Master Index of Archived Threads


Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Chad Ochoseis Feb 20 2017 06:49 PM

I'm gambling that winter is over, even in northeast Ohio. I just planted a few rows of spinach, which is supposed to be hardy enough to survive frost, anyway. Snow peas, tomatoes, basil, and oregano still to come. And the compost bin I started last year has decayed, so a special thanks to all the microbes out there.

Edgy MD Feb 20 2017 10:58 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

It's mid February. That's hardcore.

cooby Feb 20 2017 11:41 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Yes it is. However...today I put my indoor herbs out on the deck. They oughta be okay barring a deep freeze. It's really tempting out there the past few days

cooby Feb 20 2017 11:42 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Oh yeah and my compost is looking good too!

A Boy Named Seo Feb 21 2017 01:27 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

So two composters here. Summertime in the high desert finds more roaches than I'm happy about (greater than 1 is that number for me, but still). So I'm a little nervous to invite more (even though there are more roadrunners around to get the roaches #CircleOfLife). What kind of compost bins you guys use? Did you see an uptick in vermins?

d'Kong76 Feb 21 2017 01:45 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Still snow in my garden, but it will be totally gone by week's end. I spent some time outside yesterday and today thinking about stuff I need to do differently this year on the veggie front and around the house perimeter too.

cooby Feb 21 2017 11:23 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

We have two set ups, one from Gardener's Supply that we've had several years. It's got three compartments so you can keep a steady supply going, but I haven't gotten the hang of that yet. We had it down by the woods and once when I was taking out the supper scraps I interrupted Ricky Raccoon eating his supper! It was pretty cute actually. http://www.gardeners.com/buy/three-bin- ... t&start=15 We used leaves, grass clippings, corn cobs (Ricky's delight) and shredded paper. My mom gave me this big bag of shredded paper and it composted great, except the cellophane parts of envelopes! (haha). Any way we figured it wasn't hot enough down there so we moved it up in the yard more and we'll start using it again this year. Meanwhile I also got a really neat mesh one that has a lid with a clasp to keep Ricky out, although I hardly ever clasp it. Also there's an opening on the bottom to pull compost out. We keep it right off the deck. Besides the above mentioned stuff I also compost coffee ground, old fruits and veggies. I have been known to throw my dryer lint in there. Shredded newspaper would be good too, but use can use newspaper for lasagna gardening. I got some nice compost out of the bottom the other day! I will find a picture of that one later but I have to leave now. Other than Ricky, I have not had much trouble with animals.

Ceetar Feb 21 2017 12:05 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I should probably compost, get a setup, etc, but I don't. I Just toss a bunch of stuff up my hill on the ground in front of my wildlife camera and watch it all disappear.

MFS62 Feb 21 2017 01:48 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Still patching soil and grass where my snow plow guy ripped it up. Too early to think about growing edible stuff (if I will at all this year). Later

Chad Ochoseis Feb 21 2017 02:50 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

A Boy Named Seo wrote: What kind of compost bins you guys use? Did you see an uptick in vermins? I think I'm fortunate in that I live in an urban core neighborhood. I don't get much more than field mice and the occasional groundhog. I did move the compost bin once and saw a garter snake, which was kind of cool. More than likely, I'm doing it wrong. My home seller left me a large plastic trash can that I had no use for. I drilled a few holes in it and, bang!, instant composter. At the very least, I should have two bins so that I can use one while letting the other rot. Instead, I just separate the rotted from the new as best I can. Coffee grounds are great, as are tea leaves. Also, grass clippings, weeds, occasionally newspaper, peanut shells, egg shells, whatever parts of carrots, onions, and parsley that I don't use for cooking. I used to use orange peel and banana peel, but they take a while to degrade.

d'Kong76 Feb 21 2017 06:46 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I'm a softcore composter. I have a 2' x 5' area of contained dirt and yard waste that I keep going that works pretty well to keep me in free potting soil and such. It's right by the garbage can housing and adding food stuff to it would just attract even more sub-urban wildlife* than desired to be worth it. I do start saving coffee grinds this month to use as straight sprinkled fertilizer. * deer, raccoons, possum, stray cats, skunks, coyote, squirrels, chipmunks, and I'm sure rats and mice although I've never seen a rat thank god.

