Garden 2024

[rodentraiser]

Guess what? The REAL carrots are now coming up. I have no idea what the other stuff was. Probably bird seed got in the bucket when I threw it out for the birds.

Oh my aching - everything. The spot where I have those irises planted is only about 6' x 10', but it hasn't been weeded in two years. I was out there two hours and got exactly half done. There was a HUGE thistle and my neighbor came out to see if I was all right because I was swearing every time I touched it. I broke the wire cutters trying to get a SMALL Scotch broom plant out. And why didn't anyone tell me how hard it is to get clover out of the ground?

I used to not want to pull clover because it's so pretty, but I'm way past feeling sorry for it now. It spreads like wildfire and I practically have to dig to China to get the roots out. Forget trying to pull it out.

Anyway, the cat kept me company until my neighbor started shooting off some early firecrackers. Shadow's been through a couple 4ths already, but she sure doesn't like them. But luckily for her, the neighbors are going over to their new lot to shoot off the rest of the fireworks on the 4th. Their closest neighbors to them there have nine huskies. It'll be interesting.

 

[caseydog]

And why didn't anyone tell me how hard it is to get clover out of the ground?

I used to not want to pull clover because it's so pretty, but I'm way past feeling sorry for it now. It spreads like wildfire and I practically have to dig to China to get the roots out. Forget trying to pull it out.

I use some diluted Ortho Weed-B-Gone on clover. Like you said, it is impossible to pull, because it is so tender that the tops come off and the roots are left behind. I try not to use herbicides if I can avoid it, but clover is one of those things that is hard to get out of the lawn any other way. I dilute it, and use a pump-up sprayer to put it down sparingly.

CD

 

[taxlady]

People don't want clover in their lawns? Around here people sometimes toss clover seeds in with the grass seed. It's nitrogen fixing and good for the grass.

 

[blissful]

I have two kinds of clover just in the wild flower honey bee mix garden. And there is a smaller type that I pull when I'm weeding.
https://www.americanmeadows.com/product/wildflower-seeds/honey-bee-wildflower-seed-mix
Clovers are edible from flower to roots but there is not a lot of study that has been done on all the kinds. In a pinch, lost in the woods, you can eat it to stay alive. I haven't tried it. Yet.

 

[larry_stewart]

I had a neighbor across the street who used to complain about everyone trying to rid their lawns of clover, he said, and I quote him " Me, I'm Irish. The more clover the better". I'll always remember that. I think the truth is that he was lazy and did nothing to keep his property looking nice . My next door neighbor purposely planted trees in his yard so they would block the view of the the guy across the streets yard that looked terrible.

 

[rodentraiser]

The irises were embedded in the clover, so that's why I didn't want to use anything on them. What I had was a 10'x6' plot of nothing but clover, some weeds and long grasses sticking out, and the tips of a few iris that I could see. I used a trowel and ended up just taking the top layer of soil with the clover roots out.

I spent another two hours this morning clearing the rest of this stuff out of the irises. I have a blister the size of Texas on my hand. I counted 16 irises when I started and ended up with 19 at the end. Two were buried and I was sitting on another one. It's amazing how nice the iris bed looks now. All the weeds I pulled I put on a large tarp and you better believe I had a huge pile when I was done. I dragged the tarp across the street and dumped it in the trees across the street - I own about 15 feet on the other side there. But what a relief to have it done. Yeeha!

Now the neighbor has his three cedar trees going up the middle of the patch with my irises on one side and his grass on the other. In between the cedars is long grass, foxgloves, and daisies, so my irises now have a lovely backdrop. I just wish they'd bloom.

 

[rodentraiser]

People don't want clover in their lawns? Around here people sometimes toss clover seeds in with the grass seed. It's nitrogen fixing and good for the grass.

Like I said, I love the clover. But it takes over like crazy. I want to have something else in my flower beds than just clover and the clover clearly doesn't agree with that. LOL Anyway, I'm sure it will all be back next spring. Oh, me aching back.

 

[taxlady]

Like I said, I love the clover. But it takes over like crazy. I want to have something else in my flower beds than just clover and the clover clearly doesn't agree with that. LOL Anyway, I'm sure it will all be back next spring. Oh, me aching back.

