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coyo7e posted:Has the soil there been disturbed? raking and tilling can encourage seeds to germinate. I yanked up the landscape fabric when I planted some spinach so maybe that triggered it. That doesn't explain the tomatillos coming up in the front yard. I haven't touched that bed since I ripped everything out months ago. 
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Sep 29, 2015 04:01
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Shifty Pony posted:I yanked up the landscape fabric when I planted some spinach so maybe that triggered it. The Martian looking good
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Sep 29, 2015 06:49
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coyo7e posted:Wow that is some sandy-rear end soil. Have you thought about blueberries? Yeah sure is, though two beds are entirely mulch and the ones with sand are only sand for the top 10cm at most, beneath that is mulch down about 20cm.
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Sep 29, 2015 15:59
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I was referring to the soil around and below the beds. Blueberries love sandy soil, just add coffee ground compost p much.
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Oct 1, 2015 02:46
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I wholeheartedly support everyone planting blueberries. Garden blueberries are so much better than store bought it is ridiculous. It is perhaps as big a difference as store bought tomatoes and garden tomatoes.
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Oct 1, 2015 02:58
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Shifty Pony posted:I wholeheartedly support everyone planting blueberries. Do you hate these people and want them to suffer? Blueberries are like the hardest thing in the world to keep alive! I've got some in pots and that's pretty much the only way I could ever imagine keeping them healthy.
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Oct 1, 2015 03:19
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I wasn't aware they liked sandy soil, my girlfriend will be very pleased by this, she loves blueberries. We'd previously tried growing some in a pot but they died.
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Oct 1, 2015 04:37
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Anubis posted:Do you hate these people and want them to suffer? Blueberries are like the hardest thing in the world to keep alive! I've got some in pots and that's pretty much the only way I could ever imagine keeping them healthy. We bought a house two years ago that had 4 barely established blueberry plants, and they are going super strong with minimal effort.
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Oct 1, 2015 05:16
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I'd love to grow blueberries, but the soil I got just isn't acidic enough and I don't want to bother mixing in sulfur and stuff. And my backyard's so big I'd hate to just buy pots! Is anyone here experienced with growing strawberries in hot climates? I live in the extreme south of Texas and just this afternoon planted some young Seascape variety Strawberries I found at a local nursery. What I'm worried about is how they'll produce fruit down here; temps during the daytime range from the high 80's to mid 90's until late fall and winter, and July and August can reach 100. edit: Here's a much simpler number: I live in zone 10a. Chelb fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Oct 1, 2015 |
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Oct 1, 2015 05:47
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More garden pics! Dwarf lemon tree, some flowers, might get our first fruit from it.  Passionfruit vine, just finished fruiting, about 50% done trimming it back.  Pomegranate tree.  Last garden bed finished, still need to finish digging it out.  Still got a bunch of wood left.  Overview, time to start digging trenches for the reticulation  Plum tree is lovely and green, always a huge harvest from this one each year, more than we can find a use for, hoping to dehydrate as many as I can this year.  This unknown fruit tree, only fruits occasionally.  It has lovely flowers.  Native berry tree, this one is just finished fruiting, its hard to get at them so they mostly just end up as compost on the ground and bird food.  Mint plants, probably going to need to move one of these to a bed soon. (yes I just sprayed for pests).  Unkillable fennel bush (planted many years back and ignored/forgotten about, never watered and just grows huge), and bed at the back where we're going to plant some pumpkin and sweetcorn.   Seedlings!
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Oct 1, 2015 10:41
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Falco posted:We bought a house two years ago that had 4 barely established blueberry plants, and they are going super strong with minimal effort. You must have magical soil that doesn't work well with most plants then. I've had so much trouble trying to keep the PH levels of my soil down for them that they have hardly been worth it.
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Oct 1, 2015 12:49
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Anubis posted:You must have magical soil that doesn't work well with most plants then. I've had so much trouble trying to keep the PH levels of my soil down for them that they have hardly been worth it. Me too.  Ripped them out and planted blackberries instead. Best decision ever. I figured they'd do well since their wildtypes are native here in flyover country. I think if you have the proper kind of peaty, acidic soil that they like, they're probably low maintenance and awesome. But if you don't have that kind of soil, it's very difficult to amend soil to keep them healthy.
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Oct 1, 2015 13:37
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AlistairCookie posted:Me too. Yes if you don't have acidic soil you should do them in raised beds or pots. But those are super easy - pile in a bunch of pure peat moss and jam the plant in there. Maybe mulch it with some pine bark if you want. Pinch the flowers first year to let it establish and the only maintenance after that is to keep it well watered and stuff some extra peat on top every few years when you trim out old branches.
