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okiedawn1

Planting Fall Broccoli in Oklahoma

Okiedawn OK Zone 7
11 years ago

A while back, someone asked on the carrots thread about tips for planting fall broccoli. Here's a few:

1. Start your own seeds indoors and then transplant. Because broccoli grows relatively fast, you can start the seed only 2 or 3 weeks before your intended transplant date.

In winter, I like to transplant out plants that have 3 to 5 leaves and in the cooler winter conditions, that means starting seed 3 to 5 weeks before transplant date. I find the seedlings grow faster in summer, hence starting them only 2 or 3 weeks before I want to plant them in the ground.

2. As soon as the seeds germinate, I move them to the front porch so they get morning sun and afternoon sun. This cuts down on the need to spend a week hardening them off if they're grown entirely indoors. However, if you work and are away from home all day, it may be more productive to raise them to the three-leaf stage indoors and then harden them off. One issue with starting seedlings in flats at this time of year is that they may need to be watered several times a day if outdoors, particularly if outdoors in full sun.

3. Understand that broccoli is a biennial, so any extreme stress can cause it to form button heads (these literally are broccoli heads that are roughly from button-sized to quarter-sized) which means you won't get much to eat. So, take extra care to make sure your tiny seedlings don't get root bound and don't get excessively hot or dry or malnourished.

4. Why do we avoid store-bought transplants? Back when I did buy store-bought transplants, I often found they were root-bound and stressed. Also, the size of the main stem often was too large for a healthy transplant and already was becoming woody while still in the 6-packs, which is not a good thing because it tends to mean the plant is too old or rootbound and growth has stopped. Often store-bought transplants of broccoli have been on the greenhouse or store shelves too long and the plants are older than they seem, increasing the chance that they are going to cause you the kinds of problems mentioned in 3 above.

5. Can they handle the heat? Yes, they can. The key is that they need consistent moisture. Dry soil is much harder on them than the heat itself. If you've never used drip irrigation or soaker hoses, this is the perfect time to try them and the broccoli will appreciate it.

6. Why plant them in mid-summer? Broccoli tolerates some cold, but prolonged exposure to cold temperatures below the mid-20s often causes buttonheads. Your broccoli plants will be happiest and will produce best when they are growing in temperatures that range roughly from the 40s at night to the 70s during the day. Thus, we must plant when it is insanely hot in order to have our broccoli plants about ready to produce (in terms of DTMs) when temperatures reach that range.

7. Pest problems usually are much lower on fall broccoli than on spring broccoli. Now, that statement applies to a so-called typical year, and if any of you know exactly what is a typical year in Oklahoma, please feel free to enlighten the rest of us. In most years, the imported cabbage worms and cabbage loopers are much less of a problem on cole family crops in late summer/fall than they are in spring/early summer. However, I have noticed in drought years that the pests often remain more of a problem on fall broccoli than they no in a so-called 'normal' year. I have, in fact, seen the dreaded checkered whites flying around in my yard almost every day his summer. They must be living on weeds that they like because there's no cole crops in my garden. Most years you don't have to cover fall broccoli with floating row cover or spray it with Bt, but this drought summer might be an exception.

8. If you're new to growing broccoli, remember that after you harvest the main head, the plant often will produce side shoots. You also can prolong your harvest by planting 2 to 4 varieties that have different DTMs for a more continual harvest.

9. For both spring and fall broccoli, I like to plant where the plants get morning sun and afternoon shade. This is not necessary, but I find it helps the plant during hot weather. If your garden doesn't have than kind of shade, you can use shade cloth, old sheets, or even newspaper or cardboard to temporarily shade young broccoli plants. To use newspaper, I put tomato cages around the plants, or in a row beside them and use clothespins to clip the newspaper to the cages to form sort of an awning that shades them from the worst heat of the day. With cardboard, I use large sheets of it propped against wooden grade stakes hammered into the ground. I lean the cardboard against the stake. If your garden is in a windy exposure, you can use large stones or bricks laid against the cardboard to keep it from going airborne. The plants benefit from shade more in August than later in fall, so that's one argument for planting them in full sun, but using shading to help them survive summer long enough to make it to fall, when you can remove the shading. I wouldn't put them in full shade, though, as they need some direct sun in order to grow.

