Posted on 06/30/2017 7:23:22 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. 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.
Sorting Compost!
Now there’s an interesting job! LOL!
Sounds yucky to me. LOL I’m thinking about making a new compost pile using chicken wire, figure that what I have now will surely decompose by the fall.
The container is one of those bins that looks like a trash can but has lots of air holes all up and down the sides. It has a sliding door on one side so that you can raise it and shovel out the bottom part, but I’m having trouble getting the shovel in there - packed too hard or I’m just a lot weaker than I used to be.
I planted my corn earlier and a hail storm knocked my tender plants down. Luckily I found a nursery that had corn starters. It was a big win.
I noticed that about myself too. :-(
Got plenty of holes. I think I’m just not hauling enough water out there. I soaked them good today using up the last of the captured run-off in the barrel. So it’s back to the 1-gallon jugs in hand until I can get some water plumbed, or until it rains again. I placed those buckets with the idea of chasing the sunlight, not thinking about water.
Use a pitch fork or a similar tool like a spading fork...
Afterwards, even if the corn I grew had come out right, I realized it wasn’t the most practical thing to grow in a relatively small backyard garden. Especially when you could buy it fresh from local farmers at roadside stands at a fairly cheap price. It takes up too much space in the garden. The corn I used to buy was white and sweet as sugar. Really delicious. I had no idea until this time how completely different farm-fresh vegetables were in comparison to what is sold in stores, particularly in a place like I’ve lived nearly my entire life, New York City. So much flavor is lost by the time it makes it here.
While at one of my favorite Upstate NY campgrounds some years ago they had a bonfire, corn roast, & beer night. I couldn't believe how good the corn tasted. I think I ate close to 10 of them. The cold fresh beer from the keg wasn't bad either, on a warm, beautiful, starry night in dark sky country. With so many stars visible it felt like being in outer space! Again, I've lived nearly my entire life in New York City, and so these, perhaps common for many of you, sorts of things are very rare and special for me.
I had some come up next to our junk pile at the welding shop. Thought about collecting them. Then they vanished? Rats ate them all.
Wished I had a chipper. Last year I finished taking down over 20 50’ Afghan Pines that were up and dead around the house at the farm. I cut the trunks into firewood. But there were a great many loads of slash off the trees that I carried to the burn pile at the farm. It would have made excellent mulch. I did keep a fair amount of the Bark off the trees for that purpose, just placing the planks of bark around trees. Only problem with that, it invites cockroaches. We never had them at the farm until the Afghan Pines died. (too big, too close together and the “great 5 year drought”.
Suggestion on sprouting weak old seed.
Try putting them between a moist folded sheet of Paper towel inside a plastic bag. Place plastic bag in room temp dark place for few days depending on plant.(observation? I think they use bleach when making paper towels. Have concluded this helps some with fungal growth.)
You will be surprised how many will sprout. You can hold the plastic bag up to the light fixture and see when they are beginning to sprout.
Then you gently with tweezers place them in moist potting soil in styrofoam cups and water from the bottom to prevent damping off.
My zucchini are burned to death. My son made lasagna with the one good zuc and spinach. But I will need to start over with the primary zucchini box, as those zucchini never made it past the seedling stage.
Ancient Wheat...what catalogue do you use?
Pretty!
We’re low carb too. We have fresh corn once each summer and savor every bite. It’s so scrumptious.
Excellent! Beau’s sweet corn just started to shoot up, too! My 50’ row of potatoes are doing great, but I’m too lazy to go down to the lower garden and take a pix...because I’ll have to weed before I do, LOL!
'Peach Melba' Nasturtium:
My cabbage lust continues to grow:
Calendula & Spider Flower (Cleome) for the Pollinators:
Our new kittens, Boyd & Eva Grace. Cuteness Overload!
Great pics!!
It’s so nice to be RETIRED and have the TIME to do what I want with my days! :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.