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Judith's garden plans, records, results, hopes.....

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

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posted 9 months ago

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 9 months ago

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....a crab spider waiting to ambush my butterflies🫤

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

May Lotito

gardener

Posts: 2230

Location: Zone 6b

1411

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posted 9 months ago

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How is your passion flower doing this year? Is it the native perennial P. incarnata? I picked some wild fruits and they were all hollow with dry seeds, maybe not filling up due to drought?

Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

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Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 9 months ago

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May Lotito wrote:How is your passion flower doing this year? Is it the native perennial P. incarnata? I picked some wild fruits and they were all hollow with dry seeds, maybe not filling up due to drought?

I have white flowering that I planted from seeds I brought with us from our old place and also purple flowering from seeds from Richters ...both are still blooming a little and also have fruit. I'll have to check the pulp? none seem ripe yet but feel full.

Both are p. incarnata.

We grow it mostly for the herb for tea and last year dried way too much so have mostly let it alone to ramble this year...have never made anything with the pulp although I do like the taste.

edited to add photos...lots of seeds in both white and purple flowering ones...I think we had some good rains that you did not?

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

May Lotito

gardener

Posts: 2230

Location: Zone 6b

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posted 8 months ago

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The passion flowers are so beautiful! Seeds seem quite big compared to those of P. edulis. I ate some while traveling in the tropics. Local people just picked fruits hanging off the roof, sliced the ends off and squeezed pulp in the mouth. I remembered that was a red flowering one. I will grow a few vines next year.

Here is what the 5-color pepper turns out.

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Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 8 months ago

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May, I'll look forward to growing that pepper!

I rushed this last week to get sweet potatoes and moringa roots out of the ground before todays rain...just in time for a downpour and even scattered some austrian winter peas and rye seed...have not planted garlic or dividing onions yet...and then there's the two big peanut plants where they were supposed to dry out for the last two weeks before pulling them and I just ran out in the rain to cover.

I had already gathered a lot of seed... amaranth, lambs quarters, cosmos, broom corn, southern peas, burdock, celosia, a precious few butterfly pea, tepary bean, weld...

Nice patch of woad...seems to travel a bit?
I quit deadheading the tithonia to get some seed and I don't think the gold finches left me any, nor any echinacea or zinnia...should be volunteers though.

Sweet potato harvest was ok. some nice ones but still not pounds per plant as we sometimes have had in the past.
I need to get a soil test just for them I think and try to increase fertilization in one big sweet potato bed. We are always tempted to get rabbits again. Apparently potassium is especially important for root production and needs replacing after growing them.

expecting upper 30's tuesday night so I'll need to lift the dahlias and then there's the lotus roots...and the lemon grass comes in... just did a third cutting of leaves for tea.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 8 months ago

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...a few more photos and thoughts.

We have had only a few figs ripen this fall and they were some of the best we've ever tasted!
Earlier ripening attracts ants and we never get the fully ripe sweetness of fall figs...they will get caught by a frost soon though.

May, is the photo I've labeled broom corn something else?
I think I got some seed mixed up as last year what I planted from you made what I recognized as broom corn.

Do I wait for a freeze to store lotus roots? trim to just the white part?

Cosmos and tithonia have been blooming all summer and on into fall.

Have not ID'd my rose leaf chomps ...seems too round and regular for grasshopper?

I have 4 dozen small pots of dahlia plants that I started from seed in the spring and then all the big dahlias to bring in and find space for...the older ones I can clean the tubers and store in a tub...I think the newer ones need to stay in their pots...

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

May Lotito

gardener

Posts: 2230

Location: Zone 6b

1411

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posted 8 months ago

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Your broomcorns are shorter and more branched, as if they are millets. What about the back seedheads? Is the color from black husks or they are dead? I can resend some seeds.

You can leave the lotus roots in the pot unless there is risk of the whole pot frozen solid. Cool weather will speed up the senescence of leaves. If the leaves and stems are not totally brown and dry, the nutrient is still being transported to the end rhizomes.

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Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 8 months ago

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I wonder if it is millet and I confused your broom corn seed with it...the seed was black.
The dark heads have a lot of mature very shiney black seed...that doesn't sound like millet though. Maybe sorgum?

