Doing alright here in Tahlequah. I'm way behind on a number of garden chores, clean up, planting garlic, etc. Been working on technical problems with an audio book my wife is producing, and that eats up a lot of time.

We're really enjoying our squash and sweet potatoes! We had the best harvest ever.

George

I prefer to focus on the flip side of that. The days are getting loooonnngggeerr. YAY! The last three + weeks of clouds have been hard on my greenhouse veggies. Most of them are still there, just stalled. Only lost part of the lettuce. I may plant some more in the bare spots where some plants damped off. Someone told me that mulching those babies with spagnum peat moss would prevent damping off. Can't hurt to try.

Robert, Hmmm. Aren't you supposed to be taking it easier and letting your body heal???? I hope you're behaving yourself.

I have noticed, though just barely, that we are getting a tiny bit more daylight each day. I always look forward so much to the winter solstice merely because once it is here, we start regaining our sunlight bit by bit.

It soon will be time to start cole crop seeds, and I have to make myself wait until the time is right or I start them too early.

George, I think I stay behind on garden chores. If I ever get caught up and am "on time", I wouldn't know how to cope.

Dorothy, You must be having more clouds than we have had, though there was a long period of endless clouds, fog, mist, light rain....just gloom and doom sort of weather. We have had sporadic sunny days for the last 7-10 days and it has been wonderful, along with some high temps in the 60s and some lows in the 40s/50s. I guess this week the cold has returned, and just in time to kill all the volunteer sunflower and 4 o'clocks that are sprouting in the garden.

If you have chamomile tea, watering the seedlings with it can prevent damping off and sometimes it can stop it in its tracks if you catch it early enough. Our greenhouse lettuce looks pretty good, but we've been a bit warmer than y'all. After this week, it may be frozen lettuce!

Is it spring yet? Ooops, no, I guess it isn't. My calendar still says December.

Dawn

We have had clouds for most of the last 4 weeks. We had a half day on the 25th and 28th and almost a full day today.

I have parsley growing. Does that count? LOL My giant mustard overwintered well and the Austrian peas are still peeking. Love this post. Gettin' all geared up for spring, meself. Excited about the Dixondale order. Life is rockin' over here. Looking forward to a new attitude and cash flow in the garden this year. Too bad squash bugs aren't swayed by money ... like if I could only bribe them, somehow. hahahahaha

Really, my garden is a total mess and a disaster in some ways. I don't care. It's there! And I'll be growing something yummy. This year, perhaps, I can find a workable solution for starting plants. Haven't ironed all that out, yet.

But the journey ... and all that! the title of this post made me smile. :)

Dorothy, Despite all that cloudiness, your plants look great. Of course, I adore anything green in the dead of winter. I'm even happy to see geen weeds sprout, as long as they are sprouting in the yard or pastures and not in my raised veggie beds or in the greenhouse.

Bon, Of course parsley counts! Anything green and growing counts.

Also, I don't think a garden is a total disaster as long as it is growing something/anything. A garden doesn't have to be perfect or neat and tidy or highly ornamental or whatever....it just has to grow stuff in it----preferably the stuff you want to grow.

Dawn

Dawn, i thought i was taking it easy. On top of that i ordered 2 packages of bees. I guess i thought i had a surplus of free time while i have been taking it easy.

I put my order in for 30 bunches of assorted onions . Going to be busy this spring.

Will start my cabbage and broccoli seeds tomorrow. I think ill get some eggplant started for container's.

Robert, Do you always start cabbage and broccoli this early? I'm still trying to get past Christmas, so sounds early to me. Carol

Soonergrandmom,
I am hoping to plant in 6 to 8 weeks. Some of these seeds are pretty old so i want time to do a restart if i have to.
I'm also further south. I can always repot if needed.

Robert, I was just looking at bee supplies at the new Atwoods that just opened in Gainesville, and I was wondering if our schedule allowed for us to add one more thing to our routine around here. I decided that right now it doesn't, but if Tim isn't careful I may give him bees and all the equipment for Christmas next year. I think he'd enjoy beekeeping and he'll need things to do to keep him busy when he retires in a few years.

You are going to be so busy, Robert, but you've been busy for as long as I've known you here, so I guess I'd be shocked if you slowed down any.

I need to start broccoli and cabbage. The last few years the plants arrive in the stores about the time I start my seeds at the end of January, and then I feel hopelessly behind everytime I look at their robust, large plants while mine are still just beginning to sprout and grow.

This week, the seed-starting mix and some early plant material (asparagus roots, glads, cannas, irises, bagged dry root strawberries, etc.) arrived in the stores. I was so good. I walked past it without buying any of it. I might be compelled to shop for something to bring home the next time I'm in the store.

