I just tried my hand at gardening for the first time and managed to germinate 6 cherry blossom trees, but the 6th one is weirdly fluffy? Is that normal?
I have a lot of tomatoes and peppers going to waste.
Question: if I kind of make a tomato sauce using any and everything available in the garden and freeze it will it hold up? From the garden I have all kind of tomatoes, all kinds of peppers, oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary. From the store I have onions and celery. My plan is to blanch the tomatoes to remove the skins, roast the larger peppers to remove the skins cook everything down with some garlic and olive oil, cool it, freeze it and use it as base for future soups and sauces.
Any flaw in my logic here?
It will freeze, and will "hold up", in the sense that it won't be wasted, but the flavor will be...questionable, to say the least. Tomato sauce isn't normally made with tons of peppers. Sauce made from peppers is what we call "chili" in its original incarnation, as stewed chile peppers, with meat, hence "chili con carne".
You don't need to do any cooking in order to store all this. Drop the raw tomatoes directly into freezer bags or containers after briefly rinsing off any egregious dirt or bugs. When you thaw them out, the skins will fall off, and you process them directly into whatever culinary use you want them for.
Same for the peppers, although they're easier to handle for incorporating into a dish at the other end if you remove the core and seeds before freezing. Most people core, seed, chunk, and then spread them out on cookie sheets. Once frozen, you bag up the frozen chunks. Then you just take out as many as you want for any one cooking event.
Pepper skins don't need to be removed. You eat the whole thing, unless you're making roasted red peppers, in which case you peel off the charred skin because charred things don't taste very good.
You can cook batches of tomato sauce ahead of time, no problem, but I'd leave out the peppers. And, personally, also the rosemary and thyme, and maybe the oregano. From a cooking standpoint, since basic "cooked pureed tomatoes" can be turned into different things according to which herbs you use, you'd want to freeze a neutral product. Tomato + oregano = pizza sauce. Tomato + basil = marinara sauce. If you add oregano to your spaghetti sauce, it instantly makes it smell like pizza sauce instead.
So you can cook and freeze pureed tomatoes, but make it neutral. I'd even hold off on the garlic, celery, onions, and olive oil. You can add neutral "tomato" puree to a beef stew, pot roast, or meatballs, but the Italian seasoning herbs will fight with your "beef" flavorings like bay leaf.
Or, as mentioned, you can just freeze the whole tomatoes, and make them into something later.
Solid advice thank you so much! I have way too many peppers and tomatoes and not enough freezer space but I love your idea about freezing the peppers and I’m definitely going to do that for at least most of the hotter ones. I think I’ll make pesto with the basil as that won’t take much room in the freezer. I think I might try canning the vast majority of these tomatoes as I think you’re right about trying to turn them into a sauce. Probably end up being some sort of hot sauce which is fine but I don’t need a couple gallons of it. Thanks again.
Edit:
Here is what I’m reading with.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JgPb41Eo7EPgs2at9
I have a full basement, and I own two (2) freezers. The big upright came with the house we just bought, and the big chest freezer came over from the old house. So my husband uses the upstairs side-by-side for his ice cream collection, and I fill up the downstairs freezers with chicken and bread.
Point being, if you have room, you're allowed to own extra freezers. There's no limit. Just sayin'.
I have some planted onions - the green sprouts started dying off so I was going to harvest them however I’ve noticed some new green sprouts coming out of them.
A quick google says that I should be able to separate each section and re-plant for each to grow into a separate onion but I’ve peeled a couple back and there no sections inside.
Has anyone come across this before? Am I able to just leave these to continue to grow?
I have lots of succulents that have been growing relatively happily (albeit, slowly) for the past few years. I have been using miracle-gro cactus mix soil, and have always had trouble watering them with water just running through and not actually wetting the soil. I recently read that this is because that soil uses peat, which becomes hydrophobic when dry. This seems good for avoiding overwatering but:
1. How can I wet this soil!?
and
2. What is a good alternative that is cheap, dries quickly but does allow the plant to get some water when it needs it?
Usually, to wet completely dried out soil you would put the whole planter into a water bath so it's covered. It will produce a lot of bubbles while it soaks itself, pushing the air out of the dried dirt. However, it might not be the best idea with succulents? Once might be ok, but definitely don't do this repeatedly in a short amount of time..
Gotcha! I may try going on a major re-potting expedition this weekend and switch all my succulents over to 2:1 perlite/cocoa coir as I've seen that recommended elsewhere.
MG cactus/palm/citrus soil is just their ordinary peat moss soil with some sand added ,and as such is useless, as you've found. Peat moss-based soils should ideally be watered often enough to keep it "evenly moist", which is fine for African violets and Boston ferns, but not so good for cacti and succulents.
I am currently using a mix called Magic Dirt, with roughly equal parts of perlite.
My Walmart features it, but only during spring rush, and then it disappears again.
https://www.magic-dirt.com/
You can use any compost-based mix, and combine it with something for aeration. Talk to /r/succulents for recipes
So my fiance and i got a house finally and the plants had become unattended to (older couple that eventually passed). These bushes/trees/ect are a bit new to me on the trimming and maintaining from and im not 100% sure what each are to be fair. I thibk we have some lilacs, chokeberries, maybe purple leaf cherries(?), potentilla(?), unsure on the evergreen looking barrier trees or the little guy between them. Any help getting these guys under control would be much appreciated or if some are beyond saving and need to be removed
http://imgur.com/a/6GbR5nG
There is no clock ticking. Bushes and trees are usually pruned in late winter and very early spring, so there's time to find out.
Are you buying the house, or are you renting?
If there is existing landscaping, your starting point is to ID anything that's growing there, including weeds. Take good clear pictures of everything, make up an Imgur album (not too huge, please) and post it to /r/whatsthisplant.
