WEEKLY GARDENING THREAD VOLUME 38 SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Free Republic | Sept. 14 2012 | greeneyes

[greeneyes]

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!

[greeneyes]

Greetings from Missouri. I am out of town at a conference, using a borrowed computer, and overdue for my next meeting. Hope you are all doing well. I will be checkig in Sunday to read and respond to your comments.

Have a great weekend. God Bless

[greeneyes]

Pinging the list.

[greeneyes]

Pinging the list.

[greeneyes]

Sorry for the double post. LOL

[bgill]

The fall garden was coming along nicely other than the squirrels digging in it and USING TOOLS! Mr. b had hollered at one about eating the young sprouts coming up and the squirrel blew a raspberry at him. Then I walked out this morning to find they’d eaten the little spinach sprouts. I think it’s time for some squirrel stew.

Speaking of, yesterday, as we were eating lunch I looked up to see a hawk on the fence and then BAM! He got a bird that was at the feeders. It was hours before the other birds came back and they haven’t been here this morning.

There’s one row by the east fence that can’t seem to grow anything. Because it’s along the roadside fence, I’m cautious what is planted there so that had been for cole vegetables that can’t be snitched by passerbys, hungry deer and a few extra inches away from peeing dogs. It gets the morning sun but maybe the tomatoes are shading it too much in the afternoons though in the hot Texas summers a little shade is welcome.

[JDoutrider]

Thanks for keeping the thread active greeneyes!

Having family over this weekend... It's harvest time! Everything, except the brussel sprouts are ready to go...

Frost warnings the last couple of nights, and the forecast is for snow/rain mix tonight. They say it's going to be a mild Winter this year... Yet all our trees are a flaming red and the geese are massing up around here for the Southern flight!

Mild? Maybe...

[rightly_dividing]

Thanks for the ping, both of them. lol

We are getting our hot peppers still along with sweet banana peppers. We have a few small green tomatos: it looks like our mater plants survived the summer heat. I hope they decide to have a fall crop.

We have collards, cushaw squash, and butternut growing, along with 3 ghost peppers sprouts that are coming along nicely. This is our first try at fall gardening.

[Arrowhead1952]

Got the garden cleaned out and planted lettuce, turnip, radish seeds and put out some onion sets. I noticed very few earthworms this year. I guess they went deeper for moist dirt this year.

[Augie]

Until just now I’d forgotten that I have a carrot patch somewhere beneath the tangle of weeds that used to be my garden. I should check on those.

[miss marmelstein]

So sorry to hear about the hawks. I must say: I hate them.

I’m spending most of my time babying my tiny fig tree that I planted a month ago. I want desperately for it to survive the upcoming winter!

[rightly_dividing]

We have two bird feeders that keep plenty of birds and squirrels hanging around our back yard. Last year a hawk discovered our little friends and got a bunch of them. This year has been better for them. I think that feeding them has kept them from feeding on our garden, about 30ft away.

[tubebender]

Bumping for later...

[neefer]

I lurk on the garden threads, usually days later because I've been busy volunteering at our YMCA. Here's a few shots of the flowerbeds I planted:

[murrie]

that is just gorgeous! You did a marvelous job with the planting and arrangement-just gorgeous. What type of bush is that?

[Silentgypsy]

Beautiful! Thank you for posting photos!

[Silentgypsy]

Thank you, greeneyes, for all that you do. Is JustaDumbBlonde OK?

[MissMagnolia]

Usually, we are "Critterville" (squirrels, birds, skunks, deer, coyotes, etc.), but the last three weeks we have been "Tractorville". Our big tractor had a flat tire and that has been a bit of an ordeal. I did not know that tractor tires are filled with fluid (or weighted, but ours had fluid). This keeps the rear end of the tractor heavy so the wheels don't spin out while pulling heavy loads. Changing a large tire 3/4 full of fluid is a JOB. We got it off the tractor & into a pickup truck & took it to a tire repair shop. They brought it back out (empty), put it on the tractor, then pumped it back 'full' with anti-freeze and water. The tire only takes 15-20 lbs of air - the rest is fluid. The big tractor is now back in service with the bush hog on the 'back 40'.

Pumping up the big tire

THEN, Little Buddy, our lawn tractor, broke a belt on the mower deck Saturday before last. We've been blessed with rain so you can 'hear' the grass growing in the yard and field (we have a couple of acres to mow with Little Buddy). LB had to go to the shop and just came home yesterday. LB and I will be spending a lot of 'quality time' out mowing today - there is so much to mow (5 hours minimum) the sitting part of my anatomy will be numb. Anyway, that's our 'Tractorville' tale - The End. :-)

Little Buddy comes home - yay!

[tillacum]

I didn’t know tractors had filled tires either, never thought of it, until 1986 (?) when we had days and days of freezing weather. The watere froze in the tires. I guess in central Texas, they didn’t think the tires needed anti-freeae. LOL

[tillacum]

That is beautiful neefer. What kind of flower hanging down under the big leafed plant? Your trumpets are perfect.

[neefer]

Thanks for your comments. The large leaf plant in the first pic is Castor Bean. It was sent to me in a seed exchange and grows 10-12 ft. in one season in zone 5. In other parts of the world it becomes a tree and considered a weed. It's a crop in India, the largest exporter of Castor Oil. Botanical name is Ricinus Communis. Poison can be made from the seed hulls. Underneath is Amaranth, aka Love Lies Bleeding. It's a food crop in Africa & Asia - from its roots to seeds. I use the lanky Castor Bean plant to hold it up because the long blooms eventually pull it to the ground. I'll have to take a current pic - it's really cool.

Last two pics are Brugmansia, aka Angels Trumpet. Originally from S. America, it's naturalized all over the world including Florida. I first saw it grown at Niagara on the Lake and thought, "How did Canadians grow these gorgeous tropical plants?" In cold climates, they have to be heavily pruned, potted and placed in garage or basement. They're almost impossible to kill (unless they freeze) and grow quickly in the spring. If you're interested in cuttings, FReep mail me. I'll have to cut them soon.