May gardens

[prairiewindmomma]

My only claim to fame today is that my garden currently has more roses in bloom than Butchart Gardens. 😁 And by that I mean that all three of my bushes are in bloom, and only one was open at Butchart yesterday. 😂🤦🤷‍♀️😃

[BeachGal]

Put in all the alpine currants last week after removing the scraggly yews. It looks so much better. That garden also got a batch of liriope. The second batch arrives tomorrow or Tuesday. I will be planting four batches total. Then in early fall, I will pop in white and purple fritillary bulbs for the sort of effect linked here but without the daffodils, maybe a few hellebores:

https://www.dutchbulbs.com/product/Meleagris_Fritillaria_Mix

Planted the honeywort seedlings outside finally. Mixed them in with hostas and alpine columbine. Both have that beautiful blue-gray foliage. Hope they like their new homes.

Planted a small rock garden with wax begonias-orange flowers and dark foliage, coleus-Sky Fire?, yellow loosestrife, blue lobelia, Kentucky Blue Star, Alpine Columbine and some large-leaved blue hostas, small ferns and unshaped boxwoods. It looks cheerful. Well, it makes me cheerful because they are all out of the house and finally planted!

All of the trees are dropping their zillions of seeds. Mulch was just delivered and once the majority of tree seeds have been raked up — what fun! — that will go down. This seems to be best to do around the beginning of the second week for the areas I garden.

[SHP]

I noticed that two neighbor's trees have grown so much that by 5pm our yard is dappled shade! I am thrilled and planning to get a few chairs and a small table to eat dinner outside. The bad part is that a bunch of my irises are not getting enough sun now. I am going to stake them since they are all drama about the lack of sunlight and will move them in the fall and put hostas in their place.

I cleaned up the Tulip beds and removed the dead foliage to get ready for the lilies.

I am planning to fire the dog. I am pretty sure she is sleeping with the rabbits. Lost a peony, a lily, and who knows what else to them and the dog just sits there. 

Other than that I have spent my spare time in the acquisition of plants. Lots and lots of plants.

[Faith-manor]

Came back from American Rocketry Challenge, and there had been a surprise frost. We didn't have anyone to cover our garden while we were gone, just water on timers for every other day. All 20 green bean plants are dead, three tomatoes have damage the others are fine, two basil dead, two hanging on but in bad shape, peppers okay but have not grown at all so they definitely felt the shock and same for the eggplants, two of the three cucumbers dead, peas fine, broccoli fine, and celery fine. I do have easily forty carrots sprouted and two radishes. The carrots are not tall enough for thinning yet, just a 1/4" (6mm) so I will be waiting on that. The grapes are dead, one of the two new blueberry bushes is deader than dead.

I am so sad. Sigh. 😥

However, I am going to go pull the green bean plants and put bean seeds in (it's not too late for that here in Michigan) and hope for some germination success. I am going to trim dead leaves off the basil and see if those plants can survive, pull the cucumbers and put in seeds, and fertilize everything hoping that the shocked yet living plants will get a boost and perk up.

The apple tree that had blossomed came through okay, and has some tiny apples forming already. The other has not blossomed yet. I am hoping that this frost did not shock it enough to end its blossoming cycle. We will see what happens.

[prairiewindmomma]

That is so sad, Faith Manor! It is so disheartening to lose a crop and either restart or let it go. The weather has been so wild it’s been hard to have consistent crops. 😞 

[Halftime Hope]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

That is so sad, Faith Manor! It is so disheartening to lose a crop and either restart or let it go. The weather has been so wild it’s been hard to have consistent crops. 😞 

It's been crazy here, too. This spring has been wet and cool in 8a. So much rain, 4.75 inches on Friday afternoon and evening. I bought some lovely pentas for annual color to fill in a couple of spots, and will start succession seeds on several things shortly. (Succession cropping is new to me, since in my area, plants bear for quite awhile. (I run out of good weather before they stop bearing. But this year I'm putting transplant crops in two areas and will pull out things that are no longer at peak production -- that's a new concept!)

[wintermom]

Now here is an inventive project! "Rainscaping." I wish I had a place to utilize this. So cool!! 

Edited May 23, 2023 by wintermom

[wintermom]

@Faith-manor So sorry about your garden. We've had frost and cold nights here, too. I've been hesitant to plant anything tender. Hopefully this weekend will be safe to plant my tomato seedlings. 

[Faith-manor]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

Now here is an inventive project! "Rainscaping." I wish I had a place to utilize this. So cool!! 

This is sooooo pretty!!!

[Grace Hopper]

On 5/22/2023 at 11:33 AM, prairiewindmomma said:

That is so sad, Faith Manor! It is so disheartening to lose a crop and either restart or let it go. The weather has been so wild it’s been hard to have consistent crops. 😞 

Agree. Bummer. @Faith-manorwe also lost the first things we set out due to a late frost, but it was floral, not like your food crop. Sorry about that. 
 

We’ve got almost everything planted that we plan to do this year, but I realized that I should have put at least a couple of small evergreen shrubs in the front facing perennial bed so it wouldn’t look desolate in the dead of winter. I think there will be room in the fall where I stuck in a small bunch of annuals to match/balance with the other end of the landscaping. 
 

