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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2023 19:31:19 GMT -5
Came home from work, stopped at the open garage door to see if the Round up was working yet, and that damn jay nearly flew into the garage trying to intimidate me. Now I’m thinking he may be nesting in the big hollys at the front side of the house. DH did a wander around the yard after dinner and the jay went at him again. Doesn’t he realize how small he is compared to humans? A tennis racket would be enough to take him out. But we won’t. I figure once the eggs hatch he’ll wear himself out fetching food. Surely not too much longer to wait. I just saw this and laughed because one of our resident jays decided to get aggressive with the woodpecker family. He/she had been able to intimidate the female woodpecker but the male showed up at the feeder tonight and explained the concept of "pecking order" to the jay.
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Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 19, 2023 19:56:35 GMT -5
Idk if they change colors, but I LOVE irises. Mine are white. The T’s have some that are a burgundy color. Now that I mention theirs, I realize I haven’t noticed them blooming yet, and mine are. I hope they didn’t kill them. We both “inherited” the irises, they were already planted when we bought our house and they bought theirs. I leave ours alone, completely ignoring them besides oohing and aaahing over the beautiful flowers, which is probably why they keep coming back every spring. Neighbor next door has some yellow iris which are pretty rare. The gal he bought house from dug them up when a very old house (early 1900's) was being demolished. It's a once-a-year show, but really pretty. I haven't seen any white or burgundy ones, I've only ever had Louisiana iris that are purple If I can remember, I will take a picture of my white ones tomorrow and share it here. If you promise to ignore whatever junk might be in the picture in the same flowerbed. I will also see what’s going on with the T’s burgundy ones, if they are growing and I just haven’t noticed. They are next to my mailbox flowerbed, which mine grow in. Purple is my favorite color. I’d really swoon over them if mine were purple.
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Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Apr 20, 2023 5:59:59 GMT -5
I have both white and yellow iris in my yard. They were here when I bought the house and have multiplied over the years. I keep digging them up and giving some away too.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Apr 20, 2023 20:22:58 GMT -5
Neighbor next door has some yellow iris which are pretty rare. The gal he bought house from dug them up when a very old house (early 1900's) was being demolished. It's a once-a-year show, but really pretty. I haven't seen any white or burgundy ones, I've only ever had Louisiana iris that are purple If I can remember, I will take a picture of my white ones tomorrow and share it here. If you promise to ignore whatever junk might be in the picture in the same flowerbed. I will also see what’s going on with the T’s burgundy ones, if they are growing and I just haven’t noticed. They are next to my mailbox flowerbed, which mine grow in. Purple is my favorite color. I’d really swoon over them if mine were purple. Purple is my favorite flower color too. When we moved to this house I had two crepe myrtles in the front shrub bed - the one in full sun was the standard pink. The one in partial shade didn’t grow as well and didn’t flower for a few years, but when it did, it was a deep reddish purple that I hadn’t seen in a crepe myrtle before. It still doesn’t flower abundantly, but I like it best.
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azucena
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Post by azucena on Apr 20, 2023 20:29:56 GMT -5
Did some more yard cleanup this evening before the storm blew in. Transplanted a ton of sedum as I keep encouraging it to spread out. Pretty pleased with how it has overgrown alongside a concrete path. It's filled in so I barely had to weed and it tends to stay nice and green even in hot stl summer.
Also worked on shoveling off some weedy mulch around my raised garden beds. Put down 3 layers of weed barrier and started layering some flat Cement blocks on top. Storm saved me from overdoing it. Goal is not to have to weed there.
