Garden 2025

[taxlady]

Ok, I get it. But honestly, isn't that sort of like mountains to mole hills?
I actually water my plants from the bottom as they seem to do so much better for me that way.

Of course that also begs to wonder how the water knows it is soil and when to slow down. If you change the pots medium from soil to sand or straw would you confuse the water? Is there an intelligence test for the water? Some days I think my water gets a bit confused. Perhaps it just didn't get a good nights sleep, I believe I've even caught it napping on the job once or twice.

Why are we still discussing how fast the water drains. You originally suggest using the shards to keep the soil from plugging the drain hole, not so the water would drain faster.

I know that one site said the following was bogus and not true but I swear it works.
1. Putting broken shards in the bottom of a pot to make an airy area around the drain hole helps to prevent the dirt from sifting down and clogging the drain. I've always done it and have never had water logged potted plants from not being able to drain properly.
2. You can crush them further to mix into your soil. Helps to retain moisture.

I then explained that the problem with shards isn't that they won't keep the soil from plugging the drainage hole. The problem is with the drainage rate, a different problem. So, there is no need to start defending the use of shards to speed up drainage. You seemed to mean that the shards actually do keep the soil from plugging up the holes. Is that what you meant?

 

[dragnlaw]

yup

 

[pepperhead212]

Today I got my rain barrel set up, for that rain forecast to be here Sunday. And this morning, around 8 am, when I checked the seeds I planted for all those cold weather crops, the first ones came up overnight, so on with the lights (or at least a few of them)! The first ones up were the Giant White Kohlrabi, Pachay Bok Choy, Merlot Napa, and Wasabina Mustard. And not a single one of those was up when I checked last night, around 1 am.

 

[Kathleen]

I did a little weeding in the asparagus bed. Planted some blackberry roots, rhubarb, and potatoes!

 

[pepperhead212]

When I checked the seedlings this morning, all but one variety, of the 16 I planted, had at least one sprout, and many had sprouts in all 4 pots. The only one that doesn't have any is that koquie bok choy, but it's just a little slower - they've all come up when I planted them before. Still none of the scallion seeds are up, inside or out.

I almost wish I had more to do out there, the weather is so nice! One more day of this, even warmer tomorrow, before the rain comes Sunday.

 

[pepperhead212]

As always, I kept finding more to do out there, so I wasn't disappointed!

I got a bunch done outside today, starting with getting a bunch of things out of the shed, and cleaning it out well, and organizing it again. The tractor started right up, after sitting there all winter! I was surprised, for sure. I was only getting it out of the way - nothing is growing yet. I tossed some grass seed in some of those bare areas, since that rain is forecast for Sunday. I tore down the nylon trellis the bean grows on, as it had gotten brittle, after about 4 or 5 years. While I was doing all these things, I had put about half that seedling mix I made up a while back on the grill to "cook", up to about 200°; the other half I'll cook tomorrow, cool, and get the micorrhyzae into it, to get it ready for planting soon. I planted some seeds in 2 of the windowsill boxes, using those seed sponges I got for the hydroponics. I soaked the sponges with a GA3 solution, and the parsley and dukat seeds I soaked in the solution for a few hours, before planting one of parsley and 3 of dukat dill in one box, and 2 of the saved leaf lettuce, and one leisure cilantro and one Burpee cilantro in another box. The other two boxes I'll leave empty, for now - one for the basils, the other maybe some greens.

 

[pepperhead212]

I didn't do much out there today, but I did cook that remaining seedling mix, and got the micorrhyzae mixed into each tray of it, as I dumbed them into the cleaned bucket. I cleaned out my small hydro tub - the dill, lettuce, Russian red kale, and the two mizunas. The small powerhead in that tub died, and even with an airstone, that many plants couldn't keep growing like they were all winter, and it's almost spring, so I wasn't going to try to get it running again. That Persian dill got huge - an over 1" diameter stalk! I won't put it in the hydroponics again, or the boxes around the deck, but I'm anxious to find out how well they grow in the ground, and how long they resist bolting, due to the heat. I put the remains of all those plants into my compost - no sense wasting any! I hosed off everything over the herb bed, so they could enjoy the runoff.

 

[larry_stewart]

Yesterday was my first real day outside . Must have been out there for at least t6 hours.
Planted carrots, arugula, lettuce, radices, dill, parsley cilantro and probably a few other things im forgetting. Built a throw together cold frame to help the seeds out a bit since the temps are still unprerdictable.

last years kale and arugula really perking up since the few days off warmer temps and rain

The rain and temp change also had an impact on my shiitake logs. Must have about 30 + shrooms on it.

Put together a new mushroom bed. Blewit Mushrooms . never heard of them before, but I like trying new things and I have the space , so why not.