The biggest win so far: getting dh to admit that yeah, there are some things we really need to just start paying a responsible teen to do! He keeps saying “if you’ll just help me do this” and I have strongly put my foot down about not being willing to toss my back out moving landscape rocks and other heavy stuff. I’m hard working but at 60yo I’m keeping to puttering and digging and weeding, not hardscaping!

Though I do love that mini rock river @wintermom and could maybe be tempted to help with something like that (eyeing my yard for where such might be *needed*…).

Edited May 23, 2023 by Grace Hopper

[Faith-manor]

44 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

Agree. Bummer. @Faith-manorwe also lost the first things we set out due to a late frost, but it was floral, not like your food crop. Sorry about that. 
 

We’ve got almost everything planted that we plan to do this year, but I realized that I should have put at least a couple of small evergreen shrubs in the front facing perennial bed so it wouldn’t look desolate in the dead of winter. I think there will be room in the fall where I stuck in a small bunch of annuals to match/balance with the other end of the landscaping. 
 

The biggest win so far: getting dh to admit that yeah, there are some things we really need to just start paying a responsible teen to do! He keeps saying “if you’ll just help me do this” and I have strongly put my foot down about not being willing to toss my back out moving landscape rocks and other heavy stuff. I’m a hard working but at 60yo I’m keeping to puttering and digging and weeding, not hardscaping!

Though I do love that mini rock river @wintermom and could maybe be tempted to help with something like that (eyeing my yard for where such might be *needed*…).

Right there with you! I think one of our former rocket team members, home from college and looking for odd jobs while taking a couple online classes, is going to be moving rocks here! We have some beautiful, but heavy ones, that need to be dug up so we can rototill under our huge blue spruce. The lower branches are dead so we are going to cut those, and then seed the area to pollinators friendly flowers. The rocks need to get out of there so we do not damage to tiller. I think I am going to take an old, hard sided wading pool, pull the drain plug, fill with our remaining dirt, surround it with those rocks, and throw more green bean seeds in it, then in the fall, pull the beans and plant some mums just to look pretty for a while. Next year it might become a decorative, raised bed pumpkin patch. But, young, unbroken body needed for the rock labor!

[Condessa]

My tree is alive!  I had completely given up on the little dwarf cherry tree at the front of my driveway.  The cherries came out of dormancy over a month ago, and it was unchanged.  The other day I went to the nursery I bought it from last year to get a replacement.  They were out of sweet cherries and I considered replacing it with a sour cherry, but decided to just wait because I really want one of this variety.  And after I came home I was weeding and noticed little green sprouts coming out of the trunk!  I got excited it was alive, then thought it wouldn’t be the same variety because of rootstock, then remembered that this tree was the only one of my cherries not on a different rootstock, as it is a natural dwarf.  I don’t know why the branches didn’t sprout any leaves, but it seems to be making a comeback!

Edited May 23, 2023 by Condessa

[popmom]

11 hours ago, wintermom said:

Now here is an inventive project! "Rainscaping." I wish I had a place to utilize this. So cool!! 

I need something like this in my front yard! I am currently in the middle of a project to address the erosion problem we have. I am terracing a slope by building little stone walls. I’ve got one “terrace” done with several plants in it. I will need to add 3 more terraces above it. 
 

Right after I got that terrace planted, we had two days of torrential rain. It held beautifully. I was really stressed about it. I mean it couldn’t hold the river coming through, but the new soil I added and the plants all stayed put. So I’m pleased. 

[popmom]

On 5/21/2023 at 5:46 PM, Ann.without.an.e said:

Does anyone know what this squash is? I think they sent me the wrong seed. It was supposed to be a small honey bear acorn that vines and needs trellis. It is a bushing squash and I didn’t give it room to be that lol. 
 

Have these gotten any bigger? Did you figure it out? 

[Serenade]

On 5/22/2023 at 1:51 PM, Halftime Hope said:

But this year I'm putting transplant crops in two areas and will pull out things that are no longer at peak production -- that's a new concept!)

Good luck with that! 😁 Maybe I can learn from you.

[Faith-manor]

Michigan is killing me. Frost advisory tonight. It is the end of May and still....

I have a stack of old sheets prepped to be placed over my plants tonight, and Some two liter bottles that will be filled with hot water to place under them. Hopefully, this will work. Maybe next year we should just bury heating pads in the raised beds so the soil can get warm enough to grow plants before JULY! 😠

[Ann.without.an.e]

Just now, Faith-manor said:

Michigan is killing me. Frost advisory tonight. It is the end of May and still....

I have a stack of old sheets prepped to be placed over my plants tonight, and Some two liter bottles that will be filled with hot water to place under them. Hopefully, this will work. Maybe next year we should just bury heating pads in the raised beds so the soil can get warm enough to grow plants before JULY! 😠

 

 

Move here 😂

[popmom]

27 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Michigan is killing me. Frost advisory tonight. It is the end of May and still....

I have a stack of old sheets prepped to be placed over my plants tonight, and Some two liter bottles that will be filled with hot water to place under them. Hopefully, this will work. Maybe next year we should just bury heating pads in the raised beds so the soil can get warm enough to grow plants before JULY! 😠

If it’s truly a frost or light freeze, you should be fine with just a sheet. Hoping for your sake there’s no hard freeze. 
 