I don't think the clover takes over like that here. Maybe I just haven't been paying attention. BTW, I noticed today or yesterday that my irises are starting to get buds.

 

[blissful]

@blissful ,,, But the way I use it helps keep it a long time - I use 1½ c/gal, and use a dedicated 2 gal sprayer for this, and some potassium bicarbonate, as a preventative fungicide, plus a spreader/sticker. ,,,

Mr bliss and I sprayed kaolin clay and the potassium bicarbonate today in a new sprayer. (the sprayer broke but not because of the clay-it was the pump handle connected to the lid-a piece of plastic holding the pump handle in place broke, a brand new sprayer being returned-and we're getting a new one tomorrow, different brand.)
I just wanted to say that the Surround ($3/lb plus shipping) is so expensive if it is being shipped (generally $2-3/lb more for shipping). I figured that kaolin clay had to be used for other purposes, and I found it used without additives as a poultice for horses. Finely sieved 100% kaolin clay.
$7 shipping, Tenda, from tractor supply, $20.25 for 15 lbs ($1.35/lb plus shipping). https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tenda-horse-products-clay-15-lb-1977

I had no problem mixing the clay and chemical with cold water and putting it through a fine strainer as you said. The clay powder was lovely, as soft and white as can be and there was nothing that couldn't be worked through the sieve. After spraying nothing remained in the sprayer.

I'm really excited to find out how helpful this will be. Many of the informational and testimonial blogs/youtubes/articles, said it was remarkably good at protecting plants from pests. I have a bok choy in two locations, the bok choy in my lettuce garden is being decimated even after spraying BT, so I'm hoping this helps.
Thank you for so much information Pepper!

 

[pepperhead212]

I'll have to remember this source, next time I need some - thanks @blissful! There is a Tractorsupply place about 25 mi. south of here, but a friend of mine recently told me that one is being built about 2 towns over - about 2 miles away! Maybe they have something where I could order, and pick it up, with no shipping charge.

I never use this on greens, as it is not easy to wash off, like DE, though I have seen things about people using it on greens. This is a good thing, since rain doesn't wash it of quickly, but it's sort of a PITA to get off leaves, or little things, like cherry tomatoes or hot peppers. Washes off EP, squash, and large tomatoes easily, however. Okra is sort of in between -doesn't wash off real easily, since the surface is sort of rough, but it works well against aphids and other things, so I use it. I just sprayed my okra this morning - it's in the shade then, so I picked what I could, and sprayed it.

Good luck with that next sprayer - hopefully just a fluke.

 

[blissful]

@pepperhead212 you're welcome on the source. I was so happy to find it! My tractor supply didn't have it in stock. I thought the price was the same when I was checking out, whether I picked it up or had it shipped--but please do check first.

The new sprayer arrived, we'll probably use it in a few days and see if this kind is better.
I guess I won't spray the clay on the greens after this time. They have time to grow and are doing pretty good except the one location of bok choy.

 

[caseydog]

My ex-wife would not go into Tractor Supply. The stores are well populated with rats and mice.

CD

 

[KatyCooks]

Okay, here we are in early July. It would appear I will have no home-grown tomatoes this year. Neither will I have peppers, courgettes, chillies or cucumbers. (In fairness I have never home grown those last 4 items, but I have had tomatoes every year so to have none at all is hugely disappointing!) The only edible things in my garden currently are bay, mint, rosemary and some young lettuce plants. There are 4 strawberry plants left, but they are pathetic and basically just dying day by day. Growing produce is not my forte. (Also, I do feel the miserable summer should take some of the blame!) Of the non-edible stuff, the Star Jasmine is thriving, as is the Lavendar and my lovely Hawthorne tree is also fine. The petunias in the hanging baskets are just about surviving the wind and rain and look okay too.

 

[dragnlaw]

In one bed I have tomato plants, eggplants, peppers. Tomatoes and eggplants are slowly wilting away. One tomato started, the others did fine but I've now noticed the other tomatoes are wilting too. Have no idea what's going on. Something eating them from the bottom, as in the soil?

