Green Thumbs

[Thumper]

Sunflowers are coming up nicely. I'll thin when I get a chance. Way behind on mowing and other yardwork. They aren't too torn up and suvived 11 days of being ignored though MiL swore it "rained hard every day we were gone." There are some minor casualties but my cayenne pepper dust came while we were gone so I'll apply tonight to discourage unwanted eating. Mrs. T has a bunch of herbs growing fairly well if we can keep moron dog out of them. Only two tomato plants this year so we'll have to make the best of it.

[FZR1KG]

Not that I'm doing much planting but mowing and general garden upkeep is near impossible with the amount of rain we've been having.

[Rommie]

Pleased to report the daisies have recovered and I discovered some random bushes on the roof that I didn't think were much of anything are actually a lovely red flower- my mom says they're called weiglia, great surprise.

Pepper is gone and the eggplant isn't far off, I guess I should buy new ones and replant this weekend.

[brite]

Everything but the tomatoes, pumpkins, watermelons and the hot peppers looks like they are gone... thanks to the dogs and the Poe digging them up... looks like we have to re-plant... I'm hoping the beans make it... but it doesn't look like it... he's cute (the Poe)... he's 3... right now... that's what's saving him from a life of duct tape and a dark closet....

[Swift]

My wife is trying a few peppers in pots this year for the first time. So far they are doing well; three of the plants have flowers and the Poblano has a couple of tiny little peppers. So far the deer haven't eaten them.

[Thumper]

So far...
Saw the first fawn of the year Tuesday. Cute tiny thing smaller than my dogs. But I bet he's hungry.

[Rebis]

I planted a garden in August 2011...which produced plenty of radishes (which quickly withered after being picked), but nothing else (4 other vegetables).

We're in a desert, so it turned out to be a waste of water. Won't do that again.

[SciFiFisher]

I planted a garden in August 2011...which produced plenty of radishes (which quickly withered after being picked), but nothing else (4 other vegetables).

We're in a desert, so it turned out to be a waste of water. Won't do that again.

There are ways to grow things in the desert but you have to protect them from the sun almost as much as you need to be sure they get enough water.

[SciFi Chick]

I planted a garden in August 2011...which produced plenty of radishes (which quickly withered after being picked), but nothing else (4 other vegetables).

We're in a desert, so it turned out to be a waste of water. Won't do that again.

There are ways to grow things in the desert but you have to protect them from the sun almost as much as you need to be sure they get enough water.

Unless it's sage or chili peppers.

[Rebis]

Good points.

Which reminds me: I've still not yet unpackaged the "Chia Herb Garden" my husband bought me recently.

I've been wanting to incorporate fresh herbs into my cooking.

Need to quit procrastinating that little project and get to it.

[gethen]

Got my sunflowers in and put some pumpkins in the same bed for ground cover. Now the battle commences to keep the varmits out.

[gethen mode]
KILL the squirrels. Shoot them. CRUSH, KILL, DESTROY them!!!!
[/gethen mode]

And maybe the deer as well. I planted a few New Guinea impatiens around the mailbox on Saturday, just like I do every year. On Sunday morning they were nibbled down to ground level and there were deer tracks all the way around. I'd sprayed all the violets, hostas, woodbine, astilbe, and everything else they generally eat with repellant, but they've never touched the impatiens before. I'm pretty sure they were getting even for the repellant.

[Rebis]

Sunday morning, while shopping, my husband calls my attention to big bags of soil fertilizer. Do I want to buy some? Hint hint. I'm like, "Do we want to try for another garden?"

I think he wants to.

I sort of do...but I'm more for conserving water in this ongoing drought. Especially considering the last attempt at gardening was such a bomb.

Except for loads of radishes. Which quickly withered after being picked.

[Thumper]

Got my sunflowers in and put some pumpkins in the same bed for ground cover. Now the battle commences to keep the varmits out.

[gethen mode]
KILL the squirrels. Shoot them. CRUSH, KILL, DESTROY them!!!!
[/gethen mode]

And maybe the deer as well. I planted a few New Guinea impatiens around the mailbox on Saturday, just like I do every year. On Sunday morning they were nibbled down to ground level and there were deer tracks all the way around. I'd sprayed all the violets, hostas, woodbine, astilbe, and everything else they generally eat with repellant, but they've never touched the impatiens before. I'm pretty sure they were getting even for the repellant.

