Garden thread
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I got about 50 seeds planted, 5 type of hot peppers, 4 types of tomatoes, various squash, cucumbers, pumpkin and watermelon. Got a few more things to sow indoors and a few I'll sow directly in the ground in just a few weeks.
I also have two new additions to my bee and butterfly garden to plant.
I just love this time of the year.4 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Finally first crocus!
Hey, when is my ornamental grass going to start coming back? I'm in Zone 6b. Google was no help.
I planted Zebra grass and one other type whose name escapes me last fall.
<lovely crocus photo snipped for length.>
When it feels like it.
(I'm in zone 5, I forget whether a or b.) Seriously, mine is usually fairly late, I wanna say maybe even May, and the first sprouts hide amongst last year's stubble for quite a while, only to burst forth about the time I get around to cutting down last year's growth (which I keep around in Winter for texture and insect habitat protection).
The rock garden iris are finally popping open here, later than usual by a bit, I'd say. I think this is Iris reticulata (some say histrioides) 'George', a cute little guy about 6 inches high and nearly as broad.
Tommie crocus all over the place now, and the snowdrops still hanging on . . . not for long, though, if it stays in the 50s F.3 -
I have to start over with my planting in my enclosed bed. The door never fit right and rats got in and robbed me. Like, little cartoon holes where every seed was. I repaired the door and plan to get some stuff in the ground this weekend.2
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I’m starting my pepper seeds tomorrow!!!!! Can’t wait. Then start my tomatoes, onions and cukes in 2 weeks. Woo hoo!!1
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kshama2001 wrote: »Finally first crocus!
Hey, when is my ornamental grass going to start coming back? I'm in Zone 6b. Google was no help.
I planted Zebra grass and one other type whose name escapes me last fall.
<lovely crocus photo snipped for length.>
When it feels like it. (I'm in zone 5, I forget whether a or b.) Seriously, mine is usually fairly late, I wanna say maybe even May, and the first sprouts hide amongst last year's stubble for quite a while, only to burst forth about the time I get around to cutting down last year's growth (which I keep around in Winter for texture and insect habitat protection).
The rock garden iris are finally popping open here, later than usual by a bit, I'd say. I think this is Iris reticulata (some say histrioides) 'George', a cute little guy about 6 inches high and nearly as broad.
Tommie crocus all over the place now, and the snowdrops still hanging on . . . not for long, though, if it stays in the 50s F.
Those little iris are so cute!!!
Where do you live or what gardening zone are you in?2 -
kshama2001 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »Finally first crocus!
Hey, when is my ornamental grass going to start coming back? I'm in Zone 6b. Google was no help.
I planted Zebra grass and one other type whose name escapes me last fall.
<lovely crocus photo snipped for length.>
When it feels like it. (I'm in zone 5, I forget whether a or b.) Seriously, mine is usually fairly late, I wanna say maybe even May, and the first sprouts hide amongst last year's stubble for quite a while, only to burst forth about the time I get around to cutting down last year's growth (which I keep around in Winter for texture and insect habitat protection).
The rock garden iris are finally popping open here, later than usual by a bit, I'd say. I think this is Iris reticulata (some say histrioides) 'George', a cute little guy about 6 inches high and nearly as broad.
Tommie crocus all over the place now, and the snowdrops still hanging on . . . not for long, though, if it stays in the 50s F.
Those little iris are so cute!!!
Where do you live or what gardening zone are you in?
Zone 5**. Most rock garden types are hardy to zone 5, don't know if some varieties might tolerate lower. Presumably you could zone-push a bit with the proper microclimate. These go through temps well below zero F here regularly, just out in my yard/garden. I think we got down to -15F or lower this year a few times, without a huge bunch of protective snow cover at the time, either.
Most varieties are a little later than 'George', but they're all pretty early.
