Weekly Gardening Thread (Soil Structure Part 1) Vol. 9, March 2, 2012

Friday, March 2, 2012 | JustaDumbBlonde

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Oh, no! I am so thankful that you’re okay. Can your raised bed be salvaged?

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"I really like that you have all the links to previous Gardening threads here."

Thank you so much for that feedback. Much appreciated.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"You probably already know this, but for the sake of anyone reading who isn’t aware: never use black walnut anything in the garden."

A very useful tip. I won't even plant a black walnut on the property 'cause one of the oldtimers around here told me I shouldn't. Not sure how far away it would have to be.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

You’re welcome, greeneyes. I’d love to see photos of your new plantings, especially the strawberry bed!

[Ellendra]

From observation, anything outside the dripline is usually safe, as long as the leaves aren’t used as mulch, of course. The leaves don’t have much of that chemical in them, but enough of them piled on can have an effect.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

We are fortunate to have 3 or 4 black walnuts in a tree line on our farming ground, so not putting them on the homestead acreage works.

Wish I could remember exactly what that elderly man told me. He's gone now and I can't ask him. :(

[rightly_dividing]

You're welcome! I appreciate the seeds, too. Watch your mailbox for something from us.

Since wifie tilled the garden last weekend, and she re-installed the drip irrigation and landscape fabric today, the garden is hers this year. I am going to harden off my best 50 or so mater seedlings and figure on planting next weekend and sharing some seedlings with neighbors.

The orkra garden will be my chore. The selected area is full of roots and thick hard grass. That will be lots of fun!

[TASMANIANRED]

I’ll just have to break it down into components and rebuild it.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I received the following note on vincas from my daughter in NY:

In New Jersey, I discovered vinca...not the vine with purple flowers (sometimes labeled periwinkle) that people use for ground cover or the variegated vine people use as filler in pots, but an annual. It looks very much like impatiens, but can take full sun and is very tolerant of heat. They come in all sorts of colors. They don't mound like impatiens, but grow a bit more upright. They fill out and make a huge plant covered with flowers by the end of the summer and do not need to be pinched back. Pretty much the perfect plant for a lazy gardener! I can't ever find vinca in a big garden center, but a mom and pop place here grows them every year. He tells me that they are tricky to germinate and prone to root rot if you overwater and that is why Lowe's , etc. doesn't fool with them. He doesn't have them ready to sell until beginning of June, so I always talk him into selling me some in May before they have flowered. I never know what color I am going to get! Usually pinks, coral, white, and lavender are the most common colors. It does come in white with a red center and a gorgeous solid red, but those are few and far between. If I get them in the ground around Mother's Day with some Miracle Grow time release in the planting soil, they look fabulous by July and pretty up until the first frost. They are my go-to plant for full or afternoon sun.

I have never heard of this plant! This must be the sme one that you recommended. m going to have to look it up. They must call it something else around here.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Is this your sun loving vinca?

I think we call that "New Guinea Impatiens" around here.

[rightly_dividing]

That looks about right , as I remember them; it has been a few years, though. We did not plant anything our last year in Mobile because we learned that we would be moving. I believe they were vinca minor. They were very cheap and bloomed from spring till fall; a cheap way to add lots of color to a problem area. They would grow to about 10-12in tall, then fall over. We had them in hanging baskets and urns on our front, west facing porch where nothing else could take the heat of the afternoon sun. We found volunteers growing all around the porch area, in cracks of the sidewalk,and in some beds in the front yard nearby. Down south, they bloom early, and long so my wife would choose mostly purple ones, her favorite color. One of our three small sunny areas here is at our mailbox, so she built a bed around there and we have vinca seedlings growing in our seedling incubator for planting there.

I will see if I can find some pictures later, but we had a computer virus on her laptop that has it on hold, and my pictures are not very organized from that time period.

[greeneyes]

LOL. I will have to work on that, we don’t plant outdoors till Mid May at least. I am techno-challenged, and don’t even have a digital camera. I will take pictures during the season, and post them once I use up the roll of film.

[greeneyes]

I read several articles on this, and they said fifty feet from the drip line for things that are sensitive like Tomatoes.

Corn, beans, and wheat are supposedly tolerant to the walnut toxin, and can be closer. We have 2 garden patches that are next to walnut trees. So far, the corn beans and wheat crops have been pretty good in these patches.

[tubebender]

Their New Guinea Impatiens here also...

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"I read several articles on this, and they said fifty feet from the drip line for things that are sensitive like Tomatoes."

Thank you for that info.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Who knew they were vincas?

I’d be afraid to try them on my front porch, as pretty as they are. The sun and the heat are intense there in the summertime.

[tubebender]

How about a couple of Chili Plants or even Tomatoes

[afraidfortherepublic]

Well, you don’t get any color (other than green) out of tomatoes until August.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Got it! Thank you, both for the happy and the funny story!

[rightly_dividing]

Thank you again.

I am always apprehensive when using snail mail.

One other thing, the mower went to the shop today! :)