Author Topic: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020  (Read 61624 times)

Roots&Wings

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #150 on: February 28, 2020, 10:57:33 AM »
@Raenia I hadn't heard of several either! The joys of subtropical gardening (zone 9B/10A), used to live up north and definitely understand the long wait for spring.

@Rosy thanks so much, I will check that out. Your passion flower is gorgeous!

Bought the fruit trees and passion flower (purple possum & a yellow variety which is supposedly more cold hardy but slightly more acidic) from a guy out of Jupiter, FL who sells on both ebay and Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/9waters.

My recollection is star fruit is best grafted from a nursery, rather than from seed, Kari and Bell are the sweetest varieties. Got a Kari from a local plant sale a couple years ago, it's now about 6' tall, and loaded with over 50+ fruits. I didn't know they're supposed to be wind intolerant, and it's doing fine in a moderately windy spot!
« Last Edit: February 28, 2020, 10:59:27 AM by Roots&Wings »

Rosy

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #151 on: February 28, 2020, 12:41:01 PM »
You gotta be kidding @Roots&Wings - that Blackberry Jam Fruit tree really has blackberry jam ready made inside the fruit - courtesy of Mother Nature.
OK then, I had to have one.
But then, it's fragrant and evergreen and looks and smells like gardenia - so I got two:).
This thing checked all my boxes - it's a big bush - so easy to harvest.
It doesn't mind a container - so I'll try one in a container in case I kill the one in the garden.
In case you are interested: Found some good plant info at https://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/plant_wk/randia.htm

I'm smitten:). Imagine blackberry jam off the tree.
Makes me think of the saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin - Beer is proof that God loves us:)
Jam and no work involved is every bit as good - now where is that beer tree?



Had to let the star fruit idea go - not at all suited for my garden, unfortunately. Glad I did a bit more research on this.

Rosy

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #152 on: February 28, 2020, 02:15:46 PM »
The DH and I finished filling the raised bed (12x3x2ft) with soil this weekend.  Tired, dirty and in the rapidly approaching dark, I still couldn't resist planting peas, kale, beets & parsnips in the freshly filled bed.

Indoors, still tired, but cleaner and well lit, I planted tomatoes, cucumbers & brussels sprouts in homemade newspaper pots.

Homemade newspaper pots, that's brilliant - so spill, how do you do yours?:)
I have a few rare seeds (the kind where they only give you five seeds) and I thought that I might buy some pots that disintegrate since I don't want to disturb the young seedlings/plantlings too much when I put them in the ground or a bigger pot.

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #153 on: February 29, 2020, 04:31:32 AM »
Love the southern gardening discussion!  It's surreal to read it while looking out the window at snow on the ground.  Those plants are crazy cool.

My only tropical-ish planting this year is that my pomegranate tree has survived another winter in its pot, and I am finally going to put it in the ground.  I'm out of zone, but I'm going to give it a go.  I'm already growing banana trees, figs, and tea out of zone, so I think I can do it.  Fingers crossed.


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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #154 on: March 01, 2020, 12:46:01 PM »
Agreed @Trifele --we are recommended to wait until Mid-may to plant in my area (mountainous region) so it seems unbelievable!

I have happily set my goal for the day to inventory what I have, then order any necessary seeds from West Coast seeds. We only have two garden boxes (in a community garden) and some patio pots but it takes some planning since not much grows here. Would like to try a few new things like amaranth and wasabi arugula.

trashtalk

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #155 on: March 01, 2020, 08:07:35 PM »
Found a bunch of sprouting Russet potatoes in the cupboard; will try to make a "potato tower" with some huge pots I got from our Buy Nothing Group.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #156 on: March 02, 2020, 05:14:41 PM »
Getting a little antsy to get going here. In the past I’ve planted peas in the last week of February a few times and here it is the first week of March and it just feels a little bit too cold, with overnight temps down in the low single digits, and highs struggling to reach double digit Celsius. I expect my spinach, which I haven’t seen in over a week (my garden is on an island, and I’m quite often not there), is probably not happy with this, as cold hardy as it can be. I’m sure my garlic is happy and around now my horseradish patch should be showing signs of life but I want to start planting things in earnest. Peas, most of all. As veggie gardeners we all know the joy of eating peas right off the vine. Just need a bit more warmth.

The good news is that I have a whole host of starts happily growing under lights indoors. All sorts of brassicas (kale, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli), onions, lettuce and some backup spinach. The spinach starts will go in soon to compliment the directly sown spinach (assuming it’s still alive) and for the rest, given some seasonable temps, will get transplanted out in early April.

*Jon_Snow goes back to examining the extended forecast*

NinetyFour

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #157 on: March 02, 2020, 07:20:22 PM »
On a sadder note, I cut a few trees down in order to give my garden site more sun in the months to come....and in falling one tree I made an error in anticipating it’s trajectory of decent and it landed square on my magnificent overwintered kale and collards patch. It wasn’t pretty. So, with a deep sigh I pulled the plants (after a last kale/collard harvest) and put them in the compost.

ACK!!  :(

horsepoor

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #158 on: March 03, 2020, 06:04:47 AM »
It's so interesting to hear all the things that are being grown in the sub-tropical climes!

