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BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012
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Subject: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 01 Jan 12 - 07:17 PM Happy New Year! Still not gardening much, but still loving what I can do. Haven't done so the past 4 years, including this year, but my New Year's Day tradition historically has been to plant bulbs. May that tradition return! Warm here today, but the New Year will soon bring cold weather with it. We have had some very cool days and some light frosts during the fall, but no really cold nights or what I would call chilly days yet. That will change tomorrow night. Much later than usual. There was just enough frosty nights to finally cause the leaves on the mophead hydrangea to brown and fall off, but unfortunately, it has since been warm enough to cause significant bud swell, and for some of the buds to break dormancy completely and start to sprout new leaves. Daffodils are starting to emerge. They will welcome some colder temps. Still have oregano that is green but will be frosted hard tomorrow night. The Red Russian kale is a lovely color now and very sweet to the taste buds. Planted onions in the spring that I never harvested and have been enjoying the tops of the re-sprouts in salads. The Italian parsley resowed itself in a little raised bed. I hope to thin the seedlings next weekend. got back Thursday afternoon from a 5 day trip to the South Carolina Low Country. Not quite 300 miles south, 600 ft. lower in elevation and the effects of the Gulf Stream make a huge difference. Very different from South Florida, where I used to winter - a very mild temperate zone. Sweet alyssum and Iceland poppies backed by dark green swiss chard, camelias, a phlox whose identity is escaping me right now (tall, purple, fringed petals - thought it was hesperis from a distance but up close thinking it is a Sweet William cultivar, snapdragons, cottage pinks, pansies and violas in full bloom, plus lightly blooming lantana, salvias, moonvines not in bloom but still leafed out and climbing, lovely window boxes with lettuces, kale, alyssum, pansies and violas. Hydrangeas with the drying blooms still showing color, cockscomb. On Folly Island, where we stayed, there was one older yellow house, slightly run-down as befits a beach community house, with a terrific and funky garden encompassing the entire yard. some things in bloom, and a few potted orange trees bearing bright fruit, and wonderful textures and contrasts. It would be worth quarterly weekend trips down there just to stroll past that little house and see the garden at different times of year. Still blowing and mulching oak leaves and will be doing so through the end of January. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 02 Jan 12 - 12:03 AM One long raised border along a broad, paved walkway leading to a pier on the waterfront in Charleston was really lovely. A low, arched, black cast-iron barrier along the front, behind which was a long sweep of white sweet aylssum interspersed with yellow and violet violas. Behind them were dark green swiss chard and at irregular intervals that purple phlox family plant I haven't identified. Behind the swiss chard, annual sweetpeas were annual sweetpea vines - about a foot in length, not blooming yet and just reaching for the 3' high iron fence that backed the border. Two large cats, one black with shining pale green eyes, and a gray tabby with the same eyes, weaved in and out of the back fence, occasionally moving to the front of the border to crouch and watch us touristas before slipping back into the shadows. The adjacent property was a stand of large live-oaks. The live oaks throughout the region are an amazing feature of the landscape - the spanish moss hanging from them adding drama but not so thick as to steal the show. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 02 Jan 12 - 08:10 AM We're having the same blast of cold air down here in Wingate... Not much "gardening" going on... We got about half of the approximately 500 plants we brought down in the move planted and the other half are all bundled up together with mulched leaves and dirt around the perimeter with about an inch of un-mulched leaves over them... I was really hoping to be further along with next seasons veggie garden but other priorities have trumped those efforts... The problem is that the area we want to put it is low and holds water... I took my tractor and used the front bucket to dig a trench to the pond but there are still areas that aren't draining... Looks like I'll have to build take the area and put down railroad ties and build the soil up into a raised bed... I doubt if we'll have a fully functional veggie garden next summer but I did build two 12 x 6 raised bed boxes when we got here so we'll have them plus whatever I can do in the new area... 'Bout it for now... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: fat B****rd Date: 02 Jan 12 - 08:26 AM Weather and sloth inhibiting garden activity here, but, a lone pansy is fighting it's way through in the front garden and the compost is rotting nicely. It'll soon be time to decide what to grow where. That's something I always look forward to. All I've got to do now is dig things up and get stuck in. Happy gardening everybody. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 02 Jan 12 - 08:31 AM We have big windows to the south, so we've started plantings of basil and dill, and have one each of a Lacinato (dinosaur) kale and a 3' and growing flowering tomato - both volunteers from the edge of the old house foundation. As for non-food plants, there are blooming geraniums (pelargonium), willow rootings, Hen-and-chicks (also fire survivors), primroses, Paperwhite narcissus, and many succession planting pots of snowdrops, narcissus varieties, dwarf iris, crocus, tulips, and windflower anemones. Some are in bloom and some are about to bloom, while most of the forced bulbs are in the basement awaiting their turn in the sun. Winter gardening is a mental health issue for me. When spring weather allows, I will be planting all of the hardy bulbs outside. In the meantime, Truelove's woodland management efforts and the new house have given us sunshine all day when there is any sunshine out there. The convalescing house chooks enjoy it as much as we do. Bobert, we have three greenhouses; none of which are in use for growing. I'm hoping for one in working order in the spring, with the others removed or ready for crops by fall. The big vegetable garden will have to be renovated also. That will be a nasty job with 2 years of weed growth to clear. Happy gardening, all. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 02 Jan 12 - 09:59 AM Also in the window garden: various Christmas and Easter cacti, several amaryllis, rosemary, Johnny-Jump-Ups, and an additional kale volunteer I just found outside amongst some digitalis seedlings, beside a foundation stone. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Maryrrf Date: 02 Jan 12 - 12:02 PM Well I haven't done any planting yet but I still have plenty of collards, kale and Swiss chard in the garden and I enjoy greens in one form or another several times a week. One of my Christmas presents that should be arriving soon is a blood orange tree that is meant to be grown indoors. Friends have done this successfully - I don't usually have much luck with house plants but we'll see - it would be really cool to harvest my own oranges. Thinking ahead, I really need to till up a new patch for my garden. I've used the same area for the past 4 years - I fertilize but I think it's played out. Must find someone with a tiller. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 02 Jan 12 - 12:25 PM A blood orange; how much fun that would be, Mary! I'm saving a place for a Meyers lemon some day. Your old vegetable patch would be a great place to pile shredded compost materials, composted manure, seaweed, grass clippings, old straw, etc. in a lasagna-style arrangement. By the time you're ready for a mid-spring planting it would be in great shape without tilling. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 02 Jan 12 - 12:44 PM Oh, to have a greenhouse, maeve... Makes me "green" with envy... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 02 Jan 12 - 01:13 PM Doesn't do us much good to have 'em until we can use them for growing plants. Right now one is a woodshed, one is full of fire salvage, and one stands splendidly bare in the breezes until we can move it and get some plastic wrapped 'round. The 2 little greenhouses are made of hoop-shaped storage sheds, Bobert. Easy enough to set up something similar down there...in all of your spare time. I'm more interested in hoop houses in the veggie garden right now. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: gnu Date: 02 Jan 12 - 01:36 PM "hoop houses"... pics please. "several amaryllis"... do you get more than one spouting from a?bulb? If so, how many? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Richard Bridge Date: 02 Jan 12 - 01:46 PM I hate gardening but it has to be done. The basil in the conservatory died. It would have died on the front step anyway. The three brugmansia in the garden shed (big pots) objected to the cold snap before Xmas and had to be cut right back. We shall see in Marh or April whether they will survive and spring up again. But the ones still in the earth in the front garden are hanging in there. If we don't get another cold snap and if they survive they might be a bit monstrous by July. Once again attempts to propagate red brugmansia (sanguinae) in water have failed. Air layering next year. Nearly 30 other brug cuttings on the kitchen windowsill doing OK. The other 15 or so brugs and the cannas in conservatory and laundry room (it has a conservatory-style roof) seem adequately content so far. Plans for seeding early-ish focus on the little spherical carrots I tried this year - the most taste in a carrot I have ever known. I'm going to try for about 25 seeds going in every 14 days so I might have a rolling supply. I might also try some of the purple and white ones - they look spectacular even if the taste is not much more interesting than usual. Once again the tomatoes will be sungolds - I will buy half a dozen seedlings and that will keep me rolling from the moment they are first edible through to about October. I'm also hoping to grow some true daturas from seed. If they work as a ground cover it will be a good game - I have one area under a large pinus (that's a tree, for the benefit of the smutty amongst you) that is very hard to get ground cover on. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 02 Jan 12 - 06:09 PM Richard, I have better luck overwintering basil grown fresh from seed or cuttings. They seem to adapt better. I'd love to see your brugmansias and cannas. I like the round carrots also; hmm, if I still have seed I could start some now. Thanks for the reminder. gnu- We get one stalk per amaryllis bulb until they've grown a few years; sooner if we pay attention to soil and sink the pots in the ground all summer. Once they reach a good size, we could get two or even three stems of flowers from each bulb. As time goes by there will be baby bulbs forming alongside the parent bulb, and that can lead to quite a show when conditions are right. Right now we have half a dozen bulbs of blooming size and another 15 or so seedlings I bought at a plant sale 1 1/2 years ago. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 02 Jan 12 - 06:34 PM More on hoop houses: I've successfully used small hoop houses/growing-tunnels in the vegetable gardens; from 2-4" high and wide. I covered them with Remay cloth and greenhouse plastic and grew vegetables over the long, cold winter. From plantings in October and November, we harvested kale, lettuce, peas, chard, carrots, etc. in January through April. I started out using a set of trapper's skin stretchers plus bought small hoops at a garden center. Heavy duty snow called for a partial roll of animal grid-type fencing under the covers. I've also used them with Remay or other shading for summer plantings, and to plant spring crops as early as February after harvesting winter crops and amending the soil. I hope to use one of our 8' hoop-based garage style greenhouses in the veggie garden this year, with the shorter tunnels inside, following research and successful gardening by Maine gardeners Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damroach. Here are some links: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2003-02-01/Hoop-Houses.aspx One kind of hoophouse How to Build a PVC Hoophouse Eliot Coleman, resources Some photos- Johnny's Selected Seeds on Flickr Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog, p. 204 Hoop houses |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Jan 12 - 07:25 PM Hoop houses at the White House. They're up to their third year of a demonstration program (that was posted in Dec. 2009) so I wonder if they'll report back after this winter? I have a greenhouse structure that I picked up from a friend who (alas) lost his house due to foreclosure last summer. It's a large PVC building with a sloped window on the south side for starting plants or growing some things, it isn't one of the all glass or plastic panes like on a traditional one. I guess you would call this a garden building. There's a great potting bench and it has a fairly high ceiling - about 12', with lots of shelves and hooks around so I run clothesline inside and use it for hanging herbs to dry. I've had it for just a few months so I'm really getting a handle on how I can use it now that the cold weather is here. I've set up pots to start plants that I'll put in the garden in the spring. In the garden itself is small but is a fairly-year-round operation. Oregano is pretty hardy here and unless there is a really cold snap or a lot of snow, some of it sticks around to use, and it always comes back in the same spot like a good ground cover. Thyme also, and in the same garden closest to the kitchen door is rosemary, a bay tree (planted this year), asparagus (planted early last year), onions, garlic, and the place in the garden I always leave a little ornamental fence around because the basil reseeds itself every spring. There is broccoli out there just about ready to harvest. I did a couple of plantings and hope the later ones get going - they're slow to pick up the pace (I also planted a couple of cabbage - I've never grown those before). I have been digging beds for Irish potatoes - red lasota again, they came out beautifully last year, and I have a few of my potatoes I saved to plant. I'll plant those in the next couple of weeks and mulch them well. Yesterday I moved the Swiss chard, fairly small plants still, because it was a bit too exposed in the bed where I had it and slowed down with some really cold weather. Up against the house like I've had it in the past it will grow for a couple of years. There are lots of things that are tangled together and need to be thinned, replanted, all of that. Maybe this year. :-/ SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 07 Jan 12 - 03:07 PM Hellebore buds are up about 2 inches. The fall and winter has been mild enough that I'm still struggling with azalea lacebugs. Bobert, This yard was already planted with a number of azaleas when I bought the place. I notice every spring the flower buds and blooms will start turning brown and crisp until gradually all the flowers are brown. They don't drop but remain dried and brown on the plant, eventually crumbling away sometime in mid to late summer. Thrips? