Garden thread
Replies
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@mtaratoot: wow, your daffodils are opening already! The tips of mine are just starting to pop out of the ground.
My mom had some winter aconite and snow drops blooming last week, right on schedule for my brother's birthday, but mine are nowhere to be seen. She is only 45 minutes away, but on the coast, which I think is more temperate, but we are both Zone 6b.0 -
@kshama2001
Well not daffodils. That would be plural. For now just one is open. More are on the way; we're having a spate of days over 50 degrees F. I'm surprised my camellias aren't open yet. Normally they would be by now. I don't know if it's slugs or birds eating all the lovely buds from my hyacinths, but they always get a bit munched. They should be on the way soon.
Happy March!
Anyone else remember John Belushi on Weekend Update telling Chevy about how March comes in and goes out "in other countries?" He claimed that in Honduras, March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a salt-marsh harvest mouse. I was just coming back from Honduras one year ago today. I miss it.1 -
Mtararoot, is there room among your little garlic plants for tomatoes? They've always grown pretty well together for me.0
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@spinnerdell
Hmmm... that's an interesting idea. One challenge is I will dig my garlic in July most likely, and that would not be good for the roots of tomato plants.
I usually plant basil among the tomatoes. They are good companion plants, AND hardly anything better than a fresh ripe tomato, still warm from the afternoon sun, on a toasted piece of whole grain bread with a tiny bit of good quality salt and a few leaves of basil.1 -
Well... I couldn't help it.
I planted peas today.
I strung up a short section of wire fence and will use that as the trellis.
Then something got the better of me, an I dug in four short rows and planted spinach. Oh weather, please be kind! Now to put down some iron phosphate to kill the slugs. Oh. Yeah. It looks like the ants will be back in force again this year, so I'm glad I bought that GALLON of Terro last year....1 -
It was in the 20s here today, so no chance of that for me. Plus it snowed after Easter last year--I lost some flowers I foolishly had out in pots in front. I have acquired some seeds and am going to start some of them indoors soon. I also need to plan out my garden now, as I tend to do that at the last minute.0
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Here in 5b, the snow is just melting, revealing some clumps of Snowdrops already in bloom. Besides that, I have some little spherical nodules emerging that are probably going to turn out to be Winter Aconite blooms, but I'm not 100% sure because they like to amble around and pop up in different places. It will be interesting to see what other early bulbs come up. It looked like the local squirrels did a lot more bulb-mining than usual last Fall, so I'm fearing for my Tommie Crocus that had been naturalizing quite extensively in garden and lawn. I'm sure there'll be plenty of squills and chionodoxa, though. We'll see.
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Grrrr! I bought new herb and veg seeds two weeks ago and now I can't find them! I remember bringing the bag into the house and now it's vanished into thin air.1
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Time for the resurrection.
I cannot wait for planting time. It's going to be awhile here, ground's still frozen and it maple sugaring time. But I'm biting at the bit to get going.2 -
Here too. And same! I just added a rose bush to my plans actually... I'm getting really ambitious over here.1
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Hello . . . how great to find this thread!
This will be our third spring in this house, and second vegetable garden. Still expanding & improving the raised beds in the back yard -- that's normal, right? This year we're putting a fence around the whole bed area because the Hounds of Doom think it's a playground.
We celebrated first day of spring by starting seeds in the little pop-up greenhouse on our porch. I have tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, four kinds of basil and some other herbs. Wiggy (DH) won't eat vegetables besides peas, green beans and corn, and maybe tomatoes in sauce, but insists on planting varieties of habaneros and other peppers. (The idea of growing what he likes to eat hasn't sunk in yet.) Direct seeded carrots, winter squash, pumpkins and a few other things will come later.
We're in SE Michigan, zone 6a. Last spring was so late -- we were getting regular snow in April and May -- I have hopes that this growing season will be a little more reasonable.3 -
I planted peas on March 1. They are supposed to sprout in seven days. It's been four times that long, but some finally are breaking through the soil surface! I'm tempted to push a few more in where none appear to be popping up. I know that usually the birds get some of them, and slugs get a share, too. I almost replanted last week, but was poking around and saw a pea with an acrospire on it. I reburied on it with renewed faith, and now there they are!
