Winter 2024-2025

[Mark_Thompson]

Planning to grow a solid plot of brassicas, including a bunch of broccolini type broccoli, some tomatoes under my eaves in small pots, some peppers for the wife, and then cover crop most of the garden. I still have a couple leggy scraggly tomatoes hanging on, so will continue to pick those until they go gentle into that good night. Had a super wet summer, here’s to a dry winter.

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[MissS]

Is the second picture banana's and if so, are you pulling them out or planting them?

[Mark_Thompson]

@MissS Second picture is an ex corn plot that I broadforked. Pulled all the corn stumps then covered in cardboard to kill the weeds. I cut down a bunch of nearby bananas to hold the cardboard in place. They work really well for that.

[bower]

So, cover crops. Always an interesting subject. I've been trying to find things that fit as garlic rotations. What are you planning for, I'm assuming, a tomato rotation?

[Mark_Thompson]

All my beds end up with tomatoes in them sooner or later. I just try to keep some living roots in the ground to keep the soil bugs happy. I plant a pretty broad mix of whatever I have and/or can get for cheap. Lots of daikon, sunn hemp, clover, velvet bean, sorghum-sudangrass, mustard. Then just roll everything in and let it compost in place.

[Mark_Thompson]

Tomatoes, flax, lettuce, Kohlrabi n Broc n Cauli. Very wet still, perfect young plant weather.

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[JayneR13]

Lucky you! Our season here is done. Even the brassicas won't enjoy the hard freeze we have coming early next week. Oh well. It's time to rest.

[Mark_Thompson]

@JayneR13 Rest time is important, at least that’s what I’m told. I’ll have to try it someday

[Mark_Thompson]

My Roulette Peppers from @Cornelius_Gotchberg continue to impress. The bigger of the plants is now chest high, with a diameter of five feet. The other bells I started from seed are thriving also. The rain finally slowed down a bit, but still enough to keep everything green and happy. Finally had a moment to prep another little plot, but now I'm at a loss as to what to plant there. Already going to be flooded with brocc, hmmm quite the dilemma.

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[Mark_Thompson]

Harvested some food, tilled in some cover crop, wet winter continues

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[Mark_Thompson]

@Cornelius_Gotchberg At what point does a Roulette pepper plant with a stem become a Roulette pepper tree with a trunk? When this thing finally gives up the ghost I can probably mill a couple 2x4’s out of it.

Also finally yanking summer tomatoes and cages, and the hundreds of tomato clips on them, ugh what a mess.

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[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

@Cornelius_Gotchberg At what point does a Roulette pepper plant with a stem become a Roulette pepper tree with a trunk? When this thing finally gives up the ghost I can probably mill a couple 2x4’s out of it.

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The Gotch

[Mark_Thompson]

Finally got a little break in the rain and was able to get some things done. Got another round of brassicas in the tray, moving some compost around, feels good to be productive.

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[MissS]

Which multi-flora tomato is that? Did you notice that your multi-flora has a mega bloom? I love those fused stems.

[Mark_Thompson]

Which multi-flora tomato is that? Did you notice that your multi-flora has a mega bloom? I love those fused stems.

It’s my Habro heart F2. There are a handful that have megablooms and fused stems, but they’ve been such poor fruit setters that I’m not getting my hopes up.

[Mark_Thompson]

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[Homegrwoninillinois]

I am definitely jealous of your winter time growing abilities. I say this while I shiver and type a reply from Northern Illinois.

~Sam

[Mark_Thompson]

@Homegrwoninillinois I hear ya, this last week has been epic even for here. Zero precipitation and light winds. I’ll try keep the pics coming, help y’all through your dark months.
Coincidentally, picked up some corn today that’s from your neck of the woods. One packet of Illini xtra sweet that I’ll be pouring into my “wicked mashup” pile of corn seeds for spring.

[Homegrwoninillinois]

@Homegrwoninillinois I hear ya, this last week has been epic even for here. Zero precipitation and light winds. I’ll try keep the pics coming, help y’all through your dark months.
Coincidentally, picked up some corn today that’s from your neck of the woods. One packet of Illini xtra sweet that I’ll be pouring into my “wicked mashup” pile of corn seeds for spring.

Sounds exciting! I’m dreaming of spring already. The choices to grow this year will be so hard to make. I haven’t had good luck with corn but am surrounded by large ag.

~Sam

[Mark_Thompson]

Planted some corn yesterday, trying baby corn for the first time, got a few tomatoes going under the eaves, and a few more out in the garden, probably about time to start planning for summer tomatoes, kind of a roll of the dice which plot is going to have the least disease.

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