Posted on 06/15/2018 7:34:01 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 any time-and don't have to be about gardening.
It might not be knee high by the 4th of July? I’ve got some lil giant corn to try out this year, but the wheat is behind schedule, so I might have to find a different spot for planting it.
Ok...so not showing her this thread.
LOL
Good catch. Little garlic, tumeric?
FINALLY, my gardens are planted. Already the losses - no carrots, broccoli, spinach - are piling up. Had to buy way more plants than I expected - lettuce, pickles and eggplant. Lots more in window boxes than planned, especially radishes.
Had a beautiful eggplant started and a squirrel grabbed it (despite cayenne pepper), took a bite of each end and threw it into the back yard.
Something new this year - burrowing creatures. See the holes, but haven’t seen critters yet. Ideas? I’m in Delaware. I suspect ground squirrels.
Weather is nice with cool mornings until 10 AM, 80’s in midday and then cool evenings after 6 PM. Not much rain so the water bill will be up. BTW, what watering method do you use? I use a sprinkler and try to simulate a rain shower.
Plantings done...now starts the war on parslane.
If'n I lose, at least it's edible. So I hear.
We were attacked by ground squirrels this year. Everything I put out was eaten, including 10 bean plants in one night. Mine also went after the tomato plants, and the squash and the cantelope and the cukes. Hairy leaves didn’t bother them a bit the way it puts off rabbits. The hibiscus couldn’t put leaves out fast enough - the squirrels would strip them clean, same for the roses. Then they started to eat the corner of the house. But we didn’t know how many squirrels there were - thinking there were only 3 or 4 troublemakers with us living on the edge of wilderness. Spent a few weeks trying to shoot them, only got one.
Then we declared war.
There’s a catch cage called a ‘squirrel-enator’. Baited it with mango and dog food and caught 5 squirrels in two hours. Rebaited it with just dog food and caught 4 more. Highlight: most of them died on their own from either stress or the heat - some pretty quick - so ‘cleanup’ was basically tossing them into the vacant acreage behind us for the hawks and buzzards. (they get smelly really quick in the trash can). To make a long story short, within one week, 37 ground squirrels and one possum later, it appears to be all quiet on the western front. IMO definitely worth the money. We told the neighbors they could have their share of the squirrels back, but they’d have to keep them on leashes :)
I’ve resigned myself to the fact my 75 or so onions will be pretty small - they’re tightly-packed in top soil. I’ve watered them so much the soil is like concrete. It was tough digging even one out and he was very small. I’m going to dig them out and see if I can get a pepper plot going in small buckets again. My other various pepper plants are coming along. Guess I’ll be chopping some very small onions. The first one I pulled isn’t even the size of a golf ball. And it’s been in there over 90 days. That topsoil, cheap at WM and nice and loose has gotten really hard with the watering (and baking by the Sun each day).
Oh well, I still have 25 bulbs though some are really small.
I DO NOT know what is happening in my 3’ x 6’ at the bottom of the deck. There are 2 or 3 watermelon plants that may have survived, something with big leaves but no fruit. Probably a squash plant. Maybe only 1 survived, perhaps a 2nd.
All last fall going into winter and all spring I tossed egg shells, tomato pieces with some seeds, some strawberry pieces and corn husks which were mostly burned from being grilled. Whatever it is, it has taken over the whole thing. There must be 500+ leaves down there and maybe 300 plants in that small space. It’s like shag carpet that’s 8-inches deep. It looks like some corn leaves. There were two small strawberries on one end - rabbit must have eaten those. Maybe a squirrel. Two tall stalks but no fruit / veg.
This stuff is NOT growing outside that 3’ x 6’ area. There may have also been GYRO Pepper pieces thrown in there but very few seeds.
It almost looks like early corn but that seems really doubtful to me.
I do not know WHAT it is. It grows like crazy, stays thick. You can’t even see the soil the plants are so tightly packed.
So, like on most everything in life, I remain confused. LOL
I just moved as well. I transplanted some garlic from the other place first. I just the other day got around to a tomato plant and some oregano.
I can completely relate with the computer issues in paragraph three! The lyrics from “You took a fine time to leave me, Lucille!” keep going through my head when that happens. lol The heat and humidity have killed most of the pansies. Can hardly wait for fall to come so I can plant new ones. The lettuce is dying out, also because of heat and humidity. Keep looking at those tomatoes, getting bigger and bigger. Can hardly wait for them to ripen. The caladiums are sprouting nicely and I’ll use them to fill in the bare spots where the pansies were.
