Gardening: (2016– )

[YvetteMT]

Something decided that the raspberry bushes looked like a great snack option- my first thought was one of the moose (we have an adult cow that calves every 2 years and her 2 year old that pass thru regularly). Elk (resident herd that frequents our place) and mule deer are also options.  The petunias planted at the top of the driveway(literally outside the front door) were stripped of their flowers, again, too. (That's most likely the deer).

[lemniscate]

26 minutes ago, YvetteMT said:

Something decided that the raspberry bushes looked like a great snack option- my first thought was one of the moose (we have an adult cow that calves every 2 years and her 2 year old that pass thru regularly). Elk (resident herd that frequents our place) and mule deer are also options.  The petunias planted at the top of the driveway(literally outside the front door) were stripped of their flowers, again, too. (That's most likely the deer).

 

Great spot for a trail cam.   

[YvetteMT]

13 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

 

Great spot for a trail cam.   

 

We have a number of cameras, none pointed at the raspberries tho. (the nearest being 60 feet up the fence to the right. but its pointed across/up the hill). The driveway camera will show the petunia culprits tho. One night last year partner woke me at 2am "Theres a moose eating the strawberries!"  (I love moose, seriously LOVE them).  I stumbled to the dining room to peer out the window and there was a mule deer buck...  He swore up and down there was a moose while I swore that if he woke me up again, there'd be hell to pay. I went back to bed with him following me saying that he knew the difference and damn it, there was a moose. He zinged open the bedroom blinds (that face the hill with the camera) and there was the moose. 

[FauxPas]

 

Picked hot peppers today. I grew these plants from seed so I am an especially proud mama.  🙂

 

 

 

 

Edited September 2 by FauxPas
Forgot photos! (log)

[haresfur]

On 8/22/2024 at 11:11 PM, YvetteMT said:

Something decided that the raspberry bushes looked like a great snack option- my first thought was one of the moose (we have an adult cow that calves every 2 years and her 2 year old that pass thru regularly). Elk (resident herd that frequents our place) and mule deer are also options.  The petunias planted at the top of the driveway(literally outside the front door) were stripped of their flowers, again, too. (That's most likely the deer).

 

I had raspberries planted in the garden beside the horse pen. I would have thought that the thorns would have dissuaded them, but no. I have planted butternut, zucchini, and cucumbers in that area since. Zuke haven't been very successful, never got a cuke, and the horses have had to content themselves with the butternut that grow through the fence.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Starting getting my indoor herb plants ready to move indoors. 

Thai basil (from seed) and red shisho (from seed).

I picked up a Carolina Reaper seedling from our local gardening center in early summer and it has done surprisingly well. I'm thinking of moving it indoors for the winter as well.

 

[KennethT]

I just planted seeds for 2 different types of chillies that I brought back from Indonesia... fingers crossed that they sprout!

[chromedome]

A few weeks ago my GF questioned why I was watering plants in my garden, because "it's supposed to rain all week." I explained to her that from a gardener's perspective, 4 of 5 days with "chance of showers" does not constitute raining all week.

 

This past weekend provided a startlingly good illustration of that point. On Saturday we had lots of rain: the forecast called for 40-50 mm (call it 1 1/2 to 2 inches), and I'm sure we got every bit of that. On Sunday I made a late planting of carrots, and while the top cm/half-inch or so of soil was nicely soaked it was still dry and crumbly below that. My soil is pretty absorbent now, at least in the beds, after a couple of years' constant upgrading, so that was a sobering reminder of the need for consistent watering.

 

No photos today, but since I'm here and posting I'll note that the cukes are slowing down, the bush beans are still producing though in diminished fashion, my late planting of bush beans is taking off now that their roots have reached the rabbit-manure layer, the tomatoes and pattypan squash are still going great guns, and I have lots of kale and chard with late plantings coming along. The late planting of peas is now beginning to yield, and my winter squashes (spaghetti and buttercup) have set plenty of fruit which are filling out nicely. In the case of the latter, I'm now pruning the ends of the vines to discourage vegetal growth and snipping any remaining buds. I want all of the plants' energy going into the squashes at this point, thank you very much.

 

Also my late-planted broccoli have now surpassed the transplants I bought at the local nursery's end-of-spring clearout in size, and considerably in vigor. The late-planted spinach is yielding nicely, and the cauliflower plants are growing rapidly as well. I've never had much success with those latter two when I've planted them in spring; it seems our springs are just too short and erratic weather-wise. Henceforth I'm not even going to bother, I'll plant them both in mid-summer since that seems to be working.

[dans]

The time that it rains also matters. If the rain happens slowly over an extended amount of time, it is going to penetrate further into the soil.  One of the reasons that heavy rains are so devastating is that it simply washes down the top of the soil or street.  This all adds up to flooded streets, overflowing rivers, mud slides, etc.

[KennethT]

3 of my Indonesian chilli seeds have sprouted! These are from the cabai keriting - long, skinny and slightly curly and medium spicy with great flavor. Fingers crossed that I can get them to maturity...

 

[FauxPas]

49 minutes ago, KennethT said:

3 of my Indonesian chilli seeds have sprouted! These are from the cabai keriting - long, skinny and slightly curly and medium spicy with great flavor. Fingers crossed that I can get them to maturity...

 

 

Oh I hope they grow and thrive! Keep us posted, please. I love pepper plants though I am not very adventurous!  🙂

 

[haresfur]

Planted some supposedly heirloom jalapenos and a bunch of pots of sweet basil in my cold frame. Hope that helps the basil germinate because I think it needs warm soil. Also some dill, jalapenos, and basil outside to hedge my bets.