Fman99 Feb 21 2017 07:03 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

So let's say I had never planted a thing in my life but wanted to get a small garden going in my yard -- a few veggies and herbs. Where do I start, what do I need, what are the key points? Throw a resource at me. I've long wanted to give this a shot -- my grandfather had a garden full of fresh vegetables that I remember fondly from my childhood.

A Boy Named Seo Feb 21 2017 07:52 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Fman99 wrote: So let's say I had never planted a thing in my life but wanted to get a small garden going in my yard -- a few veggies and herbs. Where do I start, what do I need, what are the key points? Throw a resource at me. I've long wanted to give this a shot -- my grandfather had a garden full of fresh vegetables that I remember fondly from my childhood. Same boat. My dirt is really dry and devoid of nutrients here, so I plan to till it first, then get mulch from either a tree trimming place (some here give it away for free), or buy some crap from Home Depot to layer over when I plant stuff. *Disclaimer - I don't know shit about this shit. What kind of compost bins you guys use? Did you see an uptick in vermins? I think I'm fortunate in that I live in an urban core neighborhood. I don't get much more than field mice and the occasional groundhog. I did move the compost bin once and saw a garter snake, which was kind of cool. More than likely, I'm doing it wrong. My home seller left me a large plastic trash can that I had no use for. I drilled a few holes in it and, bang!, instant composter. At the very least, I should have two bins so that I can use one while letting the other rot. Instead, I just separate the rotted from the new as best I can. Coffee grounds are great, as are tea leaves. Also, grass clippings, weeds, occasionally newspaper, peanut shells, egg shells, whatever parts of carrots, onions, and parsley that I don't use for cooking. I used to use orange peel and banana peel, but they take a while to degrade. I posted a question about composting on the Nextdoor app, and got a few pretty decent responses from neighbors. One recommended this composter ->>> https://smile.amazon.com/Urban-Compost- ... op?ie=UTF8 ... but the reviews are mixed, at best. One neighbor said the following: "We compost and had never done it before and had no clue. We started by just digging holes in our back yard and throwing in our vegetable scraps (eggshells and coffee grounds, too). Every couple weeks we'd dig around just to stir things up. We have cisterns to collect rainwater so we'd throw in some water every now and then. We later grew a fantastic crop of tomatoes in the area we'd done this. As a bonus we had a bunch of volunteer squash and tomatoes that came out of the stuff we'd composted. No problems with cockroaches; Just a few here and there. I do think the key was keeping the compost buried under at least 8-12" of dirt. It's really not as complicated as some books seem to make it." I tried that and even in the cold, saw a few flies and ants around the dirt, but I guess that's to be expected.

Frayed Knot Feb 21 2017 08:17 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Not an expert but have been known to compost a time or two: You pretty much need to keep the compost contained in something -- either something like the store-bought one you linked or a jury-rigged deal like Chad is going with. Those will at least keep the four-legged critters out of it. Bugs and worms are going to happen but of course they're going to get to it if it's underground also. Plus, to a certain extent anyway, having them is a good thing. There's an old saying that if the worms like your soil then your plants will too. Heat helps too as breakdown occurs more slowly with lower temps so find a place in the sun for yours (it's also the reason most commercial bins are black). Between summer temps, solar heating, and all the organic stuff inside committing chemistry, the internal temps of those things can easily top 100. Go underground more than a few inches and it'll be a couple dozen degrees cooler.

cooby Feb 21 2017 09:01 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

You needs worms. Their poop is part of the compost!

