• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

2020 gardening thread

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
Haven't seen one of these here ...

Surely we have some gardeners in the house? I personally focus on veggies, but I bet some of you also have some great flower beds and such.

I don't have good pics just yet, but here's a spooky photo of my baby plants under grow lamps. I had to buy a blueberry plant because the one I've been growing for three or four years now had a mishap - the drip line came out of the pot without me noticing, and it seems it was bad enough to kill it. Pretty sure, since the plants at the nursery had leaves, but mine still doesn't. Bah.

IMG_20200430_094525__01.jpg
 

coskigirl

Skiing the powder
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
4,590
Location
Evergreen, CO
I'm working on getting my container garden up and running. I have some challenge in that I'm doing it on a second floor deck with no hose and my soil has gone hydrophobic so the rewetting process is arduous. I've gotten some violas in a couple of the smaller pots and just did some herb seeds that I had lying around. I'm picking up a six pack of starter plants from Longmont Farmers Market on Saturday (pre-ordered for pick up.) I'm hoping to get ahold of a sun gold tomato start in the next few weeks and then I'll probably do mostly flowers in the rest of the pots as I just can't plant enough to make much of a veggie harvest.
 

Scruffy

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Posts
2,429
Location
Upstate NY
Seems like all I've been doing is gardening and yard work since the quarantine. I don't have any pics right now, maybe get some up after things grow a little more.
So far, put in peas, radishes, arugula, bib lettuce, swiss chard, spinach, onions, potatoes, kale, beets, parsnip, lamb quarters, rosemary, thyme, two new peach trees, two new pear trees, a currant bush, a gooseberry bush, a pussy willow and a spice bush. Oh, and some nasturtium, calendula, sunflowers, mustard, and milk thistle. And that doesn't count all the flowers my wife tends to and puts in annually; I can't kept track of what she does.
Also starting in flats under lights:, purlane, red leaf lettuce, lavender, and asylum.
Oh, and I just planted a big plot of buckwheat and crimson clover for a green manure cover crop on a fallow field. Yet to go in once it warms up a little more: tomatoes, peppers, squash, bush beans, tarragon, oregano.
My existing Asparagus and rhubarb are coming up.
And I'm hoping for a good blueberry crop this year on my 7 bushes.
Not to mention I cut down a huge pine tree that was blocking afternoon light, and planted a Japanese red maple, and shoved four truck loads of wood chips.
 

Crank

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Dec 19, 2015
Posts
2,626
We just converted half our driveway into a yard/garden. Planted grass and an arborvitae border. Also planted a mail-order climbing rose bush along the fence and have a wisteria vine waiting that is going in the ground this weekend. Just planted a dwarf lilac outside of bedroom window...should smell great in a few years.

Just ordered some day lilies, shasta daisies, lavender seeds and periwinkles which should arrive in about 2-weeks.

Have a bunch of different herbs in the ground and some in containers on deck.

Started some sugar snap pea seeds a pot in south facing window couple of weeks ago and they have sprouted and are looking good. I have never tried growing peas before!

Picked up 3 sweet pepper plants: red, yellow, orange in window that will be planted this weekend as well.

Going to add 2 cherry and 2 regular sized tomato plants and some summer squash.
Probably 4 basil plants when it gets a little warmer. I find if we put basil in the ground too early it doesn't do well.

And we will also get a bunch of hanging flower plants for deck and porch.

As late as last week it got down to 32 degrees here at night. Finally warming up a bit.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Monique

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
As late as last week it got down to 32 degrees here at night. Finally warming up a bit.

I've been skunked by May snows enough times that I won't plant anything sensitive before Mother's Day. This year, Mother's Day comes early, so maybe the 15th ...
 
Thread Starter
TS
Monique

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
I plant tomatoes and peppers. Out of the eight tomato plants, two of them are cherry tomatoes. The nine peppers are a mix of Anaheim and jalapeños.

View attachment 101246

Tell me about the plastic please. Is that to prevent weeds, to keep the soil warm, to ...?
 
Thread Starter
TS
Monique

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado

jmills115

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Posts
1,158
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
Why is that?

I usually use a thicker plastic but didn’t want to have to make a trip to Home Depot so I used what I had. I’m not sure it will hold up as well.
In years past the occasional puddles on top of the plastic or issues with heavier winds were still better than having to pull weeds.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Monique

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
I guess I'm a lazy gardener. I haven't done much yet with early/late season stuff like greens, lettuce, carrots, etc. I've tried them before, but never got great results. Tomatoes are my focus. The difference between a store-bought tomato and homegrown ... well. You can't make a decent caprese with store-bought tomatoes, is all I'm saying.

This season, I've decided to give up on bell peppers. They never seem to do well for me. And no need for habaneros; we have plenty still frozen from last summer.

I'll be planting a ton of tomatoes, plus one cherry tomato and two tomatillos (you need at least two plants, at which point you get about four times as many tomatillos as you can possibly use). Jalapeño, Anaheim, and Serrano peppers. Marigolds as companion plants to the tomatoes. Cucumbers, though I've never had great luck with them. Basil, mint, and cilantro, though I've yet to keep herbs alive - if they're close at hand, they're not on drip, and they die from my forgetfulness.

I'm just now remembering that last year toward the end of the tomato crop, we were eating so many tomato salads that my stomach started hurting. Hm. Better plan for lots of freezing.

I have two 8'x3' raised beds with drip lines. They're very convenient, but I had landscapers build them at a time when I wasn't able to supervise. They're filled with regular dirt, not good soil. Also, the line runs down into/under the box, so if/when there is an issue, I'll have to take apart the boxes to fix it. I have learned a lot - at our next house, I still want raised beds, but I'll make them wider, space them farther apart, fill them with good soil, and make sure all the lines are easily accessible. As long as I'm dreaming/planning, a greenhouse would be great.