What kinds of repellant do you use? I'm always leary of repellants or poisons with the other animals around I don't want to scare away, the dogs and cats that make it outside, and The Kid. Though she doesn't lay on the ground putting everything in her mouth quite as much as she used to. I sprinkle cayenne pepper dust on the things I don't want nibbled. Usually works pretty good. Sometimes just spray some soapy water on leaves but the sunflowers didn't care for that last year.

[gethen]

What kinds of repellant do you use? I'm always leary of repellants or poisons with the other animals around I don't want to scare away, the dogs and cats that make it outside, and The Kid. Though she doesn't lay on the ground putting everything in her mouth quite as much as she used to. I sprinkle cayenne pepper dust on the things I don't want nibbled. Usually works pretty good. Sometimes just spray some soapy water on leaves but the sunflowers didn't care for that last year.

I sometimes use a commercial product that's made up of eggs, cayenne, garlic, and other natural ingredients.(think it's called Deerfence. Walmart ususally has it.) It's non-toxic, just tastes bad. I've also made my own and it works just as well (three eggs, 3 tablespoons hot sauce, 3 tablespoons garlic juice run through a blender and then added to one gallon of water. The hot sauce makes it burn, the eggs make it stick, and the garlic tells the deer and rabbits that it's there before they taste it.) The problem with the homemade version is that it's virtually impossible to get it blended enough to keep the egg solids from clogging the sprayer. That gets frustrating, especially since you have to reapply it after a heavy rain. I've got lots of violets instead of grass and several dozen hostas and astilbe and the stuff really works. It doesn't smell great, but once it dries it's much harder to smell. Although our Labrador Retriever obviously likes the smell. Dogs....

[Thumper]

Thanks! I sometimes worry that I'm just seasoning someone's salad...

[Thumper]

It's so sad pulling out perfectly good sunflowers. I over planted this year. A certain percentage just doesn't grow or they get eaten when they're small, so I planted a bunch this year because I had plenty of seeds. Now they're overcrowded. I pull out the small ones or the ones that don't look the healthiest. But I don't like to. If I had anywhere else, I'd transplant the extras. Heck the bestest healthiest sunflower is a volunteer growing in a pile of gravel. A couple of the pumpkin plants look real good too. They're almost to the point where I can tear down the ugly "snow" fence I've been using to protect them. Mrs. T's tomato plant looks great too.

[brite]

The pumpkins have taken over the peas and are looking to take over the watermelon... the tomatoes are looking to take over the peppers... replanted the squash (very happy squash, they have their own box) and the spinach... the herbs will go into pots as will the mescalin...

[Loresinger]

my hot peppers, basil and tomatoes look good. Cukes growing slooooooooooooowly as is celery (odd with the rain)

[Parrothead]

Cherry tomatoes are coming along. I sampled a couple of the yellow ones already.Yum!

Picked a whole mess of red currants last weekend. Added some raspberries and cherries (both store bought), mashed the berries, let stand overnight - one full day. Strained, added sugar (approx. 1.5:1 ratio sugar to liquid). Heated to simmer, let sugar dissolve, let cool to room temp., skimmed and bottled the syrup. Goes nice on vanilla ice cream or as an addition to cola, tonic water or ginger ale.

Not many gooseberries on the bush, this year.

[Thumper]

The big ones are about 6 feet tall now. The one in the gravel is still the biggest bestest. And I'm still thinning out the little ones that are getting overcrowded. No Japanese beetles yet but I know they're coming. Lots of water this weekend with no rain. These guys are thirsty.

[cid]

Picked a whole mess of red currants last weekend. Added some raspberries and cherries (both store bought), mashed the berries, let stand overnight - one full day. Strained, added sugar (approx. 1.5:1 ratio sugar to liquid). Heated to simmer, let sugar dissolve, let cool to room temp., skimmed and bottled the syrup. Goes nice on vanilla ice cream or as an addition to cola, tonic water or ginger ale.

A double shot of this with an insulin chaser sounds pretty good...

[Loresinger]

Today I plan to start harvesting mint, basil, and oregano and drying them.

If I have extra people can grab some at FWIS FWY

[brite]

Now that we have wrestled the pumpkin off the watermelon, it looks like the watermelon is going to make a comeback! Spinach is looking good, the squash is happy, as are the tomatoes... All in all... a good year...

[Loresinger]

29 pounds of peaches from one little tree - WOW

[gethen]

Came back from a two week trip to see that all my hostas, which had not yet emerged from the soil when we left, had sprouted beautifully and been eaten right back to ground level by the deer. How do I know it was deer? Because I have twice startled a tiny spotted fawn from the leaves at the edge of the garden and his momma chased our Labrador retriever out of the clearing behind the garden last night.