The Garden Thread - May, 2025

May 1, 2025 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[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.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

M.M. I need to follow your lead and get some rosemary plants and divide them. So far all of my cuttings so far have died moldy deaths. I did manage to to get one lavender plant to grow last year. (I Started out with about 15 tiny plants and they all dwindled down to that last survivor. Its still alive and growing on the edge of what passes for my "floral border". (Its a Lavender "wasteland" that can handle the KS heat.)

I have lots of thyme, 3 or four types, all started with potted plants. They seems to like my rock garden and send roots under the rocks. I can replant plugs out to the garden.

I do seem to be able to grow basil. I have a number of in pots on the back porch. (I like the Prospera varieties from Johnnies.)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

So far all of my cuttings so far have died moldy deaths. = So far all of my cuttings have died moldy deaths.

[numberonepal]

...would it grow in your coral sand?

Yes, it will grow in the sand dirt amended with compost. I had one but the Helene surge killed it. It doesn't like salt water (not much does). The ole mini-hothouse is a good method for germinating lots of "stone fruit", although some stone fruit, like peaches, requires a cold stratification. The easiest to germinate in my experience is mango seeds. Clean all the fruity fiber off the pit with the back side of a butter knife. Let that dry for about a week. Cut the pit down the seam with some scissors and extract the seed. Stick that in the dirt and keep it moist and you'll have a baby mango in no time. Pro tip: foreign imported fruit seeds will NOT germinate because they've been irradiated.

[metmom]

I tried rosemary earlier and it all died.

Rosemary likes drier conditions as does lavender. I’m trying the cuttings again, using rooting hormone, and trying to not overwater them.

Speaking of water, last year we were so stinking dry. This spring, especially this week, we’ve had so much rain that the low spots in my garden are actually swampy. I had to rescue some potatoes I planted so they didn’t rot. They are getting good roots but are up a little higher in the soil and I’ll just leave them there and pile more soil on top of that in case we have a wet year.

My raised beds are looking better and better all the time as part of my garden just gets too wet sometimes. And here it is, downpouring AGAIN.

[daniel1212]

The thing I think I miss the most about Upstate NY, is the agriculture. The soil we had in our Finger Lakes town was like garden show soil with some rocks, but not a lot. Here we have either sand and rock or clay and rocks. We’re not The Granite State for nothing.

Yes, our best crop here in MA is also stone and rock. Thus NE used to have a lot of stone walls. I have screened a lot of soil, and "harvested" a lot of rock, but the same area still has many the next year. But in reality, thank God for the use of such and the soil that still produces much, versus clay, and the exercise it gives us in working with it.

Homemade frame with 1/2'' screen. Soil that is screened feels like silk, with a few small stones.

Meanwhile, the garden plot that looked as this pics shows from -5-1-25,

saw 2 days of planting seedlings 5-3,4 and looks as this shows today:

glory to God.

[Augie]

The grey/red tractor is a Ford 860. My GrandPap bought it new in 1957. After he died in January of 1982 all of the farm equipment went to auction. One of our neighbors bought the tractor. 42 years later, after the neighbor died, his son offered to sell it back. My response was ‘tell me where to show up, when to be there, and how much cash to bring.’

The little pond in the back is my bait pond. I keep bluegills and crayfish down there. Makes it super easy to collect bait for a trip to the river. The perch live in my front yard pond but I hardly ever see them.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I took two sturdy cuttings of Rosemary in the Fall and just kept them in a jar of water (changed every week) in a sunny window all winter; they rooted beautifully.

Just potted them up the other day. They seem to be doing well, so far.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Hurray! Hurray! It's Straw Bale Day! Junior Farmer Ryan delivered my 5 bales of straw for mulching in the garden. It's part of the deal with our land renters that I get all the straw I want (I will get a few more bales come Fall) and we also get a few of the big round bales of hay for Ithaca and the current Steer each winter season before they go on pasture for the rest of the year.

Now I'm 100% MOTIVATED to get all the beds ready to go; I clean them up and do any weeding, and then layer them with fresh straw. When I an ready to plant, I just pull if back, plant and re-cover. I have one bed I had to blast with Round-Up. It is FULL of BINDWEED! Ugh! But, that'll all be gone before that bed gets planted, and I'm just doing flowers there, nothing edible. Sometimes you have to use drastic measures when you're up against bindweed.

Yesterday we got another 10 crowns of asparagus planted - part of my bed was looking really weak, so I'm beefing it up with the, 'Jersey Supreme' variety. Hoping it takes off again. Sure do MISS my 40' row of Asparagus at the other farm. I should've doubled the price of the place based upon that alone, LOL!

We've got an excellent string of weather all week, so I'll be hitting her hard. Mom and a family friend want to come out and help me plant, so that will be helpful and appreciated. I want to have everything 'ready to receive' for them. I've got all of my porch pots planted and planted a big container with herbs, today. Grass is growing faster than fast, so more mowing by the end of the week. BTW - it hit 75 today...and is 110 in the greenhouse! You can see why its not very useful much past May - until Fall again. I've already watered twice, today. Still waiting on Nasturtium to germinate, but I see ONE little shoot poking her head up, so there's HOPE!

