Your 2025 Garden

[NanaK]

Today was beautiful so I spent it outside.

My 8 largest tomatoes had been in the greenhouse since Sunday. Today they were planted deeper in bigger pots. A couple plants have tiny flower buds and 1 has a bloom. I still have a few tomato plants inside that were started a little later. These are filling their space and need to go out soon.

I also separated some marigolds. Lots of marigolds. I didn't realize I had so many.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Rosemary seeds are starting to sprout. I wish it were warmer; some of the leafy greens could go outside, but it’s still below freezing most nights.

 

[jxp]

We're slowly warming up. Very slowly. Verrryyyy slooowlyyy.

View attachment 4068515
I like these temps. Bring it on! I wanna get the ball rolling!

I really like the layout of this weather chart. May I ask what site it is?

 

[TOMTE]

I really like the layout of this weather chart. May I ask what site it is?

It's an app called Today Weather!

 

[Sally PB]

it’s still below freezing most nights.

I'm really grateful for that, myself. It keeps the fruit bushes and trees from blooming too early.

 

[fuzzi]

Does anyone have experience with using cardboard as a weed barrier in the garden? I was thinking of using it in the walkways and between large plants, and covering it with a little mulch. I let my garden get a bit overridden with weeds last year when I was out of town for two weeks, and never truly caught up. Can't let that happen again!

So if you've used it, how was it?

I've used it, a lot. It works well but breaks down within a couple months. I've also used it at the bottom of my raised beds but it disappears quickly there, as well.

Overall I like it. The earthworms and millipedes like it, too.

FYI: unless you want to be fishing strips of plastic tape out of your soil I'd recommend removing all tape from boxes before using them.

 

[fuzzi]

On the topic of the many uses of cardboard in a garden. I saw someone who uses a medium cardboard box to grow potatoes.

He simply fills the bottom of the box with about 3 inches of soil and throws in a handful of blood fish and bone meal and mixes it in then places two chitted spuds on the soil then fill the box up with soil.

This method is nice in that the bottom of the box breaks down and the roots reach down into the sub soil. Harvest is easy, as you can imagine. Rather than the back breaking toil of un- trenching the spuds with a fork, in the ground. And no need to "hill up" the soil around the plants.

I did that with melon plants one year. I got produce boxes from the grocery store, the heavy-duty double-sided types, but I wrapped mine in black trash bags. I know I made openings in the bottom for drainage, but don't recall exactly what I did. I filled them with soil, planted, and was overrun with both watermelons and cantaloupes that year.

 

[fuzzi]

Thank you for this! I think I'll give it a shot this year. I appreciate the advice. Our neighbors said we can have the mulch from the tree in their yard they had chipped. I'll probably till the garden up, put down the big pieces of cardboard, and put that mulch over top.

I've gotten big sheets of cardboard at the grocery stores, try looking on the bottled water and drink aisle. They use them between the layers.

 

[jxp]

It's an app called Today Weather!

Thank you

 

[jxp]

My favorite thing about using cardboard is that June bug larvae will hibernate under it (or anything that sets flat on the ground - logs, pots, anything) so I when move it aside, fresh protein snack for the Chickies and duckies. They go crazy and my little heart is filled with joy.