The Garden Thread - September, 2024

September 1, 2024 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a 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 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/removed from our New & Improved Ping List.

NOTE: This is a once a MONTH Ping List, but we DO post to the thread all throughout the month. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time!

[Pollard]

I am late late late to the thread, but I have to concur on the fact that plants and flowers and trees and fruits and vegetables miraculously grow from little seeds.

Starting seeds indoors is is an amazing thing because it makes you realize that wild or volunteer veggie seeds outdoors are just waiting for a few good days.

I'm trying my first Fall gardening. Started two 32 cell trays on Sunday 9/1 and all but 3 of 64 cells have sprouted here on Wed 9/4. Every seed packet said 10-14 days.

These are all brassica or lettuce, all tiny seeds. Amazing what they turn into.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Blue Ribbon for a photo of Red Lettuce! A red ribbon for your many-colored fiber arts dream of snow and plowed earth, forests and clouds and sky! Both well done! Congratulations!

The canned goods... Well, a level up from a participation prize. The real prize was a chance to get out and take a trip to the fairgrounds and see your neighbors in (I think) Mineral Point? (Now, sometime this winter, you can enjoy the products of your canning and memories of the garden and Summer!)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

It was always a bit humorous to go to Wisconsin and see all the plastic pink flamingos in the front yards. I sort of understood the plastic Deer, especially if the home owner was a hunter. The other thing was Tractor tire planters.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

It might help if I included the video!

Game Changing Beet Planting Method With Mind Blowing Results

[FamiliarFace]

Good luck with your Fall gardening!

For my part, I am absolutely thrilled to have little potatoes that were shriveling up and sprouting last Spring actually turn into 8-fold what I planted. Nearly free food. All I spent was on some organic potting soil and water. That’s it.

Simply amazing.

I’m gettin ready to see what it takes to grow a Buckeye tree from seed. The tree across our creek that I was sure about had another tree fall on it and take it out. So now I want a Buckeye tree on this side of the creek, if at all possible.

[Augie]

Water leaks...

The house we lived in before we built the one we’re in now... they used the cheapo black plastic farmer pipe to run water from the meter to the house. Nevermind the giant silver maple in between the two. I dug it up to fix leaks three different times before I finally replaced the entire water line.

ugh...

[Qiviut]

Have you ever grown ‘ammi majus’ Bishops Flower?

Queen Anne’s Lace is a favorite of mine, but it is wild, in the carrot family, & blooms every other year. According to the info available on it, ammi majus is an annual, easy to grow, & is a favorite in bouquets because it is long lasting & adds an airy lightness. I just recommended it to my niece who had large flower gardens this year & has sold some bouquets - she’s looking to grow more ‘filler’ next year. We have added rosemary to some arrangements mom made - fragrant & holds up well.

I am thinking of flowers for raised beds since I am at the point of putting in place the raised beds I have made.

[Qiviut]

Ping to https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4262089/posts?page=107#107

Somehow (not enough coffee) I sent this to myself.

[Qiviut]

Finally in a spot where I can post some pics of my projects from last week.

Safety rails for "The Pit" - this turned into a priority after I ended up twice (despite the safety tape put down by the previous owner) having a near accident going over the edge with one foot. The drop is 4-5" & enough to really mess you up if you stumble over the edge & fall. Two rails is probably overkill, but it makes the support post fairly steady - it's not attached to the concrete.

Shelves - this is a composite of 2 shelf systems ... [1] heavy duty metal shelves with rails, wire shelves & end units & [2] a 2x4Basics 3-shelf system using 2x4s for end supports & shelves. The end pieces & 2 rails of the metal unit were heavily damaged, so I figured how to attach the rails to boards & then use the 2x4Basics pieces for the end supports. I was missing rails for a 4th shelf so I built a frame, put wheels on it & the 4th shelf is a "trundle" shelf that rolls under the 3-shelf unit. I love the 'trundle' - so easy to pull it out & see what's on it, open bins, etc.

The last project has been building raised beds. My brother built his using 6' cedar fence pickets. The pickets are easy to use & just under $4 each, plus being cedar, they last a long time and are not toxic with wood preservative. The beds are 3' by 6' and take 9 pickets. I bought a 10th for each bed and made supports for the long sides. I used old 4x4s we had on hand for corner supports. I also lined the beds with landscape fabric because no matter how careful you are choosing pickets, some are warped just enough dirt will filter through the cracks. After making 2 beds, initially for myself, I decided that I would use them for a surprise birthday flower garden area for my mom. Our new house does not have flower 'beds' like the old house & she's been commenting on missing her flowers.

