What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

[rhody]

Where is localized global warming +80 F temperatures when you need it most !

Rhody...

 

[dlgoff]

Strawberry bed with "deer guard" and drip/soaker hose irrigation.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg832/scaled.php?server=832&filename=img7213x.jpg&res=landing

Tomato trellis on the south side of my swing-set shed.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg580/scaled.php?server=580&filename=img7214t.jpg&res=landing

Inside the trellis "deer guard".

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg854/scaled.php?server=854&filename=img7215i.jpg&res=landing

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg11/scaled.php?server=11&filename=img7216b.jpg&res=landing

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg17/scaled.php?server=17&filename=img7217dg.jpg&res=landing

In the garden.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg205/scaled.php?server=205&filename=img7218co.jpg&res=landing

 

[lisab]

Really nice, Don!

 

[Evo]

I have to put wire around my plants, darn squirrels have gone wild

 

[Astronuc]

The weather these days is just fine for lettuce and cruciferous plants (Brassicaceae (also called Cruciferae)) like cauliflower, cabbage, cress, bok choy, broccoli, kale and similar green leaf vegetables. It's not so great for crops like peppers or tomatoes that like warmer weather.

We had a mild winter, then a warmer than normal spring, now a cool start to the summer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables

I need to grow some rutabagas and turnips.

 

[Evo]

The weather these days is just fine for lettuce and cruciferous plants (Brassicaceae (also called Cruciferae)) like cauliflower, cabbage, cress, bok choy, broccoli, kale and similar green leaf vegetables. It's not so great for crops like peppers or tomatoes that like warmer weather.

We had a mild winter, then a warmer than normal spring, now a cool start to the summer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables

I need to grow some rutabagas and turnips.

Nice! I sure wish that I had a garden again. :(

 

[Andre]

We had temps in the 80s through much of May. I won't wander into climate-change territory, but my peach, cherry, and apple trees all bloomed too early before the honeybees were active,...

For a counter balance, when selecting a pic for the contest, I saw that the pictures of the roses in my garden were taken on 3 May last year. This year when we had a party at my birthday 22 may, it was remarked that the first roses would open any moment now.

But obviously, when it's much colder, it is called natural variation. And observations in a garden are not representative for the whole world.

 

[Astronuc]

If you live in a city and can't get to a farm, a farm may be coming to you.

http://www.growingpower.org/

http://www.growingpower.org/about_us.htm

National Headquarters: The Community Food Center, Urban Farm in Milwaukee
http://www.growingpower.org/our_farms.htm

http://www.growingpower.org/tours.htm - in Milwaukee, WI

 

[lisab]

Yo English, what up?

I spent a summer on your soil when I was a teen, and I really love you all :!)! Love your fish and chips, and English muffins – yum! The English Bulldog and the English Sheepdog – both great dogs!

The English Walnut is a gorgeous tree. Your flag is pretty rad too. And hey, your language…well it’s my native tongue…love it!

London is a spectacular world-class city. I don’t get the whole royalty thingy but I do think the Queen is a remarkable woman. The Magna Carta - what a freakin' great idea y'all had there!

But.

But.

Your ivy. Yes I’m talking English Ivy, the bane of gardeners here in the US. I love vines but this plague of a plant is a scourge. It climbs and strangles 60-foot trees – wtf? Good God, it even creeps onto wedding cakes!

http://www.beardsleecastle.com/weddings-f/cake-3tier-ivy.jpg

What the...seriously?

Please. Please come on over and remove this affliction from our otherwise beautiful country.

Thank you.

 

[ZapperZ]

So, my most favorite flower in the garden is blooming right now. I love this lily because of the color and the size. The flower is huge, 6 inches across or more. The only unfortunate thing about it is that, it is situated in a location that most people can't see, either from the window of the house, or from the patio. The only people who get to see this easily are our next-door neighbors, because the plant is right by the fence between our yards. And they thank us very often for having this plant there! :)

So here are a few pictures of the flower.

And no, I am not going to move it because I do not want to risk killing it. It is happy where it is, and I will just have to walk to it to enjoy it.

This one is just starting to bloom. I planted this more than a year ago, but I forgot what it is! Can someone identify for me what this plant is?

Zz.

 

[turbo]

Zz, could the last two shots be of some kind of bee-balm? The bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds love it. If it chokes out every living plant in sight, it's probably bee-balm. Like all members of the mint family, it spreads like crazy and will take over.

 

[ZapperZ]

Zz, could the last two shots be of some kind of bee-balm? The bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds love it. If it chokes out every living plant in sight, it's probably bee-balm. Like all members of the mint family, it spreads like crazy and will take over.

Oh dear, I hope not, but I need to know if it is since it is in a planting bed with others.

Zz.

 

[turbo]

Oh dear, I hope not, but I need to know if it is since it is in a planting bed with others.

Zz.

We have a ton of that stuff (blue and purple-blossomed varieties) and they are as aggressive as can be. That's OK with me because I would love to have fragrant plants taking over, with less lawn to me. If you like herb teas, you should encourage the bee balm (even if you have to isolate it), because the leaves make wonderful tea.

