sd white/non-white midwestern thread topic of the day (garden)

[SkinnyBenny]

so my lettuces are behemoth but i am realizing that i basically never want to eat lettuce unless it's on a BLT

Confirmed, this is why gardening is a total waste of time, unless you're planting a beautiful Crepe Myrtle tree, of course.

[ben ji]

Got motivated today and put a border around some flowers in the back yard.





Dug about a 2 inch trench for the stones(purchased at Wal-Mart for 1.58 each) and layed some sand to even it out.

The flowers were at ground level before so I added a couple inches of soil from my compost pile then put some mulch (purchased at Wal-Mart for 2.88 a bag) on top.

The perennials were just cut back so hopefully it will be "popping" again come fall.

I have an area on the other side of the yard that I plan on doing the same thing later in the fall.

[ben ji]

This is what it looked like last year.

[kslim]

Guys my zucchini will get 6 or 7 inches long and then die. We've done everything, help

[sys]

Guys my zucchini will get 6 or 7 inches long and then die. We've done everything, help

plow it under, replant in mints.

[SdK]

What kind of plant/flower is this?

[SdK]

Anyone? I tried to look if up on the interwebs and didn't find the answer. Bees and butterflies seem to love it!

[kslim]

Got me at first thought it looked like a lavender plant on steroids but I have no idea

Picked some basil for my sketti today and it was glorious

[WonderMeal]

What kind of plant/flower is this?

Liatris, aka "Blazing Star" or "Gayfeather."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liatris

[SdK]

What kind of plant/flower is this?

Liatris, aka "Blazing Star" or "Gayfeather."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liatris

Thank you WM! 

[cDubya]

Cool if I post these here? First year garden planted with the girlfriend, mainly to feed our salsa habit. So here are some shots of most of our peppers...

Cayenne:


Poblano(just starting to com in):


Serrano:


Jalepeno:


And hot banana:


Pretty happy with just how well these are all producing! Any tips/tricks/advice is more than welcome.

[CNS]

Take it to the white Appalachian thread.

[cDubya]

Take it to the white Appalachian thread.

 


 

[wetwillie]

Don't bring your ass back in here until you have pics of your bhut jolokia to display.

[Cire]

squirrels took my first round of tomatoes.  round two coming in now.  I will murder some squirrels if I don't get any.

[CNS]

Squirrels are better than tomatoes,  imo.

[WonderMeal]

Pretty happy with just how well these are all producing! Any tips/tricks/advice is more than welcome.

I'm not sure you need any tips for right now--those things look like they're producing well. If you want, you can always add a layer of compost to the top, an inch or so. This will slow-feed the plants for the rest of the season.

At the end of the season, you can try to perennialize your peppers by digging up some of your favorites and putting them in a bright window in your house or under some grow-lights in the garage. You might get a few peppers over the course of the winter, and then you can put them out after the last freeze to get more peppers, faster. You can either leave them in the pot to save garden space or you can replant them into the ground. You can easily get a pepper plant to live 5+ years, which will have you an Ms. cDubya eating all kinds of salsa.

Here's an article about how to do it: http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=835. I'm not sure I would go to all the trouble in the article, but it's a good start.

squirrels took my first round of tomatoes.  round two coming in now.  I will murder some squirrels if I don't get any.

Ts and Ps, Cire. You can do a few things to keep the squirrels away from your delicious blue-ribbon tomatoes:
-Buy a plastic hawk/falcon (~$15 from Amazon)
-Buy a bottle of coyote urine and spread it around the edge of your garden ($15 for 8 oz at Home Depot)
-Get a motion-activated sprinkler (~$50 at Amazon--especially good for cats and dogs)
-Hang red glass Christmas ornaments from your tomato plants (mainly for birds, tho)

Go 'Cats, ftb.

[pissclams]

c-dubs peppers look great

[Cire]

c-dubs peppers look great

Yeah,

I effing love poblano, will be in the 'arden next year.

[cDubya]

Don't bring your ass back in here until you have pics of your bhut jolokia to display.

Couldn't get any this year. Went to half a dozen local greenhouses and none had them in stock. Didn't want to go online for them. You just wait til next yer, though!

I'm not sure you need any tips for right now--those things look like they're producing well. If you want, you can always add a layer of compost to the top, an inch or so. This will slow-feed the plants for the rest of the season.

At the end of the season, you can try to perennialize your peppers by digging up some of your favorites and putting them in a bright window in your house or under some grow-lights in the garage. You might get a few peppers over the course of the winter, and then you can put them out after the last freeze to get more peppers, faster. You can either leave them in the pot to save garden space or you can replant them into the ground. You can easily get a pepper plant to live 5+ years, which will have you an Ms. cDubya eating all kinds of salsa.

Here's an article about how to do it: http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=835. I'm not sure I would go to all the trouble in the article, but it's a good start.

Thanks, WM!

And thanks for the compliments guys. Already made one batch of salsa, but the tomatoes are just now starting to turn, so it's about to be game on!

[WonderMeal]

You ever perennialize those pepps, @cDubya?

Put in a lot of work today, guys. Had some raised beds put in a few weeks ago (straight steve dave-ing it) and planted the following this weekend:

-Fig tree
-Three types of citrus
-Pomegranate tree
-Spinach
-Mustard Greens
-Romaine
-Bell peppers
-Serrano Peppers
-Tomatoes
-Beans (pole)
-Kale
-Assorted pretty flowers

Living that Zone 8+ life is pretty great.

Lime tree has not adjusted well to the transplanting, hoping it pulls through. Also planted some blueberries recently.

Any of you NorthernCats starting seeds indoors? Planning any big garden expansions for the Spring? 

[ben ji]

How hard is it to plant lettuce/kale/broccoli/spinach from seed? Last year I just bought some small plants but i feel like i need to start them from seed to be a real white Midwesterner.

Should I get the seeds to sprout indoors? I did this with some beans in wet paper towels last year and it worked kind of good.

Do I just put the seeds in little cups of dirt by the window until they sprout?

What about just planting them in my raised garden bed? If this is the correct answer when should I start them?

[Cire]

Start with the paper towels, cheese cloth etc.  Transfer to cups and grow until it's warm enough

[WonderMeal]

How hard is it to plant lettuce/kale/broccoli/spinach from seed? Last year I just bought some small plants but i feel like i need to start them from seed to be a real white Midwesterner.

What about just planting them in my raised garden bed? If this is the correct answer when should I start them?

The greens you should definitely sow directly outdoors in your raised bed. They grow super fast and make you feel like a manly man in just a couple of weeks (manly man thread crosspost). Herbs can also be grown from seed easily. Not sure about the broccoli, I've never tried it from seed.

Basically anything you need to know about gardening in KS was compiled here by the world's greatest research institution:
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/bookstore/pubs/S51.pdf

[SkinnyBenny]

Um, hey guys? The Liriodendron trees are blooming all over the New Orleans garden district and it's fracking lovely.

https://www.google.com/search?q=tulip+trees&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=vr_qVNHaCZexogSAhoDoDg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=600