Gardeners of AW, unite

Fingers crossed too, Mrsmig. I'm going now to check on my garden 30 miles to the south and not getting a drop of the rain we are getting here.

I am getting attached to my sisters garden. This one is shady--her sunniest bed is far shadier than any bed I have. I spent yesterday weeding her garden. I need hot tea and a garden to weed in the morning.--s6

I spent the first part of the day in the English-style garden. Last year I went in with thick branch shears and cut away a decade or two of unwanted growth and then weeded the little things. Four days ago I hooked the tractor up to the woody roots left in the open area and tore them all out. This morning I finally got to weed the little growth out again, and then plant the new flowers. Now I just need to find a moss or a thick groundcover that doesn't mind being stepped on, and a bench.

The rest of the day was for building a raised bed. Since it ended up being much bigger than I'd planned, I went back to the Amish and bought three more asparagus plants. The rest is peppers and tomatoes and peas, with some squash plants at the edge to trail over (pumpkin, pickling cukes and zucchinis).

Tomorrow is for the ornamental garden, which is, for the first time in 20-some years, finally remembering that it's a garden. Three or so years ago I tore out a terrible infestation of weeds and tiger lilies (I was sad to see the lilies go, they're delicious when fried in olive oil). I've been tending it every year since, and it's pretty exciting to see it be a garden again. I've got some more of these weird looking daisies and some snapdragons to edge it with, but then it's done and I can just watch it bloom.

I've also got a raised trough, usually used for baby grapes, that's housing all my seed-plants. The rainbow chard just popped up and the colors are already making me happy.

My raspberries are getting really overgrown, though they're the only thing. Problem is, I'm too allergic to their leaves to weed them and everyone else is currently busy building a wrap-around porch. I'm about a day away from just suiting up, crossing my fingers, and going in. I'll heal, but if I wait too much longer, they will not.

mrsmig said:

My fingers are itching to start pulling and tidying, but I know better than to touch it without her okay. She's 93 but she's FIERCE.

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I gave in and started weeding the other planted community beds. Some are still not started, and I'm eyeing those too. Your mother sounds awesome, but really, who would notice if a few weeds disappeared?

harmonyisarine said:

Three or so years ago I tore out a terrible infestation of weeds and tiger lilies (I was sad to see the lilies go, they're delicious when fried in olive oil).

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I had no idea tiger lilies were edible! We used to have tons of them at my parents' house. I'm so curious now.

The rhubarb in the little bed popped up about two weeks ago, and I wrote the asparagus off as a gamble lost. Two days ago, I found the tiniest little asparagus growing, one from each of the spots I'd planted. Four single asparagus, no taller than a crayon, no wider than a drinking straw. I was not dignified in my celebration.

The neighborhood kids did away with the last of my onions. Oh well, I have the double-secret onions I planted in the tires in the back of the garden. I picked about a cup of perfect strawberries from the public front garden, in the name of justice for my onions.

Garden winner at the moment, that little nothing of a spearmint plant. It's the size of a beach ball, and has been trimmed back twice. I harvested two cups from it, and I'm making mint-chocolate chip ice cream from it, just to use it up!

I've taken to bribing the neighborhood kids - went to the dollar store for kid-sized buckets, sidewalk chalk, etc. At least I can focus them on something non-destructive when they come over to see what I'm doing.

Can you all share some garden pics? I've just got a little 4x8 bed. I'd love to see your spaces!

Our garden is disheartening to see right now. We've been doing some much-needed pruning and re-potting in the weekend. We were in the middle of pulling all the potted plants outside for summer and then last night... freak hale storm.

Not too many things permanently damaged, so we were actually pretty lucky, especially compared to others: Pierced garden chair, a broken garden light. Basement flooded just enough to make everything wet but roofs and windows all intact.

But leaf-cover everywhere is shred to pieces. The rhubarb was pulped, literally. The pumpkins may yet survive. The entire pot is riddled with holes, some almost an inch deep from bombarding hale stones. The foxgloves leaves are torn, but the flowers still stand proudly. About the only ones left, mind, the rest was beaten into submission. Sad, sad garden. And more's still expected to come before tomorrow.

mrsmig said:

P.S. Harmonyisarine, your garden sounds awesome.

