Garden thread.

[peg_688]

[size=12]  So who plants what , and when do you plant/ time of year?

 I have  about 1/2 of the veggies in , spinach, lettuce 3 or 4  kinds  , radishs 2 types ,and  walla walla sweet onions Planted before 12 April

 Still to plant this month bush beans , peas, more strawberries plants , potatoes reds and white , maybe
a row of kohlrabis if theres room

 

     

[/size]


 So whats in your garden?  8-)

[glenn-k]

Nice garden and good topic, PEG.

Our conditions are pretty mild so lots of plants grow year round.  Volunteers and year round are Carrots, Swiss chard, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel.

[Amanda_931]

I planted peas a month ago--they don't seem to be very happy.  And the mustard greens and turnips may have had too much mulch on them--hey, it's been in th low twenties since then.  We've had rain, which a friend in South Arkansas has not.

going to get tomato plants in the next few days.  We had frost last week, so, better to leave them in the grower's greenhouse than have to buy them too early.   Probably the last of the frost, though.  Sun sugars and maybe Bradleys.  They got blight last year.  And I didn't water them enough.  

Asparagus--I'm beginning to think the people are right who say it won't grow here--I think I'll put tomatoes in that bed too.  The new plants are showing no signs whatsoever of coming up, the old ones still can't be harvested--they're three years old now.

Horseradish, in its own little bed, seems to be growing.  As is one of the Rubarb plants.

I'm being told that the least awful way of dealing with the 5-acre field up the hill is going to be to bulldoze it.  The last time it was plowed, it wan't disked afterwards so there are 12"-18" ditches all over it.  Plenty of blackberries, not to mention an incipient privet thicket.

In any case the bush-hog people won't touch it.

I got some fancy daylilies, and one of the dogs ate them.  And promptly threw up (the same dog that ate the chopped onion--seasoned with my blood--while I was at the doctor's office getting my finger stitched up).

I love my dogs.  Especially that one, notorious for that kind of thing.

[cecilia]

I just can't resist joining in when anyone talks gardening!

We have a special area set aside behind our garage which will be Jonni's vegetable garden - the water tank is already up there waiting to be installed! Two slight problems:

1. Jonni has never grown a vegie in his life.
2. He says he's not going to grow anything he doesn't like to eat - so no use looking forward to beetroot, cauliflower and a few others.
3. We still have a heap of work to do on the house, so he doesn't like to take time off to make up the beds for the vegie garden.

Oh - that's three isn't it?

Anyway - in between holding up bits of timber and oiling walls and sticking tiles on walls, I sometimes manage to escape into the garden.

I've just planted about fifty 'things' on the north side of the house - all nectar providing flower which will bring the birds, and many silver leaf plants which are supposedly less combustible (high bushfire area here). The whole garden is planted with Australian plants which get no water once they are established.

I also sneak in a couple of plants from which I make paper - papyrus, flax, and a few others.

Well - that feels better!
cecilia
www.duckpond-design.com.au/theduckpond

[Amanda_931]

That sounds like a nice garden--50 things in silver.  No watering needed.

Is papyrus a relatively low-water plant?  

[Sassy]

Had to get in on the garden thread...

One month ago

today

I think these might be narcisus - they all look like daffodils to me but these are smaller

My $1.99 bare root rose rejects are leafing out real nicely, I had roses earlier in February but with the snow & rain, just starting to get buds on them; there are also calendula, poppies (red ones haven't bloomed), swiss chard, beets, turnips, fennel, broccoli, carrots, onions, allisium(sp?) - most everything are volunteers, they just keep reseeding every year

a view of one of my rock gardens on the slope - used to be dirt & dead grass - it is very steep - I collected most of the rocks & set them in the hillside, then planted roses, some cedar trees, daisies, calendula, hollyhock, poppies & whatever else decides to pop up... (Glenn set the 3 biggest rocks with his bobcat & one of my sons helped me with some of the top part...you can see the shop in the background with the "Adirondak" siding

