[phoebe]

Anyone out there doing any winter gardening? Right now I'm feeding my slug population with a nice variety of lettuces and brussels sprouts , and I'm getting the first small growth from broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, pickling cukes, and mesclun.
And I just ordered my first ever tomato seeds yesterday. Very, very jazzed! I've grown from plants, but figured I should try the TOTAL experience.
Anybody else growing stuff (indoors or out)?

[phatch]

I'm having a willow removed. Probably 70 feet high, 3 feet through the trunk. Rotten except for the outer few inches.

I planted 200 more bulbs two days ago. If it stays as dry, I'll work some more on my hardscape. I pray we get snow or there will be nothing to garden. Outside watering will likely be forbidden.

Phil

[chef1x]

KILL the SLUGS!!!

How do you grow mesclun??

I am only worthy of growing cuban oregano, non-edible jade plants, some form of aloe, geraniums, etc.

[cape chef]

Chef1x,

I would recommend a hotbox approach to your Mesclun.At least to get them started.

Wait till March though.

[phoebe]

Phil,
I'm in awe of your bulb-planting. We were given just a few daffodil bulbs and planted them, but know nothing about bulbs. If we don't get a frost, how long do they take to start showing through?

Chef1x,

Slugs are either smarter than we think or reproduce faster than we can imagine.
I've had some success with beer-bait (you set out a bowl of cheap beer at night and find some floating slug bodies in the morning--a gastropod b-movie) And recently tried sprinkling cheap coffee on and around the lettuces on the advice from a gardening forum. But still find the occasional slug and bites out of the best leaves.

[chef1x]

Wait a sec!

When I lived in the "Bay Area" I was instructed to put out frisbees full of brewski to take care of the slugs and snails. Basically, it worked, but there was always the hand-to-hand combat with dissenters, smashed them with bricks, or something This was primarily for the apple and tomato crops. Not anything like the passive crops in SoCa.

[phatch]

Bulbs shoots depends on the type and the weather. I normally see some crocus shoots in late december and early january. Right now, all I see are dandelion sprouts. I don't think it's been cold enough here to really trigger the bulbs yet.

Daffodils, I've never planted. There were a bunch in the back yard when I bought the house. They are later arrivers than the crocus. They tend to come on a bit after the crocus are finishing up.

I get crocus first, then the dwarf dutch Iris, then the tulips and daffodils at about the same time.

The bulbs I planted were the dwarf iris. A bit old and some were dried out. I think I'll get about 2/3 success with them.

[mudbug]

phoebe,

Good for you on getting started early, you may find this Winter Gardening Forum interesting information.

[phoebe]

Thanks cchiu! I occasionally post lame questions at GardenWeb (I think I like the Vegetable gardening people better than the rather intimidating Tomato people), but I never noticed the winter gardening forum before! Even though winter isn't Winter out here, those posts are pretty helpful as well as interesting.