Posted on 11/01/2025 5:46:00 AM PDT by 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.
Thanksgiving is only 3.7 weeks from today.
A sad, ‘seasonal’ poem that has always stuck with me. She is my favorite Poetess:
The Spring and the Fall
by Edna St. Vincent Milay
In the spring of the year, in the spring of the year,
I walked the road beside my dear.
The trees were black where the bark was wet.
I see them yet, in the spring of the year.
He broke me a bough of the blossoming peach
That was out of the way and hard to reach.
In the fall of the year, in the fall of the year,
I walked the road beside my dear.
The rooks went up with a raucous trill.
I hear them still, in the fall of the year.
He laughed at all I dared to praise,
And broke my heart, in little ways.
Year be springing or year be falling,
The bark will drip and the birds be calling.
There’s much that’s fine to see and hear
In the spring of a year, in the fall of a year.
‘Tis not love’s going hurt my days.
But that it went in little ways.
Very insightful cartoon. We need to take Time by it’s collar, shake it, and slow it down.
Info on the “Copy Me That” recipe app posted on the October thread today (should have posted on Nov. thread).... transferring info here for anyone interested:
General info on how it works:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4343652/posts?page=802#802
Screenshots from the app:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4343652/posts?page=803#803
Ahhh...November...thanks, Diana, for the reminder...and your continued posting of this thread...a delight in a sometimes dreary time!
“...I want to add other flowers that last a long time with lots of buds that I don’t have to replant every year. Reds, Blues, Purples...”
You didn’t state your Growing Zone, so you’ll have to see which of these will grow in your Zone.
35 Incredible Red Perennials That Will Never Leave Your Garden Once Planted
https://positivebloom.com/bold-red-perennials-that-will-never-leave-your-garden-once-planted/
30 Captivating Purple-Hued Perennials For Every Garden
https://positivebloom.com/captivating-purple-hued-perennials-for-every-garden-2/
20 Incredible Blue Perennials That Will Make Your Garden Stand Out
https://positivebloom.com/blue-perennials/
Meanwhile:
I'm hoping these lemons ripen in time to make lemon curd to give as Christmas gifts:
I plan on making "cowboy candy" to also give as gifts, jalapeno peppers are finally starting to explode:
October and November are when my silk floss tree blooms
And these Stapelia which produce fly-attracting blooms (it is in a far corner of the yard).
My two two helpers this month (kitty is hiding), the large one is mostly well behaved but is a digger so beware (I'm dog sitting my daughter's Bernadoodle):
Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!!
Anyone with garlic experience? Sounds like a good plan?
Cats never wait for anything. Humans wait on cats.
Good morning!
I haven’t posted for a while, but thought I could share what little I have done this year.
I have a deep and stubborn infestation of bindweed in the garden. The roots go down 4 feet, and the plants just keep coming up no matter what I do, so I decided to fallow the whole garden the entire growing season, spraying the shoots with Roundup AND Killex.
This stuff is so tenacious, it is STILL coming up, though somewhat less vigorously than before. Other than digging the entire garden to 6 feet deep, does anyone have any ideas how to get this stuff under control?
My other beds are doing OK, though my kohlrabi was a failure this year The tomatoes went in too late to really produce much, the corn failed, the deer managed to damage the raspberries quite badly, and even the turnips weren’t happy.
That said, I got a small but utterly delicious beet harvest, and the new 6’ chain link fence will help with the deer issue.
I’ve tilled all the beds for the last time this year, and hope to be using the mower to vacuum up the leaves on the lawn before the snow flies.
The light rain we’ve been having has eased our drought. My little creek, while it didn’t stop flowing did get pretty slow toward the end of the summer. It was down to about 5 gpm, but it’s back up to around 2 gallons per second. Much better, and the water is far clearer as well. The cottonwoods along the creek banks were showing water stress too, but with the cooler weather they’re dropping their leaves for winter.
That’s all I can think of for now. Happy gardening, FRiends.
Fall is here!!
(Really here for us.)
Looks like a hard frost Sunday morning. :-(
Yucky days often, but, nice when it’s not. The trees here still have a lot of pretty colors. :-)
Great pictures as usual. Thanks for posting.
Garlic is always a great plan. If you are in a northern state plant your bulbs deep at least 6 inches.
I’ve not seen or heard of bindweed before I am in Michigan. Looked it up, sounds like a real pain in the butt.
https://www.bhg.com/how-to-get-rid-of-bindweed-11703559
“...does anyone have any ideas how to get BINDWED under control?”
I have read everything on the subject and it always comes back to this: pull it, pull it, pull it! And then pull it some more!
We had a very wet season so I have it in spades, too. Since it wraps itself around the things you love, you can’t use Round-Up or Kleen-Up on it, or you’ll kill your desired plants as well!
Part of controlling it too, is to get it before it blooms and then sets seed. It propagates itself via seed and those tenacious roots! Even a little piece of it can regenerate a whole new plant. It is the ‘Tribble’ of the garden! And NEVER put the pulled weeds in your compost bin!
I wish I had an easy solution for you - I had it in places I’d never seen it before this season, and it wrapped itself around a favorite Juniper shrub that I had all trimmed up all pretty and Bonsai-like. Grrrr! Like OVERNIGHT!
Another weed in this ‘frustration zone’ is Wild Cucumber. It’s as bad as Bindweed, but has the added bonus of prickly spines all along the stems/runners AND prickly cucumber-like fruits! Aarrgghhh!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A&list=RD9vST6hVRj2A&start_radio=1
Beautiful as always, Bon!
‘Bernadoodle’
Breeders: Let’s take two of the SMARTEST dogs on the planet and breed them together! What could possibly go wrong?
LOL! I’ll bet the ‘Bern’ can be a handful!
Ping to post #30. Garlic question about it keeping critters at bay.
“Anyone with garlic experience? Sounds like a good plan?”
I’ve planted garlic before, but just to eat, not as a deterrent. I know for SURE that Garlic Spray works well to keep the squirrel and rabbit chewing to a minimum.
How to Make Garlic Spray to Tackle Pests and Diseases
https://www.epicgardening.com/how-to-make-garlic-spray/
I’m not sure garlic underground will do anything to deter anybody? The leaves don’t really give off a scent unless crushed, and if you crush the leaves, it will effect the growth of the bulb below.
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