Posted on 07/03/2021 6:08:03 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!
I’m sure it’s the heat. I had two planters in a sunny spot with Pansies in them and I pulled and composted them the other day and replaced them with ‘Fireball’ Marigolds.
However the big planter of Pansies and Sweet Peas that are pretty much shaded are still blooming and going strong.
So, again, I’d say the heat got to them.
If you have a shady spot to keep them, and can stand looking at them in their weakened state, let them rest for the remainder of the summer (water as needed) and then fertilize at the end of summer and they’ll probably bloom again for you in the fall.
Fall Pansies are getting to be THE THING in my neck of the woods. I, personally, think they are a SPRING THING and look SILLY with all of my Fall Decor. But, people like happy-faced little Pansies year-round, so I get it. ;)
If you live in a colder climate like I do (Zone 4/5), it’s time to start thinking about Fall Crops, already! I found this handy-dandy list on the Johnny’s site.
Vegetable Crops & Their Succession-Planting Intervals
I really only have half of a bed that held Broccoli, so I’m just going to plant beets and radishes in there, now. When my Bush Beans are done, I’ll do something else in that bed, which will be about 3/4 empty - the Pole Beans on one end keep going late into summer.
Anyhow, hope this helps some of you to make the best of your Victory Garden this season! :)
I believe you are right and after I wrote I moved them on the same deck but to a place where they get more shade. We are in a heat spell right now, When the sun finally hit them in the afternoon I took an umbrella out to shade them. I would like to save them. While you are giving advice :) is there a way to eliminate the black spot fungus from our soil? Hubby is pulling leaves and even some branches on the tomatoes. It’s not nearly as bad as one year many years ago that almost all the foliage got it. We still good tomatoes. I am just wondering if we can get rid of it for good. I’ve seen that there are fungicides out there for the plants but I am concerned about the soil.
The only way to help your soil with fungal issues is to leave the area empty, cover it with black plastic and let it ‘cook’ for a season or two.
HOWEVER - you’re going to kill all of the beneficial ‘stuff’ in your soil by doing that, too - and that’s hard to get back - though it will come after a few seasons, but then you’ll be back to fungal issues again. You can’t win, LOL!
I would stick with a thick layer of mulch, making sure the beds aren’t too sloppy-wet, pruning your tomatoes up from the bottom even BEFORE you see disease issues, water plants at the base (no over-head sprinklers) and use a copper spray (it’s organic - we all have copper in us - follow application directions on the bottle) throughout the season.
Now that my tomatoes have set fruit, I will be giving the bottom 1/3 of the plants a spray with copper. We’re having a relatively dry season, so my tomato plants look fantastic. However, if we suddenly have a wet remainder of the season, all bets are off. :(
Thank you for all that great info. We had to order the copper spray as it is not sold in Michigan - got it at Walmart.com.
It should be here in a couple of days. We will definitely follow your advice next year about cutting the lower branches off and mulching we can do all that when we plant next year. Would be kind of hard to do the mulching this year. Hubby has been getting rid of lower branches and anything spotted so far and there is far better air circulation through the plants, and easier to see all the nice green tomatoes we have.
Having some iced tea now, then on to do dog/mule/steer/raccoon chores before the rain hits around 5pm. (Hope Springs Eternal!)
Wish I could help you with the mule chores!
With the return of warmer weather, the garden is improving. Tomato plant is getting bigger, tuberous begonias poking through the soil, coleus is flowering, and a couple of calladiums poking through the soil! In the house, tuberous begonias sending up strong shoots as well. Pulling up spent pansies. There are still pansy flowers on the remaining plants. Hope you had a safe and Happy 4th of July.
I just hauled my new refrigerator up my steps onto front porch only to find it would not fit through the door still boxed up.
Pulled the front door off the frame....still was 1/2 too wide....unboxed it and it made it thru with 1/3 inch to spare on either side.
So glad I didn’t have to pull it through a Flippin window frame.
