Author Topic: Planting / Growing your own 2018  (Read 94102 times)

CodingHare

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #300 on: May 13, 2018, 11:19:05 AM »
Well, I've ended up planting less than I thought, but I'm pretty happy with my first proper garden, nonetheless!

Lots of strawberries -- about 20 plants total.

1 Blueberry plant, temporarily sharing it's container with rosemary and pansies.
3 varieties of tomato, cherry, slicer, and sauce
Mint, Lavender, and hopefully basil if it germinates successfully.

All container plants since we're renting, which makes for a lovely desk and patio area.

Looking forward to a good season!

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #301 on: May 13, 2018, 12:18:51 PM »
@Tris Prior no experience with it. Someone mentioned tulle as a alternative to row cover. What I don’t know is whether it’s UV stable, so it might be the type of thing to degrade in a single season?

Up to now I haven’t bothered netting my berries. I lose some but not a ton. That equation may change.

———

Planting a good portion of my summer garden today. Extended forecast is good, soil is pretty warm in most spots, though when applying rabbit bedding to my tomato beds last fall, I was pretty optimistic about how fast a thick layer would decompose, so I had to pull a decent amount off the holes just to reach soil.

Doing some comparative trials of pole beans, cukes, and zukes this year. Most of the other summer plantings are proven varieties, though I’m trying a few new peppers for fun, one mildly hot, one super hot, and one for paprika.

Tris Prior

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #302 on: May 13, 2018, 02:49:55 PM »
@furrychickens, are you guys already past last frost up there? Technically we've got a few more days. I am nervous. The peppers are ready to go in but not the tomatoes, obviously. And I don't dare put in the basil yet.

My first year that the blueberry bush made berries, the birds got nearly ALL of them. Ugh. So I feel like at minimum I need to net that. It's such a pain to put that stuff on, though, I get tangled up in it and I find it hard to cut down to size evenly (as all my berry bushes are in large containers; maybe it'd be easier if I were just draping it over a row of bushes in the ground).

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #303 on: May 13, 2018, 03:19:09 PM »
@furrychickens, are you guys already past last frost up there? Technically we've got a few more days. I am nervous. The peppers are ready to go in but not the tomatoes, obviously. And I don't dare put in the basil yet.

My first year that the blueberry bush made berries, the birds got nearly ALL of them. Ugh. So I feel like at minimum I need to net that. It's such a pain to put that stuff on, though, I get tangled up in it and I find it hard to cut down to size evenly (as all my berry bushes are in large containers; maybe it'd be easier if I were just draping it over a row of bushes in the ground).

Statistically we are 95%+ frost free by this point in the year, and the 10 day forecast has lows in mid 40s or above so I consider it safe to plant at this point.

Dave’s Garden used to have a frost date calculator where you could punch in your zip code and it gives you the historical data for the nearest weather station. Try seeing if it’s still there? It was the last time I looked.

Bird netting isn’t too bad for rows of in-ground plants, I’ve seen the blueberry farm we pick at using it during the season and she gets it off really easily.

aurorarouge

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #304 on: May 13, 2018, 04:27:38 PM »
I love to garden, but we have a challenging yard for veggies. It's a small space to start with, plus it's partly shaded by oak trees, and we're close to the ocean so it's often cool and foggy. Everything is in strategically placed containers to make the best use of the limited sunshine and to foil the local gopher population. Our main plantings are:
  • Tomatoes, mostly heirlooms - Paul Robeson, Green Zebra, and Black Krim are our favorites. Trying a Berkeley Tie Die this year for fun.
  • Strawberries - The Seaside variety has worked well for us.
  • Salad bed - Mixed greens, chives, and two perennial celery plants in a 2x6 bed give us 4-5 salads a week, no problem.
  • Runner beans - we eat these young as green beans, or pickled for dilly beans
  • Miscellaneous underplantings - herbs, marigolds, nasturtiums, etc to fill up the containers and add some variety to salads

I wish we had room for more, but luckily we live in an agricultural area and are able to get good, local produce pretty inexpensively. Good luck with all your gardening projects!



horsepoor

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #305 on: May 13, 2018, 09:34:59 PM »
Harvested a couple carrots today. They were still pretty small but my 3-year-old was impatient lol.

I am a total gardening newb and didn't realize how big zucchini plants get. I planted two and they're crowding both each other and the rosemary that is planted in the same bed. What are the chances I can transplant one and have it survive? They're pretty big but not flowering yet.

