Garden thread

Mrs_Hull

Hi, I haven’t gardened in probably six or seven years but I’m working from home and ready to try my hand at it again. I have three 4’x8’ raised beds that I used to use for square foot gardening. In the past, I was successful starting snap peas by Valentines Day, with turnips to follow by March. My summer veggies included cucumbers (grown upwards on trellises), tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers.

My beds are terribly overgrown. Does anyone have suggestions for how I can start to get them ready now, without completely breaking my back with the weeding?

mtaratoot

Mrs_Hull wrote: »

My beds are terribly overgrown. Does anyone have suggestions for how I can start to get them ready now, without completely breaking my back with the weeding?

It's a little late, but...

Cover them with cardboard.

Or, maybe better, cover them with sheets of newspaper and then cover that with compost a few inches deep. The lack of light will kill the weeds, but won't eliminate weed SEEDS. The paper will decompose faster than cardboard, and you can plant right in it when it's time.

If you want to really take the beds back over and can be OK with not planting them all right away, get some clear plastic, not black. Cover the beds with the plastic. When it gets hot out, the plastic will hold in heat like a greenhouse. It will get really hot when the sun is strong. This can even kill weed seeds. Maybe that will be your FALL garden bed or beds, then you can do the treatment on the untreated beds next.

mtaratoot

Look what I saw on my walk today. Surprised the heck out of me since it's just a very few days into February:

MsCzar

Mrs_Hull wrote: »

My beds are terribly overgrown. Does anyone have suggestions for how I can start to get them ready now, without completely breaking my back with the weeding?

Do you have access to grass clippings? I pile my clippings 6"-10" thick. The thicker the better! The grass will create a nitrogen rich hot compost that will not only burn out/rot and light starve any weeds, but will form a solid barrier that wont allow weeds to pop through. When it's time to plant, I just clear out just enough space for my seedlings. Grass clippings are also great for regulating soil temperature and retaining moisture. I have used this method for years and rarely pull a weed.

mtaratoot

I noticed the first daffodil in my yard yesterday. Also the first couple hyacinth. Way too early. I made a note, but I still need to add those to my phenology.

I cut one tiny hyacinth and brought it inside to smell.

I wish I knew what was eating all the buds though. Most of them will have few or no flowers because they've all been munched.

I should take advantage of the good weather to mow the lawn again, but I can wait until the weekend when trails are busy. I might go to do a long hike in a state park tomorrow that has ten large waterfalls. It's about an hour's drive. I have an annual parking pass this year, so I plan to go several times. It's less crowded in the winter. It's less crowded on week days. The creeks are more exciting this time of year. It's been warm enough that even though it's higher elevation, the trails should be ice-free.

AnnPT77

Things here (mid-palm of Michigan's lower peninsula) are not as far along as @mtaratoot is seeing out in the Pacific NW - not surprising. It's an early year, here, though, for early Spring flowers. (I'm concerned for the fruit farms - a big thing here - because this early warm patch could start developing fruit blossoms, o.nly for a hard frost to kill them and this year's crops.)

This is what's up in my yard so far (mostly literally yard, not garden, because the early Spring bulbs naturalize in the lawn.

There have been many patches of Snowdrops (Galanthus sp.), with the first patch blooming back at the start of January. This is one of many groups, in a garden bed where perennials will come back later. (I don't clean up the bed until after nights get to around 50F, so beneficial insects have safe habitat through cold weather.)



I've been trying to get Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) going for a while in my lawn. They're a thug at the local botanical garden, but not so much for me . They may be coming along a little better this year, but only a few are up now. We'll see.



Tommie crocus (Crocus tommasinianus) are the earliest crocus for me. There will be lots of these pretty soon, but only a few are out now. These have naturalized beautifully all through one of the perennial beds, and way out into the lawn.




The earliest Hellebore (with some Helleborus niger in its lineage, I think) is coming along, but not fully open yet. The other Hellebores (more H. orientalis, possibly some H. multifidus or H. argutifolius in the hybrid mix) will be later, but more colorful (magenta, pink, green, near-black).



The stuff that grows in the lawn is all done and withering by the time we need to start lawn-mowing, so they're very lawn-compatible.

kshama2001

kshama2001

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.

Some herbs, definitely cilantro, and possibly dill, etc., are short-lived, so you have to plan to keep replanting them. Those are the ones I struggle with. Other than that, are you giving them the right amount of water?

