My Garden

[Saliha]

Training went well, it was only one week now and after few weeks it continous to the end of the year. Now I have one week vacation - a time for cleaning the garden, for cooking and of course - knitting. Right now I am knitting woolly hats.

 

[Saliha]

Today I visited in the heaven... I mean in the garden market.

Beans, peas, pumpkins, tomatoes, lettuces...

Something I have tried already and also something is new like lemon cucumber, "tigerella" tomato and ramsons. Now I just have to wait that the spring starts here...

 

[ChowderMan]

heehee. you're plotting things I see . . .

 

[QSis]

My father is pushing me to try to grow snap peas this year for the first time. For his sake, I'll give them a whirl.

Lee

 

[Saliha]

Snap peas are so tasty. It´s a good idea to try them.

 

[Sass Muffin]

A room with a view..
Looking out my bedroom window.
We've got lots of plans this year.
Ducks for the pond, veg garden.. I want herbs.
Probably near the kids play set.
With all the deer and wildlife..we'd have to watch the garden 24/7!

 

[ChowderMan]

wildlife will reduce a garden to nubs virtually overnight. we had cats and a dog, as they dwindled it got to the point last two years I got next to nothing - the rabbits and groundhog enjoyed the garden.

stuff fresh out of the garden is always good - if you like lima beans try a batch - fresh off the vine limas are a whole different bean. peas of course, two other crops that are amazing different fresh out of the ground carrots and potatoes.

 

[Sass Muffin]

Oh we love lima beans, peas, carrots and potatoes!
The fella down the road does sweet corn and sells it roadside we hear...when the time comes.

As far as the fuzzy 4 footed varmints, hopefully all the hawks and bald eagles will take care of them...

 

[QSis]

I've had to surround half of my container plants with chicken wire for the last 3 years, to protect them from rabbits, squirrels and woodchucks.

Very annoying, but effective.

Here's my cat, Blue, near a couple of my yellow wax bean plants. The year before, my bean plants were all chewed down to the soil.

Further on down the plank, towards the top of the photo, are 4 of my tomato plants behind wire.

Lee

 

[Saliha]

From my indoor flowers; orchid is flowering again. All 5 flowers are finally open:

 

[QSis]

Beautiful, Saliha!

I have a mini orchid that has bloomed a couple of times, but after the last bloom, I cut off the spent stem. I've since read that they rebloom on the old stems.

The plant is healthy and new leaves have formed. Do you think there is hope of it growing a new flowering stem, or have I ruined it forever?

Lee

 

[Saliha]

No, I don´t think it´s ruined at all. Mine too, the old stem became so dry so I cut it but it raised new one.

 

[Saliha]

My garden is ready for the new growing season:

Bleeding hearts have a lot of flowers at this year:

White strawberry has flowers too:

And what´s the best - so green in everywhere:

 

[Sass Muffin]

Outside this a.m.
Lol

It wasn't gobbling, it was "clicking".
Then ran like hell.

 

[Saliha]

Time of flowering of the apple trees:

Forget-me-nots are flowering too under the trees.

 

[Saliha]

The lupin slope is flowering again:

 

[Sass Muffin]

Lovely, Saliha!

 

[QSis]

Magnificent! Do they have a scent, Saliha?

I just finished planting my container garden yesterday. What a feeling of accomplishment!

Lee

 

[Sass Muffin]

Wild rhubarb.
Everywhere.
Including under the granddaughters play set.
It's going crazy.
My DIL says it's burdockk.
Isn't that the same thing?

 

[Luckytrim]

This is Burdcock...





This is Wild Rhubarb





Learn the difference here...
https://www.livestrong.com/article/454816-difference-between-burdock-rhubarb/

 

[Sass Muffin]

Other patch looks like this.

 

[ChowderMan]

burdock is often called wild rhubarb - but it is not the same plant nor ancestor / genus of the stuff we cultivate as rhubarb. parts of burdock are edible / used in herbal medicines - but note that some people react to burdock compounds....



had to go dig out the latin names....
"Common burdock belongs to the Composite or Aster Family (Compositae).
Other names for Common burdock are Burs, Wild burdock, petite bardane, Clotbur, Lesser burdock, rhubarbe sauvage and toques.

The edible rhubarb plant, however, belongs to a group of plants of the genus Rheum in the plant family Polygonaceae."

 

[Sass Muffin]

Ahhh now then..
Thanks Professor lol
Either way, the patch under the kids swings and slide is coming out. The other looks ornamental as long as it doesn't take over the stone path.

 

[ChowderMan]

tomato alert!

 

[ChowderMan]

and a very late start on peas this year - one volunteer squash of some kind . . .

 

[QSis]

I have some of those spiral stakes, too, Chowder, but I pretty much buy the bush varieties of tomatoes for my containers and the stakes are not as effective for me as the wire cages.

What varieties of tomatoes do you grow?

Lee

 

[ChowderMan]

what's not in the pix - the spirals I tie together at the top with a cable tie to make a tripod. they don't work well as a stand-alone stake. these are steel spirals, flash galvanized, I bought in 1986 - my daughter has her dibs on them. 30 years and counting,,,, not too bad.

for containers probably not needed

I usually do an heirloom type beefsteak plus 1 or 2 hybrids. Better Boy/Girl, SuperSonics, etc. depends on what the local farm store brings in.

do you have the heavy duty cages? I use those for peppers.
here's the tripod deal, the yellow is the heavy duty tomato cage with a green pepper...

 

[QSis]

Brandywine! Man, I spent all morning trying to think of that tomato variety that has been touted as the "best-tasting tomato ever grown"!

I tried it once, but even a 5-gallon container is too small for it, and it only bore a few fruits. Good, but not worth it.

No, Chowder, I only have the cheap metal cages. I grow some tomatoes against a chain-link fence, so I can tie the cage to the fence if the plant is too heavy. I grow others in a circle of chicken wire on my patio, so again, I can tie the cages to each other if I need to brace them.

Lee

 

[ChowderMan]

Brandywine requires deep cool roots - "normal" temps are tough with containers, when you get a picky plant . . . when I had the greenhouse I'd start them from seed and let them get real leggy - then bury 12-18" of stem about 12" deep horizontally. that made tomatoes by the wheelbarrow full.


I've got lots of gardening info/tidbits if you need anything.

 

[Saliha]

Garden at June:

Foxgloves:

Peony: