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#1
19th March 2011, 04:07 PM
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The Gardening Thread (March)
It's about that time again, folks. Spring has sprung in some of our more southern climes (you Aussies and Kiwis will have to bring harvest stories here instead), and is slowly creeping northward.
I have daffodil shoots up about 3 inches--2 inches in the past 2 days. My snowdrops are in bloom, and my crocus are about to. The trees are budding; the birds are going like mad (especially the woodpecker) and the ground is softening. All the snow is gone, although this part of IL (northeast) could still see snow (I've seen snow here on May 6). With all this going on, despite my having the plague (a cold or flu bout that will not end), I am planning my gardening season: new beds, revamping old beds, transplants and maybe taking a chance on some new perennials. I'll have more details once I'm well and have actually started on things. What's going on in your garden in March? 
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#2
19th March 2011, 04:12 PM
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Hubby has dug up my salad bed, and I have enriched the soil, and planted lettuce, spinach, carrots, and corn salad.. getting ready to plant some onion starts in the next few days.
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#3
19th March 2011, 04:12 PM
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We still have lots of snow on the ground, but a string of days in the 40s and 50s is taking care of that. Still quite a ways away from having anything start growing.
However, I did decide to try a few veggies this year. So the other week, I picked up seeds for tomatoes, some kind of leaf lettuce, butternut squash, and sugar snap peas. In a couple of weeks, I'll start the tomatoes inside. Won't be safe to do any planting until Memorial Day, though. However, this year, I'm taking some time off around Memorial Day, so I should have the time/energy to get started! I'm an inherently lazy gardener, so I'm not doing a true plot. Instead, I started a new compost pile last fall, and I intend to make space within it for the veggies. Idea being that the compost will keep down the weeds and hold in moisture, so there won't be a lot of maintenance, provided there's no drought.
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#4
19th March 2011, 04:31 PM
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Hooray! I am excited! I'm a first time gardener, because for the first time ever, I have my own house with LOTS of yard for gardening in. As it was previously lived in, there are lots of prepped areas ready to go, and there are areas that need to be re-tilled completely before I can plant anything in them.
I went out with the baby today and weeded (and sprayed Round Up) the little stretch beside the driveway, and a good part of the area around my front steps. Along the driveway, I planted three blueberry lavender bushes ("driveway" isn't quite right, it's more of a walkway; the plants won't be getting exhaust blasted on them every day) and there are still huge gaps between them. I spaced them around some leaves that are sprouting up - they didn't look like weeds to me, so I left them there, and they seem to be strategically placed. Mystery plants, what will you grow up to be? There is still plenty of space between the laveneder and the mystery plants, so depending on how big each thing grows, I was thinking of some hosta. I have to look some things up, though, because I know nothing of compatibility, etc. All I know is morning glory is a killer, and I want it gone, gone, gone. We took pretty good care of that when we first got here. I also planted a lenten rose bush by the front steps. In the backyard there were three existing raised beds in partial shade (north facing), fairly small, two taller ones on either side of a short one. The two tall ones already have trees in them, I think they might be apple trees. I weeded all those, and in the short one, which was empty, I planted some daisies. Come fall, I want to plant some tulip bulbs along the fence for next year. I'm scared everything is going to die on me. I've been known to have a black thumb for houseplants...  But I started a little herb garden two weeks ago before I tackled anything outside, and it's growing very nicely! Basil, oregano, and cilantro.  <--- hopeful
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#5
19th March 2011, 04:36 PM
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Daffodils are blooming, although the early ones are finished already. The crabapple and dogwood are blooming.
I have some iris which 3acres sent me year-before-last, which didn't bloom last spring, so I'm hoping they do this year. 