I didn't post about it here, but one of our hunting dogs, Shasta, took off on Saturday and we spent HOURS looking for her, contacted everyone in the area, ran FB Ads, called the Humane Society, etc. She had her collar and dog tags on with our phone number right on the metal tag on her collar. We had a neighbor let us know that he 'heard her' on Saturday evening, but it was beyond his property.

So after a lot of tears, anguish, worry, sleeplessness, etc. we FINALLY got her back, today! She was holed up with the NUNS at a new Monastery that was built in the area! They practice life with NO technology, but they DO have a land line for emergencies and called the Sheriff TODAY - FOUR DAYS LATER! They also cut her EXPENSIVE collar OFF of her for some reason. *Rolleyes* Anyway, Shasta is home, safe and sound. She's the one we loaned out to a friend all winter to hunt Bobcat. I spent ALL WINTER worrying that she would get hurt or killed this winter, and now she pulls this stunt. She is on Double Secret Probation for the next YEAR!Shasta is the English Hound on the right. Buddy Fremont on the left.

They are from two different breeders and Fremont is a number of weeks younger than Shasta, but they were raised together. (That's just where they napped - they weren't confined to a box, LOL!)

[MomwithHope]

Guessing it was Our Lady of the Valley monastery east of you. Thought maybe it was the one in New Franken, founded by our nearby Sisters just north of us that we are so close to. They have a Anatolian Shepherd who is a great guard dog for them.
I envy them their life and help out whenever we can.

[Liz]

Honey Glazed Roasted Rosemary Carrots
Tender, roasted carrots drizzled w/ sweet honey glaze; delicious dish will be your go-to side.

Ing 1 lb carrots 3 tbl ol/oil 2 tbl ea fresh rosemary, honey

Instructions Toss peeled carrots, oil, add dash s/p. Place in baking dish, sprinkle w/ chp fresh rosemary leaves. Roast 375 deg 30 min, then drizzle w/ honey. Toss well, then roast fork tender 20 min.

[MomwithHope]

Love me some roasted carrots, will try this.

[MomwithHope]

Ah, nice to hear. Its great stuff.

[Liz]

Simple preparation......memorable taste.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I finally have an, ‘IN!’ We didn’t get invited to their Open House last year. :(

Yes, it is, ‘Our Lady of the Valley.’ The building is just BREATHTAKING! Beau is going to call the Sheriff tomorrow to see what is appropriate for us to do for them to thank them for caring for our lost dog.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Wait. It’s, ‘Valley of Our Lady’

https://build.valleyofourlady.org/news/

Nice digs! ;)

We watched the construction from afar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU4vlLWvkes

One of the ‘Dead End Roads’ we traveled, looking for our dog all this week, had a spectacular view of the whole place. Last summer we drove down in while it was under construction. Beau just HAD to see it, being a ‘builder’ all of his working life.

Shasta was very LUCKY to end up there with the Sisters. We weren’t worried about her getting hit on the road - traffic is SO LIGHT all around us, and field planting isn’t at 100%, yet. We were more concerned that she chased something into a hole or brush pile and was stuck there and couldn’t get out.

But, we had a Positive Outcome! Yay! God’s Hand and all that. (Yeah - I know He has MUCH better things to do than to protect my dog, but still...) :)

[FamiliarFace]

I’m so glad you got Shasta back! I’m sure it was an ordeal for her, too. She looks so relieved in the napping photo.

[MomwithHope]

I can tell you from over 30 years of knowing our Sisters. They won’t ask for anything. Friends of our Sisters bring them foodstuffs, garden produce, flower flats. One year they had so many flower flats donated the begged us to take 4 flats off their hands after driving some to the doctor. They love prayer requests. You could mail them a nice note maybe a donation and a current pic of the doggo. Doing well that will make them happy. Cut flowers for their chapel would be a nice gift. I am only suggesting because the sherrif probably not get much out of them. Tim has cut down some trees for them behind the walls. And been a pallbearer. They will have their own cemetery. Since 1990 we have driven the. To the doctor, dentist. Some monasteries have an extern or two who will answer the door. You’ll figure it out.

[MomwithHope]

Sorry about the dyslexic use of their name yes that is what I meant. I just googled who was close to you.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I didn’t mean to correct you, MWH - I wasn’t sure of the correct name either. ;)

But now we know! I cannot WAIT to get some good sleep tonight with My Girl home again. *HAPPY SLEEP*

Shasta is an amazing bear dog and has proven she’s good on Bobcats, too. She’s more than likely on our future breeding schedule. She’s 4 years old, now. BUT we are FULL UP with dogs, now. FULL UP!

But, she’s got a great back-story to tell future puppy owners, for sure. Who wouldn’t want to own a pup from a Mama Dog cared for by Nuns? LOL!

[MomwithHope]

Our Sisters spoil their dog. He is very watchful over them.