Gardener's Group discussion
OGSG Archives
>
Happy Spring 2009!
date
newest »
newest »
Due to some goofy glitch between my computer and my digital camera I can't pics to load on line. So irritating. My youngest daughter and I have tried several times. I have a computer nerd friend who is out of the country right now, but as soon as he's back I'm going to have him help me and see if we can get it to work.Your garden sounds like a swirl of color and I'm looking forward to your pics.
I toured my oldest daughter's garden today and she has some amazing stuff growing. I have never been able to get astilbes to do anything for me so I gave them all to her last fall. I almost cried when I saw them--they're at least 3 times the size they were in my garden and very dark green and healthy looking. I think it was just too dry and dark where I had them--at least that's what I want to think instead of I'm just a loser when it comes to growing them. I also divided most of my hostas last fall and gave them to her and every one of them made it thru the winter and are looking good. I'm trying to convince her she needs to divide her grasses and share them with me. We'll see how that goes.
If it makes you feel any better Kelly Jo, in addition to the usual little black/brown ants, we appear to have a carpenter ants in the back yard in the corner and they are HUGE! An inch or so long. BLECH!
Thanks Kelly Jo! I'm putting that on my list! Teach the buggers not fear us!
Can you use Orange Guard in the house? When I came in from working outside today I discovered black ants on my kitchen counter. Yuk!
I have these weird little red spiders, they are tiny, in my herbs. Anyone know what I can do?
Sounds like spider mites - from Yahoo answers: "Warm, dry temperatures make the perfect climate for the spider mite’s reproductive cycle, which leaves your plants susceptible not only to drought but also to the spider mite’s tenacious appetite. If you’ve noticed the signs of a mite infestation described on your left, and you’re dealing primarily with flowers, it may be in your best interest to turn to a miticide for the quickest and most effective control. However, if you’re a farmer or a gardener tending vegetables and herbs, you may want to consider an integrated pest management approach, which is what we’ll explain below: how to get rid of spider mites and control spider mite populations without insecticides or miticides, as the case may be." See http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid... for more info and soluitionsIt's an all natural pest control site I found while looking this up: http://www.getridofthings.com - looks great! Maybe Kelly Jo can use this for the ants!
Cheryl, I get tiny little off white plastic things by Raid to leave on my counters in the kitchen, on the dishwasher and on the floor by the patio doors so I don't have to use any spray in the house.
My kitchen composter keeps molding up on me! I read how you can use an old coffee grind jug, punch holes in the lid, throw your coffee grinds & certain scraps in there and once a week bring it out. I got rid of 1 container which kept molding up on me, started a new one and 2 days later, everything molded up on me!
Any suggestions?!
Thank you so much Jo, I am definitely checking that out today!
;) Anytime!
I'll look for the tiny little off white things by Raid. thanks!
Glad I could be of help!
I finally bit the bullet and planted tomatos, squash, peppers, egg plant, green beans and herbs today. I think this is the latest I have ever planted this stuff. We still have had several nights in the high 30s this past week, but I have had these plants outside in pots in a protected area as long as I can as they are getting root bound and need to get in the ground. The main reason I have waited to plant is the lack of rain--much easier to water a bunch of pots grouped together than drag hoses around in the garden. We have been under a total burning ban for the past 10 days and if we don't get rain in the next two days this May will go on the record books as the driest May since the Dust Bowl years in the 1930s. This is a record I could do without.
The grass is finally growing in every where out back and what do I discover? MOLE trails!
Hah! You are not alone, Jo. I have one who keeps tunneling in front of my garden gate so every time I go out there I have to take a shovel and get rid of the dirt mound so I can open the gate. Seems like there is always some type of critter to fight. Yesterday when one of my daughters was here she noticed I have the beginnings of a wasp nest under the overhang above my mailbox. Right now it's about the size of a golf ball and I'm going to try to be brave and get rid of it tomorrow. This is a new one for me.
Kelly Jo wrote: "Erika wrote: "I have these weird little red spiders, they are tiny, in my herbs. Anyone know what I can do?"Eeew. Jo is right, those are spider mites. Ugly little jerks. I've never had a probl..."
Thank you so much Kelly Jo. I am not an experienced gardener, to say the least, so any help I can get is wonderful. Plus, I'm not a huge non - toxic advocate, although I use it when I can, so anything I can do to get those little buggers out I will try. So, this is my chore for tomorrow, hopefully it will work. I now saw some spiderwebs in my mint (gross) and to say I'm deathly afraid of spiders is an understatement. I know, I know, it's hard to dig around in dirt and be afraid of critters. But I'm trying. So thanks for your help!
