As of today all of my back yard beds are weeded, turned over, and smoothed out, except for a 12x4 foot bed. The daffodils that I didn’t remove last fall prevent me preparing it properly.
The daffodils that should have opened over a week ago didn’t until today, because we’ve had a cold front hang over us until today. A couple opened today.
I unpackaged 4 roses and potted them so I they will live until I want to plant them. I also wanted to check that the roots weren’t missing like often happens when you buy them packaged. They are in the garage to keep them from heating up in the sun and starting to grow quickly. I’m just getting to replacing the roses I lost in the flood of 2008. Last year I planted some new delphinium and in about two or three years the bed will be solid delphinium again. After the bed fills and maintains good sprouting conditions they are self seeding for me. I still have 3 lupine out of 9 that I planted last year. I’ll add to them this year again.
This year if my peonies haven’t started doing better I’m digging them up and replanting them. They had some flowers that were 10 inch pompoms the year of the flood. The soil is probably too compacted because of the 3 feet of water that covered the bed.
Alright, I’m a totally gardening newbie looking for help. I got my first taste last year when I got one of those little “Grow Your Own Basil” kits for a dollar. It started out like this and ended like this. (Those other plants are my parents’)
But now I have my own apartment in Chicago and I want to have a “real” garden. I plan on getting a cheap window box like this for outside my kitchen window (I have just a big enough ledge). The what and the how to plant is beyond me though. I have a south facing window, but I’m in sort of a half courtyard, so I only get direct sunlight between 9-3. There’s also a couple tree right out in front too, and I have no idea how full they are going to get. So I might be totally in the shade. Basically, I’m looking for plants that are easy to grow, look nice, and smell nice, in that order. If I can eat them eventually, that’s a plus, but not necessary. So, any advice/guides?
Holy moley, a lot of stuff has changed since this thread first began!
I asked my mom what to expect regarding seeds I started for tomatoes–she said about half would sprout, so I planted all of them (5 different types, about 25-30 seeds per packet.) All but about 15 total sprouted. They’re going nuts and are now between barely sprouted, and 4-5 inches tall. They’re in my closed off guest room (no cats!) that’s heated to about 75-80 degrees and under lights. They’re going crazy. Looks like I’ll be giving away a lot of tomato plants…
On Sunday, I planted (inside in little peat pots) cabbage, Moon & Stars watermelon and ground cherry (free packet of seeds with an order) and by Wedneday, some of the cabbage and a few of the watermelon have already broken the soil.
Outside a few weeks ago, I planted purple potatoes (a last minute decision when I came across them for very cheap at a flea market), peas, spinach, lettuce and beets. This afternoon, I noticed some of the lettuce and potatoes breaking through the soil.
I’m so amazed that anything is growing! This is completely new to me.
I am so envious of all of you. The ground dried out enough to rake the snow mold off about half the yard. I still have a touch of snow in the deep shade. On the bright side, I do see some green bits that should become daffodils and dwarf iris soon.
Sunday, I went walking inside one of my favorite greenhouses to find most of the greenery just sprouting. This time last year (a record early spring) I was repotting my annuals.
We went back to the store I bought the first 4 roses at and they had gotten in the other 3 that I wanted. These are older varieties that have been hard to find at stores for at least a decade. These are some of my favorites as they all have strong pleasant scents and are nice looking.
I have:
Angel Face - Lavender
Oklahoma - Red
Chrysler Imperial - Red
Mr. Lincoln -Red
Pink Peace - Pink
Queen Elizabeth - Pink
Tropicana - Orange
Having the Peace, Pink Peace, and Chicago Peace would be super great.
I will be planting sweet peas this year which are very fragrant too. The vegetables are mostly out of this years garden plans as I want flowers and am sick of feeding rodents all the vegetables. I will however be planting the Asparagus bean as those long thin beans where very tender last year and the rodents don’t eat them.
I have some seeds from a “Mexican squash” - they are not as hard as a butternut or acorn, but have more storage life and bolder flavor than a zuke or yellow squash. Any advice on a date (relative to avg. last frost) for starting seeds indoors and/or planting?
