March Garden accomplishments, dreams, goals, frustrations, what's up? Talk to me.

[prairiewindmomma]

19 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

I am having the hardest time finding citrus this year! I wanted a small plain lemon, and all anyone has are Meyers. Humbug.

Have you tried asking the owner of a smaller, independent nursery if they will special order in for you? 

[Halftime Hope]

3 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Have you tried asking the owner of a smaller, independent nursery if they will special order in for you? 

I'm haunting all the independent nurseries. We'll see if my asking turns anything up. 🙂 Good suggestion...it may come to asking for them to order something for me. 

Apparently, the orders are just now showing up, but our Costco got beautiful 3 gallon pots of citrus in 4 weeks ago. I may wait til next year and buy what I want at Costco. They were twice as tall and half the price.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Halftime Hope

[popmom]

I'm behind on this thread! I've got one week to tie up all the loose ends for dd's wedding. The wedding is the 25th, but we leave to drive there on the 19th. I've been testing recipes for the cakes. Last night I made lemon curd as an experiment to use between the white cake layers. So good! Tonight I'm going to start baking cake layers to freeze. It's coming together! 

I still find time to piddle around with the garden. The strawberry plugs I planted last fall have blooms. That's exciting.

I've got a bunch of seeds started. When we get back from South Carolina, I'll have time to really get back into it. I feel so much better than I did this time last year (thank you big pharma! lol), I am so looking forward to planting this year!

Edited March 11, 2023 by popmom

[prairiewindmomma]

The heavy rain bands went south of us so I knocked down our overwintering green manure and have been working that into the soil so that it can break down before planting in a few weeks. 🤞on this experience that I don’t see regrowth of the green manure plants. I am a bit worried, but was desperate for the nitrogen and aeration they offered.

[Ann.without.an.e]

some Pics for today but overall I’m pretty behind 😭

 

[SHP]

Went to a nursery today and spoke to one of the managers about the plants we are looking for. I have a lot of work to do before I can get my larger plants in the ground. 

 

Then went to Lowe's and crossed one project off my list due to the insane cost of materials. 

[KungFuPanda]

I have dance a convention next weekend. Once that’s over I can hit the ground running with gardening. I have some winter sowing jugs outside. I tried hard to ignore them, but the brassicas are starting to sprout and that’s very exciting. 

[Faith-manor]

15 hours ago, SHP said:

Went to a nursery today and spoke to one of the managers about the plants we are looking for. I have a lot of work to do before I can get my larger plants in the ground. 

 

Then went to Lowe's and crossed one project off my list due to the insane cost of materials. 

It is crazy! We looked at the cost of building the raised beds and about swallowed our wallets. I wouldn't be getting all of these new beds if we hadn't found someone with 200 pallets begging for people to haul them away. The cost of top soil is somewhat off putting, but I try to remember that this is a long term investment since we have five years yet at this house. But ugh, so cost prohibitive to build much of anything. The price of nice hardwoods for furniture has gone up about 1000% in our area. It has caused a total fall off of woodworking projects for 4H kids at the county fair, and is causing the tech center for high schoolers to consider ending their woodworking/carpentry program. Just not enough funds to afford it. I feel so bad for the kids. 😢

[prairiewindmomma]

Yup. Wood prices are down about 20% from peak here, but they are still insane. We see tons more lumber trucks on the road hauling logs out of the forest and the milling yards are as full as ever, but retail prices are crazy. 

[SHP]

On 3/10/2023 at 8:21 AM, BeachGal said:

@SHP I use a large 3-ring binder to keep track of individual plants. It’s divided into sections—trees, shrubs, woody perennials, herbaceous perennials, bulbs, annuals, etc—listed alphabetically. For each plant, if possible or necessary, I tape down tags, list cultivar, note its needs, when planted, when it appears, disappears and blooms, when to prune, observed pest or disease problems, etc.

Then I keep a separate list for bloom times.

I had to identify all of our buildings’ many plants last year. For that I used an app. Huge timesaver but it took all summer to do.

I also create maps because they’re a useful reference when planning and planting. Otherwise, I’m left guessing where the bulbs and shorter season plants are. Don’t want to accidentally dig those up. Photos are another easy way to keep track of the garden.

