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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
@silver said:
Very nice picture of your garden, @DharmaMcBum -what are those gigantic leaves in the foreground...I see the berries but doubt they go together. Thanks for sharing!
That's rhubarb - the leaves of which are highly toxic, but the stems of which are an absolute must in a rhubarb crumble!!
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silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
@silver said:
Very nice picture of your garden, @DharmaMcBum -what are those gigantic leaves in the foreground...I see the berries but doubt they go together. Thanks for sharing!
That's rhubarb - the leaves of which are highly toxic, but the stems of which are an absolute must in a rhubarb crumble!!
That was my first guess. Growing up, there was a row of rhubarb growing in our back yard behind the main flower bed. I think there were about six plants. We kids would break off a stalk and rip the leaves off, knock the dirt off and sit on the back porch and munch away!
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
My MIL used to dip the raw stalk in sugar before she did that. it's a wonder she didn't turn into a raving diabetic with all the delish puds she used to make!
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silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
When I was a kid, I didn't have appreciation for crumbles and pies with rhubarb and strawberries in them. My dad would bake something for us when we had more than enough rhubarb - I think we / he tried growing strawberries but they didn't seem to like our soil. We had corn (although fought off this purple stuff that would form on the tops of them. I forget what it was called). Potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, a few other things.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
edited August 2017
@silver said:
When I was a kid, I didn't have appreciation for crumbles and pies with rhubarb and strawberries in them. My dad would bake something for us when we had more than enough rhubarb - I think we / he tried growing strawberries but they didn't seem to like our soil. We had corn (although fought off this purple stuff that would form on the tops of them. I forget what it was called). Potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, a few other things.
You mean this stuff...?
It's called corn silk. Apparently it makes very good tea.
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silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
Nope. It was a foamy purple stuff that grew on the silks coming out the tops - My dad would swear a blue streak whenever his corn got whatever this is. I googled, looked at pictures but didn't see it.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Or maybe this! (If so, your dad coulda made a small fortune!!)
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silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
I don't think it was either of those, but I think I recall that it was a fungus but not sure.
the body of the corn itself did'n't look swollen but had the purple stuff coming out the top. That's all I remember. Fascinating about the Mexican 'Truffle'!
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
We are looking to move house this year; the garden we currently have is long, exposed and difficult to manage. I have, to all intents and purposes, entirely given up on it and I have focused on my plants in pots. There are some plants I transferred to the border, but I aim to divide them, take them up completely, or take cuttings.
Last year, I very successfully grew ginger in a pot. Until you've grown ginger and harvested your own, you just haven't lived! It's green, fresh, needs no peeling and the flavour is more subtle and amazing! And all of it is useable, including the long top growth. (See video on lemon grass below; the same can be done with ginger growth!)
I also managed to plant some turmeric root and again, that's so easy and productive. Give me fresh turmeric any day. While the dried powder has its place in the kitchen/medicine cupboard, the fresh stuff is unsurpassable in flavour, colour and intensity. A little goes a long way, and turmeric tea has definitely helped to fight off the colds and flu doing the rounds!
I'm also sprouting lemon grass, which let's face it, is dead easy. It's a grass, fer chrissakes. It thrives on being cut back (better in fact, for the development of thick and flavoursome stalk bases) and you can use the leaves/top growth for all kinds of things.
Hopefully, our 'new place' will have a smaller, more manageable garden, and possibly, even a conservatory.
I also want off-road parking and an open fireplace.
Oh, and a dishwasher. And a decently-sized fridge. And a cooker. A Good one, preferably with a double oven..
A gal can dream, can't she?
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Re: the current garden:
The Kilmarnock willow, a normally very attractive tree when mature, forming a beautiful crown of arching branches - is a gonner. This year, the trunk has further leaned and is at probably 45 degrees, if not 30. The tree, top-heavy and uncared for, for too long (in spite of my attempts to lighten the load and ease the weight) is toppling under the strain and will no doubt this year, be fully prostrated by year's end. The fence to the left is also almost horizontal. The owner of the property (our landlord) refuses to do anything to rectify the fence (and to be honest, whose boundary it is, and whose responsibility it is, is actually unclear) so I also haven't bothered to apply any remedy. If ownership is uncertain, one thing's fer sure - it certainly ain't mine!
