The gardener’s guide to Lenten rose https://t.co/X9dBbIiiYq
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 1, 2021
I seem to remember there are hellebore fans among us…
Low tech ‘farming’:
Turns out the relatively rare fungi can be cultivated and grown outside of its natural habitat after all. https://t.co/uvd3FbAOzI
— Food & Wine (@foodandwine) February 19, 2021
High tech ditto:
Indoor farms, which use vertical growing technology, artificial light, temperature control and minimal soil to grow plants, is gaining ground and investors https://t.co/AOGfmcWefo pic.twitter.com/42aOTReHCI
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 20, 2021
(You guys want pretty pics on Sunday morning? Send me some!)
***********
I broke down & placed my annual order with my favorite heirloom tomato grower in California. The already expensive shipping costs have just about doubled — priority mail is no longer reliable for live plants, so Laurel’s using express shipping exclusively. Decided it was still worth it to me (where else am I gonna find great varieties like Chocolate Stripes, Ruby Gold, or Tati’s Wedding?), but now I feel like Louis deJoy personally owes me money, the sumbich!
Still in the 30s here north of Boston, but the temps are supposed to climb into the 50s this week, so I’m planning to drag the three potted roses and Spousal Unit’s half-dozen planters of autumn-acquired dwarf irises out of the garage into the side yard. Meaning, no doubt, there will be at least one more snowstorm before the end of March…
What’s going on in your garden (planning / prep / indoors), this week?
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone???
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
NotMax
Priority mail is no longer reliable, period.
mrmoshpotato
I feel like DeJoy should be pelted with rotten produce, then shot out of a cannon.
ETA
You’re certainly tempting nature. :)
satby
@NotMax: Thousands of baby chicks would agree if they were still alive.
satby
It’s going to hit the 60s for most of this week after today, but will sink back into the 40s again by next weekend, and the overnight temperatures will go back down below hard freeze temps every night. So no dragging any overwintering plants outside for at least another month around here. Or uncovering the few young ones I covered last year.
@rikyrah: Good morning ?
Jeffery
Had started Ox Heart tomatoes in January. They are up and doing fine. The seeds ordered showed up this week. Am trying dahlias from seeds. Suppose to be easy. We’ll see. They got planted in pots the other day and on the south facing windowsill. the crocus are coming up and starting to flower. The birds are doing their mating thing. Lots of singing from them.
NotMax
@satby
Been unseasonably chilly and rainy here for most of the past week.
Baud
@satby:
I’m pretty sure there’s a circle in hell where baby chicks pick at the innards of the damned for eternity.
mrmoshpotato
@satby:
Oh March. Don’t ever change, you crazy, confused month.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: Wow. That’s ummm…. Wow.
satby
@Baud: That…would give me some feeling of karma, but the baby chicks didn’t deserve that. And you just know that alert went all the way to the top, and DeJoy probably rubbed his hands together gleefully.
Why, yes, I do hate that motherfucker personally.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
We’ve had a couple days nice enough to get out there and do some cleanup of vines and other junk plants. But I was going to build a new raised bed this weekend and can’t motivate to do it. It’s just too damned cold.
I think I might start the seeds indoors today though.
satby
@mrmoshpotato: But, I’ll sing in the sunshine and dance in the rain, because it will be 60°ish, which is my idea of perfect weather ?
Baud
@mrmoshpotato: Too lenient?
@satby:
DeJoy should have been named De Vil, as in Cruella.
satby
@Baud: they’re cousins
ok, that autocorrect was weird.
OzarkHillbilly
The Big Freeze has put me into a Big (gardening) Bind. Well, the BF combined with a very particular cabinet project for a friend has me in the BgB. And now things have gone from February to April (with no doubt March to follow) I’ve got all kinds of stuff sprouting up where I’m not yet ready for it to. Welcome to the Ozarks, where the weather is always confused.
satby
The only gardening activity I have going on is seeds starting in the aerogarden, and I’m skeptical because that water seems to be staying at room temperature, which in my house is 64° and that’s 8° too cold for tomatoes to germinate. We’ll see.
OzarkHillbilly
I’ve been meaning to say but keep forgetting to, that I have a scrip of Novox 100mg to pass on from Woof to any older arthritic dog out there who is already taking it. We had refilled it just weeks before his final day so it’s just a few short of the 180 count. At nearly a buck a pill I can’t bring myself to throw them out w/o first offering them up. My email is karstedm2 at gmail dot com.
