Yay, Vicki!   from Rita B.

Frost Tolerance of Vegetables

Hi Everyone,

What an amazing idea to use a blog to communicate among the gardeners!  Kudos to those who have put this together for us.  

I thought it might be nice to post something regarding the frost tolerance of vegetables since the cool weather to come is inevitable.  I found this link on the website of Botanical Interests and it has some excellent guidelines of what your vegetables can withstand.  Please remember that these are only guidelines though, and if in doubt, you may want to cover.   http://www.botanicalinterests.com/articles/view/26/Frost-Tolerance-of-Vegetables  

And on a related note........

One of the most important things I have learned over the years is to realize that not all frost blankets are created equal.  Let's just say I learned that lesson the hard way! Wind chill is a factor.  It is wise to look for those that have a temperature rating listed on them.  As an example, protects plants down to 24 degrees or provides 4 to 6 degrees of frost protection.  This provides you with an idea of whether one blanket is enough or do you need an extra layer.  The blankets do work incredibly well and if diligent in your covering, many vegetables will continue to produce all winter.

Low or high tunnels are extremely easy to construct and if you look at Vicki's (Bed 41) or mine (Bed 29) it should get some ideas flowing.  I can't wait to see what we all come up with!  

Has anyone found some good pricing on frost blankets?  Pikes did have them on sale two weeks ago for $6.99.

    

       

Welcome to the Green Meadows Community Garden Blog!

Why a blog you ask?

·        A blog is interactive

         ·        It has an archive
         ·        It is searchable
         ·        Tons of links are easily found

Everyone who joins this blog will be an “author”. Being an author gives you the ability to make posts – either text only or text and pictures.

 Why would you want to be an “author”?

You’ve gone to the garden and, horrors! There are bugs crawling around on your squash and a horrendously big caterpillar is eating your tomato plant. If you have a camera handy, take pictures of the culprits. When you get home, log onto the blog, create a post with pictures and a description of what they were doing.  Someone will be able to help you figure out what it is and how to deal with the enemy.

Not only will you find out what you have, you’ll be letting everyone else know to watch for tomato hornworms and squash bugs.

If you have questions, post them - someone will have an answer.

        ·        Why are the leaves of my cabbages turning purple? (Nutritional deficiency short answer)
        ·        What are those holes in my tomatoes? (Birds pecking your almost ripe tomatoes.)
        ·        What is causing all those holes and dug- up plants in my garden bed right now? (Squirrels planting acorns and pecans, drat them!)

 Or if you have questions for specific people…

         ·        Denise, why do you have black netting on your carrots? (I put bird netting down to keep the squirrels from digging up my plants)
        ·        Vicki, why do you have that white cage thing on your bed and how did you make it?  (frost protection using row covers and then explain how to make one yourself)

 If you notice a problem in a garden plot, you can post that on here and your friends can deal with the issue quicker.

       ·        Bridget, I noticed you have tomato hornworm damage. I couldn’t find them when I looked so maybe you already got them. And if you don’t know a name, say Bed 22. We all know our own bed numbers!

 If you see an interesting plant but you don’t know that you’ll see who planted it any time soon, take a picture and post it.

        ·         Kitty, what is that cool plant you have growing in your bed and where can I get it?

Please share any hard- learned lessons so the rest of us can learn also.  Or serendipitous discoveries!  Recommend particular vegetable cultivars. Share recipes for all the delicious veggies you are growing! When you have extra plants to share, post it and you’ll find a good home for the extra plants.  Maybe you want to buy a particular garden product but don’t need 30 lbs or 50 feet. If you find any website links you think will help, share those too.  Anything and everything related to gardening, eating and wildlife.

We want to make this blog as useful as we can to everyone at the community garden. The more participation from everyone, the better it will be!

 

                             The Blog Admins
                                      Vicki, Carol, Lisa, Linda & Rita