It seems overwhelming to do this but I’ve found it’s not too difficult if I tackle a little at a time.

I started on my plant binder today using what you described as a guide. I created a template and then a file for each section (trees, shrubs, woody perennials, herbaceous perennials, bulbs, annuals). Thankfully, I had kept a massive list of every plant/seed I purchased or was given so I was able to copy and paste the names into the correct section so I won't have to jump between my list and the file while working.

After I did all of that, I focused on bulbs today since it is my largest section. I have around 10 plants or specific cultivars per page and I have 9 pages just for bulbs, 5 for tulips, 2 for lilies, and 2 for the rest. Each entry includes a picture (from the internet for one's that haven't bloomed yet), the cultivar name, height, and anything else, for example, where I got the plant. I only have to add a few images and then the bulb section will be finished. I am going to move to annuals next since DH purchased a bunch of seeds, making it the second largest section. 

 

[Spy Car]

One of my goals is to pick the weeds that the extravagant levels of rain that we've had in Southern California this year (and it is raining now, and all day long) before they die off naturally in the brutally hot (and parched) summer heat.

At this point, it feels like the myth of Sisyphus around here, with dandelions replacing the bolder.

And I think Mrs Spy Car and I have both eaten enough "locally-sourced organic baby greens" for this season, so long as supermarkets remain open. LOL

It is getting ridiculous. I always feel "behind" in the gardening work, but I'm feeling even more behind than usual, despite working very hard.

The only solace is I think the garden will be beautiful this spring.

And then I have to lay stone paths with all the beautiful flagstone I rescued.

Oh dear. Oh dear.

Bill

 

 

 

 

[Spy Car]

On 3/12/2023 at 2:29 PM, Faith-manor said:

It is crazy! We looked at the cost of building the raised beds and about swallowed our wallets. I wouldn't be getting all of these new beds if we hadn't found someone with 200 pallets begging for people to haul them away. The cost of top soil is somewhat off putting, but I try to remember that this is a long term investment since we have five years yet at this house. But ugh, so cost prohibitive to build much of anything. The price of nice hardwoods for furniture has gone up about 1000% in our area. It has caused a total fall off of woodworking projects for 4H kids at the county fair, and is causing the tech center for high schoolers to consider ending their woodworking/carpentry program. Just not enough funds to afford it. I feel so bad for the kids. 😢

The same house across the street (where they were going to dump all the beautiful flagstone) has had huge crews working every day redoing the landscaping. One of their latest moves was bringing in "low-boy" refuse containers to haul away obscene amounts of native soil.

I could not have that, so I must have rescued 30 or 40 wheelbarrow loads of good soil.

The crew was perplexed, as when they left the container a week ago Friday the container was entirely full. On the next Monday, it was more than half empty. Good for them as they had more to fill it up again.

I'm getting pretty sore. But also feeling strong. I'm sure the new neighbors figure I'm an eccentric old coot. They are not wrong 

Of course they brought in a huge crane to lift huge mature trees planted in large boxes up and over their home (you would not believe how big that crane was), which seems nuts to me. I guess "sanity" is a relative concept?

Bill 

Edited March 15, 2023 by Spy Car

[popmom]

3 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

The same house across the street (where they were going to dump all the beautiful flagstone) has had huge crews working every day redoing the landscaping. One of their latest moves was bringing in "low-boy" refuse containers to haul away obscene amounts of native soil.

I could not have that, so I must have rescued 30 or 40 loads of good soil.

The crew was perplexed, as when they left the container a week ago Friday it was entirely full. On the next Monday, it was more than half empty. Good for them as they had more to fill it up again.

I'm getting pretty sore. But also feeling strong. I'm sure the new neighbors figure I'm an eccentric old coot. They are not wrong 

Of course they brought in a huge crane to lift huge mature trees planted in large boxes up and over their home (you would not believe how big that crane was), which seems nuts to me. I guess "sanity" is a relative concept?

Bill 

That is nuts to me, too.

