Garden thread

Fuzzipeg

Lucky both of you. Our spring was so dry when the fruit should have been thinking of flowering, now we've had no rain for 6 weeks or more so any fruit there is is not swelling. I fear my grape is not going to perform either, our ground has dome real cracks in it. Last year the blackberries all shrivelled on the plants. I'm trying to work out what to do to improve things, extra water butts and probably deep mulch.

LoveyChar

I bought bird netting and getting it up, since I have yet to enjoy a ripening tomato off the vine.

LoveyChar

Eggplant

Bell Pepper

Chili Pepper

Watermelon baby#2

Growing, biggest

MsCzar

Tis the season! This is 48 hours worth and I ate four! I still have last year's pickles, so I won't make any this year. I only have three plants this year - but dang! How's your garden doing?

AnnPT77

It's not veggies, and not really even a garden (though it's outdoors right now), but . . . jeez. Night bloomer, one night only. Nice scent, too. ("Night Blooming Cereus", Epiphyllum sp. It was nearly 10"/25cm wide.) Ethereal, really.

mtaratoot

Nice Cereus!

I have an orchid cactus that has similar looking blooms, but they aren't as fragrant, and the thing blooms for weeks at a time some years.

MsCzar

I have no idea what tall flower this is, but it blooms every year and sho' is purty.

mtaratoot

Definitely a lily; maybe a Madonna Lily?

mtaratoot

I have been sort of ignoring the yard and garden this year. My schedule is full with many other fun things. We're about to get some stupid-hot days, and I figured I better get some water out in the orchard. I think I've lost my mimosa tree to the heat, and a neighbor probably lost a tulip poplar. I may wait until spring to decide, but my tree needs some work anyway. It might be better to go ahead and have it removed. Makes me sad.

I took some time this morning before it got hot to do some removing of volunteer cherry trees and cleaning up where some unwanted plants were crowding wanted plants while letting the water run low and slow on the trees. It's still running.

I had noticed earlier in the year the pear trees and plum tree had a very heavy set of fruit. I had done some fruit pruning on the Asian pear a while ago, but not nearly enough. I noticed a broken branch, so decided to spend the morning chopping out excess fruit. The first time I did this it felt weird chopping off a majority of the fruits, but the result is better quality of the remaining fruit, and the branches don't break. I always have more than enough anyway. I focus on any misshapen fruit and then prune out anywhere there are fruits touching. I bet I cut out 500 pounds of fruit. I am lazy this year, so I just left the fruit on the ground to rot and feed the soil. Or the critters. I will have to be on the lookout for yellow jackets though. Maybe I'll make a trap with some cheap cat food if I start seeing them.

I also started yanking fruit off the prune tree. Just by the handful. It started to get hot, and I was getting itchy. I just quit and came in to take a shower - I have to go drive an hour to take care of some errands. I'll get that done and maybe visit a friend or two.

If you aren't familiar with the cat food yellow jacket trap, it's genius. Get a shallow baking pan. Fill it almost to the top with water, and add a drop of dish soap. Set it on a flat surface a little bit away from where you'll be enjoying the outdoors. Take a paint stir-stick and smear a bunch of cheap canned cat food on one side. Place the stick, cat food side down, on top of the pan so that there's a very small space between the cat food and the water. When the yellow jackets come in, they might touch the water on their way to the feast. With the soap, there's no surface tension, and they'll sink and drown. If they do manage to land, they are greedy little kittens, so they take more than they can easily take off with. The trajectory takes them down before up, so they hit the water and drown.

I am not looking forward to getting my water bill this month. I hadn't really done any irrigation until late last month, and I went nuts. Oh well.

spinnerdell

My mimosa has looked like a lost cause several times over its 14 year tenure in my yard, but it has come back better than ever after a hard pruning. I live in southern Nevada, a much hotter and drier climate than yours, so there may be hope yet for your tree.

mtaratoot

@spinnerdell

Thanks for your experience. My tree is probably closer to 40 years old. Or more. I will call in the arborist to work on a couple trees and then see if my very dear mimosa will come back. It's been fighting wooly aphids for years.

SuzanneC1l9zz

Only one of these came from a store. My luck with peppers the past few years hasn't been great... I'm glad I persevered!

MsCzar

Gonna have lots of December peppers and tomatoes!

AnnPT77

Have the USA-ians taken a look at the updated USDA Hardiness Zone map? Reportedly, there's been widespread change. I used to be zone 5 (I think zone 5b, -15 to -10 F), now am zone 6a (-10 to -5 F).

https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

kshama2001

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Have the USA-ians taken a look at the updated USDA Hardiness Zone map? Reportedly, there's been widespread change. I used to be zone 5 (I think zone 5b, -15 to -10 F), now am zone 6a (-10 to -5 F).

https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

Yes, we're discussing it in my gardening group. Some bad consequences for us: we now have more ticks and rabbits. Since we have less snow, we have less "poor man's fertilizer." Etc.

