DU Gardeners, Check In Here!

[K8-EEE]

Who's got the tomatoes in? I do plus: jalepenos, basil, cilantro, zucchini, sunflowers, scarlet runner beans, salvia and marigolds so far. Here in So CA it's time to switch out the spring stuff for the stuff for the heat resistant stuff.

I was curious to see if anybody else is in garden-obsession mode; March and April are LOTS OF WORK around here but worth it when you can make salsa all summer right from the back yard, YUM!

[wryter2000]

1. Not only in

But I have teeny tomatoes coming on the early girls. Snow peas, pole beans, peppers. I still have to get the squashes and cucumbers going.

[K8-EEE]

7. Wow!

I just put in the tomatoes 2 weeks ago so I have to wait a bit; I grow sweet peas on the tomato cages and they weren't done yet!

I just pulled the snow peas out and planted poll beans. I like the "ronde de nice" zucchini I had last year but can't seem to find it; it's zuchhini that doesn't take over and it's DELISH!

Little by little I've replaced ALL my grass with different plants; I still have a few areas with ground cover but I don't see the point of struggling with grass here in So CA, it takes too much water and aggravation, I find roses, vegetables and herbs actually much easier and my DWP bill keeps going down.

[wryter2000]

70. I get early girl starts

I get early girl starts as soon as they're available in the garden center. Usually early March. I put them in Earthboxes. Most of my veggies are in Earthboxes. I hate weeding!

http://www.earthbox.com

[lovedems]

2. I haven't been on DU for awhile because I have been doing my

gardening. I have sweet corn, carrots, onions, strawberries (they are coming up from last year), jack-o-lantern pumpkins (I am trying those for the first time this year- I have 4 kids so I am going to try and grow our own pumpkins for carving this Halloween), cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, jalapenos and habenaro peppers, and finally, I am also trying canteloupe this year.

In the next couple of weeks I start planting my annuals.

It has been so much fun!

[K8-EEE]

11. Jack-O-Lanturn Pumpkins!

You know I tried those last year and they went great guns for a while and then developed some sort of of a fungus on them. Usually I don't have that problem but last year we had some funky, foggy weather, the weather seems to be changing everywhere and causing lots of gardeners fits with their tried and true stuff; I hope we get rid of GWB in Nov. cuz I really worry if this poor world can hold up for four more toxic years!

[lovedems]

16. It will be interesting to see how they do.

It is great because my kids have a great deal of interest in helping with the garden because they want those pumpkins to grow! (The strawberries too).

I heard they really take over and spread. Do I need to pinch back some of the orange blossoms and only grow one or two per vine or can I let them do what they do naturally?

[K8-EEE]

27. Hmmm...

I guess it depends on how much space you can alot to them. I was not successful with it but a friend of mine who grows great pumpkins told me the more space the better because they like to sprawl.

He also says that maybe I got the foliage too wet? And that they would have done better with a soaker hose (drip water at ground level) than me watering them with a hose.

Also he sez: when the pumpkins start coming you can put them up on bricks or paver stones or something so they don't get moldy....and keep them covered/shaded by vines to protect them from "cooking" on hot days.

Mine came up really fast and got lots of flowers but when the pumpkins started coming, they got the fungus and I ended up with no pumpkins at all, bummer!

[lovedems]

38. I have been saving all of my coffee cans to prop the pumpkins and

canteloupe on when they start maturing. I am like you and normally water my garden with a garden hose. I might rethink that this year since I am growing melons.

THANKS!

[dweller]

42. i don't know how this would work with pumpkins

but almost all vine producing plants can be grown up a fence/trellis, etc. The stalk the fruit is attached to will support the fruit off of the ground. I have grown cantelopes and melons up a trellis before due to limited space. You can support the fruit with old nylon stockings if you are worried about them, but it's not necessary.

quite a trip seeing cantelopes watermelons growing 2 ft or more off the ground..
dp

[lovedems]

50. I will keep that in mind. I have some extra trellis' in my garage.

It just seems like the melon would get to heavy for the stem to support it! I have seen crazier things in my life so I just might give it a try!