** ETA: In the palm of Michigan's lower peninsula mitten.2 -
I'm 5b. No signs of life yet around me (I have some perennials in my garden (still in winter mode) and we have some in a community garden that's in front of my place, and the grass is still looking like winter. We had some crazy cold days (don't remember temp without windchill, but I think it was like -20 or worse, which is not something we normally get at all), within an otherwise mild winter (all freezing rain and snow that melted and turned to ice, so not that cold, but not great). And not much snow cover on those extreme cold days -- hope it didn't kill everything. Bad enough one of my pipes burst.
I have some seeds planted indoors to be planted outside later. Supposedly going to be 25 tomorrow night, sigh. I've always been told outdoor planting is Mothers Day weekend, although I know from experience you can get away with going a week or two early, usually. The gardening.org site gives me the earlier April 25, which makes sense.2 -
9B here.
I just planted my onion bulbs, squash, tomato, and pepper seedlings and cucumber, beet, carrot, beans, watermelon, lettuce, and herb seeds. I will plant eggplant next month and corn in summer.4 -
We have got the whole yard raked up and the winter debris was hauled away. Things are looking clean for a week or two but I see signs of weeds starting to spring up. The daffodils and irises are coming up, the peonies are starting to poke up their heads and the crocuses are in bloom. The trees are starting to bud up, and the birds are singing their hearts out looking for their mates. I love this time of year. Oh yeah, and we ordered a greenhouse that will come next week. We probably won't put it up until later in the summer as we have some reorganizing to do in the yard. Which also means I won't be having a vegetable garden this year as we will be hiring some heavier equipment to move around dirt, and pour some walls. But I can enjoy the flower beds.2
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Love this thread ❤️1
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I'm 5b. No signs of life yet around me (I have some perennials in my garden (still in winter mode) and we have some in a community garden that's in front of my place, and the grass is still looking like winter. We had some crazy cold days (don't remember temp without windchill, but I think it was like -20 or worse, which is not something we normally get at all), within an otherwise mild winter (all freezing rain and snow that melted and turned to ice, so not that cold, but not great). And not much snow cover on those extreme cold days -- hope it didn't kill everything. Bad enough one of my pipes burst.
I have some seeds planted indoors to be planted outside later. Supposedly going to be 25 tomorrow night, sigh. I've always been told outdoor planting is Mothers Day weekend, although I know from experience you can get away with going a week or two early, usually. The gardening.org site gives me the earlier April 25, which makes sense.
Mother's Day is the planting date for Warm Annuals. You can start some Cool Annuals now. I'm going to plant peas tomorrow, and have done that as early as St. Patrick's Day.
https://www.sunset.com/garden/garden-basics/cool-season-crops-0
Cool-season veggies grow best at temperatures averaging 15° cooler than those needed by warm season types.
Many have edible leaves or roots (lettuce, spinach, carrots, and radishes); others (artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower) are grown for their immature flowers. A few (peas, broad beans) produce edible seeds.
Most can endure short periods of frost.
For best results, you need to grow them to maturity in cool weather; otherwise, they can turn bitter tasting, or bolt to seed rather than producing edible parts. Except in coldest climates, plant them in very early spring so the crop will mature before summer heat settles in, or in late summer for a crop in fall in winter.1 -
The gardening.org said April 25 for outdoor planting, and said I could start sprouting indoors for a lot of cooler weather plants as of a couple of weeks ago, which is what I'm doing.0
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The gardening.org said April 25 for outdoor planting, and said I could start sprouting indoors for a lot of cooler weather plants as of a couple of weeks ago, which is what I'm doing.
Row covers, reusable cloches, or HotKaps (and their kin) are useful for some things, too (though all but the last have offseason storage implications). I particularly like them for things that can be planted in hills (squash, cukes, melons) to get a jump start on pre-planting soil temp, then a faster start on germination and initial growth.1 -
I'm actually not quite ready to start planting outdoors anyway -- I need to do a spring clean up and add my raised beds.
