How does your garden grow?
Asked by
Strauss (
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March 5th, 2014
Spring is approaching, at least that’s what the calendar says. Time to pull all the show shovels out of the shed so you can get to the hoes, rakes and other implements of agriculture. Let’s talk garden talk. Veggies, herbs, flowers, or a combination?
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My garden grew great with my secret fertilizer recipe.
Mix 30 gallons of goose poop pool water with about a ½ cup of miracle grow. Stir well and use giant watering can to feed the babies.
My plants always got so huge that by July it was no more fertilizer for you guys. lol
I have my 20 year old, hybrid morning glory seeds on standby. Last years crop were awesome. I have been collecting them for decades. Want some?
I sent some to @gailcalled the year before last.
Depending on the water scene here in NorCal, we shall see what and how much I might be able to plant without feeling guilty for using too much water.
Just started raining again right now at 9:19 p.m. :-)
@gailcalled Those are great, and I like Milos photo all comfy & nestled in the bedding.
I have plans for poppies, sunflowers (big and small), two varieties of peppers, three varieties of tomatoes, carrots some red, some purple, some orange, watermelon, musk melon, pumpkin, broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, milkweed for the starving monarchs of north America, and possibly some seed corn to help the deer, turkeys, and squirrels through next winter. There is no way I have room for that stuff, but I’m going to cheat and use all the open sunny places I can find in the woods out back. I want to plant the short sunflowers well away from the house and hope the deer can be made happy enough to nstay off everything else. The guy next door is Latino. He owns the next house over too, for “Friends”. He is enthused to let me plant on the fence between his yard and mine, especially when I promised to share peppers and tomatoes with him.
It is way to much for me to take on alone, or even with my daughter. I was hoping to get some help from my neighbor, but that is highly unlikely. I just saw on the news this week about a program to help homeless teens get neccessary items, help with schooling, shelter, etc. I think I will contact them and see if I can get involved. I am very good as a tutor, especially with literacy. I know, it’s hard to tell with my typing, but those mistakes are due to slidey bifocals and stiff, arthritic fingers, not stupididity. (That was on purpose.)
I can’t offer these kids much, but I’d like to give some girls a chance to spend some time off the streets, safe and warm. My daughter has an impressive library, and my movie collection is huge. I hope I can get some able bodied help in return for my help with studies, they could share from the garden if it grows, and such.
Too much to hope for?
Hey I saw some green this morning. My s/o planted some herbs last week and the basil and sage are coming up. It actually lifted my spirits, just before I walked out into the -8 F degree temps.
I gave up and deconstructed my raised bed vegetable garden. I tried for several years with tomatoes, peppers, and herbs and didn’t have much luck. I just don’t have enough sun.
But my bulbs are all coming up now (hyacinth, daffodil, tulips, etc), the peonies will be up soon, and the trees are budded, holding their breath, waiting for that magical day when suddenly they are covered in bright green new leaves.
I was just thinking about my garden actually. I’d love to get it started but the way the weather has been I have no clue anymore.
@syz: Some people dream about their crushes, others about hot fudge sundaes; I find myself dreaming about peonies. 8 degrees now. Outside I see robins and 11 deer fighting over the last of the wizened, frozen crabapples lying on a foot of snow. Festivus Maximus, where art thou?
@uberbatman I understand your concern. Weather in Colorado this time of year has always been “iffy”. If you want to start seeds now, in the house, you can do it in a seed flat, like this or one of these, and then plant the sprouts or seedlings when the weather becomes more stable. I’ve used this method with extreme success for several years now, and besides giving the plants a head start, it also gives you more flexibility as to when you actually put them in the ground. I used the websites for examples, and while you can certainly order them that way, you can also find these types of trays at your local garden or hardware store.
Ours is a fun, playtime garden with neatly manicured lawn, football goal & putting green.
Leave the flowers & veg to the old folks.
@Cruiser; I saw healthy looking corn in your first link. Where do you live? Probably further south than me (just below Albany, NY in a snow belt).
I just noticed several deer leaning on the wire mesh fence around some of my roses. They were able to bend it enough to get the rose branches to stick out and thus be eaten. I guess it is cheaper than pruning.