Frayed Knot Feb 21 2017 10:25 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Feb 22 2017 03:45 PM

The other thing about too many insects (as opposed to worms) in your compost is that it can be a sign of not having the right balance of 'Green' material (basically discarded fruits and vegetables) vs 'Brown' material (grass and leaves and such). I think too much green tends to draw too many bugs. There's also the matter of how wet the compost is. It can't be totally dry so some water needs to be added but there is such thing as too much also. So let's say I had never planted a thing in my life but wanted to get a small garden going in my yard -- a few veggies and herbs. Where do I start, what do I need ...? I built a small garden of raised boxes for my mother about 7 or 8 years ago -- a couple of 4'x4's and another that was more like 8'x3' -- all with some cheapo 8-foot 3"x4"-ish rails with rounded edges that Home Depot stocks in big numbers every spring. After cutting them to whatever size needed, I stacked them three rails high and so had a couple of 9 inch or so high square/rectangular boxes out of them. You can also buy raised garden boxes pre-made. Initially filled them up with either store-bought dirt or whatever was excess in the yard, she then used the compost output to top off and replenish the soil in subsequent years. If you have areas in the yard with the right amount of sun and soil that's devoid of rocks and tree roots then you can dispense with the boxes thing entirely and just plant directly in the ground although it's sometimes tough to keep grass from wanting to re-take-over patches like that.

Chad Ochoseis Feb 21 2017 10:25 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Frayed Knot wrote: Heat helps too as breakdown occurs more slowly with lower temps so find a place in the sun for yours (it's also the reason most commercial bins are black). Between summer temps, solar heating, and all the organic stuff inside committing chemistry, the internal temps of those things can easily top 100. Go underground more than a few inches and it'll be a couple dozen degrees cooler. The light blue trash can is my composter. I keep it open so that moisture gets in when it rains, but I should probably close it so that the black cover can absorb the heat. At least during the five sunny days we get here every year. And I should move it away from my garage so that it gets full sun. And, if I'm feeling really wild, spray paint it black. Yes, I know. The lawn could use a good mow, and I need to clean the yard. [attachment=0]20170221_113445.gif[/attachment] Fman99 wrote: So let's say I had never planted a thing in my life but wanted to get a small garden going in my yard -- a few veggies and herbs. Where do I start, what do I need, what are the key points? Throw a resource at me. I've long wanted to give this a shot -- my grandfather had a garden full of fresh vegetables that I remember fondly from my childhood. I did a lot of reading last year, because until I bought this house I'd never even had a backyard, much less a garden. Then I finally said "Screw it, if I keep reading, I'm never going to plant anything". So I built the garden bed in the photo, which is just a bunch of old boards that were in my garage that I sawed into roughly equal lengths and nailed together as a rectangle, bought enough soil at Home Depot to fill the garden bed about 6" deep, and threw in a few rows of seeds. I added a little bit of compost once I had some. The spinach died quickly because I planted it too late. I got only about 40 snow pea pods because I didn't bother tying them to stakes like I should have so that they grow upwards rather than across. I got a good 10-15 pounds of plum tomatoes, though they would have grown larger and tastier if I'd spaced out the plants better. The basil grew like crazy. I lived on pesto sauce last summer. Then I gave probably 50 basil stalks to my neighbor because she watches over my house whenever I head back to Jersey. That garden bed is as tiny as it looks in the photo. 7' by 5'. So you'll do OK just by burying seeds, and there are fairly detailed instructions on seed packets. Cooby certainly knows much more about details, but you can get something adequate without trying too hard. The seed packets will tell you when the best time to plant is for your growing zone (I'm bored, so I looked it up - Syracuse is 5b).

