davebarnes
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Watch Monty Don on Netflix.
He is England's Favorite Gardener®.
He is England's Favorite Gardener®.
Watch Monty Don on Netflix.
He is England's Favorite Gardener®.
One very useful thing I learned from someone here on this forum (I think it may have been simple girl) is the Earthbox system. A long way from cheap, but they work amazingly well for those of us who are less than adept at gardening. I have four of them on my deck here at the condo and they have been a delight every morning since I started using them.
That is a great tradition to have! We will have to do that with ours as well! Love BLT's!Picked my first ripe tomato today 8.3 ounces! I have a tradition to make a B LT sandwich with the first tomato of the season
Hi simplegirl! Are the earthboxes the same as raised planting beds boxes? I will have to do a search on them. Now that I am older, getting down on the knees to garden is no longer an option, so raised garden boxes are making more sense than ever.Ha! I happened across this thread and just saw your post mentioning me. I'm sure it was me, I am a HUGE earthbox fan! We have the most incredible harvests! I'm so glad they have been such a delight for you! They are well worth the money. People think I have a green thumb...I think it is the earthbox! (Ok, I do have a "formula" I put together over the years, but I couldn't grow like I do without these boxes, for sure!)
Hi Lsbcal! Good tips for sure. I follow those as well. I found a Fiskers long handled tree pruner with an adjustable pruning head on it. I found that I can adjust the head at just the right angle to do all of my early Spring rosebushes pruning from a standing position. Since I cannot get down on my knees anymore, I needed an option or give up on some of the rosebushes care I had been doing. The tree pruner tool made things very possible for me. I like your new blower and its cordless part. Your photo of your back yard is great! Love the colors mix.I do a fair amount of gardening too. Some techniques I've used to reduce the physical stress of gardening as I age:
1) Avoid too much stooping by limiting time to maybe 1 or 2 hours per day.
2) Employ good quality tools
3) Employ experienced help ... DW comes to mind
4) Wait until it is not too cool outside to begin work
5) Go to gym and get some conditioning going
Here is part of the backyard. In the upper right you can see the see-through fence which keeps deer out. Beyond the fence is a nice state park which we walk and I run in.
And here is my latest tool. It's an 80V cordless blower for clearing leaves:
Hi simplegirl! Are the earthboxes the same as raised planting beds boxes? I will have to do a search on them. Now that I am older, getting down on the knees to garden is no longer an option, so raised garden boxes are making more sense than ever.
Hi SumDay! Thanks for the kind words! Your Hostas looked amazing! So sorry to hear of the hail storm. Some folks here in Colorado have been hit very hard by the hail recently. So sad and so destructive it is.... If you are looking for something to give them to help them recover, try watering them with some water that has both a product called Super Thrive and a root stimulator mixed into the same water. The Super Thrive helps the plants deal with the shock and stress and the root stimulator gives the root systems a kick start to get going again. I use the mix for the next 3 to 4 waterings after a shock or stress event be it weather, insect attack or fungus attack.Thanks for sharing these pictures Stan. I especially like the elk - that's pretty awe inspiring (and a little scary!).
Here are some of my hostas which were looking exceptionally beautiful this year, until a freak hail/wind storm blew through on Saturday. They need to come out with a Teflon Hosta.
Hi Gumby! That sounds awesome! When we lived out on the farm, we had a huge veggie garden. What we did not need for eating or canning, which was quite a bit, we took in to local nursing homes. They took the veggies to cook up for the residents and I am sure staff took some home as well. Hopefully no laws prevent that these days.We snagged a 1200 sqft (30X40) plot at the community garden last summer. Despite being relative rookies, we managed to harvest so many vegetables that we couldn't eat them all. Every day I took some vegetables to work to give away and we canned like crazy (we still haven't eaten everything we canned last year.) I don't know what we'll do with the excess now that we're retired.
We learned quite a bit last year and we continue to learn this year. Among other things, we learned how vital is is to keep up with the pests. It is an organic garden, so we can't spray the strong stuff. Last year, the Colorado potato beetles defoliated the plants in very short order. We got some small potatoes, but not many. This year, we go out at least every other day to pick the beetles and egg masses off the plants. So far, we have not found any larvae (which do the most damage), so I'm hoping we can eliminate a whole generation of beetles this way. I also learned how to save seed and was able to start tomatoes, beans, and peas this year from saved seed. The fennel seed didn't work.
So far this year, we've eaten asparagus and radishes and herbs from the garden. We have also made rhubarb sherbet. The peas are almost ready to pick and I really look forward to them.
We are trying to grow artichokes this year. I started them indoors from seed in January and transplanted them out in April. They appear to be growing properly so far. We are in Zone 7a, so I'm not sure if they will overwinter. I may dig up half at the end of the season and keep the roots in the cellar and leave half to see if they will survive in the ground.
I look forward to spending a lot more time in the garden this summer.
Thanks for the information and link simple girl! How slick are those boxes! A great concept and they do not look all that pricey either. I will be checking them out further. Thanks again! If you do not mind posting your soils mix information, that would be awesome!
I have one and love it. We do not have a deer problem, fortunately.There has been some mention of deer on this thread. One bush we like is the Hotlips Salvia. It is hardy and needs sun. Deer don't touch it here in Northern California but hummingbirds love it. Blooms spring through fall with many small white/red blooms.
You can see an image here: https://www.google.com/search?chann...AgDEAE&biw=1276&bih=875#imgrc=ZvC6f0M42vxESM:
Here is part of the backyard. In the upper right you can see the see-through fence which keeps deer out.
That would make the deer around here collapse in helpless laughter. Six foot fences are meaningless to them -- just an easy jump.
Some deer spook easier that others and thus are less aggressive about getting into areas that require extra effort. There is also the Food Source aspect Lsbcal, if the deer are able to find food readily elsewhere and without the extra effort, they will do so. That could be what is going on where you are. Different scenarios bring about much different actions.I don't know why this works here. Perhaps the boulders in the area discourage the jump? We've been here over 20 years with no deer jumping the fences. Maybe our deer are just nicer and more respectful.