If those of you who were looking for broccoli tips have any more questions, feel free to ask. I know there's several of us here who grow broccoli in fall, at least in good years when the drought levels are not insane.

Dawn

Comments (24)

  • chickencoupe
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you. :)

    bon

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bon,

    You're welcome.

    I forgot to say that fall is a great time for cauliflower too. It performs much better in fall as temps are cooling down than it does in spring when they're warming up.

    Dawn

  • chickencoupe
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I know for a fact the broccoli likes my soil. The broccoli was the most neglected of all my plants. They did not get off to a good start and were severely neglected. Still, I have a couple that are out there thriving in this dreaded drought! No production, just puny plants. I believe if they had been continually watered they would be fine. In total, I lost about half my broccoli plants. Considering my soil and experience that is on target to my plans for spring crops. I do believe now that a smaller more manageable crop would be better.

    How many plants would I actually need - ideally - to feed a family of 2 adults and 2 kiddos who love broccoli and would consume at least twice a week? Likely, I will be using the Wal-mart type brands. We do have Baker Creek varieties accessible through Wal-Mart.

    I have a six foot cold frame intended to use for a winter garden extension. Would this be better for cauliflower or broccoli? Should I utilize succession plantings or can I count on reproduction from the same few plants? I plan on using the cold frame for some tender variety veggies, too, such as lettuce so it's "one or the other".

    bon

  • chickencoupe
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    #8 answers my succession question. :)

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bon,

    Broccoli often will survive the hot weather. If it did not produce big heads in the spring, sometimes it will in the fall. At the very least it produces sideshoots. I had some Piricicaba broccoli survive last summer in a bed with morning sun and shade from 1 p.m. on for the rest of the day. I quit watering in July and there was virtually no rainfall until late August. The broccoli survived, then thrived in fall's cooler weather and produced until either December or January. Piricicaba is a sprouting type broccoli that never forms a large head, but continually forms small ones.

    Broccoli likes my heavy clay soil too. It is really pretty tolerant of most garden soils as long as it has adequate fertility. There are some diseases that affect broccoli grown in perpetually wet soil, but those diseases rarely are an issue here, for obvious reasons.

    I have no idea what kind of broccoli seed, if any, you'll find on the seed racks at Wal-Mart. The stores nearest me already have removed their seed racks, although there's still a small seed display at the end of the canning aisle. It only has seeds of veggies like green beans, tomatoes and squash that are warm-season stuff. We usually have seed racks of fall veggies in stores like Home Depot and Lowe's but sometimes not until late August or early September. I generally buy my fall seeds in the preceding winter when the selection is great and the seeds are still available in the stores. Having said that, I buy most of my seeds online anyway, but do pick up some of the readily available varieties locally. If the Baker Creek seed rack is still in your local store, you'll likely find Waltham 29, Romanesco or one of the sprouting broccoli varieties on it. Any of them would be fine. In order to avoid having to wait for seeds to ship when I am approaching seed-starting season, I usually order most of my seed for the following year in November or December, or sometimes even October. I still might order a few new varieties after the catalogs hit the mailbox and the websites update, but usally my seed purchases are completed before Christmas.

    Pretty much any broc variety will produce a main head and then side shoots as long as the plants are happy, although the sprouting broccoli varieties just produce a perpetual stream of side shoots. In the spring, I usually yank out the plants right after I harvest the main head because I'm tired of looking at the caterpillar-devoured leaves, but in the fall I wait for seed shoots to form before I take out the plants. My go-to variety for years has been Packman, now joined by Piricicaba, but in the fall I often plant other varieties just for the fun of it.