We have kept the grass cut, as promised, but as to the rest (including the very tall Mountain Ash) I'm leaving well alone.
I shall soon be taking grapevine cuttings from the vine growing in the greenhouse. After that, they can do as they wish with it. It's a large one, and of some value, but nobody seems to want it, or do anything to it to maintain it.
I can't do it on my own, so again, I'm letting it go.
My only regret is 'leaving' the hedgehogs which regularly stroll past our front door, from one end of the property to the end of our garden... I just hope they can continue to live comfortably and undisturbed....
Growing ginger and turmeric is something I've wanted to try for a while. Do they do ok indoors or do they have to be out? I always hesitate with new things because our outdoor growing season (temp and light) is so short, about 80 days. But stuff that does ok indoors, even if it means bringing it in come fall after summer outside, is ideal. And we need more plants in the house anyways! More green always makes me feel better about the -40 temps we've been having for the past week+, lol.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Out in the summer/warmer months, inside, bright window-sill, during the cooler months. plenty of light, good but not excessive warmth and let the compost dry out between watering.
Bury the roots half way under, in the centre of the pot. Which will need to be 8" - 10" diameter.
Choose ginger with buds, if possible. Look at the buds - if they're big enough to have a 'pointy end' that's the 'side up'. Turmeric won't have pointy buds but there will be a slight curve to the root piece. Place it on the soil, like a bridge, and press it down until it's half buried.
it really is, and though we have some house plants, I am endlessly fascinated at planting things and watching them grow and produce and then start all over again. I miss it during the winter and one of my goals is to do more of that. I think I will wait until I get get better ginger and turmeric roots at the whole foods co-op, our local stores are a disaster for fresh foods in the winter.
Here in Northern California, in the Sonoma Valley, aside from earthquake, fire and flood the climate supports succulents year round. My wife nurtures the succulents. I just gaze at the succulents in wonder.....
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silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
@Federica, you've had some wonderful experiences - anyone who's had the chance to grow flowers, trees, veggies, whatever, have had a priceless adventure. Even if our indoor potted plants die. You have no idea how many maidenhair ferns have bit the dust and it makes me wanna cry because they're so beautiful.
I realize now, how much I took for granted growing up on 10 acres, and having a mom who 'let me' help her with her gardening. I remember going to the garage...inside the garage door was a bag of peat and an old sauce pan. Whenever she planted new flowers, she'd get me to fetch a panful of peat and the aroma was unforgettably good.
It's berry season at my kids mum's house - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, loganberries.....here's Julia in the garden in typical pose: eating berries and fantasising about the next TV show she's going to create!
Berry season is my very favorite season! I clearly need to live half the year here, and half there, so it's berry season twice as often
1
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Hello everyone; well, today is Bank Holiday Monday, and the weather - as it was yesterday - is utterly glorious - ! Spent a lot of time in the garden, and ate a couple of meals out there, it was so warm, balmy and sunny!
I built a wasp trap as already, we have a couple of hooligans buzzing around making a nuisance of themselves; if you want instructions, just YouTube 'home made wasp trap' and I can't begin to tell you how many videos you'll find on the matter. But they all pretty much use the same method!
I made it from a used plastic drink bottle (2L) but I have pre-empted any fatalities by slipping a small dish into the bottom of the container, and putting the beer in that, then covering it with a piece of netting (I used that plastic netting you find round fruit or onions...) so that the wasps are attracted, but they don't drown.
If you put the container into the freezer FOR NO MORE THAN 10 MINUTES, it makes the wasps go into hibernation mode, and they become very lethargic and inactive. Then you can transfer them to a container, and take them somewhere else.
Make sure you put them in a dark box so they can't see, and cannot orient themselves back to your location!
Without a nest to go to, wasps can live in a solitary way, and find other food sources and shelter. In the autumn/winter, most of this year's wasps will die anyway, or if they're queens, they will hibernate.
Growing Bodhi When two women began turning disused verges in the former mill town of Todmorden into free food plots, little did they realise they would inspire a global movement of growers
I believe we left the garden the instant we developed ego.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Yeah, but... this is an actual thread about gardening, plant cultivation and what we like to do in the verdant spaces or allotments in our charge...
So I'm not quite sure what you're referring to.
