Posted on 11/06/2021 6:43:46 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Good Morning to You! :-)
Weather in SoCal is still a bit hot - mid 80s to even low 90s.
Harvesting pomegranates:
Angel's Trump decided to explode in blooms - had to tell my guests to stay away because it's covered with bees - more bees than my dedicated bee garden.
We've cut it back to the ground for years and it comes back stronger than ever:
Native Guara:
And, the roses are putting on a final show before I cut them back in about a month:
"Pinata":
Happy gardening, and as usual, we are praying - hard - for rain.
We might have some rain tomorrow then the rest of the week looks pretty good, so I'll have time to work outside then if I can't do much today.
GOODBYE TO THE PORCH FERNS
We said goodbye night-before-last to all the ferns on our porches. It’s always a bit of a sad moment for me when that first frost comes along and zaps them. I have them hanging along the back porch, in a big wicker plant stand, and in two wooden stands on either side of the front door.
Wish I had a way to keep them through the winter, but we don’t have a greenhouse. I brought in all the other porch plants and have them on baker racks by a couple of big sunny windows. But the ferns are just too big to bring inside.
Two questions.
First, I have an abundance of Ghost and Carolina Reaper Super Hot peppers.
Can I make a liquid spray to repel animals and/or insects with them?
Secondly, I slipped by with a very light frost 2 nights ago and need to plant some herbs in buckets to bring inside. I know lemon grass and ginger come in. I brought in the patchouli, basil, and curry plants already.
What other herbs are best moved indoors for the winter?
Love that rose! I have a dozen of the bright orange ones on my kitchen counter, right now. Sad to say store-bought and not home-grown but fresh flowers are a Little Luxury I can’t life without. :)
My chores are stacked up for Sunday:
Dig potatoes
Plant Spring Bulbs (finish; some are in)
More garden bed clean-up
Greenhouse clean-up
“What other herbs are best moved indoors for the winter?”
What do you have to work with?
Pete/Oshkala:
“I have an abundance of Ghost and Carolina Reaper Super Hot peppers. Can I make a liquid spray to repel animals and/or insects with them?”
Suggestions? Or is using those super-hot peppers just dangerous to all involved? ;)
(The resource area is posted at the end of the the July 3-6 Gardening Thread beginning after post 112!)
I understand and sympathize about the porch ferns. The last few years, I moved mine inside over winter and hung them in the sunroom. They brightened it up, but goodness, it was a lot of work to pull them down each week or so to give them a good drink. The leaves fell a lot, too. When it’s outside that doesn’t matter so much. It’s not great when it’s near your casual eating spot!
Last winter we also used our dining room as a greenhouse for overwintering the plants. We figured we weren’t having guests because of CoVid, so I might as well make use of the space. Had grow lights every where. Well, the plants made it, but it was a lot of effort.
This year, I need to have that room back because family will come for Christmas, so my over-wintered plants have to be much fewer than last year. Only the strongest most favorite plants need to apply. One surprise that worked for me last year was a heliotrope. Supposedly an annual here but some places a perennial. Well, that little guy bloomed for quite a while, maybe into December last year, and then in the spring when I thought it was only going to give me green leaves, it produced several blossoms again! So I brought her in to try again this year.
I have many others, but too many to name. All the small fairy gardens will come back indoors. They keep me cheered up in the dead of winter.
On a side note, I still am wondering about the small shallots that I planted late in the Spring. Does anyone have advice about those bulbs? Only one is large enough to use. The others are around the size of a single garlic clove. Do I need to remove them from the soil? (They are in a raised container about 2’ x 3’). Or do I leave them all winter in that container? Suggestions or advice is welcome.
Oh, I agree. My daughter got me into the habit of always having fresh flowers in the house - there are a few months where I don’t have roses and have to buy them - a pricey habit for sure.
That, and I don’t like cutting my own roses for the house - I prefer to see them in the garden.
“What do you have to work with?”
Pretty much everything.
I planted over fifty different herbs and they all flourished. I’m good on the perennials like mints, and the tender annuals like basil. The tender perennials are the one’s I am searching for.
I’m bringing in one batch of tarragon, chives, oregano, and rosemary to use indoors until they fade. I leave the tarragon and chives outside. I know the chives will be fine, and I think the tarragon may be fine, too, but we will see. Like an idiot, I forgot about my basil plant, which was beautiful but out of the way, and the frost got to it. I’m a little bummed, but it’s my own fault.
Our grocery store manager puts flowers on sale at the end of their sale by date for just a few dollars, so I scout those out every week. I like how you said they are a Little Luxury you can’t life without. I feel the same way!
I harvested so much basil I’m actually getting tired of pesto.
Yesterday I picked a few fresh leaves and popped them into my mouth. Wow, an explosion of flavor.
This is my first year of returning to gardening after a twelve years hiatus. It’s also my first year with a new property and North Carolina vs Pennsylvania.
This year I made some hot pepper sauce with my allepo peppers, but I have never made any for insects and animals!
A search of: “Making hot pepper spray to repeal animals” brings up a number of entries for DIY Videos.
Perhaps Oshk has some suggestions?
Diana, you previously posted an article about Rosemary and how to water it! (Spray the leaves, let it fall on the potting medium!) If you have a sunny south window bring the rosemary and thyme in, maybe Sage as well. If you have a shorter managable type of basil like Yevani or Globe basil consider bringing that in that in too!
If you can, avoid using regular garden soil. Something like HP Pro mix is good! I think plastic pots are better holding moisture and make certain you have deep enough pot trays in case of overwatering. Purchase “Mosquito Bits” and Use them regularly in your pots to kill or control Fungus Gnats. (BT Isrealiensis kills mosquitos and fungus gnats/fruit flys!)
(Search Summit-Chemical-Co-MOSQUITO-BITS)
“The Mosquito Bits are now labeled to control Fungus Gnats in plant beds or pots! Utilizing a similar mode of action for control of mosquito larvae, the Bits, either sprinkled on the soils surface or mixed with potting soil prior to planting will kill fungus gnat larvae with the same safety and target specific control offered for mosquito larvae. “
Diana...do you have any fertilization suggestions for these?
10:08 and I have some good weather! Heading out to do things!
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