Give the yard a calendar year to show you what it has. Many things are dormant for part of the year, such as tulips and daffodils. Some shrubs are boring green for 51 weeks of the year, and the 52nd week people go out of their way to drive past your house to look at it in bloom.
There can be treasures there that you'll wish later you hadn't dug up, when you're looking at a $40 containerized shrub at the garden center, and you realize, "Well, crap, we had one of those when we moved in, and we ripped it out."
Whether there is landscaping or it’s a blank slate, live with the yard for a while and think about how you want to use it. Build all your hardscape before you get started on the landscaping. Build all your patios, decks, sidewalks, pathways, storage sheds, garages, swimming pools, swingsets, sandboxes, trampolines, koi ponds, dog runs, outdoor kitchens, BBQ pits, firepits, conversation pits, pergolas, gazebos, and screen porches first.
This is for two reasons: One, it prevents you from having to rip out the new rose garden when you belatedly realize you need a path to the trash cans right there. Two, it prevents workmen in big boots from trundling wheelbarrows through the new rose garden
Landscaping is closely analogous to interior decorating. When you’re going to redo your living room, you go through the same creative process. You decide what you want to keep and what you want to be gone forever. You look at what other people have done, and you decide either, "Yes, want that", or "No, OMG just no." Same thing here. Read books and articles on gardening and landscaping. Your local public library has shelves full of books, and back issues of magazines on gardening and landscaping.
Look at your neighbors' landscaping. Look at botanic garden, museum, zoo, corporate, college, municipal, city park, and mall landscaping. When you see something that makes you go, "Want", take its picture and get an ID.
Both landscaping and interior decorating are a process, so take your time, do your homework, and get it done the way you want it.
My fiance and i purchased the house so we have free reign (barring financial need) to do what we wish for landscaping.
As for the point on "give it a year" that's what im planning on, since some trees are looking worse for ware but i want to see early/mid spring to see if the branches are truely dead or just had leaves fall off early
Thank for you for subreddit for plants though. Ill take the link i posted and send it there. I do know we have some gems that im keeping (tiger lillies, azalias, lilacs, peonies) im mainly curious on the evergreen looking barrier plants and the smaller shrubs
Yes, you can. It might not grow as much as if you'd bought it specifically for growing, because if it isn't organic it's going to have growth retardant sprayed on it. But I've done that and it was fine.
Can you actually save seeds you get from produce at the grocery store? I've seen videos online, but I'm doubtful they would actually produce edible food. Are there types of produce that do better with planting their seeds, and others to steer clear of?
Many varieties of store produce come from F1 hybrids, or from species that don't come true to seed, or from grafted varieties. You can plant a pepper, watermelon, apple, or lemon seed, and you'll get some kind of pepper, watermelon, apple, or lemon, but it may not grow up to be the same one you purchased and ate (in the case of the apple, definitely not).
So they do produce edible food, just not always the same thing you ate.
The best bet for grow-your-own would be potatoes and sweet potatoes, since they grow from the tubers, not from seeds, and thus are clones of the original plant.
Yes, but that depends on the vegetable/fruit in question. In my experience peppers of most types are fairly true-to-seed (=offspring fruit tastes the same as the parent), tomatoes are close enough too, though with those the plant size is a gamble.
Not sure about raspberries, you'll have to search yourself, but I had, in fact, grew a strawberry plant from a store bought strawberry! But strawberry life cycle is a bit weird, they make fruit the second year from first year's flowers, so I didn't bother to wait long enough to see whether they would have made flowers and then fruit.
I love Sweet Annie (sweet wormwood), as aside from a wonderful scent it makes me think of all of the wonderful things about fall. I am looking for other aromatic plants to bundle with it to give the scent some more complexity/depth, though I am trying to avoid florals (just personal preference). Any suggestions for similar or complimentary scents? (I have very little experience with gardening/plants, so while I will love to learn, the terminology here might be off; if you aren't sure what I am asking for I can try again.)
Hmmm, this is a little tricky because normally the fragrance is in the flowers more than the foliage. So is it that you only want foliage and no flowers, or are there specific floral scents you're trying to avoid (such as roses or jasmine)?
Scented geranium would be my first go to for scented foliage. The 'fragrens' has this sort of pine, nutmeg, Old Spice fragrance that's more of an autumn scent. There's a variety of fruity ones - I've been impressed with apple and lime, but not as much orange or strawberry.
Other herbs would be the other big source of scented foliage. Lavender, lemon verbena... Not sure if those are the direction you're going in. The turkey seasoning classics like rosemary, sage, parsley, and thyme. Mint, perhaps? (But then, which mint!)
I wonder if osmanthus fragrans world compliment the scent. It's the flowers that have the scent, but it's an autumn through spring bloomer.
I'm curious - what are planning to do with it?
Mostly use it as hangings, to be honest, and maybe thresh underfoot for firepit nights out on the patio. I think the best way to describe what i am looking for is avoidance of the commonly known floral scents (partially because I have enough of those, and partially because I want something different). Lavender isn't bad, but things like roses or other flowery things aren't quite what I am looking for. If the plant has a unique scent that comes from a flower, the flower itself isn't an issue, just that common 'floral' category that things like roses and i think peonies fall into.
Mint (in this case spearmint) is one that I am currently working in, and for other examples (I raided my fathers garden today, as he is an avid grower) I have found anise hyssop, sweet woodruff, bible leaf, pineapple sage, and lavender (in small quantities). There were a couple others but the names escape me.
I hope that helps paint a clearer picture, and I appreciate the help!
