Mumsy's Romantic Garden Advice

[armorfirelady]

They might be the squash bug they suck the life out of thenplants. https://www.google.com/search?q=squ...XJ4APSjIHoBA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=644

We get them and the squash big borer that bores holes into the stem basically killing the plant. I have miraculously been about to grow muskmelon/cantaloupe this year I think because of the weeds and hiding them in the tomatoes. Usually those buggers get them early here. The only squash I can grow easily here is the Seminole pumpkin. It isn't a pumpkin in our traditional sense. It is a squash that was grown in FL by the Seminole Native Americans. It produces smallish fruit that taste great when they can fully ripen and stores for a good amount of time.
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I did some research last night & came to that conclusion as well. Apparently wearing at night encourages them and that's usually when I water.
I found some natural way to defeat them so today I will be making up some spray to see if it works. I finally have some pumpkins growing and don't want to lose them. Especially since the girls ate 2 of the small ones :/

 

[Kassaundra]

I did some research last night & came to that conclusion as well. Apparently wearing at night encourages them and that's usually when I water.
I found some natural way to defeat them so today I will be making up some spray to see if it works. I finally have some pumpkins growing and don't want to lose them. Especially since the girls ate 2 of the small ones

r

I war against squash bugs every year, have never come across any natural way to kill or discourage them or camaflouge (sp) the squash from finding them or any other thing. The only thing none chemical that works is persistent squishing or drowning. Some of the chemicals (which I don't use) work on the nymphs (sub adults) but not much short of nuclear bomb kills the adults. Good luck, your going to need it.

 

[armorfirelady]

Thanks Kausandra. I found a couple recipes I am going to try. Hopefully they will help some but from what I read last night they are tough to get rid of

 

[MumsyII]

They might be the squash bug they suck the life out of thenplants. https://www.google.com/search?q=squ...XJ4APSjIHoBA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=644

We get them and the squash big borer that bores holes into the stem basically killing the plant. I have miraculously been about to grow muskmelon/cantaloupe this year I think because of the weeds and hiding them in the tomatoes. Usually those buggers get them early here. The only squash I can grow easily here is the Seminole pumpkin. It isn't a pumpkin in our traditional sense. It is a squash that was grown in FL by the Seminole Native Americans. It produces smallish fruit that taste great when they can fully ripen and stores for a good amount of time.

Sorry mlowen. I would love my milkweed area to spread like yours. We had flowers and only one Monarch that we saw which a dragonfly decided it looked delicious and flew off with it.

I never knew that crouses bloomed in the fall also. Very cool, I will have to get some. Does anyone have a favorite bulb catalog they like to order from? I was going to order some from brecks, but they seem to charge a lot for shipping.

After spending too much time on the Internet yesterday I found this plant Japanese Kerria or Kerria japonica . I fell in love with it instantly and love the fact that it grows in the shade. I have the perfect spot for it. Does anyone have any experience with it?

Time to go wake sleeping beauty.

I have grown Kerria for decades in the same place. I took a cutting of it from my in-laws back yard. It had been growing there for thirty years. It can be a little slow to get going but makes a lovely shrub over time. Suckering from the base of the plant. I've never noticed anything bothering it. Like insects, deer, or rabbits. It blooms after Forsythia so gives more cheerful yellow color in the garden throughout the later Spring.

Van Engelen Inc. wholesale catalog is my favorite. I get it every year. You can order in bulk amounts of naturalizing bulbs.

 

[BlueMouse]

I am now ordering a bulb catalog and trying to find a place to put a Kerria, which I had never heard of before today...

Now, my experience with bulbs has not been super encouraging. So many of the pretty ones have to be lifted every year. I don't really have time for that at this point in my life. which makes me sad because I would really love to grow gladiolus. many of the others either wear out after a year or two (tulips) or the squirells eat them

any suggestions?

 

[armorfirelady]

I am now ordering a bulb catalog and trying to find a place to put a Kerria, which I had never heard of before today...

Now, my experience with bulbs has not been super encouraging. So many of the pretty ones have to be lifted every year. I don't really have time for that at this point in my life. which makes me sad because I would really love to grow gladiolus. many of the others either wear out after a year or two (tulips) or the squirells eat them

any suggestions?

Im going to check out the link Mumsy posted but I have also gotten bulbs from our local Botanical gardens. Every spring they have a bulb sale. All the bulbs you can fit in a bag for $5. Also after our county fair is over they sell all the plants that were used to decorate the walkways and such.
Perhaps this would be an option for you?

