Posted on 05/27/2011 5:16:22 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232
Good morning gardeners. I apologize to all Freepers for the flame skirmish that occurred on the thread last week. This thread is intended to give like minded Freepers a place to share their gardening experiences and knowledge - a respite from the everyday problems we all encounter without encountering more on a benign gardening thread. Please be civil to your fellow gardeners, Thank You.
Ok, back to gardening. Every one of my plants I started from seed are doing great! This includes two varieties of paste tomatoes and three varieties of winter squash and a few pepper plants. Unfortunately some of the beneficial flowers, I started in a small raised planter were raided by a digging Cashmere (Irish Setter) hiding her Milk Bones.
My garden received a nice drenching rain shower yesterday afternoon. It supplied a good soak for thirsty roots.
If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.
Been eating fresh tomatoes and cucumber salads this week. There is nothing better than a fresh garden salad.
Yep! Nothing better than a fresh cucumber and tomato. I like the aroma of a fresh cut and peeled cucumber. Mix it with a tomato and a little salt and pepper - Yum!
This method works with everything we’ve tried except peanuts (life cycle of peanut means they bloom, then dig that thingie under the ground to make peanuts) and winter squash/pumpkins (things that vine and want to put out roots at each leaf node). The winter squashes we just let take the yard and sort of mulched a newspaper/grass clipping path between the vines themselves.
I used the cereal and pasta box method in my strawberry bed (cardboardy brown side up, in case the mulch shifts you don’t want to look tacky) and covered with pine straw. Nobody knew or could believe it was strawberries. They thought it was one of those landscapey beds of ground cover stuff.
It works better if it’s fresh, mainly because an older one will already have wild mushrooms colonizing it. They don’t always like competition.
Of interest:
‘Killer Cucumber’ Bug From Spain Hits Britain
Three people in Britain have been diagnosed with a lethal strain of E.Coli that has already killed five people in Germany.
Almost 300 people in northern Germany are in hospital and around 500 more are being tested for the infection.
Organic cucumbers from Spain are thought to be the source of the bacteria, but travellers to Germany are also being advised to avoid eating raw tomatoes and lettuce.
Yes, gallons. I pick them in a 3 quart bucket so I can keep track and because the bucket has a handle I can handle it easily. This size bucket also does not hold too many berries so the berries on the bottom do not get mashed.
I could only give you a wild guess about how many plants I have. Probably over 500 and could well be near a 1000. I started my little berry patch in 1998 on my deck with 25 plants. In 2003 I redid the patch and attempted to get some order as the runners and new plants starting from seeds were a solid mass and no where to walk.
Last fall I started a clean out once again of the mass, but this time because of not only needing order, I had a variety of weeds move in and it was just easier to dig every thing up and start over. I still have some areas that need dug up and IF it ever dries out enough I have made 4 new rows to give these berries a new home.
I always wanted to have one of those three-level pyramid gardens. But with the number of plants I have I would need several. Yes, I have read that after two years of bearing the plant dies out. But by that time with the runners they have produce several new plants, which is why I have so many plants.
I have over the years introduced some new plants where there was bare ground, and I know new plants have germinated from seed. Now that was a great surprise to me that you could start strawberry plants from seed, but it is true and I have come across several new strawberry plants not much more than an inch tall as I was picking.
I do not know why you would have to start with new plants, as every time a runner sets a plant that is a new plant. The old plant usually has a woody stick like root, where as the newer plants have free flowing root system. So while you may need to remove all the plant and start again I would think you could use the new plants to replace the old ones. But I do not have a 'degree' in strawberry planting, I have just learned what I know from my experiences.
That is a lot of seriously valuable information. Thanks!
I guess what I’ll do is put in a second pyramid, and that will be plenty of strawberries for the two of us.
My wife noticed our neighbors Miata had been broken into as the door glass was shattered and a large bowl was on the street plus 2 garbage cans had been tipped over up the street. This was 6AM and they weren’t up yet so I stopped by at 9 and told them about it to their surprise. You could see dirty bear prints on the body around the door as their daughter had left a bowl of peanut butter cookies on the seat.
Too bad bears aren’t allegic to peanuts!
Years ago I used to listen to his Saturday morning radio program....if he had his way, we'd all have a five gallon jug of pee stored away someplace. He considered urine to be the supreme magic potion.
I think you need that home defense weapon I posted yesterday.
When bears retuned to Bendervile several years ago I smeared peanut butter on several cans of oven cleaner and hung them in the apple trees. They licked the cans clean without punchering them >:((((
Now that was a valient effort! Too bad you have smart bears.
Back about ‘87 or ‘88, in the Applegate, I ran over a bear cub one night, and never touched it. Dogs were chasing it up my former landlord’s driveway as I was going by in a slightly ‘tall’ pickup. I slammed the brakes, and it went underneath before I stopped, and out the other side. I could see it still running, and not wanting to tangle with the dogs or a possibly ticked off momma, I restarted the truck and left.
Another day, we “chased” a half grown one about a quarter mile. It was on the shoulder between us and a field-wire fence. I was afraid that if tried to pass it, it would cut in front of us. It finally found a hole in the fence, and dove through it.
When I was in jr high, I was fishing in a creek near Shasta lake. A full grown one stepped in the creek at the bottom of the hole I was fishing, looked at me, and stared sniffing. It must have smelled my trout, as it crossed to the bank, and started heading upstream towards me. Meanwhile, I had reeled in, and was headed up the embankment to the road, making as much noise as I could.
I’ve had a few garden & poultry yard problems with them, in my time, too. I cringe when I hear any envirowhacko mention “reintroduction” of both blacks & GRIZZLEYS to the Black Hills.
That’s the one I was referring to! :)
The bears around here are waking up. The fun begins.
LOL, I did not!
Never heard of a fighting okra, tough yeah, fighting no.
So far, I’ve planted a whole bunch of stuff. But the weather has been cool and rainy, and they are only doing so-so.
Problem is I think the squash and cukes are starting to get downy mildew. Today I tried some neem oil so hopefully, they will be ok.
Anybody ever use neem oil as a fungicide?
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