Carol, I'm trying to get past Christmas too. I thought I'd get the tree taken down today and the wreath off the door, but didn't do either. We have two new puppies (strays we took in and TIm had them named and chilling in his office with him while I was weakly protesting that we do not need any more dogs) and it is about like having two little toddlers roaming around the house destroying things. They are cute, but nothing is safe from their chewing. Today I mostly chased them around, trying to mitigate all the damage they were doing. I guess I'll take the Christmas tree down tomorrow. Actually, our new kitten (rescued from the bar ditch at about 3 weeks of age) is taking all the decorations off the tree for me. If I'd wait a couple more weeks, Pumpkin would un-decorate the entire tree and all I'd have to do is box all of it up.

With the icky ice and a few beautiful snowflakes today, I was more in a winter survival mood today....mud, mud, mud, mud and cold. It was easy to pretend spring is a million hours away. Now, if the sun had been shining and we'd been above freezing, I would have been acting like spring is arriving tomorrow.

At least we got some moisture today. We're still so short from last year that it is much too dry and we need every drop that falls. I hope it is a good omen that we started the new year with rain/sleet/snow. It sure beats starting it out with drought. Actually, we're still in drought, but with rain falling, I can forget about that for a while.

Dawn

I had a panic attack when I read Busy1 was starting seeds tomorrow, since I have resolved to not wait till the last minute this year. I haven't ordered broccoli seed for spring yet. Last years broccoli didn't do much. I was going to take the tree down yesterday, but I am babysitting my not quite 2 year old grandson. It will take a couple of days to recover from that! Maybe I will review what I was looking at for spring then. I want to plant some ginger to see if I can grow that indoors. Hubby brought me a big piece. I plan to freeze the rest, since I am tired of it molding in the fridge. I need sunshine! SO ready for spring!

Amy, It is okay. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Robert plants enough food for the whole state of OK and he has a big greenhouse so he can start early and not run out of space for seedlings like we would. (grin) Plus, he's built in a little cushion of time in case his old seed doesn't germinate as quickly as fresher seed would.

Now, Robert, see what you've done!

I feel like I am starting broccoli and cabbage seed too early when I start it at the end of January because, if it gets too big too quick, I have to repot it so it doesn't get root bound. I get too busy at seed-starting time to spend too much time potting up seedlings. My weather gets dangerously cold for broccoli and cabbage transplants much later than Robert's does, so I don't try to keep up with him. : ) Being further east like he is means he can plant earlier than I can even though I am further south. It's all about knowing your microclimate.

I haven't even ordered broccoli or seed either. I was going to do a seed order yesterday but the ice knocked out the internet for a few hours and I didn't get around to it. I might get it done tonight or maybe tomorrow or the next day. I feel like I am behind the whole month of January, which partly is just because I am in recovery mode from the holidays. I got the last of the decorations down and packed away today, so at least it no longer looks like Christmas here, except for the Poinsettia plant that stubbornly refuses to die despite the fact that our little kitten, Pumpkin, thinks it is his moral obligation to dig in its dirt daily. He's not using it as a litter box---he's just playing. I would move it to the greenhouse but we will be in the 20s next week so it might be better off inside with only a kitten to threaten its life daily.

I did see seed-starting supplies in stores this week and it did make me want to start seeds, but I resisted the urge. For me, it still is too early.

Dawn

I may start a dozen seeds (total) of four different tomatoes in about 2 weeks and leave them in the house until I start heating the plant bench in the greenhouse the middle of February. That's when I start peas, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers and any annual flowers I want.

I may be jumping the gun, but some of these seeds are at least 5 years old.

I have a few newer seeds but I wanted to use up some of these old seeds.

When this rain lets up I have some brush piles I need to get rid of. One of them is in one of my garden spots I may need to use this year.

I am so behind on my winter plans . I was really needing to get busy cutting down a lot of those cedar trees and working on some fence lines.

since it rained on the 1st, we should get 15 days of rain this month. I bet we get close.

Hi
Robert you have been busy. I have just been thinking and planning. I did plant some lemon seeds, just to have something to do.
I have been wondering about getting some seeds going. I guess I will. The worst that could happen is they will get big before I get them in the ground, but I have plenty of room and pots and soil. Since we are doing a much bigger garden this year I am ready to get started. Its hard to imagine how I am going to fill all that space. But I have a feeling I will end up needing more space.
kim

Dorothy, My seed-starting schedule is fairly similar to yours. I just don't get in a hurry to start seeds too early as I've found in the past that it does not necessarily pay off.

Robert, I am not worried about you starting seeds too early---you are a pro at this gardening thing (and farming and ranching, etc., etc., etc.) and I know you make sound decisions based on your many years of growing in your location.

