Phaedra's Garden 2022

[ducks4you]

@Rhodie Ranch , That was MY geranium question, too!
I have had success overwintering geraniums in my 2nd floor windows and had flowering, too.
For what it's worth...

 

[baymule]

Here bulb flowers are safe to leave in the ground. I don’t know about Dahlias because I’ve never grown them. Do they produce only one flower or several? They sure are pretty!

 

[digitS']

Phaedra,

is the first dahlia (red and yellow) called Show and Tell in Germany? It sure is the right one to start off with in the series of photos .

@baymule , dahlias were found in central Mexico by the Europeans. Of course, that may be at high elevations. Surely, Texas gardeners would want to grow them if they can. The tubers are not toxic and, actually, edible, we are told. I don't know what that might mean with pests during a dormancy period if left outdoors in your neighborhood.

Steve

 

[baymule]

That means squirrels would dig them up and eat them! LOL

 

[Phaedra]

That means squirrels would dig them up and eat them! LOL

Possible!
I started growing Dahlias last year, and it's really rewarding. This year, I put a lot of smaller tubers in bottomless containers. Initially, they don't have to compete with the weed or adapt to the garden soil. Their roots can freely access the soil until the container is too limited for them. This method is so far working nicely.
They will keep flowering when we keep deadheading and feeding them.

 

[Phaedra]

Phaedra,

is the first dahlia (red and yellow) called Show and Tell in Germany? It sure is the right one to start off with in the series of photos .

@baymule , dahlias were found in central Mexico by the Europeans. Of course, that may be at high elevations. Surely, Texas gardeners would want to grow them if they can. The tubers are not toxic and, actually, edible, we are told. I don't know what that might mean with pests during a dormancy period if left outdoors in your neighborhood.

Steve

Hi Steve, yes, it's also called here Show and Tell - really a showy variety.

 

[Phaedra]

August is the month of tomatoes, so many of them~

I love Sungold. They are growing in a quite shady location but still perform amazingly. I felt so happy and calm when I picked them this afternoon.

Those planted in the hoop tunnel also look very promising.

Bigger tomatoes need more time to ripe.

Wild blackberries and alpen strawberries - although there was so little rain, they grow so well and bear so many fruits. I will mix them with my homegrown blueberries and make jam tomorrow morning.

The slow cooked chicken soup, too good to be true - maybe I will consider raising some meat birds in the future. The meat quality is incomparable.

 

[baymule]

Bounty from the garden! Beautiful tomatoes, do you can them?
By all means, raise a few meat chickens. They grow so fast, it’s a good way to put meat in the freezer. Raise a few, if you like it, you can always raise more.

 

[Phaedra]

The best moment - the first rose successfully rooted and grew up from a cutting made in June. I have to admit that softwood cuttings are much easier than hardwood ones.

Putting those rooted cuttings on a spare raised bed is also a good idea - it saves space, is easy to water/feed, the soil microbes keep their activities, and the young plants like that - most of the roots already go into the soil underneath.

This bed has morning light and afternoon shade, but the overall light level is pretty sufficient.

Yesterday, the serviceberries (Elaeagnus) and Mexico orange blossom (Choisya ternata) arrived, and I realized that all of them are propagated from cuttings, maybe in their second year.

Before transplanting, I observed them carefully and did some maintenance pruning - majorly for better light penetration and ventilation.

After pruning, I also "harvested" a lot of softwood cuttings for the next practice.

This batch also included cuttings from roses, figs, and sweet osmanthus that I pruned this morning.

We had a glass wall (a kind of default setting of houses built at certain years) near the main entrance, and it's the best place in our home for cuttings to grow. I used two IKEA containers (SAMLA, 28x20x14 cm/5 L) to create a moisture-holding space for them, which was cheap and convenient.

Today's new babies - in a bigger mobile greenhouse made by two larger IKEA containers (SAMLA, 39x28x14 cm/11 l)

I like this combination very much -
*Cheaper than any gardening-purposed cold frame/propagation products.
*The lower one also plays a role as a drip tray.
*Easy to carry
*Easy to observe the status (as it's transparent)
*Easy to keep/control moisture (just use the gap between two containers)
*Can be used for seed germination or offer extra protection for seedlings in early spring.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

"runs to look up IKEA containers...."

Very cool.

Question: why do you clip off the ends of the leaves perpendicular to the stems?