[Lars39]

26. Does anyone raise bees near you?

Pumkins need them to really produce. You're kids'll have a blast.:)

Now I'm hungry...

[lovedems]

39. No, but I have been considering planting a honeysuckle bush near

my garden but I have heard that they attract bees. Maybe I will plant it anyway if it will help the pumpkins! I have a bare spot on our privacy fence and I thought a honeysuckle would look pretty growing up it. Thanks for the idea!

[Lars39]

51. I like honeysuckle.

But it tends to take over. :)

[sybylla]

55. You can fertilize pumpkins youself.

Just learn to recognize the female blossoms and the male blossoms. Snap off the males and "kiss" the females with them. Works quite well and prevents wierd cross-polinizations if you do it early.

[wryter2000]

69. I hand-pollinate all my squashes

That's the surest way to get fruit. I only have about 8 plants or so. It only takes a few minutes in the morning.

[Lars39]

71. That's neat! You only have to make sure each bloom gets done once,

Right? :blush:

Never raised pumkins. What I was thinking of was the truck patches of pumkins.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. I put most of my garden in over the last two weekends

I get tomatoes all year long but this year it is a bit more of a challenge...I have a dog that likes to pee on mint and oregano...so I planted some where I WANT him to pee and have the garden blocked off. He's stayed out of most of it but trampled my yellow squash plant (in fairness to him, he was after a possum)

So far I have 5 different peppers, 4 different tomatoes plus old vine cherry tomatoes that just volunteer.

Japanese cucumber, lettuce, yellow squash, about 12 different herbs...and will plant more this week.

[redqueen]

6. What kind of mint?

I planted peppermint and it's like a weed!

[Kali]

19. excess mint?

one word: mmmmmmMMMMOJITOS!!!!!!!

[redqueen]

46. I'll have to find out what those are

I don't drink much. It is a drink, right?

[Kali]

68. mojito

crush (muddle) 2 teaspoons sugar with small handfull of mint in glass. squeeze in lime - leave half rind - mush it up a little too. add ice, rum top with carb. water. garnish with more mint:


MMMMMMMMMojito. pro: one of few drinks that improves breath
con: vegetation in the teeth. smile now

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

58. chocolate mint

but I also have spearmint and another kind of peppermint..yeah it takes off...get a dog to piss on it if you want it to die :D

[redqueen]

66. lol

I guess I'll have to procure the piss of someone else's dog in order to tame this plot of mint. It's taking over my patio area! It's kind of nice, though. With the slightest brush against it you get such a lovely aroma. :)

[K8-EEE]

74. Pineapple mint....SO PRETTY!

One thing I do is put the mint in parts of my paver patio that I've pulled up....that way it doesn't spread and take over everything!

[K8-EEE]

18. Dog Solution

My current Dog is female and doesn't have a mania for peeing on stuff I wanna eat, argh! But my dear, departed Airdale was a garden pest for sure, I saw this thing at the Sunset Model Gardens that I did...

Basically you do square-food gardening and surround the square with a picket fence, just like you would put around the outside of your house. It actually lookes really cute...I did sunflowers and stuff on the outside and these he did pee on!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

61. Thanks. I might have to do that for the large part of the garden.

I have a planter around the pool where he keeps out and honors the little fence I have up...but the larger area is tempting for him...plus it's where he can get to the wall to chase critters away.....he EATS tomatoes too but is nice and only takes one at a time.

[Zomby Woof]

4. I will be growing herbs again

I was very successful last year with my balcony garden, but I am in a different climate now, with warm weather just getting started, so I will be planting (on a patio this time) many of the same herbs I did last year - oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, maybe some garlic too. I had great success with cilantro, mint, and parsley, so those could be tried again. It all hinges on what I find at the local garden centers.

Best of luck, and enjoy!

[K8-EEE]

14. Herbs In Strawberry Pot

I had great luck with that last year!! I did basil seeds on the top of the pot and different herbs (dill, oregano, cilantro) in the holes on the side, it was very pretty and no trouble at all, (well, I made it my daughter's chore to water it!)

[redqueen]

5. Just doing tomatoes

Rose, Brandy Boy, Brandywine, Black Krim, Caspain Pink, Juliet, and Sugar Snack (I think).