    How many to feed a family of 4 a couple of times a week? I have no idea because I plant enough to freeze a lot. Maybe Dorothy can answer that question better than I can. I'd guess maybe 6 or 8 plants would be enough for y'all for fresh eating. A lot depends on the weather and on the productivity of the plants. With great fall weather, 8 plants may give you more broccoli than you want. With poor fall weather, 12 plants might not give you enough. If you were planting a space-saving variety like Small Miracle, you might need more plants because their heads and side shoots are smaller.

    You won't get many broccoli or cauliflower plants in a 6' cold frame because the plants get simply huge, although they will tolerate closer spacing than is generally recommended. I'd put the brocoli in the cold frame because it is more of a sure producer than cauliflower is. Really, I'd put the broccoli out in the open and save the cold frame for lettuce and other salad greens. You can keep broccoli and cauliflower pretty happy in fall by throwing a blanket over them on nights expected to drop below the mid-20s.

    Dawn

  • chickencoupe
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's awesome. Then it's leafy veggies in the cold frame, then. I've plenty of old blankets around. I'm pretty hopeful of a fall crop. I just got back in from looking at those broccoli plants outside that are still growing. They actually have some buttons on them. I'm glad I asked on the number of plants. I was considering way more than 6-8 plants. However, a freezer full of broccoli is just find by me!

  • susanlynne48
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Can Brussels Sprouts be started the same way, Dawn?

    Susan

  • mulberryknob
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bon, If you want to freeze broccoli, you will need far more than 6-8 plants for a family of four. I can't really tell you how much one plant will produce in the fall because I raise enough broccoli in the spring to last all winter by only picking the first big head. In my garden the heads range from 6-9" across. For years I have raised 84-87 plants each spring and ripped the plants out after the first heads come off in late May. I share broccoli with my daughters. If I were going to plant for fall broccoli I would plan on at least 2 dozen plants.

    If your family likes greens, kale overwintered without protection in the open garden for us last winter and we picked again in the spring. Spinach also will overwinter if mulched well.

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Susan, Yes, brussels sprouts are essentially started the same way. However, they are more susceptible to drought stress or heat stress, so it is better to get the plants slightly larger--with maybe 6 to 8 true leaves instead of 3-5 with broccoli--before you transplant them into the place where you're going to grow them.

    Dorothy, I've been known to plant as many as 100 broccoli plants in spring in order to have a bunch to freeze, but I only planted a few this year, and it was so hot so early that I am glad I didn't waste more space on them than what I did. When I grew it only for fresh eating in Texas, it was a big deal to have six plants, but I had shade and not much of a garden spot, so it was very different there from here. In fall I usually just plant a few, and in a bad fire/drought year I don't even do that. I have no idea what I'll do this year, but with the persistent lack of meaningful rain, I am not inclined to make big plans.

    Kale's a great suggestion. This past spring I grew dinosaur kale (lacinato), Red Russian, and a curly blue one that may have been Vates. I can't remember now. They hung in there for a long time despite high temperatures early in the spring.

    There's lot of other cool-season crops I'd love to grow, but only if we get more rain than we've been getting. I have seeds for collards, spinach, rutabagas, turnips, radishes, etc. and want to grow them, but not if extensive irrigation will be required.

    Dawn

  • mulberryknob
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Dawn, like you I won't plant anything in the open garden unless it rains. I will plant the two 4x4 cold frames and the greenhouse beds no matter what because I don't mind watering that much. Bok Choy, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard and miner's lettuce did so great in the greenhouse for us last year that I will plant them again. And may put some Chinese cabbage in there too. And radishes produced well enough for a repeat.

  • Pamchesbay
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi all,

    Thanks for the nudge about planting broccoli. I keep notes on varieties Famerdilla recommends because his conditions are similar to mine. Now I keep notes about what the folks on the OK Forum recommend for the same reason. (including 14 sweet potato varieties from Gary at Duck Farm earlier this summer!)

