Flowers And Bushes And Trees: How Does Your Garden Grow?

[DeLurker]

Funeral Flower works with my slightly askew sense of humor.

[peacheslatour]

Gah! The rabbits ate my baby rose bush last night.

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Gah! The rabbits ate my baby rose bush last night.

Jerks. 

[peacheslatour]

56 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

Jerks. 

Those bastards! *shakes fist*

[MargeGunderson]

Can we  add squirrels to the hate list? Pesky varmits dug out 3 basil plants and threw them on the ground. My planter is about 4 feet high so they have put some effort into it. The rest of my herb garden was untouched which is kind of too bad because I am overrun with parsley, cilantro and nasturtiums. The least they could have done was thin it all a bit.

[harrie]

A couple of years ago, I had some impressive, tall sunflowers.  Then their heads started disappearing, and we'd find petals all over the ground.  One day we drove in (we're in a community garden), and a squirrel was perched on a trellis near the sunflowers, contentedly munching on a recently decapitated sunflower head. Still, he was soooo cute! This year, chipmunks are all over the place, but their impact has been minimal so far.

If you're really feeling hate for the squirrels or their friends, we find that hot pepper flakes sprinkled on the ground discourages them  from areas of the garden where we'd rather they not go. It might be mean - the theory is that the flakes irritate their feet and possibly their mucous membranes if they rub their face -- but they quickly get the idea.

Yesterday a mockingbird fledgling held our tomato section hostage, as he kind of hopped/flew  around in that corner of the garden, with Mother Mockingbird hanging around nearby offering encouragement. By this morning, he had figured out how to get around where he wanted to go, so all is well. Hopefully this gave us some avian credibility and they'll eat more bugs  and not  peck the tomatoes. 

[Sandman87]

On Sunday, July 16, 2017 at 7:18 PM, harrie said:

If you're really feeling hate for the squirrels or their friends, we find that hot pepper flakes sprinkled on the ground discourages them  from areas of the garden where we'd rather they not go. It might be mean - the theory is that the flakes irritate their feet and possibly their mucous membranes if they rub their face -- but they quickly get the idea.

In that case, I'm going to cover the top of the utility pole next to the house with a pile of pepper flakes. Little bastard sits up there and yells at me, and he doesn't even pay rent.

You got anything for woodpeckers?

[JTMacc99]

I have a red bellied woodpecker who discovered that the new chimney cap on my fireplace makes the ideal sound for him to mark his territory. Kind of annoying at dawn. 

[harrie]

On 7/18/2017 at 0:07 AM, Sandman87 said:

You got anything for woodpeckers?

Sorry, no.  They're welcome in the garden.

 

On 7/18/2017 at 11:01 AM, JTMacc99 said:

I have a red bellied woodpecker who discovered that the new chimney cap on my fireplace makes the ideal sound for him to mark his territory. Kind of annoying at dawn. 

Not a woodpecker, but we had a bird that started singing at 2:45 am every day for a few months.  (I'm a light sleeper, so noticed this.) S/he stopped a few weeks ago, so I guess someone or something picked him/her off -- which was probably bound to happen to the only bird singing at that hour. I mean, you're easy to find. But still, I kind of miss the wake-up call.

Anyway, the zucchini are no longer struggling. (Pay no attention to the grass and weeds...)

And these guys are still everywhere. 

Edited July 24, 2017 by harrie

[JTMacc99]

12 hours ago, harrie said:

Anyway, the zucchini are no longer struggling. (Pay no attention to the grass and weeds...)

Mine look exactly like that. One week of hot weather and BOOM. Giant plants. I better check in on them this afternoon to make sure I don't also have gigantic zucchinis hiding in there. I also planted something that I believe might be pumpkins in one of my raised beds and it is sending vines everywhere with leaves the size of elephant ears. As soon as a fruit appears on it, I'll remember which variety I planted.

[JTMacc99]

Soooo many zucchinis now. I'm one harvest away from just dumping some of them in the common area counters at work.

Of interest, my watermelon plant has it's first fruit on it. Very exciting. The tomatoes are growing nicely looking like a mid-August start to the harvest. I've been eating cherry tomatoes for over a week now. The basil needs to be hacked down and turned into pesto this weekend so that it can grow back again when the tomatoes are ready for it. The first couple of cucumbers are ready to go now. The vines that will provide me with the main crop of cucumbers FINALLY survived the bunny onslaught long enough to start climbing the structure they climb, and I'd say that's also a mid-late August harvest now. The hot pepper plants I got from our CEO are all super healthy. I imagine that at some point I'm going to have WAY too many hot peppers. They're also getting dumped on unsuspecting co-workers. And the Giant Pumpkin (I think) vine is still growing and I have as of yet located a fruit on it.

