That dirty itch

[godfry n. glad]

It's that time of year again.

My crocus, violets, primroses are in bloom. Narcissus are on the way.

I find myself standing in the rain, looking at my sadly neglected garden, thinking of all the work that needs doing. The grape and the roses will need pruning soon. The tall stalks and the last of the leaf fall needs taking up. Slug bait needs to go down. Then comes the gruelling weeding. <I've got grass in my moss! :glare: > I've a stump I need to start on taking out, too.

I'm ready.

Bring on gardening season.

Seeds. I need to think about seeds! :nosegay:

godfry n. glad

[livius drusus]

Wow. This thread is so not what I thought it was going to be about. Thankfully.

I've got a bit of black thumb myself, but my dad has a killer vegetable garden from which I have regularly profited. Do you plant any edibles?

[TomJoe]

I've got a bit of black thumb myself, but my dad has a killer vegetable garden from which I have regularly profited. Do you plant any edibles?

liv,

Oregano is a very hardy plant. Almost impossible to kill.

[livius drusus]

So I've been told, and yet, my efforts with potted herbs have ended in the same glorious failure as all similar such efforts.

[seebs]

I've got a bit of black thumb myself, but my dad has a killer vegetable garden from which I have regularly profited. Do you plant any edibles?

liv,

Oregano is a very hardy plant. Almost impossible to kill.

My wife has killed oregano. Repeatedly, I think.

[viscousmemories]

I want a vegetable garden... I wonder if I could overcome my laziness long enough to accomplish that. And moreover, if I could get away with digging up the landlord's yard...

[godfry n. glad]

Wow. This thread is so not what I thought it was going to be about. Thankfully.

I've got a bit of black thumb myself, but my dad has a killer vegetable garden from which I have regularly profited. Do you plant any edibles?

I plant tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, onions and herbs. That's it. Everything else is floral, although many of those are edible.

My lot is an inner city postage stamp lot....47' x 100'. The footprint of the house, a 1922 bungelow, takes up a third of the lot. I used to do a vegetable garden a block away in the community garden (that I helped bring into being), but I stopped that when I realized it was more than I wanted to handle and it was a helluva lot easier, and cheaper, getting good fresh vegetables at the grocery store or farmer's market.

So, most of my stuff is floral. I ran across a really nice addition for my garden this past couple of weeks. It's a plant that was in bloom two weeks ago, with greenery and little dark purple/black berry-like fruits. The perfume of the blossom was awsome. I really enjoy intoxicating scents in the garden and that would be a special treat at that time of the year.

At one time, I had over 40 rose bushes on my lot. I think I'm down to about half that now. I carry on the continuing war against aphids, blackspot, rust and powdery mildew. (High maintenance plants, y'know) I nurture a tragic love affair with delphiniums, those tall, cool blue spires of multiple blossoms. They are tempermental and demanding in must have more fertiliser than other plants to flower well. Plus, they are slug candy. (high maintenance plants, y'know) They tend to bloom between the iris and the roses. I am truly an iris junky, though. I jones for an acre or so that I could play with iris. Iris are like that smile on a seemingly ordinary looking woman's face that changes her into a beauty worthy of adoration. (Extremely low maintenance, but they need sunlight. Drought tolerant, too.....Iris is definitely a stand-by-her-man kinda gal.)

The challenge for me is finding other stuff to interplant with my roses, delphinium and iris. Early on is bulb stuff and I shall be interested to see how my additional plantings make my front slope look...I think I doubled the number of tete-a-tete narcissus (itty-bitty bright yellow daffodils). It should be fun. I'll try and get pictures out when it's happening. Then the challenge is to keep some kind of bloom going in the garden throughout the season. Late May/early June is a definite peak in my garden.

Spring is coming...mulch on the horizon.

Damn drizzle...ah, well....I gotta watch a football game anyway.

Catch y'all on t'other side.

godfry

[livius drusus]

I plant tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, onions and herbs. That's it. Everything else is floral, although many of those are edible.

What kind of tomatoes?

My lot is an inner city postage stamp lot....47' x 100'. The footprint of the house, a 1922 bungelow, takes up a third of the lot.

Do you design a landscape for the flowers or are they basically wherever the house is not?

I really enjoy intoxicating scents in the garden and that would be a special treat at that time of the year.

It's almost a cliche now, how evocative scent can be, but it's so, so true. It's the one reason I've ever wanted a real garden: a little walled in medieval herb garden, with a comfy bench or hammock or something so I could read amidst the mediterranean perfumes.

I am truly an iris junky, though. I jones for an acre or so that I could play with iris. Iris are like that smile on a seemingly ordinary looking woman's face that changes her into a beauty worthy of adoration. (Extremely low maintenance, but they need sunlight. Drought tolerant, too.....Iris is definitely a stand-by-her-man kinda gal.)

What a lovely description. I love irises (the classic purple and gold combination is just so pretty). My favorite bouquet remains irises and yellow roses with an orange border around the petals.

