April gardens

[prairiewindmomma]

How are your gardens?

[Rosie_0801]

I had a blue banded bee hanging around my bulging lily aka native leek yesterday! It was a more vivid blue than the last one I saw about two years ago. So exciting. 

https://www.aussiebee.com.au/blue_banded_bee.html

[ikslo]

4 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I had a blue banded bee hanging around my bulging lily aka native leek yesterday! It was a more vivid blue than the last one I saw about two years ago. So exciting. 

https://www.aussiebee.com.au/blue_banded_bee.html

❤️

[ikslo]

The first of my Everglades tomatoes have started turning red. Lots of butterflies and birds around lately.

And…we trapped another rat. 🤨

[Rosie_0801]

Damned autocorrect! They're bulbine lilies!

[ikslo]

Just now, Rosie_0801 said:

Damned autocorrect! They're bulbine lilies!

Lol - I was so excited to learn about blue banded bees I didn’t even notice

[prairiewindmomma]

My two apple trees seem to be settling in nicely, though I did stake them due to the winds. I put some primroses in my planters for some spring color. They have been beaten up by the hail but still look cheerful. 
 

Our weather has kept the soil too wet to work the last couple of weeks. I had hoped to do my first round of early spring plantings by now. 
 

Youngest planted some strawberries (roots) in a pot but they haven’t broken through the soil yet. The cherries are just starting to blossom here, so I guess that’s ok. 
 

 

[Condessa]

I thought the winter weather was finally breaking, and planted a bunch of things on Friday, mostly in the cold frame plus a couple trays on our kitchen table.  This evening it was snowing.  This is my first year using a cold frame, so I don’t really know how much protection it will offer.  I went out and added a tarp over it for another layer, but I guess I will just have to see if anything comes up and replant if it doesn’t.

[Sneezyone]

I AM STILL LEARNING!!

Most of my veg is in. I have a few more tomato, pepper and pest-repelling herbs to put in the ground plus most of my shade-loving plants but the veg seedlings are living outdoors and that's progress. My bush beans poked through the surface today. WOOT!!  The front yard switch-grasses were trimmed back, flowering/driveway plants and new blueberry bushes are in the ground. I'm experimenting with interplanting (my dad's style) this year vs. sq. ft companion planting and am already seeing positive results. I haven't had to use any diatomaceous earth on the brassica interplanted (in a pot) with mint and lemongrass vs those in my raised bed that are COVERED in it to spare their lives.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Faith-manor]

We finally got enough warmth to finish melting the snow. I am going out this afternoon to rake out the uncomposted leaves from the bed, and replace with the litter from the big pile of munched leaves that did compost this winter and looks really great. I have some organic chicken doo doo compost as well, and am adding some of that. The soil has settled since the bed was built three years ago, and I will be adding 3" of top soil over it, and then just let it sit and stew. I had decided against mixing it in so as not to disturb beneficial bacterial growth in the soil. Is that the right decision though? Should I be using my hand rake and trowel to give it a good mix?

I have some seeds to start today. Mark will be doing a little pruning of the apple tree tonight after work. Other than that, nothing else will occur since we are going to be 24/7 busy with his mother Wednesday evening through next Tuesday evening. But when we return, he is building the new raised beds for me, and then we will engine the arduous task of shoveling in 3 cubic yards (2.265 cubic meters) of top soil and 1 cubic yard (0.765 meters cubed) of compost plus for the San Marzano tomato bed, some wood ash, and mixing together.

Our hope is to have the new beds built the weekend of April 15, and all the soil transferred by April 22 when I leave for a week in Alabama. Then it is a waiting game until we can transfer seedlings. But, it absolutely has to be done by May 16. We leave the 17th for Virginia. If we don't have rain, my mom can water them. If we have a frost, she will have access to agricultural fabric that is ready to just pull over top of the beds.

So it will be almost 2 weeks before I have anything to report or photos of the new beds.

