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Hello gardening thread! I will be moving into my first ever house, and having my first ever garden, at the end of the week. I am very excited! But I am... not a plant person. The only plants I've ever been able to keep alive long-term have been sundews, which apparently thrive on whatever shortcomings I have as a gardener, and the two tiny oak trees I have growing on my windowsill, which have not gotten any larger in several years but otherwise seem perfectly happy. For pretty much everything else, it's been a long, slow, inevitable death. I am ready for all of that to change, and/or to achieve massive plant death at a scale I never have before, this time outside! The only specific thing I really want to grow at this point is a bunch of dogbane and lemon hearts, but beyond that I dunno. What are a few good useful or edible "easy" plants I can add to that list to try out? I assume it's too late in the season to bother with most stuff at this point? Also appreciate advice on growing both of the previously mentioned target plants effectively. The lemon hearts at least should be simple, I am pretty sure you need to actively try to not grow them in most places, but my son loves them so it will mostly be about growing enough to keep up with his appetite. The dogbane, no idea.
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Jun 19, 2023 06:51
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 16:33 |
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rojay posted:I mention it because you said your son likes the stuff. Probably not a big deal, but I'd keep an eye on his consumption. Yeah, something I noticed looking them up a while ago, but it seems to require a lot more than even he eats to be an issue. rojay posted:Do you know what zone you're in? New house is in RI, which according to this map is... zone 6? Discussion Quorum posted:Herbs. Rosemary, sage, thyme (parsley too if the song is stuck in your head now), oregano, mint. Especially mint, you basically have to try to kill it. My rosemary and sage were literally grown from cuttings from a grocery store packet. Sounds like a good place to start then. I also love chives and don't mind if they take a bit to take off, hah.
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Jun 19, 2023 15:54
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When people talk about getting ladybugs to eat the aphids off their plants, I thought the juveniles were what they were talking about
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Jun 20, 2023 14:07
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Arsenic Lupin posted:In Zone 6, planting at midsummer, and wanting some fun easy plants: Do you want food or flowers or both? This late in the season I would buy from your local garden store/nursery, or Home Depot if that's all you've got. Assuming you want flowers: marigolds are pretty close to un-killable in my experience, but the only colors are in the red-orange-white range. Petunias are pretty tough, too, and cover the pink-to-blue-to-purple range. If you want to do food, I would recommend putting in seeds of carrots and radishes, which are extremely satisfying: you put visible (key!) seeds in the ground, very soon you have sprouts, and in ~~30 days you have edible roots. Come early fall, put in some kale seeds and you'll be eating greens up to Thanksgiving or so. I think I'd quite like to do some carrots, that's not a bad idea. A nice mix of a couple herbs and some carrots seems like a good, solid place to start for this year. I'm not really interested in flowers or other decorative plants at all, except maybe Harakeke because they are full of delicious candy. There is one place where I'll likely be limited to decorative stuff, though... anyone have any suggestions on good stuff to grow over a leech field that won't hinder the functioning of the field? This doesn't need to be a "this year" thing, though.
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Jun 20, 2023 21:58
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Arsenic Lupin posted:Okay, none of the labels I put in last fall are readable now. In my life, I've tried: I think the better question is - what are you using to seal the labels? It honestly sounds like you need a better sealant rather than a better marking/surface combo, and you don't actually mention what you're sealing with You could also do plastic punch labels with a fifteen dollar label maker or something, right? That would basically last forever. GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Jun 28, 2023 |
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Jun 28, 2023 20:31
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"Self-Adhesive Laminating Sheets" are basically a type of clear tape you can put over labels to seal them, that's probably the quickest and easiest method since it's essentially just putting tape on them. I haven't used these much myself. Personally I usually use a clear acrylic spray sealant for my stuff, though (my current can is Krylon Crystal Clear but honestly they're pretty much all identical for this purpose). I usually have some around anyway and its just a quick spray on both sides and you're done, and it works on everything from popsicle sticks to giant fuckoff signs, and it sticks reliably to every surface I've put it on. I'm actually working on some signs right now I'll be spraying down at the end.