Damn drizzle...ah, well....I gotta watch a football game anyway.


Hope you're a Patriot fan. I'm just bitter about the delay in The Simpsons. :shakefist:

[Shaguar]

Livius - try rosemary that really is hard to kill

[godfry n. glad]

I plant tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, onions and herbs. That's it. Everything else is floral, although many of those are edible.

What kind of tomatoes?

A couple Romas, a couple slicers (I'm still looking for a good one), and a yellow pear.

My lot is an inner city postage stamp lot....47' x 100'. The footprint of the house, a 1922 bungelow, takes up a third of the lot.

Do you design a landscape for the flowers or are they basically wherever the house is not?

I have a patch of grass large enough to set up a largish tent on in the back yard, but other than that, everything is planted into perennials, annuals and shrubs. I've had an interesting time making all-weather pathways through the whole thing.

My other challenge is trying to extend the blooming period throughout the growing period. Like...iris only bloom in late May (well...there are a few rebloomers, but they are very rare), so in some places, I've interplanted lilies, coreopsis and rudebeckias. The rudebeckias are blooming when frost hits in the fall (they're the blackeyed Susans).

I'm also attempting to color coordinate blocks of planting areas. One part of the front is reds, pinks and whites, with some purples smattered about, another is yellows and oranges with some blues smattered about.

I really enjoy intoxicating scents in the garden and that would be a special treat at that time of the year.

It's almost a cliche now, how evocative scent can be, but it's so, so true. It's the one reason I've ever wanted a real garden: a little walled in medieval herb garden, with a comfy bench or hammock or something so I could read amidst the mediterranean perfumes.

I have a teakwood bench, with arms and back, that sits under my grape arbor. On the back of the arbor are two star jasmine. They've florished there for nearly ten years, despite professionals telling me that the climate is far from what they need to do well. It's too cold around here, yet my jasmine do just fine. Each year in mid-June, just after the first bloom of the roses, the jasmine blooms out. I can sit for extended periods of time just inhaling jasmine scent. It is erotic, too...to me, at least.

I am truly an iris junky, though. I jones for an acre or so that I could play with iris. Iris are like that smile on a seemingly ordinary looking woman's face that changes her into a beauty worthy of adoration. (Extremely low maintenance, but they need sunlight. Drought tolerant, too.....Iris is definitely a stand-by-her-man kinda gal.)

What a lovely description. I love irises (the classic purple and gold combination is just so pretty). My favorite bouquet remains irises and yellow roses with an orange border around the petals.

I have several stands of a purple iris with pure white centers on all the petals. Or, it could be white with a deep royal purple trim. I just love it when there are 15-20 health blooming stalks of flowers in one grouping of rhizomes.

Damn drizzle...ah, well....I gotta watch a football game anyway.


Hope you're a Patriot fan. I'm just bitter about the delay in The Simpsons. :shakefist:

Not really. I tend to root for the underdog. The team which hasn't won the Super Bowl, ever....or recently. That's distinctly not the Pats. It was a good game and it's just too damned bad that the Iggles din't win.

Ah, well... It's just pro ball, anyway.

The season is over. So be it.

godfry

[Beth]

*sigh* I have avoided this thread because after reading the op, I knew that my conscience would be nudged till I actually got off my lazy arse, calloused my hands, and dirtied my clean nails,...all in dirt. Time to pull those weeks, yank up that grass, rip up those nettles, Time to turn the soil and get the beds planted with seed.

I have two acres and I want to do so much that I dont even know what the heck to do. I get so overwhelmed with my high aspirations that I just walk away from it. I want a veggie garden, but a small garden is simply not enough. I want a garden like my step dad had when I was growing up. A garden that produced enough of a veggie crop to feed a family of six for half a year in veggies. But all that plowing is just too much for myself, especially when it will be done by hand with a shovel and hoe.

Anyway, I suppose I will go outside soon and work for a couple of hours today and get started. I think I'll plant my healing herb garden. I make infused oils with these herbs and use them when treating sports injuries in my husband and kids.

[Sweetie]

but, but, but...........it's February. :eek:

In a month or so I might start planting my stuff indoors so that it's a decent size for May when the ground thaws and I could actually plant it.

*waaaaaaaaaa*

Anybody grow kohlarobies? (if I spelt that correctly)

Those are our garden treats, well of course, peas and carrots, our favorites, but I think kohlarobies have topped those for several years.*

*when they haven't been eradicated by the plague of grasshoppers we had the two years prior last year, drought conditions practically.

[godfry n. glad]

:holycow:

I just cannot believe it. I was out today pruning down my roses and grapes in my teeshirt (and trousers and shoes, too). It must have been near 60 F.

My daphne odora is now beginning to bloom...ssssmmmmmmm....ahhhhhh.

And, get this... I have a narcissus (a daffodil) in bloom. It's just a little early Tete-a-tete narcissus (cuter than a button), but the folks at the end of the block have an entire border of what look to be King Alfred daffodils in full bloom...six weeks early.