I'm still 6B but my friend on the coast went from 6B to 7A. We've been having endless discussions about dahlias, which are hardy to zone 8. I say she should treat them like an annual and bring them in if she wants to keep them. She says some of them have come back the next year and that flower farmers in our area are able to overwinter them. She showed me a video. I pointed out that they are covering them with 4-6 inches of wood chips, which is a lot of mulch, so sure, overwinter them if you are willing to do that

But now she's in a warmer zone, so I'm just going to let it rest, even though it's still not a dahlia-safe zone.

I have some ornamental grass that didn't get enough sun this year so never got very big. It's zone 7 hardy and was sold as an annual. I mulched the heck out of it and expect it to survive. I'm trying ever-bearing strawberries for the first time - that's behind.

AnnPT77

I figure plant hardiness ratings are an approximation, and that microclimate matters, so I've been willing to push my zone a bit.

I wouldn't try to grow something from zone 8-9, but maybe something rated one zone warmer, especially if I had a protected spot, or a spot that was near the wall of house or near rocks/masonry that regularly got some sun-warming, or something like that. For sure I get less Winter-killed stuff if we've had good snow cover during all the really cold bits.

Sometimes pushing the zone works. Lazy soul that I am, I'm not willing to mulch and wrap in high-effort ways to overwinter a plant. If they die, they die.

I have a few things I bring indoors in Winter, but most of them are just in pots outside. Those are mostly not even close to hardy here, but maybe I should try the Passiflora incarnata (passion flower vine) outdoors in the ground now that we're re-zoned.

kshama2001

I just started this bed this fall. Can't wait to see it next June! This picture is from last month, before the strawberries came in the mail. The dead looking stuff is crocosmia and tiger lily I moved from another bed which didn't have enough sun. I got a bunch of irises from my gardening group, and today got some glads, which I will plant tomorrow. The white bags with no lettering is local manure

kshama2001

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I figure plant hardiness ratings are an approximation, and that microclimate matters, so I've been willing to push my zone a bit.

I wouldn't try to grow something from zone 8-9, but maybe something rated one zone warmer, especially if I had a protected spot, or a spot that was near the wall of house or near rocks/masonry that regularly got some sun-warming, or something like that. For sure I get less Winter-killed stuff if we've had good snow cover during all the really cold bits.

Sometimes pushing the zone works. Lazy soul that I am, I'm not willing to mulch and wrap in high-effort ways to overwinter a plant. If they die, they die.

I have a few things I bring indoors in Winter, but most of them are just in pots outside. Those are mostly not even close to hardy here, but maybe I should try the Passiflora incarnata (passion flower vine) outdoors in the ground now that we're re-zoned.

Illustrating the protective benefits of sun warming and house protecting, these gaillardia are still blooming in mid-Nov, despite some nights in the 20s. They are on the south side of the house. I did cover them tonight, but not for the previous cold nights.



They prefer poor soil and neglect. After planting, I didn't water them all summer, and rain water was enough. It's a PITA to plant in gravel, but I'm glad I did. I also have sedum on either end. They like the rocks too.

yirara

I just repotted some leaves from succulents and cacti as they committed suicide. I think I should not take care of plants.

mtaratoot

yirara wrote: »

I just repotted some leaves from succulents and cacti as they committed suicide. I think I should not take care of plants.

Were they jade plants? They get a fungus that is really hard to eliminate. You can make new starts that might do OK. I have clones of a jade that was given to me 30 years ago. I've grown very large specimens and gave some away and even sold some. I had one very large one stolen. And what's most fun, I was able to give a clone back to the person who I originally got some cuttings from when his got the fungus. Twice actually. I keep propagating them and giving them away. Lately I've been growing a lot of Hens and Chicks as well and giving THEM away. They do fine outdoors here. I really like propagating my Rex Begonia too. It's a neat variety with spiral-shaped leaves.

Don't stop unless you want to!

kshama2001

Today is a beautiful day for planting spring bulbs in my cat's garden!


The Prince Tut grasses were really nice until a few 20-something degree nights.

mtaratoot

I did my annual maintenance on my marionberries today. It's probably not too early. I pulled out long strands of new canes, then cut out all the ones that fruited last year and chopped 'em up and put 'em in the green waste cart. Then I strung up the new canes that will fruit this year.

I also spread wood shavings on my blueberries and raspberries. I will wait another several weeks before pruning the raspberries and grapes. I can probably start on the fig trees, plum tree, pear tree, cherry tree, and Asian pear tree any time. Gives me something to do outside when we have a weather window that isn't too terribly cold or raining too terribly hard.


Then I took a flat shovel and removed a bunch of mud that had flowed onto my driveway. After that it was time to scrape off some moss that was growing on other parts of the driveway and the sidewalk. Yep. Fun stuff!

MsCzar

So who here can't wait to start seedlings? Still about a month away here in Zone 6. Peppers and eggplant usually take forever to sprout and seem the hardest to keep alive. Lost them all last year and had to buy nursery plants. I'm thinking of growing broccoli this year, but have zero experience there.
What are your 2024 garden plans?

mtaratoot

I might garden this year. I really didn't last year. I didn't even harvest a single marionberry. Wow. I ate plenty of pears, but not many grapes. Only a few raspberries.

