Garden thread

AnnofB wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

moonangel12 wrote: »

annliz23 wrote: »

https://youtu.be/Jze8utzpLhg[/url

Blasted squirrels! I am putting up netting and chicken wire today because they keep digging up all the beds I have prepped!

My problem is chipmunks. Last year they dug up and bit into every one of my begonia bulbs as well as my neighbor's tulips. They were so bad I got traps and gave the scavengers in the woods almost 50 appetizers.

Chipmunks! Argghhh. Every day they come onto our deck and rake out the dirt in my flower pots. So aggravating. They have the gall to let me get within 8 feet of them before running away.

Our squirrels ate our bulbs!!!! Like they were at a buffet!

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Safari_Gal_ wrote: »

AnnofB wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

moonangel12 wrote: »

annliz23 wrote: »

https://youtu.be/Jze8utzpLhg[/url

Blasted squirrels! I am putting up netting and chicken wire today because they keep digging up all the beds I have prepped!

My problem is chipmunks. Last year they dug up and bit into every one of my begonia bulbs as well as my neighbor's tulips. They were so bad I got traps and gave the scavengers in the woods almost 50 appetizers.

Chipmunks! Argghhh. Every day they come onto our deck and rake out the dirt in my flower pots. So aggravating. They have the gall to let me get within 8 feet of them before running away.

Our squirrels ate our bulbs!!!! Like they were at a buffet!

It can vary a little by area, but here, FWIW, the snowdrops and daffodils are the least bothered by squirrels; the super tiny bulbs (scilla, chionodoxa) not very bothered, and the ones of those that seed around after a few years don't seem bothered at all; rock garden iris OK-ish; and Tommie crocus (C. tommasinianus) less attacked than the Spring/Dutch crocus (C. vernus and some others). The seed-around volunteer Tommies are even more squirrel resistant than the bulbs I plant. Spread-y little suckers, they are - many feet out into the lawn beyond where I ever planted any!

BTW: Any of you flower folks who have part shade, and the right zone (I'm 5b), but don't have any Hellebores, y'oughta get some. Just one woman's opinion, though.



They come in various colors, from near-black (really) to strange purple green-blues, deep magenta, pink, single and double, greens, some double some not. The "petals" are really sepals so persist a long time (weeks) though the color ages; they have nice foliage (this is still a little Winter-ratty; they're semi-evergreen), some with reddish stalks. The one above is kind of boring, color-wise, but very early. It's a hybrid, but gotta be some H. niger in it.

I have been looking at those. I have a space between my a/c and the stoop and have been thinking of what I want to plant there. It is mostly shade because of the a/c. I planted my clematis in the spot because it needs to have its roots shaded but I still want something flowering.

earlnabby wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Safari_Gal_ wrote: »

AnnofB wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

moonangel12 wrote: »

annliz23 wrote: »

https://youtu.be/Jze8utzpLhg[/url

Blasted squirrels! I am putting up netting and chicken wire today because they keep digging up all the beds I have prepped!

My problem is chipmunks. Last year they dug up and bit into every one of my begonia bulbs as well as my neighbor's tulips. They were so bad I got traps and gave the scavengers in the woods almost 50 appetizers.

Chipmunks! Argghhh. Every day they come onto our deck and rake out the dirt in my flower pots. So aggravating. They have the gall to let me get within 8 feet of them before running away.

Our squirrels ate our bulbs!!!! Like they were at a buffet!

It can vary a little by area, but here, FWIW, the snowdrops and daffodils are the least bothered by squirrels; the super tiny bulbs (scilla, chionodoxa) not very bothered, and the ones of those that seed around after a few years don't seem bothered at all; rock garden iris OK-ish; and Tommie crocus (C. tommasinianus) less attacked than the Spring/Dutch crocus (C. vernus and some others). The seed-around volunteer Tommies are even more squirrel resistant than the bulbs I plant. Spread-y little suckers, they are - many feet out into the lawn beyond where I ever planted any!

