Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 Vol. 05 – March 05

Free Republic | 03-05-2010 | Red_Devil 232

[Red_Devil 232]

Good morning gardeners! Here in Central Mississippi spring type weather will be here soon. I can feel the warmth at the other end of the tunnel! Highs for the next week will be in the 60’s and 70’s and I will be out in the garden and yard cleaning up. I will have around two or three weeks to get the garden area in shape before any plants get transplanted into the garden. Spring officially starts March 20.

If you are just starting out gardening and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in. There are many Freepers from all over the Good Ol’ USA that are willing and eager to help.

The Weekly Gardening ping list has grown to 303 Freepers as of yesterday.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Buy a Square Foot Garden book by Mel Bartholomew at your local bookstore, or Amazon, or look up Square Foot Gardens on the Web. They have all kinds of plans there that will show you how to make U shaped wire mesh boxes to cover your seedlings and protect them from nibbling varmints. (2 U shaped boxes placed cross-wise with each other makes a little wire crate which then goes upside down over your baby plants.) A further advantage is that you can then drape cloth over the boxes to protect from late frosts, or to provide a little shade for tender lettuces. Pop the box over the new seedlings and it should discourage anything short of a raccoon who could lift it right off. But, I don’t think raccons like vegetables anyway. You probably are thinking of rabbits, voles, and woodchucks.

[afraidfortherepublic]

... a Hula Hoe will take care of...

Invented in my home town -- Fresno. Didn't know anyone knew what a hula hoe was anymore. It was a great invention for its day. I still have my original one from over 50 years ago. Handle broke off, so my husband shortened it and I use it like I would use a hand trowel. I have a newer one with a long handle too. :)

[tubebender]

I have had a Hula Hoe for close to 50 years and I shortened the handle a few years when I bought another at a yard sale. I was born and raised in western FResno county many garden seasons ago...

[Arrowhead1952]

Almost all arrowheads have a twist built into the chipped part, where as spear heads don’t.

[stefanbatory]

I have no grow lights nor money to purchase any right now as the budget is rather tight, but I did put a lamp next to them and also placed them by a south facing window this morning. For extra measure, I left the dining room light on above them...

[ErnBatavia]

so I am looking into constructing a couple of raised beds.

Last summer, for the heck of it and due to laziness, I took some large rubbermaid storage tubs and drilled a few drain holes in 'em.

So far, so good...tomatoes, cabbage and lettuce.

[4everontheRight]

Good morning all -
I have a few things I would like to throw out this morning. First, thank you for adding me to this thread. I appreciate the ping!

Next, I have been seeing Robins for about two weeks now here in the upstate of SC. The ground has been full of worms because they are getting nice and plump! :)

Third, I am trying for the first time this year, to grow some things from seeds. For the past 3 -5 years I have grown a little garden in containers - tomatoes, hot peppers. Not much else because I am not too "garden smart" as I like to say. I have 5 dogs and must have my crops in containers otherwise the dogs will dig at the fresh tilled dirt, etc. So I grow all my things up on my deck in containers. This year I bought the following seeds: big boy hybrid tomato, jet start hybrid tomato, long thin cayenne peppers, rosemary, plus a bluebird forget me knot packet of seeds and a foxglove pack of seeds. So......I am looking for all and any advice of my first experience with growing from seed!! Is it wise to try to dampen the seeds in paper towels - seems to me I remember that from elementary school....a few years back but I sure would appreciate any thoughts, etc. Again, thanks for adding me on!!

[afraidfortherepublic]

I have no grow lights nor money to purchase any right now as the budget is rather tight,

Try 2nd hand stores or yard sales. You might be surprised. But, where you are living, you probably can plant outdoors with protection. (wire cages)

[maine-iac7]

Yeah - getting to mid-40’s tomorrow - and will be n 40’s (daytime) rest of month in Maine - cold nights.

Great for sap weather - sap been running 2 weeks now! 3 weeks early - syrup tends not to be as good when running this early - but I'll take it! Gotta get it while it's there as when the leaves on the trees get as big as a mouses ear, time to stop tapping. (Native American wisdom passed on to settlers. did you know that the Indians boiled down their sap in bitch bark buckets? (You can boil water in a paper cup over an open fire. the cup will only burn down to the water line.)

[stefanbatory]

yeah, I’m looking at designs right now to make a cage for the small flat that I have...and the 4 tomato plants...

[maine-iac7]

re lilacs.

Maine is abloom with lilacs everywhere you go in May...lots from old farm-sights with buildings long gone.

I lived in Calif for a few years and saw exactly ONE lilac and One birch tree.

The lilac was on the fence of an old cemetery from the 1800’s. I imagined it being lovingly wagon-trained all the way from New England, only to have the lady in question die before or as she got to Calif. and someone, probably husband, planting her lilac there where he buried her.

Since it was still there after all the decades (This was 35 years ago) I would say they grow ‘if they're planted”

Ditto birch trees. Never saw a white birch in Calif - until I planted one in my front yard - 35 years ago. People would stop and ring my doorbell to ask “What kind of tree is that?”

Today, the tree is still there.

I'd say, give it a shot. Whadda ya got to lose?

[maine-iac7]

Hi 'Housemouse"

Here's MY house mouse.

He came to "live" with me over 5 years ago...as a cold and shivering little baby mouse. Crawled up on my sleeping son's belly - ans sat up, shivering, 'asking' for help.

Luckily, "itty cat" hadn't sniffed him out.

WE gave him a home in a good sized fish tank and he keeps me company by my computer.

He loves his whirly gig running cage - so his name is "Forest". (I suspicion he is longer lived than he's supposed to be because he will not touch any 'mouse food' from the pet store. He loves greens - especially wild ones like dandelion, plantain and clover - but in winter will settle for spinach. And he loves cashews, salted pumpkin seed and ORGANIC cereal. He wont touch regular cereal. Hmmmm :o))

[housemouse 1]

Aww, how cute little forrest is. Thanks for sharing. :-)
you have a cat named “itty cat” ? Thats cute too. :-)

[afraidfortherepublic]

My grandmother had a lilac tree that bloomed and flourished alongside the shed in back of her house in Fresno when I was growing up. However, it was really puny compared to the lilacs we have in Wisconsin. But, it survived for many years with little care. It might still be there, for all I know. It was a purple variety, but some people in the neighborhood grew white ones, as I remember.

I think that lilacs need really cold weather to flourish, and the Central Valley of CA regularly posts temps in the 20s overnight for a few weeks in the winter. That’s when the farmers get the smudge pots out for the grapes and the citrus orchards. It’s enough cold for the lilacs, but they won’t ever get as big as the mid-western varieties.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Thanks RD2. Thats a good source for the frost dates.

[fanfan]

The secret is not to put them in rows.

Why?

[kacres]

Got my peas in two weeks ago, and covered with some straw as we have had snow 2 times this month here in Ga. I went out the other day and pushed the straw away just to check, and they are coming up pretty good. Today is sunny and will be in mid 50’s, in mid 60’s by mondy. I also cleaned out one of my flower beds with the Jerusalem artichokes and cannas, still waiting to see if they faired well. Strawberries did okay through the winter but they were mulched with plenty of straw.

[hoosiermama]

Like square foot gardening you get more production per foot of garden space and they use each other to hold themselves up.

[tillacum]

I’ve read, because of the global warming, the price of tomatoes will increase this year. Grow many and share with friends.

[Ellendra]

Any idea how parsnips are when dug in the spring? I found out that one of the weeds on my land is wild parsnips, and I’m curious to see how they compare.