*brushes off the gardening thread*

It's warming up and thawing out in my neck of the woods (actually, we had a frightening warm winter and we already have bugs coming in the house ) so my kids and I are ready to do some gardening (one nature girl in particular circled pretty much everything in the seed catalog)! My older three are old enough to help out now so I'm planning to do a bit more at my in-laws farm than I have for several years past. So my nature girl and I went shopping for some produce this morning and ended up with 5lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes, 5lbs of Red La Soto potatoes, and 6 spinach plants. The potatoes will all go to the farm, but the spinach we stuck in our backyard raised beds. (It was pretty cute, even my toddler stuck in a plant.)

I also ordered my favorite massive set of onions from R.H.Shumway. I mean, they're just the best and when I pull them in the late summer/early fall, chop them up and freeze them, they last me several months. 

One last purchase of the day, I bought a new Montmorency Cherry Tree to replace the one I lost last year with my birthday money/gift cards. This one is sizeable so it was pricey, but I'm hoping that since it's more mature, it'll produce fruit sooner. I  also plan to order some smaller, younger, bare root cherry trees directly from the Arbor Day Foundation. Just not sure how many yet. These are my most favorite fruit trees and I hope that we can get a good bumper crop of cherries off of them again in a few years.  

Cherries, yum!  

My siblings planted 4 varieties of onion seeds this week, we have tomato plants started in the garage, and a sweet potato rooting in container of water. I think that's all so far.

I've been thinking about rhubarb all week, we really need to get more rhubarb plants this spring...we didn't start nearly enough last year.  

SnowAngel

Well, no posts for a few weeks? I assume you have all been too busy actually in your gardens to post about them.

Today I said farewell to my ungainly and huge (c 15 ft) peach tree. Within an hour, a contractor had cut off its branches, taken out the trunk cut out the stump, and tidied up. He also removed a bush which had got too big for its space. I now have room to put in some smaller plants (flowers where the tree was, a blueberry bush where the bush was), and put in a dwarf apple tree a little bit further over.

The peach tree was too tall, regained its height within weeks of a serious pruning 18 months ago, and has had brown rot on most of its peaches this year - too high up to spray. It also created shade over part of the garden that needed sunshine.

So, now to visit some garden centres for a nice eating apple that will grow very small!

Edited: 15 ft, not 5!  I've said 4m here.

Glad you had your peach tree taken care of, coracle. Let us know what you end up planting in its spot.

Gardening season has begun here ... at least the planning and preparation: tilling the soil; planning what to put where; how many of particular packets of seeds or plantlings I need. It is still too early for us to plant most things, as we could have frost yet: we have a few nights going down to 3 or 4°C, so very near freezing. Usually, after our May long holiday weekend (the third weekend in this month - Queen Victoria's birthday) is safe for planting. Although a few years ago into June a bit, we had planted everything except the two veggie gardens, and quite a heavy frost hit a couple of nights in the row. You should have seen us, getting out big tarps, bricks to weight them down, and covering any tender perennials, but mostly all the annuals. We did save everything, from what I recall, except one nice-sized coleus. It is very unusual for us to have killing frost in June!

The many perennials we have are coming up beautifully, adding springtime colour and variety all around. Our peonies are still quite short (we have six or seven bushes around our 1/2 acre yard), but seem to be growing daily. Before long, their gorgeous, large blooms will be out, probably early-ish June.

I'm debating what to add or change or omit from the upper veggie garden this year. This is the fenced one, so that deer, rabbits, and other critters will not eat everything in sight. The lower veggie garden is solely potatoes and tomatoes, and the animals don't seem to touch that one, so we can leave it un-fenced. Oh, I do grow garlic in that garden, too. Last year I harvested the garlic too early, and while the few cloves were healthy and tasty, the bulb was not nearly large enough yet, so I am waiting until August this year to dig 'em up.

This morning I purchased three large and gorgeous begonia hanging baskets, which are now gracing our front porch, plus two Sweet Million cherry tomatoes, and a few tiny cucumber plants. Also some parsley, which we use often in the summer to decorate my delicious deviled eggs (which we have fairly often in this warmer season). Next week I will buy packets of seeds (once I decide what I'm planting this year), but will save picking up the annual flowers until after our long weekend. I don't have too many perennials to buy this year, having built up our gardens well over these past nine years, but I do see a few spots that could use something. I know that in one of those areas will go a Lupine, one of my favourites!  