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We live in the middle of nowhere in PA, so we've got a lot of space and I figured a garden was a good use of some of it. I knew nothing about gardens a few years ago, and I'm still trying to figure out when to plant and what to plant and how to get color in the ornamental ones all year round. It's coming well, though. ^_^

CoffeeBeans said:

I had no idea tiger lilies were edible! We used to have tons of them at my parents' house. I'm so curious now.

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They are! You wait until the buds are a few inches long and just barely turning orange at the tips, and then you pluck 'em. First time, I had them fried in a bit of butter and olive oil with garlic and salt, but my favorite use is as a vegetable replacement in pork stir fries with sherry-based sauce instead of the heavier soy sauce ones. It makes me want to plant them in more places, but they take over if you turn your back for a minute, and I'm still mad at them for the trouble they gave me when I decided to reclaim the garden.

Ordinarily any hale we get in winter or spring is maybe one cm diameter, these were up to three or four! New record locally. But the resiliance of plants will never cease to amaze me. Many of the plants that looked smashed by sundays' hale were raising their heads again by monday afternoon. Seems like a bit more survived than I feared. Hopefully there will be no more hale today.

No hail, but some incredibly severe storms yesterday damaged a lot of my seedling plants and straight up killed two of my baby sunflowers. I have a few more sunflower seedlings starting in eggshell planters, but I was hoping to just have more sunflowers for later, not to have to replace the first planting.

Also, I went from ten green onion sproutlings to three. I'm not sure why, and this distresses me. I love green onions.

It has been raining and storming daily here. Very unusual for this time of year but it has been the salvation for my long distance garden. The chrysanthemums that I transplanted from another spot are huge and thriving. Today I planted a dozen pots of half price perennials --coral bells, Shasta daisies, sage and hollyhocks in the garden at my house. The garden is blooming and healthy despite the fact that I am only visiting and watering every three days. The baby's breath and larkspur are especially pretty--and a rose named Zepherine Drouhin --s6

shakeysix said:

It has been raining and storming daily here. Very unusual for this time of year but it has been the salvation for my long distance garden. The chrysanthemums that I transplanted from another spot are huge and thriving. Today I planted a dozen pots of half price perennials --coral bells, Shasta daisies, sage and hollyhocks in the garden at my house. The garden is blooming and healthy despite the fact that I am only visiting and watering every three days. The baby's breath and larkspur are especially pretty--and a rose named Zepherine Drouhin --s6

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YOu can fill up 2 liter bottles with water after you poke some little holes in them and water your garden when things get hotter Shakey.

I have milk jugs for that purpose but haven't had to use them yet. The whole house had to be re-wired--expensive and unexpected. I had a home inspection but the knob and tube had been cleverly concealed. Anyway, the wiring is finished, the insulation is going up and then sheet rock and the icky carpet pulled out. We should be home in less than a week. I won't have time to garden because I will be cleaning and painting, so i am trying to do as much gardening as I can now. My newly painted front porch is holding up. Fingers crossed--s6

harmonyisarine said:

Also, I went from ten green onion sproutlings to three. I'm not sure why, and this distresses me. I love green onions.

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I'm going to guess it was the Ferry St Girls on a roadtrip...

shakeysix said:

My newly painted front porch is holding up. Fingers crossed--s6

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Hearing what hard work the porch was, it had better!

mrsmig said:

I finally got around to resizing some garden photos for sharing.

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Lovely! So tidy, I'd love to see what it looks like now. The bench is adorable and should make a great spot to sit with such nice plants around. I passed on clearance bleeding hearts since I had nowhere to put them, but I love them so.

Picked over a pound of lettuce just to cut back on the clutter. I don't know how I always end up with so much extra lettuce. This is the third year. The mint plant continues to thrive, but since I pick the mint and then the strawberries, I end up with minty strawberries every night. Not unpleasant, but a little unusual. First cucumber is growing, and the tomatoes are getting there.

This afternoon is planting the public bed in the front and hoping that it'll have enough time to grow before it's messed with.

