Weekly Garden Thread Volume 24 June 20, 2014

Free Republic | June 20, 2014 | greeneyes

[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.

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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.

[greeneyes]

I am sorry, but I have had no experience with chippies, so I hope someone else has some good advice for you.

I am going to plant some lettuce close to a tree where it will get shade all afternoon, and the house will give shade from the morning sun.

Tried it last year in the summer and it worked. I used black seeded simpson lettuce which is supposed to be heat tolerant.

[rightly_dividing]

It’s 93 and 16% humidity here. But I was out in the shop with a air circulater running, painting a wall. I got pretty hot and clothes soaked. Low humidity; It’s overrated.

Tomaters were a bust for us, 0 tomatos this year from 10 plants. But I don’t yet hate the birds and squirrels, If we had been at home to feed them 2 weeks ago, they would never have tried tomatos and developed a taste for tomato juice. I hope we can keep them alive till fall and maybe get a crop then.

Peppers are doing well, with the banana peppers and jalapenos getting real big. Ther peppers doing good to.

My wife’s flowers all over the yard in beds and containers are having a banner year, especially the sunset lantanas. They are about 4ft tall and about 10-12ft long in a large bed with only 4 plants. They are really putting on a show, along with the butterflies visiting them.

[wastoute]

Borax for ants. Neem oil works pretty good for a number of things.

[Red_Devil 232]

I think I may have found the problem that was causing a few of my tomato plant to die off. To much water. The soil has been to wet due to rains and me needing to test my new drip system. I know better than to over water but just did not take the rains into the equation when testing the drip system.

My other plants and 25 or so surviving tomatoes are doing fine. I have also ordered some shade cloth to cover the garden during the heat this summer. It should be here next Wed. I am going to see if my old drip system’s PVC pipe will be all I need in constructing a structure to hold the shade fabric, I hope so.

I started this garden very late this year and the summer heat here in Mississippi can do a garden in, especially a young one. I hope the shade fabric will help.

My fig trees have revived after the cold winter killed off all the old established branches. I will have figs! My two pear trees are full of fruit. So far everything is going well.

Good Gardening To All!

[bgill]

I'm thinking that's vegetable oil, not motor oil?

Exciting times here this week. Hubby killed a copperhead last night. Of course, the big slobber bucket had to sniff all over where it was blown to bits. I'm expecting one to find me in the garden the way I've been pulling weeds. It's ridiculous how fast they grow. Every year same thing. They grow faster than the vegetable seeds do so they shade them out and all I have to show are weeds. You've seen those paintings of women out in the fields with bushels of wheat in their arms, that's me with weeds. Every morning, bushels and bushels. Still no end in sight. Of course, I'm accidentally pulling up volunteer tomatoes with the weeds so am sticking them in the ground wherever and it's up to them to recover. The little green tomatoes from last week are still green so hoping they'll ripen when the nephews get here next weekend.

I found some poison ivy a couple days ago so had hubby dig it up. I'm greatly surprised I'm not all broken out but now that I've said it, I'll probably get into some tomorrow. Crossing fingers and knocking wood.

The garlic is drying and needs to be braided.

Had some little bitty corn from the garden for supper last night. Tasted like candy, yum! I sampled the two blackberries the birds left me and can't wait until they've matured next year. They're sending out branches and rooting themselves so all’s good. I need to maintain the fence they're supposed to grow on because every fence here is destined to have a multitude of invasive vines growing on them. No matter the mowing or chopping or Round-Up or pulling, there WILL be vines. I don't think the berries will be able to eventually take over so don't know how that battle will turn out.

Will be picking the first cuke in a couple days. I ran out of fungicide and need to get some more for the cukes. They normally don't get the ick on their leaves until the end of summer so don't know what's going on.

Something ate through the mustard greens. Something happened to the cilantro overnight. It's like it decided life just wasn't worth living and poof! But the ginger is popping up nicely. And the cabbage looks like it's thinking of heading.

I have a mystery plant, too. Found it in the asparagus this morning. It has little miniature pepper looking fruit on it though I've never planted anything like that. A neighbor a few streets over has some ornamental peppers so maybe a bird was sharing. Will have to investigate but it's probably all kinds of poisonous. I've told y'all about the cardinals who wait for me to turn on the garden sprinkler, well this morning there were about 10 dove waiting to play in the water, too.