Getting harder to hold off on buying plants. My best bet is to wait til mothers day to avoid last frost.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 21, 2023 9:09:34 GMT -5
I think irises can change color, reverting back to the parent stock, maybe? The bulbs I planted last fall are coming into their own: Lovely tulips! Where I live they divide and then don’t flower again after the first big year, but where my mom lived, they did return. I stick with daffs, as they not only return, they multiply around here. IMO you don't want tulips to divide and return unless they are species tulips like the Kaufamania (sp?) There are those that can be semi-perennial (see a current White Flower Farm catalog or website) but it needs to be sited in the right soil and deep enough. At least 6 inches below the surface, a little more might be better depending on where you live. Tulips are my favorite flowers and I prefer them growing outdoors instead of as cut flowers. They don't last long as cut flowers and they should come back at least the second year. Weirdly enough, I have tulip leaves that are little bulblets. Not sure how that happened unless I changed my mind or didn't full dig out a non thriving tulip recently.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Apr 21, 2023 10:29:32 GMT -5
If I can remember, I will take a picture of my white ones tomorrow and share it here. If you promise to ignore whatever junk might be in the picture in the same flowerbed. I will also see what’s going on with the T’s burgundy ones, if they are growing and I just haven’t noticed. They are next to my mailbox flowerbed, which mine grow in. Purple is my favorite color. I’d really swoon over them if mine were purple. Purple is my favorite flower color too. When we moved to this house I had two crepe myrtles in the front shrub bed - the one in full sun was the standard pink. The one in partial shade didn’t grow as well and didn’t flower for a few years, but when it did, it was a deep reddish purple that I hadn’t seen in a crepe myrtle before. It still doesn’t flower abundantly, but I like it best. I love mixing purple, yellow and white flowers together! In my old age I've noticed that I hardly every go for any other colors but part of that is lack of space for a lot other stuff so PYW combo it is for me.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Apr 22, 2023 18:40:34 GMT -5
Stupid blue jay flew right into my head again!!! Thought I had found his nest, but it’s empty. Might find out tomorrow when I plan to spend a lot of time outside. Nice weather predicted!! Camellias still without leaves, looking really dead.
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Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 23, 2023 16:56:52 GMT -5
My raised bed has been delivered and put together. I’m excited! I’m all over the place with my planning, because I’m getting such a late start and it will be hot soon. So most of the seeds I bought, are for fall, when the weather cools down. We decided to also get a galvanized planter to put on the ground for the tomatoes. Mister is responsible for figuring out how to keep the stupid squirrels out of it. Other than the seeds, the only things I’ve bought are tomato plants, basil, and rosemary. As excited as I am, I am still trying to be sensible and start slow, which I kinda have to do anyway, since a lot of vegetables won’t do to well with the extreme summer heat here. One other thing I want to do is grow spinach and a small salad garden indoor. I already have grow lights since I don’t have any good windows. CCL, IIRC you have a salad garden, and I hope you don’t mind answering a few questions. Or anybody else that knows the answers lol. I’ve read that you need like 10-15 plants per person in the household. I know a mountain of spinach leaves turns into a molehill when you cook it, but growing 30 plants for Mister and I seems excessive to me, and I can’t imagine how much room that will take up indoors. I can and will grow more in the fall, outside, where I’ll have more room. Same thing with salad mix, I’ve read I need dozens of plants for Mister and I. I’ve read about leaving room to plant more after a couple weeks so you have a continuous harvest. I’m so confused! I have 5.5 gallon containers I’d planned to grow them in, they are 20”x13”. I only bought 2, thinking one for spinach and one for salad mix, and now I wonder if those are big enough or whatever. I haven’t done anything with them yet, so I can return them if they were not a wise choice. Help! Please and thank you.
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Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 23, 2023 17:09:21 GMT -5
Overall, these are the vegetables and herbs we eat and use, that I’d like to grow in the appropriate seasons.
Tomatoes Snap beans Cucumbers Onion Garlic Mustard Greens (maybe collards too) Cabbage Broccoli Oregano Basil Rosemary Potatoes Carrots Spinach Salad greens
I still have 2 10 or 15 gallon (I don’t remember which size) grow bags that I will probably grow potatoes in, because they have a little side door that makes it easy to get root vegetables out of without have do dig around.
