Planting Despite rain and pending snow got busy planting starts

ShadowMan

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
Here in the San Bernardino mountains of SoCal, rain rolled in today with 3-8 inches of snow expected through this evening, and here I thought spring arrived. Had a bunch of bare root starts that just came in and I wanted to get them into pots to get roots started and ready for planting in the ground. The PITA here is that every thing you put into the ground here, besides it filled with rocks....LOTS OF ROCKS and BIG ROCKS is the damn gophers. If you don't cage the roots those gopher will eat the roots down to numbs killing whatever you planted, brambles, fruit trees, etc.

Blackberry - Baby cakes
Raspberry - Shortcake
Gooseberry - Oregon Champion
Blueberry - Legacy
Elderberry - two varieties: Ranch & Adams

Also ready to go into the ground this season that started as bare roots last year are:

Apple trees: Braeburn, Jon-A-Red, Granny Smith, Arkansas Black
Cherry trees: two no names that I transplanted from a bad location.
Peach tree: Elberta x 2
Asian Pear: Peggy
Pear trees: Barlett
Raspberry: Bushel & Berry x 3, Shortcake
Pinon Pine (pine nut) x 5
Elderberry: Black - Sambucus niger

I'm going to be digging and lining a LOT of holes with "gopher wire" this season. Nothing like building for the future. :eleph:
 
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Toosh

Toosh

Veteran Member
ShadowMan said:
I'm going to be digging and lining a LOT of holes with "gopher wire" this season. Nothing like building for the future. :eleph:
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I've never regretted having berries and fruit trees. Well worth the work.

I know what you mean about gopher wire. Everything wants to eat what I want to eat. I deal with ground hogs, raccoons, moles, possum, skunk and squirrels. If you think that menagerie is out in the boonies, you're wrong. I'm downtown, one block from main street!!

Wear gloves and have a tall one when done.
 
ShadowMan

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
Toosh said:
Everything wants to eat what I want to eat. I deal with ground hogs, raccoons, moles, possum, skunk and squirrels.
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Oh I know what you mean Toosh! :bhd: No ground hogs here, but you can add: chipmunks and deer to our competition here. When we add chickens to our little mountain homestead we'll have to plan to deal with coyotes, foxes, bears and mountain lions.....OH MY! :eek:
 
H

hd5574

Veteran Member
We have snow peas in, about 5 kinds of lettuce,carrots, bok choy,radish in...planting new asparagus crowns..too early for other things...
 
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Wildwood

Veteran Member
Toosh said:
I've never regretted having berries and fruit trees. Well worth the work.

I know what you mean about gopher wire. Everything wants to eat what I want to eat. I deal with ground hogs, raccoons, moles, possum, skunk and squirrels. If you think that menagerie is out in the boonies, you're wrong. I'm downtown, one block from main street!!

Wear gloves and have a tall one when done.
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DS is in a similar position and he has gotten very proficient with a sling shot he made just for the purpose. Last year he took out a big old possum that killed one of his chickens. He skinned it, tanned the hide and used the fur to line a possum board he made for his friend's dulcimer...that was his favorite chicken. His poor wife is a city girl and I bet she wonders sometimes just what she got herself into lol. He's proof a country boy can survive living in the city. He has more trouble with wildlife in his garden and messing with his chickens than we do out in the country.
 
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summerthyme

Administrator
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ShadowMan said:
Still waiting for spring to show up. Just got another 8 inches to a foot of snow in the SoCal mountains....yesterday?!?! WTF?!?!? :bhd:
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In the mountains, it's generally not planting season until Memorial day. What zone do they say you are in? And *much* more important, what are the dates of your first and last frosts?

I have been saying for several years that the seasons seem to have been "moved forward" by a few weeks... it's been staying hot into September, winter (in terms of snowfall and frozen ground) doesn't hit until January, and Spring, at lleastin terms of reliable warmth delays until late April.

It has wreaked havoc with fruit production, as the "between" months (March and April, especially) often have a few "tease" weeks that get the plants all excited... and then the freeze takes the buds and blossoms.

We're doing more with cold frames and cloches (hot caps... essentially individual cold frames for baby plants). I save all reasonably sized clear juice bottles. I cut the bottom off, but leaving a couple of "tabs" on two sides... about 1"x2" long. I drill/melt a small hole in the tab, and use earth staples to secure it to the soil.)

If it's still freezing weather, I leave the caps on, but as soon as it begins warming up (or even on sunny days that aren't well below freezing) I remove them so the plants don't cook.

It generally gives me at least a 3 week jump on the season, and much earlier harvests.

Summerthyme
 
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ShadowMan

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
Our planting zone is 8A here on the mountain, last normal frost date is April 1st. Right now we have 6-8 inches of snow on the ground.....so much for global warming. :rolleyes:

Now, by this time next year I'll have a greenhouse to start seedlings in.
 
W

Wildwood

Veteran Member
moldy said:
Started some peppers and tomatoes - and herbs. You can't see it, but it's snowing outside.

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Your starts are looking really good! What are the more mature plants on the side? I assume you have some kind of grow light over them.

Mine are on my dining room table every year and I have to take them in and out every single day. DH wants to build a little greenhouse but I'm afraid we'll have a heating failure and lose all my plants.
 
TerriHaute

TerriHaute

Hoosier Gardener
I started peppers, onions, cabbage, celery, and and basil from seed so far. I'll probably start tomatoes this week. The only thing planted outside from those seedlings is the cabbage. It has been too wet and cold to till the garden, but I have done some work in the 4 raised beds....that's where the cabbage is. I also planted some onion sets and moved strawberry plants to a new location, one raised bed to another because they had been taken over by witch grass. Other than that, the only things planted in the raised beds are onion sets and peas. One raised bed is just loaded with cilantro volunteers.
 
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seraphima

Veteran Member
My parsley seedlings are up inside and just getting true leaves. However, most every thing else is waiting for the end of April to start, as we are having a rather late spring. The very first crocuses only began opening a bit three days ago. Potatoes are chitting in the basement, and the garlic planted outside last fall is still snuggled down under mulch. Bought onion sets a week ago. My church is on the Julian calendar, so Easter isn't until May 5, which will work out just about perfect.
 
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