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Oct 1, 2015 13:57
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Shifty Pony posted:Yes if you don't have acidic soil you should do them in raised beds or pots. But those are super easy - pile in a bunch of pure peat moss and jam the plant in there. Maybe mulch it with some pine bark if you want. Pinch the flowers first year to let it establish and the only maintenance after that is to keep it well watered and stuff some extra peat on top every few years when you trim out old branches. Since you guys are talking about potted plants, I've got a question: What's your off-season care for potted perennials? I realized all my experience is with annuals, or things that simply won't winter over here (which means I just bring them inside and treat them as normal). If it's something that's going to stay out in the garden, though, should I be changing my watering/feeding routine? I'm a little worried about watering in the winter and having a hard freeze or something come in and ice the root system or something. In particular, I'm dealing with Hops, where the bines all die/get trimmed back in the fall and then the roots stay dormant until next spring. They're hearty below ground in my climate, so my plan is to move the pots to where they've got some wind cover and maybe wrap the pots (half whisky-barrels) with plastic to give them some wind-chill protection.
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Oct 1, 2015 14:25
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Hubis posted:In particular, I'm dealing with Hops, where the bines all die/get trimmed back in the fall and then the roots stay dormant until next spring. They're hearty below ground in my climate, so my plan is to move the pots to where they've got some wind cover and maybe wrap the pots (half whisky-barrels) with plastic to give them some wind-chill protection. Hops are pretty drat hardy (zone 3) so I wouldn't worry about the freeze too much. I think in general plants don't want to dry out completely when they're dormant. We have wet winters here so I just let the rain water everything outside. Hops do like a good layer of composted manure in the Fall though.
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Oct 1, 2015 16:27
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The scarlet runner beans have absolutely EXPLODED, climbing the trellis like a Saturn V leaving orbit, as are the bush (wax) beans. The radishes were off to a slightly slower start but are doing well now. The spinach also took a week or two to start but is coming up nicely now. The cukes and corn are also vibrant and healthy. The tomatoes seem to be growing, albeit kinda slowly The beets are sucking rear end though...I think maybe i sowed them too deep or something. I don't really know, a few seedling sprouted and then just kinda turned all red and wilted. What the heck beets? Im mostly pumped for the tomatoes though so here's hoping they catch up.
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Oct 2, 2015 01:58
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I love that passionfruit vine; I want to put one on the back fence and have finally persuaded my husband that it's worth planting a triffid because passionfruits are so drat expensive here (Northern California). This year, for disability reasons, my edible plants have been in planters on the deck. The hot peppers are dying off, but the herbs are going strong. I'm tempted to plant finger carrots where the hot peppers went; the potting soil is nice and loamy, which means they won't split against clay soil/rocks/landfill from the original construction.
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Oct 2, 2015 18:30
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I ordered some fuckin' capers gonna grow my own capers
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Oct 3, 2015 02:01
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Woo! Let us know how they turn out. Which reminds me, I really do want to find a place to let nasturtiums run wild next year.
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Oct 3, 2015 02:17
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Arsenic Lupin posted:Woo! Let us know how they turn out. Which reminds me, I really do want to find a place to let nasturtiums run wild next year. I have to say, nasturtiums, in the right environment, will reseed on their own and just keep on tucking for ever. They also taste great in salads.
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Oct 3, 2015 03:01
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Arsenic Lupin posted:I love that passionfruit vine; I want to put one on the back fence and have finally persuaded my husband that it's worth planting a triffid because passionfruits are so drat expensive here (Northern California). This year, for disability reasons, my edible plants have been in planters on the deck. The hot peppers are dying off, but the herbs are going strong. I'm tempted to plant finger carrots where the hot peppers went; the potting soil is nice and loamy, which means they won't split against clay soil/rocks/landfill from the original construction. It's stupidly well established, no matter how it's neglected or overgrown it always gives tons of fruit. Problem is we want to move it elsewhere and that has a very good chance of killing it.
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Oct 3, 2015 04:15
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Summer gave out and now the temperature is averaging 5-12C every day. Before this, my cherry tomato plants attempted a last hurrah and churned out a few dozen tomatoes over a few weeks. Is there any chance of these ripening at this temperature, or should I just harvest everything for some sort of green tomato chutney?
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Oct 4, 2015 00:16
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/\/\ You can pick them green and use them green, or pick them and let them ripen on their own inside. (Just leave them in a bowl on the counter.) Either way. 
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Oct 4, 2015 00:46
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AlistairCookie posted:/\/\ I haven't had much luck with ripening cherry tomatoes indoors, I've picked some nearly ripe ones and let them sit for a few days but the insides was still green. And if I let them sit longer they end up splitting. Just haven't had any luck with tomatoes.
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Oct 4, 2015 00:57
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Put them next to bananas and they should ripen up
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Oct 4, 2015 01:48
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Jan posted:I haven't had much luck with ripening cherry tomatoes indoors, I've picked some nearly ripe ones and let them sit for a few days but the insides was still green. And if I let them sit longer they end up splitting. Just haven't had any luck with tomatoes. Just use them green. When people talk about ripening tomatoes indoors, they just mean that the color changes to red, it doesn't turn into a true vine ripened tomato.
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Oct 5, 2015 07:40
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I'm slightly envious of your abilities to grow tomatoes guys. I'm based in Australia and theres almost no point growing tomatoes where I live. The season is too short and generally right at the end of it the weather turns wet for days on end and the tomatoes rot before they get going properly. This year I'm instead focussing on growing different types of beans along with a few different varieties of brassicas, carrots and parsnips. The only summer veg that does really really well is zucchini's which even with just one plant there's enough for two with attempts to figure out what to do with them being a struggle.
