Oh, yes, tomatoes from seeds. After this disastrous season, i swore i wasn’t going to bother with tomatoes ever again, then promptly ordered blight-resistant seeds – early as natch everyone else would too.

Here in the City of Angels, I still have a half a dozen tomatoes growing on the vine. Although, they are not ripening very quickly. And, I have onions and lettuce going like gang busters.

Nice!

I think/hope Im outta here. Sunny. cold, low 30s, but s’posed to get warmer. Demi, feel better, hon.

Ahh, the promise of new shoots, Good Morning PW!

My winter lettuce (first time to try it) is not in a prime location. I will re-locate next year and hope to get it right. As it is, it spends most of the days under blankets, just too cold (last night it was 15 degrees or so) though someone in my neighborhood has a beautiful big raised bed of lettuce that looks fantastic, very successful.

I have been revamping my gardens to produce food, and I had lots of tomatoes (many volunteers) last year. But I know this is no little house on the prairie and will not grow enough food to make much of a difference.

I have a great compost pile full of red worms.

I’ve got my two kinds of lettuce in the place in my yard where it gets sun and I see it so I will remember to water. Haven’t bought a head of lettuce since I put it in two months ago.

I live in Central Mass . What was up with the tomatoes last season? Everyone I know was complaining about their tomatoes they just didn’t grow

I’m growing ” salad bars ” in my greenhouse -

http://cbhopibluecornexperiment.blogspot.com/

Here in Savannah I have 2 raised beds of lettuces that are thriving. The ones we like best are the mixed romaine and mixed butter head types. Lovely to have a colorful salad! I’m looking forward to planting basil — it’s always covered with bees here, and it makes me happy to see bees.

Jane and the Lake were mentioned on the Women’s Show on WMNF a few minutes ago, talking about HCR. They’ve started their own Woman of the Year award after a horse was named best female athlete of the year by somebody. I nominated Jane.

Has your area experienced the loss of honey bees due to colony collapse disorder. It’s become a major problem in this area.
I deal with insects and this past summer there were far fewer honey bees around than normally seen

Lettuce break bread together on our knees.
I have romaine and curly red.
And, I have fresh bread in the oven.
Hi Marion. Did you have a merry merry?

Wow! How are they doing, Bob?

Thanks!

Reply to Bob
Yes I’m going to build one this spring. I live in the northern calif. central valley so no snow. The garden has favas in now and more composting next week. Planters have spinich, brussel sprout, and califlower but this won’t happen until early spring. Since I’m newly with out a job a big garden for 2010.

According to Thomas A. Zitter, of the Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, the occurrence of late blight in 2009 is different from previous outbreaks in two ways. This is the earliest late blight has been reported across a wide area – it’s been found across the Northeast and New York state, not to mention states to the south and west of Long Island.

The second difference from traditional outbreaks, and “more tragic for the Northeast,” is that infected plants were distributed to large local retail stores from Ohio to Maine. “Never before has such an extensive distribution of infected plants occurred,” Zitter said. Worse, infected plants can easily contaminate healthy plants on the store shelves. Experts believe the disease originated with, or was at least exacerbated by, one supplier that distributes to the four major big box stores.

http://www.indyeastend.com/Articles-i-2009-07-08-88170.113117_Tomato_Blight_Its_Bad_News.html

We do what we can. If nothing else, you’re getting good food whose history you know from planting to harvest.

One of the great rewards of deck gardening is that while the amount one can grow is small, pest control is so much easier — especially if your deck is a considerable distance from the ground.

You may be newly out of a paying gig. But, it sounds like you have a job ahead of you. Gardens that give back are greatly appreciated.

Morning, demi!

Time to prune the grapes, since they seem to be dormant now. And the boysenberries.

Lettuce can take a lot of shade, fortunately. We used to grow it in the shadiest part of the garden, and put the tomatoes and beans where there was more sun.