You should be able to transplant the Rosemary.  The zucchini plants will just grow away from each other.  It's common practice to put a couple squash plants together in a "hill", so I wouldn't worry about it.

Over here, I can't seem to catch up on the weeds enough to get my plants in the ground, so the tomatoes and peppers are still hanging out in the greenhouse.  I'm hoping to take some more time off of work this week to get everything in.  5/15 is our "safe" date for planting out, but in recent years, I've been 1-2 weeks ahead of schedule without problems; this year it's just lack of time holding me back.

We did have a nice salad of homegrown lettuces, green onions and radishes yesterday, and have quite a few volunteer leeks popping up.  I'm finding garlic everywhere, and will probably have about 200 heads all told.

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #306 on: May 14, 2018, 06:05:40 AM »
I think some of our tomatoes have freeze damage, from being on the porch. :(

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #307 on: May 14, 2018, 06:25:16 AM »
Have had a completely unexpected 2” of rain in last 6 hours but I don’t think we sustained much damage, and beds are draining properly.

I think we may have a bad year for rabbit damage though. The local population is pretty high. Hope the foxes start working soon!

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #308 on: May 14, 2018, 07:02:38 AM »
It's also very easy to take cuttings of rosemary, as insurance - "heel cuttings" taken this time of year have a high success rate.

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #309 on: May 14, 2018, 07:31:10 AM »
I have sore muscles from the massive day in the garden that I had to celebrate mothers day. 

I have had hit and miss success with transplanting rosemary.  I potted up 7 plants that were grown in the garden and they all lived.  Four seasons on - I transplanted them to bigger pots and only one pot made it through the winter in the pot.  So now it is staying in the pot in perpetuity.

I dug around in my new garden and got all the soil shifted into beds.  I still need to fork the whole thing. The 15 Mary Washington asparagus crowns, 24 strawberry plants and 3 more rhubarb plants all got planted.  I probably now have way too much rhubarb.  The onions and leeks are now transplanted.  Half of the sunflowers are now in the ground.

I bought some pollinator plants at a plant sale and got them in the ground.  Snakeroot, green and grey coneflower, liatrus, tall coreopsis, heart leafed aster and milk weed.  I also bought some white pine seedlings and some sumac.  I love the colour of sumac in the fall and don't have any.  The white pines are for more privacy from the street.

We are still about two weeks away from frost free dates but a number of the plants in the greenhouse are so big that I really should get them into the garden.  The zukes and cukes are busting out of their pots so I might just stick them in the garden tonight and cover them with floating row covers.  The peppers are still tiny so they can hang on for a bit more.  The plan was to grow seedlings and also have hills of directly seeded squash and zukes and cukes to extend the harvest. 

The peas in the greenhouse are in flower and I am harvesting greens every second day.
It is all bursting forth.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #310 on: May 14, 2018, 09:33:15 AM »
The upcoming May long weekend pretty much signals the end of my geographical separation from my garden site, meaning that in a few days I will be present consistently to tend to it appropriately. The weather has turned decidedly gorgeous here in the PNW, overnight lows now consistently in the double-digits Celsius, so when I head over to the island soon I will have a truck full of peppers, tomatoes (which are already bearing fruit!), cukes and zukes reading to be planted out. A relative was kind enough to give my garden some water yesterday, as well as giving me a video tour via FaceTime. Apart from the entire garden area needing trimming and mower treatment, things look amazing. Peas, lettuce, spinach, chard, radishes, garlic, kale, collards, cabbage, quinoa, potatoes and beets are thriving. This year it looks like I will be eating first crops of tomatoes, peas, and potatoes earlier than ever before. My garlic has never been this big and healthy before....I can only imagine how big the bulbs are going to be which I pull up the first ones in about a month. The blackberry and salal thickets that ring my garden are exploding with growth...and in terms of other foraging opportunities, nettles and salmonberries look to be especially prolific this year.

As as soon as I get to the garden I need to sow bush and pole beans ASAP....

One more pressing need....we must fill our 3000 gallon water cistern, which provides the water-lifeblood for my off grid acerage throughout the drought like conditions which inevitably seize the Southwest B.C. Coast come mid-Summer....

