The Garden Thread - June, 2025

June 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.

[metmom]

Ooops. Castings.

[Paul R.]

Yeah, my mistake: It’s “castings”. (eye roll)

I should try mixing some from a 5 gal bucket I use to put worms in with some moist leaves our chickens have shredded up. If the worms, esp. jumpers, are in there for long, you end up with nothing but castings and maybe the last couple worms, dead & rotting. Mix that with peat or shredded leaves from trees that don’t produce juglone, and a bit of river sand (free for me, 5 gal bucket-at-a-time, if I want to drive over there). I’d think that would make very “nutritious” garden soil.

[Pollard]

P is the lowest of the NPK for goat manure, (approx 0.7 - 0.3 - 0.9) so some bloom booster probably wouldn't hurt.

In the future, I'll have to start using a little bone meal along with a bunch goat manure when readying beds. Ought to give me a good balance.

Sun should be out any time now, yep, sure thing, any time now.

Like Paul R, I got woken up by a thunder storm. Sounded like a half stick of dynamite going off right above the house at 2:20am. I started some coffee and laid back down until 3am.

Think I'll set up the rain bucket today. Anything to help make it stop raining. Would have been a good Spring to record the insane amount of rain we've had.

Reconfigured my drip lines again and managed to do a single line down both new beds where bean/melon seeds are sown. Once the 50' roll of drip line comes in, I'll turn those single lines into double.

I set up a drip schedule for 10 minutes run time at 8am, noon, 4pm and 8pm too keep those seeds moist. The bands where the seeds are were nice and moist this morning but not sopping wet. Will monitor today. I have shut off valves for each leg and have the double line to the established plants shut off because ... they don't need any water for a while - oops.

Didn't set a timer, clicked the On button and told myself I'd turn it back off in 45 minutes.... 24 hours and 240 gallons later.... pump still running .... I removed the On button and added the Pulse button and the pulse timer is now set for 45 minutes.(then I went and got more water) Now if I want to water on the fly, I can just hit Pulse. Something I just hadn't set up yet since moving the gadgets from the house to tunnel.

I decided I'm definitely building a shed against the NW end of the tunnel. Sat in the tunnel yesterday in full sun and decided I want some shade where I can sit and still be right there. Needs to fit my little tractor, a potting bench and this will end up in it. Gasket, some shelves and maybe a fresh coat of paint.

Circa 1949 - [Made Only by General Motors]. Being a Chevy/GMC fan, I had to save it from the dump about 35 years ago. Beer fridge was the plan but 35 years later, some gasket/paint/shelves seems more doable than transplanting modern fridge components into it.

The fridge will be something to keep all my electrical components and tunnel PC in and use for storage for tools, drip stuff etc. I'm sick of walking back and forth from shed to tunnel and this will solve most of that. If I want cold beer down there, I've got a little cooler and blue freeze packs.

[Pollard]

Putting electricity to the ground bring worms to the surface. Search for Worm Shocker or Worm Tazer.

Zap em to bring them up and then fry them with the flamer.

[Augie]

We got another 3/10” rain yesterday. Forecast for the coming week is seasonable temps and no rain.

With a little good luck I might get the cages up around my tomato plants.

I got my basil starts transplanted into a raised bed in between rain showers yesterday evening.

I’ve got a bumper crop of baby crabgrass in the garden to get rid of and the house yard needs to be mowed again, but I need to hit the Kubota store today and pick up a new fuel pump for the mower before I can do that. Oh joy.

Nephew had a Basset Hound. Ridiculously stubborn is an understatement. That dog did what she wanted to do, when she wanted to do it, and she didn’t much care whether any human approved or not. She was an absolute Houdini - there was no leash/harness/chain combo that she couldn’t escape. He finally gave up trying. Turned out it wasn’t a problem when she was outdoors because she was too lazy to run off.

[Pollard]

Hmmm, I wonder how moles react to electrified ground? Zap ‘em to bring them up and then shoot ‘em with a pellet gun?

Would be like the shooting game at the carnival.

[Pollard]

and by seasonable, you mean hot. I can’t complain though, last few years it hit 90s in May.

I did the Florida weave on my tomato plants yesterday. Not super impressed but it is pretty quick and keeps them out of the paths. They can still grow/lean into each other in the row to some degree. I don’t think they’ll be able to lean over and bend the stalk though and that’s the important thing.

Ah, pumping issues. Waterpump for my truck is supposed to be here today but shipping to rural MO has become less reliable and takes longer than it used to. Supposed to be Out for Delivery. I’m still not taking apart the truck until I have it in my hands, undamaged.

[metmom]

How does it affect plants and what about voles or mice?

[Qiviut]

2:00 & already under a severe thunderstorm watch with warnings to the north & south. Sun is still out which helps ‘soup up’ whatever is coming through. The wind is blowing so hard I had to close the southwest shop door because stuff was blowing off my workbench. Two lines of storms coming through - can’t wait until they’re gone!

Yesterday morning I unloaded the truck (tools, etc.) from our trip & took the time to put them away. The trailer was next & that was the rest of the morning. The afternoon was spent taking the plywood I brought from the old house & making panels to close off the parts of the trailer sides that are metal grates - mulch leaks through. I had cardboard zip tied to the sides, but the plywood fits exactly & is sturdier.

Today, I am placing landscape timbers between the barn floor (gravel) & the lean-to floor (dirt/mulch). Once that is done (depends on storm) I can start putting up boards between the two areas, then move all the stuff currently taking up parking space in the barn (shingles, pavers, bags of gravel & sand, etc) to the lean-to. I have determined UNFORTUNATELY that I need a load of gravel. I can get a half load (bobcat scoop) in the trailer no problem but then I have to shovel it. Yuck.