I have these green “frost blankets”. Can’t remember what brand. But they have protected lettuce down to 13 degrees. I was shocked how well they worked. It was January a couple of years ago and we didn’t get above freezing for 3 consecutive days. Of course our ground temps in January are much warmer than yours in January—I’m sure that’s why my lettuce survived. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by popmom

[Faith-manor]

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

 

 

Move here 😂

We have the retirement home in Alabama currently occupied by our daughter and her family. They ate their first ripe raspberry yesterday, and when I was there at the end of April, we picked four gallons of strawberries at the u pick farm. The Mulberry tree is loaded, the blueberries are ripening, black caps coming on soon, the nectarine, peach, cherry, and fig trees are growing. Kiwi vines are flourishing. In a few years, she is going to have a major fruit harvest. 

And I am worried about our Honey Crisp Apple tree here. Last year it tried to kill me with apple processing. This year? It had NOT bloomed yet. The Courtland has. It has not. I am going to be heart sick if something happened to it. It looks super, duper healthy and the leaves are gorgeous. But not a single blossom yet, and this seems very late.

[alisoncooks]

Speaking of gardens, we walked around Duke Gardens today, as part of my belated Mother’s Day outing. We missed the cherry blooms but there was tons of beautiful foliage today. And the weather was great. 

[Faith-manor]

Another frost last night. At 8 pm, we covered everything. I happened to be at my bulk food store yesterday and they were getting rid of their half gallon size yogurt containers, 3 for $1 with lids. I bought a bunch. These turned out to be the right size and height to out over all of the plants except the broccoli and tomatoes. We had nine 5 gallon buckets which we put over the tomatoes, and Mark had made a frame out of scrap wood to go around the broccoli bed, so we just set it down over top of them, and draped a tarp over that and anchored it. Then we took the sheets and laid them over all the beds with the yogurt containers and buckets which was great because then there was no wait on the marigolds which I have in the raised beds with the vegetable plants. We left the mini praised bed with the snow peas uncovered because those things seem to relish cold, and are growing beautifully on the tree branch trellis I gave them. We put the one broccoli and two tomatoes that are in buckets inside the the shed along with my pots of petunias and pansies. I am going to wait until 10 am to uncover them. But it some be over 45 degrees (7.2C) until then. It is overcast, not a lot of sunlight yet, however, it is burning off. After this, we are supposed to have no overnight lows below 42F (5.5C), and in the 70's every day, sunshine predicted, no rain. I think we might be in the clear fingers crossed.

I have not been watering. I was. But then everything wilted so badly. I did a soil test, and yes, this crap top soil and compost (really not happy with the company) has too high a clay content, not enough sand, so it isn't draining properly. Plants were getting n water logged. Mark purchased a 3 in 1 garden meter which will test soil moisture, soil temp, and UV ray strength. I am going to be using it religiously in the hopes of getting these plants to bounce back. I am also going to get some veggie food fertilizer.

I still need to seed green beans to replace my 20 lost plants to that 1st frost. But, it has just been so cold I didn't see the point. There is no way the soil is warm enough for them to germinate. I will put those in Monday after 3 days of sunshine in the hopes the soil temp is coming up. The little carrots are about an inch tall. Too tiny to thin yet. 

Does anyone know when snow peas start blooming? My peas are putting out lots of new tendrils and are close to 14/15" (35 ish cm) tall, and very healthy, but no blossoms.

[Faith-manor]

On 5/24/2023 at 3:45 PM, alisoncooks said:

Speaking of gardens, we walked around Duke Gardens today, as part of my belated Mother’s Day outing. We missed the cherry blooms but there was tons of beautiful foliage today. And the weather was great. 

This looks so inviting!

[popmom]

@Faith-manor can you link the UV ray device? 

That sounds very useful. 

 

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, popmom said:

@Faith-manor can you link the UV ray device? 

That sounds very useful. 

 

This is what he bought. This one says light censor, so now I am not sure if it is just light in general or actual UV strength. He told me UV. LOL😂, sometimes.....husbands!

https://www.amazon.com/ALANMOND-Moisture-Tester-Gardening-Outdoor/dp/B09WY9SYMC/ref=asc_df_B09WY9SYMC/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598282648021&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7611257542180107721&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9017053&hvtargid=pla-1661308111802&psc=1

[popmom]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

This is what he bought. This one says light censor, so now I am not sure if it is just light in general or actual UV strength. He told me UV. LOL😂, sometimes.....husbands!

https://www.amazon.com/ALANMOND-Moisture-Tester-Gardening-Outdoor/dp/B09WY9SYMC/ref=asc_df_B09WY9SYMC/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598282648021&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7611257542180107721&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9017053&hvtargid=pla-1661308111802&psc=1

Thanks!!

[BeachGal]

So I raked up at least 5 trillion maple seedlings today. All day. By hand with a handheld rake. What fun! But everything looks pretty again.

Did you know the seeds inside the pod are edible? They are! Now I'm going to have to find out how nutritious they are because maybe I should be eating them.

