2017 Gardens

[r8shell]

R8shell, I hope those white cages are large enough for your tomatoes. I use a roll of concrete wire cut to make a circle (18-20" diameter). Most of the wire type tomato cages don't stand up to too much weight and simply aren't big enough. I planted two patio type tomatoes in big pots on my deck this year. One was planted around the same time as the garden (early April) and the other today. Both of these plants are determinate types versus indeterminate. My regular indeterminate plants (Big Boy, Better Boy, Whopper; these have become my favorite varieties) will get about 6 feet tall and out grow the tops of the tomato cages by mid summer. Will have to stake the cages down in the next few weeks to keep them from blowing over from the summer thunderstorms. Right now it is not an issue. It is really disheartening to watch them grow, take care of them, and then they get blown over in a thunderstorm. The foliage catches the wind being so tall.

Last year I tried to stagger my tomato plants. I did sort-of this year buying two large plants and the rest normal sized. The ones I planted a month or so later last year never really did very well (probably because of night time temps). This is why I planted the small patio tomato today to stagger a bit assuming it grows. So, all the plants are staggered in April so to speak. If plants were available, I could do a partial re-planting in July. May have to gets some seeds and plant my own for that planting time. Some years the plants are starting to peter out by Mid to Late July, but last year they looked pretty good and healthy and I had tomatoes until November (smaller ones, but still garden grown).

The timing of the planting is much like I did when I lived in Dallas TX.

I tilled my little garden the normal way this year and then raked the soil back to un-tilled depth and tilled again. We'll see if it makes any difference at all. But my experience seemed to hint at root development .... great tomatoes set early and then just little ones later on.

Taldesta, the garden looks ready!! Lots of work coming up, but it's a labor of love mostly for me. I think that I'm going to do like you do with the geraniums this winter and for next spring. They are just getting really expensive already grown in 6" pots. Your geraniums look great.

I split a couple Amaryliss bulbs away from the mother bulbs in the last couple of days. I used plastic pots last year (6" generally) and as the baby bulbs develop they actually deform the pots. This year I'm using clay pots hoping the added weight will support the plants better. I place them on a table that is in part sun for their growth. Thinking maybe they should be in full sun... don't know really.

If I recall, the regular bush beans take about 60 days to mature. You may make it before it gets really hot.

I don't remember ever having tomatoes grow so tall, but we've had more rain than usual this spring. My plan is to cut some of the damn bamboo that's growing along the fence line and use it for stakes if needed. Or maybe put a pole at each corner and run twine or wire between to extend the height of the cage. The best luck I ever had growing tomatoes was when I lived in a rental house in Dallas. I planted them along a chain link fence that was on the side of the yard. With a little encouragement they grew like a vine weaving through the fencing. Lots of support without taking up much space.

 

[22-rimfire]

I think this may be the perfect place for my vegetable garden , anyone know what these purple flowers are ? They seem to be growing wild here .

I believe those purple flowers are henbit or lyre leaved sage. Not too hard to get rid of with a broad leaf weed killer.

Those look like wild violets ... low growth, lovely purple spring flowers. I think 22-rimfire has some experience with them from last year's posts.

Here, I have lots of them and don't find them a problem. People who like their grass more uniform, may not appreciate them. "In the eye of the beholder" perhaps? Very invasive, every flower a boon to the early pollinators yet seeds of sedition in the grass garden.

If the sunshine falls long on this garden patch of yours, it would indeed be good for veggies!

I struggled with all the African violets last year. I have a lawn service and they used the latest super duper broad leaf herbicide.... stunted them a bit. Eventually, I hand dug them. There were LOTS of them in my back yard. I filled my large wheel barrow completely full with dug violets. It took days to do and then you go back a few weeks later and do it again only there are less of them that time. Violets have sort of a kernal type root that stores energy which is why they are so hard to kill. They spread too.... and spread... and spread.

This year, I am seeing the fruits of my violet digging from last year. Not too many of them inside the main turf area but I still have them along the edges. I have neighbors on both sides with significant violet populations. I love them as potted plants or out in the woods. In my yard, I hate them.

 

[eisman]

Just picked up some more stuff to stick in the ground. I'll get some pics if it stops raining this weekend. It was dry enough the other night for a fire, very glad I got this done last summer.

 

[taldesta]

Awesome! Send some of that heat North, would you?

 

[LEGION 12]

 

[LEGION 12]

 

[eisman]

This tulip bed was a project from last summer. i wasn't sure how it would turn out, and it seems I have the slowest tulips ever. Everybody else in town has had blooms for a month, mine are just starting. Still, I'll let it go native and see how it works out for the next couple years.

Picked up this maple Friday afternoon. Been wanting one for this spot since I started working it out last year. The yellow leaves and red bark will stand out from the greens in the background. Got home too late to get digging Friday, but got outside early enough to get it in before the rain started. No need to water it in. been raining pretty steady for the last 18 hours.

 

[22-rimfire]

What variety of maple is that? I don't recall seeing one with red bark.