There is a lot to do, and normally I would look upon all this with relish....but I'm currently operating at what feels like 50% physical capacity so this is going to be somewhat challenging. It must get done though....and I suspect it will. :)
« Last Edit: May 14, 2018, 09:35:29 AM by Jon_Snow »

Tris Prior

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #311 on: May 14, 2018, 06:35:58 PM »
Snort, yeah, "statistically" we shouldn't get any more frost, but I keep thinking of a couple years ago when it snowed around May 20 and I already had put my tomatoes in. We seem to keep having these "hundred-year" freak weather events every couple years or so....

At any rate, it violently stormed today so I am glad that nothing too fragile has been planted out yet. My blueberries are covered in blossoms and looks like one of the raspberries might be budding as well!

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #312 on: May 14, 2018, 07:03:20 PM »
Context is king. If your property wants to grow rabbit food, grow rabbits! ;)





Nowhere near sufficient in feed from forage alone, nor am I attempting to do it, but being able to harvest a 5 gallon bucket of forage just about every day from only 1/10 acre is pretty good in my book. Comfrey and dandelions love this wet spring weather, I'm already on the second cutting from some of comfrey - normally 5-6 cuttings for the entire season is expected this far north.

Trifle

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #313 on: May 14, 2018, 07:04:20 PM »
Hmm, has anyone used tulle to cover fruit bushes, so that the birds don't get the berries? I have bird netting, but I HATE that stuff, it gets all tangled and the branches start growing through the holes and it is generally just a huge PITA. Tulle seems like it'd be less unwieldy. Of course, they don't sell bird netting in small quantities so I have a huge roll of it.

I will be using tulle on my small cherry tree and my blueberry bushes for the first time soon, so I will let you know.  The article I found online that turned me on to tulle said that (a) it works great to cover fruit, and (b) it lasts more than one season, so we will find out if that's true. 

Agree -- I hate bird netting.  And deer netting (the harder, plastic-y netting).  What a pain.   

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #314 on: May 15, 2018, 05:35:46 AM »
Things were getting dry around here, but awoke this morning to a gentle rain.  Everything is greening up and starting to bloom.  It is beautiful.  Hopefully I can find some time tonight to fork a couple of beds and plant some seeds. 

The seedlings are fantastically healthy - I almost can't believe that I have grown them myself. 


Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #315 on: May 15, 2018, 06:02:50 AM »
@Sun Hat it should have broken dormancy by now I’d think. You can scratch some of the bark on the trunk or a major branch with your fingernail or a knife. If the cambium is green, still alive. If brown, it’s dead.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #316 on: May 15, 2018, 06:35:47 AM »
A friend's plum is showing flower buds while her apples are barely showing leaf buds.

Raenia

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #317 on: May 15, 2018, 06:41:00 AM »
@furrychickens So cute!  What breeds do you keep?  We used to have Silver Foxes and a NZ/Flemish cross, but I've always wanted Rex.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #318 on: May 15, 2018, 06:47:10 AM »
@furrychickens So cute!  What breeds do you keep?  We used to have Silver Foxes and a NZ/Flemish cross, but I've always wanted Rex.

The top picture is New Zealand in blue. The bottom is Rex. My breeding pair is Castor but also throws Black Otter.

I also have Silver Fox, a Flemish doe that I cross with our NZ buck, and a FG/NZ cross that I breed back to her father the NZ.

If I had just a bit more space and money I’d love to add American Chins but rabbit math is sneaky like that, lol. In reality instead of adding more breeds, I need to make my current lines better.

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #319 on: May 16, 2018, 08:27:54 PM »
I decided to plant the tomatoes out tonight.   It is going to be warmer for the next week.  They are having trouble standing up in their pots. Some of them are flowering. I have to keep 16 plants for church until the 27th.   I might have to pot them up a size.  Asparagus continues to produce. 
Something dug up my new strawberry plants.   They are all replanted and protected with chicken wire.   

RetiredAt63

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #320 on: May 18, 2018, 10:53:21 AM »
I decided to plant the tomatoes out tonight.   It is going to be warmer for the next week.  They are having trouble standing up in their pots. Some of them are flowering. I have to keep 16 plants for church until the 27th.   I might have to pot them up a size.  Asparagus continues to produce. 
Something dug up my new strawberry plants.   They are all replanted and protected with chicken wire.