But my roses are also a lot of work, all the time. :)

[lovedems]

24. AHHH, roses! I desperately need help with my roses!

We have a rose bush on the south side of our house. It was there when we bought our house.

It appeared to be vine type of rose because it was growing up the side of the house so we got a trellis for it. Well, it isn't really growing like a vine anymore it is just popping up all over the place, willy-nilly and I don't know what to do with it. We cut the entire thing down last year and now it is coming back up again this year! Any suggestions?

[Lindacooks]

28. Here's what you do:

If small branches are coming up away from the main stem, those are suckers. Cut them off at the ground.

Sounds like you have a climbing rose. They need to be tied to the trellis (you can get special ties at garden centers, or use cut-up panty hose). These roses will only bloom at the end of stems that are hanging sideways, so tie stems and train them to be parallel to the ground.

Then, put epsom salts (the stuff for your feet) in water (1 cup epsom salts per gallon of water) and pour that into the ground around the rose bush. You can also get special rose food (I like Miracle Gro). You can also bury banana peels around the bush (roses need potassium).

This should help!

[redqueen]

34. Sounds good!

And lucky for you it's a climber - no deadheading. Just cut the rootsuckers off at the bottom and you're done!

Oh yeah and spray for insects every so often, if needed. Here it's needed a lot.

[Lindacooks]

85. The only pests on my roses are aphids.

And I just spray the little foamy clusters off with the hose (since I've got as organic a garden as possible). Just do it once a day - no need for pesticides. Of course, there are lots of ladybugs around, but they seem to prefer the inside of my house to the garden (grr).

[lovedems]

35. Thanks! It was those stubborn suckers that had me confused.

Does the size of the bloom determine if it is a climbing rose? They are small blooms and not large ones.

I will tie the ones that have come up to the trellis this week-end.

Thanks for the advice!

[redqueen]

47. No they can be small or medium on a climber

But from the description this does sound like a climber.

[lovedems]

49. Thanks! eom

[Lindacooks]

86. And you're welcome!

[eyesroll]

8. We get started a little late in Wisconsin

We still haven't come close to our last average frost; prime planting is between Mother's Day and Father's day here.

That said, this week (or at the latest this weekend) the radishes and brussels sprouts go in. Not sure what else. Tomatoes go in in a few weeks.

[Lindacooks]

30. Yep, I don't dare plant anything

until the middle of May in Minnesota. Our last frost date is around May 25th, so even then I'm taking a chance.

[Raven]

9. I built a new garden plot this year!

Last year I grew "container" veggies but this year will be the real thing! It's too early to plant in New Hampshire...in a few weeks I can plant my peas and potatoes and by Memorial Day everything else. I'm going to do peas, potatoes, green beans, broccoli, cuckumbers and tomato plants. I love to garden and eat my dinner right from the vine. I can't wait!

PS. Planting season here is also black fly season so you have to dress up like you're on a safari!

[tridim]

10. Waiting a few weeks

Glad I waited, because we got a heavy blanket of snow a few days ago. My strawberries are already up, not much I could do to delay them, they grow like weeds. I'll be putting in two tomato plants next week in addition to dozens of potted herbs.

[proud patriot]

12. I have my garden started

Corn , Tomatoes , Zucinni , Yellow crookneck squash,
watermellon are planted, My sugarsnap peas , stawberries ,
lettuce and carrots will be going in this week .

Been doing lots of spring cleanup and yardwork .

[proud patriot]

13. I forgot to add this is the fifth year of my granny smith Apple tree

so I'm letting some apples grow this year for the first time .

:D

[Zomby Woof]

22. do you make your own apple pie?