I cut back the old flower stalks from the artichokes today. I used to always break them off in the fall, but when I read how raspberry canes keep sending sugar down to roots for much of the winter, I left them this year. This is the first year in my memory the above ground plants did NOT die back. They always seem to go much of the winter, die back, then regrew and flower again. I'll be curious how they grow this year, and yes, I am looking forward to artichoke season! Less than two months away. I'll get some water on the boil....
My Madrone (Arbutus menzisii) is starting to have open blossoms. My Mt. Fuji flowering cherry has a few blossoms open, so maybe soon I'll host a Hanami. I have a small pile of Stella bing cherry branches waiting to be cut down to length for the smoker, but I'm waiting until they flower. I'll bring in some branches. The Chojuro (Asian pear) has a couple blossoms open. The camelia bushes are starting to blossom. The hyacinth are a little past their prime, but still smell wonderful. I do so miss my winter daphne; it got some disease years ago and died over the course of two years. Way bummer.
I've been trying to expand the stand of Great Camas in my back yard/orchard area. Every year I harvest the seeds and keep them inside until fall. Over time, they've really been spreading. I don't mow back there until after they're done. My goal was to get it to become sort of a meadow, but it's also nice after I mow. I keep threatening to put a greenhouse up back there.3 -
Most of my indoor veg seedlings have popped up. I didn't start them until the second week of March, but it really isn't completely freeze-safe here until the end of May. The pepper seeds are taking their sweet time to germinate - even on a heated soil mat. There are very few new pepper plants for the 40+ seeds I planted. But I'll be happy with 8-10 plants surviving to harvest.
I started the green beans only last week and within 72 hours they were at the 'Feed me, Seymour!' stage. Now I know where the inspiration for Jack and the Beanstalk came from.
This year's hopefuls:
Tomatoes (4 varieties)
Squash (2 varieties)
Eggplant
Peppers (5 varieties)
Green beans
Peas
Swiss chard
Oregano
Dill
Coriander
Basil
Cilantro
Lettuce
Kale
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Our average last frost is late April (April 20). The 90% last frost is May 11. Peas can tolerate a frost. I had one plant that I wanted to grow in the fall that I planted too late but survived the winter. I also had some spinach that overwintered. I actually planted some spinach seeds when I planted the peas. Hey - why not? If the soil weren't so wet, I'd prep a bed and put in beets.
I have what I call perennial chard. It comes back every year. Last year I dug it up and thinned it out. Two or three are still there fat and happy.
In a few weeks, I'll probably spread some lettuce seeds. Love 'em. For things that need to be started indoors early, I wait to see what my neighbors have left over and just figure they made good choices. I usually end up with more plants than I really have room for.2 -
I planted peas on March 1. They are supposed to sprout in seven days. It's been four times that long, but some finally are breaking through the soil surface! I'm tempted to push a few more in where none appear to be popping up. I know that usually the birds get some of them, and slugs get a share, too. I almost replanted last week, but was poking around and saw a pea with an acrospire on it. I reburied on it with renewed faith, and now there they are!
I cut back the old flower stalks from the artichokes today. I used to always break them off in the fall, but when I read how raspberry canes keep sending sugar down to roots for much of the winter, I left them this year. This is the first year in my memory the above ground plants did NOT die back. They always seem to go much of the winter, die back, then regrew and flower again. I'll be curious how they grow this year, and yes, I am looking forward to artichoke season! Less than two months away. I'll get some water on the boil....
My Madrone (Arbutus menzisii) is starting to have open blossoms. My Mt. Fuji flowering cherry has a few blossoms open, so maybe soon I'll host a Hanami. I have a small pile of Stella bing cherry branches waiting to be cut down to length for the smoker, but I'm waiting until they flower. I'll bring in some branches. The Chojuro (Asian pear) has a couple blossoms open. The camelia bushes are starting to blossom. The hyacinth are a little past their prime, but still smell wonderful. I do so miss my winter daphne; it got some disease years ago and died over the course of two years. Way bummer.
I've been trying to expand the stand of Great Camas in my back yard/orchard area. Every year I harvest the seeds and keep them inside until fall. Over time, they've really been spreading. I don't mow back there until after they're done. My goal was to get it to become sort of a meadow, but it's also nice after I mow. I keep threatening to put a greenhouse up back there.