Frayed Knot Feb 22 2017 12:07 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Chad Ochoseis wrote: The light blue trash can is my composter. I keep it open so that moisture gets in when it rains, but I should probably close it so that the black cover can absorb the heat. At least during the five sunny days we get here every year. And I should move it away from my garage so that it gets full sun. And, if I'm feeling really wild, spray paint it black. The color is less important than the fact that it's open and in the shade. The compost mix needs some water but that can be overdone and one good rain storm will probably bust the quota if the lid's up. But even more than that, with the lid open it'll never retain heat for the same reason the pot on the stove won't. If you look at commercial bins you'll see they usually have slits or other such vent holes for some air circulation but are otherwise closed systems to let the gunk inside cook. After all that, darker will be better than lighter all other things being equal, but I doubt it's critical.

Lefty Specialist Feb 22 2017 01:01 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

While I should compost, I don't. Too lazy I guess. I buy Home Depot crap. Bought my seeds this weekend. Cucumbers, carrots and onions, which I do well with. Corn, which I don't but I like the way it looks. Brussels sprouts, which I love but my wife hates. And sunflower seeds saved from last year. Had some 10-footers and am hoping for a repeat. Will start my seeds indoors next week in an old repurposed fish tank. Gives them room to grow and keeps them warm and moist.

Ceetar Feb 22 2017 02:09 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

my soil sucks and I don't get out to water everyday. I tried corn last year because I thought the stalks might look cool too but they didn't do anything.

Lefty Specialist Feb 22 2017 03:12 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Corn sucks up a ton of water. If it doesn't get enough it's stunted and brown. Needs plenty of sun, too- finicky little sucker. But if it grows right it's pretty cool.

Ceetar Feb 22 2017 03:25 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Lefty Specialist wrote: Corn sucks up a ton of water. If it doesn't get enough it's stunted and brown. Needs plenty of sun, too- finicky little sucker. But if it grows right it's pretty cool. sun? well shoot, who gets sun anymore?

d'Kong76 Feb 22 2017 03:45 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I was thinking of trying a half dozen corn plants again this year. I have a perfect spot and was told last time that I needed to water the shit out of it and didn't. I also made the mistake of hiring a non-union scarecrow but, fool me twice shame on me, as the saying goes. Did I ever post this little tidbit of important information? The thin hair-like strands in an ear of corn are all attached to each kernel. One hair per kernel. Who knew?

cooby Feb 22 2017 10:48 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Interesting!

Rockin' Doc Feb 25 2017 02:57 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I'm far too lazy to have a garden. It takes enough time just keeping up the lawn and plantings in the yard. I have to have a little free time left for golfing and general goofing off. My wife and I generally visit the local Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings to get fresh produce.

cooby Feb 26 2017 02:11 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

It's snowing here

Chad Ochoseis Feb 26 2017 03:11 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

We got a dusting here, and it got down to 28 degrees. But I've only planted spinach, which is supposed to be able to survive occasional frost. And the seedlings haven't sprouted yet.

d'Kong76 Feb 27 2017 04:00 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Ohio is bigger than I was picturing for some reason. Cleveland kinda lines up with where I live (half hour from No Bronx border) vs Cincinnati which lines up with DC or so. That's a big temperature shift this time of year. It easily will still be in the low 20's for a good number of weeks. If I do some lettuce/spinach we have to wait until late March. Did you do anything with the spinach soil? I'm thinking spinach like a sandy soil but I haven't looked it up yet. My mouth is watering for some baby spinach is some garlic and oil! Got a bunch of cheapie annual seeds over the weekend I'm gonna start in- doors this week. Never really had much luck with seeds but I'm gonna try and give it a little extra t-l-c and see what happens.

