Weekly Garden Thread - June 10-16, 2023 [Garden Trends for 2023 Edition]

June 10, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thanks, Pete! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The only ‘trend’ I’m following THIS season is a lack of RAIN. We have not had any measurable rain in over 45 days now, and it is showing!

Anywhere the lawn is in full sun? CRISPY! Shaded parts of the yard look relatively healthy, but the WEEDS this season, in the shaded areas are insane. Some I’ve never seen before, but that’s normal in a drought year - which is looks like we’re heading for. Ugh!

Beau is in Canada this week fishing. They should be far enough away from the fires. He decided to plant Sweet Corn, Indian Corn and Popcorn...the day before he left! So, I’ve given that area two deep soaks so far to see if I can at least get some germination before he gets back. (He’s taken over The Big Garden that ended up being too much work for me, though I kept 1/4 of it for wildflowers.)

This morning I am watering my Kitchen Garden, then on to the fruit trees, which I did last week.

50% chance of some rain tomorrow, though all of it is going NORTH, today.

Planning on going to an Antique Show and Flea Market tomorrow if it rains. It’s indoors at our big pavilion. Or, I may just stay home and run around in the rain, LOL!

Reminds me of when I lived in San Diego and it didn’t rain for 2 YEARS. My neighbors thought we were nuts when we were running around in the rain on Christmas Eve that year, LOL!

[heartwood]

The birds plant the invasives under the trees. And I love them but they’re trouble sometimes. Multiflora rose, burning bush, barberry, and their native of choice, poison ivy.

Woodlands with a large deer population seem to have more understory invasives, but there’s huge variation in the local woods that doesn’t seem to be only hunted and not hunted.

Good luck to you, that is a task.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I never thought I would approve of growing vegetables in front of the house, but that is now the plan! Of course my “1 hose” plan got scuttled right away.

First, my water didn’t work when my husband uncovered the hose valve from its winter blanket. Install new valve. Then the new valve caused back flushing of debris from the whole house water system. Everything worked, except the kitchen sink which only dribbled. Replace kitchen faucet (3 trips to 4 hardware stores for various faucets, special wrenches, returns, etc.) Faucet and all water works great.

Then, Amazon delivery drove over my special hose and broke a connection. (I know I had it out of the way on my circle drive. They must have aimed for it!) More hardware stores. Everything fixed again.

Gardening is not for the faint of heart (or old people) ! My husband lay under the sink on the dog bed for 3 days fussing with that faucet.

[Big Red Badger]

XLNT FRiend!
Great poster too.

[Pollard]

New drip system. I watered plants that are still in pots too. :)

Took about an hour to put it all together. I've got about 50 foot of row so I used half the $60 kit. If I get some more coupler fittings, I can double up on the drip lines and offset them. The drip line has emitters built in every foot. I could make that every 6 inches and water twice as fast and more evenly.

Each leg/row has it's own shut off valve where the black 1/4" hose meets the brown 1/4" emitter hose. I use this one to shut down the peppers & onions and let the maters go for a while longer.

I installed water hose ends on the tank sprayer pump and hook it to a 220 gallon water tank to water. Yesterday I reconnected the suction hose from the sprayer tank to the pump and made up 15 gallons of fish fertilizer and fertilized via drip. Took about an hour to pump the 15 gallons which is about how much time I ran it off the bigger tank to water a few days ago. Definitely a water saver.

Gonna go out now and get those three mater plants out of pots and into the ground. Also got a truck bed full of compost to start spreading as mulch and another raised bed to build and fill with soil/compost mix.

[Qiviut]

Cats do not like to be “mocked”, no pun intended!

We have mockingbirds nesting in a holly tree in the yard, seems to be every year. Any animal/bird that comes near is going to be dive bombed & harassed until it leaves the area. It’s entertaining to watch them.

[daniel1212]

Thanks and glory be to God

[daniel1212]

Lots of space btwn plants! In the city of approx 25k per mile, we are one of the few (thank God) that even has the space we have as renters, about 50'x7' facing mostly West, but with 3 deckers blacking late sun. I planted our 60 toms to close as usual, some even about just a foot apart.

220 gallon water tank

Wow. We want to see the picture! I use 48 and 64 gal trash bins, and try to cover them while also giving the top a shot of non-stick food spray to stop breeding of mosquitos.

[daniel1212]

I decided not to do tomatoes this year, but am doing almost all cool weather crops and it looks like it’s been a wise decision. They are all doing well now that the dry spell if o

Do you like Swiss Chard? I have seen it overwinter here. Thank God for all.

[Doctor Congo]

I am trying something different this year: yard long beans.

I put in a 32 foot row because I have many 16 foot tubular cattle panels. The panels are overkill but I wasn’t using them anymore. They taste like beans but do not cross with them, or anything else so I can save the seeds without worry.

They are good for the grill because they get picked at 12 inches which keeps them from falling thru the grill. I will allow most of them to dry on the vine because they can be used just like black eyed peas. Never ate them dry before so it will be an experiment. Never ate them at all yet either. This will be interesting and fun.