    I have never grown broccoli from seed but plan to this year, am looking for your recommended varieties. I hunted for Piracicaba, but the only sources I've found is Hudson Valley Seed Library and Turtle Tree Seeds (??) Other sources like Nichols and Fedco had crop failures this year. I'll keep looking - I think Piricicaba will be a great warm season broccoli to plant next spring.

    I looked for recommendations from Famerdilla - this is what he said about growing broccoli in the fall:

    "In Georgia, broccoli does well in early spring and fall. You need a short season broccoli. For fall planting, I usually use a large planter, set in the coolest shadiest spot I can find and start from seeds around the middle of August. In fall, I normally set out about two dozen plants. Fall is mostly for fresh.

    "Hybrids are more dependable and form nice tight heads. I harvest before they get loose and start flowering. Green Goliath has been the only open pollinated broccoli to perform satisfactorily.

    "Superdome has done very well, as has Early Dividend, Galleon, Green Comet, Barbados, Blue Wind. Everest has done well.

    "Not happy with Gypsy (ugly erratic plant) or Belstar (an all around dud). Packman does ok but has more brown bead than the others."

    I'm not familiar with the varieties Farmerdilla recommends - except Packman (sold EVERYWHERE) - and wonder if anyone has experience or advice about good varieties for fall planting. I'd like to place a seed order soon.

    Many thanks,
    Pam from Virginia

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Dorothy,

    I am so looking forward to being able to grow something in this greenhouse this fall and winter that I almost cannot stand waiting for it to cool off enough to be able to do so. I likely will grow in molasses feed tubs (and I just dread the huge expense of filling them with a soil-less mix) because I learned this spring that our cats think the raised bed in the greenhouse is a giant litter box. That aggravates me a great deal because we worked hard building that raised bed but cats are gonna do what cats are gonna do. So far, the cats never have gotten into the molasses feed tubs in which I grow tomatoes and peppers, so that seems like my best option for the greenhouse.

    I want to grow all kinds of cool season stuff, like collard greens and mustard greens, in the ground too but only if it rains by their planting time. A local gardener here who now is in his 80s always planted spinach in late September through late October and would have a great stand by Thanksgiving. I believe he harvested some all winter, and then did a huge harvest in late winter when it was time to prepare his soil for onion and potato planting. Undoubtedly he froze a lot of that last big harvest.

    Pam, I bought Piricicaba from Bountiful Gardens, which is one of my favorite sources for drought-tolerant and heat-tolerant varieties.

    Of the varieties Farmerdilla suggested, I am familiar only with Early Dividend and Green Comet, both of which have done well here in spring. Packman is my standard go-to for fall, but I am feeling adventurous and may plant one of the sprouting broccoli varieties and Romanesco. Early Dividend produces well in spring, but the heads are smaller than other varieties I've grown. De Cicco has done well in spring for me, but I haven't grown it for fall. I don't think I have seen much brown bead on Packman, but brown bead may be more of an issue where Farmerdilla lives than it is here. I don't know.

    The reason Packman is sold everywhere is because it is so reliable and usually is successful in producing a crop. It is hard to argue with success. My only complaint with Piricicaba is that it is an aphid magnet. I will have a row of Piricicaba right beside a row of Packman and every Piricicaba plant will have large numbers of aphids, but Packman won't have a single aphid.

    I will link the website of Bountiful Gardens for you. Don't blame me if you spend hours at their website. Bountiful Gardens is run by Ecology Action, the biointensive gardening group that teaches people have to grow more veggies and other crops in less space as espoused by John Jeavons. This is how I garden, so I can stay at their website for vast amounts of time.

    Dawn

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bountiful Gardens

  • Pamchesbay
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, Dawn, Bountiful Gardens is a great site. I'm going through it now, I see the appeal. They have a nice selection of seeds, cover crops too. I'm interested in learning more about bio-intensive gardening.

    I've been googling for Piricicaba seeds for weeks, but Bountiful Gardens did not come up in any of my searches. I'm really surprised.