Harvested a dozen jalapeños & my $2.00 clearance Lantana & Calibrachoa are blooming great guns .... they look so good my mom comes out to visit them at least once a day! :-)

[Pollard]

AI said it may affect beneficial microorganisms and that some gov entities have considered banning or limiting it. Take that for what you will. Said nothing about plants and I have no idea about the four legged critters. It’s just wishful thinking on my part because I’m loaded with moles here. I would love it if I could get them to all pop their heads up.

[Qiviut]

When I was 12, dad got me a pony. We had the land but no fencing so he got the guy to keep the pony until a fence could be built. Dad worked every weekend & was digging fenceposts, maybe a half dozen, then coming back to set the posts a couple of days later. We were finding moles in just about every post hole. The holes cut through their tunnels, they fell in the holes, & at that depth/bottom of the hole it was solid clay & they couldn’t dig out. The ‘moles in holes’ is my most vivid memory of that fence project.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

F.F. Those are Fig trees in the 5 gallon pots. My forest is getting smaller, which is just as well. They are high in oxalates which can contribute to arthritis and gout. I have been giving them away here and there!

I would prefer to be in the country. Its a lot easier to do one long straight row than a small patch. The downside is that there are rabbits and deer and woodchucks and things that destroy gardens and unless you are farming 40 acres and can absorb the losses you need to fence your garden.

Animals in your garden.....In Walden Thoreau talks about finding and dispatching a woodchuck that was destroying his garden. It filled him with an animal or aboriginal joy after which he cooked and ate the dispatched tresspasser! I will leave you with this peaceful image to cleanse your mind from the actions of this wild Transcendentalist!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That is one cool fridge! I remember when I was a kid and the neighbor’s fridge had that same cool-looking handle.

Both Beau and I have ‘left the water running’ a time or two around here. Like OVERNIGHT! Ugh! I have a STRICT method I use now when I need to run water for a while for the mule to flush out his water tank. I start it, then do the dog chores and chicken chores, and the mule chores are LAST so I get back to him and remember to TURN OFF THE @#$%^&*! WATER when Ithaca gets his apple or carrot.

So, your easiest solution is... to get a Mule, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

When my Basset, ‘Sophie’s Choice Rufus’ was a puppy I kept Rufus tied to a cinder block. Even though I had my small farm, it was on a pretty busy road and I sure didn’t want him getting smooshed!

It certainly slowed him down, which was good. Ha! Slowing down a Basset Hound? That’s rich!

I’ll send you a link to The Basset Races that they have at a conventional horse track in MN, I think? Coming up maybe as soon as this weekend. It’s adorable.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Diana, Same here! That is about the only non organic fertilizer I use. (Epsom salts maybe.) Gets the tomatoes blooming, gets the figs growing as well.

I have 2 plum trees that blossomed early when there were no pollinators around. I ended up with about 20 plums. I have little coverings to put on them, but when I went to put them on I found that something had done something to them and they had congealed sap on the outside. Plum Curlio or Stink bugs, something like that. I just removed them and put them in the compost tumbler. (Figure the 110F temp should kill any pupating larvae of whatever it was.)

[MomwithHope]

.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Qiviut;

Idyllic and dramatic pictures. A very beautiful place to live! Thank you for posting!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Paul, every time you post you seem to have problems with rain or waterlogged soil! Sounds like time to grow rice!

(Thank you for the opportunity to post something about short season rice! I hope your weather gets better!)

https://greatlakesstapleseeds.com/collections/rice-cultivars-for-cold-temperate-northern-gardens

[Qiviut]

Pricey @ $1,500 & you have better things on which to spend your money, but you might ‘enjoy’ the thought of blasting tunnels .... no heads popping up necessary. :-)

https://www.varmitgetter.com/photos-videos/

[Paul R.]

Haha - yes, I've posted before that maybe I should be growing rice. The one problem is that most years, sometime in early July the spigot gets turned off. Then I get to try to keep plants with shallow roots systems (or in pots) going with "irrigation".* Right now I have a good amount of saved rain water, but, that won't last long, so, the new well pump will get a workout! I really wish the wellhouse had more room (especially height) in it. A bigger tank would mean less cycling of the pump. More cycling stresses the motor capacitor, and the pump relay, which are what usually fail first. I've modded the relay setup so the pump relay merely kicks on a heavy duty mercury wetted relay (should last almost forever), but that still leaves the motor capacitor at risk.

If I had more room in the wellhouse, I'd also consider one of those disc type irrigation filters Pollard and I were discussing, in the intake of the pump. Sediment getting in the pump and building up / hardening is what finally killed my last pump, into which I'd replaced the original motor capacitors with pricey(!) polypropylene capacitors in parallel (usually used in high end audio applications). My new pump takes even bigger capacitors - aghh - more $$$.

If I can figure out the right MOV's and other parts to use, I might be further able to suppress the turn-on / turn-off voltage spikes that kill the (stock) electrolytic capacitors, but, the mercury wetted relay on-off pump switching should help quite a bit, there... Back to the garden: This year I've been forced to not plant a lot of veggies in the garden soil, and I still have the plants in pots - a lot of which are undersized, as many are just the bottom half of 2 liter soda (etc.) bottles with drainage holes punched in them. Some are doing better than others. :-( Assuming we are past this crazy "rain every couple days" period, I can try planting them "deep" as practical for a given type plant and water them in well, then hope with "normal irrigation" that they survive the transplant... in 90+ degree afternoons. My lettuce in the basement were doing well, but now are dead or dying. I guess I should just give up on lettuce and stick with Aldi.