I do have buds on the trees now, and the tulips are just starting to come up.2 -
I planted violas (little pansies) two days ago and yesterday transplanted bee balm roots into the mess out back behind my fence - the city removed some dead trees that were on their property up against our fence. They said they'd be taking out a strip of 10 feet in order to do this, but it ended up being more like 30. There was a line of trees up against the fence and the middle was lots of multi-flora roses and stuff like that. Trying to decide what to do. There's a ground hog under the shed so I planted some clumps of sod with clover for her. Hoping to keep her back there instead of my yard. So far she's ignored my veggies, maybe due to the marigolds I plant with the kale, but if she ever gets in there she will wipe out my kale in no time. I have a little fence around the veggies, which has been keeping out the rabbits, but will not stop a determined wood chuck.
It's pretty wet in places out back and the middle spots in the picture tend to have standing water, so I planted some phragmites there to soak it up. I am aware that phragmites is generally considered an invasive pest, but there's no where for it to go, and may not even be consistently wet enough for it to take.
There are tons of daffodils out there. My OH's parents have been dumping Easter flowers out there for years, covering them with grass clippings, and apparently the daffodils took and got spread around by the city's tree clearing machine.
There's one common day lily. I may move some more from the side of the house that I never see and my OH doesn't like to mow near them anyway, and in fact weed-whacked half of them last year.
I have some packets of wildflower seeds that are old but I will try sprinkling them around and see what happens.
Suggestions welcome!
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Planted peas at lunch time. Transplanted some plugs of grass in the gardens to bare spots in the lawn. Moved some lamium that had escaped my bed to my neighbor's bed. Noticed that the deer have been eating the tulips I planted there last fall so planted some Irish Spring hanging on a stick there too.
This is one of my "satellite" gardens. Used to garden across the street as well but he passed away
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Waiting for the rain to stop so I can plant Swiss chard, boy choi, curly kale, and dinosaur kale.4
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Bump. I think there's another garden thread but I didn't find it.0
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Everyone on this site told me planting was fine weeks ago, and I planted some herbs on Easter (and have some seeds sprouting for a few weeks) but it snowed on Saturday. (Everyone locally was "duh, don't plant before Mothers Day").
Not sure what to do with my plants that are desperate to be put out.1 -
Everyone on this site told me planting was fine weeks ago, and I planted some herbs on Easter (and have some seeds sprouting for a few weeks) but it snowed on Saturday. (Everyone locally was "duh, don't plant before Mothers Day").
Not sure what to do with my plants that are desperate to be put out.
That's the sort of thing where row covers, cloches, or HotKaps are potentially helpful, depending on what you're growing. HotKaps would the lowest investment to try, I would think.
For future reference, I think the following can be pretty helpful, though it's not totally comprehensive:
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/seed-planting-schedule-calculator.html
(I love nearly everything about Johnny's.)
I think you're in the Chicago area? Similar to my zone (mid-Michigan), I think. Some things could be planted weeks ago, but some probably shouldn't have been. And any given year can be exceptional, of course.2 -
I came here to bump this thread and saw it was already at the top of the list.
I planted my garden this past weekend!!!! I’m so excited. I keep going out there to look at my little plants. I have missed them all winter long. I’m in 6a
I also got some sunflower seeds just for fun. I’m excited to see how those turn out
on the envelope it says they’re supposed to get to 12’ tall
My husband is going to build me another trellis for my tomatoes since I keep using those stupid cages. He is also supposed to be building me a second compost box so it’s easier for me to get compost out of (right now I have to stick my shovel in the bottom and dig it out)1 -
lost half my bulbs(iris, tulip, hyacinth), rose bushes, 2 privets, a catawaba vine, most of my blackberry vine, an arkansas black apple tree, and hydrangea due to the weather/ridiculously cold winter.
i'll be planting in 2 weeks. veggies. maybe a rose bush. a couple of vines.1 -
I’m in Indianapolis. I plant Mother’s Day weekend. Can’t wait too. All my starts are kicking butt.1
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See, I swear the Mother's Day weekend thing is what everyone around here (I'm in Chicago) lives by. However, I am doing some additional planting this weekend, and my herbs made it through the snow.