Chad Ochoseis Feb 27 2017 06:21 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I may have planted too early. But the forecast is above freezing for the next ten days (after which forecasts are generally useless), and spinach is supposed to be frost resistant. I'm holding off on everything else until after I'm back from a vacation during spring break. Yeah, weather here is comparable to N Westchester/Putnam temperaturewise, though cloudier and with more moisture because I'm less than a mile from Lake Erie. I didn't do anything with soil, though I probably should have. Just the standard stuff from Home Depot plus some compost.

cooby Mar 04 2017 04:13 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Down to four tonight???? I think I'll bring the kitchen herbs back in.

d'Kong76 Mar 04 2017 04:56 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Stupid groundhog... [fimg=500:14hl846m]http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/02/02/gettyimages-160527135_wide-e4292f15873b6cee3566acf021ff61d9496afb23-s800-c85.jpg[/fimg:14hl846m]

d'Kong76 Apr 08 2017 11:38 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Follow up on the annuals (which I didn't start until about ten days ago) and they are popping. 8-8 so far. Three nice days coming, gonna do some lettuce and spinach I think tomorrow.

cooby Apr 09 2017 01:14 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Nice! I've been monitoring my new big gardens; most everything seems to be coming up except the coneflowers, indigo and artemisia. Kinda bummed about it. Also all the butterfly weeds and milkweeds but I know they are later.

Chad Ochoseis Apr 16 2017 08:42 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Chad Ochoseis wrote: I'm gambling that winter is over, even in northeast Ohio. I just planted a few rows of spinach, which is supposed to be hardy enough to survive frost, anyway. Snow peas, tomatoes, basil, and oregano still to come. And the compost bin I started last year has decayed, so a special thanks to all the microbes out there. We had a pretty bad March, so I was thinking that planting spinach in February wasn't such a bright move after all. But I was out this morning pulling up weeds and planting some snow peas and, wuddaya know...I got a few spinach seedlings. Unless they're weeds masquerading as spinach.

d'Kong76 May 09 2017 01:19 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Thirties again next two nights, want to do the veggies over the weekend. Those annuals pictured above haven't grown much, I figured they'd be out- side weeks ago but the weather has sucked. Global warming.

cooby May 09 2017 02:33 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Yea I have rare herbs sitting in my basement under lights ever since I got them in the mail last week. They are not happy

A Boy Named Seo May 09 2017 05:13 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Just planted a fig tree yesterday! His name is Fignatius J. Reilly. I hope I don't kill him.

Edgy MD May 14 2017 08:18 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I have a bed problem. I dug a corner bed. My house is at crossroads of the neighborhood and I thought our corner needed a little bit more fancifying. But the bed was too good for the house, and made other pieces of lawn up against the fence or against the wall look bad. So I had to dig another bed here and another there. All the time I used to devote to work, to writing, to self-improvement, and to following the Mets is now all about beds, beds, beds. My wife won't spring for a rototiller so it's all spade work. Swoosh, grunt. Swoosh, grunt. And every time I go out, I'm buying more and more mulch. I'm switching up which stores I buy from so the clerks don't mistake me for an addict. I like having beds. But I don't know where it's going to end. And if it does end, then I have to maintain all of these.

cooby May 14 2017 11:36 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

At first I wondered how a Rottweiler would help you

Frayed Knot May 14 2017 11:48 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Chad Ochoseis wrote: We had a pretty bad March, so I was thinking that planting spinach in February wasn't such a bright move after all. The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold and so the story ends we're told -- Townes Van Zandt, 'Pancho and Lefty' Edgy MD wrote: I have a bed problem. Wetting?

Edgy MD May 15 2017 05:32 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

cooby wrote: At first I wondered how a Rottweiler would help you My wife also won't let me have a rottweiler.

d'Kong76 Jun 11 2017 07:48 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Put some Big Boy and Goliath tomatoes in today. I'm so far behind it's almost embarrassing to report... but do have some down time this week.

Lefty Specialist Jun 11 2017 09:03 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I have a large bed of daylilies. Deer came last night and virtually wiped them out. I've used repellent but apparently not the right one. My veggies are under netting but I can't put a net over my whole frigging yard. Grr.