BTW: Any of you flower folks who have part shade, and the right zone (I'm 5b), but don't have any Hellebores, y'oughta get some. Just one woman's opinion, though.



They come in various colors, from near-black (really) to strange purple green-blues, deep magenta, pink, single and double, greens, some double some not. The "petals" are really sepals so persist a long time (weeks) though the color ages; they have nice foliage (this is still a little Winter-ratty; they're semi-evergreen), some with reddish stalks. The one above is kind of boring, color-wise, but very early. It's a hybrid, but gotta be some H. niger in it.

I have been looking at those. I have a space between my a/c and the stoop and have been thinking of what I want to plant there. It is mostly shade because of the a/c. I planted my clematis in the spot because it needs to have its roots shaded but I still want something flowering.

Try it! They do want a bit of light; mine seem to do best kind of on the edge of a shaded area where they get some sun during the day, either short duration or dappled. Full shade isn't where they thrive, for me. The "Wedding Party Series" has some gorgeous ones to try, and seems to be pretty available, at least around here.

Ok, time for the dumb questions section so beware.
Starting seeds inside, is there a better starter soil than another? Where do you get the seeds; HD or Lowe's, order online, regular stores such as your local grocery store(not even sure if they have them this year). I don't want to pay 'an arm and a leg' but also would like to stay out of stores as much as possible. Also, what about buying tomato, cucumber or pepper plants? It's a bit early here for that(usually we cannot plant until end of May, last expected frost of the season). I might still attempt planting some of those veggies from seed anyways, not sure.
So, if you can be patient with answering some beginner questions from a brown-thumbed inept person, I'd greatly appreciate it.
My seasonal "crop" Lol has always been hit or miss. Last year I planted tomato plants(1 cherry and 1 regular) in 5 gal. buckets and I think I got 5 tomatoes the whole summer. Year before I planted 2 cherry tomato plants in garden beds and was giving away quarts of them everyday.
I ask dh what he'd like me to plant; last year it was cucumbers. I got a decent quantity and I think he had 5 slices. I was eating 3-4 cucumbers a day. Now he wants green peppers. Lol
Anyways.......

My favorite online seed store is
https://migardener.com/

They are still shipping but delayed a week or so and packs are 99cents each

Seed starting inside you want to use seed starting mix they don't need nutrients until get true leaves and then really dilute liquid fertilizer.
I often just use coconut coir for seed starting it is possible to buy that as a brick online that you then hydrate with boiling water and then let cool to room temp.

Pepper seeds take a while to germinate particularly hot peppers.
.

I've got a mini-greenhouse setup in my dining room. It's facing east, unfortunately, but I don't have a place to put it facing south. I took a portable clothes rack and set it around my quilt rack and set the trays with my plants on the quilt rack. I hung a cabinet light from the top cross bar of the clothes rack on chain so that I could raise the light as the seedlings grow. I then wrapped the whole thing in clear plastic with a gap for watering access which I keep closed with clothes pins. I have a little thermometer that measures temp and humidity inside that.

I'm well pleased - I have broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, tomatoes, spaghetti squash and a butternut squash up. Just waiting for the rest of the tomatoes, egg plant, banana squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, and pumpkins. I plan to put peas in the ground this weekend, and I'll sew my beans, corn, and carrots outside in May. I'll also need to germinate my parsnip seed - it's last year's seed, and I'm not sure how well it will germinate, but I've found that starting those in paper towels to be the only way I can get them to grow.

earlnabby wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Try it! They do want a bit of light; mine seem to do best kind of on the edge of a shaded area where they get some sun during the day, either short duration or dappled. Full shade isn't where they thrive, for me. The "Wedding Party Series" has some gorgeous ones to try, and seems to be pretty available, at least around here.

I face east so they would get a little direct sun in the morning.

