Posted on 04/10/2021 6:03:07 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Quite a morning with the hummingbird showing up and then my little great-nieces also picked up their bluebird houses this morning from their great-grandpa. It was a bit of a struggle for him to make them (1 for each) with his physical condition, but he managed to get them together. He told me he was “worn out”, but I think the hugs he got as a ‘thank you’ helped a lot. We got pictures of him with the girls & their bb houses - the houses will last longer than great-grandpa so they’ll have something to remember him by.
The brown spots are a (relatively) harmless bacterial blight that most Peonies get at one time of another. The white powder is most likely powdery mildew.
If you’re having both of these problems, the culprit is usually an overly-wet growing season. Was last year especially wet one for your area? This could be a ‘one and done’ thing just based upon the weather last season.
My favorite organic care for any of these fungal issues is a copper spray. I use it on my tomato and pepper plants to fight blight in wet years; I’ll spray it on anything at the first sign of blight or mildew. Bonide makes a great product. This is a ready to go spray but it also comes in a concentrate that you can mix up yourself.
https://www.planetnatural.com/product/liquid-copper-spray/
I would give them a spray once they are completely leafed out, and then another after a heavy rain and then every few weeks or so throughout the summer to see if that helps. That copper spray is a Miracle Cure for a LOT of fungal issues on many different plants. :)
If it’s any consolation, it only took me 55 years to get here!
P.S. I bought a basil plant the other day. I am taking cuttings and rooting them to make more - just like you taught me. :)
“Collar, chain, and cinder block will keep your billy where you want him.”
I did exactly that when raising my Basset Hound, Rufus. That way he could SLOWLY wander, but I could catch him easily enough when he was heading for trouble! ;)
It’s the buck that smells!
LOL! I know. And I know you are Pro-Goat! ;)
Thanks for the info on the peonies. It was a very wet spring last year. I will try the spray, as I hate to lose them. I have a few newer plants I picked up in the past few years, but the bulk of the problem ones I’ve had for over 30 years, brought from a previous home. I sure hate the thought of losing them. Just in case, I just bought 3 new varieties, which came in a box. Thinking I will start them in pots to get them started.
Peonies are pretty tough and I’ve never had problems with moving them from place to place.
Make sure they are in the most sunny spot you have - that also cuts down on disease issues, and make sure they get divided every 5 years or so, so they don’t get crowded.
If, for some reason, you have a drought season this year, water them at the base; no over-head watering for peonies, aside from what the rain does. Can’t stop that!
For me, my established peonies are usually fully bloomed out by Memorial Day weekend. (SW Wisconsin, Zone 4/5) And then we’ll get a rip-snorter of a thunderstorm and I’ll have shredded blooms. ;( It’s like clockwork! I have found that staking them well helps and I also cut HUGE bouquets of them, whether all the way open or not, and at least I can save and enjoy some of them! :)
Air circulation and sunshine is everything when it comes to preventing blights and mildew on any living thing. Good Luck! :)
https://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/perennials/peony-garden-tour/
My only peony is the Bowl of Beauty, sprouts up about 5 inches.
Halleleuja! Finally got rain, a nice slow and soft rainfall of about an inch total. Much needed, and a bit more to come. Takes all the pressure off the farms for now. But hope your rainfall can slack, and let your ground dry out some. A good balance is a fine thing.
Good luck with the morels, love them. Rare around here unless you can find an old orchard, they are likely to show up there.
Greenhouse arrived this past week, right in the middle of a foot of very heavy, wet snow.
Now that the snow is gone, and the ground is dry enough to work, the Wicked Wind Of The West is cackling madly about not letting me try to erect it.
About 2 days before the snow, I did get some spinach seed into the ground.
Plan to do more tilling tomorrow, and maybe get some more cool weather seeds in. Waiting on my ordered 5-10-10 fertilizer to arrive, before seriously planting. Have to till, because the shepherd’s purse is already putting out whorls.
I had to order from eBay, because all we can get locally, even in Rapid City, is 10-10-10; high nitrogen lawn or pasture fertilizers; or ridiculously expensive little bags of organic boutique fertilizers. Can’t even get super or triple-super phosphate, without ordering online.
Wicked Wind of the West- LOL. I know that wind, she sometimes comes roaring up through our valley like a freight train.
For fertilizer, do you have any farm supply stores? They might have what you are looking for.
LOVE that colorful artwork on those seed packets. Nicely displayed!
Thanks! Found a stash in an antiques store MANY years ago. I might frame a few of them, too.
They look very very healthy!!!
Skunked on morels in the river bottom yesterday. No inky caps, no gyromitra, no polyporus squamosus. Nothing but some slime molds. That tells me the soil temp isn’t where it needs to be.
I’m going to hit one of my in-town spots after work today. The in-town spots always seem to be few days ahead of the out-in-the-country spots.
Thank you! High praise coming from THE garlic expert!
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