Home Gardens - Tips, Tricks, Methods, and the Bounty

[thistle]

In the edible category, I have 6 varieties of figs (5 have produced fruit), blueberries & blackberries (decimated by dogs). In the 'ever-hopeful' category (haven't produced yet)-pawpaws, apricot, pluot, loquat, feijoa, jujube, & a few other shrubs that are technically edible, but mostly for birds & squirrels- aronia, viburnum, corylus. At least, they're surviving...trying to convince my DH we need to do major tree removal (maples, w/ horrible surface roots) in the backyard...wish me luck...

[astrid]

This might be a long shot, but is anyone here interested in taking in some own root roses? I've decided that my community garden plot is too rose heavy, so I would like to give away some of my plants to a good home (they need at least 5-6 hours to stay healthy). The
plants are very healthy and have bloomed well for me with no spraying of any kind. I’d like to dig them out sometime between April 27 and May 12.

Tea Mrs. BR Cant

Tea M. Tillier

Damask Ispahan

Tea Francis Dubreuil

Hyb. Musk Jeri Jennings

Golden Buddha

October Moon

PM me if you’re interested.

[astrid]

I need to move a fig that has grown quite large & is crowding & shading the windmill palm behind it (I know, poor planning on my part). Whoever said figs need to be babied has not met my thugs, this is Sandy's Strawberry Verte from the the now defunct Paradise Nursery. I know this is not the best time to try this, & I may need an axe to get it out, but It should survive, right?

If you would like smaller plants, you might want to consider growing your figs in large pots. Pot bound figs tend to fruit better and stay smaller.

[thistle]

You are absolutely right, but I have so many things in pots & not enough space-I guess I just wasn't expecting them to be so vigorous in the ground (I heard about wrapping them & winter dieback, & I am a slacker at pruning). They have all produced fruit, except for a small mystery fig (that has been moved several times) & a Tashkent, that is growing in a very odd shape. My dog really likes the figs (I hope figs are ok for dogs to eat?). I think I may just have to take cuttings of the Strawberry Verte, because I think it's too large to transplant successfully (& beyond my abilities). It looks like we won't get that tree work done until the fall, so I may just go ahead & root prune both of the large figs that are planted against a s-facing brick foundation, in hopes that they can be moved.

I would love to take in some of your roses (especially the last 3), especially if you would like to bring them to the picnic. I have several Austin roses, which are thriving on sun, water, some Rose-tone, & other than that, total neglect.

It's turning out to be a lovely spring (despite the pollen), I hope you're enjoying it, along w/ all our other gardening colleagues (& I hope all the non-gardening members are enjoying it, as well).

[astrid]

You are absolutely right, but I have so many things in pots & not enough space-I guess I just wasn't expecting them to be so vigorous in the ground (I heard about wrapping them & winter dieback, & I am a slacker at pruning). They have all produced fruit, except for a small mystery fig (that has been moved several times) & a Tashkent, that is growing in a very odd shape. My dog really likes the figs (I hope figs are ok for dogs to eat?). I think I may just have to take cuttings of the Strawberry Verte, because I think it's too large to transplant successfully (& beyond my abilities). It looks like we won't get that tree work done until the fall, so I may just go ahead & root prune both of the large figs that are planted against a s-facing brick foundation, in hopes that they can be moved.

I would love to take in some of your roses (especially the last 3), especially if you would like to bring them to the picnic. I have several Austin roses, which are thriving on sun, water, some Rose-tone, & other than that, total neglect.

It's turning out to be a lovely spring (despite the pollen), I hope you're enjoying it, along w/ all our other gardening colleagues (& I hope all the non-gardening members are enjoying it, as well).

Thistle has graciously agreed to provide a home for all the roses named.

[Ilaine]

Thistle has graciously agreed to provide a home for all the roses named.

Dang. I wanted the Ispahan.

Oh, well, more room for milkweed. You can never have too much milkweed, in case the monarchs drop by.