Starting this week we should start seeing cottonwood tree seeds floating all over the place. They are usually the last major seed fest. Someone told me not to run any window air conditioners because the seeds can clog them. Sounds believable.

[prairiewindmomma]

I finally saw my first honeybee and bumblebee of the year. They were out on my lavender. Normally there are many, many bees since I plant bee friendly things. I am still quite worried about whether I am going to be able to get good pollination for my garden.

[Ann.without.an.e]

What are y’all most excited about?

 

Two or three years ago I discovered Adirondack blue potatoes at the farmer’s market. 
 

I’ve been hesitant to try them since the shipping dates are a little on the late side for us to plant potatoes (coming out of Maine). I decided to try them anyway and even if it gets hot and the harvest isn’t fantastic, maybe they’ll keep for us to use next year as seed potatoes. Thankfully it has been unseasonably cool here for may. 
 

We have one large bed and another smaller row in front of our asparagus bed (which is done here for the resin and the season already staked up. 
 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Ann.without.an.e

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

What are y’all most excited about?

 

Two or three years ago I discovered Adirondack blue potatoes at the farmer’s market. 
 

I’ve been hesitant to try them since the shipping dates are a little on the late side for us to plant potatoes (coming out of Maine). I decided to try them anyway and even if it gets hot and the harvest isn’t fantastic, maybe they’ll keep for us to use next year as seed potatoes. Thankfully it has been unseasonably cool here for may. 
 

We have one large bed and another smaller row in front of our asparagus bed (which is done here for the resin and the season already staked up. 
 

Beautiful!

My garden is so stunted though the set up is pretty. I hesitate to show pictures.

I did figure out that this terrible soil is not draining at all, so I was overwatering. The meter is on its way here from amazon, and I have not watered for five days even though there has been no rain. Slowly, the plants are looking better. Not growing, but not looking so stressed.

At this point, the cherry tomato plants are now looking good. The broccoli plants seem robust and healthy, and the pea plants, though they have not blossomed, look great. I honestly think I will get some sort of broccoli harvest from all 13 plants, definitely oregano, cherry tomatoes, and celery. Not sure about the snow peas because I would have thought they would have blossomed by now. I have no hope for the peppers. It has been so cold since putting the seedlings in, and then the over watering. They have not grown at all. Same size as when they were transplanted May 14. I am trying not look forward to much of a harvest.

Black caps are going to have a nice harvest this year, and though the honey crisp has not blossomed, the cross pollinators Courtland is going to have a ton of apples for me to dehydrate for snacks so that is nice. My mom had a ton of rhubarb, and I am trying to figure out what to do with it. I think I might cook it down with a little sugar and lemon juice (not much sugar though), and try to make a fruit leather. One of my sons thinks rhubarb is da bomb, and doesn't eat much variety, so that would be something he would enjoy.

[Sneezyone]

2 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

What are y’all most excited about?

 

Two or three years ago I discovered Adirondack blue potatoes at the farmer’s market. 
 

I’ve been hesitant to try them since the shipping dates are a little on the late side for us to plant potatoes (coming out of Maine). I decided to try them anyway and even if it gets hot and the harvest isn’t fantastic, maybe they’ll keep for us to use next year as seed potatoes. Thankfully it has been unseasonably cool here for may. 
 

We have one large bed and another smaller row in front of our asparagus bed (which is done here for the resin and the season already staked up. 
 

I see you’re living the dream…sigh…#jealous!

I’m excited about my interplanting. It’s working! My veg are in ground along the house and the raised beds are my control. Both systems are good but I’ve needed fewer natural pesticides (diatomaceous earth/BT) with the in-ground plants.

This is Y2 of my side yard garden space.

I’m excited to try a new squash variety (Englisher), baby corn, and more spicy peppers (corbacci, yellow scotch, lemon jalapeño). The usual jalapeños, habaneros, anchos and Marconi are also in progress. I added some new tomatoes as well, black Krim, Mr.Stripey, and tomatillo. My Asian eggplant varietals are struggling with pests but still growing. Not sure how that will turn out. Those San Marzano’s I complained about? I feel like I FINALLY have their number. Still, I will never plant another indeterminate tomato. EVER. SO MUCH WORK!

I have lots of rando stuff going on. We cut down two more trees in the back so we have more sun. I’m trying to convince DH to let me install a new patio/backyard landscape this summer/fall. I’m wearing him down. If he says yes, my yard will become a veritable suburban oasis! WOOT!

Also, holy cow! My Purple Magnus coneflowers are taller than I am. IJS. Magnus indeed!

[popmom]

Suddenly experiencing extreme regret that I only started 2 bell pepper plants now that they are minimum of $1.50 a piece at the store. 😞 What the heck is going on? 

[Faith-manor]

3 hours ago, popmom said:

Suddenly experiencing extreme regret that I only started 2 bell pepper plants now that they are minimum of $1.50 a piece at the store. 😞 What the heck is going on? 

