 |
Even though my season isn't finished yet, I'm already preparing for next and I have tons of ideas and questions.
I planted some blueberry bushes a couple weeks ago and now I'm looking for a good spot to put my Blackberry (hopefully thornless) vines.
I'm going to transplant my strawberries this weekend, so I can actually get enough to make jam next year.
Anybody else doing anything? It's going to be a long winter, start planning now.:)
Oh, I've planted some Dutch Iris bulbs this week as I love Iris blooming in my yard. I also planted some young Blackeye Susan plants so that I'll have big, bushy plants next spring all around my house.
Oh, just a note on your blueberry bushes. I have a friend here in Ohio that has about 2 acres of his yard devoted to blueberry bushes. He used to add about 10 bushes a year until he can't add any more to his lot. He's been doing that for 20 years now. He does not spray them at all. The berries are out of this world delicious! He also takes special netting and nets his plants so the birds don't eat all his fruit. He must do this as the birds know where all the blueberries are and have cleaned his trees of all the fruit until he started netting them. He sometimes sells his blueberries at the office where he works and can't pick enough to keep up with the demand as his coworkers clean him out. His wife does freeze quite a lot of berries for eating in the winter.
I'm getting a snuggle so me and the man can keep warm because I live in the snowiest city in the U.S.
I live in Syracuse New York.
Get the snowfall totals on this link,its funny :)
Syracuse, New York - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If you do read this I am in Eastwood ,the village within the city.
OK, so the blueberries are planted and the Blackberries are planted. The strawberries have been replanted with a couple new ones (for variety) and I'm trying Romaine lettuce, just a few to start.
I'm also in the process of trying to clean up for the up and coming winter. I took some pictures so there will be a 'before' shot, but I don't have the energy to post them tonight, maybe Tuesday.
Our weather has dropped 20 degrees since yeaterday and I love it!:D Sunday it was 100 and today about 80. Right now only 77! All the windows are open and the fans are bringing in glorious fresh air.:)
What:eek: Do you just have buckets every where:confused:
I'm so sorry about the demise, that soil looked very sad:(
I think I'm going to attach a couple pictures that you can delete after you see them, since they really have nothing to do with UDTs, but I wanted to share.:)
Attachment 25057
Some of my fish, which are a pain in my butt.
Attachment 25058
The shed when DH was out of town. When he came back, he did the roof.
Attachment 25059
My crazy bees, I have bee proof feeders now and the humminbirds think that all I live for is to give them more nector. The birds and I need to sit down and have a talk.
Attachment 25060
I am standing where most of the tomatoes are planted and where my hammock is. Haven't had much time for the hammock this year.. YET:D
Loved your picture of your Koi fish. Wow are they ever big!
Loved your bee picture as well. It's nice to see you feeding them as well.
Your backyard looks so inviting. And same for your pool!
Thanks, I had posted those in the UDT thread for KUXJ to see, I had been telling him about things and never got around to posting pics.:rolleyes:
He moved them here, since they really didn't belong there, soon I will post the ones I had talked about before.
Hi! Just Dahlia :)
My response will naturally depend on my local climate, and the conditions I am used to.Quote:
What are you doing to prepare for next season?
For some of our fellow gardeners/members this can be a daunting task as
they may have recently moved to different Hardiness Zones (HZ).
As one can see by the image, courtesy of Arborday.org.
Not only does location have a bearing on what you can do, and when, but
the natural ecology of Earth does as well. wikipedia
http://www.arborday.org/media/graphics/changes06.png
Borrowed from wise geek: Can You Use USDA Zones Around the World?
You also have to realize that you can not put blind faith in these maps.Quote:
However, because the USDA zones look at average minimum temperatures, they often miss summer temperatures, which are key. Regions with the same average minimum temperature might have summer temperatures which vary, so plants which thrive in, say, Michigan, won't grow in England. Furthermore, USDA zones don't consider other important issues like annual rainfall, wind, soil conditions, and so forth, making them more of a rough guide than a hard and fast set of rules.
There are at least four other variables you can observe to help in your plants growth. Alternative U.S. Hardiness Zone Maps
For other parts of the world... World Hardiness Zone Finder on Earth Clinic Planet.
My conundrum revolves 'round the fact that I have recently retired (last Nov.), and can devote my full energies to re-establishing a full time garden.
I have to be careful though, that I don't go off in a direction that won't yield good results, analogous to "slow and steady wins the race", but I imagine that we all face that at some/certain points in our lives.
So my present course is to maintain the "status quo", and prepare next years garden accordingly, and this involves steps to take in a logical manner.
Some links to help in accomplishing that task:
Gardeners Diary & Monthly Gardening Planner - InsideOut Gardening
Let your computer help your garden grow - Microsoft Home Magazine
Creative Landscapes - Garden Planner. Month by Month guide for your landscape.