Good to know the lotus isn't urgent...I think I'm getting too many things that need to come in for the winter 😊

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 8 months ago

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I've watched these garden spiders for years and always am happy to see them...this year there have been more and this one has built an egg case on the front porch where we can easily watch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_aurantia

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 8 months ago

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one more ...I think she's done now.

I wonder how long she'll stick around?

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

May Lotito

gardener

Posts: 2230

Location: Zone 6b

1411

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posted 8 months ago

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I didn't grow a lot of broomcorn plants this year. Usually taller ones have longer brushes while smaller plants and secondary shoots have a more compact look. Grow them as if they are corns with fertile soil and they can reach over 12ft. Having consistent water in critical stage of blooming is important too. Anyway, I have some old brushes from previous year, not the best quality as I mostly grow the seeds to maturity for chicken feed. Brushes for broom making should be harvested earlier than that.

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Main brush is of better quality. Secondary growth not desirable

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Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 6 months ago

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We had almost spread our first load of chips and today they brought us two more!
Winter Work😯

I need to read Eric's thread on winecaps..we grew them once successfully but did not have chips or straw to continue.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Joao Winckler

pollinator

Posts: 269

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posted 5 months ago

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I love seeing garden journals like this. The combination of written records and photos is so valuable for spotting patterns year over year.

One thing I've found helpful is tracking not just what I planted and when, but also weather anomalies and pest pressure each season. It's easy to forget that 2023 had a late frost or that 2024 was unusually dry - but those details explain so much when you're wondering why something performed differently.

Do you find you reference your older records much when planning the new season, or is it more about capturing the moment?

Leaftide.com — track your fruit trees, veg & everything in between

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 5 months ago

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Snow and single digit temps have pretty much slowed any outdoor winter projects for us....chip pile is frozen as is any garden soil we like to broadfork over the winter.
Not unusual weather except in the duration.

I'm sorting my saved seed cabinet and ordering a few things...flowers from Baker Creek and 'Going to Seed' seeds. I finally was able to contribute seeds so was able to order early and received a few days ago...what a wonderful selection!!!

My list of 'goals'🙄
...implement some ideas in my 'big sweet potato' thread and make them a priority this year.
https://permies.com/t/361683/root-crops/share-ideas-growing-BIG-sweet

...have a well pump up and working by summer drought.
https://permies.com/t/284766/electric-shallow-pump-questions
https://permies.com/t/287596/rusty-water-harm-plants
and finish gutter work to new rain water storage tank.

Pruning coming up soon....this is the first year we've had enough wood chips to ring the fruit trees so we'll finish that also.

~~...no new seeds or plants~~

...have the plant and seed exchange I've been intending since we moved to town.

Label trees and perennials!

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Riona Abhainn

pollinator

Posts: 1558

Location: Milwaukie Oregon, USA zone 8b

192

posted 4 months ago

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We're able to access wintertime edible plants like dead nettles all winter here, and this winter has been one of our mildest in my lifetime, almost spring here. So we're in a very different space than y'all re. the garden. But like you I'm thinking and preparing for spring.

Celtic/fantasy/folk/shanty singing at Renaissance faires, fantasy festivals, and other events in OR and WA, USA.
RionaTheSinger on youtube.
Pop-up garden/vintage+ yard stand owner.

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 3 months ago

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rain.
finally.

it has been an amazingly dry winter and spring here in the Ozarks until today.

Going to be busy planting all the things I've held off planting for weeks.

We're determined to NOT use municipal water on the gardens this year so upped the rain water storage and are somewhat closer to buying a well pump.

Looking at borderline frost temps tonight and tomorrow night... will cover strawberries as they are blooming like crazy but might hope for the best for everything else.....

The pear trees hardly bloomed this spring ...resting after last years bumper crops?
Peaches have set just a few fruit on their last few blooms ...earlier blooms froze.

pictures later.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

May Lotito

gardener

Posts: 2230

Location: Zone 6b

1411

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posted 2 months ago

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Much needed rain to ease the drought! Spring arrived 2-3 weeks early this year in the ozarks. My area got down to 16F for two nights when trees were in bloom. No spring colors from forsythia or redbud. Somehow my peach flower buds in the calyx green stage or earlier survived and now in shuck split. Pear and apple blooms are not affected but I see very few bees around, or maybe because it has been very windy? Do you notice change in pollinator activities this year?

Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 2 months ago

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May, There's been no change in pollinator activity I've noticed yet...a few bumblebees and honey and other bees...a tiger swallowtail and a couple pipevines....wasps.
earier honey bees were busy on the dead nettle and dandelions and the first bloom of peaches
It looks like the second bloom set a little fruit after the first froze.

I watered the three big peach trees with boric acid water today.

and saw that I have several pits that germinated for repacement trees.

our pears had hardly any blooms this year after a bumper crop last year.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

May Lotito

gardener

Posts: 2230

Location: Zone 6b

1411

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posted 2 months ago

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I am thrilled to find the first Indian blood peach sprouting! I kept the seeds in the fridge moist until February and planted in ground. Pear seedlings are poking up as well. And all the elephant garlic are thick and robustly growing. Thank you very much for the seeds and plants!

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Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 2 months ago

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so happy to hear that May!
My peach seedlings are popping up also...more than I need but it doesn't look like my bearing trees will have many fruits this year and I'll need some replacements for the ones I expect to die soon from bore damage...I'm determined to get out ahead of the borers one day.
It will be interesting to see how your pears turn out...maybe you'll have a winner!

Our last apple died from borer damage. The pippin I started from seed ten years ago and had hopes it would make it but I didn't take any proactive measures. It does have three nice sprouts at the base and I have three tiny trees from last years seeds so the 'trip apple' is still in the works.

I have way too much elephant garlic planted but I really love it to 'mark' young plants visually and the blooms are so striking and popular with the pollinators.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Riona Abhainn

pollinator

Posts: 1558

Location: Milwaukie Oregon, USA zone 8b

192

posted 2 months ago

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Glad that, inspite of some surprises, things are starting out well for y'all.

Celtic/fantasy/folk/shanty singing at Renaissance faires, fantasy festivals, and other events in OR and WA, USA.
RionaTheSinger on youtube.
Pop-up garden/vintage+ yard stand owner.

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 1 month ago

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thanks Riona!

It's the busy season here and we are still in a drought they say although so far nothing looks stressed and we are getting enough rain for annuals.

Have had to water seed beds until germination for most things though.

Moringas roots are in and beginning to send up shoots.

Purple sweet potato slips planted and george's orange will go in soon.

long beans up and starting to climb and same with cucumbers.

almost time to dig potatoes and pull onions and garlic.

sunchokes up everywhere and are now one of my favorite chop and drop plants.

just a few peaches this year and even fewer pears....the asian persimmon is blooming for the first time!....small strawberry harvest....blueberries look promising.

May, you will recognize the narrow leaves echinacea and yellow butterfly weed...Next year I will set them out...the tub is too crowded for them.
and my lotus is sending out leaves...blooms in june?

common milkweed and orange butterfly begining to bloom and elephant garlic has sent up flower stalks.

cantaloupe is up, second round of cucumbers up and more beans, beans, beans.....a few okra.

basil, scarlet runners and hyacinth beans twining, broom corn up, wintered over new from seed echinaceas, dahlias all green and at various stages of growth depending on age...older echinaceas budded up...lots of penstemon blooming ..rye grain headed up and winter peas blooming.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

May Lotito

gardener

Posts: 2230

Location: Zone 6b

1411

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posted 1 month ago

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Your garden is so beautiful and the blueberry bush is amazingly prolific! Do you see any monarch butterfly yet? I am about one week behind with the blooms. Also my elephant garlic scapes are droopy rather than holding straight up like yours. Is that normal? I leave 3 to bloom so I can have bigger bulbs. Your lotus looks good and I guess you will see the flower stalks this summer. My fruit yield isn't too exiting this year, just a dozen peaches and apples each, and maybe several pears. One persimmon from a grafted tree and hopefully a couple pawpaws.

Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 1 month ago

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We have not seen any recent monarchs but we have caterpillars! https://permies.com/t/40/256947/Monarch-caterpillars-activity-milkweeds#3774636

as to the garlic scapes, some curl or droop and some do not...I have not been able to see
why?
I don't remove them though unless a particularly droopy one gets in the way.

I do have mosquitos in my lotus pond....have been ignoring them so far.
I added a horsetail plant that may or may not live.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Riona Abhainn

pollinator

Posts: 1558

Location: Milwaukie Oregon, USA zone 8b

192

posted 1 month ago

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Me too re. garlic scapes Judith, they're lovely to add into a sautey or stir fry but I like most of them to stay on my garlic haha, I finally feel like I've unlocked how to grow garlic well so I don't want to mess it up by taking too many. Eventually I might get more willing to take them once I feel confident.

Celtic/fantasy/folk/shanty singing at Renaissance faires, fantasy festivals, and other events in OR and WA, USA.
RionaTheSinger on youtube.
Pop-up garden/vintage+ yard stand owner.

May Lotito

gardener

Posts: 2230

Location: Zone 6b

1411

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posted 1 week ago

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My lotus just flowered yesterday. Do you spot any flower bud yet? The Indian blood peach sapling is growing fast thanks to the wetter June this year. Elephant garlic each put out 6-10 corms at the base. Nice to speed up growing more Elephant garlic with corms.

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Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 1 week ago

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Riona, For some reason I always forget about eating the scapes until too late.
I like how they look when the bloom though.
I used to remove them but could not tell if it made larger bulbs or not.

That's great to know May!
I see balsam in your photos also....some of mine from your seed is blooming like crazy. I planted too thickly though and couldn't bring myself to thing it so I have a 'hedge' in one area...those I gave space to are getting large and not blooming yet.
No sign of lotus buds yet...you'll see in my photo that the leaf stems are getting very tall, like maybe it needs more sun? I placed it under a peach tree for no real reason and it is shaded mid day.

I've finally either planted out or shared the last of my potted mixed color echinaceas from your seed from last year. The purple milkweed is still in pots and indigos in a flat.

I'm glad to hear you've had good rains also....I suppose they could stop any time but we just keep planting while it lasts.

...and my broom corn is about 4' tall.

In other gardening news....
picking cucumbers and green beans every day
lots of lambs quarters, moringa, sweet potato vine tips for greens.
dahlias, cosmos, zinnia, sunflowers, balsam, chicory, queen anne's lace, echinaceas, elder flowers blooming.
picking blueberries and blackberries daily.
bumper crop of potatoes and onions, all dug and curing.
peanuts blooming
long beans blooming and setting beans.
a very few peaches from second bloom after the first froze.
no pears on any of the three trees....they did not bloom for some reason.
a very few hazelnuts as usual.
planted too much basil as usual
second round of cucumbers.
melons blooming.

the only healthy squash is from the compost and we do not recognize the squash as anything we've eaten or grown here before.

Mimosa's are flourishing as are redbuds, figs and maples....we are planting and allowing to grow as many trees as will fit on this once barren, mowed to death piece of land.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 1 week ago

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Steve needed a more organized space to grow some potatoes and onions and a black bean from a friend that is great as both a green bean and dried.
Potatoes and onions are harvested and picking green beans everyday.
He has planted peanuts and peppers and sweet potatoes and a few flowers and more beans.A nice volunteer squash out of the compost pile.

I tried for a long time to grow mimosa from seed and finally got good instructions...collect seed, store until spring and plant....I kept trying to plant out in the fall and never got any germination....I love the trees and their dappled shade...and the flowers!

Long beans are just beginning...lots of blooms and some beans.

Tried to do better with the sweet potatoes this year and the steady rains are helping.
I added a big handful of wood ash to each hole and some rock dust,...need to get more ashes from the bakery soon.

Common milkweed had a lot of aphids, three monarch caterpillars, lots of blooms and a nice selection of butterflies....it's spreading long distances but I think we can keep it under control.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

May Lotito

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Posts: 2230

Location: Zone 6b

1411

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posted 4 days ago

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Your lotus tubers are still young, they llook healthy, just need to build up more energy. Some people would bury soybean meal at the bottom of the container as slow release fertilizer. If you want, you can make your own spikes with beans and bentonite and push them into the mud.

