Gardening: (2016– )

[Eatmywords]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

 

The stuff I used is sold on a roll at Lowe's as "landscape fabric." It's water-permeable. I've never had a lot of success with mulch keeping down weeds, but I do cover my beds with straw in the fall (take off the landscape fabric, put down straw about two inches thick, put landscape fabric back, add bricks to keep it down). The next spring, that's just tilled in.

 

Thank you!  And is the straw to protect the soil?

I just started composting using a double barrel system.  One of them is full and ready.   Do I sprinkle some around each plant and when, given the plants are less than a 1'?  thank you 

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, Eatmywords said:

 

Thank you!  And is the straw to protect the soil?

I just started composting using a double barrel system.  One of them is full and ready.   Do I sprinkle some around each plant and when, given the plants are less than a 1'?  thank you 

The straw suppresses weeds and helps retain moisture, and then breaks down to provide additional tilth (organic matter) in the soil.

You can use your matured compost as top dressing or side dressing around your plants, though the timing depends on what you're growing. You can also add some to the hole when you're putting in transplants.

[TicTac]

24 minutes ago, chromedome said:

 You can also add some to the hole when you're putting in transplants.

 

This is my preferred method as well.  Dig bigger whole than you might need, mix in compost at the lowest levels, and then plant atop -  it will help promote root growth vs throwing the soil on top of ground.

 

 

[dcarch]

1 hour ago, TicTac said:

 

This is my preferred method as well.  Dig bigger whole than you might need, mix in compost at the lowest levels, and then plant atop -  it will help promote root growth vs throwing the soil on top of ground.

 

 

A cordless power drill, and a 3.5" x 24" auger ($15) lets me dig a deeeep hole very quickly.

By manipulating the auger, the hole can be much wider than 3.5", 10" or more, depending on what you are trying to plant.

 

dcarch

[heidih]

27 minutes ago, dcarch said:

A cordless power drill, and a 3.5" x 24" auger ($15) lets me dig a deeeep hole very quickly.

By manipulating the auger, the hole can be much wider than 3.5", 10" or more, depending on what you are trying to plant.

 

dcarch

or a post hole digger. Amazing how little real muscle they require Stomp don and pull. We have mandatory split rail fences here so post holes are a strong memory. Never hurts to throw a fish head in the hole either

Edited May 26, 2021 by heidih (log)

[kayb]

23 hours ago, Eatmywords said:

 

Thank you!  And is the straw to protect the soil?

I just started composting using a double barrel system.  One of them is full and ready.   Do I sprinkle some around each plant and when, given the plants are less than a 1'?  thank you 

 

Straw in the fall, in my experience, keeps late weeds down as well as keeping the topsoil fairly loose and easier to till the next year. Plus, as @chromedome notes, it adds extra organic matter to the soil the next spring (is fairly well broken down by then, as we have fairly warm, wet winters). 

 

Compost -- I usually add a couple of bags to each of my raised beds in the spring and till it in. You may not have that much, and the good alternative method is to dig a deeper hole, as @TicTac suggests, and put it in the hole. I tend to put about a cup, cup and a half under a seedling, then mix with loose soil in the hole, and plant. 

 

If you're planting seeds, same deal. I prefer to mix my compost with a little garden dirt.

 

Edited May 27, 2021 by kayb (log)

[TicTac]

 

Look closely.  And still some still claim global warming is a farce.  It’s almost June ffs!!! 🤦‍♂️ 

[Shelby]

Snow 😳

[heidih]

2 minutes ago, TicTac said:

 

Look closely.  And still some still claim global warming is a farce.  It’s almost June ffs!!! 🤦‍♂️ 

yup. I called my Fire Station Wednesday and said I really do not think weed clearance is appropriate yet  - the mandate is May as we are in a red fire zone- no significant weeds!  They do house to house inspections and leave you a notice. He said- yes lets wait till mid June.

[liuzhou]

Just took delivery of a rosemary and thyme plants. They need repotting and a bit of fresh air and sunlight. It took three days to ship them inside a cardboard box. These are not easy to find here - Chinese food doesn't use them.

 

 

 

 

 

[TicTac]

Both plants look quite healthy @liuzhou albeit a bit mangled due to endured shipping bondage 😝

 

Surely garden related, I bring forth the rock balancing challenge (something we have started around here for fun) -

 

A while back I saw a video of a lady somewhere in Europe balancing huge gorgeous rocks above the surface of a lake which inspired me to try it and while not easy certainly possible to get some very unique set ups...who’s in?! 😉

 

[heidih]

4 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Just took delivery of a rosemary and thyme plants. They need repotting and a bit of fresh air and sunlight. It took three days to ship them inside a cardboard box. These are not easy to find here - Chinese food doesn't use them.

 

 

 

 

 

They look good; thyme is lusty. Wonder if the rosemary has that growth habit or got a bit squished in transit. I have one like that. More woody than the upright. Monrovia is a lauded California wholesale nursery if that is where they are from.