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#6
19th March 2011, 05:25 PM
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I've had the usual collection of perennials that have been popping up on their own since I bought this place, leftovers from the previous owner, I presume. I have an envelope of marigold seeds that I'm planning to plant next month, after the frost date.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be doing much vegetable gardening this year. In August the HOA will be having my house resided and my deck repainted, which means if I do any container gardening I'm going to move everything then. My back yard is too shady for any decent gardening, so I haven't tried to do anything there yet. The HOA was talking about setting up a community garden, but I haven't heard any updates on the status lately, and I have a feeling that the NIMBYs who didn't want "their" common space used for something so frivolous have won.
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#7
19th March 2011, 05:50 PM
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I am going very small this year, due to my previous failures. I have a tomato plant in a giant pot on my front porch. I have two strawberry plants. I have petunias and daisies and sunflowers in the works. I'm thinking of starting a small herb garden, but if I'm going to I really need to get it started this weekend at the latest. I'm iffy on it though, I might just go to the store and see what they've got in the way of kits.
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#8
19th March 2011, 06:46 PM
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i'm going to plant some liriope around my little oak tree in the fron tyard tomorrow. I've planted flowers for two years in a row, and I want something that will survive the winter this time. I think I'll still plant some flowers in the other bed.
I already have some dianthus in the half-cask in the front. Maybe some more periwinkles around the birdbath. I think maybe something red, though, for a change. And I'm going to plant some 'maters and bell peppers in containers, too.
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#9
19th March 2011, 07:01 PM
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My daffodils are up about 6 inches. At least I assume they still are, I've got about 4 inches of new snow, and more falling.
Daffys are one of the few things the deer won't eat. I tried Lily of the Valley last year, but the squirrels (that my neighbor insists on feeding) kept digging them up.
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#10
19th March 2011, 07:15 PM
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Oh, and if I do decide to try tomatoes in containers this year I have to be sure to get some protective mesh to keep the squirrels off them. I lost most of my last crop to those bushy-tailed rats.
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#11
20th March 2011, 04:12 AM
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The daffodil aren't in full bloom yet but here and there, a lone one is blooming.
I've already got lettuce, spinach, brussel sprouts, onion and two kinds of pea in the ground. So happy it's spring!!!
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#12
20th March 2011, 07:22 AM
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Quote:
*I call it a flame-thrower because it did throw flame. It used a small butane canister with a wand attachment to burn vegetation. I had to carry a bucket of water with me, though to douse any dry material that also ignited. It's been taken off the market, sadly, but for 2 years, it was my trusty Shock and Awe tool for Sleepy Dick, Creeping Charlie and LoftheV. A valve thingy broke in it, causing the flames to shoot UP the wand instead of out and I had to throw it away. When I went to buy another one, I found it had been taken off the market. I miss my toy.
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#14
20th March 2011, 09:16 AM
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Quote:
I have about a quarter acre in the front (The dogs get the back!) Its about 3000 feet in elevation, heavily wooded with every greens, pine and cedar. Dappled shade at most. Many many deer. NO native ground cover. Very dry summers, with temps to 100. What I know - deer eat hosta. iris need full sun. I actually have a few bleeding hearts I was going to try this year. Mostly I hope to get more bulbs into the ground every year, but they have a really short season. I want something that will naturalize and pretty much take care of itself. I'd like the end look to be natural, no formal beds. Ideas, everyone???
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#15
20th March 2011, 09:44 AM
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Has anyone tried hay bale container-style gardens? It would be tempting, so much nicer than the wood that gets decrepit looking and has to be disposed of; the hay bale can be torn up and tossed in a bin. Plus it looks like you can construct the garden w/ hay bales on a concrete slab so long as you use them for a bottom as well.
Anyone?
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#16
20th March 2011, 10:36 AM
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I just finished planting some containers with Little Gem Lettuce, Little Finger Carrots, Green Onion Parade, radishes and some rosemary plus a container of Gerbera Daisies for a little color while I wait patiently for my seeds to grow dammit.
I have a large herb garden planned and we laid out the space and sprayed the Roundup this afternoon to get rid of the grass in the area.
