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Weekly Gardening Thread – 2011 (Vol. 20) May 27
Free Republic | 5-21-2011 | Red_Devil 232

Posted on 05/27/2011 5:16:22 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232

Good morning gardeners. I apologize to all Freepers for the flame skirmish that occurred on the thread last week. This thread is intended to give like minded Freepers a place to share their gardening experiences and knowledge - a respite from the everyday problems we all encounter without encountering more on a benign gardening thread. Please be civil to your fellow gardeners, Thank You.

Ok, back to gardening. Every one of my plants I started from seed are doing great! This includes two varieties of paste tomatoes and three varieties of winter squash and a few pepper plants. Unfortunately some of the beneficial flowers, I started in a small raised planter were raided by a digging Cashmere (Irish Setter) hiding her Milk Bones.

My garden received a nice drenching rain shower yesterday afternoon. It supplied a good soak for thirsty roots.

If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Gardening; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: garden; gardening; recipes; weekly
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To: momtothree

Black Eyed Susans ARE weeds...........I couldn’t get rid of the danged things even if I wanted to (I don’t)

I’m only 8 miles from the MD/VA line and I swear it’s a plot by MD to take over this piece of VA........


21 posted on 05/27/2011 6:11:28 AM PDT by Gabz (Democrats for Voldemort.)
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To: Gabz

“... it’s a plot by MD to take over this piece of VA”

You found us out!! LOL! The Black Eyed Susans can even self spread with a good breeze. I like them but some gardeners don’t. To each his own, They do make a nice “rustic” type of bouquet and seem to last a long time in a vase. I don’t see the deer choosing them much either. Unlike my hostas... they become a salad buffet.


22 posted on 05/27/2011 6:17:41 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: momtothree; Gabz
Ahh... painting helpers....brings back memories of times past and my helper and teaching her to prime and paint. The really strange part was that she liked the power sander and all the dust that it made, she thought that it was really cool! Photobucket Photobucket
23 posted on 05/27/2011 6:21:41 AM PDT by rightly_dividing (1 Cor. 15:1-4 Believe it!)
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To: momtothree

To be perfectly honest, the shopping expedition for her dress was actually very enjoyable..although one stop on the way home was for a case of beer :)

The “date” thing was so she had a boy to walk with during the Grand March, as opposed to doing it with 2 other girls. We know the boy, and he actually presented her with a corsage. It was so sweet. They received the loudest round of applause as they were announced and they made their way down the carpet. He has MD and walks with crutches and she absolutely towered over him. It was cute.


24 posted on 05/27/2011 6:23:12 AM PDT by Gabz (Democrats for Voldemort.)
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To: Citizen Tom Paine

You need to keep a grow light or cheap florescent light over you seedlings and down close to the young seedling 3 to 4 inches above the leaves. This helps to keep them from getting leggy.


25 posted on 05/27/2011 6:26:31 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: momtothree

I don’t “do” flowers, so they’re fine by me. They’re not bothering anything and are rather pretty.

The other night we went out on the deck, it’s upstairs, after being alerted by the yung’un to come look at the deer in the back field which is the west side of the property. It was huge and just hanging out munching on whatever is out there.


26 posted on 05/27/2011 6:30:28 AM PDT by Gabz (Democrats for Voldemort.)
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To: Red_Devil 232

We had a good rain here last night, and getting a bit more this morning too. Its a good thing. My rain barrels needed refilling.

STILL, hoping to get my hands on a 275 gallon water tote/tank this weekend. Then I can finally get the gravity fed drip irrigation system up and running.

Otherwise, with only one or two exceptions, all plants are looking great. 5 varieties of tomatoes, 3 varieties of hot peppers, 3 varieties of sweet peppers, 8 varieties of cucumbers, tomatilloes, watermelon, sweet potatoes and purple majesty potatoes.


27 posted on 05/27/2011 6:31:11 AM PDT by Tatze (I reject your reality and substitute my own!)
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To: rightly_dividing

What great pix!!!!

Yes, mine loves the power tools as well.


28 posted on 05/27/2011 6:34:57 AM PDT by Gabz (Democrats for Voldemort.)
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To: Red_Devil 232

Good Morning RD and All!

Brought the new (if you can call a 1958 new!) Allis Chalmer WD tractor to the Gulch this week... I’m stoked! Blew out the sidewall on the rear tire the first day, and OMG! New tractor tires are in the $400 range!

Found a good used one at a tractor recycle shop on the rim for a third of that so am good to go this weekend to power rototill the acre or so we are using this year. Thought I was back in a war zone when that tire blew! KAWHAMMO!

Temps are still getting down to low thirties at night (N. Mn) so still too early to plant... but the seedlings are looking good in the peat pots in the warming room!

Hey folks, have a Great Memorial Day weekend and may your gardens flourish!


29 posted on 05/27/2011 6:37:25 AM PDT by JDoutrider
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To: rightly_dividing

What an absolutely beautiful young lady. You are very smart to teach her the essentials. I wasn’t taught any sort of maintenance stuff and I flounder around trying my best. Sometimes I do well and sometimes.... uh, less than well. She will keep those skills her whole life. Good job!


30 posted on 05/27/2011 6:44:38 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: Citizen Tom Paine; Red_Devil 232
When growing vegetable plants from seeds, how does one prevent them from becoming leggy (stringy)? My broccoly become very long and tall and sometimes fall over.

You need to keep a grow light or cheap florescent light over you seedlings and down close to the young seedling 3 to 4 inches above the leaves. This helps to keep them from getting leggy.