 

[SHP]

I finally went out and took a closer look at what I assumed was thriving clover. It's two plants, henbit and either chickweed or thyme speedwell, I need to look up how to tell them apart again. It doesn't look horrible right now so I am debating declaring that they are intentional ground cover and declaring the weeds have won in that area. How much herbicide can one toss on the ground before everything finally dies?! 

 

In happier news, I scored tons of free plants this weekend. 

[Lady Florida.]

I harvested some small red potatoes. I have two more grow bags of potatoes still growing. My zucchini and basil are doing well. I'm afraid it will get too hot too fast for the broccoli but I'll let it keep growing and cross my fingers.

Last week I picked up a couple of natives from a friend who had extras grown from seed - privet senna and black eyed susan. I replanted the privet senna and hope to get the black eyed susan in the ground this week.

Monarch caterpillars devoured the milkweed and disappeared. I found one chrysalis and hope the others are just well hidden. It's possible birds got them. It makes me sad to think about it but the birds need to eat too. 

 

[Loowit]

It has been too cold to do much more than planning from indoors really.  We had one really nice weekend, where we got in some time outdoors.  This year we are focusing on re-working some of our landscaping to make it work better for us.  I am moving my roses away from one of the the fences where the dog runs with the neighbor dogs.  But that is proving to be a big undertaking.

We found out that we are going to have to cut down two of our larger trees in our backyard because they are past their prime.  One of them is developing cracks and some of the branches are starting to come down.  Doing research revealed that they have a fairly short lifespan.  I am pretty sad because it will take away a good deal of privacy along our back fence.  It will take several years to grow new trees tall enough to make up for it.  We are still trying to decide what to get to replace them.  We want to go with evergreens, but we aren't sure yet.  We are planning to leave the stumps from the previous trees and let them rot naturally.  I want to create a kind of shade garden area along that fence line with ferns and salal.  It will still have a cherry tree and lilacs.

I am getting the soil ready for the pumpkins and tomatoes we are planning for this year in the planters DH made a couple years ago.  I am hoping that the pumpkins will actually grow this time.  The dog, however, loves the fertilizer I added, so I am having to work to keep him out of the dirt.  I also pruned the blueberry bushes so they are ready for some warm spring weather to hit.  I am hoping they put on more berries this year.

[Pawz4me]

We're in the process of digging up and transplanting some (okay, a lot) of creeping thyme and mondo grass. Right now we're waiting on the 811 people to come because we're getting close to where we know the internet line is buried. Once the line is marked we'll finish that up, hopefully by later this week. Last year we planted twelve Miss Huff lantana. We're in the northernmost zone that they can be counted on to be perennial. Last fall we covered them with a very thick layer of leaf mulch and then held our breath throughout the winter. But it looks like they all came through just fine. We uncovered them a few weeks ago and saw bits of greenery on all of them, and they've grown a lot since then. Once we finish transplanting the mondo and creeping thyme we'll start working on our raised beds. We covered them with a thick layer of leaf mulch last fall, so it needs to be churned in before we can plant anything.

[KungFuPanda]

Not to brag, but this morning I reclaimed a two foot wide strip at my community garden. Only 23 more feet to go. I figure I have most of April to get it in planting condition, but I definitely have a lot of work ahead of me. I may go for another session this evening, or weed the beds in the back yard and throw some peas in the ground. I really need to get more permanent beds constructed and started before I get any older. 
 

[itsheresomewhere]

16 hours ago, Condessa said:

I thought the winter weather was finally breaking, and planted a bunch of things on Friday, mostly in the cold frame plus a couple trays on our kitchen table.  This evening it was snowing.  This is my first year using a cold frame, so I don’t really know how much protection it will offer.  I went out and added a tarp over it for another layer, but I guess I will just have to see if anything comes up and replant if it doesn’t.

If you add some large slate pieces to the bottom of the cold frame, it can really raise the temperature and keep it a bit warmer at night.  
 