just a close-up...
I planted some cauliflower plants & more swiss chard the other day when it stopped raining long enough for me to get out on the rooftop.  I ordered a large variety of heirloom & organic veggies - will have to start planting the seeds now that I think it might start warming up enough... have been weeding a lot - usually just grasses, but the actual flower beds are cleaned up pretty good now - we should have some asparagus popping up pretty soon, planted it 3 yrs ago & have been able to eat it the past couple years, tried some rhubbarb but no luck with that.  I also have a pluot tree (think that is a cross between plum/aprocot) a couple blood orange trees & I think Glenn bought some lemon trees or they might be more orange trees.  I also have 13 more bare root roses to plant (again the $1.99 special-they have done better than any of the more expensive roses I have bought  
We have what looks like 1000's of red Iceland poppies growing - they keep reseeding, a few have bloomed now.  With our micro-climate up here & the horse manure compost from Yosemite park... we don't have much difficulty getting things to grow.
Cecilia, I would like to plant a lot of drought tolerant plants - flax & papyrous sounds like it would be pretty & the silver plants.
some wild turkey hens passing through, the tom had already passed by (sometimes there will be 20 to 40 turkeys in a flock - are they called flocks?)
one more picture... Glenn got the siding on the other side of the RV garage, we have cactus planted, some wildflowers & a few daffodils that are just getting ready to bloom...
Gee, I've sure had to fight with photobucket to get these resized, but after calling Glenn several times, I think I've got it!  :-/  

[peg_688]

   Nice sassy   I could see turkey on the menu more than twice a year

  Cecilia I'm like Jonni I don't plant very much I can't eat   My wife ,  thankfully, likes the flower thing . I do the grunt work , she does the color bowls / pots / flowering beds .

 We'd both like a small pond , one day , maybe  8-)

 PEG

[glenn-k]

Wow - I can see I don't have to worry about posting pictures anymore- got Kathy started now.  

Cecilia - we live to serve you---- please carry on all the garden conversation you want.  

I like to expand the garden each year - then comes upgrading the solar power to match the increased water need---- but it works out if we go slow---.  Year round garden is what I want - we don't want to be dependant on anybody.

[cecilia]

I just love looking at the photos of all your gardens. Love the rocks Kathy! Most of the rocks in my garden are too big for me to shift, so it's just as well I'm happy with where they are!

The papyrus has been planted at the end of the pond, and is doing well. The sad thing is that I'm trying to drain the pond as I have to try to get rid of a weed that someone gave me (telling me it was a miniature water lily). It's taken over the whole pond in one summer, and choked out most of the proper water lilies.

A couple of years ago I spent a couple of days in the pond pulling out a mass of rushes, and now it looks as if I have to stage a repeat performance.

Will post a few photos tomorrow, when I remember how.

Have to go and hold up shelves or something right now - I hear the call!

cecilia
www.duckpond-design.com.au/theduckpond

[cecilia]

I'm sure this isn't how I uploaded photos before, but this time I created a Photobucket account and put some pond photos into an album.

Perhaps I'll just cross my fingers and press the 'post' button!

cecilia
www.duckpond-design.com.au/theduckpond

[cecilia]

No - that didn't seem to work.

I'll sleep on it and try again tomorrow.

cecilia
www.duckpond-design.com.au/theduckpond

[cecilia]

Just another idea

If I've got this right it should show me in the pond a couple of years ago clearing out the last invasion.


This should show the pond as it is now


And this is the flower and leaf of the plant - anyone recognise it?


If I manage this right then this photo will show you the pond after one weed infestation and before the second one!


Hopefully third time lucky!
cecilia
www.duckpond-design.com.au/theduckpond

[Sassy]

Cecilia, you'll have to have Glenn walk you through it several times, then you'll have it...   I think that today I had to repost the pictures so many times that hopefully I won't forget the process in the future... gets pretty frustrating!  I really like the home you are building - too bad about the pond.  We get a lot of algae in our pond in the valley, also leaves, so have to clean it out periodically.  We have goldfish in it - used to have Koi but a bad freeze killed them.  There's some pretty big fish in there - but they eat the roots off the lillys & stuff so haven't tried to put more in.  We have a vine - pretty green leaves & blue flowers but it is so invasive it will take over everything.  I'm always having to pull it up - I think I just remembered the name...  :-/ periwinkle.  If you just want ground cover & don't want anything else that & honeysuckle will absolutely take over.  We have a lot of that too in the valley - always pulling that out too.
Yes, it is getting late, I better turn in too.  Would love to see some more pictures.  Have looked at everything you've posted so far on your website.  An immense amount of work but looks so beautiful & I'm sure you are enjoying it.
Sassy

PS Just posted this & then I saw you got the pictures in!  Looks like quite an ordeal... hopefully it was hot when you were cleaning the pond so you could cool off.