For those that have a more desert clime:
Monthly Desert Garden Calendar - Phoenix Garden Tips
Care to design your own? Shareware:
User feedback on Garden Planner
Free download, but has $10 price? :confused:
Garden Planner - FreeFunFiles.com - A free download site
Screenshot for 'bove:
Garden Planner ScreenShot - FreeFunFiles.com - A free download site
Well that's it for now, I got a little more technical than I wanted to. Next time I'll talk on what I've actually been up to.
by the way... In researching, I found JD's thread #25 on one of the Google searches I made... Way to go JD!! :cool:
k
Why #25 :confused: What was so special about that? Must have been a couple perfect 'key' words.:rolleyes:
I'll take my prize and just get on with my bad self:D
Jd seen this on homemade Ketchup thought you'd like to see: Making Your Own Ketchup, the New Old-fashioned Way! recipe's at the bottom
I'll maybe try that next year, I love Heinz and I can't imagine the reaction I'll get with home made ketchup. DH is still asking me about all the jars of chicken and beef stock.Quote:
Originally Posted by KUXJ
I have a couple (a lot) of pictures, hopefully I'll get them in order from 'before' to 'after'
This is before of my lemon grass and area.
The second is after
The third is before (different angle)
The 4th is after
There doesn't look like that much of a difference, but believe me I was cutting and trimming for quite a while.:eek:
But wait, there's more:eek:
Attachment 25474
This is before of the side crap I had to pull out, and re-do the sprinklers because the banana trees were blocking the water flow
Attachment 25475
After
Attachment 25476
This is my new 20 gallon, half buried compost bin that KUXJ and tick helped me decide on. Bought 20 worms at Wal-Mart and threw them in, don't see them any more.:eek: Might have to get more.:(
Attachment 25477
This is my pineapple top that I planted and it looks like it's doing pretty good.:)
Jd,
Just love what you've done to the place. You certainly have an eye for presentation.
Even though I see different uses for our property, I just hope I can come up to the caliber of gardening you display in yours.
In your second pix, are those two turquoise colored trees, palms? I can't tell from where I'm sitting...
And those banana trees :cool:
Looks like you found the perfect place for the compost bin, if you didn't drill holes for ventilation those worms are in there.
You definitely earned the "garden of the month" award. ;)
Steve
Those are some palms that light up, I'll have to take a picture at night someday to show you. The whole back yard lights up:DQuote:
Originally Posted by KUXJ
Another novel approach.
When I have Christmas lights up, I'll leave 'em up all year round, then on special occasions light 'em up to accent the mood.
They'll help when eddie comes to roost. :p :D :p
Monster storm today and this afternoon going into the night, my nice clean yard is now a big mess. :(
Lost a couple 100 lb pots with large trees and one might have cracked the concrete steps going down to the pool. One of my fake lighted palm trees is snapped in half and my white fence to keep the dogs away from the pool is down. My Dahlia is lying on the ground next to my wisteria tree and my pond is overflowing downhill towards the pool. Hopefully the fish are holding on to something.:eek:
I'll post the icky pics a little later.
The hammock is still hanging so Eddie is OK!:D
JD, are you, and the family (dogs too), the house, all right?
I hope so!
But, That does it!! :mad:
Even though I'd be chompin' at the bit to give a compliment... Hold me back eddie!!!!!
From now on to the end of time, I will not, EVER AGAIN, praise anyone on how nice their flowers, veggies, garden or lawn look.
My Mom warned me once, when I said something nice 'bout her 6year old Cybidium...
Oh No, she said, you never praise another person's, "growing things" ,cause they'll end up dying.
I felt so bad a month later, I went, and got her a new one.
I feel just awful :(
We new the storm was coming, so it wasn't your praising and nothing died (that I know of) just broke a lot of things.
We are all OK and at the end I got a beautiful apology rainbow!:) It was a double, but the second part was faint. I'll post that pic too.
Attachment 25531
Attachment 25532
Attachment 25533
Looks root bound to me, maybe it was meant to be
Attachment 25534
Attachment 25535
Attachment 25536
Attachment 25538
If you look close you can see the second rainbow:)
Couldn't rate you JDahlia,
But wow!!
Love your grounds.
.
It ended up no big deal, we are used to it at least once a year. I have glued together many pots. This one I will attempt to glue together, but use for something else since my plant was root bound.
How am I going to get it's twin out of the other pot? Don't want to break it.:eek:
The concrete pot got a chip, but the stairs are OK:)
I bailed 40 gallons on water out of the garden and 1/3 drained the pond of mucky water. Then re-filled. I think all the fish are still there.:confused:
I have 5 bags of debree and a stack of stuff from my Pampas Grass (sp) and now I will go cleanse myself and tend to wounds.