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#18
20th March 2011, 01:37 PM
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Quote:
Lamb's ear--either the big kind or the small. It looks great, likes rocky soil and heat, is soft to touch. Far as I know, deer don't touch it, nor do bunnies. Ok in part shade. Ajuga: not sure about the heat, but it does prefer it a tad dry (not baked dry). It has 3 season color (burgundy in fall, purply in spring and very pretty blue flowers on small stalks in summer) AND it is a ground cover which will grow and choke out weeds. Vinca does not grow thickly enough to choke out weeds, IME. Should do fine in shade. Black eyed Susans or Coneflowers: Lovely late summer blooms both of them, they tend to naturalize well, like dry and heat, not a draw for deer (I think). Need sun for at least part of the day. Potentilla: either white or yellow flowers. Like sun and heat and dry. Tend to be a bit scraggy, but can be tidied. They need sun, though. Look around at what does well locally in other yards--those are your best bets, really. You should be able to get away with some spring bulbs (they're long gone once the summer heat kicks in). What about Glory of the Snow, anenomes, scilla?
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#19
20th March 2011, 01:46 PM
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Thanks Rigs!
I'll check out the ajuga, deer eat vinca anyway. I have NO weeds. The ground is bare, except for a bit of mulched pine needles and oak leaves I manage to leave. I'm not allowed to leave much, since it becomes a fire hazard. The first year I was here, I piled up a few big piles and thats pretty much usable now. Most folks around here do a lot of daffys, and the ones with sun grow iris. I have some iris that were here when I moved in, but I only get a few inches of leaves. My guess is either: not enough sun, planted too deep now, after years of not being lifted and separated or not enough water. The heat is only occasionally that high, maybe a few days a year up here. Its cooler up here than down in town. But its terribly dry. I can water some, our rates here aren't too bad. All of which is why I liked the Lily of the Valley - it can take over everything in the yard and I'm ok with it!
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#20
20th March 2011, 03:01 PM
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I know that I'm considered a troll, Badtz sock, etc., but I do hope you'll suffer me this one indulgence: I am an insanely avid gardener.
Taking my March topically... 1) My new Mantis tiller. My wife bought me this for my birthday, and it has changed my life. My cover crops are turned over, and my seed beds are beautiful and completely prepared for planting. In past years, I would've done this by shovel--and it would've looked like a yard full of clumps. My Mantis is now the most favorite thing I own. 2) I started tomato seeds about three weeks ago. The first true leaves are in, and I need to move them to peat pots and the cold frame. Unfortunatley, around here I really can't get them in the ground until the first of May... 3) I planted garlic last Fall... it's looking GREAT! I planted onion sticks today. 4) Asparagus (fourth year for some plants; third for the rest) is coming up! 5) Berries--goose, blue, red, black--are starting to bud, and the apples, cherries, and peaches are also showing promise. Hops are also starting to shoot! Fennel is coming back, and the wintered-over parsley is looking good... before it bolts, of course. 6) Oh, and yestereday I planted peas and radishes. That'll turn into the pepper bed in June.
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#21
20th March 2011, 03:22 PM
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I just bought a sweet bell pepper plant and some snapdragons.
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#22
20th March 2011, 04:06 PM
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Quote:
Check out books at the Library, really. There's bound to be tons of them. I don't own a rototiller, but there are times I wish I did. I've double dug a number of trenches and French drains in my day. 
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#23
20th March 2011, 04:20 PM
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I have books, the Sunset Magazine "Western Garden Book" is a bible out here. Its tough to find what I need when I don't know what to look at, and it's so time consuming to read the specifics of each and every thing.
I'm bummed that my yard wouldn't smell of LoftheV. I didn't know that. I've thinned some young trees, and have philosophical issues with clearing more. It may be my land NOW, but I don't feel the right to change things for a hundred years. And these are TALL, if it weren't so nasty out, I'd take a pic from the street, so you can see. Theres no way I could REACH the lowest branches on most of them, so thinning branches would require someone to climb the tree. Poop! I'm researching the ajuga, and it looks like it might take, if I water it.
