Gardeners of AW, unite

SPMiller

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The cilantro, curly- and flat-leaf parsley, and dill are all coming up.

Crooknecks blooming at last.

The basil can't take the heat and is already trying to bolt. Time for pesto.
 

icerose

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I have some crazy good news! My in-laws have decided to travel all summer long, so I get full use of their 1/2 acre garden!!!!!!

WOOOT!

I have a week to plan it out before I get paid and can start planting. :snoopy:
 

jennontheisland

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I have some crazy good news! My in-laws have decided to travel all summer long, so I get full use of their 1/2 acre garden!!!!!!

WOOOT!

I have a week to plan it out before I get paid and can start planting. :snoopy:
OMG Lucky!! The best I got was visiting a friend for two weeks. We played in the dirt daily. Might go again at the end of the summer for the harvest; we'll see.

Friday is my first full paycheque at the summer job so I'll be hitting the garden centre hard. I'm going to make window boxes for herbs and maybe some baby greens (beets, arugula, etc). I don't even have a balcony so it's the sills of my two windows only.

I'm also going to try my hand at houseplants again. I'm an expert at killing them, but I need some green, so I'm going to start with spider plants and devil's ivy.
 

shakeysix

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my lettuce is so green and pretty that i hate to cut it. i'm saving it for my g-daughter who will visit this weekend. school is almost over but getting the finals graded and the classroom in order is taking up all my time. i've neglected weeding and planting but after thursday i have all summer to play! --s6
 

icerose

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OMG Lucky!! The best I got was visiting a friend for two weeks. We played in the dirt daily. Might go again at the end of the summer for the harvest; we'll see.

Friday is my first full paycheque at the summer job so I'll be hitting the garden centre hard. I'm going to make window boxes for herbs and maybe some baby greens (beets, arugula, etc). I don't even have a balcony so it's the sills of my two windows only.

I'm also going to try my hand at houseplants again. I'm an expert at killing them, but I need some green, so I'm going to start with spider plants and devil's ivy.

I am so ecstatic. They have it all composted and tilled and ready to go so this week I can start planting some seeds.

If you do house plants pay attention to the light in your house. How much do you honestly get and how many hours. Then pick plants that actually fit with your needs. There are plants that don't need hardly any light which are great for darker places and there are others that need more sun and so will need a lighter spot.

Watering (over and under) will kill house plants as well. I have the opposite problem. People give me houseplants and then they flourish and outgrow my little apartment and I end up giving them away because they are just so huge.

Good luck!
 

Fenika

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Soapy water works for me too. When aphids invade my roses, I use a spray nozzle on the hose and spray them off. They usually don't return.

Good luck with your caterpillars!

Heh, mother nature already gave them a strong spray. I'll see if I can defeat the hanger-ons.

Found just a few little caterpillars today. I'm mad b/c I can't run home over lunch to kill some more. If only I have fledgling bluejays instead of european sparrows in my yard, there wouldn't be a caterpillar in sight. *sigh*

But at 5 I'll be out there hunting. The poor basil looks so beat up, but it will keep growing without a prob.

Another thing that might help with aphids is planting some poached egg flowers near by. They're lovely and attract hoverflies, and hoverfly larvae eat up the aphids. We have grown them from seed around our little apple tree.

Ohh, I will remember that for later this year or next year. I've decided the bok choy needs to get harvested before I go, so in three weeks it's going in my belly :) (and for my birds too)

I have some crazy good news! My in-laws have decided to travel all summer long, so I get full use of their 1/2 acre garden!!!!!!

WOOOT!

I have a week to plan it out before I get paid and can start planting. :snoopy:

Icerose that is so awesome! Make sure you let us help you plan :D
 

icerose

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I could use all the help I could get. I'll be growing my potatoes under straw so I can harvest them as baby potatoes as soon as they start to flower and enjoy them for most of the summer.

I want a basic herb garden and a basic veggie garden and some melons would be nice. I'm not doing any that will have to take more than one year or will come back like asparagas or raspberries because it's not my garden. But I am thrilled.

I'm going to be doing companion planting. I can't do raised beds because my in-laws are against the idea. They think it will be more work...

I want to have the melons and peas and beans and anything that can climb be climbing. I'm going to be planting the lettices behind that so they don't bolt. The light shade from the climbing sections will do them good.
 

JLCwrites

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I have some crazy good news! My in-laws have decided to travel all summer long, so I get full use of their 1/2 acre garden!!!!!!

WOOOT!

