Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 16, April 20, 2012

Friday, April 20, 2012 | JustaDumbBlonde

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Good morning to my FRiends, fellow gardeners, future gardeners, and lurkers! It is beautiful and sunny today here in NELA. We received 2-1/2 inches of rain earlier in the week and it is still very wet in the yard and garden.

I've been keeping busy with my bee yard ... I got called about a swarm day-before-yesterday, about 25 miles south of my house. I still had all of my bee catching equipment in my truck from doing a hive cutout last weekend, so off I went. Below is a photo of the swarm when I got there, and the latest photo of my bee yard with the newest hives on the right-hand side.

It is my hope that everybody is getting the weather they need, and none of what they don't. Check-in and let everybody know what you're up to in your neck of the woods.

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.

This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.

It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!

[hattend]

So, how do you find the Queen under that lump of bees in the top of a tree?

Or is that how you disperse a hive? Do you use some pheromone?

[hattend]

Five gallon buckets should easily get you a crop of tomatoes. I had good results with cherry tomatoes on those hanging bags and they hold less soil than a 5 gallon bucket.

[hattend]

Geez, I see “Potato” and my brain says “Tomato”

Disregard previous post...LOL!!!

[pitviper68]

First time trying to post pics here, so, hopefully they show ok. This is my 4 y.o. bamboo patch. There are 5 different varieties of cold-hardy running bamboo, all of them phyllostachys types.

[URL=http://s1186.photobucket.com/albums/z366/pitviper1968/?action=view&current=BambooApril2012.jpg][IMG]http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z366/pitviper1968/th_BambooApril2012.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[IMG]http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z366/pitviper1968/SpectabilisApril2012.jpg[/IMG]

[pitviper68]

Ok, trying this code: http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z366/pitviper1968/BambooApril2012.jpg

[patton]

Can I pose, um, a reaaly dumb question?

Ah-hem. Should I plant the victory garden over the septic field, or not?

[pitviper68]

and this:

[Ellendra]

I have trees!!!!! My mail-carrier earned their pay today, there were 4 big packages on our doorstep. Woohoo!!!!!

The predicted April cool-down took out most of my “gamble” plantings. I knew they were a risk, but those warm days in February and March were just too much to resist. More cold weather expected, so I’m starting a few more seeds indoors for now.

Yesterday I had to have a talk with my chiropractor. (My neck is misaligned in such a way that if I don’t get regular adjustments I start having dizzy spells so bad I can’t even talk straight.) Well, my insurance suddenly decided they weren’t going to cover chiropractic care anymore, so we had to discuss payment options. He said that because my adjustments were so vital, he wasn’t going to charge me for that visit, and that if the insurance keeps refusing to pay, he’d be willing to let me pay with stuff from my garden!!! I’ll be taking him some homemade pickles and jams next week.

[Ellendra]

Do you mean top-bar hives? If so, those are nice. I built a couple a few years ago, although they got hit by colony collapse. I built mine with hinged lids and anchored them to posts in the ground. It was nice being able to tend the hive without any heavy lifting.

[gorush]

Thanks for the info...that will be music to my wife’s ears. I’ve got to go to the lumberyard, thanks again :{)

[Ellendra]

Nice bamboo! Can I ask where you’re located? And, have you had trouble with the bamboo trying to spread where it’s not wanted?

I’ve tried to grow clumping bamboo a few times, but it always dies on me.

[Redleg Duke]

Greetings and farewell from southern New Hampshire, everyone. It has been fun, but Jim Robinson's decree and the response from all of the "Principled Conservatives" on this forum have convinced me that I need to go to a site where ideas and not just epithets are exchanged.

I have enjoyed following your gardening adventures and have learned much from all of you, but it is time to CSMO, so again, farewell!

[painter]

I heard we might get some frost tonight(4/20)in our area (central Mo.). Have you heard that too?

[pitviper68]

Thanks! I’m in Lincoln, Nebraska, somewheres on the Zone 4/5 area. And yes, with running bamboo, it’s VERY invasive. The trench around it needs to be re-dug this Spring, but it’s purpose is to chop of the spreading rhizomes, to prevent it from going where I don’t want. Some of mine grew 15 feet underground one season.

I’m hoping some of it gets to 12-15 feet tall this year. I love it, but lot’s of folks think I’m nuts :-)
Gregg

[Ellendra]

Need some advice on an idea I had.

The situation:
I own 5 acres, but the only part flat enough to be worth gardening right now is a narrow strip, right at the top of a very tall, steep hill, bordering a neighboring dairy farmer’s cornfield. Anything used in the garden must be hauled up backpacker-style, and it’s a long enough walk from the car that anything that gets forgotten, stays in the car. I’m not strong enough to make that trip twice in the same hour. Some days, I’m not strong enough to make that trip once. The land was abandoned for 15 years before I bought it, so the weeds are thick and well established. Hacking a garden space out of those weeds is an uphill battle in more ways than one. To make it even more interesting, I usually am only able to get out there once every couple of months, although I hope that this year will be different. (I’ve been saying that for the last 4 years.) Oh, and the soil has such a high clay content that you could stick your hand in after a rainstorm, and make pottery out of it.

My idea was, what if I dug a 4’x8’ area about as deep as a kiddie pool, only rectangular, and after making sure that erosion-control measures were in place, asked that nice farmer to fill it with fresh manure from his dairy operation, then after it was full covered it with landscape fabric and let sit until next spring? My theory is that that would provide a nice fertile garden bed, with the fabric keeping the weeds from sprouting. But I get the impression I’m missing the obvious. any suggestions?

[Gabz]

Gorgeous pictures!

I DON’T DO FLOWERS, but planted bleeding hearts and tiger lilies earlier this week and my husband just headed back to the lumber yard for more timbers for the bed out front that we put in around the buoy when we first moved in. Forget the pick axe, we were digging the old “timbers” out by the handful. We decided to raise it instead of sinking it and we decided it needed a third row of timber. Then off to the supplier for a load of topsoil to fill it, so I can plant the rest of the bulbs I’ve got. I want to do it before the rains come in tomorrow night. Oh and somewhere in between I do need to pick up the small person from the after school dance.

[Red_Devil 232]

Going good my tomatoes are about 10 inches high and looking healthy. I may scatter a few Basil plants among them.

[Gabz]

Of course I will keep Mark in my prayers.

[rightly_dividing]

We are starting to get the rains now.

Glad your garden is going well.

Ours need stakes which I was supposed to do last weekend, but didn't. Tomorrow...

[Red_Devil 232]

We had a good rain this morning and it let up for a few hours and is raining again - a nice steady and slow rain. It may pickup shortly to a heavy hard rain.