I spread slug killer, too. Man, they are proliferating faster than my iris can grow new leaf. I'll have to re-up my supply of Correy's Slug 'n' Snail Death.

The roses are pruned, as are the grapes. I feel I've actually accomplished something today. That's gratifying. From now on, it's the ongoing battle against slugs, grass, weeds, and fungal diseases.

Well... I've got to clean under my fingernails and start thinking about dinner.

godfry

[Crumb]

/me goes water his plants.

[Barefoot Bree]

My herbs are in!

*wicked cackle* I got a really good deal through a lady I work with, 24 different herbs in 4-inch pots for only $18.

They have been lovingly transplanted to the various planters outside the back door - probably packed in a little too close, but I only had so much space. I'm used to a fairly high death rate among my plants; my thumbs are mostly brown with just a little greenish tinge around the edges. (Although I have gotten better with houseplants lately - or maybe I'm just getting better at picking ones that are brown-thumb-resistant, the kind that thrive on a kind of benign neglect, as my dad used to say.)

Next job: retrieving the garden strip along the fence from it's annual winter crop of volunteers, and restoring it to its colorful impatiens'ed state. For a few weeks.

[Gurdur]

..........I spread slug killer, too. Man, they are proliferating faster than my iris can grow new leaf. I'll have to re-up my supply of Correy's Slug 'n' Snail Death.
Apart from birds and small mammal omnivores (shrews etc.) you want fireflies.
Firefly larvae live off slugs.

[livius drusus]

My herbs are in!

*wicked cackle* I got a really good deal through a lady I work with, 24 different herbs in 4-inch pots for only $18.

They have been lovingly transplanted to the various planters outside the back door - probably packed in a little too close, but I only had so much space. I'm used to a fairly high death rate among my plants; my thumbs are mostly brown with just a little greenish tinge around the edges. (Although I have gotten better with houseplants lately - or maybe I'm just getting better at picking ones that are brown-thumb-resistant, the kind that thrive on a kind of benign neglect, as my dad used to say.)

You're an inspiration, Bree. :) What herbs have come in?

[godfry n. glad]

..........I spread slug killer, too. Man, they are proliferating faster than my iris can grow new leaf. I'll have to re-up my supply of Correy's Slug 'n' Snail Death.
Apart from birds and small mammal omnivores (shrews etc.) you want fireflies.
Firefly larvae live off slugs.

I'd love fireflies, but they don't do well in these parts. Beer and Correy's seems to be the alternatives hereabouts. I'd bet that the small mammals are probably kept under control by the excessive number of felines locally. I've seen chickens and ducks eat slugs, but never any wild birds...at least the ones we have around here. They seem to be intent on gulping up all the seed. Including that I put out for new crops.

Primroses, delphinium and iris...slug candy. At least I know where to put down my slug bait.

godfry

[Beth]

My nails are filthy, stained with dark, fertile earth. I have been weeding and ripping up the grass in my neglected beds. Another day or two, I'll have enough done to plant seeds (flower, herb, and vegetable) and bulbs. I plan on planting the beans, peas, and tomatoes along my chicken wire fence in the back yard, saves me from having to use a cage or stakes. I have huge beds along the sides of my house, each side, is about 30'x8', I plan on interspursing veggies and herbs in with flowers. I live in the country and I think if I find the right plan, I can get away with it and save myself from ripping up new ground. Corn and the ugly veggies can get put in a small patch to themselves, I think.

Oh Sweetie, I bought a packet of seeds to grow that rabid veggie you mentioned.;)

[godfry n. glad]

Corn and the ugly veggies can get put in a small patch to themselves, I think.

Oh Sweetie, I bought a packet of seeds to grow that rabid veggie you mentioned.;)

Uh...ugly veggies? What qualifies as ugly veggies other than artichokes?

And...kohlrabi? My father grew it in the garden when I was a child. It was like a turnip where the bulbous edible portion is above ground where the leaves branch from, unlike the turnips that were below ground where the weevils'd git 'em (big rousin' cheer from the child laborers). Ergo, one could grow a turnip-like product that the bugs didn't eat...as much. It was a truly saddening prospect for us kids.

[Beth]

Corn and the ugly veggies can get put in a small patch to themselves, I think.

Oh Sweetie, I bought a packet of seeds to grow that rabid veggie you mentioned.;)

Uh...ugly veggies? What qualifies as ugly veggies other than artichokes?

And...kohlrabi? My father grew it in the garden when I was a child. It was like a turnip where the bulbous edible portion is above ground where the leaves branch from, unlike the turnips that were below ground where the weevils'd git 'em (big rousin' cheer from the child laborers). Ergo, one could grow a turnip-like product that the bugs didn't eat...as much. It was a truly saddening prospect for us kids.
Well, living in the heat we have -this past week has been in the eighties, today was a cool 81 degrees- various squash, melons, okra, and a few other plants that I forget the name to, get all stringy and almost dead looking, even while producing the fruit and veggies. Squash and melons are particularly ugly -talking bout the plants here- and really they should be planted a little away from my house.