I have a cold frame going all winter.  I surround mine with hay/straw bales and put pieces of slate in it.  It has not failed me in years and keeps thing growing . 

[Rosie_0801]

5 hours ago, SHP said:

I finally went out and took a closer look at what I assumed was thriving clover. It's two plants, henbit and either chickweed or thyme speedwell, I need to look up how to tell them apart again.

Chickweed has a row of hairs down its spine. And it is edible so that'd be a win.

[catz]

Well we had 10 inches of snow 2 days ago.  So not great.  🤣  Better luck next month?  I am going to try and remember to throw down some lettuce seeds before too long.  

[Condessa]

1 hour ago, itsheresomewhere said:

If you add some large slate pieces to the bottom of the cold frame, it can really raise the temperature and keep it a bit warmer at night.  
 

I have a cold frame going all winter.  I surround mine with hay/straw bales and put pieces of slate in it.  It has not failed me in years and keeps thing growing . 

My cold frame is made of straw bales with windows set on top.

[itsheresomewhere]

39 minutes ago, Condessa said:

My cold frame is made of straw bales with windows set on top.

Nice.  If you need more heat, try the slate.  Amazon also sells these nice wireless temperature sensors I use. So nice to be able to check on my phone the temps in the greenhouse and cold frames anytime.  

[Faith-manor]

I have started seeds indoors. I am hoping for 6 cucumber plants, 8 bell pepper, and 12 broccoli plants out of the effort which would be a germination rate of about 75%. Of course, this is me these seeds are considering sprouting for, and they might just go, "Heck no! I am NOT hanging out all season with that plant murderer!" I have not planted the San Marzanos. The more I read about them, the more convinced I am that they may have been a bad choice for this region and my abilities. I think I may just by Amish paste tomato plants from the nursery as well as some romas.

All the other seeds need to be direct sown. Green beans, carrots, radishes, scallions, chives, and sweet onion (those sets will come from the nursery as well). Mark might try his hand at some potatoes in large containers. If I have enough hanging pots, I might buy strawberry plants. Does anyone know how many plants can be placed in a 12" diameter pot that is about 6" deep? I was thinking 3, but maybe that is too many.

[Ann.without.an.e]

I think I have a fox and I’m not sure what to do about it. It’s the equivalent of having a small dog who loves to dig up and eat all the veggies free roaming your garden. He especially loves my Swiss chard 😭 

We think we know what it is now since he left scat in one of the boxes. We have some dens at the back of our land that we’ve suspected are foxes. 
I don’t kill so I need peaceful solutions. I can’t even kill the mice in our farmhouse. I catch and release. I know, I have issues lol

[Faith-manor]

14 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

I think I have a fox and I’m not sure what to do about it. It’s the equivalent of having a small dog who loves to dig up and eat all the veggies free roaming your garden. He especially loves my Swiss chard 😭 

We think we know what it is now since he left scat in one of the boxes. We have some dens at the back of our land that we’ve suspected are foxes. 
I don’t kill so I need peaceful solutions. I can’t even kill the mice in our farmhouse. I catch and release. I know, I have issues lol

Well, I can understand not wanting to kill one. I do want to caution you though that foxes can carry rabies. In my area, if they come up and root through gardens, especially pens close to the house, we are advised to either shoot them or call the DNR to see if they will send an officer to track and trap so they can test it. On my friend's farm, if we get one in the henhouse, we deal with the chicken remains REALLY carefully.

You might be able to trap it for release.. You need to deal with that especially carefully. I recommend an old quilt over the trap before you pick it up to carry so he can't see you, and leather gloves, like welding gloves plus full coverage of the rest of you so when you open that cage to let him loose, he can't nail you. If he is healthy, he will be scared and likely just run for it once the door is open. But if he is rabid, he may be aggressive. So far there have been no cases of the fox strain of rabies being transmitted to humans. 7% of all known rabies cases in wild animals seems to be from foxes. But due to the fact that an elderly man in Wisconsin or Minnesota (can't remember which state) just died of rabies despite immediate prophylactic treatment due to an immune system issue that caused him not to be able to make anitbodies, I still recommend caution. No one wants to be the test case for "fox rabies jumps host to humans" on CNN nightly news. 

