Posted on 04/01/2024 6:23:19 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a 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 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/removed from our New & Improved Ping List.
NOTE: This is a once a MONTH Ping List, but we DO post to the thread all throughout the month. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time!
bkmk
Yes, it will be about 6 weeks before planting most crops here.
Anyone ever try this?:
The grass has been mowed and several more dead trees have been chopped down, cut up into smaller pieces, and shoved off into the sippy hole. This one was a whopper and I'm happy to be rid of it.
Main tasks for this week are to put down on paper how I'm going to lay out the beds in the new garden and to set the posts that will support the new hoop house. I hooked the post hole digger up to Mr. Clarence yesterday but with all of the chainsaw time I decided to give my bones a couple days to recover before I start setting fence posts.
That and it's time to get serious about looking for morels.
I did thst last summer...had some success...didnt monitor it well...I have found baby bok choy grows really well from the base...then transfer to garden bed.
Besides the pretty daffodils, I think I see columbine and maybe Bachelor buttons beginning to sprout. Also some wild strawberries.
We were in the Bay Area a week ago, and I just love to see the different vegetation than what we have here in central Indiana. The succulents grow so large there!
The tulips I planted last fall are beginning to open, which is wonderful. That is, the ones that the bunnies didn’t destroy.
I’m battling a head cold from being around toddlers, so taking it easy for a few days.
I love seeing your photos. Thanks for posting them!
It can take some practice to learn when bok choy should be planted in order to avoid setting seed in its first season. This vegetable will bolt (send up flower stalks) if the weather is too warm, but paradoxically it can also bolt if exposed to temperatures below 50 degrees when it is young.
Bok choy grows as an annual in every hardiness zone in the U.S. It does best in cooler weather; Dry and hot conditions can cause bok choy to bolt prematurely.
Not sure what I got myself into with this bok choy thing. Article on The Spruce mentions the word 'bolt', 11 times.
May bolt when young due to cold? LOL Hopefully that one night it went below 50 in the seed room won't be a problem. Nor the day it hit 85.
Tatsoi, which I'm also growing, has the same tendency to bolt when cold or hot and dry, yet doesn't like soggy soil either. Seems like they're a good greenhouse/tunnel thing, especially in the Fall.
Did not get frame 7 of 7 up yet. Not laziness. Didn't have much wind so we raked/burned and did general Spring cleaning because the mess/clutter is driving me crazy. Yesterday afternoon when the wind picked up, we started loading the trailer for the dump run.
90% chance of thunderstorms tonight so I'll get the Choy and Tatsoi planted out tomorrow afternoon and give them a little wind block since the first half of the week is windy. They're going in the existing raised bed I use for peppers last year that has store bought raised bed soil and I'll freshen it up with fish emulsion, and naturally, some goat manure. Kinda late for lime so I'll add some ashes today so it can get watered in tonight.
The same can be done with it, even store bought. As opposed to cut and come again greens where you harvest leaves/stalks and it grows more, they're cut/harvest with base intact, re-root the base and plant again.
Good info.!
Does that source state what the likely reduction in viability is after, say, 4 years for tomato seeds in good storage conditions? I’d think it’d be at least 50%.
All the sources I’ve seen say it’s all about storage conditions. Under 50 degrees, steady 40% humidity. None go into specifics about reduced viability over time.
https://www.highmowingseeds.com/blog/seed-viability-chart/
I did read an article that said the older seeds can make for weaker plants. The way I figure, if they’re at their limit, do 2-3 seeds per hole and snip down to the best.
That one that has leaves like columbine could be meadow rue instead. I get them mixed up sometimes until they bloom.
good afternoon, thx for the ping!
Those are daffodils in the back? All I knew is that they keep coming back, even in early spring snow, praise God, though they do not show flowers for long.
As for the others, I looked at posts from last year for the mystery flowers I planted from seed and the guess was Gloriosa or Rudebeckia daisies 
The yellow flowers in your photo on post 12 look like daffodils to me. Or maybe jonquils if they’re not very big.
Our daffodils have been opened for 2-3 weeks now. Some are later blooming and are just opening around here.
The photo at right looks like Rudbeckia daisies to me.
Thanks - did you go to Queen Wilhelmia’s Garden in Golden Gate Park? There is always a fabulous display of tulips there this time of year - sent straight from Holland - it’s next to one of the windmills.
I can’t grow tulips in So Cal, our climate is not suited for them - I have a dear friend that tries to grow them every year - puts them in her refrigerator for six weeks but they still don’t do well. I told her to stick to bulbs that grow well here - daffodils, gladiolas, irises.
I also cannot grow rhododendrons, and I have tried - they are spectacular in San Francisco area so I will have to enjoy them there. San Francisco is also very bee wary, have replaced a lot of their vegetation with bee friendly plants - the hives are on top of the buildings and the honey is sold to the public - my daughter worked in a building with bee hives on the roof and was gifted some of the honey.
Good to know. Ever done celery? How about hardy Swiss Chard?
Thank you for the kind words. It makes all the hard work I do in my gardens worth it.
We’ve had a lot of weeds this year from all the rain so I am battling that - for every weed I pull up, five spring up to take its place! I think I’m losing the battle...
No we didn’t. We were busy with our toddler and 6 week old grandsons while we visited, so spent more time wiping runny noses and snuggling newborns than getting out and about. Our grandson did celebrate his third birthday party at the Marin Children’s Discovery Museum that had a lovely view of the Golden Gate Bridge. It poured for about 30 minutes, but otherwise, it was a spectacular time. Those kids had so much fun running around and exploring, having lemonade, pizza, and cupcakes.
We don’t have any rhododendrons in this yard, but we tried one a few years ago. Must’ve been the wrong spot. At one of our previous homes, we had several, and they were beautiful major components of our landscape.
Never tried growing celery because I read a long time ago that it takes more energy to eat it than you get from it. Not sure how true that is. Tried Chard one year but it doesn’t like the low pH soil here that I’ve yet to amend with lime. In fact, I’ve never resprouted/rerooted anything but a tomato branch.
I might not have much luck with the Choy once they make it out into the real soil but I’m going to keep throwing things at it to see what sticks. Mustard, collard and many of the leaf lettuces did fine a couple of years ago. Head lettuce and most other brassica, not so much. The brassica or brassicaceae family is huge and varies though.
I do plan to lime but need to get a soil test done now that it’s come way down in price at the AG extensions here. Even then, it needs a few months to take effect but then lasts for three years.
Meanwhile, I’m learning what I can grow here with minimal commercial inputs and will keep throwing things at a non limed spot.
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.