EDIT 1: I am planting potatoes tomorrow, from the leftovers of last year's crop. I bury the potatoes in sand over the snowy seasons, and we finished using up all we needed for this past winter just a few weeks ago. Any are left are bursting with eyes, and are ready for planting.  

EDIT 2: Our rhubarb, newly planted last year, is coming along well. Hoping to make more than a few pies out of those healthy stalks this season!

Sounds like you're already busy!

Mine has been neglected by me for too long. It's tidying up season, and I've still got several beds to weed, am wondering if I can get a small amount of straw to mulch, and trimming down the perennials I planted in spring. 

I planted carrots in spring, and pulled up a few nervously yesterday. Not impressive. I'll try cooking the good bits. There are also beetroot, (beets), which look possible. And the most successful green veges are silver beet, which thrives and looks nice; it's similar to spinach but nicer.

The neighbour who mows my lawns came yesterday, and those are now tidy, probably for the winter. In July I'll prune roses, buy the planned dwarf apple tree, and organise.

The unpredictable weather is finally over here. I can finally get my plants outside that I've been growing indoors all winter. Now it's time to clean off my desk which my plants seemed to have colonized.

I put one of my banana suckers in the ground yesterday. I enriched the hole with compost and biochar ahead of planting since banana plants require a lot of nutrients compared to other plants.

For anyone gardening in depleted soil, I would recommend looking into biochar. It is plant material that is burned under low oxygen conditions to produce a sort-of charcoal that is good for plants. It improves the cation exchange capacity of the soil (i.e. the ability of the soil to hold nutrients) as well as increasing its alkalinity. 

I also planted my grapevine a few months ago and have been fertilizing it every 6 weeks or so. It has put out a lot of new growth since it was dormant when planted.

I also put a few of my ashwagandha plants in a raised bed since they had been in their pots since last year and likely needed more space. They had several berries that had ripened but a thieving rat seems to have taken them.

I am also trying a watermelon hybrid variety called "Star and Moon." It is a blue/green watermelon with spots that resemble the night sky. 

@azog-the-defiler what interesting plants you're growing! 

Finally got out to weed the flower bed that faces the sliding glass doors of the lounge and dining room (needs a view). There was plenty of mud to contend with, but it was worth the two hours I put in.

Glad you were able to get that weeding done, coracle!  

 

Posted by: @azog-the-defiler

For anyone gardening in depleted soil, I would recommend looking into biochar.

We have excellent, rich soil here, as we live in farm country, but this is good to know if ever we move elsewhere where the soil is depleted.

Posted by: @azog-the-defiler

It is a blue/green watermelon with spots that resemble the night sky. 

Oooh, I like the sound of that.  

And welcome to the Gardening thread, Azog!

We should still not plant outdoors for a week+ yet, but we are certainly getting everything ready, so as soon as that last frost date has passed, I will be out there, planting away: a few perennials, some annuals, and veggie seeds and plants!  

I did plant all our eye-potatoes this morning, as, I only discovered this year, they can be put under the soil a couple of weeks before the final frost. And now, to wait for those first tiny green shoots to appear. Love that moment!

@coracle

Thanks.

Posted by: @coracle

There was plenty of mud to contend with, but it was worth the two hours I put in.

It can get pretty muddy here, especially in late summer and early fall. The backyard turns into a semi-swamp which leaves the need for raised beds so the plants don't get swamped.

@jo

Posted by: @jo

And welcome to the Gardening thread, Azog!

Thank you.

Posted by: @jo

I did plant all our eye-potatoes this morning, as, I only discovered this year, they can be put under the soil a couple of weeks before the final frost.

We have a frost here as well, but we can sometimes grow plants that are not frost tolerant as long as they don't mind freezing to the ground and starting over again. It doesn't always work though.

Posted by: @jo

And now, to wait for those first tiny green shoots to appear. Love that moment!

Having the plants that one has anxiously been waiting for sprout is very rewarding. Do you usually start plants indoors where you live, or outdoors?

A long, overdue post.  

So to continue on from the above post, at my own house my spinach is done and since it was being consumed by bugs instead of humans, I pulled it out already. I have tons of onions because it's one of my favorite things to grow that I use. 
I also planted a short row of peas, which is doing remarkably well considering I planted them so late and we've had a few hot days. Last I put in four cherry tomato plants...two yellow variety and two red variety. I couldn't get my hands on Juliet Hybrid tomatoes this year so unless my sister (who works in a gardening center) manages to get a few stragglers at her place, I'll pass on those this year.