I planted peas this week. It's usually at least two weeks, and probably closer to 3, before I see them poking up.1 -
@kshama2001
Well not daffodils. That would be plural. For now just one is open. More are on the way; we're having a spate of days over 50 degrees F. I'm surprised my camellias aren't open yet. Normally they would be by now. I don't know if it's slugs or birds eating all the lovely buds from my hyacinths, but they always get a bit munched. They should be on the way soon.
Happy March!
Anyone else remember John Belushi on Weekend Update telling Chevy about how March comes in and goes out "in other countries?" He claimed that in Honduras, March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a salt-marsh harvest mouse. I was just coming back from Honduras one year ago today. I miss it.
There is a nice field of daffodils beyond our back fence, where my partner's parents must have dumped Easter daffodil baskets for years. I've moved some bulbs up front and into three of my neighbor's yards, and left quite a bit for cutting. I harvested the first two yesterday. So nice to have fresh flowers inside again!1 -
Hello . . . how great to find this thread!
This will be our third spring in this house, and second vegetable garden. Still expanding & improving the raised beds in the back yard -- that's normal, right? This year we're putting a fence around the whole bed area because the Hounds of Doom think it's a playground.
We celebrated first day of spring by starting seeds in the little pop-up greenhouse on our porch. I have tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, four kinds of basil and some other herbs. Wiggy (DH) won't eat vegetables besides peas, green beans and corn, and maybe tomatoes in sauce, but insists on planting varieties of habaneros and other peppers. (The idea of growing what he likes to eat hasn't sunk in yet.) Direct seeded carrots, winter squash, pumpkins and a few other things will come later.
We're in SE Michigan, zone 6a. Last spring was so late -- we were getting regular snow in April and May -- I have hopes that this growing season will be a little more reasonable.
Yes, improving the garden is a perpetual task
We put in a bunch of raised beds when I moved in in 2016, and I've made 5 more beds since then - 1 raised vegetable, 1 ornamental grasses, and 3 for flowers. I like to have a Fall Gardening Project
We used to have a rabbit who visited, and I got an 18" fence to keep him out, which surprisingly worked, but the next year we got a cat and never saw the rabbit again. I put bird netting over the fence to try to keep the cat out, with limited success. (Previously it was working well to keep birds and squirrels out of my strawberries.) We had some wire chicken wire from another project, and now I am using that to keep him out of certain beds.
I despise tomatoes but have often grown them for other people, so I can empathize with your DH. I imagine he has homes for what he grows but does not eat?4 -
Any advice on forcing a sweet potato to root so we have plants this year? I remember trying last year with a regular store bought potato but all it did was rot.
Someone suggested getting organic potatoes? 0 -
Woohoo! A gardening thread! Very amateur gardeners here ....OH in charge of veg, me plants! Enjoying my bulbs that are actually sprouting really well.
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Those of you growing peas, did you soak the peas beforehand? I soaked the peas for 8 hours before planting, and they germinated in about 9 days.2
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Those of you growing peas, did you soak the peas beforehand? I soaked the peas for 8 hours before planting, and they germinated in about 9 days.
I usually don't plant peas. To me, they are not cost/space/labour worthy. But this year, I somehow ended up with a packet of cheapo American Seed Company peas from the dollar store. ($.25USD) I half-heartedly threw the dry seeds in some potting mix and watered generously. They all sprouted in 6 days and are growing like mad.
I generally don't soak seeds before planting, but if I don't see more pepper sprouts soon, I may try the soak/wet paper towel method.
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Any advice on forcing a sweet potato to root so we have plants this year? I remember trying last year with a regular store bought potato but all it did was rot. Someone suggested getting organic potatoes?
My mom always buys organic sweet potatoes and I'm not sure I've ever seen them sprout, unlike organic potatoes and onions, which do sprout this time of year especially.