If I started broccoli seeds this early, it would be a disaster 8 or 9 years out of 10 and I'd end up with button heads. Our microclimate is so cold at night so persistently into April and May that I start my broccoli seeds a good 6 weeks later nowadays than I did when we first moved here. That's just something everyone in our climate learns through trial-and-error. You have to do what works for you, and what works for one person may or may not work for another.

Kim, What is your last frost date there? It seems awfully early to start seeds of any kind given how far to the north and the west you are.

Larger broccoli plants are not necessarily better. Research has shown the broccoli plants perform best if put into the ground at roughly 3-5 weeks of age and with 3 to 5 true leaves. Plants that are significantly larger can stunt and stall when transplanted and then the stunting and/or stalling itself becomes a stress factor that affects the harvest. Broccoli that is stressed often buttonheads...or bolts before forming a head large enough to harvest. I have found that I get much better yields when I avoid the known stress factors, which includes starting seeds too early, raising transplants that are larger or older than optimal, exposing plants to temperatures in the low 20s for more than a very short time, etc. So, the worst that can happen is that the plants will be too big when planted and you'll end up with button heads or bolting, leaving you virtually no harvest to enjoy. Believe me, I've been there and done that, and I learned not to do it any more.

In a year when I am itching to get some seeds started, I select flower or herb varieties that are hard to germinate or that grow incredibly slow. They keep me busy until the right time arrives to start everything else at its most appropriate time.

Dawn

Dawn I know but I just cant stand this waiting.So I sowed some microgreens for salads and will winter sow some flowers today.
My last frost date is April 15 so I have a little ways to go. I am glad you said that about broccoli since that is one I want to start inside this year.
I do not have to wait to put plants out till april do I ? I was thinking I could put them out early and be ready to cover them if needed.
kim

Kim, I understand the "can't stand waiting" feeling. I live with it. However, I try to curb my tendency to want to start seeds way too early and also to transplant plants into the ground much too early. I've learned from experience that early planting rarely pays off as expected. Oddly, I get away with planting warm-season crops too early (under row cover) much more than I get away with planting cool-season crops too early.

Broccoli is very temperature sensitive---not only to warm temperatures, which can cause the plants to bolt, but also to even a fairly short exposure to temperatures below a certain level. That level? About 40 degrees. When broccoli plants are exposed to temperatures below 40 degrees for as little as 5-7 days, they can and usually do form button heads. You'll be thinking that you got away with planting too early because the plants look great. Then they start to form heads, the heads get the size of a nickle or a quarter, and then they stop enlarging. The plant doesn't send you any sort of signal that it is going to button head, so you don't realize the plants had too much cold (or other forms of stress) until the heads just refuse to enlarge.

So, you have to pick your planting time (both for sowing seed and for transplanting the young plants into the ground) wisely and only you can decide when your weather has stabilized enough that it is unlikely the plants will be exposed to enough cold weather to cause button heads.

Because we stayed warmer in Fort Worth at night than we do here, even when our daytime highs are very similar, I planted cool-season crops much earlier there than I can here. It took me probably 6 or 8 years of gardening here to learn how early is "too early" for broccoli and other brassicas n my specific microclimate. In a typical year, my best broccoli harvest comes from plants put into the ground between mid-March and early April, and I blame that on my very cold microclimate.

We base a lot on our average last frost dates, perhaps even more than we should. My average last frost date is March 28th. Last year my actual last frost date was May 1st, and the last frost has hit the first week in May in about 80% of the years since 2007. The bizarrely late cold nights have forced me to reign in my urge to plant anything too early, and they have taught me the importance of using season-extenders like frost blankets.

Do I still get planting fever and want to start seeds a month or two too early? Of course I do. Then I think about the heartbreak of awakening to frozen plants or of harvesting broccoli buttonheads, and I get over it. We have to plant at the time best for our plants, not the time that's best for us gardeners.

Dawn

Thanks for reining me back. I am so used to running behind that I am determined to do better this year. I am going to make a list of things to do while I patiently wait.....
kim

My greenhouse got up to 54 today with full sun while the outdoor temp was only 26. The low in there last night was 36 while the outdoor low was 16 at sunup this a.m. I imagine it will get colder in there tonight though if this north wind keeps up. So I'm going back out and cover up all my plants again.

Well I decided to try some radishes in the greenhouse. I never have been able to grow them in a container.

planted some really old carrot seeds and some sugar snap peas. If nothing else it was something to do .

I will try my hand at grafting peach trees this year. I have some volunteer rootstock that I will graft some red haven too.

I think I will order a couple of loring peach trees since they mature early. Then I can use some scion wood from them in future years. I have an area that used to have a trailer house that I've been wanting to turn into a small orchard.

I will have to wage war on the golphers though.