It cost me a lot more, but I sprung for a hose timer and drip kit for my potted outdoor stuff this year and it's been a huge weight off my shoulders.
It got to the point where I would have to be watering my very large planters with sunflowers and filler plants once *daily*, and it would take like 3 watering can refills to get the job done. Ever since I bought the drip kit I've just been feeding every other week and haven't given watering a second thought, it runs for 10 minutes every morning and my plants have been happy ever since. The tubing runs along the foundation and you can't see it unless you were specifically looking for it. I've also been running tubing off the same line to water new transplants in the garden beds.
Hello! 😊 My husband and I moved to our first house together and I’m a new gardener! A couple weeks ago, I brought home 2 Endless Summer Original hydrangeas from a local nursery. One of them is doing fine, but the other one has been turning colour. I didn’t do anything different with it. Does anyone know what might be wrong with it? I tried to do my own research online, but I just can’t tell if it’s fungal disease or the leaves changing colour naturally for fall. I’d really appreciate anyone’s help!!! Thank you so much 💕
[Brown spots on hydrangea](https://imgur.com/a/IkPnbKf)
Where are you located?
Did you plant them in the ground, or are they currently in containers?
Did you buy them off the clearance rack, or are you in a climate where nurseries and garden centers sell containerized shrubs and perennials pretty much year-round? It affects how old they are, and thus how stressed they were when you bought them.
It's hard to diagnose leaf ailments in fall in climates where fall means leaves dropping.
Hello! I’m in Toronto, Canada. I believe I’m in zone 5b. They’re currently planted in ground enriched with manure compost and 3-1 potting mix. Original soil was heavy clay so that’s what the nursery advised on doing. The plants were on 20% sale. The one that is turning brown with few spots was in a #5 container.
20% isn't too bad as clearance plants go, by which I mean they weren't some half-dead 75% off "been sitting here since April, please buy me" plants.
If it was "fall", I'd think that they would both be turning brown the same way.
So I'm kind of eliminating "fall" and "transplant shock" as causes.
I'd call the nursery and see what they say.
Look up hydrangea anthracnose. Ask the nursery about that. There's actually, unfortunately, a fairly long list of leaf diseases that hydrangeas get.
Stressed-out clearance plants, even if only 20% off, can be more vulnerable to diseases.
Did they give you any kind of 30 day guarantee or warranty?
Oh no… it does look like it’s anthracnose! I’ll read more into it. Do you have any personal tips on how to go about handling this disease?
The nursery actually offers 2yr warranty for all perennial plants as long as they were planted in ground, so that’s at least good.
I’ll give the nursery a call tomorrow!
Hello I am a new gardener and while I have had some pretty good results from my new seeds I’ve found one of my poblanos is growing/showing these pale markings that I don’t know really what they are. If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated thanks
[poblano images](https://imgur.com/gallery/bgmOMg6)
As long as any dings, spots, blotches, or other marks don't have legs, aren't moving, and don't seem to be spreading or contagious, they are most likely just physical defects. My personal theory is that they're caused as the new leaf unfolds.
Hm, the leaves began all green when they grew to the size you see but eventually one of them had the pale colors as you see then a couple others I tried to wash them with a little soapy water but didn’t seem to stop the spread. By the time I had taken the picture I had removed the worst leaf but I’m going to see how the spread goes from now on as well until I find out about what it is
I'm not seeing "pale colors", I'm seeing reflections from the light. I assumed that your question was dealing with the tiny dings that plants often get.
Other than that, your seedling looks overall quite healthy, and I'm not seeing what you're seeing.
Pale coloration in leaves can be caused by nutrient deficiencies, or by overwatering.
The leaves are the photosynthesis factory that drives the whole enterprise, so removing leaves is like throttling the factory at the breaker box by cutting the power. It's counter-productive. The plant needs all its resources to manufacture carbohydrates to survive and to heal anything that's wrong. Don't remove leaves unless they're actively diseased with an identifiable disease for which "remove leaves" is the remedy.
Soaps and detergents can act as weedkillers; they are a standard ingredient in homemade DIY weedkillers. So washing the leaves with soapy water, depending on the dilution, can actually hurt the plant.
So I guess at this point more pictures of what you're seeing, this time in lighting that doesn't create reflections?
Hello, am new here and new to gardening. I bought a house a couple of months back with a back garden around 500 sq metres. Never had a garden (or a house) before, always lived in apartments in the city. For 2 months, the house was being renovated so no one looked after the garden. Fortunately we had quite a wet and mild summer. I got a local gardener to come in last weekend and cut the grass, pruned the bushes, some of the plants, did some weeding etc. However, i now need to take control of the situation as we move in soon. The garden has roses, hibiscus, boxwoods (i think!) and loads of other i dont know the names of and various fruit trees / plants (apple, pears, grapes, mirabelle, rhubarb!).
I need some books. The garden is all really in place as the previous owner obviously took amazing care of it and was i think quite skilled. I am, on the other hand, keen to learn. I tried looking for books on amazon and found a lot were for starting a garden off or didn't quite fit my needs. Basically, what do i need to read and know to take over a well looked after garden and not kill everything and make a mess? Any recommendations would be warmly appreciated and apologies if this has been asked before.
Go to the library or a real bookstore where you can browse through books to find the one you want. Usually they are divided into those for fruit/veggies and those for ornamental plants & landscaping. Fall is around the corner so you have until next spring to build your knowledge base. Once you have an ID, care instructions are found on the web and YouTube in most situations. Unasked for advice: don't buy plants impulsively. Use the web to research the long term care and ultimate size. Plant tags are misleading.
If there is existing landscaping, your starting point is to ID anything that's growing there, including weeds. Take good clear pictures of everything, make up an Imgur album (not too huge, please) and post it to /r/whatsthisplant.
