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Weekly Garden Thread - May 23-29, 2020
May 23, 2020 | Diana in Wisconsin/Greeneyes

Posted on 05/23/2020 7:34:43 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin

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.

If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.

This thread is non-political respite. 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. Planting, Harvest to Table Recipes, Preserving, Good Living - there is no telling where it will go - and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.

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 to Gardeners are welcomed any time!


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Gardening; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: agriculture; food; gardening; hobbies
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Finally got a little break from the rain. Re-tilled the part of the garden I haven’t planted yet because it was looking like a lawn at this point. Stuck my mater plants in the ground. Need to find some tall skinny white oaks for bean poles which won’t be a problem as there’s 100s of them. I can probably find enough dead standing trees. Gotta soak the beans overnight I guess though I could probably get away with just sewing them since they’re calling for rain most of the week and the soil is far from dry. I’ll probably just soak them today and stick them in this evening.


81 posted on 05/24/2020 7:57:54 AM PDT by Pollard (whatever)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
Sounds BEAUTIFUL! Your own little NYC Garden. ;)

Actually, I moved to suburban Baltimore about 6 months ago :) But I had a big garden out front of my Queen co-op apartment.

82 posted on 05/24/2020 7:58:11 AM PDT by EinNYC
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Looks like “weather” is definitely heading your way!


83 posted on 05/24/2020 8:04:02 AM PDT by Qiviut ("I have never wished death upon a man, but I have read many obituaries with pleasure" Mark Twain)
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To: EinNYC

Oh, that’s right! Glad you and your plants are settling in. Still sounds gorgeous. :)


84 posted on 05/24/2020 8:36:34 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Qiviut

It’s breaking up a little. Would be nice if it missed us - it’s sopping wet around here and I have things to get in the ground.

But, my new Roses are all Happy, Happy! :)


85 posted on 05/24/2020 8:38:38 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Bearshouse

I’ve got moles I need to do something with. There’s tunnels all over the place. They pushed a bunch of my onions out. Over winter they pushed a bunch of naked lily bulbs out. They say a physical barrier needs to be 2 foot in the ground so I need to kill them. I read the instructions on some poison and it said to push down a tunnel and see if it pops back up the next day. That lets you know they’re still using that tunnel. Then you open up a little hole and drop the poison in the tunnel. Wish I had a lawn roller. I could flatten them all down. There’s a lot of them. So many that I keep the mower adjusted high so I’m not mowing dirt.


86 posted on 05/24/2020 8:49:12 AM PDT by Pollard (whatever)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
Oh, that’s right! Glad you and your plants are settling in. Still sounds gorgeous. :)

I think they need like 3 weeks to get over transplant shock and take advantage of the good container soil they're in now to start filling out. After one or two weeks, they are definitely growing and flowers are opening. The hanging baskets with baby fuschias are definitely growing, buds are opening. I see the calibrachoa has grown in the 2 weeks I've had it; Cherry Star is a very lovely variety, with deep cherry pink petals and yellow rays. I put it in with yellow marigolds and pink/yellow/orange lantana (Pink Bandana) to play on the yellow, and the trailing vinca is yellowish cream with lovely red stems. I cannot believe the gorgeous hue that the heliotrope has, a deep violet--and the fragrance, mmmm. I am getting lots of compliments from the neighbors.

87 posted on 05/24/2020 9:32:09 AM PDT by EinNYC
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To: Pollard

I ordered some VoleX from Amazon. If that doensn’t work, my next try will be the bait tower that TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig posted. I’m with you, they just have to be killed.


88 posted on 05/24/2020 9:47:46 AM PDT by Bearshouse
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To: Pollard

What kind of maters & beans?

We finally got a break from rain too. Hubby got the first half of the garden tilled. Neighbor had broken it up a few weeks ago with ‘the big tractor’. Hubby’s latest project was replacing the motor on my grandfather’s old troybilt horse tiller. New tiller? $2K. New motor? $100. No choice there LOL.


89 posted on 05/24/2020 9:51:13 AM PDT by Black Agnes
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To: EinNYC

Your flowers sound gorgeous.

If you can take and post pics I’d love to see them!


90 posted on 05/24/2020 9:51:53 AM PDT by Black Agnes
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To: Bearshouse

What’s the difference between volex and gopher gassers?

We’ve got a ‘munk problem. Gabajillion of them. On the window sills looking IN MY HOUSE (and taunting my cat). They have to go. ‘munk heaven awaits them.


91 posted on 05/24/2020 9:52:50 AM PDT by Black Agnes
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Hey, at least it isn’t snow? :)

(ducks and runs for cover)


92 posted on 05/24/2020 9:53:47 AM PDT by Black Agnes
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To: TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig

Our house isn’t that old. It was built in the 50’s.