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I have a lovely little kokedama bonsai, given to me by my lovely younger daughter, a couple of Christmases ago. It's made wonderful progress. I kept it outdoors all winter, during which time it lost most of its leaves, and the ones that remained turned bronze... in the spring, I could see new growth emerging. All the older bronzed leaves gradually fell off, and here it is now... it's looking healthy and happy, and has just had its first trim!
I also made my own Kokedamas with a small ivy plant, and a cotoneaster seedling...
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I bought myself two wasabi plants, and can't wait to make and try my own wasabi! The downside is, my plants won't be ready for at least 18 months! The good news is, I can also buy wasabi rhizomes (the really good bit of the plants) to use now! Only £23.00 for 100g!
The wasabi you buy in commercial plastic tubes, or in powder form - ain't the real deal. To be brutally honest, it's crap; horseradish, dyes and chemicals. Until you've tasted the proper fresh 'just grated' stuff, you'll never know just how subtle, delicious and flavoursome sushi and sashimi can be!
I'd steer clear, @lobster, I haz my eyez on you!! Yum!!
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
My daughter gave me a Yucca Gloriosa cutting, which I planted a while ago. It has now clearly rooted, but nestling amongst the stubs of the cut leaves (severely trimmed back to not put too much of a strain on the cutting) there seems to be a flower bud emerging. Which is exciting. Sadly, I don't think it would be wise to let the cutting push forward a flower. Not sure it could cope with the energy output.... but I dunno... it's such a tough old thing, I am wondering if it will just 'shrug it off'...? These plants are almost kill-proof!
Should I remove it, or not? I'm in the zone equivalent to the USDA range of 8 - 9.
Here in Ireland we tend to have bogs rather than gardens, unless you can afford four tons of topsoil and a lot of gardeners - lots of horsetail ferns here as there is little pollution, it's been fun looking at all the garden photos
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
edited March 2019
These little plants are Plumerias, also known as Frangipani. I germinated them last year. They lose most if not all of their leaves over winter.. I am thrilled enough that they have even got this far!
I investigated the little speckles on the leaves, fearing some kind of infestation, but I discovered after some research, that if Plumerias have a little bit too much water to cope with, they can't absorb it and transpire it quickly enough, and that's the result on foliar growth. Some leaves have remained from last year, but as a general rule, plants will shed most, if not all of their leaves. These little beauties like very well drained, gritty soil, and only need watering when really dry and the leaves begin to droop. They need a sunny, warm windowsill or conservatory. They can grow anything up to 6 feet high, but won't flower for at least a couple of years yet. I'm somewhat stunned that they germinated at all!
ETA: I actually have 13 little plants, which, for our chilly standard UK climate, is actually not bad going.
I have planted some chilli pepper seeds, and have placed some ginger root in a big pot to cultivate some fresh. There is nothing quite like using home-grown fresh ginger. Lemongrass is also on the go, and my turmeric has rooted also... seems like I am cultivating Asian this year! Photos to follow...
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
... additionally, my very best friend gave me some fatzia japonica seeds, and we found more while visiting The Lost Gardens of Heligan... the result is, I have 10 healthy, vigorous little seedlings going from strength to strength...!
My cactus & succulent collection is also looking very sharp!
... sounds theistic but it is mindfulness/attunement/remembrance.
Some call it 'being in the Zone'...
I watched a recent broadcast on the Beeb with Monty Don, visiting Japan both in the Springtime and in the Autumn (you'll have to see if you can catch it, on 'Podcast' it was just lovely) and he discusses an aspect of gardening as being very much like meditation; you get so much into the detail of pruning, clearing, snipping here, training there, that you lose all other sense of concerns or thoughts.
No wonder Japan is renowned for its gardening excellence. It was a delight to watch...
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@federica said:
... additionally, my very best friend gave me some fatzia japonica seeds, and we found more while visiting The Lost Gardens of Heligan... the result is, I have 10 healthy, vigorous little seedlings going from strength to strength...!
So do you take a scientific approach to gardening @federica? I’ve wondered whether it is a case of ‘doing identical things to identical seedlings to get identical results’ or do you prescribe more to a ‘green thumb’ belief (intuitive approach)?