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Jun 29, 2023 19:31
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Anyone have any advice on tools/services/courses whatever I can use to identify what is already in the extensive gardens my new place has? Because I haven't the slightest idea what any of these are, which are worth keeping and which should be aggressively pulled because they are re actually invasive weeds and whatnot. I am actually impressed on how much beautiful stuff they got to grow on areas that mostly solid exposed rock, but they did (the actual dirt areas of the yard however are mostly barren. Plants, man) The only stuff I can recognize are the tiger lilies, which I'll probably keep because they are like zero effort and happen to be my favorite flowers, but everything else I feel like I should figure out while it's still alive so I can plan for next year when I do actual gardening myself
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Jul 13, 2023 15:28
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I've got a whole bunch of wood chips I need to figure out a way to use or get rid of - one of the uses I've been considering is growing wine caps in them, since I understand it's a pretty good growing medium. I've never grown wine caps or anything woodchip-based before, does anyone has some advice for getting started? Closest I've done is probably lion's mane and that was indoors. I figure I'll do a nice big bed of them for a year or two and that should leave some really nice, high quality soil for whatever I want to grow next.
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Jul 22, 2023 04:15
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PokeJoe posted:I started growing wine caps this year and it's the easiest shroom ive ever grown. you just throw some spawn in the woodchips and mushrooms happen Good to know, definitely looking for stuff that's gonna be low effort for my first year.
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Jul 22, 2023 17:56
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So, still planning my first beginner garden out... Right now the plan is for milkweed for the sunny areas, dogbane for the partial shade areas, and wine caps for the full shade areas (at least until I'm out of wood chips). All of them seem "easy" to take care of, I think? That and trying to get a good clover and grass mix for the full sun areas of the "lawn" that are currently just covered in woodchips. For veggies/fruits, think I'm just gonna go with just scattering around whatever scenes my son decides on and see how it goes, no actual effort lol. When do I actually plant this stuff? Late fall so they are ready to go in spring? Spring? GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Aug 1, 2023 |
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Aug 1, 2023 16:57
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The wine caps will (apparently, from what I'm reading) leave me with some pretty nice soil to work with in future years for more serious gardening ambitions, right?mischief posted:Otherwise just figure out which zone you're in and there are tons of planting calendars available online. Thank you for the "planting calendar" search term! None of them seem to have any info on the plants I'm growing though so I guess I'll have to look them up individually.
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Aug 1, 2023 17:34
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It's getting to be about that time - I need to figure out where I'm planting this hemp dogbane. I want a good sized patch of it. Internet seems to indicate it will grow just about anywhere but provides little in terms of advice on getting it to grow well, so I guess I'll probably pick two or three different places to grow patches, throw down a bunch of seeds, and see what happens next year? I'm assuming I should get rid of whatever is growing in those places first but honestly I got no idea, this will be my first plant I'm throwing down. I figure I'll put some in the nearly full sun front garden, some in the woods off behind the shed, and some in the somewhat shaded area on the edge of the lawn next to the poison ivy patch next on the neighbours property where they can fight each other. They say to fight poison with poison, right? Whichever of the three grows best will guide me on future plantings. Experimentation! Then I gotta figure out how to care for and prune it and stuff since there's the whole "it will do very bad things to your heart including cardiac arrest if you touch it too much in a way it doesn't like" aspect, at least until its ready to harvest (by the end of fall/early winter all the poison is supposedly gone and I can see how much I actually get out of a patch). Supposed to be easy to grow if you get it going, though, so here's hoping this works out.
