club The Great Gardening Thread of 2023

[Artemis Prime]

On 2/10/2023 at 6:00 PM, KB Girl said:

Haha  

It’s not just birds, there are lots of insects hiding/overwintering in there and possibly even a hedgehog. 

While digging out my bike from the machine shed over the weekend, an unidentified animal ran out of my kayak, so I'm just sheltering all sorts of wildlife.

 

On 2/11/2023 at 1:40 PM, sarakingdom said:

 

If you're talking a not too huge area, let me introduce you to no-dig gardening, where you won't need to dig out any grass at all. It is good nutritious material for the plants, it just needs to be covered to decompose. You can get more details on setting up a no dig bed on YouTube, but you basically need enough cardboard boxes to cover the area, and enough dirt to put on top of that. (That can often be supplemented heavily from a town composting center, if your town does that.) It would work for a huge area, too, but it's harder to get the dirt.

This is the method I used to set up my garden originally. It worked great for a few years, but I haven't kept up with feeding it, so production has waned, but that's clearly user error, not a problem with the method.

 

On 2/11/2023 at 10:41 PM, spezzy said:

I just found out cattails are edible but probably not going to go that route ?(we have plenty of those!)

My brother went through a foraging phase where he was making dandelion salads and such. We'd go on training runs and he'd be picking whatever he found on the side of the road, including cattails. Kind of frustrating how easily he could match my pace even with an armful of foliage.

 

On 2/12/2023 at 8:54 AM, Darciana said:

For the grow your own kit, I've had it a year, so not terribly long, but who knows how long it's been stored prior to me getting it!

On average, seeds should be viable for 7 years, but that's assuming they've been stored in proper conditions. 

 

[Artemis Prime]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:21 AM, Sepherina said:

Hey PA friend. ?  Whereabouts in western PA?  I am in Pittsburgh.

Northern Butler County, so not too far!

[MaeradCase]

11 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

While digging out my bike from the machine shed over the weekend, an unidentified animal ran out of my kayak, so I'm just sheltering all sorts of wildlife.

?

11 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

This is the method I used to set up my garden originally. It worked great for a few years, but I haven't kept up with feeding it, so production has waned, but that's clearly user error, not a problem with the method.

? Thanks for the input

 

Stopped in the share this gem I found:

 

Have yet to get gloves and/or cardboard, but also haven't seen the seeds show up, so not in a hurry. Looking forward to sharing them with my mom, though, in addition to planting a portion of them in my tiny yard.

[Ranger Hal]

Well, I picked up some potting soil for starting seeds. I'm pretty sure I almost ran out last time I tried to grow stuff (I've had that bag for years). So that's a start anyway.

[Sepherina]

22 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Northern Butler County, so not too far!

Not at all!  It is nice to have an NF friend close by.

 

[Everstorm]

My spring bulbs are starting to pop up!  I just planted these in the fall, so I'm happy they are coming up at all.

[spezzy]

Two things today:

1) Found a good lot of tomato cages today. Unsure if I will be using any or creating trellises, but... I definitely have a lot of tomato cages. At least 20. Anyone know of a good use for these that aren't tomato related? ? 

(For reference, my Mom owned this property before me, and she liked gardening and had a small farm, and a part of our deal with her was that we got all of the farm stuff, so... apparently that meant hoards of tomato cages ? )

 

 

2) A lot of our land is just overrun for one of many different reasons.  A lot is old dead stuff, fallen branches, etc. 

 

A lot is just invasive species that have been allowed to run amok. We have a lot of grapes, buckthorn, and wild rose here, as well as some weird vine that climbs next to the bushes and covers them in a vine that gives me a rash. I've been using my lunch break at work to get outside and just clear land for an hour each day. 

 

After the arguments I got in with all of the wild roses on the property last year, I am NOT letting them grow back, I'm amazed at how many new shoots I was finding already. 

 

We've started a pile for my wood chipper (Felix for scale, not for chipping), this will probably double each day for the next few days!

 

 

 

 

 

[Everstorm]

1 hour ago, spezzy said:

Anyone know of a good use for these that aren't tomato related? ?

Peppers, cucumbers, beans or peas can use some support like a tomato cage.  This article also has some suggestions both garden, and non-garden related.  My favorite is turn it upside down, apply string light, and it's a Christmas tree!

[KB Girl]

7 hours ago, spezzy said:

1) Found a good lot of tomato cages today. Unsure if I will be using any or creating trellises, but... I definitely have a lot of tomato cages. At least 20. Anyone know of a good use for these that aren't tomato related? ? 

 

Snow peas, sugar snaps, marrowfat peas 

[Ranger Hal]

8 hours ago, spezzy said:

Anyone know of a good use for these that aren't tomato related? ? 

If I had some, I'd try putting mesh or mosquito netting over them in an attempt to keep the cabbage moths from laying eggs on my broccoli. I only grew broccoli one year because the cabbage moth caterpillars were so bad and I hated having to pull them off and kill them to keep them from destroying my plants.

[Artemis Prime]

50 minutes ago, Ranger Hal said:

If I had some, I'd try putting mesh or mosquito netting over them in an attempt to keep the cabbage moths from laying eggs on my broccoli. I only grew broccoli one year because the cabbage moth caterpillars were so bad and I hated having to pull them off and kill them to keep them from destroying my plants.

That's a pretty good idea. Or wrap them in plastic and use them for frost warnings

[Sepherina]

9 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Peppers, cucumbers, beans or peas can use some support like a tomato cage.  This article also has some suggestions both garden, and non-garden related.  My favorite is turn it upside down, apply string light, and it's a Christmas tree!

