winter gardening

[canid]

window gardening is great for herbs that only need 6-8 hours per day. i should take my basil in soon. the decreased light should make it stop trying to hard to flower, and it seems to be a warm weather variety. lows of no less than 50 and it's already starting to suffer foliar problems.

[rwc1969]

Thanks Rick and Crash, and canid they did get flowers.

[Canadian-guerilla]

thanks Rick and Crash

CG - I've only done herbs indoors, and light through the window was fine for it.

i'm open for herbs suggestions . . . .

do herbs need a John Belushi " bee " imitation ?

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[crashdive123]

Nah. Not for the herbs. You're using the leaves not waiting on fruit to be produced. I found several vids on hand pollinating. Plants like tomatoes can be done a bit differently. This looks a lot easier than a q-tip or little brush.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bueCLH3u7vM

[Rick]

Not unless you are wanting to collect seeds. The herb, in many cases, is the plant. You are just snipping off some to use in your cooking/food. If you want to collect seed to plant again next year then you would have to treat it the same as any flowering plant.

EDIT - Oops. We posted together.

[crashdive123]

Good point on the seeds.

[Rick]

Oh, and you don't want a hybrid herb plant if you plan to collect seeds. Most hybrids produce infertile seeds. You'll need an heirloom plant.

[Swamprat1958]

Shoot the deer...instant meal and many more!!!

I plan to turn my 11 year old loose on them, but my wife claims she doesn't like him hunting in the backyard. I think that is just an excuse - she can't stand the smell of greens cooking!

[NightShade]

Oh, and you don't want a hybrid herb plant if you plan to collect seeds. Most hybrids produce infertile seeds. You'll need an heirloom plant.

or wild ones

[your_comforting_company]

I gotta take some pictures of this...
the mustard greens I planted in the garden for winter look almost exactly like the wild field mustards I've been finding in fields everywhere. Strikes the question "why do men labor over food that is provided in nature?"

why did people "domesticate" a wild plant that grows so heartily on it's own, while it's domestic cousin requires weeding, fertilizing, tilling, etc. I know where an old peanut field is that must be 100 acres and right now is full from fence to fence with wild field mustards. My mustards required a lot of work and will still require more as the grass and weeds (feels wierd to call any plant a weed now) sprout.

do any of you northerners keep a greenhouse? and what plants do you grow in it?

[crashdive123]

why did people "domesticate" a wild plant that grows so heartily on it's own

IMO so that we can grow what we want, where we want, when we want. Same reason livestock is raised rather than out hunting for wild game. Over time we (as a society) have made the collective decision to put our time to other (some would argue better) use.

[Rick]

I don't have a greenhouse but why are you weeding? I haven't weeded a garden, with the exception of one or two strays once in a while, in several years. Mulch it. I use a bagging mower and all the grass goes into my garden as a mulch. I rarely have any weeds.

[your_comforting_company]

Nut Grass (Chufa) will invade anywhere that soil is disturbed, as will crab grass. my garden is about 50 x 50 feet and would require a LOT of mulch. I can till between the rows and then pull the competetive plants that grow in the row by hand. I tried mulching a few years ago and wound up with more weeds than if I had left it alone. No bagging mower and even then grass seed would be a problem mixed in with the clippings. remember we have a 12 month growing season down here . if a seed hits the ground it's gonna grow, even in winter.
buying mulch isn't an option for me and I don't know anyone personally who has a bagger mower.

[Rick]

Point taken. I generally have several inches of mulch so grass seed really isn't a problem. About the only thing I have trouble with are the da**ed chipmunks. They steal corn from the neighbors and bring it over and plant it in my garden. I wouldn't mind so much if they knew how to plant in a straight row but they dump a whole mouthful in one hole.

[your_comforting_company]

Pa used to say a straight row wouldn't grow anything so I make sure (not intentionally haha) that my rows have a crook in them

[woodsy_gardener]

buying mulch isn't an option for me and I don't know anyone personally who has a bagger mower.

I'm blessed with an abundance of forest mulch so I haven't tried it but many gardeners recommend lasagna gardening. Great if you have a cheap source of cardboard. Scatter whatever organic material you have (leaves, hay, compost) and cover it with card board. Separate cardboard by a few inches to make a row. Next year, put down more organic material and cover it with card board. I bet you cooks can see where the name comes from.

BTW I do use card board to cover garden pathways. I get all the card board I want at my local beer store. I get beer case flats; they are happy for this regular customer to take them.

[Rick]

I would think that would work just fine but turning the cardboard under in the fall would be a pain in the tiller. As long as your mulch covers the soil by a few inches it will prevent sunlight from reaching the dirt. That will be enough to keep rogue seeds from germinating. And, any that do will usually root in the mulch so it's easy enough to pull them. Still, if it works for you....you know.

[woodsy_gardener]

I would think that would work just fine but turning the cardboard under in the fall would be a pain in the tiller.
....Still, if it works for you....you know.

This is a variation on no-till gardening as practiced by Ruth Stout.

Each year a new layer of cardboard is added, much like the pasta in lasagna.

It's not my style of gardening but I know several gardeners who swear by it. These were gardeners whose gardens had been taken over by bind weed, grass, or other creepy thing.

[your_comforting_company]

I took the pics about a week ago, but I wanted you guys to see the similarities in the mustards. These have frost on them which makes them tender and sweet.. will be eating some soon.

[Ken]

Rub it in, why don't ya'. Everything up here is dead and frozen.