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#24
20th March 2011, 04:26 PM
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You don't have to read the whole thing. If it's a good book, it should be broken down into sections, one of them being Shade (or even better, Hot, Dry Shade) Gardens.
Look for shade loving plants in the index or the ToC. Lamb's ear should be a winner, too. It's cool looking and even cooler feeling. Lamb'sEar ShadePlantsMountainousAreas CA is weird about plants, though--they are very strict as to what can come into the state, IMS. BTW: Ajuga is also known as bugle weed. Lady's Mantle and Alyssum (the perennial alyssums) are very nice as well.And lastly, here is a link to CA native plants: Natives Last edited by eleanorigby; 20th March 2011 at 04:36 PM.
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#25
23rd March 2011, 09:19 AM
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It's snowing right now.
This year, I'm taking a different approach to vegetable gardening - largely a function of how busy I am and how little spare time I have. In years past, I'd start seeds indoors by the end of March, using grow lights and a bunch of other stuff that would convince all my neighbors I was a pot farmer. This year, I'm getting compost from the recycling center down the street, going nuts with my rototiller on or around May 1, shopping for plants at the local nursery, and putting stuff in the ground May 15th or thereabouts. We'll see how this goes. Maybe next year I'll go back to starting from seed.
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#26
23rd March 2011, 10:25 AM
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We were both sick all month, so we started seeds from last years' stash. Some of them did fine, but I had to go buy new tomatoes and peppers yesterday. On the plus side, if I set the seed tray on top of the egg incubator, they germinate really quickly. I've got about a tray and a half of assorted stuff outside in the cold frame now.
Already planted are potatoes, a couple hundred onions, garlic (I think - better check that), shallots, and green peas. And the chickens have been barred from the garden for the season. They are not amused.
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#27
23rd March 2011, 10:31 AM
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My grass seeds are finally coming up, although the rain washed them far away from where I tossed them. So I've still got bare patches rimmed by little baby grass, with a few stray little baby grasses growing solo in the middle. It makes me laugh. Will the grass spread and close up the bare patches, or should I throw out some more seed? Anybody?
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#28
23rd March 2011, 11:05 AM
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Well, the grass will close in eventually (unless a weed takes advantage of the bare spot), but it's quicker to just throw more grass seed on the bare spots.
Might snow here tonight.
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#29
23rd March 2011, 02:26 PM
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My crocuses are up. The early snow crocuses started about almost two weeks ago, and are starting to fade. What's left of the later crocuses are coming up now. It seems we have more squirrels around here than we used to, and squirrels are crocus bulb-eating mu'fuckers. I seem to have planted the later crocuses in more accessible spots. I haven't seen any of these striped crocuses this year (my favorites, from a photo taken last year) and I'm bummed.
On a positive note, I'm starting to see tulip, daffodil and allium foliage, and my bearded irises are showing green growth as well.
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#30
23rd March 2011, 06:11 PM
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Ooh, what a lovely photo, Monstera. Those flowers look like the very essence of spring.
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#31
23rd March 2011, 06:27 PM
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Those are my favorite crocuses, too Monsterosa! (I'm sorry, but that's how I read your name).
For years I've read about the spreading habits of snowdrops, crocus and scylla. I have yet to see it. I planted 5 snowdrops years ago and have 3 remaining. I have planted hundreds of crocus in my time and yet only have 3 very small clumps of yellow, striped and deep purple (nowhere near one another, either) to show for it. The scylla looks like it might finally be taking hold in the front bed, but it's iffy. I can't only blame the squirrels (rats with bushy tails, I call 'em). IMO, it's the soil as well. Unfortunately, amending it also makes it much easier for the squirrels to dig up the bulbs/corms. Can't win.
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