Anyone Gardening Yet?

[AngC]

There was a thread last season about gardening. I can't find it, so... What are you all doing???

In prior years, I always got started too late. So I tried to do better this year. I've planted cool season flowers (like pansies, snapdragons) and cool season veggies (lettuce, onions, brassicas.) Some of them are sprouting.

One bonus for me is that, we got a replacement greenhouse heater!!!

(The same lightning bolt that took out Nicky's eyeball also trashed much of our electrical, plus took out the circuit board on the heater for the greenhouse.)

It's a little late in the season, plus it's been rather warm, but it sure is nice to have that up and running again.

 

[secuono]

I always start way too soon, so this year, I waited until yesterday.

I'll be doing bucket gardening this year, since weeds always suddenly swamp everything. So these will be transplanted to 5 gallon buckets when the last threat of frost passes.

Sweet Pepper, Cali Wonder Pepper, Waltham 29 Broccoli & Brunswick Cabbage in the first picture.

Tom Thumb Lettuce, Red Romaine Lettuce, Straight 8 Cucumber, Iceberg Lettuce, Marketmore 76 Cucumber, Snowball Cauliflower, Crimson Sweet Watermelon potted in the second picture.

Garden Mix Carrot, Sweet Corn & Indian Gem Corn I'll be planting later on.

 

[chandab]

Um, no. We still have at least two more months of winter and can have cold crappy weather into May. Rule of thumb around here is to wait until Mother's Day to plant anything outside.

 

[lucky seven]

All I 'm doing is browsing catalogs and magazines and dreaming.

 

[chandab]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I have a black thumb, so don't have a veggie garden. I have a few day lilies, lots of violas, and a few potted plants; otherwise just so-so lawn around here and some lilac bushes.

 

[Miniv]

I WISH we had a green house!!! Living in Central Oregon we're like Chanda and don't dare plant anything outside until the first of June....

except bulbs.....bulbs are safe.

 

[AngC]

I WISH we had a green house!!! Living in Central Oregon we're like Chanda and don't dare plant anything outside until the first of June....

except bulbs.....bulbs are safe.

A greenhouse is a mixed blessing. We got one when we bought our property. It sucked up a fair amount of money to get it set up right and then it sucked up even more money after the lightning strike.

I disagree with planting out in June. I've been slowly learning by experimentation; there's a fair amount of things you can plant out earlier. Lettuce, for example, can take darn near freezing (and tastes better when it's had some cold nipping at it.) Onions can take really cool weather. I've found that our copious amounts of rain are more damaging than the cooler temperatures.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Ive been gardening all summer and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I have had alot more success with my veggie gardens this year compared to the last few. I planted everything far too late but the surprising thing was that i started to get Veggies after only 5 weeks. I opted for cow manure this year compared to blood and bone fertilizer and it has seemed to help.

I have had a ridiculously larege amount of zucchini, cucumbers and not to mention thousands of cherry tomatoes. We didnt or havent yet had a continuously hot summer like we usually do so Im thinking slightly cooler weather had attributed to my rather large harvest this year

I planted 90 trees along the boundary and throughout the farm and accomplished 3.5km of irrigation.

The gardens are looking wonderful here , just wish I could say the same for the inside of the house

 

[lucky seven]

I love roses and have tried several varieties nothing works so have given up. Annuals work better here. I have clay soil so it's hard to plant anything without adding lots of good dirt and horse poop.

 

[Miniv]

Hybrid roses aren't as hardy......Have you tried the old fashioned bush variety? We haven't had good luck with the hybrids either,

but our old fashioned ones are amazing!

 

[susanne]

I was going to say what Maryann said -- hybrid teas and most modern roses lack vigor. Give me the heirloom roses and shrub roses...old varieties that have stood the test of time. And while I love many annuals, I stick to the self-seeding kind so that I don't end up planting them over and over each year.

Now that our house is (finally) built, it's time to get all my plants out of pots and into the ground -- many are plants I dug up and brought along when we bought this property. Our old place in town was heaven on earth for a gardener -- 1/2 an acre with garden soil that had been amended and enriched for over 50 years -- my plants looked at it and started growing. Our new property had good soil, but excavation for the building pad exposed the clay subsoil and bulldozers ran roughshod over that. We had our excavator save some of the top soil, but so much was lost, so instead of rich beds, each plant will get a hole with compost and topsoil, with generous layers of mulch to slowly build the clay. I'll tell them to just be happy they're no longer in pots!

