[Red_Devil 232]

Weekly Gardening Thread

FREE SEED EXCHANGE

 

This EXCHANGE is brought to you by FReeper 

Mrs. Don-o

Thrifty? Gifty? Curious? Generous? Spare seeds? Rare seeds? For a tiny plot? Or a flower- pot? Send seeds? Befriend seeds? Just want 10 seeds?

Send seeds? Befriend seeds? Just want 10 seeds?

 

If you have garden seeds you can offer other FReepers for free, for a SASE, and/or in exchange for other seeds, please send me your info. (Private Message Mrs. Don-o) and I will add you to this list, which I will post on the garden thread from time to time. Please also Private Message me to be removed when you no longer have the seeds to offer. FReepo-seedoholics can contact each other by Private Message to arrange any transactions.

Remember that old seeds may have reduced germination. (Although I’ve had great luck with them. And for free, you can’t lose...) If possible, list year and variety.

Mrs. Don-o

I CAN OFFER a few of these seeds (say, 10) for free to anybody who wants to send me a SASE:

Basil (“Genovese” 2010)

Beans (“Jackson Wonder Butterbean “2011)

Broccoli (“Bonanza” 2011) Chard (“Bright Lights” 2010)

Fennel (“Florence” 2011)

Kale (“Redbor Hybrid” 2010)

Squash (“Acorn 2009”… and I had really good germination with it, this year!)

Squash “(Georgia Candy Roaster” 2011.. a terrific winter squash!)

Tomato (“Brandy Boy” 2011)

INTERESTED IN

Seeds for Fall

Anything (surprise me!)

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I HAVE HEIRLOOM TOMATO SEEDS (FREEPER TDSCPA) from about 75 popular, open-pollinated heirloom varieties. Tell me via PM what varieties you’re interested in, and if I have them I could send you a few seeds (10?) if you will send me a SASE.

Don’t know what variety to grow? I can make suggestions, if you want to grow plants from seed. Contact Tdscpa

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If anyone needs or wants okra seeds (says JustaDumbBlonde)… please let me know. I saved a ridiculous amount in the fall of 2010. Two different varieties, Clemson and Jade, are both are heirloom variety so that you will be able to save seeds from your plants. Both are spineless and heavy producers. Jade is a bit darker green than Clemson and the pods are a bit shorter and fatter. Both are good for frying, soups, freezing, dehydrating or canning. Don’t be shy, l have more than plenty to share! Tip for planting okra: soak your seeds for 24 hours before planting. Okra seeds are hard like peppercorns and soaking will assist in quicker germination. Contact JustaDumbBlonde

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I have some black-seeded Simpson lettuce seeds and some Buttercrunch lettuce seeds if anyone’s interested. (says Oberon), And... anybody have any Gold Nugget yellow cherry tomato seeds? I’m interested. Contact Oberon

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Free Winter Squash or Stevia seeds or Heirloom Tomato/Pepper Seeds (says Black Agnes) The ‘Patio Marconi’ seeds are container peppers that are sweet and good for salads, sandwiches or frying. Open pollinated if that interests you. Cilantro seeds too. It’s good used fresh to detox heavy metals. Contact Black Agnes

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swheats Has the following packets of seeds to share. They were a gift and never used contact swheats if you would like any of these packets.

Ferry Morse seeds Dated 2010

Arugula
Organic Watermelon(Moon&Stars,100%certified organic seed)
Swiss Chard (rainbow of colors)
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Turnip
Tomato (brandywine heirloom variety)
Gourd (swan)
Carrot (nutri-red)
Carrot (Big Ideas Veggie Tales)

Burpee Seeds Dated 2009

Coriander
Cilantro (Chinese parsley)
Tomato (Delicious)
Organic Cucumber Sumter (100% certified Organic Seed)
Parsley (single Italian Plain Leafed
Spearmint
Basil (Summer Long)
Sweet Corn (Jubilee Hybrid)
Green Bean (gourmet mix)
Cucumber (bush Champion)
Lettuce (Loose leaf mixture)
Squash (Fordhook Zuchini)
Pea (Sugar Daddy)

Weekly Gardening Thread

[Red_Devil 232]

Ping to the Weekly Gardening Ping List.

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.

If you would like to be added to or removed from the list please let me know by FreepMail or by posting to me.

[mbynack]

I live in Panama City, FL. It’s been miserably hot and dry here. I don’t think we’ve had an inch of rain at my house since March. My peas and string beans died after producing a pretty meager harvest. The cucumbers died last week. A couple of tomatoes died and the survivors are barely holding on. It’s been a pretty rough year for gardening.

