BYC gardening thread!!

[lazy gardener]

Beautiful job.

 

[hennible]

X2

 

[Kendrain]

That is so nice. Good job.

 

[Kraftcrazychick]

It looks lovely @Peep_Show !

I'm waiting for it to consistently warm up outside so I can take my plants out. My green beans are starting to climb each other and attach to the wire shelving above them.

 

[RichnSteph]

Yay! Another thread for garden fun and advice!

So I have a question for all you multi-year gardeners out there. We're in zone 8b (Texas) and just got our garden started this last weekend. We'd wanted lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli and a Swiss chard or two but were unable to find plants, only seeds. We have been told that those plants won't grow during the summer here but I remember my grandmother growing lettuce, spinach, cauliflower and broccoli and everything else she wanted all year long out by the lake house. We have seeds for the above mentioned plants so we can start them in the house and run them out to the AP system once they are about 4 inches tall. By that time they'll be partially shaded by the taller pepper and tomato plants that are already growing.

Any real reason not to try it? As additional information the water in our AP system is 15-20 degrees cooler than the outside air so our grow beds remain cooler than the surrounding soil.

Thanks bunches!

RichnSteph.

 

[hennible]

Try it, the only thing to lose is a few seeds. You might find that good shade will be enough... I grow cool weather plants in the summer in my greenhouse in the shade of the heat loving crops... It gets into the high 30s even 40s in my greenhouse (Celsius) kale, peas, lettuce, Swiss chard, carrots etc do fairly well despite the heat.

 

[vehve]

I think with lettuce it's the germination that's tricky, I read somewhere you'll run into trouble above 20C (68F if my head is working correctly). But if you can start them in a cooler place, I don't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

 

[RichnSteph]

Try it, the only thing to lose is a few seeds. You might find that good shade will be enough... I grow cool weather plants in the summer in my greenhouse in the shade of the heat loving crops... It gets into the high 30s even 40s in my greenhouse (Celsius) kale, peas, lettuce, Swiss chard, carrots etc do fairly well despite the heat.

I think with lettuce it's the germination that's tricky, I read somewhere you'll run into trouble above 20C (68F if my head is working correctly). But if you can start them in a cooler place, I don't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

Thanks folks. We'll start a couple of each in the house this week and I'll post up pictures of them once they go to grow beds.

 

[vehve]

I'd put them under a growlight though. I've got some lettuce in the window and it looks like it's really suffering from a lack of light.

 

[hennible]

I only direct seed lettuce. Unless you count growing a salad bin indoors, I use a light for that or a really nice southern window.