Any advice or shared experience on growing any of those is welcome and appreciated.
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MarionTh230
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Post by MarionTh230 on Apr 23, 2023 17:52:20 GMT -5
My tomatoes are in pots. I'm also further south than you. Which means I do not put them in full sun. They only get sun in the morning because the afternoon sun would literally fry them. They are very thirsty compared to everything else. Right now I'm watering once a day, every day. That will go to twice a day, every day when temps start climbing. I usually just give up when it gets so hot that I'd have to water 3 times a day. They definitely need more water than the rest of my plants. Past that I just make sure to fertilize when they are fruiting.
Basil from seed has never given me any trouble. Once it's a plant I don't do anything special besides stick in a pot. The bigger it gets the more water it needs, but if you are planting in a bed it may not be an issue.
I have killed 4 rosemary plants, including one I grew from seed. Also killed 3 lavender plants I had started from seed. Whatever special Mediterranean climate they need to thrive is quite obviously beyond my capability to recreate.
I still have my broccoli in a pot. Easy from seed. It's still growing. It's just too hot for it to fruit. Bolts nearly immediately in this heat. The bees like the yellow flowers though so I have kept it. Seems to be an easy plant to keep alive.
I have 4 carrots in the hole in the yard next to the wildflowers. That was Kiddo's idea. Started from seed and put them out in January I think? They are growing. No earthly idea when they'll be ready to dig up but they have nice fluffy healthy looking green tops.
So, since I have managed to grow a few things on your list I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by your success. My gardening philosophy is more fly by the seat of my pants and put something in some dirt. And I mostly use pots which can be less than ideal at times. I'm excited for you to try your raised bed!
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Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 23, 2023 18:23:20 GMT -5
My tomatoes are in pots. I'm also further south than you. Which means I do not put them in full sun. They only get sun in the morning because the afternoon sun would literally fry them. They are very thirsty compared to everything else. Right now I'm watering once a day, every day. That will go to twice a day, every day when temps start climbing. I usually just give up when it gets so hot that I'd have to water 3 times a day. They definitely need more water than the rest of my plants. Past that I just make sure to fertilize when they are fruiting. Basil from seed has never given me any trouble. Once it's a plant I don't do anything special besides stick in a pot. The bigger it gets the more water it needs, but if you are planting in a bed it may not be an issue. I have killed 4 rosemary plants, including one I grew from seed. Also killed 3 lavender plants I had started from seed. Whatever special Mediterranean climate they need to thrive is quite obviously beyond my capability to recreate. I still have my broccoli in a pot. Easy from seed. It's still growing. It's just too hot for it to fruit. Bolts nearly immediately in this heat. The bees like the yellow flowers though so I have kept it. Seems to be an easy plant to keep alive. I have 4 carrots in the hole in the yard next to the wildflowers. That was Kiddo's idea. Started from seed and put them out in January I think? They are growing. No earthly idea when they'll be ready to dig up but they have nice fluffy healthy looking green tops. So, since I have managed to grow a few things on your list I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by your success. My gardening philosophy is more fly by the seat of my pants and put something in some dirt. And I mostly use pots which can be less than ideal at times. I'm excited for you to try your raised bed! Mister is also in charge of figuring out irrigation for where the tomatoes will be. I’ve made it clear that I will NOT be going in the yard to water them in the dark before I go to work lol. I’m embarrassed to say how many rosemary and lavender plants I’ve killed over the last few years. I finally kind of got the hang of it and stopped watering them as often as I watered my other plants, and kept some of them alive for a couple of years. In the little experience I have, they both seem to prefer warmth, sun, well draining soil with minimal