Gardening for Old Folks (Adaptative)

[Minky]

Hey @lazygardener , no I've been on the fence about the raised beds. Do you agree they would reduce weeds and warm the soil faster? I do prefer the look of them, but need to read about lasagna gardening and all those other techniques first I suppose. Maybe a crash course on google is in order. Ive been gardening for 20 years, but never did too many edibles, other than leafy greens and berries...I like a lot of salad in the summer! Never had the space or time for veggies... but now I have a big cold cellar and pantry so i can learn to can!!!


I a tad jealous of those of you already planting....

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Hi all ! I have a question please ? I am southern Indiana I have bought 3 pear trees that wont bloom. I bought a couple different kinds to cross pollinate. LOL I have bradford and cleavland all over the place blooming like mad. I remember asian pear, Barlett maybe 2 Barletts . They have been in the ground for 3-5 yrs and had bloom when I bought them. Can anyone help me get some pears ? BTW, peaches and apples are doing well.

 

[Pater est Pullis]

some brands are not poison.. just dehydrates them to death.. they will leave your property in search of water.

Or wind up in my pool, rather have no rats, so it's an even trade off.

 

[lazy gardener]

Hey @lazygardener , no I've been on the fence about the raised beds. Do you agree they would reduce weeds and warm the soil faster? I do prefer the look of them, but need to read about lasagna gardening and all those other techniques first I suppose.

Yes, soil will most likely warm up faster in a raised bed. But, to be honest, I'm not at all impressed with them as far as keeping the weeds out. The stolon types of grass, clover etc. have a tendency to creep up into the bed from the surrounding lawn. When I've done raised beds, I did put plastic on the inside of the boards, so the weedy invaders would come up between plastic and board. But I found it to be a total nuisance. I'd rather simply go around the edge of the garden with a lawn edger, or put down some lawn edging.

I'm not fond of the "look" of raised beds. I find them to be a nuisance in terms of keeping the grass from growing up around them.

Thankfully, there are as many different ways to grow a garden as there gardeners!!

If you have a nice wide strip around your bed consisting of a deep mulch, that will help to keep the weedy invaders from creeping in, but you can do the same with a standard garden.

 

[chickadoodles]

Hi all ! I have a question please ? I am southern Indiana I have bought 3 pear trees that wont bloom. I bought a couple different kinds to cross pollinate. LOL I have bradford and cleavland all over the place blooming like mad. I remember asian pear, Barlett maybe 2 Barletts . They have been in the ground for 3-5 yrs and had bloom when I bought them. Can anyone help me get some pears ? BTW, peaches and apples are doing well.

Hi granny hatchet.
I am not a tree pro at all. However I had the same problem with one of my trees.
And in the research I did. I read that if you nick one side of the tree's bark with a weed eater the tree will blossom and produce fruit to release seeds to survive.

*(BTW)* It worked for me. My tree did produce blossoms and fruit for the first time after 5 years.

Have you fertilized your tree?

 

[lazy gardener]

I would be afraid that nicking the bark would be an invite for disease.

 

[lazy gardener]

Here's an article that might provide helpful information.

https://www.starkbros.com/growing-guide/article/fruit-tree-blooming-bearing-problems

 

[CapricornFarm]

Hi all ! I have a question please ? I am southern Indiana I have bought 3 pear trees that wont bloom. I bought a couple different kinds to cross pollinate. LOL I have bradford and cleavland all over the place blooming like mad. I remember asian pear, Barlett maybe 2 Barletts . They have been in the ground for 3-5 yrs and had bloom when I bought them. Can anyone help me get some pears ? BTW, peaches and apples are doing well.

Hi Granny! I thought Bradford Pears were just ornamental, not bearing significant fruit.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Hi Granny! I thought Bradford Pears were just ornamental, not bearing significant fruit.

thats correct Cap. I was just saying the ornamental pears bloom great here but the eatable ones will not.
Yes, I have fertilized w/ chicken poop. Its what I use on all my trees . Mixed with wood chips or straw.

 

[CapricornFarm]

thats correct Cap. I was just saying the ornamental pears bloom great here but the eatable ones will not.
Yes, I have fertilized w/ chicken poop. Its what I use on all my trees . Mixed with wood chips or straw.

Are they getting enough sun where they are planted?