AnnPT77

kshama2001 wrote: »

This resonates. Right now, though, it's aphids (all over my calla, currently in indoor over-Winter life), spider mites (in the orchids), and it seems to be the start of brown marmorated stink bug season (they don't bother the plants, but they're not good housemates for me). It's always something. Since it's indoors, it's insecticidal soap and yellow sticky traps for the aphids, mostly humidity for the spider mites. If the BMSB reach sufficient volume indoors, I'll set up a trap (desk lamp above a bowl of water with dish soap).

As long as I'm here: It's pseudo-hot here, 70F (21C) at 1PM. The record high for this day was 64F in 1867. All the early Spring bulbs are popping fast, and won't last. There are Tommie Crocus (Crocus Tommasinianus) all over in the garden beds and lawn, way beyond where I ever planted any. They're even invading the North neighbor' lawn. (I don't think they mind.)

xbowhunter

Looking forward to growing my own again.

SuzanneC1l9zz

<peers sadly at you all over the top of the windrows the city left everywhere from plowing the 20+ cm snow dump a couple of days ago> 😢

kshama2001

mtaratoot

I brought in some small branches from my flowering cherry tree a week or so ago and put them in water in a couple places.

The flowers opened yesterday. We're still a month away from the tree really going. I'll bring in more branches soon for the next forced bloom. But not right now. I know it's just weather, but I don't want to be looking up into the canopy with that mix of rain and snow that's coming down now.

kshama2001

mtaratoot wrote: »

I brought in some small branches from my flowering cherry tree a week or so ago and put them in water in a couple places.

The flowers opened yesterday. We're still a month away from the tree really going. I'll bring in more branches soon for the next forced bloom. But not right now. I know it's just weather, but I don't want to be looking up into the canopy with that mix of rain and snow that's coming down now.

Nice! I'm going to have to scrounge up some forsythia to force.

kshama2001

The puddle is in my neighbor's yard. I thought I was getting some Japanese iris from a woman in my gardening group. These have high water requirements, so I thought they'd be perfect in a new bed on my side of the fence. While I was digging up the last clump of iris, she said they were actually Siberian iris. I love those, but I already have them, and would not have put them here. (They need half the water.) But I got them and already broke ground, so will proceed.

Normally I'd dig out all the grass, but I was waffling, both because they will use some water plus it's a lot for my back. The iris would eventually eat the grass. I'd have to cut it by hand or my boyfriend's head will explode. Or maybe I can just put wood mulch over the grass...

Suggestions welcome!

mtaratoot

I was a bit bummed walking in my back yard. Why? Because my fruit trees are starting to blossom. Surely it's from the unseasonably warm and sunny weather we had for nearly a week. Since we're back to wet and cool, the pollinators might not be out much, so it might not be a good year for fruit.

Alas - I felt a little better when I saw this:




And for sure during the much nicer weather, I got out and enjoyed the FLOWERING cherry in my front yard. In fact, I had a little hanami to celebrate. I even busted out my special sake cups and toasted the coming of spring.




Today I saw a "recipe" for pickled cherry blossoms and cherry salt. I might make some. You first put the blossoms in salt for a day or so, then take off and reserve the salt, then soak the blossoms in rice vinegar for a few days. You then save the vinegar and pack the salt back on the blossoms. You can use both the salt AND the blossoms. Sounds lovely.

mtaratoot

Well, the sakura tree is now GORGEOUS. The sun came out today. I harvested a bunch of blossoms. I read about preserved cherry blossoms, and I'm about to try my hand at a batch.

Fuzzipeg

I'm so pleased you can get out into the garden. Here in the UK we have so much rain since the end of September, we have not had a wet winter like it in my lifetime. Today has been dry, we've even seen the sun! Many places are likely to flood even with minimal additional rain. Our garden with clay soil is still like a skid pan. It will be good when we can get out and do all the jobs we've not been able to do all winter.
Enjoy your gardens.

mtaratoot

I got back from a very nice paddle trip on a local river. The sun was out. It wasn't too windy. There was plenty of water. Ahhh...

Well, I got home and it was still SO nice out that I took out my chair so now I can sit under the Sakura with a tiny cup of sake and watch the petals start to snow down in all their glory. I'm also watching the bug patrol (songbirds) hop around and feast on the delicious insects that spring brings. Oh yes. It's a great time of year. We have a couple more sunny days and then it's back to cold rain for a while. I'm soaking it up while I can!

kshama2001