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WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 5, JANUARY 31, 2014
Free Republic | Jan. 31, 2014 | greeneyes

Posted on 01/31/2014 12:38:35 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. 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.


TOPICS: Gardening
KEYWORDS: agriculture; food; gardening; hobby
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Greetings from Missouri, where grey skies and almost freezing temps are hanging around waiting for the predicted afternoon Snain.

Hope everyone in freezing zones are surviving your storms ok. I have had no time for gardening and other enjoyable activities these past couple of weeks. I have watered the indoor garden, and that's about it.

I am hoping to wind up the indoor cleaning chores and take some time to devote to garden planning and organizing during the first couple of weeks, and I plan to catch up one reading the rest of last week's thread.

February is the time that I will sow some Red Clover in all the beds that have winter rye as well as any that simply have leaf mulch, if the weather warms up to around 50 degrees. The clover and rye will be turned under later in the spring as soil improvement/nutrition.

I'll also update my seed list and plan any new purchases that may be needed, as well as the planting scheme for spring.

Have a great weekend. God Bless.

1 posted on 01/31/2014 12:38:35 PM PST by greeneyes
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To: greeneyes
B. Sprouts, peppers, tomatoes, Thai basil and a couple more items are up. Most are showing their second pair of leaves.
2 posted on 01/31/2014 12:40:27 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks ("Say Not the Struggle Naught Availeth.")
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To: Diana in Wisconsin; gardengirl; girlangler; SunkenCiv; HungarianGypsy; Gabz; billhilly; Alkhin; ...

Pinging the list.


3 posted on 01/31/2014 12:40:33 PM PST by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

You are quick. In before the ping.LOL I don’t do much planting this time of the year, because I hate cold weather so much. I admire your industry and fortitude.


4 posted on 01/31/2014 12:42:16 PM PST by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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To: greeneyes
It's nice here. I'm wearing short and shoes and a hair tie. And that's it. I've been out working in the garden. I planted a row of the potatoes that my daughter let go to far in her pantry.

I also worked on the bed for the lemon grass. It's got 12" of compost and 10 lbs of charcoal worked into it now.

I broke down and actually watered the onions and potatoes in the big garden with city water. I'm completely out of rain water. I hope it doesn't kill my microbes in my soil.

I also started from seed my romas, 108 tobacco, jalapenos, NM chili peppers, and the baby bell peppers that my daughter wanted.

Some of the spinach is up. Everything in the cold frame is doing well except for the broccoli that is just too darn tall for the lid.

/johnny

5 posted on 01/31/2014 12:44:05 PM PST by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: greeneyes

Not doing any sort of planting yet, greeneyes. However, I have all my seed/roses/flower bulb magazines. I go through them at night... sitting in front of the fireplace. A winter’s night.. longing for Spring!


6 posted on 01/31/2014 12:44:12 PM PST by momtothree
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To: greeneyes; rightly_dividing

The girl next store came over and made zoodles with my toy. We measured one that was over 6 feet long..I stir fried them with red bell pepper, a little sesame oil, and she ate them with some wontons I made.

She had fun cranking out zoodles.


7 posted on 01/31/2014 12:45:45 PM PST by sockmonkey (Of Course I didn't read the article. After all, this is FreeRepublic..)
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To: greeneyes

We have been eating fresh broccoli the past few days. Can’t keep the stuff more than a day and wife will eat it with just a bit of salad dressing. Turnips are doing great.


8 posted on 01/31/2014 12:47:05 PM PST by Arrowhead1952 (The Second Amendment is NOT about the right to hunt. It IS a right to shoot tyrants.)
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To: greeneyes

The Deer around here are a cute but greedy menace! I’ve tried lion urine spray to no avail! All my tomatoes and string beans gone!


9 posted on 01/31/2014 12:51:04 PM PST by lee martell
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To: JRandomFreeper

I covet your warm weather. I believe that I read that letting city water set for an hour or so can help make it less harmful to plants.

We use only rain water or well water. City water would have to be hauled in. The only time we did that was when we had the really bad summer drought where all the rain water was gone by the end of May.

Then we watered the perennials-fruit trees and bushes, and let everything else burn up, except for a few heirlooms in my raised bed next to the house.


10 posted on 01/31/2014 12:51:40 PM PST by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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To: momtothree

I have restricted myself from the catalogs in order to get some housework - fall/spring cleaning and organizing done.

Now that I have several of those chores done, I’ll reward myself with some review of these. I need to control myself, though I ordered way too many last year.


