Gardening

[VickiK]

Pretty!

 

[Jenny]

Well, guess it's time to bump this thread!

Went out for a walk today, then came home and cleaned up the beds a bit. Guess I’ll be focusing on the garden a little earlier than I had originally planned (thanks global pandemic).

 

[Christy]

Great idea!! If I'm going to be stuck at home I'm really glad it is garden season. My backyard has gotten increasingly shady as trees have grown, and just this morning we moved our raised bed to the center of the yard where it's sunnier. Aesthetically maybe it's not the best but I just want to grow vegetables this year. I was actually just about to head up to the neighborhood hardware store and buy seeds before the store closes, which I think is inevitable.

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

It's still a bit cool around here to be really doing too much out in the yard. I raked out some of the beds so that as things come up I won't damage them by raking. It's tempting to want to de-thatch the lawn but I like to do it just before I put on the fertilizer and it's still a bit early for that.
It appears a rabbit has eaten off some of the tops of my tulip shoots so I hope they still come up; I've put a small fence around them now to try to stop future chomping.

 

[Jenny]

Yeah, it’s too cool to plant stuff yet, but it was interesting to see what’s already growing. Daffodils, iris, columbine, perennial geranium, sedum, sweet william - all had shoots starting.

There’s part of the bed we'll be expanding this year, so I want to get the grass killed before it really has a chance to start growing, and the dirt turned over so I’m ready to go.

Flower shopping will be interesting this year. I don’t usually start stuff from seed but we usually go out right before Memorial Day and buy annuals then. The place we go is gigantic, and is packed, packed with people. They have cops directing traffic. No way you can be 6 feet away from people. I'm gonna have to go on a weeknight or an afternoon, vs the weekend, if we’re still be super careful then.

 

[Scribble]

We moved this year, so I'm starting over with the perennials. I've planted apple, peach and pear trees, and a tiny saskatoon berry. Asparagus, blackberries and strawberries are on the way. Peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, and herbs are under lights in the basement but I'll probably start everything else in the garden. I like growing heirlooms with funny names, stuff you'll never see in a store, weird pumpkins and squash...and I usually end up giving 3/4 of it to neighbors because I can't keep up with eating it!

 

[liquidfeet]

Since I ended my ski season two weeks ago, I've been raking fall oak leaves. Raking and raking. Still raking. Compost piles are getting too tall; I've started two new ones. Here's the raking in progress in the front: put down tarp on top of leaves leaving some exposed, rake exposed leaves onto it, slide it farther along to expose more leaves, rake those onto it, keep dragging and raking until tarp is full. Drag tarp to compost pile and dump leaves on top. Repeat.

 

[liquidfeet]

Here's the back, done. Leaves keep blowing in all summer long from the woods surrounding everything on all sides.

 

[liquidfeet]

I look every day to see if anything is coming up. Nope, nothing yet. Well, maybe this hellebore counts. It's been developing these flowers since November. I covered it up this year to save it from the deer. It made it through winter uneaten, which it hasn't done in the past. There are a couple of crocuses somewhere, but I didn't bother to take pics of those.

 

[liquidfeet]

Gardeners, post pictures! Especially if they are from last summer. We could use some joy now.

 

[Jenny]

@liquidfeet - Looks like a crapload of leaves! You've got a lot of time invested in raking.

 

[Jenny]

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

View attachment 12462

My favorite and a MOST welcome sight today!!!!! Thanks

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

Went out for a walk today, then came home and cleaned up the beds a bit. Guess I’ll be focusing on the garden.

I flew home from my New England ski trip last night (got it in ~just~ in the knick of time!) and while hunting for TP (unsuccessfully) I did pick up all my seeds for the season, Miracle Grow soil etc, since, as you say, this may be the main activity for the next 4-6 weeks of "social isolation". Our weather here is definitely ready ahead of usual. We've had snow here as late at April 19th so I usually wait until tax day to plant vulnerables and look at the 5 day forecast. Long ago I got optimistic and planted March 30th and had to redo. : (

 

[Jenny]

My favorite and a MOST welcome sight today!!!!! Thanks

You are welcome! I love that plant.

 

[liquidfeet]

@liquidfeet - Looks like a crapload of leaves! You've got a lot of time invested in raking.

I've tried to count the mature (150-200 year old) oaks surrounding my yard. It's hard to do because do I only count the ones in front, or the ones just behind them too, since their leaves make it onto my property as well? How deep should I count? I'm surrounded on all sides by woods.

And then when the oak tree has three massive trunks rising from the ground (I have two of these), do I count those as 6 oaks or 2 ? Anyway, I have 14-ish down the driveway, and another 14-ish around the yard itself. Plus other trees too. So yes, a crapload of leaves and time. I don't hire any help. It's just me and my rakes. I have 4 metal rakes, four spades, and one iron rake. I use them all.

I hate the leaf blower.

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

The tornado that we had here February 6th ten miles across the middle of the city (Main Street 300 yards wide) could take care of such a problem, though it brings many new ones....

 

[Jenny]

BTW, looking for suggestions for something taller than Black-eyed Susans, and preferably purple. I need something to go behind them and next to the red hibiscus and I’d like it to bloom in late summer/fall, so that I have vibrant red, gold, and purple in that corner.

Here’s a pic of the area, sort of. Area I want to fill is between Black-eyed Susans and the fence (hostas that we’re there are gone now - it got too sunny for them). Hibiscus is also much larger now.

 

[Christy]

A purple agastache? Agastache is one of my faves. Hummingbirds and butterflies love it. Some varieties get fairly tall. Catmint?

 

[newboots]

I've tried to count the mature (150-200 year old) oaks surrounding my yard. It's hard to do because do I only count the ones in front, or the ones just behind them too, since their leaves make it onto my property as well? How deep should I count? I'm surrounded on all sides by woods.

And then when the oak tree has three massive trunks rising from the ground (I have two of these), do I count those as 6 oaks or 2 ? Anyway, I have 14-ish down the driveway, and another 14-ish around the yard itself. Plus other trees too. So yes, a crapload of leaves and time. I don't hire any help. It's just me and my rakes. I have 4 metal rakes, four spades, and one iron rake. I use them all.

I hate the leaf blower.

I'll trade you some leaves for some chicken poop + pine shavings.

No, wait. Oak leaves? They take years to decompose!