Ooh, mama kitty is still has an attitude. If it weren't for the kittens I wouldn't feed her. Though I think it's mainly because she's skin and bones from feeding her babies. The kittens are walking around now, though not straying from the corner she has them in. One's back legs aren't operating well but maybe he needs a couple more days to catch up to his sibling so here's hoping that's all it is. They're coming to me so I'm picking them up despite mama's growls and hisses. When I was in the garden this morning, two neighborhood dogs, soaking wet from the river, came by to say hello. Then I noticed one was leaving the garage. Yikes, he'd been in there drinking mama kitty's water (which she never drinks)! Wet paw prints to the water bowl and back out so I don't think he realized the cats were right there. Our monsters still don't have a clue but I'm going to have to introduce the kittens to them soon because the smaller one kills any creature that comes into the yard. Can't have that. Sweet as anything but it's HER yard. A simple introduction and she's fine. Plus having cats around will help with the snakes.

[mlizzy]

For those who think their space for a garden is too small, have hope. Ours is very tiny, but most everything is doing well. Just harvested our garlic; the heads are small as that part of the garden got the least amount of light, but it's still thrilling to see that they grew at all. The Cherokee Purple tomatoes and Brandywine Pinks are doing very well, with scores of maters on them, however, still very small.

The Freckles lettuce is fabulous. We've had salads for weeks now (we're doing the cut and come again) and it's still going strong. We've got about six or seven sunflowers, peppers, pole beans [for the first time], and sweet potatoes in containers [can't imagine they'll be too big, but we're giving it a shot]. So happy it's not -15, however, in the Chicagoland area, we've had tons of rain the last couple of days and part of our yard is still under water.

[bgill]

Tomato season is over?!? You must be growing determinates. What variety? I’ve only grown heirloom indeterminates so the heat usually stops fruit production before they get mature enough to start fruiting. I’m thinking of going with some determinates just to get any to the table.

[bgill]

Where do you buy Borax? I used to find it everywhere but haven’t been able to find anywhere in the past 5-6 years that sells it anymore.

[Red_Devil 232]

Check the laundry aisle for 20 Mule Team Borax.

[rightly_dividing]

Only heirloom indeterminates. About 8 varieties. The critters got all the fruit on the vines and they all have stopped flowering due to the heat. WE were a month late planting due to late season globull warming and an ice storm here.

Not a good year for us. Not one mater to the table. :(

[nascarnation]

The critters got all the fruit on the vines

I've had good luck this year with that rotten egg stuff you spray around the perimeter. Or maybe it's just luck....

[HopeandGlory]

Hello bgill . . . could your mystery peppers be chile petins?

[Red_Devil 232]

My San Marzano tomatoes are doing well each plant has many, many small developing green maters and plenty of flowers my other tomatoes are flowering nicely. We have had only a couple of days in the 90’s so far. I am hoping the shade cloth I have purchased will help keep the heat down a few degrees and let my late started garden develop this summer. I need my Homegrown Tomatoes!

Guy Clark - Homegrown Tomatoes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-QzLIjL1u4&feature=kp

[Red_Devil 232]

What is that rotten egg stuff you spray around the perimeter?

[rightly_dividing]

Guy Clark won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album: My Favorite Picture Of You.

[wastoute]

I bought a small bottle of thick liquid labeled ant poison. Ingredients say Borax. Works like a charm. One drop and the workers find it, take it to the queen and kills her! Wish it worked on tyrants.

[rightly_dividing]

I’ve got chilepetins growing. It’s my first time with then, I just it them and bought it. It has lots of little peppers on it. Saw a video of a guy eating them, he said they were fairly hot, hotter than habaneros.

[Red_Devil 232]

Here is another one of his I like

Guy Clark - Texas Cooking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAtmhPUAg4U

[rightly_dividing]

Now ya got me watching Guy Clark videos!

[Red_Devil 232]

Here he is in his home studio explaining how the title song “My Favorite Picture Of You” came about.

Guy Clark at Home: “My Favorite Picture Of You”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIftiMZPVsE