The Garden Thread

[ubkev]

Here ya go, folks.

[josie]

Cooooooool

 

Here's my behemoth succulent pile- just put them outside today, so they look a little sad from being indoors all winter. 

 

 

 

And this was halfway through summer last year. Everything grew a little more after this pic before the cold came in. I use old hockey sticks for vines. 

 

[darksabre]

My little home depot cactus has come a long way

[josie]

My little home depot cactus has come a long way

Yeah, and when you consider the succulent... mass... on the right/back came from that black pot in the front with those succulents in it... 

 

I really need to split up/clean up the tangle of the big one. 

[Derrico]

First year we're going to start growing a vegetable garden.  Any advice/tips would be appreciated.

[sabills]

Second set of hops got planted last fall, planning on making a hop arch over the back yard, gotta do some prep for that this week.

 

Also stealing some cuttings from my dad's red currant bushes in their back yard and try to grow some of that next to the hops as well. 

 

Meanwhile, I tilled under my entire back yard last weekend and planted grass, so hopefully that starts to sprout soon.

[ubkev]

First year we're going to start growing a vegetable garden. Any advice/tips would be appreciated.

I second this!

[Eleven]

First year we're going to start growing a vegetable garden.  Any advice/tips would be appreciated.

 

You can make your own fertilizer out of a sixpack and a trip to Mighty Taco.

[MattPie]

Oh great. :)

 

I spend around 22-24 hours over the weekend prepping the yard to undo the changes we made a couple years ago. We put on a deck and got a free swingset in the last couple months so lots of places that were beds now need to be grass and lots of places that are grass need to be beds. I think I'll be done in another weekend or two. :(

You can make your own fertilizer out of a sixpack and a trip to Mighty Taco.

 

Genny Cream recommended.

[josie]

You can make your own fertilizer out of a sixpack and a trip to Mighty Taco.

:sick:

 

Honestly, the best fertilizer is knowing people with horses and taking some from the bottom of a muck pile that's been sitting for a year or so. We have people come to the rescue frequently and fill up buckets of broken down stuff dug out from the centre of the pile. Doesn't really smell, does wonders for people's gardens.  

[Derrico]

You can make your own fertilizer out of a sixpack and a trip to Mighty Taco.

:lol:

[spndnchz]

Yeah, and when you consider the succulent... mass... on the right/back came from that black pot in the front with those succulents in it... 

 

I really need to split up/clean up the tangle of the big one. 

 

And here I thought d4ark was the only succulent mass at the house. :rolleyes:

[Doohickie]

My wife is actually the sponsor for the garden club where she teaches.  Their goal is to eventually provide vegetables to the larger community.

 

Me?  I find stuff that you just can't kill in Texas and I do okay.  That includes Salvia (Sage), Lantana, Roses, Amaryllis, Daffodils and Lilies.  I've let my lawn go feral; the grass that grows there is the grass that doesn't need to be watered (because I don't water the lawn).

[josie]

And here I thought d4ark was the only succulent mass at the house. :rolleyes:

:w00t:

 

 

hands off, Chz. That succulent mass of greenhouse gasses is mine. 

[sabills]

:w00t:

 

 

hands off, Chz. That succulent mass of greenhouse gasses is mine. 

 

The Josie/D4rk household on the weekends:

 

[Taro T]

And here I thought d4ark was the only s trucculent mass at the house. :rolleyes:

 

Fixed that for you. :p

[Weave]

1 large flower bed across the front of the house, mostly perennials that we manage to keep alive.  Magnolias that somehow survive up here in the cold, Trumpet vines, several perennials whose names I don't recall.  We tend to pick plants that we don't see in other people's gardens.  No sense having a garden like everyone else.

 

2 more flower beds in the back yard with mostly perennials. Iris', hostas, Switchgrass, Daisies of several varieties, and ground cover.

 

A 12'x6' herb garden.  Greek oregano, peppermint (take my advice, do NOT plant mint.  Highly invasive), sage, rosemary, Italian basil and Thai basil, chives, cilantro, dill. 

 

35'x4' raised bed for growing vegetables that is currently in need of repair thanks to a fence coming down on it during a wind storm.  Not sure it will be available in time to plant this year.

 

And at least 15 pots that are filled with flowers and veggies.  Annual flowers, peppers, bush beans, cherry tomatoes, Decorative pepper plants.

 

I don't weed the gardens.  The wife does that.  I do all of the rest of the upkeep of them though.  Pruning, trimming, feeding, watering, harvesting.  All mine.  It's mindless work that washes the stink of the work week away.  And you can do it with a whiskey in hand.

 

Beginners...... More than half of the secret to success is in applying the right amount of water.  Too much and they don't do well, not enough and they don't do well.  Hard to generalize because each plant species has its preferences, and your garden drains differently than mine, but if you can keep the soil feeling cool, but not damp, most will do OK, and the others will tell you they need more.  As for soil, in my pots I use 33% potting soil, 33% sphagnum moss, and 33% manure.  You could do alot worse using the same ratio in ground gardens.  My potted plants also get fed Miracle grow about once every other week.  Fast growing veggies especially need this.  Tomatoes in particular need to be fed and watered ALOT, especially if they are in pots.  Every season I add manure to the garden beds to get nutrients back into the soil.  The internet is your friend.  Tons of help online.  They are only plants fer cryin out loud.  They managed to evolve over centuries without our care.  Give them just a little attention and they usually do OK.  Garden pests.  This is where I seek out internet experts.  So many bugs that are happy to kill your plants.  Let google find the answers.