Here it was 25F yesterday morning, though it's supposed to hit 65 by the end of the week.  I planted peppers and eggplants 2 weeks ago and have lots of little sprouts coming up.  Last weekend I did a flat of tomatoes and a flat of cole crops and lettuces.  I have my cups of soil (re-using stacks of Sonic cups my co-worker brings me) ready to seed my alliums and assorted herbs. 

Hoping I can get work squared away so I can take Thursday and Friday afternoons off to play in the garden (or more like pick up where I left off on cleanup last fall).  I didn't get around to replenishing the horse poo in the fall, so I'm going to need to find some good compost to top up the beds. 

Given that it's been a mild winter, I might also just toss some root vegetable seeds in the ground and see what happens, though it's about a month early.  I'm keeping busy with two horses in training + might be taking a job that will increase my travel, so I'm trying to keep things fairly in hand and not overcommit myself.  We'll se.

Rosy

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #159 on: March 03, 2020, 10:16:03 AM »
I'm so confused...
In the fall I ordered King Tut (seeds were found in King Tuts grave) blue sweet pea seeds because the flowers looked amazing online and I hoped it would have a lovely scent - from the rare seed emporium on Etsy. Now that I'm belatedly ready to plant it (should have started it a few months earlier for a sturdier root system by now(:

Now - I realize this variety isn't really a climber like I thought but a ground cover which is supposed to be great at suppressing weeds. OK then that works for me in the permaculture bed...
But I still want to try one in a flowerbox to trail in the front - we'll see if that works.

This is not an edible variety either, in fact, you will die if you consume too much of it over a period of time - apparently people tried to eat it in times of famine.

It is supposed to be one of the rare annual variety which has a much stronger scent - I'm thrilled about that. The info on how to germinate is all over the place so I guess I'll try my luck using two different methods.
Unfortunately, I only have ten seeds so hopefully one of them will work and hopefully, they will reseed themselves or who knows they might turn into a nuisance plant - we'll see, first I have to get them to sprout.

Seeds are available from other places but from what I could discern there are a number of different varieties out there, some climbing, some perennial and even an electric blue one.
Looks like some species proliferate gardens in the UK - so surely this will turn out to be a lovely plant - right?:).

... and this is why a quick seeding project turns into two hours of research and mild frustration and surprising discoveries.

 

Rosy

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #160 on: March 03, 2020, 12:35:46 PM »
Thanks @SheWhoWalksAtLunch - you answered just in time:) I just started on my second seedling project.
I'll try it with the six really rare seeds that I only have five seeds for. I also came across one seed packet this morning that said the roots don't like to be disturbed so I'll use paper pots for them as well.

centwise

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #161 on: March 03, 2020, 12:58:19 PM »
Thinking about growing vegetables for the first time. Posting to follow! Maybe you all will inspire me. :)

Trifle

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #162 on: March 10, 2020, 07:54:03 AM »
I just got back from my two day beekeeping class at Spikenard Farm in Virginia. MIND. BLOWN.  Thank you thank you @Indio for recommending that.  It was a completely different perspective about beekeeping than any of the classes I've done or books I'd read so far.  Absolutely loved it!  I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about starting with bees, or anyone who already has bees.

Their approach is biodynamic and much less invasive than the conventional thinking, especially on topics like pest monitoring/management, honey-harvesting, and swarming.  It fits very well with my approach to gardening and chicken-keeping.  I'm going to start with this biodynamic approach with my first two hives next month, and see how it goes. 

Jon_Snow

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #163 on: March 10, 2020, 10:22:37 AM »
I’m posting most of my garden related stuff in my Journal lately, but this was just too cool not to bring over here.

I’ve been working in my garden for the past couple of days, getting the beds prepped, planting a few cold hardy things....and cutting back the advancing blackberry hordes. Yesterday I found myself working on last years carrot bed. I knew there would be some overwintered carrots in there. But I was not prepared for what I found.



I pulled out some of the biggest specimens and a quick rinse revealed a pristine carrot crop. And incredibly tasty and sweet....much better tasting than I recall them being last Fall.

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #164 on: March 10, 2020, 11:00:11 AM »
Sweet carro...time! da da dahhhh

Jon_Snow

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #165 on: March 10, 2020, 07:05:03 PM »
Sweet carro...time! da da dahhhh

🤦‍♂️

Indio

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #166 on: March 10, 2020, 08:01:23 PM »
@Trifele That's so exciting that you got to Spikenard. When I first met Gunther, I knew I was in the presence of a bee whisperer. When do your bees arrive? I'm sure they are going to be thrilled living with you.
 
@Jon_Snow What a delightful surprisingly big load of carrots. It's like the Spring bonus round. I've always found that carrots that survived frost and Winter always taste sweeter. There's something about cold weather locking in the natural sweetness.

@Rosy That's a beautiful shade of blue. Fragrant and gorgeous is a fabulous combo. Too bad it's poisonous. It would look lovely in a salad.






Trifle

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #167 on: March 14, 2020, 03:48:20 PM »
Love the carrots @Jon_Snow!  Very pretty.

I planted two beds of potatoes today, one each of French Fingerling and Yukon Gold.  Potatoes are such happy things.  I also fed my 10 blueberry bushes.  Most of them are budding; will hopefully be another good year!

