Posted on 03/30/2019 6:38:18 PM PDT by 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. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no telling where it will go and... that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
NOTE: This is a once a week ping list. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest are welcomed any time-and don't have to be about gardening.
I have ordered some Yukon Gold which is my favorite-and they have not come in yet. So I have been refreshing my memory on soil improvements for the coming planting season and ran across an interesting web site which I intend to explore - Tenth Acre Farm -link to article on soil amendments:
https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/organic-soil-amendments-vegetables/
OTHER ARTICLES ON SOIL AMENDMENTS AND GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/natural-soil-amendments-zmaz88ndzgoe
https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/10-best-garden-crops-for-beginners
It was 10 years ago that I began my experiment with growing my own food-prompted by the disgust with the continued recalls of fresh spinach etc. and rising prices of fresh veggies to avoid increasing my food budget. The start of our efforts to become more self sufficient.
My daughter gave me a book on sq. foot gardening. Hubby made fun of what I was doing, but willingly helped me to develop my first 3x4 ft. raised bed - by the book. I always said I had a brown thumb, because I'd never had a successful experience with growing anything-I now know I killed them with kindness. LOL
Any how that patch was so successful-it all yielded good stuff to eat, and it inspired hubby to reclaim his old garden patch and start growing veggies. He also encouraged me to add to my raised beds, and helped to build them. Now we have fruit trees, berry bushes and the entire back yard is full of his raised beds.
So I'm posting a link to the sq. foot gardening website on the 10th anniversary of my foray into gardening:
http://www.melbartholomew.com/category/beginners-guide/
Hubby's greenhouse shelving units arrived and the two are full of his starts for transplants, The entire area in front of the patio door in the Great Room is full of starts. He is ready for spring planting.
We have completed the design for our Storage Shed with basement under it. The basement guy has been here to scope out the slope. The basement will serve as an area for hubby's concrete finishing machines and other related tools etc.
We will be able to clear out the garage and use it to park our vehicles in again. So it will be a busy year for reorganizing. I am knee deep in reorganizing the basement pantry area right now. The plastic shelving is being replaced with sturdier units now that I have so much more home canned stuff. And April is tax deadline, so I'll have to get back to that.
I won't begin planting much for several weeks. Potatoes, lettuce, and spinach is what I'll do now. I like to plant directly to the soil-not big on starts-especially since hubby does so many. Later, I'll get the warm weather crops started.
Hope all is well with you. Prayers up for all -especially those who are victims of the recent floods. I'm reading about the livestock losses and other devastation. Heartbreaking really.
Have a great weekend. God Bless.
Pinging the List.
We're getting a brief dose of cold and wind Saturday-Sunday but fair weather is in the forecast.
Glad we don't live in Denver...
Recently put a backyard compost bin in the yard. One side is almost full. It’s next to my raised garden beds.
Have noticed swarming white flies when I rotate the bin. I’m thinking that next to a garden is not a good spot for a compost bin.
Any comments? Suggestions? Thanks.
TStill snowing here in the Colorado Rockies. I am looking for a source of fertilizer for potatoes. Something like 8-24-24 or Trifecta Plus.
>here<
It hit 63 today and I spent as much time outside as I could.
Got some mulch laid down before the plants started coming up.
Got some peas planted that I started indoors.
It sure felt good to get outside and get a good gardening workout in the mild weather.
The only thing that could have improved today was some sunshine, but this is, after all, Central NY.
Well, the house is sold so no more mangoes, bananas, passion fruit, watermelons, peppers or papaya from the yard.
We are temporarily back in Hong Kong in the tiny apartment in the sky until relocating to Houston in July. The only thing that grows here is my wife’s pet basil plant.
I have no idea where we’ll be living yet, maybe someplace with a back garden.
Ha. So Glad we live in Mo. and not the colder climates-177 days of growing even without greenhouses. LOL
I am no expert on compost that’s for sure. I bought one of those compost bins that looks like a trash can. Has a door you can raise up and down. I put all my kitchen scraps, coffee filters, paper napkins, and when I remember, handfuls of leaves and grass clippings in that.
I have 200 sq. foot of raised beds. So in the fall or sometimes spring, I take what is in the compost bin and put it on 1/8 of the raised beds-so it’s a rotation to let the unfinished parts finish. In the interim, I use the door to access the finished compost at the bottom.
This compost heap is right next to one of my raised beds. It has some critters flying and wriggling around in it, but I don’t see them, because it’s all covered up-though the air freely circulates.
I have never read anything to suggest that compost should be kept away from the gardens.
Sympathies on your short growing season. I would definitely have to have an enclosed, insulated back porch with windows facing south if I lived where you do.
I think Marcella was from the Houston area. She had a condo and backyard area that she was able to use for container gardening. Unfortunately, she moved off of FR during the last election cycle-as did many others-I just stayed off the main forum during that time.
You will have a decent growing season there, so I hope you are able to find something with gardening space. Also, though prep for hurricane weather. Pantry food, water, battery operated stuff for electrical outages etc.
I know what you mean. We have enjoyed the milder temps in the day time. It seems to me, the days have been unusually cloudy. We had only a day or 2 of sun every 10 days this winter.
I don’t know if that is due to all the volcanic activity or what. I just hope next winter is more sunny. It’s great to drink coffee in the greenhouse when the sun shines.
Hi. Glad to see your still here and your fingers still work for typing.
I’m up north. Our snow is melted! Ground is still mostly frozen. Can’t plant much until mid May. I remember the square foot gardening book! I used the idea of trellising everything I could over the years.
Our ground is no longer frozen. Hubby has even been able to plant some cool weather crops. Mid May is my favorite time to plant here - not too hot, but warm and sunny usually.
Thanks. That’s very helpful.
@Fai Mao
I live in Zhuhai next to the Macao-HK bridge. Can you please give me some advice on planting tomatoes here. I tried last year, and as soon as the buds started to grow they all fell off. Oh, sure my plants were large and lush, but they produced zero tomatoes! So frustrating!
@greeneyes
Could you please kindly add me to the list. Thanx.
IIRC, some folks bury compostable item directly in the garden.
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