11 posted on 01/31/2014 12:54:03 PM PST by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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To: greeneyes

Greetings to you! All the hot-cold, hot-cold, I got a cold (thank goodness *not* the flu!) but getting better. I haven’t made it to the nursery yet, but maybe that’s just as well because it promptly got *really* cold. Maybe tomorrow. I think it would be a good idea to get some more poly flute. February is usually the bad month here.

My seeds got here & I’ve started a few pre-pots (maybe 12?), but not much else.
It’s really dry here. We need to replant the rye grass (grrr) for the pups. That’s never happened.

Watch out for some soil from Lowes (I want to say Happy Farms or something like that. They took it back, Bless them!) It’s very red & mealy. Maybe why the rye didn’t do well.


12 posted on 01/31/2014 12:54:18 PM PST by KGeorge (Till we're together again, Gypsy girl. May 28, 1998- June 3, 2013)
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To: sockmonkey

zoodles? Is that some sort of noodles?


13 posted on 01/31/2014 12:55:10 PM PST by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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To: greeneyes

From Southern California—

We’ve had VERY strange weather here the past two months or so— 80 degree days (instead of the usual Dec. - Jan. 68) — that plus winds. AND, no rain.

What happens is the fruit trees bloom at the wrong time of year thinking it’s Spring and then when it does rain, get cold or the winds stir up, all the blossoms drop and there goes your summer fruit crop.

We are also about to go on even MORE water restrictions here even though people are still pouring into the state and large condo building go up everywhere continuously.

A lot of people in my area are ripping up their lawns and replacing them with cactus, gravel and native plants, which is what folks do in dry, hot cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas. The city of Los Angeles has been offering cash to people who take out their lawns and median strips.

Today, it is cooler and cloudy but by now my plants don’t know whether to hibernate, bloom or flower. Strange indeed. We are a tinderbox waiting to explode with wildfires — then the ashes settle on my car and garden.

I’ve held off planting anything this winter until the weather settles down — or doesn’t.


14 posted on 01/31/2014 12:56:53 PM PST by Bon of Babble (Don't want to brag...but I can still fit into the earrings I wore in high school!!)
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To: greeneyes; rightly_dividing
Rightly and I bought some slicer thingies that cuts veggies into noodle shapes. Zoodles are the ones made from zucchinis

These are the ones the girl next store cranked out today, and I stir fried in my wok.


15 posted on 01/31/2014 1:04:17 PM PST by sockmonkey (Of Course I didn't read the article. After all, this is FreeRepublic..)
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To: KGeorge

Thanks for the tip about the Lowe’s soil. Sorry about your cold. So far, I have just had a ting of sore throat and a few day’s of feeling blah-no full fledged respiratory issues.

It’s amazing, because I used to get sick as a dog with each new round of flu, cold whatever, and frequent bouts of Bronchitis. I started taking Vitamin D3 supplements, and eating more fruits and veggies, and have not had a serious cold or flu since then.


16 posted on 01/31/2014 1:07:34 PM PST by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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To: JRandomFreeper
It's nice here. I'm wearing short and shoes and a hair tie.

You Texans. Supposed to go to -8 next week up here in Kansas. I picked the worse year to install and heat a greenhouse through the winter. Costing me a fortune. My wife's flowers are making it through but I think it would be less cost to buy new ones. Hopefully mid-month I can get some veggies going.

17 posted on 01/31/2014 1:07:45 PM PST by Starstruck (If my reply offends, you probably don't understand sarcasm or criticism...or do.)
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To: greeneyes; SisterK

When I pulled back the mulch/leaves to get down to the landscape fabric, I found this. It's about 1/2" thick mat of mycelium growing on the wood chips covering the landscape fabric. It is very large, covering square meters of garden space.

That's part of the reason I decide to go no-till in this part of the garden. If I tilled that in, it would break up and die, and not hold water, or move nutrients to plants or build up the soil, or any of the other wonderful things those micro-organisms do.

I am very happy with this development.

/johnny

18 posted on 01/31/2014 1:09:33 PM PST by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: greeneyes

Have pix.


19 posted on 01/31/2014 1:12:48 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks ("Say Not the Struggle Naught Availeth.")
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To: Bon of Babble

You are in a tough spot right now. We often have the fruit tree issues in Missouri, particularly for peaches. Some warm days in winter, blooms come out and get zapped.

Fortuantely, we still have adequate water for most years. If Hubby ever gets the swimming pool set up, we would be able to have enough to keep the garden, and the fruit trees/bushes going even during a more extended drought than usual.

In normal weather we only need about 2 months stored, but sometimes we need 4 or 5 months worth.

The weather patterns do seem very odd this winter.


20 posted on 01/31/2014 1:14:09 PM PST by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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