[thistle]

Ilaine,

If you'd like the Ispahan, I'll bring it to the picnic....Thistle

[Ilaine]

Ilaine,

If you'd like the Ispahan, I'll bring it to the picnic....Thistle

Cool. I am planning on bringin excess kefir grains to the picnic. If you want them, you can have first call.

[weezy]

Came home after the picnic yesterday and found all my herbs except my parsley and thyme had crapped out on me and the basil is barely hanging on. I don't know if they dried out, or if the squirrels disturbed them too much while they were trying to get their roots set after planting. Will replant, of course, but hate to lose them.

[lperry]

^ Weezy, if you are in Alexandria and can stop by, I have two kinds of mint, garlic chives, oregano, and probably some others that I will dig up for you. PM me if you want them.

[weezy]

^ Weezy, if you are in Alexandria and can stop by, I have two kinds of mint, garlic chives, oregano, and probably some others that I will dig up for you. PM me if you want them.

I've got mint, chives & oregano (I keep those thugs in pots, not in the garden beds), and the rosemary is shrub-sized. But if you have any sage and/or dill you're willing to part with, they would be most welcome!

[lperry]

Those are two I don't have right now, but thanks for reminding me about the dill. I need to get that started.

[weezy]

Thanks for the offer. Maybe next time we'll both have something to swap.

[porcupine]

Came home after the picnic yesterday and found all my herbs except my parsley and thyme had crapped out on me and the basil is barely hanging on. I don't know if they dried out, or if the squirrels disturbed them too much while they were trying to get their roots set after planting. Will replant, of course, but hate to lose them.

It is way too early for basil. Do not set plants out until nighttime lows are reliably above 55 degrees F. 60 if you're paranoid like me. Not sure why parsley and thyme failed, though. Did you have little seedlings?

[weezy]

No, the parsley and thyme are the survivors! I've got raised beds and thought they would be warm enough. Guess I was wrong! The plants were small, though.

[Ilaine]

Bought a Negronne fig in a pot yesterday at the St. George Greek Festival in Bethesda. Only Negronne the lady selling them had, but she had quite a few others in pots, and she's a nice lady, a professor, so if you want a fig tree, consider the Greek Fest. Very good food and music, too, and two vendors selling very nice olive oil and olives.

Back to Negronne. Should I keep her in a pot, or plant her?

If I plant her, I could put her in a raised bed that otherwise has native perennials for butterflies, and gets full sun in the morning and mid-day, but may dry out a bit in hot weather.

Said to be cold-hardy in Region 7, which we are.

The lady who sold her said to keep her in a pot, and put the pot in the garage in the winter, but she's from Maryland, and I am in Fairfax. It has got cold enough here to kill rosemary but not the woodier lavenders. She's so pretty, I would love to see her get big.

[thistle]

I would plant it in the ground- all of mine are in the ground, & some were quite small when I got them, & now, 5-6 yrs. later, most of them are beasts (admittedly, I have neglected pruning). If you're worried, take cuttings in the fall as a backup. They will handle dry conditions well.

[thistle]

I didn't get nearly as much yard work out of my kids for Mother's Day as I had hoped to negotiate, but it was a really nice day to be outside. I got 5 out of 6 Earthboxes planted w/ Sungold & Carolina Gold tomatoes, & poblano peppers, eggplants in pots, purple basil & bush beans out of pots, into the beds. There's still a lot to do, but if this nice cool weather continues, I may get a lot done-spring is my favorite season...

[lperry]

The first flowers have appeared on the tomato plants! I have high hopes for this heatwave.

[thistle]

Same here, I have a bunch of tomatoes, ranging from 4" to 4', planted in different spots-largest are Carolina Gold, most are Sungold (6 plants),-in Earthboxes- couple of outliers, planted in beds-Sweet 100s & Brandy Boys, but they're huge, 4+', & I have 2 tiny Mt. Pride, that will go out in the beds-I'm focusing on peppers & tomatoes this season....I just got around to planting my VA water & soil conservation seedlings recently- amazingly, they've all survived, stuck in water since April-I'm a neglectful gardener....

