It's become clear to me through posts and PMs that there are some gardeners here just waiting for the chance to discuss gardening!
So, I was thinking... how do you use gardening, or how does it affect you if you need a break, need some respite, need to relax, need inspiration....how do you use it as a therapy tool in caregiving?
What are your activities: Do you go out and pull weeds, read a magazine, design new beds? Look through garden catalogues? Go to garden stores?
And what interests have you added to your gardening? Visit estate or garden displays? Do you go to garden shows?
Does anyone design and plant Knot Gardens? Raised bed planters? Assistive gardens? Pollinator gardens (and have you thought of ways to help the bees and butterflies?)
Are your gardens primarily for pleasure or food, or a mix of both? Do you grow plants for medicinal purposes? Which ones, how do you harvest and process them? Any suggestions?
Do you grow plants that can be used in crafts, such as grapevines for wreaths and lavender for lavender wands? Do you make herbal products such as creams, lotions, chapstick?
What else can you share about gardening and the means in which it nurtures your soul?
Does anyone do indoor seed sprouting? Do you use a flora-cart or something cheaper and adaptable such as the top of a refrigerator?
I'm also looking for a good source for seeds for hydrangea and ornamental grasses. Can anyone suggest a catalogue that has these seeds (hopefully at a reasonable price)?
But the house was just taken off the market so looks very nice inside, new paint, wood floors, throw rugs for Macy. She has a hard rime on wood and linoleum floors. Nice yard, must try some tomatoes in a more humid climate. Maybe that will help my brown thumb.
Interesting topic to explore.
I've found that milkwater increases blooms, on roses and morning glories.
This boost of magnesium produces more fruit on tomatoes, peppers, and roses. They must mean more fruit and blooms.
1 tsp. Epsom Salts
4 cups warm water.
Pour on, then repeat 10 days later.
Has anybody done this, or heard of it?
How do I know right now if they will live again?
So sorry that I am a GardenFailure. I should change my avatar.
Once you transplant them outside, make sure to water so they are moist but not standing in water.
egg carton make good cells for planting seedlings. Home depot, Lowes and OSH all sell a flat that has cells for each individual seedling. All depends on if you want to spend the money or use recycled materials. Good luck to you, you are doing great.
Since you're a tomato lover, you can experiment with different kinds of tomatoes - ranging from the beefsteak variety to the little grape tomatoes. And of course order garden catalogues! They'll provide information on the kind of tomato for your specific use - eating, canning, cooking...
It is easier to buy plants when you first start out. If you have a problem with cutworms, wrap the root ball in something like newspaper (no colors as some of them used to have lead; I don't know if they still do) or cardboard, which will deteriorate but protects the tender roots from nibblers in the ground.
If you get hooked on gardening, you can also consider starting seeds indoors. Now or in February are the best times. This can be done inexpensively or not so much so if you get into the equipment -- "flora carts", fluorescent lights, grow lights, etc.
Some people just use things like yogurt containers set in a tray on top of a refrigerator.
There are also electric mats to provide bottom warmth, as a frig would do Some seeds like peppers and some flowers usually need bottom warmth to sprout.
You must have a large garden if you had room for 60 tomatoes.
You can find info about your average last frost date online if you are in a northern climate. Generally things like lettuce, or peas can go in as soon as the ground dries out and is easy to work up. Other crops like beans, cukes, squash or melons hate to be cold so you have to wait until the ground is warm. People usually buy tomato or pepper plants instead of starting them from seed, around here the garden centers have them out a few weeks before it is really safe to plant them out without a lot of TLC. The seed packets also have a lot of info right on the back.
Strike up a conversation with other gardeners you see buying seeds or plants, most of us are willing to share (you might have a problem getting us to shut up lol)
Eager to see the skink again, and hope he survived the winter. So much rain!
Today was another very grey day. Looking forward to more sun.
We don't get gardening magazines. I found some gardening topics in some recycled magazines over christmas in the laundry room.
Sorry to say, the newer bouganvillas did not make it through.
I gave up on catalogues several years ago, there were an abundance of garden centers and the shipping charges for small orders just seemed too high. Now the garden centers all seem to have disappeared too, I guess the boomers all have enough disposable income to hire pros to do it all for them.
The format has changed slightly; photos of the plants are larger and there are a number of full sized pages just of one plant. I need to order another catalogue as many of these full sized pages are going to become covers for my gardening notebooks.
Who else has received their catalogues for 2016?
I would love to see irises this early - what a treat!
The idea of recycling furniture for outdoor use is a great suggestion. I have 2 mattresses that I was going to put out for trash pickup but now I'm going to take a good look at the springs to see if they can be made into trellises.
Did either of you add a frame to the mattress springs to keep them more stable? I would think that, like chicken wire, they would tend to flop without some kind of framing.
I'm thinking sweet peas would look nice on those kinds of trellises as well, and of course my favorite morning glories.
Has anyone ever grown the Japanese morning glories?
Sharyn, I love Jasmine! This summer we had to cut off the prolific blooms because it made us sleepy!