I’ve always lived in flats in my life, have not lived in a house with a garden since my parents place when I was about 7 years old. I remember growing carrots in the little vegetable plot in the backyard but other than doing some occasional work in my mother and stepfather’s garden that’s about the closest I’ve come.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Oh I'm very much in the 'if it grows, great, if not, move on' group. I do follow what would seem to be 'correct procedure' I do research method online, but I follow, and then wait and see. It's been pretty reliable so far. I dabble; in hydroponics, kokedama and bonsai, for example. I just transferred a silver birch sapling from a large pot into a Bonsai tray after trimming the roots, and cutting back long lateral shoots, and just made 2 new kokedama balls, one with a Chamaedora Elegans (parlour Palm) and the other with some common variegated ivy...
Spring and summer hold particularly enjoyable charms for me. I just wish I lived in a slightly warmer climate to be able to create a cactus garden, and keep some plants outside for longer...
I have a Strelizia going outdoors soon when all danger of frost has passed, and an avocado, an Aspidistra and several crassulas...
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
edited May 2019
Use plastic bottle tops as drainage crocks in the bottom of your flowerpots. They're light, they don't break down and depending on the top and the way it's lying, they can contain small pockets of water that will help the plant. (I also use the little residual plastic ring that's left round a bottle neck sometimes, when you have twisted the top off...)
Also, to prevent ants from making their nests in your large flower pots, lay a piece of microfibre cloth over the hole(s), before you plant the pot up with your chosen plants.... Once the crocks and the plant is in, they can't get past the cloth to build a nest....
You're welcome.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
How much time does that take, @federica? Seems like a multi-step process, but I used to compost years ago.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Ok. I purchased two kits from my local garden centre ( 2 for the price of one, they were doing a deal) and each bin takes about a fortnight to fill. Then you leave it a fortnight, while you fill the other bin (drain off any liquid that accumulates, and use as plant food). I am now intending to purchase a couple of plastic bins, which I will put one inside the other, and drill holes in the upper bin, to allow fluid to drain through. It depends a lot on what you actually compost as to how much fluid you'll get, if any. I didn't get any during my first effort, but that's neither unusual, nor a problem. I managed to dig a ditch after the first lot had been standing for a fortnight, and heaved the contents of the bin, in, then replaced the dug out soil; within 4 weeks, the buried matter was barely distinguishable from the surrounding soil. The second lot went into my compost bin, and the worms thought they had died and gone to heaven - ! On bin # 3...
t doesn't smell unpleasant, and you can 'bokash' a lot more kitchen debris than you can in a normal compost bin.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I also bought some organic oat bran in bulk, and some EM1 fluid to make my own bran activator. Cheaper in the long run.
the worms thought they had died and gone to heaven
You are too kind to the lesser species ...
How long does your new composting method take for a complete human body?
I have not murdered anyone honest!
I am interested in a DIY natural burial for myself. Hopefully I can crawl into a nice warm composter. Get worm eaten and improve the soil. Maybe by eating a last meal of a cherry . . . might burst forth ...
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
edited June 2019
As far as I am aware, this system does not actually 'compost' waste; it changes its micro-bacterial components, rather like lactofermentation does, and makes the matter more environmentally and ecologically processable... But whatever undergoes this 'treatment' degrades in half the time. Less, even...
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I am in the process of 'constructing' a 'woodland Corner' in my garden.. it looks horribly artificial at the moment; I planted rhododendrons, alchemilla Mollis, cyclamen, ferns, hellebores, Solomon's seal 2 compact magnolias and a persimmon sapling; I also have a quince tree, and a medlar; in time, we shall be cutting back a vastly-overgrown Holly which would be a superb specimen in a large garden, but in this small suburban patch, is dominant and intrusive. I intend to pollard it at the end of the year, and the spare wood will go to the 'woodland' are a to provide natural fodder for whichever creatures see fit to put it to good use;
Pictures to follow...
I have been working on a "Bodhigarden" for quite some time now. I even found a small statue -quite cheap I must say too!- to give it the Bodhi seal. Sangha will recognise
The tree is a guayabo and next to it you can see four Madagascar jasmines. My father actually helped me out to install the wooden frame which the plants use now to grow and hopefully in a few months / years it will look beautiful. The flowers emit a very sweet scent too!
The other photo are my green peas popping out next to the baby spinaches. Pop, pop, pop... unfortunately, the garden work is also coming with a few genocides. We have a pest here called cochinilla and if left in peace...it will decimate your garden quite quickly.