I wished someone would convince me that I'm not getting any younger. I sure like to spread myself thin it seems.

One of these days i'll figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

Kim, I understand about always feeling behind and resolving to do better the next year.....but we still have to work with whatever weather we get and that sure can get in the way of doing things at the schedule we humans would prefer.

It is just too early to start getting ahead of yourself with seed-starting in early January (unless you have tons of space indoors or a heated greenhouse to play in). I try really hard every year to not start planting things too early until February rolls around. Once the calendar says February, I lose all self-control.

Dorothy, Our overnight low this morning was 15 but the greenhouse only went down to 28. I have tons and tons of molasses feed tubs, 5-gallon jugs and cat litter buckets/jugs filled with water lining all the walls and beneath the tables. While that water won't hold tons of heat, it usually keeps the greenhouse above freezing until we hit about 18 degrees outdoors, so everything I have in there overwinters fine without heat. Sometimes if we are expected to go down below about 18 or 20, I throw row cover fabric over the plants but I didn't last night. It already is 64 degrees in there right now, so I need to open the doors and vents soon so that the lettuce doesn't get too hot and start bolting. We've had the greenhouse hit 115 on a sunny winter day that has bright sunlight and no wind to speak of. Obviously I don't actually want it to hit 115 degrees in there, but if I need to get the feeling of being in a sauna, I only have to go step into the greenhouse on a sunny, winter day and bask in that steamy heat for a minute before I start opening doors and vents.

Robert, I can tell you get stir-crazy if you aren't busy all the time. "Busy1" certainly fits you to a T.

Your activity level reminds me of my friend, Fred, who lives up the road from us just a little bit and who is still ranching and gardening in his early 90s. When he stops by to chat and tells me what he's been doing on any given day, just listening to him wears me out. He squeezes in about 10 times as much work into a day as I do, and I'm not lazy. I just work at a more moderate speed, and you guys must work at a super-high-speed to squeeze all your activities into your days. I have noticed that the ranchers and farmers here who never slow down and who are always busy working are the ones who outlive the retired ones that just spend their last few years sitting on the porch. So, I think staying busy and active keeps you young, and you don't have to grow up any time soon if you don't want to. Being young at heart is a gift to be enjoyed. If you're looking for someone to convince you to slow down and "act your age", it will not be me. I do spread myself too thin at times too, but more often it is from February through October. I try to relax more once the weather gets cold because I am not real fond of being cold. Winter time is when I stay indoors more and work on indoor projects. I used to spend every single day of winter clearing the underbrush in our 10 acres of woods, but keeping the brush clear just made it easy for poachers to sneak onto our property and hunt without permission. Now that I let all the greenbrier and other pesky brush take over the edges of the woodland again, we don't have much trouble with poachers any more.

Good luck in the gopher wars. Our cats keep them at bay here, but they cannot control the pine voles that come out of the woods, often at night and usually underground. We'll never be rid of them because we're surrounded by woodland, so I just use 1/4" hardware cloth to line the raised beds and grow root crops there. The voles do get some plants every year that aren't grown in raised beds, but that's just a fact of life. We went to a wildfire east of Thackerville last spring in an area with very deep, sandy soil. There were so many gopher holes (and those feral pig holes that those big rascals dig) that it was hard to walk through the field without twisting an ankle. It made me thankful that so little of our soil was sandy. They had the remains of the previous year's melon vines and rotted melons (only dried-up skin remained) still in the fields. I am not sure why they didn't harvest the melons---maybe they sunburned and weren't worth harvesting, or maybe the gophers and other critters got to them. I just looked at that sand and shook my head, trying to imagine all the issues that come along with sugar sand, particularly nematodes. It almost made me grateful that we have red clay. Almost.

Dawn

It went down to 13 in my yard last night, but the greenhouse was 24. I have a 55 gal drum in there that seems to keep it at least 6 degrees warmer than outside. Had enough sun yesterday to keep it warmer. I have some herbs and greens in there, covered the little greens with blankets.

The "fall" beds were covered and had extra blankets in them the last 2 days. I am trying to coax some Brussels sprouts into producing. We've eaten most of the collards and spinach. If we could get a warm spell, I think I could get more from them. The carrots are not very big. Will they keep growing as it warms, or will they go to seed? They seem to go limp quicker than storebought in the fridge, is that normal? I think the tatsoi I tossed in there has sprouted despite this cold weather! There are a few pea plants (probably snow peas) still green in there. Do you think they will bloom in spring? I have terrible luck with peas. I am just tired of covering the beds. I saw something suggesting it may be colder than normal in Jan and Feb. It might be time to harvest what is there and wait for warmer weather.

My Christmas present was the wood for 3 new 4 x 8 beds and a pyramid bed that will be for herbs. I must order seeds...LOL.