Reinbeau--do you plant your garlic in the spring or fall? I didn't get mine planted last fall and I wondered if I can have still have a decent crop if I plant this spring. (I'm zone 6)
Veggies or flowers? Mine ignore the pepper plants when I take down the temporary fence in the fall and let the chickens strip the last bit of tomatoes, etc. Only when there's absolutely nothing left standing will they start tearing up the pepper plants.
I grew some leeks for the first time...
I just ordered the Stella Natura 2008 calendar and a couple of books from AcresUSA so I can learn more about Biodynamics. Is there anybody here (or know of someone) that has tried this?
That's a nice name, Reinbeau. I'm fascinated with the courtyards in the Battery area of Charleston, SC. I'd love to be able to explore every one (and the houses too!)
Thanks, Rosalind. Its been a few years since I've had organic chemistry--I actually miss the lectures and lab because it was so much fun. HARD, but fun. A little tidbit about vulcanized rubber--it was once used to make dentures! (I'm a former dental lab tech)
EPDM--I'm familiar with it. My...
Steve--don't show your neighbor this link, LOL tire planters
Those are fancy compared to the ones I'm talking about--the kind that look like worn-out tires that got slapped with white paint and stuffed with some sad looking petunias. Of course, that particular yard will have some white...
What is it with short-handled spading forks? I want one with a long handle and sturdy tines that don't warp. My garden has already killed 2 cheap garden forks and is ready for a next victim :/...DH told me that I might have to buy one of those expensive high-falutin' garden forks, the ones...
I have a bunch of tools, some hand-me-downs and some new but, the 4 things I can't do without are: large buckets, gloves, a kneeling pad, and a great hand cultivator. I've had this cultivator so long that brand name was rubbed off and the tines are shorter! Luckily, the owner of a garden...
I'm with Reinbeau on that subject. You're right about the texture and taste of thawed plain strawberries. I've made freezer jam and I think the strawberries in that are better--it could be that packing strawberries in a sugar syrup aka "simple syrup" will make a better thawed product.
The...
I get Japanese beetles on my crape myrtles. I have been pulling them off by the handfuls and giving them to my chickens--but then I work at home so I have the option of checking my trees frequently. I have thought of knocking them down into a brown paper bag and freezing them to use as chicken...
Sad to say, they were already stressed from the year before.
DigitS', I suppose that most people in your area practice some xeriscaping techniques. I'd say most of the people that walk into the local garden centers here, don't know what that word means. Might think it was a disease or...
digitS'--thank you again for yet another good link. I just checked it...ugh, it doesn't look good for my area. The Weather Channel showed a woman in Greene Co, TN talking about her well being all dried up. That's 2 counties over from me. I checked the newspaper's weather data on Dec. 31st...
Has anybody heard anything regarding the weather predictions for spring/summer of 2008? Last summer was the driest on record for my area and lake levels are still way, way down.
Hi Rosalind & DigitS'---thanks for mentioning that Garden Watch Dog database. I was wondering about Select Seeds Antique Flowers and when I peeked at Garden Watch it showed that this company was in the top 30. I got this catalog a couple of years ago and held onto it, waiting until I had the...
It must be nice to have the low humidity you have, digitS'.
I don't know if using a frost blanket--at night--will help you grow the larger melon varieties.
I found that Fastbreak melon works for me. They're small, with a fragrant orange flesh and netted exterior, it's just the right size...
I found this info here that might help. There used to be a restaurant nearby that had this huge, sprawling tree in front of the window...turned out it was an avocado they had grown from seed. I wish I had asked how long they had it. Sorry, I can't tell you more.