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Its spring again… how appropriate that this thread should surface again!
Comments
That's rhubarb - the leaves of which are highly toxic, but the stems of which are an absolute must in a rhubarb crumble!!
That was my first guess. Growing up, there was a row of rhubarb growing in our back yard behind the main flower bed. I think there were about six plants. We kids would break off a stalk and rip the leaves off, knock the dirt off and sit on the back porch and munch away!
My MIL used to dip the raw stalk in sugar before she did that. it's a wonder she didn't turn into a raving diabetic with all the delish puds she used to make!
When I was a kid, I didn't have appreciation for crumbles and pies with rhubarb and strawberries in them. My dad would bake something for us when we had more than enough rhubarb - I think we / he tried growing strawberries but they didn't seem to like our soil. We had corn (although fought off this purple stuff that would form on the tops of them. I forget what it was called). Potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, a few other things.
You mean this stuff...?
It's called corn silk. Apparently it makes very good tea.
Nope. It was a foamy purple stuff that grew on the silks coming out the tops - My dad would swear a blue streak whenever his corn got whatever this is. I googled, looked at pictures but didn't see it.
Ah, ok, yeah, gotcha....
Could be this...
Or maybe this! (If so, your dad coulda made a small fortune!!)
I don't think it was either of those, but I think I recall that it was a fungus but not sure.
the body of the corn itself did'n't look swollen but had the purple stuff coming out the top. That's all I remember. Fascinating about the Mexican 'Truffle'!
We are looking to move house this year; the garden we currently have is long, exposed and difficult to manage. I have, to all intents and purposes, entirely given up on it and I have focused on my plants in pots. There are some plants I transferred to the border, but I aim to divide them, take them up completely, or take cuttings.
Last year, I very successfully grew ginger in a pot. Until you've grown ginger and harvested your own, you just haven't lived! It's green, fresh, needs no peeling and the flavour is more subtle and amazing! And all of it is useable, including the long top growth. (See video on lemon grass below; the same can be done with ginger growth!)
I also managed to plant some turmeric root and again, that's so easy and productive. Give me fresh turmeric any day. While the dried powder has its place in the kitchen/medicine cupboard, the fresh stuff is unsurpassable in flavour, colour and intensity. A little goes a long way, and turmeric tea has definitely helped to fight off the colds and flu doing the rounds!
I'm also sprouting lemon grass, which let's face it, is dead easy. It's a grass, fer chrissakes. It thrives on being cut back (better in fact, for the development of thick and flavoursome stalk bases) and you can use the leaves/top growth for all kinds of things.
(A few handy hints, here!)
Hopefully, our 'new place' will have a smaller, more manageable garden, and possibly, even a conservatory.
I also want off-road parking and an open fireplace.
Oh, and a dishwasher. And a decently-sized fridge. And a cooker. A Good one, preferably with a double oven..
A gal can dream, can't she?
Re: the current garden:
The Kilmarnock willow, a normally very attractive tree when mature, forming a beautiful crown of arching branches - is a gonner. This year, the trunk has further leaned and is at probably 45 degrees, if not 30. The tree, top-heavy and uncared for, for too long (in spite of my attempts to lighten the load and ease the weight) is toppling under the strain and will no doubt this year, be fully prostrated by year's end. The fence to the left is also almost horizontal. The owner of the property (our landlord) refuses to do anything to rectify the fence (and to be honest, whose boundary it is, and whose responsibility it is, is actually unclear) so I also haven't bothered to apply any remedy. If ownership is uncertain, one thing's fer sure - it certainly ain't mine!
We have kept the grass cut, as promised, but as to the rest (including the very tall Mountain Ash) I'm leaving well alone.
I shall soon be taking grapevine cuttings from the vine growing in the greenhouse. After that, they can do as they wish with it. It's a large one, and of some value, but nobody seems to want it, or do anything to it to maintain it.
I can't do it on my own, so again, I'm letting it go.
My only regret is 'leaving' the hedgehogs which regularly stroll past our front door, from one end of the property to the end of our garden... I just hope they can continue to live comfortably and undisturbed....
Growing ginger and turmeric is something I've wanted to try for a while. Do they do ok indoors or do they have to be out? I always hesitate with new things because our outdoor growing season (temp and light) is so short, about 80 days. But stuff that does ok indoors, even if it means bringing it in come fall after summer outside, is ideal. And we need more plants in the house anyways! More green always makes me feel better about the -40 temps we've been having for the past week+, lol.