I liked the story bout the kohlrabis. What do they take like, if you don't mind? I never noticed them before till Sweetie mentioned them and then I saw a pack of seeds for a dime. :)-Not sure if the dime price is an indicator of something icky.

[godfry n. glad]

I liked the story bout the kohlrabis. What do they take like, if you don't mind? I never noticed them before till Sweetie mentioned them and then I saw a pack of seeds for a dime. :)-Not sure if the dime price is an indicator of something icky.


I assume you're talking about "taste"? If so, the turnip is the best comparison. The flavor is milder, but not by much. The consistancy of the flesh is very much like a turnip. It cooks like turnip. I looks like turnip. It even smells turnipy. It's basically a turnip that can survive root weevils....It's stew extender. It's not "icky" unless you don't like turnips...which is a lot of younger humans.

And just where is it in Central America that you live?

godfry

[Beth]

I liked the story bout the kohlrabis. What do they take like, if you don't mind? I never noticed them before till Sweetie mentioned them and then I saw a pack of seeds for a dime. :)-Not sure if the dime price is an indicator of something icky.


I assume you're talking about "taste"? If so, the turnip is the best comparison. The flavor is milder, but not by much. The consistancy of the flesh is very much like a turnip. It cooks like turnip. I looks like turnip. It even smells turnipy. It's basically a turnip that can survive root weevils....It's stew extender. It's not "icky" unless you don't like turnips...which is a lot of younger humans.

And just where is it in Central America that you live?

godfry
hehe. Not Central America. It is just a typical Florida winter. It may be cooler to me today because I am now accustumed to the hotter weather. Last week, we were rather cold. It is hard to get used to fourty-five to fifty degree weather one day and eighty degree weather two or three days later. Right now is a beautiful and chilly 77, just perfect!

And yes I meant taste, I keep screwing up in my spelling, my hands are a little stiff and my head, a little dizzy, I got bit by two black widows because I invaded their turf while pulling up stuff. I get bit by them quite often.
Thanks for the description. :) I like turnips just fine. I'll just avoid feeding them to the rest of my household.

Oh, I am also going to plant several seeds every week to every other week, depending on the yield of the plant. That way, instead of one huge bumper crop and me tripping out about it all rotting, I'll have a continual harvest of veggies, just enough to feed us and give away to a couple neighbors, over a period of time. Cuts down on waste or canning. ;)

[godfry n. glad]

Oh, I am also going to plant several seeds every week to every other week, depending on the yield of the plant. That way, instead of one huge bumper crop and me tripping out about it all rotting, I'll have a continual harvest of veggies, just enough to feed us and give away to a couple neighbors, over a period of time. Cuts down on waste or canning. ;)

If I remember correctly, they winter-crop quite well, too. I remember being crestfallen when I found that out....not only do we get to eat them because the worms don't, the damned things keep growing long after other crops start moldering in the ground.

[RevDahlia]

I have a black thumb, but have inherited an interesting garden that a previous tenant started and then abandoned. Everything's growing like mad out there, so I won't blight it by touching anything. There's three kinds of sage, a big-ass patch of oregano that's taking over the world, a huge rosemary hedge, and a bunch of things that I suspect are flowers but also might be weeds. We'll see what they do when it warms up. I did tentatively weed around some plants that I am dearly hoping are irises - blue ones would be great, but I'd be fine with purple.

Yesterday I found a beautiful toad out there. He was not at all happy when I picked him up, but I told him to eat all the mosquitoes and he seemed to take it to heart.

My neighbor and I might collaborate on a small vegetable patch. She is an ace gardener, so I hope her facility cancels out my ineptitude.

[godfry n. glad]

So... Two weeks of beautiful weekends (six weekend days) and three trips to the massuesse later, much of my garden is rid of the cosmetic grass. There are still patches of plantings that will need to be lifted and cleaned of grass roots, but that's after the iris bloom.

I rather half-heartedly set my self a goal of having an open garden at the height of iris season, in mid-May. It will take much grooming. The back patio is overgrown with weeds, many of them calendula.

This weekend, what with the climate back on track and the drizzling persistant rains back, I of course, went to the nursery. I came home with starts for echinacea, tickseed coreopsis, and more delphinium (whites and pinks).

The huge Bing cherry tree that o'erarches my house to the east is in full bloom and the petals have begun to fall. It's a slightly magical time, what with the pure white cherry petals fluttering to the ground....when it's dry, that is.

Got my webs to flex right again, thanks to the rains.

[Beth]

Holy crap! I have daffodils! I got up and discovered the yellow bloom a little while ago. I bough some last year at easter and when they had died, I planted the bulbs in the ground near some of my other bulbed plants. But I figured they had just died and would not grow again. I am such a happy camper. :D

[godfry n. glad]

Rumors have it that Persephone is back in town.

