I suspect snails have invaded windows
10 reasons why your computer is running slowly
Posted on 06/08/2019 5:50:16 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Our 'Greeneyes' has been FOUND, but she is STILL having computer issues, so I have been asked to keep the Weekly Garden Thread rolling until she returns.
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!
Pinging The New & Improved List!
I’ve been asked that people try to remember to state WHERE they are gardening, possibly even their Zone, so questions can be more easily answered by others.
I’m in Zone 4/5 in the SE corner of Wisconsin, one county away from The Mighty Mississippi River.
Today is looking like it will be HOT, mid-80’s, but the humidity is down and there’s a nice breeze...so out to the garden I go! Pole Beans are in, (Blue Lake S-7 & Seychelles & a few Scarlet Runner Beans for the Hummingbirds) but I need to seed Bush Beans (Corumba, green filet-type and Velour, which is purple.) I probably have some yellow bean seed around here, too.
I need to do some spot watering and I still have to figure out where to put in my Sugar Pie Pumpkins, as our lower garden is still sopping wet and unusable this season. Grrrr!
I still have Marigolds to tuck in here and there, and Dear Old Mom came out to get her ‘Puppy Fix’ this week, so she helped me get in more onions and Gladiolus corms.
Other than that, I’ll be doing dog kennel chores, puppy wrangling and basic household/yard stuff. I have enough salad greens to feed an Army, so salads it is for the remainder of this week!
Next week looks to be Picture Perfect for weather; Weed, Water and WAIT!
Life. Is. Good. :)
We’ve had 2.5 inches of rain since yesterday morning, with rain forecast every day through next Thursday. The garden is growing like Jack’s Beanstalk. I managed to catch up with the weeding last Thursday ..... first raised bed I did Friday before last put me into back spasms. Once I got over those, I started using a really low garden seat - I’m bending from the waist instead of ‘hanging’ over on my back muscles - big difference!
The squash (zukes & yellow) are rolling in - my ‘experiment’ with yellow squash in containers has been a success. So far so good as far as squash bugs are concerned - have only seen (& squished) 2 with no eggs on the leaves. Tomatoes have set fruit & the cukes are blooming up a storm. Big Bertha peppers are blooming. Fingers crossed the jalapenos do well - I have many requests for Jalapeno Pepper Jelly so I’ve got 8 plants this year.
The crows have started visiting (funny how they always know when there’s stuff in the garden they like to eat), but so far, the fence is keeping them out. I’ve been happy to see lots of bluebirds flying around the garden - we had two nests fledge in the last couple of weeks - the more ‘bug eaters’ around here, the better (and they’re so pretty!). Happy gardening to everyone!
Zone 7a (Virginia)
Greetings all from west Michigan. It’s been hot here - 80. So go out about 7:30 and work for a couple of hours. The last 2 mornings I cleaned out the asparagus bed we still have more coming. Had to squat or lay on an old throw rug so I could really do a good job. Eating salads and I think tomorrow I’ll be picking the first of the radishes. Staked up tomatoes for the second time. Saw that 2 broccoli heads are forming. Have tp replant some green beans. Half my row is up and the other half (I suspect the seeds were old) did not come up save for one plant. Lots of green onions. Besides eating them fresh, chopped and sealed in a foodsaver vacuum bag is the ticket around here. A couple of handfuls frozen adds to soups or other dishes during the winter. I grabbed plant and stuck it in the garden because I had some space left, called Baby Bell squash. Any recommendations for what to do with it would be appreciated. THANKS and happy gardening!
Dozens of green tomatoes—none have turned red yet.
Maybe a week.
We also draped chicken wire over the top of our raised beds.
Bird netting keeps ground dwelling critters out. The chicken wire is to block intruding squirrels.
We shall see...
NW corner of Illinois
With so much shade, I have a small raised bed garden on my deck! Already picked cucumbers and basil with tomatoes on the way...
I have started a woodland garden for me (and my grandchildren) this summer...looking forward to developing shade plants.