Granny Smith's = apple pie! :D :bounce: :hi:

[proud patriot]

59. That's why I planted the Tree ....mmmmm Apple Pie mmmmmmmm

YUMMY !!! Apple pie :D

We buy so many granny smiths apples I figured
I should just get a tree . It's my first Apple
Tree so I'm learning as I go . :hi:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

63. Fence it if you are on acreage...when I had a place in Sebastopol

the deer ate the apples and pears off the tree before I could get to them

[proud patriot]

64. it is safe from deer we have a fenced yard on a 1/4 acre in the suburbs

do racoons eat them ? What about Birds ?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

65. Didn't have any problems with them

[proud patriot]

75. good to hear

coons get to be about the size of a VW bug around here;-)

[brook]

78. Wild turkeys do.

We have a dozen or so (a gaggle?) of wild turkeys on the mountain behind us - and they used to come down and eat the apples off my landlady's tree. She throws a net over it now.

[VelmaD]

15. I gardened with my momma

I don't have a patch of ground to call my own so I went to see my parents and worked in my momma's garden this spring. We made a butterfly garden in her back yard, dug a new flower bed around the mailbox and planted moss roses in it, potted petunias and geraniums for the porch, transplanted some roses. It was fun. I love digging in the dirt.

[Raven]

23. I used to do a garden for my parents too.

My Dad loved it. He would get on his straw hat and come out to oversee the work! He would then make me do a diagram of the garden and where everything was planted. He would go out and water it every day. I think of him and miss him when I do my own garden now.

[VelmaD]

40. That is so sweet, Raven

My dad gets involved whenever we plant things that produces something edible or big trees. Otherwise he leaves the flowers to me and momma. He doesn't ask how much it all costs...just sits on the porch and admires the end result.

With daddy the important thing is making sure to put borders around everything. We learned the hard way with the first grapevines he planted that he doesn't always see things very good when he's mowing the lawn. :)

[LoneStarLiberal]

17. Bumper Crop of Antique Roses Right Now

Thanks to our non-existent "winter" this year in North Texas, I've got a bumper crop of antique roses right now: My two three year old plants are blooming like mad and my three new one year old plants are sending a handful of blossoms up from their first set of buds.

I'll post some pics later on today or tomorrow.

I used to grow vegetables here in the spring, but thanks to a heavy research load the last couple of years, I haven't had time to get them out early enough. Due to our scalding summer temps here you have to really game the last frost date in order to get your tender vegetables mature enough by the time the 100 degree days start rolling around. I've found that no matter how much you mulch some vegetables, some things just can't handle the Texas summer heat.

[K8-EEE]

20. Oooh! Good Idea, Garden Pix!

That would be fun to see everyone's garden!

[VelmaD]

21. Sounds like fun

And I know my momma took pics of our butterfly garden. I gotta remember to poke her to send me copies so I can post too. :)

[Red State Rebel]

83. I'm jealous! Mine are starting to bud, but nothing blooming yet...

It's too chilly here in Missouri yet.

[Red State Rebel]

25. Two more classes to go till certified Master Gardener!!!!

I have been getting my beds ready and mulched - we had hella rain over the weekend and I couldn't get anything done...grrrr. I have so much work to do!!!!

This summer, I'm hoping to get the acre behind the house done. I'm putting in a hedge of roses across with a formal entrance and then putting in a reflecting pond and some weeping willows. Then I can start on the gardens down there.

[Raven]

31. Uh Oh! You're in trouble!

Can we call on you for advice??? Will you do a weekly column?

[K8-EEE]

72. Yes Please, DU Certified Gardener, YEOW!

I will have many questions for you!

[Red State Rebel]

80. Absolutely, but I warn you....

The one thing I learned above all else is how little I know! I do,however, know where to look now! hehe

[Rowdyboy]

29. Roses, foxglove, columbine and amaryliss blooming in profusion

11 tomato plants (4 varieties: early girl, lemon drop, beefmaster and super marmande), habaneros, two dozen basil plants (I freeze fresh pesto all summer), and various vother herbs.

I been pretty much occupied outside for several weeks now.

[redqueen]

36. Habaneros, eh?

Brave soul! I don't like the flavor but respect the power. :)

I was shocked, shocked I tell you to hear Mario say habaneros as if the 'n' had a tilde above it. ?!

[Zomby Woof]

41. Habañeros is correct

Originated in the Yucatán peninsula region of Mexico. 150,000 Scoville units on average, making it the hottest there is. :-)

[redqueen]

43. D'oh!

All this time, and I've been pronouncing it wrong! Oh, the agony! (Usually I can read, see. It's something I'm fairly proud of, even.)

