Gardeners of AW, unite

mccardey

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This is a plea for little empathetic mutters of Gardener's Outrage and perhaps a nice cup of tea... Also, there's a question.

So. I have a cream-and-green picket fence-line bordering the steet, the garden of which (inside my property - my own flowerbed) I plant up with pretty little cottagey things. Some of these (erigion, tiny wild violets, that sort of thing) poke through the palings in a way that I find quite adorable. You understand, these are very unthreatening species - not roses or rhus trees or nettles or anything...

Well. I have this neighbour-y person who walks along my fenceline poking things back in. Truly. There are maybe four little places where these flowers peep out and she pokes them all back in.

So this is my question.

Can I slap her?
 
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Hip-Hop-a-potamus

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This is a plea for little empathetic mutters of Gardener's Outrage and perhaps a nice cup of tea... Also, there's a question.

So. I have a cream-and-green picket fence-line bordering the steet, the garden of which (inside my property - my own flowerbed) I plant up with pretty little cottagey things. Some of these (erigion, tiny wild violets, that sort of thing) poke through the palings in a way that I find quite adorable. You understand, these are very unthreatening species - not roses or rhus trees or nettles or anything...

Well. I have this neighbour-y person who walks along my fenceline poking things back in. Truly. There are maybe four little places where these flowers peep out and she pokes them all back in.

So this is my question.

Can I slap her?

Just happen to be out front the next time she walks by. And be holding a pitchfork. And when she does it, make a rumbly "grrrrrr" noise in your throat.

Then walk forward with the pitchfork. I think she'll get the idea. :D
 

Fenika

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Mccardy, teach that woman some boundaries.
 

Archerbird

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Hello.

Any professional gardeners in here?
 

Fenika

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I dont know if anyone is pro here. I'm damn well determined fwiw ;) i have basil and lettuce sharing the window and grow light...
 

blacbird

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A garden update, for all you wimpy benighted people who live south of the 60th parallel:

I know the major part of the western and central states have had unusually mild and dry weather all fall and winter so far. My daughter from Iowa just visited over the holidays and told me all about the mid-50F dry weather they've had there so far. Well . . .

Here (Anchorage, Alaska) we haven't been all that cold, but we're on track for a RECORD level of snowfall, and are predicted to get another FOOT or so through tomorrow. So far we've received around seven FEET of snow. And Anchorage is in a DRY zone, protected from prevailing winds by mountains. On the other side of those mountains, the communities of Cordova and Valdez have received more than 3X that amount. In Cordova, they've had buildings collapse under the weight of snow, and people haven't been able to get out of their front doors.

My garden looks like a long-abandoned graveyard, raised beds transformed into white mounds. And right about now, if I want to have any summer plants, I need to start planting seeds indoors.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

caw
 

Tepelus

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I've seen that on the news about Alaska. Good luck to you all up there. Can't imagine getting fifteen feet of snow like some of you all are getting up there. Here, we've had no more than an inch of snow at one time. It's snowed twice, the first a dusting, the second about an inch. Way less than last year. Today we're supposed to get more rain (like my spongy yard needs it) changing over to snow this afternoon and through Friday. 2-4 inches expected. People won't know what to do with so much snow! Maybe we ought to send them to Alaska to help dig you all out. Then they can complain about snow. lol
 

Hip-Hop-a-potamus

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A garden update, for all you wimpy benighted people who live south of the 60th parallel:

I know the major part of the western and central states have had unusually mild and dry weather all fall and winter so far. My daughter from Iowa just visited over the holidays and told me all about the mid-50F dry weather they've had there so far. Well . . .

Here (Anchorage, Alaska) we haven't been all that cold, but we're on track for a RECORD level of snowfall, and are predicted to get another FOOT or so through tomorrow. So far we've received around seven FEET of snow. And Anchorage is in a DRY zone, protected from prevailing winds by mountains. On the other side of those mountains, the communities of Cordova and Valdez have received more than 3X that amount. In Cordova, they've had buildings collapse under the weight of snow, and people haven't been able to get out of their front doors.

My garden looks like a long-abandoned graveyard, raised beds transformed into white mounds. And right about now, if I want to have any summer plants, I need to start planting seeds indoors.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

caw

That was us in Alberta last January (but it was in the -30s for a week or two). Berms up to the first and second floors of houses, driving treacherous because they were piled in the middle of the roads, and you couldn't see to turn left anywhere. Street parking was kind of a nightmare (thank goodness we have a garage!). I missed some of the worst of it by scheduling a trip to California to use up my free air miles that were going t expire. But Mr. Hip had to rent an SUV to get me to the airport. Our little Honda Civic couldn't get thru the snow it was so deep.

