it has roared back in the same place, even after being cut down (might have been part of the mistake), and also seeded itself around at various corners and across the sidewalk, etc. It bloomed at all locations too.
Mint smells nice, though, right?
This is by a walkway into my house, so I'd like something nice smelling on either side (though only partly sunny).
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
oregano
LB,
go with oregano. don't think it really smells enough, but it is really good for ground cover and looks good (halfway between clover and a mini-ivy) and it would be useful to cook with. don't know how hardy it would be past October, though.
Ivies are good too
for partial sun and some are evergreen...but then you'd be ivy league...
"A walk in thyme"
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/garden/arti...
I've always wanted the walking on thyme thing...Also, clover is nice (didn't we talk about this somewhere?) and others, try here.
nonproductive good smelling for shade is
sweet woodruff. i don't think it has a "use" unless one is a hard core herbalist. productive cultivars i've done well in shade with include rue, caraway, several different types of thyme, alpine strawberries, also peas. i've gotten a couple of herbs like basil and marjoram to come up in shade, but not exactly thrive.
winter crops i've got in this year: peas, beans, swiss chard, i skipped the lettuce for lack of space, vetch (N-fixing 'green manure' like clover and crownvetch). these are the outdoor crops. i have two former windowpanes that i'll be building into a cold-shelter; this year i just didn't get to it in time. these will be outdoor growing areas but contained, and with an "updraft" built into their design so that hot air will be generated under the glass and rise to keep the soil temperature warmer than the natural ground.
indoors, i don't really have the opportunity to do that yet. i'm still working on the house, and a full size greenhouse is in the works. unfortunately, there isn't enough light, given the way the house is oriented, for me to grow anything very successfully indoors; i've tried in the room with the 'best' light to very minor result. i reject the grow lamps for two reasons: they suck down power like you wouldn't believe, and get you on your local sheriff's list of 'potential terrorist-pot growers.' yes, they check that shit, with infared in undercover drive-by vans, no less.
i'd like to try to "save" some of my annuals, just so see if i can keep them alive over the winter; i may still try. dig up the tube begonias and perhaps an impatiens. just for fun, to see if i could keep them longer than i'm supposed to. mostly, this year was a 'make seed' year; i'm really looking forward to seeding next year's beds with all my own seed, or mostly, at least.
all this of course is dependent upon your zone. i'm sure i could do a great deal if i lived in DC or SF.
Tell me more about that updraft concept!
It's the frozen ground that's the issue for me here -- I've got window panes up the wazoo and good sun (for zone 5b).
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
Mother Earth News says plant carrots now.
based on that, beets are probably okay too.
If you want a ground cover that'll make good mulch next April, plant winter wheat. If you want to, you can let it go 'til June and sell the grain.
(another year and your backyard might get you some ethanol bucks, lambert)
We can admit that we're killers ... but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes! Knowing that we're not going to kill today! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0
So, lambert, get thee to the Mother Earth News library
and read up on square foot gardening and cold frames.
Rake and compost your fall leaves, recycle those little plastic bags from the store, and you can do a free version of the "plant it in a bag of steer manure under a glass A-Frame" garden. Put a silver tarp down underneath and throw a second-hand mover's quilt over it at night and you ought to be able to start stuff in your cold frames in February.
Stick 'em on an old Radio Flyer wagon and drag 'em inside at night and you can start tomatoes in January, dude.
Silver tarps can be had cheap from Harbor Freight, btw.
We can admit that we're killers ... but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes! Knowing that we're not going to kill today! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0