So at the moment, things look pretty normal for me out in the garden.

[Quof]

Anyone need some wax beans? Cuz I just harvested 4.5 pounds, which is about 4 pounds more than I will eat this week.  I also had a good harvest of peas yesterday, I usually only get a couple of meals of them before the birds get them.   

So I Googled freezing vegetables without blanching, because there's no way in hell I'm doing all that work. Turns out, it's an accepted technique, but they need to be eaten within 6 weeks. 

[JTMacc99]

I love wax beans. I have such a difficult time growing them because it's all out war keeping the bunnies off of them and I always lose. 

On 7/27/2017 at 2:03 PM, JTMacc99 said:

And the Giant Pumpkin (I think) vine is still growing and I have as of yet located a fruit on it.

Update: It is sugar pumpkins that are Jack and the Bean Stalking my garden. Gonna have at least a half dozen of them. 

[Qoass]

I bought two more basil plants last night. I think I'm a pretty decent person but I have this compulsion to buy potted herbs and then drive them to suicide. Don't know why.

[Cherry Bomb]

Gardening is one of my favorite things as in flower gardening. I never had much success with the veggie gardens in the past. Now that I have a place of my own and have moved out of my older sisters home, I have a small area for planting some flowers and my favorite Tulips.

[DeLurker]

I bought some curcuma ginger plants for Mom this summer.  They are gorgeous and ridiculously easy to grow, even in Florida's hot hot summer days.  I'll need to check out Lowe's to see if they have any.

[harrie]

On 8/10/2017 at 11:23 AM, Cherry Bomb said:

Gardening is one of my favorite things as in flower gardening. I never had much success with the veggie gardens in the past. Now that I have a place of my own and have moved out of my older sisters home, I have a small area for planting some flowers and my favorite Tulips.

Our garden has both veggies and flowers; we plant flowers to attract pollinators and predatory insects who we hope will eat potato beetles, squash bugs, cabbage worms, etc.  And because they're pretty.

[Cherry Bomb]

9 minutes ago, harrie said:

Our garden has both veggies and flowers; we plant flowers to attract pollinators and predatory insects who we hope will eat potato beetles, squash bugs, cabbage worms, etc.  And because they're pretty.

That is a very good idea. I have never had success with growing veggies so I stopped. I just love the beauty of the flowers and the anticipation of the annual flowers when they start to pop up. 

[walnutqueen]

The only thing I want to grow is pot.  The only thing the worms eat - EVER - in my yard is pot buds.  Everything else grows like a weed.  Go figure.  ;-)

[Mindthinkr]

I'm having an awful time with the neighborhood "pet" deer (which has now turned into a few does and fawns). They are brazen enough to empty the bird feeder and will come onto small raised patios for munchies. So far the rosemary standing guard is helping to save the basil, chives and parsley. I really had hoped to put in a tulip bed but research tells me that's like inviting them to an all you can eat buffet. I posted this photo on the pets thread but it shows how brazen Rosie is. Any suggestions for something to plant that the deer won't eat? 

[JTMacc99]

She will never eat rosemary or chives. Maybe not basil, definitely not mint or lavender. Parsley is doomed. Tulips also doomed.

They don't* eat ornamental grasses, coneflowers, rudbeckia, daffodils, spruces, and really aren't too big of a fan of tomatoes. 

* they will eat almost everything if the conditions are right. 

Edited August 14, 2017 by JTMacc99

[JTMacc99]

So, I wasn't paying attention to my vegetable garden for the last 3-4 days. It rained a bunch right when I would have been out there with a hose, and then I was messing around with social engagements Friday after work and most of the day on Sunday. So I figured I better go take a look around Sunday evening. Got my first ripe large tomato! So good.

Also happened: I did the classic giant zucchini dump in the common area kitchen at work this morning.  Oops. Not sure how I went from none to four overgrown ones in the period of four days, but it happened.  Next week I figure to have 40 pounds of tomatoes all at once. Gotta get the canning supplies ready.

[peacheslatour]

8 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

She will never eat rosemary or chives. Maybe not basil, definitely not mint or lavender. Parsley is doomed. Tulips also doomed.

They don't* eat ornamental grasses, coneflowers, rudbeckia, daffodils, spruces, and really aren't too big of a fan of tomatoes. 

* they will eat almost everything if the conditions are right. 

The rabbits got all my gladioli this year and all the beets at my dad's house. The squirrels got all my tulips. WTF do squirrels even do with tulips? (I know they don't eat them.)

[DeLurker]

On 8/10/2017 at 11:01 AM, DeLurker said:

I bought some curcuma ginger plants for Mom this summer.  They are gorgeous and ridiculously easy to grow, even in Florida's hot hot summer days.  I'll need to check out Lowe's to see if they have any.

