I was looking again at my seed catalogs, but am trying to keep myself from getting any plants this year (the sun will soon be setting in the east too). I want to work more on the backbones of the yard (like pathways and enclosures)
Garden chat & photos for torts and people ♫ ♫
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No, just planted in rows. I didn't stand there and give it a good look, but just walking by I recognised carrots, chard, bok choy and several different lettuces.
Prairie Mom
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nice seeds
I'll need to give some of those a trySounds neat. I would have loved to check it out.
Prairie Mom
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I really need to take a year off too and work on other projects. I'm not sure the hubby and kids would let me. Some time I'll just cover the yard in cherry tomatoes and say "go at 'em" while I do other work
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We over-winter a few root crops just like Jacqui mentioned earlier...
I had to dig through about a foot of snow and leaves to take this photo -I was also curious if any were willing to come loose...NOPE! We over-winter carrots and parsnips (I use parsnips the same way people use potatoes in stew). We throw about a foot of leaves on top and can usually dig out a fair number of veg during the winter. Then eventually, the soil becomes way too hard and frozen (remember we saw a few days of -16 to -25F)and we dig them out in the Spring. As long as I don't break them to pieces, they are perfectly useable in the Spring and it's fun to have a few garden vegetables as you are preparing the soil for the next planting. Also, carrots become SWEETER if they are in the soil after frost and colder temps
I had to dig through about a foot of snow and leaves to take this photo
-I was also curious if any were willing to come loose...NOPE! We over-winter carrots and parsnips (I use parsnips the same way people use potatoes in stew). We throw about a foot of leaves on top and can usually dig out a fair number of veg during the winter. Then eventually, the soil becomes way too hard and frozen (remember we saw a few days of -16 to -25F)and we dig them out in the Spring. As long as I don't break them to pieces, they are perfectly useable in the Spring and it's fun to have a few garden vegetables as you are preparing the soil for the next planting. Also, carrots become SWEETER if they are in the soil after frost and colder temps
Prairie Mom
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Mavis has been enjoying the seed trays I recently planted. Right now, I have four grass/sprout/weed trays that I can rotate in and out of her enclosure. I'm wondering if I can double this next year?...hmmm...hopefully construction projects will be done and I'll have my grow space back instead of taking up random closets and corners.
She's nearly emptied the trays with her snacking between meals Hooray!
Her next grass/weed/sprout tray is ready to go, so this weekend I'll switch out trays and reseed the one she happily gobbled up.
Don't worry, Mavis...eventually the snow will be gone and you'll be able to graze outside!
p.s. I wanted to include plain ol' fescue in her grow trays. All the grass seed I found locally was coated in fertilizer, so I was able to get this fertilizer-free grass seed online...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003AZ03DQ/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
She's nearly emptied the trays with her snacking between meals
Hooray!Her next grass/weed/sprout tray is ready to go, so this weekend I'll switch out trays and reseed the one she happily gobbled up.
Don't worry, Mavis...eventually the snow will be gone and you'll be able to graze outside!
p.s. I wanted to include plain ol' fescue in her grow trays. All the grass seed I found locally was coated in fertilizer, so I was able to get this fertilizer-free grass seed online...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003AZ03DQ/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Alright, so I have a question for you guys-
Has anyone grown a citrus tree?
There is this ADORABLE little kumquat tree at Petities that is so cute, I'm thinking about buying it.
Apparently kumquats are very hardy and can survive up to 15', so I could even just leave it outdoors... but considering how we name all our houseplants, he'll probably be an indoor tree
Has anyone grown a citrus tree?
There is this ADORABLE little kumquat tree at Petities that is so cute, I'm thinking about buying it.
Apparently kumquats are very hardy and can survive up to 15', so I could even just leave it outdoors... but considering how we name all our houseplants, he'll probably be an indoor tree
Prairie Mom
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I've never been brave enough to tryAlright, so I have a question for you guys-
Has anyone grown a citrus tree?
There is this ADORABLE little kumquat tree at Petities that is so cute, I'm thinking about buying it.
