Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 16, April 20, 2012

Friday, April 20, 2012 | JustaDumbBlonde

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Good morning to my FRiends, fellow gardeners, future gardeners, and lurkers! It is beautiful and sunny today here in NELA. We received 2-1/2 inches of rain earlier in the week and it is still very wet in the yard and garden.

I've been keeping busy with my bee yard ... I got called about a swarm day-before-yesterday, about 25 miles south of my house. I still had all of my bee catching equipment in my truck from doing a hive cutout last weekend, so off I went. Below is a photo of the swarm when I got there, and the latest photo of my bee yard with the newest hives on the right-hand side.

It is my hope that everybody is getting the weather they need, and none of what they don't. Check-in and let everybody know what you're up to in your neck of the woods.

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]

Update on Mark: he is doing remarkably well. They are talking about releasing him from the hospital today or tomorrow and letting him go to the hotel that is across the street from the hospital. If that goes well, they will let him come back to Louisiana Wednesday or Thursday. They have chartered a plane to bring him in to our local air strip so that he doesn't have to go through the normal travel nightmare.

My thanks to all of you that prayed. There is no doubt that prayers were answered.

[tubebender]

My old bones are hankering for a warmer climate but it ain’t gonna happen so I’ll push on. Be 79 next month and I have been making compost since my mother had me dumping garden scrapes in a endless trench in 1939. (Ruth Stout had nothing on my Mother). I’ll get back to cutting the cover crop after I visit a couple of FRiends tomorrow then I’ll help my wife spade. Her seedlings are looking good in the greenhouse but we have to do daily slug patrol there and especially in the garden...

[TASMANIANRED]

You have plenty of solar power.

[tillacum]

We used to put down a salt barrier to keep the slugs away from our sidewalk and yard. I think my Dad used rocksalt.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

I wish you were in THIS warm climate, albeit kinda humid sometimes. You would be my very favorite neighbor. I pray that your bones hurt less.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Thank you again for all of your prayers. Mark is HOME!!! One week after departing for Mayo and undergoing open heart surgery, he is home. What a miracle.

[rightly_dividing]

Glad that Mark is home; there is no substitute for prayer.

Thanks for the seeds. According to the wise and all knowing internet, they can be planted direct or in starter pots. Whataya think?

And 8-15 years to bloom? I may not live THAT long!

[JustaDumbBlonde]

I would start them in pots, with plenty of organic matter in the potting soil to hold the moisture better. I've become a big fan of coconut coir, but sphagnum moss is also good.

While it may be some years before you get blooms, you will have a nice green vine very quickly. My experience has been that wisteria grows several feet every year. Mine is under huge oaks, so it gets only a couple of hours of sun in the morning, and again in late afternoon.

[rightly_dividing]

Thanks. We have yard guys now so I will have to cage them for while after they go in the ground.