And last but not least, I bought a black currant bush, which I'll plant tomorrow at the end of my row of gooseberries.  I've never grown currants before -- interested to see what they are like.

Hope everyone is doing ok!  Keep calm and garden on.   :)   

chaskavitch

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #168 on: March 15, 2020, 09:11:05 AM »
We just planted our seeds for tomato, tomatillo, and pepper starts.  Last frost here is sometime after Mother's day, so we've got a while for the tender things. 

I also just bought 4 gooseberry bushes and 4 red currant bushes.  We have a flower bed on the edge of our lawn before the rest of our acre starts that is bordered by 4x4s where we're going to put them.  We have another area where we're planning on putting a firepit and a big low-water/native perennial area, so we don't need the beds for actual flowers, and I'm hoping that the gooseberry and currants are less invasive into our lawn than the raspberry bushes we're also planning to get.  I know they're nowhere near as bad as blackberries in the PNW, but my parents have taken to just mowing down the raspberry suckers that pop up in their yard next to their row of raspberry bushes, so I know it's still a problem.  As I was checking out, the cashier told me she has gooseberry bushes - she said "you basically have to gear up in kevlar to avoid the thorns, but it's totally worth it, they're delicious", which is great to hear.

We're in a new-to-us house as of last August, and we have a whole acre of Colorado plains to fill up (and irrigate).  We're focusing on the base of the landscaping right now. 

There's a lawn area of a decent size next to the house.  Past that, we've put in a big old play structure for the kids, some horseshoe pits, and we're putting in a firepit and native plants (as I mentioned above).  Past THAT, we've got about 3x as much garden as we used to, a giant mobile chicken run, and...grass?  I'm going to just throw a bunch of wildflower seeds out there with some native grass seed and see what I get.  We might use it for livestock or meat chickens eventually, but right now it's just sad, mowed-down, clumpy grass.  Flowers will be infinitely better.

We also have a bunch of fruit trees (theoretically).  They didn't actually have any fruit on them last year when we moved in, which seems odd, but I don't know WHY.  Hopefully I'll get a better idea what is going on this spring, and we can prune and plant new trees accordingly.  I'd love to have some fruit trees.


Trifle

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #169 on: March 18, 2020, 05:47:14 AM »
Great update @chaskavitch!  Twinsies -- I'm growing currants and gooseberries too.  They're fun.  I have one Hinnonmaki gooseberry that's so delicious I wish I had more.  (the rest of mine are Pixwell).  I'm trying to propagate that guy by tip rooting.  I've read that that can be a slow process, but I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm also propagating elderberries right now.  I have one bush that's putting up some good suckers, so I'm going to be digging those little ones up and relocating them.  Love elderberries. 

chaskavitch

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #170 on: March 18, 2020, 08:30:14 AM »
@Trifele , it looks like my gooseberries are Pixwell as well.  The currants are Red Lake Currants.  The tag the nursery had on it said it was one of the most popular varieties and highly recommended in Colorado, so I figured it was a good bet :)  I'm excited to see how they both turn out!

My almost-4-year-old is excited about the gooseberry bushes because he remembers them from the Tale of Peter Rabbit,but I think he's going to be sorely disappointed that he can't actually play in them.  Hopefully delicious berries can make him not care as much, haha.

Has anyone ever had a Haskap berry? There was one variety available at my local plant nursery, the Yezberry Honeybunch Haskap Berry. It is supposed to taste like a cross between a raspberry and a blueberry, but I've never heard of it before.

Trifle

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #171 on: March 18, 2020, 09:03:06 AM »
@chaskavitch -- I think @Jon_Snow and at least one other person are growing haskaps.  I haven't tried them yet.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #172 on: March 18, 2020, 09:57:36 AM »
@chaskavitch -- I think @Jon_Snow and at least one other person are growing haskaps.  I haven't tried them yet.

Nope, not me. Until this moment I don’t believe I had even heard of them. ☺️

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #173 on: March 18, 2020, 10:11:20 AM »
@Trifele , it looks like my gooseberries are Pixwell as well.  The currants are Red Lake Currants.  The tag the nursery had on it said it was one of the most popular varieties and highly recommended in Colorado, so I figured it was a good bet :)  I'm excited to see how they both turn out!

My almost-4-year-old is excited about the gooseberry bushes because he remembers them from the Tale of Peter Rabbit,but I think he's going to be sorely disappointed that he can't actually play in them.  Hopefully delicious berries can make him not care as much, haha.

Has anyone ever had a Haskap berry? There was one variety available at my local plant nursery, the Yezberry Honeybunch Haskap Berry. It is supposed to taste like a cross between a raspberry and a blueberry, but I've never heard of it before.

We have gooseberries growing in a quasi-permaculture area in the front yard around a sour cherry tree, and ... they both impede human traffic to the tree (those thorns are BIG and sharp) and don't seem to slow down the deer at all. Sigh! Also, they're delicious, but the ones we grow have "tails" on the individual berries that need to be taken off, which is kind of a PITA. Perhaps yours don't?

The Haskap berry sounds fascinating! I'll have to have a look around here (50 miles or so to your south).

Perhaps I will add "start tomatoes, basil, and peppers" to my list of things to do in the next few days. I did get one of our 4X8 beds planted yesterday with snow peas, chard, carrots and radishes (I learned a while ago that I can plant a single row of mixed radishes and carrots -- the radishes come up first, marking the row, and are ready to remove before the carrots are more then tiny sprouts.  I also discovered and dug up a few over-wintered carrots in there. Yum!

Trifle

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #174 on: March 18, 2020, 02:58:05 PM »
@chaskavitch -- I think @Jon_Snow and at least one other person are growing haskaps.  I haven't tried them yet.

Nope, not me. Until this moment I don’t believe I had even heard of them. ☺️

Hm.  I know somebody was growing them last year but darn if I can find the posts.  :)   

I spent four hard hours in the garden today and I'm exhausted in a good way.  DH dug me three new 12 X 3' beds, and I amended them all with some nice aged composted straw from the chicken run.  This first year I will just plant wildflower mix in two of those.   The third one will be a perennial bed with strawberries and borage.  I also planted broccoli, cabbage and tomatoes in one of my main annual beds.  (I know, a bit optimistic on the tomatoes, but what the hell.)  My goal -- which should be fully accomplished in about a year -- is to have 2/3 of my garden planted with perennials, and to reserve 1/3 of the space for annual vegetables. 

Today I also harvested some leeks, chicory, and some leftover potatoes I found in one of the beds from last year.  I'm going to saute it all up in butter, add some of our chicken eggs, and bake a quiche for dinner.   I'm enjoying a martini as I cook.  Life is good!

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #175 on: March 18, 2020, 03:27:02 PM »
@chaskavitch -- I think @Jon_Snow and at least one other person are growing haskaps.  I haven't tried them yet.

Nope, not me. Until this moment I don’t believe I had even heard of them. ☺️

Hm.  I know somebody was growing them last year but darn if I can find the posts.  :)   

Haha, no problem. Don’t grow berries myself, since Nature supplies me more than I could ever handle in the form of blackberries and (the criminally underrated) salal berries.

I spent four hard hours in the garden today and I'm exhausted in a good way.  DH dug me three new 12 X 3' beds, and I amended them all with some nice aged composted straw from the chicken run.  This first year I will just plant wildflower mix in two of those.   The third one will be a perennial bed with strawberries and borage.  I also planted broccoli, cabbage and tomatoes in one of my main annual beds.  (I know, a bit optimistic on the tomatoes, but what the hell.)  My goal -- which should be fully accomplished in about a year -- is to have 2/3 of my garden planted with perennials, and to reserve 1/3 of the space for annual vegetables. 

That sound’s like a great garden day to me. I’ve had many such all day sessions so far, and many more to come in the days and weeks ahead. Not feeling remotely as brave with tomatoes yet, but I am close to setting out my brassica seedlings (broc, cauli, cabbage, kale) as well as onions...will also be complimenting the brassica transplants with some direct seeding...in the hope that I get a nice spread of harvests over the course of the Summer. I still struggle with EVERYTHING being ready to harvest at the same time. The sight of 8 enormous cabbages suddenly ready to pick is far too common an event. At least with kale to can harvest-as-you-go...somewhat similar with broccoli as you can continue to harvest the side-shoots. Cauliflower, not so much. I’ve just received a big mail order of seed potatoes and I am going BIG with the potatoes harvest this year...and in the next few days I’ll be finishing off a big potato bin structure...and then I’ll plant those.

Given the current state of the world, my plans for my garden have become increasingly more ambitious as the days have progressed here. As we look for ways to find comfort, buffer ourselves from stress...I find the idea of growing a MASSIVE amount of healthy food for myself, my family and this year, for the wider community to be an extremely calming concept. My DW is now off work, for at least a month, so I will have some enthusiastic help in this endeavour this season, at least towards the start of the process.

I hope all you in this great thread find some peace and comfort in your own gardens!
« Last Edit: March 18, 2020, 03:36:22 PM by Jon_Snow »

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #176 on: March 18, 2020, 03:44:39 PM »
That sound’s like a great garden day to me. I’ve had many such all day sessions so far, and many more to come in the days and weeks ahead.  . . . . .  I am going BIG with the potatoes harvest this year...and in the next few days I’ll be finishing off a big potato bin structure...and then I’ll plant those.

Given the current state of the world, my plans for my garden have become increasingly more ambitious as the days have progressed here. As we look for ways to find comfort, buffer ourselves from stress...I find the idea of growing a MASSIVE amount of healthy food for myself, my family and this year, for the wider community to be an extremely calming concept. My DW is now off work, for at least a month, so I will have some enthusiastic help in this endeavour this season, at least towards the start of the process.

I hope all you in this great thread find some peace and comfort in your own gardens!

+1.  Well said, @Jon_Snow  The garden is a tremendous source of comfort.  Hope you are all doing ok, and can get outside in these turbulent times. 

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #177 on: March 18, 2020, 10:18:56 PM »
We harvested the first blackberry of the season! My 9yo will live on them for the next month.

Started some bean seeds today. Felt like getting back to the fundamentals. The kids helped me start some squash and sunflowers as part of "homeschool" the other day.

Tonight I was feeling blessed and fortunate so I made a point to do a little harvest. In came lemons, artichokes, oregano, rosemary, green garlic, chives, collards, sorrel and chard. All but the first two became toppings on homemade pizza. (The trimmings are simmering in a pot with some shrimp tails for a seafood stock I'll use tomorrow.)

We are so lucky to have a little soil and sunlight to nourish our bodies and souls.


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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #178 on: March 20, 2020, 11:55:08 AM »
Today I repotted my cucumber seedlings from their little starter cells into bigger pots.  These are all "Corinto" variety, gynoecious (all female) and parthenocarpic (no pollination needed).  The seed was very old so my hopes were low, but I had 90% germination.  These little girls are beautiful!
                                                           


RetiredAt63

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #179 on: March 20, 2020, 07:18:04 PM »
Trifele, those are gorgeous seedlings.

I put a clove from each of my homegrown bulbs of garlic in soil in the crisper last fall, then left for 3 months.  I'm home and they have all sprouted, lots of roots and nice shoots.  They have been moved into a big pot with lots of good soil.  I doubt I will have access to a garden plot this year, 3x as many applicants as likely spots available, so all my gardening this year will be on an east-facing balcony.  Totally new gardening experience for me.

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #180 on: March 22, 2020, 05:04:37 AM »
That's a neat way of growing garlic @RetiredAt63 -- I've never heard of that.

Busy day in the garden yesterday here.  I repotted tomato seedlings -- "Delicious" open pollinated variety.  If all goes well they should be ready to go into the garden in about two weeks.  If those grow well for me this year I'll save the seed.   I planted the three new garden beds with buckwheat, wildflower mix, and crimson clover.   DH finished putting up the fence around the bee yard, laying landscaping fabric and pavers to keep the grass down.  Don't want to do more trimming than necessary close to the hives.

Not sure if my bees will still come as planned in two weeks despite the epidemic?  We are supposed to pick them up at an open-air bee yard.  I haven't heard otherwise yet from the apiary so I guess it is still on?  . . .  I think livestock type-places are continuing to function, so maybe this falls in that category?   Our local farm store where we buy chicken feed is still operating.  I would think farm stores will have to fall into the category of "essential businesses" and stay open.  Our local farm store already operates on a "drive through" basis -- you pull your truck right into the store, load, and drive out  the back -- so that's good. 

Hope everyone is doing ok!  Hope you can get outside, or at least sit in a ray of sunshine.

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #181 on: March 22, 2020, 06:47:06 AM »
So I bought a 12 pack of native wildflower seeds from Spikenard Farm, and I'm reading about how to plant these.  I'm a real beginner when it comes to flowers. 

It's an interesting mixture of plants, and I had never heard of some of them.  Wingstem?  Cup plant?  Etc.  So it turns out more than half these guys need to be cold stratified to sprout.  Who knew?  Some of them need 30 days or more in the fridge, so I'd better hop on this fast.  I know what I'll be doing this afternoon! 



 

RetiredAt63

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #182 on: March 22, 2020, 10:18:05 AM »
That's a neat way of growing garlic @RetiredAt63 -- I've never heard of that.
 
So it turns out more than half these guys need to be cold stratified to sprout.

For the garlic, it was desperation.  They are hard neck varieties, supposed to be planted in late October outside, they grow roots before the ground freezes.  Nothing else to do when I had no outside garden.  I was afraid they would freeze too much in a pot on the balcony.

In cold climates most seeds need cold stratification, no point germinating in the fall and being killed by winter.  Trillium seeds need a minimum of 2 winters before germination, and many don't germinate until even more winters have passed.  A lot of trees also have chilling requirements so they don't bud too soon - we get warm spells in February, but then it gets cold again.

Trifle

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #183 on: March 22, 2020, 10:41:27 AM »
In cold climates most seeds need cold stratification, no point germinating in the fall and being killed by winter.  Trillium seeds need a minimum of 2 winters before germination, and many don't germinate until even more winters have passed.  A lot of trees also have chilling requirements so they don't bud too soon - we get warm spells in February, but then it gets cold again.

Yep, I've grown apples for years and know about chilling requirements for fruit trees.  But putting seeds in the fridge is a new one for me!  The only things I usually grow from seed are annual vegetables and I've never run across a chilling requirement on those.  It makes perfect sense though for wild perennials from a biological perspective.  There is no sense sprouting during a fluke warm spell in January or something.  As a seed, you want to make darn sure that spring is really here before you sprout.  There's no do-over!

And hey!  I was just in the garden.  Potatoes are up, looking fierce.  And my 'Red Russian' kale plants from last year are going to seed.  Yay!  The last seeds I had saved are now 5 years old (still viable), but it's time to replenish the seed stock.  RR kale is a true champ.  It never lets me down.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #184 on: March 22, 2020, 02:32:31 PM »
In cold climates most seeds need cold stratification, no point germinating in the fall and being killed by winter.  Trillium seeds need a minimum of 2 winters before germination, and many don't germinate until even more winters have passed.  A lot of trees also have chilling requirements so they don't bud too soon - we get warm spells in February, but then it gets cold again.