In total contrast to last year, in which trying to garden veggies was an uphill battle all the way, this spring has been dangnear perfect for our benighted northerly clime. Very warm and dry through April and May, allowing the beds to be worked early and many things got in the soil early, followed now in June with cool, misty weather, just the right amount of water to keep things happy, and most of that at night. I am fortunate enough to have room for seven good-sized raised veggie beds, and unfortunate enough to have to deal with them all myself. BUT, I have the best veggie garden I've ever had in the 24 years i've lived up in Alaska, and am on the cusp of beginning to harvest the first salady things, lettuce and endive in particular. So, here's a census of what I have going:

Potatoes (4 varieties)
Lettuce (5 or 6 varieties)
Arugula (3 varieties)
Red cabbage
Swiss chard
Beets (golden and an heirloom white variety)
Cress
Mizuna
Mustard (2 varieties, spicy and mild)
Mustard spinach
Regular spinach
Orach (an interesting dark red spinach related plant which grows more slowly and doesn't bolt as readily in hot weather)
Kale (2 varieties)
Snap peas
Snow peas
Endive (2 varieties)
Carrots (a mix)
Celery
Rutabagas
Turnips
Mache
Kohlrabis
Shiso (2 varieties, red and green; a Japanese herb used in sushi but good in salads as well)
Cilantro
Chervil
Dill
Hot peppers (cayenne and tabasco; this is a stab in the night, as these are difficult to grow up here)
Summer squash (4 varieties)
Standard broccoli
Romanescu broccoli
Bok choy
Tat soy
Radishes (of course, 3 varieties)

plus one of the beds is a dedicated strawberry bed, with chives growing in one corner.

As can be seen, lots of leafy stuff. It does well up here in the cool summer climate, and we eat lots of salads over the summer.

As a suggestion for gardeners everywhere: Plant some mustards. Fresh mustard leaves are magnificent raw or cooked, go great in salads and are magnificent as a substitute for lettuce on grilled hamburgers. You hardly ever find them at the grocery store, because they wilt too easily. But fresh from the garden they are plain magnificent. Varieties range from mild to quite spicy, but they are ridiculously easy to grow, and will in fact reseed vigorously. I always have volunteer mustards arising in various parts of my garden, and I let most of them grow wherever they want to.

caw

mrsmig said:

Wow, blacbird! That's impressive!

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I second that.

I've strawberries mixed with onions as well - it's just what grew in one particular spot. The strawberries have practically taken over one flower bed, though a few got blight because of all the rain we've been having. Picked the first ripe ones yesterday.
Planted tomatoes in a new spot and so far two of them are growing well.

Lemon balm has spread so far around the sides of my property that it might be worth looking into becoming a commercial distributor for it. Same with mint and something that's either oregano or marjoram. Looked online to identify the latter and after scouring countless gardening sites and images, I still have no idea.

Basil only grows for me if I keep indoors, but dill and savory both come back every year.

CoffeeBeans said:

I'm going to guess it was the Ferry St Girls on a roadtrip...

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Hurry and put some candy out or something! I'm finally getting the new ones to sprout.


And blacbird, I am super jealous of that garden. Mine are all still busy getting established this year.

mrsmig said:

Wow, blacbird! That's impressive!

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Thanks. This may impress you even more: This morning early I went out just to check on things in the veggie garden, and found the gate open. That caused a minor moment of panic, the possibility being that a moose had got in, but no plants in the ground were molested. What had been, however, was my compost bin, which was overturned and had been gone through, along with the demolition of a plastic container alongside it.

Had to be a bear, after the rotting veggies in the compost. I also had out several flats of plant starts ready to transplant. On of these got stomped on, but I only lost a couple of things.

And you people in the deep southern climes worry about things like caterpillars and aphids and mealy bugs.

caw

blacbird said:

Thanks. This may impress you even more: This morning early I went out just to check on things in the veggie garden, and found the gate open. That caused a minor moment of panic, the possibility being that a moose had got in, but no plants in the ground were molested. What had been, however, was my compost bin, which was overturned and had been gone through, along with the demolition of a plastic container alongside it.

Had to be a bear, after the rotting veggies in the compost. I also had out several flats of plant starts ready to transplant. On of these got stomped on, but I only lost a couple of things.

