Gardening: (2016– )

[gfweb]

I have sage, thyme and rosemary growing under a light. Seem like I use thyme 10x more than the other two. Probably because of all the mushrooms we eat.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

5 minutes ago, gfweb said:

I have sage, thyme and rosemary growing under a light. Seem like I use thyme 10x more than the other two. Probably because of all the mushrooms we eat.

 

In addition to rosemary I too have sage and thyme.  The sage and thyme never do well in the winter though they recover nicely once I move them outside in the spring.  What sort of light do you use for yours?

 

[gfweb]

18 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

In addition to rosemary I too have sage and thyme.  The sage and thyme never do well in the winter though they recover nicely once I move them outside in the spring.  What sort of light do you use for yours?

 

This one. https://smile.amazon.com/SunBlaster-Watt-Grow-Lamp-pack/dp/B00AKKUZ7I/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1485664832&sr=8-5&keywords=daylight+grow+bulb   Except I bought a pair at Loew's. With a big old school aluminum reflector right on top of the plants. I forget which, but light intensity varies either with the square or cube of the distance from the source. I hook it to a venetian blind and raise and lower it with growth/harvesting. Sage and thyme are reasonably content.

Edited January 29, 2017 by gfweb (log)

[Toliver]

Regarding planting, my brother bought a plot in a community garden and has already tried planting seeds. The master gardener who oversees multiple community gardens warned him that it was too early but he did it anyway. My other brother still has potted tomato plants (that he he planted late last year) bearing many ripe fruit...in January!

Go figure.

[dcarch]

Starting Chayote squashes.

 

dcarch

[Martin Fisher]

1 hour ago, dcarch said:

Starting Chayote squashes.

 

dcarch

 

This is very interesting.

Have you grown them before?

[gfweb]

They look like buttocks

[dcarch]

29 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

This is very interesting.

Have you grown them before?

Yes, every year.

 

dcarch

[dcarch]

1 minute ago, gfweb said:

They look like buttocks

We all have our fetishes. :-)

 

dcarch

 

[cakewalk]

They always make me think of the puppet Lambchop. (You know, Lambchop and Charlie Horse? Shari Lewis? I might be dating myself here.)

[gfweb]

3 minutes ago, cakewalk said:

They always make me think of the puppet Lambchop. (You know, Lambchop and Charlie Horse? Shari Lewis? I might be dating myself here.)

 Indeed you are.

As a little kid I was embarrassed by Shari Lewis. Sooooooo lame. Change channel...try to find The Stooges or at least a Warner Bros cartoon.

Which, come to think of it, would be a step up for a lot of shows today.

Edited February 1, 2017 by gfweb (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

8 hours ago, dcarch said:

Starting Chayote squashes.

 

dcarch

 

I am interested too. Is it the camera angle, or do the the fruits seem to be planted at different orientations in the two containers. Does which side is up not matter?

 

(Aside: I saw Shari and Lambchop live somewhere in or near San Diego as a wee one, and was similarly unimpressed, in fact I think I had a little crying jag. She was quite the phenomenon at the time, though. There was also a member on here that used the blossom end of a chayote with a cute face drawn on as an avatar, I thought it was @SethG.)

 

Edit: I actually know how to spell ... sometimes.

Edited February 1, 2017 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[dcarch]

2 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

I am interested too. Is it the camera angle, or do the the fruits seem to be planted at different orientations in the two containers. Does which side is up not matter?

 

Good question. This is how I have been doing it:

 

1. The cracked end up. This is the end the sprouting and rooting happens.

2. You can't tell whether it's the right side or the left side of the crack where the root and sprout come out, so I plant the fruit vertical.

3. Once I can see which side the roots come out, then I plant them sideways.

 

And by the way, chayote squash is worth planting because you can eat the fruits as well as the leaves. You can get up to 150 fruits per plant.

dcarch

Edited February 1, 2017 by dcarch (log)

[kayb]

10 hours ago, cakewalk said:

They always make me think of the puppet Lambchop. (You know, Lambchop and Charlie Horse? Shari Lewis? I might be dating myself here.)

 

I LOVED Miss Shari and Lambchop!

