Phaedra's Garden 2022

[Phaedra]

Is that, by chance, a "Douglas fir," Phaedra?

When I moved from Oregon to the California coast in the '60's, I had evergreen bonsai that had been growing a short time as I was thinking that it would be a fun project.

The California bugstation ... uhh ... "Border Protection Service!" took away my plants . I never returned to the project.

Steve

I guess they can be either Korean fir or European spruce. They are too young to tell yet, but those two are the major conifers in our garden.

Do you mean when you move from one state to another, they will check and approve the plants you own? If yes, that's pretty harsh!

 

[Phaedra]

This is the only dinnerplate dahlia I didn't cut the main stem, and the flower size is astonishing!

It grows very well, healthy and robust. I believe the tubers also develop nicely. Two weeks ago, I thought we would have cold autumn; however, the forecast now shows at least two more mild, even warm, weeks.

Roses

I relocated the MUMs in this corner, and it also looks great.

My first Romanesco

Also the new variety of radishes that I tried at the end of summer~

Artichokes are growing in a slow but stable way.

 

[digitS']

Do you mean when you move from one state to another, they will check and approve the plants you own?

Yes. It has been that way as long as I can remember. California's agricultural industry is a major player in the state. I didn't expect evergreen trees to fall into the officials' concern.

Once, when I was with my mother passing through the bug station, we were asked about plants, vegetables or fruit and she said no. As she put the car in gear and before she had rolled up the window, I said, "Wait. What about that fruit leather," and opened the glove box.

She slammed on the brakes and the guy's face reappeared at the window. He reached out to take the fruit leather. He looked at it without removing the packaging and handed it back. Smart Aleck kid .

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

...
Do you mean when you move from one state to another, they will check and approve the plants you own? If yes, that's pretty harsh!

they don't want people moving plants that haven't been through quarantine to make sure that bugs don't get spread around.

when you go from different climates you don't want to carry along fruit flies or other bugs that can be major disasters if they're transported to a major citrus growing area.

if you want to see what this can look like check out fire ants and how they've spread since they were introduced and what it takes to control them once they get established...

 

[ducks4you]

It was that way for a LONG time regarding firewood/trees that were from/were Ash trees bc it spread the emerald ash tree borer. I learned recently that the restriction has been dropped for Illinois residents bc the beetle managed to spread throughout the country Anyway.
Still, it is recommended that you burn locally wood that was harvested locally, just in case there is an insect that doesn't need to travel.

EAB Network - Home

Welcome to the Emerald Ash Borer Information Network. This website represents a collaborative effort by the USDA Forest Service and Michigan State University, along with many other agencies and universities, to provide comprehensive, accurate and timely information on the emerald ash borer...

www.emeraldashborer.info

 

[Phaedra]

It's something funny. I dug out the last batch of potatoes today and found this - young potatoes on the "main stem." I never saw this.

Each node has one tiny potato!

I also dug out another batch of Dahlia (Islander) tubers and was satisfied with the harvest. The plastic planters are again the residence of tulips (below) and vegetables (upper layer).

Those were grown from very small (even just one single) tubers. They didn't have the chance to flower, so most energy is sent back to grow tubers.

By the way, not only maples have lovely red dresses; strawberries and grapes have them, too.

It produced so many new tubers in a short period, around 130 days. The size is perfect for being transplanted in the soil, and a robust plant that will create many showy flowers can be expected.

It's still necessary to clean up before storing them - so those damaged tubers can be removed.

Single tubers like these can still grow as long as there are "eyes" on the "neck."

After cleaning up, they will stay in the greenhouse for a few days to one week (up to the weather). For the previous batches, I wrapped them in newspapers and put them in cartons with sufficient ventilation holes. The cartons will stay in a dark and cold place during the winter.

 

[baymule]

I do so enjoy the artist palette of colors in your garden! So beautiful, so delightful to the eyes. My yard is barren, not even a shrub. The previous owners never planted a fruit or nut tree, no fruiting vines, no flowers or vegetables of any kind. I have a blank page. I may enlist your assistance in planning what to plant!

