Posted on 04/16/2022 6:55:11 AM PDT by 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!
40 Best Gardening Hacks and Ideas to Save Time and Money
https://simplifygardening.com/40-best-gardening-hacks/
Some of my faves:
Putting coffee filters in the bottom of pots to allow drainage, but not dirt, out.
Using pop cans and such to fill the bottoms of large pots; less dirt needed, better drainage.
Cutting up old t-shirts to support tomato stems - soft and stretchy and won’t cut stems.
Composting. Duh. ;)
Eggshells! Right after (or before?!?!) the chicken, God’s most useful design, LOL!
Cardboard for weed suppression in new beds and in rows.
Saving cooking water and putting that on your plants when cooled.
Filling a just-emptied milk jug back up with water and watering house and garden plants with that.
Bkmk 4 later.
Good Morning, Everybody!
:-)
Anyone doing no-till?
Meanwhile, Mother Nature is putting on quite a show this spring:
Giant amaryllis are exploding. I think these might be from Christmases past:
Planted these before I knew how poisonous they are.
Scent-sational roses:
She likes to hide in the cactus garden:
Sorry some of the photo are flipped to the side - I have NO idea how to fix the problem and it only seems to happen here.
The zucchini are already outside and beginning to really take off.
But first - the Saturday omelette.
Happy gardening, y'all!
It’s raining here in Eureka Ca this morning...
Thanks for those !!!!
Re: eggshells
Wash egg well before using contents.
Rinse used egg shells (do not remove membrane)
Put shells in a gallon bag in freezer to store until it’s full.
Once bag is full, spread egg shells in a single layer on a cookie sheet & bake at 250 degrees for an hour - this totally dries them out & kills anything undesirable on shells.
Grind shells to a powder (food processor, blender, whatever you have that will work)
Powder can be used on food (people or animal/pets) as a good source of calcium - that membrane is a good source of collagen.
Powder can be used in garden for any plants that need calcium, such as tomatoes.
I do have how much powder = RDA for humans, but will have to find it - will post when I do.
For tomatoes, I usually plant with dried milk as the calcium source. Dried milk has gotten pricey (actually, it’s been pricey & sometimes hard to find) so I’m trying the eggshell calcium powder this year.
+++++++
Company coming tomorrow. My brother has been unable to mow this past week & is currently out of town. This means that I am going to mow at least around the house today - in 2 weeks since last mowing, grass & weeds are 8-12” tall already after rain & some warm days. It will be “interesting” .... getting on/off & how well I can tolerate ‘sitting’ - might have to find a way to prop the old leg up a bit - I have ideas.
Gathered my courage & looked at the garden yesterday - depressing. Lots of weeding. I am going to see what I can manage next week. I need to plant some things, too.
Bluebirds everywhere! Saw a bright blue male giving his lady friend a treat this morning - they were sitting on the fence together when I looked out the kitchen window. I’m not sure what boxes they’re using, but if I’m outside more next week, I should be able to spot them coming & going. Hummer feeders going out after I mow - we have yellow pine pollen everywhere & I don’t want the feeders covered/clogged because the mower will kick up a cloud.
Happy Easter to all!
Howdy! I have a large wire basket in need of a liner. Being a thrifty person (basket was free at the town dump last fall), I am considering a cheap way to line it with something free. Would cardboard, worked with to fit the curve of the metal, be worth a try? Might be a bad idea or look too cheap. Could poke drainage holes in it.
I also have a few small burlap bags that amaryllis came in last year. Maybe a combo of the cardboard on the inside and burlap on the visible side?
Either that or spend a lot on a real liner, which I checked out at Menards when I was there for other stuff many weeks ago. The basket is huge and I would have needed two 18 inch liners and cut them to work in my larger basket together. Liners were about $6-$7 each.
All thrifty garden hack suggestions on this much appreciated.
Oh I just remembered I have mosses turning green on the edge of the woods...maybe that could be used as part of the El Cheapo project.
Maybe the burlap plus moss on the visible side would work. Might be pretty with the moss showing. The burlap is too thin by itself, to hold back erosion of the soil.
The metal is narrow metal strips, not really wire. About 20 inches across the top.
😅
Pollard's F/R profile page has been the location of his Prepper links and Data Base. It is now the new home of the Gardening Resources Links. Click on the Greenhouse to link to his homepage!
Consider plastic window/door screen mesh....easy to work...use wire ties to attach to basket...easy to fold at corners...hot glue corners to hold shape...washable & drains well...won’t rot...cheap.
Use it to form screen in tomato cages 12-15” high.
Zone 9b status report
Blossoms have set on the blueberries
Canes coming up from the raspberries
Trees have all set fruit, the March freeze didn’t kill blossoms
Grapes on their way
Cabbages almost forming heads (should have started a month earlier in Feb)
Had to strip/thin baby limes
Onions and garlic well established
Pole beans on their way
Potatoes are aggressive
Cucumbers up
Peppers and tomatoes stalled by a few cold mornings this week ~40deg
Amaryllis grow very well in my part of Florida, which is about 60 miles south of Tampa.
The blooms only last a few days.
I’m trying.
The cardboard hasn’t broken down like I expected. Yet.
Egg shells..... A step further
If you take your ground up shells and put them in a 5 gallon bucket, and add a 2 to 1 ratio of white vinegar (by volume) to shells and get, at first, a lot of foaming! But if you let it sit for a day the CO2 will be gone and you will have reduced the shells to calcium with a bit of phosphorus and water that tastes a bit vinegary. pour off the water and use on your plants. (Do this in a green house and let the plants harvest the CO2 that you released!)
I have some lavender plants growing in what is peat moss in a covered area.
A nearby Walmart has flowering lavender in peat moss, but the plants don’t seem to have a smell.
My balsam seeds have spouted and are growing in partial shade.
Lovely pics as usual, and a sweet Cat to boot. Your pictures might be a tad too big of a file and that’s why they flipped.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