nutrients, and not much water if they are established. But all mine still eventually died, so take that for what it’s worth lol. Last year I had a rosemary bush that had gotten too big for any pot I had, so I stuck it in the empty garden bed on the back of the house, near my driveway. I figured if it had survived a couple winters in a pot on my deck, when all I did was move the pot next to the brick walls of the house, it might survive winter in the ground next to the brick wall of my house. But nope. It’s dead. Dead, dead. It seems that we had a spell of usually cold weather in December that I don’t remember, because one of the local nurseries I follow on FB reposted a video from a local Master gardener who talked about and showed the damage to perennials and trees from that. But before that, most of my plants and flowers had already died during the summer. This past summer was super hot, with little rain. Which was some people’s theory about why squirrels ate ALL my tomatoes, for the water content since it was so hot and dry here, for so long. I like growing in pots too, and grew my tomatoes in grow bags last year. But between all the pots and the grow bags, my deck started looking kind of junky. It’s a decent size deck, but I had way too much stuff going on for my eyes lol. I am excited too, I will let you know how it’s going.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Apr 23, 2023 19:56:43 GMT -5
My raised bed has been delivered and put together. I’m excited! I’m all over the place with my planning, because I’m getting such a late start and it will be hot soon. So most of the seeds I bought, are for fall, when the weather cools down. We decided to also get a galvanized planter to put on the ground for the tomatoes. Mister is responsible for figuring out how to keep the stupid squirrels out of it. Other than the seeds, the only things I’ve bought are tomato plants, basil, and rosemary. As excited as I am, I am still trying to be sensible and start slow, which I kinda have to do anyway, since a lot of vegetables won’t do to well with the extreme summer heat here. One other thing I want to do is grow spinach and a small salad garden indoor. I already have grow lights since I don’t have any good windows. CCL, IIRC you have a salad garden, and I hope you don’t mind answering a few questions. Or anybody else that knows the answers lol. I’ve read that you need like 10-15 plants per person in the household. I know a mountain of spinach leaves turns into a molehill when you cook it, but growing 30 plants for Mister and I seems excessive to me, and I can’t imagine how much room that will take up indoors. I can and will grow more in the fall, outside, where I’ll have more room. Same thing with salad mix, I’ve read I need dozens of plants for Mister and I. I’ve read about leaving room to plant more after a couple weeks so you have a continuous harvest. I’m so confused! I have 5.5 gallon containers I’d planned to grow them in, they are 20”x13”. I only bought 2, thinking one for spinach and one for salad mix, and now I wonder if those are big enough or whatever. I haven’t done anything with them yet, so I can return them if they were not a wise choice. Help! Please and thank you. Yay! I'm so excited for you! I don't think you'll need nearly that many salad plants. I keep 3 lettuce varieties growing at once in my Aerogarden. Hubby doesn't eat salads, but adds the lettuce to his sandwiches and burgers. I eat 2 or 3 salads a week + add lettuce to any sandwiches/burgers we have. These 3 have produced enough for us all winter. Lately I've started eating more salads since its warmer, so yesterday I actually had to buy lettuce. First time since before Halloween. My spinach did not sprout for me. Not sure what that's about. A gardening friend of mine said hers didn't sprout, either. I'll try again. You should do fine growing in pots. Just don't let them dry out or scorch in the summer heat. As long as the pots are big, they are easier to maintain than a garden in the ground - no weeds! My hosta jungle in front gets sooooo many weeds! It takes me several days to dig them all out, but once done, not too bad to maintain it. I'm about half done with weeding. Grandbaby noticed the bare spots and tossed a few of his pumpkin seeds in. They are growing pretty well already! I bought some more pots for my veggies. I want to grow more out front, but the garden beds are not all in full sun, so with pots I can move them around as I like. I bought more big pots for in back, too. Planted a few grape vines, so I also bought trellises for them to climb.
