Posted on 03/31/2017 4:36:55 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 wont be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isnt 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!
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.
Please note my BEAUTIFULLY thinned Lilac Hedge in the background. They hadn't been pruned in close to 30 years; I took out a zillion suckers! They now have air and light, so should bloom well in a few weeks; they're budded out.
Yes, it is a duplex and she raises them in the back yard. There is a lady doing the same thing a couple of miles south of this sale...
You have been busy since your retirement. Did Bo help you build these?
I am so sorry about Snuggles, she was a beauty! As a fellow animal lover.....3 cats & 1 dog, all rescues. I love the story about how she found you. She sounds like she had a wonderful personality. Sending hugs your way.
He built them, then hauled the ‘virgin’ soil up from the Pasture and added the well-composted compost for me, which is thanks to our mule, Ithaca. (We call him, ‘Hay Burner.’) Beau built eight beds for me at my other farm; well before he gave me a big, sparkly diamond and moved me out here to my life of Indentured Servitude. *SMIRK*
I designed the layout, and as an added bonus, get to do ALL of the planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, cooking and processing of whatever I grow. ;)
I’m currently laying out the beds to see what will work best, where. It’s all virgin soil, so this first season I can be very creative with veggies and flowers mixed, fancy lettuce patterns, etc. Excited!
With help from Mrs AR, the wood chipper went from the farthest away barn (naturally!), down to the garden. Spent about 2 hours making chips out of about 40-45 feed sacks of the pinecones...nature’s little fire grenades...she’s been cleaning off the hill behind the house. Only overloaded & jammed it twice. LOL
I managed to get a nearly even layer over three sections of the garden. After they were chipped, I tilled them in, as well as re-tilling the adjacent areas that got chipped & tilled last Fall. The cherry tree prunings went through it, too. Mrs AR picked up the empty sacks, put a tarp over the chipper, and did some weeding while I tilled.
We finished just as it began to sprinkle; it’s raining now, and has been off & on, ever since.
The tiller’s tires are holding pressure just fine, since I sealed them to the rim during the previous tilling session on the 20th of March.
Yesterday, after work, I got a jump start on winter by bucking three logs into firewood.
The sweet potato “seed” has a large, well developed root system in the water, and has started pushing sprouts out of the eyes. Should have rooted slips ready to go by last-frost.
Beautiful pics, as always.
I was going to prune the rose bushes but discovered as many as 10 buds in various stages of forming! Lettuce producing very well.
The kale I seeded in the dirt is up and looking good. Radishes are up all over the place. No sign yet of carrots or rutabagas. The fall-planted garlic is a foot tall and looking very nice.
I stopped by the nursery on Saturday and bought cabbage/broccoli/cauliflower/brussels sprouts. Nephew gave me a hand laying weed mat and setting the plants.
Does your nephew know where the Benders garden and how soon can he be here...
Thought you all might find this FR thread about tomatoes interesting :)
Big, Red and Tasteless: Why Tomatoes Lost Their Flavor
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3541077/posts?page=47
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