You are doing the Lord's work, Bill. 🙂

[popmom]

We are having a freeze tonight, so I covered my lettuce and strawberries with frost blankies. I wouldn't normally worry about the strawberries, but since they have blooms... This is my first year with strawberries, so what say y'all? Do I need to protect the blooms? 

 

[Spy Car]

12 minutes ago, popmom said:

That is nuts to me, too.

You are doing the Lord's work, Bill. 🙂

I think the years when my son was young and he loved "Bob the Builder," which I naturally watched as well, with its message of "reduce!, reuse!, recycle!" really sunk in.

Oddly at 18 my son barely remembers watching Bob the Builder, while Mrs Spy Car and I can still sing the theme song (and sometime do) 

I do hate seeing perfectly good material being treated like "waste."

Bill

[Rosie_0801]

I finished excavating and refilling a new bed, and was able to plant out lettuce and nasturtium. The seed is a couple of years old, so I don't know whether it will grow or not, but with the nice new compost in there it will host more than it did when it was just clay and dust even more hydrophobic than the clay.

The other bed I'm digging will require a few more days, I think. I have only so much energy to spend on hitting clay with a mattock, fun though that is. I will be thrilled with life if I can get a few brassicas to grow in there.

I can hear the frog from inside here. For the effort he's been putting in, I hope he picks up. ❤️ 

[Faith-manor]

5 hours ago, Spy Car said:

The same house across the street (where they were going to dump all the beautiful flagstone) has had huge crews working every day redoing the landscaping. One of their latest moves was bringing in "low-boy" refuse containers to haul away obscene amounts of native soil.

I could not have that, so I must have rescued 30 or 40 wheelbarrow loads of good soil.

The crew was perplexed, as when they left the container a week ago Friday the container was entirely full. On the next Monday, it was more than half empty. Good for them as they had more to fill it up again.

I'm getting pretty sore. But also feeling strong. I'm sure the new neighbors figure I'm an eccentric old coot. They are not wrong 

Of course they brought in a huge crane to lift huge mature trees planted in large boxes up and over their home (you would not believe how big that crane was), which seems nuts to me. I guess "sanity" is a relative concept?

Bill 

Sanity and common sense are currently so rare, I consider them super powers!

I am glad you grabbed that top soil. That is so precious to the environment. According to my physical therapist, drink a lot of water. This apparently is a big assist to sore muscles.

[LifeLovePassion]

My hibiscus trees both bloomed right before I left for spring break. We are still getting snow here. More expected this weekend. Although it is starting to melt more in between. I saw some bulbs peeking up next to the house where there is no snow. I think they are allium.

[Faith-manor]

16 days until I start my tomato and peppers plants indoors from seed. Next week I am going to the nursery to order top soil for delivery in April. The sun is shining and today is supposed to get up to 44°/7° C. I feel a little hopeful that spring might actually come!

Edited March 15, 2023 by Faith-manor
Typo

[cjzimmer1]

On one of the "warmer" days (warmer being low 40's), I assembled the new raised bed I bought for my cage (aka protected from squirrels).  I liked it so much I ordered two more to go in there as I'm going to grow as much inside the cage as I can.  Anyways, the day after I ordered them, we got dumped with another 6+ inches of snow.  They arrived yesterday but I'm still waiting for the snow to melt enough to be able to get in there and assemble them.  I'd love to have them done in the next week because then I'm gone for 2 weeks for DS's wedding.  April things ramp up so much in the greenhouse I work at that it's much harder to find time to do projects at home.  Once I get them built, I've got to go through the process of getting them filled.  I'm estimating I will need about 5 cubit yards of material for the new beds.  My muscles are already complaining since I don't own a wheelbarrow.  Just 5 gallon buckets and a shovel.

Edited March 15, 2023 by cjzimmer1

[cjzimmer1]

The "city" trees planted out by the road have been in need of trimming for a while.  Once I got my two new beds built, I had planned to trim them and use the branches as filler in the beds.  Turns out the city came through and trimmed not only the low branches but also some nice sized limbs up farther.  And they even cut them in reasonable sized chunks (to make it easy for the crew that follows behind them to pick up).  They were totally fine with me snatching some.  I only had about 20 minutes before I had to leave for an appointment but I dragged as much as I could away from the curb and far enough onto my yard so no one would be tempted to take it.  Would have like to grab a bit more but I ran out of time and by the time I got back from the appointment, they had cleaned it all up. Funny part is, when I put brush out, they never clean up all the little pieces and I always end up cleaning up afterwards.  Today, when I would have happily cleaned up, they took every last twig to be found.  

