Gardeners of AW, unite

Fenika

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will you trim the root ball before you plunk them into the ground?

I'll have to do something. I'm guessing I can only take ten percent off, including tugging at the side wall.


Sympathies for those with snow and not in the southern hemisphere.
 

Fenika

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What brand (and where do you buy) do you gals and guys like for organic Bt and organic mosquito control?

I have to set up my rain barrel soon. Celeriac is planted. Will be doing more peas later and starting basil indoor in my free four inch pots (yay reusing yogurt containers).
 

Kricket

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I think my bell peppers are lost. It's been over two weeks and nothing has come up. I think I'll try planting a few more later this week now that it will be consistently warmer.
 

Fenika

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Read up on seedling starting so you dont make common mistKes. You can also start inside and transplant early or later.
 

Shadowflame

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paper egg cartons are great for starting seeds. Just open it up, put in seeds, cover lightly with soil (do not pack), water lightly, then set in a warm spot. Most seedlings don't need sunlight to sprout just heat.

Transplanting is easy too. Just grasp the carton, careful not to upset the plants then tear off. Because the paper holds moisture it is really easy and composts well too.
 

weavergirl

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toilet paper rolls also work well for starting seedlings. I cut them in half, add soil then plant the whole mess when the seedlings are big enough.

Just had our first 100 degree day. I'm a bit envious of those of you that are still having cool weather. Only 120 more days until we cool down again. sigh.
 

Shadowflame

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Well it is 81 currently here today.
By thursday it will be back in the 50s with possible snow (IN FREAKING MAY!) :faint:
 

shakeysix

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I had my big flower bed tilled last week but then we had a week of snow and rain. I went out Sunday to start raking it down--the whole bed was crisscrossed with tiny, muddy, messy sneaker prints (Eduino and Christopher--my neighbor boys) and cat prints (Liv and Sundown). The boys were checking out the strawberry jars--none yet-- and the lilies that we planted together last year. They only squished one. Not sure what the cats were up to, no feathers or tiny beaks so that was good. I have a lot of money invested in perennials so I toyed with the idea of a fence instead of the flagstone border. I even shopped for a tall fence. Then I remembered helping my Aunt Gusty in her garden when I was about Christopher's age. She was my great grandmother's sister and lived next door to her. I helped quite a bit in those days but looking back I realize that I probably wasn't all that much help. So no fence for me--gardens should be about cats and kids--s6
 

milkweed

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I think my bell peppers are lost. It's been over two weeks and nothing has come up. I think I'll try planting a few more later this week now that it will be consistently warmer.


Mine took on average 15-18 days to sprout, I'm not sure why either.

Planted six small cuttings of shasta daisy that I procurred through freecycle, and that nearly wiped me out physically. I still need to plant my native prairie plant seeds, but hubs needs to till the garden before I do that, and my dye plants.

Am hoping to get back outside in an hour and turn the composted horse manure and topsoil in the raised beds and plant some garlic and onions before it starts raining. If all goes well he will be able to till both gardens, when he gets home from work, before it starts raining.
 

Fenika

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What are strawberry jars?

And I have to pimp my favorite book again: The vegetable gardener's bible. It has temp requirements and approx times for seeds to sprout. I am surprised I haven't pulled it out as much this spring, but I'm not doing anything really new either. It is also useful for looking up fertilizer balance requirements of each plant and to see if that tomato and vegetable fertilizer is really good for your tomatoes (Hint: Many aren't and will prevent fruit production!)

:)

(So not doing tomatoes this year. Wasn't really interested in having them last year and one fruited and the other got some nitrogen spillover and refused to)
 

shakeysix

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Clay jars with pockets in the sides. You plant a strawberry on top and then nest the babies in the pockets. I have six big jars and they produce a lot but not enough so that I have to think about canning or preserving. I mix ever bearing and June bearing and use PVC pipe to funnel sand into the center of the jar and then pack in potting soil. My strawberries still escape but they are not as much work in jars--s6
 

blacbird

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I planted a flat of snow peas and snap peas last Wednesday, and them suckers poked their leetle green snouts out of the potting soil by this morning. Got to put them out in the sunshine for a few hours, and they were just chlorophylling to their precious little hearts' content.

Almost makes me feel bad about eating their children later this summer.

But not quite.

caw
 

Sonata

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I couldn't resist joining this thread. Every spring I get a bad case of OCD over the garden. We established it about 5 years ago and this is going to be the year in the perennial beds, I just know it!

My sweetgrass spread about three feet - so so SO exciting! Plus my Angelica, Sweet Cicily, and Hops made a come-back this year (I was worried about them). The bloodroot is blooming like crazy, plus daffy-dils, hyacinths, and pasque flower. The trillium is almost ready. We added about a dozen more natives last week, so I can't wait to see who blooms this year (the natives like to take their time sometimes.)

We transplanted some huge old asparagus roots, horseradish, onions, and strawberries last weekend. Also planted some more apples, pears, pecans, mulberries, and paw paws. Only have about a decade to wait for our pecans - they'll be worth it.

