Posted on 05/04/2012 7:31:41 AM PDT by JustaDumbBlonde
Good morning FRiends and fellow gardeners! I really enjoyed all of you that participated in last week's thread. I've been so busy that I didn't have time to respond to each and every comment, but I think about what y'all write and the photos that you post while I'm out working on my own projects. You truly inspire me!
Looking forward to reading your updates this week. We welcomed 2 new members to the ping list last week, bringing us to 525 members. That is fantastic, and we are on track to add 100 members this year.
In my own little patch of earth, I've worked on many projects this past week and I did take plenty of photos along the way. If I get a chance I'll share some later on this evening, but if I don't, I'll post them all as next week's thread. My mind is reeling going from one thing to another and it would be easier to tell you what doesn't hurt on my body. It is all very rewarding though, as I'm sure y'all understand.
Happy gardening!
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!
This bush is probably about 12 years old. My newer Lilacs are between 2-8 years old. I drove around the neighborhood today and saw that no one’s Lilac has a bloom. All are placed in different locations (North, South, East, West) and all vary according to species. I did read online that Lilacs do best in a yard NOT well kept (meaning no fertilizer etc). My neighborhood has lots of folks with a yard without one weed. I’m beginning to think this may be the culprit. Thanks, AFTR!
Pro-Mix, workbench light, and you’re good to go...
What is sort of amusing to me if that Lilacs are suppose to be “easy” (compared to Tea Roses and such). Almost everyone you know had a Grammy that had a spectacular one in their yard.. filling the air with the most heavenly scent. I did read they like acidic soil (thus the one online recommendation of Epsom Salts). I now remember one woman I knew use to “mulch” hers in pine needles (thus the acid). Thanks, WWH!
Mama Bear... see Miss Magnolia’s info. An older plant is identified at 10+ years... so you prune 20%. He shows you how.... very interesting and great info. Seems you trim the entire plant from the bottom (the wood) and not the stems. Thanks, MM!
I prune the oldest third from my lilacs every year and they bloom just fine. I cut out the thickest and oldest parts.
My nextdoor neighbor’s lilacs have never been pruned and they don’t bloom well at all. Hers are about 15 feet tall.
We have the same variety and neither of us fertilizes them.
Yikes, you could have put up a warning!
What KIND of snakes? They can be your garden’s best friend, right up there with frogs & toads.
As long as they aren’t rattlers, copperheads, or moccasins, they are great mouse, vole, and bunny eating machines.
I’m slowly getting my trees planted. I don’t have much stamina due to health issues, so I’ve been limiting myself to 2 trees per trip, that way I don’t hurt myself trying to do too much in a day, and I can kind of baby the trees as I plant them instead of just trying to get the job done as fast as I can.
My strawberries came through the cold snap, blossoms and all, and the baby strawberries are starting to get bigger. We’re going to have more berries than we can pick again this year. I might have to invite friends over to help!
Had an unpleasant surprize on one of my trips out to the land. I’d decided to check out the spot I was planning to put the root cellar, and found that someone else thought that was a good place to dig, too, but for a different reason. It looked for all the world like a grave. So much so, that I had the county sheriff send somebody to check it out. They think it was just someone’s weird idea of a prank, but said if I decide to go ahead and dig my cellar there and find anything “interesting” I should call them back. They were nice and respectful the whole time, not like some of the cops who’ve been in the news lately. That was good. The county were my land is doesn’t have a big city anywhere, just a few small towns. Maybe that’s the difference.
That looks like the guy (bull sssnake) that I caught & releasssed in the garden about 3 times last year, before it got the messssssage.
It was crawling up the side of the house, assisted by phone & dish wires, to raid a bluebird nest under the eaves.
Around central Georgia. Argentina Sugar ants are an effective means of control for fire ants. Course they bring their own sets of issues.
Huge, Huge ant colonies and they actively farm Aphids. But no nasty bite.
Lady Bender finished spading the potato patch while I spread compost on a fallow bed we will be planting this year. I’ll be 79 in a few days and I feel 89 but I get a little done each day the weather lets me. We are a few weeks late with a couple of things but right on time with others. Raspberries, Blueberries and Strawberries are looking great and we are digging and using the little Vietnam Garlic as we need it. The Chinese Early will be a couple of weeks more if the bulbs don’t rot from the rains...
Did y’all know there is a Okra Texas?
I am going to start collecting some leaves this weekend and put them near the bottom. Thanks, WWHO! Years ago, I planted a yellow Lilac. I had always wanted a yellow Lilac. I had to wait six years before the plant was big enough to actually bloom. Bloom it did... for one year... one stupid purple Lilac. One! The next year, the stupid thing stopped blooming completely. (I am beginning to think someone up above doesn’t want me to have Lilacs. LOL!)
Somebody’s lilacs are doing well. In New Glarus there’s a lilac bush that’s just thick with blossoms! I see it driving to and from my land.
Here's a bloom from the one bush we have that is old enough to bloom - we have three very young ones just planted this spring that we are looking forward to seeing in future years.
How much bloom would you have if someone you love kept calling you “stupid”?
Remember: fertilizer will never cure stupid. Tons of it are trucked out from the government everyday and Obama is still stupid.
I live on a rock pile containing alkaline clay. Our creek is named Saluda, meaning salt. Even the rocks wither and die, but I keep trying to grow things the wind doesn’t blow away.
Happy gardening! LOL!!
My cat ate all of my seedlings indoors.
A bunny ate 90% of our snow peas and sugar snap peas growing out in the garden.
I give up.
Picked beans today and the tomatoes have lots of flowers! Corn is nearly tasseled. Got the cucumbers in late but they are finally flowering. Dry as a cork here tho. With my situation I have to water every day.
I use Mer-Acid on my Blueberries...
When I was young the fire ants were moving across the coastal plain. When the ants were up in the mounds, Dad and I would each get a shovel, dig out a big scoop and put it on the other mound.
Then you knocked the remaining ants off the shovel.
Enough of the invading ants made it to kill the queen and the mounds died.
Now it appears the crazy ants are wiping out the fire ants.
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