I broadcast indigo seeds in May and transplanted some as they are too crowded. They are very easy to grow.
Lately the whirled milkweed and tall green milkweed are in bloom. They aren't showy but still beautiful.

Last 4 weeks had been too wet and I have fungal issues with my pear tree and elderberry. They are wilting and dropping leaves like crazy.

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Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 4 days ago

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hi May!
My indigo is not that large...I think I've crowded it also so I might try transplanting....it sure likes the heat!

I might try the soymeal and clay 'spikes' to feed my lotus as I have both on hand. For soybean meal would I just grind some soybeans and then mix in some of the bentonite clay?

I do have a horsetail plant in with the lotus that is surviving but not thriving at all ..might be they are not compatible?

This is the first year our asian pears have had fireblight to where one tree is losing whole branches....unusually humid for sure but the rains were wonderful.
My elderflowers seem ok and are spreading quickly.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

May Lotito

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Posts: 2230

Location: Zone 6b

1411

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posted 4 days ago

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I soak some chickpeas in water and puree with a blender, add small amount of sea salt, vt B12 and animal food grade DE/bentonite powder until it's pasty. I let it dry out further until I can mold it with a PVC pipe and push the plug out with a syringe plunger. Sun dry and they can be stored long term.

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Zone 6, 45 inches precipitation, hard clay soil

Scott Weinberg

Posts: 417

Location: North East Iowa, USA

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posted 2 days ago

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Not sure if this is the correct slot on the forum but we often get folks that drop in wondering how the garden grows-

And this year it grows about the best ever. but thought after reading how some make trellis, I would share just a few thoughts.

Almost all farms with any type of livestock have used or bent up livestock pannels, often discared. These make a great trelis support for all kinds of plants. I used to make 12" wide by 5-6' long and make a triangle, but now only two 16" wide with zip ties hold the top T-Pee style and base ends stuck in the ground. Work well.

attached are a few photos, but have 96 pots all on concrete so even after 2" of rain, we can be out there. (even in the rain) Another thing we are finding and much to our surprise, is if we take good care of the perineals we are having about 95% survival rates from year to year. This year adding Raspberries to the mix, if this works, it will be great. New plantings this year have doubled in size, so looking good.

Also fertilization also is extra nice as we can zero on any particular pot.

Any way FOOD for thought

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Looking close you can see some of the panels donig the support

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https://permies.com/t/241976/Batch-Rocket-single-bell-build

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 2 days ago

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Hi Scot,
We love those black tubs for certain things...especially things like moringa and dahlia that need to be lifted and stored somewhere above freezing. I grow some sweet potatoes and peanuts in them also and lemon grass.
We use some for water...have enough now to locate one at each bed in the big garden filled with rainwater for spot watering by hand. the feed store quit throwing away the lids so now we have those to keep the mosquitos out.

I've wanted more cattle panels for more shade houses and arches in the gardens.
That's a good idea to check with farmers.
We built the first three panel hoop house for growing winter greens and covered with greenhouse plastic for a few years then decided we needed a shade house worse...so added a second one. The sun is so hot here most plants benefit from some midday shade.

Nice peppers!

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

Posts: 10471

Location: a temperate, clay/loam spot on planet earth, the universe

3672

posted 1 day ago

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Joao Winckler wrote:I love seeing garden journals like this. The combination of written records and photos is so valuable for spotting patterns year over year.

One thing I've found helpful is tracking not just what I planted and when, but also weather anomalies and pest pressure each season. It's easy to forget that 2023 had a late frost or that 2024 was unusually dry - but those details explain so much when you're wondering why something performed differently.

Do you find you reference your older records much when planning the new season, or is it more about capturing the moment?

Joao,
I was going back over this thread and saw that I never answered your question!
I used to keep written records as you describe...notebooks and daily weather on a calendar.
Now, instead, I am trying to write and post photos here in this thread so I can look back later and possibly find something helpful. I am more shot loose than I used to be about planning the next years plantings....I'm always running out of space and in the end things are crammed in pretty tight. Thus my guy's own space where he can neatly grow potatoes and onions and beans without my haphazard ways.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

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