Out in the summer/warmer months, inside, bright window-sill, during the cooler months. plenty of light, good but not excessive warmth and let the compost dry out between watering.
Bury the roots half way under, in the centre of the pot. Which will need to be 8" - 10" diameter.
Choose ginger with buds, if possible. Look at the buds - if they're big enough to have a 'pointy end' that's the 'side up'. Turmeric won't have pointy buds but there will be a slight curve to the root piece. Place it on the soil, like a bridge, and press it down until it's half buried.
It's such a rewarding thing to see them grow....
it really is, and though we have some house plants, I am endlessly fascinated at planting things and watching them grow and produce and then start all over again. I miss it during the winter and one of my goals is to do more of that. I think I will wait until I get get better ginger and turmeric roots at the whole foods co-op, our local stores are a disaster for fresh foods in the winter.
Here in Northern California, in the Sonoma Valley, aside from earthquake, fire and flood the climate supports succulents year round. My wife nurtures the succulents. I just gaze at the succulents in wonder.....
@Federica, you've had some wonderful experiences - anyone who's had the chance to grow flowers, trees, veggies, whatever, have had a priceless adventure. Even if our indoor potted plants die. You have no idea how many maidenhair ferns have bit the dust and it makes me wanna cry because they're so beautiful.
I realize now, how much I took for granted growing up on 10 acres, and having a mom who 'let me' help her with her gardening. I remember going to the garage...inside the garage door was a bag of peat and an old sauce pan. Whenever she planted new flowers, she'd get me to fetch a panful of peat and the aroma was unforgettably good.
It's berry season at my kids mum's house - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, loganberries.....here's Julia in the garden in typical pose: eating berries and fantasising about the next TV show she's going to create!
Berry season is my very favorite season! I clearly need to live half the year here, and half there, so it's berry season twice as often
Hello everyone; well, today is Bank Holiday Monday, and the weather - as it was yesterday - is utterly glorious - ! Spent a lot of time in the garden, and ate a couple of meals out there, it was so warm, balmy and sunny!
I built a wasp trap as already, we have a couple of hooligans buzzing around making a nuisance of themselves; if you want instructions, just YouTube 'home made wasp trap' and I can't begin to tell you how many videos you'll find on the matter. But they all pretty much use the same method!
I made it from a used plastic drink bottle (2L) but I have pre-empted any fatalities by slipping a small dish into the bottom of the container, and putting the beer in that, then covering it with a piece of netting (I used that plastic netting you find round fruit or onions...) so that the wasps are attracted, but they don't drown.
If you put the container into the freezer FOR NO MORE THAN 10 MINUTES, it makes the wasps go into hibernation mode, and they become very lethargic and inactive. Then you can transfer them to a container, and take them somewhere else.
Make sure you put them in a dark box so they can't see, and cannot orient themselves back to your location!
Without a nest to go to, wasps can live in a solitary way, and find other food sources and shelter. In the autumn/winter, most of this year's wasps will die anyway, or if they're queens, they will hibernate.
Growing Bodhi
When two women began turning disused verges in the former mill town of Todmorden into free food plots, little did they realise they would inspire a global movement of growers
How it started
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/09/incredible-edible-yorkshire-towns-food-growing-scheme-takes-root-worldwide
Website
http://incredibleediblenetwork.org.uk
I believe we left the garden the instant we developed ego.
Yeah, but... this is an actual thread about gardening, plant cultivation and what we like to do in the verdant spaces or allotments in our charge...
So I'm not quite sure what you're referring to.
I was referring to The Garden of Eden, probably not appropriate to the thread. Sorry.
Not like you to give the Bible any reference, seeing your reluctance to give a Christian slant any room for manoeuvre in another thread...
I look at mythology now and then.
I have a lovely little kokedama bonsai, given to me by my lovely younger daughter, a couple of Christmases ago. It's made wonderful progress. I kept it outdoors all winter, during which time it lost most of its leaves, and the ones that remained turned bronze... in the spring, I could see new growth emerging. All the older bronzed leaves gradually fell off, and here it is now... it's looking healthy and happy, and has just had its first trim!