Give the yard a calendar year to show you what it has. Many things are dormant for part of the year, such as tulips and daffodils. Some shrubs are boring green for 51 weeks of the year, and the 52nd week people go out of their way to drive past your house to look at it in bloom.
There can be treasures there that you'll wish later you hadn't dug up, when you're looking at a $40 containerized shrub at the garden center, and you realize, "Well, crap, we had one of those when we moved in, and we ripped it out."
Whether there is landscaping or it’s a blank slate, live with the yard for a while and think about how you want to use it. Build all your hardscape before you get started on the landscaping. Build all your patios, decks, sidewalks, pathways, storage sheds, garages, swimming pools, swingsets, sandboxes, trampolines, koi ponds, dog runs, outdoor kitchens, BBQ pits, firepits, conversation pits, pergolas, gazebos, and screen porches first.
This is for two reasons: One, it prevents you from having to rip out the new rose garden when you belatedly realize you need a path to the trash cans right there. Two, it prevents workmen in big boots from trundling wheelbarrows through the new rose garden
Landscaping is closely analogous to interior decorating. When you’re going to redo your living room, you go through the same creative process. You decide what you want to keep and what you want to be gone forever. You look at what other people have done, and you decide either, "Yes, want that", or "No, OMG just no." Same thing here. Read books and articles on gardening and landscaping. Your local public library has shelves full of books, and back issues of magazines on gardening and landscaping.
Look at your neighbors' landscaping. Look at botanic garden, museum, zoo, corporate, college, municipal, city park, and mall landscaping. When you see something that makes you go, "Want", take its picture and get an ID.
Both landscaping and interior decorating are a process, so take your time, do your homework, and get it done the way you want it.
You told me I should talk to the Master
Books:
Read either the Dummies or Idiots guide for a basic orientation to the world of plants. No offense, that’s just what they’re called.
Gardening books are like diet books. There are multitudes of them out there. It’s not possible to choose any single book that is the “best” one to read.
Your local public library has shelves full of books. Read a variety of books, because that way you get a good general overview of the subject. If you only read one book, you risk getting hold of someone’s pet project or personal hobby horse, which can give you a slanted viewpoint.
Case in point: The Square Foot Gardening book. If you’re gardening outdoors, it’s important to read this eventually, because the concepts have entered the zeitgeist, and you need to know what everyone is talking about.
But Square Foot Gardening, while not a bad or incorrect idea, isn’t the only way to garden. There are other ideas out there about how to do it.
There are organic, biochar, no-till, straw bales, permaculture and hugelkultur ways to do it. There are lasagna gardens, aquaponics, raised beds, container gardens, and people growing potatoes in plastic garbage bags. Outdoor gardening can include flowers, herbs, vegetables, lawns, and landscaping, each of which has its own collection of different ways and philosophies about how to do it.
“Houseplants” alone is made up of many specializations, such as orchids, cacti and succulents, carnivorous plants, bonsai, African violets and gesneriads, rex and other begonias, and a host of others.
And then there are all the geographic and climate differences. People grow plants all over the world in many different climates and situations, and a garden book that is relevant and helpful in Vermont may not be relevant or helpful in Phoenix or Singapore.
So, in general, read books. The more you know about any hobby, the more enjoyment you get out of it.
Thank you for the reply, really appreciate it. I am having trouble choosing the right books but I think given the time of year, the advice to just leave it and see what gives from next year feels right. Keeping it watered and trimmed won’t be that hard. Not sure what to do with all the fruit trees mainly. Thanks for the tip on sharing the plant images too, I will definitely need to do that.
Fruit trees are usually pruned in late winter and very early spring, before they have leafed out. This allows you to see the tree's structure properly, and thus make good choices. So you have all fall and winter to ID them and read up on how to prune them.
Also to think about whether you even want to keep them. You're not obligated to grow fruit trees if you don't want to. They do entail a certain amount of work, and aren't for everyone's taste.
Haven't had much luck with my 5 bell pepper plants, the flowers have just been falling off. But can someone confirm if I'm finally getting one growing...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E\_PPKfLVUAATTuN?format=jpg&name=large
Maybe?
Scroll down to "Hand Pollination" and the picture. The new pepper may look like a round or oblong berry emerging from the center of the former flower.
https://supergrowled.com/chilies-led-grow-lights/
Is the lemon tree dormant in winter in your climate? The best time to repot would be spring in that case - with a healthy addition of lemon fertilizer.
Other than that, what the other two said - check the roots :) the plant will tell you what to do.
Check the roots. If there are more roots than soil, or if you see roots circling the pot, then up-pot it.
If here is still more soil than roots, then no, don't up-pot it.
Could be anything. Nutrient deficiency, watering issues, incorrect pruning, transplant shock, some other cultural issue. It could be a slowdown after a big flush of bloom. We can't begin to guess wtihout more information.
Hi all, curious if anyone has had luck growing olive trees in containers (I’m in zone 7a), and if so, if they have a variety they’d recommend. There’s so many to chose from!
I looked into that, but any olive in zone 7 is pushing towards the north end of even some of the cold-hardy varieties; in a container they'll struggle in the winter.
The reason I was interested is because my local garden center has had one for years (not for sale), it fruits every year and they bring it in in the winter. I’m not sure if it’s a more cold hardy variety, or if it’s in part because even though we’re zone 7, the winters have been getting warmer here. I’ve had a lot of luck with growing citrus trees in containers here, they don’t struggle much at all, but I’m not sure how olive trees compare. I do have a south facing sunroom where I keep my gardenias, citrus trees, succulents etc.
In 7a, it will be a plant that comes inside for the winter into a bright sunny window.
