Posted on 10/14/2017 9:56:51 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.
Thanks! I have been perusing the "hang 'em high, hang 'em dry" technique, wherein you knock off all the soil from your treasured Pelargonium, trim off any dead leaves or flowers, and hang it roots-up within a paper bag in a cool area--like my storage space, which I never saw any radiators or such in. Having that in mind, I just came back from Trader Joe's (where I enjoy shopping anyway). Upon hearing that I needed a paper shopping bag to provide amusement for my little kitty Zizu and some additional for my geranium preservation project, the clerk handed me over more than enough for the task, with a smile. I did this one year and was successful (you must take the plants down and soak them for an hour once a month, then hang them back up), and did it the following year and had nothing to show for it (because I neglected the soaking for a month or two). This year, I will try to be more diligent and do my monthly soakings.
Good Luck with whichever method you use . . .Geraniums are wonderful plants.
I am glad I decided to spend the extra couple of bucks per plant on my geraniums this year, getting them from the nursery instead of Home Depot. It was worth it, as they grew to twice the HD plants' size and had more and larger flowers. They were (and, until the first frost) are magnificent. Thus, I want to save these gorgeous plants vs. tossing them.
I still have about two weeks before frost but I pulled my geraniums - which were really, really great this year.
Closing down the yard is about a two week project so I have to start with something.
Tomorrow I take down the vegetable garden and plant garlic.
(Upstate New York)
I checked the Farmers Almanac today, and it said NYC would get its first frost around early November. I remember a few years ago getting our first snow Oct. 16, but that was a one-off weird event. The next couple of weeks’ forecasts don’t come anywhere near freezing. So I’ll go on collecting leaves to mulch my roses. There is already an inch or two of shredded bark mulch over the whole garden, and I’ll probably add an inch of fallen leaf covering to my containers of mini hostas. I already put away an envelope of deep yellow marigold seeds I took from this year’s outstanding marigolds. I wonder if they will breed true.
Awesome honeydews!!!
The most success I’ve had with the C. melo type melons has been with Valencia Winter Melon. It doesn’t seem to mind the short Wisconsin growing season.
Thanks for the tip! :)
We had a week of what could be considered typical fall weather here in Central Missouri. Sunny and mild, then some rain, then sunny and warm, now quite cool.
The pumpkin patch and sunflower field are ready fall plowing. That can happen any time after the ground dries up a bit.
Yesterday I got ambitious about cleaning up the kitchen garden, but 15 minutes into the job my (not so) trusty old Husqvarna weed whacker decided to take a dive. The fuel system is leaking again. All of the lines and the primer bulb have been replaced fairly recently and now it’s leaking where the return line enters the gas tank. The only local shop that services Husqvarna will only work on machines that they sold and this one came from Lowe’s, so I’d have to ship the thing to get it fixed. I’m going to skip that hassle and replace it with a new Stihl.
The rains have kept me from working on the pond, but I’m keeping it pumped out for now in hopes of some dry weather ahead.
Rocket is now ~5 months old and she’s becoming very independent. She’s decided that she’d rather sleep in a tree like a proper coon rather than sleep in her luxury coondominium. She took off yesterday morning after I gave her breakfast and we didn’t see her at all the rest of the day. Normally when we’re out working in the yard she’s constantly underfoot. I don’t expect that she’ll stay gone too long but who knows?
Awesome!!!
Not bad for my first try! I put down black plastic, put the slips in, and covered them with hay.
I never watered them other than what Mother Nature gave them. I was quite surprised. They are really delicious, too!
I have a TON of ‘Honeynut’ butternut squash, and we had one for supper the other night, peeled and chunked with EVOO, sea salt, pepper and garlic. Roasted on parchment paper on a cookie sheet for about an hour at 375 degrees. It’s my favorite way to make it, now.
We dug the last of the potatoes, too - Kennebec, and they look absolutely perfect. Funny how little it takes to make me happy! :)
You should post more pictures of your laying hens and I would love to see some pictures of your homestead land. I can show you how to link pictures from Facebook, if you need me to. ‘Schmuckerberg’ can afford the bandwidth. *SMIRK*
Hope no one minds, but I’m just going to ping the list to last weeks thread. Enjoyed reading last weeks posts off and on for a minute at a time today.
Lemon tree is blooming and smells so good. Turmeric is growing, and aloe is desperate to be transplanted.
Have had some computer problems. Still having trouble sitting anywhere other than reclining. Xray had good news and bad news.
No fracture or herniated disc. Significant demineralization-expected due to long term hyperparathyroidism. Degenerative disc disease all along spine, and some spurs. Worse in lumbar area. Dr. has ordered MRI.
Chiropractor has helped. I can now stand for 5-10 minutes without major pain. Sitting is the worst. I have been catching up on kitchen cleaning 5 minutes at a time. Doing a little walking, and stretching exercises.
Bathroom tile is done except for the utility/water heater area - door to that will need to be shortened. Work on green house continues. The concrete patio area where the new footing will go has been busted out.
Trench has been dug, and holes are being made. Holes will be finished tomorrow, and forms set maybe. If work permits, concrete pour on Monday. Getting ready to sit in tub and get muscles warmed up for evening stretches, then heading to bed. Will check back Tuesday to see what going on.
Hope all is well with everyone. Have a great weekend. Prayers up for all. God Bless.
Pinging the List.
>Here<
We had a few days where it warmed up here at 8,500 ft elevation in the Colorado Rockies. Last night it got cold again, 25F and snow flurries and windy all day today. Looking to the west the continental divide already has pretty heavy snow.
Hi greeneyes!
I just planted onions and garlic this week-we have mild winters here-and was wondering how long it takes for those little dried up onion bulbs to sprout.
I don’t know what kind it is. The package just read “Red Onions”. I didn’t buy special seed garlic so it might not make. I don’t know what country it’s from-I bought it at the walmart neighborhood store.
The seedlings aren’t dead yet, but there aren’t very many. The best ones are the swiss chard and beets. Oh I planted some cilantro too.
We’ll see.
Hi Everybody!
Just got in...and I’m going to bed.
Did a wonderful Autumn hike today. :-)
And i rode my motorcycle to my sister’s gig and did a guest appearance.
A Hike,
The Bike,
And an open mike.
A perfect day.
Our first rain dumped almost 3 inches in less than 24 hours on Thursday which was truly a Blessing as shrubs were starting to wither. The garlic is not up yet but I expect it any day to show some green through the rice hull mulch. Looks like the tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers are done for the year and the pumpkins produced only 5 very nice ones. Wife’s sister is visiting from Colorado and they will cut up 2 or 3 pumpkins and steam them for pulp next week...
A pen pal in Yokohama is hinting that he’d like to relocate with Guam.
Warmer climate.
Many Japanese speakers in Guam (he speaks limited English.)
Likes the idea of American power nearby.
Lower cost of living.
Guam is rather expensive. Maybe not by Japanese standards.
91 octane gasoline is over $4.00 a gallon and the food prices are through the roof. As long as you don’t have any chronic health issues though it is a nice place.
My wife works in Hong Kong and commutes back and forth.
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