I have plenty of seeds for these, plus “green zebra”, “buffalo nut*” and an unknown, but good, variety of tomatoes if anyone wants to try them. Shoot me a private message with your mailing address if you want to branch out.
I scaled back my seed starting after ridiculous success a few years ago. So far, 2 of 3 green zebras have sprouted, 2 of 3 buffalo nuts, and 1 of 2 of the mystery tomato. That’s probably all I can handle with other new stuff coming in.
I also want to get into container planting of potatoes - nothing mundane - something like Peruvian purple if I can find the seed. Any advice at all would be appreciated.
*That’s what my cousin’s husband called them - they are a huge, nearly seedless tomato with good flavor. The one I had was green, but I don’t know if that was the mature color.
I have no idea what the weather is like in the Prairie, so all I can tell you is plant squash when the frost is done. Squash might survive a cool but not freezing spell, but it won’t grow until it’s warm, so don’t plant until it’s warm. Hurrying your summer squash will gain you nothing and make it more likely the plants will be diseased and a target for insects looking for a stressed plant.
I’ve grown one variety of purple potatoes for a number of years now and I love them. They are 3 to 8 inches long and 1.5 to 2.5 inches in diameter. They are a hard potato that doesn’t fall apart cooking in liquid. They are also slightly sweet in my opinion. The purple color is the same thing that makes blueberries blue and is an antioxidant. Using a whole purple seed potato instead of pieces makes a big difference in the size of the potatoes I get that year. Last year I had some white, red, and purple potatoes that made for nice potato dishes when used together. I won’t try to explain how to grow potatoes in pots, because I don’t do that.
Daughter and I planted a pot of strawberries this year as they seemingly comprise 25% of her caloric intake. They were disappearing until we found an antique iron birdcage that would fit perfectly over the top. Now they’re growing huge again and ready to harvest by non-avian tennants.
Also planted a Mexican Lime in a large poolside pot last year. It provided maybe 5 or 6 limes for our Gin & Tonics, so I’ve been pruning and fertilizing. I was amazed at the number of flowers it sprouted this Spring and yesterday we counted 54 tiny little limes at the base of each bloom.
I’ve planted a large variety of ornamental grasses too, probably a dozen varieties in all. The different colors, textures, heights and movement in the wind have been a pleasure to observe.
You can’t hurry squash
No, you just have to wait
You got to trust, give it time
No matter how long it takes
The traditional planting time for such things is the arrival of “warm, settled weather” or they can be started a couple weeks ahead of time in a sunny window or coldframe.
I just ordered five new roses for delivery next week (two Griffith Buck varieties, which tend to be very hardy and low-care, a couple of Austin roses (less hardy, but I always have hopes) and a variety called Cinco De Mayo) which will give me time to figure out where the heck to put them.
I was going to mention I was watching for a Cinco De Mayo rose, but didn’t as I thought I’d already done too much on roses. It’s a very unique color of rose.
I wish I could justify buying a new rose bush or two, but I’m short on cash, we don’t own the place, and the landlord isn’t really that enthused by them. Oh, if I really wanted them he’d let me, but given how much else he lets me get away with around here it seems petty to push the issue.
I just wish the tenant who had planted the ones we currently have had chosen more than just pink - pink is not my favorite color and I’d much rather have almost any other shade.
How tall is your tree? I bought one last winter that was about 3 feet tall and have been keeping it indoors in an 8 inch pot until it gets warm outside. It has been flowering like crazy but I don’t see any limes. I am afraid to put it in the ground, fearing that the next winter might kill it.
It’s about 2 1/2 feet tall. I’ve got it in a huge pot that comes up to my waist, but it’s one of those that’s actually lightweight. I threw a pillowcase over it during our freezes (1 - 2 day duration) and could have rolled it into the garage if necessary. I heard that they need some freezetime during dormancy so it sure got it this winter.
The limes are itty bitty now, probably smaller than a ladybug, and are directly below the flower which actually kinda ‘caps’ them. And as HD alludes are one each for what apparently were 54 flowers.
I use a Citrus/Fruit tree fertilizerand am hoping we’ll actually get to bear all these to fruition. That’d be a well appreciated addition to G&Ts, margaritas and limeade during our hot Texas summers.
Without bees or a paintbrush, you probably won’t see limes. The flowers need to be pollinated for the fruit to actually set. Absent a hive full of trained indoor bees, you can use an artist’s paintbrush to pollinate…just start with one flower, jiggling it inside the blossom so the pollen comes off on it, then go to the next, doing the same thing. As you pick up pollen from the next flower, you rub some of the previous pollen on the stigma and hopefully pollinate each flower that way.
Otherwise they’re all going to just sit there, sexually frustrated, going nowhere.
Got my onions in yesterday (did I mention that before) and today got my carrots planted. Also tossed in some chard and bok choy.
Next step - putting the stuff I started inside outside this weekend.
Then about two weeks and another round of cold-tolerant stuff.
Then I’ll start thinking about getting the warm weather vegetables ready to go.
Also reorganized my seed collection. Yes, I actually care about that, having my 8 varieties of lettuce together, my four varieties of beets, the six types of radishes, the 4 sorts of carrots…
I have to go to the peas for 8 varieties in the seed box.
7 varieties of squash
6 varieties of lettuce need 2 more
3 varieties of carrot need 2 more
3 varieties of beans
4 varieties of zinnia need 1 more
3 variety of cosmos, need 2 more
Now I’m finding all this seed I need to get. Argh!
You probably will be in the shade - the trees will make that happen. I don’t do too many annuals, ad I really don’t do shady annuals, but you should be able to find lots of interesting things at your local greenhouse. Impatiens, begonias, ad coleus might work. Bottom line - plant some things that sound like they’ll be nice, and see how it goes.
I was just talking about this with my sister who does A LOT of seed planting every spring - now would probably be a good time to get your squash going. We don’t plant before May 24th here (the May long weekend), but other parts of the prairies that aren’t as high up can plant sooner.
I’ve been out checking my beds, and I HAVE PLANTS! My chives are going nuts, my yarrow is coming up, and so is my lady’s mantle and some irises. I have four or five shrubs that I planted last year, too (as well as the 40 or so hedge cotoneasters) - I’ll have to wait a bit to see if they all survived the winter. I think I might add some prickly shrub plants in between the cotoneasters in front - I really don’t want people messing around in my yard.
I filled in a couple of open areas in several beds with five flats of begonias and four of coleus about a month back and they’re just doing beautifully. I don’t know specifically which coleus they are but the kid and I noticed this beautiful blue and white crown coming up from the warm red and green leaves yesterday. Quite striking. Purple petunias in hanging baskets are something I’m going to have to remember for next year as well.
Decided to go heavy on bouganvillia this year and put red, orange, purple and violet in four backyard pots. They’re not rootbound yet but with lots of sun and fertilizer they’re blooming like crazy.
Patty O’, I hope it isn’t too late for you to get your lime outside and see if the bees can get it pollinated. I pulled about a third of mine off so the rest might fare better. Hope you get a crop too.
We’ve had a heck of a time battling red mites in the large Italian Cypress this year. At first I thought it was a watering problem but after breaking off a branch, hitting it against a sheet of white paper and seeing movement from a tiny spot I started trying to get them under control. Four applications of Neem Oil and Pepper Ginger Tea didn’t do it and I eventually had to break down and go systemic. Finally got a handle on 'em and I think a heavy root drench each spring will keep them away.
Anyone else have [del]tree rat[/del] squirrel issues? They littered the entrance and front yard with dropped material all last summer so I’m trying a hose end application of noxious odors this year on the tree I want left alone. Blood meal and wintergreen and other stuff they tend to stay clear of. Just sprayed in on yesterday and I’ll report back if anyone’s considering using the same.
My big squirrel issue is them digging up and reburying my bulbs at random locations. At least, I think it’s the squirrels doing that. It’s certainly not me.
I received a jar of coyote urine from a friend last year (it’s a strong friendship that can survive, nay, thrive with an exchange of canine piss) and I’ve found it quite useful in discouraging prey-species vermin, but I’m also told it’s only effective in areas with actual coyotes. Of which we have an abundance.
54 limes per bloom.