Yep, I've grown apples for years and know about chilling requirements for fruit trees.  But putting seeds in the fridge is a new one for me!  The only things I usually grow from seed are annual vegetables and I've never run across a chilling requirement on those.  It makes perfect sense though for wild perennials from a biological perspective.  There is no sense sprouting during a fluke warm spell in January or something.  As a seed, you want to make darn sure that spring is really here before you sprout.  There's no do-over!

And hey!  I was just in the garden.  Potatoes are up, looking fierce.  And my 'Red Russian' kale plants from last year are going to seed.  Yay!  The last seeds I had saved are now 5 years old (still viable), but it's time to replenish the seed stock.  RR kale is a true champ.  It never lets me down.

Yay potatoes!  And double YAY for the kale.  Seeds from your own plants are great, they come from plants that do well in your conditions.

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #185 on: March 22, 2020, 02:34:53 PM »
Boo - none of my Italian basil mix seeds sprouted but, drumroll:) I was able to get three more African Blue Basil plants from my mother plant via bending a branch down into the ground, adding moist soil and weighing it all down with a rock and voila - new self-rooted plant.
You can't grow African Blue basil from seed - isn't that the weirdest thing?
Anyway, it smells delightful and has such a peppery, spicy flavor you can use it in a whole lot of dishes for seasoning and it looks like a pretty landscape plant - a small bush with arching purple flower stems.

About that blackberry jam tree @Roots&Wings - I ordered two plants and guess what, one pot had four seedlings, the other six seedlings and they are all doing well. Sharing some with my neighbor when they are bigger, she works and fosters cats so her gardening time is way more limited than mine.
Funny thing, it came with dire warnings and instructions on how to handle these exotic plants - pfft, they loved it in my garden from day one.
So thanks again for the tip:).

In light of the pandemic, I've decided to up the veggie production in our garden as well, perennial spinach and a variety of different peppers and sigh, definitely two tomatoes prima donnas that they are:) and I'm sticking every green onion root from every green onion bunch from the grocery store right back into the garden.
Bonus - found a self-seeded tomato in my flower bed - it will be interesting to see what kind of tomatoes it will produce, transplanting it next week - hoping it will like its new spot.

Still seeding flowers and herbs and veggies - the first round went relatively well. Already set up for round two - beginning tomorrow.
A few things didn't come up at all and some of the seeds I seeded in the garden settled in different spots than I intended, but I prefer inground sowing and overall I grew enough in pots to move to any open spots in the bed. If I were produce-dependent then I'd have to learn to be way more accurate and figure out how to keep the seeds where I need them to be.
Although I worried about the weather and how it would affect the seedlings worse than any mother-hen.

We are having a dry, unusually warm spring - so I had to water two, sometimes three times a day - but I didn't lose any plant babies, except a couple to the damn squirrels and other critters that keep digging up the beds at night.
While my coffee is brewing I'm out there in my PJs patrolling the garden:) for nightly damage so I can fix it immediately.
Yeah, it has come to that:).

We've been adding border stones to our new garden area and removing the temporary branches and small logs I've used for the initial layout.
I've decided to keep the logs and branches at the back of the border not just to save money but because it is a better transition to the wild back forty:).
I bet I counted thirty butterflies yesterday including two or three I haven't seen before.

A pair of ducklings came to visit out of the ditch, we have three kinds of woodpeckers making a racket all day long including the big one with the redhead, the hawk got harassed by the Blue Jays and my birdbath is a hit with everyone from the Red Cardinal pair to the birds that are just coming through on a fly-over and we now have a pair of yellow-bellied crested Titmousies nesting in the Bougainvillea.

The redheaded big woodpecker and the squirrels fought over the goodies in our neighbor's bird feeder, the woodpecker won:).
It was an intense fight, neither one was willing to give up easily - it must have been some extra tasty treat.

One of my last two trips outside the house will be to pick up a cashew tree, and I'm still deciding on the other two (Peach-Meyer Lemon-Orange?...) - debating about ordering a goji berry... I've only left the house twice in the past two weeks but I think it will be safer to stay home for good for a while. 
Having a nice big outdoor space to enjoy incl a BBQ area and a gazebo to sip whatever is an asset and a joy.

Stay safe and happy gardening!

RetiredAt63

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #186 on: March 22, 2020, 04:38:34 PM »
Rosy, French tarragon doesn't come true to seed either, all plants are a clone.  And of course all our named fruit varieties are clones also.  That makes them consistent, but if one gets a disease all members of the clone are equally vulnerable.

Your garden sounds great. We are still in late winter/early spring.  Sigh. 

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #187 on: March 22, 2020, 04:46:09 PM »
We are giving up on broccoli. We thought it was just too hot last spring/summer (haha, you've heard what they say about summers in San Francisco) so we planted late fall and they grew like wildfire, but are just putting up individual scrappy florets the size of my pinky. 

However, we may not be the world's first failed blackberry farmers - the canes we planted *do* have new leaves!

The bok choy and lettuce we planted don't seem to be doing well, although the arugula right next door is.  I'm pretty bummed out as I was looking forward to lots of our own lettuce, and bok choy would have been fun and is a regular rotation of ours.  We still had some seeds left, so DH did a bunch more but not knowing what went wrong the first time, I'm feeling a bit concerned about this round as well.

