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market-farming - Re: Freezing temperatures/Cold frames

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  • From: Joan Vibert <joan AT windwalker-farm.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Freezing temperatures/Cold frames
  • Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 09:47:38 -0600


Jill - I'd bring them in for tonight but I think they are probably going to
be fine. We've put onion transplants in the ground as early as late March
and braved these lower temperatures with good success. I was just noticing
yesterday the number of wintered over onions that are popping up everywhere
in beds.

And I have a question for the list - I have a really strong infestation of
aphids in the hoop house right now - mostly in last year's chard. I also
have lettuce that I will, hopefully, cut for next week's market event in KC.
The lettuce looks okay and I feel certain that just cutting the leaves in a
mix and soaking them in cold water with a drop of liquid detergent will get
rid of any aphids they have (I know because we've been eating the lettuce.)
So here's my question - do I leave the chard for the week sort of as a trap
crop to keep the aphids in place? Or do I pull it all now and, if so, will
the aphids jump to the lettuces thus rendering them unusable for market?
And after I cut the market lettuce what is the best method to get rid of the
aphids? I've sprayed with a soap spray once but then noticed I was running
off tons of lady bugs and garden spiders who were feasting there.

I'll also provide a warning - My peppers were germinating erratically in the
flats - sort of in a oval shape in the center, thus leaving the outer rows
ungerminated. They were on the propagation mats (the kind w/o a thermostat)
so I thought I'd spread the heat better by putting cardboard under the mats
because they were on open wire shelving. Friday morning I checked them and
had fried the center seedlings. A few have come back but a couple of
varieties, like my purples, will have to be restarted - and I was already
late in starting them anyway. This might be a good lesson in trying to get
by with cheap mats. What do others put their mats on?

joan
windwalker farm
ottawa, kansas

p.s. we have snow possibilities for tonight and tomorrow and into Tuesday -
pretty weird!






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