Went through the Master Gardening course at my county Extension Office last fall and look forward to use what I learned this summer! I would encourage others to consider the Master Gardening coursework...it was excellent. Since retirement, I now have time to work in my garden...
Happy gardening to all...
Thanks for the ping for plants! Came across a good page on Tomato Fertilizer: 5 Of The [BEST NATURAL] Tomato Fertilizers https://plantcaretoday.com/natural-tomato-fertilizers.html
We don’t have much varmit damage. Squirrels and rabbits never come in the garden. Every couple of years we have a groundhog which can do a lot of damage so we keep an eye out and eliminate them. You are definitely a few weeks ahead of us.
I had been taking care of the squirrels via .22 Marlin but with many new folks here at the lake, I put the rifle away. The wire will have to do.
I’ll try to follow this list too.
The flowerbeds out front need some attention. I wasn’t gifted with a green thumb. Eventually I will probably wind up getting an expert for some of the effort.
We used to use the .22 on squirrels but we really dented the population with a 10 gallon bucket 1/3 filled with water and whole striped sunflower seeds floating on top as a layer. We got dozens in one summer. Early on a raccoon dumped the bucket but we put a heavy iron grate on top. Holes big enough for the squirrels and chipmunks to go through easily.
Thanks, Diana!
I’m in Massachusetts, west of 495, in the hills. It’s warm today, but less than a week ago we had night temps in the high 40s.
So the critters did themselves in ?
In great numbers sometimes one a day plus maybe a chipmunk or mouse. The first 2 weeks we got 22 squirrels and 10 or so chipmunks and several mice. Just make sure it is a 10 gallon bucket and only 1/3 filled with water. The only seed that will float well is the whole striped sunflower. The critters can’t help themselves. We also got a pair of long metal tongs at the dollar store. Hubby got tired of fishing then out with a stick. We originally found out about this from our pest control service for ants and termites. A friend of ours from overseas who knows little English labeled this The Protein Trap.
I have some out of control boxwoods in the front yard of the place I rent. The haven’t been trimmed in the last 15 years and are now approximately 8 feet in diameter and approximately 4 1/2 feet tall.
Only the outer areas are producing leaves as sunlight is blocked from penetrating into the plant. Part the branches and there is nothing but bare branches.
The landlord wants to keep the plants and yard work is my job since my rent is super cheap. Anyone know the best/easiest way of rehabbing the yard monsters?
Any help/advice is appreciated.
I was just outside, picking little green caterpillars off of my Joe Pye weed. They’re very tiny now, but in just a few days they will be much bigger. Lots of damage, even though they’re small. No gypsy moth caterpillars yet, but we should be seeing them soon, too.
Eutrochium purpureum, commonly known as purple Joe-Pye weed,[3] kidney-root,[4] sweetscented joe pye weed,[5] sweet Joe-Pye weed, gravel root, or trumpet weed is an herbaceous perennial plant in the sunflower family. It is native to eastern and central North America, from Ontario east to New Hampshire and south as far as Florida, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.[6]
Eutrochium purpureum is a clump-forming herb that grows to 1.5–2.4 meters (4.9–7.9 ft) tall and about 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) wide. Plants are found in full sun to part shade in mesic to wet soils. Stems are upright, thick, round, and purple, with whorls of leaves at each node. As the plant begins to bloom the stems often bend downward under the weight of the flowers. The leaves grow to 30 cm (12 in) long and have a somewhat wrinkled texture. The purplish flowers are produced in large loose, convex shaped compound corymbiform arrays. Plants bloom mid to late summer and attract much activity from insects that feed on the nectar produced by the flowers. This species hybridizes readily with other species of Eutrochium and where this species and those species overlap in distribution the resulting plants can be difficult to resolve to a specific taxon.[7] There are two varieties that differ in the pubescence of the stems and foliage, but many more have been proposed in the past, thought most authorities now accept that this is a variable species and population variations integrate.
Eutrochium purpureum is sometimes cultivated and has escaped from cultivation in parts of New Zealand.[8][9]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutrochium_purpureum
It’s one of my favourite plants.
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