Apparently kumquats are very hardy and can survive up to 15', so I could even just leave it outdoors... but considering how we name all our houseplants, he'll probably be an indoor tree
PLEASE DO IT AND POST ABOUT IT!!! I have all kinds of questions about this venture
...Doesn't it get colder than 15'F where you are? I'm guessing it would need additional light inside, especially to blossom. So, I'm guessing you'd need to place it by a bright window, plus stick a grow bulb in a nearby lamp. I also bet you'd have to hand-pollinate the blossoms if you kept it indoors during the summer (pain in the neck!). ...I'm guessing your best chance would be to put it outside in the summer and bring it in during the winter. If I remember correctly @Yvonne G has plants that she moves indoors during the winter.Just remember to slowly acclimate the plant to being outside when you first put it out. You probably already know about hardening off plants, but I'll mention it just in case... I harden off my plants and seeds by sticking them in a warm shady spot for a couple hours a day and increase the outside time and exposure to brighter sunlight gradually for about two weeks. I do it until they look perky and healthy where I want them to be planted and have happily survived spending the night outside. The plant will start to look droopy and sick if you are "pushing" the outside time or sunlight too quickly, so just bring it back inside to recover and work on it a little more slowly.
This probably wasn't any help! Please keep me posted if it works for you, because I may have to copy you
I'd love to get it, last time I was there it had three little 'quats and it's about 3' tall
Well, it DOES get colder than 15' in the winter, so I'd be worried about leaving it out there to 'fend for itself'
According to this site-http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/kumquat/growing-kumquat-trees.htm- they blossom in spring, so I could stick him outdoors for a few months to get pollinated and then bring it inside to fruit for winter.
I'm not sure if, like Christmas cacti, it needs a 'dormancy' period of little light and water, but the pot requirements seem simple.
There is a lot natural light here, in the house, so I'd think it could do okay.
I have two hibiscus plants I house outdoors, and then bring inside. They stop flowering and growing, and every year when I overwinter them indoors, they have a massive 'fall off' and loose half their leaves in a few days, but over the inter months they grow back and look even better next spring.
It's weird, because I could swear a plant with no leaves couldn't survive!
I'll let you guys know if I buy it (it had better still be there!)
Well, it DOES get colder than 15' in the winter, so I'd be worried about leaving it out there to 'fend for itself'
According to this site-http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/kumquat/growing-kumquat-trees.htm- they blossom in spring, so I could stick him outdoors for a few months to get pollinated
and then bring it inside to fruit for winter.I'm not sure if, like Christmas cacti, it needs a 'dormancy' period of little light and water, but the pot requirements seem simple.
There is a lot natural light here, in the house, so I'd think it could do okay.
I have two hibiscus plants I house outdoors, and then bring inside. They stop flowering and growing, and every year when I overwinter them indoors, they have a massive 'fall off' and loose half their leaves in a few days, but over the inter months they grow back and look even better next spring.
It's weird, because I could swear a plant with no leaves couldn't survive!
I'll let you guys know if I buy it
(it had better still be there!)
I planted this little tree in my 'rain forest' last summer. It held up to several freezing nights in a row this winter. It's not a kumquat or a loquat, but the tag is gone and I don't remember what it said.
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I got this neat little tree at HEB last week.
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Prairie Mom
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Oh my goodness! It's so unique! It's like a pretty little Alien tree! Does it have two hearts? Is it a native of Galifrey or New New New New New York? (-Sorry! this silly fan couldn't resist
) Great photo.
Is it a ***** willow?
How funny! Our 'bad word' program wouldn't allow p u s s y to be printed.
Yeah, what is that?
I wish I knew. All I remember about it is the tag said some kind of citrus - but it wasn't one of the quats.
It's so cute! I guess they stay small. Have you ever tried a fruit?
Those are really cute! They grow very slowly, but eventually you can make a bush out of it.
Yes. The peel is quite sweet, but the flesh is a bit on the tart side.
Could it be a Persimmon?
Darn, darn and double darn!
I've posted before about the Euphorbia nerifolia (variegated) tree on my front porch. It is cold sensitive and too large to move into the greenhouse, so I wrapped two strings of small christmas lights around it then covered it in plastic:
Well, we're not even halfway finished with winter, and I'm very sure there will be a few more below freezing nights to come, but my lights are dark. I'm assuming this means one of the bulbs has burned out.
Does anyone know a way to check this out without taking the strings off the tree? Or do I just have to go one bulb by one, removing it and putting a good one in its place?
I've posted before about the Euphorbia nerifolia (variegated) tree on my front porch. It is cold sensitive and too large to move into the greenhouse, so I wrapped two strings of small christmas lights around it then covered it in plastic:
Well, we're not even halfway finished with winter, and I'm very sure there will be a few more below freezing nights to come, but my lights are dark. I'm assuming this means one of the bulbs has burned out.
Does anyone know a way to check this out without taking the strings off the tree? Or do I just have to go one bulb by one, removing it and putting a good one in its place?
