Gardening 2020

WillowMarie

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I bought a catnip plant this year. It was beautiful when I brought it home, with loads of little purple and white flowers. Well, that cats started rolling and drooling all over it before I even got it in the ground. After 24 hours the poor thing was so shredded I decided to dig him up and put him in a pot in the bathroom to recover. He started to grow some new shoots, but than one of the cats got in there and ripped them all off again. It was tragic to see. I've buried his remains out back now.

:frown:


Unless rolled in, bitten and drooled all over.

;)
Aw, man, haha. They loved the plant so much they used it all in one go. 🤣 Luckily, mine won't have access to the plant. We'll see if they go stir crazy trying to get to it as it grows. There is a small landing outside the enclosed porch door in front of the stairs going down. That is where all my plants are kept. They don't try to run out the door, although the kittens are curious when I go to check on all my veggie pots. Katrina will stand on the railing closest to me and meow through the screen, and Persia will stare at me curiously through the glass door of the enclosed deck. They scatter and more back when I enter back into the enclosed porch from the landing. If they start getting excited and try to access the plant, I will move the pot somewhere else.

Oh, is that what they are called? We get lots of those here in the summer.

View attachment 338606
What a beautiful kitty!

W WillowMarie here are my cacti and succulents.

View attachment 338607
So cute! Thank you for sharing!!! Love those cat planters <3 And your cacti are really unique! Some of them look like Christmas trees because of their shape, and the one on the left in the middle... are those babies growing in a circular form or is that just how it grows? (Is that one of those boob cacti on the right middle...?) You're succulents look very happy, too. Do you keep them outside?

I just started transitioning mine to move them outdoors. I look forward to seeing how they grow differently outside, especially since some change colors when in enough sun. They were out 45 minutes today in the shade. I will keep gradually increasing the amount until I may leave them out, until it gets too cold. :)

This is the one I'm thinking of cutting the top off. What should I do with the stem? If I leave it in the pot will it keep growing? As you can see there are a couple of little babies growing from the leaves that dropped off.
How neat! Do you know about letting the cut top callous over before replanting? For the bottom part if you leave it, it may sprout babies! I've seen pictures of new growth from old stems people have left (they even water it still!) and less than a month to 2 months later new growth appears! So I'd recommend leaving it and seeing what happens. You'll have to update when and if new growth appears!

Those babies in there are too cute!


Took out my mustard in the vegetable garden day before yesterday since it was bolting and planted my serrano peppers in it's place. Yesterday before the rain hit, I got all of my large houseplants repotted. Since they are in 12 to 18 inch pots, it is no easy thing to do. I also repotted some of my seedling herbs into bigger pots and planted a tall butterfly weed for the butterflies in the yard. I want to work some more on removing the junipers, but it is going to be to hot and humid today. I will find something inside to do.
What houseplants did you repot?

The beautiful pale green adult luna moths live for only a week.They don't have a mouth, cannot eat, only mate, lay eggs, and die.
Wow, what a unique life cycle. Can you imagine having a life like that? :oops:
 

MoochNNoodles

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I should be picking peas in the next few days. I’m seeing a lot more tomatoes forming too. Tomorrow I need to weed and DH is going to help me make the trellis for the pole beans.

I watered a bit before sunset after running some errands and picking up dinner. I changed shoes to my crocs and was only out there a few minutes and had just started watering when I felt something cold and wet on the arch of my foot. My first thought was; is the sprayer dripping already? Then it quickly went to “could it be a bug?!” So I flipped off my croc and it was this:

70B1617A-862F-482A-8F29-831E549C22A9.jpeg

:flail:

Thankfully worms don’t gross me out. He was crawling all in the toe and didn’t want to get out till I picked him up! Crazy worm!:lol: This is definitely a first!!
 

MoochNNoodles

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I need a little advice for my corn if anyone has experience. Winchester Winchester I know you mentioned growing it.

