What did you do in the garden today?

[Noralesong]

The peach tree is new last summer. @Wee Farmer Sarah has tremendous luck with hers & she is just north in MA - she says she treats twice a year with neem oil, only fertilizes with wood ash as needed with her soil & says peach trees arent too picky with pruning. I picked her brain before ordering mine, lol.

Speaking of, hang in there Sarah, I knew you were getting hammered! So far it’s only been rain for me, thank goodness. It should be turning to snow any time now, but I’m in a big lull so I’m still hopeful it won’t amount to much. I have an MRI tomorrow that I need to get to.

Wow that's good to know! Looks like I've got to someone to convince this year that we need a peach tree. Although between all I've spent on getting started with chickens and the garden at a new house, it may be a stretch. But now I know if perhaps I can swing it for a Mother's Day gift.

 

[Noralesong]

I didn't know that! I might have to plant one. I'm not the biggest fan of pears, but my own fruit would be great, no matter what kind.

Hmmmm.... dried pears....? Wonder how they'd taste...?

My husband is also not a fan of pears, so it wouldn't work for me.

However, my good friend who is an avid gardener and landscape architect swears by pear trees because of the low maintenance. He keeps a few on his property and they're the only fruit trees he keeps aside from a Sicilian lemon, small orange, and fig trees which are in pots so he can bring them in during the winter. He's a little crazier than me. I don't have a room dedicated to 5 or 6 mini fruit trees, but he's got a large 4 seasons room he keeps all his plant things in.

Grape vines aren't bad either. Once they're established they do their own thing. In RI, where a lot of Italian immigrants lived/moved to there are Muscadine grape vines planted. I grew up on a property with hundreds of wild vines. At my current job, there are also vines growing in our walking path that I have no idea how they got there. Not really good for eating since they're wine grapes and a bit sour, but you can (aside from the huge pit in the center). I'm planning on setting up my own set of vines when I decide where I want them.

 

[Noralesong]

Does anyone start their nasturtiums or yarrow indoors? I always direct sowed mine. Last year I didn't get any to grow. First year I've had that problem. I am toying with starting them in a flat this year instead of direct sowing.

I know it's not the right time of year, but Home Depot and Lowes usually have Yarrow at the end of the season for 50-75% off. It's one of those plants that looks awful come the end of the season and no one buys it off that discount rack. I managed to grab 4 yarrow plants for less that $2 a piece that were alive and put them in the garden before cutting them down a couple of weeks later. I'm not certain if they're perennial in your area, but they are here in 6b.

Doesn't help you now, but if you ever want to grab more, take a look in September if you have an idea where you want to put them. I believe I grabbed mine in late October.

 

[jerryse]

Yarrow grows wild at my Mn, cabin perennial in zone 3. They get tall about 4-5 feet.

 

[Sueby]

Will catch up later, have to get ready for my mri.

Fared well with the snow, not too windy either. Neighbor came & shoveled me out. Supposed to be 50 for the foreseeable future so I should be able to get to the chickens tomorrow if not later today.

Looks like the netting held up under the super heavy, wet snow. I hope anyway.

Hope you’re ok @Wee Farmer Sarah, take it easy shoveling this stuff.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I know it's not the right time of year, but Home Depot and Lowes usually have Yarrow at the end of the season for 50-75% off. It's one of those plants that looks awful come the end of the season and no one buys it off that discount rack. I managed to grab 4 yarrow plants for less that $2 a piece that were alive and put them in the garden before cutting them down a couple of weeks later. I'm not certain if they're perennial in your area, but they are here in 6b.

Doesn't help you now, but if you ever want to grab more, take a look in September if you have an idea where you want to put them. I believe I grabbed mine in late October.

Yes, I love browsing the clearance garden aisle at the end of the season! I usually pick up berries and grapes for under $5/plant!

I have regular yarrow planted in the garden already. But I ordered seeds for some colorful/unique varieties last fall. Kind of excited to see how they will turn out.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning all. Finished clearing the driveway. It was tough. The berm at the end of the driveway was about 3 1/2 to 4 feet high. It took nearly an hour to do it wide enough for the car to fit through it. I also have to clear enough of the berm so the mail carrier can reach my mailbox. When I came inside from checking on the chickens I noticed one of my blueberry bushes is blooming. I’ll be snipping them off later. I checked my herb seeds and I have 4 dill seedlings but still only 1 tarragon. I really need to get busy planting more seeds soon. Aside from scraping more snow off the chicken run roof I’m planning on resting up from all the shoveling and plowing. Happy to hear you are doing well @Sueby. Have a great day!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Looks like a couple of my Honey Mesquite seeds germinated! I didn't scarify them because I accidentally left them soaking in water for like 3 days. Oops. Looks like the extra long soak helped soften up the outer coating so I didn't need to scarify...

 

[Paz]

I have no experience with that plant. I have never grafted vegetables.

I took someone else’s advice. Hopefully it works.
It rained yesterday and I think it killed my Matt’s wild tomatoes…
The snow peas are happy however, I eat a few every morning.
There were a few terrorist attacks, which is never fun…
My old biddy decided she’s young and should lay eggs, hopefully it’s ok for her, because I really like her, she’s with me for 7 years already, whenever grandpa says she should be made into soup, I tell him she’s my pet.

 

[Paz]

Working on assembling a master list of extreme heat/drought tolerant veggies and fruit tree varieties. Intense heat, warm arid desert, borderline desert technically because we get 14 inches of rain each year and not less than 10. I’m taking variety suggestions if anyone wants to @ me, I’d be grateful.

Olives! I like Syrian olives, the flies don’t bite them and they don’t need frost to produce, they also don’t need a lot of water, have beautiful trunks, and live forever.
You should also try Israel heirloom melon varieties, and Arab cucumbers (faqus) which are also melons, btw, so don’t grow them next to each other if you want seeds.
And best of all, date palm trees, no added water at all, desert plant, produces delicious fruit if you get the right variety. (You need to buy a starter tree, because they don’t breed true through seeds), I recommend “Halawi”.
Sabres is also a nice plant, with tasty fruit which is great for juice. It’s a desert plant and doesn’t need supplementary water.