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Plant Suggestions

grizzman
13 years ago

Now that the deer are well fed, I find myself with two barren EnF tables and 3 barren NFT troughs.

Any suggestions for a short crop that thrives in warm weather?

TIA.

Comments (15)

  • wordwiz
    13 years ago

    grizz,

    Not a suggestion per se, but maybe some help. Most state extension services provide the cumulative Growing Degree Days (GDD) for each area. They also generally have historic data that shows past years and how many have accumulated by a specific date, say Sept. 25 (average killing frost). You can then look at plants you may like to grow and how many GDD it takes.

    Mike

  • joe.jr317
    13 years ago

    Holy crap. I'm sorry to hear that about the plants. Feel like venison tonight? I have no suggestions on new plants, though. Not unless you'll be able to protect them from low temps.

  • grizzman
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    unless we have a really cold winter again, out first frost probably won't be before Halloween. Of course the shorter days slow things down too.
    I'm just antsy to get some return on effort.
    I suppose I could stick some pumpkins seeds in one of the tables and see how that turns out.
    How about some herbs. what's a good one that doesn't bolt in the heat? (last week was all 90°+ days)

  • homehydro
    13 years ago

    I don't really know if they bolt or not, but last summer I had both basil and sage in a E&F system (one plant each). The basil grew about twice as fast as the sage but I didn't see signs of elongating from ether in heat of up to 105+. Although the basil did start to flower, but I just clipped them off and the branches would split in two branches of leaves, it was a very bushy plant.

    P.S. I also had a mint plant (my moms idea) in the same system that just wouldn't stop growing. It was supposed to be a small bush type mint, instead of the large ones. Though I have no idea what to do with so much mint, my mom put some in her tea, I just watched it grow.

  • wordwiz
    13 years ago

    Yeah, basil is a great plant. It will start to flower but all you need to do is cut the stem off - two or three more will form. But it will not survive a decent (not killing) frost.

    You can always go with peas (Lincoln Garden is suppose to withstand higher temps) green beans, even lettuce.

    Let us know what you end up going with!

    Mike

  • widespreadpanic
    13 years ago

    Grizzman, you're in N.C. right? I think you could get fall tomatoes if you start now. I know it hurts and I'm sorry.

    Fence it in and start again!

    Don't be discouraged, in the mean time borrow homegrown tomatoes from friends with the promise of returning later in the fall when your first fruit is large and producing well and not out of hand like many fall plants get from lack of pruning and nonattendance.

    Here is a link that might be useful: The Greene Tomato

  • joe.jr317
    13 years ago

    Get a head start by taking cuttings of someone else's tomatoes, maybe. An early variety might be best.

  • grizzman
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks everyone for the suggestions and condolences.

    I still have my 5 tomato plants. Last year the deer selectively picked my tomatoes but not the vines.

    I've always considered basil going to flower as bolting. Is this not correct?

    Also, won't this happen to lettuces? I have a looseleaf lettuce (romaine?) and a bib lettuce. Which would be better to grow now? Without getting all Jean-Luc technical, what is a good starting EC for lettuces?

    I hadn't thought about peas and green beans. would a sugar snap pea work as well as traditional peas?

  • wordwiz
    13 years ago

    Grizz,

    A good trick to keep lettuce from bolting - cover it with an old white bedroom sheet. It won't prevent it, but it will delay it by weeks, if not months.

    For basil, all you need to do is trim any buds that form. Last year, I was still harvesting Genovese until the killing frost ended my season.

    Mike

  • homehydro
    13 years ago

    I grew both regular peas and sugar snap peas in the same system. I started them in fall last year and they did not grow much until it warmed up about late January, early February. Then they seemed to explode with growth. Then the plants seemed to just turn yellow. I later learned there regular life span is about 4 months, and they were about 6+ months old when they started turning yellow. But as far as it goes the regular peas were shorter and more bushy, and the sugar snap peas were about twice as tall (about 5-6 feet). They were both vines I tied to a trellis.

    I didn't have an accurate scale (just a bathroom scale), but I estimate I had about 6+ pounds of peas between both types when I harvested right at the end (3 gallon sized zip-lock bags full, 2 sugar, and 1 regular. Not to mention the ones I ate before that. That was from 4 sugar, and 4 regular plants.

    P.S. From my experience they wont do well in cold weather, not really sure about hot weather. Although I'm sure that mine turned yellow for one of two reasons, either they were just to old. Or it was Root exudates that legumes (like peas) secrete to fend off roots from other plant species. Both types of peas were in the same system with intertwined root systems.

  • joe.jr317
    13 years ago

    Obviously we all know that lettuce bolts in heat, but I've never really understood why that keeps some people from growing it if they have enough room. What I do is plant it every few weeks and harvest young small plants. I also use shade cloth (50%). The shade cloth is really for my peppers, but I have room for the lettuce under it too. I've also heard of great results with a thin white sheet like Mike mentioned. It probably works better for lettuce. In the ground I plant it in the shade. Works great. Last year, I planted it in 99 cent bags of soil and added a little compost. They did great in the soil bags.

    Basil going to flower can be stopped with frequent pruning, but you could also just take cuttings on occasion. That stuff is as easy as tomatoes when it comes to cloning. That's what I do.

    All this said, I live in Indiana where even though we think it gets hot, it doesn't get Carolinas hot.

  • homehydro
    13 years ago

    Thanks Joe,
    That gives me an idea, I was growing lettuce until the weather got warmer and it bolted. I may try growing it this summer, if I can keep the nutrient solution cool. Perhaps on the patio or the front porch where it gets shade most of the day (except early morning and/or late evening). I may even try the white sheet thing that mike was talking about. Perhaps I may do spinach also if I can get any seeds to sprout. I went through a whole package and none sprouted before.

  • grizzman
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    home hydro:
    The best success I've had sprouting spinach is to sprout it in a cool place. I sprouted mine in a damp paper towel in aluminum foil on the top shelf of the refrigerator.
    I only got about 40% germination, but that's better than the 0% I'd gotten every other time.

  • hardclay7a
    13 years ago

    Grizzman,
    Sorry to hear about your plants. Zucchini squash grows pretty quick. Maybe not too late for cucumbers. My lettuce bolted 2 weeks ago here in Southwest VA. (Both Green & red Leaf.) It shouldn't be too late to start some more toms from cuttings from your 5 remaining plants.
    Good Luck, Ken

  • homehydro
    13 years ago

    Thanks grizzman,
    I too usually just use a damp paper towel that I place in a small Tupperware container, with the lid on to keep it moist inside. I will try placing the spinach seeds in the refrigerator to sprout. That's a far cry from the temp I was trying to sprout them at before (about 85 degrees). I had thought they were just too old.

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