Pampas Grass is nasty.. DO NOT ever plant it!:eek:
KUXJ... I have a picture that I have yet to find from 15 years ago of our yard. All there was, was grass. We bought it because it was huge and we wanted a pool. We never could afford it until I was 40, but until that time DH wanted to plant a tree in the middle of the yard and I would never let him, thinking that some day I was going to get a pool and have to kill that tree. I was right.
No plants died and if you don't praise my efforts again, it will be sad.:( I work hard and it's nice to think that someone thinks it looks nice. We have done everything on our own (except the pool) and my son even helped with that. (he needed a summer job):D
In life, as in all things great and small, there are moments of serendipity.
Moments that make one stop, and ponder.
Today I returned a book that my neighbor had loaned me, the neighbor that has the windmill project.
As Harry, and I talked he told me the installers were there finishing up on the landscaping, and their plan was to take the leftover soil over to the Twp. Dump, yes the same place where the compost is made. Within minutes, and with everyone's okay I had approximately 12 tons of soil redirected onto my property. The three piles in the pix.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_80cGISOzOds/Ss...0/100_1612.JPG
Far be it from me, to be the one to make you sad Just Dahlia. Let us use these two occasions as growth in our lives, and our gardens, and I will continue to praise your efforts.
eddie where's that video of Händel's Messiah?.....rummage....searchin'....rummage....Ah ! there it is I found it Händel's Messiah
Now... 'bout that other clay pot, if it's akin to the broken one, I'd just remove the plant by by cutting the whole way around, and straight down into the pot. If done correctly you should be able to lift the plant straight out of the pot. It'll still take some effort though.
JD, the garden lady was on for her 1" spot on the local news, and she was talking 'bout winterizing fish ponds.
You probably don't have to worry 'bout it, but she said if you have one the time to start is when the temp reaches 50F ~ 10C and going lower
She bares an uncanny resemblance to you. Winterize Your Pond Well... At least I think so.
K
I watched the pond lady and she looks young, so I'm going with "Thank You":D
DH removed all the white picket fence today (that fell down in the storm) and replaced it with that 'new fangled' black iron, 3 feet tall stuff. It looks great and we don't have to worry about a dog jumping over it. (G-d rest his soul, Winston (the jumper) is no longer with us) The dogs are little and have no desire to escape. Not sure what was up with Winnie, but he always tried.
I couldn't help myself when we went to get the fencing. They have 'ba$tard plants that are not good for the average eye and priced at 1/2 or lower off. I bought 2 more Blackberrys and a red Dahlia (not dinner plate) and another Dahlia (not sure what color) but I know that I can grow them and they come back, so I'm good.
I transplanted my poor broken Palm in another pot (bigger) funny story, but no time for that now, and it is now in the front yard:)
I still am going to glue the old pot together and put it in the back, because it was such a beautiful pot and I am anal.:rolleyes:
Your welcome! :)Quote:
I watched the pond lady and she looks young, so I'm going with "Thank You":D
I've been looking at that 3' fence, not sure where I could use it.Quote:
DH removed all the white picket fence today (that fell down in the storm) and replaced it with that 'new fangled' black iron, 3 feet tall stuff. It looks great and we don't have to worry about a dog jumping over it. (G-d rest his soul, Winston (the jumper) is no longer with us) The dogs are little and have no desire to escape. Not sure what was up with Winnie, but he always tried.
Candy Pester our feline is a master escape artist.
I know, we're the same way. This is the time of year for good dealsQuote:
I couldn't help myself when we went to get the fencing. They have 'ba$tard plants that are not good for the average eye and priced at 1/2 or lower off. I bought 2 more Blackberrys and a red Dahlia (not dinner plate) and another Dahlia (not sure what color) but I know that I can grow them and they come back, so I'm good.
Can't wait to hear it!Quote:
I transplanted my poor broken Palm in another pot (bigger) funny story, but no time for that now, and it is now in the front yard:)
Do you use a special epoxy for pottery?Quote:
I still am going to glue the old pot together and put it in the back, because it was such a beautiful pot and I am anal.:rolleyes:
K
Do you use a special epoxy for pottery?
No, just Gorilla glue. It holds them together very well. This will be the first time I am doing it without a plant in the pot. I had 2 queen Palm blow over last year and the year before and had to glue the pieces back on while the plant was in the pot. Not a very good effor but the broken glued side is backed up against some grasses, so you can't see where the repair was made.
Today I spent the glorious weather day planting 3 shrubs (for hedge) in the dog yard behind the spa where the fence blew down. After I planted them I couldn't help changing things and shaped the whole back yard into a semi circle for easier mowing and it looks great. I have to pick up bark Monday when I get off work to finish up and I still have to staple the mow strip in.
My funny story about the pot was...