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Oct 6, 2015 11:32
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Has anyone grown 'Lavender Mint' before? I got a plant at a local nursery. It's seems like the real deal and everything (the leaves really do smell like lavender, it's heavenly), but there's barely any info about it online. Are mint varieties normally so obscure?
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Oct 8, 2015 02:25
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It's like any other mint: put it someplace you don't mind it taking over, because it's gonna. Some people recommend burying a cement drain pipe open-end up in the garden, then planting the mint inside that and ruthlessly killing any runners. My family's preference is just to plant the drat thing under the tap and hit it with a hedge trimmer/lawn mower every now and then.
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Oct 8, 2015 03:10
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Dr. Garbanzo posted:I'm slightly envious of your abilities to grow tomatoes guys. I'm based in Australia and theres almost no point growing tomatoes where I live. The season is too short and generally right at the end of it the weather turns wet for days on end and the tomatoes rot before they get going properly. This year I'm instead focussing on growing different types of beans along with a few different varieties of brassicas, carrots and parsnips. The only summer veg that does really really well is zucchini's which even with just one plant there's enough for two with attempts to figure out what to do with them being a struggle. Have you checked with local garden clubs and/or the Australian equivalent of an extension office, to see if there are varieties that will grow better in your area, or techniques you can use to encourage them to do well? Planting large, well-established plants should help, and maybe a good fertilizer regimen could encourage them to produce before your annual deluge. What about putting a greenhouse or other shelter over them toward the end of the season? Or at the beginning, so you can get them in the ground earlier?
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Oct 8, 2015 04:07
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Arsenic Lupin posted:It's like any other mint: put it someplace you don't mind it taking over, because it's gonna. Some people recommend burying a cement drain pipe open-end up in the garden, then planting the mint inside that and ruthlessly killing any runners. My family's preference is just to plant the drat thing under the tap and hit it with a hedge trimmer/lawn mower every now and then. I killed my mint I am destroyer of worlds
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Oct 8, 2015 05:51
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Adult Sword Owner posted:I killed my mint I might have killed mine too by forgetting to water it for like two weeks. Then again, knowing mint, it's probably just dormant and gonna come back next year angry.
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Oct 8, 2015 12:42
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mrmcd posted:I might have killed mine too by forgetting to water it for like two weeks. Then again, knowing mint, it's probably just dormant and gonna come back next year angry. Mine has come back angry three years running.
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Oct 8, 2015 13:40
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In my experience mint has an insane burst of life in Spring and early Summer. By late summer the leaves aren't even usable, the stems are harder, it's just generally useless. When the Kentucky Derby rolls in early May, it hasn't quite hit it's prime, but you got enough for a few juleps. Made my big batch of mint syrup late June, it went downhill from there. This in Zone 7. But the creeper roots it puts out during it's heavy period lay the foundation for an even bigger next year.
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Oct 8, 2015 20:25
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I'm like 90% sure one of my neighbor's hogs ate my goddamn strawberry bushes. every. single. one. They're just empty holes in the ground where plants used to be goddamn it edit: yesterday I opened the garage door, saw a pig-like figure bolting from my little garden plot, thought "Huh. That's weird," and went back inside. Somebody punch me. Chelb fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Oct 13, 2015 |
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Oct 13, 2015 18:56
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Rollofthedice posted:I'm like 90% sure one of my neighbor's hogs ate my goddamn strawberry bushes. every. single. one. They're just empty holes in the ground where plants used to be Someone owes you some pork.
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Oct 13, 2015 21:24
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Cpt.Wacky posted:Someone owes you some pork. Yeah, methinks a talk is in order. It's been a pretty big demotivator, that's for sure. Really I should be growing strawberries indoors or in a hanging pot anyway, but what a bummer. Of all the things that I expected to happen to my plants, from birds to rabbits to overwatering, a hungry javelina is not what I expected from my first time gardening. Hopefully this won't be a problem for the blackberries I ordered a week ago online.
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Oct 13, 2015 23:08
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Help! My potatoes are dying! Since I took this picture last week, the two on the left have completely withered, I dug up one and it hadn't grown any potatoes at all.
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Oct 14, 2015 18:42
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Rollofthedice posted:Hopefully this won't be a problem for the blackberries I ordered a week ago online. Permaculture folks commonly use pigs to keep blackberries in check, so I wouldn't bet on it. My understanding from various anecdotes is that they prefer the tender, younger growth but will eventually root out the old stuff given the opportunity.
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Oct 15, 2015 16:31
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Spookydonut posted:Help! My potatoes are dying! Wilt. Verticillium wilt or Fusarium wilt, either way. There's nothing you can do; they will die. And that poo poo lives in your soil and will reinfect next year's crop. You have to crop rotate and keep all nightshades out of that plot for a couple seasons, or try solarizing the bed. (Water well, and lay down clear plastic. Let it sit for 8 weeks during the hottest/sunniest part of your year. The point is to cook the spores.) I had to rip up the whole garden partway through the summer, and have had plastic down since mid-July. gently caress wilt.
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Oct 15, 2015 19:10
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