Cheryl S. wrote: "Hah! You are not alone, Jo. I have one who keeps tunneling in front of my garden gate so every time I go out there I have to take a shovel and get rid of the dirt mound so I can open the gate. S..."Be VERY careful! You should spray it w/wasp spray (from a good distance) and once they've stopped freaking out & buzzing around it, then attempt to get rid of it but not before then! If any are in there, they will attack if anything threatens the nest, not matter how small.
Erika, it takes time to get over the ick factor of gardening, so don't worry! You may not like them after a while, but you'll be used to them (as in gardening bugs).
Thanks Jo. I'm ok with most of the bugs, it's just the spiders that freak me out. I will say that my roses are blooming, and they are splendid. The whole bush is just full of huge blooms, and it makes me happy.
I can definitely understand why. I love being outside right now, all the plants and flowers are gorgeous. They smell beautiful. It makes me smile all the way from my heart.
I couldn't agree more Erika and Kelly Jo!
My husband dug out the flowerbed near the road this weekend. Goodbye overwhelming shrub things. Hello wave petunias and zinnias! I need to put the bird feeder back out there and fill it up.Our rose bushes are in full bloom. I think I'll cut some tonight to bring inside for an arrangement. There are probably enough out there to put in a vase for my desk at work, too.
No veggies yet, but the squash plants are flowering and I can see the teeny tiniest little bits of what will be banana peppers.
Pictures coming to my blog soon...promise this time. :)
Boo for icky gardening bugs. Spiders freak me out every time too, Erika. As for ants, my husband sprayed the perimeter of the house while I was out of town this weekend. We have to be really careful what we use and I can't do any of the spraying because of the baby on board. Luckily, we've never had them in the house. The closest they've come is that attached garage and that's only when spilled dog food doesn't get cleaned up.
I just need to rant a little. We might have a frost here again tonight. It is June 2nd for crying out loud. There is no way I can cover everything I have planted. Our last frost date is supposed to be May 15th. I think someone forgot to tell Mother Nature.
They just has snow night before where my brother in law lives in Upstate NY! I hear ya, the weather's been iffy so far this Spring.
We had a storm last night with high winds and hail. I'm thankfully for all the rain lately so that I don't have to water every night, but it's starting to be almost too much.Oh, and I caught a little bunny rabbit eating my lettuce last night. We thought maybe we could get by without fencing the veggie garden, but it doesn't look like that's going to work.
I've been thankful for the rain too so there's less watering for me to do too (especially trying to get the grass to grow out back). Gets so darn chilly when it rains. Or gets sticky humid.
Aw, man! Me too Kelly Jo - and I was sick last night so I didn't do a darn thing about it. I'm giving a little prayer up that things will be OK, sending out good karma... and doing a little chant (a little crazy maybe, but I'm trying everything). And dang - June - brrrrr.
Spring is nearly at it's rainy humid end (though it's been feeling a lot more like summer as of late). We're back (too soon) from Gettysburg PA for vacation & it's catch up time for me!The mole out back has been busy while we were gone - one of the squirrels alerted me to his location a bit ago and I could actually see the dirt moving! Have to do something about the buggers - I've finally gotten grass to grow out back and don't need this little guy messing it all up!
Fighting over-saturation & humidity! And mold on one of the rose bushes!
My impatients are doing horribly! There are 4 in a container on the front porch and all but one are droopy and rubbery. It's a shame. They were my favorites this year.I'm thinking of taking them back to the garden center where I purchased them. They weren't cheap and said they were "guaranteed." I've never heard of a flower with a warranty, but I wonder what they'd do.
Katie wrote: "My impatients are doing horribly! There are 4 in a container on the front porch and all but one are droopy and rubbery. It's a shame. They were my favorites this year.I'm thinking of taking them ..."
Sounds like they're in need of water! I've found with Impatiens that even though it says they're (full) sun tolerant, mine have always done best in full shade. Otherwise, they've all died on me!
Generally, the guarantee is only for perennials, if you buy it this year and it fails to bloom/return next season, you can bring it back with your receipt to get a refund. Usually the guarantee isn't for annuals (which Impatiens are except in some fairly evenly warm climates).
Try moving them into the shade and if they still aren't doing well in a week or so, call the garden center & see what they'll do for you.
Jo wrote: "Katie wrote: "My impatients are doing horribly! There are 4 in a container on the front porch and all but one are droopy and rubbery. It's a shame. They were my favorites this year.I'm thinking o..."
They're on our covered front porch and only get faint morning sun. I've been very careful to keep the soil moist since putting them in the container.