Our nights are all below 10 for at least the next week, so the tomatoes are only out during the day.    :-(

Raenia

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #321 on: May 18, 2018, 11:11:00 AM »
@furrychickens So cute!  What breeds do you keep?  We used to have Silver Foxes and a NZ/Flemish cross, but I've always wanted Rex.

The top picture is New Zealand in blue. The bottom is Rex. My breeding pair is Castor but also throws Black Otter.

I also have Silver Fox, a Flemish doe that I cross with our NZ buck, and a FG/NZ cross that I breed back to her father the NZ.

If I had just a bit more space and money I’d love to add American Chins but rabbit math is sneaky like that, lol. In reality instead of adding more breeds, I need to make my current lines better.

I thought the second looked like a Rex, but I'd forgotten NZ come in blue.  American Chins are beautiful too, they were one of the breeds I considered originally.

On topic, I sadly don't have the space for an outdoor garden right now, but I planted a window box with rosemary and oregano a few weeks ago, and it's doing beautifully.  Can't wait to cook with the fresh herbs.

ender

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #322 on: May 18, 2018, 03:39:34 PM »
ughhhh!!!! we haven’t watered for a while and a half dozen of our peppers uh…. probably didn’t make it. And we’re planting them tomorrow! it’s like we got so close but… just not far enough

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #323 on: May 19, 2018, 06:08:32 AM »
ughhhh!!!! we haven’t watered for a while and a half dozen of our peppers uh…. probably didn’t make it. And we’re planting them tomorrow! it’s like we got so close but… just not far enough

Sucks :(

I’ve learned the hard way too many years that you have to check seedlings in pots daily.

Trifle

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #324 on: May 19, 2018, 06:56:37 AM »
Noticed yesterday that two of my four young persimmon trees look great -- lush leaves, loaded with flowers -- and the other two are having some kind of weird leaf-curling problem.  ?  I can't see any insects on there, so maybe fungal?  Time to consult Dr. Google . . . 

With our house build project taking all our time, this is going to be a very minimalist year for the veg garden.  Just a few greens, tomatoes and peppers.  I outdoor-sowed my own greens, and yesterday I scooped up 6 tomato plants and 6 pepper plants at the farmer's market.  Feels like cheating.  I have a gorgeous grow cabinet, and it's so weird to think it will not even get used this year. 

Trifle

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #325 on: May 19, 2018, 08:10:54 AM »
Just thought I would share a pic of one of my grafted apple trees.  They are doing great!  One of them already has almost 15 inches of growth on the graft -- astonishing progress in only 8 weeks.  These guys make me so happy every time I look at them. 

Edit to add:  sorry, can't figure out how to turn the picture
 

Trifle

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #326 on: May 19, 2018, 08:33:20 AM »
Just walked down to the vegetable garden, and overnight the g.d.f#&ing woodchuck tore up my nice new tulle cover.  Three big holes ripped into it.   Shit!  I am pretty sure that he would also have gone through the bird netting I used last year, but this tulle was working really well, so this hurts.

Here is hoping that the deer fence next spring keeps that fat greedy pig out.  We were planning to bury the fencing at least a foot, and flare it out a bit.   If that does not work we will have to resort to more serious measures. 

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #327 on: May 19, 2018, 08:49:59 AM »
Just walked down to the vegetable garden, and overnight the g.d.f#&ing woodchuck tore up my nice new tulle cover.  Three big holes ripped into it.   Shit!  I am pretty sure that he would also have gone through the bird netting I used last year, but this tulle was working really well, so this hurts.

Here is hoping that the deer fence next spring keeps that fat greedy pig out.  We were planning to bury the fencing at least a foot, and flare it out a bit.   If that does not work we will have to resort to more serious measures.

My dad once poured concrete down a woodchuck burrow in frustration at garden damage, lol. I think it worked, can’t remember for sure.

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #328 on: May 20, 2018, 09:22:15 PM »
Thanks everyone for the zucchini advice.

I thought I was done planting, but yesterday I saw bell peppers at the grocery store 6/$3 and decided to go for it. I tried to grow bell peppers from seed awhile back but they didn't sprout, then I planted  other things and ran out of room, but I've harvested enough carrots that there is room in one bed now.

My tomato plants are huge and flowering, with a couple pea-sized tomatoes. Zucchini is flowering too. I'm feeling optimistic about my first year of gardening!

