What's in the Garden?

[Addie]

I try not to use poisons either, but sometimes it is them or me. In this case my cabbage plants would not have had a chance if I hadn't.

I understand completely. I would hate to see the bugs win after all your hard work. Some of us garden due to the love of the activity. And some to feed our family. But for all of us, we get that same sense of accomplishment when we taste success. No matter how we arrive there.

 

[GLC]

Around here, if you plant arugula, you had better like arugula. From maybe three plants in a small herb garden last spring, in the fall it came up in several places nearby and about 50 feet away. Can't wait to see where all it comes up this year. Fortunately, we like it a lot. Borage kind of did the same, and I have no use for that much borage, so mostly the flowers will go into salads.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Arugula did the same in my parent's yard, grew everywhere but where they planted it for ease of harvesting.

 

[Leolady]

Goodness, Leolady! You've been busy!

I've been using Pyola spray from Gardens Alive, an organic company, for years. It's a combo of pyrithrins and canola oil, and works like magic on all sorts of critters. Takes care of the sawfly larvae, Mexican bean beetles, rose slugs, flea beetles, aphids, you name it.

I will be googling Gardens Alive momentarily! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[sparrowgrass]

For cabbage and other cole family plants (broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower), nothing works better than bacillius Thuringiensis, aka bT. It comes as a spray or powder, and it is a bacteria that kills worms--they eat it and stop growing, die and fall off the plant. Dipel is a brand name, so is Thuricide.

It is non toxic to humans and other animals and really, really works. There are other varieties of the same stuff that work on Colorado potato beetles and on mosquito larvae. I usually buy it at Lowes, and won't grow broccoli without it. Gardens Alive might have it as well.

I use some pyrethrins as well, but they are toxic, so I save those for squash bugs. Some of those organic pesticides are not good for humans to ingest, so I use them sparingly, if at all.

 

[CWS4322]

rhubarb is up! Chickens are working on the deer-fence line (getting the stinging nettles out and crab grass--chicken tillers!).

 

[taxlady]

My chives are up and I can see the little, yellow heads of my daffodils trying to break free of the earth.

 

[lyndaW]

Was at Home Depot and I saw a couple of farmers loading up two buggys with Black Krim tomato plants..they come from Russia, they said they were thee very best tasting tomatos they had ever found...looks a little strange, but I splurged and bought three @ $1.47 each

 

[taxlady]

Today, in my garden:

The "tall" one is 15 cm tall (~6 inches) and 3 cm in diameter (~1.25 inches).

I love daffodils. They look so happy and silly.

 

[CWS4322]

Today, in my garden:

The "tall" one is 15 cm tall (~6 inches) and 3 cm in diameter (~1.25 inches).

I love daffodils. They look so happy and silly.

I'm jealous! But then, I don't have any daffodils planted at the farm...they are at the house in the City.

 

[Dawgluver]

Mine are all done now, but they were so pretty.

 

[Leolady]

I just got home with pots of rosemary, sweet marjoram, and cilantro from the nursery.

 

[taxlady]

I just got home with pots of rosemary, sweet marjoram, and cilantro from the nursery.

I really, really need to make a trip to the nursery. The one I usually go to is now a car dealership.

Maybe they moved again. I'll have to try to find them. They have/had an organic section.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I just got my copy of the Lehman's Catalog, they have a passle of Heirloom Seeds for sale...$2.95 a packet or 5 or more for $2.79 a packet. www.lehmans.com

Take a peek! Makes me wish I didn't kill anything I try to grow.

 

[taxlady]

I just got my copy of the Lehman's Catalog, they have a passle of Heirloom Seeds for sale...$2.95 a packet or 5 or more for $2.79 a packet. www.lehmans.com

Take a peek! Makes me wish I didn't kill anything I try to grow.

Why do you get a seed catalogue if you don't grow stuff?

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Why do you get a seed catalogue if you don't grow stuff?

It's NOT just a seed catalog...they have everything simple and Amish. I use it for some of my soap making ingredients and the rustic fun items. Check out the site...they have every thing.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Beautiful daffs Tax.They are the national flower of Wales so every road side and public park is full. We planted a lot of Tulips last yr and they have done well. The house is full of cut spring flowers, the big yellow tulip in the pic is scented.

 

[Back Rhodes]

Fresno Chili's...

I never heard of them until one day, several decades ago, I was picking blackberries next to the upper Napa River, and I noticed the peppers the Campesino's grew were Fresno's...

So I order some every year from a garden supplier...

It's still to early to put them out in the garden due to frost, so they're in the greenhouse for a few more weeks...

 

[Leolady]

Last Sunday I planted 12 tomato plants, 8 bell pepper plants, 4 jalepeno pepper plants, and 8 more broccoli plants.

I did a light weeding [dandelions are not stymied by the heavy mulch]. Most things are doing well except my carrots which were covered by mulch by my garden "helper".

 

[Claire]

I just went to Park Seed's web site and bought lots of seeds. Actually, I tend to mostly grow from seedlings because of our short growth year. But I can never resist. It's still too early to plant! I freaked when I came home from 3 weeks caring for parents to find that a packet of romaine gave me a half dozen heads. A slight bit bitter (I've been told by my farmer friends it's because there wasn't any rain), but OK enough. But I bought a half-dozen bags of composted manure, and my tomato plants (early girls) and some herbs. Already have sage, curly parsley, some mints, lovage, burnette, chives, oregano, thyme coming from my perennial/biennual herb plants. I want to plant some edible flowers as well.