Christmas tree is always a good thing. I have wrapped them in a 6ft evergreen garland and then put a burlap sack on the bottom. 

[Everstorm]

I got a ton of weeding done at my brother's new house.  It looks so much better already!

[Everstorm]

My crabapple and blueberries are blooming!

[MaeradCase]

I don't have any pics yet, but I gave my new gloves their first go this morning. I woke up, got up for my alarm, and decided I could start March off with my first swing at weeding the garden area. 

 

It didn't start great because I yanked at a sapling I mistook for something easier... It's got itself anchored under the sidewalk, so I can't get the bugger out. And as I yanked up other things, my feet started explaining to me the Newtonian laws of physics. ? 

 

After gathering a handful of plastic debris, yanking and yeeting plants for half an hour, and sweeping the sidewalk clear of soil, I called it a good morning's work. My fingers were/are complaining about the abuse, but since it wasn't an overload, I think I'll be looking forward to trying it out this month so my tiny yard is ready for flower seeds. ?

[Darciana]

Update: I'm currently reading The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! by Storey Publishing (edited by Carleen Madigan)

 

Tomatoes and peppers like containers. Tomatoes and peppers also do NOT like Texas summer sun/heat without shade to help as I've had the misfortune of learning over the last 2 years here. Perfect. Containers which I can keep in the shade full of tomatoes and sweet peppers. Also, I have containers, might as well use them. Garlic, too. And onions? Will see about those in containers vs ground. 

 

Garden bed, if I get it tilled up and prepared in time will contain hot peppers. Aiming for jalapeno, anaheim chilis, habaneros at the very least. Depends on what  I can find in started plants as its too late to start seeds for those guys. Thinking maybe cucumbers? Beans of some sort? I know carrots and potatoes are fall, but I'm thinking of dedicating space to those. Also collards and/or mustards. 

 

Next paycheck I'm buying a couple cute $25 3-tier stackable container to grow various herbs in one and spinach in the other. 

 

And that's what I've managed to think of thus far. I was thinking about getting dwarf fruit bushes. Any thoughts? I see a TON of ads for dwarf blueberry bushes

[Elastigirl]

Maybe I'll try the tomatoes in containers.

2 hours ago, Darciana said:

ext paycheck I'm buying a couple cute $25 3-tier stackable container to grow various herbs in one and spinach in the other. 

 

And that's what I've managed to think of thus far. I was thinking about getting dwarf fruit bushes. Any thoughts? I see a TON of ads for dwarf blueberry bushes

The stackable containers is a great idea.

 I love my blueberry bushes. I don't think they were dwarf. They need a lot of water

[MaeradCase]

Went into the garden again this morning after warming up, and carefully did all the stretches afterward since Wednesday has my hamstrings tight. ? I did a half-hour of pulling grass from the length of one side of my tiny yard, toward a corner that is bricked off for some shrub that I don't remember what it looks like in summer. ? My finger tips are a little sore, but my hands not quite as shaky, and the rest of my body just seems to be craving breakfast. ?

 

When trying to motivate myself yesterday to be ready to garden this morning, I decided that I am embodying Persephone - "bringer of death" and goddess of the spring. ?

 

Also I have potatoes sprouting eyes. Cid is mortified, and so I'm probably gonna hide them under some dirt so he doesn't have to see them staring at him when he opens the cabinet door. ?

[Everstorm]

5 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Persephone - "bringer of death" and goddess of the spring. ?

?

[Elastigirl]

I haven't been motivated yet to go out in the cold and garden, but I did cut some sage and rosemary to use in dinner the other evening.

[KB Girl]

I've been sick but on the first day I felt a little bit better I put some seeds into soil, mostly pea variations. I don't know if they will sprout because I've not been great with giving them water x) we'll see. 

 

It started snowing here yesterday.. I want spring! xD 

[MaeradCase]

Made a progress report on my weed-pulling this morning!

 

3 minutes ago, MaeradCase said:

I removed more weeds (there were more of the brown ones in front of the green zone, that are now pulled up) and rolled up my pile of pulled plants to discard unceremoniously into the bricked off corner so it might dry out and die and be useful somehow later. ?

I'm still torn on leaving the nice green grass. I'm leaving the clover, but the grass isn't easy to pull forth from it. When it's at the edges I started pulling it just to thin it out.

 

Hope you all are enjoying the sight of spring!

[spezzy]

 

Hopefully this will melt soon so I can actually start getting the gardens ready cry ? 

 

We have a TON of fallen trees so will be investing in a nice chainsaw, which I'm kind of excited about.  Since some of the branches are huge will hopefully be able to use some for garden edges and stuff like that. 

 

Anyway, lots of planning still, but not a ton of action.  

[Sepherina]

On 3/11/2023 at 9:31 AM, KB Girl said:

I've been sick but on the first day I felt a little bit better I put some seeds into soil, mostly pea variations. I don't know if they will sprout because I've not been great with giving them water x) we'll see. 

 

It started snowing here yesterday.. I want spring! xD 

I want spring too.  But I also want nice apples and blueberries, and for those we need chill hours.  Most of this winter for our area was warmer than average. So I will join you in whining about winter hanging around….blah…and hope it yields some juicy fruits.

 

*Not this kind

 

On another note I need to figure out where I am going to put some onion and potato plants.  A friend bought too many and we are swapping some bare strawberry roots for them. I have not had much luck with potatoes and onions in the past, but I am also redoing our beds this year.  I wonder if I can carve out another foot or so on either side without the husband noticing (doubt it).

 

I also need to order tomato and pepper plants (haven’t been  so successful with peppers either……hmmm).

 

 

[Sepherina]

Saw this….most def trying….