 

Seeded an area with Italian parsley a while back and I might have to thin it. The stuff self seeds like crazy and I decided to pull a couple of huge plants out of my wallaby grass lawn area (which seems to be getting taken over by other grasses, unfortunately). My best looking cauliflower seems to have suffered a setback, maybe because of the hail a couple of weeks ago. 

 

All this reminds me I need to make a spinach salad for tea.

[KennethT]

10 hours ago, haresfur said:

Planted some supposedly heirloom jalapenos and a bunch of pots of sweet basil in my cold frame. Hope that helps the basil germinate because I think it needs warm soil. Also some dill, jalapenos, and basil outside to hedge my bets.

 

Seeded an area with Italian parsley a while back and I might have to thin it. The stuff self seeds like crazy and I decided to pull a couple of huge plants out of my wallaby grass lawn area (which seems to be getting taken over by other grasses, unfortunately). My best looking cauliflower seems to have suffered a setback, maybe because of the hail a couple of weeks ago. 

 

All this reminds me I need to make a spinach salad for tea.

I've grown basil for a long time (not recently though) - but I've found that it sprouts and grows with very little effort - I've never had to add heat to it, just room temp was fine in the past. 

[haresfur]

9 hours ago, KennethT said:

I've grown basil for a long time (not recently though) - but I've found that it sprouts and grows with very little effort - I've never had to add heat to it, just room temp was fine in the past. 

 

It will be a while before our soil outside is room temperature and in the past my seed has just sat there until much later in the spring. Then again it will be a while before my house is room temperature and then there will be a short period before it is blazing hot. Older houses here are poorly constructed, not well insulated, and have single pane glass. Doesn't make sense to heat a lot, only to pour it outside. I had my first unsuccessful batch of sauerkraut this year because the house was too cool.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

One of the many perks of a home garden.

The ever present bowl of fresh tomatoes.

 

[KennethT]

Now a couple of my cabai rawit have sprouted!  These are commonly translated as Thai chillies, but they're more plump and fleshy than any of the Thai chillies I've seen in Thailand.

 

Edited September 14 by KennethT (log)

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

I spent a fair of time catching up on gardening yesterday.

The night temperatures have been around 8 C. with daytime temperatures in the mid to low 20's. 

I'm harvesting tomatoes, zucchini, long beans, mouse melons, chard and herbs. Lettuces have gone to seed and soon I'll start seed saving. I'm also waiting for the last planting of bush beans to harvest.

Most of the time was spent working on repotting and setting up the indoor winter garden and I'm 90-95% finished.

Top row from left: Carolina Reaper, rectangular planter with dill and green onions and finally cilantro.

Middle from left: 2 small pots of chives and 1 of Italian parsley, Habanero hot pepper and Thai basil.

Bottom from left: rectangular planter with 2 Serrano and 1 Jalapeno, a 2nd Thai basil and an Italian basil.

 

 

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

I'm curious as to whether anyone else uses these simple soil additions: used dried coffee grounds for nitrogen and dried, ground eggshells for calcium and magnesium. 

I noticed this spider web (it is outside) catching the early morning sun and dew.

 

[chromedome]

35 minutes ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

I'm curious as to whether anyone else uses these simple soil additions: used dried coffee grounds for nitrogen and dried, ground eggshells for calcium and magnesium. 

I noticed this spider web (it is outside) catching the early morning sun and dew.

 

I add my coffee grounds to my compost, rather than directly to the soil, but I do use 'em. Eggshells get lightly toasted (to make them brittle), then crushed and fed to the chickens and quail as a supplement, which they in turn use to produce more eggshells.

 

[donk79]

I don't get as scientific as I should.  Eggshells and coffee grounds go into the compost with whatever else os appropriate.

[rotuts]

@Senior Sea Kayaker

 

Id be careful adding coffee grounds directly to soil you plan to plant in soon.

 

they can be very acidic .  any any nutrients from them need to be broken down first.

 

depends a bit on how much coffee you drink  , and eggs you eat.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

@Senior Sea Kayaker

 

Id be careful adding coffee grounds directly to soil you plan to plant in soon.

 

they can be very acidic .  any any nutrients from them need to be broken down first.

 

depends a bit on how much coffee you drink  , and eggs you eat.

 

Soils in my corner of the world tend to be acidic so my additions are a mix of coffee grounds, eggshells, and lime mixed with peat moss, some vermiculite and composted manure. One thing one doesn't want to do here is decrease the pH of the soil.

Edited September 15 by Senior Sea Kayaker (log)

[rotuts]

another small point :  food-stuffs that are being broken down

 

generally require nitrogen for the organisms that do the breaking down.

 

the nitrogen required for this is thus not available for the plants you hope to grow.

 

but if your soil has plenty of nitrogen , it won't matter much in the long run.

[TicTac]

Grind the egg shells down into as fine a powder as possible, takes a while for them to release minerals - regardless.  Coffee grinds not as much, but the other things I add are banana peels and epson salts - the latter prevents blossom end rot and the former is amazing for most plants.

 

Lastly, if you have stinging nettle near you, pick a bunch, put it in a bucket with water and let it sit for a week in the sun.  It will smell like absolute ass, but is one of the best natural fertilizers for tomatoes and most plants.  Dilute to 1:10 with water and your plants will thank you.

[haresfur]

On 9/15/2024 at 8:42 PM, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

I'm curious as to whether anyone else uses these simple soil additions: used dried coffee grounds for nitrogen and dried, ground eggshells for calcium and magnesium. 

I noticed this spider web (it is outside) catching the early morning sun and dew.

 

One of my baristas grows plants in pots of pure coffee grounds. Surprised me.

 

Not sure how much magnesium is in egg shells, since they are calcium carbonate. I use dolomite rather than calcium carbonate for my citrus on the advice of a garden shop owner. That's calcium-magnesium carbonate and dissolves much slower. He said you can't really add too much.