@gailcalled I am just outside Chicago. Zone 5. I have deer as well but they leave my cutting flowers and roses alone and so far seem to favor lilies and tulips. I make a nasty smelling spray that is an awesome deer repellant. Take 2 eggs, 3 tablespoons of garlic juice/oil 2 tablespoons of your hottest hot sauce blend into one gallon of water and let sit for 3 days and then spray your garden. It stinks to high heaven when you apply it but the smell dissipates once it dries. I spray every 2–3 weeks and after each soaking rain storm. Haven’t lost a tulip or flower all season since I spray this on my garden.
@Cruiser I’v used a similar spray (minus the eggs) to ward off smaller visitors, such as insects and voles.
@Yetanotheruser I believe the eggs work as a binder and help create a coating that is then thicker and will last longer…plus the stink from the rotten eggs I feel plays a big role in the effectiveness. Last spring when I saw the carnage the deer were wreaking on my tulips….I found that recipe online and did not lose one flower since. The deer used to help themselves to seeds in my bird feeder too and no longer do when I spray. Best part is the spray does not bother the birds or discourage bees from tending to my flowers.
@Cruiser I think I’ll try that to control the neighborhood squirrels. We don’t have much of a deer problem in the neighborhood. My yard is separated by another yard and a busy street from the nearest open space, although I have seen an occasional deer on the neighborhood streets.
We probably still have one more storm coming so we’re holding off for another month.
The first reported local sighting of the red-winged blackbird and the hearing of its call arrived on Monday. Yesterday the bluebirds showed up and a sparrow of some sort flew by with a twig in its bill.
@Cruiser: I have heard about the rotten eggs, garlic, hot sauce deer repellent. Does it clog your sprayer?
@gailcalled My first batch I made the mistake of using crushed minced garlic and thought blending it in the blender would do the trick and quickly found out that the sprayer filter would clog in a hurry. Straining the mix helped but the fiber of the garlic still clogged the sprayer. I just bought minced garlic in a jar and drained off the oil I needed and that worked without issue.
@Yetanotheruser I usually start mine in those seed flats actually for the flexibility of moving them around and being able to make them stronger before they go in the ground. I’ve recently moved into a new house though and I think the only place I could really set up some flats would be in my “sun room” which despite the name is just as cold as outside so I really don’t know how much good it will do.
@uberbatman You might want to put clear domes over your flats and put them under lights. The specifically designed “grow” lights are the best, of course, but you can use any household light, and it will seems to help with the temperature control.
@Yetanotheruser Yea, that was the plan, I think I may start planting today actually.
I have a gopro camera, I was thinkin about timelapsing some of the plants growing, just need to figure out the best way to wire this so it’s still water proof but can be plugged in.
Planting? I just got plowed and am about to shovel the stuff his plow threw up against the garage door.
My sister and her husband spotted moose tracks in the snow near their house (near my house) several weeks ago. Now we’re just waiting for the big guy to show up, on his skis.
@gailcalled Yea, they’re calling for snow here next week too >_<
I am not called “gay.”
The “plowing” joke is too old, too tired and much too predictible. Next time, suprise me.
only if you promise not to call the cops.
@ragingloli Nah..Gay and I will just bury you in the garden, no need to involve the cops.
I know an old well. No-one has used it in sixty years or more…. at least, not for drawing water.
^^ Tempting but bad for the water table. “Dust to dust” works better in the soil.
I love Springtime! It’s almost here in Southeastern Ohio. My tulips and daffodils are about 3” out of the ground! I do organic gardening and I reuse my heirloom seeds from the previous year. The fertilizer that I use is organic compost. I live on a 90-acre farm so it’s naturally a good idea to reuse my organic waste. All food scraps: peelings, egg shells, coffee grounds go into my compost bin. I turn it with a rake every so often, and by planting time I have a superb fertilizer. I do have friends and family who live in urban areas that have a compost container and they also reuse organic food wastes on container gardening! A really great website for organic gardening is http://www.beorganic.com. If you love gardening and want to do so organically, I recommend this site!
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