(And I also don't buy bulbs I have to take out...I would forget where I planted them even if I marked them

)

Now to see what a Kerria is...........Mumsy I love this forum but I need to start working OT for all these plants I think I need now

 

[MumsyII]

My mom used to make little hardware baskets to bury in her garden so she could grow tulips. Field mice and squirrels would eat them if she didn't. She had a mason build her a brick planter that she grew bulbs in for many years on the farm when she got tired of making those wire baskets.

My sister couldn't grow bulbs in Seattle because squirrels would dig them up.

I've been fortunate. The only thing I have to contend with growing bulbs is water soggy soil rotting them in winter. I love glads and dahlias but they don't always survive over winter. I buy them cheap and replace them every other year. Some times I go through the trouble of piling shavings, DL, or wind dropped fir boughs over the plantings. Some years it works and gives enough protection for them to come back. The trick is waiting until first hard frost to put the protection on and then removing it early enough in Spring for them to warm up and start to grow.

Scillia (Blue Bells) is very hardy. Has naturalized all over my garden in vast seas of blue with waves of white. Fall crocus is hardy. Many daffodils.

There are native bulbs that naturalize as well.

I look at dahlias and glads as my special treat. Like ordering a hot fudge sunday while eating out. I don't do it all the time, but when I do, I make sure I enjoy every morsel for as long as I can.


Anenomes are a Spring blooming bulb that doens't come back every year. But I do love it and splurge every so often.


Puppy Girl came to visit me today. She and her darling husband just moved into their first rental home. She has a fenced back yard and the land lords said she could garden. We filled the back of her truck today with potted dahlia, potted old roses, starts of perennials and annuals, and anything else she wanted. We had a wonderful visit. She told me she couldn't believe my potager garden was for real. She told me, "You don't fertilize. You don't spray. You barely weed. Yet your vegetables are growing and producing out of control. I want to garden like you Mum. Just stick it in the dirt and water."
I got tears.

Above picture of Puppy Girl playing dress up in the Spring garden when she was a teen. Naturalized Blue Bells seen behind her to the right.

 

[midnightroo]

I have grown Kerria for decades in the same place. I took a cutting of it from my in-laws back yard. It had been growing there for thirty years. It can be  a little slow to get going but makes a lovely shrub over time. Suckering from the base of the plant. I've never noticed anything bothering it. Like insects, deer, or rabbits. It blooms after Forsythia so gives more cheerful yellow color in the garden throughout the later Spring.

Van Engelen Inc.  wholesale catalog is my favorite. I get it every year. You can order in bulk amounts of naturalizing bulbs.

Thanks for the information about Kerria and the catalog. I am very excited about finding it and glad it doesn't have any issues where you are. Hopefully, the same will hold true for me.

Squash bugs and now for us the imported stink bugs are huge issues. I too have found spraying them with water and killing them when they come up to dry is the most effective method for killing the squash bugs. Oh, and of course smooshing the eggs.The borers are different. I just try to grow things they can't bore into, so hollow stemmed squahses are out.

I too would love to be able to garden as you do. You daughter is very lucky to have you close and to have taught her the importance of gardening. I wish I can do the same with my daughter. Is that a red rhododendron behind your daughter?

Gotta go, sleeping beauty just woke up.

 

[BlueMouse]

rooting hydrangeas... just proceed as per your basic instructions for rootings? someone just told me they root well... My mom has two or three beautiful varieties. I think I'll root them now and decide where to plant them in the spring. Will they do ok with only afternoon sun or do they need all day sunshine to bloom well? should I keep them in the house over the winter or should I let them overwinter in a sheltered location?

ETA: I adore the picture of puppy girl. I'm so glad I'm not the only person who still played dress up as a teenager. I was more often the knight than the princess though. I even had a sword

 

[Kassaundra]

Thanks for the information about Kerria and the catalog. I am very excited about finding it and glad it doesn't have any issues where you are. Hopefully, the same will hold true for me.

Squash bugs and now for us the imported stink bugs are huge issues. I too have found spraying them with water and killing them when they come up to dry is the most effective method for killing the squash bugs. Oh, and of course smooshing the eggs.The borers are different. I just try to grow things they can't bore into, so hollow stemmed squahses are out.

I too would love to be able to garden as you do. You daughter is very lucky to have you close and to have taught her the importance of gardening. I wish I can do the same with my daughter. Is that a red rhododendron behind your daughter?

Gotta go, sleeping beauty just woke up.

That is exactly what I do, only I add a chicken or two who love to eat the squash bugs, what they don't eat I squish.