Sadly, we have a fair amount of rabies here. Skunks are our primary vector, and the DNR has done significant catch and test due to the huge skunk population. One in 8 tested last year. Ugh. 12 skunks from my county identified which means many dozens more had it and died without being discovered.  One of the local vets ended up on shots for it after going to see sick horse which it turns out had gotten rabies from likely a skunk in the pasture.

Fox urine, which can be bought, is a good bait for live trapping them.

[SHP]

All the wonderful flowers! Sorry no pictures, I was too busy enjoying the beauty. 

[Sneezyone]

I went out this morning with my coffee mug to a soothing, cooling rain and so much new growth. Best way to start the day.

[itsheresomewhere]

Faith-  Amish paste are so much nicer to grow than San Marzanos.  San Marzanos are one of the few varieties I have ever heard my Mennonite friends grumble about growing.  I have grown then a few times and they need a lot of coddling.  No time for that for me.  Amish paste just don’t need that.  
 

My lettuce in my earth boxes are doing great.  The stuff in my greenhouse is doing well.  I went to a few farms my Mennonite friends recommended so I could get some replacement odd plants.  Came home with golden raspberries, black raspberries and pink lemonade blueberries.  These will replace the ones they killed. 
 

I would really like to get this project done soon but getting a landscaper to actually call back is a task within itself.  They all give estimates yet can’t be bothered to return a phone call.  I hired one for the project and have been trying get on the schedule since March 16.  Now they don’t know if they will have the time to do it before October.  Grrrr.  

[itsheresomewhere]

Some of the Black Petunias from my greenhouse.  One of my favorites and a best seller.  They look like velvet in person. 
 

Edited April 7, 2023 by itsheresomewhere

[Sneezyone]

1 minute ago, itsheresomewhere said:

Some of the Black Petunias from my greenhouse.  One of my favorites and a best seller.  They look like velvet in person. 
 

THOSE ARE SO COOL!

[gardenmom5]

picking sections to work on.  Now - if 2ds will just get out and spread bark where I've been . . . .  

currently planting lily-of-the-valley in a very narrow bed in my rose garden. . . but it's already looking better, now just get the bark down . . . . 

the bark is in bags (I buy online, and pick it up. if I buy at least 10 at a time, it's discounted)

My pots with geraniums didn't get put in the garage last fall - so the geraniums all died.  (which makes me sad, as seven were three years old.) I have planted nepeta (aka: catmint) in them.  I have a place I want to put them come fall, but they need to be developed plants, not the rhizomes/roots/etc.

[itsheresomewhere]

47 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

THOSE ARE SO COOL!

They are.  And when the flower is rub, the rub spots become this gorgeous deep purple. 

[prairiewindmomma]

I bought some generic aerogarden pods to try along the more expensive name brand ones. The generics have developed a white fuzzy mold. I also had about 25% germination compared to 100% with the name brand ones. 😞 I wanted to give a heads up here as I know some have their own aerogardens.

 

[prairiewindmomma]

We are getting very consistent spring weather—highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s-40s, daily drizzle. I am hoping it helps our forests. Unfortunately, my garden soil is still gloppy….way too wet to work.

[SHP]

I need win the lottery so I can buy all the plants.

In the mean time I need to decide on woody shrubs. So far my favorites are too wide, too tall, too invasive, too agressive, too high maintance or too common. Wanting to avoid invasive and agressive plants plus city code limits in size has resulted in a reject list being a mile long. 

[gardenmom5]

I got all my lily-of-the-valley planted (60) . . which means I had to clean out that bed - and all the stuff uphill from it . . . looks better.  Now I have two flower beds 2ds can mulch . . .   I'm working on a third.