In addition to the boxes, we have about a dozen substantial pots. The plan is to create a poor man's drip system with a hose and a timer, rather than hooking into the sprinkler system. I've tried to grow cantaloupe a few times, but they never quite finish ripening before the first freeze; with the right pots, I should be able to give them some extra time.

There were several well-established rose bushes around the deck ... then I paid someone to trim them, and they I guess took a hedge trimmer to the plants. Only one has done well since. We tried putting some pepper plants on the rose drip last season, but it wasn't quite enough water. Also couldn't find drip lines for some of the roses, so maybe some were never on drip. Anyway, for the drip lines that we *did* find, I bought some pansies to try out.

I have some strawberry plants, too, though not enough to produce much more than a taste as I'm harvesting other plants.

I'm excited!
 

socalgal

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
1,565
I garden. Sometimes successfully, sometimes it's more of an experiment. We have a veggie garden, a wildflower area, potted herbs, lots of strawberries, fruit trees, roses.

Veggie Zone:
Changes each season and year, depending on mood, but about 1/3 is devoted to strawberries. Mmmm, nothing can compare to eating perfectly ripe strawbs' in the middle of a summer afternoon. This year I have planted, from seed, radishes (super quick and easy to grow), carrots, chard, rutabagas (first time), Japanese mustard, and cantaloupe. I have the lowest expectations for the cantaloupe. I haven't had much success before with melons.

The tomatoes are all volunteers from the first garden I planted 7 years ago. Fox's Cherry tomatoes and heirloom Roma and beefsteak types . About a year ago we discovered that DH is allergic to nightshades, so I don't grow very many of them now.

I have to do some more prep in order to transplant some seedlings and plant more radishes for successive harvests.

Wildflower Zone:
We have an area that I basically do nothing in, other than scatter dried seed heads when time. It's a blaze of glorious orange and red right now-- California and European poppies. In that area, I have also planted and recently divided my lavender and rosemary plants. There are two half barrels with thyme, strawberries, mint, and Rose's. I also have a Granny Smith apple tree (with a ton of blossoms right now :golfclap:) in there.
Trees:
A mature orange tree. A Meyer Lemon tree that was saved from the brink of destruction. This is the first year that there are blossoms and hope. It lives in a giant pot with drip irrigation. A prolific Pomegranate tree. Which is not to be outdone by the lime tree nearby. Our avocado tree looks like this night be its first year for fruit. :crossfingers: The granny smith in the back yard.

Roses:
Joseph's Coat, Double Delight. A sweet yellow one, a deep burgundy one. I can't remember their names. A few white ones, like the ones the plant near In-n-out's. An English climber type.

Random:
Succulents near the road. Cactus in pots on the wall/fence pillars. I don't do anything with these. They just have to survive.

I will post pics in a new post. Having technical problems.
 

luliski

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
May 17, 2017
Posts
2,557
Location
California
My yard is out of control.

27214522-0160-4217-A426-D77733DE308F.jpeg

9C538919-E2BE-4CB4-8DA1-9C84B5C90696.jpeg


B2D23073-2459-47BA-B1D7-2D1C6AD830E8.jpeg

FB80A633-ACAA-42C0-B90E-39423806FA3D.jpeg

57DCF6BC-80F9-4C19-9F6C-262DA58BB072.jpeg

BC975A47-82D7-4634-8986-EB40792064C5.jpeg

A55152DE-AF38-4453-87E7-5A611CC53BEF.jpeg

But I'm happy I got a couple of tomato plants in. I might try zucchini too, just need to get some to transplant.
I have an established Washington navel orange tree, a new dwarf Meyer lemon, and a Satsuma mandarin that I'm hoping will finally bear fruit in the winter. I also have a plum and a fig tree, and three pomegranates. And then various perennials, some succulents, and some random trees. A few weeks ago, my orange tree and my lavender were blooming, and there were so many bees :).
I can never keep up with the weeds. They just keep coming back!
 
Last edited:
Thread Starter
TS
Monique

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
Skier
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
12,619
Location
Maine
a currant bush, a gooseberry bush

:geek:

I think those are still illegal in Maine. A few years ago they were. Carrier for "White Pine Blister Rust." We are big on our dopey White Pines here.
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
Skier
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
12,619
Location
Maine
beautiful chaos

mostly beautiful

My yard is out of control.

View attachment 101282
View attachment 101283

View attachment 101284
View attachment 101285
View attachment 101286
View attachment 101287
View attachment 101288
But I'm happy I got a couple of tomato plants in. I might try zucchini too, just need to get some to transplant.
I have an established Washington navel orange tree, a new dwarf Meyer lemon, and a Satsuma mandarin that I'm hoping will finally bear fruit in the winter. I also have a plum and a fig tree, and three pomegranates. And then various perennials, some succulents, and some random trees. A few weeks ago, my orange tree and my lavender were blooming, and there were so many bees :).
I can never keep up with the weeds. They just keep coming back!
 

Scruffy

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Posts
2,429
Location
Upstate NY
:geek:

I think those are still illegal in Maine. A few years ago they were. Carrier for "White Pine Blister Rust." We are big on our dopey White Pines here.

Me too, love my white pines. Did the research. Got the resistant varieties.
 

Scruffy

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Posts
2,429
Location
Upstate NY
I can usually ignore the not so beautiful, but I do want to get those weeds cleaned up.

You have a riot of diversity, that's wonderful. You most likely have a good balance of predator and pollinators, this is good at keeping the bad bugs in check.
 

Sponsor

Top