The 2021 Gardening Thread

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game misconduct

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Shades of the movie Alien. If you see a hornworm that looks like this, as if it had little white rice grains stuck to it - leave it.
View attachment 377701
A tiny wasp has laid eggs on the hornworm. The larvae will consume it, from the inside. They emerge and pupate (that's what you see here.) Then hatch, at which point the weakened hornworm will die. The adult wasps fly off looking for more hornworms to parasitize.
:lol:nature is creepy at times
 

rubysmama

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We seem to be having an early spring, with everything flowering at least a couple weeks earlier than usual. For example neighbour's Forsythia are in bloom, and normally that's sometime in May.

Last year my Lungwort was in full bloom on May 26th. Here it is yesterday.
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Also this little guy is just starting to bloom, but last year's pic of it in full bloom was the same as the Lungwort. May 26th.

Does anyone know its name, by any chance?

1619350468846.png
 

di and bob

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We are just now getting a week with no freezing in the forecast, but that could change. 70's today, 89 tomorrow, then highs in the 60's. Have our raised beds built and filled, carrots and radishes are an inch high, onions in, and a few Walls 'O Water set up for early tomatoes, I'll get those planted Tuesday after the almost 90 degree heat. If I can set up a tent of plastic, I hope to have the rest of my tomatoes in the first or second week of May. We had a hard frost the third week of May last year, it was a scramble to cover everything!
 

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N NY cat man I think your yellow daisy is a Doronicum. The common name is leopard's bane. So you shouldn't have any problems with the big spotted cats prowling through your garden.

Love the billet doux you found in your mailbox. It's sweet. Thanks for sharing.
 

rubysmama

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This is only tangentially about gardening, but I thought it might make you smile. I found it in our mailbox.
20210425_102411.jpg
Oh, that's so precious, N NY cat man . You may have a little gardening apprentice visiting from time to time. :)


N NY cat man I think your yellow daisy is a Doronicum. The common name is leopard's bane. So you shouldn't have any problems with the big spotted cats prowling through your garden.
Actually, the daisy is rubysmama rubysmama rubysmama rubysmama 's
Yes, my yellow daisy. :)

And thanks, C catapault for the name. Now that I've Googled, I think the one pictured would be "Little Leo" as it's not very tall. Doronicum Little Leo -- Bluestone Perennials

I also have the regular Leopard's Bane, which has a similar flower, but grows much taller, and is not near ready to bloom yet. However, just checking my last year's pics, I see it was in bloom May 28th, only 2 days after Little Leo, so maybe I better go take a look at it, as it might be soon ready to bloom too.

As for spotted cats, they're welcome to visit, just so long as they don't use my garden as a litter box. ;)
 

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A tiny wasp has laid eggs on the hornworm. The larvae will consume it, from the inside. They emerge and pupate (that's what you see here.) Then hatch, at which point the weakened hornworm will die. The adult wasps fly off looking for more hornworms to parasitize.
Those things make me squirm, parasitizing. Ever heard of how figs are pollinated???

Last year my Lungwort was in full bloom on May 26th. Here it is yesterday.
Beautiful colors!!

These are some of the tomato seedlings, which seem to be doing good so far.
Looking good! Seems that not being straight up is normal, so many my little tomato seedling is doing okay.
 

NY cat man

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Those things make me squirm, parasitizing. Ever heard of how figs are pollinated???



Beautiful colors!!



Looking good! Seems that not being straight up is normal, so many my little tomato seedling is doing okay.
Yes, I have them in a west-facing window, as it's still way too early to put them outside yet. Since they bend towards the light (heliotrophism), I rotate the tray 180° each day to reverse the previous day's bend.
 

WillowMarie

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Since they bend towards the light (heliotrophism), I rotate the tray 180° each day to reverse the previous day's bend.
Makes sense. I've been trying to rotate mine as well in case the not straight growth was light related despite it being outside in a sunny spot.
 

catapault

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W WillowMarie There are orchids that look like an insect so the not terribly bright male insects pseudo-copulate with the flower. The next orchid is then pollinated as the - let's be generous and say "near-sighted" insect flies to it, bearing a pollinia from the previous mating attempt..

Orchids are wonderful. Darwin's orchid, Angraecum sesquipedale, is a marvelous story. "It is noteworthy for its long spur and its association with the naturalist Charles Darwin, who surmised that the flower was pollinated by a then undiscovered moth with a proboscis whose length was unprecedented at the time. His prediction had gone unverified until 21 years after his death, when the moth was discovered and his conjecture vindicated. The story of its postulated pollinator has come to be seen as one of the celebrated predictions of the theory of evolution."
 

WillowMarie

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W WillowMarie There are orchids that look like an insect so the not terribly bright male insects pseudo-copulate with the flower. The next orchid is then pollinated as the - let's be generous and say "near-sighted" insect flies to it, bearing a pollinia from the previous mating attempt..
Yes, I've heard/seen that! So fascinating the ways animals and plants have adapted to benefit/use each other. Thanks for sharing!
 

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Well, was supposed to have the weekend off, but had to work Saturday so I got less done than I'd like. Bought, cut and water sealed (chemical free) the walls that will be the raised bed. Keeps pressure treated wood chemicals out of my garden. To save time and money, I don't think I'll seal the other side (right now, at least) because it's already treated.
PXL_20210425_212843522.jpg

I did, however, find pictures of what the area was before I started messing with it.
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rubysmama

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N NY cat man rubysmama rubysmama My bad. Sorry. Maybe she'll share - leopard's bane is a nice perennial to combine with tulips.
Oh, I bet that would look nice. Maybe next year. That's plant with tulips. Not sharing with N NY cat man . LOL. Though I would if he lived closer. ;)

Those things make me squirm, parasitizing. Ever heard of how figs are pollinated???
No. But I just Googled, and it sounds awful, so don't think I'll watch the Youtube video you posted. :running:
 

WillowMarie

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No. But I just Googled, and it sounds awful, so don't think I'll watch the Youtube video you posted. :running:
Fair enough! I was horrified when my teacher showed the video in class... like I've probably eaten a fig before..?? And not knowing this felt so creepy... :oops:



We have a wind warning today, but luckily my seedlings are all only an inch or two tall so not worried about them too much.
 

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She also told me that she had taken some of the half-opened buds over for the little girl who wrote us that note, and told her to come back tomorrow and she would give her some more.
 

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After the snow and cold of a few days ago, it's amazing what a little sunshine and warmth can accomplish.
20210427_131039.jpg
By the way, what appears to be grass on the left is actually all of the dwarf crocus after the blooms are gone. Also, at the lower right is the monster hosta. I divided it last fall, so now the other one is occupying a new bed in the back yard.
 

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Beautiful N NY cat man ! I have bulbs just starting to peek out of mine so it will be awhile before blooms.

We had a dry few hours between rain storms so I used the time to clean out the raspberries. What a job. I am experimenting with them this year. Normally I cut them all down in the fall which makes for a fairly easy cleanup but I get a very small summer crop with a much much bigger crop in the fall. I love fall berries but unfortunately early frosts have killed most before they ripened in the last couple years. So I left them last fall just to see if that changing the timing of the berries. Problem was it is a PITA to clean out amongst those tall canes.
 
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