 

[blissful]

What happened to your 4 types of plants @KatyCooks ?
@dragnlaw are the stems rotting from too much water? Are they mushy at the ground? One of our squash did that but it could also be squash beatles.

 

[KatyCooks]

What happened to your 4 types of plants @KatyCooks ?
@dragnlaw are the stems rotting from too much water? Are they mushy at the ground? One of our squash did that but it could also be squash beatles.

All of them simply wilted Bliss. There just wasn't enough sun I guess? (They were all plants from a supplier I have used for years and which is usually reliable.) The wind has been extreme for June (and now July too it appears) and temperatures are down - even for a British summer.

 

[dragnlaw]

The stems are solid, not mushy at all, no rot. Just drying out and althouogh we've had alot of heat we've also had lots of water.
Isn't there a worm/larva called cutworm? Don't they cut plants below the soil? It's just started to rain now but maybe I'll go out tomorrow and dig up the first one that wilted. I'll do it gently to see if I can see anything around/by/at the root.

 

[pepperhead212]

Sorry to hear about your garden, Katy. There's still time for some things; though the peppers, and other long season crops are pretty much impossible to start now, many things this is too early for, to get a fall crop, at least here, because of the heat.

I was over at a friend's house for the 4th, and was outside briefly looking at the garden, and she has done a fantastic job with it! I got her started with the gardening about 5 years ago, and she's gotten more obsessed with it than I am! They rented the house, on the 4½ acre property, at first, but then bought the property, when it got too much for the landlord. That was when she really got into it, and every year it's getting bigger, and they are starting some fruit trees, and other things , that would be good for the area. I give her my "extra" seedlings - tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, mustard, and a few other things. Here is a photo of the one part of the garden, where she picked 3 cucumbers, while she was showing me how she was getting much of the things up on trellises. The tomatoes are on the other side of this, and in the lower left is a Big Mac pepper, with about 6 or 7 almost full sized peppers already! I told her these were the earliest I have ever grown, and will definitely be growing from now on.
One section of my friend Angie's garden - the lady I give most of my extra seedlings to. 7-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[KatyCooks]

Sorry to hear about your garden, Katy. There's still time for some things; though the peppers, and other long season crops are pretty much impossible to start now, many things this is too early for, to get a fall crop, at least here, because of the heat.

I was over at a friend's house for the 4th, and was outside briefly looking at the garden, and she has done a fantastic job with it! I got her started with the gardening about 5 years ago, and she's gotten more obsessed with it than I am! They rented the house, on the 4½ acre property, at first, but then bought the property, when it got too much for the landlord. That was when she really got into it, and every year it's getting bigger, and they are starting some fruit trees, and other things , that would be good for the area. I give her my "extra" seedlings - tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, mustard, and a few other things. Here is a photo of the one part of the garden, where she picked 3 cucumbers, while she was showing me how she was getting much of the things up on trellises. The tomatoes are on the other side of this, and in the lower left is a Big Mac pepper, with about 6 or 7 almost full sized peppers already! I told her these were the earliest I have ever grown, and will definitely be growing from now on.
One section of my friend Angie's garden - the lady I give most of my extra seedlings to. 7-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I have no space like that Pepper! My plants are all in pots/planters. I only need 1 or two plants to thrive, but I guess that is just not sustainable. (Also my garden is surrounded by 6 ft walls and the wind is very destructive.) I have a more open front garden, but it gets only morning sun so it never really warms up. (Not to mention, being walked past by a lot of people, any produce I managed to grow might be "harvested" before I got to eat them!

I think I will have another shot at potatoes though. I did produce some last year (and is it me or are they just delicious when you pick them fresh out of the soil and then cook them?) Probably just psychological.

 

[blissful]

The stems are solid, not mushy at all, no rot. Just drying out and althouogh we've had alot of heat we've also had lots of water.
Isn't there a worm/larva called cutworm? Don't they cut plants below the soil? It's just started to rain now but maybe I'll go out tomorrow and dig up the first one that wilted. I'll do it gently to see if I can see anything around/by/at the root.

It could be a cut worm. they can curl around a stem. You could check your living plants near it for them.