    I like Packman OK, it's super reliable but I like to try new things. I love to grow fall and winter crops - fresh vegetables, no heat, no bug problems. In recent years, our lowest temps don't go very low - high teens rarely, and when the ground freezes, it's only about 1/2".

    I use floating row cover to protect plants from wind damage and cold temps. I start a winter lettuce garden in early October, and use row cover to protect it from critters. I may experiment with low tunnels this year.

    Would row cover help with your aphid problem? It really helps to prevent damage from flea beatles on eggplant.

    Thanks for the referral to Bountiful Gardens!

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Pam,

    You're welcome.

    I don't know why it doesn't come up in the search. They were the first place I ever saw seed for Piricicaba.

    To learn more about biointensive gardening, I recommend John Jeavons' book, "How To Grow More Vegetables......" I first read it years before we moved here, but it wasn't until we moved here and I had a full-sun location for a big garden that I began to apply what I had learned from the book. In Fort Worth, my garden was small and sun-starved so I couldn't plant any thing too close to the next closest thing for fear the plants would shade one another. Here, though, it helps me raise 4 times as many crops in the available space.

    His book, now in its 8th edition, is available at Amazon or right there directly from Bountiful Gardens,

    Row covers likely would keep aphids off the broccoli, but in spring it would heat up the plants underneath it a lot because we have lots of heat even in late winter, as I imagine you do as well. The aphids don't really hurt the plants, and the lady bugs gobble them right up. They just aggravate me because normally they are not an issue in my garden. The first time I had aphids pop up on Piricicaba, I racked my brain trying to figure out if I had put too much nitrogen-rich compost in that area or something, but I don't think I did. After a couple more rounds of growing Piricicaba and always having aphids on it, I've decided this variety is just an aphid magnet. I could use that to my advantage though. For example, I could plant Piricicaba away from the main garden and use it as a trap crop to attract aphids away from the big garden.

    I am going to grow several of Bountiful Gardens' winter crops, including the purple cauliflower, but I'll also grow some things from SESE because I like some of their cool-season crops from Evenstar Farms.

    I love growing stuff in winter. Some years I keep containers of peppers and tomatoes going almost all winter by dragging the pots into the well-insulated garage on nights when the temps are expected to drop below freezing. Using that method, I've been able to extend the tomato and pepper harvest until December or January.

    Dawn

  • Pamchesbay
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "Using that method, I've been able to extend the tomato and pepper harvest until December or January."

    And in December and January, you've been working on your warm weather to-grow lists for weeks or months!

    I ordered the John Jeavons book from Amazon tonight- and read the "Surprise Me" sections. Seems very different from the usual veg gardening books. Many thanks for the recommendation.

    I'll bring in a few containers of peppers and tomatoes this fall. We usually harvest all the green tomatoes, wrap them in newspaper, and eat green tomatoes for a few weeks (DH's favorite).

    I bring in pots of Italian and Thai basil, cut it back, and put the pots near doorways. When you walk by and brush against the basil plants, they release that wonderful fragrance in the dead of winter. In Jan or Feb, that fragrance is a surprise and brings a flood of good memories.

    I want to thank you and other forum members for the good advice. The OK forum is an amazing place!
    Pam

  • oldbusy1
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Normally I'll direct sow my broccoli seeds in the middle of August.
    I like packman as it usually is consistent.

  • soonergrandmom
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Dawn, I think it would be interesting to check the temperature under the row cover in Spring vs. open air growing. I am growing some winter squash vines (planted late) and covered with row cover as soon as the seeds went into the ground. I plan to uncover them when they start having female blooms.

    I was a little concerned that they would get too hot under the row cover. The row cover is stretched over a 10 foot length of conduit that is bent into a four foot wide arch. What I have noticed is that the plants suffer less wilting under the cover, than the melon vines beside them that are not covered. I am thinking that the reduction of available light through the fabric plus the fact that it is white and probably reflecting some light, is an advantage rather than a disadvantage. At night it probably holds in some of the heat built up in the ground during the day, so the change in temperature in a 24 hour period is probably less. I have not actually checked this, but that appears to be what is happening.