[goodnesswins]

Happy Saturday! I am fighting “native plants” a flowering plant keeps popping up with the daintiest, cutest white flowers...it is NIGHTSHADE...aaaggghhh...on another note...anyone here use an app to ID plants? I have been using Leafsnap

[Qiviut]

‘Treasure’ hunting in the pole barn, looking for lumber (herb garden extension, log holder for fire pit area) & noticed 3 pallets. I saw this idea for pallet gardening & I think I like it!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/218002438196387317/

Other cool gardening ideas, too.

[Redleg Duke]

Greetings from southern New Hampshire, where I finally completed the fifth and final raised bed in our garden expansion!

I used rough 2” by 8” lumber, two high, with 1/2” hardware cloth stapled to the bottom and filled with sifted compost.

The Boss will start the fertilization and planting tomorrow, when the weather is supposed to break upwards.

I will plumb the beds to tie into zone 4 of our irrigation system and reroute the back (north) fence to encompass the expansion area.

Now, I have two beds to weed, move a couple of cattle panels to provide a large trellis for luffa and birdhouse gourds.

[metmom]

Love it but can’t eat any of it.

[ArcadeQuarters]

Interesting. Thanks.

[Ellendra]

It might be worth looking at fog harps this year. That way you can at least collect dew in usable amounts.

[Ellendra]

The nightshade with the white flowers has edible berries, if that helps any. The berries taste like tomatoes with a hint of blueberry.

Nightshades with colored flowers are the poisonous ones. Unfortunately, they get lumped together a lot. Even some botanical texts mix them up.

[Ellendra]

Nightshades with colored flowers are the poisonous ones.

I should have said the WILD nightshades with the colored flowers. There are domesticated members of the nightshade family that don't follow that rule.

[Pollard]

You can get used 55 gal plastic drums for about $20. Just have to make sure it had food stuff in them. One of the bungs will have 3/4" pipe thread in it and a spigot will thread right in.

There's supposed to be a bunch of beans growing but I need to replant. Also got three more mater plants to put in. I had a lot more last year, several types of greens, more maters than this year, several pepper plants, lettuce.

The 220 gal tank sits on a trailer I tow behind my tiny tractor. Generator on the back runs a sump pump that pulls spring water from a creek. A well costs $10k to drill around here. The spring had been set up for and certified by the state for bottled water production but they never followed through with it. I get water a few hundred feet down the creek it feeds. That 220 gallons is for the house and 220 gallons ain't much for that.

That's why the drip system is needed. 15 gallons of metered water vs who knows what with hose watering.(especially if I walk away and forget the hose is trickling) In fact, even though I watered from the 220 gal tank, I'm just going to fill the 15 gal tank and water from it. If I got sidetracked while watering, it would just use up that 15 gallons. Can't hurt those pumps by running them dry but I'll be getting a 12vdc timer for it anyway. They can be set to just shut off after a certain amount of time or you can set days and hours of those days to turn on and off. I would just set it every time I water to shut down in an hour or two. Can't schedule around rain or lack of.

I make a water run every 2-3 weeks in the warmer months. Low flow shower head with a shut of valve at the head like an RV shower has. Get wet, turn off water, soap up, scrub, turn on water, rinse. Same with hair/head. About 7 gallons. We use a composting toilet. I've learned how to do dishes with minimal water use. We don't drink it or cook with it. I fill the above 55 plastic drum from a neighbor's deep well for that.

We have a wringer washer but I have another tank for that. I also have a spare water heater I plan to hook up for that. I've just been filling a few gallon containers from the house hot water to add to the cool tank water for laundry. Half the year I use a laundromat.

A 12vdc RV pump gives pressure/flow to the house and it comes from an RV water hose connected to the tank. We lose water several times per Winter. Would be more but I run insulated flex duct from the house to tank and hose runs inside. I also use a computer fan to blow house air down the duct.

Someone local is selling 275 gallon IBC tanks that had veggie oil in them for $55 or $50 if buying multiple. I plan to get 6 of them. One to replace the tank on the trailer, one to replace the one for the wringer washer, as both are getting nasty. Then the other four will be for the 22x35 high tunnel, one on each corner and the tunnel will have gutters to collect rainwater. Have no idea if 1,100 gallons(275x4) will get me through a dry Summer but I can always fill them with multiple trips with the water trailer. Same guy has 55 gal drums for $10 so I might grab a few of those too.

At some point, this will become a water truck. In fact, before I made the trailer for the tank, I had it on the back of this truck and drove it down to fill it a few times. Needs carburetor work to run again and I'll be keeping my eye out for a big tank to fit it. It's at least a 1 1/2 ton. Has 12 leafs in the main leaf springs and another 7 for the overload springs and has a two speed rear end. As big of a tank as will fit, it will haul. I could fit four of the 275 gal IBC tanks but a single big round tank would be better.

Got two of three maters in the ground and am going out to do the third. This little area has some rocky spots. This is one hole's worth of rocks for a 4 inch pot sized plant. Post hole diggers do a 6 inch hole. I go deeper than needed and refill minus rocks until I'm at the right level for the root ball. Then I fill around it with 50/50 mix of compost and soil.

And yes, I have to use a digging bar. Little plant between two with fruit is what I just planted.

About half this little garden is rocky. Hardly any rocks at all and 12" of top soil where the REAL garden and high tunnel are going. I'll probably plant so much down there next Spring that I'll get overwhelmed with it.