Gardening : Gardening

[Moonshadow]

Thanks for inviting me, I am an avid gardener. I find a sense of peace in the garden.

Hodge, I also love Hollyhocks. Their spikes of flowers are so striking and beautiful. As for the blueberries, hang in there.

There's a saying that goes with perennials, "First, they sleep, next, they creep, then they leap."

It takes a good 2-3 years before you notice any real growth (or berries). We planted 6 blueberry plants last year, and they are still pretty scrawny. I also live in the Upper Midwest, and I've heard that some blueberries do better than others, around here.

Grama-Herc, have you tried petunias or marigolds? Both of those flower profusely. If you like houseplants, you might try a fuschia. Just make sure you keep it well watered.

My garden is thriving, for the most part. I have more fresh peas than I can pick or eat, and my beets are lovely. We had an unseasonably cool and wet spring, so everything got a late start. Summer has also been rather wet and coolish, so far.

 

[hodge]

That's a cool saying about perennials, Moonshadow. I'll keep that in mind about my hollyhocks - and the blueberries, as Kers also advised. My blueberry bush is supposed to be a 2-year-old seedling, but since it seems to be dormant, or dead, I probably shouldn't expect fruit this year, I guess. Anyway, the package mine came in says it's a Jersey blueberry. It was the only kind available at the "general store" in our little town, so I would think that means it should do well here.

Yep, the planting weather here in the Upper Midwest has not been good. Last year, I had my garden in on May 1; this year, it was May 31! Still, most of my vegetables and flowers seem to be pretty healthy. I just hope the growing season extends on the other end so I get a decent crop.

 

[hodge]

Ick, for the first time, I think I'm going to have to look into getting some slug pellets. I did notice some while I was digging out my rows and I know those fat worm things go into broccoli and corn, at the least, and I'm growing both of those. Has anyone tried these? Are they dangerous to pets? Our dog roams free in our backyard (though I had to rope off the corn row;) and I don't want to use anything that's hazardous to animals - or, for that matter, to the plants we're going to eat!

 

[hodge]

Whew, I finally got my recently flashbacking and still-recovering carcass outside to catch up on weeding this morning before it gets unbearable hot. Even though my garden is like at least 10 times larger than any I've had before, the weeding is easier and seems quicker, because when I dug my rows I painstakingly tore out as many roots of weeds, grass, etc. as I could. It's paying off bigtime now.

I also figured out that it's easier to use long hedge clippers (instead of the relatively teensy grass clippers) to chop down grass and stuff in between the rows that can't be mowed - doh! Probably a sickle would be better, but don't think I've got one. And I don't know how to use one if I had ;)

 

[Moonshadow]

Hodge, I've read that slugs like beer. If you put some bowls or cups of beer out, they will fall in and drown. I think it works best at night.

I prefer not to kill things, so I've never tried it, but at least it won't hurt your dog. Although, I know some dogs like beer, too.

 

[hodge]

Thanks, Moonshadow. I'd rather not kill things, too, but I don't know how else to keep them out of my veggies? Almost nothing grosses me out like getting into a head or broccoli or peeling an ear of corn and seeing a slug or caterpillar thingy in there. Yuck yuck yuck!!! Course now that's my husband's job:). He doesn't like to kill things, either. He tries to move them out to the front yard. Maybe there's some kind of herb or, I don't know, something unharmful that will just repel them. I'll have to do some web searching.

 

[Nam]

Ok, I am totally flattered for being invited into this group since I'm well known in my family for killing plants, not growing them! My hubs says I have a cianide thumb. I just have to touch something green and it'll wilt and die. I can say that I am now growing things....but not all things good. I'm almost positive I have a huge crop of poison ivy growing in my back yard. I may spray them today, but I'm timid since this is my first time with any herbicide. It's also growing right on the property line and I'd hate to kill something of my neighbor's by accident. Any of you have advice?

All that I'm growing really well right now is my cherry tomatoes. I have three plants in one big container and I'm thinking of transplanting one of the plants into the ground to make more room for the other two plants. I also planted three in the ground but they are not growing. On a good note, they're not dying either, but they have been the same size since I bought them. My daughter loves cherry tomatoes so we'll see!

I saw that my raspberries are coming along in the back yard even though I have too many weeds in the bed. I also have a mulberry tree that the squirrels love! I'm not so sure about the mulberry tree.....

I think some of you need to add pics to this group! I just may take a pic of the poison ivy and see what you guys think.

 

[hodge]

Hi Nam and welcome! Don't worry about the cyanide thumb (haha), this is for everyone who likes gardening period. I have a mulberry tree, too, but it seems that the birds always beat us to them. I'll have to think some more on your questions and it's likely our small but illustrious group may have suggestions. I bought a disposable camera today to take some photos of my garden, so it'll be a couple weeks for mine probably.

 

[hodge]

Hi and welcome, Cecilia! Glad to see you in the "forum garden"!

 

[hodge]

Hey Veiled!! I'm so glad to see you here and look forward to hearing about your gardening!

 

[hodge]

Nam,

I don't know any advice about your poison ivy, though I'd try to make sure that's what it is.

I did the exact same thing as you with cherry tomatoes. I started two plants by seed in the house. When I transplanted them into the ground, one died almost immediately, and the other one is way behind. So I threw a bunch of seed into a large container, and now I think I've got at least five or six coming up in there. I'm waiting for them to get a little bigger to make sure they're cherry tomatoes and not weeds (doh!), then I'll have to separate them out somehow cause I think the container's way too small to accommodate even two plants. Have you tried a plant food, like Miracle-Gro? Another thing I've learned this season is to make sure the plants are deep enough in the ground, like right up to the lowest leaves.

 

[Moonshadow]

You can plant tomatoes as deep as you want. If you trim the bottom leaves, you can plant them fairly deep, but it's a good idea to put some rich soil in the bottom of the hole. Composted soil is the best. Tomatoes prefer good drainage, so don't use anything too clayish, without mixing in something sandy, to break it up.

If you decide to use miracle grow, you'll need to feed the plants about every 1-2 weeks. If you're trying to get the foliage (leaves) to grow, try cutting up some banana peels and soaking them in water for an hour or so, then water your plants with it. It gives your plants a great boost of potassium. When you want them to flower and produce fruit, you'll need more nitrogen and phosphorus. Miracle has all three of those needed minerals, it's just not organic.