[popmom]

Over the past few weeks everyone in my area is doing their yearly "crepe murder" as Steve Bender calls it. They leave all the pretty long straight limbs out on the curb for the city to pick up. 

I stare at every pile and think about what great pole bean supports they'd make. 😂 Or how much mulch I could chip.

There is one city/suburb in my area that composts all the fall leaves they collect from its citizens (Mountain Brook, AL). Then the residents can get all the free compost they want. And they offer it for super cheap to non residents. I've never taken advantage of that for whatever reason. I am going to contact our city council to ask what they do with all the leaves and brush they collect. My property taxes are nearly as much as Mountain Brook dang it. Give me some free compost! 

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by popmom

[BeachGal]

11 minutes ago, popmom said:

Over the past few weeks everyone in my area is doing their yearly "crepe murder" as Steve Bender calls it. They leave all the pretty long straight limbs out on the curb for the city to pick up. 

I stare at every pile and think about what great pole bean supports they'd make. 😂 Or how much mulch I could chip.

There is one city/suburb in my area that composts all the fall leaves they collect from its citizens (Mountain Brook, AL). Then the residents can get all the free compost they want. And they offer it for super cheap to non residents. I've never taken advantage of that for whatever reason. I am going to contact our city council to ask what they do with all the leaves and brush they collect. My property taxes are nearly as much as Mountain Brook dang it. Give me some free compost! 

 

Now that is smart! Leaf mulch is my favorite. Luscious stuff. 

[BeachGal]

Star of Bethlehem is almost all gone. They have bulbs so it’s important to get them out if possible or they will just come back the next year.

I’ve begun the great yew pruning event and am trying to remove big long chunks of branches only while the sun shines so as to make sure the rays will shine in on lower areas. It’s sort of like giving them windows. First will be the removal to allow the sun in and second will be removing the remaining dead wood with a reciprocating saw. Yew wood is difficult to cut especially thick branches. It was used to make bows once. Tough stuff.

At the Yew Dell Botanical Gardens near Louisville, they had several large yews, maybe 15’ tall, that had all green branches removed except for the main ones which had also been pruned a bit to create a beautiful framework. In a few years they will be lush with all new growth with that perfect frame. Should be lovely. I’m going to try to check them out again next year.

When our forsythia bloom in a week or two, the roses will be pruned as well. They are in dire need of proper pruning. Many problems including rose borers.

We are zone 5b but about 12 cannas (zone 6-7) are very happily surviving next to one of our buildings. Must be a microclimate. Some of them need to be divided.

About to plant 30 begonia corms indoors. Just transplanted 60 tiny wax begonia starters into larger containers and will be trying to max out their growth before they get transplanted in May. Lots of annual seeds coming along.

Spring is busy but it’s a good kind of busy!

[ikslo]

Oh, it’s war.  &$$?@!)

[Faith-manor]

7 minutes ago, ikslo said:

Oh, it’s war.  &$$?@!

Wow! Whatever piece of trash insect attacked it needs to die, die, die! 💀🌋

[wisdomandtreasures]

I got carrots planted in the ground this week and my boys have finally finished digging the compost trenches for me! Now to fill with kitchen scraps and turn a barren, dry, hard patch of the yard into good soil for next year. 🙂

All the seeds we planted indoors are doing amazingly well! This is our first time using grow lights and the seedlings are all thriving with nice thick stems instead of thread-like stems. 

