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Cultivate Simple 37: What’s Next in the Garden

July 8th, 2013

Today on Cultivate Simple we’re talking about fall/winter gardening. Now is the time to plant cold weather crops. It is worth a try.

Brian’s Geeky Corner

f.lux makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.

giant_winter_spinach_leaf

Johnny’s Seed Fall/Winter Planting Calculator
Territorial Fall/Winter Planting Chart

Books of the Week

What’s your favorite cold weather vegetable?

13 Comments to “Cultivate Simple 37: What’s Next in the Garden”
  1. angie h on July 8, 2013 at 9:19 am

    My garden dreams keep expanding, thanks Susy and Brian! Three more raised beds for a total of 8 this summer, they just need filled up with dirt and planted. I think I am going to dedicate some of this space for winter gardening. I also am adding a new bed in the yard near where we recently cleared some trees. I want to make good use of the cold frame this year and my Brian could easily whip me up some hoops for my raised beds at work!

    My question is, can you direct seed most stuff or do you recommend starting indoors? I think I was reading somewhere that certain things need started indoors if they like cooler temps to germinate….

    Reply to angie h's comment

    • Susy on July 8, 2013 at 11:45 am

      I’ll direct seed beets, spinach, greens, etc. Most brassicas I’ll seed indoors and plant them outside once they’re robust. Sometimes I’ll start lettuces indoors since they do prefer cooler temps. A seed flat on a cool cement floor will general produce decent germination rates. Make sure to put them under a light or outdoors as soon as you notice germination to avoid legginess.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  2. Mich on July 8, 2013 at 11:34 am

    Hmm. I grow a lot of late/overwinter crops and I have to say my winter faves are probably leeks and black kale.

    Reply to Mich's comment

  3. val on July 8, 2013 at 12:46 pm

    All of them! I have seriously considered skipping–or at least drastically reducing–my summer garden, when produce is so plentiful at my farmers’ market and summer is so fraught with difficulty like bugs and other pests. I find not only is winter gardening easier in many ways, it is also more gratifying because it is freshness you can rarely get anywhere else. My only problem is getting the timing right–such as getting seeds planted when the beds are full in summer and the temps are extreme. I also don’t particularly like seed starting indoors.

    Reply to val's comment

  4. Misti on July 8, 2013 at 1:41 pm

    It’s hard to be thinking of fall gardening already but you know you had me going there for awhile, dreaming up salad greens and kale when that is months—October *maybe* for me. I think I was actually dreaming of rain and cooler weather though. ;)

    I think I’ll flip through our local Houston book on starting seeds and see what might be coming up, but the only thing I really know is that fall tomatoes should be planted soon.

    Reply to Misti's comment

  5. DebbieB on July 8, 2013 at 2:58 pm

    Well, I’ve bought two books today, thanks a lot. :) No, really, thanks a lot! The Backyard gardening book was $6 on Kindle, so I went ahead and got it, and then I got the Dowding book on Kindle as well. The pictures look great on the iPad, easy to read. I’m hoping these will be a great resource for me. It’s so hot in the summer here in New Orleans, and the bugs (specifically the WORMS, which destroyed my zucchini and squash, and are wreaking havoc with my bean plants and tomato plants) are so plentiful that I might have better success in the winter. My first frost date is December 11-20, and we sometimes don’t get a frost until January.

    Question: I have a bookmark for Amazon that goes through your affiliate link – it says “twomileproductions” in the url. But when I clicked through to the Kindle store, it didn’t show the affiliate name in the resulting url. Does it have to reference “twomileproductions” through to the ending purchase in order for you to get credit? If so, then my handy bookmark may not be doing you any good. :\

    Reply to DebbieB's comment

    • DebbieB on July 8, 2013 at 3:05 pm

      Sorry, that’s “2ndmileproductions”. :)

      Reply to DebbieB's comment

    • DebbieB on July 10, 2013 at 9:47 am

      Aha! Not worms, but Squash Vine Borers! Now I know what they are, and can fight them better next time.

      Reply to DebbieB's comment

    • Susy on July 28, 2013 at 7:29 pm

      The affiliate code only shows up when the page first load, when you click on specific products it won’t show up. Thanks so much for using our link!!!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  6. AmyS on July 8, 2013 at 10:23 pm

    Just listening right now to the podcast. I do have a question. I have a terrible time with the squash bug and no matter what I do to try and rid of them they still take all of the plants. I only have 2 squash plants left. All the zucchini, summer squash, and spaghetti squash is dead. Two questions I guess…..1. would it make a difference if I planted my zucchini elsewhere like in landscaping like in the front of my house? 2. If starting new plants hoping for a fall crop will the squash bug still be around and destroy those as well?

    Reply to AmyS's comment

    • AmyS on July 8, 2013 at 11:50 pm

      I love Caleb’s book and was introduced it from michigansnowpony on youtube.

      Reply to AmyS's comment

    • Susy on July 28, 2013 at 7:50 pm

      Not sure if you can have them, but guineas are great squash bug patrol.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  7. PennyAshevilleNC on July 9, 2013 at 8:33 am

    SLUGS this year here- we are in flood conditions each time it rains…dare I say we need a small rain break?
    AMY S– re: squash bugs: I used ground up orange rinds and sprinkled generously around the plants but can’t be sure if that is what saved them or if something else was happening with a predator insect. This year I am using DE to deter slugs, could that work maybe? Sq. bugs are the devil once you get them. Good luck!

    Reply to PennyAshevilleNC's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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