Posted on 01/20/2012 9:56:41 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde
It was just a couple of weeks ago that I was really glad that the last of my garden had frozen. Being blessed with a long growing season is not always what it's cracked-up to be. You understand ... gardening is hard work! When it lasts from March or April until December, it can get tedious.
Then, yesterday, my first order of seeds that I don't need came in from John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds. Four beautiful little envelopes that sound like maracas; Baby Lincoln Leeks, Tres Fine Maraichere Endive, Beaumont Broccoli, and Large Fruited Mixture Ornamental Gourds.
I am stoked.
Yep, that's all it takes to get the soil coursing through my veins once again. Newspaper pots are about to be made ... my plastic trays need to be washed in a sudsy bleach solution. Clean off a couple of shelves in the garage and hang up the grow lights. Now, if I could just remember where I put that 55 quart bag of moisture control potting soil ...
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Last week, the Weekly Gardening Thread welcomed the 500th member of the ping list. What a great way to begin our 2012 gardening season! More members = more information to share. Let's grow!
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. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
Weekly Gardening Thread (Catalog Fever) Vol. 1 Jan 6, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Seeds) Vol. 2, January 13, 2012
Next week: Soil types & the importance of soil tests
I got my soil sample ready to mail away. Maybe I will get on with the program this year rather than procrastinating again.
Don’t put it off ... it makes ALL the difference.
My Zone goes up to 11.
Good afternoon, All. We are expectung several inches of snow this afternoon, and it’s beastly cold. I sit here trying to figure out where I’m going to raise the money for my taxes on the 31st of this month. Do I have any vendors who can wait a couple of weeks for their money? Not thinking about the garden at all, and I welcome the respite.
My other concern centers around the nasty, nasty recall elections going on in Wisconsin against our wonderful governor and good state senators. Please hold a good thought that Wisconsin can withstand the barrage of acrimony spread by the unions.
Diana must have known that this recall business was going to be like this because she parked her Wisconsin ping list with me and it’s taking all of my time. LOL.
Strawberries, geraniums, green beans
Hibiscus, snapdragons and red knockout roses
Flowering broccoli, artichokes, soon-to-be-planted bananas, and raspberries
Last week, we doubled the size of the garden last weekend from teeny to small. Still not enough room for everything but it’s now at the max. that will fit around the obstacles in the yard. It looks like a drunk put up the fence what with having to zig zag around the septic. Oh, well, it’s up! Procrastenating on the tilling but that’s on the to do list today.
FYI, cattle panel prices have gone up about a third again from last year.
Thanks, J. Got the newspaper pots made and planted with tomatoes and peppers. Now, if they’ll grow!
Planted some bulbs by the front door to brighten things up. Still don’t know what to do about my berries. Mr. B wants that bed but I’d like to convince him that we can have both his flowers and my berries there together. Last year, don’t know if it was the heat or what, but both plantings of berries died immediately. I’ve had both berries and roses there so it must have been the 100+ temps.
Started a new garden spreadsheet. Hopefully, knock on wood, this one will won’t end up like the last one after the Big Computer Crash I & II of 2011.
My bad! We are not expecting snow. It’s here!
I need to know of a place to send a sample. And how long does it take?
I had to throw out the rosemary plant that we brought in at the end of the season. It had bugs.
I also have 11 bare root trees in the garage that I need to plant. With all of the rain we’ve had, the ground should be soft and make the job a bit easier.
Have a great weekend. God Bless.
Fortunately for me, the county ext service is just a couple of miles from home. When I went in to get my sample kit(bag and information sheet) we discussed varieties and soil conditions. They offered for me to come in with my results and they would explain it all and how it applies to my garden and what to do. They were very helpful and really bend over backwards to assist. I was really impressed with their library, too.
Beautiful!
Howdy, howdy. The weather is thin part of eastern Virginia just won’t make up it’s mind about what season it is. It is currently a dreary, raw 47 and I can’t hang out and chat because I have to shortly go pick my yung’un up from school for a dentist appointment. I look forward to checking back in later!
Huh?!? Thought you were in Florida!
Oooohhhh, I love the Hibiscus!!
