Weekly Garden Thread - December 4-10, 2021 [Holly Jolly Edition]

December 4, 2021 | 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 a 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!

[metmom]

The shoemakers children go barefoot.

Been there, doing that.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

That is hilarious! What a clever creation.

I can’t figure out the eyebrows, though.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for the ping. We have a nice day today, so I’m going to do a little clean up outside, and work on organizing the green house a little. Almost all the potted plants are indoors - a couple still in green house till colder weather gets here.

[goodnesswins]

I Love this thread...even tho I don’t comment...we moved to a harsher gardening property and are in the midst of remodel. We now have @2 acres to deal with. Planning a “courtyard garden” to be able to grow some veggies in future (protect from varmints and have decent soil in raised beds). Oh. And I love holly trees...several on the property, altho they seem to be struggling.

[goodnesswins]

Eyebrows appear to be roots of something

[ProtectOurFreedom]

LOL. But you posted that pic of a hilly Wisconsin farm near you so one leg has to be shorter than the other. Right?

[greeneyes]

Thanks. BkMkd to explore.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I finished our North Idaho winterization work this week. We've had three windstorms in the past three weeks. The first two were really intense and the one last Weds was quite mild. So it took lots of time cleaning up storm debris from all the Ponderosa Pines and Fir trees. The Spruces don't lose much. The aspens on our property finally stopped dumping their leaves and the nearby maples are all empty, too. A couple of nearby oak trees still have some stubborn leaves attached. The big trumpet vine on the pergola finally stopped it's leaf dump.

We completed all the storm debris cleanup, all the leaf collection, the garden bed cleanup, emptying the pots of soil for the winter (the damp soil can freeze and crack the pot; I'll start with new potting soil next Spring), drained the fountain, put away the fire pit ceramic log set, covered the fire pit, covered the crawlspace air vents, put away the patio heater, put heavy plastic over the various pots and water fountain vase, took down the patio string lights from the pergola, moved the lawn furniture to storage, winterized the pressure washer, and blew out the sprinkler system.

Whew, I'd forgotten how much work it is to get ready for winter.

Not exactly gardening, but we've had chronic problems with gutters overflowing since we bought the house four years ago, so this summer I decided it was time to fix that problem. In even a small rain, the downspouts would fill up with water which then filled the gutters and they overflowed into the garden beds which made a huge mess -- it was as if we had no gutters at all. I found that the downspouts weren't draining because somebody did a TERRIBLE job of building a small drywall filled with river rock. Over the years, soil infiltrated it and the drain pipe, so there was nowhere for the water to go. Here's the solution I built this summer. While not beautiful flowers, it has a certain "prettiness" to engineers. ;>) We got the gravel in, pulled the fabric over the top, capped it with 10 inches of soil and put the sod back. Now I'm just sitting back and waiting for a huge downpour to watch my beautifully free-flowing gutters and downspouts do their thing! Looks like no heavy rainfall this fall and the snow is coming down right now.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Nice of you to chime in, then! 2 acres is a great start for lots of future garden & landscaping projects. We're here to help! :)

I'd recommend looking up how to prune the Holly trees, (or call in a Professional) and this coming spring, when you see growth on the Holly or other things around it, give it a fertilization with Miracid, which is from Miracle Grow, and has the acidity that Holly likes.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yeah, but I wear a lift in that shoe when I ‘go out among the English’ so I don’t scare the Townies, LOL!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

LOL

[Diana in Wisconsin]

THAT is some gorgeous work, my FRiend! A great solution to a big problem.

I have ONE gutter - and it hangs over my porch and the water from the roof goes straight into the rain barrel. It’s a 55 gallon barrel, but even 1/2” of rain will fill it up!

The metals roof we installed (over the course of 8 years) really does the trick. However, snow falls off of it in sheets, so you have to always ‘look up’ before you go out any door after a heavy snow. It’s not unusual for one or us to yell, ‘AVALANCHE!’ a time or two each winter.

I admire your toughness living in Idaho - it ain’t for sissies! One of my SILs lives there; she’s a tough old bird; loves the challenges Idaho weather, critters and gardening can bring.

[MomwithHope]

We have all of our teeth..

LOLOLOLOL

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[MomwithHope]

I am pretty sure they are green onion roots.

[Qiviut]

One of those very simple, but special sort of moments .... eggs so fresh & so very warm, that when you slip them gently into a jacket pocket until you can unload them in a safe place, they make the most wonderful hand warmers on a chilly morning!

[left that other site]

Good Morning1

:-)

[goodnesswins]

Ha...I think I have a bunch of that SOMEWHERE...Thanks

[goodnesswins]

Now if I could find an easy way to kill poison oak... @1/2 acre of it!!!

[mairdie]

What a great picture! Just makes me happy. Thank you.