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: pdq Date: 07 Jan 12 - 03:41 PM Hellebore is used as a classic organic insecticide. Try putting about 2 ounces of hellebore root in your blender and add a cup of water. Blend thoroughly. Filter out pulp with strainer, then filter the liquid futher with (at least) cheese cloth. Put clean liquid in 1 gallon sprayer and fill to the 1 gallon mark. Spraying with that solution should do a dandy job on azalea lacebugs. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: gnu Date: 07 Jan 12 - 03:47 PM Mum's two amaryllis are blooming as I have never seen before. At least 8 flowers each. Smaller than in the past when there were only tree flowers each but quite large and attractive. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: GUEST Date: 07 Jan 12 - 04:19 PM This has to be the mildest January I can remember. It's 66 degrees right now! I still have all kinds of greens, including a little bit of lettuce in the garden. Before I know it it will be time for spring planting. They delivered the blood orange tree yesterday. It arrived in good shape, about a foot and a half tall with plenty of healthy looking green leaves. I repotted it and put it in the sunniest spot in the house - although I'm still not sure that will be enough sun. I don't think it will get oranges until a couple of years from now, but still it's nice to look at. I also got planted some window herbs - cilantro, parsley, oregano and chives. I really miss the herbs in the garden. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Maryrrf Date: 07 Jan 12 - 05:23 PM Above Guest was me, cookieless for some reason |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 07 Jan 12 - 06:25 PM Janie, Your azaleas have a blight and need to be sprayed prior to opening... Go to your local decent nursery and ask them what to use in this area... Fortunately, we haven't had the problem with our plants but some of our friends have... Richard, We went to the Lowe's grocery store a couple weeks ago and had basil on the list... When when we got there we found a small package of it for $3.99 but right next to it was a live basil plant with twice that amount on it for the same price??? That's a no brainer so it's alive and well living in the kitchen window... Warm here in NC and hoping that buds don't break on everything or spring is going to be uneventful... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 07 Jan 12 - 07:39 PM Janie, Brain fade... It's called "pedal blight"... Common problem... Google it up to find what to use to treat it... Sorry, I should know more but seein' as we don't have it we've not had to treat it... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 07 Jan 12 - 08:30 PM We will all be eager to hear from you over time re: the blood orange, Mary. Thanks Bobert. I've done a fair amount of research and see lots of stuff about flower blooms and buds turning brown and mushy, but nothing about brown and crispy. At the old house I finally took out a lovely old white azalea because I couldn't get a blight under control that caused the blooms to turn brown and then slimy and it spread to the camellia. I suspected botrytis, but never saw any gray mold and the foliage never seemed affected. This problem is different. Again, no mold, but the blooms become dry and husk-like, and do not shed. There were (are) two different varieties of azalea, both with small, densely packed blooms. The early one is a coral red - not particularly tall, but very erect and narrow in grow habit. and the later, but still earlier than most, is a compact shrub with clear pink blooms. Whether disease or thrip, the plants bloom, and shortly after at least half of the blooms are open, the browning starts - which is one reason I am still wondering about thrips - the timing is congruent with bloom time, not date time. Of course, diseases also time themselves to stages of plant growth. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 07 Jan 12 - 09:11 PM Thanks for the info re hellebore, pdq. Doesn't surprise me, given how toxic the plants are. I'm just starting out with hellebores, slowly transplanting self-sown seedlings from the three blooming plants I moved here, so don't have enough of them to dig any up for organic pest control at present, but will research this farther. Was astonished this afternoon to see a couple of clumps of daffodils blooming in a yard on my way to the grocery store- about 3/4 mile from my house. My first thought was they were forced and then planted out, but then realized there were additional small clumps with no blooms but with the leaves at a typical bloom-time height. I have seen paperwhites blooming and was a little surprised but not shocked, but big, yellow daffodils??!!!! Late February is the earliest I have ever seen daffs bloom in this region. The earliest daffs in my own yard are only about 3 inches high right now. They are not early daffs, though I don't know what varieties are here - they came with the house. I've never seen daffs beat early crocus to the draw before. And I would not have thought we have had enough sufficiently cold nights so far for daffs to produce blooms. Ties in with the observations of Mary and Bobert about such a mild winter so far. Too warm if it doesn't stay too warm. Not enough cold so far to invoke true dormancy in a lot of plants, making them very vulnerable. I've already commented on the hydrangea. There is still some green on my single apricot mums so I am holding off on cutting them back, lest they respond with new growth. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 07 Jan 12 - 09:53 PM Not only the dormancy of plants but the killing off of bad stuff... Need a good hard cold spell... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: GUEST Date: 08 Jan 12 - 07:02 AM My 'Iceberg' rose is still in flower, it hasn't stopped since last summer. I keep pruning it back hard to stop this happening as it can weaken the rose, but it puts out more shoots and bursts into bloom once more. I was in my greenhouse yesterday, potting on geranium cuttings. The sun was beaming in, this rose was going great guns just outside the window and a pigeon was giving it the big 'un thinking Spring had arrived. I was delighted with all this until I considered, as Bobert has, that bad stuff needs a good sharp frost to kill it. And the weeds are whizzing up all over the place! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 08 Jan 12 - 07:04 AM Sorry, that GUEST was me! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jan 12 - 04:22 PM We've been eating the broccoli and loving it. Chard will be getting big enough soon (after transplanting) to eat. I've set up pots in the greenhouse and will decide what to start soon. It now has a heater but I need to order the Freeze Free plugs that you plug in and it doesn't let the juice through until the temperature reaches something like 42, and it shuts off when it reaches 50. My oil radiator has a thermostat, but it tends to be mostly on so this way it won't have a chance to use as much power. This thing will use power, but a lot less over time. I found two types at Amazon; I got one like the link above, and one like this, so I can also plug in a small fan to circulate air in the greenhouse when it's cool. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Pete Jennings Date: 09 Jan 12 - 12:48 PM One of her friends sent Judi an amaryllis in time for Christmas. It's in the dining room (NNE facing) and has an amazing array of blooms at the moment. I don't think I've ever seen one before - it's really beautiful. Not much happening outside, just tidying up the last of the leaves (Judi's the head gardener, I'm the occaional skivvy), although several shrubs have developed buds, along with the magnolia tree. The walnut tree that appeared to be dead after last year's hard winter came back to life in June and has done really well, just needs a bit of pruning come Spring (which will be in February the way things are going in the UK...). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Richard Bridge Date: 09 Jan 12 - 02:19 PM Followed, I suspect, Pete, by winter in March. Or April. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 10 Jan 12 - 12:04 AM My ex sis-in-law sent me an amaryllis for Christmas and I am waiting for bloom time with great anticipation. It has sent up two flower stalks but 'twill be another few weeks, I think, before it blooms. I understand that if I let it go dormant again, then plant it out after last frost, it will bloom again in late summer. Anyone have any experience with this? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 10 Jan 12 - 12:33 AM Richard, I haven't forgotten the plants we discussed. I'll get something in the mail soon. We've had a steady cold rain for the last 24-hours; lovely to help with the low lake levels and soothe the drought-damaged woods around me. My broccoli and cabbage are coming along - the first planting has almost all been picked and I'm hoping to get a second crop in a few weeks. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Maryrrf Date: 22 Jan 12 - 11:33 AM I posted some pics of my winter gardening projects - greens (kale, collards and some bok choy) in the outdoor plot, my dwarf blood orange tree which is doing GREAT - (I was worried there wouldn't be enough sun) and a small window herb garden. I'm thinking of switching out the oregano for basil - I use fresh basil a lot more, although I still have some frozen from the summer that works pretty well in most dishes. Here's the link to the facebook album Winter Garden . I've been looking at the catalogs and planning my spring garden. I want to rent a cultivator and till up a new patch - the old spot is just about played out and I need to rotate. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Jan 12 - 12:14 PM Lots to do any time now - if I can just get to it. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: LilyFestre Date: 22 Jan 12 - 02:10 PM The seed catalogs are filling our mail box and we have been drooling over them daily. Yesterday morning we made a list of veggies we want to have this year. New garden spots are being tilled, crops (especially potatoes) are going to be rotated and I'm looking forward to it. I imagine our seed order will go out sometime next week as we decide where we want to order from. We are going to use mostly heirloom seeds and will not be ordering from any company connected to Mansato or others who use and promote genetically modified seeds. Anyone else do heirloom gardening? How about saving seeds? Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 22 Jan 12 - 08:27 PM Looks good, Mary! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: katlaughing Date: 24 Jan 12 - 06:31 PM I have a question for you all re' ground cover. But first, I'd like to tell you how much I am enjoying reading of your efforts and rewards. It all sounds so beautiful and yummy. I wish we had the time and energy to do more than my little perennial garden and a couple of potted tomato plants which we had last summer. Our back yard is huge and has a very large old veggie garden plot, but the whole of it is filled with a particular weed which covers the entire thing, as it does throughout the valley. Rog is doing good to keep them cut down along with the small bit of grass in the front yard The sun is so high, bright, and hot, here, it takes a lot of watering, some shading, etc. to grow a lot. Anything I could do would have to be raised as in tabletop height, at least for now, so it would mostly be potted. No one puts anything out until after the 8th of May as it's been known to freeze valley-wide as late as that. Anyway, that's not my question, though. Luna, our dog, loves to chase and retrieve a ball we throw for her. I have made a habit of sitting on the front steps and playing with her. She has churned a good share of our front yard into plain, fine dusty dirt. It gets tracked in and has increased the dust inside. The same thing has happened in the backyard, but not as extensively and not as important as the front. What would any of you recommend as a ground cover we could start (keeping her off, of course) which would be easy to keep, not need too much water, and would, eventually, be sturdy enough for her to run on but not destroy? We don't really want to do grass because of the mowing (it wears Rog out after working, cooking, and helping with the inside chores!), although we've always let it get really high and even go to seed before cutting, and watering is not all that easy nor inexpensive when the summer gets here. I know there are some drought-resistant grasses we could get, but I'd much rather have something which needs less maintenance. Sorry this is not veggie or flower garden related, but I figured some of you might have good ideas. Thanks! kat |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: ChanteyLass Date: 25 Jan 12 - 12:09 AM Although I am not a gardener, I thought some of you might enjoy the article, photos, and video about The Pothole Gardener (more than one, really) in the link below. The tiny gardens are whimsical. http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2012/01/the-pothole-gardener.html |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:27 AM Right now in North Texas we're working on watering in the winter weed seeds. Several inches of rain overnight and a couple more today. Next week if it warms up for a day or two it will be perfect for pulling weeds and bed preparation for early plantings. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:23 PM Kat, Mondo grass... Everyone else, We are trying to find a suitable mix for a raised bed veggie garden... All the top soil her is dense and won't drain... We need loom... Or sand... Or??? Going to be a real slobber knocker to get the proper mix... I think I'm going to need around 20 yards... I can get 15 yards of top/compost/leaves but that is still dense... I was thinking of pea gravel and course sand for the last 5 yards??? Thoughts??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:30 PM I love them, ChanteyLass! Thanks for sharing that link! Kat, I don't know your climate or soil conditions, but I don't think you are likely to find a ground cover to fill the bill. Even grass growing in optimal conditions has limits - look at the time, attention and watering needed to maintain golf courses and athletic fields - and grass is by far the most durable groundcover for trafficked areas. What about simply heavily mulching the "play area" for you and the dog instead of trying to plant the area? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: katlaughing Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:31 PM Thanks, Bobert. I'll look nito it. Janie, I know, that's what I've been thinking, too, but it would be practically our whole front yard and that would be a lot of mulch. What I would love to do, if we could afford it, is what an elderly lady did in a much smaller front yard. We passed by one day and stopped to look. She was out so I spoke with her. She'd taken all of her grass out and replaced it with indigenous wildflowers with little paths between them. Virtually maintenance-free and absolutely beautiful. I'll look at the websites of a couple of garden centers here and see what they might have. Thanks, sorry for the intrusion. kat |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:46 PM Bobert, if the top soil available is clay loam and heavy, recommend 1/2 soil and 1/2 class A compost to start. It is nearly impossible to work sand in well enough to lighten the soil and it will sift out. North Carolina has several commercial composting operations that produce class A compost - but I don't know if any are near you. My local landfill - Orange Co., sells class A compost in bulk - produced by a company in Goldston- it is a cooperative effort between the company and Orange Co. Perhaps the landfill of your county, or a county near you does the same? I don't think mundo grass would work for Kat in terms of climate or use.I'm not sure, but I think where she lives the climate and soil conditions approach high desert climates. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 26 Jan 12 - 12:01 AM Mundo grass is not a sun-loving plant. Though it is drought tolerant it is not a plant that does well in arid climates. Don't confuse drought conditions with an arid climate. It can take some foot traffic, as in between pavers, but it is not suitable as a replacement for grass in a well-used yard. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: katlaughing Date: 26 Jan 12 - 12:17 AM Oops, not, you're right about that, Janie. High desert with tons of hot sunshine would do it no good. Thanks. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 26 Jan 12 - 01:32 PM I talked with a retired horticultural professor about the soil and he recommended I try looking eastward for a company... Says the soils in the coastal Piedmont are airier and have more sand... Seeing as I'm going to need at least 15 yards I might get by with one 3-axle dump truck's worth... Have a few places to check with later but I need to get back to work now as rain is coming... I'll call after the rain brings me back inside... I'll check in some of my nurseryman's catalogs for a ground cover, Kat... Got a bunch last week at the Green 'b Grow trade show in Greensboro... Later... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Jan 12 - 01:37 PM Bobert, There's a lot of clay in the soil here so we try to mix in as many other things as possible to break it up. The DirtDoctor.com site talks about not using peat moss because it doesn't offer any biological activity to the soil it's in, but I'd think a mix of peat moss and sand into the native soil and then a mix of compost, lava sand, greensand, (some of the organic amendments) stirred into imported top soil in raised beds over the native soil would work. You need some of the native soil there because of the biological activity in it but it needs to drain or it will puddle under the new stuff. Does that make sense? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bettynh Date: 26 Jan 12 - 02:04 PM Kat, is there something here that would work? I hate mowing and trimming. On one of the last days of fall I wandered around the yard and threw out some flax seed (whole flax seed from the grocery store, about $3 a pound) around the edges where tall weeds tend to grow along fences, at the foundation, and the far edge of the road where the snowplow leaves a little pile of dirt that's hard to mow. They'll come up with little blue flowers in summer, and maybe folks will think it's really a mini-garden and not simple neglect. Bobert, I feel your pain. I grew up gardening thick clay, then moved here to beach sand (glacial till). You'll find it incredibly fertile, I think, and the trick is to keep it moist enough to work in summer, but letting it dry out in spring. Hay mulch helps a lot. Think in terms of preventing and cutting weeds rather than pulling. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Jan 12 - 06:27 PM The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is out. The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 26 Jan 12 - 07:18 PM Yes, Magz, that does make sense... Our problem is that we are so swamped with projects that we need something that we can grow in this summer and the projected raised bed is going to be roughly 20 feet by 40 feet... That's around 15 yards and mixing that much material is going to be cumbersome so... ...we're hoping to find some soil we can use this season and then bring in an occasional truck load of this or that next year before tilling... We'll already be adding shredded leaves, straw, course sand, pea gravel and even shredded paper... BTW, green sand is very expensive... Has anyone ever used gypsum??? It's cheap... Also, has anyone ever used rabbit manure??? We can get maybe 500 pounds of it??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 26 Jan 12 - 07:35 PM Because it's considered a "cold" manure, you don't have to let rabbit poop age... " ...one of the best manures for gardens. It has one of the highest levels of nitrogen... Sounds like an idea, Bobert. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: katlaughing Date: 26 Jan 12 - 08:52 PM Bettynh, thank you! I love the wildflower mix, but think we'll probably try the Low Work Low Water Dwarf Fescue grass. Maybe we'll put part of it in the flower mix. I'd love some of them around the back, too. And, I have flax in my perennial garden. I love it, never thought to just scatter the seeds like that, though would have no way of watering them out back. Thanks, again! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 26 Jan 12 - 09:00 PM Thanks, maeve.... Sounds like we have struck upon a goldmine of manures... Still hunting, Kat... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 26 Jan 12 - 10:51 PM That's a good idea, Bobert. I guess I was thinking you needed to stay local re: hauling. When I started my garden in Hillsborough I soon learned that what wasn't hardpan in the front yard was fill dirt and ended up, a pick-up load at a time (+ 1 small dump truck load) importing dirt for the entire front garden. If you remember the photos, you have an idea of how much dirt got off-loaded and distributed by moi, a wheel barrow at a time. (It was hard work and it took me several months of steady work to do it, but I was 18 years younger than I am now. My degenerative joints and vertebrae couldn't repeat that feat today without landing me in a pain clinic or under a surgeon's knife.) Anyhoo - Although I bought the topsoil from a local landscaper and bulk supplier, he had "imported" it from further east - Goldsboro springs to mind, but I can't really remember. It was beautiful garden soil. It was mostly a sandy loam into which had been incorporated well composted horse manure. It laid a really good foundation for the front garden that served me and the plants well for the next 12 years until I moved. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 27 Jan 12 - 08:59 AM Yeah, Goldsboro is in Rockingham Couty, I believe, and is about 50 miles east of us... I think the transport costs will be about the same if I get 5 yards or 15 yards so we're going to try to get as much as we can and use my tractor to move around... No wheelbarrows for this job... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 27 Jan 12 - 11:27 PM Goldsboro is about 3 1/2 hours from you Bobert. I think you are looking for a sandy, blended, topsoil. My neighbor got good blended topsoil for his raised beds last year in Haw River, about 10 miles west of me. You may have to look further east than you live, but some landscape outfits between Burlington and Raleigh are close enough to the eastern part of the state that they regularly haul or have blended topsoil from the east. (Or haul sandy topsoil from the east and blend it themselves with compost.) I'm sure there are others, but call Mebane Shrubbery Market ((800)-448-5469 -number for their Burlington site, which is closest to you) and tell them what you are looking for. Also, Can Do Landscape Materials near Hillsborough, (919) 732-5343. It is a full-time but very much Mom and Pop/family operation. Can Do is where I bought that soil I described. Talk to the Mr. and not to the Mrs. He will listen to what you want and will tell you whether or not he thinks the blended soil he has at any given time will fit the bill. New garden topic. Next post. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: katlaughing Date: 27 Jan 12 - 11:42 PM No worries, Bobert, thanks. I think we'll go with the stuff in that link posted by Bettynh. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Jan 12 - 09:00 PM It got cold again this weekend - I hope to get out into the yard one day soon. I had dinner with friends tonight and they have a new pet rabbit. I told her not to toss the droppings in the trash - dump it into the garden. The things we learn here at Mudcat! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 28 Jan 12 - 09:18 PM Man, I ain't never gonna figure out where stuff is in NC... It's 7 hours to the Outer Banks from Charlotte!!?!?!?!... I thought Goldsboro was right down the street... Never minf... Thanks, Janie... I'll call 'um... We also have a line on someone who might be able to get us some loam outta South Caroline... We'll know soon... Meanwhile, it's time to get seed together for this year's food... Seen several cherries in bloom here... That ain't good... Way too early... Don't seem like we're gonna get winter this year then everything will bloom and then... BANG!!!... Deep freeze... No blooms for spring... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 29 Jan 12 - 07:21 AM Here's a link to the newest USDA Hardiness Zone Map: http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 29 Jan 12 - 09:06 AM The species Bridal Wreath spirea in my yard are starting to bloom. That ain't supposed to happen until March! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 13 Feb 12 - 12:59 PM Anyone have any info on using horse manure in a veggie garden??? My neighbor has three horses and she routinely cleans out their stalls and put the manure in a dump trailer... It fill up in about 3 months... She has a trailer full now but I'm not sure if I can mix it in with the loamy soil I am trying to create with what I have a available... I don't want to burn up anything and not sure how long the stuff needs to cook on its own before it is usable??? Any thoughts, ya'll??? B |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 13 Feb 12 - 04:21 PM We have found horse manure to be a great help in loosening our clay soil and freeing up nutrients, with one warning: Horses tend to have many weed seeds in their manure, so it must be thoroughly composted or you WILL introduce more weeds than any gardener needs to battle in one lifetime. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 13 Feb 12 - 05:21 PM That's what I was afraid if, Maeve... I was thinking that if I let it sit in a pile and compost that the heat would kill the seeds... Yes/No??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 13 Feb 12 - 06:50 PM If you keep it as a hot compost pile, yes. Our pile was way too big (6'x8'x80')to turn by hand and we didn't have a tractor then, so lots of weed seeds survived. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 13 Feb 12 - 06:56 PM I can turn it, maeve, with my tractor... How long will it take and should I cover it with black plastic... It's not alot... Maybe 3 yards??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 13 Feb 12 - 07:08 PM This looks like very good information, Bobert: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex7956 |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 13 Feb 12 - 07:41 PM Great site, maeve... All my questions now have answers... Looks like this pile ain't gonna be any good for a couple two months... Meanwhile, it's a challenge to create enough usable top/loam/silt/clay combination to make enough soil to have a decent garden... We're going to do a raised bed (approx. 20 X 40) with well leached out RR ties to contain it on 3 sides... I've found some loamy areas and am using tractor to harvest and have about 4 yards of the approx 10 yards I think it will take to fill the box... Hard work but we'll get there somehow... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 13 Feb 12 - 09:36 PM I should be getting a little raised bed ready to plant lettuce and mesclun mix but the knee won't let me. So I'm gonna wait until the end of the month and plant in pots. Indoors, my ex sis-in-law sent me an amaryllis bulb from White Flower Farm at Christmas and it has been absolutely stunning. 3 blooming stems, the last one at it's peak right now. I've been told, and wonder if any of you have experience with this, that if I let it go dormant and then plant it outside (in my case, in a pot) in late spring, it will bloom again in mid to late summer. Que? I have less than 30 square feet of raised bed space for veggies, and only 2/3's of it gets 5-6 hours of sun in summer once the trees are leafed out. Too little space to rotate crops. I'm wondering how effective it would be to not worry about rotation but to simply replace the soil in these beds each year. My biggest concern is pathogens and soil-laid insect eggs. Do you think replacing the soil will be sufficient to control soil-borne pathogens over time? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: freda underhill Date: 14 Feb 12 - 05:38 AM Kat I have Australian native violets as a groundcover around the stepping stones in my back yard. They are very hardy, grow and spread and are good in a a damp, shady, position. A groundcover of Australian native violets (Viola hederacea)is a beautiful alternative to a lawn. They grow in eastern Australia and the Western Pacific Islands. The purple and white flowers grow more in the warmer months, but there's always a few flowers showing. If used instead of lawn native violet needs an occasional trim to stop it invading garden beds. freda |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 14 Feb 12 - 11:45 PM Bobert and maeve, I envy you access to that horse manure. I am in a village surrounded by a city, and there are horses nearby, but I am not aware of any available manure. I'll have to ask. Ruth Stout interview. You might enjoy this. Ruth Stout about her garden and some of the follow-up links that come after the video are interesting. She gardened in the nude and was one of the acolytes of Carrie Nation in Nation's early days. What a woman! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 15 Feb 12 - 07:50 AM Well, I was looking at Ruth Stout's soil with complete envy... We don't have anything that comes close to looking like that... I am harvesting a little top soil here and a little there with my tractor... The top soil in these parts, if there is any at all is about an inch deep before hitting shale... Shale is like concrete and won't even grow weeds... I'm finding that top soil back in the woods under the leaves... We'll have to find some course sand and once I think I have about enough top soil to fill a 40 X 20 raised bed 8 inches deep then I'll mix the top soil and sand and fill it and see how it does... Like Mrs. Stout, we mulch with straw... I've grown taters in straw, too, but find I get more yield out of pulling up loose mounds and planting in them... Thanks, Magz, for the link... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 15 Feb 12 - 12:35 PM I had to mow my front lawn last night, I was afraid the tall weeds and grass might attract burglars. (It has in the past.) The back needs it next, but we had a thunderstorm pass over this morning, so perhaps by the weekend I'll head back there with the mower. Poor thing is falling apart - the back dragging flap thingie, whatever it is, came off. Now I hear the noise of the motor more. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 15 Feb 12 - 10:39 PM lovely and startling little patches of common speedwell appearing on warm days. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 16 Feb 12 - 03:20 PM Thick gooshy weeds killed the mower front and back this week. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 16 Feb 12 - 05:28 PM ..."killed the mower...??? What, Magz??? Yer mower died??? Been working on my old mower off and on this winter... I thought it was dead so I bought a new new Crapsman 18.5 HP one last September during their Labor Day sale (10% off mowers) and then it developed a bad noise so I called Sears and they sent out cool repair guy to fix it... I started talking to him about my old Crapsman and told him what it was doing and he told me that all it needed was new valve lifters... So I bought them and a head gasket and had them in a couple hours and it was running like new... Then I figured that, seeing as it was running well, that I'd tackle fixing the slop in the steering which was slobber-knocker... Now I've got a back up mower in case one goes down this summer... As fir gardening??? There is a 20 bed on the east side of the house that had nothing but boring lirope and yopon hollies in it... I pulled them out last fall and we are going to do something more impressive with the bed sometime but, for now, it's going to be our lettuce, spinach, beets, onions bed... Step son and the P-Vine got it all prepped and planted yesterday... Found old, but decent, RR ties about 7 miles from here just into SC... $8 each... Gonna use them to house the raised bed veggie garden... Meanwhile, maples are ready to open... In February, no less!!! B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 17 Feb 12 - 12:29 AM Stall it out. I tip it back to kick out the pesto-style clippings from around the blade on my mulching mower, but I had to start it several times last night. The dogs got a skunk tonight but only one got hit - the one who is supposed to be healthy and sweet-smelling and well-groomed so he can visit his owner in the rehab hospital. Geez. . . (Nature's Miracle Skunk Odor Remover is the best thing around, but it still takes several applications to work.) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 25 Feb 12 - 04:06 PM Would love to be able to get out in the yard to do some clean-up and cutting back. Gonna send son to the store tomorrow for potting soil and at least get some greens and green onions started in pots. The italian parsley self-sowed prolificly and I think that bed is high enough that I can bend straight-legged to thin it out. The red russian kale planted last spring needs fertilized for a good crop before it starts to send up flower stalks. Such a pretty color! But, what I really want to say is thanks, Bobert, for that white hellebore I got from you the first Getaway I met you. After three years here the hellebores have finally established themselves in their new homes, and that one in particular is stunningly lovely this year - loaded with gracefully nodding, large creamy white blooms. It has babies around it that I will be transplanting. I hope some of them turn out to be as lovely. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 25 Feb 12 - 05:53 PM Great, Janie... We don't have the white anymore so keep one of them babies for us... We do have a soft purple we'll trade ya'... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 25 Feb 12 - 06:10 PM Bobert, I most assuredly will. There are 4 or 5 tiny seedings coming up around the mother plant. I'll dig out the ones not too close to the crown when the weather gets a little milder and your name will be on half of whatever I dig. This was a division from a plant in your West Virginia garden, before you moved to Luray. I dug it up and brought it with me when I moved. I've not transplanted hellebore seedlings before. I understand from what I've read that I need to dig surprisingly deep. I want to have a care for the roots of the "mother" plant in doing so. Any one have words of wisdom or other advise to increase the chances of success? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 25 Feb 12 - 06:30 PM Helleborus niger. Do you recall if it is a cultivar or the species? Whichever, it is beautiful. I would love sweeps of them under the trees in my front lawn. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 03 Mar 12 - 11:17 AM Not good. 6-8 weeks before danger of frost is past and my mophead hydrangea is leafing out. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Mar 12 - 12:53 PM I'm gnashing teeth today - so much yard work to do, it's a nice day, and I have a stupid head cold that has me up to the eyeballs with decongestants, cough syrup, etc. I'm sick of it, especially when it kills a weekend! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 03 Mar 12 - 01:04 PM It's too wet to work in the yard here today even if I were out of this brace, although I did have some silly idea before I took a gimpy walk around the place that I could go out and at least cut back some stuff, even with the knee immobilizer. I'm gonna be so glad when I am out of the danged thing. 17 more days - but whose counting:<( When my son gets home, though, I think I will have him go pick up some potting soil and help me at least get some greens seeded to grow in a few pots I can sit in sunny places in the yard. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 03 Mar 12 - 01:21 PM Bot too sure, Janie... It's an old cultivator and we got it from the P-Vine's gardening mentor, Barbara Alexander, who has been written up in "Carolina Gardener" and has a large stand of them in a shady part of her garden... Tomato and pepper seedlings up... 100% germination... Going to have to find another 10 yards of fill somewhere in the woods before setting the railroad ties and filling with my mix of loam, top soil, clay, sand and maybe pematil or pea gravel... Because the area tends to be a tad wet I'm going to put in 3 French drains under it which will move water into the pond... Wildflowers peeping up in the woods... Found a stand of wild orchids... Ginger everywhere... Will be interesting to see what all is back in the woods and along the 2 streams... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 05 Apr 12 - 07:18 AM Well, well, well... We are enjoying the hundreds of azaleas we moved here to NC... The Kharoma Sheikibo was about the 1st but we now have at least 100 in bloom... The permanent veggie garden will have to wait until next year as the area where it will finally be located is still too wet to get into and install three French drains under it... We've had so much rain that nothing quite ever dries out before yet more rain... But we'll use 10 gallon containers and the two 12 X 6 raised beds and the pool area behind the house is going to look more like a nursery/farm than a pool... Went to "Natives of the Blue Ridge" last week and bought a number of spring wild flowers that we haven't found here... Also found some May Apple on the side of the road and borrowed a couple... Happy gardening... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: gnu Date: 05 Apr 12 - 02:13 PM Bobert... do you use a filter fabric over and on the sides of your French drains? or some other type of "material", be it plastic or whatever? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 05 Apr 12 - 02:31 PM Yeah, gn-ze... The "paper" (cloth) that is best is a white fabric that is synthetic and doesn't break down but you can us the plastic landscape cloth, as well... Lots of gravel, of course... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: gnu Date: 05 Apr 12 - 02:48 PM As an engineer, I am familar with a wide variety of filter fabrics not only for drainage systems but for soils reinforcement. Amazing stuff... build roads over bogs without culverts and so on and much less fill and environmental damage. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 05 Apr 12 - 08:17 PM Yeah... Some cool stuff gn-ze... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Apr 12 - 02:36 PM I just posted some photos and remarks on a DirtDoctor.org pests forum so people can see what it is that is clobbering their gardens. And a few of the things I've done to treat them. I put out beneficial nematodes today. They'll deal with cutworms, tobacco hornworms, fleas, fire ants, etc. Since I regularly call and write into a local Friday question and answer program on my NPR station, one of my answers about these from last week was read on the air today. I also called in with another answer and mentioned these again, so I went ahead and put up a new post just to do with cutworms so people can find it easily. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 06 Apr 12 - 05:20 PM We have canker worms... Lots of them... They will start climbing soon so tomorrow I'm going to put tape around the oak trees to discourage them... BTW, the tape is very inexpensive... We've gotten our second cutting of kale and lettuce and arugela going to bed... Spinach coming along nicely... Squash seeds planted... Tomato (6 varieties), pepper (3 varieties) and eggplant (2 varieties) seedlings all up and pretty... They'll go in in the next few days... The P-Vine's mentor, Barbara Alexander who has been written up in "Carolina Gardener" magazine, was over yesterday and the two of them worked all day on design... Starting to look pretty good around here... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: LilyFestre Date: 06 Apr 12 - 05:40 PM Even though we've had a nice stretch of weather here in north central PA, it's still too early to do much gardening other than getting the soil ready for when planting time does arrive. To that measure, we have pigs in a movable pen and they are doing a fantastic job of loosening up the soil and rooting around. :) I did start some sprouts in jars the other day. The seed has started to sprout but it will be a day or two before they are ready for use. I am hoping to plant lettuce in just a few minutes (if Jeremiah allows it!) in movable pots so I can bring them in at night. I know they like cold weather but the temperature ranges have been extreme...so I'll bring them in. In fact, the temps have been in the 70s and then dropped to below freezing. Several of our fruit trees have blossoms on them and have had to be covered at night. Last year we lost most of our peach crop to this kind of silliness. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm thinking some peas will go in the garden this weekend. I'm looking forward to playing in the dirt with my family. :) Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Apr 12 - 06:31 PM Bobert, do you use beneficial nematodes, or tricograma wasps? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 06 Apr 12 - 07:44 PM No gardening allowed, not even weeding, until the rehab has progressed a bit more (going well, btw,) but I sure am enjoying watching stuff grow. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 06 Apr 12 - 08:01 PM No, Magz... Can you give me the "condensed" story on them??? Sorry, Janie... You'd have to laugh if you watched me garden... I have a little roll-ie thing that I can sit on which allows me to be a one handed gardener... Did your kharomo sheikibu bloom??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 06 Apr 12 - 10:21 PM It is still blooming, Bobert, though starting to fade. This year was the best yet. Also, one of the later azaleas you and p-vine gave me that p-vine started from seed is blooming beautifully. I potted it up into an azalea pot fall of 2010. The label got knocked out somewhere along the line by squirrels digging in pots so I don't know which it is. Frilly blooms, white, going to pink toward the edges. Not so delineated in color shift as to be called picoteed. The old established azaleas in the yard are hit hard by a flower blight. Much worse this year than last. Last year was the first year I realized there is a problem. I'm new to azaleas. There were a bunch of them here, but only three varieties. The first year I simply thought at end of bloom time, the flowers turned brown. Last year I realized the flowers were supposed to drop petals, not turn brown and cling. This year, the earliest azaleas did not have as many blooms, and are turning soggy brown. The later azaleas are now developing symptoms. The kharomo sheikibu, which is the only one of the three you have gifted me with that is in the ground is so far unaffected, though azalea lacebugs continue to be an issue. The diciduous azalea has not yet bloomed and has no buds this year, and the pretty white/pink is so far not blighted. I am hesitant to plant out either of the two in pots unless or until I figure out what to do about the blight. Manhy of the azaleas here were old and leggy and dying out, even after rejuvenation pruning and root pruning, particularly in one old island bed. There are three varieties, planted mostly in clumps and the clumps are quite distant from one another. However, all the existing clumps are showing signs of the disease. I had planned on replacing the azaleas in that bed with the ones you gave me until I noticed the blight last year. Now I'm holding off on doing anything and keeping the pots isolated on a far side of the house away from all the planted azaleas, hoping the spores don't spread to them. I'm really handicapped right now. I can't take on a major spraying project,and if the blight is such that it can be controlled but not eliminated I don't know what the future holds for azaleas in my yard. If I were physically able, what I would do right now is cut all the azaleas back to nearly the ground, bag up the branches, leaves and blooms, rake out all the existing leaf mulch and bag it to be hauled away, and then figure out how to proceed from there. This place, in terms of light and acidity is made for azaleas and rhodies. Haven't seen any good suggestions for organic control. Haven't absolutely identified the disease. Don't know what to do at this point. Also haven't done enough research to know how controllable this flower blight may be. Frustrated that I can't get down to dig up baby hellebores. Solomon Seal is looking good. Iris borers are chewing their way down through the leaves of the irises from my great and great-great grandparents' graves. Will set them back a season but I should be fit enough to dig them up, cut out the damaged roots and replant by mid-summer. They will be salvagable. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 06 Apr 12 - 10:37 PM Yeah, Janie... Chainsaw pruning does seem to work on old azaleas... Kinda pisses them off and makes 'um want to show you a thing or two??? Weird plants??? The canker worms are doing more damage to ours than blossom end blight and other problems... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Apr 12 - 12:04 AM http://www.dirtdoctor.com/Beneficial-Nematodes_vq2139.htm will take you to an article about them at the organic site I use all of the time. In short: Beneficial nematodes should be used for soil-borne pests. Overall broadcasting is best. Spot treating helps if the budget dictates. In an organic program one treatment a year is usually enough. No, they do not hurt the beneficials. Apply per the label instructions for the control of fleas, ticks, grubworms, termites, fire ants and roaches. Beneficial nematodes are just one of the beneficial microbes that exist in healthy soil. That's why they seem to control more pests than they are supposed to. He puts out a weekly newsletter you could subscribe to. The lower part of the page is one of the newsletters he put out a while back. This is the place that sells the type I use: I use the jar that treats up to 1/4 acre and put it around the house, on the vegetable gardens, and in the turf area in the back yard closest to the house and in a couple of corners where the dogs hang out. The bottle gives instructions for fire ants, and they tell you to visit the web site for the other instructions. (I've copied and posted these instructions before, but now you can get it at the web site: http://www.gulfcoastbiotics.com. They're living organisms so you need to keep them refrigerated until you use them, but don't freeze and don't let them get too warm. There is a "use by" date on the top and you should buy them through the mail or from a merchant that keeps them in a fridge. Using something like this in the garden means fewer pests like grub worms, cut worms, horn worms, etc. They won't all go away, but there will be fewer. I don't have fleas in the yard for all of the years I have had dogs because I use this along with treating the dogs. The jar comes with a mix that looks kind of like moist peat moss. You get a container that holds at least a quart of water, and pour the contents into that quart of cool water. Let it sit for about 10 minutes, stir it a bit, then there is a paper screen they give you with the bottle (if they don't offer it, ask). You pour some of the contents through into a hose end sprayer bottle and set it to 2 tsp per gallon, but if it doesn't seem to draw down very fast you can go to 4 tsp per gallon (the screen gets most of the grit, but it can slow the drawing of the liquid out of the jar). It's important that you do this early or late, not in the hot part of the day, and you need to have watered or had a rain right before so the nematodes have a chance to get into the soil while it's moist. We had a heavy rain on Tuesday and I put these out early today so it probably took. I have some other microorganisms I use. BT for hornworms (in a spray that goes just on the affected plants, don't broadcast or you'll harm butterflies) and I use is a mycorrhizal fungal product. Do you know when you turn the old compost or the soil and you see those thin white fungal fibres in the soil? That's mycorrhizal fungi, and it is beneficial, it shows lots of healthy biological activity in your soil. You can get a product you add to your watering can or hose end sprayer that adds more to your soil. Scroll down in the Library under the M page and you'll see a number of entries about mycorrhizal fungi. There are several garden products out there called "Thrive," but the one by AlfaBIO systems (Click the photo for a message from Howard Garrett, who runs the Dirt Doctor site). This gives you enough for now. Poke around the library or the forum for information about specific issues and see if he has good answers. The beneficial nematodes are something I put out once a year every year or two. I need to pick up some trichogramma wasps and staple the little cards on a post in the garden to help with some of the other pests (though BT is still my best defense for things like squash borers). Because ants will pick the eggs off of the card before they hatch, I put a shallow garden saucer in the middle of the garden, fill it with water, and put a brick with holes in it. I stable the card to a 1 x 1/2 furring strip that is a couple of feet long and fits into the hole in the brick. This keeps the ants off of the card and the wasps can hatch. I hope you're paying attention this time. I get tired of typing this every couple of years! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Matt_R Date: 07 Apr 12 - 12:39 AM Getting ready to start our little 6-foot by 6-foot garden out back. We first grew veggies in 2010 but let it run to weeds last year while raising the newborn. Now that she's a toddler, were ready to plant again once the 15th rolls around. This time were going to plant stuff we actually like to eat, instead of about 7 million tomatoes. Looks like this year, leaf lettuce, spinach, pumpkins, my beloved banana peppers and perhaps some potatoes are on the docket. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 07 Apr 12 - 12:50 AM Ya'll go, Matt! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Apr 12 - 01:31 AM I can eat or drink the juice of just about all of the tomatoes I grow - your family must be unusual, Matt, if tomatoes planted in a garden that small were too much! But good luck this year growing what you'll eat. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 15 Apr 12 - 05:01 PM I gritted my teeth and decided to break out of hermit mode this weekend, and responded to an e-mail from an old Hillsborough friend and fellow gardener that I had been trying to reply to for a month or more. Upshot was I went to her house for lunch and a 3 hour visit that included a tour of her marvelous gardens that I had not seen since I left Hillsborough. The visit with her and the tour of her garden did my soul more good than I can say. It was also gratifying to see plants growing that I had passed on to her that I couldn't grow here in all this shade even if I had time. Plus, she has a really large yard, mixed habitat, with some beds very shady, and has offered to share plants or start cuttings of shade shrubs that probably would do well here whenever I am ready and able. I would love to share a cutting of your Koromo Shikibu with her, Bobert, but don't want to take any chance on also sharing the flower blight. Although the blight does not appear to have spread yet to any of the three azaleas you have given me, that doesn't mean the spores aren't present. I sent her some links where she can order it. When I got home there was a lovely voice message from another gardening couple in Hillsborough that I have not seen or talked with since I moved and who had taken me up on my offer of digging anything they wanted from my gardens just prior to me moving. Jim had called to say they were especially thinking of me as their garden is growing this spring and they see so many plants they had acquired from me. Wanted to say hello and to ask if I want any divisions or plants. Warmed my heart. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 15 Apr 12 - 08:11 PM Sounds nice, Janie! I like looking at the yards in my neighborhood and noticing the relations between them - I share plants with neighbors and they with me, so you see the same color of iris or amaryllis in two or three yards in a row. I've had people admire the vitex in my front yard and have over the years given away several seedlings from it, another one a couple of weeks ago. (Yes, it spreads, but it is easy to mow down or pull the sprouts.) The yards are different, but there are common interests observable. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 15 Apr 12 - 09:14 PM Janie, So happy to read that you spent time with an old gardening buddy in her garden... Very healing... Here's an idea on the cuttings... You grow them out and keep an eye on them for a year... Everyone else, The P-Vine got in 38 plants this week... We are very close to having everything that bloomed this year in and maybe 75-100 that will have to go another year... Me??? One handed tractor man is on the verge of finishing the French drains which will run under the future veggie garden and then quit for this season after setting the railroad ties... We'll be doing container and raised bed veggie gardening this year... Eating kale twice a week... Spinach coming on... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 25 Apr 12 - 01:08 PM Winter can't decide whether to come or go locally - Snow at my house, wet and rainy at work all this week; but suppossed to be a little warmer and drier this weekend - which is nice as I have a baker's dozen of shrubs scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Including 2 witch hazel's and a purple birch! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: kendall Date: 25 Apr 12 - 01:14 PM I learned something about gardening today. I'm a sailor. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 25 Apr 12 - 01:19 PM Water shortage and hosepipe ban... ha bloody ha! We've had hailstones the size of golfballs and incessant rain for ages. Can't possibly plant anything tender outside. Poor farmers, their fields are waterlogged and the earth is stone cold. Grain sown will probably rot. My greenhouse is chokka, hanging baskets, tubs, seedlings all ready to go outside but I just daren't, I'd lose the lot. The river which runs through our village is absolutely whizzing through the watermill sluice gates, and the valley below is already flooded. Enough! Stop! Warm sunshine please! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 25 Apr 12 - 01:41 PM yee-haw! Just found out a local nursery has the Forest Pansy Redbud; potted, at the best price I've found yet, and it is ALMOST on my way home from work..... yippee!!!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Apr 12 - 06:26 PM I picked up a handful of sweet potato slips and will be using them to landscape in the front. There is this berm I built, and a wall in front of it (that I built last year) and I had some of the ornamental sweet potatoes there but they didn't look nearly so beautiful or robust as the real sweet potatoes I planted in the veggie garden. So I'm putting the vegetable sort in for looks this year. I'm still digging and planting, but I have to leave for a week next month so I want it all in place and established a bit so a volunteer waterer won't have to take care of bedding plants not in the ground. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 25 Apr 12 - 07:59 PM Forest pansy redbud, MM? Is the the one with the yellowish-green leaves??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 26 Apr 12 - 06:16 AM Purple-toned leaves, Bobert: http://lpstatile.com/picts/Forest-Pansy-Redbud.jpg |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 26 Apr 12 - 11:39 AM Thanks, maeve... Yeah, I know that one afterall... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 27 Apr 12 - 09:21 AM *pout* they were sold out by the time I got there..... oh well - my mountain laurels came through the winter, have two new witch hazels to try and get past the "something ate them to the base" stage and found a huge patch of the wine coloured myrtle to pot up... also finally got some white grape hyacinths to grow this year after several failed attempts - and the pink lily of the valley are growing well that I bought this spring. if EVERYTHING went well I would think I was ahllucinatiing. We lost a couple tree peonies to the late snow though - all but one should come back - and even the last probably will in a couple years (it snapped at the base of the trunk) I think I'm buying a flowering peach as my last purchase this year - have a spot where it will look good. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 27 Apr 12 - 09:29 AM Well, looks as if we are finally into temps in the 50s at night so the tomato seedlings are jumping for joy knowing that they are going to have their own spots and not have to share with their siblings... Yo, MM... Where do you live??? I thought you were in the DC area, no??? If so, Merrifield Gardens in Merrifield, Va. - just west of Falls Church - will have your redbud... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 27 Apr 12 - 09:32 AM I'm about 8 hours north of DC....FingerLakes region. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Apr 12 - 11:20 AM Last week I had to trim some large dead limbs off of what is normally a very hardy privet in the understory woods section at the back of the yard. I have been told by neighbors that the first owners of this house had quite an exotic jungle of figs and fruit trees back here, now the lonely remaining privet shrubs grow under the various native hackberry trees. I'm still digging and clearing beds, transplanting things, mulching, getting the yard ready for a friend to water for a few days next month. I spread a bag of corn gluten meal in areas that needed fertilizing. I haven't been good about doing annual or semi-annual fertilizing, but I do foliar feeding and drenches in the gardens during the growing season. Lots of peppers this year, eggplant, tomato, squash, okra, potatoes, herbs, and I'm moving the crowded daffodils and iris. I've given away hands full of some of these things to neighbors. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 30 Apr 12 - 09:07 AM Two witch hazels I thought were dead because they go eaten down to ground level are putting out shoots; time to start dousinge with red pepper! Saturday I planted two more varieties of witch hazel , 4 azaleas, 7 rhodies, a holly, a purple birch, a blue poppy; and 20 daylilies. I ordered 7 new varieities of daylily this spring - I love this particular company as I often get 3 or 4 plants from an order for "1" - they send really nice clumps! Back to weeding and mulching... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 30 Apr 12 - 10:28 AM Do you have a chapter of the daylilly society near you, MM??? Yes, there are plenty of them out there and a great source of cheap and/or free plants... I've been Farmer Bobert the last week... As some of ya'll know the area where I want a permanent veggie garden is one the other side of our pond and wasn't graded well when the pond was put in so it was a tad on the swampy side so... ... I have mined/purchased about 40 yards of fill dirt and spent much of this spring on my Kabota pushing, pulling and grading and installing two French drains under what will be the future bed... Problem is that I have run out of time and soil so we will be using the two small (6 ft X 10ft) raised beds, a smallish (15ft X 15ft) bed the former owners used, seven 15 gallon containers, a 10ft X 6ft bed I tilled up for asparagus and half a dozen areas in the gardens where veggies can mix with decorative plants... Looks like the Beverly hillbillies but it will be food... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 30 Apr 12 - 11:46 AM two daylily BREEDERS in the area just "round the corner" (country/rural speaking) one who also has iris and peonies; but their hours are not compatible with mine..... usuallly there is ONE day per season I can get there... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Apr 12 - 12:18 PM My daylilies are just starting to open. :) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 30 Apr 12 - 12:22 PM mine are just coming up. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 01 May 12 - 09:18 AM rainy day today - which is good - it was suppossed to rain sunday night and it didn't. I'd like a moist (but not soggy) summer as it will help with the new plantings. Nice gentle soaks at night, during the week would be fine. No rain on weekends for July and August though please... |