A lot of vegetable crops got washed out during the California floods. The Colorado River is in crisis, and a new water deal has been brokered which will reduce irrigation. This needed to be done, however it is going to hurt in the short term. There will probably be more price hikes on vegetables and fruits. California grows 70% of the produce we eat in the US. Michigan has been doing way too many cash crops - sugar beets, soy beans, and corn for ethanol. So apart from sour cherries, apples, and asparagus (we are huge producers of asparagus), we only grow 13% of the nation's veggies. But, the thing is, right now we are not being hammered as hard by climate change, and we do have the water resources so the farmers of Michigan need to be incentivized to change production which is going to take some investment, money many of them do not have. However, if the will is there, it could be done.

I think the prediction is for almonds, tomatoes and all things made with tomatoes, berries, salad greens, celery, carrots, broccoli, and garlic to be affected as well as the peppers. I can get a lot of berries locally in season, and I freeze and dehydrate for winter. I am very worried about my stunted garden. I put in enough tomato plants to theoretically get a bushel of tomatoes, plus tons of cherry tomatoes, and bell peppers as well as chili peppers for making salsa/taco sauce. But, I didn't think hard enough about celery, and only put in four plants just as an experiment. Ugh. We use a lot of celery, and it is one of the the things that is actually doing well. I have about 40 carrots. Not in the ball park of enough to freeze for soups for the winter. However, I will seed again in August for fall harvest. I am very sad though the my tomatoes and peppers are not doing well. I am grateful though that I will be able to buy in bulk from a Mennonite farmer. He will likely have plenty of tomatoes and peppers for me, and usually though most folks do not buy carrots in bulk, I can tell him I want a half bushel, and he will save it back for me and not sell it to the supermarket.

Edited May 28, 2023 by Faith-manor
Typo

[popmom]

I was glad to read about the plan to save the Colorado River. 

Maybe the painful price hikes will motivate more farmers to branch out from those "cash crops". 

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

A lot of vegetable crops got washed out during the California floods. The Colorado River is in crisis, and a new water deal has been brokered which will reduce irrigation..this needed to be done, however it is going to hurt in the short term. There will probably be more price hikes on vegetables and fruits. California grows. 70% of the produce we eat in the US. Michigan has been doing way too many cash crops.- sugar beets, soy beans, and corn for ethanol. So apart from sour cherries, apples, and asparagus (we are huge producers of asparagus), we only grow 13% of the nation's veggies. But, the thing is, right now we are not being hammered as hard by climate change, and we do have the water resources so the farmers of Michigan need to be incentivized to change production which is going to take some investment, money many of them do not have. However, if the will is there, it could be done.

I think the prediction is for almonds, tomatoes and all things made with tomatoes, berries, salad greens, celery, carrots, broccoli, and garlic to be affected as well as the peppers. I can get a lot of berries locally in season, and I freeze and dehydrate for winter. I am very worried about my stunted garden. I put in enough tomato plants to theoretically get a bushel of tomatoes, plus tons of cherry tomatoes, and bell peppers as well as chili peppers for making salsa/taco sauce. But, I didn't think hard enough about celery, and only put in four plants just as an experiment. Ugh. We use about of celery, and it is one of the the things that is actually doing well. I have about 40 carrots. Not in the ball park of enough to freeze for soups for the winter. However, I will seed again in August for fall harvest. I am very sad though the my tomatoes and peppers are not doing well. I am grateful though that I will be able to buy in bulk from a Mennonite farmer. He will likely have plenty of tomatoes and peppers for me, and usually though most folks do not buy carrots in bulk, I can tell him I want a half bushel, and he will save it back for me and not sell it to the supermarket.

Damn. Us gardners are prescient, I guess.

[Sneezyone]

2 hours ago, popmom said:

Suddenly experiencing extreme regret that I only started 2 bell pepper plants now that they are minimum of $1.50 a piece at the store. 😞 What the heck is going on? 

There's still time, depending on region. We harvested through October!

[popmom]

23 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

There's still time, depending on region. We harvested through October!

I think I’ll plant a few seeds tonight. 👍can’t hurt!

[Sneezyone]

Just now, popmom said:

I think I’ll plant a few seeds tonight. 👍can’t hurt!

Even $6 for a plant (assuming local availability) is cheaper than $2/pepper!

[Faith-manor]

5 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Even $6 for a plant (assuming local availability) is cheaper than $2/pepper!

Right now they are $1 each or less in Michigan because they are starting to get root bound waiting for transplant. All the nurseries locally are reducing prices to get rid of them. I do have a few planters left, decent size so I might be able to grow peppers in them. I should consider buying more peppers. Red/yellow/orange peppers are 3 for $4.99 here. If I put in 8 plants and they each produced just two peppers, it would be pretty good savings. I dehydrate bell pepper for winter, and never buy them out of season. It works great in scrambled eggs, on salads, in soups and stews. But, I need to get a better quality soil than what is in the raised beds. That stupid "garden soil" and compost we were sold we is CRAP. I am going to give all the plants some good, organic fertilizer tomorrow. However, I don't see the point of paying any money for more plants unless a good bag of soil is purchased to fill the pots. I will just end up with more trouble.

I keep consoling myself with the fact that this is my first time having a serious garden. Hopefully next year will be better. I am going to get two bags of sand for each raised bed this fall and till it in along with home compost in the hopes of mitigating the clay content so it will drain better and be looser for tender transplant roots.