Well hey, now I know. Thanks, ZW, for the correction!

I'll never grow them again, though. I've had enough of Mr Redqueen tricking macho guys into tasting 'the hottest pepper'. It was kind of funny, though. Maybe I was wrong. We should grow some more. :)

[Zomby Woof]

48. it's no biggie lol

It's normal for all of us to Americanize the pronunciation of words. I do cringe when people don't pronounce the tilde in jalapeño though. :-) Much more slack for habañeros, since they are less well-known.

I love habañeros. Not just that tangy semi-sweetness they have, but the endorphin kick is unparalleled, lol. Downing one with a quick bottle of beer is a good, safe, legal high... :o ;-)

[redqueen]

60. heheh says you!

It's a safe, legal way to light your tongue on fire without the benefit of flames, though!

I much prefer jalapenos.

How do you make the n with a tilde in your post, btw?

[Zomby Woof]

77. alt key + 164

Those alt keys and the 10-keypad are my friend. :D

[Rowdyboy]

67. Those same two habaneros produced about 2 gallons of VERY HOT sauce

last year (they overwintered in the greenhouse and are now replanted).

I use various fruit bases (pineapple, mango, papaya and peach)

[bearfan454]

32. Only 6 tomato plants this year

along with 2 New Mexico Big Jim and 2 Hot Banana Pepper plants. I tilled last weekend but it has been raining. I had so damn many tomatoes I had to throw a lot of them away last year. I use Early Girls and have really big yields. I guess the 40 lbs of manure, slow release nitrogen pellets, and Sam's Tomato Food once a week didn't hurt either, huh ? I got over 600 big tomatoes last year out of 8 plants.

[K8-EEE]

73. Sam's Tomato Food??

I'LL TRY IT!! I liked my tomatoes last year but didn't get nearly the yield you did!

[hatrack]

33. Only cool-weather stuff in so far

But so far, so good. Planted a second crop of radishes yesterday, along with more carrots and some raddichio.

Meanwhile the lettuce bed is filling out nicely and the arugula/greens are going wild. The chard varieties are also beginning to take off. Peas are flourishing, though I don't know whether my Rube Goldberg Brooklyn Bridge trellis is going to help them or provoke gales of laughter at my engineering ineptitude.

Coming up in about two weeks - TOMATOES - this year, probably Cherokee Purple, Red Brandywine, Tommy Toe, Black Krim and Soldacki. We'll have some peppers to keep them company (Nardello, Candlelight, Serrano and Cherry Bomb), along with some Blacktail Mountain watermelons, zucchini and Double Yield cucumbers later in May.

[dweller]

37. local home improvement garden shop

wanted $2+ for a single tom, cuke, pepper whatever....grrrrr. So i said screw'em, and bought seeds...they wanted $3/pack and up!

So i went elsewhere and found cheaper packs. 2 Peas, 2 green beans, 4 different toms, broccoli and red bell peppers. Everything is in germination stages so it looks like a late garden for me. Other than lettuce and green onions coming up in the beds, grapes putting out fine, 7 raspberrries and a few blackberries blossomed out, and a ton of blueberries this year.

so i'm just weeding the main beds until i can get the plants transplanted...have to direct seed basil in may in all of the remaining spaces for fall pesto batch.

it's a neverending project, fun fun fun. :)

dp

[redqueen]

45. Starting from seeds is better anyway

I like to order mine from Burpee mostly.

[dweller]

52. i used to get the plant packs

that had 'extra' ones coming up in them...which most folks would have just cut off the smaller one i suppose.
brought them home, got a big bucket of water, and sat there and worked the roots apart under water, gently, until i had 2 or more individual plants. Put them back in fresh dirt, and never lost a one.

i was just pissed that they were only selling singles, and at $2 and up per plant. What happened to the 6 & 9 packs? They were just $2-3 last year....

yeah, seeds work great, just wish i had started earlier.

dp

[redqueen]

62. That is a pretty steep markup

Maybe their profits were down in other areas. Gotta pick up the slack somehow I guess.

