WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 14 APRIL 5, 2013

Free Republic | April 5, 2013 | 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]

We are having a great spring day in Missouri. It's 64 dgrees and the low tonight will be a warm 49 degrees.

I have planted some spinach and dill. Cleaned out the old tomato stems and pulled weeds in another bed.

Have a great weekend. God Bless.

[greeneyes]

Pinging the List.

[Black Agnes]

I counted 26 trinidad moruga scorpion seedlings. 18 bhut jolokia seedlings and a bunch more habaneros, fatalis and assorted other superhots. I overplanted because they supposedly have low germination and because I have a track record with seedlings . ahem. We’ll see how many survive to make it into the garden.

Might try putting some tomatoes out Monday morning. And finish up my strawberry beds. I’ve got jicama seeds planted and warm. Next up is the cucurbits. I’m going to add luffa sponges this year.

[bgill]

That’s about the temps here today. Earlier in the week, we had a horrific storm - heavy downpours, flooding, wind and hail. Totally destroyed the garden. I refuse to buy plants because 1) I can’t afford it and 2) I’m stubborn. So, it’ll be restarting all over again for the untold time. I’m this close to tears. Enough already!

[greeneyes]

We are sooo ready to start planting the new strawberry beds, but the companies haven’t sent the plants we ordered months ago.

This is probably a good thing, keeps us from pushing it and planting before we should. LOL.

[greeneyes]

I am so sorry to hear about your misfortune. Best of luck going forward.

[Sarajevo]

78° here in the Texas Hill Country. We had a pleasant surprise with 1¼" inch of rain a couple days ago. It may not seem like much, but for an area that has been drought stricken for a couple years, it was a deluge.
The plants in the hoophouse and the stonefruit trees sure loved it!

Here we have a mixed bed of cabbage and sweet pepper plants. Also a bit of catnip for our furry friends:

This shot shows the collards, onion, lettuce on the right; cabbage, a couple tomato plants, and more onion on the left. At the far end is the potato bed:

Yes, that is carpeting between the rows. A neighbor redid her floors with linoleum, and we scavenged the carpet as a weed blocker. We tried cedar mulch and row cloth last year, but the weeds would grow through it.

We're going to plant a lot of tomato and more okra this year. I'll post those pics when I get rid of the durned 'possum that keeps messing the beds.

[JRandomFreeper]

Everything big enough for the big garden went in on the first. Then we had 2 days of slow rain and got almost 2 inches. It worked out perfect. All the tobacco is out. All the tomatoes are out. Peppers are out. Of course the onions and potatoes are doing great, and they have been out for a while.

Next week, the corn, peanuts and sunflowers go out.

Pulled the cold frame to get it ready to store for the summer, and my herb/salad garden is really a herb/salad garden now and not a nursery under the cold frame.

I had to give away lettuce this morning because I can't use it all.

All in all, this will be a productive year if things keep going this well.

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

Ouch. Sorry for the loss. Prayers up.

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

Catnip loves this time of year. Both of my catz are sleeping off hangovers from my little present to them this morning. ;)

/johnny

[Sarajevo]

Our crew actually wore the catnip plants out and we had to plant more. Amazing, since catnip is rather invasive. :)

[tflabo]

I live here in suburban DFW and just starting again to grow a little garden. Back in the 70’s in NY I had a green thumb. Now they must be brown because I have lots of trouble growing plants and veggies. I need to be a student in your class there professor green leaves.

[Bon of Babble]

Greetings from Southern California! It’s overcast and about 80 degrees here at the moment. We are down 8” of rain this year and our rain window is closing — we get little to no rain between about April to November or December.

Roses are blooming nicely and the winter flowers are starting to dry up (pansies, Icelandic poppies, cyclamen). I’ll put out petunias this weekend so they’ll have an established root system before the heat and hot winds really set in.

Also blooming are foxgloves, honeysuckles, hibiscus and angel’s trumpets (I have yellow, orange, white, icy pink and a double white in my collection). Lemon trees are overloaded again, but not tangerine or orange. Wildflowers are also starting to bloom nicely in the area, including the beautiful California poppy and neon blue lupines. I will enjoy them while they last for the next month or two - before everything goes brown!!

Send some rain our way, please, we are dying here of dehydration!!

[greeneyes]

Glad to hear you got some rain. Thanks for the pics. Your garden is looking good.

[greeneyes]

It sounds like great progress. Here’s hoping we see an end or at least a decrease to the drought this year, so the crops can live up to their potential.

[greeneyes]

Wish I had the power to send rain to various areas, but all I can do is pray-so prayers up for everyone that needs rain!

The only thing I have blooming is jonquils and hyacinths.

[Black Agnes]

I’ve decided to plant luffa sponges this year. I can’t seem to find any affordable bath cloths that aren’t Made in China. I already grow my own garlic and herbs for that reason.

[ApplegateRanch]

6-7 weeks to Last Frost...YAY! Protected bulbs & iris coming up; the rest won’t be far behind. Time to give them a shot of food, and maybe divide & reset some of them.

Finished cleaning the beds, re-fertilizing, and replanting the Everlasting Onions. Put about 600 back into the beds, and brought 500 in the house, which are in the process of drying. 1,000 down 5-7,000 to go! (Anybody need/want any? FReep Mail me.)

Some will go to the Battle Mountain Humane Society to plant; they mentioned to us last night at a benefit dinner they would like some. They want to start a small market garden for some badly needed income.

Today, I got 5 85’ rows of the Sugar Snap peas planted; about 2/3 to 3/4 of the seed. I’ll save the rest for a later planting, or in case I need to replant.

Also got the main garden cleaned up & tilled. Discovered a 4X20 patch of wheat I had forgotten I put in last Fall: it was the ‘extra’ seed from planting the main plot.

All 50 of the Egyptian onions I rescued from the landfill last year are up & looking good. I’ll probably have to move them to a more convenient location; they got stuck in where they are by Hobson’s choice in mid season.

Sometime between now & Monday evening, I’ll find out if I have some chicks; or have just been keeping 19 rotten eggs warm. ;-’) That is in addition to however many are under a broody hen. I don’t know how many are under her, as she is serious about her job; I have the scabs to prove it

[trisham]

I still haven’t started my seeds. It’s been too cold and windy to work outside, and trying to move potting soil around in the kitchen might be a disaster. I did receive my canna bulbs, which are sitting in the garage until I either plant them in the ground, or in pots. We still have a danger of frost here until the end of May.

[trisham]

Nice looking soil, and amazing workmanship in those raised beds!