It's gonna get COLD!

[gja1000]

I had to cover my babies up - it's supposed to get down in the 30's tonight!!!


Yes, this is my garden - almost unrecognizable, huh!

My husband is a bucket collector, he uses them for EVERYTHING - tools, fishing tackle, sits on them, etc etc. He has so many buckets, I told him when he dies I'm going to put his ashes in a bucket!!! LOL. Tonight, I'm glad he has so many buckets. The blankets are covering the bigger tomatoes that are in cages. The buckets are over the smaller tomatoes, peppers, squash, and eggplant.

Picture #4 is a little critter I found eating my dill yesterday!! Can you believe it! The NERVE!!!

[Marilyn]

Gayle, I bought two patio tomato plants and an egg plant yesterday afternoon hoping to put them in my pots last night. Then I found out how cold it was supposed to get so I just put them in the house. It was supposed to get down to 37 here. It's 41 right now, and it's 6:45 a.m., so don't know that it got as cold as they said it would. The tomato plants are blooming. One even has a tiny tomatoe on it, so hopefully, they will continue to grow and produce. The tab in the eggplant said it grows well in containers, so we'll see.

You inspired me!! I bought some organic compost to mix with the potting soil already in the pots, so hope it helps.

[gja1000]

Marilyn, patio tomatoes are the best container variety so I bet they do great! You should get some liquid seaweed and after you plant them, water them well and then last water them with the liquid seaweed (1 capful to a gallon of water - you won't need the whole gallon to drench them so I'd use 1/2 capful in 1/2 gallon of water would be plenty). Water them with liquid seaweed once a week and that will be all the fertilizer they need and it is the best kind. Get the seaweed drench on the leaves because it will be absorbed by the leaves as well as the roots. Use the seaweed in the early morning or late afternoon, not when the sun is beating directly down on them.

I have an outdoor thermometer on my back porch and it only got down to 44!!! Tomatoes only have to be protected at 45 or below, so I overdid my wrapping - but oh well, better to be safe than sorry!

[DianaB]

You did the right thing by covering them up. You'd hate for all of your hard work to go to waste. I say that you'd rather be safe, then sorry.

We got really cold last night, in the lower 20's. We have some farmers around here that have already planted their corn and it's just starting to come up. This hard of a freeze will kill it and they'll have to replant. Thank goodness we don't have our corn planted yet!

This weather is getting really old! It's definitely time to warm up and stay warm!!!

[Janet]

I'm with you on the warm up Diana. I'm tired of it being so cold. We're under a hard freeze for tonight. I'll have to plug the bus in this evening.

[donna1990]

I saw your garden on facebook.
It is going to be in the 40's here tonight, has been as high as 88.

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by donna1990

I saw your garden on facebook.
It is going to be in the 40's here tonight, has been as high as 88.

Yes, the weather is CRAZY!!!!!

[Marilyn]

Originally Posted by gja1000

Marilyn, patio tomatoes are the best container variety so I bet they do great! You should get some liquid seaweed and after you plant them, water them well and then last water them with the liquid seaweed (1 capful to a gallon of water - you won't need the whole gallon to drench them so I'd use 1/2 capful in 1/2 gallon of water would be plenty). Water them with liquid seaweed once a week and that will be all the fertilizer they need and it is the best kind. Get the seaweed drench on the leaves because it will be absorbed by the leaves as well as the roots. Use the seaweed in the early morning or late afternoon, not when the sun is beating directly down on them.

I have an outdoor thermometer on my back porch and it only got down to 44!!! Tomatoes only have to be protected at 45 or below, so I overdid my wrapping - but oh well, better to be safe than sorry!

Liquid seaweed? Okay, where do I get this? We do have one organic nursery in town. I think they are still in business. Would that be where I need to go? I am using organic potting soil and compost (from Lowes), so am trying to do it the organic way. BTW, thank you for the advice!!! My plants & compost weren't cheap. I told hubby, i'm probably not saving much, if any money, but at least it's an experiment that may pay off later, and hopefully will produce some tasty food.

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

Liquid seaweed? Okay, where do I get this?

Yep, at the organic gardening store - and you can order it online if the store is out of business. Here's some information about liquid seaweed.

Seaweed

"Gatorade for the Garden." Seaweed has been used by farmers and gardeners for hundreds of years. Here at The Natural Gardener, we recommend it for helping transplants survive and prosper through transplant shock, for encouraging more blooms, for encouraging fruit set on tomatoes and other fruits, and for helping plants to resist diseases and pests. Research has proven that regular application of seaweed can help thwart powdery mildew fungus and the spider mite pest.

Nowadays, we don't have to risk life and limb going out into the frigid ocean waters to collect our own seaweed: we can purchase it in a liquid or powdered concentrate from Maxicrop brand. From their website, www.maxicrop.co.uk, we learn the five principle effects of seaweed:

The complex range of compounds found within our seaweed extracts can help reduce nematode damage.
Specific carbohydrates in our seaweed extracts serve as a source of food for beneficial and benign soil bacteria.
Soil and foliar application of our seaweed extract will result in greater maintenance of chlorophyll, leading to greener plants.
Applied to plants that can cold acclimatize, seaweed extract initiates or speeds up the acclimatization process.
Regular applications to the foliage of plants induce Localized Acquired Resistance. (This means they can resist diseases and other stresses).
In addition, we find the following guides to using Maxicrop seaweed:

Research has shown that to get the best results, Maxicrop needs to be applied in low doses but at regular intervals throughout the periods of active plant growth. Research has shown that plants that are regularly exposed to low levels of our seaweed extracts establish bigger and deeper roots and are faster growing.

To us, this means that ideally, we should foliar feed our plants with seaweed — in the early morning or late evening — one to four times a month. Especially during the stresses of summer and winter, see how seaweed can make your garden glow! While this will not help a tomato plant survive a freeze, it will help cold weather plants, perennials, shrubs, etc. go through cold snaps with less damage and faster recovery time. We absolutely love our seaweed.



Here is a great link about different organic products and what they do and how they can help your yard/garden/flowers/shrubs. http://www.naturalgardeneraustin.com...cts/index.html

[gja1000]

Here's the way everything looked when I took the buckets/blankets off. Look closely and you will see yellow blooms on the tomatoes. There are also some tiny little tomatoes that have set on! Oh and there is a pic with some red or almost red strawberries! WHoo Hooo!!!

[gja1000]

Here's what everything looked like back in March - I do have a few more plants than back in March.

[Blueyes]

Wow Gayle..it's really growing I can't grow things, and I'm so impressed by people that can

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Blueyes

Wow Gayle..it's really growing I can't grow things, and I'm so impressed by people that can

Now, why is it that you think you can grow things?????

[Blueyes]

Maybe because I have a long history of plant murder!!

[Marilyn]

Gayle, your garden looks great!! It's really growing!! I will definitely get some of the liquid seaweed. I'll have to call the nursery tomorrow and make sure they have it. I'm sure they are closed by the time I get home, so will have to wait to buy it until the weekend. May just spray it on my shrubs, also. Our crepe myrtles are sure leafing out!! I hope they bloom like last year. The limbs were hanging way down with the weight of the blossoms.

Potted my plants last night and they looked nice this evening. Will take pics of them this weekend, also.