Lowe's didn't have any, but I had to stop by Home Depot today and they did so I am a happy camper!

[Quof]

Where do you people live????   I'm in a small city, and the only wildlife I encounter are God-damned crows.   

[walnutqueen]

16 minutes ago, Quof said:

Where do you people live????   I'm in a small city, and the only wildlife I encounter are God-damned crows.   

I live in North San Diego County suburbia - in between 3 very busy roads and 3 blocks away from a Major goddamned freeway.  The critters have found their way to my backyard jungle.  You'd be surprised what types of urban wildlife is living right under your nose.  :-)

[peacheslatour]

Just now, southpaw said:

They use them to romance other squirrels.  Have you noticed any chocolates or perfume missing?

Hmmm... now that you mention it I haven't seen my Chanel 5 lately and ...hey, where are my chocolate covered cherries??! Damn squirrels! This means WAR! No more of the good peanuts, from now on you can just eat what drops out of the bird feeders, you little smartasses will rue the day...Oh, excuse me I got a little upset for a minute there. Ahem. *wanders away whistling*

[harrie]

On 8/13/2017 at 3:56 PM, Mindthinkr said:

I'm having an awful time with the neighborhood "pet" deer (which has now turned into a few does and fawns). They are brazen enough to empty the bird feeder and will come onto small raised patios for munchies. So far the rosemary standing guard is helping to save the basil, chives and parsley. I really had hoped to put in a tulip bed but research tells me that's like inviting them to an all you can eat buffet. I posted this photo on the pets thread but it shows how brazen Rosie is. Any suggestions for something to plant that the deer won't eat? 

What you use from this list can depend on what zone you are in and other factors -- and of course, as @JTMacc99 points out, if deer are hungry enough, they'll eat anything -- but The Farmer's Almanac has a list of deer-resistant plants which may or may not be useful to you.  A few years ago, deer walked right up to my patio, about three feet from the sliding door, and nibbled down my pepper plants; but it was a tough year for them, and they're afully pretty, so I couldn't hold it against them too much.

[JTMacc99]

That's a great list. I forgot about the sage in my yard, but that's another one that is almost completely deer proof. 

[harrie]

Things that have worked for me in the never-ending bulb v. squirrel battle include sprinkling dried blood in with the bulbs when planting them, and of course my go-to, those hot red pepper flakes sprinkled around the ground where the bulbs were planted.  I've heard that mixing garden rocks/gravel into the soil on top of your bulbs will discourage the critter from digging, I guess because the rocks are sharp )in theory, anyway) and unpleasant to dig through.

 

4 hours ago, Quof said:

Where do you people live????   I'm in a small city, and the only wildlife I encounter are God-damned crows.   

There are coyotes in Central Park -- deer too, I believe. And Connecticut seems to be exploding with black bears - we even had one on my street, and I live in a condo that's not really in the boonies or anything.  They're all learning to live with/around people because they're running out of other options. JMO, of course.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

and of course my go-to, those hot red pepper flakes sprinkled around the ground where the bulbs were planted

Ya know I've done that. Seemed to have no effect. Maybe you have to do it more than once?  I put it in the hole and kind of mixed it into the dirt. 

[harrie]

40 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Ya know I've done that. Seemed to have no effect. Maybe you have to do it more than once?  I put it in the hole and kind of mixed it into the dirt. 

They've worked great for me in protecting beds of lettuce and young veggies, but they do need to be re-applied, especially after rain. I sprinkle them liberally right on top of the soil, making sort of a perimeter barrier around the bed and/or the plants I want to protect.

[Quof]

I just harvested a basil plant bigger than Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. 

[peacheslatour]

This year the bunnies got all my gladiolus's (gladioli?) so I got this great idea! I'm going to buy a fireplace screen. Since the glads are against a fence on one side, a three sided, metal mesh fireplace screen would let in rain water, sunlight and is three feet high. I found a really cool looking Gothic style on Amazon for less than fifty bucks.  I don't think the bunnies will get my glads next year.

[JTMacc99]

I went to the local orchard/farm stand on Saturday to pick up the first batch of apple cider for my son. (The kid likes the good stuff, and not the ShopRite brand.)

While I was there I bought five heads of hard neck garlic.  Yesterday I cleared out the spot where the zucchini grew this year, about a 4X3 area of one garden bed, and planted what was about 30 cloves.  The weather will be perfect from what I see on the forecast for them to start putting down roots before it starts getting really cold. Hopefully we'll have a normal winter with normal snow cover and normal thawing and by July 4th I'll have a boatload of garlic.  I completely failed to plant garlic last fall, (personal mayhem screwed up my ordinary gardening plans) and every time this summer I needed to buy garlic, I reminded myself to not make that mistake again. Mission accomplished.