The Josie/D4rk household on the weekends:

 

 

I have a fear my hubbards are turning into this right before my eyes.

[josie]

We've mentioned pests.

 

So every year I start out with lots of honeybees/bumblebees, which I am fine with and actually aim to get. And then about 2 months in, the wasps and yellow jackets take over, and thus begins my battle with them. God, they'll just swarm you. And that's also the end of the honeybees :( 

 

Last year I got aphids for the first time. They LOOOOVED my moonflower vine, and nothing I did helped. Tried soapy water, tried a powder aphid killer, no dice. Every leaf and tendril was just covered, head to abdomen, with the creepy little buggers. Should've gotten some ladybugs to go ape on them I guess. It was really frustrating, and nasty. If you brushed up against that plant while working on the others, you'd just be covered in little bugs. 

 

The plus of balcony container gardens is no deer/rabbits/etc. coming by to eat it all though...

[Weave]

We have had aphid problems in the past.  Last year was bad for them on our peppers.  Don't remember what I used, it was a liquid in a pump bottle that Home Depot sold.  Worked well.  Took the peppers awhile to recover though.

 

We get honeybees in our butterfly bush.  We used to have small flowering bushes that would get covered with honeybees.  Hundreds of them.  It was the coolest thing.  Last real cold winter killed them off though and we haven't been able to find those bushes anywhere to replace them.

[Taro T]

1 large flower bed across the front of the house, mostly perennials that we manage to keep alive. Magnolias that somehow survive up here in the cold, Trumpet vines, several perennials whose names I don't recall. We tend to pick plants that we don't see in other people's gardens. No sense having a garden like everyone else.

 

2 more flower beds in the back yard with mostly perennials. Iris', hostas, Switchgrass, Daisies of several varieties, and ground cover.

 

A 12'x6' herb garden. Greek oregano, peppermint (take my advice, do NOT plant mint. Highly invasive), sage, rosemary, Italian basil and Thai basil, chives, cilantro, dill.

 

35'x4' raised bed for growing vegetables that is currently in need of repair thanks to a fence coming down on it during a wind storm. Not sure it will be available in time to plant this year.

 

And at least 15 pots that are filled with flowers and veggies. Annual flowers, peppers, bush beans, cherry tomatoes, Decorative pepper plants.

 

I don't weed the gardens. The wife does that. I do all of the rest of the upkeep of them though. Pruning, trimming, feeding, watering, harvesting. All mine. It's mindless work that washes the stink of the work week away. And you can do it with a whiskey in hand.

 

Beginners...... More than half of the secret to success is in applying the right amount of water. Too much and they don't do well, not enough and they don't do well. Hard to generalize because each plant species has its preferences, and your garden drains differently than mine, but if you can keep the soil feeling cool, but not damp, most will do OK, and the others will tell you they need more. As for soil, in my pots I use 33% potting soil, 33% sphagnum moss, and 33% manure. You could do alot worse using the same ratio in ground gardens. My potted plants also get fed Miracle grow about once every other week. Fast growing veggies especially need this. Tomatoes in particular need to be fed and watered ALOT, especially if they are in pots. Every season I add manure to the garden beds to get nutrients back into the soil. The internet is your friend. Tons of help online. They are only plants fer cryin out loud. They managed to evolve over centuries without our care. Give them just a little attention and they usually do OK. Garden pests. This is where I seek out internet experts. So many bugs that are happy to kill your plants. Let google find the answers.

 

 

I have a fear my hubbards are turning into this right before my eyes.

One thing I might add is some people (& I've had reasonable luck w/ this) suggest with ground planted plants that "stressing" the plants a bit gets the roots to run deeper & they'll grow better. By stressing, basically you let the plants get a little (a VERY subjective term) dry & then give them a good soaking watering. So, rather than watering them some each day go more like 3 days between watering keeping the soil generally in the condition We've described.

[ubkev]

One thing I might add is some people (& I've had reasonable luck w/ this) suggest with ground planted plants that "stressing" the plants a bit gets the roots to run deeper & they'll grow better. By stressing, basically you let the plants get a little (a VERY subjective term) dry & then give them a good soaking watering. So, rather than watering them some each day go more like 3 days between watering keeping the soil generally in the condition We've described.

That's how you grow good grass too. After your grass is already grown in, that is. If you planted new grass seed you need to over water it if you ever plan on seeing it. Oh, and watering at night encourages mold growth on your lawn.

[spndnchz]

Cleaning my beds and a toad scared the crap outta me. Then had to hold back the dogs from killing it. Hello spring!

[MattPie]

We have had aphid problems in the past.  Last year was bad for them on our peppers.  Don't remember what I used, it was a liquid in a pump bottle that Home Depot sold.  Worked well.  Took the peppers awhile to recover though.

 

We get honeybees in our butterfly bush.  We used to have small flowering bushes that would get covered with honeybees.  Hundreds of them.  It was the coolest thing.  Last real cold winter killed them off though and we haven't been able to find those bushes anywhere to replace them.

 

They kinda fell out of favor I think (I had one too); I heard awhile back that they're actually bad for butterflies as they don't get enough food from the bush but they're still attracted to it.