The site for the flower bed is at the base of a bank on the side of our shop. That bank is horrible to mow, dusty, full of wire grass. I am covering the bank with shingles as a weed barrier & then with mulch. The bank is about 3' wide at the top - enough room for the 3'x 6' beds, but then there is no level ground to stand on, so the beds are on flat ground at the base of the bank. There is still room at the top of the bank for pots OR I might make a very narrow bed (like 1' wide), sort of like a window box, but not attached to the windows, for planting more flowers. I have 2 beds in place & will probably make a 3rd to take up most of the length of the shop. So far, I like the way the project is turning out. The 2 beds in place have cardboard, then sticks, then leaf compost in them (after I took the pic) - looking for good topsoil. I also ran out of landscape staples (and time) so the shingles/mulch work still has a ways to go.

I love working on these projects ... using my dad's tools is special too - he would be very happy that I used the 2 shelf systems & made something practical out of them. The mulch (a not-skimpy Bobcat scoop that filled my 5'x '8 trailer) has been a challenge - I off-loaded what I needed at the project site; however, I had forgotten to bring a regular sized shovel so scooped into a 5 gallon bucket & hauled. To off-load what was left, I used a hoe to pull the mulch down cardboard I had on the trailer ramp for storage on a tarp under the barn lean-to. I am super stiff and sore today, but tomorrow will be better. I can't wait to get back to the raised bed project & finish it off :-)

[FamiliarFace]

I am so glad you have those safety rails up. 4-5’ drop will take anyone out.

Your shelves are terrific and I love the trundle shelf! I know what it feels like to use tools or gadgets that we were once used by our family members. You can feel their presence.

I know whenever I use my Grandma’s colander (which is almost every day) or her baking dishes, that I feel a part of her. When I wear one of my Mama’s aprons, I feel like she’s with me. My Dad was a great chef too, and a year ago my sister found two pieces of cookware of his that nobody wanted, both early early Creuset pieces. I just had to clean them up some. They’re a beautiful cobalt blue. Still work great!

Your Mama is going to love those raised flower beds! You are so thoughtful and hard working.

I hope your aches and stiffness feel better soon. I usually take such things as a signal from my body to slow down a little. Or else I go take a nice hot soaky bath and just enjoy it. Remember those ads, “Calgon! Take me away!”

[Diana in Wisconsin]

When Beau fixes something it almost always stays fixed. He must have x-ray vision; he knows where every pipe, electrical wire, gas line, etc. runs throughout this place. ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

It all looks great! That sink is nice to have, and now you’ve made it much safer.

The raised beds look great! You & Mom will have fun filling those with flowers. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Bishop’s Flower: I have not grown that. Any wild ‘Queen Anne’s Lace’ I’ve ever picked fell apart very quickly in a bouquet, so this must be an improvement!

Floret Farms uses it in their bouquets:

https://www.floretflowers.com/fabulous-foliages-and-fillers/

...and lots of other really interesting stuff. I have their book, ‘Cut Flower Garden.’

[Qiviut]

My niece has the “Cut Flower” book ... I wondered what got her so ‘inspired’ all of a sudden & now I know. She’s actually been selling some of her bouquets :-)

[MomwithHope]

Sweet Annie would be great too.

https://thegardendiaries.blog/2023/09/17/sweet-annie-versatile-aromatic-everlasting/

[Qiviut]

Thanks - I will pass Sweet Annie on to my niece :-)

[Paul R.]

The Buckeye trees from the nuts should not be hard. We have a couple that produce lots of nuts, and then from those we get “volunteers”, and I’ve transplanted some of those volunteers just after they sprouted. Then, the problem is keeping the weeds down around them, as I planted them along the ditch running beside the road on the wooded end of our property, which I don’t have time to “maintain”, but I do try to clear some space around the young buckeye trees, hoping I can get them several feet tall and mostly past the weeds in that area.

[Paul R.]

What is my favorite part of gardening?

Learning.

And the occasional pleasant surprise. :-)

[FamiliarFace]

Thank you. Do I just plant some of the nuts?

When we first moved here, we bought a buckeye sapling. Planted it.

Every year my husband weed whacks it “by mistake”. Even though I have it marked. I finally got 4 years growth on it, and just the other day he forgot that’s was where it was. Whacked it again. No leaves. Great.

Reminds me of the beautiful lilac tree he cut down at our old house. He didn’t realize how much I loved it. When I cried about it, he realized that he hadn’t asked me.

I bought a new lilac for this house a few years ago. It’s front and center. He won’t mess this one up. I’m sure of that. I’ll have his head on a platter if he lays a finger on it without my permission.

I have to forgive his vegetation transgressions. I have a tendency to like things in their natural way, which is often messy, and rarely manicured. He grew up in a suburb when lawns were mowed religiously, and there was nothing “haphazard”.

We give and take, in the yard, the house, and well, I guess life. It’s how we are still madly in love some 40 years later. Truly blessed, buckeyes, lilacs, and the rest of it.

[FamiliarFace]

Excellent! I concur!