I am proud that I might get cucumbers from the plants I started inside and then transplanted. I feel like that is an achievement. But I sure wish I could figure out why the snow pea plants are not blossoming. They seem to think their job is to grow furiously and be or a mentally beautiful, a job they are doing nicely. Darn it. We wanted some fresh peas for our salads, and pods for stir fry. Silly things!

[Sneezyone]

30 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Right now they are $1 each or less in Michigan because they are starting to get root bound waiting for transplant. All the nurseries locally are reducing prices to get rid of them. I do have a few planters left, decent size so I might be able to grow peppers in them. I should consider buying more peppers. Red/yellow/orange peppers are 3 for $4.99 here. If I put in 8 plants and they each produced just two peppers, it would be pretty good savings. I dehydrate bell pepper for winter, and never buy them out of season. It works great in scrambled eggs, on salads, in soups and stews. But, I need to get a better quality soil than what is in the raised beds. That stupid "garden soil" and compost we were sold we is CRAP. I am going to give all the plants some good, organic fertilizer tomorrow. However, I don't see the point of paying any money for more plants unless a good bag of soil is purchased to fill the pots. I will just end up with more trouble.

I keep consoling myself with the fact that this is my first time having a serious garden. Hopefully next year will be better. I am going to get two bags of sand for each raised bed this fall and till it in along with home compost in the hopes of mitigating the clay content so it will drain better and be looser for tender transplant roots.

I am proud that I might get cucumbers from the plants I started inside and then transplanted. I feel like that is an achievement. But I sure wish I could figure out why the snow pea plants are not blossoming. They seem to think their job is to grow furiously and be or a mentally beautiful, a job they are doing nicely. Darn it. We wanted some fresh peas for our salads, and pods for stir fry. Silly things!

We have sandy soil in the ground but it was covered by a layer of pine needles before I started tilling it/prepping it for planting. Currently, it's mostly decaying maple roots, pine needles, and sand. If you have clay, I'd try and break it up now by adding worms and maybe using big pipes to feed the soil some organic matter/compost from your kitchen. Think a 24" length of 6" diameter tubing with holes in it. sink it at different intervals in your bed and fill it with worms and kitchen waste).

In our case, I needed to add vermiculite and coco coir to retain water plus bone meal, azomite and...time. Drainage isn't my issue, moisture retention is. 🙂

Edited May 28, 2023 by Sneezyone

[wintermom]

Quick question for those of you who purchase annuals and make up your own hanging baskets or pots with a variety of plants and flowers. Does this process take you waaaaay more time than expected? The actual act of placing a plant in a pot or in the ground is much slower now that I'm making up a mixture of potting soil and compost/manure, But the arrangement and choice of pot/basket is taking me masses of time these days. 

I've been watching a number of British gardening tv shows, and I'm being a lot more thoughtful about plant choice and placement, selecting plants of different heights, reshaping planting beds, etc. I must have spent 5 hours just puttering in the garden today and it went by in a flash. I didn't even stop to eat. It's just wild!  I have to say that I'm really excited about the results. Even ds 21 said that things looked a lot nicer, with a fuller effect, even though it didn't seem all that empty before. 

[Sneezyone]

5 minutes ago, wintermom said:

Quick question for those of you who purchase annuals and make up your own hanging baskets or pots with a variety of plants and flowers. Does this process take you waaaaay more time than expected? The actual act of placing a plant in a pot or in the ground is much slower now that I'm making up a mixture of potting soil and compost/manure, But the arrangement and choice of pot/basket is taking me masses of time these days. 

I've been watching a number of British gardening tv shows, and I'm being a lot more thoughtful about plant choice and placement, selecting plants of different heights, reshaping planting beds, etc. I must have spent 5 hours just puttering in the garden today and it went by in a flash. I didn't even stop to eat. It's just wild!  I have to say that I'm really excited about the results. Even ds 21 said that things looked a lot nicer, with a fuller effect, even though it didn't seem all that empty before. 

Nope. I stick to the same tried and true formula. Pansies...tall-spiky things..potato vines/vinca. Aaaaand dassit. I have one that's pansies, elephant ears, and potato vines. It takes me 2-3 hours to do all of my pots. I have one other that contains different varieties of mint b/c its so invasive.

Edited May 28, 2023 by Sneezyone

[wintermom]

6 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Nope. I stick to the same tried and true formula. Pansies...tall-spiky things..potato vines/vinca. Aaaaand dassit. I have one that's pansies, elephant ears, and potato vines. It takes me 2-3 hours to do all of my pots.

I don't even buy many annuals. This year I bought 2x9 small flowers, 2 geraniums and 1 spike. I mixed and matched with a few perennials, split and moved a bunch more perennials, Repotted 2 climbing plants and 1 small tree. Then covered with mulch. 

I am in the middle of creating a brand new outdoor space, and trying to pull it together with three other outdoor spaces. It's definitely a work in progress at the moment. Maybe in a couple years I'll have a tried and true formula. 

I have to say that it's pretty fun to move stuff around and try out different combinations of things. It just sucks up a lot of time. 😅

Edited May 28, 2023 by wintermom

[Sneezyone]

5 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I don't even buy many annuals. This year I bought 2x9 small flowers, 2 geraniums and 1 spike. I mixed and matched with a few perennials, split and moved a bunch more perennials, Repotted 2 climbing plants and 1 small tree. Then covered with mulch. 