[Redleg Duke]

Greetings from soggy southern New Hampshire! It is still raining and the place is very lush! I love green!

Our two raised beds are doing swell. We have zucchini and tomatoes forming and the mellon vines are looking good. Our pepper plants are also looking promising.

Last weekend, our eleven pullets moved into their new coop and run. They seem okay, but Barb has to pick them up and place them in their coop every evening. They huddle together in the corner closest to where their cage used to be.

Yesterday, my son cleared the area around our back door and its suicide steps. When I got home, I took the string trimmer and cleared the weedes. Tomorrow morning, I start the deck. It is going to be a temporary affair, 14' by 14' and will eventually be taken down and moved to serve as the deck off of the future sun room. But, it will give us a nice place until the sun room is built.

Today is supposed to be the last day of rain. As my late Grandmother Schulz used to say, "We'll see!"

[ConorMacNessa]

Things are going fairly well in my garden this year although I lost a rose and most of my Casa Blanca lilies. Tomatoes and peppers coming along nicely and my numerous hostas are just about ready to bloom. Daylilies in the front yard have passed their initial flush - should pick up again in about a week. My son is assisting me this year and doing a good job. Happy Gardening!

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[chickpundit]

I am looking for some advice. We just moved to a new place this summer, and I am excited about extra space we have now for a garden ... just one problem. When we tilled, the amount of rock we have is astounding. Clay and rock is typical for our area, but where are, or where we tilled anyway, it is much more rock than clay. We picked up lots of rocks, but didn’t even make a dent, and ended up bringing in a load of top soil for a small section of the garden, as it’s late in the season and just wanted to get something in.

I thought about trying lasagna style gardening on the rest to start building up some organic material, but imagine it would take years to build up the amount I need? Raised beds are an option, as I had those at our last home, but that would get expensive over such a large area, unless there’s a cheaper method of which I am not aware?

Anyone else dealt with lots of rocks and have some ideas for me? I would appreciate any advice you could give. Thanks.

[IM2MAD]

We finally had two days of warm, DRY weather. Nice enough to get into the garden and pull weeds and plant tomatoes (finally), peas, beans, annuals and other things that have been languishing in pots for weeks.

I just wanted to share a novel, to me, garden thought. I recently gave a talk on “Junk in the Garden”. Recycling or repurposing, really. I’ve found colorful advertising tins at the dump and planted them with complementary flowers. They are thriving and making an unusual, attractive display in the flower garden. Just thought I’d share.

[bgill]

We got about 20 minutes of rain a couple nights ago. First in who knows how long. It also brought the temperature out of the 100s - hey, 99 isn’t three digits.

The tomatoes have had it. Don’t know if it was just too much heat or if hubby spraying them with Miracle Grow did them in but they turned yellow the very next day.

Still no zukes. Huge healthy plants but not zukes.

[goodwithagun]

Rain, rain, and more rain. We are soaked. In between showers I've been spraying with neem oil to try to prevent any little nasties from growing due to excess moisture. We'll see if that works. I never got my potatoes in like I wanted, I was going to do containers this year, so I'm still going to make an attempt in a couple of weeks when I can get some to sprout some eyes for me. Better late than never!

[texanyankee]

We got a much needed 1.0” this past Tuesday......

However, the temps are fast approaching 100 degrees again -— the garden is burning up.

Just trying to keep the okra & peppers alive.

[texanyankee]

At this time last year, it was so much fun working in the garden. Watching all the veggies grow & the harvesting.

With the drought & heat this summer, it’s a major disappointment. We had a short window of harvesting, but for the most part, it’s over.

Even with watering the temps are preventing any fruit production and the plants are literally burning up.

We had no spring.

Oh well, all we can do is hope for a fall/winter garden.

[Augie]

Beautiful weather in Central Missouri this past week. The garden has really jumped and is starting to look halfway decent. Tomato plants are waist high and blooming nicely, summer squash is starting to make, cucumbers are blooming, garlic and potatoes have been harvested, okra planted where those came out. Pulled a mess of chiogga beets and boiled them up for supper a couple nights ago. Yummy...

The chickens and ducks have cleaned up the cicadas and have started eating their pellet feed again. It was quite a hatch this year - they went three weeks on one filling of the self-feeder in the hen house. Normally I have to fill it every four or five days.

[tubebender]

Good Morning All. Progress is being made in the Bender Gardens and things are finally growing with the longer warmer days(if you can call 68 warmer?). The six rows of corn have eleven days until the 4th of July and they will exceed the axiom of Knew High by the Fourth of July. These pics were taken Wednesday and I have since added the drip irrigation lines and watered them...