First up, I'm planting a variety of hydrangeas (oakleaf, preziosa, annabelle and others), along with clematis and ornamental vitus around the front porch. Oregon natives (vine maple, mahonia, ocean spray, wild ginger, heuchera, deer fern, sword fern, rhododendrons, etc.) will be planted along our long, shady driveway under the firs. Then we have the hillside behind our house that will have, amongst other shrubs and perennials, Baggessen's Gold Honeysuckle (an evergreen...or evergold) placed strategically to block the one house visible from ours.

While I'm primarily an ornamental gardener, I'm putting in raised beds on the south side of the house to replace our old vegetable garden. Rather than using wood frames that eventually rot or split, I'm using 8x8x16 inch cement blocks. Half of one done, 3-1/2 still to go -- those suckers are heavy! Then comes filling them... We have an antique metal fence to keep dogs, ponies and other creatures from trampling everything.

This should keep me busy and out of trouble for a long time to come. Just in case that's not enough, we also plan to put up a metal carport run-in and create a pseudo-paddock paradise track to give the ponies access to our hillside and woods.

 

[sundancer]

I have slowly picking up new seeds. I am so chomping at the bit to get going. Here in Maine we don't get to start til the end of May. BUT I cant wait that long!!! LOL I start mine inside the first of April and work with it til they can go out safely.

My Jack Russell, Tucker, loves to garden with me. He loves to dig the holes for me and chase the chippies!!! LOL

I am a little jealous some of you get to start so early!!!

Julie

Victory Pass Stable

Maine

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I plan to get my onions tomorrow. Hoping to work in the garden in the afternoon. Need to cut down the asparagus, bring in compost, and prune my espaliered fruit trees.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I always start way too soon, so this year, I waited until yesterday.

I'll be doing bucket gardening this year, since weeds always suddenly swamp everything. So these will be transplanted to 5 gallon buckets when the last threat of frost passes.

Sweet Pepper, Cali Wonder Pepper, Waltham 29 Broccoli & Brunswick Cabbage in the first picture.

Tom Thumb Lettuce, Red Romaine Lettuce, Straight 8 Cucumber, Iceberg Lettuce, Marketmore 76 Cucumber, Snowball Cauliflower, Crimson Sweet Watermelon potted in the second picture.

Garden Mix Carrot, Sweet Corn & Indian Gem Corn I'll be planting later on.

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tom thumb is my favorite!

 

[secuono]

Got the greenhouse frame up!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Ive been gardening all summer and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I have had alot more success with my veggie gardens this year compared to the last few. I planted everything far too late but the surprising thing was that i started to get Veggies after only 5 weeks. I opted for cow manure this year compared to blood and bone fertilizer and it has seemed to help.

I have had a ridiculously larege amount of zucchini, cucumbers and not to mention thousands of cherry tomatoes. We didnt or havent yet had a continuously hot summer like we usually do so Im thinking slightly cooler weather had attributed to my rather large harvest this year

I planted 90 trees along the boundary and throughout the farm and accomplished 3.5km of irrigation.

The gardens are looking wonderful here , just wish I could say the same for the inside of the house

Your hard work and planning are paying off!

 

[MiniNHF]

I started to late last year so I am going to start this week in transfer pots at least to get them going and when it starts to get warmer/a little nicer up here I will be transferring them into my garden area.

 

[lucky seven]

I'll look in to the shrub roses and see what happens. I always end up with black leaves and no flowers. I intend to have more planted this besides tomato plants.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

A lady that I used to work with told me to tell my mum to plant garlic cloves throughout her rose gardens. She said it would stop all the bugs and unwanted critters from destroying them.

I know nothing about roses what so ever , but apparently , this year has been the best for mums roses yet.

 

[susanne]

Some varieties of roses, old and new, are magnets for black spot and rust. Ask at your nursery and read about your particular rose. David Austin roses are usually good, as are new versions of some of the old garden roses.Pluck any leaves showing black spot immediately and put them in the garbage -- be careful not to drop them on the ground or in the compost.