    I have used row covers for Fall protection from the cold for several years, but after watching the peppers live until after Thanksgiving last year, made me look at it in a whole new way. I wish it was a little more durable, but the one I bought this year is better than the ones I have had before.

    I bought a 500 foot role this year, so I will be doing more experimenting this winter and again in the Spring, but so far I am impressed.

  • chickencoupe
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Pam, I concur. I did not want to interrupt the conversation over on the garlic forum where Jay posted the link and advice about garlic (thanks, Jay!). I've never seen so many varieties of garlic. Nor did I know they existed. It is astoundingly difficult to show adequate appreciation for this forum! I was speaking to another city resident a early last year about gardening when I began and mentioned the Oklahoma Gardening forum.

    Okiedaw's posts yield some top results on google search topics containing vegetable varieties!

    Every one of these experts deserve to have 100 percent or better fruition every year just because they're SO helpful on this forum through their diligent participation!

    bon

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Pam.

    I am not technically oriented so at first all of John Jeavons many pages of lists, charts and diagrams made my head swim and my eyes glaze over. I really let that stuff intimidate me for the longest time. In the meantime, I tried Square Foot Gardening and, while it works reasonably well, some of the spacing---especially for plants like tomatoes and squash that become huge monsters in hot climates--just just didn't give me the results I wanted. So, I went back to "How To Grow More Vegetables...." and tried to incorporate more of that spacing. What I do now is a hybrid of the two, and I do it because it works. Some years I use the spacing from John Jeavons' book almost exclusively, and other years I use some square foot spacing, especially when I am in a hurry because square grid spacing is easier at a time like that.

    I try to make my grow lists beginning in August while everything is fresh on my mind. I know that by December, I might not remember if it was Yellow Submarine we liked or Medovaya Kaplya or both or neither, so it is best to make next year's planting decisions while everything is more fresh in my mind.

    This year I have the greenhouse, so I won't necessarily have to drag container plants into the garage as I have in the past. Maybe I can just keep them in the greenhouse with a small heater. Time will tell.

    We routinely have tomatoes until Thanksgiving or Christmas depending on the weather, and I'm talking about from in-ground plants. Picked at the breaker stage, they ripen slowly and we can eat them from a long time. I extend the season even more with the container plants. Some years I plant the long-keeper types like Longkeeper, Reverend Morrow's Longkeeper, Red October, etc. and they will last a couple of months after being picked if you pick them just before the breaker stage or at the breaker stage. I put them on shelves in our tornado shelter. Golden Jubilee is not, technically, a long-keeper, but it works well when used as one.

    Busy1, You're there! I know you've been too busy to be online much. I suppose it still is too hot and too dry there to plan on a fall garden? The Keetch-Byram Drought Index numbers for your part of the state are getting scary high.

    Carol, Likely in these temperatures the row cover is reducing enough light to prevent wilting, but in the spring, if I leave the heavyweight frost blanket on plants on a hot day after a cold night, they do not look happy when I finally uncover them.

    I use floating row covers a lot in the cool season, but it is hard to make them behave in the wind. I also have cat issues. If I put a row cover over hoops, the cat think it is cat furniture, climb onto it and rip it or tear it. If I put it on plants without hoops so it is free-floating, they think it is a cat blanket and lay on top of it and the plants. To keep the cats out of the garden, I'd have to remove the cedar entry arbor because even when I close the gate, they climb over the arbor to go inside. I don't know how to solve the kitty cat issues with row cover, because they are stubborn. If I yell at them to get off the fabric, they do. However, the minute I turn my attention elsewhere, they're back on it again. Since I'm not out in the garden every minute of the day, the cats do as they please when I'm not there. Thus, for cat reasons, floating row cover works great for me on cold nights when the kitties are in the house but not so great during the day.