Basil is now in the ground as well as more kale seedlings, so there should never be a shortage of kale.  Good ol' kale.  It really is low maintenance and reliable and we use it so much!

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #188 on: March 23, 2020, 05:02:50 AM »
Yay for kale @sui generis!  I agree -- what a great crop.

And I'm with you on the lettuce this year.  I usually just seed it outside, but this year I planted a bunch inside in the grow cabinet and it sprouted but then died.  I have no idea why.  :(   I'm going to re-seed it outside and see what happens.   

And @RetiredAt63 -- that is really interesting about the garlic.  Sounds like your desperation improvisation totally paid off!

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #189 on: March 23, 2020, 06:42:53 AM »
About that blackberry jam tree @Roots&Wings - I ordered two plants and guess what, one pot had four seedlings, the other six seedlings and they are all doing well. Sharing some with my neighbor when they are bigger, she works and fosters cats so her gardening time is way more limited than mine.

Wow, @Rosy how lucky! I was just thinking about ordering another one or two of the blackberry jam fruit (and pitangatubas, which stay small), can’t wait to see how they do.

Are your Seminole pumpkin seeds sprouting? I’m having no luck...maybe there’s some trick to it. African blue basil is lovely, that’s a great tip to bury the tips.

And a cashew tree, what fun! My peach tree (Florida Prince) has lots of baby fruit this spring, meyer lemon is flowering (the scent is heavenly), and orange tree is still loaded with fruit we’ve been eating all winter. You can't go wrong with any of those.

Next project is transplanting a couple pomelo trees (the 1 tree sprouted babies). I keep thinking I’m out of room, and somehow find more space :)

As far as going out to a nursery, perhaps you can call ahead/pay in advance and they can have it out and ready for pickup? There was an article about this in NWF recently, with so many plant sales this spring cancelled, and how to safely buy garden supplies. I know the garden is saving my sanity right now.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2020, 07:01:30 AM by Roots&Wings »

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #190 on: March 23, 2020, 09:10:54 AM »
Does anyone grow hazelnuts? I'm planning to start a hazel coppice in the wooded section of my lot. The ground is already clear from deer browsing and I want to bring back some understory. I also really want to have my own supply of bean poles in a couple years. As someone who's moved around a lot and has only owned a home for a little over a year it feels a little odd and wonderful to plan for 7 years down the road when the hazels will be ready to harvest and hopefully we'll finally have fruit from the pear and apple tress I planted last fall.

So far the only thing I've done in the garden this year is get the fence in, mulch the flower beds, and order a rose to climb one of the back patio walls. All the talk of seedlings has me inspired to start some tomato and cumbers and finally clear the weedy overgrown garden beds to get some kale in the ground.

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #191 on: March 23, 2020, 09:22:42 AM »
As far as going out to a nursery, perhaps you can call ahead/pay in advance and they can have it out and ready for pickup? There was an article about this in NWF recently, with so many plant sales this spring cancelled, and how to safely buy garden supplies. I know the garden is saving my sanity right now.

Our local nursery is doing free curbside pickup, delivery for a fee, and occasionally delivery AND planting.  They didn't use to have an online inventory list at all, so they're working on it really quickly.  I imagine a lot of nurseries will be in the same situation.

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #192 on: March 23, 2020, 10:55:56 AM »
Got home from my shortened vacation and my basil and lettuce seedlings need to be transplanted into bigger pots.

Hubs was not able to keep all the onion starts alive so I will start some more.
I like to pop down to the seed distributor to pick my own order, but I am in 14 day isolation will do a mail order tonight.  So late starting my peppers, but it is what it is!

Rosy

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #193 on: March 23, 2020, 01:57:32 PM »
About that blackberry jam tree @Roots&Wings - I ordered two plants and guess what, one pot had four seedlings, the other six seedlings and they are all doing well. Sharing some with my neighbor when they are bigger, she works and fosters cats so her gardening time is way more limited than mine.

Wow, @Rosy how lucky! I was just thinking about ordering another one or two of the blackberry jam fruit (and pitangatubas, which stay small), can’t wait to see how they do.

Are your Seminole pumpkin seeds sprouting? I’m having no luck...maybe there’s some trick to it. African blue basil is lovely, that’s a great tip to bury the tips.

And a cashew tree, what fun! My peach tree (Florida Prince) has lots of baby fruit this spring, meyer lemon is flowering (the scent is heavenly), and orange tree is still loaded with fruit we’ve been eating all winter. You can't go wrong with any of those.

Next project is transplanting a couple pomelo trees (the 1 tree sprouted babies). I keep thinking I’m out of room, and somehow find more space :)

As far as going out to a nursery, perhaps you can call ahead/pay in advance and they can have it out and ready for pickup? There was an article about this in NWF recently, with so many plant sales this spring cancelled, and how to safely buy garden supplies. I know the garden is saving my sanity right now.

Seminole Pumpkins
I, umm:) haven't seeded them yet, they are scheduled for my second and last batch of seeding this week. I'll let you know how they do.
Maybe you have to soak the seeds or nick them first?
Now that you said that I'll test mine in a wet paper towel to see if they sprout.