I have a week to plan it out before I get paid and can start planting. :snoopy:


Ohh! *Thinks of all the fun she could have on 1/2 acre* Droool....


Love the companion plant idea. My sunflowers are still seedlings, but I have dried snow peas that I saved from last year's crop.... hmmm...
 

Fenika

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Oh, planting the lettuces behind the others sounds like a great idea. You have to get pictures as this comes along.

In fact, this thread could do with more pictures if anyone is keen. You are all spared seeing my sad pots b/c my mom stole my camera(s).

Caterpillar death toll: 1 fat one, that had a lot of bok choy. I'm really ready to give up with that poor choy soon.
 

JLCwrites

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In fact, this thread could do with more pictures if anyone is keen. You are all spared seeing my sad pots b/c my mom stole my camera(s).

red-dahlia.jpg


Just posted this on my Mud Stomper blog. Its a Dahlia called Bishop of Llandaf. I love the darker leaves with the red flowers. It really pops in the yard.
 

Fenika

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Whoa, that one belongs in a photo contest.

Nice.
 

icerose

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That picture is gorgeous, Turkey. I will post pictures as I get them. I can't wait to see other's gardens as well. I'm so happy I get to participate this year.
 

icerose

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I got to see the garden bed today. The actual dimensions are 25'x50'. It is a large bed, my mother-in-law is using the other half but I get a whole 25'x50' section all to myself!

Fate even gave me a welcoming gift for my new garden. Their tiller had broken down so they weren't able to complete a small final patch while they were out getting parts. That small final patch happened to be the strawberry patch. She didn't want to transplant the strawberries. I asked if I could have them and she was excited I wanted them.

So my new garden has 200 blossoming strawberry plants!! I have my own strawberry patch. Hehe, I feel so spoiled. The transplanting went very well and it was so nice to get down in the dirt and get them transferred. The soil is in great condition because of the care and effort they put into it every year.

I am so grateful. I'll be planting some more plants tomorrow so I'll take pictures!
 

Fenika

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Ohhhhhhh, I has a jealous :D

Looking forward to pics.

The caterpillars have disappeared as fast as they came. I'm working through the old purple basil and actually need to thin (and enjoy for breakfast) the 'other' basil out since it is growing in clumps. It took awhile but it finally took off. The 'regular' basil is doing pretty well too.
 

JLCwrites

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Yay for you, Icerose! Nothing is better than fresh strawberries!! Looking forward to the pics too!

Glad the caterpillars are gone, Fenika!
 

icerose

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Acceptance of a submission is better.

At least I've been told that. I've had fresh strawberries, but I lack comparative evidence otherwise.

caw

Very true. Especially when a paycheck is attached. But in the food world, strawberries are pretty darn special.
 

JLCwrites

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Acceptance of a submission is better.

At least I've been told that. I've had fresh strawberries, but I lack comparative evidence otherwise.

caw

I've never eaten an acceptance letter before. But I imagine it would taste pretty darn good. :D
 

Fenika

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*Swoons at the sight of SP's fingers*

;)

More seriously- you need to pinch that basil back more often! Also, I wonder if it wouldn't like some midday shade in your part of the world, this time of the year. It looks a little saggy too.
 

SPMiller

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Thanks for sharing. How is your mulch working out for you? Are you pretty weed free?
I actually cheated and used a combo of black plastic fabric, then a layer of mulch. Completely weed free, except for the immediate area around the bases of the plants.

*Swoons at the sight of SP's fingers*

;)
Don't act like you don't mean it.

More seriously- you need to pinch that basil back more often! Also, I wonder if it wouldn't like some midday shade in your part of the world, this time of the year. It looks a little saggy too.
The reason I photoed that plant in particular is because it's the only one I haven't taken many leaves from yet ;)
 

icerose

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I actually cheated and used a combo of black plastic fabric, then a layer of mulch. Completely weed free, except for the immediate area around the bases of the plants.

I don't consider that cheating, more I'm fishing for tips for my own garden!

I'm going to do a few layers of newspaper since I'm working on a very tight budget and then a few inches of mulch and see if I can't get that same weed free effect too.
 

Haggis

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*Swoons at the sight of SP's fingers*

;)

Don't act like you don't mean it.
I would have thought she'd have more interest in your cucumber. :Shrug:

So, I'm growing these mojito mint plants in a little sunny area right outside my office door. They seem to have developed a bunch of black spots all over. Any idea of what it might be and what I might do to get rid of the problem?