Garden Geeks thread

[Carter]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Has anyone here used the straw bale method for vegetable gardening, and if so, what do you think of it?

[CLS]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Recent sunny warm days means the trees are pollinating, which means I'll be going through several boxes of tissues in the next few days.

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Our trees still do not have leaves. Listening to the Radio they were saying everything is about 2 weeks behind. I would say that is about right

[jen]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Corydalis out, all the dafs are blasting, Squill out, crocus going by, Hellebore finally flowering. My garden is all messed up. The early stuff is later than it should be and the later stuff is suddenly coming all at once.

Hellebore are pretty easy to grow, right? I am thinking of using them under my pine tree.

made plans yesterday for what to plant in my new bed spaces - bee balm in the sunnier spots. For shade, Japanese painted burgundy fern, hardy cyclamen, Appalachian blue violets, several different hosta (including blue mouse ears - my new favorite), white bellflower, two types of columbine, frosted coral bells, two types of phlox and some purple dead nettle. gonna be pricey, but pretty.

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Hellebore are pretty easy to grow, right? I am thinking of using them under my pine tree.

made plans yesterday for what to plant in my new bed spaces - bee balm in the sunnier spots. For shade, Japanese painted burgundy fern, hardy cyclamen, Appalachian blue violets, several different hosta (including blue mouse ears - my new favorite), white bellflower, two types of columbine, frosted coral bells, two types of phlox and some purple dead nettle. gonna be pricey, but pretty.

I have one hellebore that is huge after failing to thrive in my mother's garden. I lost the other 2 which were not as sheltered. Not sure if this is because there are varieties that are easier but I haven't found them

Had huge snows this yr which should mean perennials are happy. Instead there seems to have been a lot of loss in my gardens. Not sure why. And Cheever, the resident groundhog in the back yard, has eaten one of my primroses to a stub. The thing was in a pot on the porch planter from last yr. Grrrrrrr! I need a bb gun. Cheever II, in the front yard, is looking healthier than Cheever I. Where are the coyotes when you need them??

[jen]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Beautiful warm weather - daffodils, red tulips, magnolia, primrose and bluebells (!!!) all blooming. Rain the next few days, then warm again, so the purple tulips and lilacs should be ready shortly.

I could use some later-blooming flowers. Seems like most of mine are early. I have some peonies that are later, but that's about it.

I divided hostas this weekend and felt very accomplished. I put them under the magnolia - we'll see what happens. I figured if they die, I didn't spend any money on them.

[jen]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Had an exciting day of sod removal yesterday. Ready to put in compost/soil/whatever this weekend. Short of making my own compost - does anyone have recommendations on what I should use? And what ratio? Obviously some of the topsoil was gone once the sod was removed, so I need to add some back, right?

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

I usually just buy those cubic foot bags of dirt if it's for the lawn. If you are gardening there I would use a higher quality dirt. The bags tend to be a more sandy than garden soil.

Edit: this of course depends on how much we're talking about. If it's a small area, I'd do the bags. If it's a larger area, look at having it delivered. Again, a delivery will generally be higher quality.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

My problem is that my front yard was never prepared when the house was built. It's solid clay and on a slope. Very difficult to take care of. I'm actually debating hiring someone to take off 4-5 inches of clay and back filling with quality black soil. I'd have them till it in as well. The back yard is OK but it has other issues.

Don't have time to do it myself unfortunately. Figured I would need 25-35 yards of dirt to get 4" of quality soil. Would probably have them put in a sprinkler system while they were at it.

[FreshFish]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Had an exciting day of sod removal yesterday. Ready to put in compost/soil/whatever this weekend. Short of making my own compost - does anyone have recommendations on what I should use? And what ratio? Obviously some of the topsoil was gone once the sod was removed, so I need to add some back, right?

Depending upon the size of the job, it might actually be worth considering the use of a landscaping service, as long as they are reputable and you spell out your contractual concerns clearly regarding quality of soil and sod/seed. Usually we do all our own work but we did hire a landscaper once to coordinate soil delivery and replanting, and were quite pleased with the results. We also had a bad experience with a different service where they cut corners and did a terrible job. If someone lays sod, they really should roll it afterward. These guys didn't and I was really annoyed, even more annoyed when the grass grew in lumpy instead of smooth, as it would have if they had rolled properly.

Nowadays, they even have a spray-on seeding system that covers the ground with a mix of seed, nutrients, and weed killer that is much cheaper than sod and equally effective if you are able to water it properly for the first few weeks.

[jen]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

This is what I'm doing - 3 posts down from today's -

made plans yesterday for what to plant in my new bed spaces - bee balm in the sunnier spots. For shade, Japanese painted burgundy fern, hardy cyclamen, Appalachian blue violets, several different hosta (including blue mouse ears - my new favorite), white bellflower, two types of columbine, frosted coral bells, two types of phlox and some purple dead nettle. gonna be pricey, but pretty.

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

My problem is that my front yard was never prepared when the house was built. It's solid clay and on a slope. Very difficult to take care of. I'm actually debating hiring someone to take off 4-5 inches of clay and back filling with quality black soil. I'd have them till it in as well. The back yard is OK but it has other issues.

Don't have time to do it myself unfortunately. Figured I would need 25-35 yards of dirt to get 4" of quality soil. Would probably have them put in a sprinkler system while they were at it.

We had the clay issue. Loooootsa of Gypsum and peat moss mixed with some dirt.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Gypsum you say?

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Gypsum you say?

yup.we went through bags of it but it did amazing things. Don't see much about it in the magazines but old books always recommend it.

[huskyfan]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

cannot wait to get home and get dirty. (no not THAT Dirty) my third year with a vegetable garden. each year it gets a little bit larger. I didn't think I could grow anything because we live in the woods and I thought the wildlife would eat it. so far, so good. maybe because its close to the house and driveway?