Posted on 05/18/2019 6:44:12 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Our 'Greeneyes' has gone missing, so I have been asked to keep the Weekly Garden Thread rolling until she returns. If anyone knows her in Real Life, please post here and let us know what her situation is!
That said, I will be posting once a week, and I will TRY to stick to her schedule of a Friday Night/Saturday Morning Weekly Post, but it depends upon what is going on here at MY farm. (It's Spring; it's BUSY!)
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 to Gardeners are welcomed any time!
20-20-20 would work for anything, HOWEVER - if it’s a blooming plant (or a hanging basket of cherry tomatoes) you want a higher MIDDLE number, sometimes called a Bloom Booster, 10-30-20, and lower on the nitrogen, which gives you a lot of leaves, but little bloom of fruit. So, a foliage-only plant would do good with higher nitrogen.
Petunias, for example, need a more acidic fertilizer and I think they need extra copper, so use a formula specifically made for them. I used to sell ‘Jack’s Classic Petunia Feed’ and that worked well.
It just depends upon what you’re growing. And anything in a pot needs weekly feedings, but also water sometimes 2x a day, so a reduced amount of fertilizer every time you water has worked well for me; the nutrition is easily washed out of a potted plant because of drainage and you’re watering it so often.
Stiff-stemmed Herbs get their yummy fragrances from oils they exude, so I’m thinking two things may have happened; too much watering and not enough (if any) fertilizing.
The herbs you listed like it hot and dry, so I would use a slow-release fertilizer in the soil (like an Osmocote-brand formula 14-14-14) and be sparing on the watering, meaning let them dry out thoroughly before watering again.
Of course, there’s not a thing you can do about how much or how little it rains. ;)
25 Foods You Can Re-Grow Yourself from Kitchen Scraps:
https://www.diyncrafts.com/4732/repurpose/25-foods-can-re-grow-kitchen-scraps
One other thing - I found Rosemary plants in the Produce Section of my grocery store. 2.5” pot, very healthy and vigorous, $2.98 each. (They also had basil, dill and mint, same price.)
I later went to the Garden Center section of the same Super-Duper Walmart and they were selling Rosemary plants in 2.5” post for $3.89 over there!
So, it pays to check out your Produce Section for live herb plants! :)
Very interesting! I’ve had QUITE the crop of violets in my lawn, but I think they’re pretty, so I don’t kill them off. Solid purple or white with a purple throat, but none like your picture.
I think you’re right that they’ve cross-bred or something, or maybe it was weather-related? Were they already up and you got more snow? Maybe being under the snow while blooming effected them?
Do you have a local County Agent you can ask, or a local Arboretum?
thx for the info.
I have to have hanging plants because the deer will munch anything lower to the nubs....
They came up after the snow was gone and the wild garlic that is nearby began to sprout. I took a look around some wildflower forums and other gardening forums but they did not loo promising. The county extension office is a great idea. Thanks.
Back home after opening our trailer for the summer season. I took up our Craftsman garden tractor and our Cyclone leaf vacuum and rather than blowing the leaves into the woods, like any rational camper, I vacuumed most of them off of our site. Two and one-half hoppers full!
I erected the screen room, and opened the trailer. It has three slde-outs. Flushed out the plumbing, checked out the furnace and hot water heater and the electrical system. Went home and Household Six and I came back up. I used her F150 to tow the box trailer with the screen room furniture and other gear. She came up with my Frontier. We brought Mandy, Walter and Punkin, who was on the brink of going to the Rainbow Bridge, but is recovering. We got everything setup and comfy and I did a one-day turnaround trip to bring home the flatbed with the tractor and Cyclone and pick up some items we forgot. Spent about three days relaxing and drove home yesterday morning with Mandy and Punkin. I had to take Mandy to the vets. Turned out she was chewing on a limb and got a twig lodged crosswise between teeth on the roof of her mouth. All fine, now.
Coop is cleaned and dump run completed. Restocked the coop box with shaving bales and feed. Now, to get started on our front deck!
I may get a full-time job again, just so I can get some rest!
Hope to plant potatoes, 3-sisters and shallots this weekend, too!
Also have to get asparagus bed started!
Thank you. I’ll do as you suggest and fertilize!
Finally got my garden in. We had a lot of cold nights in April so I didn’t get my plants until the 26th. We had a couple of cold nights, then a heat wave near 90. I lost all my squash/cukes last year when I planted on a hot day so I held the plants for a week, then planted when the daytime temps got cool again - 70’s, low 80’s. This weekend is 90 again, but with water, the plants should be ok - definitely acclimated to sun, etc.
On a side note, we have a mama fox with 3 kits denning in an old ground hog hole under the barn. Those kits are so stinkin’ cute - they’re big enough to be out playing a lot the last week so lots of sightings. If I can get a game camera working, maybe I can get some pics. Two nests of baby bluebirds fledged within the last week - we have large grassy fields & the bluebird houses are on the edges so the parents have plenty of bugs to catch.
Time for some meaningful beer.
;-)
Yikes! Good job, though! :)
It NEEDS to stop raining here in SW Wisconsin! I’m weeks behind where I should be. Grrrr!
Hope everything is ok with Greeneyes. Spent some time outside this morning planting my memorial garden. It is only half done because the temperature went from cool and humid to hot and humid very quickly. I do this memorial garden every year. It is for battered women everywhere Caladiums, coleus, petunias, and geraniums. Looks pretty. Tomato plants growing nicely, as is the bush cucumber and basil.
too much water
give em barely enough to get by
They are planted outside in Connecticut. Any suggestions?.. besides leaving Connecticut.
Hi Diana!
I just heard from greeneyes, and she asked me to tell the garden thread that she has been having computer problems, and hopes to be back soon!
Ping to 732.
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3749783/posts?page=732#732
Greeneyes is alive and well!
Hooray!
I just saw that too on that “other thread”. Glad all is well.
Hurrah! Greeneyes is still with us - just computer issues!
Thanks for posting the diy link!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.