 

[ikslo]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

Wow! Whatever piece of trash insect attacked it needs to die, die, die! 💀🌋

Oh, I was thinking it was a furry critter that  decided to sample and then decided it wasn’t ready and went on its way. We’ve seen a rat come over the fence as of late from the neighbor’s yard. He’s been hanging out in the bird of paradise eat the flowers/seeds, but hadn’t done much else in terms of damage that we could tell.  Whatever it was though, I agree, needs to be dealt with harshly 🤣

[Halftime Hope]

3 hours ago, wisdomandtreasures said:

I got carrots planted in the ground this week and my boys have finally finished digging the compost trenches for me! Now to fill with kitchen scraps and turn a barren, dry, hard patch of the yard into good soil for next year. 🙂

All the seeds we planted indoors are doing amazingly well! This is our first time using grow lights and the seedlings are all thriving with nice thick stems instead of thread-like stems. 

 

What kind did you get? I have concluded that a grow light is the one thing I have remaining to try...I just can't seem to grow strong seedlings.

[Faith-manor]

4 hours ago, ikslo said:

Oh, I was thinking it was a furry critter that  decided to sample and then decided it wasn’t ready and went on its way. We’ve seen a rat come over the fence as of late from the neighbor’s yard. He’s been hanging out in the bird of paradise eat the flowers/seeds, but hadn’t done much else in terms of damage that we could tell.  Whatever it was though, I agree, needs to be dealt with harshly 🤣

Dirty rat, evil.insect, whatever it is, die already! 😁

[SHP]

On 3/11/2023 at 1:13 PM, prairiewindmomma said:

Have you tried asking the owner of a smaller, independent nursery if they will special order in for you? 

This! And in case anyone else is going this route, you may want to start calling today, even if there is a foot of snow on the ground still. I just learned that my favorite nursery puts their spring-summer orders in in October the year before.

 

[ikslo]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Dirty rat, evil.insect, whatever it is, die already! 😁

Hear, hear!

[wisdomandtreasures]

6 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

What kind did you get? I have concluded that a grow light is the one thing I have remaining to try...I just can't seem to grow strong seedlings.

These are what I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B095BXKVTH?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

[ikslo]

Whelp. The critter thief got the rest of the fruit last night. We had planned to get some netting today, which was obviously too late. No orchid cactus fruit for me this year. DH agreed if the plant forms fruit again, we'll net it immediately. He also agrees the thief must die ☠️

[ikslo]

On 3/18/2023 at 10:50 AM, ikslo said:

Oh, I was thinking it was a furry critter that  decided to sample and then decided it wasn’t ready and went on its way. We’ve seen a rat come over the fence as of late from the neighbor’s yard. He’s been hanging out in the bird of paradise eat the flowers/seeds, but hadn’t done much else in terms of damage that we could tell.  Whatever it was though, I agree, needs to be dealt with harshly 🤣

On 3/19/2023 at 9:10 AM, ikslo said:

Whelp. The critter thief got the rest of the fruit last night. We had planned to get some netting today, which was obviously too late. No orchid cactus fruit for me this year. DH agreed if the plant forms fruit again, we'll net it immediately. He also agrees the thief must die ☠️

Update: He was BIG and FAT. He was fast. But he was no match for the trap. 

Edited March 21, 2023 by ikslo

[SHP]

We are joining a community garden a friend runs to grow vegetables this year. 🙂

In other gardening news: I am annoyed with the weather. Is it winter? Is it spring? The only way to tell is by our work schedule. Are we both working? It's a sunny spring day. Are we both off with a day dedicated to gardening? It is snowing with a wind that cuts.

[Faith-manor]

Still too cold here to do very much outside, but the snow has actually melted. I a! giving it a couple more days for the soil in the raised bed I currently have to fully thaw out, and then I am going to rake out the leaves on top that did not compost (Dh threw them in there whole when I was in Alabama last fall with our grandsons), and add compost from the munched leaf pile that has broken down nicely. There has been some soil compaction and loss, and I have two bags of top soil to add on top of the compost and some composted chicken poo as well. I figure that by the time I add plants in May, it should be some decent, fertile soil. Those beds have had tomatoes, broccoki, and pepper plants in the past. This year I am going to put cucumbers in one section, and basil, rosemary, and green onions in the other section.