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Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 23, 2023 20:14:46 GMT -5
My raised bed has been delivered and put together. I’m excited! I’m all over the place with my planning, because I’m getting such a late start and it will be hot soon. So most of the seeds I bought, are for fall, when the weather cools down. We decided to also get a galvanized planter to put on the ground for the tomatoes. Mister is responsible for figuring out how to keep the stupid squirrels out of it. Other than the seeds, the only things I’ve bought are tomato plants, basil, and rosemary. As excited as I am, I am still trying to be sensible and start slow, which I kinda have to do anyway, since a lot of vegetables won’t do to well with the extreme summer heat here. One other thing I want to do is grow spinach and a small salad garden indoor. I already have grow lights since I don’t have any good windows. CCL , IIRC you have a salad garden, and I hope you don’t mind answering a few questions. Or anybody else that knows the answers lol. I’ve read that you need like 10-15 plants per person in the household. I know a mountain of spinach leaves turns into a molehill when you cook it, but growing 30 plants for Mister and I seems excessive to me, and I can’t imagine how much room that will take up indoors. I can and will grow more in the fall, outside, where I’ll have more room. Same thing with salad mix, I’ve read I need dozens of plants for Mister and I. I’ve read about leaving room to plant more after a couple weeks so you have a continuous harvest. I’m so confused! I have 5.5 gallon containers I’d planned to grow them in, they are 20”x13”. I only bought 2, thinking one for spinach and one for salad mix, and now I wonder if those are big enough or whatever. I haven’t done anything with them yet, so I can return them if they were not a wise choice. Help! Please and thank you. Yay! I'm so excited for you! I don't think you'll need nearly that many salad plants. I keep 3 lettuce varieties growing at once in my Aerogarden. Hubby doesn't eat salads, but adds the lettuce to his sandwiches and burgers. I eat 2 or 3 salads a week + add lettuce to any sandwiches/burgers we have. These 3 have produced enough for us all winter. Lately I've started eating more salads since its warmer, so yesterday I actually had to buy lettuce. First time since before Halloween. My spinach did not sprout for me. Not sure what that's about. A gardening friend of mine said hers didn't sprout, either. I'll try again. You should do fine growing in pots. Just don't let them dry out or scorch in the summer heat. As long as the pots are big, they are easier to maintain than a garden in the ground - no weeds! My hosta jungle in front gets sooooo many weeds! It takes me several days to dig them all out, but once done, not too bad to maintain it. I'm about half done with weeding. Grandbaby noticed the bare spots and tossed a few of his pumpkin seeds in. They are growing pretty well already! I bought some more pots for my veggies. I want to grow more out front, but the garden beds are not all in full sun, so with pots I can move them around as I like. I bought more big pots for in back, too. Planted a few grape vines, so I also bought trellises for them to climb. I am more likely to eat salads when it’s warmer too. That’s why I was wondering if what I can plant in the containers I want to use to grow indoors would be enough. Mister will eat salads too, if I tell him that’s what’s for dinner lol. I don’t plan on growing lettuce or spinach outside until after summer, when it’s not so hot. The flowerbed around our mailbox has a bunch of weeds in it now. It looks like those daylilies did come back, but I don’t see any signs of the salvia I planted in it. That’s the flower bed that I know has big ass bugs and spiders in it, so I’m not tackling the weeds by myself, Mister will have to help me. I like your Grandbaby’s style with the pumpkin seeds he keeps planting. Empty spot, let me throw some seeds in it to grow something I like.
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MarionTh230
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Post by MarionTh230 on Apr 23, 2023 21:29:08 GMT -5
I think the Aerogarden is too warm and too much light for spinach to sprout. I failed two batches of spinach there. I had thought it was my grow sponges because I don't buy the branded ones. I wasn't concerned about the seed quality because I bought them from the seed catalog and their quality has never disappointed me. Then I saw that they sprout well in the refrigerator. So I did that and it worked like a charm. I had intended to put them in the Aerogarden after sprouting to get them to the seedling stage. But I forgot about them. After 2 months in the refrigerator they were no longer viable. My sprouts rotted. Oops. Bad plant mom.