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Subject: Lyr Add: CAMELOT (Lerner/Lowe) From: Bettynh Date: 01 May 12 - 01:19 PM That's Camelot weather: It's true! It's true! The crown has made it clear. The climate must be perfect all the year. A law was made a distant moon ago here: July and August cannot be too hot. And there's a legal limit to the snow here In Camelot. The winter is forbidden till December And exits March the second on the dot. By order, summer lingers through September In Camelot. Camelot! Camelot! I know it sounds a bit bizarre, But in Camelot, Camelot That's how conditions are. The rain may never fall till after sundown. By eight, the morning fog must disappear. In short, there's simply not A more congenial spot For happily-ever-aftering than here In Camelot. Camelot! Camelot! I know it gives a person pause, But in Camelot, Camelot Those are the legal laws. The snow may never slush upon the hillside. By nine p.m. the moonlight must appear. In short, there's simply not A more congenial spot For happily-ever-aftering than here In Camelot. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 01 May 12 - 05:59 PM I know - but since I work an outdoor entertainment venue weekends in July and August and rain days - while fun - are p*ss-poor maneymakers. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 01 May 12 - 08:07 PM Noticing a flower scape or two on a couple of my earlier day lilies. Don't buy day lilies with yellowing leaves. Could be a virus or bacterial infection that can slowly spread to other day lilies. I haven't had big problems with day lily deseases and fungus, but where planted en masse, such as at breeders, they are fairly easy to pick up and transport to your own garden. After 10 weeks of significant inactivity due to the broken knee (preceded by not much gardening or physical activity for months before that,) I spent just a couple of hours Sunday non-strenously forking a small pile of mulch into a wheel barrow and then distributing it into a couple of beds. Yesterday and today I have had a hard time standing straight or walking. Didn't injure anything, just really, really sore muscles from being seriously inactive and out of shape. Rather shocking to recognize how much so. Been doing more research on the azalea petal blight, and also noticing many, many azaleas infected throughout my little town. From what I have read, soil drenches and replacing mulch, the most commonly recommended practices are not actually very effective. Seems spraying the flower buds and flowers weekly with powerful fungicides,from the time they form until petal drop can "control" the fungus, but who has time for that,nevermind concerns about using powerful chemicals. I'm stymied. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 May 12 - 09:33 PM How is your soil, Janie? Is it healthy? I think that makes a big difference in the health of the plants. Take it easy. The weeds will wait for you. :-) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 02 May 12 - 09:37 AM I sympathize with the aches and pains. I sit at a desk from New year's to spring and then wonder why I hurt when I go out and spend a day gardening in april or may |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Arkie Date: 02 May 12 - 03:30 PM Have a relatively small garden of edibles in raised beds. The soil on this lot is about as worthless as I have ever seen and I have added compost and other amendments with some hope of producing something we can eat. Last year I did not get one thing. The previous year was not bad. So far I have little peppers on the vine,a little eggplant on the largest of the plants, tomatoes are blooming, multiple little cucumbers, squash blooms, lettuce and onions are doing well so far. Blackberry vines are loaded. Time to cover them with nets |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 04 May 12 - 10:53 AM Trying to decide if I want to try some veggies this year... 24 zuchinni plants last year - I got 4 blossoms total and no zukes. the beans never got more then two leaves each the butternut squashes all died. the "official" killing frost free date is under a month away... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 06 May 12 - 10:52 PM Oh my, what a lovely weekend it turned out to be. Left work early Friday to drive to WV. Had car problems and had to turn back, spending almost 4 hours at the mechanic's waiting for those good but very busy people to work me in, since no rentals were available on late notice. They were able to get the car running well enough to get me home and back to them on Monday, but not to anything else. Saturday I was able to sit on the ground and weed a long, thin, flowerbed before the heavy rain hit. I was sore this morning but a couple of ibruprofen got me moving again. We got about 1 1/2 inches of much needed rain over a 5-6 hour period yesterday evening. It was cloudy and humid early today, but cleared off mid-afternoon. Highs in the mid 70's F. Son got most of the yard mowed and I was able to not only do some of the finer mowing on the even ground level parts, but was also able to use the weed eater and do some much needed trimming. That was after moving everything from my lower kitchen cabinets, so Annie could begin prep work, and painting interior window framing that desparately needs it. The kitchen is still all-to-pieces and unusable and will be for another week or two, but this painting the cabinets is a major first step into a long process of making this place a home. In the meantime, we are eating as best we can doing microwave and take-out, and paper plates and plastic silverware. Annie is so awesome. The birds, rabbits and squirrels are a joy to watch right now. Babies and fledgings everywhere. Since I am able to be out in the yard again, am seeing more species of birds and generally appreciating what a wonderful habitat for small wild life I am again creating. Annie had brought me some stones from her leftovers to make a stone path from the shed to the main yard to get our feet out of the mud, and until I can rent a rototiller to use to loosen the soil to dig out for the path, the stones are stacked in an approximation of a dry-stack edging around a garden bed, and the look makes me salivate regarding the possibilities if funds, the spine, and time ever permit. And tonight, after yesterday's heavy and long rain, the tree frogs are in full chorus. The rain last night kept the fabulous moon hidden. I'm headed out as soon as I hit "send" to see if I can catch it tonight, and then to bed. It is so good to be regaining more use of my leg and body, to have my sister here and her energy to spark some of my own, and even if it was spent fretting and shifting in an uncomfortable chair in the waiting area of my mechanic's shop, to have had that little extra time away from work. The unexpected time to spend on the yard and garden was an absolute elixir. Sweet dreams to all of you. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 07 May 12 - 05:33 AM I have two peonies in bloom - with the last of the daffies. The oak tree has finally leafed out - just about the only thing that is almost on a normal schedule - everything else is several weeks to a month ahead of "normal" |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: mouldy Date: 07 May 12 - 12:33 PM Greetings from across the pond! After last year's enforced non-gardening, due to building work, I have spent time (and money) getting the albeit small (microscopic by New World standard) back garden up and running. The veg plot (once under concrete) is planted, with a donation of top-soil from the builder. It's still got too many stones in it, but the level is better than it was. Also, my back and shoulders were starting to wave the white flag after several days of uncovering old wall foundations - stone ones just a few inches down. I think the root veg will be interesting shapes this year! That's when they eventually get going properly. The weather's been diabolical. We had a very warm late March, and then after that it's been nothing but traditional March temperatures. The bees are too cold to fly much, the blossom either started early, or it's late. I'm lucky to have a walled garden, but even so, things are slow. The bulbs are ending, and the things that have had the sun are doing fairly well, but the soil has been very cold. The frogspawn in my little pond got killed by the frosts that followed the early warm weather. Well anyway, I got apple variety number 6 today. They are dwarf, or semi-dwarf trees, and one is a dual variety, so they don't take up too much room. Somehow I am not hopeful of a very good crop, even though there is quite a bit of blossom on them. Andrea (in North Northumberland) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bonzo3legs Date: 07 May 12 - 02:20 PM Hello - can anyone please suggest some small summer flowers which can cope with about 3-4 inches of soil, on top of solid chalk? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bettynh Date: 07 May 12 - 02:45 PM Sweet alyssum is the first thing that comes to my mind, Bonzo. I can only grow it next to my concrete path, presumably because it craves the lime. Look to the Mediterranean for other flowers - herbs like oregano or marjorum scramble over chalky cliffs in Italy and Greece. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 07 May 12 - 08:55 PM Home from yet another azalea society convention with my little 6 X 5 covered trailer full of plants... Normal... Lot's of deciduous azaleas plus a few evergreen one as we;ll as half a dozen miscellaneous plants... Our teenager garden helper, as per ususal didn't water enough white we were gone... Worn out... More tomorrow... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maire-aine Date: 08 May 12 - 10:29 AM Planted some carrot & some beet seeds on Sunday. Sunday night & Monday night we had nice, steady overnight rain. And the flower seeds (zinnias, snapdragons & cosmos) that I planted in the birm (btwn street & sidewalk) have started to sprout. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: mouldy Date: 08 May 12 - 10:47 AM Apple tree #5 got put in this morning... Andrea |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 21 May 12 - 09:06 PM Well, we are zeroing in on having all the moved plants planted... As for veggies??? Gonna be a crap shoot... We have some stuff that we think is going to do very well and some in the iffy category... Rabbit ate our zucchini... Everything else okay... Put in 20 asparagus and they are happy and up.... Been a hard year... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 21 May 12 - 10:33 PM Wrongly anticipated I would get the micromini oak forest chopped down from the raised bed this weekend. Somebody needs to write a book about gardening where acorns fall heavily enough to look like mulch. But a pitchfork and a dry Memorial Day weekend should take care of it. The neighbors brought me a melon - they got their seeds confused and don't know if it is cantelope or honey dew. I bought two super sweet cherry tomato plants, one red and one a yellow, but unfortunately not my all time fav - sungold - plus 4 basil plants. If the weather, the knee, the back and the motivation cooperate, all will get planted this weekend. I don't think I have enough sun for the melon to do anything, but it will be an experiment. Have definitely concluded I don't have enough sun for biggetr tomatoes, but the cherry and grape varieties are so prolific that they still produce enough in 5 hours sun to be worthwhile. Orange daylillies blooming as are hydrangeas. Azaleas not so bothered by lacebugs this year, but red spider mites are a bitch. Maybe will be able to deal with them this weekend also. Am finally thinking creatively about garden plans for this place. Not yet thinking realistically. But hey - it's a process, yes? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 21 May 12 - 10:38 PM Yes, it is a process... i.e, fight... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 May 12 - 11:16 PM I finally had the good sense to hire a neighbor to weed the biggest garden for me. I was away for a week and he watered but wouldn't accept any payment, so I hired him to come back and weed and my garden, and it is a transformed place. We didn't have much winter and the weeds were huge. He grew up on a farm in Mexico so has always enjoyed working in gardens. He arrived an hour earlier than I expected and with his pick/adze dispatched those weeds in a short time. I need to get one of those things - much more efficient than the spade fork. I suspect a childhood of weeding his father's farm also helps the efficiency. He lives a block away but his yard doesn't have much clear space (too much shade) for a garden, so I told him if he wants to help here occasionally we can dig another bed to fill with his beloved peppers. :) It's funny, people come by to say hello and look so pleased when they leave with an onion or a handful of herbs or a zucchini - the act of growing food seems magical to city dwellers, while not many generations ago people were growing a lot more of their own food. Growing food is hard work, but we don't know that with industrial farms, subsidized corporate growers that are sending grocery stores uniform sized and looking produce. I'm not nearly so organized as Bobert, no heavy machinery or loads of chicken or cow manure to disk in. But I still manage to grow enough of some things to last me during the year, and give a lot away. Okay. Off the soap box. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 28 May 12 - 07:46 PM Mission accomplished. Got both raised beds purged today. Planted the two tomatoes, the 4 sweet basil, and the unknown melon. Sectioned off a piece of the oregano and replanted it to another location, and otherwise completely cleared another small and deep raised bed that had been dominated by the oregano, something that was supposed to be chives but wasn't (gorgeous blooms, tho') and scads of self-sown Italian parsley. Need to go get a bag of compost to add to that bed. I bought a packet of zucchini seeds today that I might plant there - not sure of the sun. Whether I plant that little 3x3x1 this summer or not, I'm gonna plant kale there in the fall. Also severely whacked back a Rosemary shrub which should allow the single apricot mums to do a bit better this fall. Pegged a gorgeous and unidentified shrub that was already here in a few places for myself and also for Sis. A graceful, fountain shaped shrub prolific with white nodding blooms in late spring. Does well in shade to part shade. Still have not been able to key it out despite crawling the internet for 3 years. The knee held up to pushing on the garden fork. Still not confident enough in its stability to risk pushing the mower around my large and full of holes yard where I have several times before the broken knee cap twisted ankles and feet well enough to land on crutches for a few days. My son is gone for 2 1/2 weeks. A kind neighbor with a riding mower came through today and mowed what was easily mowed with her riding mower. She also offered to do the challenging trim work along the banks and ditches with her push mower but I declined. I know how hard those parts are to do. You might recall I had to have a large oak cut down after it died suddenly last summer. With it gone, there is enough sunlight hitting the opposite side of the road for the old-fashion orange day lilies to bloom. They are just visible from where I sit on my carport-cum-backporch. A delight to behold. Coming to terms with the limitations of time, money, and energy. Have been able, this weekend, to spend time just sitting outside and watching. As limited as is the habitat here, it is pure joy to quietly sit and watch the plants, the birds, the small mammals, lizards and the wide variety of insects participate in the great web of life. Helps me find perspective and accept that no matter, I am also no more and no less than a participant in that great web. Happy gardening. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 28 May 12 - 08:10 PM I have a lovely and common terracota cherub that has grown even lovelier with age as she has donned moss and lichens. A squirrel knocked her off her pedestal this spring, resulting in an arm broken off. I am torn between the alternatives of letting the result stand to eventually grow moss over the wound of the severed arm and gluing the severed arm back on. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 28 May 12 - 08:15 PM We see light at the end of the tunnel and it is not a train... We're within 15 - 20 plants installed of calling it a day... Like Janie, we have one big open space that get lots of light... It kinda semi-circular and today we found an affordable "Thunderhead Pine" (the cultivator that spreads but doesn't get any taller than 4 feet... It will be the center of our pinus bed... It's small and will need a couple of years before finishing out the pinus garden but with some rocks and hard-scape I can make it look like okay until it gets some size... Veggies are doing okay... I have found that growing tomatoes in 15 gallon plastic pots means watering just about every day... Didn't know that... Do now... We put in 20 asparagus plants in trench planting and all are up 2-3 feet... All in all, things are civilized... Next: Hand digging footers under the the overhand to build out the P-Vine potting/propagation room... Should be cheap because I bought the windows and doors back in VA at this salvage joint and brought them down here... It's gonna be a slobber-knocker but what isn't??