Garlic is 6 inches to fertilized that
Also pre fertilized the onion beds.

Brought potted fig trees from the garage to the plant room to ' wake them up'.

Also picked last years carrots that over wintered. Not plentiful, but had a few good ones.

 

[taxlady]

Larry, what is the purpose of that metal grid in the garlic patch?

 

[larry_stewart]

Larry, what is the purpose of that metal grid in the garlic patch?

1) To keep leaff mulch in place ( from the wind)
2) To keep the cats from digging in the beds

 

[larry_stewart]

Another full day outside , sipping on Gazpacho I made last summer from home grown veggies to put me in the gardening mood.

Saw my first bee ( and a wasp). Felt bad because other than a hand full of crocuses, there's not much for my yard to offer yet.

Spent time with my scallions today. I cleaned out the dead ones, replanted the ones that looked in good shape ( those were planted last spring) , and also planted new ones that have accumulated in my fridge over the winter. If left alone, they will flower, but as long as I keep snipping the greens, I'll continue to get new shoots.

Bumper shiitake crop.

 

[jennyema]

We've prepared our raised beds. Since we live where we live, we use lobster meal fertilizer.

We have peas, carrots, lettuces, arugula, spinach, and various radishes in.

The garlic we planted last fall looks great. Chives are getting big. We have a few rogue onions peeking out. My little thyme plant is totally out of control. Its like 3' by 3'. I'll need to cut it back and dry it.

Even though the Cape is pretty temperate, we are not out of frost danger, so most of the other stuff will be planted in a couple weeks.

 

[blissful]

1) To keep leaff mulch in place ( from the wind)
2) To keep the cats from digging in the beds

sorry for laughing. Isn't that cute kitten Kevin? Does he dig in the garlic bed or is he an indoor only cat?

 

[larry_stewart]

sorry for laughing. Isn't that cute kitten Kevin? Does he dig in the garlic bed or is he an indoor only cat?

Kevin, Shlomo and Marilyn aren't the culprits, as they are strictly indoors ( although sometimes Shlomo makes a break for it.) The culprits are most likely Bill, Chezzy and/ or Umbilicus ( Umbie for short). Cant rule out Butch or Susan also.

 

[blissful]

@larry_stewart I had no idea you lived on a cat farm, they are beautiful. Do they belong to the neighbors or do you and your wife mostly keep them in food?

 

[larry_stewart]

we've always had indoor cats. One day, I was out in the garden and my wife said " who's your new friend". I didnt know what she was talking about, and there was Butch following me around. A few months later we found out Butch was a she, and had her first litter. Thats how we acquired Chezzy and Susan. Before we could catch Butch and have her fixed, she had another litter which is how we acquired Umbie and Bill ( we adopted out the other 3 to friends ). We had all of them fixed and also had Umbie's hernia surgically corrected ( an umbilical hernia, hence the name). Bill, Umbie and Chezzy are indoor/ outdoor cats. Butch and Susan strictly outdoors, although they occasionally will come in and eat inside when it's really crappy outside. So to answer your question ( after taking the opportunity to show off my cats), we feed them every day . We also give them flea and tick treatments during the warmer months ( when they let us). Everyone of the cats are fixed and have been to the vet and had shots. Butch lets us pet her willingly, but Susan doesnt like to be pet ( unless she's standing next to her mother ( Butch).
Butch = Mom, Bill is the Dark one to the right Umbie is one of the two striped ones. Only able to tell at that point by his hernia which was protruding out of his abdomen ( you can see the little pink bump on his belly in the pic).

 

[larry_stewart]

Just as an update, Yesterday I removed those grids in the garlic beds now that the plants are well established. In the past I waited longer , but when trying to remove them, the leaves would get caught up in the grids making it more tedious to remove without disturbing the plant. Also, the grid pressing on the mulch could make it more difficult for the shoots to pop through. I also needed those grids to act as a trellis for the peas I planted yesterday.

 

[Kathleen]

I actually celebrated the first day of Spring by weeding three gardens patches, planting two raspberry plants, starting seed in milk carton "hot houses", cleaning out some flower pots to plant some things, and then hiring a landscaping crew to do a spring clean up! I already have potatoes started. My kale and collards that survived the winter are looking nice. Yes, a tiny patch. Ignore the grubby garden shoes!

I have thyme and parsley in one flower pot and spring onions in the other. (Thanks, Blissful!) I also have my "kitchen scrap" flower pot where I have celery and some lettuce seed. Boxes with potatoes peeking at the far right.

In the milk cartons, I have two types of cucumbers, four types of tomatoes, two peppers, and some beets.

I wish I could say I was full of energy, but I am pretty tired tonight.

 

[larry_stewart]

looking good! looks like you're off to a good start.

 

[dragnlaw]

Well done Kathleen! you're on top of it now!