Thanks for the suggestion of pre-ordering, duh, of course they do that, at least at one of the nurseries I intend to buy at. The other has a new owner and I'm unfamiliar with what they carry now, but I saw the cashew tree on their list online.

I had to google pitangatubas - you've solved a mystery for me.
We have three (red fruit), they are over 60 years old (his dad planted them) and about eight feet high - they don't produce anymore except for a handful here and there - they are under the shade of an oak tree and a huge puffball tree, poor things. But they are evergreen and make a nice border towards the road, so I let them be.

Do you know of any sweet cherries that grow in Florida? seems they are all tangy, nothing like the sweet dark cherries I love.

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #194 on: March 23, 2020, 03:12:50 PM »
I put some cupboard-sprouted potatoes in a huge pot and the green leaves emerged today so we should have a potato tower to make us new potatoes.

The asparagus is up but it's too young to harvest. See you in 2022 for that.

A neighbor relocated her strawberry beds and shared extra strawberry plants with the rest of us. I dearly hope they survive!

I should be starting more seeds everyday but I think I need to relocate my potting bench so I can have more space.

I am still harvesting my usual small quantities of citrus and peppers, which is always heartening even if it wouldn't be enough to keep us alive during a real food shortage.

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #195 on: March 23, 2020, 09:12:15 PM »
Did a good yard cleanup session yesterday.  It was a beautiful day and really what I needed mentally.  There will probably be a lot of immaculate yards and gardens around this year!  I got my three metal-sided beds and one other bed prepared and planted beets, carrots, lettuce, mesclun mix, kale, chard and collards.  Now we are getting a bit of rain, so that should give them a good start.  Tonight I transplanted about 45 tomatoes into bigger cups along with 18 cauliflowers, some cabbages and broccolis.  My special strain of green chiles germinated almost perfectly, so it looks like I'll have 60+ plants if I can find room for them all.  OTOH, I got zero germination on my eggplants, so I'm hoping I'll be able to procure some plants in another month or so.

With work travel being cancelled, this might be the year that I finally get the native garden planted in our side yard, which has been an unsightly mess most of the time we've lived here, though I've been chipping away at it little by little

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #196 on: March 23, 2020, 09:33:35 PM »
Hi green peeps!   Been using the extra home time to get the garden expansion, compost bins improved and really organized on growing from seeds for tomatoes and basil to get early starts (Georgia Zone 7 to 8).   The biggest score was asparagus bed is now planted (young plants so 2 years to wait... Sigh)!    The other major addition was a roto tiller to do the garden expansion soil prep and a plot of sunflowers is on my list...    And oh yeah, get the drip irrigation setup to the expansion bed.   Sorry, too much to do... gotta go!  ;)

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #197 on: March 24, 2020, 07:14:38 AM »
Convinced my bf to let me put in 2 raised beds in his yard for square foot gardening.  I've always wanted to try this but didn't have the space.  Resigned myself that I'm probably going to end up moving there with all the financial nonsense (he said it would be rent free for me, but it's $1000/mo mortgage in case things are really bad- he quit his job last month and then hasn't been able to find a job with all the coronavirus going on).  Definitely need a garden in any place I live and this should be an investment for easy veggies over the long run.

Zone 7a, hoping it's not too late to put in greens.  We didn't get it done with all the rain yesterday and now I"m back in the city until Friday, when it's supposed to rain for 3 days straight :(  Started too late for seedlings but really happy we got the beds done at least and bought the mix for the "soil"

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #198 on: March 24, 2020, 09:57:17 AM »
Do you know of any sweet cherries that grow in Florida? seems they are all tangy, nothing like the sweet dark cherries I love.

Only one I've heard that is supposed to be similar to a sweet cherry is Cherry of the Rio Grande, which can suffer from "sudden die back" here in FL and why I've not tried growing it. Those red fruits might be Surinam cherry (related to pitangatuba, which has larger yellow fruit). There's a dark red/black variety Zells Surinam cherry that's supposed to be sweeter. I grow Jamaican cherry (tastes like cotton candy) and Barbados cherry (fairly tart, full of vit C).

I've heard about Australian beach cherry, but unsure about flavor profile (this place and another one say they taste like sweet cherries, with a hint of grape). There's Brazilian cherry/grumichama, but it's supposed to taste a bit more grape-like too.

UF might be working on a sweet cherry, but most need more chill hours. If anyone knows of any subtropical sweet cherries, would love to know!
« Last Edit: March 25, 2020, 02:25:01 PM by Roots&Wings »

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Re: Planting and Growing Your Own - 2020
« Reply #199 on: March 26, 2020, 07:24:12 AM »
I placed an order for seeds online.  I was going to pop over to their retail store and pick my own order when I got back from my vacation.  Well, vacation was cut short but I am in 14-day isolation.  Province declared a shut down so most retail is now closed.  The seed supplier is operating as totally online and shipping is going to be 3-4 weeks.  I will start the peppers and tomatoes that I have already.  Hopefully they were under promising and will over deliver.

I need potting soil - my stock was about a quarter of what I thought it was.  Need to call a friend and see if I can buy some off them and pick it up from their gate.