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 May 12 - 08:35 PM My tomato plants are sagging with the weight of fruit this spring. I will consider myself lucky if I get a crop of what has been pollinated so far, but it would be lovely to have a more "typical" summer and have production all season long. Last year was such a disaster that I've changed how I do a number of things. Hand watering, every couple of days for most stuff, more often for tender things just transplanted. I dug out a large bed along the front of the house - not a vegetable bed, but the artist in me wants some order out there and a place to plant more flowers - they'll be among the perennial plants. I bought and used that pick adze - Janie, I'm never going back to the spade fork unless I have no space to take a swing. This was so much easier and faster - and with the chopping action you can get it deep enough to take out the bottom clumps of Bermuda roots, not just chop them off. This is like chopping wood, might be easier on your knees. I picked up the 2.5 pound tool - there is a five pounder, but I'll let the guys use that one. I also got the ash handle instead of the plastic. I've always liked wooden handles. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: GUEST,Tinker Date: 28 May 12 - 11:33 PM Damn deer. Now tall pholox has always grown nearly weed-like in my garden, more pink and white blossoms than I knew what to do with. But a mile or two away they had a controlled deer hunt last winter and for a couple of days each week eight young bucks sauntered down the mountain and hung out rather brazenly in my backyard. I haven't actually seen them in months, but my garden has become the local smorgasboard! Pholox is clearly the Favorite, but lupine is clearly also a hit and the cone flower may never recover. They don't seem to be attracted peonies ( that would have been even less forgiveable) But I spent the day on a 15 x 10x 10 foot patch of dog rose and I may have it all bagged to ground level with one more day. I've learnt not to try and compost the stuff, it and bittersweet are the two things I actually bag up and have taken away ( one perk of suburban living) But the deer and I are definately not on good terms. since I've seen them sail over my neighbors 6 foot fence, I'm not sure there is much I can do.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 08 Jun 12 - 09:16 PM Has anyone ever grown produce in containers???? We have 18 tomato plants in 10 and 15 gallon black plastic containers... They look fine but... ...we're not sure as to how often to fertilize and water, etc... Any advice appreciated... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jun 12 - 10:58 PM Bobert, I think you need to gauge watering based on how the plants look. Hopefully the containers have drain holes? I picked a half dozen large rosy tomatoes. I don't let them get completely red on the bush, makes them to easy for the squirrels and birds to spot. Lots of cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, waiting on some of the hot peppers and I've planted another round of squash that are still small but just beginning to flower. Most of the onions are in. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 09 Jun 12 - 12:08 AM Have had good success with some produce in containers, and so-so success with tomatoes. I think using varieties that are adapted to containers is useful. Although patio varieties may not have the superdooper taste of heirlooms, any home grown tomato in season is gonna be hands above anything you buy in a store. In my experience, consistent and even moisture without overwatering is important, as is staying right on top of fertilization requirements with balanced fertilizer customized for tomatoes. Too much or too little can be equally problematic within the contained environment of a pot. Attention to minerals, especially magnesium, is very important. This relates, in part to watering since some minerals required by tomatoes leach more readily than others. Tomatoes are such heavy feeders, and the balance of minerals and the effects of ph and watering on the balance gets real important when tomatoes are grown in containers. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 09 Jun 12 - 08:16 AM Wow!!! Just got around to reading/looking thru the latest "Horticulture" magazine and there is a letter in there asking the same question... Says that fertilizing with a balance fertilizer often is the trick as the fertilizers tend run out the bottom of the pot... Make sense... I have chicken manure (3-2-3) but I'm going to see if I can find something with more phosphate... Of course, watering every day is part of the deal... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Maryrrf Date: 09 Jun 12 - 08:46 AM Haven't posted much on Mudcat lately due to various distractions, but thought I'd give a garden update. I wasn't even sure I'd have a garden this year what with the kidney stone issues and it seemed like it took forever for me to get back my old energy level, but round about April I went out and dug up the patch - should move it to another spot but maybe next year. It's smaller now but more manageable. I've got two tomato plants that yield the large variety - one is starting to produce now (I've had 2 yummy tomato sandwiches) and the other was smaller when I planted it - so hopefully will yield later in the summer. Also one cherry tomato plant and one grape tomato plant and they both are beginning to bear fruit. The zucchini is doing great - I've had my first batch of fried zucchini which I love even though it adds calories to a very healthy vegetable - next time I'll stuff it and bake. The yellow squash and cucumbers got off to a rough start and I wasn't sure they would make it but after looking very spindly and frail shortly after being planted they recuperated and it looks like they'll do fine - I've got some small cukes and little yellow squash coming along. The green peppers are starting to yield, and when the eggplant started coming in I realized I'd gotten the wrong variety. I thought it was "Black Beauty" but these turned out to be Chinese eggplant. Last night I cooked something heavenly out of the eggplant and peppers - sauteed two small eggplants, two green peppers, an onion and some garlic. Added a generous amount of curry powder, 1/2 cup of salsa and a cup of coconut milk. Delicious! The okra is doing so so, I planted three and one plant died but I'll have enough. Greens - kale, Swiss chard and collards seem to be indestructable. They grow all year round, but in the summer the bugs get them. I'm going to harvest what I have now and freeze so I can make room for more herbs. There will be some good eating this summer! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 09 Jun 12 - 08:49 AM Don't you live in the Richmond area, Mary??? If so, I am amazed that your greens hang thru the winters... Do you mulch them with straw??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Maryrrf Date: 09 Jun 12 - 09:19 AM Yes I do live near Richmond. There seems to be almost no point in time where there are no greens in the garden - maybe late January or February. They go to seed and as soon as it starts warming up - March or so, the greens just start appearing. I love them - chop them up and add to rice, pasta, soups, etc. They are so hardy, I can see why greens were a traditional food for poor folks. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 09 Jun 12 - 11:29 PM Good to hear you are faring better, Mary, and that your garden is growing! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 10 Jun 12 - 04:09 AM Nasty old wind, rain and cold. Hanging baskets ripped to bits, now recuperating in the greenhouse. My gorgeous Phacelia tanacetifolia (scorpion flower) were in full bloom and perfume, helping some chilly bees to nectar, but they're flat on the ground, snapped off and ruined. Rhubarb gone mad and gigantic with all the rain. I do pity the poor folk in West Wales who have suffered terrible floods. But it's sad to see the early promise of some lovely plants come to nothing. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 10 Jun 12 - 02:22 PM I'm hand watering this year and that helps me keep a better eye on the pests that can turn up, before they become numerous. Leaf-legged bugs, stink bugs, tobacco hornworms, etc. Tomatoes are coming along, as are peppers and squash. I'm going to be canning tomatoes one of these days soon, much of the rest is going in the freezer. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 10 Jun 12 - 02:26 PM Love the names of those pests, SRS! Seems almost a shame to kill them, they sound so exotic and strange! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 10 Jun 12 - 08:18 PM We have tomato horn worms here... Very nasty little critters with a needle sharp horn... They blend in with tomato plants and hard to find but can do a lot of damage... They will be here soon and we will be feeding them to whatever wants to eat 'um in the pond... ***************************NEWS FLASH********************************* Took the P-Vine out today to get away from the work and she didn't ask to stop at any garden centers!!!! *************************Details at Eleven*************************** B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 11 Jun 12 - 01:16 AM Tobacco hornworm photo is one I posted in a blog entry a while back. How can anything so big and obnoxious be cute? Hard to say, but they are very interesting, and the odd thing is, that when my son (a local recipient of the Hispanic Scholar Award Program, 2010, on a par with the National Merit Scholarship) got tons of mail from Ivy League colleges to ask him to apply, one I noticed included a writeup of the current science stuff they were doing - it was a program at Tufts that studied how Tobacco Hornworms moved, in order to build a robot. The information has been used in several places. (My son ended up at the University of Arizona, full ride, at a Tier 1 university. U New Mexico offered a full scholarship also, but they're about 3rd tier at this point.) My son is a wiz at computers and knows his mother knows a lot about the bugs in her garden. For now, that is as much as I can hope for. :) The point is, we learn a lot from our garden pests, though some of them might gross people out at first glance. The leaf-legged bug (in the stink bug family) is odd, can be aggressive, but if you watch them for a while, you figure out how to kill them off without destroying the garden (they're stupid and brittle - I use a couple of 1-gallon paint stir sticks from Home Depot to swat them or squash them, and they're history.) My kids may be too busy with their lives right now to pay a lot of attention to my garden, but they know it is here, they know I'm aware of the pests, and I am willing to stake their good health on it that one of these days they will also decide to start growing their own healthy food, and remember some of what I modeled for them over the years. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 12 Jun 12 - 12:17 AM My daughter came down this evening and we had our annual BLTs. This is a superior crop of tomatoes. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 23 Jun 12 - 09:12 PM The garden is producing like gangbusters right now, a bucket or two of large "super fantastic" tomatoes a day and at least a pint of cherry tomatoes a day. Peppers, zucchini, herbs, other squash, and the okra is starting to bloom. I'm having to fight to keep the eggplant going, the flea beetles have been merciless and the lace bugs are going full tilt. A mix of compost tea and spinosad today, something I don't use out there much. I stay away from most flowering plants with that because it kills bees. Next time I'll use orange oil in the mix. I'm doing a lot of canning and cooking right now, though it is a busy weekend indoors and out. Today I picked a lot of the ingredients to make salsa for canning. How's it going everywhere else? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 23 Jun 12 - 09:36 PM Horn worm will completely destroy a tomato plant in 48 hours... Fish bait... They ain't cute to me... Maybe they'd be cuter if they ate weeds??? Here in steamy NC we're within a dozen plants of being planted!!! Lost count at 300... Now, without rain, it's moving the oscillator every 2 hours... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Jun 12 - 01:20 AM I know about hornworms - I had one plant out front last year and hadn't paid much attention to it (it didn't produce, probably because I forgot to water it.) I found a dozen hornworms on it in the fall - quite astonishing - there was barely any foliage left. I usually patrol for them but they're so hard to see until they get big. I think they might fluoresce in black light, Bobert, if you want to try that at night. Canned today and then turned to salsa. There's an account of it in the declutter thread - it came out rather like Chipotle sauce (as I was hoping it would) but it's based upon the Zesty salsa recipe in the Blue Book. I simply modified it a little, and put the stick blender in the pot and chopped it a lot smaller than the original recipe calls for (it isn't pureed, but it's very fine bits of veggies now). Temps hit 100 today. There may not be many more fruits set for now, but there is still a lot in the garden. These tomatoes aren't finished yet! Okra is starting to bloom. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Jun 12 - 01:10 PM Wow. 104o predicted today. Must shift into "preserve the garden" mode and be ready for hot dogs sprawled on the floor tile. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 25 Jun 12 - 06:11 PM We've had 90s and dew point in the high 60s... That makes it feel like about 110... Today the dew point dropped a little so I was able to work most of the day... Tomorrow... High of 82 and dry... Yea!!! Saturday??? 100... Boo!!! Went up to Hendersonville yesterday for an azalea cutting exchange with a NC chapter and brought home, oh geeze, at least 10 plants and 20 cuttings... Been working on our "prop room" (propagation)... Have three walls all framed (2 with doors) and ready for siding... Dug the footer for the 4th wall this afternoon and will frame and pour footer by tomorrow night... It's gonna be purdy nice... Maybe by the time it's finished I'll know how to post a pic??? Nah... LOL... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Jun 12 - 11:00 PM I'm still weeding gardens - having bought both a mattock and a pair of steel toed boots lets me make much shorter work of some of this, even in tight spaces. I cleared between the asparagus and the basil tonight, and tomorrow I'll put in a composted mulch and transplant some of the little basils. I have a next door neighbor who makes a mighty fine pesto - think we can work something out? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 27 Jun 12 - 11:03 AM I'm sure we've had this discussion before but if so I have forgotten the answer... Tomato horn worms??? Other than pickin' them off the plant is there anything that we can use to keep them off our plants??? Thanks ahead of time... B;~) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Jun 12 - 11:27 AM BT. Bacillus thuringiensus. If you broadcast it you'll kill the butterflies in your yard, but if you mix water with a few teaspoons in a 1 to 2 gallon backpack sprayer, along with some organic fertilizer or compost tea and maybe add a little molasses and spray it on the plants you'll make the plants happy and give the hornworms a meal that they can't digest and they stop eating and die. If you do this now before they're big then you probably won't spot the little ones when they are there and then die. If you do it when there are big ones working then you'll sometimes see them in place, then slowly loose their grip and kind of dangle from the limb before they shrivel and drop off. If you do it every week or 10 days you should keep most of them away. I'm patrolling for them now, because this is when they start turning up. Thuricide is a brand, and Green Light has it also. Keep it in the fridge once you open it, but don't let it freeze. You can get granular mixes, I think, but for this purpose, you want it on the leaves that they're going to munch, so spray it. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bettynh Date: 27 Jun 12 - 11:48 AM I have to confess to a weakness for hummingbird moths and usually sacrifice a single tomato (or flowering tobacco, datura, potato, or even petunia) plant to them. I only see a few grow to full size before they're parasitized, and the feeding of parasites is one kind of control. BT (Thuricide, Dipel) is a bacteria that'll kill off any little caterpillars. It won't work on the big ones, and is you have to buy a new supply of BT every year (the bacteria can die off), so it's really only good for big gardens and committed gardeners (who spray at the right time). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 27 Jun 12 - 05:36 PM I'm scared to death of BT... I used it, as directed with mask, gloves, long sleeves, etc. a few year ago and got bacterial phenomena... Any other ideas, Magz??? Sorry about the moths... One worm will destroy an entire plant... We only grow 18 plants... Last year we picked off at least a dozen... I'm not willing to sacrifice my entire tomato crop to worms... Sorry... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: pdq Date: 27 Jun 12 - 06:25 PM Even if you keep Bascillus turingiensis localized in the initial spraying, it will spread far and wide and kill an almost infinite number of moth and butterfly larvae for years to come. What happens is the infected caterpillar becomes a shell filled with bacterial spores. The case ruptures and billions of spores escape and are carried away by the wind. They will re-infect other caterpillars forever. The BT developed in labs is so much more virulent that the original strains that were found in nature that the moths and butterflies don't have a chance. The US moth and butterfly population has been almost destroyed by BT, not by habitat destruction or chemical pesticides as some people say. The number of butterflies is down to about 1% of what we had in the middle of last century, mostly due to the use of Bascillus turingiensis. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 27 Jun 12 - 07:28 PM Yeah, I'm with pdq on this one... Might have to stick to manual extraction... But they are so hard to find... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Jun 12 - 08:55 PM I think you guys have been reading this when you're high - or we're not talking about the same products. This isn't Ortho. If BT goes bad in the bottle after a year (it doesn't if you put it in the fridge) then it isn't also going to stay live in the environment in the way you suggest. And it does get the big ones also. It works because when they eat foliage with BT on it, it gets in their gut and shuts them down. That's it. They digest it and they can't eat any more. I've been using this for 10 years now. I don't broadcast it, I use it on plants that caterpillar worms attack, on the tobacco family (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, but usually just on the tomatoes) and I spray it on the foliage of the cannas because worms get those fairly often. It doesn't require a mask and gloves, I'm usually wearing shorts, a t-shirt, a ballcap and sandals. I put a couple of teaspoons in the sprayer (with a gallon of water) and add some compost tea, molasses, and maybe some liquid seaweed or other fertilizer, and I do my normal foliar feeding. This is part of an accepted organic gardening program. I'm not sure where you are getting the horror stories. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 07 Jul 12 - 07:44 PM I'm gonna hate to see my next water bill from this long stretch of heat and no rain. And I ain't got that much to water. North Carolina, very briefly just before this long heat wave, had finally made it to the place for the first time in a very long time no counties were classified as in drought or abnormally dry conditions. Lasted less than a week. None of the "widely scattered showers" over the past 2 weeks scattered to my little neck of the woods, though I witnessed wonderfully dark clouds and heard the thunder roll several times in all directions around me. Very nice, long shower while visiting Dani last night, 10 miles from me. (And she really needed it also.) When I got home, we had received a few sprinkles to accompany the downed tree limbs from the peripheral wind from the storms. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Jul 12 - 07:52 PM I'm canning tomatoes in small batches two and three times a week. I have a couple of programs I enjoy on television tonight so I'll turn on the kitchen set and blanch and dice tomatoes. Flea beetles have overwhelmed some plants, I'm fighting back with a neem drench in the soil, hoping to take out some of the next generations. My water bill is going to be high again also, probably higher than the electric bill. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 07 Jul 12 - 08:15 PM Yo, Magz... I got bacterial phenomena from BT... Used mask, gloves and long sleeve shirt but still got sick... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 07 Jul 12 - 08:30 PM Might be the BT or might be the filler, Bobert. Either way, sounds like you have figured out that you can't mess with the stuff. BTW, welcome to the the non-Appalachian South. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 07 Jul 12 - 09:05 PM Yuck... I miss the mountains and my hillbilly friends... Hot 'n sticky here... No shine, either... B;~( |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 07 Jul 12 - 09:57 PM Yep. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 08 Jul 12 - 11:26 AM Well, we are in a purdy severe drought... 1.3 inches of rain in the last 30 days and 1.1 of it fell way too fast so... ...it's water this, water that every day... Some can be done with the oscillator but most a wand... Labor intensive... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jul 12 - 04:48 PM I have a few small sprinklers I use in spots, but I still mostly hand water. Have to do it again this evening since it's an even date and my house number is even. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 08 Jul 12 - 08:44 PM We have a forecast of rain Tuesday & Wednesday... Hope so... Even the grass crackles under our feet... Pond down 2 1/2 feet and startin' to stink... Need rain... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 08 Jul 12 - 11:23 PM My two little cherry tomatoes were just starting to bear and ripen their first clusters when the heat wave hit, and of course are not pollinating with the high temps we have had. Basil, but no tomatoes to go with it. Sigh. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jul 12 - 12:24 AM You can use a Q-tip and pollinate them Janie, I do it off and on depending on conditions. Or you can use that blossom set spay (someone told me it's just epsom salts, but I'm not sure about that). You get tomatoes with no seeds with that stuff. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Songwronger Date: 12 Jul 12 - 07:01 PM I have a question, about winterizing plants. We have several large pots of herbs and mints we want to bring in over the winter. But we want to bring them into the living place. Normally we store plants elsewhere, with a bulb to turn on in cold weather, but this year we want to bring some pots in where we live. Insects. We don't want bugs and pests to be an issue inside. And we don't want toxic pesticides inside. So is there a way to prep big pots to bring inside like this? Bugs haven't been a big problem with these, but the pots could have ants, beetles, no telling what else. We don't want those crawling around the house. All we can think of to do right now is use a little diatomecaeous earth on the earth in the pots, in case anything hatches out during the winter. Maybe the DE would stop anything that came out of the ground. Anything else to recommend? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 13 Jul 12 - 11:00 AM Orange oil, at the rate of 2 ounces (4 Tablespoons) per gallon, mixed with a little compost tea and a good organic liquid fertilizer (fish will work, but I'd suggest put it on in advance of bringing it in the house so the fish smell dissipates) when sprayed on as foliar feeding and pest control will fertilize the plant and kill most pests resident on it. Except for the fact that Bobert has had an unusual but serious reaction to BT (I don't know how it happened, but I'll take his word for it that it did) you could also mix a teaspoon or two of BT into that water also and it will take care of any caterpillars that might be on the plants. Orange oil (D-limonene) is a solvent so should be used in the dilute form - I tend to use it a little weaker than the the rate I just listed. While it can be sprayed in a dilute mix in the house (floors, etc) to kill some bugs, you need to be careful around painted and finished surfaces (test it somewhere first) because at higher levels it can peel paint. A mix of more orange oil with 10% (pickling) vinegar (no water to dilute) is used as an herbicide. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Songwronger Date: 13 Jul 12 - 10:03 PM Excellent. Orange oil it is. Thanks. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 17 Jul 12 - 10:41 AM The tomatoes have about petered out, the eggplant, peppers, and okra are coming on strong. I took a serving of baba ganoush to my next door neighbor. She is the one who got me started eating fried okra, it seemed time to introduce her properly to eggplant. I included a piece of warmed pita bread and a drizzle of good olive oil and she loved it. It's a start, considering they've always been shy of it! She brought some pesto over the other day when I gave her some okra - commenting that she hadn't bought much basil this time so it was a small batch. I suggested we step over to my garden for a moment and pointed out that I grow basil by the bushel and that she shouldn't consider buying it any more when she can grab a handful here and it will never be missed. I really do love these little exchanges through the neighborhood - building bonds with food and our gardens. It's an elemental form of communication! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 27 Oct 12 - 09:42 AM What! Chrysanthemum weirdness. The only mums I have, in theory, are single apricot mums. I brought a couple of large clumps with me from Hillsborough. Divided them 2 springs ago to spread them around more. There are four scraggly mums blooming amongst them this year that ain't them but are all rayed like them. A yellow, a red, a white, and a very narrow petaled two-toned, yellow on top and rusty orange on the back side of the petals. Self-sown seedlings of the apricot mums? Never had them self-sow before that I know of and the bed these are in is heavy clay and not a particularly friendly environment for seed germination., but I really can't think of any other explanation. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: MMario Date: 27 Oct 12 - 09:45 AM The other possibility is seedlings that never got a chance to take off and bloom until you divided the clumps. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 27 Oct 12 - 05:39 PM Sports??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Oct 12 - 12:50 AM Threat of frost tonight. Damn. My eggplants are in their prime and I haven't dug up basil yet (I was going to move some into the greenhouse.) We'll see what tomorrow brings - I've covered some key plants with tarps and sheets. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 28 Oct 12 - 05:55 AM It's certainly possible they are sports. However, I've been growing these mums for a lot of years and never had them sport before. Also, they are separate plants, not variant blooms or branches appearing on a plant with typical single apricot blooms. On the other hand, they all appear in the same bed, fairly near one another and I am pretty sure there is something funky and imbalanced about the soil here, and especially in that bed (I really do need to get around to soil testing.) I suppose whatever the condition is could make mutation more likely, and these plants are close enough to typical plants that they could actually be arising from underground stems from the typical plants. Whether sports or seedlings, none of them are particularly attractive or worth further propagation. Still, it is interesting to see. Anybody need any earwigs? (grrrrrrrr!!!!!) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Oct 12 - 01:29 PM How are you using "sports?" Does this mean coming up from the roots or something? I've never heard it. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: maeve Date: 28 Oct 12 - 02:15 PM "Sport": "In botany, a sport or bud sport is a part of a plant (normally a woody plant, but sometimes in herbs as well) that shows morphological differences from the rest of the plant. Sports may differ by foliage shape or color, flowers, or branch structure. Sports with desirable characteristics are often propagated vegetatively to form new cultivars that retain the characteristics of the new morphology. Such selections are often prone to "reversion", meaning that part or all of the plant reverts to its original form. An example of a bud sport is the nectarine, which developed from a bud sport from a peach." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_%28botany%29 |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Janie Date: 28 Oct 12 - 03:32 PM I "inherited" (meaning they were already there) a number of polyantha roses, probably "Margo Koster." Polyanthas are noted for sporting and "Margo Koster" in particular. Had 2 of them to start with and propagated 6 more from cuttings. The same shrub would often have 3 or 4 different colors of blooms, and also variations in the number of petals. Some simply doubles and others very densely packed with petals. Colors could range from nearly downright orange to wine red. I did note that the dominant wine red shrubs did not sport as prolifically and any sports were variations on pink coral. No orange or orange coral. Was pretty neat. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 29 Oct 12 - 01:18 AM Interesting! Thanks. The compost is piling higher as I pull out plants from the summer. I need to put in another batch of broccoli. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 29 Oct 12 - 04:09 PM Some of our gardeners may have a sloppy wet mess to clean up after the various storms collide and travel up the east cost. Stay dry and warm, all, and I hope the storm impact isn't significant. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Mudcat Gardeners 2012 From: Bobert Date: 29 Oct 12 - 04:32 PM We can't buy water here outside of Charlotte but given what's going on elsewhere I won't complain.... Trash cans are great for protecting plants from early frost... Just be sure to put something heavy on top to keep it from blowing over... I've been out trying to insulate with plastic the garden house I built the P-Vine 'cause it's cold here and gonna get colder... B~ |