Edgy MD Jun 11 2017 11:46 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Just starting experimenting with lining my beds with cardboard to suppress weed growth. BIG pain in the ass.

cooby Jun 11 2017 11:51 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Worth it Edgy. I think we're done with frost at least

cooby Jun 11 2017 11:52 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Lefty Specialist wrote: I have a large bed of daylilies. Deer came last night and virtually wiped them out. I've used repellent but apparently not the right one. My veggies are under netting but I can't put a net over my whole frigging yard. Grr. Yeah damn deer love daylilies

d'Kong76 Jun 12 2017 12:49 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I'd go easy on the cardboard experiment, termites and such...

Edgy MD Jun 12 2017 03:32 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

AAH! Damned either way!

Ceetar Jun 12 2017 01:49 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

cooby wrote: Lefty Specialist wrote: I have a large bed of daylilies. Deer came last night and virtually wiped them out. I've used repellent but apparently not the right one. My veggies are under netting but I can't put a net over my whole frigging yard. Grr. Yeah damn deer love daylilies yes, I probably have 200 lilies. (well, 201, but one is inside and doesn't bloom so much as poop and cry) I see all the buds right now. This is where I root really hard for it to rain nonstop until bloom time, because otherwise the deer eat roughly all of them. On a happier note, my hops do in fact seem to be growing. One bine is a good 4 feet! the bottom leaves are nibbled, but that's fine. Edgy MD wrote: I have a bed problem. I dug a corner bed. My house is at crossroads of the neighborhood and I thought our corner needed a little bit more fancifying. But the bed was too good for the house, and made other pieces of lawn up against the fence or against the wall look bad. So I had to dig another bed here and another there. All the time I used to devote to work, to writing, to self-improvement, and to following the Mets is now all about beds, beds, beds. My wife won't spring for a rototiller so it's all spade work. Swoosh, grunt. Swoosh, grunt. And every time I go out, I'm buying more and more mulch. I'm switching up which stores I buy from so the clerks don't mistake me for an addict. I like having beds. But I don't know where it's going to end. And if it does end, then I have to maintain all of these. But bet you're in great shape now!

cooby Jun 21 2017 04:28 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Last week when I cleaned out the garage I threw out so many newspapers that some had Easter ads in them. Today I started a new flower bed and can only find one newspaper laying around the house which is astonishing in itself. Very Grrrr able

d'Kong76 Jun 21 2017 07:08 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I pulled my garden fence down yesterday dug up my 12 x 12 plot. I don't know anyone works with a shovel full time, it's a wonder I can stand up straight today. Added some commercial garden soil earlier and I'm ready to go. Plan is to plant early this evening after the sun is behind the garage so I can truthfully say it was done by the first day of summer this year.

d'Kong76 Jul 22 2017 01:49 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Okra, broccoli for the first time. Big invasive leaves, nothing interesting to report and they may be removed on Monday.

Ceetar Jul 22 2017 02:34 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

my hops survive!

d'Kong76 Jul 22 2017 04:23 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Ceetar wrote: my hops survive! Got this Gloria Gaynor song-parody thing going on in my head.

Ceetar Jul 22 2017 10:14 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

d'Kong76 wrote: Ceetar wrote: my hops survive! Got this Gloria Gaynor song-parody thing going on in my head. Is this where I tell you I don't know who that is?

d'Kong76 Jul 23 2017 03:37 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Sing it with me Ceets, my hops survive! [youtube]gYkACVDFmeg[/youtube]

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 23 2017 04:39 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

We got potted lime tree shortly after moving here in '04, it has since morphed and repotted into three giant pots that go inside in the winter and outside in the summer. In all that time we never had a lime till boom: [fimg=400:vl2dl2bh]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/35977984061_626e397874_k.jpg[/fimg:vl2dl2bh] We're also getting a few cukes out of a potted plant this summer but they're all bulbous and curly.

cooby Jul 23 2017 08:41 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Note to self: Don't use red tomato cages next year. That's a nice lime tree! I have a citrus plant that I can't remember which kind of seed I plant several years ago. I wish it'd get some fruit so I'd know :D Had my one and only unmolested peach off my tree the other day; it was awesome!