I am in the middle of creating a brand new outdoor space, and trying to pull it together with three other outdoor spaces. It's definitely a work in progress at the moment. Maybe in a couple years I'll have a tried and true formula. 

I have to say that it's pretty fun to move stuff around and try out different combinations of things. It just sucks up a lot of time. 😅

It is wonderful to watch things grow and know you helped (people and plants)! I'm srsly, only on Y2 of my grand plan. You'll get there. I was/am SHOCKED at how my basic plain ol' Bonnie sage plants adapted to their location. They're practically a menace, choking out the Greek oregano! Italian might fare better...sigh.

[popmom]

34 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

We have sandy soil in the ground but it was covered by a layer of pine needles before I started tilling it/prepping it for planting. Currently, it's mostly decaying maple roots, pine needles, and sand. If you have clay, I'd try and break it up now by adding worms and maybe using big pipes to feed the soil some organic matter/compost from your kitchen. Think a 24" length of 6" diameter tubing with holes in it. sink it at different intervals in your bed and fill it with worms and kitchen waste).

In our case, I needed to add vermiculite and coco coir to retain water plus bone meal, azomite and...time. Drainage isn't my issue, moisture retention is. 🙂

When I made my first 3 raised beds, I found bulk coarse vermiculite online for a very reasonable price. I actually still have one bag left. At the time, I was trying to make “Mel’s Mix”. 🙂 

Eta: they still sell it. It’s these 4 cu ft bags. It goes a LONG way lol.

@Faith-manor don’t write off that clay. North Alabama is mostly red clay and that stuff is fertile. Your mountain house will have sandier soil, but some of the best tomatoes and fresh veggies I’ve ever had were grown in clay. 🙂

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by popmom

[Faith-manor]

8 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

We have sandy soil in the ground but it was covered by a layer of pine needles before I started tilling it/prepping it for planting. Currently, it's mostly decaying maple roots, pine needles, and sand. If you have clay, I'd try and break it up now by adding worms and maybe using big pipes to feed the soil some organic matter/compost from your kitchen. Think a 24" length of 6" diameter tubing with holes in it. sink it at different intervals in your bed and fill it with worms and kitchen waste).

In our case, I needed to add vermiculite and coco coir to retain water plus bone meal, azomite and...time. Drainage isn't my issue, moisture retention is. 🙂

Moisture retention is mine as well. I assumed it was because it doesn't drain despite being on a bed of logs and sticks so there is a lot of space in the bottom of the beds for water to go. I have not given these tomatoes or peppers a drink of water in 9 days and we have had no rain either, but 2-3" down, it is still damp. I have this green but wilted leaf thing going on. Maybe what I need is the vermiculite. I will check that out. I am so new to all of this. I wonder if I should take a soil sample to the extension office (agricultural office for our county). My assumption was that there was too much clay in this soil. I wonder if I am wrong.

Mark took a walk this morning with the dog, and took a good look at the garden. He said he felt there is a big improvement. Of course, last night was the warmest night we have had in the last 30 days so that might be a big help. Today is going to get up to 80° F (26.6C). A little warmer than normal and no rain in sight. The whole week is supposed to be 75-80 and sun. Maybe my plants will turn a corner. I am trying not to be optimistic. On the other hand, when I was out looking at them last night, I sang to them..."Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera. 😂

Mark saw the bunny foo foo in the yard last night. He is absolutely furious at that little thing for eating all the leaves off his fledgling blueberry bush. He is out for blood! But it is very cute, just adorable, and very young, no mamma in sight. I love bunnies. However, the little menace will end up going after my green bean bed (Mark bought new plants because he decided he didn't want to risk planting seeds and getting no germination in this soil). I am putting out some 24" high fencing perimeter around the bed, and lining it with rocks and cardboard around the base in the hopes of warding off the little urchin.

 

[wisdomandtreasures]

It's totally overgrown with weeds and the rain storms shot the surrounding grass up to 2 feet tall and with a new baby we haven't been able to tackle it, but...

Husband transplanted all the stuff I planted in March (tomatoes, onions, celery, rosemary, leeks, & artichokes), plus planted a whole bag of corn seeds (however many are in a 6 oz bag--200+ I'm guessing), potatoes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, kale, watermelon, zucchini, butternut and spaghetti squash, cilantro, and cucumbers. The tomatoes survived the cold snap we had two days after transplanting, but are now bouncing back. I thought we had lost all but maybe 5 plants, but now it looks like at least 2/3 of them made it. Yay!

Husband saw baby grapes growing. The walnut trees have leaves. It'll be many years before we get walnuts from them--they look like someone stuck sticks in the group, plus a few leaves. But still! They are growing well! Elderberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries are growing. I make a mix of coffee, Epsom salt, and blood meal and use that on the berries. They love it! Finally, all the fruit trees are blooming and the apple, cherry, and apricot trees have fruit! Woohoo!

Edited May 28, 2023 by wisdomandtreasures

[popmom]

@Faith-manor A soil test will tell you a lot. I think that's a great idea. Our library gives away the kits here.