I also made my own Kokedamas with a small ivy plant, and a cotoneaster seedling...
I bought myself two wasabi plants, and can't wait to make and try my own wasabi! The downside is, my plants won't be ready for at least 18 months! The good news is, I can also buy wasabi rhizomes (the really good bit of the plants) to use now! Only £23.00 for 100g!
The wasabi you buy in commercial plastic tubes, or in powder form - ain't the real deal. To be brutally honest, it's crap; horseradish, dyes and chemicals. Until you've tasted the proper fresh 'just grated' stuff, you'll never know just how subtle, delicious and flavoursome sushi and sashimi can be!
I'd steer clear, @lobster, I haz my eyez on you!! Yum!!
My daughter gave me a Yucca Gloriosa cutting, which I planted a while ago. It has now clearly rooted, but nestling amongst the stubs of the cut leaves (severely trimmed back to not put too much of a strain on the cutting) there seems to be a flower bud emerging. Which is exciting. Sadly, I don't think it would be wise to let the cutting push forward a flower. Not sure it could cope with the energy output.... but I dunno... it's such a tough old thing, I am wondering if it will just 'shrug it off'...? These plants are almost kill-proof!
Should I remove it, or not? I'm in the zone equivalent to the USDA range of 8 - 9.
Here in Ireland we tend to have bogs rather than gardens, unless you can afford four tons of topsoil and a lot of gardeners - lots of horsetail ferns here as there is little pollution, it's been fun looking at all the garden photos
These little plants are Plumerias, also known as Frangipani. I germinated them last year. They lose most if not all of their leaves over winter.. I am thrilled enough that they have even got this far!
I investigated the little speckles on the leaves, fearing some kind of infestation, but I discovered after some research, that if Plumerias have a little bit too much water to cope with, they can't absorb it and transpire it quickly enough, and that's the result on foliar growth. Some leaves have remained from last year, but as a general rule, plants will shed most, if not all of their leaves. These little beauties like very well drained, gritty soil, and only need watering when really dry and the leaves begin to droop. They need a sunny, warm windowsill or conservatory. They can grow anything up to 6 feet high, but won't flower for at least a couple of years yet. I'm somewhat stunned that they germinated at all!
ETA: I actually have 13 little plants, which, for our chilly standard UK climate, is actually not bad going.
How wonderful @federica
Plants are magic. ??????
Buddha Trees. Forest Sangha. Talk in silence. Trees listen ...
Buddha is everywhere, lobby.
I have planted some chilli pepper seeds, and have placed some ginger root in a big pot to cultivate some fresh. There is nothing quite like using home-grown fresh ginger. Lemongrass is also on the go, and my turmeric has rooted also... seems like I am cultivating Asian this year! Photos to follow...
... additionally, my very best friend gave me some fatzia japonica seeds, and we found more while visiting The Lost Gardens of Heligan... the result is, I have 10 healthy, vigorous little seedlings going from strength to strength...!
My cactus & succulent collection is also looking very sharp!
Yes.
My understanding too.
... sounds theistic but it is mindfulness/attunement/remembrance.
Some call it 'being in the Zone'...
I watched a recent broadcast on the Beeb with Monty Don, visiting Japan both in the Springtime and in the Autumn (you'll have to see if you can catch it, on 'Podcast' it was just lovely) and he discusses an aspect of gardening as being very much like meditation; you get so much into the detail of pruning, clearing, snipping here, training there, that you lose all other sense of concerns or thoughts.
No wonder Japan is renowned for its gardening excellence. It was a delight to watch...
So do you take a scientific approach to gardening @federica? I’ve wondered whether it is a case of ‘doing identical things to identical seedlings to get identical results’ or do you prescribe more to a ‘green thumb’ belief (intuitive approach)?
I’ve always lived in flats in my life, have not lived in a house with a garden since my parents place when I was about 7 years old. I remember growing carrots in the little vegetable plot in the backyard but other than doing some occasional work in my mother and stepfather’s garden that’s about the closest I’ve come.
Oh I'm very much in the 'if it grows, great, if not, move on' group. I do follow what would seem to be 'correct procedure' I do research method online, but I follow, and then wait and see. It's been pretty reliable so far. I dabble; in hydroponics, kokedama and bonsai, for example. I just transferred a silver birch sapling from a large pot into a Bonsai tray after trimming the roots, and cutting back long lateral shoots, and just made 2 new kokedama balls, one with a Chamaedora Elegans (parlour Palm) and the other with some common variegated ivy...
