Gardening: (2016– )

[Shelby]

2 hours ago, MokaPot said:

@Shelby, love your peonies. They can be really expensive to buy at a florist shop. Is the smell peppery like how I remember?

 

Thank you so much!  I love flowers, I just have no patience to plant them every year, unlike a food garden that I really enjoy.  But, these peonies are my pride and joy and I've worked very hard on them.  My mom worked at a peony farm when I was little and it sparked my love for them.

 

I wouldn't say peppery, although the red colored ones, now that you say that, do have an undertone of that.  Peonies smell very sweet, but not sickeningly so.  I frankly don't really like the smell of roses....and peonies are nothing like them (not that I would ever turn down roses  ).

 

I wish they would bloom all summer long, but then, I know that maybe they wouldn't be as special to me

 

[robirdstx]

9 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Thank you so much!  I love flowers, I just have no patience to plant them every year, unlike a food garden that I really enjoy.  But, these peonies are my pride and joy and I've worked very hard on them.  My mom worked at a peony farm when I was little and it sparked my love for them.

 

I wouldn't say peppery, although the red colored ones, now that you say that, do have an undertone of that.  Peonies smell very sweet, but not sickeningly so.  I frankly don't really like the smell of roses....and peonies are nothing like them (not that I would ever turn down roses  ).

 

I wish they would bloom all summer long, but then, I know that maybe they wouldn't be as special to me

 

I too love peonies! Back in the late ‘70s, I worked at a wholesale nursery in southern Illinois. Peonies were one of our crops. They are a lot of work to get to market. Ours were shipped to Chicago for Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. 

Edited May 19, 2020 by robirdstx (log)

[Shelby]

29 minutes ago, robirdstx said:

Ours were shipped to Chicago for Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. 

Yes!  At the farm--I was little but have very distinct memories.  I'm sure nowadays one would be in trouble if  a little kid like myself was around the equipment.  They had a huge walk in cooler that they stored the bouquets in--they were put in a sort of plastic wrap and then they had a string-tier machine ( they even let me do that a few times).  And yeah, they were kept for Mother's Day and Memorial Day.  My mom and others sucker-budded the zillions of peony bushes.  They had a great time  .

[Shelby]

A few more radishes were ready yesterday.  I think I'm going to plant some more in a a week or two....if it doesn't get too hot.

 

More pak choi and asparagus and a nice bunch of peonies

 

[rotuts]

@Shelby 

 

that type of pak ( or bok ) choi is my favorite.

 

dark green leaves and white stalk.

 

if you have Reemay spun garden cloth

 

https://www.talasonline.com/Reemay

 

you can use it to extend your growing season  both in the very very early sprig and late late fall

 

I used to do this and got almost a month on each side

 

bok and pak like cooler weather.

 

remedy is sold at lots of online garden supliers

 

and can be used over and over again.

 

boy do i miss those days.

[heidih]

The oranges are ridiculously prolific.  Giant bowls adorn the house. However I am at the end of yield from single kumquat. Picked the last just now. From uphill side leaning over a rickety split-rail fence. The thing is starting  major bloom so I feared knocking off the future crop. Plenty on downhill side but the slope is steep and unstable so not a good plan for one person to navigate. Marmalade on deck. Oh having your nose buried in the blossoms - what a scent.

[TicTac]

Oh I sure miss the citrus trees we had at my grandparents place in AZ....!

 

Up here in Southern Ontario, temperature low's are predicted to remain above 10-12 degrees as of tomorrow evening, so I took my plants out into the sun today to start to get acclimated.  Tomorrow they go into the ground!  14 Tomato plants (various heirloom varieties), aurora and poblano peppers, yellow and green zucchini, cucumbers, purple bunching onions, welsh onions, a Japanese eggplant (haven't grown that one before!) and various herbs to round things out.  Oh, and my potato experiment will continue (dropped a couple into a Home Depot bucket last year and was able to get about 5lbs per bucket!).

 

Snap peas, lettuce and arugula are already doing well in the ground.

 

It will be a busy day.

[dcarch]

13 hours ago, Shelby said:

A few more radishes were ready yesterday.  I think I'm going to plant some more in a a week or two....if it doesn't get too hot.

 

More pak choi and asparagus and a nice bunch of peonies

 

 

You call those asparagus?

Let me show you what real asparagus look like. 

Found these in the garden this morning.

 

dcarch

 

 

[IowaDee]

Wowl did you yell TIMBERRRRR every time you picked a stalk?  Very impressive!

[kayb]

Does anyone know if squirrels will dig up and eat asparagus sets? My bed has some suspicious looking holes in it. I have a healthy sized colony of squirrels in my yard. And not a sprig of anything sprouted.

 

I guess I'll have to replant next spring and cover the bed with chicken wire.

 

On the other hand, the green beans are all sprouted -- and unlike the old house, I do NOT have a family of bunnies here! -- and the tomatoes and other plants look strong and healthy. I'm sold on raised beds.

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by kayb (log)

[TicTac]

Done!

 

5 hours later, all those little babies are in the ground. 

 

Still way behind @Shelby - but we will get there.