    I have similar issues with shade cloth, but the worst issue with it is that snakes like to lie on top of the shade cloth and sun themselves. I suppose they consider it a bonus that they can scare me to death when I see them there on the shade cloth, often inches from my face.

    The best solution would be to take out the arbor and replace it with fencing with a standard gate that would keep the cats out, but I love the arbor and the 'Pink Lemonade' honeysuckle that grows on it, so I'd rather not take it out. Anyway, the garden needs the cats or it likely would become overrun with field mice and voles. I just wish I could convince the cats that floating row cover is not meant for their comfort.

    Dawn

  • soonergrandmom
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    A couple of years ago something pounced into my row cover in several places one night. I blamed cats, but I have also seen possums around, so I don't really know what it was. I still have a neighbor cat that comes into my garden. Cats seem to think that any box is for them, even if it is 4x12, which is another reason I don't like cats, but so far this year I haven't had an animal problem with my covers. However, the gardener has made a couple of small holes in it. LOL

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    No, blame the wind, not the gardener.

    If you use white duct tape to mend the holes, they at least will not get any bigger and the mended places will blend in with the rest of the row cover.

    I love my floating row covers, but the cats can make using them a challenge. Ever since we put up the taller and sturdier fence, the possums, armadilloes and skunks cannot or do not get into the garden, nor do the deer. The raccoons are like the cats, though, and just come over the top of the arbor. The bobcats only get into the garden if I have the gate open during the day during drought periods when they sometimes hunt in the daylight hours.

    If I make the garden any tougher to get into, the gardener herself will not be able to get into it.

  • Pamchesbay
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    bon - I agree with your sentiments and feel very grateful for the advice and encouragement.

    Dawn - I learn at least one new thing from every post by you on virtually any topic. This broccoli thread made me rich!

    1. I learned why I should start broccoli from seed, when I should do this, and that broccoli can tolerate and maybe thrive in hot weather but it needs water.

    2. I learned how to create shade using newspaper and cardboard. I already use huge amounts of cardboard and newspaper as mulch and for weed suppression. Fortunately, DH and I have a business that generates lots of cardboard so I have a reliable supply.

    3. I learned about bio-intensive gardening, the Bountiful Gardens site, and ordered "How to Grow More Vegetables" by John Jeavons.

    4. I ordered seeds of several varieties of broccoli last night, and know why I selected each one - Superdome, Piricicaba, Packman, Di Cicco, and Diplomat. I regret that I forgot to order Marathon.

    5. I learned about using white duct tape to mend holes in my floating row covers.

    Thank you!
    Pam

  • HU-939938193
    4 years ago
  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Well, I hope it's been a good journey, Okmulgee boy, and I'm glad to know you've been around a while---that tells us that you certainly are not a rookie! (grin)

    We're all getting older now as we travel along life's roadway, aren't we? I was reflecting back on our 20+ years here in OK this summer and all the progress we've made with the garden, but haven't really made with the yard (unfenced and regularly assaulted by deer, armadillos, etc.) and for the next few years, I'm going to focus on the yard and the landscape a lot more so I can bring them up to the garden's standards. I hope this project doesn't destroy whatever sanity I have left, and I hope it doesn't destroy my marriage because I really intend to start fencing the yard (yes, with an 8' tall and probably ugly fence) this winter so I can protect the new plantings from the deer, and my husband absolutely hates fences---he likes to look out at lovely views of the woods with no fence to block his view. I told him last week that he has had his lovely view with no fence for the last 20 years and now, for the next 20 years, I'm gonna have a fence. How can he argue with that????? He got his part of the compromise for the first 20 years, now I get my part of it. We'll see how that works out.

    I hope someday when I start losing my memory and my mind, or whatever remains of both of those now, I can just refer back here to all the old posts here and relearn everything I've forgotten because I know that getting older brings memory lapses and I hope I don't forget everything I've learned.

    Dawn

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