We have a pack of pumpkin seeds Kiddo insisted on back in January. I haven't done any thing with them since I'm a bit wary. This whole throw them in a bare spot in the yard thing sounds intriguing though. I may get brave and let Kiddo try that in a few months. There's a spot closer to the fence that's out of the way and might have the right amount of shade to allow seedlings to grow without frying to a crisp in the heat.
Random side note. I keep a gardening journal/notebook. Things I did that worked. Things that didn't work. Plants I like/don't like/etc. Especially since I have flowers in pots I like to note which ones the butterflies prefer, which ones tolerate heat, which ones I think are the prettiest. Stuff like that. Because of Kiddo and DH I had to add a seed list to my notebook. I have seeds I forgot I even had because of those two. I would stop letting them go to the store with me but I prefer to have DH manhandle all the bags of dirt I need for all my pots.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 24, 2023 6:49:10 GMT -5
Gardening journal is a great idea. I used to keep a file folder of garden plans, especially my annual tulip ad hyacinth bed.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 24, 2023 11:55:58 GMT -5
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Apr 24, 2023 12:32:30 GMT -5
I have read that spinach. I don’t know from experience because I don’t grow things that are finicky!
Not planting potatoes again. My raised beds are in the direct sun and that plus their need for water makes them unsuccessful for me.
I’ll do tomatoes, they usually do pretty well. Cukes and cantaloupe.
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Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 24, 2023 12:55:20 GMT -5
CCL I could’ve sworn you posted a link to the pots you just bought, and I looked at them last night, but I can’t find the link anymore. Was I dreaming? Lol If I wasn’t dreaming, they were square pots that I saw lol, they were very nice. Please tell me I didn’t make that up. Remember how I use to keep thinking in lived in a state far from the one I finally got it in my head that you actually DO live in?
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Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 24, 2023 12:56:33 GMT -5
I think the Aerogarden is too warm and too much light for spinach to sprout. I failed two batches of spinach there. I had thought it was my grow sponges because I don't buy the branded ones. I wasn't concerned about the seed quality because I bought them from the seed catalog and their quality has never disappointed me. Then I saw that they sprout well in the refrigerator. So I did that and it worked like a charm. I had intended to put them in the Aerogarden after sprouting to get them to the seedling stage. But I forgot about them. After 2 months in the refrigerator they were no longer viable. My sprouts rotted. Oops. Bad plant mom. We have a pack of pumpkin seeds Kiddo insisted on back in January. I haven't done any thing with them since I'm a bit wary. This whole throw them in a bare spot in the yard thing sounds intriguing though. I may get brave and let Kiddo try that in a few months. There's a spot closer to the fence that's out of the way and might have the right amount of shade to allow seedlings to grow without frying to a crisp in the heat. Random side note. I keep a gardening journal/notebook. Things I did that worked. Things that didn't work. Plants I like/don't like/etc. Especially since I have flowers in pots I like to note which ones the butterflies prefer, which ones tolerate heat, which ones I think are the prettiest. Stuff like that. Because of Kiddo and DH I had to add a seed list to my notebook. I have seeds I forgot I even had because of those two. I would stop letting them go to the store with me but I prefer to have DH manhandle all the bags of dirt I need for all my pots. I plan on keeping a gardening journal too. I bought the notebook last year.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Apr 24, 2023 14:08:26 GMT -5
CCL I could’ve sworn you posted a link to the pots you just bought, and I looked at them last night, but I can’t find the link anymore. Was I dreaming? Lol If I wasn’t dreaming, they were square pots that I saw lol, they were very nice. Please tell me I didn’t make that up. Remember how I use to keep thinking in lived in a state far from the one I finally got it in my head that you actually DO live in? You weren't dreaming lol. I did put up a link, but when I tested it, it didn't work, so I took it off. Sorry to confuse you.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Apr 24, 2023 14:23:57 GMT -5
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Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 24, 2023 14:55:57 GMT -5
Yes, the ones from Costco are what I saw last night. Whew! Who spends $500+ for flowerpots? Lol!Someone that enjoys gardening, really likes the pots and can afford to buy them. Nothing at all wrong with that.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Apr 24, 2023 15:03:04 GMT -5
Really nice glazed clay or ceramic pots cost $$. I have carried my one around for years ... which reminds me, I wonder if I can be strong enough to bring it out of the basement. Its glazed blue, wide and heavy. I have put spring pansies in it, herbs, etc. Not at the same time though.