But old houses can be bad. I dread any plumbing problems because old pipe can be so brittle it breaks in all kinds of hard to reach places no matter how careful you are.

I complain about too much regulation but some is necessary. I believe you’re required to have more than one way in and out of a house and it’s probably exactly because of what happened the other day.


93 posted on 05/24/2020 10:45:09 AM PDT by Califreak (If Obama had been treated like Trump the US would have been burnt down before Inauguration Day)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

I was exploring today, scouting for future photo shoot sites, and I found some really large and very healthy prickly sow nettles. I know the juice from the nettle plant is typically good for Burns and other medicinal purposes.

Does anybody feel like it’s worth coming back with a shovel and digging up one of these plants and taking it home?

It’s obviously a weed that has some purposes other than growing yellow flowers. I’m just wondering if it’s worth getting at for making tea and other medicinal ointments..

It essentially in the right of away by the freeway so not a problem legally.


94 posted on 05/24/2020 12:21:05 PM PDT by TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig (Unlike Bloomberg, I have said "Fat broads"and "Horsefaced Lesbians" but cuz I luv them both.)
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By the way I have an app on my phone called plant snap and any time I see a plant that I like but I don’t know the exact name for it I can take a picture of it and it searches a database and give you possible identifiers. Works great


95 posted on 05/24/2020 12:22:11 PM PDT by TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig (Unlike Bloomberg, I have said "Fat broads"and "Horsefaced Lesbians" but cuz I luv them both.)
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To: Califreak

I am right there with you, my house was Built-in 44


96 posted on 05/24/2020 12:23:06 PM PDT by TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig (Unlike Bloomberg, I have said "Fat broads"and "Horsefaced Lesbians" but cuz I luv them both.)
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To: bert

Squash flowers - I have had that happen too. I had success just pinching off the male flowers. the female flowers came later on both squash plants.


97 posted on 05/24/2020 12:38:40 PM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
Here are parts of my balcony garden today:

Mosquito repellent plants: ageratum, marigold, lavender, mint, lemon balm

Young fuschia

Some of my 40 hostas and heucheras on shelves

Hostas Dinner Mint and Raspberry Sundae

Hostas on top shelf

One of my window boxes: heliotrope, lantana, portulaca, and vinca

Geraniums, white bacopa

Petunias & verbena

Some larger hostas: Paradise Island, Gypsy Rose, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, and a front window box with calibrachoa

98 posted on 05/24/2020 12:44:01 PM PDT by EinNYC
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To: Black Agnes

Some kind of hybrid maters from tractor supply, sweet 100 or something, cherry maters. I bought some heirloom mater seeds but I’m not set up for seed starting yet. Bright spot in the house is also a cool spot, no grow lights etc. Two months old and 3 inches tall LOL. I stuck them in the garden today, will see what happens. Those were yellow pear cherry maters. We’re not big on slicers. My wife likes a BLT occasionally but not enough to warrant growing them. We use the crap out of tomato based sauces,(who doesn’t?) but that takes a lot of area and a lot of work processing and other ingredients to turn them into a finished product. It’s a plan though.

Pole beans, purple and green speckled, cant remember the variety and also bush green beans, both from Baker Creek. I went by the reviews.

I bought a little 16” wide tiller from TS this year. Been doing it by hand but that was getting old, as am I. It was on sale for $650, normally $750. I’ve got a sub-compact tractor that would run a 4 foot wide PTO tiller but those are $1600 and near impossible to find used. Someday.

Got a few goats this Spring but didn’t plan on getting them until fall so that took away from my garden effort. Got covid stimulus and bought goats with it. Had to finish the perimeter fence and added to it this week. The goats came from a pasture situation and we have mostly woods so they were eating grass/weeds etc down pretty low. Seem scared of the woods. Don’t want them to get loaded with parasites and definitely don’t want them killing stuff off so I gave them more room. Need to work on paddocks. Yay, more *&^$ing fence work.

Next cool front, I need to get into the woods and cut firewood for next winter. We normally don’t have a Spring. It tends to jump from the 40s to the 80s. I lost a month of time in the woods because of that. Ticks, chiggers and snakes are coming out big time. I’ve got three big red oaks that got hit by lightning last year. Should be enough.

Needed to do some burning off but it’s been too wet which is why I had to add fenced in area.

Never ends.


99 posted on 05/24/2020 12:57:07 PM PDT by Pollard (whatever)
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To: EinNYC
'Dinner Mint' is so pretty! It looks similar to my favorite, 'June.'


100 posted on 05/24/2020 2:06:41 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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