Weekly Gardening Thread
Posted on 02/19/2010 11:17:42 AM PST by Red_Devil 232
Good afternoon gardeners! I am so embarrassed! I am late in posting the Weekly Gardening thread. For some reason I thought today was Thursday. Y’all can thank afraidfortherepublic sending me a Freep Mail and asking why there was no thread. Ok let’s get this thread rolling!
Weekly Gardening Thread
I hope all of you will stop by.
This is typically a low volume ping list. Once a week for the thread and every once in a while for other FR threads posted that might be of interest.
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I went to Wal-Mart yesterday and they had a bunch of seed potatoes in 3 lb. bags. I bought one each of Kennebec and Red Pontiac. Anyone know how long I can keep the seed potatoes? Can they be stored for any length of time?
2:20 p.m.??? We were beginning to freak around here...
I am new to gardening in Illinois, southern part, so when I planted my bulbs in the fall I didn’t know what to expect. Well some of them have already started to push through the soil. Back in Rhode Island bulbs didn’t start to come up until April. Does anyone know if this is normal for this area?
I live just outside Charlotte, NC, my tulips are starting to poke through the ground now.
Good afternoon. We are still covered in ice here, but I have a couple of garden related things I’d like to discuss.
First there are recommendations. Last week someone complained about keeping deer away from their gardens. I use a product that has worked quite well and I found the package. It’s an All-Season weatherproof deer repellent. It used to be called Deer Fortress, but it is now called Sweeney’s All Season Weatherproof Deer Repellent.
It is a little army green cannister that sits on a wire amongst the plants you are trying to protect. I use it for my roses, but it is safe for vegetables. The cannister contains a “non-toxic blood product that triggers the flight response in deer”. It’s effectiveness is reduced in temps below 40 degrees. You set these things up in the spring and replace them the following year. THey are packaged in groups of 6, and I buy 2 packages per year. THe dear have left my roses alone ever since. The deer are still out there in my garden because they chomp on plants in other beds. (Hostas)
I have had only one problem with them. After using them for 2 years, my dog has become interested in them and has stolen them and moved them to other parts of the yard. They are about the size of a tennis ball. I didn’t know who was doing it (raccoons can be attracted to them too) but we caught him the other day. We’ll have to teach him that they are off limits this year.
Hey I freaked out when I got the FReepMail asking where the thread was!!! My first thought was to remind afraidfortherepublic that I post the thread on Friday mornings. Then I checked the date on my computer and ... PANIC!
Everyone is entitled to a couple of snow days, RD232. ;>
That’s normal (bulbs poking through). And if it snows again, they’ll just stop growing for a while. Won’t affect the flowers at all.
I am about 75 miles south of St Louis in Missouri, we often have green pushing up in mid February.
My wife is really looking forward to her three-day weekend...maybe I’ll tell her it’s ‘only Thursday’ when she gets home...
My first guess is that all it is is Blood Meal. I have problems with my dogs sniffing around and digging where I have used it. I don’t have deer problems. Just an occasional rabbit or two. My dogs have nab two rabbits so far.
Thanks!
Snow and ice prevail... with more on the way. Looking forward to late April!
Has anyone used this product? Is it tall enough to really work? I know that deer can jump a 6-8 foot fence, and these panels look about 4 feet. I'm just guessing that a deer might be reluctant to jump into a small space. What do you all think? They certainly can jump into my (former) horse pasture. But, they are jumping into a space that is 2 acres -- not a rectangle that is 8 x 10.
Thanks for that information. It makes me feel better since I spent a small fortune on bulbs.
Seed potatoes can be stored for a while in dry and cool conditions...not sure that is going to work out too well in your neck of the woods. In the south; you might get away with it for a few weeks. Any potato growers out there? I think Hiram has moved on...
My wife works 3 on and 3 off and I have her schedule embedded in my head but she shifted one of he days off with someone else (she was supposed to be off today but went to work) and for some reason I had just thought it was Thursday not Friday.
Those look like they would also work as a sturdy trellis for tomatoes, beans, peas, cukes and such...
I've got ten-year old kiwis growing in the backyard. Now that they are bearing fruit, my problem is that the kiwis never soften up. Right now I've got bare vines and hard kiwis still hanging there. Does anybody know anything about kiwis getting soft and edible?
Well, a little frost here in central Florida killed by green bean, black eyed peas, carrots and basil, so will have to start over with those, but everything else is looking great. I’ve got Mary Washington and purple asparagus roots on the way and can’t wait to get those planted!
BA
Here in the southernmost reaches of Puget Sound, we have been treated to springlike weather for a while now - our irises are nearly a foot tall and buds are everywhere. I’m picking up some lumber for additional raised beds inside our fenced garden area. Compost is king.
Yeah his last post on FR was on this thread in late Jan. I hate to see him go.
I had no problem with the dog the first year. But, last year, I found some of these canisters dropped quite far from the rose garden -- with teeth marks in them. I couldn't figure it out until my husband caught the 'Triever carrying one around in his mouth. We'll have to have a talk with him.
