Gardening

[geargrrl]

This is kind of funny. My hubby doensn't help much with gardening, but he will mow and he's pretty good (obsessive) about certain kinds of weeds. Early on at this house we had planted some aspen/poplars that turned into a pest and were sending roots and suckers everywhere. One of our Japanese maples was getting strangled.

He got on a mission to kill these trees, which is very hard to do since they spread underground. He read up online, and next thing you know he's injecting double strength Roundup into the main (original) tree trunks, and hand applying with to all the little suckers. Lo and behold, two years later, multiple doses of intravenous round up into the pesky things and they are dead.

 

[Jenny]

Our neighbor was busy scoring and painting some branches/trunks of a junk tree this weekend. Said he bought a gallon of the stuff he was using 35 years ago and it probably isn't even legal anymore but it does the same thing - gets sucked in and kills it.

 

[altagirl]

My husband likes mowing and edging and is good with a chainsaw when we need to cut down dead trees... or will build raised beds and such, but the actual planting and gardening aren't really his things.

In fact, last night, upon discovering all the poison ivy in the side yard, he said "Oh, don't worry about it, I'll just go weed-whack it". Which would help what, exactly? Spread it around more effectively and leave the roots to grow back? Thanks, but no thanks, love.

 

[Christy]

Note to gardeners -always check the level of aggressive! I spent a few hours yeasterday digging out a bed of decorative zebra grass. Oops. I hit it with the roundup about two weeks ago, and then spent yesterday digging out the mats of stolons and root balls. <sigh> I should know better.

We got to buy our neighbors a new driveway because our bamboo escaped and uplifted it. A year later we are still playing whack-a-mole digging up errant bamboo sprouts. Talk about "should have known better..."

 

[geargrrl]

My husband likes mowing and edging and is good with a chainsaw when we need to cut down dead trees... or will build raised beds and such, but the actual planting and gardening aren't really his things.

In fact, last night, upon discovering all the poison ivy in the side yard, he said "Oh, don't worry about it, I'll just go weed-whack it". Which would help what, exactly? Spread it around more effectively and leave the roots to grow back? Thanks, but no thanks, love.

Gotta love them.. but sometimes the ideas on what's best for the garden are a little whacked.
Sorry about the pun.

 

[bounceswoosh]

In fact, last night, upon discovering all the poison ivy in the side yard, he said "Oh, don't worry about it, I'll just go weed-whack it". Which would help what, exactly? Spread it around more effectively and leave the roots to grow back? Thanks, but no thanks, love.

Hey, bright side. At least he didn't offer to burn it ...

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Freeze warning for early a.m. hours Friday here.
Ha, well, I KNEW this would happen, it usually does. Glad we did not jump the gun (like so many others did) and plant tender stuff prematurely.

 

[artistinsuburbia]

My husband likes mowing and edging and is good with a chainsaw when we need to cut down dead trees... or will build raised beds and such, but the actual planting and gardening aren't really his things.

In fact, last night, upon discovering all the poison ivy in the side yard, he said "Oh, don't worry about it, I'll just go weed-whack it". Which would help what, exactly? Spread it around more effectively and leave the roots to grow back? Thanks, but no thanks, love.

mine will mow, mulch, weed, edge, trim, etc... however, he refuses to learn what plants are. Going by his philosophy of "when in doubt, pull it out" I've lost a few things here and there. UGH...wish you could train them like puppies.

 

[BackCountryGirl]

Freeze warning for early a.m. hours Friday here.
Ha, well, I KNEW this would happen, it usually does. Glad we did not jump the gun (like so many others did) and plant tender stuff prematurely.

MSL, did you get snow last night? I bought my tender stuff on Thursday (for fear of not having the choices I wanted), but did not put anything in the ground yet and kept everything in the garage last night. Boy is it cold this morning. I ordered new stones and brushes,. The idea of planting in a down jacket and mittens is so unappealing.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I have a question about my tomato plants. I bought two heirloom plants (purple cherokee) and one Roma. The stem on one of the heirlooms broke before I planted it, and the snow a couple of weeks ago hit it hard. But it is showing new growth, despite our rainy grey weather. Should I just rip it out and replace it, on the theory that it's too far behind to produce much? Or might it rally?

