Posted on 02/24/2017 5:10:36 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.
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My sister in ME has a Lab/Treeing Walker Coon Hound who really does climb trees. I never saw such a thing before.
We line the bottoms with cardboard as a weed/grass barrier. BUT, instead of using landscaping fabric, we use cardboard because it eventually breaks down, and then the earthworms can come up from below and hang out in the beds - which you want, in a good, healthy eco-system. You could also use thick (1-inch or more) layers of newspaper - the black & white pages, wetting them as you go to make them stay put. But don’t try that stunt on a windy day, LOL!
I use hay or straw (whichever is available to me) as mulch on top of the beds, which cuts down on weeding, and then can be spaded back in at the end of the season...or the beginning, if I’ve not been ambitious in the Fall!
I usually add a granular fertilizer to the beds; I like a 10-18-10 which, amazingly, you can find as a granular lawn fertilizer and it’s usually pretty cheap. That’s also my ‘Secret Weapon’ for fruit tree and small fruit production. It just seems to be the Miracle Combination for good blooming and fruiting of just about ANYTHING that blooms and fruits, 10-18-10.
You’ll want higher Nitrogen - the first number - for salad greens and spinach and for Root Crops (potatoes, beets, carrots,onions, garlic, tulips and daffodils, leeks) you want higher Potassium/Potash - last number - for good root development.
N-P-K
I also add some peat to the beds, as we have VERY clay soil, so that helps loosen it up a bit.
I am also enamored of a brand of liquid fertilizer called AlgoFlash. Their formula for tomatoes is awesome sauce!
And now you know ALL of my Trade Secrets! I’m a Master Gardener and have been in The Biz for close to 20 years. I ‘retired’ last year from managing one of the Jung Garden Centers, after Beau made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse; help him manage HIS farm. :)
Shameless Plug: http://www.jungseed.com
The other company I worked for: http://www.seedsavers.org
Truly, the happiest 18 years of my Work Life was spent with those two companies. :)
The Walker Dogs are amazingly good at that!
No Kitteh is safe! :-)
The tree is 45 feet tall and is near a neighbors house so I can’t really spray it
Then I got nothin’! :)
Hope they are ok.
Speaking of the chicks brings back memories. When I was a girl, we always got a couple of baby chicks for Easter. Raised them for a while, and then my grand parents would come and get them.
Then in the summer, I would go to the hen house on the grand parents farm and feed the chickens and collect eggs. They certainly were cute.
Yahoo. Thanks for the pic. Looking good.
I bet it would be good too.
Hello all!...Spring is right around the corner!!!! Snow is melting , our water table is good...I’m waiting to see how durable the Black Willow tree is after being under 4 feet of the white stuff...it took root well last year and grew quite a bit,fingers crossed!
My yard is large and overrun with the weed from hell - HOREHOUND. Until I can regain control over that mess, there will be substantial container gardening for a while.
Very nice raised beds! I’d like to do that eventually. Containers in the meantime..
I know you have commented that you’re on high ground. But are all your kin, church family and friends safe in all that rain/high water?
That is so true! I have one 5 yr old granddaughter now who likes to work in the garden with me. I’m hoping this is finally the one who will grow, snap and can with me :)
That is so true! I have one 5 yr old granddaughter now who likes to work in the garden with me. I’m hoping this is finally the one who will grow, snap and can with me :)
I had a nice contained bed of horehound at our last home. I wish I’d dug some and moved it. I thought it would be there forever. We turned that house into a rent house and the guy my hubby paid to mow eradicated that, a great bed of lemon balm, some nice bronze fennel and a beautiful rosemary. I thought I had plenty of time to go dig and take cuttings but he took em all out!
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