My plans are hectic. Mark agreed, without asking me because he was under a lot of pressure at work and from his mom so wasn't thinking about it 😬, to take his mother to Pennsylvania to see a relative over his four day Easter break. That Easter break was vital to my plans for getting the new raised beds built, and full of soil. We have guests from out of town this weekend, have to go out of town ourselves the following weekend for a family baby shower, and then now he is using his holiday vacation the week after to travel. He sprang on me that his mother is expecting me to go too. I am not happy, and have not made that decision. I am not angry with him simple because this is not the norm for him, he always consults me and is not a presumptuous person. His mother has been a real difficult piece of work to handle this past month, and he is exhausted by her. But, this means the ONLY weekend I have home before May to do any garden preparation is April 15/16. I was already committed to being in Alabama to help Dd for a week of from the 22nd through the 30th. Some how he and I m now have to get seven raised beds built in that one weekend. I am worried about getting it done, and I have all of these seeds I started inside right before he committed to this trip. (I started them a week earlier than I had planned due to my favorite local nursery saying they were advising gardeners to get started ASAP.) I am considering not going on the trip which leaves him rather miserable dealing with his mother alone. But if I stayed behind, I could start building the beds and shoveling dirt as well as get the fertilizer stakes in for the apple trees, and get the garden trellis (which desperately needs a coat of sealer) ready for the cucumber plants.

I really do not know what to do. I am very committed to growing a lot of food this year and preserving it. But he is going to have a very difficult time with her if he has to travel without me.

Anyway, besides that, I am looking forward to getting started. I do need to call the nursery and arrange for the delivery of the soil. 

[Melissa in Australia]

Turned the big compost bay into the one beside it. It is the biggest one, 3 metres by 2 metres by 2 meters high. It took me a good 4 hours.  It hadn't broken down as much as I had hoped so I mucked out the chook pen and collected 2 wheelbarrows of cow poo and added it through it. I am Knackered 

Planted direct  beetroot seeds, turnip seeds, broad beans and mustard

Planted cauliflower, cabbage kale, and Kohl rabi seeds in trays in the greenhouse

Picked 2 harvest baskets of both of tomatoes and capsicum. Am going to drop them off for Dd to process 

I harvest basket of pears picked and a washing basket of apples. Will process them a different day. 

I really should be planing out some flower seedlings, but my body has gone on strike and is telling me it is done for the day

[Sneezyone]

I've been so busy with work and kid and DH and sibling stuff but I took the last two weekends to work in the yard. I'm almost done with clean up (shearing the switchgrass and weeding) and have one more dirt patch by the driveway to update with annual plantings/color. I'm still building my herb strip (parallel to the veg) and added to the existing onions, garlic, sage, creeping thyme, coneflowers, grapes and alliums all manner of things (hyssop, anise hyssop, greek oregano, 3 more thyme varieties, lovage, 2 sorrel varieties, and bronze fennel). We'll see what sticks/is happy there.

My veggie beds are refreshed and half-planted. The tomato and pepper seedlings, only about 1.5" tall, are hardening off. We get A LOT of wind on my veggie side of the house plus it's been warm this week. They'll develop stronger stems this way vs. under the grow light. I direct-sowed a squash, melon and cucumber to see how that works. I also direct sowed some dwarf corn. I don't see any seedlings yet but I'm used to my heat mat and grow light providing instant gratification so...patience grasshopper (not my strong suit).

My blueberry bushes are flowering and setting fruit! I have five now. I love this time of year when everything is neat and tidy (for the moment). I observed my neighbor (he of the twice daily mowing...SMH) consulting with a contractor on the best way to remove his last remaining (5) dandelions and (2) brown spots. Sigh. He's probably apoplectic over my 'lawn' (clover, grass, dandelion, etc.) evergreen weed patch. I did add a lawn flag that explains we're feeding the bees.

Meanwhile, his homeschooled kids eagerly seek to pet my dog (they're not allowed one) and will probably pilfer my berries and want to see the recently returned nesting duck once they know they're present. I don't mind; I just find it funny. A few walkers have commented positively on my efforts.

On a VERY happy note, my other neighbor cut down two trees (one maple, one pine) which SIGNIFICANTLY increases the amount of sun (and decreases the squirrel traffic) my garden patch receives. WOOT! Maybe the peppers I shared last year paid off??

Suburban wild-ish gardening is definitely going against the grain.