Spring and summer hold particularly enjoyable charms for me. I just wish I lived in a slightly warmer climate to be able to create a cactus garden, and keep some plants outside for longer...
I have a Strelizia going outdoors soon when all danger of frost has passed, and an avocado, an Aspidistra and several crassulas...
Use plastic bottle tops as drainage crocks in the bottom of your flowerpots. They're light, they don't break down and depending on the top and the way it's lying, they can contain small pockets of water that will help the plant. (I also use the little residual plastic ring that's left round a bottle neck sometimes, when you have twisted the top off...)
Also, to prevent ants from making their nests in your large flower pots, lay a piece of microfibre cloth over the hole(s), before you plant the pot up with your chosen plants.... Once the crocks and the plant is in, they can't get past the cloth to build a nest....
You're welcome.
This is how I do my composting now...
https://www.turningtogreen.com/post/bokashi-composting
How much time does that take, @federica? Seems like a multi-step process, but I used to compost years ago.
Ok. I purchased two kits from my local garden centre ( 2 for the price of one, they were doing a deal) and each bin takes about a fortnight to fill. Then you leave it a fortnight, while you fill the other bin (drain off any liquid that accumulates, and use as plant food). I am now intending to purchase a couple of plastic bins, which I will put one inside the other, and drill holes in the upper bin, to allow fluid to drain through. It depends a lot on what you actually compost as to how much fluid you'll get, if any. I didn't get any during my first effort, but that's neither unusual, nor a problem. I managed to dig a ditch after the first lot had been standing for a fortnight, and heaved the contents of the bin, in, then replaced the dug out soil; within 4 weeks, the buried matter was barely distinguishable from the surrounding soil. The second lot went into my compost bin, and the worms thought they had died and gone to heaven - ! On bin # 3...
t doesn't smell unpleasant, and you can 'bokash' a lot more kitchen debris than you can in a normal compost bin.
I also bought some organic oat bran in bulk, and some EM1 fluid to make my own bran activator. Cheaper in the long run.
You are too kind to the lesser species ...
How long does your new composting method take for a complete human body?
I have not murdered anyone honest!
I am interested in a DIY natural burial for myself. Hopefully I can crawl into a nice warm composter. Get worm eaten and improve the soil. Maybe by eating a last meal of a cherry . . . might burst forth ...
What I need is a complete kit using bio degradable plastic. Iz last plan!
https://apnews.com/65306ba86c24482baed58e7c0c2e39d7
As far as I am aware, this system does not actually 'compost' waste; it changes its micro-bacterial components, rather like lactofermentation does, and makes the matter more environmentally and ecologically processable... But whatever undergoes this 'treatment' degrades in half the time. Less, even...
I am in the process of 'constructing' a 'woodland Corner' in my garden.. it looks horribly artificial at the moment; I planted rhododendrons, alchemilla Mollis, cyclamen, ferns, hellebores, Solomon's seal 2 compact magnolias and a persimmon sapling; I also have a quince tree, and a medlar; in time, we shall be cutting back a vastly-overgrown Holly which would be a superb specimen in a large garden, but in this small suburban patch, is dominant and intrusive. I intend to pollard it at the end of the year, and the spare wood will go to the 'woodland' are a to provide natural fodder for whichever creatures see fit to put it to good use;
Pictures to follow...
My ex-cherry tree is still two thirds of my tiny garden.
Am turning it slowly into a rock/wood garden ...
Rose is looking nice though...
I have been working on a "Bodhigarden" for quite some time now. I even found a small statue -quite cheap I must say too!- to give it the Bodhi seal. Sangha will recognise
The tree is a guayabo and next to it you can see four Madagascar jasmines. My father actually helped me out to install the wooden frame which the plants use now to grow and hopefully in a few months / years it will look beautiful. The flowers emit a very sweet scent too!
The other photo are my green peas popping out next to the baby spinaches. Pop, pop, pop... unfortunately, the garden work is also coming with a few genocides. We have a pest here called cochinilla and if left in peace...it will decimate your garden quite quickly.
Its spring again… how appropriate that this thread should surface again!
No it's not!