[lperry]

Six Sungold plants? Wow. Last year I had one, and we got a dozen or more a day for weeks, so this year I have two. What are you going to do with all those little tomatoes?

[thistle]

I am the biggest Sungold fan- I think I convinced my former boss at the garden center to stock up on them, although they do have a tendency to split later in the season. I eat them right off the plant, & you're right, they're extremely prolific, & kind of unruly, but I can't imagine being without them. I used to mix in a bunch of heirloom varieties, but they were underperforming, so now, if I want to try a different variety, I throw it in the ground, to see how it does....the Carolina golds actually have fruit on them, I'm waiting to see what they taste like...

[weezy]

I've got 5 tomatoes now, 2 Cherokee purples, an Early Girl, a German Johnson, and I can't remember what the other is. Also have 24 okra plants doing well, and the roma beans (about 14 germinated) will be put into the beds this weekend. Also re-planted the cilantro and it's doing well now, said to hell with the dill, and I've got one hot pepper and a basil that are finally starting to forgive me for planting them out too early.

[thistle]

One thing that has made me very happy is my mom telling me about the cottage garden, I lived, off & on, in a cottage across from her house many years ago when I was in college. It had thriving canna & crinum lilies, & I planted random stuff-roses, irises-mostly from Gurney's catalog. The Siberian irises are still going strong, my mom divides them & passes them out to neighbors every few years. & I wish I could remember what variety of roses I planted , she said that a former tenant (cottage is rented out now) came by & wanted a few for his wife, she told him to cut as many as he wanted. The yard holds a lot of water, & is very windy, right near the Intercoastal Waterway, probably helps w/ fungal issues for roses.

[MC Horoscope]

Seeing flowers on my eggplant and corno di toro! Just put basil in the ground this week.

[thistle]

I picked up some lime basil this week, & it really does smell like lime...added it to the Siam Queen (in planters) & purple ruffles (in the beds)...as much as I hate the heat, the basil will appreciate it...

[lperry]

I think my entire yard was waiting for summer. A few days of heat and everything burst into flower. This morning I'll get some more seeds out, Waltham butternut squashes, yellow crooknecks, sugar watermelons, pumpkins, and Charentais cantaloupes. I am late late late with the squash planting this year, but the big pumpkins should still be ready by October.

[KMango]

Glorious salad makings from the garden yesterday---arugula, green leaf lettuce, and year 3 strawberries, see picture.

Curly leaf kale, other lettuces, herbs all faring well. The first yellow squash flowers will open today or tomorrow, so close! Hot pepper plants began flowering yesterday. Tomato grown from seed not yet flowering, but coming in strong. Beans need me to motivate and build them a trellis before they'll grow beyond a half foot.

Something is munching on the broccoli leaves, only pest issue thus far. Down to the stems on two plants, holes in leaves on other plants. I'm new to gardening, and it's my first time with cabbage family. I have seen white moths floating around, a likely culprit now that bird netting over the entire plot prevents any four-legged access. Web searches indicate a spray bottle of Bacillus Thuringiensis could do the trick, other thoughts welcomed*.

*Update: After more web searching, I saw a tip about using leftover coffee grounds as a cabbage moth deterrent. I sprinkled this morning's filter contents over the plants, targeting the leaves. A few minutes later, in comes a white moth, which kept flying over the broccoli but did not land. Comedy! However, it moved over to the kale and landed there, so that will be the target for tomorrow's grounds. And after a few more minutes, the moth eventually landed on the broccoli, but never stayed for more than a second. And it's flying around so frantically, it was almost taken out by a robin. Interesting development...

Edited June 2, 2013 by KMango

[lperry]

^ I'll forgive you for chasing the cabbage butterflies into my garden, because now I know how to make them yet someone else's problem. I wonder how the neighbors are going to feel about me asking for coffee grounds.