Hopefully, someone can use them.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: How’s the rear end job coming?
raven
It’s busting out here, daffodils, tulip magnolias and various other critter blooming like mad. If this keeps up there will be no azaleas at the Masters again.
Immanentize
My tomato seedlings (Sungold, Campari, and Yellow Pear) are all stretching for the sun in their tube planters. But no action yet on my harvested african violet or columbine seeds.
20° this morning. Waiting for April and so should AL!
Fuck DeJoy.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud:
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the cuteness carrying out the horror.
Immanentize
@mrmoshpotato: That is the beauty of that level of hell! Just don’t think about the next level which features the StayPuff Marshmallows…
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
No rescues in the area?
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: generic rimadyl huh? I emailed ya.
raven
@raven: Come to think of it ours is covered by doggie health insurance.
mrmoshpotato
@Immanentize:
The Choice is made! The Traveller has come!
SkyBluePink
Lenten rose are my favorites. My goal is to have them all over the property. The colors are so varied and odd plus their early blooming, longevity and easy care make them a perfect flower!
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: Between frozen bolts and argumentative brake lines, it took most of the day to get the old one out. Learned something new: Yes the rear end has disc brakes, but it also has drum brakes for the parking brake. I’m like, “Huh??? Jeebus, what a fubar solution to what should be a straight question.” But I’m just a wood butcher not an automotive engineer. I guess there’s a reason… Anyway, the hard part is done. Putting it back together should go a lot quicker.
As things worked out I was only called upon to help a few times, which was good because I have a *cabinet install* to do today and there was a bunch of finishing I had to get done in prep of that.
**it’s going into the ultimate off-road all season camper, my buddy is going to drop it off today so I’ll still be able to help my son when needed.
OzarkHillbilly
@debbie: People are afraid of getting something that’s been adulterated. Nobody wants to risk being a part of that and I can’t say I blame them. So, friends, none of my local friends need them so now I ask here.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: dang! I bought a passenger side mirror with the arm, gasket and screws but it turns out that you need a inside bracket which is unavailable. I hate to drill into the door and then not have it work so I’m thinking big fender washers bent a bit to fit the door profile. ugh
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: We bought hundreds of dollars in meds they before we lost Lil Bit and we gave them to the shelter.
Mary G
My hope is that the brightest minds available to the Biden administration are laser focused on making the postmaster regret ever accepting the position. He got caught union busting before here in SoCal and I have an honorary nephew who’s in the postal union who says he’s got all kinds of shit up his sleeve.
satby
@Mary G:
So much mine too, including jail time.
HinTN
@OzarkHillbilly: We donated our Lightning’s meds back to his vet because they assured us that they had customers who could use them. Likewise his big orthopedic bed. Our vet is pricey but good people.
HinTN
@raven: Don’t they use bags of ice to hold them back in seasons like this?
Gin & Tonic
Who can answer why there are so many damn types of Sheetrock? I went into the great orange satan and there’s a whole aisle. I got confused and left.
I’m looking to do the walls in one interior room – been meaning to for years. All the rest of the interior is plaster.
WaterGirl
Several months ago, someone in the garden chat mentioned Summer Dreams Farm as a great source for dahlias. I immediately went to the site, and about 90% of them were SOLD OUT. The front page splash screen said that after they split the dahlias in March, they would make more available.
I started checking back in February because I didn’t know how precise the March reference was. As we got to March, I started checking every day.
Last night the splash screen was gone and 6 out of the 9 I had wanted were available again, but it looks like they go really fast.
Summer Dreams Farm
debbie
@satby:
Thirded. That photo of the stacks of chicks in boxes was heart-breaking.
Ken
@Gin & Tonic: Assuming your question isn’t rhetorical: several different thicknesses, a few sheet sizes, water-resist or not, fire-resist or not. And of course several manufacturers all wanting shelf space. For a room other than the kitchen or bath, you probably want the vanilla 1/2″ 4×8 sheets.
OzarkHillbilly
@Gin & Tonic: You have no idea. Home depot and Lowes don’t even begin to cover the variety. (you don’t ever want to hang lead lined or high impact board)
1/2″ should suffice for most residential uses, sized for the room. 4×12 for a wall that is between 10′-12′ long and 8′ tall. The green MR board is only for use in high moisture areas like bathrooms. 5/8 Firecode is common in commercial but generally only used to put a fire barrier between an attached garage and the rest of a house.
Immanentize
@Ken:
@OzarkHillbilly:
Then there is cement board which I use sparingly in a place I can knock my head against as I am hanging sheetrock.
