View Full Version : Are you growing anything yet?
My garlic overwintered wonderfully, even though we've had the wettest Feb. and so far, March on record. We also had 12 in. of snow at one point. I have my peas in but they had not emerged yet as of last weekend. Maybe this weekend. I will be planting lettuces and mache this weekend.
How about you where you live?
Edited for typo
No, sadly. Though I did buy a saw and some wood to make compost bins and raised beds, so I'm excited about that. It's warm enough to saw outside now.
In southern Ontario, we have had a mild winter with lots of wind and rain adding some sporadic snowfall but my garlic is poking their noses out and most of perennials are showing signs of life.
I have been trying to grow some indoor sprout greens when time permitted. Herbgeek had a good system posted a while ago. I must start another batch. Grass never stopped growing, it seems, so it will be needing some attention soon. Tree buds are bursting
A lone daffodil came up and was literally crushed in the last blizzard, which also shrivelled up the chives that had started greening. I expect tonight's snow will do in the crocuses.
I'm having my last salad of the season from my indoor salad gardening for dinner. Sad. I've started tomatoes, peppers, and greens in flats along with some perennials. These are all indoors on the porch for the time being- I put them out in my greenhouse on sunny days. I overwintered some lettuce under plastic cover, a few warm days and it will start to grow again- right now it is just surviving.
My lettuce and spinach seeds have been in the ground for about a week. We have a couple of spring snows still in the forecast so I'm holding off on others. I picked up leek starts at the nursery last year and it was one of my successful garden experiments. Kale and leeks are probably next. The rabbits seem to have increased since last year and I'm still working on rabbit removal or defenses. There is so much new green coming up that my little offerings have not enticed them into a live trap. Last year I gave up live trapping after catching a skunk.
Ugh, it's the squirrels, crows, and cats here that do a number on my (raised) beds, Rogar. I have taken to stapling chicken wire tunnels over my beds just to give my seedlings a fighting chance.
I'm having my last salad of the season from my indoor salad gardening for dinner. Sad. I've started tomatoes, peppers, and greens in flats along with some perennials. These are all indoors on the porch for the time being- I put them out in my greenhouse on sunny days. I overwintered some lettuce under plastic cover, a few warm days and it will start to grow again- right now it is just surviving.
Forgot that I have a salad table with kale in it still from over winter. I had covered it with reemay. Kale still good...mache too. My herbs all survived the winter outdoors, but beneath the overhang up against the house.
I'm on the Texas Gulf Coast and Spring is bursting out all over. Our milkweed is coming back nicely after being frozen in our one hard freeze this winter. We have put out more milkweed, salvia, and blue mist flowers all for our butterfly gardens. OTOH, the oak pollen is about the worst I have ever seen it. Achooo!
Getting ready to do an order to Johnny's Selected Seeds. But we have determined we must build a deer fence around our 4 beds. Last year we got not ONE tomato. They even attacked my perennial flowers for the first time. My beautiful balloon flowers were tragically aborted.
Any advice? I would love to have a fence that's aesthetically appealing (nice rustic posts) but we may have to default to the cheap metal posts.
Simplemind
4-2-17, 11:42am
Looks like we have a couple of days with a break in the rain. Time to go put the potting shed in order and start some indoor seeds. I might be able to get away with planting some spinach and lettuce. I need to dig up the over wintered carrots. I have to try to contain myself. I always want to jump in and usually jump the gun by about a month. I'm trying to plan better this year.
Simplemind
4-2-17, 11:44am
Catherine, I know others have posted their success or lack of in the past but I have used a Scarecrow (motion detector that sprays water) with great success. It has kept the deer and rabbits out of my garden in the back and the raccoons and heron out of my pond in the front.
Catherine, I know others have posted their success or lack of in the past but I have used a Scarecrow (motion detector that sprays water) with great success. It has kept the deer and rabbits out of my garden in the back and the raccoons and heron out of my pond in the front.
Thanks, Siimplemind! I do remember others posting ideas--I think the ScareCrow would be a great thing to try before going to the trouble of building a fence. Plus, I can easily put one in the front for my perennial flowers and one in the back for my raised beds. I looked I up on Amazon and it says it covers 1200 sq feet, which is more than enough!
thanks!
iris lilies
4-2-17, 2:23pm
Second wave of greens coming in here--spinach, spring lettuces.
also we had a few tiny radishes.
I finally planted some spinach, lettuces, kale just this weekend in raised bed 3. I'll wait till I get back from NM to put anything else in the ground. Will probably limit my efforts to a few tomatoes and peppers. Just don't have it in me to fight with critters or weather this year. I'm actually going to have DH take apart 2 raised beds that the wood frames are done on (beds 1 & 2). We could use the soil to fill a few holes and slopes in the yard. The other 2 raised have raspberries and grapes (bed 4) and flowers (bed 5).
I've got another big project I'm going to try to put my efforts towards this year thought I did get bit by a spider (thankfully not brown recluse) yesterday while pulling IVY. Last year...it was a copperhead while pulling VINCA that I put my hand next to. Apparently my yard is a little too wild!
Not supposed to plant til June here since it is so cold, but we had blue potatoes that I grew last year sprout, along with some garlic and some onions from the supermarket, so I put them out yesterday and buried them under straw.
Looks like we have a couple of days with a break in the rain. Time to go put the potting shed in order and start some indoor seeds. I might be able to get away with planting some spinach and lettuce. I need to dig up the over wintered carrots. I have to try to contain myself. I always want to jump in and usually jump the gun by about a month. I'm trying to plan better this year.
I hope you have better luck than I did overwintering my carrots. We had unexpected unusual freezing and snow...they were all spongey and not good. Next year, we'll lay down straw.
Thanks, Siimplemind! I do remember others posting ideas--I think the ScareCrow would be a great thing to try before going to the trouble of building a fence. Plus, I can easily put one in the front for my perennial flowers and one in the back for my raised beds. I looked I up on Amazon and it says it covers 1200 sq feet, which is more than enough!
Last year I bought an "ultrasonic pest repeller" that is solar charged and motion activated, and emits an ultrasonic sound plus a flashing LED. They are pretty cheap off Amazon. I've tried to observe any effect as much as possible. It seems to bother rabbits although I'm not sure it actually repels them. I don't think it helps much with raccoons. I am pretty sure it bothers the neighborhood cats enough to reduce their traffic in my yard. The claims say that it works with deer. It was cheap enough to try and maybe helps a few things, although the product description claims are overstated. I'm going to buy another this year to add to my old one which is still working.
I remember the scarecrow suggestions too, but just couldn't figure out a good way to hook up a hose where it's needed. I'm sure it would work better.
I am in Denver and would love to do more pots on my desk since we decided to stay put and pay the increased rent for another year. I have an amazing deck! I think I can start buying seed or plants about now,
Miss Cellane
4-3-17, 11:02pm
Over the weekend, it grew 8 inches of snow. It's just about time to start seedlings indoors, ready to plant some time in May.
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