Weekly Gardening Thread - June 22-28, 2019

June 22, 2019 | Diana in Wisconsin/Greeneyes

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Fantastic! We’re re-roofing our porch this summer and part of that project involves a Rain Barrel at the corner of the porch.

I. Can’t. Wait! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Oh, Hello! We tap our Maples and make our own syrup each year.

This will be perfect for Beau! Thanks! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Such a fan-TASTIC day! I got in a whole 45 minutes of uninterrupted weeding WITHOUT the puppies helping! Beau and I got the Sugar Pie Pumpkins planted in the (formerly flooded!) lower garden, as well as two 'Wisconsin Pride' Muskmelon plants. As an ADDED BONUS, I got the monster-sized Sunflowers planted in our Bird Food Plot and then Mr. Wonderful tilled up a section for me to plant all of the Gladiolus corms I bought in an unsupervised trip to Farm & Fleet, and THEN it rained like a sonofagun this afternoon for a good 30 minutes after everything was in the ground. I'm pretty sure that this has been the Best. Day. Ever. in this wet, rainy, cool and UGLY gardening season so far! Bear Chops on the grill, steamed Broccoli from the garden, a garden salad and that yummy Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole for supper. I SO needed a day like today. Faith in Humanity? Restored!

[Ellendra]

Southern Wisconsin.

I’ve got about half my garden planted. The other half is waiting until I finish building the trellises I need. I’m really hoping to finish soon, but keep running out of stamina.

But, the half that’s planted includes 3 of my cash crops, plus my tomatoes, squash, and melons.

[Ellendra]

Wild parsnips are my dad’s bogeyman. He gets really worked up at just the idea of them.

Tip for dealing with wild parsnips: if you realize you’ve been touched by one, get into the shade immediately! The reaction depends on sunlight. Better yet, attack them at night, and make sure to scrub thoroughly before daylight comes.

I’ve brushed up against them by accident a few times, but I’ve never had to deal with the reaction, because I covered up fast. If you’re aware of them and know how they work, they aren’t that bad.

In fact, the taproots are edible, and smell like bananas. Just try not to touch the leaves or stems!

[MomwithHope]

Question - when your peonys are done blooming do you cut the seed heads, like dead heading rhodos? I’d like to just neaten them up.

[MomwithHope]

Nothing better than a great day in the garden followed by a great meal. I've never tasted bear. But I am big on protein. As I have gotten more active since April, I notice I am wanting more protein and fresh foods and less carbs. We have so much fresh lettuce. Besides salads, I like to make a plate of big leaves, shmear some tomato dressing on them and fold them up in little packets. Great finger food. Crunchy and delicious. you still have plenty of time for things to grow and mature. We are way ahead here (west Michigan), tomato plants most of them 3 feet tall.

Took this picture yesterday, my tiny papaws. We have 5 trees about 10 years old now and I had almost given up on getting any fruit. This spring 2 of them flowered for the first time, 20 blossoms which I carefully cross pollinated with a paintbrush just to make sure. The mature fruit (September) will be Idaho potato sized.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Well, THIS season the puppies ‘pruned’ them for me - and flattened them, and chewed off stalks, etc. I’ll have to take some pictures of the damage to the landscaping around the house. Next batch of pups, I’m finding a better place for them to be raised, other than on the front porch!

I know the Peony and the Hosta and Ferns and all the other stuff will come back, though!

So, yes, you can deadhead them as you would any other messy perennial. Keep the leaf mass though, of course! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Nice Pawpaws, Lady, LOL! :)

[MomwithHope]

THANKS I am headed out now to work a bit, it will be 80 today.I am going to cut them back just the head stalks. This year for the first time ever I had some late blooms about 5 of them.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Our 'Jackmanii' Clematis from 2018. 2019 is bringing only a few blooms due to too much rain, and puppies pruning off half of it at the base. :(

When I first moved here in 2016, one of the first things I did was cut it completely down to the base, then fertilized it with a Bloom Booster that season. Make sure you know which type of Clematis you have before you prune it. Some bloom on new growth, some on old and some on both!

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/clematis/pruning-clematis-vines.htm

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[MomwithHope]

Stunning clemantis!!! Wow! So are your puppies vegetarian or what?
I have 3 clemantis, one comes up new and has a little old vine waking up every year. The other 2 come up new. They are big but I don’t get too many blooms but then again I don’t fertilize, my bad.

[MomwithHope]

Went to the clemantis link long enough to bookmark it. So when you say bloom booster are you talking about the first number being the highest? Like 20-10-10? I think the first is nitrogen. Pathetic knowledge over here.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

No, the middle number. I love a granular new lawn starter formula that is 10-18-10 for all of my young (3 years and less) fruit trees.

You can give something a BIG kick in the pants with a Miracle Grow-like powder (mixed with water) that can be found in a 10-52-17. Jung’s sells a nice array of formulas.

I used that 10-52-17 mix on my strawberries this season when I first noticed buds, and I’ve been picking a QUART every few days and the patch is only 8’x4’! And, of course, PUPPIES have been picking some, too!

The Jung-brand fertilizers (’Jump Start’) are in boring B&W plastic packaging, but there are some awesome formulas - and a little goes a long way, so a packet will last you through a few seasons if you store it properly.

https://www.jungseed.com/C/213/FertilizersGrowthBoosters

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“In fact, the taproots are edible, and smell like bananas. Just try not to touch the leaves or stems!”

I’ll be telling Beau - as you know, he’ll eat anything that doesn’t eat him first! ;)

[MomwithHope]

Thanks a million!

[Ellendra]

Awesome! Congrats on the pawpaws!!!!

They are one of the things on my “someday” list. I have a nice river valley that they should grow well in, but right now there’s just too many other trees competing for space. Eventually I’ll be thinning them down, and then there will be room for pawpaws :)

[Ellendra]

I’d suggest marking out an area with lots of first-year plants, then digging in the fall after a good hard freeze and thaw. Scratch and sniff each root as you dig them up, sometimes other plants like to hide amongst the parsnips that have the same shape and color of taproot. There’s no mistaking that banana smell, though.

And wear gloves, just in case some of the leaves are still kicking!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

He’s out mowing with the big mower on front of the skid steer. He’s working on the sides of the driveway and then the paths we have for riding/walking trails.

I can guarantee that he’s mowing down ANY Wild Parsnip he sees, LOL!

I’ll tell him about the procedure when he gets back in. He just might be interested in that. That, and his ‘Nettle Tea’ which gives me hives just thinking about it! ;)