The 2022 Gardening Thread

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MoochNNoodles

MoochNNoodles

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NY cat man said:
Sorghum, possibly?
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I think you are right. I looked at images on Google. I’d never have figured that out on my own!

There’s another plant on what I know is a local orchards land that I’m curious about. I think they are letting asparagus establish there by letting it get full grown. I could probably just ask them in their store but it’s one of their locations separate from their main store and orchards so they might not know either.
 
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CatladyJan said:
Look what I found today! 3 of them!View attachment 430735
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Lucky you; I have been checking every day, but no sign of any caterpillars yet. Also, I haven't seen any monarchs for some time, now. I still think that it's because several of our neighbors have pesticides sprayed on their lawns. I can tell by the smell, as well as the little signs the lawn guys put up. It can't be doing the butterflies any good. On a brighter note, though, one of our nieces and her hubby have about a half-acre dedicated to milkweed and other butterfly-friendly plants, so there is that.
 
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NY cat man said:
Lucky you; I have been checking every day, but no sign of any caterpillars yet. Also, I haven't seen any monarchs for some time, now. I still think that it's because several of our neighbors have pesticides sprayed on their lawns. I can tell by the smell, as well as the little signs the lawn guys put up. It can't be doing the butterflies any good. On a brighter note, though, one of our nieces and her hubby have about a half-acre dedicated to milkweed and other butterfly-friendly plants, so there is that.
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I was so shocked, i was just looking at my milkweed and it's leaves and surprise! That stinks about your neighbor pesticides need to go .... Hopefully your niece is helping keep the Monarchs from going extinct. I haven't seen but about 2 monarchs here and again I was so pleasantly surprised.
 
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CatladyJan said:
Look what I found today! 3 of them!
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Woo Hoo !!! :butterfly:

I got excited yesterday when I looked at my milkweed and saw little egg like things, and thought I was going to have babies too. But then googled, and discovered it was aphid eggs. :cringe:

I'll keep looking, though, as I did see a monarch fly by while I was sitting on my deck. But she didn't go near my milkweed. Maybe it's still too small.
 
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Normally, when the petals on the cone flowers die back, I deadhead them, but I have been too busy with other things this year. Yesterday, I happened to look out the back window and there was a sparrow perched on a stalk eating seeds. Later, I saw a goldfinch doing the same. Maybe, instead of cutting them back this fall, I can just leave them for the birds?
 
MoochNNoodles

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A few years ago when I had the mammoth sunflowers outside my kitchen window the birds were coming to enjoy the seeds. We had a front row seat and I LOVED it!

Our new septic tank is just beyond our patio and we put the bird bath between the access covers and the bird feeders just to the side. I've been wondering if I could plant some flowers like that over the tank. The dirt isn't very deep over it but it's concrete and the access things are required to be raised now; so I don't know if it would be a problem with roots. I might make it easier for DH to mow. The kids might not enjoy more of the stingy pollinators being so close to the house though. But some perenials like the coneflower or just some pretty wildflowers could be so nice! And bring me more birds to watch. :cloud9:
 
susanm9006

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MoochNNoodles said:
A few years ago when I had the mammoth sunflowers outside my kitchen window the birds were coming to enjoy the seeds. We had a front row seat and I LOVED it!

Our new septic tank is just beyond our patio and we put the bird bath between the access covers and the bird feeders just to the side. I've been wondering if I could plant some flowers like that over the tank. The dirt isn't very deep over it but it's concrete and the access things are required to be raised now; so I don't know if it would be a problem with roots. I might make it easier for DH to mow. The kids might not enjoy more of the stingy pollinators being so close to the house though. But some perenials like the coneflower or just some pretty wildflowers could be so nice! And bring me more birds to watch. :cloud9:
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I don’t know, I don’t think I would risk roots becoming an issue. But what about mulch and big planters for growing flowers in that area?
 
MoochNNoodles

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susanm9006 said:
I don’t know, I don’t think I would risk roots becoming an issue. But what about mulch and big planters for growing flowers in that area?
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We have wicked crab grass here. I had mulched around new shrubbery a few years ago and spent more time weeding that summer than ever. Even in our stones with weed block below it it gets crazy quickly. We gave up and after 2 years you can’t tell we ever had mulch to begin with. :frustrated:We put cardboard under the mulch but everything just grew in the mulch itself.
 
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The only non-chemical way that I have been able to slow weeds down is to take 6 mil black plastic sheeting and cover the ground to literally cook the ground and anything growing there. I weight the edges to trap the heat and shut out any light. It's only a temporary fix, but it's better than nothing.
 
CatladyJan

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MoochNNoodles said:
We have wicked crab grass here. I had mulched around new shrubbery a few years ago and spent more time weeding that summer than ever. Even in our stones with weed block below it it gets crazy quickly. We gave up and after 2 years you can’t tell we ever had mulch to begin with. :frustrated:We put cardboard under the mulch but everything just grew in the mulch itself.
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If we didn't have crabgrass our yard would almost be bare which it is in the winter.
 
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I feel like I spent ages watering our yard to reseed it last year after getting the new septic system. And again this year. We definitely have a lot of weeds in with the grass; and I don’t need one of those perfectly green thick grass yards, but gosh some are way too easy to grow. I gave up on my little strawberry patch because the crabgrass coming through the neighbors side of the fence was a constant battle I didn’t have time for. That stuff grew on the patio under my big tomato pot last year. We literally peeled if off and the roots looked like lace. :lol:
 
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