This is the first potato planting of 3 rows of Red Gold and 1 row of Yukon Gold

This is the later planting of 2 rows of Yukon Gold and 2 of Red Lasoda with Shallots in the background...

My wife picked the first gallon of Heritage Raspberries yesterday and it is tedious work...

Then she picked the second gallon of Cascade strawberries

[tillacum]

I’ve never heard of chinese parsley. Is it a flat leaf, a strong flavor?

[Dacula]

Sunflowers to clean radioactive soil in Japan

Campaigners in Japan are asking people to grow sunflowers, said to help decontaminate radioactive soil, in response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster that followed March’s massive quake and tsunami.
Volunteers are being asked to grow sunflowers this year, then send the seeds to the stricken area where they will be planted next year to help get rid of radioactive contaminants in the plant’s fallout zone.

The campaign, launched by young entrepreneurs and civil servants in Fukushima prefecture last month, aims to cover large areas in yellow blossoms as a symbol of hope and reconstruction and to lure back tourists.

“We will give the seeds sent back by people for free to farmers, the public sector and other groups next year,” said project leader Shinji Handa. The goal is a landscape so yellow that “it will surprise NASA”, he said.

The massive earthquake and tsunami left more than 23,000 people dead or missing on Japan’s northeast coast and crippled the Fukushima nuclear power plant that has leaked radiation into the environment since.

Almost 10,000 packets of sunflower seeds at 500 yen ($6) each have so far been sold to some 30,000 people, including to the city of Yokohama near Tokyo, which is growing sunflowers in 200 parks, Handa said.

Handa — who hails from Hiroshima, hit by an atomic bomb at the end of World War II — said the sunflower project was a way for people across the nation to lend their support to the disaster region.

“This is different from donations because people will grow the flowers, and a mother can tell her children that it is like an act of prayer for the reconstruction of the northeast,” Handa said.

“I also hope the project will give momentum to attract tourists back to Fukushima with sunflower seeds in their hands. I would like to make a maze using sunflowers so that children can play in it.”

http://www.breitbart.com/print.php?id=CNG.ea298a6179f170db0cbddba5974710a6.1c1&show_article=1

[Free Vulcan]

We missed some big storms last weekend and only got hit hard once. It's been dry for 3 days and garden should be looking good. Garden is holding up surprisingly well, got lots of work to do though.

Random pics!:

Blue Podded Capucinjers Pea. Soup pea with nice looking flowers and unique colored pods)

Golden Sweet Pea. Fresh/soup pea with yellow pods (more yellow than looks in the pic).

Left to right: Hulless Oats, Awnless Barley, Glenn Spring Wheat, and Winter Rye. Montana Winter Wheat just out of the pic, which the deer got. And yes, weeds.

Je.rusalem Artichokes.

Bumblebee on some sweet clover.

Honeybee hanging off an alfalfa flower.

A black-winged, blue bodies dragonfly which I've never seen around here before.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for the thread RD. We have had a lot of rain this past week in Missouri. Hubby got his wheat harvested and sitting on the back patio to dry.

Unfortunately, we then had a deluge of late night - early morning rains almost daily, followed by sunny afternoons. Guess we’ll see how it goes this week.

Beds 1 and 2 are doing well. I still have some onions and lettuce from the winter garden, that will be harvested this weekend. Hubby is starting to get some produce from his spring plantings (mostly beans). His strawberry patch is finished for now.

I have harvested one bed of red winter wheat, and have one left. I have planted corn in the newest raised bed. (Hubby has one bed left to finish). Haven’t decided yet what I will plant in the 2 beds after my wheat is all harvested.

I have to dash out to a charity function/health fair, but will be back later to read what everyone has been doing. Have a great weekend everyone. God bless you all with the weather you need for your gardens.

[Sarajevo]

Yeah, I hope you all don't zot me for pimping this guys product, but: Quickhoops High tunnel bender

Designed to create 12' diameter hoops out of locally available 1 3/8" chain link fence top rail, this new addition to the Quick Hoops™ line allows for construction of a 12' wide, 7' high tunnel of any length you desire. Protect your crops from adverse weather, and extend your season in the early spring and into the late fall. Included with the bender are instructions and illustrations on how we built our own walk-in caterpillar style tunnels. Also included with the bender, which mounts to any solid horizontal surface (picnic table, bench, hay wagon, etc.) is a lever bar for added leverage when ‘finishing' the bend.

I think that more than one gardener on this thread may have better luck in their gardens with a hoophouse. I've just started on my hoophouse. A regular greenhouse is just too hot here in the summer.