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Weekly Garden Thread Volume 12 March 21, 2014
Free Republic | March 21, 2014 | greeneyes

Posted on 03/21/2014 12:44:59 PM PDT by greeneyes

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!

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 are welcomed, so feel free to post them at any time.


TOPICS: Gardening
KEYWORDS: agriculture; food; gardening; hobby
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To: sockmonkey

Yes, I knew it was Tycoon and that’s what I have on their tag in the cup - don’t know where Typhoon came from (perhaps worry over hurricane season :o).

I can now see two more coming up so that’s three in that cup. I probably put four in that cup so maybe another one will be up by tomorrow.

I see one T squash and hope to see more by tomorrow. Every morning is a new crop of something.

Sockmonkey, growing food plants is work. Have you planted T squash yet?


101 posted on 03/22/2014 2:37:32 PM PDT by Marcella ((Prepping can save your life today.))
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

Well if you sterilized it then if you got it above 160F it’s probably not wilt, unless you smoke and don’t wash your hands before handling the plants, which is a vector. If it’s harmless so far to the plants, then I guess nothing more you can do but keep an eye on it.

On that note, was going thru the Gardens Alive! catalog today, they got a number of treatments for virus and fungus problems based on friendly organisms you can culture into the soil. I may try them to get rid of my own wilt issues this summer.


102 posted on 03/22/2014 2:40:14 PM PDT by Free Vulcan (Vote Republican! You can vote Democrat when you're dead...)
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To: Marcella

Lowes has humming bird feeders, several to choose from, or at least two weeks ago they did. Parking is easier at Lowes than Wally.


103 posted on 03/22/2014 2:46:55 PM PDT by rightly_dividing (Hate is what people that hate the truth call the truth.)
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To: Marcella

With my fingerlings, if it has distinct “knobs” to it that are longer than an inch and a half each, I cut it between the knobs. Otherwise I plant them whole.

(With mine, the eyes are just tiny dots, so they can be hard to find.)


104 posted on 03/22/2014 3:19:10 PM PDT by Ellendra ("Laws were most numerous when the Commonwealth was most corrupt." -Tacitus)
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To: painter
painter :"I had a tomato plant also this past winter. No tomatoes this winter for me.:("

The tomato plant will not produce any fruit without pollination .
If you see flowering blooms , you might have to hand pollinate with a small delicate painters brush when there are no bees or flies arround.
If no blooms , the problem could be inadequate soil fertilization/ nutrients , or inadequate sunlight.

105 posted on 03/22/2014 3:19:51 PM PDT by Tilted Irish Kilt (Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. -- James Madison)
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To: bgill

Dewitt Weed Barrier, the 20 years kind.

It’s a little pricey, so I spent a lot of time and money looking for a less expensive kind. Every other brand I’ve tried, the fabric disintegrated in less than a year. The carpet I tried is crumbling after 2 years. But I have sheets of Dewitt’s that have been in constant use for 6 years now and they’re still as solid as the day I bought them. I’m in the process of gathering enough of it to completely replace the stuff that didn’t last.


106 posted on 03/22/2014 3:24:29 PM PDT by Ellendra ("Laws were most numerous when the Commonwealth was most corrupt." -Tacitus)
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To: Ellendra

“With my fingerlings, if it has distinct “knobs” to it that are longer than an inch and a half each, I cut it between the knobs. Otherwise I plant them whole.”

My fingerlings are totally smooth, no knobs. I can tell where the tiny dimples are for eyes but nothing growing.

They are now outside on the upper deck in the substantial net bag they came in. I’ll check my weather forecast to see what the % is for rain tonight and if it is high, I’ll bring them in. Wait, should I bring them in or leave them in the rain? Would water be good for them or not?


107 posted on 03/22/2014 3:32:51 PM PDT by Marcella ((Prepping can save your life today.))
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To: greeneyes; Sarajevo
greeneyes:" Sounds like most things are going well. Hope you get the rain you need."

Joe Bastardi refers this this year as a " reluctant Spring" , and is calling for colder,snowey temps North of the Mason-Dixson Line.
Rain comming to the West Coast (thank goodnes )
Full Summary at:
<< http://www.weatherbell.com/saturday-summary-march-22-2014 >>

108 posted on 03/22/2014 3:43:43 PM PDT by Tilted Irish Kilt (Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. -- James Madison)
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To: Black Agnes; Ellendra; rightly_dividing; sockmonkey; ApplegateRanch; JRandomFreeper; All
Agnes, I could stop thinking about those baby carrot seeds that need to be in that 10 gal. grow bag in the net room - so, I went out there with a 2014 envelope of baby carrots and a 2013 envelope of them and a bag of Jobe’s spikes for containers. Put 7 spikes around the edges of the 10 gal. grow bag, pushed some soil to the sides all around, and spread 2013 and 2014 carrot seed all over it, then put thin soil I had on the sides over the seed.

THEN, I THOUGHT, WHY STOP HERE? There were three grow bags each with 5 gallons of potting soil mix in them and nothing in them yet - so again with the Jobe’s spikes and mixture of both years’ seeds in those and cover with thin layer of soil. If I get gobs of baby carrots, I'll can them (as soon as I get canning jars and lids and more vinegar).

When I got the envelopes out, I read the instructions again, and low and behold, it said not to transplant carrots as that might cause the carrots to be lopsided, the roots need to stay straight. Now, why didn't I see that before as I always read instructions as to depth before I plant seeds. Well, I missed that sentence so trying to transplant was a mistake.

In the net room now is onions and carrots. I just counted 30 onions growing like mad in those grow bags. I'm so glad I learned from Black Agnes, if you want large onions from bulbs, have to plant them almost out of the ground - the tops must be showing. The way they are growing, I'll be covered in big onions in the not distant future. Another thing to can after I buy the jars/lids/vinegar.