After a shockingly abnormal January and February where we webfoots were sure that we were getting Fresno's weather and they were getting ours, things have returned to near normal here in Drizzleville. March here in puddle city was at 30% of normal precipitation for the month as of the 25th....then over the weekend we got near 3" of rain and now we stand at over 100% of normal; the reservoirs are filling, the mountain has snow on it and my webs are becoming more pliable and flexible with the moisture.

Needless to say, I didn't plant a damned thing over the weekend, but I did find a place selling coreoposis and echinecea, so I bought some of those, along with some dephinium starts (okay....so I'm a junkie for delphiniums).
It should be easy planting when it stops raining.

godfry

[MooseIBe]

I am trying to grow sweet peppers and wildflowers at the moment (not in the same place :)). I wanted some chillis as well but couldn't get the seeds. None of them are doing very well, I have to say :(

[godfry n. glad]

I am trying to grow sweet peppers and wildflowers at the moment (not in the same place :)). I wanted some chillis as well but couldn't get the seeds. None of them are doing very well, I have to say :(

Do you have a cold frame or greenhouse? It's a might early for sweet peppers in many places. I don't plant my tomatoes and peppers (as starts, though) until May.

Our beautiful February and March California dreamin' weather has returned to the native climate. It's now gray and rainy. The last weekend in March, we went from 30% of normal precipitation for the month, to 101% three days later and a wet half week 'til the month was over. It's now normal for here. It's a bit dry today, so I'm going to try planting and gastropod baiting. I've got some really ragged specimens, thanks to the slugs.

I'm watching the wildflower-type (annuals) sprout right now and they are very, very tiny. I'll have to wait to see whether I got weeds or something I actually attempted to germinate.

The war on grass goes on.

godfry n. grubby

[godfry n. glad]

I am trying to grow sweet peppers and wildflowers at the moment (not in the same place :)). I wanted some chillis as well but couldn't get the seeds. None of them are doing very well, I have to say :(

Do you have a cold frame or greenhouse? It's a might early for sweet peppers in many places. I don't plant my tomatoes and peppers (as starts, though) until May.

Our beautiful February and March California dreamin' weather has returned to the native climate. It's now gray and rainy. The last weekend in March, we went from 30% of normal precipitation for the month, to 101% three days later and a wet half week 'til the month was over. It's now normal for here. It's a bit dry today, so I'm going to try planting and gastropod baiting. I've got some really ragged specimens, thanks to the slugs.

I'm watching the wildflower-type (annuals) sprout right now and they are very, very tiny. I'll have to wait to see whether I got weeds or something I actually attempted to germinate.

The war on grass goes on.

godfry n. grubby

My first rose blossom!

My rosa rugosa alba bloomed. It's the first bloom on the new plant that I started three years ago. A beautiful white five-petalled blossom.

I found some absolutely cute little iris at the Wooden Shoe Bulb Festival in Molalla this past weekend.

The weather is passing from the usual cool April squals into some calm, sunny weather for the next week. Unfortunately, I won't be able to take advantage of the early portion, at least; I'm walking wounded, with a bum lower back.

:qsigh:
godfry

[Beth]

This morning, while cutting through yards (empty homes) and walking my dog and checking up on my son at the bus stop, I pulled up two small sections on this vine that has wonderful orchid-like flowers on it. I always called it an orchid vine, and I picked a leaf off a huge, overgrown aloe plant that was sitting next to a vacant, abandonned house. So I planted the vine cuttings and aloe cutting, hoping they will root. The other day while hunting for my puppy, I found a huge patch of wild sage growing on the edge of a swamp, I pulled up a couple of plants because I had never seen that type before, I am a huge fan of sages, including Mexican salvia.

I have strawberries growing, My brocoli plants are growning, my okra has sprouted, my tomatoes are bearing fruit, my bean and pea vines are growing, cucumbers and okra are growing, I bought a white eggplant plant, and I am about to break new ground to expand my garden to include corn and melons.

I get such a joy picking herbs from my kitchen garden and I cannot wait till I can taste the veggies when they are ready.

[Beth]

Oh, I cannot seem to get iris to grow here. Is my climate incompatable with it? I think they are so beautiful. If you have any tips I would appreciate them.

[godfry n. glad]

Oh, I cannot seem to get iris to grow here. Is my climate incompatable with it? I think they are so beautiful. If you have any tips I would appreciate them.

Hmmm...Iris are pretty resilient plants and grow in some of the most forbidding circumstances.

I'll look into to it, but the usual reason that iris do poorly is that they are placed where they do not get enough sun. They are full sun plants. They prefer loose, well-mulched soil, to compacted poorly-aeriated clay, but will flourish in both. Japanese iris tend to prefer the edge of marshy areas where it's damp much of the time, but goes through a months-long dry period.

Rhizomatic iris are much tougher than the bulbous iris like Dutch iris.

Where have you planted them in the past? What's your soil like?

[Beth]

I planted them in full son, my soil is very rich, almost black. My land used to be a cow pasture.:D

[Beth]

Any tips for an herb garden?

