Mumsy's Romantic Garden Advice

[armorfirelady]

Armor, not sure if you can freeze sunflowers. You might want to out a covering over them so the squirrels don't get to them. I am really disliking the squirrels this year. I think putting them by the furnace might work. Just check for signs of spoilage.

Squirrels in my veggie garden are rare. My dogs are trained to keep them out of the yard. And I moved the bird feeders to the back property line so the squirrels stay there now while the dogs watch them for hours

They havent turned to seeds yet so I will dry them inside when they do and see how they hold up. I wonder if I stored them in air tight container that would work? As long as they dried out completely of course.

I think the "zoners" are high on something personally. We used to be 7B but now are 6A I believe w/ the new system, but w/ our HOT, DRRRRRRY summers and mostly mild winters I just don't believe it!

I agree on the zone thing. I cant ever remember what zone I am am other than its cold in the winter and warm in the summer

I like Mumsy theory if you dont plant it you wont know if it will grow

The view from my back deck this evening. Don't mind the dirt spots, the ground is low there so I am trying to fill them in. I just dumped and the chickens spread it out for me.

Beautiful yard. My hens are spreading the dirt of the newly planted flowers

I keep adding more and stamping it down and they follow behind me and dig away. I even tried deterring them by digging holes in their favorite dust hole........nope more interested in what I am doing. Though they will leave the plants alone if I dump a bucket of peat moss in their dusting hole

 

[midnightroo]

I am in eastern OK about 45 miles south of Tulsa.  OK has major differences in climate too.  The area we live in is called green country, full of lakes, rivers, hills.

Sounds very nice and similar to us. But wish we had the mild winters

 

[midnightroo]

Squirrels in my veggie garden are rare. My dogs are trained to keep them out of the yard. And I moved the bird feeders to the back property line so the squirrels stay there now while the dogs watch them for hours

They havent turned to seeds yet so I will dry them inside when they do and see how they hold up. I wonder if I stored them in air tight container that would work? As long as they dried out completely of course. I agree on the zone thing. I cant ever remember what zone I am am other than its cold in the winter and warm in the summer

I like Mumsy theory if you dont plant it you wont know if it will grow

Beautiful yard. My hens are spreading the dirt of the newly planted flowers

I keep adding more and stamping it down and they follow behind me and dig away. I even tried deterring them by digging holes in their favorite dust hole........nope more interested in what I am doing. Though they will leave the plants alone if I dump a bucket of peat moss in their dusting hole

Haha, that's why I didn't take the time to spread it out. I replanted a plant that they were dust bathing on and then tried to dust bath in the new spot. I put rocks around it so it was harder for them to scratch the plant out and grass is all around it. Yes completely dry for the sunflowers. Though once the seeds dry you can pull them out of the flower head to store them. I wonder if you should put a paper bag over them when drying so the seeds don't fall off and make a mess.

 

[midnightroo]

I forgot my neighbor found this site. Help you shop by zones for fruit trees. I think I am ok posting http://backyardfruit.com/

Also gurneys is another site that I have bought from. Plants can be Very ify at times, but they run specials and they have a variety of plants that you can research to help you decide if what you want.

 

[armorfirelady]

Yes completely dry for the sunflowers. Though once the seeds dry you can pull them out of the flower head to store them. I wonder if you should put a paper bag over them when drying so the seeds don't fall off and make a mess.

Good idea about the paper bags. That's how I dry herbs as well. Thank you

 

[MumsyII]

When I first started collecting books as a young woman, the zone thing scared me. I put way too much emphasis on it when choosing plants.

Then I was visiting this remarkable Koi breeder and wandering in his gardens and spotted a large Banana tree! Here? In the Pacific Northwest? Outside? I couldn't believe my eyes and asked the property owner how he managed that remarkable feat?

He explained to me about clever planting sites. Finding a protected place between two heated greenhouses that protected the plant from freezing wind. He used the dead and spent leaves of the Banana tree to pile and mulch the base of the plant. Banana trees aren't really trees. They are like huge perennials. New plants come up at the base. He told me he cut the larger parent plant down every fall, and nurtured the small start at the base for the next year. Amazing amount of information I learned from this man and that Banana tree. I grew one in my green house for many years until I lost interest and it shriveled up one cold night and never came back.

The # 1 lesson about zones? *Meh* If someone in your region can grow something exotic outside, you can too. Providing micro climates is the way to do it.
If you want to grow a fig tree but live in the wrong *zone* then create that *zone* in a nook against a wall that gets morning sun that will store heat and radiate it back onto the plant during chilly nights. Brick or stone walls are great for this. Entry ways usually have corners and nooks and crannies where special needs plants can fit. And dwarf trees are our friends. We can find places to stick them just about anywhere sun shines. There is also the method of pruning called 'espalier'.

 

[Alibabe]

I have some cauliflowers growing in my garden that were attacked by, I think, the white cabbage worms. I know that grape farmers grow roses near their vines to attract insects away from the grapes and was wondering if and what could I plant next to my cauliflowers to attract the insects away from eating them? I have heard that certain herbs placed beside flowers / bushes help protect them. Any ideas?

 

[MumsyII]

I have some cauliflowers growing in my garden that were attacked by, I think, the white cabbage worms. I know that grape farmers grow roses near their vines to attract insects away from the grapes and was wondering if and what could I plant next to my cauliflowers to attract the insects away from eating them? I have heard that certain herbs placed beside flowers / bushes help protect them. Any ideas?

I don't have experience with attracting insects away from Cauliflower because I also plant Cabbage, Kale, Collards, and Broccoli in the same garden. They all belong to the Brassica family and the white cabbage moth that lays her eggs on the leaf produces the leaf eating worm. I disrupt that cycle by covering my crop with row covers. I use clothes pins to clip the edges of it to sticks so the wind doesn't blow it off. If I am careful, I can reuse the row covers year to year. They cut to size with scissors. The food grade DE comes in handy for dusting these plants as well but I don't bother because watering washes it off and it's only effective if it remains dry. I think the grape farmer would have success because because he is only worried about one crop in his field. When you garden with multiple crops in the same area, this becomes problematic.

 

[MumsyII]

I grew huge Cauliflower with no leaf damage this year by using row covers.


Early on when heads are just beginning to form is when I start putting row covers on.


Cauliflower is front left. I removed the cover to take a picture. Tomatoes, cukes, and pumpkins are kept under plastic to give them extra heat.


My cauliflower heads. I harvested a month ago.

I just thought of a plant to pull the cabbage moth away. It is also in the Brassica family. Maybe if you planted a lot of Mustard it would draw them? They could get busy on the Mustard plant and mabe leave the Cauliflower in peace?

Edited to add: Also Radishes are in the Brassica family. The seed is cheap. You can grow them just about anywhere and let them go to seed. The problem I see with this idea is that you may attract more cabbage moths to your garden than if you left things as they are.

 

[Alibabe]

Thanks Mumsy, I never thought of covering with plastic...... great idea though! Dh will be pleased when I tell him.

My girls managed to get under the bird netting that we currently have over all the veg to keep all birds out and in the 2 minutes that they were in there, they managed to almost strip one of the cauliflower leaves completely. Thankfully they did not get as far as attacking the cauliflower head that is growing otherwise I think we would be having chicken for dinner tonight.

Mustard does sound good though, love mustard as does DH, same goes with radishes. We are trying to get another bed ready for veg. Removing the clay and filling up with soil and chicken litter so maybe we can start another lot of cauliflower, broccoli etc there and cover away from prying eyes of insects and girls.