A net room full of carrots and onions is a good thing.

I had to walk by the dwarf orange tree several times and the smell of orange is radiating out from that tree - it is major orange smell, you can't miss it when you walk by and it wasn't strong like that yesterday. I think the garden gnomes in my garden are staying up all night talking to the plants to make them grow faster. That is the only possible answer to this fast growth. :o)

It sounds like I am going to actually grow food for the first time in my life. I couldn't do this in ground dirt - need potting soil mix and containers.

Agnes/Ellendra, will let you know when I see the first sign of a green carrot top come out of that soil.

109 posted on 03/22/2014 4:04:53 PM PDT by Marcella ((Prepping can save your life today.))
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To: rightly_dividing

The latest weather report just came to my computer and I have 30% chance of rain tonight and 40% all day Sunday and Sunday night, then it backs up to 20% for Monday.

These reports come to me from a Houston TV channel.


110 posted on 03/22/2014 4:10:21 PM PDT by Marcella ((Prepping can save your life today.))
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To: Ellendra

The Dewitt 20 year Weed Barrier it’s not sold here and Amazon doesn’t have the 4’ wide in a smaller roll. I’ll keep looking. Will it hold up to TX’s 110+ degree summers and it doesn’t have to be covered with mulch?

I hate weeds so much I’m this close to using some plastic sheeting we have in the garage but it might reflect too much heat back onto the plants unless it gets dirty enough. I know there’s some clear plastic but that would grow weeks but I’m thinking there’s some black, too. I didn’t want to slip on it when wet but maybe it’d get enough dirt blown onto it that it wouldn’t be so slick. It was left over from another project a few years ago so it needs to be used before it rots. What do y’all think?


111 posted on 03/22/2014 4:49:57 PM PDT by bgill
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To: Marcella

Is that the forecast for Houston or Conroe that they send?

Just had to fix the washing machine, I hate working on appliances. At least all I had to do is bypass a broken switch for the door so it would spin. Our water heater is leaking and the one we bought online at Sears won’t be hear for a few more days. I’m not putting it in, can’t lift it, got a guy to do it for $50.

Wife is outside video taping the garden for youtube channel.

I’m ready for a beverage or two, myself. And I don’t do that often.


112 posted on 03/22/2014 5:21:47 PM PDT by rightly_dividing (Hate is what people that hate the truth call the truth.)
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To: bgill

We have never mulched the fabric. If my wife hadn’t cut too many unused slits in it, we would be using it again. I am going to use it again on my container beds. Its tough stuff, was recommended by JustADumbBlonde a few years ago. Its cheap, and last long. It is a contractor grade, not the flimsy stuff from Lowes. We have never pulled weeds or hoed. It’s planted, the drip system is running, we have nothing else to do till we pick tomatoes and peppers..

We have pictures on my FR homepage.


113 posted on 03/22/2014 5:38:18 PM PDT by rightly_dividing (Hate is what people that hate the truth call the truth.)
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To: Marcella
Sockmonkey, growing food plants is work. Have you planted T squash yet?

I have three that were in Dixie Cups that I repotted into bigger pots today. I gave one that was in a Dixie Cup to my daughter, and she sent me a picture of it today. It has one true leaf.

She was worried that it was sick because it has white veins on the leaf, but I read this on the internet about T Squash. The leaves are so pretty...at least this guy's leaf pic is pretty.

Tromboncino Squash Info

114 posted on 03/22/2014 6:12:50 PM PDT by sockmonkey (Of Course I didn't read the article. After all, this is FreeRepublic..)
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To: greeneyes

Hi all, our frozen tundra here in Michigan is melting. It’s been in the high 30’s (balmy!) and a few days in the 40’s. Still lots of snow left to melt and the only garden related news to report is that in plowing the snow which we had so much of, the compost pit got buried and the heavy plastic sides and top cracked and are all broken up. A few nights ago our daughter came home from work at 10pm and found 4 deer right there next to my car sniffing around anything that might be edible. I imagine I have lots of Egyptian walking onions up and growing but there is still about a foot of snow over them. Have been in west Michigan since the mid 70’s and we have never had a late March with so much snow on the ground and nothing is green yet. At least I can read about everyone elses good garden news.


115 posted on 03/22/2014 6:23:52 PM PDT by MomwithHope (Let's make Mark Levin's The Liberty Amendments a reality!)
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To: Marcella

I would put those fingerlings in a brown bag and stick it in your pantry, you should see some eye growth and could plant then after that. I would not plant them without any.


116 posted on 03/22/2014 6:26:39 PM PDT by MomwithHope (Let's make Mark Levin's The Liberty Amendments a reality!)
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To: rightly_dividing

The forecast I get has the title of “Forecast for Conroe”.


117 posted on 03/22/2014 6:34:58 PM PDT by Marcella ((Prepping can save your life today.))
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt
OK, since you put it that way:

:)

118 posted on 03/22/2014 6:37:39 PM PDT by Sarajevo (Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?")
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To: ApplegateRanch

Get well soon!!!


119 posted on 03/22/2014 6:53:32 PM PDT by Ellendra ("Laws were most numerous when the Commonwealth was most corrupt." -Tacitus)
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt; painter
The tomato plant will not produce any fruit without pollination . If you see flowering blooms , you might have to hand pollinate with a small delicate painters brush when there are no bees or flies arround.

Depends on the variety, but most tomatoes have flowers that will pollinate themselves with the least bit of jostling.
120 posted on 03/22/2014 7:27:31 PM PDT by Ellendra ("Laws were most numerous when the Commonwealth was most corrupt." -Tacitus)
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