Jen Swanson

pollinator
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since Jul 11, 2020
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Vancouver, Washington
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Recent posts by Jen Swanson

I agree with all of the answers you've gotten so far. It does not look like it's gotten too much water, but instead that it is in an area that is hotter and drier than it is used to. Where are you located compared to the hardiness zone of the tree (3 to 9)? Especially if you are on the southern end of that range, it may prefer morning sun and afternoon shade.

They need consistently moist soil while they are young. Mulching the soil under the plant (without letting it touch the truck) would help the soil stay moist and not dry out.

I also very much agree with moving the plant away from the house and into a place where you will be happy with letting it spread. The tree will be happier too.

2 weeks ago
Hi Bonnie -

Lots of good ideas! Thanks very much for sharing your experiences!

Jen
Hi Emilia -
It does sound like your compost hasn't really decomposed all the way for some reason. I've had the clump thing happen wtih compost I purchased in bulk and it took two more years to break down enough that it wasn't clumped up in my garden.
What do you think about adding some other materials? You should be able to get arborist chips from a local arborist, ChipDrop or your local Parks Dept. Plenty of people around here also give away free manure. They can be found on websites that offer used stuff to other people, like Craigslist. And, if you wanted to add more greens, you may be able to get coffee grounds from a coffeeshop near you.
Did you have good luck with starting seeds in compost? I tried it and it wasn't very successful. Too many pathogens. I now use a sterile mix and it works so much better for me.
3 weeks ago

Oh dear, I wasn't suggesting eating it. I wouldn't either unless I knew for sure, and I wouldn't give anyone advice on what's edible and what's not. Sorry I didn't even think of that.
3 weeks ago
My plant id app says it's lady's thumb. It also goes by names with the words smartweed and knotweed in them. It is a non-native, invasive plant.
3 weeks ago
My plant id app says it's wild garlic. It's does look like a small version of garlic.
3 weeks ago
Hi JoyLynn -
Part of the issue with our clay is that it is a sloppy mess much of the year, because it rains here from October to May. Working with it when it is wet is not wise because it gets compacted. Then in the summer, we get no rain and the clay gets hard as a rock. Another issue we have is that anywhere the ground has been exposed to the weather for a long time (like all the grassy areas in the sun where you'd want the plant a vegetable garden), the clay has turned into hardpan which is pretty much like rock. Sometimes you can break it up with a pickax, but usually that's a futile effort.
I've found a couple solutions to the issue that have made gardening much easier here. The soil gets a lot better after it's heavily mulched with arborist chips for a few years. Sounds kind of like what you are doing. We've been doing that for about 5 years now, and the soil is much more workable. And when planting something in an area with hardpan, we just pile up 6 to 8" of soil on the top of the area and put in the plant. Everything I've done this with is doing just fine. For the garden beds, we have made raised beds, but we also kind of hugelkultured in them by adding cardboard, putting branches and leaves on that, then adding soil and compost. With both these methods, we don't even have to dig up the grass, so easy-peasy!
Does your clay not turn into hardpan ever? Maybe it's all the rain we get that pounds the clay into brick.....
'Tis the season. I see mushrooms popping up everywhere, but I live in the Pacific Northwest. It's spring and very wet. Could be normal or could be that you are overwatering.
3 weeks ago
Bethany, that Growing Gardens thing is so cool! We have a small program that gets people started with raised beds, seeds and plants, but what they are doing is a league above.

I have not had much luck with growing plants from grocery store produce. I am sure part of it has to do with everything there being hybrids and maybe not really fresh either. I tried everything when I moved here, during covid times to keep me entertained. The only plant I had super great success with is celery. Grow one celery from the bottom of a plant, stick it in the ground, let it seed, and you have celery forever. But I don't even really like celery. lol.

Moving into a new house with some space to garden is pretty exciting. We moved here from Florida and it's lovely just to even have the right environement to grow vegetables and other stuff. I wish you many happy hours out in your garden!

And thank you for your suggestions. I think I've incorporated all of them from everybody's postings today. I realize that this topic is really relevant and I want to make my presentation useful and meaningful.
Hi Bethany. Thanks for your ideas! (And I thank everyone else for theirs too!)

Yes, I am northwest of you, just off the Columbia. How could I forget seed libraries! I donate seeds we get as donations from seed companies to one at the libary near me.

Yes, it is open to public. I am new to this though and am not promising anything spectacular! It's on zoom at noon this Tuesday and the link is on the Master Gardener Foundation of Cowlitz County website.