I'm getting a raised box with rabbit proof sides installed soon.1 -
A lot of people around me will between last weekend and Mother’s Day weekend. I think there planting the cold crops but can’t say for certain. I believe may 15th is like the last chance for frost around here.0
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losingit711 wrote: »I’m in Indianapolis. I plant Mother’s Day weekend. Can’t wait too. All my starts are kicking butt.
I am doing the weekend after due to my schedule. Too much happening on Mother's Day weekend! This weekend I am cleaning out all the pots from last year and will finish planning what I want to get.1 -
Just started in zone 7. The tomatoes look great. Planning to get my squash, cucumbers and peppers out in the next week0
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See, I swear the Mother's Day weekend thing is what everyone around here (I'm in Chicago) lives by. However, I am doing some additional planting this weekend, and my herbs made it through the snow.
I'm getting a raised box with rabbit proof sides installed soon.
Ha ha I was up in Oak Park on Saturday for the fabulous snow (and a First Communion). That's Chicago, ain't it. It's just been so miserable this spring. I get to go sit in this crap for hours at a track meet tonight.
You want to wait for Mother's Day for the most tender, tropical plants--tomatoes, marigolds, peppers, eggplants, petunias, cucurbits, etc. If you have plants in the house that really want to be outside, you should look into getting a cold frame or some of the things Ann recommended above, but cold frames are especially fun. (And cute.) On nicer days and nights you can leave plants out to harden off, opening or closing the lid as needed, but if there will be a hard frost you can still have them in trays to bring them inside.
Also, I concur with St. Pats for peas (although some years I just think they sit in the ground and don't actually do anything till it gets considerably warmer), and there is also Good Friday for potatoes (which is interesting since it is a movable feast, but I suspect it also has something to do with moon phases--you plant root veg in a waning moon so Easter weekend is perfect because it follows the Paschal full moon--and the religious symbolism of burying). You can plant radishes and greens outside now from seed.
Herbs like thyme, mint, chives, tarragon, rosemary, sage are pretty rugged in a light frost but if they are tender babies you will want to protect them--cold frame or other such covering.2 -
I am so far behind in my garden this year, it fills me with despair. I feel like I have been chopped into 50 pieces, and every fragment is fulfilling a different obligation, but not one fragment is in the garden getting the damn planting done, which is where I really want to be. Normally I will have 100+ peppers, eggplants and tomatoes seeded in flats--not a one this year. The only thing I have managed to start from seed is leeks (a ridiculous amount). And my lovely, productive peach tree died over the hard winter.
I need to go root around in my compost bin so I can quit being sad--seriously. I would blame it on this awful weather, but if it were lovely I would probably be even more depressed.
On the bright side: I did manage to bring through a fig tree that I rooted from a cutting, as well as a box of bare-root geraniums in my root cellar. Whether I succeeded with my dahlias remains to be seen. And the rhubarb is coming on. And I might get a few spears of asparagus from the former site of our community garden, if they don't get mowed.
And I have my 5 large front porch pots filled with pansies that I got on sale, and some of my back porch pots as well. I have 50 or so pansies still sitting in flats, waiting to be planted out, but they are looking cute while they are waiting. And, apparently a bunch of hops-in-pots overwintered, and I have bines starting to wave aggressively, looking for something to climb on.
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For those of you with rhubarb:
https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/food--cooking/make-cake-with-ribbons-rhubarb/JOhi5w5EmS23W3b3rNJikL/
Mom has rhubarb, but she is on an anti-sugar kick, so I'm not going to make it. My OH doesn't like rhubarb, and it would be too much work and calories for just me and my brother.2
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