The 2019 Garden, Landscape, and Other Stuff Thread...

....I don't remember what this orange stuff is called, but the hummingbirds really like it. I started this patch with just a couple plantings three years ago and it's really taking off.
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Really surprising me this summer is this little white oak. It's spent most of the last 4 years as a twig, and this year has more than doubled in height. I'll never see it reach anything like it's true potential, but I like to think it'll be around long after I'm gone.
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I would be definitely interested what the red/orange flowers or plants that look like irises or day lilies are.
White Oaks are a great yard tree. Strong and dependable. It is one of my favorites. I like red and white oaks a lot and one of my first choices for a big yard tree. They tend to take a while to get established in their new home. Maybe the roots finally started to branch out into the surrounding soil rather than confined to the original root ball?

We have white oaks in our yard. One came up from an acorn at the edge of the property that I left go. It now has about 4-6" trunk diameter after 20 years.

How's that strawberry?
 
22-rimfire 22-rimfire , LOL, you’ll have to ask the critter who beat us to it!!:( I should have listened to you!

I was happy to see 2 berries the next day, and before I knew it—next time I looked—we were back to 1! We wasted no time picking that one, and it was nice.

Since the berry plants are in a pot, we raised it off the ground with the ripening fruit hanging in mid-air. Should eliminate the squirrels and rabbits. So far so good.

How’re the tomatoes? I think my dad managed to nearly kill his off in under a week. I suggested he grow them in the pot, and he transplanted into “conditioned” desert soil—more like hard clay.

Also we added some small red peppers…strawberries and pepper with a side of tomato and basil…
 
For those who don't know what a mole looks like, here's one from this years crop.

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I see moles frequently. Our cats are good at finding them. There are a couple lying in our driveway at the moment.

Tomatoes have been bearing ripe fruit since late May. Had a big sliced tomato, ham and cheese on toast for lunch today. All is good in that department.

We had a mess of garden grown red beets with dinner today. I missed having them. Have to figure out why mine just didn't do so well. I soil may not be soft/loose enough or I didn't thin them as much as I should have? The beets were growing out of the ground rather than poking deeper. I don't recall growing up ever seeing that.

My zucchini are about done but were sprouting some new leaves at the base. So I cut everything off except the part where the new leaves were popping up. I doubt the plants will do anything. But, what the heck?

annr annr said "How’re the tomatoes? I think my dad managed to nearly kill his off in under a week. I suggested he grow them in the pot, and he transplanted into “conditioned” desert soil—more like hard clay."

Best to just buy potting soil but old timers resist such things. My Dad always did.... he might say something like "what's so great about that stuff? It's just dirt..." The other mistake folks make is buying "top soil" (because it's cheaper.) and it simply doesn't work very well in pots (poor drainage for one thing). My wife's daughter did that for her tomato beds.... She isn't much of a gardener. Pretty much refuses to water or pull weeds around the plants. I am going to suggest to her that she widen out her beds a bit. They are situated along a chain link fence.
 
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annr annr said "How’re the tomatoes? I think my dad managed to nearly kill his off in under a week. I suggested he grow them in the pot, and he transplanted into “conditioned” desert soil—more like hard clay."

Best to just buy potting soil but old timers resist such things. My Dad always did.... he might say something like "what's so great about that stuff? It's just dirt..." The other mistake folks make is buying "top soil" (because it's cheaper.) and it simply doesn't work very well in pots (poor drainage for one thing). My wife's daughter did that for her tomato beds.... She isn't much of a gardener. Pretty much refuses to water or pull weeds around the plants. I am going to suggest to her that she widen out her beds a bit. They are situated along a chain link fence.

That's as good an explanation as anything, just a bit stubborn. I had also pointed out that the pot would be mobile in case the plant(s) were getting too much sun. Oh well, I don't think it ruined his day. My mother, the farm girl, was not into growing the tomatoes this year, and I suspect she would have had a different outcome. She can grow ANYTHING except houseplants. As a kid we had fresh apples (2-3 different varieties), pears, raspberries, strawberries-- incredible raspberry, strawberry pie!-- and most of the typical garden veggies. Just don't ask her to grow a house plant! (I could never figure that one out.)
 
Growing things in containers has been quite a revelation to me. I had always thought if the garden soil was good with reasonable drainage, it would be hard to beat the more open space. I have been leaning more toward containers all the time. I see the results.

When I yanked some spent tomato plants from the large containers they were growing in, I noticed that the roots or most of them did not penetrate much more than a foot in depth.

If you use store bought potting soil in containers, I think changing out the soil about every three yeas is a good idea even if you add stuff to condition the soil between plantings. I can always find a use for "old soil" to fill a low spot in the yard or simply dump it into the garden or flower bed where it will get blended in with all the other soil.
 
Your experiences prompted us to try the containers this year. We tried growing odds and ends in the yard, and there were always more problems than we were able to deal with (including the guy with the lawnmower).
In fact, I told my dad about your reports and how well things were working out...maybe next year. Thanks for the tips on the soil as we will be looking for what to do with our current pots.

That's interesting about the roots, something I had wondered about.
 
Curious what your favorite annual flowers are? Mine are Petunias, Vinca, and begonias. Add pansies to that list for the fall-winter-early spring....

(Ones you grow versus wild flowers as I really like wild orchids.)
 
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Curious what your favorite annual flowers are? Mine are Petunias, Vinca, and begonias.
Anything my lawnmower guy won't mow down.:p The next criterion is the one that we don't manage to kill. (I'm married to someone who LOVES to dote on the plants until they are watered and cropped into oblivion.)

I like petunias and begonias, too. Nice bright colors, generally good growing/staying power (until they are overwatered). The other one I like is impatiens. Makes a nice ground cover, either monochromatic or mixed colors. Works well under bushes, fills in nicely, and color really "pops."
 
Went to the back of our yard to break some rocks for tumbling, hard to believe how green we are with near 100 or above every day.

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Went to the back of our yard to break some rocks for tumbling, hard to believe how green we are with near 100 or above every day.

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Do you water the trumpet vine? Looks very robust. Hummingbirds love those flowers. Today we have had higher than normal hummingbird activity here at the house. Don't know why unless the young are big enough to fend for themselves now.


The blooms on the yucca are quite pretty. I believe it's one of the yucca varieties??

annr annr I like impatiens too. Just don't really have many places to plant them due to their need for shade here. I have a couple whiskey barrels with impatiens planted that are in near total shade except for morning sun exposure.
 
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