Your 2024 Garden

[NanaK]

Here's one thing I learned about growing/ripening melons here in zone 5. About the first weekend of August, I cull any melon that isn't at least as big as my fist. If it isn't that big, there isn't enough time in the season for it to ripen.

This also makes the plant send all the nutirents to make the melon sweet to the melons that will actually ripen, instead of all the melons, some of which won't make it.

That's probably good practice. Do you also take any remaining female flowers?

 

[Sally PB]

Do you also take any remaining female flowers?

Yes, if I see them. I keep checking for tiny melons, as they can hide under the leaves. The flowers are easier to see.

The first year I did this, I was AMAZED at how much better my cantaloupe tasted!

 

[fuzzi]

Got snow? Cold?

Spring is here in eastern NC.

This morning:

Daffodils/jonquils (gardenia in back)

Camellia

Crocuses

Pansies

And natives:

Purple deadnettle

Deadnettle and Carolina geraniums

Chickweed, cudweed, coltsfoot (?), wild mustard (rosette), and my Evening primroses (purplish, will turn green)

 

[Sally PB]

I dug two five gallon buckets of weeds from my garden for the chicks a few days ago. And some Egyptian Walking Onions yesterday!

I've never gotten anything (for me) from my garden in mid-February before.

Enough for a pan of fried rice. Yes, they're small.

 

[tripletfeb]

Got snow? Cold?

Spring is here in eastern NC.

This morning:
View attachment 3745388
Daffodils/jonquils (gardenia in back)

View attachment 3745389
Camellia

View attachment 3745390
Crocuses

View attachment 3745392
Pansies

And natives:
View attachment 3745391
Purple deadnettle

View attachment 3745393
Deadnettle and Carolina geraniums

View attachment 3745394
Chickweed, cudweed, coltsfoot (?), wild mustard (rosette), and my Evening primroses (purplish, will turn green)

My spring bulbs are starting to peek out of the ground here. The past few days of nice weather has confused them. They'll get cold and snowed on again, no doubt. Yours are so pretty!

 

[NanaK]

So nice to see the spring flowers starting to bloom!
Yours are beautifully @fuzzi

I checked by blueberries and 2 bushes have a couple flower buds. It's too early for that. Those 2 do this nearly every year. I need to start watching the strawberries and hydrangeas.

I did some work in the garden and around the yard yesterday. I noticed my daffodils have a couple blooms and lots of buds. The hellebores are blooming too. The purple crocus are finished but the yellow ones have started.

The pink camellias are blooming and the whites are full of buds.

Now to see what the last of winter is going to offer. I vote for early spring!

 

[tripletfeb]

Got my heat mats delivered today. Now anxiously waiting for March so I can start all my seeds!

 

[fuzzi]

After church and lunch I headed outside to plant peas. It started raining but it was very light drizzle, so I planted anyway!

Sugar snap peas in 4'x4' bed... before & after:

I'm not concerned about a little leaf litter in the bed, the leaves will blow away or decompose.

 

[fuzzi]

My spring bulbs are starting to peek out of the ground here. The past few days of nice weather has confused them. They'll get cold and snowed on again, no doubt. Yours are so pretty!

Thank you!

We've not had one flake of snow this year, doubt at this point we'll have any at all!

So nice to see the spring flowers starting to bloom!
Yours are beautifully @fuzzi

I checked by blueberries and 2 bushes have a couple flower buds. It's too early for that. Those 2 do this nearly every year. I need to start watching the strawberries and hydrangeas.

I did some work in the garden and around the yard yesterday. I noticed my daffodils have a couple blooms and lots of buds. The hellebores are blooming too. The purple crocus are finished but the yellow ones have started.
View attachment 3745462


The pink camellias are blooming and the whites are full of buds.
View attachment 3745465


Now to see what the last of winter is going to offer. I vote for early spring!

Beautiful camellias, yours are ahead of mine a week or so.

I planted both yellow and purple crocus but over the years the yellow disappeared. There's a few left of the purple. I don't know why they don't spread across the yard.

My hydrangeas have buds starting, you can see a few on the brown stalks:

The pond iris are greening, but even better than that, look at the bottom right of this photo

Yep, frog eggs! I saved a Leopard frog from the ferals last night, put it/her back in the pond. She's been a busy girl!

 

[NanaK]

My hydrangeas have buds starting, you can see a few on the brown stalks:

I didn't look at my hydrangeas yesterday. Most are rebloomers but I hate to loose the early buds because then I have to wait for more. Need to check. I have a couple once bloomers. If they get a late frost after budding they are done for blooms for the season. I'll not plant more of those but they are lace caps. So pretty. sigh

Yep, frog eggs!

Love this! They love the skeeters and bad bugs. Yay!

We've not had one flake of snow this year, doubt at this point we'll have any at all!

I hope we don't. Be warned. March 26, 1983, we had a foot. I remember it so well because my daughter was 1 week old and our heat failed. Packed a bag and went to Mom's till it was repaired.
I also remember big snows in March when I was a child. They are normally caused by Nor'easters.