 

[MaineSkiLady]

MSL, did you get snow last night? I bought my tender stuff on Thursday (for fear of not having the choices I wanted), but did not put anything in the ground yet and kept everything in the garage last night. Boy is it cold this morning. I ordered new stones and brushes,. The idea of planting in a down jacket and mittens is so unappealing.

Ha - no snow here, but I heard Caribou got some. We brought stuff in also, was 38 here this a.m., plus WIND. Hear ya, re: down jacket & mittens! Okay now, but the day pretty much didn't happen wrt serious planting for us. Smallish garden now compared to former location anyway. *Think* worst of cold snap is done?? Wow, though, to the WIND up here - was raging. <<My Kingdom for a Wind Turbine!>>

 

[Jenny]

Anybody have hydrangeas? I bought one today that sounded interesting. I always thought they were shade plants, but I guess they can take more sun than I thought. This one is called Strawberry Sundae (hydrangea paniculata 'rensun'). Anyway, I'm going to try this one in a fairly sunny spot, on one side of the garage door.

Wish me luck. The only other one I ever had never bloomed beyond the first year. This one says it blooms on new wood, which should make it easier for me to remember when to cut it.

 

[mustski]

My neighbor has mint he planted in the ground.... without a pot to contain the roots. So needless to say I don't have to plant mint ever, since it's growing up on my side of the fence now. I usually do some mint pesto (it's tasty on chicken and white beans) and am considering making my own mint tea, if I can figure out how to dry the mint. I'm not sure if it's as easy as hanging it in bunches from my window....

I am not much of a gardener. We have fruit trees but everything else attracts rats which attracts rattle snakes .... so ...

But, mint is definitely something worth growing. It is one of the absolute best herbs for digestion. I put fresh mint, ginger, lemon, and cucumber in water and chill it. I suffer from GERD and that water prescription totally takes care of all my digestive issues. It also reduces bloating!

 

[bounceswoosh]

I am not much of a gardener. We have fruit trees but everything else attracts rats which attracts rattle snakes .... so ...

But, mint is definitely something worth growing. It is one of the absolute best herbs for digestion. I put fresh mint, ginger, lemon, and cucumber in water and chill it. I suffer from GERD and that water prescription totally takes care of all my digestive issues. It also reduces bloating!

Hmm. Maybe I should learn to like fresh mint. Your recipe sounds delicious.

 

[vickie]

I put fresh mint, ginger, lemon, and cucumber in water and chill it.

Ginger ... Sliced, whole, or what?
Lemon and cucumber ... Sliced?
Mint ... Whole leaves?

Just wondering what it takes to get the flavors to come out without overdoing it.

 

[Kimmyt]

Yes recipe please! Do you boil the water and then chill? Or does it infuse into the chilled water given enough time?

 

[mustski]

Ginger ... Sliced, whole, or what?
Lemon and cucumber ... Sliced?
Mint ... Whole leaves?

Just wondering what it takes to get the flavors to come out without overdoing it.

LOL. My recipes vary every time so all amounts below are approximate. I make it every other day in a large pitcher (about the size of a standard margarita pitcher)
Fresh mint - pulled off the bush and thrown in - about a handful
Fresh ginger - shredded using the smallest holes on the shredder - about 2 tbs
whole lemon sliced
whole cucumber - peeled and sliced

I don't do anything special with the water. I just use the filtered water from my refrigerator dispenser.

 

[pinto]

^^I love throwing fruits and veggies in my water. Never used ginger, though, thanks for the tip. I often use cucumber, lemon, and strawberry.

 

[Jenny]

Rabbits like Obedient Plant/False Dragonhead.

We hates rabbits.

It's now wabbit season.

 

[altagirl]

Rabbits like Obedient Plant/False Dragonhead.

We hates rabbits.

It's now wabbit season.

Haha. Reminds me of when I was a kid. One of my dad's regular pastimes was standing on the deck with a BB gun, guarding our (large) garden from rabbits.