Posted on 04/18/2008 8:31:09 AM PDT by Gabz
Not sure about feeding. I think when danger of frost is past so that the frost doesn’t get tender new growth.
They should be fertilized when they first start showing buds in early spring. Unless they are showing problems they may not need fertilized at all, just adding some compost around the plant would probably be sufficient. Azaelas are not heavy feeders like roses.
“Any good info on growing blueberries in the midwest because the ones I put out last year don’t look healthy”
Well first year isn’t very successful anyway. If they are still alive this year then you did way good. Pat on the back. My hunch is that they will be better this year.
nothing else is blooming tho and even the buds on the trees have been slow in developing due to the cold weather we've been having........
Ah, thanks then. That makes it a bit easier.
Pruning azaleas should be a mortal sin, IMO.
OTOH...NOT pruning forsythia should be too! LOL!
I normally wouldn’t prune them, but I’m trying to help them recover from when the previous (idiot) owners pruned them like boxwoods. That and they fact that they’re growing onto the deck.
But I won’t prune the forsythia. I’ve got it along the woods in the back. The larger and more unruly the better.
An apartment complex nearby has a 90 feet long forsythina neatly trimmed as a hedge row. When the dark mulch is put down, the contrast of the green grass, the mulch and the yellow bloom is very striking.
Every year, it reminds me of Catherine Hepburn in On Golden Pond saying in that shaky unsteady voice of hers...."The forsythias are in bloom!"
Oh...maybe so. These are pretty young.
I just don’t care for the manicured look. I like them wild and out of control-ish.
The fig tree cutting that Garden Girl sent me arrived this morning! It is a beautiful cutting about 1 foot tall with a small root ball that was still nice and moist. It has three small but well developed newly green branches each with some beautiful leaves. The leaves looked great. I never expected such a nicely developped cutting! You should have seen the "WOW SMILE" on my face when I saw it.
It was planted in about 15 min. after receving it. I wanted to get it planted before the rains get here this afternoon!
She also sent me the April 2008 issue of the paper, "Newport Voice", where her monthly gardening colum "In The Garden" appears.
Thank you very much Garden Girl. And Gabz thank you for taking the time to do this Weekly Gardening thread.
My tomatoes are out in the garden and three of them are flowering. They are only about a foot tall. Should I let them just bloom or should I nip them in the bud untill the plant gets bigger?
Home grown tomatoes. Yum.
We used to use plastic or canvas and “build” a shield around citrus and other fruit trees. Use rebar or something to drive into the ground and then attach a 2X2 or PVC pipe and make a frame for the shield.
If the temps will be in the low 20 range, and additional blanket (or a light bulb on the inside of the enclosure if it is close to an outlet) helps to keep them from freezing. All you need to do is raise the temps to 32 or more.
We have over 30 tomato (and some patios in pots) plants in the garden. Some have golf ball sized fruit already. I planted about 25 seeds in a bucket thinking maybe 1/2 would come up, and every one came up. I gave several of those away to my neighbor.
Of course, we bought the patio tomato plants. Then the wife ordered some heirloom plants and we got a double shipment. That was another 20 or so plants. Cucumber plants have runners starting, strawberries are yummy already and pepper plants are going crazy.
I was really wanting to do straw bale gardening this year. It seems like an easy way to expand without more raised beds or renting/buying a tiller. It would also be a fun experiment. This is one thing my DH is opposed to, as he thinks it will look bad/messy, especially as the summer goes on. I don’t think it would look bad, but I’ve never done it, so I can’t say. Even if it does look bad, oh well, it’s the back yard. If he doesn’t want the bales, I guess he’ll just have to help me with tilling or raised beds :)
My tulips are blooming and looking really nice ... not much else blooming just yet, although pansies from last year looking great.
Oops, forgot to ask if there was any particular pesticide you (or anyone else) can recommend for squash plants. I had problems with insects with several squash plants last year.
I thought about buying a natural spray with neem oil, but don’t know its effectiveness. I would rather not do tons of chemicals, but some chemicals is better than no squash, so I’m open to recommendations.
Wow, I have 3 peony seedlings coming up. They’re volunteers. I never thought of trying to get them to germinate. I’ll have to try this yer. Deer don’t bother them so they’re a good thing.
Here is a organic tip for a slug and snail deterrent for emerging plants. I bought a large bag of crushed oyster shells at the big feed store here and spread a thick layer around the plant. It's long lasting and rain does not affect it here plus it adds lime to our acidic soil.
Thanks for the tip - I have the material for that and will get cracking. If your screen name indicates your birth year, it’s the same as mine.
If the plants are too tall, you may want to make sure as few of the tender growth is tied away from the cover. If you have a fireplace, one more thing you can do is to put hot coals into a METAL bucket and put that under the cover as well. Just make sure ashes cover the coals.
And yes, that is my birth year.
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