We always buy sweet potato "slips" for planting. These have a very short delivery window. We need to get on a list at our local nursery or buy online. ***This is also a better option because we can get breeds with a shorter growing window - 90 days is much more suitable for New England than 150.***
Up here it's also a good idea to warm the soil ahead of planting, for example, with black plastic as described in the link. I've had good luck with Georgia Jets. My mom did not, which I attribute to her uneven watering - sweet potatoes tend to split/crack if they are very dry and then very wet. I am a much more disciplined waterer.
https://www.mofga.org/resources/sweet-potatoes/growing-sweet-potatoes/
https://www.burpee.com/vegetables/sweet-potatoes/sweet-potato-georgia-jet-prod000945.html
I see some terrible reviews from last year - the slips do look pretty dead when they arrived but I put mine in water until they perk up and mine were fine.1 -
This year I did NOT soak my peas. Some years I do. One thing that I've also done is put them between two sheets of paper towel and get that all wet and put it in a plastic bag. As the acrospire begins to emerge, I just tear the paper and plant the pea, paper, and all. That way it doesn't disturb the tiny new hair roots.5
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Very excited! One week after planting, I have little sprouts of eggplant (Ping tung and Astrakom), peppers (Ajvarski, jalapeno, Anaheim and poblano), and tomatoes (Brandywine, pink bumblebee and Principe Borghese). All of them leapt up in a hurry except the Astrakom and the Anaheim, which are moseying to the surface.
I apparently oversowed the basil and the soil pellets will have to be split up before they go into the pots or beds outside. I use a lot of basil in cooking and in pesto, so I'm experimenting with Genovese, Emily, Rutgers Devotion and sweet thai basils.
Oregano and lemongrass are sprouting happily. My other herbs are running slower: dill, thyme, chives, peppermint, spearmint and lavender.
We have a big bed of bulbs in the front that we carved out of a swath of nameless ground cover that spilled over from our neighbor's yard. We have a few crocus, the daffodils are beginning and the tulips & lilies are coming up all green. Rain over the last several days and now it's sunny -- we should see some real blossoming starting soon.2 -
My neighbors grew the best tomatoes and all they used was an old plastic bucket. I forgot to ask what kind of soil they used before they moved. Anyone have success gowning tomatoes like this? If so I am interested in the process. The only sunny place is on my deck.0
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Also what is the best way to grow cat grass?0
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kshama2001 wrote: »Any advice on forcing a sweet potato to root so we have plants this year? I remember trying last year with a regular store bought potato but all it did was rot. Someone suggested getting organic potatoes?
My mom always buys organic sweet potatoes and I'm not sure I've ever seen them sprout, unlike organic potatoes and onions, which do sprout this time of year especially.
We always buy sweet potato "slips" for planting. These have a very short delivery window. We need to get on a list at our local nursery or buy online. ***This is also a better option because we can get breeds with a shorter growing window - 90 days is much more suitable for New England than 150.***
Up here it's also a good idea to warm the soil ahead of planting, for example, with black plastic as described in the link. I've had good luck with Georgia Jets. My mom did not, which I attribute to her uneven watering - sweet potatoes tend to split/crack if they are very dry and then very wet. I am a much more disciplined waterer.
https://www.mofga.org/resources/sweet-potatoes/growing-sweet-potatoes/
https://www.burpee.com/vegetables/sweet-potatoes/sweet-potato-georgia-jet-prod000945.html
I see some terrible reviews from last year - the slips do look pretty dead when they arrived but I put mine in water until they perk up and mine were fine.
Thank you for that info. I appreciate it 1 -
I put in my cool weather crops last week-onions, lettuce, kale and peas. I also put in some new herb starts since things have gotten a little crazy in recent years and my herb garden has become unruly. I started some tomato seeds inside, but it's going to be a while before they can go out. A woman with a plot near mine put tomatoes in yesterday. It's still getting into the mid-30sF here, but she cheerfully called out, "It's never too early for tomatoes!" Hmmm... The deer have eaten most of my tulips, so I have officially given up on tulips. Next year: more daffodils. 2
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My neighbors grew the best tomatoes and all they used was an old plastic bucket. I forgot to ask what kind of soil they used before they moved. Anyone have success gowning tomatoes like this? If so I am interested in the process. The only sunny place is on my deck.
It mightn't have been the soil as much as added nutrients. I use MiracleGro with my container veg in plain old garden soil and get beautiful results. This year, along with the usual tomatoes, I'll be trying container eggplants for the first time.3 -
This year I did NOT soak my peas. Some years I do. One thing that I've also done is put them between two sheets of paper towel and get that all wet and put it in a plastic bag. As the acrospire begins to emerge, I just tear the paper and plant the pea, paper, and all. That way it doesn't disturb the tiny new hair roots.
Ooh that's quite clever. I've done the same sprouting popcorn for microgreens but usually separate the from the paper. This is much simpler.
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