Posted on 11/14/2014 5:42:16 PM PST by greeneyes
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.
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The weeds here in Northern Indiana were in the bumper crop category. But so were the corn, soybeans and row crops that the Amish raise.
First year for the flower beds. Of course I hacked into the automatic water system while trying to move a Japanese Bottlebrush. That turns into a very woody shrub FYI.
BA
The black dog is awful to face. Yet all of us can serve our fellow man in some way big or small.
Keeping focused on our friends, family, and fellow human beings can be a helpful way to chase the black dog away.
I usually put straw between the rows, put a row cover over that, and then straw or leaves on top of the row cover.
For the warmer sun shiny winter days, I roll the row cover with the straw - like a jelly roll - and then roll in back down before dark.
Wouldn’t it be nice if all produce grew as easily as weeds?
Churchill sure did. He painted to deal with his.
Outdoor exercise - walk in the woods for example - can be good too.
Coming up on 8 years without running hot water. That... I may change.
/johnny
Any suggestions?
My grand father lived his whole life without running hot water or and indoor toilet. Running hot water and an indoor toilet are definitely high on the list of major improvements.LOL
My roses did the same thing this year. I think they were weakened by the drought and unusually harsh winter. Hubby told me the best thing would be to rip them all out and solarise the soil.
I’ll decide once spring gets here - I tried various off the shelf products this summer, but nothing really worked.
I have a very bad tooth ache and head ache, so I am going to go take some aspirin and hunt for some tooth ache meds. Signing off for now.
I pulled two that died last month and I’m going to pull the one yellowing now. All the others still are green and full of blooms.
Prayers up for ArrowHead 1952
Picked the last of the peppers last night before our first snowfall (dusting) & hard frost - they’ll probably just get sliced up and go into the freezer, since my work schedule is insane. If it’s decent tomorrow we’ll turn over the last of the raised garden beds and throw a bunch of stuff into the compost pile and that’ll be that.
Overall, we had a really successful garden season and made a lot of progress in figuring out what works and doesn’t work for this area and for our family. Already planning to put in 2 new raised beds and replenish the flower border with some of my favorite perennials.
I really enjoyed reading this thread and being able to ask questions. Thanks to all!
His whole house was furnished by gorgeous furniture he would trash pick, rebuild and reupholster. He used only one 40 watt light in a room at a time. He pickled, smoked, and cured just about everything they ate.
His whole family were killed in their barn in Estonia during the communist takeover. He was hidden inside their smoke house. He joined the merchant marines and fled.
Below normal, freezing temperatures have arrived. Had to cover up all the planters. Pulled up some white radishes. Yummy.
I started some research on materials for a smallish greenhouse I plan to build in the spring. I’m computer aided design proficient so will actually do a 3d layout in sketchup this winter. I plan on trying the rain gutter system for planting. I probably will catch rainwater in a couple barrels and use some diverters I’ve seen at Lowe’s hardware to feed the greenhouse. I’m also going to try and use some 12-ft x 26-in .32-Gauge Clear Corrugated Polycarbonate Roof Panels called tuftex. I don’t know how well these will hold up in the sun though.
Our mango 70-foot tall tree is bearing. The tree is apparently a hybrid variety that is grafted into a local root. The local root then sent up some branches because there are two different varieties of mangoes on the tree that ripen at different times of the year. Mangoes are not native to this island and there are no bugs that bother them. We don’t spray the tree with a pre-emergent or anything and never have any worms in the fruit. I just sprinkle some fertilizer around the tree once a year or so. The tree gives two crops a year of about 100-150 pounds of mangoes each time. This is far more than we can eat so neighbors always knock on the door when it is bearing. It is amazing how friendly people become when you have fruit to give away. What is cool is that mangoes are not a native tree here. As such there are no bugs that bother them.
The papaya tree always bears if you keep cutting the rip papayas. I don’t really like papayas but my wife does. We have a Filipino friend that even eats Papaya leaves as salad greens. I tried them but they are a bit tough.
We also have some sort of local citrus tree, it isn’t really an orange or a grapefruit or lemon but the juiced fruits are a good addition to iced tea and make a good marinade for chicken on the grill.
There is an avocado tree across the yard from the mango tree. It is about 30 feet tall and is also bearing but Holy Cow, how many avocados can two people eat? Once again neighbors help but I end up throwing away piles of avocados.
I planted a macadamia nut tree about 1 month ago but it is only 3 or 4 feet tall. I don’t really expect any nuts from it for a long time. We looked into a cashew nut tree but those are really problematic as the leaves and wood are poisonous and the nuts are very difficult to process. Macadamia nuts are the only other nut tree that will grow here.
We have two banana plants (1 Cavendish & 1 Macao) that are not even flowering yet despite being about 7 foot tall. I sort of hope they get aphids and die. I like bananas but not so many at one time and two banana plants will feed the world for one day. Bananas are also a lot of work. You have to watch out for aphids that carry a virus that stunts them and keeps them from bearing and bugs like grasshoppers love the leaves. After they fruit you have to chop them down about 6 inches from the ground and let them grow again.
We just built an arbor in the backyard and planted some grape vines that will, hopefully, cover it in a couple of years. Grapes are really expensive here so I want them to produce. We couldn’t find any grape vines for sale (Perhaps the government doesn’t want them here?) so we used the seeds from some red-grapes we bought at the store. They are kind of hard to get to sprout. You have to freeze the seeds for several months before planting them carefully in peat pots until they get large enough to transplant outside.
Other than that I have cantaloupes, squash, egg-plants, bell peppers, okra, tomatoes, radishes and the long Chinese green beans in various raised beds along the fence or against walls. We only have about 3 to 5 inches of top soil and then I hit a layer coral/limestone that is about 1 foot deep. I can dig a hole through it for the trees we planted but do raised beds for the vegetables.
We had a coconut tree in the front yard but I paid a couple guys to chop it down. We might eat one coconut a year but a single tree will produce 70 or 80 coconuts and if you don’t break them they will all sprout. Worse they get blown off the tree in typhoons and break windows in houses and cars so good riddance.
Living in the tropics, especially the rainy tropics has some real advantages if you grow your own fruit & vegetables. We are thinking that if we use the large yard well we can be more or less vegetable self-sufficient though there are some things that just won’t grow here.
Oh, it is SO OVER in Wisconsin! The Fat Lady has sung, LOL!
Last night I harvested the last of the broccoli. It was frozen solid. Amazingly, when thawed to room temp and then steamed, it was AWESOME!
Fresh cut Christmas Trees arrive at my Garden Center on Monday. MONDAY! Aarrgghhh! We’re to get 1-3” of snow tomorrow night.
Lettuce, chard, spinach and arugula in my cold frame are also frozen. It’s going to be 14 degrees tonight. Mr. Wonderful didn’t even go hunting and it is PRIME racoon season right now!
He’s snoring peacefully, and I and the dog and the cat will join him, presently. Life Is Good. :)
Hi, I’m in San Diego.
I have purchased a planter which will hold about 8 small plants. I was considering using cactus, because my porch gets a lot of sun. I want to get flowering cactus .. just to add some color on my front porch.
When is a good time to get such plants .. and are there any special care things .. such as type of soil; plant food; temperature concerns now that colder weather is here, etc.
I’d appreciate any suggestions people have.
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