Weekly Garden Thread - January 11-17, 2020

January 11, 2020 | Diana in Wisconsin/Greeneyes

[Diana in Wisconsin]

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.

If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.

This thread is non-political respite. 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! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.

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!

[TXBubba]

Please add me to the ping list. Thanks!

[Ellendra]

Actually, in coastal Oregon, planting in the fall might work better than in spring. They don’t really need pollinators, and they prefer cooler temperatures. If they’re still flowering then you still have a good chance of getting a crop.

Even with no insects whatsoever, fava beans will still produce something. Production is higher with certain varieties if insects are there, but other varieties will show no difference. Either way, they’ll produce something. So whatever’s going wrong, it’s not the bees.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You’re in! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

So, I've started my stash-o-things that I save during the winter months to use for seed starting, or in the garden for the next season.

The covered trays from salad greens make great little greenhouses for starting seedlings. The empty containers that held mushrooms, hold 6 Jiffy Pellets just perfectly for starting my tomato or pepper plants. Cut up TP and paper towel rolls nicely line a standard sized flat for starting Peas and Sweet Pea flowers. I can fit 72 cells into a standard flat; then plant the seedling and pot when it's time to go outside. It's good for lots of things that don't like their roots disturbed. I might try beets or some colorful carrots that way this season.

I listed other things I'll be saving, below. Feel free to add your ideas, too!

Egg Shells - rinsed and dried, I crush them up and put them in the planting holes of tomatoes and peppers and summer squash to prevent Blossom End Rot.

Harvest Baskets - I used to be such a GARDEN SNOB and would ONLY collect my veggies in a trug or a hod, LOL! Now, when I am shopping a Thrift Store, if I see a sturdy (willow is best) handled basket, I grab it - they are useful and beautiful and when they finally fall apart, they can be composed or thrown in a fall bonfire.

Gallon Milk Jugs - Two reasons: They make great little 'cloches' for tomato and pepper plants (or anything else) but before I rinse them out for good, I fill them up once with the little drips of milk at the bottom still in there. I feed that water to my houseplants in the winter. I have Geraniums that bloom all winter thanks to that little calcium kick. Then, once that liquid is used up (I use a whole gallon to water my numerous houseplants each week) I rinse the jug out well, then string them on a piece of twine that's hanging in the basement for storage. I always need a jug to mix up some garden-related fertilizer concoction, too.

Coffee Grounds - Usually they just go into the compost, but I keep a small bucket of them under the sink to dry out and then sprinkle the dried grounds on the acid-loving plants that love them, come spring.

Newspapers - The B&W (non-shiny) sheets are great for making paper pots for seedlings, as well as shreds for the compost bin and a thick layer makes awesome weed barrier or mulch when covered up with shredded bark or soil. I've made MANY garden beds with thick layers of newspaper when I was without a tiller.

Cardboard - Since I order pet supplies on line (Chewy.com) I always have a stead stream or cardboard boxes coming to the house. FIRST< they get used as clubhouses for the cats, THEN I cut them down into big pieces, stack them, and keep them for using as mulch as you can with the newspaper layers, or to line the bottom of any new raised beds we're adding that season as a weed barrier. We are adding a minimum of TWO raised beds this season; four if I have my way.

Tin Food Cans with Cool Labels - I drill holes in the bottom and I just love how these look with herbs planted in them. Anything 'Italian' works for me. You can also use old tin/metal canisters or metal 'biscuit tins' that you find at Thrift stores, too. If you don't want to drill holes, make sure you have a layer of gravel in the bottom for drainage!

Large Styrofoam Meat Trays - same concept as the salad greens and mushroom containers, for seed starting with Jiffy Pellets.

Wine Bottles - Blues, Reds and Greens. I have a pretty 'Bottle Tree' that needs new bottles from time to time. Beau is going to build me another one with reinforcing rods that you usually use in concrete work. I've also seen fences that have wine bottles added to them - so pretty!

[TheConservativeParty]

Yes I think it was tagged Endless Summer. Bloomed right up to freezing temps.

[tubebender]

“Endless Summer”???

Greatest movie ever made!!!

[TheConservativeParty]

Had to look it up, surfing movie.
Didn’t see it but looks like more fun than ice and snow.

[tubebender]

Check out his “On Any Sunday”...

[cherry]

peat pots are fantastic but if one wants to be frugal, go ahead and use any kind of small plastic pot with holes on the bottom.....slip a crumbled up piece of newspaper in the bottom then the soil,and then plant,seed or seedling.... get the little plant good and wet and the newspaper lets you take out the plant without pulling the weeds out ...... ready to transplant into the ground....

[TheConservativeParty]

That’s a great way to do it!

[TheConservativeParty]

Ah, motorcycle racing. Probably would like the surfing one better, nice nature scenes.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Very smart!!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I like ‘Endless Summer’ but LOVE, ‘Summer Wind.’

Take it, Frank!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DopzOCeKJc

The summer wind came blowin’ in
From across the sea
It lingered there to touch your hair
and walk with me
All summer long
we sang a song
And then we strolled that golden sand
Two sweethearts
and the summer wind

Like painted kites, those days and nights
They went flying by
The world was new
Beneath a blue
Umbrella sky

Then softer than
A piper man
One day, it called to you
I lost you, I lost you to
The summer wind

The autumn wind
And the winter winds
They have come and gone
And still those days
Those lonely days
They go on and on
And guess who sighs his lullabies
Through nights that never end?
My fickle friend,
The summer wind...

[blueunicorn6]

I really like Frank Sinatra doing this song.

I know he’s famous for his phrasing, but he also has a saxophone growl to his voice.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

If I had to choose music for being stranded on a Desert Island, I’d choose Frank first.

Then, probably ‘Rubber Soul’ by the Beatles. ;)

[Augie]

Rain overnight on Friday turned into freezing rain and then snow on Saturday here in Central Missouri. Fortunately, the warm temps that preceeded that kept things from getting really ugly. We wound up with a couple inches of snow on the ground.

It’s supposed to start warming up later today, so what little snow stuck won’t last for long.

I’m not sure how much it rained, but it was quite a bit. There’s 10” of new water in my pond. Couple more inches and it will be over the spillway.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

We had a weekend filled with ice and crusty snow; just a few inches. This morning a layer of pretty fluffy stuff, and a high of 38 today.

Weird winter so farm, but I’ll take it!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Just got our land line and email system back up and running...

[greeneyes]

That’s good news—back among the modern society. LOL

[Diana in Wisconsin]