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Post by tbird on Apr 5, 2015 10:00:49 GMT -5
I am planting my indoor cukes today. It was 2 or 3 years ago that I did that before and it was not a great success. that was the year we had a super hot summer, a string of days over 100 and hit the chicago ever high of 105 degrees. it got too hot for them on the back porch - which tends to have a greenhouse effect of intensifying heat.
The next year - I decided not to, but it would have been perfect for them, lol! Always a year off and all that!
Doing them again this year. I want to get one of those thermometer things that records low and high temps, so I can know what outside temp low means what enclosed porch low for the night. To be secure in placing them in the porch, I would need for the lows to be plus 20 degrees in the back porch. This seems somewhat reasonable. it has all windows to the nne, a window and glass door to the see, and the nww and sse walls are solid and are interior walls of the house - so likely a bit of heat transfer there from the 70 interior. of course, I'd like to get that thermometer deal to be sure, lol!
I'll be able to pull them into the kitchen for a day or two of a real spell, until they get too gangly. Alternately - I could add some heat out there.....
Anyhoo - aside from that tangent - anyone else doing the indoor cukes? I am doing diva and tasty jade.
As a note: these are the hothouse or whatever cukes that don't need pollination. Unlike outdoor cukes, they like a minimum temp of 60 rather than 50 for the nighttime lows.
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 6, 2015 9:00:19 GMT -5
I only do outdoor cukes and they are direct seeded.
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Post by tbird on Apr 6, 2015 9:04:09 GMT -5
of course - whenever you take a chance, the weather goes against you the predicted low was 44, but got down to 36 last night. I left all my newly planted flower flats as well as the cukes in the back porch. I am airing out the 'underground' area (basement light set up) due to some random flies hatching out of my potting soil. Just small annoyances, not an infestation or true plant pests. But - I didn't want to take anymore stuff with moist soil for them until they 'go away'..... outdoors is up to 50 already, so nothing to do now.....if the cuke seeds don't show in 7-10 days, I will replant.
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Post by tbird on Apr 11, 2015 12:48:23 GMT -5
There was a suspicious bump in the tasty jade pot, and sure enough! When I watered 2 sprouters were poking through!
No sign on the diva yet.
When I planted there was 40- mid 40 lows in the 10 day forecast. Already - 4 days in the 30's, lowest thus far is 34. After another cool front came in I took the pots and put them on the radiator in the kitchen for a bit of bottom heat, I figured they didn't need sun until they sprouted anyway.....glad to see the sprouting in action.
10 day forecast includes lows from 42 to 55, unfortunately the 55 is soon and the 42 is a bit later on. These are planted in fairly big and heavy pots, so I don't like to be moving them in and out of the porch area a lot.....
Welp - cukes in 54 days! I hope!
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Post by lisaann on Apr 12, 2015 9:18:31 GMT -5
I always love to read a thread where someone is excited about a project!
Thanks tbird!
I get excited with you!
I'm going to direct seed some next month.
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Post by tbird on Apr 12, 2015 9:30:19 GMT -5
Outside cukes are hit or miss for me. If something gets em, they die right before the harvesting starts....if they make, way too many, lol! usually - they get hit with one thing or another first. :(
I'll trying pickling ones outside, and maybe some slicers depending on what the indoor cukes are doing. The back porch windows face approx. SEE to SEEE, so they'll get sun from about 6-7 am to 11:30 am....We will see how it goes.
A third tasty jade poked through! So - 100% germination and I didn't really want that.....It's a pretty big pot, 11 deep by 11 across, but pushing it for even 1 cuke! I'm no killer, I can't bear to snip off the little sprouts I coaxed into existance...I'll think about how to maintain fertility in there.....
If those divas don't pop up soon, I may try an early transplant of one of the Jades....but I don't want to disturb the divas if they are working their way up...
decisions! decisions!
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 12, 2015 10:02:53 GMT -5
I'm no killer, I can't bear to snip off the little sprouts I coaxed into existance... I know, I feel the same way but I thin my sprouts anyway. Research has shown that plants do better if their roots are not crowded. I planted eggplant seeds for the first time this year and I put 2 seeds per pot and got 100% germination. I didn't want to do it but I pulled one seedling out of each pot and then I worried about if the remaining one died but they are all flourishing so I think that I made the right decision. I really didn't need 6 eggplant plants. These are something I have never grown before and I am kind of excited about it. They are the long skinny kind and I have 3 different colors, purple, pink and white. The seeds were color coded so I should have one of each.
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Post by tbird on Apr 12, 2015 10:40:32 GMT -5
ping tong long is my favorite eggplant. so far, only thai and asian cooking, not italian so can't speak to that.
With my fresh eggplant, I found to put it into the cooking with the mushrooms, they are so tender they cook up quick. Store bought I put in early.
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Post by OregonRed on Apr 12, 2015 12:15:59 GMT -5
I only eat the long skinny "Japanese" eggplant anymore. they are so delicate and creamy - reminds me of creamy zucchini. I can eat them straight, steamed with butter. I also make babaganush and summer favorite ratatoullie!
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 12, 2015 18:30:43 GMT -5
I thought that I didn't like eggplant until my neighbor gave me some of the skinny ones last year. I made ratatouille and it was wonderful. I am looking forward to making it again and trying some different things too.
The pack from Renee's Garden's is called Asian Trio and contains 3 hybrids - Asian Bride, Charming and Farmer's Long. They look really pretty.
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Post by desertwoman on Apr 12, 2015 18:47:51 GMT -5
hmmm I've always said I don't like eggplant, either. Maybe I need to try some of those long skinny ones. But I'm going to buy some to eat at the farmers market this summer to check them out. Not willing to use some of my precious growing space on a gamble that I might like them. It is eggplant, after all.
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 12, 2015 18:55:56 GMT -5
It was like night and day comparing them to those big, fat seedy purple things although I have eaten the big kind breaded and fried and it was not too bad. I just don't eat a lot of fried food and I am not going to grow something that needs to be fried.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Apr 12, 2015 19:02:09 GMT -5
Tried eggplant parmesan a loooong time ago...it was okay....haven't liked it since. I wouldn't grow it myself but if my family wanted it I would grow it for them. I will have to ask now that you all got me going on it. I will have to look at Agway to see what they have.
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Post by tbird on Apr 13, 2015 9:30:06 GMT -5
I tried to extract that 3rd jade from the pot, I was determined to visit all the stress of it on the extracted one so as not to disturb the other two.....welp - I ended up pulling the sprout leaves off, and I felt terrible!
I found a large family of slugs under a few bricks yesterday. About 7-8 biggies that were really fat and maybe 3" long when they were trying to locomote. Then there were 2 super slender babies that were pitch black? ever hear of that? different species - or the babies?
I couldn't kill them all. They so looked like a family with the adults and children.....I gathered them up onto one of the bricks, and took it out front. I did place it face up to give the birds a chance if they wanted, but that the slugs had a chance too...
I know I have issues, obviously. I feel bad killing bugs in the house.....I need therapy......or to secret myself away in a tibetian monastery or something.
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Post by tbird on Apr 13, 2015 9:31:31 GMT -5
I have killed a few slugs in the garden so far this year. Alot of the time I get them on the edge of trowel and catapult them away from the garden area......
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