Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 19 (Getting Projects Done) May 11, 2012

Friday, May 11, 2012 | JustaDumbBlonde

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Good morning FRiends and fellow gardeners!! Here's wishing all mothers and grandmothers a very joyous and beautiful Mother's Day. We rock!

It has been a very busy couple of weeks in my yard. Lots of projects going on and I was able to finish a few of them in between serious dumpings of rain. My rain gauge has registered just over 4" since Monday. We have a 50% chance of more by the first part of next week. Need to be harvesting wheat, but can't really be upset with the rain after the drought we experienced last year.

A look at the radar this morning shows blessed rain falling in Texas. I hope that everybody that needs some rain is receiving it.

The main project I've worked on for 2 weeks is placing flower beds around 4 of the 7 old oaks in my front yard, utilizing reclaimed railroad ties. Each bed contains 10 azaleas, with some assorted colorful plants added to offer something appealing until the azaleas grow and bloom next Spring.

I don't know what it is, but RR ties look HUGE when they are being loaded on your trailer, but when you dump them out next to a big oak, all of a sudden they look as small as a landscape timber. It took 2 men to move these things around. Step one: dump 8 of them by each tree.

Next, we layed-out the first bed in the basic configuration I had been pondering in my head, and figured out how we wanted to cut them. Note: the creosote in RR ties totally ruins the chain on a chainsaw. Be prepared to sharpen the teeth every 6-8 ties, and replace the whole chain when you're done.

After settling on the joints we would use, the ties were cut. Really happy with how the joints turned out. We have drilled 2 holes in each of the long sides and hammered a piece of rebar through the tie and about 18" into the ground. The secured ties hold the angled pieces in with the joint.

I purchased 30 yards of soil from a friend and he delivered it right to the front yard. He dug from an area where he fed his cows for a decade or more, and the soil is rich with decayed hay and composted poo. Very loamy and absolutely gorgeous. Everything I planted should do very well.

The four bundles of azaleas that I ordered from my very favorite nursery in Georgia. They had their patented (named) azaleas on clearance for $3 each, so I got 10 per tree. Each bundle is a different color. The colors were Lady Mildred which is purple, Peppermint which is a pink/white stripe, a red and a hot pink, neither of which names I can recall right now. The nursery takes them out of the pots and packs the roots with moisture-retaining gel. Then they ship them to me via UPS. They experienced some transplant shock when I put them in the beds, but the stems are still very much alive and green, so I have every confidence that they will recover nicely. If not, they are guaranteed and I'll get replacements when they resume shipping again in the Fall.

Bed #1 when we got finished with it:

Bed #2:

Bed #3:

Bed #4 doesn't have any accent flowers yet ... I ran out and haven't had a chance to buy any yet.

With some soil left over from the flower beds, I moved on to my raised garden bed where I grow my lettuces and other salad makings. When I originally built this 8' x 16' bed, I filled it with potting soil, which turned out to be a poor choice. I put 100 feet of soaker hose down before I added the new soil:

Added the soil and got it spread out nicely:

Then I covered the soil with commercial grade landscape fabric, utilizing an old framing square to tuck in 4" on all sides.

Got the bed finished just in time for a thunderstorm! The tucked edges, along with 5 landscape pins down the middle, kept the fabric nicely in place.

Some of my geese, very much enjoying playing in the rain:

Finally, I took this photo when I had one of my bee hives torn apart. This frame shows nurse bees tending everything from eggs (lower right corner area) to larvae ready to be capped until the baby bees form and emerge.

Looking forward to hearing about your week in the yard and garden! Please check in and let everyone know what you've been up to. Photos are always appreciated and enjoyed!

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly 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.

This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. 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 Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Previous weeks' threads:

Weekly Gardening Thread (Catalog Fever) Vol. 1 Jan 6, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Seeds) Vol. 2, January 13, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 3, January 20, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (U.S. Hardiness Zones) Supplemental Vol. 1
Weekly Gardening Thread (Soil Types) Vol. 4, January 27, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Vacation) Vol. 5, February 03, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Vacation) Vol. 6, February 10, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Vacation?) Vol. 7, February 17, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Home Sweet Home) Vol. 8, February 24, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Soil Structure Part 1) Vol. 9, March 2, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Transplanting Tomatoes) Vol. 10, March 9, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Useful Links) Vol. 11, March 16, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread -- Vol. 12, March 23, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread -- Vol. 13, March 31, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Happy Easter!) Vol. 14, April 6, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 15, April 13, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 16, April 20, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 17, April 27, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 18, May 4, 2012

[rightly_dividing]

first post? Good morning.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Ping to the Weekly Gardening Thread Member List

Please let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from the ping list.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Detailed State Plant Hardiness Zone Maps