The only 2 things I can think of are overwatering or my husband's overuse of fertilizer. I was out of town and he decided to play the good husband by fertilizing all of my containers and beds. He's of the "if some is good then more is better" school of thought. I don't know much about fertilizer so I'm afraid maybe they're just fried. :( I just can't explain why one of them is doing okay and the rest are flopping.
Katie--Are they tall and "leggy"? If so it might help to cut them back and bit and let them regrow. Mine do best in the shade and if I water them only when the top of the soil in the pot is dry to the touch. You can also try digging one of the underachievers out of the pot and taking a look at the roots to see if they're rotted or root bound. If they look root bound you can use the tines of a fork to pull some of the roots apart and spread them out in the soil when you replant. Good luck!!
Good point, check to see if they may be root bound & if they are, score the roots like Cheryl said above & repot. Generally if they're over watered, their foliage will start turning yellow. If everything seems to check out alright & the mystery remains, bring them back to the garden center and see if they can tell you anything.
Hi all! I've been so busy with end of school , birthday parties, and actual gardening. My container tomatoes are not doing as well as those in my raised bed. I bought good soil from Home Depot but evidently not good enough. The raised bed has manure and compost from my heap, the tomato plants are huge. Just goes to show soil is everything.
Lillies opened up - gorgeous. And I saw lots of lightning bugs the other night!
Amen! I have sandy soil and I have to amend like crazy to get stuff to do well. I fork in a bunch of compost and cow manure when I plant and then some time in the first part of July I top dress with more of the same. We are having a very dry year and the value of real rainwater as opposed to what comes out of a hose has been made very clear. We finally had about and inch of rain after 28 days of none and I swear my plants grew 3 inches overnight!
We had our first tomato from the garden last night. Yay! It tasted wonderful.
Wow, Sonya, a first tomato! It'll be weeks before I'm there. Right now I'm excited to have fresh greens.
Wow, Sonya, a first tomato! It'll be weeks before I'm there. Right now I'm excited to have fresh greens.
We bought one plant that was a bit larger. The other 48 (!) plants are just blossoming. I had ordered 6 orange tomato plants from Burpee's thinking we'd pick up another 6 or so of the red varieties locally. My husband went with me to the garden store and while I was picking out flowers he was filling a flat with tomato plants. I guess we'll be canning. Anybody know where I can get a deal on canning jars? ;o)
There are lightning bugs ALL OVER our back yard! YAY! I'm weeks away from the 1st tomato this year, #1 because I couldn't find Early Girls (that weren't moldy) like I usually use each year and #2 because of all the rain and dark cloudy weather we've been having for weeks on end. After having honey roasted plum tomato brushetta at a local Italian restaurant this past Sunday, I'm wishing I'd also picked up plum tomato's! YUM!
Sonya, your local hardware store or foodstore, Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's carry the canning jars.
Jo that made my mouth water! And lightning bugs all over here too - yay!
I never had a honey roasted plum tomato before and I can't wait to have it again! It was lying on top of ricatta cheese which was on garlic brushetta toast and it was drizzled with garlic olive oil! The great thing about this place is their tiny garden along side of it. It's amazing that they've done w/such a small piece of land. They have 60 Tomato plants of different types, 15 different types of Thyme and other herbs in their 'scent' section like a lemon geranium, something that was minty but not called mint (gold something) and the largest Sage bush I've ever seen! And flowers too! I took a pic but I'm not sure how well it came out. If it's good I'll post it to my blog & let y'all know here.
I have to try that dish it sounds amazing. Oh I can't wait for pictures!
That bruschetta sounds terrific. One more reason to want the tomatos to get ripe ASAP. Also I would love to see pictures of that garden.Sonya, you might try garage or estate sales for your canning jars. I've seen brand new ones still in the boxes that go for very little money.
I'm posting the pic as we speak! It's not the best but it gives one view. Next time I'll make sure to take a few. I'll update w/the link in a few.
The new fence section & gate are up and the yard's bare patches are finally growing in. All of the seeds are planted - will update w/all the flowers & veggies soon. Most of the annuals are potted (pink Wax Begonia's & Dream Petunia's and lilac purple Vinca & Dream Petunia's and Lemon Zest yellow Petunia's out back - pink Dream Petunia's and red, white & blue (purple) Dream Petunia's out front) as are most of the new perennials (2 different pink Dianthus, Rosa Radcon Knockout rose bush and Star Rose Mardi Gras rose bush out back) along with the established perennials. I post lots of pics at this time of year on my blog: http://justdigginaround.blogspot.com .