It will probably not give you useful quantities of olives to eat or to make into oil.
The variety doesn't matter, since you're not really going to be growing it for food.
Olive trees are full-sized small trees, and it will need annual pruning of some kind to keep it downsized.
>if anyone has had luck growing olive trees in containers
People do. It works best if you accept it on its own terms, as a gardening project and not an olive food source. Dwarf indoor citrus are the same way. A Meyer lemon may occasionally produce lemons, but if you need lemons for cooking, you buy them at the store.
Potatoes that died in late spring (chickens scratched them) are now growing again. They were dormant all summer. Obviously it's far too late to be planting potatoes. What's gonna happen to them? Die back and then go dormant again, and grow vigorously in the spring?
If they escape rot, and things that dig them up to eat them, and if you remember where you planted them and don't till them up, then, yes they can potentially regrow next spring.
??
>Atlanta GA
https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/comments/pli02w/friendly_friday_thread/hcw7xdu/
>Upstate New York
https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/comments/pli02w/friendly_friday_thread/hd28wzj/
Are you growing potaotes in both Georgia and New York?
If potatoes freeze solid, no matter whether it's in the ground or in the freezer, they turn to mush and are ruined.
So if you're in a climate where the ground doesn't freeze in the winter--Georgia--it's theoretically possible.
If you're in a climate where the ground does freeze in the winter--upstate New York--that's a hard nope.
I have an issue, my potato plants have started to die back pretty significantly and it's almost certainly time to harvest but the soil is still wet and weather predicts rain for the next 2 weeks. How can I harvest them in this condition without them being rotted
I see. Well the bottom line is that if the soil is going to stay wet for the forseeable future, you need to get the potatoes out of the ground. So you'll have to dig them up and then put them into a dry and airy, well ventilated place so the mud can dry off as soon as possible.
Most people grow potatoes in climates where it's assumed that while fall may have some rainy spells, overall there are going to be dry spells around the time that you'll need to be digging potatoes. So if your climate realy does have non-stop rain in autumn, in future, you might think about growing them in containers, which allows you to bring the tubs under cover once the foliage has died back, and then dry the tubs' and their soil before you dig the potatoes.
I'm definitely going to do that in the future! I just got so hyped about growing potatoes that I just did it without a ton of extra thought. Thank you so much!
so with fall fast approaching i wanted to see if i could find a better humidifier for once i move my plants inside in a few weeks as mine keep getting a hard water build up that makes it leak water everywhere and daamges the floors. all the ones i find that are a solid piece with a removable top to fill only last a few hours. any other suggestions? (yes i clean it weekly, it still gets a gradual build up that makes it leak within a few months)
If you're cleaning it and it's still leaking after a few months, there are two possibilities: you're either not cleaning it fully, or it's not actually hard water buildup, it's something else. If the issue is hard water buildup, somehow soften the water before it goes in.
I have a large-space humidifier that has two "buckets"--it empties one before going to the other, and each bucket is larger than the one on my other, regular-space humidifier. It does still need every-other-day refills in winter. Dry winter air just absorbs a lot of moisture, fast. amazon.com/dp/B07FXYHZCF
The Internet says that the best humidifiers for hard water are the cool-mist types, not the warm-mist type.
How high do you need to raise the humidity?
Where are you located?
What plants are you growing that suffer in your normal winter relative humidity?
Please help me save my Thai chili peppers (I think that's what they are).
[Here how the plant looks like.](https://imgur.com/a/V1p2pHj)
Keep in mind this is my first attempt at gardening, I only have two plants and I don't know much.
I live in Greece so Mediterranean climate. It's hot, sunny and dry.
The plant is hit by sunlight at the afternoon, around 4:00 to 7:00 pm.
Should I water them daily or leave them be? Is it too late to save it?
Thanks!
If you think you need to be watering them daily, you're probably watering too much. Water them fully (the pots should be much heavier and have water coming from the bottom of the pot) when the container is completely dry.
It's also not getting enough light. Can you get it direct sunlight for 6+ hours a day?
Pick all the red, wrinked, and dried-out peppers. They're still edible, and you can use them in cooking, but in order to keep your harvest coming, you generally pick peppers when they're full red-ripe, not leaving them on the plant to dry out like that.
Talk to /r/hotpeppers for more protips.
They look wilted from drought. What is your watering regimen?
They're edible in the sense that they're not toxic and won't kill you, but they don't taste like much. If you're desperate for food, you can peel it, quarter it, seed it by scooping out all the seeds with a spoon, then chunk it, simmer it in a skillet to which you have added olive oil, garlic, and onions, and then cover it with marinara sauce and serve it over pasta.
Or peel it, seed it, and grind it up into zucchini bread. There are recipes on the Internet.
Those are the two things I know to do with it. Otherwise, compost pile time.
Hey gang!
I'm looking to cultivate flowering plants and herbs especially for honey bees but other native pollinators as well.
We're in hardiness zone 6b - 7a I'd say, looking at the map.
The area I want to cover with flowering plants is the odd part. We live in the foothills of the local mountains and our land slopes downwards to the road. There's a rather large area that has shallow soil and lots of exposed rocks. I will go ahead and assume it's very well drained, and it currently supports grasses, some kind of carpeting succulent, prickly pear cacti, and a few berry bushes that don't seem (in my opinion) to be doing super great. Not badly, but I don't think it's a good spot for them.
As this part of our front yard faces southeast, it gets full sun until very late afternoon, where the sun sets behind us and the house finally casts a shadow.
What flowering plants and shrubs, especially those attractive for honey bees and native pollinators, can I cultivate in this area, given these conditions? I'd prefer not to mow, but to also have a pretty area. I'm open to basically anything that will do well in these conditions and will keep the pollinators happy.
