From ace photographer & commentor Ema: Pictures taken in October in Brooklyn (the first one), on the Upper East Side (the last one), Midtown East, Hudson Yards, and Greenwich Village.
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: October BloomsPost + Comments (42)
This post is in: Garden Chats
From ace photographer & commentor Ema: Pictures taken in October in Brooklyn (the first one), on the Upper East Side (the last one), Midtown East, Hudson Yards, and Greenwich Village.
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: October BloomsPost + Comments (42)
The penultimate one is a bit odd. Why would the city plant vegetables in a public plaza? Still, the mini peppers are very cute.
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Still keeping an eye out for the first frost, here north of Boston — it was in the 40s Thursday, and the 80s Saturday.
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
This post is in: Garden Chats
Another gift from our rightfully beloved Ozark Hillbilly: When we bought our place in 2010, every patch of grass had been mowed on a regular basis by the previous owners. I did the same for the first year or two before I had the “Wait a minute, I DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS!” moment. …
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: The RewildingPost + Comments (66)
Top photo: I have nurtured 3 patches of Flutterby weed and they are a favorite for the Great Spangled Fritillaries but they are slow to spread too. Gonna work on starting some more next spring.
There were a couple of well established patches of purple coneflowers and they have spread nicely on their own. I’m gonna give them a boost and spread some seed in places where they are still absent.
In my woods are several good patches of May Apples and they are a favorite of mine. They like to hide their blossoms (and the resulting fruits) under their large leaves.
I built this bench above one of our hollers. It’s a nice quiet spot where I can listen to the snowmelt running down the hills during winter, feed the ticks in the spring, find shade in the summer, and enjoy the autumn colors. And commune with Miss Kitty who is buried there. I am going to plant some shade loving wildflowers on her grave next year.
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What’s going on in your gardens, this week?
This post is in: Garden Chats
Dayflower Some amazing closeups from commentor SkyBluePink: Some names provided by Iphone Look-Up Jewelweed Lobelia Wild Carrot
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Beauty Along A Country RoadPost + Comments (43)
This post is in: Garden Chats
A gift from commentor Math Guy: I enjoyed the orchids post and it reminded me of the display we saw when we visited the Atlanta Botanical Gardens a few years ago. ====== And a less lovely but possibly useful one, from the Washington Post — “How to Save This Year’s Seeds for Next Year’s …
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Tropical Summer, Temperate FallPost + Comments (43)
As the garden harvest season winds down, plants are starting to transition into their next critical stage: producing seeds for future use. Yes, you can order new seed packets each year from catalogues or hit up your local big box store for the latest varieties. But collecting the seeds of your favorite spent sunflowers, green beans or basil for next year is a fairly straightforward task that can help you save money and connect you to nature and the life cycle of each plant.
It can also ensure successful plants, because you’re using seeds from specimens that have been proven to thrive in your yard. “When we save our own seeds over time, [they] become adapted to our unique microclimate,” says Emily Murphy, regenerative organic gardener and author of “Grow Now: How We Can Save Our Health, Communities, and Planet — One Garden at a Time.”
Here’s what to know about collecting seeds, and how to preserve them for future use.
Know the type of seed
There are two types of seeds: open-pollinated and hybrid.“Open-pollinated seeds derive from plants in which pollination occurs by insects, birds, wind, humans or other natural sources,” says Julie Thompson-Adolf, author of “Starting & Saving Seeds: Grow the Perfect Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers for Your Garden.” “Plants pollinated within the same species will produce seeds genetically true to type and that are similar to the parent plant.” These make excellent candidates for saving because the seeds are reliable and produce the same plant each year.
Hybrids, on the other hand, have been cross-pollinated between two seed lines, often for specific traits, such as better taste, yield or disease resistance. Although you can save hybrid seeds, it isn’t recommended because they are unpredictable. There is no way to know which characteristics will carry on to the next generation.