I'm looking at tarps to line the inside of my suv so I don't get dirt/mulch (bags)/etc all over inside.  especially since it's been cool, and wet. . . 

I may end up buying myself a cargo basket that goes in the trailer hitch . . . it holds 500lbs . . . (I bought one for 2dd while I was in Texas as we were hauling so much stuff with us . . . I liked it.)  anyway - then I wouldn't have to put the bags of bark (or paving stones for about 25 sq ft) in my car at all.

I ordered two 30" rectangular pots for by my front door.  I want to get some Gartenmeister Fuschias (they're more heat/sun tolerant than most).
and I've been looking at "how to paint your old foam pots" . . . . They're still good - but the paint is very very sad. . . and I have four of them . . . 

and I have to break up my hens and chicks and spread them out in the dirt so they'll do their groundcover thing . . . . there are plants I like much better, but they are more appropriately sized. . . 

 

 

[Pawz4me]

2 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

 

I may end up buying myself a cargo basket that goes in the trailer hitch . . . it holds 500lbs . . . (I bought one for 2dd while I was in Texas as we were hauling so much stuff with us . . . I liked it.)  anyway - then I wouldn't have to put the bags of bark (or paving stones for about 25 sq ft) in my car at all.

You have to be extremely careful with those hitch mounted cargo carriers. The safe weight calculation for them--the total weight the vehicle hitch can safely hold, including the weight of the basket and whatever you're hauling--is way more complicated than whatever the vehicle's manual states the towing capacity and tongue weight max are. You can only safely mount on the bumper a small fraction of the vehicle's tongue weight capacity. If you need to use a hitch extender your safe carrying capacity is reduced by every inch it extends out. Once you take into account the weight of the carrier itself, in many vehicles that leaves only a very small cargo capacity. There are many good resources available, like this one. I'd read many more.

Edited April 8, 2023 by Pawz4me

[LifeLovePassion]

The snow might finally be on the way out of here. I have a few things peeking out right along the house. 

[Sneezyone]

7 hours ago, SHP said:

I need win the lottery so I can buy all the plants.

In the mean time I need to decide on woody shrubs. So far my favorites are too wide, too tall, too invasive, too agressive, too high maintance or too common. Wanting to avoid invasive and agressive plants plus city code limits in size has resulted in a reject list being a mile long. 

Red twig/autumn fire dogwood?

[gardenmom5]

4 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

You have to be extremely careful with those hitch mounted cargo carriers. The safe weight calculation for them--the total weight the vehicle hitch can safely hold, including the weight of the basket and whatever you're hauling--is way more complicated than whatever the vehicle's manual states the towing capacity and tongue weight max are. You can only safely mount on the bumper a small fraction of the vehicle's tongue weight capacity. If you need to use a hitch extender your safe carrying capacity is reduced by every inch it extends out. Once you take into account the weight of the carrier itself, in many vehicles that leaves only a very small cargo capacity. There are many good resources available, like this one. I'd read many more.

It's already a very small fraction of my towing capacity.

[Pawz4me]

1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said:

It's already a very small fraction of my towing capacity.

Towing capacity isn't a relevant factor. You're not towing, you're toting with all the weight (force) on the hitch. If you calculate wrong the best case scenario is you damage your vehicle's frame where the hitch is mounted, which probably can be repaired with some welding. Worst case is the hitch completely breaks away from the frame resulting in a bad accident. If you insist on doing it w/o the proper homework then please please please inspect the weld where the hitch attaches to the frame before every use. If you look around online you can see pictures where hitches have separated from vehicle frames from the stress of carrying these things, so you can get an idea of what you need to look for.