In Fairy Garden news, I almost lost my Rose Creek Abelia bush and my Powis Castle Artemesia over the winter because I never watered them and it's been bone dry up until this past week. Oops. They're still alive, but they had to be trimmed waaaaay back. (I did loose my lavender in my front flower bed and it's the same kind of woody/bushy plant.) But I loaded up on plants for mother's day and on the annuals end of things, I have tons and tons of lantana on the sunny side, and lots of other pretty flowers (too many to mention/remember) on the shaded side. And if anybody knows of any other pretty flowers that can survive Kansas summers in the sun, let me know. 😛 The sunny side of my fairy garden is a bit sparse by comparison and I have no more room on the other. LOL

Years and years ago, in my BC life (before children) I had some indoor plants. After kiddos arrived, I sent the indoor plants to my parents house where they could actually stay alive. But my third kiddo (my nature loving daughter) came with me to our local greenhouse a few weeks back and one of the employees loaded her up with cuttings of various plants. (Thanks lady! ) And in addition to that, this same daughter got a Venus Fly Trap and a Pitcher Plant for her birthday. All of a sudden my kitchen has a lot of plants in it. And what's funny is that they're on the two opposite ends of the spectrum. On one end, the venus fly trap and pitcher plant need to stay damp with distilled water while the queen of the night cactus and other succulents need to dry out completely before watering again. None of them like full sun except one tiny pot of succulents, so everything is hanging from my ceiling. But the coolest things is that by my count, the Venus Fly Trap has already caught three flies in a month. AND it's getting ready to bloom, which I didn't know they did that. I had a fly trap when I was a kid and killed it in a couple weeks, so kudos to my daughter for having some self-restraint and not messing with it. LOL Now I just need the pitcher plant to make some pitchers and catch more bugs that come in my house.  

Moving onto the in-laws' farm. We have all of the potatoes I mentioned above (they look great!) and tomatoes. Lots and lots of tomatoes. I didn't actually mean to plant as many as I did (I think 16 plants?) but several of them are San Marzano tomatoes that I haven't planted for a few years. I hope to can them in the fall. My niece, her significant other, and her significant other's son, planted several rows of pumpkins. I hope those do well for them because we have terrible squash beetles here that make quick work of squash plants. 

And last but not least, I did get one cherry tree in this year, but I failed to get additional cherry trees from the Arbor Foundation. By the time I got around to ordering they were all sold out. Next year!

It's fun reading about others' gardens when we're still waiting for the risk of frost to pass here (though some cooler-weather crops, like lettuce, are growing in the garden outside). In fact, much of the state was under frost advisories last night, though we escaped frost here due to the urban heat island (the low was about 40F/4C).

Rya's parents are avid gardeners and they've been growing seedlings indoors to give them a head-start once the risk of frost passes.

Posted by: @azog-the-defiler

Having the plants that one has anxiously been waiting for sprout is very rewarding. Do you usually start plants indoors where you live, or outdoors?

Indeed!
For some reason, I have never started plants indoors, preferring to plant them directly into the soil past our frost date in late May. Having said that, I do over-winter all our amaryllis plants, and, sometimes, our Autumn chrysanthemums.

I really enjoyed reading your gardening update, fantasia! All most interesting.  

Posted by: @fantasia

Venus Fly Trap and a Pitcher Plant

So cool that your second daughter is taking good care of these. They sound really cool! Is the VFT eating any more flies these days?  

Posted by: @stargazer

In fact, much of the state was under frost advisories last night

Here too at that time. We had a few good frosts even after our May long weekend (May 20-22), but now things have warmed up ... even too much for this time of the year.  

stargazer, remind Grandmama to hop on here and post in this thread.   I always appreciate reading her updates.  

Our gardening season is in full swing! We had to cover up some of the more tender plants during our frost just over a week ago, but everything survived fine, thanks to that protection. Then shortly after, once the risk of frost had passed, I planted more perennials, annuals, and the upper veggie garden, plus the tomatoes in the lower potato garden.

The potato plants have all burst from the soil and there are healthy green shoots everywhere. My sunflower seeds (I planted so many, both the fuzzy Teddy Bears and the tall variety) that I put in the earth about a week ago are now showing tiny green pokes out of the earth. Our many colourful and varied perennials are doing wonderfully, including a few new ones that I couldn't resist.  