We went to Costco to see if they had any big pots, got out early to beat the rush. As we entered the store, I told DH that I needed one about the size of the one I had in the front.:rolleyes: and then realized that I could use the one in the front, I never planted anything in in. I looked at DH and said "we can go home now" We still looked at the pots and they had wonderful giant ones for $50.00, but we left saving the 50 and then spent it on hedge bushes instead.:p
I burned a lot of dead pampas grass yesterday and reduced my Green bin pick-up. Worried for a little while that the fire Dept would come (smoke) but no Hot Firemen showed up:( also no Fine:)
DH went to play poker last night and pulled a hamstring,(:confused:) so he sat and iced all day, but keep me company.
The dogs love the new fence!
I usually have a bottle of that glue around also, I don't know 'bout you, but I usually end up with it on my fingers, an then half to use something like finger nail polish remover or gas to remove it.
Yes it finally was a sunny day here too. Started raining Thursday morning 'bout 5am, and didn't finally stop until this morning (Sunday) around 11am, total rain 3.86" :eek:
You were guided by providence to improve your yard, can't wait to see the new layout!
Do you get the bark in bags or do you have a truck, and load it?
Now how did you ever have a container that you didn't have something planted in it? :D
We're always making shopping lists for when we go, but 10% of the time we'll end up leaving it at home, well, its good you had the money for the bushes, We like when it works out like that to.
All it takes is one neighbor. Do like I do when I burn, and put some potatoes in the fire, and if the fire co. does show up I tell 'em I'm having a B-B-Q. :D
Still your fortunate, I can only imagine how strict they are where your at.
What! Was DH going for an inside straight? :p Had one of those once, their no fun :(
Always helps to raise the bonding quotient. ;)
Yay! For the pooches.
Oh and I forgot...
I saved all the worms I found and put them in my new compost bin.:)
I'm not trimming my roses till February, but have you ever heard of using a wire brush lightly on the root ball to allow more sun to the plant:confused: One of the rose experts around here does that and I can't seem to find anything about it, so I haven't tried it yet. I asked this question last year, but got no responses.:(Quote:
Originally Posted by KUXJ
Edit: It's been raining all morning, so I won't be able to get my bark down today, plus my house is probably now filled with mud from the pups.
Have I got the composter for you! Only $249bucks. Sawer on "Ask This Old House"Quote:
I saved all the worms I found and put them in my new compost bin. :)
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/cleanairgardening_2077_35416280
Rotating Sphere Composter with Base
Quote:
Originally Posted by Just Dahlia
That compost bin looks like the Monster from 'The Incredibles' :eek:
Hi! JD,
When I saw it on the show it rolled pretty freely, but I wonder how it would do with the 71lbs, it claims to hold.
Sit it under a tree, Place a fog machine, and speaker inside the stand, put an orange skirt around the stand, Use craft paint to put a Halloween face on it, :) hang some spiders from the tree, and there you go... A Halloween decoration :eek: :cool:
Get the mechanism from one of those oscillating fans, and it'll watch the kids as they walk up an down your sidewalk. ;)
I like that idea, very ingenious.:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by KUXJ
I haven't got around to my bark yet, because of the rain and visitors, but maybe this weekend when I'm not working on the decorations for Sheries door.:)
Yea, been busy too.
Just got the lawn cut for the last time this season, today. Deck comes off, and snow blade goes on. Finished the last part under sprinkles, raining steady now, Possible 1.50" by tomorrow night.
Made up burger goulash with UDT, and neighbors zucs for Supper, DW should be home in a half hour.
What's that eddie?.
Don't forget it's Friday, you have News from the Bucket to do too.
Oh poop! Your right! Well I got to go JD, remember to use fake blood on Sheries door!
Almost got the yard and stuff all away from the storm and now we are going to get really windy with 40 MPH gusts. So I guess Tuesday, I will be starting all over cleaning up. I will be able to tell how my new fence holds up.:)
Haven't planted my new Dahlia yet, maybe when I get home from work before the wind hits, need to find a big enough pot first:rolleyes:
Well, I started to panick, because my 'key lime tree' limes started to turn yellow and I wasn't sure what to do, but as I checked on the world wide internet, they said that is normal, when they are ripe (unlike store bought ones) I guess I will be making key lime pie soon, since I have way too many for Gin and tonics.:)
:) :rolleyes: durn shame we're not neighbors ;) :D
Pie? Or drinks?:rolleyes::):D
:cool:Well, I'd have to get some work done, before pie, and drinks.;)
I've been throwing all my fruit and veggie scrapes into the new compost bin along with coffee grounds and tes bags and egg shells. I had read that ALL were OK.
I'm getting flies and fruit flies. I read to add some shredded paper, did so. Didn't help:eek:. I stopped putting the coffee grounds in (maybe too moist) and added a little more paper.
Any other suggestions?:confused:
| All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:20 AM. |