ETA: I don't mean to be a harda$$ about this, or come across as lecturing. It's just that we were clueless on the first bumper mounted cargo carrier we bought, didn't do any of the right weight calculations, etc. We thought "our towing capacity is 3500 pounds so this will work." Duh. Very, very thankfully we encountered someone who knew a LOT more than we did who educated us. We ended up buying an entirely different carrier (much lighter and a different configuration than the original one), and carefully weighing and paring down everything we were carrying. To this day I'm SO thankful to the person who maybe helped us avoid a tragic accident.

Edited April 8, 2023 by Pawz4me

[TechWife]

On 4/5/2023 at 11:43 AM, Ann.without.an.e said:

I think I have a fox and I’m not sure what to do about it. It’s the equivalent of having a small dog who loves to dig up and eat all the veggies free roaming your garden. He especially loves my Swiss chard 😭 

We think we know what it is now since he left scat in one of the boxes. We have some dens at the back of our land that we’ve suspected are foxes. 
I don’t kill so I need peaceful solutions. I can’t even kill the mice in our farmhouse. I catch and release. I know, I have issues lol

Do you have a wildlife management company nearby that could relocate it for you? I’ve no idea how much it would cost, though. 

[TechWife]

On 4/7/2023 at 10:04 AM, itsheresomewhere said:

Some of the Black Petunias from my greenhouse.  One of my favorites and a best seller.  They look like velvet in person. 
 

Very nice & it’s so different than what I would have imagined with the name if you hadn’t posted pictures! 

[TechWife]

On 4/7/2023 at 10:54 AM, itsheresomewhere said:

They are.  And when the flower is rub, the rub spots become this gorgeous deep purple. 

I think I’d be doing that regularly just to see! Thanks for sharing.

[TechWife]

I put off my pruning until this week. I know I’m supposed to do it in February around here, but I often do it in March with no repercussions. This year it was April before my schedule and good weather lined up. My crepe myrtle, hydrangeas and butterfly bush are all shaped up now. It started raining today & will do so off & on for the next several days. I’m hoping it will knock the last of the pollen off of the trees around here. I’ll probably start putting my annuals out in early May - that’s another thing I do a little later than recommended. So far, procrastination has served me well. I do have some volunteer pansies and some vinca is coming back in. The pansies will probably die off when the heat sets in.

I have a lot of containers to plant. The four rectangular boxes across my front porch will get Cala Lillie’s again, along with something to trail off of the front & sides. I think I’m  going to put cherry tomatoes on the patio this year & I have several 12” pots around that I might drop some annuals into. Ik toying with seeing if I can grow bell pepper in a pot.

 I need to replace my front door urns with something heavier this year.  Cement is much pricier than I thought. That, coupled with the fact that I want something attractive has led to a lot of shopping around. I came upon this tall planter at Pottery Barn & it had a $249 price tag on it, which is super cheap for something that size. It turns out it was tagged incorrectly- the tag had the right sku on it but the wrong price. It was supposed to be $599 but they sold it to me for $249. The manager said he expects them to go on sale in late April for 30-40% off so I will get a second one then. I want to put a shrub of some kind in each of them and then underplant with different annuals each year. I’m thinking of planting shaped boxwood - one with two “balls.” I’ve not had anything shaped like that before, so I’m hesitant. 

I’ll move the lightweight urns to the patio & probably use them for annuals or maybe try small potatoes, though I’m not sure if they would be protected enough in an urn. I’ve done them in a barrel before & that worked well. 

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Towing capacity isn't a relevant factor. You're not towing, you're toting with all the weight (force) on the hitch. If you calculate wrong the best case scenario is you damage your vehicle's frame where the hitch is mounted, which probably can be repaired with some welding. Worst case is the hitch completely breaks away from the frame resulting in a bad accident. If you insist on doing it w/o the proper homework then please please please inspect the weld where the hitch attaches to the frame before every use. If you look around online you can see pictures where hitches have separated from vehicle frames from the stress of carrying these things, so you can get an idea of what you need to look for.