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #329 on: May 21, 2018, 04:30:24 AM »
Been working so hard this long weekend.  I used a floating row cover on the tomatoes that I planted out.
Peas are setting pods! 
I can't go to my garden until at least 10.  The neighbour's dog barks at me until he figures out it is me - and the neighbours sleep in their screen porch so they are all awake by the time the dog figures out it is just me. 
My rhubarb needs harvesting- this is the first year that I will be able to really pick it. 
I planted three blackberry bushes - now I have five in total and really hoping for some fruit. 
The bush sized sweet cherry got severely pruned by the bunny (ies) but it seems to be recovering.
The strawberries I transplanted last fall are flowering.  The new ones I bought are only half thriving.  Good thing they were cheap.

Yesterday I inoculated one huge log with shiitake spawn and am also trying some other configurations with the shiitake spawn. I don't know if any of it will work.  I did one bucket of pasturized wood chips.  I had been saving an oak log and was going to pasturize it but it is well colonized by a yellow fungi so I am not going to bother.  I am also going to make a roll of maple branches and pasturized wood chips with the spawn strewn in and see what happens.  It was cheaper to buy the 5 pounds from this guy a couple of hours away than the last time I bought it.

I also did three buckets of oyster mushroom spawn.  Two are in straw and the third is in oak chips.  I am going to try and pasturize some sawdust using a black plastic bag and the greenhouse.  Hopefully I can just have a steady supply of material to keep adding to the bucket and keep the supply of mushrooms coming.  If this all works out I will have too many but it could all be an epic failure and be a waste of $55 and a whole lot of time. 

I need to plant out the rest of my plants and upsize the pots for all the church seedlings.  They have to wait one more week.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #330 on: May 21, 2018, 06:20:59 AM »
Depending on bird pressure (which isn’t very high here on our fruits), I’m tentatively optimistic we will get to try haskap/honey berry for the first time this year. Quite a bit of fruit has set. They’re supposed to ripen just before strawberries, so I’m guessing a couple more weeks? Strawberries here are usually starting mid/late June.

Too early to tell if fruit has set on any of our trees.

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #331 on: May 21, 2018, 01:23:44 PM »
Great news Sun Hat!

To Furry Chickens and the rest of the folks battling the birds for their fruit -- I noticed that our blueberries were ripening.  So last night I wrapped the bushes in tulle, secured to the trunk -- picture a lollypop wrapper.  I will keep you updated on how it works.  The material appears to be light enough that it will not weigh down the bushes too much, even when it's wet. 
« Last Edit: May 23, 2018, 01:25:23 PM by Trifele »

Tris Prior

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #332 on: May 21, 2018, 01:59:09 PM »
We've been having end-times, maybe-build-an-ark rain since Friday. Ugh. Also, the high yesterday was around 48 so I'm really glad I haven't put my peppers in yet. Maybe next weekend.

My tomatoes are doing much better now - except for one that has curling leaves. None of the tomatoes have spent any time outside yet so it's not due to our crazy weather, and I can't think how it would pick up a disease in my house, they're too small to prune or transplant, and I haven't put any chemicals on it, so I'm guessing it's a water issue? (According to Dr. Google those are the causes). That plant seemed pretty dry this morning; I admit I haven't been on top of the watering since I was mostly out all weekend and keeping crazy hours. Anyway, hopefully at some point the rain will let up so I can start hardening off the tomatoes. Normally they'd be big and in the ground by now, but I guess with yesterday's temps, it's a good thing they weren't.

Trifele, I think I'll try the tulle this year - I just can't face another year of wrestling the bird netting. My blueberry bushes are still blossoming so I've got some time.

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #333 on: May 21, 2018, 05:26:24 PM »
I worked like a fiend today.  All but one bed is planted.  Almost all the manure is spread.  Peppers and squash are in the ground.   Many seeds have been sown.  Some straw has been spread around and some fencing is up. 
I am exhausted and can barely walk my feet hurt.  I am in a comfortable chair listening to birds and my bubble fountain.   I am hoping for gentle rain tonight.

« Last Edit: May 22, 2018, 08:21:27 AM by Frugal Lizard »

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #334 on: May 22, 2018, 05:10:00 PM »
A before and after of my new vegetable garden

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #335 on: May 23, 2018, 10:03:13 AM »
@sunhat - the beds were not producing well - even with generous amounts of manure.  I find that raised beds dry out too quickly here.  And I wanted to expand the capacity.
When I got the soil out of the beds, it became apparent that one of the problems was very little organic matter in the soil.  After the top inch or soil the soil was so heavy.  Hopefully all the measures that I am taking now result in a higher yield without needing too much irrigation.  It is not my house so I don't have regular access to water.

