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.
Nothing is more relaxing and satisfying than working in the garden. :)
Beautiful!
Have fun at thee wedding. I just put your garlic on the fence picture up as my desktop wallpaper for the season a coupe of days ago.
Agree about retirement although sometimes we have to think about what day it is. And almost every day is a work outside day.
Those look delicious!!
I love your garden porn but the kittens are cuteness overload!!!!
We woke up to our typical drizzley coastal fog that is death to potatoes and tomatoes. The fog happens when it is HOT in the Sacramento Valley
I got them from the neighbor - the litter started out with five, these were the two ‘survivors.’ They were supposed to be Barn Cats, but I think they’re staying inside. ;)
There is another litter on the way, though, so Beau can have more Barn Cats, too!
All y’all who told me that Sungold cherries were prolific, you were RIGHT. I’ve gotten two pounds from four plants this weekend alone, and they’re only just starting to get ripe. Got a trayful dehydrating in the oven for eating this winter with pasta.
Hello greeneyes and everyone! I have missed participating in the thread now for a few years. I needed to concentrate on completing a project I’ve been involved in for about 16 years. A few months ago, we DID complete it, and now I feel free to once more place my attention on at least a limited involvement once more in gardening and our garden thread!
So this is a report on what I’ve been up to in getting my toes damp again and fingernails dirty!
We were pleased to find that one of the strawberry plants overwintered very nicely and is now happily growing. The herbs did not make it in their pots, so we replaced them - parsley, oregano, mint, and thyme. They are doing very well these days. I laughed to see how we have a volunteer oregano in one of our beds near the back door.
The bee balm we potted last year overwintered, and this year is very happy and blooming, drawing - as you can guess - bees! I had never seen their blooms and they are so pretty!
At the beginning of the season this year, the local box store was selling potted stevia. They had a few mature plants. I’ve not had good luck with stevia over the past several years, and so I decided to try this one. We were looking our plants over yesterday and noticed that this stevia is VERY happy and looks like it is putting out runners, much as a mint would do. I didn’t know it would do that. Perhaps I’m wrong. Does anyone know? We had a leaf garnish from it on our plates last night and it is SOOOO GOOOD! We are concerned about the plant getting too big, because it will need to be brought in during the winter!
The thornless blackberries we planted several years ago are thriving and producing. The birds have even been generous to share a few with me from time to time!
The echinacea patch a few years ago was having some kind of deformation problem - virus, poor genetic mutation - what ever. I pulled the seed heads off the degenerates, and let the better-formed seed heads remain, mature, and reseed the patch. This year they are looking really good and healthy.
This past spring, we had some GORGEOUS red lilies come up, along with the yellow and blue Dutch Iris. The purple and white Iris were also beautiful.
I planted some sunflowers and a few okra seeds. I have four mammoth sunflowers and four okra plants which have come up. I confess to being a very poor gardener, for the bugs are giving these guys a lot of attention, and I just have not have had the time to get out there with the diatomaceous earth I want to try on them.
I had 3 garlic plants come up from last year and were doing well. A couple weeks ago, two of them somehow got trampled or somehow broken. The last one has flowered beautifully. I got a garlic head at the grocery store
that was in the process of sprouting and I plan to go out and plant those in next few days.
The wisteria was pretty, but not breath-taking this year as was the jackmanny. I think the late frost did some damage to them.
The day lilies are quite vigorous and taking over and spreading - which in my book is a good thing!
The mini-chrysanthemums we planted a few years ago are hanging in and seem happy and moving toward a good fall display.
So, this might be more than you want to know, but please accept my warm greetings to my fellow thread travelers, and thanks as always to greeneyes for providing the place to gather!
http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/tomatoes/tomato-sun-gold—hybrid-prod001012.html
Thanks for the comment about Sungold cherry tomatoes. I thought you were speaking of actual cherries (LOL!) so I looked them up.
As it turns out, the yellow tomatoes are better for those who are pursuing low carb/ketogenic diets. I will need to look into those! Thanks again!
Yeah, I realized I was unclear AFTER posting, of course. (I am growing Cornel cherries and pie cherries, but it’s gonna be a few years before I get anything edible off of them.)
If you’re low-carbing, ping me for recipes if you like - I did Atkins for several years before family made it impractical, and know a few good tricks. :)
Welcome back Texokie and thanks for the updates. This is a great thread.
After the deluge of rain, I backed off watering for a day. Now everything looks wilted. sigh
I just watered again. The new squash and radishes still look healthy but even the strong squash plants are really wilted.
We will see if today’s watering helps. Aaargh.
It’s 85F today.
I have to grow sungolds every year.
And they are wonderful on pizza either fresh or rehydrated from dehydrated ones. Ditto in pasta or casseroles.
The ‘Sun Cherry’ and ‘Sun Peach’ ones are good too if you can find the seed.
I sounds like you’re doing just great! Thanks for the update!
Speaking of growing onions....(in response to last week`s thread talking about onion soup), I can grow onion sets just fine, but growing from seed isn’t as easy. They either don’t germinate well or the tops on the wee seedlings turn yellow and they don’t grow well.
I’m wondering how to grow my own sets, presumably inside the house.
If you can grab some soil and it stays in a ball, stop watering. Plants can look, ‘wilted’ when they’re getting too much water, too!
How’s your drainage? Do you have things well mulched? Dig around in there and see how wet the soil is before you add to the problem.
Some of my tomatoes have curling leaves on the bottom and that is a sign of too much water.
We’ve gotten about 4” this past week, so my garden is looking, ‘wilty’ too! :)
Now, that said - let things dry out a bit, but then fertilize. I am giving my tomatoes & peppers and summer squashes and cukes a shot of bone meal and AlgoFlash this upcoming week. Also give bone meal to peppers and your summer squashes to prevent Blossom End Rot.
Calcium (bone meal) is the first nutrient to leech from the soil, and more so when we’ve had a lot of rain.
Good rule of thumb is that everything (human, tree, beast and tomato) need 1” of water a week during the growing season.
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