First of all, my husband was wonderful and bought me a lavendar plant the other day, but I am worried about planting it. Do they do well in the ground? Do they need cold climates to do well? I really love lavendar but have trouble keeping them alive. I was thinking of potting this plant, if I do that, do I need to use a particular soil or fertilizer and do I need to spread rocks at the bottom of the pot to provide better drainage?

The next thing is, I have sweet German basil, catnip, chives, cilantro, lemon balm, marjoram, some wierd purplish mint (Someone gave it to me from cutting, but I don't know what kind it is, but is doing extremely well.), lemon balm, parsley, rosemary, and German thyme (which seems to be struggling). I know I need some dill because I use that very often to make dilled potatoes, but do you guys recommend any other herb? Also, any tips for the German thyme plant? I've never grown it before and part of it seems to be withering away and isn't doing as well as the other plants.

[Beth]

I planted them in full son, my soil is very rich, almost black. My land used to be a cow pasture.:D
Sigh. Son, sun, what's the difference :blush: .

[godfry n. glad]

I planted them in full son, my soil is very rich, almost black. My land used to be a cow pasture.:D
Sigh. Son, sun, what's the difference :blush: .

Well... I'd guess it'd depend upon whether you thought you'd nurtured the sun in your womb for nine months or not?

[godfry n. glad]

I planted them in full son, my soil is very rich, almost black. My land used to be a cow pasture.:D

Wow... They ought to be happy.

Hmmm... Are we talking tall bearded iris here (aka iris germanica)? Or some other kind of iris? They are rhizomes, right?...A kind of bulbous tuber at the base of the swordblade shaped leaves...with smaller rootlets growing out of the downside? This is rather than a typical bulb type iris (aka Dutch iris).

If it's the rhizmatous iris, the only other thing I can think that might cause problems is planting them too deep. As in placing the entire rhizome under the soil. To grow well and not rot, rhizomatous irises need to have the top of the rhizome exposed to the air. The rhizome should show above the soil line.

If that's not the reason for the failure to thrive, I'm not sure what is. Full sun and rich soil sounds like a winner to me. Do you have a state extension service that you can quiz?

godfry

[Beth]

Brilliant! You found the problem! I planted the entire bulb below the surface.:blush3: Yes, I was talking about bearded iris. Next time I go to the plant nursery, I'll pick up a few bulbs and plant them as you suggested. Thank you. :)

[godfry n. glad]

Brilliant! You found the problem! I planted the entire bulb below the surface.:blush3: Yes, I was talking about bearded iris. Next time I go to the plant nursery, I'll pick up a few bulbs and plant them as you suggested. Thank you. :)

Beth... Worry not, it's a common mistake. With tall bearded, you'd be better off just throwing the naked rhizome out on the tilled soil surface and let it root itself, rather than to plant it too deep.

Here's a great site, Schreiner's (one of the two huge iris cultivators in Oregon, along with Cooley's), with lots of good info on iris: {Planting tips} (http://web.ask.com/redir?u=http%3a%2f%2ftm.wc.ask.com%2fr%3ft%3dan%26s%3da7%26uid%3d0F751E2D567F2D624%26sid%3d1DBD6E2D567F2D624%26qid%3d2D068A243C3A7645BCBD3CF95D62AEBC%26io%3d3%26sv%3dza5cb0dda%26o%3d0%26ask%3dHow%2bto%2bPlant%2ban%2bIris%2bBulb%26uip%3d8935166b%26en%3dte%26eo%3d-100%26pt%3dSchreiner's%2bIris%2bGardens%2b-%2bRadiant%2birises%2band%2biris%2bbulbs%2bfor%2byour...%26ac%3d25%26qs%3d6%26pg%3d1%26ep%3d1%26te_par%3d102%26te_id%3d%26u%3dhttp%3a%2f%2fwww.schreinersgardens.com%2f&bpg=http%3a%2f%2fweb.ask.com%2fweb%3fq%3dHow%2bto%2bPlant%2ban%2bIris%2bBulb%26o%3d0%26page%3d1&q=How+to+Plant+an+Iris+Bulb&s=a7&bu=http%3a%2f%2fwww.schreinersgardens.com%2f&qte=0&o=0&abs=Enter+your+e-mail+address+to+recieve+our+free+Iris+Lover's+Newsletter%3a+Questions+about+our+irises%3f++Call+us+toll-free+at+1-800-525-2367.&tit=Schreiner's+Iris+Gardens+-+Radiant+irises+and+iris+bulbs+for+your...&bin=06c5fbd1ec51e97c1fcb6832cd2e2091%26s%3d1328695687&cat=wb&purl=http%3a%2f%2ftm.wc.ask.com%2fi%2fb.html%3ft%3dan%26s%3da7%26uid%3d0F751E2D567F2D624%26sid%3d1DBD6E2D567F2D624%26qid%3d2D068A243C3A7645BCBD3CF95D62AEBC%26io%3d%26sv%3dza5cb0dda%26o%3d0%26ask%3dHow%2bto%2bPlant%2ban%2bIris%2bBulb%26uip%3d8935166b%26en%3dbm%26eo%3d-100%26pt%3d%26ac%3d25%26qs%3d6%26pg%3d1%26u%3dhttp%3a%2f%2fmyjeeves.ask.com%2faction%2fsnip&Complete=1). It does state that iris don't grow in southern Florida, Hawaii or Puerto Rico... I guess it's distinctly NOT a tropical type plant.