Alabama	District of Columbia	Kentucky	Montana	Ohio	Texas ( East )
Alaska	Florida	Louisiana	Nebraska	Oklahoma	Texas ( West )
Arizona	Georgia	Maine	Nevada	Oregon	Utah
Arkansas	Hawaii	Maryland	New Hampshire	Pennsylvania	Vermont
California ( Northern )	Idaho	Massachusetts	New Jersey	Puerto Rico	Virginia
California ( Southern )	Illinois	Michigan	New Mexico	Rhode Island	Washington
Colorado	Indiana	Minnesota	New York	South Carolina	West Virginia
Connecticut	Iowa	Mississippi	North Carolina	South Dakota	Wisconsin
Delaware	Kansas	Missouri	North Dakota	Tennessee	Wyoming

International Plant Hardiness Zone Maps
Australia
Canada
China
Europe
Japan

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Wow, how do you do that??? Good morning!

[illiac]

We had frost last night and expect some more tonight - waiting to get he garden in ....corn starts not looking good at this point, although Saturday the nights are to get much warmer, as are the days. Latest frost for our area that I can remember for a long time....keeping out fingers crossed.....

[FreedomPoster]

Great pics again, nice project.

[Red_Devil 232]

Your projects are always interesting and done to perfection. Not much happening here in NE Texas. We have had a few of those rain showers you mention but today’s rain is slipping to the south of us and it looks like it might do the same in your area, at least for this morning.

[tubebender]

Your photos leave me week in the knees just looking at the work you do!!! I have a Doc appointment this morning and then back out in the yard after lunch with our son on his birthday...

[Ratman83]

JDB how much soil can you put on the tree roots before it is bad for the tree? I have some trees that the roots are working out of the ground and I want to protect them. I am worried that too much could harm the trees though.

[rightly_dividing]

I see that you like caladiums, my wife loves them too, and I do too. She is in a constant battle with the squirrels, she plants caladium bulbs, they dig them up and eat them. We still have managed to have some grow though.

Its nice the way you planted tree rings, they are so attractive.

Our garden is going great with a squash ready to pick and a hot pepper about ready too. Maters are small but growing.

[Oberon]

I'm pleased to report that, here in eastern NC, the lettuces are up and looking strong. Harvest has already begun on Buttercrunch and Black-Seeded Simpson lettuces, and we have already partaken of some Swiss chard as well. We have beets, white potatoes, carrots, and a few peas. I've never had good luck with peas here... germination and early-plant survival is generally spotty.

Oh, and we got the usual volunteer pumpkin vines coming up in the compost heap. I generally let them come on. I'm already starting to clear lettuce rows to make room for tomato and pepper plants.

[Gabz]

Good morning! Love those tree beds

[GBA]

much soil can you put on the tree roots

I'm no expert, but shouldn't roots be covered with soil?

I've been covering the gradually exposing roots from the willow tree in my yard with some compost rich blended soil and it seems to like it. Plus, it protects the roots from the mower.

[left that other site]

WOW! That’s a LOT of WORK! :-)

Good Job!

[texas_mrs]

What a beautiful yard you have and your project is awesome! I am envious!

We have had a lot of rain over the past few days, though hail broke my rain gauge some time back so I'm not sure how many inches. Part of my garden has standing water in it, but is doing well. Should be picking squash, peppers, tomatoes and jalapenos soon and green beans and black-eyes in a month or less.

I thought some of you might be interested in this new okra strain recently offered for sale called 'Heavy Hitter'. It produces heavily branched stalks in excess of 2" inches in diameter, bearing 40 to 70 tender pods SIMULTANEOUSLY. Here is a photo of ONE PLANT (there are copyright notices on the pics or I would post them here:

Heavy Hitter

Heavy Hitter Harvest

[doubled]

I was warned once by an arborist about building up around the roots of trees with a flower bed. he said that it was not good for the tree as the roots as they grow are at the depth they are supposed to be and the raised dirt could harm the tree. We did end up losing the tree, but it was going when I did the flower bed.

Has anyone else heard about this?

[MichaelP]

Last weekend I got my Pole beans planted. I put in Strawberries, brocolli, Brussel Sprouts, Lima beans, snap peas and regular peas in the main garden. Will add more this weekend, but not tomatos until next weekend. My flowers all are doing great and I will be putting in some annuals this weekend.

I love planting season!

Mike

[Idaho_Cowboy]

Looks like a fun project, there's nothing that delivers satisfaction like looking back on a hard job well done.

The weather is perfect and supposed to stay that way this weekend and the last frost should be gone so I'm getting ready to get everything planted.

It's amazing what happens when you ignore some plants. My spinach that survived the winter is doing great. In fact we have leaves that are about 8” long (no kidding), plus lots of little fresh ones.

I'm going to be transplanting some strawberry plants as well. Does somebody know if there is anything I should do to the soil first? I thought I had heard they like acidic soil, is this correct?

[texas_mrs]

I’m a huge caladium fan, too. It is my favorite bedding plant and the most beautiful, to me, are the huge white ones.