The gardening thread. What are you growing in your garden this year?

[nisryus]

It might be too late to do anything now, since its mid August and very very hot here.

So first thing is to send some soil for testing, cut the Crepe Myrtle to around 8 ft tall, then probably get the compact soil a little loose during Spring, and put on new sods.

 

[bbhaag]

Don't waste your money on sod or soil samples. The location does not have enough sunlight to grow grass. I would recommend putting down a weed barrier and then overlaying that with a nice decorative rock with perhaps some stepping stones.

 

[nisryus]

Don't waste your money on sod or soil samples. The location does not have enough sunlight to grow grass. I would recommend putting down a weed barrier and then overlaying that with a nice decorative rock with perhaps some stepping stones.

ohhh Thats not a bad idea. going to bring that up with the wife. Thx!

 

[bbhaag]

ohhh Thats not a bad idea. going to bring that up with the wife. Thx!

I am always here to help give fresh ideas when it comes to gardening or your landscape space.🙂

 

[iRONic]

It might be too late to do anything now, since its mid August and very very hot here.

So first thing is to send some soil for testing, cut the Crepe Myrtle to around 8 ft tall, then probably get the compact soil a little loose during Spring, and put on new sods.

Saint Augustine sod?! That's way too expensive to fill in. Check out the base of my crepe myrtles up there. I'd wait until a little bit colder weather to cut them back also. I don't mess with mine until the middle of the winter.

 

[bbhaag]

I know you guys are getting sick of this but my wife and I are big proponents into restoring habitats that are geared toward pollinators. It is a bigger deal than you think. Pollinator populations have been on the decline for decades and it would be a sad world if we didn't have fruits or vegetables in it. A world with only grains is not a world I would like to live in.

 

[BoomerD]

Good on ya. Pollinators are way more important than a lot of people give them credit for.
We get the occasional tiger swallowtail here, a few painted ladies, very, very few monarchs.

 

[iRONic]

I'm not getting sick of it! Keep bringing on the pics and keep doing the work. The rest of the world is falling apart we can all do a little bit to help keep it together.

 

[bbhaag]

The pumpkins and gourds are getting ready to harvest!! We really mixed it up this year and decided to grow a lot of different heirloom varieties.

The warty pumpkins are coming on strong and looking great.

We grow a lot of smaller gourds but these are massive!


The larger white pumpkins are coming on strong. Orange is always the best seller but the larger white ones move fast.

 

[bbhaag]

Started harvesting today. Got a little under half of the field harvested before lunch but my back was starting to hurt so I called it quits for the day.

 

[BoomerD]

Started harvesting today. Got a little under half of the field harvested before lunch but my back was starting to hurt so I called it quits for the day.

View attachment 129058

Fuck that. I know a lot of it will go to your garden center/nursery for sale...but fuck that...WAY too much work.

 

[bbhaag]

Fuck that. I know a lot of it will go to your garden center/nursery for sale...but fuck that...WAY too much work.

Well, its like what @Greenman said to me in skykings home building thread when I said the same exact thing about building a house.

"It's just work. With the right equipment it's not even all that hard." -Greenman

 

[iRONic]

I know you guys are getting sick of this but my wife and I are big proponents into restoring habitats that are geared toward pollinators. It is a bigger deal than you think. Pollinator populations have been on the decline for decades and it would be a sad world if we didn't have fruits or vegetables in it. A world with only grains is not a world I would like to live in.

View attachment 128877

I can't add much but the pollinators and hummingbirds feast on my callas, glads, and Rose of Sharon's. There's no way I can post a pic of them tho with these ham fists! Lol



I let my Wisteria go to leaf this summer! It provides mad shade! Unfortunately a stupid pair of Cardinals decided to make a nest in there. Dumbasses are so loud the squirrels just wait till they leave and then eat the eggs!

 

[BoomerD]

Well...that Hi Yield stuff is like Miracle Grow on steroids...
Look at the difference in one month:

7/20

Today (8/23)


jalapenos:
7/20



Today (8/23)



Poblanos
7/20



Today (8/23)



I've harvested a couple of nice size (5-6") peppers so far, several jalapenos...the two plants are different...one is medium hot, the other, like a bell pepper Not impressed with the shishito. Won't grow those again. Tomatoes, as usual here are slow to ripen. I've gotten two of the cherokee purple, (on the left) 4-5 romas, (center...and not a bit of blossom end rot, thanks to the Hi Yield) and a few medium size Early Girls. (on the right)

 

[bbhaag]

Looks great BoomerD! Just remember to go easy on the calcium nitrate. It is nitrogen based and while that does promote nice green growth it can hinder flowering which is what you really want this time of year.