After the seedlings have come up a bit, you can direct a gentle breeze from a fan towards them. That will help as well. Air circulation is good anyway.

31 posted on 05/27/2011 6:45:24 AM PDT by Tatze (I reject your reality and substitute my own!)
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To: Gabz

Couldn’t figure the sander thing. Nobody likes to sand! She liked it because it did the work for her! By the time of these pictures, helping was begining to NOT be so cool! I still have the shelves and other things that she helped on and painted with me. ...the good ole days.


32 posted on 05/27/2011 6:46:10 AM PDT by rightly_dividing (1 Cor. 15:1-4 Believe it!)
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To: Gabz

Your daughter is a gem. I know a lot of girls analyze each and every event to a T. Some won’t be seen with someone less than “the most popular guy in the school”. Kudos to her and you. The Grand March story is absolutely precious. I hope you took a ton of pictures!


33 posted on 05/27/2011 6:47:23 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: Gabz

We have a momma deer and her baby sleep in the backyard (under the pine trees) each night. Living in a crowded suburb, I actually get a kick out of it. Our neighbors are pretty strange about the entire thing. Every plant has netting over it. EVERY PLANT. At some point, I think you just have to relax a bit but that’s me.


34 posted on 05/27/2011 6:50:42 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: Red_Devil 232

We had one inch hail here yesterday and I had just planted most of my stuff the day before.

Fortunately, it only took out a couple pepper plants and a couple tomato plants.

We have more severe weather on tap for the rest of today but I have most of my stuff covered for now. The best thing I’ve found to use is old laundry baskets with the top where the broken handles are, cut off. I put them upside down over the plants and they keep off the hail and keep out the hungry critters, which are a problem in the spring when they’re looking for tender young plants to munch on.


35 posted on 05/27/2011 6:54:27 AM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Red_Devil 232

Will be picking beans and peas today. Been eating squash, leavy greens, and tomatoes. Going to have to cut back on the tomato plants next year as they’re taking over and need to be more precise, like down to the inch, in their spacing in this small garden. Well, new garden plot so it’s a test year.

Some colorful creature is eating up the cabbage and broccoli so have been inspecting the leaves and squishing the little buggers.


36 posted on 05/27/2011 6:56:53 AM PDT by bgill (Kenyan Parliament - how could a man born in Kenya who is not even a native American become the POTUS)
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To: stefanbatory

I have a friend and he plants a lot in tires, and yes, they are quite tall. He paints the tires white. When I try it again, I’m using tractor and truck tires, paint them white and see what happens to the plants.


37 posted on 05/27/2011 6:59:23 AM PDT by tillacum (Osama now rests with 72 virgins and obama has 72 versions of the raid.)
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To: Red_Devil 232
Greetings from drought-stricken San Antonio!

We're on the verge of Stage 2 water rationing. Drip irrigation is still permitted but only in the early morning and mid evening. Hand watering is permitted anytime.

My supposedly disease resistant hybrid tomatoes (Celebrity, BHN-444, Tycoon) have caught something. Leaves turning brown and shriveling up. Since we're having 100 degree days, I'll doubt I'll get more fruit or see the plants revive. Once the fruit shows a blush, I'll pick them and pull up the plants. Steve Smith, one of our local television weather guys, showed off some of his Tycoons during a broadcast. He definitely needs to share some his gardening techniques! The tomatoes looked GOOD. My heirlooms are still thriving.

But, I'm already looking forward to the Fall. Next week I'll start my tomato seeds for transplanting in mid-July. Our average first day of frost hits around 15 November. I'm going to ignore the recommended hybrid varieties. Instead, I'll be planting 3 or 4 each: Virginia Sweets (80 days), Jetsetter VFFNTA Hybrid (64 days), First Prize VFFNT Hybrid (75 days), BHN 640 VFFF Hybrid (75 days), and Grandeur Hybrid (70 days).

The best performers in my little garden this Spring are the Baby Cucina cucumbers. Even at nearly six dollars for ten seeds, the plants have produced more slender 3-4 inch cukes than we can possibly eat. And, they're still producing! Though not anywhere near as productive as the Cucinas, I'm very impressed with the Suyo Long cucumbers. Last two I picked were 24 inches long and maybe two inches in diameter at their widest. Cooked up one in my fabulous sweet and sour pork!

Gotta go string up my two bean towers. The pole beans wanna climb!

Happy gardening!

38 posted on 05/27/2011 7:01:54 AM PDT by Racehorse (Always preach the Gospel . . . . Use words if necessary.)
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To: rightly_dividing; momtothree
.......the good ole days.

YUP!

While the painting doesn't really interest our anymore, she's still big on helping daddy when he's working on the car or truck or lawn mower --- and she's getting really good at swinging a machete!!!

Oh, and she's really great with me in the kitchen, she's becoming almost as good as I am when it comes to crepes and she makes awesome biscuits without any help from anyone. I can't make biscuits as well as she does.

39 posted on 05/27/2011 7:04:56 AM PDT by Gabz (Democrats for Voldemort.)
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To: Red_Devil 232

It’s been a week of nasty weather here in Central Missouri, but nothing compared to what’s been going on all around us.

My tomato plants are really suffering from all of the water and cool temps. Some are dead and it’s starting to look like I may lose a good third of them.

On the bright side, my pingtung long eggplant seeds have started to germinate. I’d just about given up on those. Hot peppers are also starting to peek out of the soil.

At least that’s the way things looked on Tuesday. I’ve been in Kansas City on business since and there’s been a lot of wind and rain since. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit to find everything dead when I get home.


40 posted on 05/27/2011 7:10:19 AM PDT by Augie
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