Even better, we have a new bee hive coming in this weekend, and judging from the buds on the fruit trees, they'll be just in time. I'm so excited about summer!
 

blacbird

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I planted a flat of snow peas and snap peas last Wednesday, and them suckers poked their leetle green snouts out of the potting soil by this morning. Got to put them out in the sunshine for a few hours, and they were just chlorophylling to their precious little hearts' content

Put them out again today. In response, about noon, it began to snow.

caw
 

Fenika

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Sonata- tell us more about your bees :)

My hoop houses are working great. Can't wait to build a big one for the peppers.
 

Kricket

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So I got a bunch of seeds for free last night at a church gardening thingy and I'm wondering what would work well in pots. I've got: cucumber, spinach, lettuce, radish, carrot, zucchini, tomato and California Wonder pepper (not really sure what kind of peppers these are).

As soon as it stops SNOWING, I'm going to work on my bell peppers again.

*shakes fist at weather*
 

Fenika

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Get that book I mentioned, Kricket ;) Root veggies, and squash, hate containers. (Some root veggies can take it, but since you dont know what variety you have, dont waste much time and pot space). The rest will be happy in pots, just make sure the nightshades have enough room when they get big.

If you really want cucs in a pot I think you can try them in 16" pots (most squash will accept this arrangement to a degree)
 

blacbird

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I think my bell peppers are lost. It's been over two weeks and nothing has come up. I think I'll try planting a few more later this week now that it will be consistently warmer.


Don't give up on your initial plantings. Peppers are slow to sprout and agonizingly slow to grow, at first. But they tend to be tough little buggers, and will get going, given time.

caw
 

zanzjan

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Having moved to a house with a large yard and abundant sunshine (two things that, as much as I loved my last place, I was distinctly lacking) I am looking at my gardening possibilities. Anyone have a particular brand/model of fairly compact rototiller-type thingie that could be managed by one person? I'm thinking electric if they come that way. I want to make a few rows, plant some corn and snow peas.

House came with large strawberry and raspberry patches. :)
 

Fenika

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Save yourself the money and time and frustration- http://eartheasy.com/blog/2009/01/no-till-gardening/

:) You can do raised beds with boxes or just mounding rows. Also, plan how to have succession plantings.

Snow peas love cool- so get them now (a small area will provide lots of food).

For the corn have you considered Three Sisters? (combine with squash and climbing beans)
 

blacbird

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We are, by official estimates now, a good three weeks behind where we were last year, in terms of weather and garden-starting. Which means, almost certainly, a pretty crappy summer of it.

But, on the amusement side, I have a bunch of snap peas and snow peas started, and doing quite well (peas love cool most weather). Among them is a single stalk that appears to be an albino. It's about an inch tall now, and is cream-colored, no evidence of green at all. This, of course, means it has no chlorophyll, and is growing solely on the basis of contained nutrients in the seed. I'll probably eat it as a sprout, but i'm going to see just how big it gets.

caw
 

blacbird

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I finally got a really good day to begin organizing the veg garden. We are at least three weeks behind any previous year I've lived here, so this summer is going to be a struggle, at best. In ordinary years I already have stuff in the raised beds. This April was like January, snowy and cold. The beds still have ice under the top soil layer, so nothing can be planted in them. I've started a lot of stuff in pots and cell packs, we'll see.

But I'm going to grow a hell of a lot of snow peas and snap peas, which do well in our northern clime, and which never go to waste.

Of amusing interest here is, among my snap pea starts, one turned out to be an albino. Came up all white, no chlorophyll, and therefore destined for a short life.

So tonight, I ate it in a soup (snap pea sprouts are excellent).

caw
 

milkweed

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I finally got a really good day to begin organizing the veg garden. We are at least three weeks behind any previous year I've lived here, so this summer is going to be a struggle, at best. In ordinary years I already have stuff in the raised beds. This April was like January, snowy and cold. The beds still have ice under the top soil layer, so nothing can be planted in them. I've started a lot of stuff in pots and cell packs, we'll see.

But I'm going to grow a hell of a lot of snow peas and snap peas, which do well in our northern clime, and which never go to waste.

Of amusing interest here is, among my snap pea starts, one turned out to be an albino. Came up all white, no chlorophyll, and therefore destined for a short life.

So tonight, I ate it in a soup (snap pea sprouts are excellent).

caw

I live in Iowa and our weather seems to be the same as yours, we're expecting a freeze tonight and by this time next week the high 80's to low 90's. I have no idea if the cherry and pear blossoms will survive or not.

I'm not sure how the lettuce will do in this type of weather.
 

blacbird

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I live in Iowa and our weather seems to be the same as yours, we're expecting a freeze tonight and by this time next week the high 80's to low 90's.

We don't never git no "high 80's to low 90's." I think the all-time record temperature here is 84º F. 70º is a hot day here.

But I grew up in Iowa, so I feel your pain.

caw
 

Fenika

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We have a freeze this week too.

For lettuce, if it's a light freeze it just needs a simple cover of plastic with a few vents or some sheets. For a harder freeze, do both. Lettuce is hardy but protecting it never hurts.