ETA: I don't mean to be a harda$$ about this, or come across as lecturing. It's just that we were clueless on the first bumper mounted cargo carrier we bought, didn't do any of the right weight calculations, etc. We thought "our towing capacity is 3500 pounds so this will work." Duh. Very, very thankfully we encountered someone who knew a LOT more than we did who educated us. We ended up buying an entirely different carrier (much lighter and a different configuration than the original one), and carefully weighing and paring down everything we were carrying. To this day I'm SO thankful to the person who maybe helped us avoid a tragic accident.

You are coming across that way, and you are coming across as though you think I don't know what I'm doing.  I'm sorry you had a bad experience. 

Not that I feel I should have to explain myself - but . . . . . 

I did research on hitches, then I chose my hitch.   It was professionally installed by someone we trust with a well rated shop.  He expressed approval of the hitch.  (If he didn't like it, he knows us well enough he *would* have said we should return it and get a different one).  It was not just some "shop" that was convenient.   
My car has a 5K towing capacity (which I take with a grain of salt), the tongue weight rating on my hitch is 900lbs - this cargo carrier is rated for 500lbs.

and it has far more capacity than a roof cargo basket. (we used one for 30 years.) and much easier to load . . . 

eta: the hitch has a tow rating of 6K lbs, and a 'distribution' tow rating of 8K lbs.  (both above what my car can tow) what can I say - sometimes I like overkill . . . 

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by gardenmom5

[SHP]

5 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

Red twig/autumn fire dogwood?

That is one that I have been debating for over a year for the largest area I have. It's the only place I can put a 5ft wide plant. 

[Faith-manor]

On 4/7/2023 at 9:47 AM, itsheresomewhere said:

Faith-  Amish paste are so much nicer to grow than San Marzanos.  San Marzanos are one of the few varieties I have ever heard my Mennonite friends grumble about growing.  I have grown then a few times and they need a lot of coddling.  No time for that for me.  Amish paste just don’t need that.  
 

My lettuce in my earth boxes are doing great.  The stuff in my greenhouse is doing well.  I went to a few farms my Mennonite friends recommended so I could get some replacement odd plants.  Came home with golden raspberries, black raspberries and pink lemonade blueberries.  These will replace the ones they killed. 
 

I would really like to get this project done soon but getting a landscaper to actually call back is a task within itself.  They all give estimates yet can’t be bothered to return a phone call.  I hired one for the project and have been trying get on the schedule since March 16.  Now they don’t know if they will have the time to do it before October.  Grrrr.  

Thanks for this information. I decided against the San Marzanos. I have started my cherry tomatoes indoors, but I will buy Amish paste seedlings. I don't think I am up for the snarky attitude of San Marzanos. 😅

[Sneezyone]

17 minutes ago, SHP said:

That is one that I have been debating for over a year for the largest area I have. It's the only place I can put a 5ft wide plant. 

Dwarf blueberry?

[KungFuPanda]

I weeded my four 4x8 backyard beds today and planted some lettuce. My strawberries are blossoming, which I hadn’t noticed because of all the weeds. My winter sown jugs have some seedlings. I have cabbage, kale, tomatoes, tomatillos, and some flowers sprouting. The cabbages and lake need to be opened up and moved into the ground, but we have a frost warning tonight so I didn’t want to push them. Onions, chives, sage, oregano, and thyme are coming back. I’ve got Hostas pushing up too. 
 

I did not make it to my community garden today, so I have still only reclaimed a 2x20 strip leaving 23x20 to work on. The big surprise over there was that my Rosemary survived the winter. I also have some garlic up over there. 
 

I have an Antietam blush apple and five Nanking cherries in pots that I have no idea where to place. Oh, and my figs are coming along. I tried 4 different methods of propagating. 2 molded, the cups worked, and there are cuttings in the fridge that I’m afraid to look at. The ones in the photo have more leaves now and they all have great roots. 

[SHP]

Today was incredibly productive. 

 

Time for advil.

[SHP]

7 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

Dwarf blueberry?

I am trying to avoid anything else that the local wildlife will enjoy