When I planted the rose garden 2 years ago, the deer nipped off every bud and flower the first night the bushes were in the ground. I installed these little devices and I never had any more problems. However, I noticed that landscape roses and hosta in another part of the yard were still getting chewed.
We got rain and sleet on top of snow today. It’s very crusty and a mess out there, although since the temperature is above freezing the roads aren’t going to be too bad.
I encountered the strangest stuff under some of the snow. It was short and green and stringy looking...... :)
Any bulbs can take cold weather. If it snows, you’ll find them there when the snow melts and they’ll pick up where they left off.
Mater of fact, the really early ones, especially crocuses, don’t last long when it gets warm. Above 60 makes a difference, but if it gets above 70, they bloom their little hearts out for a day or two and are gone. In the thirties through fifties, they can last for weeks.
I’m looking for information on how hard it is to grow blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries here in Wisconsin. Do they require much spraying? Pruning? Staking?
My husband hates thorns, and I noticed that White Flower Farms has some blackberries that they claim are “thornless”. Is that really true?
I have a long, raised bed that extends along the back of what once was an above ground pool (now removed) and wonder if that would be a good place to plant some fruit. There is nothing left in that bed, since the ice storm broke down my arborvitae in December, except daffodils and a few Hydrangeas at either end.
Could all those berries grow in the same bed? When could I expect a crop? The blueberries said 2 years (the plants are already 3 years old when shipped) and the other berries didn’t give an estimate (2 year old root stock).
How far apart should they be placed? How many plants for 2 people (who eat a lot of berries) with some left over to share with friends and neighbors?
It’s a constant battle with the deer around here, but they have never jumped over the 6 foot chicken wire fence around our veggie garden - they are too busy at our flower garden/ salad bar. We have had success with the Scarecrow motion activated sprinkler, but they only cover a small area. Repellent sprays are effective, but need to be applied after a rain and can damage some delicate plants. The main ingredient to look for is something called putrescent egg solids - it stinks to high heaven until dry. Will be trying the blood meal thing this season.
Mine is still brown! :)
Back on the farm, we used to store seed potatoes for months. Just keep them from touching each other. We used to put them on hay or dry grass clippings. If you keep them in dark, they will sprout quite a bit.
Thanks!
NW Region
Yes, here in the Willamette valley our daffodils are starting to show some yellow. Many other bulbs are up a foot. We have a rhododendron outside of our office in FULL BLOOM.
I’m going to be taking notes on all the deer solutions. Our precious dog died suddenly last year and the deer have taken full advantage of my German Shepherd’s absence. They even took a huge bite out of garlic that was 8 inches high. Didn’t think they ate GARLIC!
Our Daffodils have been blooming for 10 days here on the mud flats of Humboldt Bay. There are Tulip Trees blooming all around Eureka and we always say we are going to plant a couple of them. Been saying that for 30 years...
Talking to a vendor from Oregon yesterday. I understand you folks have had NO SNOW (or very little) this year and that is going to put you in a tricky fire situation next summer. I envy your Rhododendron. I used to grow beauties in WA and CA. They don’t grow too well here. It’s a little too cold for most varieties and I think the soil is wrong too.
Gee you actually channeled me at 7am? I wondered why I had this urge have a beer at 9! I usually wait until 4pm - when Beck comes on!
Do you follow the Coyotes around with a mason jar or do you still use a tin cup...
Very bad winter for the Richmond VA area and my three palm trees still have healthy green fronds. Though those of the Pindo palm getting brown, new ones will emerge around May.
dehydrator... ;)
Arrowhead 1952, would the same hold true for sweet potatoes? I read that I should buy them now and store them until the eyes start to grow, then put them in water or soil to get the slips to grow.
I just picked up a bag at Costco in netting. Should I separate them while I'm storing them, or just leave them in the bag?
I hope to be able to plant them by the end of May in the new raised bed we are going to build this spring.
We always picked the Kiwi in late Nov or Dec and stored them in a warm dry until they ripened. We sold our summer place 16 years ago and buy our Kiwi now. Where do you live and do you have a male plant to pollinate the female vines? 10 years is a long time to produce fruit...
NUT GRASS weed, is my problem, I’ve bought the ‘proper’ weed killer, didn’t work, tried double strength, still won’t kill the sucker. Pulling it is the only way, but still leaves little nodules in the ground to reproduce like mad!
We are in Memphis, TN when can I transplant my roses to the new rose arbor? I’m fairly new to flower gardening.
Yes, the same for sweet potatoes. Keep them from touching each other and leave them in a dark, dry area.
Let the sprouts grow, clip or break them off and root in water. They will grow roots just like an ivy vine.
Excellent! Thanks for the advice.
Will Roundup kill English Ivy?
I don’t know. That is something I never tried to kill. I use 9% vinegar to kill most weeds, including dollar weed.
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