garden

[orin stepanek]

Orin, very pretty! I love daffodils, and have different kinds in my yard, including little bitty ones that stand only 3 or 4 inches high. They're very cute!

I bring large (varied) daffodils into work and give them to various folks. Nothing says spring like daffodils, not even cherry blossoms!

Thanks! Daffodils and Iris are 2 of my favorites. I have the smaller pale yellow ones and some that have pink centers but they bloom later in the spring.

[owlice]

Orin, I love irises, too, especially the dark purple ones, large and small. We called them "flags" when I was little, which I don't hear much these days.

[orin stepanek]

I love them all but the black is my favorite! From wikipedia

Click to view full size image

[orin stepanek]

I finished spading my garden; but I will wait until the first of May to do any planting. It still gets chilly at night and it is supposed to snow this week.

[Beyond]

Orin, you plant that early where you are? W--a--y over here in the CT., we can have frost in the first week of june.
My grandfather used to wait until the kids got out of school in june and then planted his garden. The ground was so warm by then that the plants almost shot out of the ground, they grew so fast.

[orin stepanek]

Orin, you plant that early where you are? W--a--y over here in the CT., we can have frost in the first week of june.
My grandfather used to wait until the kids got out of school in june and then planted his garden. The ground was so warm by then that the plants almost shot out of the ground, they grew so fast.

Yeah! Last year I had the garden planted by early April; but it pretty much stayed dormant until May anyway. Spring fever; I guess

[emc]

My wife’s been planting stuff for weeks now. Our daffodils typically bloom in February. A warmer climate means more insects though. We’ve had carpenter bees, honey bees, wasps, etc. busy setting up house. I don’t look forward to the mosquitoes… those guys are always up to no good.

[orin stepanek]

It's still pretty cool for gardening yet; but I think the weather is going to get warmer pretty soon and I can get started planting my tomatoes.

[owlice]

I'm sure the yard guy thought he was doing me a favor by mowing down the side garden in the last mow of last season (which was in early December). ~~ sigh ~~ That would have been mostly okay if he had spared the rosemary shrub. I will have to start over this year.

I still have some daffodils, and my tulips are blooming, too, as is one azalea. Also in bloom, a little weed which took over the side garden after the mowing; it's quite pretty with its little purplish flowers, but it'll all be ripped out in a few weeks. I have flowering tobacco that has sprouted again, and hope that the oregano and sage comes back (though think that unlikely). Planting time here is mid-May, and though I'll put in a few things then, will pick up flowers and more herbs in July 4th sales. I've had to have a number of trees cut down over the past few years; it's time to replace at least one of them.

Orin, what kind of tomatoes will you plant? Do you start them from seeds?

Ed, hiya!

[rstevenson]

I suppose in the DC area you have a hope of keeping Rosemary going perennially. Here I have to start it each year in a pot, where it then stays on my steps so I can drag my hand across it as I go by. Aromatherapy, home grown!

The garlic seems to appreciate our weather so far this spring -- it's over 4" tall now. There's a Robin in for a surprise, as it's building a nest just outside my office window in the center of a drooping Beech. When the tree leafs out, there'll be no way to get in or out through it's solid-to-the-ground canopy.

The rest of the garden is looking its usual neglected self. It must be used to it by now.

Rob

[orin stepanek]

Orin, what kind of tomatoes will you plant? Do you start them from seeds?

I really like the beef varieties and the early girl. My son wants me to put in some Roma; but they don't seem to do well here. I may put in some seeds but I like the 4pack I can get at most outlets. I'll put a 4" ring of chicken wire around the base to protect the plants from the rabbits that sneak in through my chain link fence. I'll have a couple of bell peppers and the cucumbers do well against the fence.

Rob; I'm going to have to try the garlic. I hear it should be planted in the fall. When is it harvested?

[rstevenson]

Rob; I'm going to have to try the garlic. I hear it should be planted in the fall. When is it harvested?

I plant here as late as possible before freeze-up, usually in early November, but sometimes as late as late November. They can be harvested as soon as the leaves begin to dry up, sometimes as early as mid-August, sometimes not 'til late September. They're forgiving plants, and our weather varies a lot. Don't forget to cut the "scapes" off once they form a complete loop. They can be used in soups and stews.

Rob

[Beyond]

I always used to think of 'scrapes' as where male deer rubbed their antlers, or pawed the ground to get at minerals. Of course the cause of 'these' scrapes also make good soups and stew!! Yum Yum

[geckzilla]

No no Beyond, scapes. Without an R. Like landscape.

[rstevenson]

It appears the difference escaped him.

Here's last year's crop, for those who like garden pics.

Garlic

Rob

[Beyond]

No no Beyond, scapes. Without an R. Like landscape.

Oh deer, i seem to have made a missed-steak. I guess I'll just have to scape by as best i can until i can escape my embarassment

[orin stepanek]

Thanks Rob; I'll give it a try this fall.

[owlice]

I'm surprised anyone has to plant garlic, given the amount of it I have growing wild in my lawn!

[rstevenson]

I'm surprised anyone has to plant garlic, given the amount of it I have growing wild in my lawn!

Do you get good-sized cloves from the wild variety? If so, lucky you!

I hear there are places in the world where Rosemary is virtually a weed. [sigh]

Rob

[Indigo_Sunrise]

I'm surprised anyone has to plant garlic, given the amount of it I have growing wild in my lawn!

I'm going out on a gardening limb here and guess that what you have in your yard is onion grass. Garlic has flat leaves, whereas the onion grass has the rounded, rather tube-shaped leaves (just as regular green onion does.)
Of course, if you do have garlic growing around your yard, I'd like to make a trip up and harvest some - that is, if you wouldn't mind sharing! (I'm only an hour from DC, LOL!)
My neighbor grows garlic and he's invited me to come over and clip some (the tops of the garlic plant) when I feel I'd like some fresh for soups or potatoes. He hasn't shared any of the bulbs/cloves though......

I love me some garlic!
Happy gardening, all!

[orin stepanek]

Garlic is relatively cheap in stores; but it would be fun to grow. I had some wild onions growing out in my flower bed and is difficult to get rid of. I pulled them out last summer so I'll be watching to see if I got them taken care of.

[orin stepanek]

I worked on my dandelions yesterday; In a couple of days I will start planting my garden. I don't want any weed b gon getting at my veggies. I got baby bunnies getting in the garden area; so I need to keep them off the new plants that I will be putting in, I find that a ring of chicken wire around the young plants take care of that problem.

[Orca]

My wife and I are going to try out hands at a little vegetable gardening!

Last summer my dad was kind enough to build us a raised bed (he's retired now so he has a lot more time on his hands). It was a bit late in the season to plant anything. This year I have two tomato plants on my kitchen table that we will try - one cherry tomato plant, one 'standard.' We might try cucumbers and perhaps a few herbs like chives. I'd like to eventually try red potatoes and perhaps onions. If we really get into this we may need to build a second box.

[orin stepanek]

I hope you have a great crop Orca. A couple of years ago I had a grape tomato and it produced so many tomatoes that I couldn't keep up harvesting them. I was picking 20+ per day.
I transplanted my cucumbers; tomatoes; and bell peppers from 4packs yesterday! I also put down some cantaloupe seeds. I might get some oregano and basil as I got some room yet.

[Orca]

Thanks Orin, I am looking forward to eating our own tomatoes. Peppers sound like a good idea too, might have to try that!