Am I supposed to thin the plants? Some things online say to and some say you don’t have to. Also how should I handle where 2 seeds germinated in the same hole? I read they have shallow roots so should I just snip one?
D2E69878-41A7-4164-BA79-8FC309C038AA.jpeg

5A7014E7-4392-4E2B-89CF-1507003ADE49.jpeg
 
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posiepurrs

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I think I have posted about the hedge I needed to remove because of bittersweet vine taking over. I was doing it the hard way since I don't have the money to hire someone to do it - with a pruning saw and loppers. This hedge is (was) huge - probably 15 feet at it
s narrowest and about 6 feet high. I got 2 plants cut back to the main trunk - I decided to do that and deal with the stumps after I got everything out. Sunday, I was out there cutting away when my neighbor across the street came over (he works for the town Parks department) and offered to help. We started cutting (he had a power saw, not a chainsaw but like an electric pruning saw. Well the other neighbors on the cul-de-sac saw us and all came over to help. One neighbor brought his chainsaw and tractor and in about 3 hours we had the hedge out , cut up and mostly hauled away. My neighbor who works for the town hauled it away to the town dump site in his truck for me. They even swept the mess out of the road when we finished! Today I am baking 5 apple pies to thank everyone. I know it isn't really enough to thank them all but it is a start! Now I can start on my new perennial bed! The bed now is in a horseshoe shape, but I am going to make it round or oval with my bench in the middle and hopefully an arbor over the bench with David Austin roses on it. That's the plan right now anyway, but I will tweak it as needed.
 

Norachan

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Love those cat planters
Thank you! The ceramic ones are some I made myself.
Do you keep them outside?
They go outside whenever the sun is shinning. It's monsoon season now though, so I can't leave them out all the time. The ones with hooks usually live on the wall. This was a few years ago, these all out grew their pots and are in bigger planters now.

Garden111.jpg

How neat! Do you know about letting the cut top callous over before replanting? For the bottom part if you leave it, it may sprout babies! I've seen pictures of new growth from old stems people have left (they even water it still!) and less than a month to 2 months later new growth appears! So I'd recommend leaving it and seeing what happens. You'll have to update when and if new growth appears!
There is actually a new shoot coming up from the bottom of the main stem, so I guess I'll try cutting the top off and replanting it. It's just a case of getting the nerve up to do it.

:eek:
 
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posiepurrs

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Today I am going to start laying out the new bed that I have from removing the hedge. I have a few plants potted for it and will be splitting some of my others when it cools down. We are having our first heat wave. I may not actually plant the potted things until it cools down too. I just hate having that awful looking bare spot in my side front yard. Meanwhile in the veggie garden the potatoes are doing great, other than a few potato beetles that lose their lives when I spot them. The potatoes are just starting to flower so if I wanted I could harvest some new potatoes. I will probably leave them though for the end of the season. Tomatoes are going gangbusters too. Bell peppers look good, but the hot peppers are looking puny. Beans are growing well since I covered them with tulle to keep the rabbits away.
 

WillowMarie

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I watered a bit before sunset after running some errands and picking up dinner. I changed shoes to my crocs and was only out there a few minutes and had just started watering when I felt something cold and wet on the arch of my foot. My first thought was; is the sprayer dripping already? Then it quickly went to “could it be a bug?!” So I flipped off my croc and it was this:

View attachment 338721
:flail:

Thankfully worms don’t gross me out. He was crawling all in the toe and didn’t want to get out till I picked him up! Crazy worm!:lol: This is definitely a first!!
Wow! The little guy is so lucky they did not get squished! <3 Glad they are okay

I need a little advice for my corn if anyone has experience. Winchester Winchester I know you mentioned growing it.

Am I supposed to thin the plants? Some things online say to and some say you don’t have to. Also how should I handle where 2 seeds germinated in the same hole? I read they have shallow roots so should I just snip one?
View attachment 339139
View attachment 339138
I have no idea, but just wanted to say that looks exciting to grow! Are they going to get big like normal corn?

Thank you! The ceramic ones are some I made myself.
Stunning! How do you make them?

They go outside whenever the sun is shinning. It's monsoon season now though, so I can't leave them out all the time. The ones with hooks usually live on the wall. This was a few years ago, these all out grew their pots and are in bigger planters now.

View attachment 339465

There is actually a new shoot coming up from the bottom of the main stem, so I guess I'll try cutting the top off and replanting it. It's just a case of getting the nerve up to do it.