Yup. Yet another reason to 1) grow from seed if possible (or bulb) and avoid other people’s dirt and bugs or to 2) quarantine any newbies from the store for a few days before planting them in the same soil as your other plants.

Oh, Joe! (((hug))) Hope a new paying gig comes your way soon.

Thanks for the 411 . I don’t know of anyone who harvested a decent tomato crop in this area

Hi PJ. Yes, I should prune the side yard grapes. I prune the front porch ones regularly so I can get to the house. Ha!
Chilly today, huh? I know, we are spoiled here in the Southland.

Yep Demi I’ve had gardens all my life and nothing taste better. I didn’t have much time last year but made sure I was ready this yr. Those that might have room for a green house ask your local glass shop to save their old sliding glass doors for you. If you have the skill you can build one cheap and if not see about trading.

Being from New England ,I find it rather odd that anyone could grow a garden this time of year . About the only thing we can grow is icicles !

I’m enjoying this non-political thread, but it never gets too far away. Watching old Sherlock Holmes here and he just said “Those egomaniacs get very chatty when they think they have the upper hand.” Made me think of some of our new visitors comments in the recent megoblogs.
Cracking myself up.

Coastal So. New Jersey rain today mild temps. 50′s the snow is almost gone! My palm garden is doing well.

PW -

Well last night it was 10 degrees here , and the night before it made it to 5 degrees.
Every morning I expect to see frost bite on everything, but all is well. My greenhouse is a pit design, with a great deal of thermal mass built in. It’s 26 years old. I have a water harvesting system, with nearly 400 gal. of storage.

What a great idea! Hmmmmm. I’ve got a hammer, nails and a Xmas gift card for the local hardware store. I think I’m going to go Green House.

Thanks but at 61 I’m not looking to go back to work at the corp. store. I don’t have much but what have is paid for. I’ve lived close to the ground my whole life but thanks for the Hug they’re always welcome. Time to get some kindling ready for rain tomorrow.

I hear ya!

Nice! It also looks like the snow on the sides would be useful for insulating, so as to retain the heat that the roof lets in. (And I’m guessing that when you shovel off the roof, that goes into the water cistern for the greenhouse as well.)

Almost makes me want to make up a new troll bingo. Almost.
Hard to understand Some People, huh? I just shake my head.

Check places that sell used building materials. Old wood-framed windows work as covers.
Here, what we need is more like a cold-frame: just a shelter for the coldest days. You could use a frame made of plastic pipe, with plastic sheets taped to it, and get reasonable results – that’s what half the nurseries use. (Or wood framing, with heavier plastic stapled on.)

Thank you, Phoenix Woman, for all you do at the lake. Pushing for green. Showing up during contentious threads with the real deal details. You amaze me and I bow to you. Oh hell, it’s Christmas time, I’ll be festive and curtsy.
(((PW)))

Greenhouses -

This is the stuff to get if the budget allows -

Polycarbonate Twin Wall Sheets

http://www.professionalplastics.com/cgi-bin/pp.pl?pgm=co_disp&func=displ&prrfnbr=85463&child=95685&calc=Sheets&dimension=48%20X%2096&utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=1544&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=535043364d4d4354572d3438583936

You’re so sweet!

I built a 12′ x 12′ hoop house this year, have two small heaters and a fan going. It’s working very well. My tomatoes have been prolific, now I’d love to plant some spinach and zucchini. However I have a mouse or two that eat the leaves on seedlings. I have tried tenting new growth with hardware cloth and it’s helping but not eliminating the problem. I don’t want to kill the mice, are there any good traps that allow airflow until I find them and set them free elsewhere?

I’m in California. I heard the collapse was due to over work which sounded hinky to me. Do you know what causes it?

You know if you are going to gossip, you really should identify your target so she or he has a chance to defend themselves, or to know to retreat to a friendlier location.

I personally can’t stand this sort of back biting. So if it would be me you are making snide comments about, I’d want to know it so as to permanently avoid your company in the future.