Posted on 06/12/2015 1:14:58 PM PDT by greeneyes
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks.
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Tart cherry juice concentrate is also utilized as a daily drink to offset gout (mix 2 oz. Of Black Cherry Juice concentrate with 4-5 oz. Of water). Can usually find cherry concentrate shelved along pomegranate juice in refrigerated produce department.
My hostas and ferns grow very well in the sun! But my astibees and helborus only thrive in shade. My maters are ok with no early blight YET. My cabbage, brussel sprouts, brocoli are now worthless due to insects. Black raspberries are just about ripe and ready to pick. Yum...my favorite berry. Planted taters for first time (in a big bucket) and they must be growing (got instruction via YouTube).
God is good and His love is evident when I garden.
I feel your pain. I had to go to a wedding the first weekend of June. We had a long dry spell. And then it rained right after I left and all the weeds and weed seeds exploded. It’s going to take me two weeks to get it all back under some semblence of control.
God reveals Himself in His creation. I love gardening too and feel closer to Him when I’m tending it. I have a lot of wild blackberries on the property too and I love them but they are terribly brambly.
I need to buy a pair of boots. My backyard gardens are standing in water, thank goodness they are raised gardens, about 2 feet high & 3 feet wide. But the rains came while we were in CA and the pesky weeds are every where. In my flower garden, in my pots and of course the raised garden.
I’m not complaining about the rain, as it’s better than the drought we’ve experienced. Our lakes, rivers, creeks, stock tanks etc need the water...but the rain sure plays havoc in my gardens. When we arrived home, we went to the community garden to check our gardens, there, and of course the weeds came alive and thrived. We checked the corn and they needed a couple more days to fill the kernels. Well, we went to pick the corn yesterday and I guess someone else was watching the ears too, ‘cause there were NO ears of corn to be found. I do hope who ever picked the corn enjoyed them. Next year, I’ll plant them here at home. It’s the first time this has happened.
Sorry to hear about the corn; that really shucks for someone to do that. I certainly understand the wet & weeds!
Tonight, we’re not getting spit on, but the last 3 nights have produced from 1/3 to 3/4” of rain each, and even 1-1/4” one night several days ago, with temps lower than normal. Our wild plums—and the only domestic one—are sitting in up to 6” of standing water. We’ve gotten over 10” since mid May. Down side, the mosquitoes love it; upside, so do the frogs & toads. This evening, the bats were out in force.
So far, I’ve been unable to plant any corn, and even my short/cool season Indian varieties would be pushed to make a crop now.
I still can’t hill the potatoes, because the soil is too wet, so I’ll resort to a bale or two of straw this weekend. OTOH, with the tines set shallow, the tiller is able to do a good job on the main area weeds, without ruining the soil, and the rest pull easily.
The weather has been so abnormal, that when we did get a couple of relatively hot days a week or so ago, the volunteer cabbages and radishes immediately bolted...but not the volunteer leaf lettuces. his will be the 4th year for the lettuces; they’re the G-G-Grandoffspring of one that went to seed 5 years ago. Thanks to birds, there’s also 4 or 5 in the front yard.
I’m also finding cilantro hither, thither, and yon, from where I planted some 3 years ago. I had to till in 2 10’ swaths of seedlings as thick as a lawn, and still have over twice that much growing in that area, plus individuals all over the place, in at least a 50’ radius.
At least the garlic, onions, carrots and beets look good; and the peas & cole crops I planted from seed are almost where they should be. Hopefully, the bush beans, squash, and bush butterbeans will sprout this week.
On the funny side, I have 2 sweet potatoes in jars; one has abundant roots, and really nice tops, while the other has just been sitting there, forming nodules. I discovered Tuesday night that it is upside down, and the ‘root nodules’ that won’t form roots are leaf bud nodules.
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