:eek:

Nice set-up! And it helps to creat more space to keep plants, haha <3

A little sprout already, how neat! I have similar with one of my plants that has many tiny offshoots coming off. I want to let them grow a bit bigger, but also want to cut them off and start new plants out of them now. Keep me updated! :)
 

MoochNNoodles

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I have no idea, but just wanted to say that looks exciting to grow! Are they going to get big like normal corn?
I googled some more and cringed while thinning and clipping off the smaller stalks that grew 2 in one spot. Corn has shallow roots so everything said to clip instead of pull. The corn is supposed to get around 6' to 6.5' tall. Hopefully it'll make some nice fall decorations too. :lol:
 

Norachan

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Today I am going to start laying out the new bed that I have from removing the hedge.
That sounds like a lot of work! We're mid-monsoon here, so I can't do a lot of outdoor stuff. How did it go?
Stunning! How do you make them?
They were thrown on a wheel.

I used a standard white stoneware to make the pots and the saucers they stand in. One they were leather hard I turned the bases, made some drainage holes and added the cat ears with some soft clay. I drew the faces into the clay with a needle. Then they were bisque fired. The brown pot was glazed with a honey brown glaze, the other two with a lead white. After a glaze firing I used enamels on the two white pots to give the yellow and black details, then fired for a third time at 850C. Enamels only need a low firing, then they're good to go!

Keep me updated!
OK, I cut the head off!

:eek2:

It took a lot of nerve. Leaving it to dry out for a bit before I re-pot it.

😰
 
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posiepurrs

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That sounds like a lot of work! We're mid-monsoon here, so I can't do a lot of outdoor stuff. How did it go?
I didn't get to it after all. I ended up weeding and trimming the foundation shrubs. I moved the plants I have potted for the bed out to it, but that is all I got done - it got to hot. I wish we would get some rain! We are in drought conditions now, which is one reason I am hesitant to plant the new bed.
 

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MoochNNoodles MoochNNoodles We never thin out our corn. Rick would create a shallow row, I'd drop a corn kernel into the row about every six inches apart, and then he'd carefully cover the row with soil. Then we left them alone. Once the corn started sprouting, we'd check to see what was coming up and we'd replant in areas that didn't sprout. We plant our squashes between the rows of corn; squash and corn seem to like each other.

We put the garden fence up last night. Some kind of critter (we're thinking bunnies or deer) started chewing on the young corn sprouts and some got pulled right up out of the ground. They also took the top off of a tomato plant, which makes us think deer. We put the tall fence up first, then surrounded the tall fence with a short fence that has narrower holes; hopefully, that may even keep smaller bunnies out. We got it up last night, but today, we'll go back out and adjust it a bit.

While we were up there, I also cultivated around the pepper plants. I also noticed a couple green strawberries. Just teeny little things. Not tomatoes yet. Mama wants green beans! We have plenty of bean flowers and little pod-like things. But no actual beans.
 

NY cat man

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MoochNNoodles MoochNNoodles We never thin out our corn. Rick would create a shallow row, I'd drop a corn kernel into the row about every six inches apart, and then he'd carefully cover the row with soil. Then we left them alone. Once the corn started sprouting, we'd check to see what was coming up and we'd replant in areas that didn't sprout. We plant our squashes between the rows of corn; squash and corn seem to like each other.

We put the garden fence up last night. Some kind of critter (we're thinking bunnies or deer) started chewing on the young corn sprouts and some got pulled right up out of the ground. They also took the top off of a tomato plant, which makes us think deer. We put the tall fence up first, then surrounded the tall fence with a short fence that has narrower holes; hopefully, that may even keep smaller bunnies out. We got it up last night, but today, we'll go back out and adjust it a bit.

While we were up there, I also cultivated around the pepper plants. I also noticed a couple green strawberries. Just teeny little things. Not tomatoes yet. Mama wants green beans! We have plenty of bean flowers and little pod-like things. But no actual beans.
Back in school, we learned how the Iroquois planted corn, beans, and squash- the 'three sisters'- together as each gave benefit to the other. In fact, the seventh grade history was entirely about New York, Iroquois Confederacy included.
 

WillowMarie

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While we were up there, I also cultivated around the pepper plants. I also noticed a couple green strawberries. Just teeny little things. Not tomatoes yet. Mama wants green beans! We have plenty of bean flowers and little pod-like things. But no actual beans.
That's exciting on the strawberries! Do you by any chance know how to spot strawberry seedlings? I looked it up and they are supposed to look similar to this, but the white fuzzies have been germinating in all my pots and not sure how the shape will be different than these. I don't want to pull any strawberry plants, if they have germinated, so I may wait until they grow more and the first leaves start to show before pulling any.