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Pink Cashmere
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Post by Pink Cashmere on Apr 24, 2023 16:40:05 GMT -5
Sooo, I still don’t have any soil for my beds lol. I remember ken a.k.a OMK saying something like I should just get some cheap dirt delivered last time I was talking about raised beds. Ken, please correct me if I’m wrong. But I’ve read more than once the saying “put a 50 cent plant in a $5 hole” and how important good soil can be and it can make a huge difference in how successful you are. I am trying to keep my starting costs to a minimum, but I do believe that often times you do get what you for, and I am willing to spend money where it matters. and I keep reading that one of the benefits of gardening in raised beds is that you can control the quality of your growing medium. The soil in my yard has Bermuda grass, which some people consider a weed, and is full of a lot of other different types of weeds, herbicides and pesticides, so it’s not a good option for helping to fill my beds. I have a coworker that had dirt delivered to his yard and ended up having even more problems after, than he had before he bought the dirt. So what kind of soil do you all use? My goodness, I wish my Grandmother was still alive to help and advise me, or that I’d been interested in all of this and tried to learn from her when she was growing vegetables in her back yard. I know for a fact she would’ve enjoyed teaching and helping me, and she would get a kick out of me growing my own vegetables.
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MarionTh230
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Post by MarionTh230 on Apr 24, 2023 16:56:49 GMT -5
I use the yellow bags of dirt from Home Depot and Lowe's. At one place it's labeled as raised bed potting mix and at the other I think it's labeled as garden soil? Since I use containers I do mix perlite in to avoid compaction. My real live-in-the-house houseplants I only use Miracle Gro Potting Mix. Only sterilized potting mix for the inside plants. I see all these videos of setting up raised beds in my feeds and people layer cardboard and sticks and leaves and then only put dirt in the upper portion. Something about the cardboard acting as a weed barrier and then composting with the sticks and leaves over time? Idk. It looked more complicated than pots that's for sure! A lot less pressure choosing dirt for pots too. Because if I screw up I can just the pot and start over. I understand why you are being careful about choosing dirt for a raised bed. It's a big commitment! I don't really have any useful advice on this raised bed thing but it is exciting so I'm just going to live vicariously through you. I think Knee Deep in Water Chloe may have some experience with raised beds though?
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Apr 24, 2023 16:59:31 GMT -5
Sooo, I still don’t have any soil for my beds lol. I remember ken a.k.a OMK saying something like I should just get some cheap dirt delivered last time I was talking about raised beds. Ken, please correct me if I’m wrong. But I’ve read more than once the saying “ put a 50 cent plant in a $5 hole” and how important good soil can be and it can make a huge difference in how successful you are. I am trying to keep my starting costs to a minimum, but I do believe that often times you do get what you for, and I am willing to spend money where it matters. and I keep reading that one of the benefits of gardening in raised beds is that you can control the quality of your growing medium. The soil in my yard has Bermuda grass, which some people consider a weed, and is full of a lot of other different types of weeds, herbicides and pesticides, so it’s not a good option for helping to fill my beds. I have a coworker that had dirt delivered to his yard and ended up having even more problems after, than he had before he bought the dirt. So what kind of soil do you all use? My goodness, I wish my Grandmother was still alive to help and advise me, or that I’d been interested in all of this and tried to learn from her when she was growing vegetables in her back yard. I know for a fact she would’ve enjoyed teaching and helping me, and she would get a kick out of me growing my own vegetables. A wise nursery man made this statement to me back in 1967 when I was starting out as a novice trying to plan yard for newly built house. So starting from scratch. I had never so much as planted one thing in my life. He also told me to enjoy my new venture and not