 

Picked arugula for salad today and a bowl full of sorrel for sorrel sauce tonight (to go with grilled char and shrimp)

 

 

[KennethT]

25 minutes ago, TicTac said:

Done!

 

5 hours later, all those little babies are in the ground. 

 

Still way behind @Shelby - but we will get there.

 

Picked arugula for salad today and a bowl full of sorrel for sorrel sauce tonight (to go with grilled char and shrimp)

 

 

what? no pictures?

[TicTac]

47 minutes ago, KennethT said:

what? no pictures?

 

I am so pooped, Ken - I'm not sure my thumb could gravitate to take the shot!

 

Will post pics soon, once I recover 😛

 

 

[suzilightning]

We braved the local Home Despot on Thursday.  John picked out 3 cherry tomato plants for the kitchen garden - 2 red, 1 yellow.  I grabbed 2 sweet and 1 Thai basil pot.   Have thyme and tarragon and got all into the ground when we got home.   All I have to buy in a bit sre some scallions or chives for the green goddess dressing.

[kayb]

I have confirmed the squirrels are the culprits in the asparagus bed. Caught one of the little buggers perched atop one side of it, asparagus set in his tiny hands, nibbling away. I'll plant something else there, and try asparagus again next year, with chicken wire over the top.

 

Brazen little bastards. At least they don't like green beans, and I have no bunnies here.

 

[Shelby]

10 minutes ago, kayb said:

I have confirmed the squirrels are the culprits in the asparagus bed. Caught one of the little buggers perched atop one side of it, asparagus set in his tiny hands, nibbling away. I'll plant something else there, and try asparagus again next year, with chicken wire over the top.

 

Brazen little bastards. At least they don't like green beans, and I have no bunnies here.

 

Oh damn!  We have squirrels but I was just coming on here to post that they never dug up the asparagus here.  How frustrating.

[kayb]

12 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Oh damn!  We have squirrels but I was just coming on here to post that they never dug up the asparagus here.  How frustrating.

 

I mean, it's not like I don't have two oak trees and two pecan trees in my yard...

[Shelby]

8 minutes ago, kayb said:

 

I mean, it's not like I don't have two oak trees and two pecan trees in my yard...

Arrrgh.  I feel your pain.   

[Shelby]

Took a few pictures of the garden.  

 

This was early Wednesday morning.  Well, not super early.

 

 

You can see that big round hay bale in the back.  SO so so blessed that our farmer brought that over for us.  We would have had to track some small bales down somewhere, load them etc.  He just dumped it off the back of his truck.  Easy peasy.  I wish it could be like that every year.

 

Just came in from spreading it all around the tomato plants.  We have soaker hose down under the straw.  Glad to have that done.  The straw spreading is my least favorite chore.

 

[chromedome]

Now here's an interesting wrinkle. The article says that plants with human-inflicted damage only gained about a week on their reproductive cycle, but it's possible that trying a few different methods would give varying results...

https://www.sciencealert.com/bumblebees-bite-plants-to-make-them-bloom

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, chromedome said:

Now here's an interesting wrinkle. The article says that plants with human-inflicted damage only gained about a week on their reproductive cycle, but it's possible that trying a few different methods would give varying results...

https://www.sciencealert.com/bumblebees-bite-plants-to-make-them-bloom

I've also read articles (I didn't save the sources..) that said that many herbs respond to insect nibbles - they increase their essential oil production and get a stronger flavor as a way to discourage the pests.

[chromedome]

2 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I've also read articles (I didn't save the sources..) that said that many herbs respond to insect nibbles - they increase their essential oil production and get a stronger flavor as a way to discourage the pests.

I've seen mention of that as well. The studies would be easy enough to Google up, so don't sweat not providing sources.

 

I hadn't paid attention at the time because of having minimal opportunity for herbs over the past several years. That appears likely to change, this year, so I'll probably put in a more representative selection.

[heidih]

53 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I've also read articles (I didn't save the sources..) that said that many herbs respond to insect nibbles - they increase their essential oil production and get a stronger flavor as a way to discourage the pests.

 

In all your spare time get a hold of the little book -  :The Secret Garden" by David Bodanis.   A whole new perspective on them plants. I got it at a  $1 sale at our botanic garden - best steal ever. 

[heidih]

Looks like a nice product. I have always had luck with fish and seaweed based.  Ya gotta love Canada for the labeling! It was in a major hort trade magazine ')

 

[heidih]

On 5/23/2020 at 11:45 AM, Shelby said:

Took a few pictures of the garden.  

 

This was early Wednesday morning.  Well, not super early.

 

 

You can see that big round hay bale in the back.  SO so so blessed that our farmer brought that over for us.  We would have had to track some small bales down somewhere, load them etc.  He just dumped it off the back of his truck.  Easy peasy.  I wish it could be like that every year.

 

Just came in from spreading it all around the tomato plants.  We have soaker hose down under the straw.  Glad to have that done.  The straw spreading is my least favorite chore.

 

Do no hesitate to check out Miss Kansas and her 2015 blog (signature linked) -She knows vegetables and preserving!