Gardening 2024

[Ars76 141]

On 7/10/2024 at 10:15 AM, Chris said:

 

 

[Ars76 141]

And the pollinators are doing their thing!

I'm not sure what this actually is....

[Chris 3,211]

We just ID’d it as a Snowberry Clearwing Moth. Theres a bunch of them over there. The little buggers are hard to get a good pic of!

[Chris 3,211]

I think it’s a hit so far:

[Hal 553]

3 hours ago, Chris said:

I think it’s a hit so far:

I want for you to be so lucky as to see a Hummingbird Moth in that patch . I saw one two years ago out in the field and although just a bug it is something to see . 
Mine is coloring up some now . 

[Chris 3,211]

21 minutes ago, Hal said:

I want for you to be so lucky as to see a Hummingbird Moth in that patch

Well you got your wish because there’s a couple of them buzzing around over there any given moment. I learned that the formal name for the hummingbird moth is the Snowberry Clearwing:

“Hemaris diffinis, the snowberry clearwing, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. This moth is sometimes called "hummingbird moth" or "flying lobster".”

[Chris 3,211]

Now I’m waiting on the Monarchs. I haven’t seen a one yet this year.

[Hal 553]

38 minutes ago, Chris said:

Well you got your wish because there’s a couple of them buzzing around over there any given moment. I learned that the formal name for the hummingbird moth is the Snowberry Clearwing:

“Hemaris diffinis, the snowberry clearwing, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. This moth is sometimes called "hummingbird moth" or "flying lobster".”

Great ! You can bet i’ll be watching for them here as well . 

[Chris 3,211]

It’s almost ridiculous how happy I am with this so far. Theres that little worry about, “What if the perennials don’t come up?” but I don’t think that’ll be the case.

I’m already eyeballing areas to expand next year, including a section of our yard we don’t use for anything. Also thinking of what other species to plant, such as bee balm.

[Hal 553]

Beautiful! Can’t wait for full flowering here and neither can the Dragonflies and Tree Swallows apparently lol , from the barn porch we watch them  swoop and dart for hours on end . 

[Chris 3,211]

My pumpkins have been looking pretty bad despite watering and such. Leaves are yellow and wilting, and it's not like they're being overwatered. So I looked it up and the most common reason is nitrigen deficiency in the soil. Like corn, pumpkins and squash eat up nitrogen. 

So I threw some 5-5-5 I have laying around on the garden beds. I figure the worst I could do is kill the plants, which already look awful anyway. Especially the pumpkins. 

I yanked up the two zucchini plants. I shredded a bunch of zukes up and decided that was good enough for the year. I also added some basil plants... you can never have too much basil, and I go through a lot when I cook. 

[Hal 553]

I have extra triple ten here if you would like … too late now but packaged for next year , I’ll get it to ya . 

[Chris 3,211]

1 hour ago, Hal said:

I have extra triple ten here if you would like … too late now but packaged for next year , I’ll get it to ya . 

No it's okay, I have some other stuff I use here as well. I just used that because it was lower concentrate and less likely to burn the roots. 

[Adam 527]

On 7/2/2024 at 2:19 PM, Chris said:

with the one I have planted

you can take cuttings, or like i did, use a plastic container with potting soil, place it where there are 2-3 nodes along a green limb, moisten, then place cover and leave it for 2-3 weeks, it should root, and you can cut it at bottom of container and replant.

youll need to put in some post & wire for the grapes to attach, pruning is beyond easy. the cutting i gave you is from Harold's root stock and thought they are seeded, are really sweet when ripe

[Adam 527]

6 hours ago, Chris said:

Like corn, pumpkins and squash eat up nitrogen. 

put some beans in, they are nitrogen fixers

[Chris 3,211]

30 minutes ago, Adam said:

you can take cuttings, or like i did, use a plastic container with potting soil

I thought about that, but I’d like to have some Concord grapes. From what I’ve read you can have different varieties planted on the same row.

Posts and wire will be put in at some point.

[Chris 3,211]

LOL a neighbor up the hill a ways called our field a “floral fiefdom” a few weeks ago and said he’d be sure to send his Mason Bees our way for some fine dining.

Today he sent me this pic of the mason bee palace he recently built, with directions to the “floral fiefdom.”

@Andy suggested we get a sign that says “Floral Fiefdom” and I’m loving that idea. Then I can take a pic and send it to the neighbor.

[Chris 3,211]

Every now and then something pops up on Marketplace that is kinda tempting:

6x8 and $1700 with extra for delivery. 

But one more thing to mow around and maintain.

[Pvt Snowball 44]

My mint almost 3ft

Edited August 1 by Pvt Snowball

[MsKreed 1,571]

1 hour ago, Pvt Snowball said:

My mint almost 3ft

That looks great!

Many mints are perennial, and also pest deterrents.

My peppermint comes back every year and spreads like a trailing ground cover.  I've thinned it out a few times to transplant around the foundation and near the basement and shed doors to keep mice and snakes from intruding. 

[Pvt Snowball 44]

52 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

That looks great!

Many mints are perennial, and also pest deterrents.

My peppermint comes back every year and spreads like a trailing ground cover.  I've thinned it out a few times to transplant around the foundation and near the basement and shed doors to keep mice and snakes from intruding. 

They work against mice I didn't know I'm need some more 

[Chris 3,211]

3 hours ago, Pvt Snowball said:

My mint almost 3ft

Looking good!

Herbs are some of the most rewarding plants to grow, because you can use the fresh or dry them for use over the winter months.

Thing with mint though, it will spread and overtake everything if you let it. I keep ours potted now for that very reason.

Down the road where I dug up some milkweed, there’s an entire section that’s loaded with mint. You could smell it as you walked across the field.

[Pvt Snowball 44]

8 hours ago, Chris said:

Looking good!

Herbs are some of the most rewarding plants to grow, because you can use the fresh or dry them for use over the winter months.

Thing with mint though, it will spread and overtake everything if you let it. I keep ours potted now for that very reason.

Down the road where I dug up some milkweed, there’s an entire section that’s loaded with mint. You could smell it as you walked across the field.

Mines seem very dorment I planted it there so I can get rid of these damn hostas no matter how much I dig it out they keep popping up 😂 

[Chris 3,211]

19 minutes ago, Pvt Snowball said:

Mines seem very dorment I planted it there so I can get rid of these damn hostas no matter how much I dig it out they keep popping up 😂 

Yeah they’re hard to get rid of.

[Adam 527]

On 7/27/2024 at 6:51 PM, Pvt Snowball said:

My mint almost 3ft

like picking some now and again and chewing it