Posted on 02/21/2014 12:13:29 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.
I grew up South of Springfield, Mo. In our area, there was plenty of clay, which is what we have on the eastern side too. Our soil here needed a lot of work to get a decent garden.
That’s the main reason that I went with raised beds. Hubby went the route of soil improvement-it’s more work, and I tend for the lazy daisy way.LOL
Normally I would welcome the warm weather, but with the thaw and the rain I can’t get to the neighbor’s pile of horse poo so the project I had planned for this weekend is kaboshed.
Maybe I’ll build the cold frame that I’ve been wanting...
I do very little transplanting. Hubby does a lot, and he says that it’s better if the plants don’t get too old. Of course, you don’t want them to be too tender either.
I think he usually just transplants them from the seed starter pod directly to the garden, and skips the intermediate planting into a nursery size pot.
I wish we had a chipper of any kind, but we don’t. We are also going to get some more cold weather, so I am drinking in the nice weather while I can.
Hi, folks!
I’m a not-very-good gardener and I’m hoping I can pick your brains.
We have an awful lot of white-tailed deer here, and they use my hosta paths as a salad bar. It gets to look very ugly. Long story short, I’ll be digging up the hosta and planting lavender. That will teach them.
I need a lot of lavender plants, and finances dictate that I need to start them from seeds. Is there anyone who has had success starting lavender from seeds? Is there anything special I need to do?
Any advice is appreciated!
There’s never a shortage of projects when it comes to gardening it seems, so there is usually an alternative.
Sometimes I just ignore the alternatives, and use it as an excuse to enjoy the weather and weekend.LOL
Lavender is easy. Just clean up the spot where you want it to grow, scratch it a bit, throw the seed down, scratch it a bit more and wait for it to grow.
Sunshine here, too..I transferred some tomatoes from the little dixie cups into bigger pots today..I need to get hopping on starting some more seeds, and also trnsferring some other stuff to bigger pots.
I found this year’s Rodeo Tomatoes (Valley Cat) at the local nursery, then looked on the bottom side of the leaves, to see aphids..They had sold a bunch already.
I sure don’t want to be bringing home aphids, so I guess I will stick to my own grown from seed tomato plants.
Does 'Hubby' harden them (seedling pods) off any or does it depend on the plant?
I have zero experience with lavendar seeds. Hopefully one of the others can answer your questions.
I started a bunch successfully one year. IIRC I put them in sightly sandy seed starter, covered them just a teensy bit, put them in a humidity dome and left them out where they’d get a freeze cycle or two.
Definitely look this one up as I remember they weren’t ‘like’ the other stuff I usually start like tomatoes and peppers.
I’ll be starting my seeds next month, I think. We have a new puppy, so I am going to have to be flexible. I don’t even remember everything I have coming later on, probably in April.
He does harden them a little. It depends mostly on his mood, the weather, and the time of the year.LOL
I planted the three pots with the potatoes according to the directions and put them outside on the deck, watered them, and covered them with a big glob of netting so squirrels/birds could not get to the potatoes.
I hate squirrels if you didn’t know.
Marcella hates squirrels? Why we had no idea. When did this happen? /sc
Beautiful day here (we’ve had many, lately). FINALLY got my turnips & carrots in the ground today. We’ve both been sick as dogs for the last 3 weeks, but think it’s allergies- certainly not flu. Bad sinuses & asthma from he77.
Hoping (better, or there’s going to be trouble) to get to Fanick’s Sunday. (Another Finally!)
Hope everyone’s healthy & warm & getting at least *some* nice days!
(ps Whoever mentioned “Spring cleaning” a couple of threads ago- Thank You! As long as I’ve been stuck inside, I’ve at least gotten a bunch of that out of the way)
God Bless you, too, greeneyes!
Lol, I just heard John Gerard on woai (tv on in other room) Say, "think winter is fianlly over..Not so fast. I'll tell you what's coming our way when we come back" .
I want a Fanick's Report if you do get there this Sunday.
Got up to almost 75 here today. Garden is cleaned out of fall and winter crops. I need to till it and add some compost for the spring garden. Hope to have that done by the end of next week. Still had a bunch of turnips that will make a few meals.
For those in the Southern US, you can and should get TWO crops of dill per year...and very easily, too.
First crop: put seeds in 5 oz plastic cups that are 2/3 full of moist soil. Before putting the soil in the cups, mix 5-6 pounds of clean soil with half a handful of 12-12-12 and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of powdered lime (less is more, here, ok?). Start this process about 1 March and put the little cups under a 75-watt incandescent bulb for about 5 weeks. If the seeds are fresh, expect about 60-70% germination. Keep the soil in the cups moist, but NOT wet. (Think: a wrung-out dishrag).
Put the cups out in the real world in the last 2 weeks of April, or sooner if you think all frost is past. When the plants are 1 inch above the lip of the cup, transplant into your garden, preferring a location with almost full sun (or absolutely full sun if you're in Missouri or that latitude). Once transplanted, water moderately every other day. If you see ANY branches drooping, 1) water that plant immediately and 2) decrease intervals between watering. Obviously, the amount of rain your locale receives will modify these directions.
Harvest the leaves anytime you like after the plants have been in the garden for a couple of weeks. Clearly (duh!) never harvest more than 1/3 of the leafy branches at any time. Sometime in June, most likely, the plants will bolt, shoot up long stems, and bloom (very pretty yellow umbrels). Bees and butterflies love the umbrels, particularly the black swallowtail. Let the butterflies lay their eggs undisturbed and wait for the blooms to turn into brown seeds. The minute you see eggs, stop harvesting the leaves on that plant (hey, the little caterpillars have to eat, right!)
When the seeds in the bloom turn dark brown with a light brown edging (don't worry, this is obvious enough even to a blindish guy like me!) AND the stem right below the bloom has turned yellow or brown, harvest the seeds by cutting off the whole bloom(umbrel) and placing it in a paper or plastic bag. Either hang the bag somewhere and whack it gently every time you walk by, or take out the blooms and rub off the seeds into the bag.
The seeds you will harvest by this process are absolutely fresh and, more importantly, germinate like you can't believe. For the second crop, remove the now-dead dill stalks (great kindling, btw!), rough up the soil where they were with a hand trowel, and sow the new seeds as if you were sowing grass seed, but less thickly. Cover the seeds VERY lightly with soil, and proceed as you did with the first crop. These plants should mature considerably faster because you're planting them in, basically, high summer. KEEP THE SOIL and THE SEEDLINGS WHEN EMERGED moist: drought is death for this second crop.
Harvest the leaves as you like, just as for the first crop. Probably won't see too many butterflies this time, but if you do, let them do their thing. They're the good guys.
Final note: when you transplant the first crop into your garden, simply dig a cup-sized hole, break the edges at the top of the plastic cup(s), peel them off, and plunk the whole cupful, sans plastic, into the soil. First, this is easier. Second, this way, the roots will NEVER be disturbed (always a good idea).
Next post: cumin. A bit difficult to germinate and grows slowly for an annual herb. Need to learn a few more things before posting.
Diana!! Thank you, thank you. Made your Queen of Sheba for the local policia banquet/dinner/party. Had 11 requests for the recipe (which, of course, I gave them). Now, not a week goes by that the cops on patrol don't offer me a ride or stop off for a few minutes for a cup of coffee. As you know, I can't eat chocolate (except for a small taste during cooking to make sure I haven't screwed it up...), but your (or Julia's, whichever) cake is just KILLER! Many, many thanks!
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.