Posted on 02/27/2015 12:35:01 PM PST 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. 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!
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Gradual warming to decent weather on a week from Saturday. We sometimes get snow in April. The law requires studded tires be removed in April, but we often have snow after that date. Not really an issue for me anymore, since I no longer drive into St. Louis City on a daily basis.
In fact, during this recent bad weather, I have not even stepped a foot outside, but have watched the dog and kids take multiple falls and near falls.
Basil is ready for another harvesting. Lemon tree is ready for spring and fresh air. Tomato Principe B. seedlings are now ready to be repotted into 4 inch pots. So far, I have 20 plants of 4 varieties, and several more varieties to go. These early starts will eventually be grown in containers outside. All the seeds so far are heirlooms leftover from 2013, and all the seeds have sprouted quickly.
On the menu tonight, we are going to try out some of the rib steak from the side of beef we bought from our local farmer. The Hamburger has been great.
Hope everyone is doing well, and surviving the freeze safe and warm. Have a great weekend. God Bless.
Just got back from the orthodontist and guess what I saw?!! 3 robins! Woohooo. Spring is around the corner!
First time I have seen your post.........look forward to many more :) I have wanted to be a gardener for years and ever year I try but not doing very well. Will try again :)
Some of the flowers in the bed were starting to come out and I was going to take a picture of them to post here... but with snow, that ain't happening.
/johnny
Pinging the list.
Nice and cozy in the grow room, however, are my sprouts, which are coming along quite nicely. I've got 9 eggplant plants, 10 ghost chile plants, around 30 tomato plants (several varieties) and of course, my tobacco (which I'll have far more than I have room for, so I'll be giving a bunch away)!
My birfday is next weekend, and I've taken a few days off to staycation @ the homestead. I plan on getting a mini-greenhouse built, along with several raised beds/boxes. Each box should hold 8 plants, and what doesn't go in the boxes will go in 5 gallon buckets. This year is going to be a HUGE experiment for me and container gardening. If the volumes I've read over the winter on container gardening are correct, and my thumb is green enough, I'm looking forward to harvest this year!
My hops are still in the fridge, hopefully going through the process of cold stratification. I'll probably take them out next weekend and get them planted. It's supposed to take upwards of another month before they begin germinating. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Craft beers are the "IN" thing here in Western Colorado lately. I hope to add some Colorado grown hops to the mix. We'll see!
Can’t come soon enough for me. LOL
Dick G here!
Any banboo enthusiasts here yet?
My potted/containerized boo is getting ready to shoot, I think...in fact one of them (Spectabilis in a 3-gal container has one lone shoot that appeared coupla days ago and is now close to 3’ tall!) and I expect that the others will be not far behind.
Best to all...
Dick.G: AMERICAN
aka: Gunny G
Semper FIDELIS!
*****
I have somewhat an amusing/true story about bamboo if you feel like a laugh?
Let me know if you want to be added to the ping list.
I was the original brown thumb. Killed every plant I ever tried to raise-beautiful flowers. Then my daughter gave me the book: Sq. Foot Gardening. I talked Hubby into making one 3 x 4 ft. Garden. Everything did well except the carrots.
What I figured out was you have to have planting medium with a good texture, and good nutrients, and I was likely overwatering every thing I had ever tried to grow. Red Devil and the people on the thread helped me a lot too.
So just keep it up. In fact I think I’ll just post a favorite quote on Success for inspiration to all who are feeling discouraged(not sure who originated this):
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence:
-Talent will not, nothing is more common than unsuccessful men and women with talent.
-Genius will not, unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
-Education will not, the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
I have been just like the ground hog all week. Peak out and quickly go back into my den. LOL
peak = peek.
We had 10 inches of snow Wednesday, broke all the records for North Alabama. I have went through 60lbs of propane in the last two weeks trying to keep the greenhouse warm, I usually use about 20lbs a year. I did manage to get 250 heirlooms maters up despite the cool temps, heated seedling mats are a lifesaver! My friend is coming Monday to pick up his 7 flats of maters and peppers, so I will have some room to start 250 squash and zucchini plants.
If you like Zucchini you need to try the golden egg available at Burpee.com, I grew 60 plants last year and never brought one home from the market, had multiple repeat sales and never had a complaint it was always positive feedback.
Cliff
Flint City Farms
“A couple inches?”
There are 14 inches of hard-packed snow in my yard!It will be months before anything happens in Northern Ohio!
20 days 2 hours and 37 minutes to Spring.
223 annual flower seeds planted under grow lights.
Hubby grew all his tomatoes last year in 5 gallon buckets. They were mostly Romas, but he also had some mortgage lifters. He likes a huge tomato so that one slice covers the bread or bun on a sandwich.
I like smaller tomatoes so that I can use the whole thing in salad or just give to the kids to eat instead of bananas. Nothing worse than a tomato that has been hanging out in the refrigerator. JMHO.
Any way he had good output, and his soil wasn’t even that great.
I used Miracle Grow dirt last year. At the end of the season, I stuck it in totes and have been adding compost to it over the months. Also tossed in a couple cans of worms, and so far it looks like they have been doing a heckuva job. I've got some really nice, rich dirt to work with this year, and I'll supplement that with new MG dirt. I'm excited to see how it works out this year.
Thanks for the tip. We had no success with the zukes last year. I think the top soil that Hubby used to make his new bed had a soil borne disease.
All the zukes grew well then turned gray and dies before any produce was ready to harvest. I think he is going to have to do some serious solarisation and fumigation. We have trouble with melons, squash etc. anyway.
I may plant a zuke or two in buckets and see if I can get some to grow. I pickled and canned a batch of zuke spears in 2013, and they were better than cukes. Lots more crispy.
more-n-more online lately,,,and for various reasons...it hurts when I laugh...but go ahead...anyway...
;)
Dick G
*****
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