Posted on 03/20/2021 6:49:37 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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.
If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.
This thread is a non-political respite. 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! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.
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 to Gardeners are welcomed any time!
In from the begin....
We’re finally getting a week of 50 plus temps here in Upstate. The daffodils may emerge this week. :-)
Spring in Southern California is truly spectacular, even though we got very little rain this year.
My orange, grapefruit and tangerine trees are blooming and loaded with bees. The smell is heavenly in the backyard.
Roses are starting to bloom along with irises, nasturtiums, angel’s trumpets and lavender . Cyclamen have been blooming since Thanksgiving along with pansies. Just planted petunias for summer bloom.
And people ask me why I don’t want to move out of California.
The March equinox – also called the vernal equinox – marks the beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumn season in the Southern Hemisphere. The March 2021 equinox will arrive on March 20 at 09:37 UTC or 4:37 a.m. Central Daylight Time.
No matter where you are on Earth, the equinox brings us a number of seasonal effects, which many nature enthusiasts notice.
Equal day and night?
At the equinox, Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays equally. Night and day are often said to be equal in length. In fact, the word equinox comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). For our ancestors, whose timekeeping was less precise than ours, day and night likely did seem equal. But we today know it’s not exactly so.
Fastest sunsets at the equinoxes.
The fastest sunsets and sunrises of the year happen at the equinoxes. We’re talking here about the length of time it takes for the sun to sink below the horizon.
Sun rises due east and sets due west?
Here’s another equinox phenomenon. You might hear that the sun rises due east and sets due west at the equinox. True? Yes. It’s the case no matter where you live on Earth. At the equinoxes, the sun appears overhead at noon as seen from Earth’s equator, as the illustration below shows. This illustration shows the sun’s location on the celestial equator, every hour, on the day of the equinox. No matter where you are on Earth – except at the Earth’s North and South Poles – you have a due east and due west point on your horizon. That point marks the intersection of your horizon with the celestial equator – the imaginary line above the true equator of the Earth. That’s why the sun pretty much rises due east and sets due west for all of us. The sun is on the celestial equator, and the celestial equator intersects all of our horizons at points due east and due west.
*SNIP*
Where can you look to see signs of the equinox in nature? Everywhere! Forget about the weather for a moment, and think only about the daylight. In terms of daylight, the knowledge that spring is here – and summer is coming – permeates all of nature on the northern half of Earth’s globe.
Notice the arc of the sun across the sky each day. You’ll find that it’s shifting toward the north. Responding to the change in daylight, birds and butterflies are migrating back northward, too, along with the path of the sun.
The longer days do bring with them warmer weather. People are leaving their winter coats at home. Trees are budding, and plants are beginning a new cycle of growth. In many places, spring flowers are beginning to bloom.
Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and nights longer. A chill is in the air. Fall is here, and winter is coming.
Off to the local botanical garden for a stroll and the last day of the winter farmer’s market. Starting to plan out how I will use my containers this year. My chives are already coming up in full force.
I lived in the San Diego area for two years; I totally get it. However, I truly LOVE having Four Seasons. Hard for a Midwestern Gal to lose that feeling.
Beau’s brother is a retired AF Pilot; they’ve lived in San Diego proper for 30+ years. His only complaint is that he can’t grow decent tomatoes with the weather always being 72 and Sunny. Maybe he just has a micro-climate where he is, though tomatoes DO like a lot of HEAT.
Long story short, I have some pepper plants growing indoors. They are beginning to blossom. Any tips on getting these pollinated? I am putting the plants outside on sunny days, but we’ve had a lot of rainy ones and I am getting a ton of flowers.
My chives are up, too. I need to rake them out and put some in an Omelette for Brunch. :)
Have fun at the market; report back with your fabulous finds! :)
Just take a Q-tip swab and once the blooms are completely open and you can see pollen, move the pollen from flower to flower, just like a Bee or other insect would do.
Not sure if you need to keep each plant to itself or if you can cross pollinate, or what. I’m sure Ellendra knows.
Okay, silly question here...
Every year we get a little pot of shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day. I usually keep them as an indoor plant for a few months but they get kind of sparse and spraddly after a while and then they go bye-bye.
I’d like to plant them outside but googling advice talks about “outdoor” shamrocks and I’m not sure if these little guys are that variety. There’s no Latin nomenclature on the tag. They are the smaller type with about 1/4” leaves - not the kind with almost triangular 1/2” leaves - if that makes sense
I suppose I could just plant them when it gets warmer and hope for the best (we are in Zone 7) but I was wondering if anyone here has had any luck (ha ha) with planting them outside?
Grow zone 7 put some broccoli and pea seedlings in last week. Cold but doing well. I have many more in the green house doing very well. Green house is full of Broccoli, onion, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, cantaloupe, bean, tomato and pepper seedlings on the flower side i have sunflowers, daisies, poppies, pansies from the pods of my plants, columbine. pimpernell, carnations. i transplanted some tulips from the back tot he front garden and they seem to be doing well. good year for tulips the bulbs have expanded a lot in the last two years. our weather here in PA has been excellent for the last two years. Mild winters not excessive rain in the spring and mild summer. I think three year and four years ago we had rain every day for 3 months. I didn’t put my tomatoes in until mid may. The lime tree has many blossums and hopefully many will fuit this year one already about dime size. Two of the four lemons harvested were excellent. and Blossoms now on the lemon tree as well. Get a green house. It is 52 outside and 92 in the green house. Going out to get a suntan.
The only type of tomatoes I’ve had any luck with are cherry tomatoes - which come up often as volunteers and are super sweet. My brother has good luck with heritage tomatoes, he is a super gardener and uses raised beds - does soil amendments, etc., IOW, a lot of work.
,
My uncle gave up trying to grow large tomatoes in the Santa Barbara area - he always thought it was from a lack of humidity that tomatoes don’t do well in this area.
Happy Spring!
You can try it but they will just be a one-and-done annual, unless you dig them up and bring them in before a frost/freeze.
Also, they’re ‘clover’ so they can become invasive if you plant them directly in the ground. Think of all the ‘clover’ probably already in your lawn. If you or your spouse are crazy about a well-kept lawn, I’d avoid it.
Third, they’re toxic if eaten, so if you have pets that eat them, that would be a bad thing. :(
Me? I’d just enjoy them as a houseplant and toss when they poop out, or follow instructions to revive them the following year. They’ll last a couple of years with proper care:
https://www.gardenguides.com/115427-there-way-revive-dying-shamrock-plant.html
LOL!
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.