SAM_0390.JPG


My indoor cherry tomato plants are growing nice and big!

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Outdoor cherry tomato
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Outdoor big tomato growing big, too!
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Swiss chard, fertilized a couple days ago. Some that have only 3 stalks are growing a 4th stalk.
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Lettuce growing more, fertilized, too.
SAM_0394.JPG

Cilantro, with a random mystery plant I should pull. (Anybody know what it is?) Also, did all 3-4 cilantro sprout? I may need to pull some and just leave one in the pot. Trying to let the soil dry a bit since this one prefers drying out a little between waterings.
SAM_0391.JPG

Carrots, fertilized. They still look a little sad... any advice from anyone? Do they look okay?
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Catnip slowly coming along
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Mixed pot has had lettuce, swiss chard growing for a couple days, and one carrot seed was found this morning. Not visible here though because these pics were from yesterday.
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Updates on succulents. These two have had the most growth the past week or two! My succulents have been brought outside each day for extra sunlight. Up to about 12 o'clock leaving them out and will continue acclimating until they spend all day outside.
SAM_0374.JPG

Two stalks! Is this new or were the 2 stalks just small before and are evident since the plant has grown?
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And my lithops full of water! No more watering probably until fall unless he starts looking wrinkly.
SAM_0376.JPG
 

WillowMarie

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W WillowMarie I am dubious that the white fuzzies in several of your pots are germinating seeds. I suspect it is fungus mold.
Thank you for your input. Here in Illinois where I am at there are white fluffy things flying through the air for the past few weeks with seeds attached. It is a seasonal thing here and always sparks worse allergies in some of my family members when they go outside. Here is a picture, there are three I grabbed and am holding (edit: seems to be from a cottonwood tree) :
20200619_130904.jpg


Were you saying this may be fungus or was there something else you were referring to?
 

MoochNNoodles

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We never thin out our corn. Rick would create a shallow row, I'd drop a corn kernel into the row about every six inches apart, and then he'd carefully cover the row with soil. Then we left them alone. Once the corn started sprouting, we'd check to see what was coming up and we'd replant in areas that didn't sprout. We plant our squashes between the rows of corn; squash and corn seem to like each other.
Ok I read so many different things. One thing said because corn germination can be low you should plant at least 3 seeds per hole. I went with 2. I do have some spots where nothing came up in the last row because i ran out of seeds to do 2 per hole there. I planted it in a block format for best pollination like I read. I got the stuff to "side dress" it in a few weeks. They said to do every 4" and then thin. But I've read everything from not thinning to thinning to a foot apart. I think next year I'll just go for every 6" and see how that does. I'll take care of the extra germination earlier too. Although one thing said not to do that TOO early because sometimes the first shoot to sprout isn't the strongest. :rolleyes2: Information overload!! :lol: I took my yard stick out there with me and used a string to make my rows straight. It did help me lay things out nicely. I want to be able to get in there easily to side dress it. I watched some guy's YouTube video and he showed the results of side dressing and it looks really helpful. Plus I'm in such sandy soil that i expect nutrients to wash away easier here.
Back in school, we learned how the Iroquois planted corn, beans, and squash- the 'three sisters'- together as each gave benefit to the other. In fact, the seventh grade history was entirely about New York, Iroquois Confederacy included.
I remember learning about that in elementary school but i haven't tried it. Maybe one of these years. I was thinking of getting mammoth sunflowers to create a summer hedge between us and our new neighbors. Those are supposed to be good for pole beans too.

Speaking of pole beans; they are starting to climb the netting I put out. It's neat to watch them every day now! I might have to go add a few strings to direct them. I went with a row and nylon netting; but it's like the netting is almost too far apart for my row. In the raised gardens it didn't really work setup wise to have teepee poles for the beans. Next year I think I'd like to build a trellis from PVC that I can take down every winter.
 

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Sorry about that. No cottonwood trees here in New Jersey, W WillowMarie Does that excuse me?
Here's an image of mold in a seed pot
1592596597039.png

You can see where I got confused.
 

NY cat man

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For my tomatoes, I built a horizontal latticework about 16" above ground to support the vines and keep the slugs from dining on the product of my labors. I got the idea from a gardening program that went to Colonial Williamsburg to show their practices. So far, so good. Also, I have had no issues with animals digging up plants to get at the bone meal, and by now I imagine that it has pretty well been absorbed by the plants I used it on.
 
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