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Sep 26, 2023 07:02
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It's the best of the best in terms of native North American natural fibers. I mean, arguably milkweed fibers are finer, but they're also like an inch long and I plan on working them manually so that's a no go, I don't hate myself that much, hah. It produces fibers that are 6+ inches long, that don't require any sort of retting or degumming. Huge labour savings compared to the other options. It is also a favorite plant of a lot of local pollinators. In terms of other native fiber species in North America, you mostly have Milkweed (fine fibers, but too short to realistically work by hand) and stinging nettle... which unfortunately is stinging nettle. I plan on growing some milkweed anyway because it also produces really good floss which is useful for a bunch of stuff, but for the baseline fibers I'm going to want the dogbane or something similar. I mostly use the fiber I collect for cordage (necklace cordage for the bone jewelry I make, stuff to tie leather and fur together) but the dogbane is high enough quality I could work it into actual fabric if I wanted to as well, and that is actually something I'd like to try at some point. GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 14:19 on Sep 26, 2023 |
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Sep 26, 2023 14:13
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Now I just need to overcome my gardening handicap where everything I try to grow intentionally dies a horrible, miserable death or otherwise fails to flourish! (with the exception of carnivorous plants, who thrive in terrible conditions and thus consistently flourish under my watch. Seriously, it's the only thing I've ever been able to keep at a state better than "slowly dying")
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Sep 26, 2023 18:12
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Anyone have any advice on caring for ferns? I expect they'll be coming up again soon and I have no idea if I should be weeding, clearing, leaving stuff, whatever. I've never had a ton of ferns in the garden before like this new house does and they were gorgeous last year, I want to make sure they look that way again.
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Mar 7, 2024 19:11
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I may have put off ordering some of my seeds for too long, whoops. Now I've got a bunch of dogbane and milkweed seeds that I need to chill before for a month before I put them in the ground, apparently, that I was planning on planting in the next couple weeks. At least the new indoor grass is growing quite well already, but everything else I think I messed up one way or another. This is my first year of gardening and it's definitely going to be a learning experience, and I think part of that is recognizing that I probably need to write a notebook for everything I'm growing and what I've done and tried, and include a calendar for what needs to be done with each kind of seed when. The mushroom patch doesn't seem to be doing particularly well either.... the mycelia is spread around, but nearly as thick as it should be, I'm hoping it kicks into gear as it warms up before something else gets in and outcompetes it. In hindsight, I really did put them in the wrong place, too much sun and should have gone with the other option by the shed. Ah well, maybe next time. GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Mar 14, 2024 |
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Mar 14, 2024 19:41
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trilobite terror posted:GlyphGryph, why are you growing grass indoors? In the desperate hope that the cats will prioritize eating that over the other plants they keep gnawing apart.
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Mar 14, 2024 20:03
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If it was for my own grazing I'd be growing clover instead, it's much tastier. But alas, clover is poisonous to the felines. (My son actually desperately wants to grow a big pot of lemon hearts indoors, and a patch outdoors, for casual grazing, but I don't have the slightest idea where to even get seeds for that, we might steal some plants and move them inside once they start coming up)
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Mar 14, 2024 20:06
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My son is jealous of the cats and wants his own grazing plants. What are some good choices? He wants "grass like the cats and lemonhearts" but I don't particularly want him eating grass or any more lemonhearts than he already does (yellow woodsorrel is one of his favorite foragables for reasons I don't fully understand). Maybe some mint? Other suggestions are appreciated. Only food I've ever grown indoors is mushrooms, which he hates. My mom has generously donated an indoor greenhouse shelf thing I plan on wiring up with grow lights for whatever he wants to grow, but I don't have a clue what to put in it really. Edit: Ooh, maybe strawberries? If we grow them indoors, does that mean we'd have fresh fruit all year round? GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Mar 21, 2024 |
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Mar 21, 2024 21:47
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Some great ideas, thanks everyone!