[Franci]

Hi guys, so the only thing that survived the iguanas were the green beans, definitely we are terrible gardeners 🤣🤣🤣they were doing fine until the leaves turned yellow, not sure it’s too much sun, not enough fertilizer or what 🙁

[Franci]

Glad the herbs and lemon trees  are in good shape 

[heidih]

Heartbreak and gardening (like kids) go hand in hand. Congrats on the successes. I'd ask the locals how the stuff that crumbed out for you did for them. What was your iguana deterrent (theoretically) method. I lose all peaches, persimmons and pomogranites to critters. Just the way it is and battle can be exhausting.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

On 5/26/2021 at 4:43 PM, heidih said:

or a post hole digger. Amazing how little real muscle they require Stomp don and pull. We have mandatory split rail fences here so post holes are a strong memory. Never hurts to throw a fish head in the hole either

When we moved from Florida to Colorado, my father quickly discovered that there's a reason they call them the "rocky" mountains and that the pole hole digger he brought from Florida was useless.  When we lived in Salida (7200 feet with 14,000 foot peaks to the west (beautiful views), I used to say when we were (trying to) plant a tree that we were digging up a buried civilization. Big rocks down to China. Now that we live on the top of a hill in Pátzcuaro I've discovered that we must live over a former pyramid, not that we're digging up artifacts or anything like that. Just more big rocks. My sister and brother-in-law used to live in Iowa, and when they wanted to make a rock garden they asked us to bring rocks from Colorado. 

 

Yes, there are big rocks to remove when we want to plant something other than a seedling, but we can pretty much garden year-round. It gets a little brisk in December-January, but I've had tomatoes that have lived for a year or more before I pulled them up. Our biggest problem is the rainy season, when we get too much rain. So I can't complain much beyond minor grumbling.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

32 minutes ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

When we moved from Florida to Colorado, my father quickly discovered that there's a reason they call them the "rocky" mountains and that the pole hole digger he brought from Florida was useless.  When we lived in Salida (7200 feet with 14,000 foot peaks to the west (beautiful views), I used to say when we were (trying to) plant a tree that we were digging up a buried civilization. Big rocks down to China. Now that we live on the top of a hill in Pátzcuaro I've discovered that we must live over a former pyramid, not that we're digging up artifacts or anything like that. Just more big rocks. My sister and brother-in-law used to live in Iowa, and when they wanted to make a rock garden they asked us to bring rocks from Colorado. 

 

Yes, there are big rocks to remove when we want to plant something other than a seedling, but we can pretty much garden year-round. It gets a little brisk in December-January, but I've had tomatoes that have lived for a year or more before I pulled them up. Our biggest problem is the rainy season, when we get too much rain. So I can't complain much beyond minor grumbling.

 

As one of my gardening neighbors said, she lives in a town called Rocky Hill.  Dutch explorers named our area "Devil's Featherbed".  Technically the geology is a Jurassic lava intrusion.  Construction here requires dynamite.

 

 

[KennethT]

12 hours ago, Franci said:

Hi guys, so the only thing that survived the iguanas were the green beans, definitely we are terrible gardeners 🤣🤣🤣they were doing fine until the leaves turned yellow, not sure it’s too much sun, not enough fertilizer or what 🙁

I wonder if your issue is coming from being overwatered?  Do those brick beds have enough drainage?  Root rot issues (caused by too much water) can lead to things that look like nutrient deficiencies, underwatering and other problems because the roots can't take up enough water/nutrients.

[TicTac]

Like Ken said, that looks like either over (see; root rot) or under watering.  It could also possibly be blight, though the spotting is not that dark brown....did the other veggies suffer a similar fate?

 

You can try to get blight resistant veg strains.

[dcarch]

14 hours ago, Franci said:

Hi guys, so the only thing that survived the iguanas were the green beans, definitely we are terrible gardeners 🤣🤣🤣they were doing fine until the leaves turned yellow, not sure it’s too much sun, not enough fertilizer or what 🙁

 

Take a magnifying glass and examine the back side of the leaves.

 

Looks like spider mite damages to me. Bean plants = invitation for spider mites.

 

dcarch

Edited June 9, 2021 by dcarch (log)

[heidih]

At this decimated stage I'd pull, bag, and bin. I don't think you want to eat from plants you've done chemical warfare on if it is a bug issue. Take a few leves contained in a plastic zip bag to garden center in case it is a pest.

[Franci]

8 hours ago, KennethT said:

I wonder if your issue is coming from being overwatered?  Do those brick beds have enough drainage?  Root rot issues (caused by too much water) can lead to things that look like nutrient deficiencies, underwatering and other problems because the roots can't take up enough water/nutrients.

The brick bed are open underneath, they go directly to the soil. 

[Franci]

7 hours ago, dcarch said:

 

Take a magnifying glass and examine the back side of the leaves.

 

Looks like spider mite damages to me. Bean plants = invitation for spider mites.

 

dcarch

I will go that and take to a center as Heidi suggested! 

[KennethT]

Spider mites are usually pretty obvious - it will look like there's spider webs all over where leaves come off the stems.

[Shelby]

So many people here are smarter than I am...but I will share that ours look like that and die when it's too hot.  Ours are never under shade.  In KS we plant in spring when no freezes are expected and pick thru June and July if we are lucky.  Those look like ours do when it's just too hot.  Not saying that's what's happened to yours.