Gardening

[enough]

It takes a whopping level of self control to IGNORE plants to the degree that keeps them happy

Yep. I ignore plants with the skill only granted to the totally uninterested. Right now I have a thousand row feet of a bicolor corn called ambrosia. I think my goal this season is to maximize the eat:work ratio and it is coming along nicely!
A very large (400 acres when he was doing just the one crop) corn farmer drives up my road to get to his back corners and his advice is pretty much the same as your quote when speaking about corn. This year I disced, augmented (with compost) and tilled the soil. Then I laid out rows, loaded my little rickety seeder and planted nice straight rows, set up sprinklers for a complete watering with multiple possibilities for combinations of hoses and splitters that would get the whole area good and wet. Then I took his advice and did nothing more until the seeds came up on their own, not a drop of water, nothing. The soil got warm enough, the morning dews got heavy enough and up they came, 3 weeks after I would have turned on the spigots and worried about seed rot for almost a month. Thousand row feet, gonna be huge. Looking the other way as much as possible.

 

[Midnightmoon]

Oh my

 

[Defaultxlove]

Eating my first hot chili from the garden it’s way hotter than I expected! I love it!

 

[Rose White]

@Defaultxlove congratulations!

 

[Mach123]

These are growing at the high water mark, below it actually. I’ve never seen these and I’ve been living here 15 years or so. I wonder if they’re introduced for “dune” stabilization lol. They are going to be washed away this winter I suppose. They must be very hardy and it looks like they flower at night maybe? They have spikes on the seed loss o notice. Anyone know what this is ?

 

[Defaultxlove]

jimsonweed @Mach123?

 

[Rose White]

@Mach123 Datura for sure (I just posted a pic of mine in photography). @Defaultxlove gave one of the common names. Yours is likely D. stramonium, which has spread all over the world. I love the flowers. It can form a thick root and come back year after year but likely needs a little shelter from the elements in such a cold place as where you live. There are some gorgeous cultivated varieties with double or rose-like blooms and purple and yellow petals. Look for the golf ball size spiky seed pod if you want to try growing at your house. They are a host for Manduca moths (tomato/tobacco horn worms) and some gardeners grow it to toss the tomato worms on as a substitute food.

 

[Mach123]

@Mach123 Datura for sure (I just posted a pic of mine in photography). @Defaultxlove gave one of the common names. Yours is likely D. stramonium, which has spread all over the world. I love the flowers. It can form a thick root and come back year after year but likely needs a little shelter from the elements in such a cold place as where you live. There are some gorgeous cultivated varieties with double or rose-like blooms and purple and yellow petals. Look for the golf ball size spiky seed pod if you want to try growing at your house. They are a host for Manduca moths (tomato/tobacco horn worms) and some gardeners grow it to toss the tomato worms on as a substitute food.

No wonder I found it so attractive, the devils weed. I’m sure someone introduced it for the dune, I recall reading it has a very deep root.

 

[Mach123]

jimsonweed @Mach123?

Thx it’s quite a beautiful plant.

 

[Mach123]

@Mach123 Datura for sure (I just posted a pic of mine in photography). @Defaultxlove gave one of the common names. Yours is likely D. stramonium, which has spread all over the world. I love the flowers. It can form a thick root and come back year after year but likely needs a little shelter from the elements in such a cold place as where you live. There are some gorgeous cultivated varieties with double or rose-like blooms and purple and yellow petals. Look for the golf ball size spiky seed pod if you want to try growing at your house. They are a host for Manduca moths (tomato/tobacco horn worms) and some gardeners grow it to toss the tomato worms on as a substitute food.

It was inundated as I suspected it would be by the high tide last week, meaning the flood or full moon tide . Not looking too good, I took the opportunity to pluck a seed pod . We will see if the one on the beach comes back. Meanwhile I have a new plant for next year I hope.

 

[Rose White]

It was inundated as I suspected it would be by the high tide last week, meaning the flood or full moon tide

Oh so it grew that much in four weeks?

Also the flood or full moon tide is higher than the new moon tide?

 

[enough]

we got corn! no bugs or borers, used no fertilizer and only weeded twice, maybe 800 feet of solid row, and the rest is what they call green manure to be tilled under or left fir the birds to find