[Bart]

and Charentais cantaloupes.

Have you grown them before? Have you had success?

I gave up a few years ago becacuse they would always split and start to rot before they got fully ripe.

[lperry]

^ Yes, and kind of. They like "chalky soil," so I add some wood ash, and I use an area of the yard where a giant stump was ground out about a decade ago. It really broke up the clay, and, for reasons I don't completely understand, the melons - cantaloupes, muskmelons, and watermelons - love it.

They do tend to split, and I found that if I check them twice a day, I can pick them when they are turning yellow, but before they completely split and the ants get them. Then they will (contrary to lore) ripen more on the counter top if you put them in with other things that are giving off ethylene. I put them in with the ripening tomatoes.

I've grown them for four years now, and I think the splitting has to do with water balance. The one year they didn't split, we had regular rains. If I was more into watering regularly when we don't get rain, I think there wouldn't be as much of a problem, but I'd rather have the intense "drought" flavor, so I risk the splitting.

[thistle]

Kudos to you for growing melons, I always think of them as being kind of needy...I also dump my coffee grounds out in the yard, after looking at a long discussion, whether it's better to compost or trash or use the garbage disposal...don't remember the details, but I dump my daily grinds out in the yard.

I had an pest control guy come by today, & try to convince me that I needed to kill the ants in my yard, at a cheaper price, since my neighbors were doing it-I turned him down, nothing wrong w/ ants...thanks to the rain, & fluctuating temps, I have some lovely weeds growing, & what looks like a bumper crop of figs....

[lperry]

I realize this photo doesn't look like much, but I've been trying to get these brambles to produce for three years now, so my first little handful of black raspberries is awfully exciting to me.

[zoramargolis]

I realize this photo doesn't look like much, but I've been trying to get these brambles to produce for three years now, so my first little handful of black raspberries is awfully exciting to me.

br.jpg

My favorite berry. I make black raspberry pancakes or waffles, as I think they taste best when cooked.

[MC Horoscope]

Hooray!

Blackberries are great when cooked too! Blackberry (or fig preserve) tarts are among the best things in Cajun cuisine.

[porcupine]

Finally got a rabbit-proof bit of fencing around the garden. Went away for the weekend, and upon returning discovered that most of the greens have completely bounced back from frequent nibblings. Frisee, escarole, raddichio, butter lettuces, mache... Thinking salad for dinner tonight.

[goodeats]

Okay, two questions:

1. I threw an avocado pit in a pot for fun and now it started sprouting. What do I do? Do I need to clip it or anything?

2. I found slugs, beetle and earthworm in my on-a-whim compost. Do I need to fish the slugs out?

Thanks!!

[lperry]

Okay, two questions:

1. I threw an avocado pit in a pot for fun and now it started sprouting. What do I do? Do I need to clip it or anything?

2. I found slugs, beetle and earthworm in my on-a-whim compost. Do I need to fish the slugs out?

Thanks!!

1. Let it grow.

2. If you touch the slugs, you will have to amputate the limb that came into contact with them. Best let them stay.

Happy berry season this year. Must be all the rain.

[thistle]

I've been avoiding looking at my backyard, so you can imagine my surprise when I found 2 beautiful eggplants, & several tomatoes that are almost ripe-proof that things grow, even when you neglect them....just have to work up the nerve to cut the grass in front, before my neighbors lynch me....

[lperry]

I have flowers on the eggplants, a few little bell peppers, loads of green tomatoes, and a couple of cherry tomatoes with color, but nothing else that's close to ready. Thistle, did you start from plants instead of seeds? Maybe I waited too late because of the weird spring weather.

Fingers crossed that this rain isn't too much of a good thing. The Brown Turkey fig threw off the breba crop, and the Sungold tomatoes are about an inch in diameter. One of the tomatoes should be ripe this week so I can check if the sun and heat kept up with the water enough to keep the flavor decent. On the other hand, I planted over 100 leeks into a big bed and they are happy as can be.