Praying for your money concerns and your state’s politics. When you grow weary of the snow, come on down to the bayou and we’ll have a good ol’ Lews-e-ann-a cookout!
Isn’t “11” South Florida? Or am I reading the chart BACKWARDS??? LOL!
What’s the Zone for Anaconda, Alligator, cane frog Infested SWAMP???? LOL
The local news said every decade they change the average temperatures. Wonder when they’ll update the zone chart. Not that much will change but it’d be interesting to see. Anyone know if older charts are online? Woo hoo, global warming and all that, don’cha know.
I would suggest that you type in county extension service and the name of your state and see where that takes you, likely to a local office. They are THE source for local gardening information.
We are in a weird repeating cycle of weather here in NE Louisiana ... it gets into the 70's, a cold front comes through and it goes into the 20's at night, and 3 days later it is back into the 70's. I fear that we aren't gonna get much of a winter and that the bugs will be horrendous.
I'm sitting right next to you. Very, very scary how high they've gotten. That's another reason I have to get serious about the garden.
I see from your homepage that you are in Indiana. Heres a like for you:
http://www.ag.purdue.edu/counties/marion/pages/default.aspx
Let Mr. B have the bed. You could compromise BIG time and he could plant edible flowers like Johnny Jump Ups, and have even more beautiful salads!
I think it was last year that my local hardware store put cattle panels on sale for around $20, and I bought what I needed and 10 extra. I've got them in the equipment shed. One thing you can count on these days is that nothing is getting cheaper. [sigh]
It's been up to 80 here, hee hee! But this is Texas where if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it'll change.
It is deer season until January 31, and I've yet to bag even one yet! I'm down to muzzleloader season until this weekend, and then it will be bow only until the 31st.
Always good to hear from you, greeneyes. Stay warm and get those seeds ordered! I am so excited about getting things planted.
They really are beautiful, NautiNurse. So tropical and exotic!
Pretty!
How very cool!!
We were battling two species of evil root weevils in December! They have severely damaged the grapefruit trees, killed my well established avocado and the mangroves. I'm armed and ready for them now.
More pics from today:
Tangelo blossom
Can you name this blooming specimen?
Gerbera Daisy
I'm tickled about the gerbera daisies. Went to Lowe's the day after Christmas, and they were selling BIG pots of them for $0.25. So, I bought a baker's dozen.
I love the doubles! A friend of mine owns a little what-not store in our small town, but he has the most fabulous garden center during the summer and fall. He always has hibiscus, both in shrubs and topiary form. Last year, after he had marked everything down for quick sale, he GAVE me anything I wanted. I got several hibiscus and put them around the property. They really took off as the temps cooled and were beautiful right up until Christmas when I let them freeze by accident. I wanted to cover them up, but with a house full of grandkids, it got past me.
Aloe vera!!! I grew a bed of that when I lived in Houston. Was great when we had a burn in the house ... just pick a leaf and split it open. Soothing!
They’re both beautiful! I’ve never seen a double before. I would never have guessed that it’s a hibiscus.
Very good! Aloe is a weed around here. I pull them up in clumps when they get out of hand.
A Lews-e-ann-a cookout sure sounds tempting. LOL. I shouldn’t be belly aching about the snow. We’ve hardly had any this year, and the farmers need it for next year.
Hopefully you didn’t have a long hard ground freeze. Is there a chance the hibiscus can recover?
My wife suffers all through allergy season, too, which seems to be 10 months per year. I think that she has it the worst of anyone that I have ever seen. We have gotten regular rains here recently and that seems to help her by washing the woods down and putting the wet pollens on the ground and out of the air. Plus, she is going to do a sleep study to see if apnea is the cause of her joint pains.
Wife has said that I can have the grow lights back for seed starting. :) She had been using them on the enclosed back porch keeping the container plants happy through the cold season.
I actually knew the answer about aloe vera because I grew that in Houston too.
Interesting trivia: While the single hibiscus blossom lasts merely one day, the double flower is longer lasting for 2-3 days.
That’s nice!
As much rain as we’ve had since Christmas, I expected the pollen to be washed away. Doesn’t seem to have had much affect.
Thanks for the ping ....... Stay safe !
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