 

[BoomerD]

Looks great BoomerD! Just remember to go easy on the calcium nitrate. It is nitrogen based and while that does promote nice green growth it can hinder flowering which is what you really want this time of year.

I've only added it twice, about 3 weeks apart. Probably won't add it again this year.

 

[iRONic]

Ohman… I have a love/hate relationship with my crepe myrtles. My wife loves them , and I hate em.
View attachment 128739

Had the contractor cut those god-awful crêpe myrtles out Wednesday! Power washed the AC unit.

The wife picked out two dwarf Japanese maples to replace the crêpe myrtles.

We'll plant those next week after we get back from the SOAD concert in Chicago Monday.

 

[bbhaag]

Had the contractor cut those god-awful crêpe myrtles out Wednesday! Power washed the AC unit.

The wife picked out two dwarf Japanese maples to replace the crêpe myrtles.

We'll plant those next week after we get back from the SOAD concert in Chicago Monday.

Looks so much better! Can't wait to see what you and your wife do with it. I know you said some Japanese maples but lets face it. Once an existing flower bed goes back to zero it never stops there.🙂

 

[BoomerD]

Looks so much better! Can't wait to see what you and your wife do with it. I know you said some Japanese maples but lets face it. Once an existing flower bed goes back to zero it never stops there.🙂

Nurserymen are like...

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I am surprised that I have MISSED this thread for FAR TOO LONG!

I've been gardening at our house here (originally my Moms -- who died in 2023) for maybe 23 years now. Moved in to take care of Moms in 2000.

I don't have pictures at the moment -- just as easily would have to hunt them down in my archives. But I've been planting tomatoes -- as many as 12 vines annually -- as I said, for 23 years. I also "do" zucchini, cucumbers, onions, Jalapenos and Anaheims. Have done Okra from time to time.

I grow my tomatoes vertically, pruning them the Italian way, or at least the way displayed in the garden scene with Marlon Brando and a grand-child character in "The Godfather". Or maybe it was Godfather 2, but -- I think it was the original film. In 2021, I canned 2 gallons of pasta sauce with my own custom jar labels. Just used the last one a month ago. I use a pressure canner.

This year, we just made the sauce, and either used it or consumed it. AND -- Ratatouille -- plenty of that, in frozen quart trays. I had some Bib Lettuce this year and some Long Leaf Sorrel. TOO MANY JARS OF DILL PICKLES, canned according to the "Cold Pack" method and using too much space in the fridge.

Talking about it makes me think of fixing some burgers tonight so I can use those pickles -- and the remaining tomatoes -- and the Long Leaf Sorrel in place of lettuce.

I'll hunt down some pickles, but I enjoyed my brief visit to this thread so far!

 

[bbhaag]

Nurserymen are like...

Bro what are you on about? That isn't me at all. I'm just here to help and provide advice to anyone who has questions or needs a little direction. I also enjoy sharing pics of my own garden because I don't just do it for a living but I LOVE it as well.
I helped you didn't I?

 

[iRONic]

Looks so much better! Can't wait to see what you and your wife do with it. I know you said some Japanese maples but lets face it. Once an existing flower bed goes back to zero it never stops there.🙂

Heh heh… it's too “red” on that side of the house according to her. We use a local nursery for our anchor plantings. Big box outlets are fine for annuals & such.

The dwarf jap maples are a green variety. She wants a layer of black mulch and then I’ll be told what color to paint the AC unit.

 

[iRONic]

The long-term ornamental boxwood walkway hedge is finished! This is the *before* we trimmed today picture. That rough trimming was performed early this spring to see how they’d react.

When I first got here they seemed too linear for my taste… I wanted curb appeal and easy maintenance. My main inspiration was one of those fancy English gardens but sans any tall and ostentatious shapes.

String line set ~1.5” above the lower level

 

[iRONic]

Finished view from the street.

 

[BoomerD]

Bro what are you on about? That isn't me at all. I'm just here to help and provide advice to anyone who has questions or needs a little direction. I also enjoy sharing pics of my own garden because I don't just do it for a living but I LOVE it as well.
I helped you didn't I?

Dude...

Once an existing flower bed goes back to zero it never stops there.

Nurserymen chomping at the bit to help fill that empty flower bed.

(and, yes, you helped me a LOT! TYVM.)