And by the way, if you live in an area like I do in the northeast, where you get a full winter, I strongly encourage you to do a quick google search on growing garlic. Because it is crazy-easy to do, requiring only a small area, amount of effort to both plant and maintain, and for $5 I'm going to get 30 heads of garlic next year.  And if you want to spend a couple more bucks, realizing that you will never have to buy garlic again for either use in the kitchen or for seed (because you can turn around and take 5 of the 30 to plant next fall), I have suggestions on varieties.

My absolute favorites are Music and Chesnok Red. I never bought anything from that particular farm I linked (up until two minutes ago when I figured that I will have them send me a pound of each to carry me through the winter and spring as well as some more to stick in the ground,) but it was convenient because they only sell five varieties, and two of the five are Music and Chesnok Red, most likely because they're awesome.

Edited October 2, 2017 by JTMacc99

[DeLurker]

I found some packages of flower bulbs I had bought but never planted a year ago.  Since I was transplanting some ginger plants, I decided to throw some of the bulbs in too.  They'll either survive or not.

[theredhead77]

My apartment complex has an urban garden, and I scored a small plot to grow things! I'm hoping it has the right amount of sun for tomatoes and berries. 

[Quof]

You can grow both of those in pots. Maybe you should save the real estate for something else.

[theredhead77]

52 minutes ago, Quof said:

You can grow both of those in pots. Maybe you should save the real estate for something else.

I don't have space for pots. I'm not sure how big the plot is. The boxes are large but I can't recall if they are broken off into 2 or 4 areas.  I'll take a look tomorrow, and see what I need to do to prep. They were all grown over last time I wandered through it, so I may need to clean mine out and nurture some good soil before I can get started.

[Quof]

I've actually decided to turn my vegetable garden into a flower bed.  It takes up a lot of real estate, and I've realized the only things I would truly miss having fresh from my own yard would be salad greens and tomatoes, so I'll do those in pots. 

I'm planning a massive dahlia display in its place.

[Mountainair]

31 minutes ago, Quof said:

I've actually decided to turn my vegetable garden into a flower bed.  It takes up a lot of real estate, and I've realized the only things I would truly miss having fresh from my own yard would be salad greens and tomatoes, so I'll do those in pots. 

I'm planning a massive dahlia display in its place.

I did that a while back and find that I do miss the same things you would. We had a rather large garden (6 rows about 30 feet long each) which I tried to keep up with but I don't have much of a green thumb. We downsized that to something 1/3 of the size and then eventually turned that into a flower bed. I need to research container gardening. I have the perfect sun porch to do it and I''ve had a good track record lately of keeping plants alive so I may be ready to tackle more :)

[ratgirlagogo]

My container garden is getting covered with snow as I type.  I got rosemary, thyme, tarragon, lavender and a puny useless little bit of parsley, still going, maybe a little faded, but going.  . Everything else, kaput.  But in just a few months.....planning......

Edited February 18, 2018 by ratgirlagogo

[harrie]

My rosemary bit the dust a while ago, but the thyme is going great guns (despite being under 6 inches of snow and counting right now).   Even if we're at the point where it seems winter will never end, we've been busy planning the garden, buying seeds, etc. 

[theredhead77]

My area is pretty large. It's currently full of weeds and the soil is a mix of dirt and small rocks. Next week I'll be pulling the weeds  and turning the dirt to make sure roots from the prior owners plants are gone.

I'm going to try for tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, berries, and herbs. I can put containers on my actual plot, just not on the ground or in the areas surrounding.

[DeLurker]

I just scored a spot in one of the community gardens!  It isn't at the location closest to me, but not too far at all - maybe 3-4 miles.  Not sure yet whether it is one of the organic plots are not.

I'll go tomorrow to look at the actual plot and meet the woman who runs it to go over the basic rules, fill out forms, etc...I think it will cost $40 to rent the spot for a year, but given the soil conditions here (lots of clay), I would spend a lot more than that to build a similar sized raised bed and appropriate soil.

[JTMacc99]

34 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

I would spend a lot more than that to build a similar sized raised bed and appropriate soil.

Not to mention pest control. I'm sure the community garden has put at least some effort to keep out critters.

[DeLurker]

1 minute ago, JTMacc99 said:

Not to mention pest control. 

My biggest pest at home would be my dog digging up my garden. 

[JTMacc99]

Destruction by dog is one of my many concerns. It’s been a while since Danny thwarted my defenses. 

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

Not to mention pest control. I'm sure the community garden has put at least some effort to keep out critters.

I bought weed and bug killer to start with. Picked up all my tools on Saturday so I could get outside and start killing weeds on Sunday but it rained all day. I haz a sad.

[JTMacc99]

Seems like it rained all day this weekend everywhere.