[thistle]

I did buy plants-I don't remember the variety of eggplant, maybe Ichiban? But these are the nicest eggplants I've ever had. The peppers are doing poorly, (just flowers) though, & while a few of the sungolds are ripe, they're kind of wild & crazy....this rain is excessive, I should have planted leeks, or at this rate, aquatic plants...I have bogs all over the yard...

Hey, I'm a leviathan, I feel quite...hefty

[MC Horoscope]

Had my first couple of eggplants this weekend. Vittoria, from plants. Have some Ichiban that are producing 4 on one plant right now, with more flowers on it!

[KMango]

My yellow squash are taking over the garden, doing their best impersonation of baseball bats.

Habaneros and jalapenos are coming in strong, have used several for cooking. Early season, no serious heat yet, later season should bring on the spice.

Tomatoes have dozens of tiny green globes. And strawberries have started their second crop, bonus! Bush beans are a daily handful-at-a-time snack treat. Romaine, green leaf, and arugula have all bolted, closing the curtain on Phase One leafy greens.

Huge leaves of broccoli refuse to form a head, I blame the early season cabbage moth debacle.

[weezy]

Everything in my garden is ...... poised. Tomatoes are setting well and taking on good size, but only two have lost that matte green light color and are getting shiny, deeper green before they start turning red. Lots and lots of beanie babies but still another week or so before they're big enough to harvest. Okra is looking very healthy and is about 18" tall now (a 3' variety) but hasn't started blooming yet. Pepper is blooming well but losing lower leaves and haven't seen any fruit set yet.

Herbs are good and I've been cutting along on them for a couple of weeks.

[weezy]

I have an okra blossom this morning! And I figure 15 or so more will bloom by the weekend. The beanie babies are taking on size and I should have enough by the weekend to cook up for dinner. Tomatoes are still green, though -- they've entered the interminable stage of ready to turn red but not turning red yet.

[lperry]

I've got six, nearly-ripe Sungolds, and the black cherry tomatoes are coloring up nicely. I walked around this morning singing the home-grown tomato song. It's kind of ridiculous how happy gardening makes me.

[weezy]

Finally had a tomato ripening on Monday, would have been perfect on Wednesday. On Tuesday, I came home to find it pecked to oblivion. Neighbor reports a mockingbird had its way with it.

Last night I got in from work, looked out the kitchen window, and there was that damn mockingbird perched -- PERCHED, I say -- on top of another tomato and pecking the hell out of it. This morning, I went outside to water things before work and I found two green tomatoes pulled off the vine by the chipmunk and each one 1/4 eaten.

Damn wildlife.

I'm about to get all Caddyshack on their woodland asses.

[lperry]

When the catbirds found the raspberries, I got no more, Now there is a family group - five of them - rotating sentry duty in the fig tree. I got one, not-very-ripe fig so far, and I had to steal it out of my own tree while enduring a dive-bombing, screeching attack. No fear in those little guys.

[KMango]

Finally had a tomato ripening on Monday, would have been perfect on Wednesday. On Tuesday, I came home to find it pecked to oblivion. Neighbor reports a mockingbird had its way with it.

Last night I got in from work, looked out the kitchen window, and there was that damn mockingbird perched -- PERCHED, I say -- on top of another tomato and pecking the hell out of it. This morning, I went outside to water things before work and I found two green tomatoes pulled off the vine by the chipmunk and each one 1/4 eaten.

Damn wildlife.

I'm about to get all Caddyshack on their woodland asses.

Go all BirdNet instead! My bird haven yard produces super fruits with no rascal hassle thanks to those nets.

[lperry]

^ Have you had problems with them getting hung up in it? A friend in Illinois had them get tangled in it, then I heard one horror story about finding a leg. No bird, just it's leg. In the net. I'd rather give them the figs until they leave for migration than find a leg.