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Weekly Garden Thread - April 23-29, 2022 [Phenology and You Edition]
April 23, 2022 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

Posted on 04/23/2022 6:00:06 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!


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Gardening; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: food; garden; gardening; hobbies
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To: All

21 posted on 04/23/2022 7:26:25 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Apple Pan Dowdy
On the tomatoes: Chances are better than not that you used a high nitrogen synthetic/chemical fertilizer like Miracle Grow, just a guess. These are commonly used, and yes they make things grow well. Annual flowers for example often go nuts (in a good way) if used correctly. However garden vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers etc. do not. They may grow all stems/vines etc. but hardly blossom.
 
When OTC chemical fertilizers are used these vegetables use all their growing power to grow the plant, not the fruit/blossom part. I recommend a good organic fertilizer like: This for example is loaded calcium/magnesium/good bacteria varieties and other nutrients on top of the other natural by-products you are using. These products give the plants what they need specifically to be prolific, especially low nitrogen. One inexpensive bag will last you a year or two, also they work over a period of weeks rather than a couple of days. Not sure in your instance but the sage varieties may be suffering from the same thing.
 
Also it should be noted to go online (I like rareseeds.com) and buy heirloom seeds. If you buy say typical big box tomatoes most or all will be hybrids - nothing wrong with this as they often offer disease resistance etc. Problem is they will cross breed so you never know what you're going to get the following year if you save seeds. With heirloom seeds they only produce seeds from their own variety so you'll only get seeds that are plant specific. I grow with about 8-10 varieties a year and they never change, must be a decade now as I quit counting the seasons. For full disclosure I work in a greenhouse and tell this to customers all day, most don't know the above comments!
22 posted on 04/23/2022 7:29:41 AM PDT by quantim (Victory is not relative, it is absolute. )
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To: BlackAdderess

I have a few questionable cherry tomato varieties as well. Out of four varieties seeded, the ones I’m unsure of are a matter of either this or that. One of two possibilities. I’ll know when they turn a certain color or in the case of Yellow Pear, grow a certain shape. I think one is closer to a grape size too so that will be an indicator while still green.

I only started two slicer types and Brandywine is a potato leafed variety while Tappy’s is not so that’s no problem.

The Tappy’s are huge and the leaves are nice and green. Brandywine not so much so I’ll be doing Tappy’s again next year. Will decide on Brandywine later.

Some of the cherries are doing a little better than others and Chadwick(I think) is doing the best. And here I thought a tomato is a tomato.

Shisito peppers and Brandywine maters have yellowish leaves. Tried adding nitrogen to one of each with no change to the Shisito and made the Brandywine worse. Spending the day outside in the sun helped a little but not much. Everything gets watered about the same.

I had to bring the plants in today because the wind is gusting over 40mph. They were out there for 48 hours prior and got rain one night. Kind of a hard hardening off but everything did well. 62-82 degrees so I figured why not.


23 posted on 04/23/2022 8:04:43 AM PDT by Pollard (Who stole my tagline?)
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To: Bon of Babble
It angers me when I see plants I know won't grow in this area sold at outlets such as Home Depot or Lowe's

I've gotten two different peach trees from walmart and both bloom a month before our last frost date. I've had one several years and gotten 3 peaches from it. The blossoms dropped after a cold night every other year and most that one year. They also have unknown varieties. Try to look them up on the web and all you find is that walmart sells them. Never again.

24 posted on 04/23/2022 8:09:27 AM PDT by Pollard (Who stole my tagline?)
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To: Qiviut

I’ve noticed the same thing with my hummingbird feeders. They’ll be very territorial and argumentative all day, but when the sun goes down it’s not unusual to see four or five sharing a single feeder peacefully.


25 posted on 04/23/2022 8:10:47 AM PDT by Blurb2350 (posted from my 1500-watt blow dryer)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Stuff is doing great in the green house. Waiting for the weather to warm up. Put some corn in and a melon, squash and cuc plants by the sunny side of the house as an experiment. Broccoli is trying to grow past the ants feeding on them. Peas are in and i stopped buying burpee seeds. Had trouble germinating pickle cucs, beans, corn over the winter, and their peas are barely hanging on outside, so went to gurneys and johnnies. zone 7.


26 posted on 04/23/2022 8:16:11 AM PDT by kvanbrunt2
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To: BlackAdderess

I’ve gotten to the point where my seedlings have become a bit unmanageable. The tomatoes are all mixed up, I only know the variety for sure of 9 of them.>>> I still get some mixed up but i bought these plastic tags from gurneys i think. They are for computer printer. i don’t have a laser printer so i just use a marker. I put them on the bottom of the peat pots and when i plant them the tags go around the plant. I thot i planted a bunch of jet star tomatoes but i can only find 2 or three. The burpee seeds had troubles germinating this year so i kept putting other seeds in the pots until they got going. The tags are a little busy as a result.