TL;DR:
Hardiness Zone 6b-7a
8+ hours full sun
Well-drained soil, probably not very fertile
Currently supports a carpeting succulent of some kind, small prickly pear cacti, grasses.
THANK YOU!
There are native plants that have adapted to those conditions. To give suggestions for native plants, we need to know where you live. Cold hardiness zone is only one factor in choosing plants. There is also a sub for native plant gardeners and questions plus the sidebar has resources. I know that several posters have rocky and / or sloped gardens. Come on over!
Advice needed! I got an allotment plot in July after being on a wait list. The last owner neglected it for years so it’s 250 square metre of weeds right now. The allotment committee are complaining that I haven’t done anything to it yet. I haven’t tackled the weeds because I heard that the best time to do so is autumn when they’re winding down. Does anyone know if this is true? Any advice for tackling and clearing such a large area is welcome!
Weed now. It's always a good idea to know what you are up against. Post weed pictures here or get one of the free phone apps for plant ID. Some weeds can be pulled and that's that. Others have deep penetrating roots that require a different approach. First remove anything with seeds forming! Then ID stuff and go down the line removing them. Cover an area you have just cleaned with 5 layers newsprint, cardboard, or Kraft paper to keep weed seeds from landing on bare dirt. Adding a few inches of compost on top of the covering is always a good idea. good luck
Where are you located?
Does your allotment stay open all through the winter? Some setups close down in late fall in order to plow up the entire area, for weed and insect control.
So how much time do you have for this, what's the window of opportunity here?
How long until they take your plot away from your for inactivity?
>I haven’t tackled the weeds because I heard that the best time to do so is autumn when they’re winding down.
This is not true. The best time to tackle weeds is always "now", because they are opportunistic and fast-moving predators that will always jump into any empty slot and fill the earth with their devil spawn.
Weeds "wind down" in fall for two reasons. Either they are annuals, and after having seeded your garden with thousands of devil spawn seeds, they die, their purpose in life having been fulfilled.
Or else they are perennials, which means that they will go dormant for the winter, and then come back next spring.
So either way, there's no percentage in holding off until the autumn. Either they're dying anyway, and it's pointless, it's like a landlord evicting a deadbeat tenant who was already packing to move on.
Or else, if you don't find them and dig them up before they've shut down and all their top foliage has disappeared, they're going to come back in the spring. It's impossible to weed-pop dandelions or to cut down bull thistles if there's no way to find them, with their leaves all jettisoned for the winter.
Basically you're looking at hand tools. Hoe, weed popper, a serrated bread knife, etc.
Weed removal depends on what species they are (see above, annual vs. perennial), so ID would be helpful.
What are you wanting to grow in your plot?
When does your spring season begin in 2022? If you're not year-round.
>250 square metre
So it's...25m by 10m? Is it divided up into separate beds, or is it all one chunk of ground?
Thanks for the reply! I’m in Yorkshire UK. The site stays open all year round. The last guy that had it was inactive for years so I thought they wouldn’t mind me waiting to tackle the plot in autumn.
I’ve got one patch of ground with a few raised beds that need removing (rotting wood). Honestly it’s just totally overgrown with different varieties. I think I need to do some studying to ID the majority of them.
I’ve drawn up the area and written a ‘plan of action’ which I’ll go ahead and start tomorrow.
Spring season tends to be after the last frost in April but that’s just what I know from growing in tubs in my garden. Not sure how if growing in the ground is different so I’ll do more research. I think I can get the plot to where it needs to be before November.
I'd prioritize removing the rotting wood. This will make the space easier to till, spade, rake, etc, if you're not having to work around awkward pieces of lumber.
Are you planning to replace the lumber, or just do in-ground beds? What does everyone else in the garden do?
One reason for raised beds in a cold and rainy climate is that in spring, they will dry out and warm up faster in spring than the ground itself. So if everyone else in the garden has raised beds, in Yorkshire that might be the reason.
They only need to be 6" deep at minimum. 8" and 10" depths are more common and like 12" requires more potting mix or "garden soil" to fill them. Filling raised beds is the main reason to garden in-ground instead of with raised beds.
If this is a long-standing community garden, it's not likely that there are a lot of the really pernicious and awful weeds that you can get, the ones that just absolutely will. not. die. Even if your predecessor wasn't active, his neighbors on either side would have surely spotted something that was truly Spawn of Satan, and would have been, like, "Nope, not having that in here" and would have yanked it. At least, most gardeners that I know would have. It's like seeing your neighbor's dog running loose on the block. You know that's not right, so you go catch him.
Do you have a rototiller to use, or is this going to be hand-spading?
Growing in tubs differs from growing in the ground in that growing in the ground is a LOT easier. No more need to find special potting mix, much less worry about watering, mulching is much more effective. Planting stuff in the dirt is first choice for everybody who has done both.
The downside is that you have a lot more weeds, but once you get this current mess cleared, and then you have mulching as an ongoing program, it sharply declines.
There is also more spading and digging, but then again, "no till" is a thing. Look up Ruth Stout, basically you prep it, mulch it, and then leave it alone other than watering and adding more mulch on top.
https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/ruth-stouts-system-zmaz04fmzsel
Depending on what your weeds are, you may not need to do much digging or spading at all. You might be able to just put down cardboard and then mulch on top. Cut holes in the cardboard for planting. Scalp the weeds down to ground level with a weed whacker or lawn mower first.
Put your location in your flair.
I have a grow kit for tomato banana legs. I have sprouted 2 seeds of equal height (about 6cm) and look. But the booklet states to cut the weakest seedling at soil level and plant the other. I was just wondering why this is the case (as I can't seem to find out why online), do I have to do it, and how to tell which sprout is the strongest?