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize: Yep. I used it around our home’s bath tub. Overkill (because I used a tub surround) but it will never rot out which MR board will if it is subjected to a persistent leak.
MattF
That truffle news sounds like a big deal. I’d regard it with a bit of suspicion, since there’s some marketing going on there— the expert quoted in the article says the home-grown truffles taste just like the wild ones and that they’ll be just as expensive— but the blind pig who gets lucky won’t be fooled.
WaterGirl
@Mary G: Is it the evil postmaster general or your honorary nephew that has stuff up his sleeve?
Hoping it’s the nephew with receipts and not the postmaster with more evil ideas.
germy
Spanky
New phone, so no autofill, and this might go to moderation if I’m entering a different addy.
Any opinions on best way to propagate roses via cuttings or layering?
Eta – no moderation!
Gin & Tonic
@OzarkHillbilly: Thanks for the rundown, also Ken.
I think I’ll stick with 4×8 just for ease of handling, install it vertically. I have just under 8’ ceilings, and a fair number of openings to work around.
Spartan green
@WaterGirl: That was me talking about Summer Dreams Farm dahlias. I grabbed 7 when I first mentioned them. They’ll go with the 5 that survived last summer. I haven’t checked on the survivors yet. They are superior to all the other ones I’ve tried.
I have a question about clematis I’ve been meaning to ask. Maybe next Sunday
germy
What’s the deal with all the rabbit poop in front of our house?
I first noticed it when there was snow on the ground. Little rabbit pellets everywhere.
I told my wife my theory: it’s a rabbit territory dispute. Different rabbits are fighting over who gets to claim our front yard (and summer flowers and vegetables). My wife said “But rabbits are prey animals. They’re territorial?”
But they are.
I saw this and it reminded me of our neighborhood rabbits:
TerryC
I mostly plant trees in my private arboretum/disc golf course. Since I retired 6 years ago that’s more than 10,000 trees. (I don’t do annuals.)
This spring I have about 400 bare root trees on order from three different places: some oaks, sycamore, lilacs, hazel nut, persimmon, and more. Will also be locating and relocating by transplanting young volunteer black walnut, red cedar, cottonwood, catalpa, and more.
WaterGirl
@Spartan green: That was you? Then you owe me about a hundred bucks! :-)
(thank you)
Chief Oshkosh
Off topic, but…
On the talking picture box this morning: Dana Perino sanctimoniously telling us how to get through the pandemic. Complete lack of self-awareness. An insult to anyone who wasn’t born rich and white. Totally on brand, though, for the person who prototyped what later became the Trump-type spokesperson.
Ken
@Chief Oshkosh: “Obviously not everyone will be able to buy an estate in New Zealand and fly there by private jet until the pandemic ends. Some may have to charter a flight.”
Baud
@Chief Oshkosh:
“Avoid going into indoor spaces like supermarkets. Send the help instead.”
GregMulka
We have the tomatoes, peppers, and some other stuff under the grow lights in the basement. The spouse bought one of those plastic covered greenhouses from the local farm supply store and has started lavender in that.
Home Depot put out their trees on Wednesday and we bought four dwarf cherry trees. This is our 3rd go round with cherries. The soil is fine, we just can’t seem to make them grow from that single stick stage. These are much further along.
Two of the three bee hives made it through the winter. We put a pollen sub into the survivors last weekend as well as started the sugar feeding. I need to do inspections today but it looks like we’ll need to do a split from both hives, probably before or right at the end of the month.
CaseyL
If I’m going to have tomatoes this year, I’d better get my butt off to a nursery, as last year’s attempt to grow volunteers from the year before failed. Ditto the lettuces. While I’m at the nursery, I may as well get some carrot seed too.
But my strawberries seem to have weathered the winter just fine, thankyou – in fact, the ones I didn’t cover up seem to have done as well or better than the ones I did. Go figure.
@TerryC: Planting forests? Private arboretum/disc golf courses? I envy people with a lot of land, until I remember how much work is needed to take care of it, and also remember how essentially lazy I am :)
OzarkHillbilly
@Gin & Tonic: Obviously, you can install it vertically but you have to watch your studs. Considering the rest of your house is plaster I’m just gonna say that they weren’t so careful about 16″ centers when framing back then. So have a few 2x4s on hand to scab on to the existing studs when they got off center. Also check them before you start hanging. Sometimes by starting in the middle of the wall you can avoid the issue all together. Make sure to get them tight to the ceiling. A foot jack is invaluable. Hopefully not made in China. I had one that was made of such cheap steel the toe kick bent flat after just a few sheets. Still use able but a real pain in the instep.