Choose your plants wisely
Not all seeds are created equally, even among a group of the same type of plant. “Choose plants that performed well in your garden throughout the season, produced big, beautiful, blemish-free fruit or pretty blooms, and avoided disease,” says Thompson-Adolf.Also consider the processing required for the type of plant you’re working with. For some plants, including beans, brassicas, carrots, corn, lettuce and radishes, going to seed is the next stage in the life cycle. Preserving their seeds is known as dry processing and involves cutting seedpod stalks, drying them, separating the seeds from the rest of the plant and removing plant debris. Plants that produce seeds inside their fruit, on the other hand, including tomatoes, cucumbers and melons, require wet processing, which involves more steps, such as fermenting the seeds first. If you’re a first-time seed saver, it’s best to stick with dry processing, says Thompson-Adolf, because it’s easier…
Full details at the link.
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What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
by Major Major Major Major| 58 Comments
This post is in: Cat Blogging, Garden Chats, Open Threads, Pet Blogging
According to her paperwork, it’s Momo’s birthday! Twelve months, the big one-nothing! So let’s all wish a happy birthday to this squeaky little cuddle monster, vicious huntress of moths, and all-around great addition to the household! 🥳🎉🎊 She and Samwise are mostly getting along now, after eight months. We got two Feliway Multicat diffusers, which …
Happy Birthday Momo! + Garden UpdatePost + Comments (58)
On the home front, the garden is mostly done for the year, obviously. The summer was brutal for our fruiting plants. The squash never produced a single female flower, and the peppers were underperforming too until the sun died down a little. (Next year I’ll install some shade cloth over the veggie plot.) Which leaves me in the awkward position of trying to ripen the last jalapeño and árbol while it’s, ah, forty degrees out at night. And this bad boy is worth ripening:
For the next week, I’ll be putting them inside Kozy Coats, which are basically cylinders of water that release their heat overnight. They’re intended for tomatoes in the spring but obviously are applicable to any similar situation. I learned this year that peppers are actually perennials–we always treated them like annuals when I was growing up–so I’ll be bringing them inside next week to see if I can overwinter them. I hear they’re much more productive in subsequent years.
We’ve also gotten the second-to-last rose of the year:
They underperformed too. I know that first-year rose transplants can be in for a bit of a shock, but I also suspect the soil is deficient somehow. Iron chlorosis seems to be the most likely bet for what’s affecting them. I’ll do a soil test in the spring and figure out what to do from there. Speaking of the spring, I’m very excited for the irises TaMara gave me to explode and take over this whole corner!
Opposite them, this weekend I’ll be sowing some Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, a native cleome that grows around the neighborhood that I’ve been harvesting seeds for.
My dad’s also offered us as many clumps of Ravenna Grass as we want for the springtime. This is a ridiculous clumping grass with bamboo-like stalks that can grow over seven feet tall. I think we’ll put them out front, on the ‘tree lawn’ between the sidewalk and the curb, which right now is just an elm tree, and some bluegrass that I’d like to slowly get rid of. (This will keep the ravenna the hell away from my foundation.) I’ve always wanted to grow bamboo, and this is the closest thing that can survive in this area, so I’ll take it!
And… that’s what’s up with me. Been working on the video game a lot. Working some at my job, too, though I wish that weren’t true. I hate it so much. Interviewing elsewhere. Got a big important final round next week–wish me luck! And, open thread!
This post is in: Garden Chats
From ace commentor and postcard-writer Mousebumples: Garden pics that I took planning to send, but never followed through, lol. A handful of daylilies… a strawberry bush (the rabbits ate most the berries this year – I’ll have to plant some nearby marigolds or something next year)…
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Taking Notes On A Garden’s ProgressPost + Comments (62)
We’re thinking of planting an apple tree next year (we have a crabapple that should help pollinate and others nearby have apple trees already).
I’m thinking of Zestar! apples, but since we have clay soil, it’ll probably need extra TLC.
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Tis the season, so we’re told, for checking over what worked in our various gardens, and what we want to do to improve them next year…
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
This post is in: Garden Chats
Sometimes orchids are so lush, I feel like I should add a NSFW warning. But, then again, it’s Sunday! From ace botanical photographer Ema: From this spring’s NYBG Orchid Show by Lily Kwong.
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Exotic OrchidsPost + Comments (33)