27 posted on 04/23/2022 8:21:54 AM PDT by kvanbrunt2
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To: quantim

Minor correction: Heirlooms that are not allowed to cross-pollinate with other varieties will produce seed that’s true to type. Heirlooms are quite capable of crossing, and the result of that crossing is a hybrid.

Some species cross more easily than others. Most modern tomatoes have blossoms that are mostly enclosed, making it less likely that they’ll cross, but there are exceptions. Squash will readily cross with anything of the same species. Corn is notorious for crossing so easily, it’s actually hard to keep it isolated. Beans and peas have flowers so complex that it actually requires minor surgery to get them to cross, although some areas have insects determined enough to do the job anyway.

(I’m a professional plant-breeder. There are a lot of myths out there about plant genetics. Two of the most common myths are “heirlooms will always be true, no matter what” and “hybrids always produce sterile seed”.)


28 posted on 04/23/2022 9:00:22 AM PDT by Ellendra (A single lie on our side does more damage than a thousand lies on their side.)
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To: kvanbrunt2
I used jiffy pellets this year and used Gum Soft Picks for identifiers. They are tiny and I used different colored markers to color code them with a sticky label on the outside if the clam shell. Worked great. As I put them in larger pots I used regular plant marker and am saving the sift pics for next year. gum-soft-picks
29 posted on 04/23/2022 9:01:08 AM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: quantim

Hi quantum, thanks for the tomato suggestions.

As for the Fertilizer….. I am going all organic. So only prepared some good top soil with composted manure for the raised beds and planted marigolds all around the tomatoes. My squash and zucchini and egg plant did great with that mixture.


30 posted on 04/23/2022 9:49:40 AM PDT by Apple Pan Dowdy (... as American as Apple Pie)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
Looking out our kitchen window 2 hours ago: No gardening this week!

Lower driveway; the wild plums gully; the entrance to the garden area.

Main barn & woodshed annex; corner of porch roof; leaves of my potted sweet potato on the windowsill.


31 posted on 04/23/2022 9:54:56 AM PDT by ApplegateRanch (Love me, love my guns!)
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To: ApplegateRanch

Oh, no! That’s the ‘April’ we had last year. Robins hopping around up to their buts in snow, looking for worms!


32 posted on 04/23/2022 10:39:19 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: All
Well! This is the most we've gotten accomplished before Noon so far this entire Spring!

Planted three 'Patriot' Blueberries:

A 'Therese Bugnet' Rose:

Dwarf 'North Star' Cherry Tree:

And, five 'Bloomstruck' Hydrangea on the east side of the back deck. They will get morning sun and shade from Noon on. They'll look FANTASTIC against my freshly painted house, which is 'Sheraton Sage' with accents of 'Birdseye Maple' and 'Renwich Heather.' (Sherwin-Williams' paint colors.)

Everyone got a good, soaking drink, the tree got wrap protection against chewing puppies, I put tomato cages over the blueberries because they're small and I don't want to mow them down when 'Crazy Lady' is on the mower, and the same for the Hydrangea.

33 posted on 04/23/2022 10:54:12 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Apple Pan Dowdy

freepmail for you


34 posted on 04/23/2022 10:57:17 AM PDT by Albion Wilde (If science can’t be questioned, it’s not science anymore, it’s propaganda. --Aaron Rodgers)
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To: Qiviut; MomwithHope
As an added bonus, THIS guy showed up today - so many more will follow. (Red Breasted Grosbeak) That also means my Orioles (Baltimore and Orchard) will not be far behind. Still a while off for Hummingbirds, though.


35 posted on 04/23/2022 10:58:01 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Beautiful bird!


36 posted on 04/23/2022 10:58:58 AM PDT by ConjunctionJunction (Vim vi repellere licet)
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To: Bon of Babble

I enjoy your garden photos so much. And today, we have fauna as well as flora! Lovely kitty. I wouldn’t want to mess with her, tho.


37 posted on 04/23/2022 10:59:02 AM PDT by Albion Wilde (If science can’t be questioned, it’s not science anymore, it’s propaganda. --Aaron Rodgers)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Oy, we dread the grosbeaks. They have a nice song, but are pigs and bullies at the feeder. The last couple of years we quit putting out seed when they show up. Otherwise we have 3 or 4 families and they all hog the feeder. No orioles yet of hummers should be soon, got my feeder out earlier this week.


38 posted on 04/23/2022 11:04:46 AM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: MomwithHope

Mine seem well behaved, LOL! Must be a different strain. ;)


39 posted on 04/23/2022 11:10:30 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

We think it’s more inherited bad behavior going back 5 or 6 years at least. They used to be more shy.


40 posted on 04/23/2022 11:14:58 AM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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