[Beth]

Thanks, godfry. For the tip and for the link.:)

[Miss Shelby]

It's that time of year again.

My crocus, violets, primroses are in bloom. Narcissus are on the way.

I find myself standing in the rain, looking at my sadly neglected garden, thinking of all the work that needs doing. The grape and the roses will need pruning soon. The tall stalks and the last of the leaf fall needs taking up. Slug bait needs to go down. Then comes the gruelling weeding. <I've got grass in my moss! :glare: > I've a stump I need to start on taking out, too.

I'm ready.

Bring on gardening season.

Seeds. I need to think about seeds! :nosegay:

godfry n. gladI just now looked at the OP and haven't read any responses.. (I'm fessing up right up front, liv)... at least you have a talent for it. I have no idea what to do and I am in desparate need of direction. My backyard especially. I have a cool wall.. I have no idea what to plant or how to do it. I focus on the front yard more because that is what people see, and with the kids the backyard is trampled all over anyways... anyhoo.. back to read the rest of the thread.

Michelle

[godfry n. glad]

Madame...

I am but a humble home gardener who has substandard inner city lot, "a postage stamp", upon which to practice his "gardening". I'll note here that I do not keep indoor plants. For me to do so would be knowing vegecide.

However, I am a bit of a pompous windbag about my piddling little plot. I have a weakness for roses, iris and delphiniums. I have some small training in trees and pruning.

As for suggestions as for what to do with a wall...well, I'd have to see the wall.

[Beth]

I am trying to grow sweet peppers and wildflowers at the moment (not in the same place :)). I wanted some chillis as well but couldn't get the seeds. None of them are doing very well, I have to say :(
I get my seeds from dried chili pods. That way I know that I grow the chili that I like and I don't have to drive all over to find that specific seed at a nursery or garden supply store. Are you able to find dried chili pods where you are? ( They sell them with spices or ethnic food supplies here and they must be dried, not toasted.) Other than that, I am in a more tropical climate so I cannot offer advice about growing things in England other than saying the sweet and chili peppers need lots of sun. My bell peppers are now blooming. Good luck.:)

Oh, my sugar snaps are starting to produce! I discovered my first little pea pod yesterday and I ate it straight from the vine.

[godfry n. glad]

I am trying to grow sweet peppers and wildflowers at the moment (not in the same place :)). I wanted some chillis as well but couldn't get the seeds. None of them are doing very well, I have to say :(
I get my seeds from dried chili pods. That way I know that I grow the chili that I like and I don't have to drive all over to find that specific seed at a nursery or garden supply store. Are you able to find dried chili pods where you are? ( They sell them with spices or ethnic food supplies here and they must be dried, not toasted.)

Try a local health food store.

Oh, my sugar snaps are starting to produce! I discovered my first little pea pod yesterday and I ate it straight from the vine.

Yum!

I haven't even put any food producing items in the ground (not that I do all the many, anyhoo). Planting tomato starts is slated for next month. I'll put my sweet and chili peppers in then. I've got volunteer oregano and thyme growing all over my patio.

My vibernum Doublefile in now in full bloom. I'm trying to pull up some pix. My first iris bloomed yesterday - a dull medium purple self, unimpressive. I've lots of buds shooting up in my iris clumps, though.

Hey, my rhododendrons are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. I've a light pink and a hot pink just opening. By this weekend, they'll be in full bloom.

In the front, the narcissus have waned and the woodland hyacinth are in full glory. The front porch is presently such an enjoyable aromatic retreat. The forget-me-nots are in full display, as well. The last of my trees (the stinkin' wine-leaf sycamore maple at the street) if finally leafing out.

godfry

[MooseIBe]

I bought a chilli plant the other day ready potted, because the fucking sweet peppers haven't even germinated yet .. Christ knows what I am doing wrong (anyone know what I am doing wrong?). At least with this one, I know all I have to do is water it and it will grow!

[Beth]

My broccoli plants are getting devoured, but I have decided to go the organic route. Does anyone have tips about organic pest deterants? I know about soapy water, but it does not seem to be cutting it.

Moose, I would suggest just springing for a sweet pepper plant. I priced plants and figured yield today. I determined that buying plants that were ready to bloom were cost worthy. The price I spend on peppers for just one meal is equal to the cost of a single plant.

The turnip seeds (I love both greens and roots.) I just planted have already geminated. Waiting now on the cabbage and spinich(I plan on using the baby greens for salads.), now I think I'll dig up some more area for lettuces and some melons. . I think by the time I'm done planting everything and I start harvesting, I will be a friendly neighbor delivering baskets of veggies to people. I like that thought.:)

[godfry n. glad]

What a gorgeous morning!

