Still eating fresh out of the garden?

[Marko]

Christine, common sage is very hardy (at least to -20C/-4F) and needs no winter protection.

[cdbva]

Originally Posted by Marko

Christine, common sage is very hardy (at least to -20C/-4F) and needs no winter protection.

Excellent! It should be okay then. Thank you, Marko.

Christine

[b54red]

Piegirl, we've been growing or rather attempting for 30 years and a few years ago found the closest thing to a sure fire method. We start the seed in an air conditioned room in early August and when the seedlings are big enough we transplant into individual cups that are then set out in a shady cool location in late Sept. When the weather cools a little we set them out in full sun to harden them even more and usually set out into the garden in late Oct. or first week in Nov. Plant them in soil that has been heavily amended with compost, cottonseed meal and alfalfa pellets. I also like to add just a bit of basic slag to increase the amount of iron available. We then fertilize with a balanced liquid fertilizer every 2 or 3 weeks because they are very heavy feeders and you want to get as much size on them as possible before really cold weather sets in. We set up a way of covering them with plastic when severe cold snaps arrive though they seem to be able to take colder weather better than most plants. In Feb. when they start showing the first signs of sprouts we add a little household ammonia to the fertilizer to give them a little boost of nitrogen and start breaking or cutting off the lower leaves as the sprouts are forming. Ours were producing very heavily in March and April with stalks several inches thick and plants over 3 ft tall. As soon as it starts getting the least bit hot we cut out the center growth tip to allow for faster sprout formation. As soon as we start having constant warm weather the sprouts become loose and leafy and get dug up.
If you can figure out a way to overwinter some in the garden you should make plenty with your longer spring. This method has worked consistently on what I once considered the most difficult veggie to produce.

Originally Posted by piegirl

Been picking about 2 cups a week of small broccoli heads for the last 3 weeks. Yesterday's was probably the last. Parsnips are still in the ground. And picked a large amount of parsley yesterday to freeze. Many years my plants live over and produce a fabulous amount in early spring, then go to seed. Aw - the brussel sprouts - incredible plants w/ lots of very loose leafed florets - nothing solid to eat, don't know the cause but they are cute. Don't think anything will come of them. Piegirl

[Ruth_10]

I'm thinking Piegirl, being in Nebraska, might have a hard time wintering her sprouts over. She probably gets some sustained single digit F or lower temps, and that (in my experience), without a lot of snowcover to insulate them, does damage to the plants.

I found that I had been starting them and planting them out too late--they hadn't matured (with sprouts) before the really damaging cold weather hit. This year I started my BS (in the basement, under lights) in later May/early June, potted them up and hardened them off as appropriate, and planted out in July. I try to plant a couple of different varieties with different DTMs so I can hedge my bets on the weather.

I know whatever critter that more than once topped several of the plants was most appreciative of my efforts.