Mary Ellen Sandahl
I lurk mostly, and love the inherent respite of the garden chats (along with the ducks, dogs, cats, fab photos, etc. of course). I’m in northern NJ and have been basically away from gardening for 2 or 3 years; have vast quantities of cleanup to do — and have also fallen out of the catalog ordering loop. Trusting that the relief checks won’t be too long in coming, I’d like to order some pollinator-encouraging annual seeds. Anyone have favorite catalogs they can suggest?
laura
Spent the last 2 days weeding and then weeding some more in the raised bed and the perimeter of the yard. Cleavers is the worst. So very sore and aching in and around the hams. I’m going to seed some poppies, sweet peas, zinnias and sunflowers this week and then get some fresh mulch to blanket. All the Mexican sage is trimmed back to the new tender shoots, same with the hydrangeas. This is my first season as a retiree and I’m hoping to make the yard a riot of blooms and green stuff for the birbs and the bees butterflies dragonflies and such like.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@satby:
They’re already in a circle of hell, they know what they did.
Mary G
@WaterGirl: The postmaster, unfortunately. Wants to wreck as much as he can.
MomSense
@satby:
I will never forgive that evil motherfucker for what happened to the baby chicks. I can’t tell you how much joy I get from hearing the peeping of the chicks at the post office every year. It’s always the same. You walk in, hear the adorable sounds of peeping, and you can’t help but smile. Then you see all the other people in line with the same delighted smile.
raven
@HinTN: It hasn’t worked for a few years,
Lacuna Synecdoche
Anne Laurie @ Top:
He does. The changes DeJoy instituted were specifically aimed at this result; i.e., making USPS mail so unreliable that companies and people are FORCED to use commercial shippers – LIKE DEJOY’S OWN COMPANIES – for any and every kind of time-sensitive mail.
Someone should institute a class-action civil lawsuit to go after DeJoy’s own personal fortune, and that of his companies. Even if the lawsuit is a loser, we could still force him to spend a fortune defending against it. Bastard.
Mart
@satby: Needs to pay us back for the 60-$2M sorting machines he ordered dissassembled.
I was at a fake meat producer and asked about one of my favorites, Quorn. They said they looked into producing it, and that it was a variation of a fungi close to athletes feet, grown in vats. Lot of times factory folks try to screw with me, but this one sounded sincere.
StringOnAStick
I had a small first class bag package leave NYC on Feb 24, it arrived yesterday. I have 3 clivia babies on order and they’ve decided they can’t ship anything until it’s much warmer because the heat packs they include for colder areas only last 3 days, which used to be enough. DeJoy needs to go, now, and investigated immediately! He sent overflow contracts to his company for the Christmas rush; how is that not self dealing?
satby
@Mary Ellen Sandahl: I like So many, but Burpees, Spring Hill, and Park Seeds are good catalogs for seeds of all kinds.
Kayla Rudbek
Any recommendations for plants for part-sun in a USDA zone7a (preferably perennials that can handle Virginia climate?) The heucheras and the hostas do just fine, but lily of the valley doesn’t.
mvr
The mailing costs were getting to be more than the plants (as noted in the OP) but there are some things that are hard to get otherwise, and early season plants don’t get shipped for our early season. So we went back to starting ours from seed indoors.
Planted broccoli, cauliflower and broccoli raab inside in February to put out later but still before the last frost. Unfortunately they grew like crazy and I had to replant them in 4 inch pots. They grew more and since it is not going to freeze for another week or so and since they are supposed to be frost hardy I planted one raab in a normally too shady spot under a cherry tree (but not now with no leaves yet) just to see what will happen. I have more if it dies.
Put the eggplant seeds in the indoor planter a week or so back and they are now up and put the tomatoes (Hungarian Heart aka Red Oxheart, Costoluto Genovese & Golden Jubilee two days ago.) Basil seeds are weeks away form planting yet. We’ll get a Brandywine locally when they show up at the markets because they are everywhere.
Fennel is coming by mail later in the Spring. And I’m going to try seeding arugula around some other stuff. We’ll see how this all goes. It is 70 out today and we live in Nebraska where the frost date used to be May 15 but nowadays is usually in April.
AlaskaReader
I thought I was tired of winter, but after reading all the comments I realized I’m really depressed. (kidding)
Still 3 feet of snow on my garden.