Posted on 11/16/2019 6:09:37 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
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.
If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.
This thread is non-political respite, 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. Planting, Harvest to Table Recipes, Preserving, Good Living - there is no telling where it will go - and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.
NOTE: This is a once a week Ping List. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time!
Good morning to all! Nice and sunny in west Michigan but it is dang cold and I am just not used to it yet. Thanksgiving is coming up and one thing I am thankful for is this thread. I love reading about what others are doing with their gardens and seeing the pictures, and the thread slides we get off into. Somehow it’s all hard work and production related, whether it be crafts, making cheese, or any other homesteading practice we do. Have a great week everyone!
Got my garlic in last week about 15 minutes before the ground froze here in scenic zone 4b, western Maine.
Get I the garlic and onions!
Very windy here today .... high temps in the 40’s, which isn’t bad ... until the wind blows. The two raised beds with dead tomato plants are all that need cleaning up & I suppose that will happen next week - the forecast for the entire week is sunshine and temps in the 50’s (mild enough I’ll probably start getting Spring fever!). Two fields need mowing & then mowing will be finished for the year - I could let them go, but if I do that, I’ll have to ‘pay the piper’ in the Spring.
The only living plants in the garden are 5 or 6 “dinosaur” kale plants (aka Tuscan kale, lacinato kale, black kale, and cavolo nero which is Italian for “black cabbage”). I had some old seed & planted it the end of August. Only these few plants came up. They’re really attractive - beautiful green with a bumpy texture. On the mornings in the 20’s, they droop, but as soon as temps warm up over freezing, they’re looking perky again. I absolutely do not like curly kale, preferring smoother leaves. Dino kale is also lower in oxalates than curly kale. My great-niece is dinosaur crazy - I’m getting her a package of dino kale to add to her Christmas presents ... she loves helping mommy in the garden & growing a plant that looks like dinosaur skin will intrigue her. :-)
Two jars of jalapeno peppers (two batches of 3/4 lb processed in a cup of vinegar) waiting in the fridge to be turned into jelly. I hate pulling out the big canning pot, but that needs to happen soon ... like this weekend. A relative told me she served a jar of jelly over a Brie wheel and was happy with the combo - very tasty. They also use it as a glaze for grilled salmon & have sent me pics (mouth-watering). These are fairly obvious hints for ‘more’, but that’s ok, I’m glad they enjoy it and that makes the work worthwhile.
Good morning all. I have a silly question for y’all: Will garlic cause a problem if I plant it from seed in my rose beds? I have lots of room, and I would like to have something other than rose water and spicy lettuce (nasturtiums) produced in the front beds. Thanks in advance
In this weeks cold weather, I lost my outdoor rosemary for the winter, oregano (thank goodness I harvested a bunch for drying last weekend) and the outdoor lemon verbena. I managed to get a cutting going indoors and it is doing ok. I will see how my parsley bounces back with sunny and warmer days this week.
If weather holds, I will have a ton of fresh sage for Thanksgiving.
Great timing! We are getting a slight repreve from frigid temps, but ‘slush’ is predicted for tomorrow. :(
A good day to look through 2020 Seed Catalogs, which are already showing up in my mailbox! Yay! :)
Yes! Roses love garlic. They are a classic pair of ‘planting companions!’
http://www.birdsandblooms.com/blog/roses-love-garlic/
There are two good books about companion planting - ‘Roses Love Garlic’ and ‘Carrots Love Tomatoes’ both by Louise Riotte.
Your Garlic looks great, as always! I forgot what you use for mulch? Rice Hulls? Looks nice and neat - which is how I like it!
Thanks, I’ll get the seeds in the ground this week-end! There is a bale of sunshine mix I have to dig in at the same time... Of course, there are a number of unwelcome growing things in there too, so pulling weeds is on the agenda as well. Joy Joy.
I’ll also be planting some purple top turnips in the back to see how they fare in the thin sandy dirt (not really soil) at the top of the hill.
In 4 consecutive years of trying, I still have yet to have a SINGLE sunflower grow anywhere here.
I have “Carrots Love Tomatoes” and found it hard to read with all the new-agey feel-good tropes scattered throughout. To me it read more like a “Chicken-Soup for the Garden” than an actual planting adviser. That makes me think I’m not likely to enjoy her other book(s).
Again, thanks for the info, and we’ll see how things grow.
Beautiful!!!
I agree that those two books are more ‘folksy’ stuff, but there are a few tips to pick up.
Do you have a lot of squirrels and chipmunks in the area? That could be your Sunflower issue because they will dig up the seeds to eat and nip off the seedlings before you can say, ‘Bob’s Your Uncle!’
They seem to leave established plants alone, so I generally start a bunch of varieties in flats and put them in the garden when they have four leaves (two seed leaves, two adult leaves). That has worked for me.
It’s always something! ;)
We used to have lots of the cute little brown squirrels here, but some idiot introduced the Eastern Grey, and now the indigenous ones are being displaced. There are a few greys here, but only perhaps a half dozen in the immediate area (square mile or so).
That plant is called a Death Spiral because of the ridges that go down the pods in a circular fashion.
The fruits will end up in vinegar, softened and made into a type of Sriracha Sauce I call Sriracha of Death because the peppers are about 50 times hotter than the peppers used in traditional Sriracha sauce.
You’re a brave man, LOL!
What do you use for fertilizing your peppers? I usually grow only sweet peppers with a few Jalapenos and maybe an Ancho/Poblano on random years.
Mine respond well to a handful of crushed eggshells in the planting hole (mine are in raised beds) and then a top dressing of Bone Meal twice during the growing months.
I do the same for my tomatoes. No blossom end rot and they all seem to produce just fine without any additional fertilizers. I do add compost to the beds every other season, though.
I treat my peppers as if they were tomatoes. Same nutrients same soil, etc. Since I grow everything in pots I just root prune and change the soil out every couple of years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.