I covered the annual garden with cardboard last week because it had, of course, grown quite will while I was ignoring it. Maybe, just maybe, I'll put some yummy things in the soil in the spring. Zone 8b. Still Zone 8b even with the new PRISM map.

I pruned one of my three fig trees yesterday. Green waste cart is full. It gets emptied tomorrow. Aside from pruning two more fig trees (probably not as heavily as this one), I have a plum, a cherry, a Bartlett pear, a Chojuro (Asian) pear, and a very large flowering cherry out front. Plus a row of grapes, a row of blueberries, a row of raspberries, and the marionberries. I already did maintenance on the marionberries a couple weeks ago. Whew.

I found out that the shrub/tree planted between my house and my neighbors isn't actually an Oregon Bay Laurel (a.k.a. California Bay, a.k.a., California Laurel, a.k.a. Pepperwood, a.k.a. Oregon Myrtle, a.k.a. Spice tree, a.k.a. peppernut....) isn't actually an Oregon Bay Laurel. It's actually a Sweet Bay. No wonder I can use so much when I cook without overpowering the flavor. It's the real deal. Fun stuff. Tasty too.

And of course there's the artichokes. They seem to be doing fine. We'll see. I ate a lot last year, but there were a lot that never got harvested.

Good news is giving the garden the year off may have discouraged the ants that were destroying roots of lots of veggies. Also gave the soil a rest. I was a year late if you follow the calendar of sabbatical years. I have no idea how I found time to go to work AND have a garden. I didn't have to work last year, and I still didn't find time to garden. Just having too much fun, and I'm ok with that.

mtaratoot

I forgot about this until today. I only remembered because I picked up a few sprouting acorns from native oak trees while I was out on my hike and I was potting them up. I will probably try to create bonsai from them. I have never been successful doing a bonsai with a native oak. They just don't like it. Will that stop me from trying again? Apparently not. I've got several empty bonsai pots and another one that will be empty when my fears are confirmed in the spring that one of my favorites is dead. I will need to buy more bonsai soil anyway as this year I need to pull most of them out of their pots, prune their roots, and repot with fresh soil.

But what I noticed was a pot I had set out on my potting table. My poor falling-apart potting table. It was from when I cleaned up part of my garden several weeks ago. It was one of the artichokes I had left in the garden as a nectar source for pollinators and also because the flowers are beautiful. Well, the flower had gone to seed, and the seeds had started to sprout.

Anybody want some sprouted artichokes? They have mutated into a very delicious plant that survives our winters (USDA Zone 8b). They also have very mean thorns that point OUT so they will hurt you if you're not careful...

MsCzar

Dollar Tree seeds are out. 25¢ USD a pack! I've mostly had good luck with with them.

mtaratoot

My world is covered with rime. We had an ice storm the other day. Today was sunny. I've been out walking in it every day. Today was nice because of the sun. When I got back, I walked to the back of my yard. I figured the ice is thick and solid enough - like concrete - that I won't hurt the turf by walking on it. I usually try not to walk on frozen turf - it can get damaged.

Anyway, we haven't had temperatures above freezing since Friday, and we're expecting it to get down to between 13 and 15 tonight. All of my perennials should be safe because they are coated in a layer of ice. This is one of my blueberry bushes:


Another round of freezing rain is expected tomorrow. We'll probably lose more limbs and trees. Some friends have been without electricity for about 30 hours. I think the crew was working to get it back as it grew dark. Good thing because of tonight's weather. At least they have a wood stove, but I fear for their well.

CoffeeCastle

I love to garden! I always do really well with tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini. Tried lettuce for the first time last year and that went really well. Oh and kale! I got tons of great kale. The thing I always have trouble with are herbs. My herbs never stay nice for very long. This year I’d like to master that.

AnnPT77

CoffeeCastle wrote: »

I love to garden! I always do really well with tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini. Tried lettuce for the first time last year and that went really well. Oh and kale! I got tons of great kale. The thing I always have trouble with are herbs. My herbs never stay nice for very long. This year I’d like to master that.

What troubles have you had, and with which herbs? They're one of the things I can manage, mostly . . . though I do stick with ones that aren't too fussy.

We have cold Winters here, so the rosemary is potted, moves in and out seasonally. I've had better luck with upright varieties vs. trailing (which seem to root-rot more easily).

The oregano, tarragon, sage, lovage, thyme, and mint are hardy here outdoors in the ground . . . the sage and oregano a little too vigorous sometimes, TBH. I have to rip out a bunch most years so they don't take over the bed. (I grow the mint in a trough and treat it badly so that it won't go wild. )

I usually grow some dill, cilantro, and basil in big pots as annuals. Sometimes I grow nasturtiums for salad, also in a pot.

This past year, I started some chives and garlic chives in planters, but they didn't germinate well, even though they did well for me at my previous place. (I should have ordered seed online from a better source, probably. I'll do so this year and try again.)

Guilty admission is that I used to grow a lot of veggies and some fruits, but have gotten lazy about that, especially since widowhood - doing everything around the house/yard sometimes gets the better of me.

wm3796

I have always started my garden from plants, but this year I want to try from seeds. Do the quality of the seeds matter? Do people have recommendations on where they buy seeds?