Fwd: Seasons of the Witch-reply

Hi, all!

I am forwarding my reply to Joe's question to the list, as he thought it might
be of interest to the group. I will add a few caveats. 

First, my reply was based upon my 20 years of residence here in East Central
Florida. My latitude is approx 28.5, and Tim's is approx 27.5, which keeps us
warm year round. Anyone who has visited Disney here in Orlando or the Gulf
coast areas around Tampa/St. Pete knows what the landscape looks like (mostly
palms, citrus and sub-tropical plants and succulents). Tim lives south of St.
Pete, on the Gulf, which is warmer than Orlando, generally. 

We both have unique growing conditions and to give you an idea of what living
here is like, Tim's neighborhood has wild parrots (instead of pidgeons) that
sit on the power lines and chatter, while the primeval woods surrounding the
St. John's River near me is home to wild monkeys. 
 
Our water temps from the underground springs are 72 degrees 24/7; people swim
in their backyard pools year round as well. I mention this because so many
posts on the list have to do with cold well water and it's affects on pumpkin
plants. Water temp is one thing we do not worry about in FL. 

It is also important to mention that although many states belong to the SPGA,
we all don't share the same growing conditions, topography or soil. The GA red
clay, the dark loam of the Carolinas and VA and the rich soil of TN, KY and WV
differs from the sandy soil we have. Also, this year, we did not have a frost,
which is a very tough thing to predict. Because of Florida's temperate climate
and perpetual growing season, many diseases and insects winter over, fungus
spores included, just waiting for us to till the soil and plant. 

Barb

-- BEGIN included message

  • To: M*@doaks.org
  • Subject: Fwd: Seasons of the Witch-reply
  • From: C*@aol.com
  • Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 14:14:47 EDT
Joe:

Our seasons are not shorter here. We celebrate Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter
the same time you do. We just don't have snow and severe cold like you do. We
kind of have a perpetual summer, with June-September being the hottest.

What we do have is fewer deciduous trees, so that leaves don't change color in
the fall. They simply turn brown and drop. No cold weather or shortened
daylight hours to trigger the color change. Palms do not change year round. 

Our latitude improves our position to the sun, so that even in the winter
months, we can have 85 degree days and 10-12 hours of sunlight daily. We do,
however, have extreme cold snaps, sometimes causing frost. It never lasts more
than a few hours overnight, when the sun comes up, it's back up to 80 degrees.

A cold snap for us is 38-40 degrees. Bupkus for you guys. 

Planting in the early spring (your mid-winter months) like late Jan or Feb is
a good bet for AG growers. We planted March 11, about two-three weeks later
than we hoped to. Now you see why....pumpkin matured too quickly in the heat
and humidity. Our overnight temps are 89-91 right now, with daytime temps in
the high 90's. No evening reprieve for the plants. They need the cooler,
overnight temps to grow slow and steady.

Tim and I had discussed planting AGs in September, for harvest at Christmas or
early in Jan. We think we might try it this year. We rarely have frost before
Jan, and the humidity lets up in Oct.

The humidity here is the real killer. Bugs grow to Jurassic proportions and
the molds spread like wildfire.

Well, I guess I'll end for now. Good luck, and I know from experience that the
DC humidity is a force to be reckoned with. You can cut it with a knife at
times.

Will talk more later.

Barb

-- BEGIN included message

  • To: "'pumpkins@mallorn.com'" <pumpkins@mallorn.com>
  • Subject: Seasons of the Witch
  • From: "* J* <M*@doaks.org>
  • Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 11:00:02 -0400
I am just a bit confused on this question of seasonal shifts from north
to south. Forgetting about weigh-off dates, if we simply plant earlier
and earler as we travel through southern latudes do we end up with
comparable seasons? I know from the stats that we don't so what else is
involved here? Why are the seasons shorter in the south? Heat, yes, but
we can plant earlier to avoid that. Mike Nepereny, you should be able to
explain this to hard-headed Zoo Doo.

ZOO
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