Gardening Q's and A's

[peacenik]

Gardening Q's and A's

because it needs lots of room for roots, right? i thought the soil container seemed a bit small on the hanging thingy...

[Accountable for Me]

Gardening Q's and A's

I just weeded out the garden this afternoon. I am so excited Spring is here and it is time to start planting!

I also want to grow some rosemary again. Last year the plant got so big and now I cannot go back to store bought rosemary! Man, was that ever good! I would also like to try some more herbs. (not in my garden but in boxes on the deck).

[klingsor]

Gardening Q's and A's

I like gardening too, am sure this will be a very interesting thread.

I got some paeonies, camelias, hyacinths, freesias, tulips and "ruda" ( to keep the bad spirits away )
also love pruning my almond, walnut, chesnut, apple, pear, from time to time a taxus baccata, also hazelnut.
am trying to get some mulberry trees, an apricot tree and more things at the moment.

Regards.

klingsor

[Sunbeam]

Gardening Q's and A's

Peacenick,
Yea, tomatoes need lots of room for their roots. I believe people do get tomatoes from those "hanging thingies" but not as many as you would if the same plant were grown in a larger container.

Today I worked on digging up MORE of my front yard. Every year I do this. I have more garden areas in my back yard, but there is more sun out front. I bought bare roots plants for withch hazel, Spirea Van Houtte, and Sunny knock out rose. I also bought another clematis, for beside the garage.

Klingsor, glad to have you join us. Sounds like you have a nice group of plants growing.

[southernbelle47]

Gardening Q's and A's

Oh wow...... we have four raised beds(my favorite) and 10 acres of other stuff...I do hope to cut back some this year.
We planted about 200 tomatoes last year...I need some time off!
Salsa anyone??????

[LVT25]

Gardening Q's and A's

Wow, SB--do you sell your produce and salsa at a farmer's market or local store? That's a lot of maters!

[Mohun]

Gardening Q's and A's

I can't even keep up to 6 tomato plants. 200 is a lot. :egad:

I pruned all of the fruit trees today and will likely roto-till the gardens tomorrow. I will have to do them again, but that's ok. I love to roto-till.

I plan on making a compost area this year. Any tips? space isn't an issue.

Mo.

[hulagirl]

Gardening Q's and A's

Hi Sunbeam. I have a terrible problem with slugs. They love the seedlings. Just as the little babys start to grow...chomp...they're gone.

[Lila]

Gardening Q's and A's

hi Everyone
In my backyard there is a small area, bordered by bricks - I think it used to be a garden, and now there is creeping charlies there. Do I have to do something expensive to get the soil gardenable?

[peacenik]

Gardening Q's and A's

hula...salt?

it might kill the seedlings...hmmmmm.

[Sunbeam]

Gardening Q's and A's

Hulagirl, here's a piece I've written regarding slugs:
Slugs love moisture. They love to hide under our beautiful mulch. Slugs love to demolish hosta gardens and any thing else they can find. There are two strategies: repel them and/or reduce the population. You can discourage them by surrounding the plants with sand or, better yet , Diatomaceous Earth which is available in pool supply stores. It is used in some pool filters. This stuff consists of tiny, sharp shells which cut those slimy bodies. If you put a circle around susceptible plants, they won't crawl across it. But the white rings aren't so attractive. And it gets compacted and/or washed away with rain, so it needs to be re-done. Hosta leaves usually touch the ground, so a ring at the base of the plants won't be effective. I think copper rings also work - slugs won't cross copper- but again copper is not effective if leaves touch the ground, can work well for seedlings.

If we are persistent, the other strategy is to reduce the population. They will collect overnight underneath an old board, and you can push them off in the am into a bucket of soapy water, or sprinkle them with salt and watch them wither (not pretty). Beer traps also work - they will crawl into a shallow bowl of beer and drown. Slug traps can be made from empty soda or (smaller) plastic milk jugs: cut around the bottle 3-4” below the spout. Reverse the spout, so it leads inside the container. Put some stale beer inside, you don’t need much to attract them. They will crawl in and can’t get out. When you have a bunch, throw it away, or dump them out and re-use it. There are also slug-killing commercial products, but they need to be re-applied every couple of weeks. I'm terrible at keeping up with stuff like that. I love the name of the product Escar-go, which is available from Gardens Alive (all organic expensive products).

[Sunbeam]

Gardening Q's and A's

Dearest Lila,
Creeping Charlie is a tough weed, I believe resistent to Round-up, can be very difficult to control in the grass. If you break it into pieces, it will grow more plants. I believe that smothering will work in the area you describe, but this will take some time. Cover the area with 6 layers of opened newspapers, over-lapping the edges. Keep a watering can near by, so you can sprinkle the newspapers as you put them down, and they won't blow around. Immediately cover each newspaper section with wood mulch. Leave it for two months, that should be planting time for you I think. Plant with annuals this year, so if you don't get it all, you won't have to dig out plants (they will die anyway with fall frost). If it comes back, you can smother it again in the fall, and leave it smothered all winter. You could also smother with large pieces of cardboard, black plastic, or landscape fabric.

[Sunbeam]

Gardening Q's and A's

SB/Nancy and Mohun,
You are experienced gardeners, fee free to post your responses here. All I know is all I know!

I used to grow some fruit, but then we moved to a house where the yard is pretty shaded, and there are lots of deer. I cut back from 6 to 4 tomato plants, which is enough for the two of us. My first gardening passion was vegetables, but as the years have gone by, I find myself growing more flowers and fewer vegetables. But I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and am motivated to grow more edibles this year. I also just purchased and put up a cold frame, which I have already planted with spinach and lettuce. They are not up yet, though my indoor tomatoes have sprouted. I'm on a mission for earlier tomatoes. I have not used my Wall of Waters for a few years, but I will this year. My energy is SO HIGH this year, since I now have alcohol mostly out of the picture.

I gotta leave for church, but I will post this afternoon on EASY composting.

[rubywillow]

Gardening Q's and A's

Oh, SUN!!!! how have I missed you for soooo long! I started my seedlings last week in little plastic greenhouses, and when I got back they were pushing the lids off! I got my love of trees, plants, etc., from my parents, g'parents. LOVE your advice. If I can help, along with the ever-knowledgeable Evie Dear, about gardening in the South, let me know! I have relatives in your area, so I understand the geographical differences. Plus, our main house is below the 'fault line' in Georgia, but my b'loved cabin is in the Appalchian Mtn range, with 'sugar' dirt, so I have to learn at every turn! GREAT thread!

[Mags]

Gardening Q's and A's

I have tons of slugs where I live. I find that using the diatomacious earth and the little beer cups work very well. I also go out sometimes early in the morning and if I see one of the little buggers, I just squirt a little kitchen cleaner on it. I have to clean out my perennial garden this week. It started snowing so early this year, I didn't have time to prep it for winter.