 

10 hours ago, gfweb said:

 Indeed you are.

As a little kid I was embarrassed by Shari Lewis. Sooooooo lame. Change channel...try to find The Stooges or at least a Warner Bros cartoon.

Which, come to think of it, would be a step up for a lot of shows today.

 

 

Oh, come on. Lambchop and Charlie Horse were cool. As were the Stooges. And perhaps my all-time fave, "Car 54, Where Are You?"

 

Back on-topic -- has anyone used this tray for seed germinating? It appears to be reasonably priced and fairly convenient.

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

 

I LOVED Miss Shari and Lambchop!

 

 

Oh, come on. Lambchop and Charlie Horse were cool. As were the Stooges. And perhaps my all-time fave, "Car 54, Where Are You?"

 

Back on-topic -- has anyone used this tray for seed germinating? It appears to be reasonably priced and fairly convenient.

 

Good tray. The small soil volume makes over and under watering easy to do. But if one is careful its great.

 

Liking Shari Lewis may have been  gender-related.  None of my little buddies could stand her.

 

 

[ElainaA]

I've grown artichokes from purchased plants before but this year I decided to try starting them from seeds. The variety is Emerald from Territorial Seeds. I could have done with a bit less help.

 

[rotuts]

Wow , Mom !  i like this new SandBox mix you've gotten me to try out.  Very Earthy !

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, ElainaA said:

I've grown artichokes from purchased plants before but this year I decided to try starting them from seeds. The variety is Emerald from Territorial Seeds. I could have done with a bit less help.

 

Could I ask your experience with the plants?  I tried three artichoke plants last year.  I had beautiful foliage and nothing that looked at all like an artichoke nor even a flower stalk.  I assume your growing season is shorter than mine in NJ?

 

[ElainaA]

49 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Could I ask your experience with the plants?  I tried three artichoke plants last year.  I had beautiful foliage and nothing that looked at all like an artichoke nor even a flower stalk.  I assume your growing season is shorter than mine in NJ?

 

I've had very mixed experience. About every other year I get lots of small artichokes - then the next year I may get none. I gave up on them for awhile but last year we put up a hoop house. I'm going to try putting a couple of plants in there as I have always suspected that it is our short growing season that is the problem. We are in hardiness zone 5b. I don't know where you are in NJ but NJ ranges from 6a in the north  to 7b in the south. 

[chromedome]

3 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Could I ask your experience with the plants?  I tried three artichoke plants last year.  I had beautiful foliage and nothing that looked at all like an artichoke nor even a flower stalk.  I assume your growing season is shorter than mine in NJ?

 

They're biennial when grown from seed, so if your grower had started them indoors last year you won't see any buds until this year. 

 

God help me, if I'm ever in a place where I can garden for more than one year at a time I'll try some again. 

[dcarch]

All doing well.

 

dcarch

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I expect my artichokes will be dead come spring but if they manage to throw out a few green leaves I shall give them another chance.

 

I'm slightly north of the middle of the state, Somerset County.

 

 

[kayb]

Got a notice from Pinetree Garden Seeds my order has shipped. Got to get it in gear to get the garden plots prepped so they can be simmering along pending planting time. I'll be starting seeds indoors about March 1 or so.

 

 

[ElainaA]

2 hours ago, chromedome said:

They're biennial when grown from seed, so if your grower had started them indoors last year you won't see any buds until this year. 

 

God help me, if I'm ever in a place where I can garden for more than one year at a time I'll try some again. 

All the seed catalogs and websites list artichokes as either annuals (in zone 6 or lower) or perennials (in zone 7 or higher.)

Here is what Territorial says about the variety I am growing:
Thornless, meaty and astoundingly productive, Emerald has everything an artichoke lover could ask for and more. At our trial farm each plant produced about a dozen flowers the first year from seed. 

 

Many varieties have been developed for annual fruit production. All the varieties offered by Johnny's, Territorial and Pinetree will (or at least, are bred to) produce the first year from seed.

[chromedome]

Very good. Our zones are a bit different up here...I believe most of New Brunswick would be a 3 or 4 by US reckoning. Still, it might be worth a try. It's been a good 15, maybe 20 years since I last looked into it.