What did you do in the garden today?

[jerryse]

f
Top worked this pear tree earlier . Grafts are all growing . Will be a 4 in one . Maxine , Honey Sweet . Hudar , Savinac . Formerly a Sugar Sweet that I grafted onto a wild flowering pear . I needed a pollinator tree for the other Sugar Sweet pear on flowering pear . This should cover that need .

 

[GardenNut]

May I ask why you plant Zinnias?  I plant them purely for the flower "prettiness".  A good reason IMO but was wondering if there's another purpose for them?

I plant them for the flowers, and if I recall correctly, butterflies like them. Although I admit I don't think zinnias are that pretty, but they do offer some color and fill in around the perennials.

 

[chickadoodles]

f
Top worked this pear tree earlier . Grafts are all growing . Will be a 4 in one . Maxine , Honey Sweet . Hudar , Savinac . Formerly a Sugar Sweet that I grafted onto a wild flowering pear . I needed a pollinator tree for the other Sugar Sweet pear on flowering pear . This should cover that need .

That's cool!

I want to try some grafting of several fruits onto one tree but I am still collecting them. lol So it will be a few years.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yesterday I was able to get zinnias and a few herb plants planted. More rain today. I think I'm getting webs growing between my toes from all this rain!

on the positive side, everything is lush and green

May I ask why you plant Zinnias? I plant them purely for the flower "prettiness". A good reason IMO but was wondering if there's another purpose for them?

Re: Zinnias: I have not planted them often, but from my observation, the seeds are nice and big... should be a bird attractant in the fall. They also seem to attract a lot of insects. I think I'd consider them to be an attractant for pollinators and beneficials. Can't beat the vibrant colors of the zinnias.

 

[jerryse]

Planted 10 tomato plants today . Going to train these up cattle panels . I have used all kinds of cages over the years and even grown them on the ground . I have seedling tomato plants that are not big enough yet to plant out yet . So not done . Two were large cherry tomato plants that are blooming and setting fruit . The other 8 are better boy . I have Brandywine and Great White to plant yet .

 

[lazy gardener]

Planted 10 tomato plants today . Going to train these up cattle panels . I have used all kinds of cages over the years and even grown them on the ground . I have seedling tomato plants that are not big enough yet to plant out yet . So not done . Two were large cherry tomato plants that are blooming and setting fruit . The other 8 are better boy . I have Brandywine and Great White to plant yet .

I think the easiest and best working tomato cage I've ever done is 2 parallel cattle panels, about 15" apart. Just plant the tomatoes in the middle, and the panels corral the tomatoes very well. No staking. No falling cages, no tying. No pruning... unless you want to.

My all time favorite trellis for pole beans, cukes and squash is an old swing set. Leave the S hooks at the top. Tie 2 stiff wires at the bottom of both sets of legs parallel to the ground (about 4" above the ground). Then run twine between the S hooks and the wires at the bottom, zig-zagging it a bit if you need to so it's about 6" apart on each side. Plant the beans in a row just inside the wires.

 

[Bugseye]

That pear tree looks great. The way I trellis tomatoes and raspberries is t-posts with wire or rope connecting them. Keeps things in order. I've set up bamboo tepees for the peas and beans, just because I have them.

 

[lazy gardener]

It's fun to get creative in the garden with materials, colors, and textures: always trying new plants and colors, repurposing materials, designing trellises, green houses, cold frames and the like.

 

[GardenNut]

It's fun to get creative in the garden with materials, colors, and textures:  always trying new plants and colors, repurposing materials, designing trellises, green houses, cold frames and the like.

I agree LG! I enjoy touring other people's gardens and seeing their creativity. I always learn something and get inspired! And I'm a gardening magazine addict.

 

[lazy gardener]

Work is interfering with my gardening. Got the front of the garden laid out with paper and cardboard in the little strip between the fence and the strawberry bed. Will spread a thick layer of wood chips. The birch trees are almost telling me that it's time to plant corn. So, hope to get some corn, sorghum, sunflower, and bean seed soaking today. Need to tuck some cucumber seed into the ground as well. And plant potatoes. Also need to fertilize the orchard. All of my trees survived the winter nicely. Pretty green sprouts!

Planted some pansies and garlic in the strawberry bed last weekend... in the pouring rain. Love working in the rain!