What did you do in the garden today?

[Artichoke Lover]

Gurneys used to be great but a few years ago they were bought out by another company that also owns Spring Hill and a lot of other companies. I think every company they’ve bought has gone severely down hill as soon as they were bought out. Particularly their shipping. People one the West Coast can still get stuff from Spring Hill somewhat reliably but if you want something shipped to the East Coast? It will take a month to ship and will be dead as a door nail. There are some exceptions but this is generally what happens. I was lucky with Gurneys this year since most of my stuff shipped early the only thing I haven’t gotten are the mulberries. Those I expect to be DOA as it’s already consistently in the 70s-80s here during the day. I think they are still okay with seeds but I won’t be ordering live plants again. I will order from Starks or Burpee next year for any live plants.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

At my previous residence @Sueby, that is about 40 miles south of my current property, I had thyme and chives in a very large plastic pot. Those herbs came up every year for 8 years. I also had a small terra cotta pot planted with Russian Tarragon. That also came up every year. They were on the south facing side of the house so that may have helped. Or perhaps the soil? The weather is a bit colder and snowier here so I’m not sure why, but the thyme does really well here. I’ve had issues with Gurney myself @BReeder! I don’t plan on ordering from them again. The local stores are well stocked this year even though I suspect there are returning “pandemic” gardeners. I’m going back to the “buy local” practice until I have to look further.

 

[Sueby]

@Wee Farmer Sarah I've had thyme live for years, then just up & die for no reason - just the perfect winter I guess (same with lavender). I'm assuming they didn't get enough water at some point as they're in a pot maybe. It's a relatively new pot/dirt - I believe this was their 2nd winter. I topped them with compost in the fall, maybe they didn't like that but that's kind of weird, lol. They are in full sun in the middle of the yard. It's a mystery! But it's ok because I wasn't fond of that thyme anyway, I wanted lemon but they didn't have it when I bought it.

My sick girl isn't doing well. I hate this part of chicken keeping. I never know when it's been long enough or if I give them a little more time - I just hate to see an animal suffer.

 

[Sueby]

I'm with y'all - no more Gurneys! I'll buy local if I can & get my seeds from High Mowing.

Although they did ship my onion plants on time.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Hey Gardeners will try to pull dead plants but need lot's of dirt to refill tires here
Last order from Gurney's went south buying from a local Sunbirds hardware

 

[BReeder!]

Should I spray my peach and plum trees? The peaches are blooming, is now the right time? What should I spray them with?

 

[TJAnonymous]

I feel like our rainfall has been below normal for the spring so far.... I just checked the forecast for the next 10 days. Not much rainfall coming our way. Maybe a 1/10th of an inch tomorrow... And another chance on Friday. Usually Arkansas gets buckets of rain in April and May. This makes me a little worried for the garden. I went ahead and watered it yesterday morning with the hose.

I tried to find a good site that shows rain YTD and tells you if it is above, below, or normal. Couldn't find much. I did find a page on the NWS website which shows by month, day, or year. Can't see YTD though or pick a range. I looked at March 2021 which was the last available data. It says my area is normal but the western part of the state is below normal. Eastern part is above normal. I'm pretty sure based upon my observations that our area is definitely NOT normal.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Should I spray my peach and plum trees? The peaches are blooming, is now the right time? What should I spray them with?

I sprayed mine with Neem oil which is an anti-fungal. It typically spray them every week in the spring because the rain drives fungal diseases and blight.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Btw, I'm convinced Neem oil is a treasure from heaven.... I use this stuff for everything. Not only in the garden, but also on myself. It has pretty amazing anti-aging, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. If the world goes to hell in a handbasket, I want to make sure I have Neem oil in my bugout bag. ha ha....

 

[BReeder!]

Btw, I'm convinced Neem oil is a treasure from heaven.... I use this stuff for everything. Not only in the garden, but also on myself. It has pretty amazing anti-aging, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. If the world goes to hell in a handbasket, I want to make sure I have Neem oil in my bugout bag. ha ha....

I sprayed raised beds with a mixture of neem, cayenne powder, dish soap, and water. The neem oil I have is very thick and needs to be shaken well in a sprayer with water. Do you have a similar experience? Do you mix it with anything to spray trees?