It was listed as 3/4 of an inch too tall for the opening in the kitchen but O was counting on the leveling feet being able to be adjusted lower.....the b!÷( was too tall at 1st.
I called her names, spoke sweetly to her, and may have warned her about her feet getting cut off with a sawzall if she didn’t cooperate.
A few turns of the wrench and she made it in with a 1/4 inch to spare on top.
Lots of room for ventilation around the sides so no problem there but it did take a few minutes to figure out what her love language was before she would cooperate.
“Hope you had a safe and Happy 4th of July.”
Thanks! Pretty low-key. Had a BBQ with a few family members on Saturday, then Saturday night watched fireworks on ‘the big hill’ with neighbors - we can see four different community fireworks displays from up there - though the Ground Show leaves a lot to be desired, LOL!
Still waiting on rain, but I’ve been watering, weeding and fertilizing, so my garden is Happy, Happy. :)
Congrats on a new fridge! Nothin’ prettier other than a speckled pup, IMHO. ;)
Pretty sure the ‘Love Language’ of a fridge is always, “FEED ME!”
Well, mine always says, “CLEAN ME” but that’s a story for another day. ;)
OK - today! When I first moved here to Beau’s farm, he had been ‘batchin’ it for a good 5 years since his wife passed. I would come to visit, but I was NOT going to clean the house (other than the bathroom - ICK! and of course clean sheets on the bed - I mean, I AM a girl) because, you know, it wasn’t MY house yet and no offers had been negotiated at the time. ;) And, I had my OWN house to clean, d@mmit!
SO - After I moved in (after dating 5 years and getting everything I wanted in writing - I know - HOW ROMANTIC) I tackled cleaning. And the WORST, BY FAR was the kitchen fridge which looked like a slaughterhouse! Good Gawd, Man! HAD this been cleaned in the past 5 years? Ugh!
But - I got a new fridge out of it shortly after I convinced Beau how UNSANITARY it was - and it WAS 30 years old on top of it. I can usually get him in the pocketbook and that old fridge was an Energy Hog. ;)
Method? Meet Madness! :)
Hahaha....now I have a desire to hear what was “in writing”
Blooming lovely! Firefighter who spent four years transforming his tiny concrete patio into a tropical oasis for his wife is named B&Q Gardener of the Year
Gary McLaughlan, 44, from Sunderland, spent four years transforming his tiny patio into green oasis
Garden measures just 4.5 x 3.5m but features vertical irrigated plant walls and an ornamental fishpond
Has been named the first ever B&Q Gardener of the Year and awarded £10,000 in prize money
The firefighter revealed he was ‘new to gardening’ but wanted to create a space for his wife Lindsay
[many lovely garden pictures]
“...what was in writing...”
Just standard boilerplate stuff in his will. And mine too, of course! ;)
I was not selling all of my worldly possessions, leaving my established gardens, orchard and greenhouse behind, and move to the middle of NOWHERE unless I was protected, financially.
And, he built a HUGE raised garden bed area for me, and we built a new greenhouse. And he lets me add whatever fruit or flower strikes my fancy. Even roses - which he hates due to the massive amounts of wild roses he has to mow out of the pastures all the time, LOL! :)
Not quite sure what HE gets out of the deal. ;)
Oh, that’s right - FOOD 24/7, (he’s a big guy!), to include a fresh pie once a week, housekeeping and landscaping, help with butchering & cleaning fish, lawn care, someone to boss around on home improvement projects who doesn’t sass back (much!) and someone to ‘hold down the fort’ and care for all the dogs and other critters when he goes off to Alaska or Texas, or Wyoming or Colorado or Canada or Up Nort’ to hunt and fish. He’s the busiest Retired Guy you’d ever want to meet! :)
10 years in; so far, so good! :)
Wow thanks for posting. Watched the video very creative and what a transformation!
That’s a good deal.....ya gotta get it written down otherwise ya end up writing songs like “...I never promised you a rose garden.”
I forgot to add.....the bride and ai just hit 29 yrs last month (not counting courtship years)
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.