Well , I am getting close to having a pretty nice yard overall after doing the basics with the existing plants and shrubs that were here when I moved in to the new home here in Louisiana . I have some beautiful rose bushes and an assortment of healthy trees . For some reason the grass seems to have an accelerated growth over the sewer line making its way to the street for its tie in ?...”hmmmm” any experienced gardeners have any insight as to why this may occur ? (I hope my humor is not to coarse)
Excellent modeling of being a good steward with the provisions from God - thanks!
Put in another box garden and moved the strawberry patch to a sunnier location.
Tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, cukes, carrots, beets, radishes, kale, and lettuces are all in.
Discovered a lot of volunteer potatoes and onions in the partial shade garden top of the hill - yah, freebies!
Raspberries are just about ready to pick, and finally found a good location for our rhubarb - great crop this year.
Thank you again for toiling away at the gardening threads - we pray for your health and a bountiful harvest, greeneyes.
As noted, we have a huge problem with fruit rats (cute small rats, but are still rats), that eat tomatoes, corn and most anything else that they can find in the middle of the night to munch on.
Typically they choose tomatoes that are just about ripe, but occasionally just bite a green one, probably for spite.
I’ve used powdered Cayenne (one pound shake jars/Amazon) in the past but you have to refresh it after watering and it’s tough to get it onto the plant leaves and fruit. I suspect that if the critters try to walk through it and lick their paws, it gets a bit toasty for them, but not if they jump onto the plant from a higher platform which they have been known to do.
So, the search was for something else as a deterrent and I discovered Mint or Peppermint Extract from Walmart or any food store. Just pour a small amount into a spray bottle, add water and spray all over the plant, pot dirt and surrounding area. Much easier than sprinkling powdered Cayenne.
Rather than being a deterrent, it confuses the critter’s internal smell programs (ISP’s) and doesn’t smell like anything that registers as something good to chew on.
I spray in the morning, afternoon (mainly for the squirrels) and then in the late evening. So far, on my Campari tomatoes, no signs of our fruit rats. I’ll check in with further results. The Campari’s are just turning red.
I also spray our 28 cup vertical hydroponic “Tower Garden” to protect the Strawberries.
(I’ve even put out a Trail Cam (“AimTom” brand/Amazon) to record the varmints, just in case).
Now to the Campari tomato seeds and where I got them…
I squished a few overripe Campari’s, put the seeds pods into a fine screen colander ran water over the mass, picked out the non-seed parts, added some dish detergent, swished the goop/seeds around for a while with my fingers, then washed all the goop off the now separated seeds.
I mention this because the common method of harvesting tomato seeds is to put the mass into a jar, add water, let it sit for a couple days to ferment (yuck) and then drain away the stinky stuff. A colander, dish detergent and water is much more appetizing.
Some won’t germinate but they are free.
I do this same exact seed harvesting with Cantaloupes and various melons. Very easy to do and did the same with the tiny seeds from overly soft Blackberries. Small screen colander, dish detergent and water. Simple…
Bob/Bradenton
Mmmm! All Things BBQ Related? I’m in!
Sun is just coming up, so I’m downing a quick cuppa and then I’m off! :)
The bottom leaves apparently caught some kind of mold, I think, from being planted too close together in very warm weather. Anyway, the plants are flourishing with some extra air space and watered by drip irrigation from our sprinkler system. We're keeping green with water from the lake.
The local garlic lady will have some hard neck to sell at this morning's farmer's market. She got a 1st place award last year at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia.
I've mailed her hard neck garlic all over the US and even to a pen pal in Yokohama who loves the stuff.
Well you have been busy!! That is a lot of work. Sorry about the computer. I have had many experiences that have taught me that if it’s old - just get a new one. Garden is growing well and I have pictures to post hopefully this weekend. We have been busy too. A lot of it getting ready for house guests in 16 days who will be here for 3 weeks. We seem to be ahead of the game except for the garden which needs weed pulling. Was going to hit it this morning but it is raining. We’ve been eating lettuce, green onions, radishes, broccoli first head, asparagus is done. Beans almost flowering. It will be awhile on tomatoes. I keep telling myself it’s only mid June. Happy gardening everyone!
On an earlier gardening thread I talked about our solution, a 10 gallon bucket. Fill halfway with water, float enough striped sunflower seeds on the top of the water to cover it. Set it next to something the vermin will climb up on. Have some cheap tongs ready to fish out the carcases. Between last fall and this year we have gotten dozens of squirrels, many more dozens of chipmunks and a good amount of mice.
I’ve been using Campari seeds for years. I just squeeze out the seeds onto a paper towel and spread them around and leave them on a windowsill for a few days to dry up. Then I stick them in an envelope and label them. It works for me. It’s the only small cherry type tomato we grow.
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