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Mar 22, 2024 02:34
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The cats absolutely love the grass btw. I didnt expect it to grow so long so fast, but one of them especially loves laying in it in the sun and idly chewing whatever stalk his nearest his mouth. Its been a real hit, if you have cats I recommend it. He is finally leaving the other plants alone, as well! I accidentally posted that to the wrong thread on my first attempt, so I suppose its only fair I ask in return if any of you know if antimagic cones are blocked by obstructions.
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Mar 22, 2024 03:55
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Whats are some good plant to grow to use as a trellis for beans and cucumbers? I have heard corn suggested, but would like to consider other options. Zone 6b, for what that's worth. Do you think Dogbane would work as a trellis plant, actually? That would be quite convenient.
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Apr 3, 2024 13:54
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Yeah its mostly a space thing I think, but I dont have a ton of space.effika posted:Comedy option: bamboo What I've read about sunflowers online says they get pulled down pretty easily so dont work well. I dont hate future me enough to try bamboo, lol
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Apr 3, 2024 15:48
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Got the first plants in the ground yesterday, felt pretty good to do. Relocated all the lilies to elsewhere to prep the rest of the garden. I have no idea what I am doing and expect everything I tough to die, but it is what it is, and I'm hoping to be surprised. Really wish I could find a decent gardening book that actually dig into the fundamentals to a level where I could feel like I understand what I'm doing, but all the ones I've found have, perhaps not surprisingly, been less than useless. GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 13:33 on Apr 14, 2024 |
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Apr 14, 2024 13:03
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That sounds like a fake thing you made up. I mean I looked it up and my state absolutely has one, but it still sounds super fake
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Apr 14, 2024 13:20
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It also looks like my wine cap patch has failed. I really expected them to be fruiting by now. I am still hoping they are just taking a while to get started, but it's not looking good. First time trying to grow them and less than ideal conditions, so even though it was more "within my wheelhouse" than most of the garden will be, it's not terribly surprising. I'll probably dig a corner of the patch up to see what's happening under the surface and figure out whether to tear it up and replace it or something else.
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Apr 15, 2024 19:30
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How deep do most plants beed their roots to go? Any that work well in shallow soil? I have spots where I only have maybe six inches of dirt before hitting solid rock and am wondering if theres anything that will grow there. Might end up creating raised beds just so I can add more dirt since Im guessing thats not enough
GlyphGryph fucked around with this message at 17:15 on Apr 21, 2024 |
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Apr 21, 2024 17:08
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I'll try the spinach and lettuce there and see if it grows then, thanks
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Apr 21, 2024 17:57
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Right now Ive just said gently caress it and plopped everything in the ground, with the idea that if it dies it dies and I'll just put some more seeds in until it doesn't. How realistic is this as an approach to gardening, hah.
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Apr 22, 2024 01:32
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If I want to include some nitrogen fixing plants for companion planting, do I need to infect them myself, or or just trust it to happen on its own at some point? Does it matter if they are indoor/outdoor?
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Apr 22, 2024 19:58
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Anyone have cucumber types they recommend?
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Apr 28, 2024 14:02
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You want them close enough that anything that would eat the one notices and decides to eat the other instead, right?
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Apr 29, 2024 20:15
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My goals this year are basically all experimentation. I want to figure out what grows best in the different conditions of my yard (soil and light and all that) and which plants will come back from last year with no actual effort. Already learning a heck of a lot, this is my first year gardening so I'm just assuming most stuff will fail and I'll mess stuff up, but it'll be easier in the future, and at least some of the stuff I started this year will hopefilly pay off years from now. Like the blueberries, which are already producing their first berries! I'm excited.
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May 3, 2024 03:10
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None of the sown outside have come up and like an idiot I transplanted most of our plants literally the day before our final frost and most died. So right now the only edibles we have growing are the potatoes, beans, and peas. Gonna plant the pumpkins soon, and if they also dont come up (and the other stuff doesnt come up by then) guess I'm just gonna buy some stuff to transplant I guess? At least the blueberries seem to be doing quite well now that its warmed up a bit.
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May 10, 2024 23:03
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