Just checked my favorite garden center and they carry 2 varieties in the Wedding Party series and 3 in the Honeymoon series. I noticed they are salt tolerant which would make them perfect for the spot because of a little salt wash from the sidewalk

ETA: the small strip in front of the a/c is filled with Forget-me-nots which thrive there. Found a better picture. I would put them right behind the Mouse ear hosta and they can spread as far back as they like around the clematis roots

Look at the full-grown size of whatever you're considering, to get an idea whether it'll work. Most of these are medium-sized, and I'm wondering whether the mouse-ears hosta** will get overwhelmed, especially if it's a little darker toward the back than the hellebores prefer.

** Which is adorable, by the way: I love mini-hostas!

moonangel12 wrote: »

How have I never heard of mini hostas? Maybe I have seen them and just not realized what they were...

I'd consider mouse ears a mini (and I'm not sure it's an official term with an official definition - dwarf may be better), but there are even smaller ones. A lot of big garden centers/nurseries (not necessarily the big-box chain places) will have some.

Part of the trick is that many hostas, big and little, look similar in a nursery pot, so one needs to read labels to figure it out. I have several in the 2-3" ground-to-leaf-tip range, some of them rather nicely spread-y (slowly, not thuggishly). I'd have to dig out planting records to know variety names, and, with apologies, I wasn't able to quickly find photos (I mostly photograph things blooming, and these have rather petite purplish flowers, mostly - not showy). And there are lots in the size-range of your mouse ears, with different leaf configurations and colorings. I have a nice little clumping one that's bicolored (green/yellowish-white) and a bit wavy, probably around the size of the mouse ears in your photo, or maybe a bit smaller.

The one caveat is that I wouldn't try growing the ultra-tiny ones in a place with real slug problems, for obvious reasons.

ReenieHJ wrote: »

Ok, time for the dumb questions section so beware.

Truth in advertising: It's been quite a while since I veggie gardened, although I used to do a lot of it, for a couple of decades.

Starting seeds inside, is there a better starter soil than another?

If you can find a seed starter mix, that's ideal. Some seedlings are subject to fungal/other disease conditions (not dangerous to you, but can cause 'damping off' or otherwise kill the seedlings). A mix intended for seed starting may help minimize this.

Where do you get the seeds; HD or Lowe's, order online, regular stores such as your local grocery store(not even sure if they have them this year). I don't want to pay 'an arm and a leg' but also would like to stay out of stores as much as possible.

Any of those will work. Online ordering will give you more choices. If you're in the North, check out Johnny's Selected Seeds. They're more expensive, but have amazing varieties tailored to Northern gardens, and the objective absolute cost is not high. You can do a mix, too, of mainstream things from a big-box, and some special choices from an online source, if something particular appeals to you.

Also, what about buying tomato, cucumber or pepper plants? It's a bit early here for that(usually we cannot plant until end of May, last expected frost of the season). I might still attempt planting some of those veggies from
seed anyways, not sure.

I've tried starting peppers and tomatoes (among others) from seed, but with these specifically was not happy with my results. That, I believe, had to do with conditions. They really, really need good strong light to be sturdy, vigorous seedlings, and a typical home window isn't enough. Lights may not be enough. If I were you, I would buy plants for peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, tomatillos (if you grow that), especially as a beginner: They're widely available, and not expensive. Others who've been successful starting these from seed will have better advice, I'm sure.

Here, with my Michigan 5b season length, cucumbers and most of the other vining crops (with the possible exception of melons) will do mature and produce nicely in when direct seeded, especially if attention is given to selecting varieties at the shorter end of days-to-maturity (which should be on the packet or in the catalog). I like to hill them, vs. putting them in rows, and use some kind of cloche if possible over the hill (even a gallon milk jug with the bottom cut out will work, though inelegant, but I'd remove that as soon as possible, or at least leave the cap off the jug after they poke through the soil). They like that soil warmth for germination and a good start; both the hill and a cover help with that. When buying seedlings of these, there's usually a little setback from transplanting, and I didn't see that I gained much from the extra cost of buying plants, vs. giving them a good start seeded directly in the ground. Others mileage may vary, and I'm sure they'll comment.