In the upper veggie garden are peas (sugar snap and regular), beans (yellow and green), beets, cabbage, all our amaryllises, another row of potatoes ('cause I ran out of room in the lower garden), and lots of zinnia seeds, which are also around the perimeter of the lower potato garden. In this one I also have planted poppy seeds, along with a nice row of garlic (planted last Autumn). Just outside the fenced upper garden we have four hills of pumpkin seeds, and a rhubarb plant.

As I look around our pretty, rural neighbourhood, I see so many lawns that are just green ... some bushes, etc, but little colour. If I had the time, I would offer my services to brighten their yards with a good variety of perennials.  

Since our last frost, the temperature has gone to the other extreme and has become far too warm. We might even be setting records today through Friday with the heat and humidity. This is more like July weather! (And I wish it were, so that Autumn would be that much closer. ) We have not had rain in nearly two weeks. Poor farmers, in particular. Hence, I am having to water the gardens (both veggie and floral) daily. Because we have quite a few gardens, it would take a couple of hours to do everything in one go, so I weed, water, and tend the front plots in the early morning hours (from 6-7), then in the early evening I do the same with the gardens in the back. Works well.  

But, man! the mosquitoes are baaaaad this year. I don't remember them being so abundant since we moved here nine years ago.  

Posted by: @jo

For some reason, I have never started plants indoors, preferring to plant them directly into the soil past our frost date in late May. Having said that, I do over-winter all our amaryllis plants, and, sometimes, our Autumn chrysanthemums.

That isn't really an option where I live. The sun is rather intense and burns up the seeds, the sprouts, and sometimes even the mature plants. Even if it does take up space and make a mess, we at least get fresher air indoors.

Posted by: @jo

Is the VFT eating any more flies these days?  

Yes. It's up to a total of 11 flies by my count.  

I did something wrong with my tomatoes this year. My mom's side of the family has a running text thread and they've been sharing their pictures of amazing, big, beautiful tomatoes. Granted, I did not plant big tomatoes at my house, but I've only gotten 8 little cherry tomatoes. Hopefully things ramp up soon. 

On the plus side, my onions look amazing.

And here in a week or two when things dry out again, we're going to the farm to dig up our potatoes. 

Posted by: @fantasia

Yes. It's up to a total of 11 flies by my count.  

  Niiiiice!

Glad your onions have done so well, and sure hoping your tomatoes rise to the occasion too. Have you done anything differently with them this year?

Our tomatoes, too, are not doing as well as we were hoping when we moved them to a sunnier spot. The plants are healthy, and green tomatoes are popping up (cherrry - no sign of the large Brandywines yet), but I think they are too small for this time of year. The plants have grown from when I first put them in (really tiny then), so maybe I'm being too pessimistic. Time will tell! I have said before and I will say again that out of all the veggies we plant, if there is one I could choose I would like to do superbly, it is the tomatoes!

Our cucs are struggling a bit, as well. They always did grrreat at our old place (down near Lake Ontario), but up here, in spite of the excellent soil, they have not produced nearly what I thought they would. Yet I keep trying.  

Everything else (carrots, cabbages, beets, beans, peas, potatoes, pumpkins) are coming along beautifully. Although I need to get out there and thin the carrots and cabbages (I did the beets awhile ago).

We have had so much rain this July that the weeds have been excessive! I am finally on top of them, but it sure took a few days (and a few hours each day) to conquer. Rain is expected off and on for the next week, so we will need to be diligent in keeping at the gardens. They sure look gorgeous and healthy without weeds, lol. We are so grateful for all the rain, though, as usually our Julys are hot, humid, dry, nasssty.  

My many sunflower seeds are coming up, and while not near blooming yet, are already looking beautiful. Some will be very tall; others the squatty kind (Teddy Bear, one of my favourites, as they are so fuzzily adorable).

The echinacea/coneflower plants have just begun to bloom. The daisies are in full swing, as are many other perennials. Our floral gardens are a riot of colour!

EDIT: I forgot to mention I am learning about garlic scapes this summer. I just harvested them today (a bit late, as they should have been cut off a couple of weeks ago), but better late than never! Now the energy given to the scapes and flowers will go back into the bulb, producing larger bulbs! I will be harvesting the garlic once the bottom few leaves turn yellow, probably in another month or so.