Posted on 02/27/2015 12:35:01 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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Hi all!
I’ve been slacking it really bad regarding the garden. I’ve been attending my master gardening class and loving it. We’ve already covered basic botany, soil, and plant propagation. It’s a lot of material to wrap my brain around. It seems that the most important issue is the soil and the amount of nutrients it contains and also the quality of the soil and its ability to hold moisture and provide enough oxygen. That is my wisdom for today.
We’ve had a little winter weather here in the Piedmont of NC. Still snow on the ground but the streets are clear. I’ve not even planted any seeds yet. I really need to get on the stick!
Well, I usually don’t even get around to starting anything, but I was anxious to have some Early tomatoes this year, because I was too lazy to get some brought in from the garden last year.
So I just decided that I could and would spend 10 minutes or less once a week on tomatoes from last year’s left over seeds. So on Thursday, if not before, I plant 4-8 seeds from one of the packets, cover the pot with clear plastic dome with a toothpick under one edge and make a note on the calendar.
That way I can just do it and be done with it, since it’s not a big project, and the former pantry closet in the kitchen is now the garden supply cabinet.
So I have coerced myself into a no way to use the no time excuse. LOL
Sounds beautiful. Please post picture if you can once everything gets going.
At least you’ve go some produce to harvest. Many of us are living vicariously these days.LOL
We were going to do that and even have about 22 acres just 10 minutes away. However, life intervened, so we are staying put here on one acre.
If we ever get any extra money, I’d like to investigate buying some of the lots behind us. There’s about 4 acres that has no buildings on it, and would give us quite a bit of space for attractive plantings.
I keep thinking that we should plant some native trees on the 22 acres - like paw paws, persimmons, etc. things that wouldn’t need lots of cultivating, but would still have some edible produce.
Do you have any additional details to add with respect to soil? Now’s the time for all us winterbound people to be planning our soil amendment plan.
From your lips to God’s ears concerning the surrounding land up there. Sounds like a plan__ I vote yes— FWIW.
It will pay off too! Last year I had started tomatoes really early. In fact at least twice what I knew I could possibly have space for. In the spring I put them on Craigs list and listed them for free everywhere I could think of and couldn’t give them away. I couldn’t believe it. Then later when they started to produce I had one neighbour who I offered some to send their son over to ask if they could have some tomatoes!!
Just got to get the green backs.
Everyone in the snowy, freezing places stay warm and safe.
Even, we in central Texas, are getting some bad weather. The other day we got some beautiful snow, at least I thought it was beautiful, but it was gone by noon. We have been experiencing 30 some degrees. Right now it’s about 40 with wind and it’s damp. My India mustard is one the patio and doing well. My collards are doing fine. The cabbage and broccoli are doing ok, we covered them with straw. Maybe next week, I’ll be picking up some straw bales, I think 5 or 6 and see what happens. I want to try some carrots and potatoes in the straw. Right now I have some potatoes in the ground, and will cover the leaves with
straw. I still have some and they will go in the straw.
My mini fig tree is putting out some leaves and the flower seeds I planted around the pot are beginning to come up. I don’t know which ones, cause I had a “few” small (short) flowers and ground cover seeds so sprinkled them in the pot. We’ll see what shows.
I’m thinking of getting a mayer lemon, the clerk told me it will grow to about 7 feet tall, I’ll have it in a molasses pot or whatever happens to be empty.
Should have offered them for sale. LOL I don’t know why, but from a psych stand point, it seems that one can sell what no one will take for free.
I’ve heard of people putting stuff on a table with a big sign for free, and no one took them up on it. So they changed the sign and put up prices, then left them out all night. Some one picked them up using the five finger discount. LOL
The weatherman said we may be getting snow flurries or sleet today, but it’s just cool about 40 degrees right now with wind. We had snow the other day but it was gone by noon.
I heard that Dallas is received a lot of ice and you have snow. I’ll bet it’s really pretty where you are, right now.
I have heard of planting potatoes using straw, but usually the first layer is a layer of compost rich stuff, then straw keeps being added as the plant grows.
I have a lemon plant, but I am not sure what kind it is. It was sold as a citrus combo of lime and lemon. The lime had huge thorns, so I just kept cutting it back and let the lemon take over.
We get several baseball and softball size lemons that are round and very thin skinned and juicy. Since I let them ripen on the tree, they are sweeter too. I like to make a lemonade with them, and drink it with out any sugar - it’s that good.
People can be strange. It was an interesting turn out on those plants. Instead of simply dumping them I planted them along a fence line and just let them do whatever. I’m not kidding, more than half of the tomatoes I canned came from those plants and they produced up until it it froze. It was interesting to watch too. I had to watch my garden tomatoes all the time for horn worms but saw that there was one cardinal that came to those plants out there and checked for horn worms. I had noticed one one morning early but didn’t pick it off and sure enough there came that cardinal and got it after I walked away.
My 2 cats were like that. Whatever we ate, they thought they could too. One loved chili, green grapes, if anyone left a bit of wine (blush) in their glass, she’d stick her head in the glass. In Germany, I’d fix tatar, she liked her’s with a bit of tabasco, the other cat liked everything, but the tabasco, and she loved spaghetti too. Macaroni and cheese, I don’t think they knew they were cats. When we had company, they’d sit and enjoy the company too. They left us in their 23d year.
Thereby demonstrating that old adage that a little benign neglect for plants is a good thing. So don’t kill them with kindness.
Also, Mother Nature seems to have a solution for many things.
Better put out some seed, suet , and long-johns for those robins.
Tomorrow (Saturday) is Bastardi's weather forecast, and he called accurately the last two weeks.
Bastardi last stated that spring will come the end of March, and into April .
Here in western NY, we have had the second coldest winter , and the third snowiest winter.
and snow was expected in all of the 48 States tomorrow.
Boy am I glad that NOAA (FED Govt.) said last Fall that this was supposed to be a mild Winter,
and that the closeures of coal-fired electrical plants wouldn't be needed!
../sarc Thank you Al Gore for "Glow-BUll" warming !
When the mesquite begins to bud, it’s time to plant the tomatoes, according to the farmers around here. I don’t know what else, but on 5 March, I’m planting my corn. As soon as I can get into the Community Garden, I’m going to plant some black eye peas and some Chinese peas. Not in the same spot.
/johnny
Local water system has reported 129 water main breaks here in western NY, so far this month, by 2/27/15.
Normal Frost Zone here is from 2 to 2 1/2 feet.
This year the Frost Zone is down to 4 feet + !!
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