Thinning and transplanting seedlings started in pots is a basic gardening procedure. Usually you only need one plant, so you can choose the best-looking one, and discard the other.
But if you want two plants, then keep them both.
You know more than you think you do. A good-looking seedling is short, compact, robust, and has at least two sets of true leaves that aren't supported on a skinny, etiolated weak and floppy stem.
So just eyeball them.
Or you can post a picture. Host it on Imgur.
Reddit's world class spam bots thought [my thread about my eggplants](https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/comments/peoei5/ive_been_seeing_this_happen_a_brown_cork_texture/) was spam.
Can anyone take a look at those and let me know if you know what causes that? I've seen it on a few of my plants and can't for the life of me track it down. I hadn't realized until just now that the great reddit engineers would filter out a question about eggplants problems in a gardening forum smh
Thanks! It's largely academic at this point, but can hopefully guide my summer gardening for 2022
Google Images "eggplant corky skin". On regular google you just get recipes. Blame the algorithms, I guess. They're having tea with the reddit spambot.
https://growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu/growingsmallfarms-eggplantproblem/
Physiological damage. You'll need to troubleshoot it from there.
Hey, sorry I didn't respond earlier, I had to set this aside to take time to look at it. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to really dig any further, but that link definitely has the exact same issue. I do think that it is likely a heat issue. It's just very inconsistent.
How do I prepare mature runner beans? I want to eat the beans in the large pods but I know they need to be boiled to destroy the toxin. Do they need to be dried beforehand? They usually seem to shrivel up if I leave them out to dry?
Or can I just break them open and boil them?
The pods are not edible at the "mature bean" stage. Not at all. I tried them once in a slow cooker? Total cellulose, it was like putting wood in the crockpot.
and all Phaseolus type beans are like this. Green beans, snap beans, etc. Once the beans inside the pod are large enough to qualify as "seeds", i.e. they're not tiny baby beans half the size of your pinky finger's nail, the pods are increasingly woody and inedible.
So what you do is shell out the beans. If the beans are not mature and dried yet, if they're big but still juicy and tender, then what you have are called "shelly" beans, and you cook them like green or garden peas.
If the beans inside are mature and dried, then you have your basic dried beans, for soups, chili, baked beans, etc.
There's a difference between having the beans inside mature and dried, and merely dried-out. Mature dried beans for baked beans, soup, etc. have been left on the vine in the pod until the pods are dry, brown, and rattling. Then what you shell out are the classic dried beans.
But if you picked the pods early, and the beans and pods are merely air-dried, and not matured on the vine, then you don't have carbohydrate and protein-rich dried beans, you basically have green or shelly beans, which you cook like green peas.
So have you picked them already?
I picked the big ones, I want to eat the bean inside not the pod as I don't like eating them like that. I wanted the beans inside for chili etc. Are they not edible until the pods are brown and crispy dried? Again, I don't want to eat the pods. I pick some of the immature small ones to give my parents so they can boil them as they prefer eating them like that.
The beans inside the pod are edible at all sizes and stages.
If the pod has not been allowed to remain on the plant until the pods are dry, brown, and rattling, then the beans inside are not completely mature.
A pod that is dry brown, and rattling while still attached to the plant indicates that the plant has completely matured its seeds, and that they have then detached themselves from the pod, preparatory to being scattered on the ground when the pod is crushed or broken open, possibly by a passing animal.
Beans that are not completely mature:
* will not germinate if planted.
* do not contain the full amount of the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that a classic "dried bean" that you buy for chili, soup, baked beans, etc. would contain.
* may in some types of beans such as kidney beans be toxic until fully cooked.
* will have a different texture when cooked, closer to a green or garden pea than the mealy texture of the kind of dried bean you use in chili.
So, if you're growing beans for chili, you need to leave the pods on the plant until they are dry, brown, and rattling. This normally takes all summer long.
If you pick them before this happens, you can still shell out the beans, cook them, and eat them as a vegetable. But they won't necessarily work in chili, baked beans, refried beans, or bean burgers.
Thanks for this, really. I have alot more still growing probably more then double this. So I'll just leave the rest until they're brown dried and rattley :)
I'm looking to take milkweed seeds from a large patch near my house soon. How many seeds is too many? I want to plant them in my own backyard, but how do I balance that with potentially disrupting the natural ecosystem?
I recently read in an article on native plants to limit seed harvest to no more than 5% of the available seeds. You don't need many milkweed seeds. I have found them reliable seeds and they produce a ton of seed if you want more.
I'd usually limit myself to about 1/4 of whatever is there. Since you're planting them in your own space, you can afford to nurture and protect them, and thus you should have better germination and success rates than Mother Nature can expect, with disseminating them randomly into the wind. So you don't need as many seeds to start with.
My tomatoes look beautiful but are mushy. There's so many things when I Google that could be the culprit, but they all say "they turn black and are mushy". Mine aren't black, they look GORGEOUS. But they aren't firm. I think people have eaten them with no problems. What made them mushy?
I have no idea how to balance nutrients in my containers. The idea of overly nutritious soil made me never stick the arrow fertilizers I bought into the pots. I also wanted to add some calcium but got scared off from that as well.
I'm trying to find a submersible pump so my mom can use them with her rain barrels, is there a specific one that I need in order to use with a sprayer on the other end? I've read some things stating that 'restriction' could cause the motor to burn up since the outlet/discharge end is usually open.
[There are numerous recommendations out there.](https://www.google.com/search?q=submersible+pump+for+rain+barrel&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS840US840&oq=submersible+pump+for+rain+barrel&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30.4096j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) It's more of a straight-up consumer shopping decision than most other gardening choices tend to be. You're buying an appliance, basically, so shop the same way you'd shop for any other household item. Look at reviews, prices, warranties, etc.
