Posted on 01/13/2024 6:25:07 AM PST 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 a 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!
Ground is frozen solid in Tacoma, WA.
Darned Global Warming!
5 Great Garden Books Perfect For Winter (Or Anytime) Reading
Looking for a few great garden books to add to your reading list this winter?
Wintertime is the perfect time for dreaming and planning next year’s garden and flowerbeds. And nothing can help spur on your creativity more than reading up on all kinds of wonderful gardening topics!
One thing is for sure, the long winter months can be tough to handle for gardeners. Not only do the hours of sunlight dwindle, the colder temperatures make it nearly impossible for growing anything outdoors. Making matters worse, except for a few splashes of color from an evergreen here and there, the great outdoors can seem bare, stark, lonely and colorless.
But one thing winter does do is give a gardener a bit of resting time. After all, the body needs a break from all of those planting, watering, weeding and harvesting chores. And while your rest up, a good garden book or two can help pass the time until spring arrives.
Even better, it can fill your mind with all kinds of great gardening ideas for next year! With that in mind, today’s article features five wonderful garden books that can accommodate a wide range of garden interests. We have included a brief overview of each below:
The Chef’s Garden – A Modern Guide To Common & Unusual Vegetables – With Recipes
In Bloom: Growing, Harvesting, and Arranging Homegrown Flowers All Year Round
Vegetables Love Flowers: Companion Planting for Beauty and Bounty
The Family Garden Plan: Grow a Year’s Worth of Sustainable and Healthy Food
The Old Farmer’s Almanac Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook
Reviews at link:
https://thisismygarden.com/2022/11/great-garden-books/
Near-Blizzard conditions here in SW Wisconsin!
I found a used copy of ‘Vegetables Love Flowers’ for a couple of bucks, and it is jam-packed with good info and ideas for incorporating flowers in with your veggies. (Companion Planting)
I’m loving it! :)
A few more picks:
Here Are the Best Books on Gardening in the Winter:
https://www.gardenary.com/blog/here-are-the-best-books-on-gardening-in-the-winter
The Complete Guide to Growing Microgreens
The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener: How to Grow Your Own Food 365 Days a Year, No Matter Where You Live
Kitchen Garden Revival: A modern guide to creating a stylish, small-scale, low-maintenance, edible garden
Backyard Winter Gardening: Vegetables Fresh and Simple, in Any Climate Without Artificial Heat or Electricity the Way It’s Been Done for 2,000 Years
The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouse
How to Grow Winter Vegetables
Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables
I started looking at my seeds today.
Getting antsy about starting some for the spring. I want to start my onions early and get them a decent size before transplanting and I want to start some lavender and rosemary which both take a long time to germinate.
I’ve promised myself that I’ll sort through my seeds BEFORE I look at a single seed catalog from the stack on my desk.
So far, so good! Having to shovel snow every few hours over the past two days has kept me busy, LOL!
Seems like not long ago, I was nursing tomato plants through near 100 degree temps.
Luckily, no snow accumulation to speak of. Might get an inch Sun night. The 4x4 works good on my new(to me) truck and it has like new tires but they're commercial tread aka HT aka Highway Tread. That's ok. It seems like any tread pattern just fills up with snow and they become smooth.
It snowed during the day the other day and we had emergency vehicles go past work in the direction I normally go home so I took the interstate instead. First snow of the year, there are always a few accidents. It was no fun driving the little car the 40 miles home that day.
Just went out and started the truck at 9 degrees to see if it would start. Fired right up. We'll see how it does at -7 degrees tomorrow. Wind chill will be -22.
My Ford F-150 and Focus wouldn't start last year when it was less than 20 degrees unless I put the battery charger for a while on to give a boost from 12.7 vdc to over 13 vdc.
Little trick!
Since chargers put out upwards of 14 volts, a freshly charged battery creates a hot battery aka over the 100% for a 12 vdc battery which is 12.7 vdc.(12.0 vdc is actually a dead battery) Charging also warms the battery up which helps.
I wake up an hour before I leave for work so on cold mornings, I can put an old/weak/undersized battery on charge for a while to help make sure the vehicle starts.
I wish I had as I just noticed that I don’t have any more rosemary seeds and could have ordered them with the onion seeds I just ordered.
Fun reading and as applicable today as it was back then.
Cutting back roses this week, hard to do b/c some are still blooming, we've had beautiful, 65 degree weather but need rain.
Gingersnap rose surrounded by cyclamen:
Waiting for warmer weather - stole the cat's bed.
Love these threads! Especially since my boss told me this week I can work full time from my residence, and work in the Detroit office. I’ve split time between Detroit and Memphis for the last two years and I have been unable to plant a garden for those two years.
As I sit here with no power as the DTE workers try and mend the downed lines from last night’s wet / heavy snow I look upon my garden while I grill up some Brat’s.
It’s amazing how peaceful the Winter is. The deer walking around. The occasional branch cracking form the weight of the wet snow.
Picked up some Livingston Seeds at ACE Hardware last night in anticipation of planting over Memorial Day weekend.👍
Chilly greetings and salutations from Salem, Virginia :)
I have a praise report related to my incredibly unkempt garden.
I haven had an extra pair of closed shoes, boots, or sneakers that I can sacrifice in the clay mud here and I’ve been fretting about getting into the garden to clean up the mess I’ve made with an overrun compost pile and shredded cardboard.
Last night I made a walmart run and the voice in my head told me to go check the shoe department and BAM! there was ONE pair of sneakers on clearance for 10 bucks.
They are mesh uppers and not waterproof but they’re good enough.
Also, they are 2 sizes too big but that’s great because I won’t wear them anywhere else so I won’t feel bad about ruining a brand new pair of sneakers.
God is good.
Now to wait for a turn in the weather. :D
24 Degrees here in southern Ohio and windy. I just fed my bird buddies. They know my pee-dee-dee call by now, lol.
I thought you all might enjoy this little trick. Put rice in a sock, knot it tight, and put it in a microwave for 2 minutes. You can put some Lavender or other herb in there if you like. It makes a great heating pad and last for 20 minutes or so and you can re-use it.
When I’m cold, I found the best way to warm up for a couple of days is to eat a steak. I think it has something to do with iron in your blood.
Good morning...looks like I will be tending hummingbird feeders all day. 10 degrees with snow & possible blizzard conditions later. Good day for reading.
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