The rain stopped for a while today and I ventured out and decided to dig some of the violets along the edges of my yard. Filled a Walmart bag up. I have been doing this every couple of weeks so it doesn't become such a chore like last year. But there really aren't that many this year in the yard.

 

[eisman]

I don't know exactly what it's called. I do know that only one place near me has them and that's an hour away. I've been wanting one for some time. I have two others, but they are the smaller (low) types; one with red leaves the other with green. Both of those have "normal" grey/brown bark. I think it's going to look real good there once the ground covers fill in and the other stuff gets some height on it. Give it 3-4 years and then it'll really stand out.

As you can see the ground here is completely saturated. I have more moss this year than ever.

 

[22-rimfire]

The "other" maples sound like Japanese Maples. They tend to be rather expensive relative to other small trees. One of the more common are the Bloodgood (red leaves) and a whispy green leaved variety. I have a fairly large Bloodgood in my front yard. It has been probably 20 years since I planted it. In the South, the Japanese Maples tend to be grown in shady or part shade areas of a yard. Some grow them as patio plants/trees in pots.

 

[LEGION 12]

I don't know exactly what it's called. I do know that only one place near me has them and that's an hour away. I've been wanting one for some time. I have two others, but they are the smaller (low) types; one with red leaves the other with green. Both of those have "normal" grey/brown bark. I think it's going to look real good there once the ground covers fill in and the other stuff gets some height on it. Give it 3-4 years and then it'll really stand out.

As you can see the ground here is completely saturated. I have more moss this year than ever.

That's a Coral Bark Japanese Maple I have a friend who grows them for a living he advised me not to get that one because it doesn't do that well where I live so I got a Emperor instead.

 

[22-rimfire]

I looked it up too. Looks like a pretty cool under story tree (part sun).

 

[22-rimfire]

Taldesta, did you get hit with another snow event? I saw the weather in the UP (Michigan area) and figured it would be moving east and hit you.

 

[taldesta]

Rain, cold and windy mostly ... by the time it came to ground here. Unfortunately, the geraniums in the trailer, on one of their first sunny days out in the breeze ... were hit with wind chill that I didn't anticipate and some foliage is lost. Then the strong UV seems to have fried them a little more, again in the cool temps ... I wasn't being smart - just trying to rush the season. I failed to harden them properly. They are survivors, though.

Those rescued bulbs from the big store that I picked up last year are all up - hyacinths & daffodils in bloom and tulips coming along. The leaf buds are on the lilac and caragana. The burgeoning maple buds are colouring the forest red.

Something got the robin nest at the corner of the house. Three little broken blue eggs in a tangle with the nest on the ground told the story. Observing nature is mostly a joy to me. There are exceptions.

 

[dalefuller]

Here are some of our gardens for this year... hanging containers of "Million Bells"... a couple of rose bushes in the front yard with Jerry Lee supervising everything... and roses at the end of the driveway.

 

[taldesta]

Masterful supervising Jerry Lee! Your crew (with the opposable thumbs) sure have some beautiful gardens there.

 

[eisman]

Well my Dogwood decided to quit waiting for a sunny day and broke out the blooms. We had some crazy thunderstorms with heavy rain Thursday and that pretty much killed the majority of my lilies, just plain drowned them. First time that's ever happened. Finally had two consecutive days without rain this weekend. I'm never going to get all the stuff I wanted to do this year done.

 

[22-rimfire]

The Dogwoods are long over their blooming cycle here.

My brother in law (who has specialized in Japanese Maples), used to have a nursery and so forth... Anyway, I asked him about the Coral Bark Japanese Maples and he said that particular Japanese Maple is generally a dud. The red bark is only on new growth. It throws out huge shoots and needs pruning, but nobody really knows how to properly prune this variety of Japanese Maple. His response to my interest was "Choose another variety." I chuckle.

My one Bloodgood Japanese maple is huge and about 20 years old (probably 5" trunk diameter). Beautiful tree. It never ceases to shock me the prices of Japanese Maples at nurseries. Even tiny ones are expensive. They aren't exactly uncommon anymore. I used to be "all about oaks" for the yard, and I really like them. You plant one and it grows large and becomes problematic and eventually you pay someone to cut it down because you planted it too close to your house and are afraid to cut it yourself. Been into shorter trees at their mature height. I am considering another Japanese Maple for my back yard in a bed that is mostly shaded beneath larger trees.

 

[LEGION 12]

Decided to just use the containers I already have this year for my vegetables, build the raised bed next year.

 

[22-rimfire]

Containers work. Last year I planted two late tomato plants in containers but they really didn't do so well. The idea was to be able to move the container around to get the sun exposure right. (I didn't have any room in my garden.) This year I again used the two containers (same soil) for tomatoes and planted a patio tomato (is this a variety?) and it is growing like crazy and has lots of little tomatoes on it. I think the trick is in getting the size of the container right for what you're planting and giving it the right amount of sun exposure.