The rhododendrons are in full bloom. I got a couple of good pix, but since I'm an analog guy in a digital world, you'll have to wait.

I spent much of yesterday dealing with the second mow of the season. Since we've had typical April squalls for the past month and a half, there's been no real opportunity. So it was like haying season. I wished I had a bailer. What usually takes me 10 minutes took over an hour, and I still haven't raked and I'll probably have to remow..... :mowlawn:

This is also maplet season. With two good sized maples in the front parking strip which are intent upon reproducing , I spend a good month hunting maple starts in my front garden. By this time, they are readily noticeable, having leafed out fully.

I got my first decent iris blossom, too. A deep, dark violet purple that I inherited from my childhood home. The cultivar name is unknown, but it's an early bloomer, so it's almost always the herald of the iris season.

Well...it's into the grubbies and out into the garden.

godfry


(hooray, hooray, the first of may! outdoor screwing begins today!)

[godfry n. glad]

It was almost a perfect gardener's weekend. It had rained late during the work week and the soil was moist. Saturday dawned warm, but overcast. Great weather to work in the garden. I made an early run to the nursery and stocked up on sets to plant in.

I got my 'maters in the ground (2 slicers - Burpee's Big Boy & Celebrity, 2 Romas - Roma and Roma Vitalis, and a red pear), plus added to the rudebekia and coreopsis on the front slope. I replanted some bulb iris I'd gotten at a bulb farm. I put in one new echinecea in the front and have two more waiting, along with a six-pack of white snapdragons (the tall Rocket variety). In the back, along with my 'maters, I cleared three planters and replanted them. Each has a distinctive set of viola (litte pansies with cutsie names like Sorbet Blackberry Creme, Sorbet Yellow Delight, and Sorbet Coconut Swirl), the yellow got coreopsis and rudbeckia, along with the dark purple King Arthur delphinium. I put the "blackberry cremes" in with the pink and white dephinium planted last week. The "coconut swirl" (white with a touch of purple trim) awaits the whole Camelot set of dephinium: King Arthur, Guineviere, Lancelot and the Black Knight....all shades of purple (or white, like Lancelot).

After lunch, I was dog tired, so I crapped out for a Sunday afternoon nap, only to be awakened by pouring rain (well...actually it was Hobbes demanding his traditional afternoon fishy treat). So much for the gardening this weekend. Perhaps I can get the snaps and the cucumber in this coming week.

I've still got dirty fingernails and need a shower, so I'll sign in later.

godfry n. grubby.

[godfry n. glad]

I'm right in the middle of iris season and the weather is not the best. We've been getting April weather - squalls of heavy downpours - in May. Of course, we got May weather - partly sunny with occasional showers - in April.

Anyway, it's not doing all my tall plants any good. Many are bowed over with the weight of the water and look beaten. I've got my first delphinium blossom in process, so I'm hoping the heavy downpours will slack for a while. I've been staking like mad, but I've run out of tall stakes already.

I spent last Saturday pulling out blown forget-me-nots that were starting to mildew and were serving as cover for the second wave of slugs. I cleared much of the front and spread Correy's Slug and Snail Death. :reaper:

On the good news side, I've got several blossoms on the yellow flag iris I transplanted three years ago. That's how long it took them to get established and bloom. Persnickity they are. Gorgeous, too. Now, they'll only proliferate.

I did a nursery run today and stocked up. Most of it is "color spots", violas, actually. I'm still interplanting echinacea, coreopsis and rudbeckia, so I picked up some of them, too. I think I've got enough dephiniums to finish my back pots... I'm going to plant one each of the Camelot set of dephiniums, King Arthur (deep purple w/white bee), Guinevere (pink w/white bee), Lancelot (white w/white bee), and the Black Knight (deep purple w/deep purple bee). All underplanted with Coconut Swirl Violas (white w/purple trim). I'm hoping for July fireworks.

Oh, I also got a Boston Ivy for the butt-ugly T-111 siding garage backside my neighbor inflicted upon me. He doesn't have to look at it, so it means nothing to him. Ergo, Boston Ivy. Covered in three, maybe four, years.

That's a good week's worth of planting. :garden:

This Sunday, it's off to tour the iris farms. My GF and I are off to visit Cooley's and Schreiner's iris farms. They are stunningly gorgeous. I, of course, always blow a bundle. And Mary wants to go to both.... :spend: and then hit a few wineries along the way back. I, of course, am the designated driver. I'll pack light. And a light. :wink: It sounds like a nice way to spend a May Sunday.

I seems I am set to remove two trees this year. I've overplanted. :blush: Something I've chided other gardeners about. :deepsigh:

I hope all you gardeners out there are having a good time and getting good blooms.

Damn.... I gotta fertilize soon.

godfry

Anybody harvesting anything yet? Peas? Lettuce? Radishes?