Cool that you were able to separate those so successfully. You must have a very gentle touch. Want to come help me separate my irises ad daisies in the fall? ;) I'm seriously afraid I'm going to kill half of them off. lol

[sybylla]

44. My Daffy's haven't even bloomed yet

In Wisconsin, the garden planting is just beginning and only the cold tolerant stuff like peas and onions. High in the 40's today with cold wind. The daffodils usually bloom before now, we were dry until last week and that stalled everything.

Most veggies won't get put in the ground until between the 15th of May and June 1. I've spent part of the last two weekends cleaning up my perennial beds and transplanting trees. Sometime in the next weekend or two I'll be preping the veggie beds and planting a new bed of strawberries.

[stellanoir]

53. frivolous gardener here. . .

Flowers and herbs exclusively. Have two cousins who have vegetable stands so I leave the vegies to the pro's.

Had awful winter kill here this year. Lost tons of roses, all my hollyhocks, foxglove, sage, and annuals that would normally be sprouting as volunteers are no shows this year.

But I've turned the garden twice and thrown in half of the bulbs, and sewn hollyhock and larkspur seeds.

Still feel like I'm wayyyy behind. . .but you know April showers, bring. . . .

[K8-EEE]

76. Hollyhock!

Hey if you are ever here in L.A. be sure and tour Frank Lloyd Wright's "Hollyhock House" in East Hollywood...all the furnishings are made for the house and they all have a stylized Hollyhock motif, I became a fan of the flowers after seeing it!

You hardly ever see Hollyhocks here because, people don't do annuals much -- it never freezes so perennials are easier, but I think they are worth the wait! I sow them in Sept. and they are just starting to bud now.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

54. I... like to watch...

*stares emptily*

[democratreformed]

56. I've got onions, spinach, beets, radishes, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli,

cauliflower, brussel sprouts, zucchini, yellow squash, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, habanero peppers, regular bell peppers, chili peppers, banana peppers, and something called "raddichhio" that my daughter had to have.

The rain has kept me from planting my tomatoes and cucumbers.

[BiggJawn]

57. I potted up SEVENTEEN "Pregnant Onions"...

"The Gift that Keeps on GIVING!".

I hate to throw things away, but in the case of this thing, it's self-preservation! The only reason I potted-up 17 of them is because I'd been watering them for a year and some of them were golf-ball sized...

other than that, we're not past last frost date here, so right now it's just clearing off and enjoying the early blooms.

I had a good Amyrillus season this year, too. 12 blooms from one pot, 8 from another and even the little one managed 4 blooms.

[Blue Gardener]

79. Master Gardener Internship This Summer

Completed the classroom training last fall, so now have to complete 40 hours of volunteer work to become a full-fledged Master Gardener. If your state extension service offers this class I highly recommend it. You learn a lot about various topics you might not be so familiar with, but the best part is just learning where to access needed information. Plus the volunteering is fun, and helps beautify the community.

[Red State Rebel]

81. Where are you volunteering???

Our program is affiliated with the Missouri Botanical Gardens so I'm doing mine thru them. We have to do 50 hours a year and a certain amount of continuing education to maintain certification.

I'm part of their Speakers Bureau and I work the help desk at the Kemper Center for Home Gardening (it's in the Mo. Bot. Gard.).

I'm looking into doing the Level II program starting in June, I'm waiting to see what all they cover.

[Blue Gardener]

84. Various projects

The University of Iowa has a Nature Center where they keep rehabilitated raptors. There is a butterfly garden and hummingbird garden there that I will help keep weeded and watered. Also manning the Master Gardener booth at various functions. Helped collect prairie seeds last fall at the county park, we're planting wetlands there in a couple of weeks. Planning to help with the community garden at one of the elementary schools. As you can see, there are many different projects to pick from. After the first year I believe we only need to complete 12 hours of volunteering and six classroom hours to maintain Master Gardener status. Hopefully in a couple of years we can help with the Iowa Rainforest Project. Plans include a prairie and wetlands, so I'm excited about the whole thing.

[Champ]

82. My marijuana plants are almost grown

Actually I don't think I shoulda posted that, now I'll probaly have theifs. ;)