So, if you can be patient with answering some beginner questions from a brown-thumbed inept person, I'd greatly appreciate it.
My seasonal "crop" Lol has always been hit or miss. Last year I planted tomato plants(1 cherry and 1 regular) in 5 gal. buckets and I think I got 5 tomatoes the whole summer. Year before I planted 2 cherry tomato plants in garden beds and was giving away quarts of them everyday.
I ask dh what he'd like me to plant; last year it was cucumbers. I got a decent quantity and I think he had 5 slices. I was eating 3-4 cucumbers a day. Now he wants green peppers. Lol
Anyways.......

My favorite garden center just pushed their opening day back to April 24 and will make adjustments as things change. May is their big month since our zone typically get the last freeze before mid-May so they are crowded Mother's Day weekend through mid June but are sold out of most of the best selection before Memorial Day.

I have my list and if I have to do a phone order with curbside pickup I could. I still prefer to browse and chat with other customers and the people who work there.

I planted a bunch of seeds indoors today, using a lot of clear plastic salad containers, like my own mini greenhouses. I used green pepper seeds I took from a pepper, some slices of tomato, some seeds I'd saved from a spaghetti squash. We'll see if any of that comes up. Then a whole boatload of marigold seeds because when we bought this house a million years ago, one of the things we loved was the all the colorful marigolds they had planted up and down the sidewalk. Now that there is no daycare stepping on everything, I'd like to do it again. I still want to buy sunflower seeds, and try growing sweet potatoes from a store bought sweet potato. Then when it gets warmer, I've got green beans and cucumbers to plant outside. I also want to plant cherry tomatoes; love picking those right off the plant and eating them.
Hmmm, guess we're going to need more space.

lemurcat2 wrote: »

I have some hardy cold weather plants to plant tomorrow.

Seeds are currently hard to find commercially (at least if you want to order them or get delivery), IME.

But why I'm really posting, I went for a great long walk around my neighborhood yesterday--have a hilarious Easter bunny photo if only that old Easter bunny thread were still around--and saw that someone had decided to turn their parkway (is that a term elsewhere? here the grass between the sidewalk and the curb is owned by the city but maintained by the owner of the property on the other side of the sidewalk, and that's the parkway) into a potato patch. Lots of signs about not interfering with it. So that's interesting.

On a related note, my (often insane in an amusing way) NextDoor forum got into one of the perennial fights about where dogs should be permitted to defecate and dog owners who inadequately clean up, most of which centered around rights to the parkway. It was a delightful return to normalcy in light of how much of the discussion there is currently coronavirus related.

I have a parkway I maintain, as well as a buffer area with a potential to be a community garden directly in front of my parkway (where otherwise would be a street parking space in front of my house, it was added a few years ago to try to slow people who tend to run a stop sign not far away). I normally don't bother with them other than to mow and pull weeds (the garden space -- unlike many others in the area -- is planted with low maintenance perennials that are not that exciting, but easy to make look okay -- no one involved with the original planting is currently involved, as one was the prior resident of my house and one a neighbor now busy with other things). I'm wondering if I should use one or both as an overflow garden area and do something interesting (not veg, which is what I am concentrating on in my back garden, but something decorative).

I was in a neighboring city when we lived in Nc and was cutting through a residential area to get to another part of town when I passed someone’s beautifully planned and maintained vegetable garden in that grassy space - it was neat to see, and very well done!

