Gardening in rainy weather and how to dry out the mud - Page 2

 
We're out towards Walterville near the MacKenzie - think our weather
is very similar.  Our tomatoes didn't really start ripening last
summer until well into August.  They were late, but great. It wasn't
so much the late start, but the cooler temps - particularly at night -
that delayed ripening.  Everybody had green tomatoes for what seemed
like forever here last year and it didn't seem to matter whether
they'd planted well developed plants or 6 pack seedlings.

We designed & built a small  (8'x 3.5' ) shed style greenhouse 2 years
ago in a sheltered area up next to the house.  Gets what sun there
is.  Glad we have it, but even with the heat lamp, it's just too cold
in there to germinate seeds. In a larger greenhouse, like the 10 x 20
you're talking about, heaters and vents would give you a lot more
flexibility. Envy you the slab - we just don't have a good location
for a big greenhouse on our property.  If you do try a greenhouse,
would suggest you still consider investing in the heat mats - they
make all the difference in the world germinating seeds.

Nancy T

 
Ah, I know where that is. I'd guess you're about 25 miles SSE of me. You're
up in the hills a bit - what is your elevation? How much snow did you get
last week? We got about 6-8 inches the first day, and then a couple of
dustings afterwards. And my garden, like yours, is mud and muck.

Do you grow beans or okra? When do you plant them, and how well do they
grow? I've not had much luck with okra at all, and my beans tend to pick up
disease easily, and don't usually make through the end of the season. I
tried some chinese noodle beans last year, and they did not grow well.

 
Even my lawn is a squishy mess...we got a foot+ of snow - the last
traces are still melting in the rain. The gardens are hopeless, with
no immediate clear weather in sight for another week.  Our place is on
a hill at about 700 feet.  Looked like a Christmas card last week, but
unfortunately the heavy, wet snow did a lot of damage to our trees -
several old favorite plum trees aren't worth trying to save.  Managed
to shake the snow off of lilacs & smaller trees, but the big, mature
trees were hopeless.  Lots more snow as you drive upriver - a friend
in MacKenzie Bridge has several feet with more every time we get rain
down here.  Got stuck in a parking lot in Vida just yesterday - they
had more snow over the weekend. Saw lots of breakage in the filbert
groves along 126. Snow line was at Leaburg over the weekend, so we
just got more rain here.  Enough already with the precipitation!

Beans & Okra I don't plant.  There are just 2 of us and we'd be
overwhelmed.  We mostly stick to tomatoes, strawberries, and herbs.
Do have friends who grow beans who swear by Territorial Seeds - have
you tried them?  They have a good web site that's fun to dream over on
winter nights.
Nancy T