to stress to much. I was fortunate to make his "friendship" and he was my go to advisor till he passed away. But to this day I hear his words when digging in the dirt. I know this doesn't help you since my son gets his dirt from a place that specializes in "making" their own dirt and they fill number of bags he needs almost like pouring cement thru a shoot. No weeds, not need for fertilizer. Can you check around and see if there is a place like that near you. Now having said that "dirt cheap" does not apply. I think last year cost was around $35 per bag but not your small garden bags. But it's not a yearly expense since he just replenishes dirt as needed. Really huge bags. Just a thought. Just do a little at a time and enjoy!! I've tried things that were complete disasters but learned from it and had a good laugh.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Apr 24, 2023 17:05:40 GMT -5
I use the yellow bags of dirt from Home Depot and Lowe's. At one place it's labeled as raised bed potting mix and at the other I think it's labeled as garden soil? Since I use containers I do mix perlite in to avoid compaction. My real live-in-the-house houseplants I only use Miracle Gro Potting Mix. Only sterilized potting mix for the inside plants. I see all these videos of setting up raised beds in my feeds and people layer cardboard and sticks and leaves and then only put dirt in the upper portion. Something about the cardboard acting as a weed barrier and then composting with the sticks and leaves over time? Idk. It looked more complicated than pots that's for sure!A lot less pressure choosing dirt for pots too. Because if I screw up I can just the pot and start over. I understand why you are being careful about choosing dirt for a raised bed. It's a big commitment! I don't really have any useful advice on this raised bed thing but it is exciting so I'm just going to live vicariously through you. I think Knee Deep in Water Chloe may have some experience with raised beds though? If all that was required my I would have never had raised beds back in the 70's. I'm a lazy gardener and my son built raised beds around 2011 and didn't do any of that. Just bought dirt and dumped in boxes and been that way for years. People try to make stuff for friggin hard and complicated!!!! But like I said I would rather work smart than hard and a tad lazy. There I've said it again.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Apr 24, 2023 17:36:09 GMT -5
Hubby goes to the mulch place and gets a garden soil mix by the trailer full. We use that for about 3/4. Then Miracle Gro potting mix in big bags from Sam's Club to top them off. It takes a lot of dirt to fill raised beds and my big pots.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Apr 24, 2023 17:50:45 GMT -5
I use the yellow bags of dirt from Home Depot and Lowe's. At one place it's labeled as raised bed potting mix and at the other I think it's labeled as garden soil? Since I use containers I do mix perlite in to avoid compaction. My real live-in-the-house houseplants I only use Miracle Gro Potting Mix. Only sterilized potting mix for the inside plants. I see all these videos of setting up raised beds in my feeds and people layer cardboard and sticks and leaves and then only put dirt in the upper portion. Something about the cardboard acting as a weed barrier and then composting with the sticks and leaves over time? Idk. It looked more complicated than pots that's for sure! A lot less pressure choosing dirt for pots too. Because if I screw up I can just the pot and start over. I understand why you are being careful about choosing dirt for a raised bed. It's a big commitment! I don't really have any useful advice on this raised bed thing but it is exciting so I'm just going to live vicariously through you. I think Knee Deep in Water Chloe may have some experience with raised beds though? A big advantage to raised beds is less maintenance once they are established. Very few weeds and less watering. I don't want to worry about my gardens when I'm out of town. My kids will usually come by and water everything for me when I'm gone, but sometimes they can't make it over. With the raised bed and big pots, everything will still be ok when I get home, regardless. My front bed is just a regular garden at ground level. It takes me a few days to get it all weeded in the spring. My raised bed doesn't really have any weeds. The dirt in the raised bed doesn't tend to pack down, so much easier to dig up and plant, too.
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