ReenieHJ wrote: »

Ok, time for the dumb questions section so beware.
Starting seeds inside, is there a better starter soil than another? Where do you get the seeds; HD or Lowe's, order online, regular stores such as your local grocery store(not even sure if they have them this year). I don't want to pay 'an arm and a leg' but also would like to stay out of stores as much as possible. Also, what about buying tomato, cucumber or pepper plants? It's a bit early here for that(usually we cannot plant until end of May, last expected frost of the season). I might still attempt planting some of those veggies from seed anyways, not sure.
So, if you can be patient with answering some beginner questions from a brown-thumbed inept person, I'd greatly appreciate it.
My seasonal "crop" Lol has always been hit or miss. Last year I planted tomato plants(1 cherry and 1 regular) in 5 gal. buckets and I think I got 5 tomatoes the whole summer. Year before I planted 2 cherry tomato plants in garden beds and was giving away quarts of them everyday.
I ask dh what he'd like me to plant; last year it was cucumbers. I got a decent quantity and I think he had 5 slices. I was eating 3-4 cucumbers a day. Now he wants green peppers. Lol
Anyways.......

I wish you great success with your seeds!

I used to start seeds indoors due to "gardening withdrawal" in the winter but I've found I get my "fix" by bundling up and working on trails behind my house and in a nearby state park.

Over the years I've discovered it is more efficient for me to NOT start seeds indoors. I buy seedlings for some things, and sow others directly into the ground, mostly with seeds I get from my mother. She gets hers from all of the places you mentioned. Burpee seeds are MUCH cheaper locally than online, but for hard-to-find items I have bought online. I've also bought from Park Seed online.

For seedlings, I like to get them from a garden center, as big box stores tend to "rush the season" too much. I think I've seen tomato plants at Walmart at Easter, which is ridiculously early for Massachusetts.

I belong to a local gardening group on Facebook which is super nice, and very useful for getting specific local/seasonal advice.

lemurcat2 wrote: »

I have some hardy cold weather plants to plant tomorrow.

Seeds are currently hard to find commercially (at least if you want to order them or get delivery), IME.

But why I'm really posting, I went for a great long walk around my neighborhood yesterday--have a hilarious Easter bunny photo if only that old Easter bunny thread were still around--and saw that someone had decided to turn their parkway (is that a term elsewhere? here the grass between the sidewalk and the curb is owned by the city but maintained by the owner of the property on the other side of the sidewalk, and that's the parkway) into a potato patch. Lots of signs about not interfering with it. So that's interesting.

On a related note, my (often insane in an amusing way) NextDoor forum got into one of the perennial fights about where dogs should be permitted to defecate and dog owners who inadequately clean up, most of which centered around rights to the parkway. It was a delightful return to normalcy in light of how much of the discussion there is currently coronavirus related.

I have a parkway I maintain, as well as a buffer area with a potential to be a community garden directly in front of my parkway (where otherwise would be a street parking space in front of my house, it was added a few years ago to try to slow people who tend to run a stop sign not far away). I normally don't bother with them other than to mow and pull weeds (the garden space -- unlike many others in the area -- is planted with low maintenance perennials that are not that exciting, but easy to make look okay -- no one involved with the original planting is currently involved, as one was the prior resident of my house and one a neighbor now busy with other things). I'm wondering if I should use one or both as an overflow garden area and do something interesting (not veg, which is what I am concentrating on in my back garden, but something decorative).

I took over my neighbors' garden bed which gets full sun and had very dry and terrible soil. Since it's not my bed, I improved the soil way less than I normally would - just a handful of good dirt and compost for each thing I planted. I also watered much less than I normally would, and mostly put drought-tolerant plants that I got for free by dividing my or Mom's plants. I also put in some annuals recommended by a garden center - I've never had such great success with portulaca and gazania! They really do like terrible soil, lol.

I put in a bunch of lilies and irises last fall and am curious to see how they do. I'm really excited for the allium to bloom. I see this bed from my kitchen window and door and the alliums should really pop.

Early this spring, I planted a daffodil I'd dug up from the woods and it is in bloom now. (People toss baskets of daffodils past bloom in the woods and they often take.) Actually, because I am a bit obsessed, I have daffodils from the woods blooming in three of my neighbors' yards