The Garden on Jan 24 - Photo Update on Actinovate vs. Myco-Grow

[rnewste]

Well, our "typical" January weather has returned; 60's during the day and 40's at night. Rain all week (and we in N.California are quite happy about the rain!).

Seedlings started Jan 1 are mostly doing well. Non-starters: Big Beef, Cuostralee, KBX, and Red Robin re-seeded today. Purple Haze F1 cuttings have rooted well and have been transplanted into individual pots.



Outside, my Purple Haze plants furthest away from the house wall got hit hard by the frost 3 weeks ago, but fruit are still ripening:



Wes continues to develop and I am hopeful it will start to blush before we get a hard freeze:



The Snow Peas survived the freeze and seem to be going well:



Still producing nice tasting pods for stir-fry:



The run-off between Actinovate (left) Myco-Grow (center) continues to outpace the vigor of the plants in the "control" 'Tainer (right):



In the front yard, the Camellias are flowering nicely:



...and the Fuchsia plants are living much longer than expected this year:



..now going out to pick a bowl of Snow Peas with dinner tonight....

Ray

[Wi-sunflower]

Do you know that Fuchsias are tender perennials ??

Take them in the house, maybe the basement. Cool but not freezing area. Cut back on water, but don't totally dry it out. They will drop their leaves and look like they are dying, but they are just dicidious, like trees. Give them a couple of months rest. Then around late March put somewhere where they will get more light but not where it will be too hot. They should sprout shortly there after.

If it works for you, you can then take cuttings if you want to make more plants. Or just enjoy the bigger plant you will then have.

My directions may not be spot on as it's been a long time since I've wintered over any of them. You might want to check on the web for a bit better info.

[rnewste]

Wi-sunflower,

Thanks very much for the over-wintering tips. I was simply going to let them eventually freeze. I have a pair of these at the front entrance and they were very colorful throughout this past year. I definitely would like to save them to return next season.

Thanks!

Ray

[remy]

It looks so bizarre to see tomato seedlings and large tomato plants outside the window.
The snow peas look wonderful, and the flowers are very pretty. I'm jealous! It is very cold here right now. It is the snowiest and coldest winters we've had in a long long time. It is like the ones you remember.
Remy

[rnewste]

Hi Remy,

Yeah, I do feel for you. Growing up, our house was on the shore of Lake Ontario and I remember getting up in the morning and having to spend sometimes an hour or more shoveling snow out of the driveway after an on-shore blizzard had landed upon us.

Ray

[remy]

I understand! I grew up in Lewiston on top of the escarpment where snow and wind were in perfect harmony with each other in a house with a long driveway. Even though we now live in the snowblower/plow service era(sort of like central air, no one had that when we we young,)I still look at houses with long driveways and think about the amount of time it takes to shovel!
Remy

[Penny]

Oh wow, everything looks great, considering some were hit by the frost, your snow peas look huge!!

[rnewste]

UPDATE ON FEB 8:

Here is a photo update 2 weeks later now. As you can see from the initial post, the Actinovate 'Tainer on the left continues to outgrow the Myco-Grow (center) by a slight margin, while the "control" 'Tainer on the right significantly lags the other two. Right now, I would rank the Actinovate one at a "10" with the Myco-Grow at a "9", and the plain control one at a "7".



In terms of flower count and actual pea pod production, here is the Actinovate 'Tainer. This one has the most vigorous vines and overall production:



Ray

[Polar_Lace]

Well Ray, they look bigger for sure; but how do they taste? Is the flavor as well as you expect it to be? Has the "uncontrolled one" produced any edible peas yet? Have you done any taste comparisons between the 3 plants? If so then please let us know.

Thanks,

~* Robin

[rnewste]

Robin,

I did kind of a blind taste test by taking one pod from each 'Tainer, took the three in my hands and mixed them up so I couldn't tell which pod came from which 'Tainer. Bottom line: they all tasted nice and sweet with identical "crunch" to the bite.

Frankly, I would have been surprised if there was a noticeable difference in taste. All I am seeing is that both the Actinovate and Myco-Grow increase the quantity of fruit, as well as vigor of the plant. As these plants mature, I will take a measurement on the length of the pods.

Ray

[remy]

They all look great! You really can see a size difference though.
Remy