I am relatively new to gardening, myself. There is so much trial and error. More error than trial for me. For example this year I planted a different type of pole bean, and the leaves at the bottom are yellowing. The vines have already climbed 6 feet but have very few blooms. The rattlesnake beans I planted the last 2 years were fabulous.

I planted at least 40 okra seeds too early, and only one plant germinated. We had an unusually cool spring. More error lol. 

We ordered a truckload of compost a couple of years ago from a guy who is supposedly well known as a compost guru type. It had all kinds of weird stuff in it--not fully composted--including lots of bones. I added it to some new beds and planted tomatoes in it. Every one of them died. I figure it had manure from feed with Grazon or something. 

I mainly got in to gardening because I just want some good tomatoes, and they have been the biggest source of frustration since I started a few years ago. I'm normally happy to get one good tomato a week--if that. lol Fingers crossed that this is my year for tomatoes!

And if anyone has any tips for watermelon... I'm listening. My vines will be enormous every year, and I'll get a few little melons which rot on the vine every single time. I'm trying them in a raised bed this year with better soil.

Edited May 28, 2023 by popmom

[Faith-manor]

27 minutes ago, popmom said:

@Faith-manor A soil test will tell you a lot. I think that's a great idea. Our library gives away the kits here.

I am relatively new to gardening, myself. There is so much trial and error. More error than trial for me. For example this year I planted a different type of pole bean, and the leaves at the bottom are yellowing. The vines have already climbed 6 feet but have very few blooms. The rattlesnake beans I planted the last 2 years were fabulous.

I planted at least 40 okra seeds too early, and only one plant germinated. We had an unusually cool spring. More error lol. 

We ordered a truckload of compost a couple of years ago from a guy who is supposedly well known as a compost guru type. It had all kinds of weird stuff in it--not fully composted--including lots of bones. I added it to some new beds and planted tomatoes in it. Every one of them died. I figure it had manure from feed with Grazon or something. 

I mainly got in to gardening because I just want some good tomatoes, and they have been the biggest source of frustration since I started a few years ago. I'm normally happy to get one good tomato a week--if that. lol Fingers crossed that this is my year for tomatoes!

And if anyone has any tips for watermelon... I'm listening. My vines will be enormous every year, and I'll get a few little melons which rot on the vine every single time. I'm trying them in a raised bed this year with better soil.

I hear you!!!

Ugh. 

And yes, we have grass and crap coming up from the supposedly primo compost. Sigh. I will get ahead of it, and if necessary poison it this fall with vinegar water, and then hope that had worked itself out and dissipated by spring. 

I swear tomatoes are the biggest drama queen snowflakes in the edible plant universe. I was told basil is a pain. HA!! I have basil to burn. 

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, popmom said:

@Faith-manor A soil test will tell you a lot. I think that's a great idea. Our library gives away the kits here.

I am relatively new to gardening, myself. There is so much trial and error. More error than trial for me. For example this year I planted a different type of pole bean, and the leaves at the bottom are yellowing. The vines have already climbed 6 feet but have very few blooms. The rattlesnake beans I planted the last 2 years were fabulous.

I planted at least 40 okra seeds too early, and only one plant germinated. We had an unusually cool spring. More error lol. 

We ordered a truckload of compost a couple of years ago from a guy who is supposedly well known as a compost guru type. It had all kinds of weird stuff in it--not fully composted--including lots of bones. I added it to some new beds and planted tomatoes in it. Every one of them died. I figure it had manure from feed with Grazon or something. 

I mainly got in to gardening because I just want some good tomatoes, and they have been the biggest source of frustration since I started a few years ago. I'm normally happy to get one good tomato a week--if that. lol Fingers crossed that this is my year for tomatoes!

And if anyone has any tips for watermelon... I'm listening. My vines will be enormous every year, and I'll get a few little melons which rot on the vine every single time. I'm trying them in a raised bed this year with better soil.

Do you hand pollinate your melons? I had that problem last time with ronde de nice (vs. regular zucchini) This year, I hand pollinated male/female flowers and...voila! I have harvested four zucchini already.

When we filled our raised beds, I tried to find a place (with good reviews) that had a soil mix approved by our extension. It's roughly 50% fine sand, 50% compost but I added one of those giant 2cu.ft. bags of perlite plus long-acting fertilizer and that worked well. I top dressed with straw (dislike).

This year I replenished the beds with 3 bags of compost per bed, more fertilizer (mixed azomite, blood meal, and long-acting pellets), and mulched with coco coir. I let that sit for 3 weeks before planting. My plants are WAAAYYY healthier this year.

In ground, there were so many roots it was hard to do a lot of amelioration but I did my best. The soil is a nice, rich, dark color and the pine needles were broken up and tilled in. All it really needed was something to lighten it a bit so I added vermiculite and tilled that in last year. It's still doing well, I just need to add long-acting all-purpose fertilizer once every couple of months.

Edited May 28, 2023 by Sneezyone

[popmom]

5 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Do you hand pollinate your melons? I had that problem last time with ronde de nice (vs. regular zucchini) This year, I hand pollinated male/female flowers and...voila! I have harvested four zucchini already.

I will try that--thanks!