 

[turbo]

BTW, if you like bergamot tea, why not grow your own bee balm? Why pay for that herbal tea when you can grow your own bee balm and get all the leaves that you need for nice tea? Once the plants are well-established, you can pick off leaves tear them up, and make cold-brewed tea in your refrigerator. Bergamot tea goes well with a touch of lemon, and doesn't need sugar, IMO. Some people like a bit of honey, though. This is a really good plant to have around.

 

[drizzle]

Beautiful flowers Zz. :)

 

[turbo]

Beautiful flowers Zz. :)

I hope he learns to like them because bee-balm will come back over and over again from even the smallest root tendrils. It's almost impossible to eradicate manually. Find someone who wants some and give them clumps of it year after year. Bee-balm is the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[dlgoff]

I hope he learns to like them because bee-balm will come back over and over again from even the smallest root tendrils. It's almost impossible to eradicate manually. Find someone who wants some and give them clumps of it year after year. Bee-balm is the gift that keeps on giving.

Yea. I made the mistake of tilling a out of control patch of mint only to have a whole garden of it the next year. Round-up is the only way. IMO

 

[turbo]

My garden is doomed this year. We had cold and wet, followed by a heat-wave, and now we are back into cold and wet. The seeds that didn't rot earlier were blanched by the heat, and the new seeds will probably rot in the ground. We have planted and replanted squash, cucumbers, and other garden staples only to see them fail. This weather is nasty.

 

[Evo]

My garden is doomed this year. We had cold and wet, followed by a heat-wave, and now we are back into cold and wet. The seeds that didn't rot earlier were blanched by the heat, and the new seeds will probably rot in the ground. We have planted and replanted squash, cucumbers, and other garden staples only to see them fail. This weather is nasty.

Squirrels ruined my plants.

 

[turbo]

Squirrels ruined my plants.

Unfortunately, I can't move my plants. There is no room for a ~1900 ft/sq garden on the deck or in one of the garages. We get what we get, and this spring's alternating cold-wet/hot-dry stuff has got me discouraged. Once we have replanted crops 2-3 times, it seems like a waste to keep putting more effort and money into them.

 

[Borek]

Speaking of problems... Something wrong happened to most of my peppers. They had a perfect start and I was proud of them in the end of May, but now most of the young leaves are small and twisted. I have three varieties, and all three look this way (although some worse than others, and it is obvious that Peter Pepper was hit the hardest).

 

[turbo]

My ghost peppers have been a bust. They just couldn't stand these extremes.

 

[ZapperZ]

Squirrels ruined my plants.

Some critters dug through my planters containing seedlings of my Thai basil, flat-leaf parsley, and thyme. My regular basil planter survived.

I will commit terrible acts of violence if I ever catch these critters.

Zz.

 

[dlgoff]

I have a critter getting the ripe tomatoes inside my deer cage the night before I go to pick them. There's going to be a war.

 

[Andre]

There are no veggies in my garden anymore. Oh sure I had them for many years, onions, green peas, peppers, carrots (lots), etc.

It meant continious struggling with weeds and pests, disappointments, but most of all at the time of harvest, the same veggies were a lot cheaper in the grocery stores, than the equivalent of the effort you'd put in them. Seed, dung, area, watering, not even counting the work done.

So then I scaled back to interesting veggies only, mainly cherry tomatoes and snow peas, which were relatively rare and expensive. But that changed over time too.

So in my garden you find roses, fuchsias, Japanese maples, etc, no veggies.

 

[turbo]

We're getting 1-1,5"/ hr here. We don't need all this rain.

 

[dlgoff]

We're getting 1-1,5"/ hr here. We don't need all this rain.

Looks like you're on a 5 year cycle.

Amazingly, given the almost daily drenching that we've been getting for weeks,...

https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=1778180&postcount=993

 

[turbo]

Looks like you're on a 5 year cycle.

I garden defensively, but sometimes weather gets the upper hand.

 

[OmCheeto]

There are no veggies in my garden anymore. Oh sure I had them for many years, onions, green peas, peppers, carrots (lots), etc.

It meant continious struggling with weeds and pests, disappointments, but most of all at the time of harvest, the same veggies were a lot cheaper in the grocery stores, than the equivalent of the effort you'd put in them. Seed, dung, area, watering, not even counting the work done.

So then I scaled back to interesting veggies only, mainly cherry tomatoes and snow peas, which were relatively rare and expensive. But that changed over time too.

So in my garden you find roses, fuchsias, Japanese maples, etc, no veggies.

Story of my life, er, I mean my garden.

Have you tried lemon cucumbers? I tried growing them last year for the first time. They grew like weeds. They make great pickles.

Perhaps we should start a seed club, kind of like post card club, only more useful.

I hear that people have been trading pepper seeds...

 

[lisab]

Story of my life, er, I mean my garden.

*snork* omg my keyboard is sprayed...