They've said this winter is supposed to be the same (La Nina, I heard), and I'm cautiously holding my breath. It's supposed to be a deep freeze next week (-28 C), but I haven't heard anything about more snow yet.

I put in my first garden here last year, and I'm just waiting to see how it goes. I've got all my little planting trays that I planned ahead for last year so I can start a bunch of stuff inside. I'll need to get some seeds and potting soil and start putting things together sometime in late March so I can plant just after Victoria Day. (Crossed fingers)
 

cornetto

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Yes, you can slap the plant poker. :evil If she doesn't like the way it looks, she shouldn't look at it.

It has been freakishly warm here. We finally got a dusting of snow yesterday (day before was 60 F) and it's cold and nasty today. Last two winters we had record snowfall and the old tractor couldn't keep up. So hubby bought a bigger, badder, he-man tractor...and there it sits, in the barn, collecting pigeon poo. Heh.

I haven't done any indoor gardening (at home) for years, but I thought I'd give it a try again. Right now I've got radishes, mixed leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce and scallions growing on the window sill with a shoplight assist. I planted them way too thick...seed germination was better than I expected.
 

blacbird

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Right now I've got radishes, mixed leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce and scallions growing on the window sill with a shoplight assist. I planted them way too thick...seed germination was better than I expected.

Thin them and eat the thinnings. Radish sprouts in particular are extremely yummy in salads or on sandwiches.

caw
 

blacbird

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Addendum to my preceding post on radish sprouts. Not only are the sprouts excellent, but radish greens and early radish seed pods also are terrific. Most people don't consider anything but the root an edible, but if you garden, these other parts are very fine, too. I always let some radishes go to seed, for the pods. There are even varieties grown in Asia specifically for the seed pods. And the leaves of radishes are lightly spicy and really good in salads. Plant a bunch o' seeds, and thin when decently sprouted.

caw

caw
 

Fenika

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Same for beets, especially varieties that have more edible leaves.
 

cornetto

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I've tried eating beet greens, but not radish greens or pods. They've never been very good when grown outside--dirty, bug-eaten, tough, wind-tattered or catified. That's why I'm trying them inside. I do have room for some beets and turnips...
 

shakeysix

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i'm cracking up about the plant poker. there is something about a garden that makes the wicked despair!

i had two old aunts who lived side by side. one was a sweet, gentle soul. the other was a bitch on wheels. the bitchy aunt cut down a sweet pea vine that was climbing on their mutual fence. talk about the manure hitting the fan. the sweet pea owner lit on the sweet pea cutter like a duck on a june bug. i still remember that fight although most of it was in bohemian. and that was fifty years ago!--s6
 

blacbird

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Same for beets, especially varieties that have more edible leaves.

Yes. Beet greens are excellent. You do realize that swiss chard is nothing botanically other than a variety of beet grown for stems and leaves only? One of my favorite garden veggies, and dead easy to grow, especially in cooler regions. And turnip greens are terrific, too, raw in salads, or cooked like spinach. I heartily recommend a Japanese green called mizuna, often called Japanese mustard, which is actually a turnip grown for the greens.

For that matter, mustard greens are also among my faves in the garden. Next time you grill out a hamburger, try gracing it with a mustard leaf instead of lettuce.

caw
 

Hip-Hop-a-potamus

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Gah. Snow here. But nothing as bad as last year, yet. About 3 inches I guess.
 

Fenika

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It is collldddd here. The earlier snow melted however.

My indoor plants could be growing faster. I might try a little fertilizer... The cilantro needs to produce some seeds for my curry...
 

L M Ashton

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Yes. Beet greens are excellent. You do realize that swiss chard is nothing botanically other than a variety of beet grown for stems and leaves only? One of my favorite garden veggies, and dead easy to grow, especially in cooler regions. And turnip greens are terrific, too, raw in salads, or cooked like spinach. I heartily recommend a Japanese green called mizuna, often called Japanese mustard, which is actually a turnip grown for the greens.

For that matter, mustard greens are also among my faves in the garden. Next time you grill out a hamburger, try gracing it with a mustard leaf instead of lettuce.

caw

I've tried to like beet greens, I really have, but even in a mallung - I love mallungs - I don't. At all. Mallungs are a common Sri Lankan dish made from various types of leafy greens cooked with freshly shredded coconut and spices (turmeric, cayenne, black pepper usually) along with Maldive fish flakes. Mallungs are generally delicious. But there's something about beet leaves that I really don't like at all.

Here, pretty much any edible leafy green is eaten one way or another.