Lefty Specialist Jul 24 2017 01:29 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Making my first salad tonight that'll be all home grown. Carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. And my sunflowers are almost reaching their apogee. Lots of netting has helped them survive the deer (so far). I've had a potted lemon tree for ten years that has grown thorns but nothing else.....

Ceetar Jul 24 2017 01:40 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: We got potted lime tree shortly after moving here in '04, it has since morphed and repotted into three giant pots that go inside in the winter and outside in the summer. In all that time we never had a lime till boom: [fimg=400]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/35977984061_626e397874_k.jpg[/fimg] We're also getting a few cukes out of a potted plant this summer but they're all bulbous and curly. cool! I've always wanted to plant a lime tree.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 24 2017 03:29 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

It's still a pretty small lime and the only fruit on all of the 3 trees. I'm not sure when exactly to pick it but if I do intend to use at last some of it in a gin-and-tonic.

d'Kong76 Aug 04 2017 02:27 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

First dozen cherry tomatoes today, it's the most wonderful time of the year.

d'Kong76 Aug 18 2017 06:39 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Had to remove the okra and broccoli finally, got some nice okra. I had no idea how big the okra tree would get. If I grow it next year, it will have to be separately somewhere. I have some wasted space currently occupied by weeds and various clutter.

cooby Aug 19 2017 08:03 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Beautiful!

cooby Sep 08 2017 03:00 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Eight ball squash: Got one good one, was watching others get ready to pick when we noticed some weird ass gray beetles all over them. Didn't even compost, threw in woods Tomatoes: Heirloom (Hillbilly) Not one ripened without some kind of bug or deer teeth marks. I did fry one up green and it was good. Amish Sauce (like a Roma) Several ripened beautifully, also fried up green Grape (forget what variety) Yum! But suddenly this week none are ripening must be the 50 degree nights. Also, the rain has made a lot of them split open Watermelon: Got two, first one picked too early. Second one was sensational! Forget variety Lettuce: Planted six or eight seedings, way too many for us

d'Kong76 Sep 13 2017 12:13 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I think I got a poison ivy/sumac combo thing going on here: [fimg=550:2mqfv055]http://www.kcmets.com/CPF/091217a.jpg[/fimg:2mqfv055] My guess is I'm scarred for life...

themetfairy Sep 13 2017 12:33 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Eek!

d'Kong76 Sep 13 2017 12:40 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

It's even eekier in better lighting, but I didn't want to totally gross everyone out.

Frayed Knot Sep 13 2017 01:25 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

d'Kong76 wrote: I think I got a poison ivy/sumac combo thing going on here I got some too. Pretty much going away now about eight days after first appearing.

d'Kong76 Sep 13 2017 01:46 AM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Been using Ivarest spray, completely stops the itching and whatnot. I haven't had anything like this ever, glad it's just in one spot.

d'Kong76 Oct 13 2017 08:04 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

Something ripped up a portion of our treelawn some time today. It wasn't ripped up when I put the recycling out. I have no clue, it's like a four foot section of treelawn, no way it was a raccoon or skunk digging for grubs or something (which they're always doing). I'm hoping a neighbor saw some- thing but I haven't seen anyone yet.

cooby Oct 17 2017 07:09 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

What's a tree lawn? And has this been solved?

d'Kong76 Oct 17 2017 07:25 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

I thought no one would ever ask! A couple of months ago our friend Chad Ochoseis taught us on fb that the small strip of grass on city streets between the curb and the sidewalk are called treelawns. But only in Cleveland. (and now Peekskill) Mystery not solved. Looks like hell now that it's sat a bunch of days and the ripped up grass is all dead. Got some seed on Sunday, but it ain't gonna grow sitting in the garage haha.

cooby Oct 17 2017 07:50 PM Re: Reaping what you sow: The 2017 gardening thread

The grass seed might not grow in the garage but the mice population might lol And thanks for the new word in our language :)