Edited March 26, 2023 by Sneezyone

[ikslo]

I think I have too many tomato plants. Is that possible? 
 

ETA: Volunteer Everglades. Over 3 dozen all separated and potted.  They will need bigger pots.

Edited March 26, 2023 by ikslo

[ikslo]

My husband says no, not too many. He says we never harvest enough tomatoes. He’s going to buy some more large pots for them. I guess I have my answer. But I don’t think he realizes we only had two Everglades last year. In suburbia. 40+ tomato plants (I started at least 4 Roma as well) is…a lot.

[ikslo]

Anyone in Tampa want some tomato plants? 🤣

[Sneezyone]

19 minutes ago, ikslo said:

My husband says no, not too many. He says we never harvest enough tomatoes. He’s going to buy some more large pots for them. I guess I have my answer. But I don’t think he realizes we only had two Everglades last year. In suburbia. 40+ tomato plants (I started at least 4 Roma as well) is…a lot.

I am planting 2 romas (Martino and San Marzano), 1 tomatillo, and 6 indeterminate cherry (2 green dr., 2 rosella, and 2 sunrise bumble) for our household. If I had more space I would do more!

Edited March 26, 2023 by Sneezyone

[ikslo]

That’s okay. If I have to, I will feed them to the ice cream bananas. (Chalk that up as something I never anticipated I would ever say.)

[Melissa in Australia]

26 minutes ago, ikslo said:

My husband says no, not too many. He says we never harvest enough tomatoes. He’s going to buy some more large pots for them. I guess I have my answer. But I don’t think he realizes we only had two Everglades last year. In suburbia. 40+ tomato plants (I started at least 4 Roma as well) is…a lot.

This summer I planted 60

I have decided that it is slightly too many. Just about every preserving jar is full, and I am now taking basket loads to Dd for her.

It is autumn now. I am trying to steel myself up to rip out loaded tomatoes plants as I have preserved over a years worth of ketchup, spaghetti Sauce, Salas, pizza sauce and  bottled tomatoes 

Edited March 26, 2023 by Melissa in Australia

[ikslo]

I’m hazarding a guess that you have a larger plot of land than I do.

!! according to Zillow it’s less than 1/5 of an acre !!

Edited March 26, 2023 by ikslo

[SHP]

It was half way nice out today. I ended up overwhelmed with all the things to do and managed to do nothing. Then had a long conversation with the husband about why staining/painting when the high is 56 is NOT ok when the directions said to only stain/paint when it is above 60. I cannot tell if he is being intent obtuse or thinks that doing things wrong to check a box will help my anxiety and is trying to push without regard to the long term. Yes, he has ADHD. 

 

Tomorrow I will make a list breaking everything down to avoid this goong forward. 

[Melissa in Australia]

3 hours ago, ikslo said:

I’m hazarding a guess that you have a larger plot of land than I do.

!! according to Zillow it’s less than 1/5 of an acre !!

yes. my veggie garden is slightly bigger than a tennis court. I live on 5 acres

[Faith-manor]

8 hours ago, ikslo said:

I think I have too many tomato plants. Is that possible? 
 

ETA: Volunteer Everglades. Over 3 dozen all separated and potted.  They will need bigger pots.

Nope. Not possible. You can never have too many. 😁

[cjzimmer1]

9 hours ago, ikslo said:

My husband says no, not too many. He says we never harvest enough tomatoes. He’s going to buy some more large pots for them. I guess I have my answer. But I don’t think he realizes we only had two Everglades last year. In suburbia. 40+ tomato plants (I started at least 4 Roma as well) is…a lot.

 

9 hours ago, ikslo said:

I’m hazarding a guess that you have a larger plot of land than I do.

!! according to Zillow it’s less than 1/5 of an acre !!

My relatives own a greenhouse. The year COVID hit, we ended up with a lot more tomato plants leftover than usual. I didn't have the heart to throw them away so I planted everything I could. Every nook and cranny of garden space was tucked with tomatoes, every empty pot I could scavage up got a tomato. I planted 84 that year. My land is smaller than yours, you can do this!  

On a side note, I'm still using up the tomatoes I canned that year.