Posted on 11/01/2013 12:11:04 PM PDT 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. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. There is no telling where it will go and... that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
NOTE: This is a once a week ping list. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest are welcomed, so feel free to post them at any time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Herbacious plants can be safely pruned by removing about 1/3 of the foliage .
If you were to prune 50% of the foliage or more , the plant goes through "shock" , and is 'set back' a bit .
Wherever you prune close to a leave or stem , it will double the leaf or stem production .
Once my sweet basil goes into flowering and into seed production, it is extremely difficult to prevent it continueing.
Did you use any fertilizer on the garden ?
If so , what kind ? What was the ratio of NPK listed ?
/j what are you using for an air pump for compost tea? Fish tank air pump or something stronger needed for a 5 gal bucket?
I had pretty good luck with Mel’s mix the first season, but I think the peat had added nutrients - enough to feed for 3 months.
The next season’s, I found that I needed quite a bit of added compost to get a good crop. It also takes a year or two for the mix to get all the good stuff it needs - worms and bacteria etc.
I found a real difference in the mix after about 3 years - it really looked like good stuff to grow a garden then.
Try planting a cover crop of rye, clover, and/or vetch. To plow under next spring for additional nutrients.
I didn't have a fish tank air pump, or I would have used that.
Just anything to keep oxygen in the water. The bacteria consume it pretty quickly when they reproduce.
/johnn
Well I pruned off way more than 50%. It was the last whack that did it. I got distracted and missed the target and lopped off a bunch more than I had anticipated. LOL
Ok. Just curious. Thanks.
Squirrels are desperately trying to find something to store for the winter, because they are in the garden throughout the day. They can't get to the plants now with the net room and net over the onions and over plants on the deck, so screw them. Prissy, the Yorkie, spends a lot of her time, running them out of the garden. I cover the lower part of the big squash plant so they can't get into the bucket. Next spring, I'll put the big squash plants in the net room at the beginning.
My main purchases for spring will be a dwarf lemon tree pretty soon, and I have my various pepper seed but will get the actual plants for one container. Also have to get blackberry plants when they are ready to ship. Those are two year plants supposed to produce berries in 2014, next year.
If all these strawberry plants I have growing actually produce in the early spring, I should have fruit until the fall of next year and maybe the lemon tree will still be producing, not sure about that one. I'm going to buy the actual spice plants from Lowes next spring, have no spices now and no seed as I figured plants would be better and they are not expensive.
I have most of the veggie seed already. I want to try a lettuce that is similar to Romaine type and I have that seed.
It has rained and rained and rained this week. There was flooding in Houston and Austin. For the whole week, I must have had 8 inches. Rightly, how many inches did you get?
LOL ! What did you use ?..a machete , or a lawnmower ?
I hope all is well with Marcella; she has been too quiet all week, on the thread, plus I sent her an email that I never heard anything from her.
Never mind my post #30
Nah it was a tool for trimming hedges. Just happened to be handy, but a bit too much for the task at hand. LOL
We had 3 1/2” of rain, all in two days.
I was wondering about you, you have been too quiet on the thread, was gettin concerned about ya. See post 30
OK, I’m going to make a list of what I’m getting. Forgot to say corn seed for Deck Corn from Burpee (they developed that seed), and fingerling potatoes.
Sounds like all is humming right along. I am so glad to hear that there has been rain in Texas. Hope this signals an end to the drought.
I have better luck with spices and herbs, when I buy the plants vs using the seeds.
I have a meyers lemon that has one good size fruit on it and has been there for a few months. It is still green, any ideas? I know nothing of lemons, just how to make lemonade, southern style.
You sent me an email? I didn’t get it.
Well, she just posted to this thread. I noticed that she wasn’t as prolific as usual, but did note that she posted most days this past week on some thread or the other.
Maybe she’s busy reading the free books she got.
I guess I need to check that out, Yayhoo is junk since they change their mail.
Lemons take forever to ripen and turn from green to yellow. Most lemons you buy are picked and shipped while still green.
I’d say just keep on watering and feeding. I keep my lemon tree kinda root bound, and trim it back periodically so that it will continue to fit in the space that I have to grow it. I was thinking that maybe it thinks it’s dying and is desperate to reproduce.
Otherwise, there is no reason for it to bloom so prolifically. LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.