[glenn-k]

Great job with the photos, Cecilia--- nothing like getting into your work.

[Amanda_931]

Cecilia's horrible "opportunistic" pond weed fortunately doesn't look like any of ours, at least with a quick search.  it does look like it's about half-way between water hyacinth (wrong type of flowers) and something like "spatterdock" or cow lily (leaves look more like water lily leaves, flowers might be close on to right).  If it's an exotic invasive it could be from anywhere.

The spatterdock may be native to the U.S. but the water hyacinth is not (South America, I think).  It has been spread by humans, however, because it's quite good at purifying the water.  Of course it takes over while it is at it--even up here where it might get winter-killed.  If we hadn't had such mild winters lately.

There is something in SE Asia that is a nasty aquatic weed.  I thought it was water hyacinth, but maybe it's your pride and joy.  They are making rugs and furniture coverings out of it.  (will yours make paper??)

[glenn-k]

Don't remember where I posted the link for posting picture info but here is another one to the section in Forum News.

http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1115032671

Cecilia, I'm going to make you lust after my new gardening tool -- I'm supposed to pick it up tomorrow if all goes well. I know you like machinery.

[harry51]

Kathy, according to the info here:

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12202-52511--,00.html  

it's a flock of pigeons, a gaggle of geese (my personal favorite group term), and
a rafter of turkeys! Who'd a thunk it? Fits right in on this site!

[Sassy]

hmmm, a rafter of turkey,  :-?  like you said, "who would a thunk?!  I'd heard gaggle of geese before, how do they come up with these terms?  I didn't realize the male was called a gobbler, thought it was a "tom" - guess that's what they put on the frozen turkeys in the store... they certainly do have that distinctive "gobbler" sound... that's what drew my attention the other day when I was out taking pictures... then our little one eyed cat (the other stray who was shot by the neighbor & showed up at our door starving & scared of everything) chased them all away.  They seem to like it by the "RV grarage" - maybe they'll make that their new home...  

PS Without CountryPlans, how would I keep up on my education?

PSPS Our other stray cat that almost got its head bit off is doing fine, looks kinda homely now, but is out "cattin" around again... & he's not spraying around our cabin anymore...

[peg_688]

hmmm, a rafter of turkey,  :-?  like you said, "who would a thunk?!  I'd heard gaggle of geese before, how do they come up with these terms?  

[size=12]  The powers that be get in a smoke filled room and they think and think , and think  

   Now if we just could find that room and bar the door from the outside , like they did when Ross Peroit(sp) when into that bunker back in 2000 . We'd be able to fix this country.

 Anyone seen Ross since 2000      [/size]

[Texan_lost_in_cali]

I think I am going to have to make a trip up north for a nice turkey dinner.....

[glenn-k]

Bring Dessert.

Note -- after a long day of fixing trailer parts and travel the little garden tool above - the 963 Bobcat is sitting in the driveway.  I have to get up early.

That thing is a monster (but a friendly monster).  I just want to hop on it and go tear something up.

[peg_688]

[size=12]   Update:: things are showing / growing  


  [/size]    

 

 

 

 [size=12]  BTW Glenn; stay out of my garden with your new toy, tear up something else    [/size]  

[glenn-k]

Your garden is looking great, PEG.  I could use ny little Bobcat to rototill more for you.

[Amanda_931]

I'd love to have someone come bulldoze or bobcat or whatever the "field" up at the top of the hill.  Blackberries, fire ants, privet all on top of a terrible plowing job many years ago that left eighteen inch furrows basically all over, in spots holding water for days.

[Sassy]

Nobody has posted anything current on their gardens... since I was in the valley last week for a few days, I took some pictures.  I missed taking them when the wisteria & yellow Lady Bank's roses were blooming all over.  They've grown up into the trees & drape all over everything, so really pretty when in bloom.  I took these pictures one morning before going to work.  There was a thread about pole barns & building - the carports you see are a good example... with the corrugated iron roofing.  The beams are from a winery.  You can see one of the ponds & the brick walkways, too.










this is what I see looking out from the kitchen

PS - took the pictures before mowing the lawn & sweeping the leaves off the walkways, I've also had to place rocks & misc barriers around because one of the dogs likes to dig up my plants, chew up the yard lights & my lawn ornaments so I put rocks, logs, pots, what-have-you to try & keep her out.. :-/