Weekly Gardening Thread (Useful links) Vol. 11, March 16, 2012

Friday, March 16, 2012 | JustaDumbBlonde

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Good morning FRiends and gardeners! During the rain this past week, I've had a chance to do some reading and found some articles that may be of interest to you. So this week I am sharing links, and I hope you enjoy them and find some useful information. I also hope that you'll check in and let us know how your garden/garden planning is coming along.

In Kitchen Garden Creation, you'll learn about growing culinary and visual delights in the same place.

The following links are for those interested in improving the structure of their soil. If you have rocks or clay, or otherwise good soil that has been compacted, you will find excellent information on planting cover crops and the benefits of no-till planting.

Improve Your Soil With Cover Crops

Cover crops: blanket your idle vegetable plot this winter with a soil-building cover crop

Plant Cover Crops is an entire website dedicated to improving your soil through cover cropping and drawing earthworms. Second column from the right is an extensive list of categories covered. This is a must bookmark for any gardener.

Grow Spectacular Spuds is a great guide to growing taters. Seems that lots of folks on our garden list are interested in growing potatoes.

Plant Pollination: A Bounty to Buzz About explains the art of attracting nature’s best pollinators to your garden.

And, speaking of pollinators, I found some of my girls working over the holly hedge that runs along my front sidewalk, but oddly enough they won't touch the wisteria, that is loaded with an assortment of large bees, including carpenters and bumblebees:

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!

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Previous weeks' threads:

Weekly Gardening Thread (Catalog Fever) Vol. 1 Jan 6, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Seeds) Vol. 2, January 13, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 3, January 20, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (U.S. Hardiness Zones) Supplemental Vol. 1
Weekly Gardening Thread (Soil Types) Vol. 4, January 27, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Vacation) Vol. 5, February 03, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Vacation) Vol. 6, February 10, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Vacation?) Vol. 7, February 17, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Home Sweet Home) Vol. 8, February 24, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Soil Structure Part 1) Vol. 9, March 2, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Transplanting Tomatoes) Vol. 10, March 9, 2012

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Ping to the Weekly Gardening Thread Member List

Please let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from the ping list.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Detailed State Plant Hardiness Zone Maps

Alabama	District of Columbia	Kentucky	Montana	Ohio	Texas ( East )
Alaska	Florida	Louisiana	Nebraska	Oklahoma	Texas ( West )
Arizona	Georgia	Maine	Nevada	Oregon	Utah
Arkansas	Hawaii	Maryland	New Hampshire	Pennsylvania	Vermont
California ( Northern )	Idaho	Massachusetts	New Jersey	Puerto Rico	Virginia
California ( Southern )	Illinois	Michigan	New Mexico	Rhode Island	Washington
Colorado	Indiana	Minnesota	New York	South Carolina	West Virginia
Connecticut	Iowa	Mississippi	North Carolina	South Dakota	Wisconsin
Delaware	Kansas	Missouri	North Dakota	Tennessee	Wyoming

International Plant Hardiness Zone Maps
Australia
Canada
China
Europe
Japan

[rightly_dividing]

Good morning and thanks for the links.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Good morning! You’re very quick today!

[Jemian]

Thank you for this thread. Ahhh, the wonders of a garden! Temps >70F and the azaleas and dogwoods are blooming. Base of operations is outside and I am freeping in my hammock. Love warm weather.

Make an Easter Garden! I just came across this this week.

[Jemian]

I LOVE your tagline.

[MrB]

I figured out how to reimburse someone for mailing me the mimosa seeds I’m looking for -

I’ll donate $5 to FR!

Anyone that can come up with about 20-30 of them, let me know.

[ConorMacNessa]

Good morning! We're having unseasonably warm weather in Central Maryland. Several days ago, all of my Ice Follies daffodils erupted into bloom at the same time. My roses are in leaf and it looks like a good season thus far.



Nos genuflectitur ad non princeps sed Princeps Pacem!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[MissMagnolia]

I planted mesclun last year as opposed to a specific lettuce ... but I may try one of these different ones this year ... I have an aversion to iceberg:

Beyond Iceberg: Heirloom Lettuce Varieties Offer Color and Flavor

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Thanks for the link! We’re enjoying warm weather too ... a bit too warm when you factor in the humidity.

[metmom]

What a great idea to post links to previous threads.

[colinhester]

Please add me to list. Planting garden this year for the first time in my life. Could use all the help I can get......Colin

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Welcome, and please let us know if you have questions! You may want to look back through the previous threads to gather tips.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Thank you, metmom!

[tubebender]

I’m sure glad I planted a cover crop last fall because our rain has returned and is hell bent on making up the 9” deficit we have built up when it should have been here. Cover crops are a must in the rainy Pacific North West. Our local paper had a article from the AP on composting yesterday and I’ll post if I find it.

I went over to our Church and changed the oil in the little pavement sweeper yesterday but I had to make some changes to drain the old oil so it doesn’t run all over the motor mount and floor.

[Tatze]

[JustaDumbBlonde]

lol lol lol ohhhhhhhh.

[rightly_dividing]

We are planning on planting our maters tomorrow after last week's rainout. At two foot spacing, we have twenty-four vacancies to be filled with store bought seedlings of whatever she wants to plant. We are a couple of weeks late, but my seedlings really needed the extra growth time anyway.

[Arrowhead1952]

I bought two heat wave and two hot spell tomato plants yesterday and put them in the garden. I have about 24 other seedlings that will be in the ground by next weekend.

Cucumber seedlings are almost ready to transplant. Lettuce and spinach are doing great with the temps. Onions are growing well too.