Do you have those beds under cover? How are you planting clover with snow on the ground?
My indoor early starts are taking over the house. The peppers got transplanted into their 16oz containers, so take up a lot more room now.
I'm ready for mid-march/early april when I can start putting some of this stuff out. ;)
/johnny
My amaranth seeds sprouted again! This time I had them on a soil pellet which we’ve been keeping moist. Today we put them on the window sill for some sun.
I got my amaranth seed from the bulk food bin at the health food store. I took out some of them to see if they are viable and they are! I bought them last spring as a rice/grain alternative for $1.99/pound.
The sweet potato sprout is happy too. It’s starting to put out roots. However, when it is time to put soil on its toes, I’m not sure what I need to do. I’m thinking of potting it, but would that keep it from having babies if the pot is too small? How much room do you think it would need? I’m totally new to potato growing of any kind! It’s all a lovely science experiment at this stage....and hoping it doesn’t become more serious than that...
A friend of mine is quite an experience gardener and she was telling us that asperagus does well in our area, and what I need to do is get a package of the little rootlets in dirt which the the box stores sell. Dig a trench and scatter the rootlets in after the danger of frost. Then cover lightly, and as they grow gradually add the dirt back over them. She said that if put too much dirt on them, they’ll “get lost.” I am hoping to do that soon, after the snow we got the other day melts off. (No complaints here...we REALLY needed the moisture!)
Pinging the List.
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.
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Sorry for the delays in posting. I have had numerous interuptions from telephone calls, and people at the door.(don’t they know they should hibernate during this winter?)
Was in the mid 40’s in N Idaho (still freezing at night).
Snow thru the weekend and back to mid 40’s next week.
A little too early to get starts going for us - even with the wife’s new greenhouse. We have to “wait until the snow is off Mica Peak” before we get too serious....
Zone 6(+) Just put out some onion sets, sowed a few fava beans and kale seeds.
Started lettuces, broccoli and other cold-weather seeds in doors.
Plan on repeating every 2 - 3 weeks.
Last year had frost April 11 and 12 but that’s unusual.
Might try a tomato plant or two this year.
Anyone recommend an easy kind that doesn’t all get ripe at the same time?
Love the smell of baking bread. They ought to bottle that stuff.
My seeds have arrived:
Cherokee Purple (OG)-Packet
Vegetables > Tomatoes > Heirloom > Black 1
Brandywine (OG)-Packet
Vegetables > Tomatoes > Heirloom > Pink 1
Costata Romanesco-Packet
Vegetables > Squash > Summer > Zucchini > Striped 1
Nadia (F1)-Packet
Vegetables > Eggplant > Dark Purple/Black 1
Slick Pik® YS 26 (F1)-Packet
Vegetables > Squash > Summer > Yellow 1
Fertil Pots Round 4” dia. x 4” h (OG) - 50 Pots-1 Unit
Tools and Supplies > Seed Starting Supplies > Biodegradable Pots 1
along with trays to hold the little pots. I have one more packet of seeds (cucumber) to be delivered, with these little plants:
Pepper, Hot, Lemon(20249 - 3 Plants) HEIRLOOM. From Ecuador, as hot as any Cayenne, but with a truly unique flavor.
I’m not doing any container planting this year. Everything that sprouts is going directly into the ground at the end of May. Our back yard is south-facing, our house is a light grey, and with the sun bouncing off the house and shielded from the north, the microclimate back there is quite warm and sunny, even though the trees that are outside the fence provide much more shade in the early morning and afternoon than they did when we first moved here. Still, I’m very excited about this new strategy this season.
I’m in zone 6b, in the Ohio Valley to be exact, and I’m thinking about planting sweet potatoes in containers. Anybody do this that wants to share info?
How do you post pictures on this site??
Can you insert a link to a pic that you have on a photo sharing website like PhotoBucket ?? When you post your reply do you just paste the link to the photo in message you are writing?
Any help will be appreciated!!!
Got our seeds that we ordered from Jung’s a few days ago. Our plants and sets will come late, naturally.
They also have a neat garden planning app at http://gardenplanner.jungseed.com/
It is free for the first 30 days; no automatic payment to have to remember to cancel if you don’t want to keep using it. It is well worth checking out & using for the trial period, even if you decide not to subscribe to it on an annual basis.
During the 30 days, you can make up to 5 garden plans, and can save them online; download to your computer; save & print them as either .pdf or .jpg files; & email or publish them on the Web.
Our plan for the 50 X 75 main (50 X 150 total, in 2 joined sections) garden’s “Section 1” printed out on 6 sheets, 2 high by 3 long, then taped together, so it is large enough to be useful, rather than squished down to a single sheet. Other options were available; we also saved it on my desktop as an editable .pdf.
It is amazing what it allows you to do: custom garden shapes, sizes, & orientations; same for beds, which also calculates how many plants at either row or equidistant spacings; frost dates, either default for your Zip-code or custom; you can specify not just species, but varieties, and even allows you to add varieties, complete with custom spacings, etc.
It is very easy to use, mainly drag & drop & ‘grab handles’. It also includes trees, perennials, & shrubs; flowers, and herbs, plus several generic “wildcards” in different sizes you can name & give specifications for. There are also tools for adding paths, compost bins, garden sheds, etc, if needed.
It also allows for interplanting/companion planting; succession planting; and keeps track of rotations year to year, if you subscribe to it.
It also has a has a special SQUARE FOOT GARDENING mode option.
Other features, as well; yet is VERY easy to use. This is by far the best garden planner app I have come across yet.
I'm really hoping for some heavy rain. We're in our 3rd year of drought.
I have finished my winter sowing, and will post pictures tomorrow. With a few exceptions, I used old seed, because I don’t know if it’s going to work.
I did 6 more containers. Broccoli, parsley, foxglove, fennel, red pepper, and Romaine. I only used 6 red pepper seeds out of 25 in the package, as it is a new package which I ordered for my granddaughter, so I have to make sure I have a back up plan. :-)
Cooking with Carlo is back for Easter...http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2991142/posts
Nonetheless, I will give it a shot because most Freepers are quite knowledgeable about a variety of topics.
Here goes: I have an area in the back yard measuring roughly 12' x 18' bounded by the house on the south (including my walkout basement door), a steep hill to the west, a shed to the north and my driveway to the east-- about the only direction from which sunlight is consistent.
Thus it has a combination of poor light and poor drainage. I've built up the area by 3.5' or so on the house, so it is really about 8.5' x 18' with the 3.5' area being under the eaves and a good place to store the trash cans, barbecue grill and garden hose.
I've experienced with different plants over the years. Clover: hydrophillic but not good with all the foot traffic which occurs. Grass: good for the foot traffic but not the poor drainage. Paving stones: look nice, but sink and receed from year to year. Mulch: Same as paving stones.
What I mostly get now is peat moss which, while useful for gardening elsewhere on my land, really isn't my wife's favorite. What I am thinking about next is digging down a ways, dropping in a water permable weed barrier and filling it up with gravel on the bottom and sand on the top. I need to mention that I need to keep good drainage because, if I don't, there is occassional basement seepage during the massive downpours we sometimes have in SW Pennsylvania.
If I was made of money, I'd build a deck and roof it. But I really need to look at low budget options which would make the best use of the poor drainage, poor lighting combination and keep water away from the buildings to the north and south.