And you people in the deep southern climes worry about things like caterpillars and aphids and mealy bugs.

caw

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Oh, dear. And I've heard making something bear-proof is nearly impossible.

I get deer where I am, and the odd coyote, though I haven't seen the former in my immediate neighbourhood. And some very fat raccoons. Bins only go out the morning of collection, not the night before.

A bigger problem in my area is that at least once a year there's some craaazy storm with microbursts powerful enough to take multiple trees down - no beanpoles in the middle of my yard. I don't dare plant anything away from a fence or other sheltered area taller than a few inches. I'm near a fairly deep gorge so the wind shear can be absolutely incredible sometimes.

harmonyisarine said:

Hurry and put some candy out or something! I'm finally getting the new ones to sprout.

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I had them as a water brigade for the plants yesterday. Lots of kiddie beach pails inverted over poor unsuspecting sprouts... still less damage than giving them trowels. Hope the sprouts pull through!

blacbird said:

Had to be a bear, after the rotting veggies in the compost. I also had out several flats of plant starts ready to transplant. On of these got stomped on, but I only lost a couple of things.

And you people in the deep southern climes worry about things like caterpillars and aphids and mealy bugs.

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I'm not southern by any stretch, in New England, but a friend got a bunch of pics of a bear who came to stroll through her veggie patch and sleep in the flower bed. Thankfully, my garden is urban, and an enormous Maine coon is the largest of the wildlife (thing is the size of my 30lb dog!)

Wilde_at_heart said:

A bigger problem in my area is that at least once a year there's some craaazy storm with microbursts powerful enough to take multiple trees down - no beanpoles in the middle of my yard. I don't dare plant anything away from a fence or other sheltered area taller than a few inches. I'm near a fairly deep gorge so the wind shear can be absolutely incredible sometimes.

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Eek. That sound so destructive! Guess we all have our hurdles.

Have some pics of my bed and the garden from a nice sunny day. Still have to resize. In the meantime: First cucumber of the year!

I was beginning to think that my tomatoes were going to be ready before the peas. But I stopped in the garden earlier in the week and saw some pea pods on the plants so I should be getting some peas soon. I was talking to one of the farmers at the local farmer's market and they were saying pretty much the same thing - the peas were generally not ready yet. I think that's due to the cold winter and late spring we've had in my area.

The pickling cukes are starting to come along but the Chinese cukes are still small with no cukes yet. Although the pickling cukes did seem to be further along when I got them but at least i haven't killed the Chinese cuke plants this year.

We had a really nice strawberry 'party' earlier in the month. (I'm part of a community garden where we have our own plots.) One of the plots has been half overtaken by strawberry plants so we had 'party' when they were ripe. That was fun.

My cucumbers, which are usually the first thing to take off, are really tiny still. Not even sure if I'm going to get a single fruit from them. The eggplants and peppers I grew from seeds, also usually one of the things that does well, are barely the same size they were when I put them out. Not sure what's going on. The bigger plants I picked up at the garden center to replace some that didn't make it are doing great, but just the small ones aren't doing well.

Any idea what I might be doing wrong? I'm wondering if it's a soil thing. My tomatoes are going crazy, and my squash and zucchini look to be doing well, but I'm disappointed about the eggplants and peppers. Those are two of my favorites.

kaitie said:

My cucumbers, which are usually the first thing to take off, are really tiny still. Not even sure if I'm going to get a single fruit from them. The eggplants and peppers I grew from seeds, also usually one of the things that does well, are barely the same size they were when I put them out. Not sure what's going on. The bigger plants I picked up at the garden center to replace some that didn't make it are doing great, but just the small ones aren't doing well.

Any idea what I might be doing wrong? I'm wondering if it's a soil thing. My tomatoes are going crazy, and my squash and zucchini look to be doing well, but I'm disappointed about the eggplants and peppers. Those are two of my favorites.

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All these veggies are heavy feeders and require lots of water. Maybe some good fertilizer, like chicken manure?

caw

We've actually had much more water than normal this year (and I water them on the days we don't), and we did some fertilizer and mixed compost into the soil.

Is there an easy way to test what the soil might be needing? It's just odd because the ones that came from the nursery are doing great. It's just the ones I grew from seeds that are barely hanging on.