Of course, right now, I have Cooper the ram and Dessa his companion ewe in the front yard. Coyotes are pretty bad here, and I had to put Cooper right up against the house for his own safety. Carson, my black Labrador and Great Dane cross, is stepping in as Cooper’s own personal Livestock Guard Dog. So planting anything in the front yard isn’t going to happen any time soon!

I also need to figure out where to put a vegetable garden. This coming spring my garden might have to be in big pots. Anything beats nothing.

I’m sure you will have some good ideas!

 

[flowerbug]

i found out years ago that if you have pieces of potato with eyes they can reform themselves underground without even coming up.

this one was caught in the act:

and this one had finished before i found it:

those and others came from the worm buckets where i buried potato scraps that had not been completely dried out first. now i make sure all potato peels are dehydrated before i put them in the worm buckets.

 

[Phaedra]

I do so enjoy the artist palette of colors in your garden! So beautiful, so delightful to the eyes. My yard is barren, not even a shrub. The previous owners never planted a fruit or nut tree, no fruiting vines, no flowers or vegetables of any kind. I have a blank page. I may enlist your assistance in planning what to plant!

Of course, right now, I have Cooper the ram and Dessa his companion ewe in the front yard. Coyotes are pretty bad here, and I had to put Cooper right up against the house for his own safety. Carson, my black Labrador and Great Dane cross, is stepping in as Cooper’s own personal Livestock Guard Dog. So planting anything in the front yard isn’t going to happen any time soon!

View attachment 53018

View attachment 53019

I also need to figure out where to put a vegetable garden. This coming spring my garden might have to be in big pots. Anything beats nothing.

I’m sure you will have some good ideas!

Dear Bay, the pleasure of sharing some thoughts is mine. Container gardening is something I found very interesting this year. In the past, I took it more as a compromise of insufficient space. However, it can play a creative and practical role in the transition, especially when your garden isn't fully ready yet.

For example, perennial plants can grow in containers in the first year, where they don't need to fight/compete with the garden soil and weeds. Besides, it's easier to manage and observe. This year, I have Tulips, Coneflowers, Peonies, Hydrangeas, Roses, Dahlias, and Garden MUMs growing in 10 Liter pots. They will grow happily (although on a smaller scale) in the first year, and you don't need to do a lot of digging and weeding.

For those who grow very well in the first year, you can then consider transplanting them in the next year or "removing" the bottom of containers so the roots can go down and start their new journey.

Bottomless planter is a great lesson I have learned this year. You can start your vegetable garden easily as I did in my FIL's garden with those bottomless plastic pots. Annual veggies and fruits can perform well in such planters, too. They enjoy a comparatively favorable environment when they are young and then access to the soil after they mature.

Let me share again My FIL's garden from nothing (2021 December) to full of life (this July).
This is how it looked last December.

May 9th - the quail house is already there (and later I used the wire fence for cucumbers and peas to climb), but nothing else in this small area - besides two groups of peony on the left.

Then I started to clean the jungle up and the container gardening experiment.

I used cardboard as temporary weed barriers.

What sat on the cardboards are those bottomless planters.

Then, I added a water feature and strawberry studios on May 19th.

Then, flowers were on board. I picked the cheapest varieties (they are usually the most domesticated and robust ones) that were sold in Discounters.

45 Days later, the garden has a totally different look on June 15th, and a lovely living space was born.

July 2nd, the hanging baskets started to show their charm on the other side, where vertical planting enabled more growth.

Sunflowers and Amaranth are powerful annuals that can easily offer structures and colors to the landscape. I will use more of them in the future.

Your front yard seems to have sufficient sunlight. I might create a compost heap and then build a simple fenced area connected to the porch as a temporary container-based vegetable/flower garden. Besides, I might also grow few climbing plants.

 

[Phaedra]

On Oct 3rd, I tried to use apples to accelerate the ripening of a lot of green tomatoes.

The effect is pretty good! Not many green ones are left.

The lower part also looks nice.

After removing those still green, yellow, or light orange ones, I would say 70% are ripe.

Lovely!

Red Tomatoes and flowers of Geraniums (I propagated so many that I can cut their flowers for indoors)