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #336 on: May 23, 2018, 10:21:40 AM »
@sunhat - the beds were not producing well - even with generous amounts of manure.  I find that raised beds dry out too quickly here.  And I wanted to expand the capacity.
When I got the soil out of the beds, it became apparent that one of the problems was very little organic matter in the soil.  After the top inch or soil the soil was so heavy.  Hopefully all the measures that I am taking now result in a higher yield without needing too much irrigation.  It is not my house so I don't have regular access to water.

I think my climate is similar to yours, and yeah the raised beds dry out fast unless you keep them mulched. The compost I bought to fill them originally also did a horrible job with water retention if it was left bare to the sun, including in-ground beds I used it for amending. 

Trifle

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #337 on: May 23, 2018, 01:24:56 PM »
I have a mixture of raised beds and in-ground beds.  Last spring I started an experimental new raised bed by piling rotten logs in the bottom of it, then compost and soil on top of that. (Hugelkultur meets raised bed).  Last summer the plants in there did fine.  The soil seemed to resist drying out more than the other raised beds, which I'm attributing to those rotten logs buried in there, that were acting like an underground sponge.

Last night I dug into that bed for the first time this year to plant tomatoes, peppers and potatoes.  The soil looks great.  Will keep you posted on how the plants do this year, as those logs keep decomposing.   


Tris Prior

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #338 on: May 24, 2018, 08:42:45 AM »
It's warm out, finally! Three peppers went into the ground yesterday. Hoping to get the rest of them, and some tomatoes, in this weekend. About half of the tomatoes are still too little to get planted, but I should be able to get a decent number of them in the ground.

Found out there's a neighborhood plant swap near me on Saturday so I'll be going to that.

Can we talk about flowers here? I was given two hanging baskets by a neighbor. The shallow round kind that have that sort of brown mossy stuff in the bottom instead of an actual pot, and then the dirt goes on top of them. Anyone have suggestions for something that's easy-care to put in them? I know absolutely nothing about flowers, only veggies, so I'm not sure where to start. I'm going to put them on my balcony which gets good afternoon sun. Flower-wise, my favorites are long skinny flowers in blue/purple tones like larkspur and delphinium and lavender, but I feel like those would look weird in such a shallow hanging basket. Maybe petunias? Hm.

Tris Prior

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #339 on: May 25, 2018, 07:24:52 PM »
Backyard garden is just about done - I'll probably stick a couple of basils here and there where there is space. Everything looks happy! Finally some warm weather!

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #340 on: May 26, 2018, 07:11:32 PM »
Worked on the church garden today.  Tomorrow the messy church service will be a blessing of the seeds and then planting the tomato plants.  We already planted the cukes, zukes, peppers and basil.  We also planted asparagus and rhubarb.  All the produce from this garden goes to a food bank that the church supports.

I also puttered around at home in the heat.  It was unbelievable.  Tonight I planted a few exotic tomatoes and peppers in my own garden while I watered and mulched. 
A whole bunch of stuff that I planted last weekend is up.  Except I keep having to replant the cukes and zukes.  I think I might have the chipmunks foiled.


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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #341 on: May 26, 2018, 07:14:04 PM »

A whole bunch of stuff that I planted last weekend is up.  Except I keep having to replant the cukes and zukes.  I think I might have the chipmunks foiled well fed.
FTFY

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #342 on: May 27, 2018, 05:11:52 AM »
Going to be a bumper summer raspberry crop. The blooms are covering the plants.

First hilling on potatoes. Soil level is already tall enough in the beds that I might not be able to hill again. Might try potato towers next year, as I’ve got a number of odd spots I could put 2x2 foot boxes in that aren’t currently growing anything.

Will have first salad soon, very close to harvest size.

Way behind on weeding, and I forgot just how bloody persistent the “spore” form of a rabbit parasite is and seem to have reinfected my herd by feeding weeds, so now those weeds are much less useful to me, as the chickens love their salad - but they can only eat so much of it. Just the clippings from my grass paths and weeds from the beds is enough for them, so I may start eradicating dandelions again, we’ll see.

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #343 on: May 27, 2018, 06:30:42 AM »
Way behind on weeding, and I forgot just how bloody persistent the “spore” form of a rabbit parasite is and seem to have reinfected my herd by feeding weeds, so now those weeds are much less useful to me, as the chickens love their salad - but they can only eat so much of it. Just the clippings from my grass paths and weeds from the beds is enough for them, so I may start eradicating dandelions again, we’ll see.

You do know that dandelions are edible by people, too, right? ;)  I really wanted to try making dandelion jelly this year, but we didn't know if the neighbors use pesticides on their lawn so wasn't comfortable foraging them.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #344 on: May 27, 2018, 07:10:19 AM »
Way behind on weeding, and I forgot just how bloody persistent the “spore” form of a rabbit parasite is and seem to have reinfected my herd by feeding weeds, so now those weeds are much less useful to me, as the chickens love their salad - but they can only eat so much of it. Just the clippings from my grass paths and weeds from the beds is enough for them, so I may start eradicating dandelions again, we’ll see.

You do know that dandelions are edible by people, too, right? ;)  I really wanted to try making dandelion jelly this year, but we didn't know if the neighbors use pesticides on their lawn so wasn't comfortable foraging them.

Oh, I know, but I can’t eat sugar (so no dandelion jelly) and I’ve had enough severe reactions to leafy greens besides spinach (several make me deathly ill) that I’m scared to try the greens.

TheWifeHalf

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #345 on: May 27, 2018, 09:17:15 AM »
Within the last 2 years, 7 new families have moved into houses within walking distant. (All but the house directly across the road, I suspect they're going to stay there until they HAVE to move.) I've met a few, this is a small country town that has the attitude 'You live your life, we'll live ours'  but talk when we see someone walk down the sidewalk - if we're out.

 I have more variegated hostas than I need. 25 years ago my brother in law and his wife bought a house in the nearest city, which came with a bunch of hostas, that they didn't like. I took them, divided them, and have been dividing them ever since.

Last week I was digging a few up, wondering where in the yard I was going to put them, and noticed the lady 2 doors down planting some flowers by her mailbox.  I walked down, introduced myself, and asked her if she'd like some. I have a bunch in my front yard, I told her in the front of the big blue house with the red door. I have to divide them every 9-10 years.

She seemed happy I asked, and since she was out front by her mailbox, with an about 2 yr old nearby, and a 9 mo old (she told me) in a stroller, so I told her I'd put them in a wheelbarrow and wheel them down. So I did? How country is that? (City Boy TheHusbandHalf is always glad he's not home when I do stuff like that!)

We have a burning bush that our neighbor (69, has since died) said her kids gave to Pressie (the original owner of our house, who we bought the house from).
When we drive down the road, I see many plants that started life here, though the owners don't know that.

Raenia

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #346 on: May 27, 2018, 10:36:48 AM »
Oh, I know, but I can’t eat sugar (so no dandelion jelly) and I’ve had enough severe reactions to leafy greens besides spinach (several make me deathly ill) that I’m scared to try the greens.

Fair enough :)

Trifle

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #347 on: May 27, 2018, 11:49:43 AM »
Oh, I know, but I can’t eat sugar (so no dandelion jelly) and I’ve had enough severe reactions to leafy greens besides spinach (several make me deathly ill) that I’m scared to try the greens.

Fair enough :)

Same problem here.  I found out the hard way that I have a severe allergy to mustard greens, and now I am verrry cautious about trying any new ones.   I usually stick with my tried-and-true spinach and kale.

Frugal Lizard

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #348 on: May 27, 2018, 12:10:19 PM »
Gave away a few seedlings to a friend.
Planted a few more in my own garden.
Planted the rest of the ones I grew for the church at the church this morning.
It is so unbelievably hot today we are hanging out on the porch looking at the garden.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #349 on: May 27, 2018, 02:20:30 PM »
My country garden plot is taken down and done. Had a number of trellises to dismantle and horrible landscape fabric paths to pull up.

It was a good experience to try it for two years, but much too far away, though I think any off-site garden is too far away for me, unless it was a literal next door neighbor. I like being able to work gardening into my day in short bursts, not drive and have to get 4, 6, or more hours in before driving back.

Way behind on my home garden, weeds everywhere, but with that task no longer hanging over my head I can focus on the house and get it in shape. I have some empty beds still, just waiting to see if my sweet potato slips ever show up in the mail.