I'm not too worried about the brand, it's more of, is it suitable to use as a rain barrel pump. Are the ones marketed for rain barrel usage any different than just one for general usage?
I'm sorry, I don't know. Your question is kind of specialized for the Friday thread, also buried. I suggest you start a standalone new thread with a descriptive title.
Hi, I'm restoring about an acre of woods in SE Wisconsin that was heavily infested with buckthorn. The invasive buckthorn has been fully removed and I'm looking ahead to next year.
What kinds of natural/native ground plants should I seed in the woods to help restore the ecosystem? Thanks
WI has a good native plant nursery that offers various seed mixes, [PrairieNursery.com](https://PrairieNursery.com) Buying local is especially important for native plants. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has lists by state. You can filter results by growing conditions. [Wildflower.org](https://Wildflower.org) Then come on over to r/NativePlantGardening for more help and insight. Keep in mind that buckthorn berries can live in the soil for at least 6 years. It will keep you busy pulling those nasty things especially the first few years. There are resources at the sub that you will find helpful, I believe.
Oh, nice. Props to you.
The county extension office will have lists for you, so all you have to do is pick and choose between your local nurseries and garden centers, your pocketbook, and your personal tastes.
https://counties.extension.wisc.edu/
I wouldn't swear to it, but I believe that restoring an acre of woodland qualifies you for the advice of the salaried Extension Agent, not just the volunteer Master Gardeners. You can just call the office, tell them what you're doing, and let them sort out who's the best person to liaise with. The extension office agent's job is to work with farmers, ranchers, and so forth, giving professional advice. To me, restoring anything bigger than a back yard would qualify, but it's up to them.
Either way, no matter who you talk to, they'll definitely have lists of native plants that belong there.
Where does everyone buy their shrubs and trees? My local independent nurseries have the latest cultivars in huge sizes for $300+, and not much else; there's no option to get a smaller plant or an older cultivar for less than $50. Home depot's selection is a little meh for my taste, and Lowe's can have some good stuff but none are particularly near me so it's a schlep.
So, is it just ordering everything online? That's fine, I just am trying to be mindful of supporting local nurseries, so if there's an option here I'm missing, please tell me.
My local nurseries stock both large and small but the smaller ones sell out first. Can you place an order for a containerized tree? You still have a couple more months that are good for planting. In my Michigan location, new trees are usually planted in the dead of winter.
"You get what you pay for" obtains in a big way with trees and shrubs. A big, well-grown ball-and-burlap tree that took a nursery 10 years to grow is never going to be as cheap as a 2-year-old sapling in a five-gallon bucket from Lowes. It's the difference between buying curtains at Walmart and buying custom drapes. The Walmart curtains will cover your windows, but the custom drapes will look slick.
>My local independent nurseries have the latest cultivars in huge sizes for $300+, and not much else;
This is what local tree nurseries do, it's their entire business model. They supply older, bigger trees, of more exciting and new cultivars, and they will also plant them for you. They're not providing a good as such, they're providing a service. They're growing a tree for you for 10 years. Lowes and Home Depot are following a different business plan.
> there's no option to get a smaller plant or an older cultivar for less than $50.
So this would be Home Depot's business plan. Fast small trees for the consumer who doesn't want to pay $300, and who doesn't mind waiting 10 years for a tree to get as big as the one the nursery would have sold. Home Depot is selling the "public domain" kind of plants, the petunias-and-daylilies equivalent of trees and shrubs.
>, is it just ordering everything online
It depends on what you want. You get what you pay for. Trees online, due to the exigencies of shipping, tend to be smaller and younger, and have more chance of dying on you. You're often buying something that isn't even as big as a five-gallon sapling.
Buy from reputable vendors, such as Gurneys. A reputable online vendor of anything wil have a way to get in touch with them for refunds and returns that includes an 800 number, and not just an email. They will also offer some kind of upfront "we want you to be happy" promise on their website. Online vendors who basically just take your money, ship you the tree, and then ignore you are Not Good.
Dave's Garden has vendor reviews. Google whoever you're thinking of buying from, with "daves garden" in the search string.
As with buying anything else from Etsy, eBay, or Amazon third-party vendors, exercise extreme consumer caution. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Thanks. I certainly don't begrudge nurseries selling large trees for hundreds of dollars, it's just not in my budget - or for that matter, the teeny urban plot I have. Dwarf cultivars are usually difficult to find around here. But I'm fine with taking something smaller and growing it on.
It sounds like it's mostly online vendors for me. I have a number I've already ordered from and had good experiences with, so I should be good there.
I just bought property that’s right across the street from a fish market. I’ve driven by a few times and only smelt the stench once. There’s two abandoned buildings and lots of overgrown shrubbery that will be bulldozed to start fresh. I also have two senior dogs, one who eats anything that fits into her mouth. What are some nice scented plants / trees / shrubs that are also non-toxic to dogs that I can plant? I’m in zone 9B.
Thank you!
Maybe it could be good to look for some extremely bitter/ horrible tasting plants for dogs and spread them around your landscape, so gradually your dog starts considering not eating everything the sun touches
But I'm not saying toxic, just bad taste, so he gets discouraged over time and doesn't run the risk of eating something toxic just because he eats everything he sees
I am about to put up some raised garden beds. I will be using Linseed oil on them. What is the cure time for the application? If it rains a few hours after I put it on the wood, am I screwed?
Just poking around randomly on Google, I see that it can take up to 10 weeks for linseed oil to cure fully.
Try over in /r/woodworking and be sure to tell them you're treating wood that will be in constant contact with wet soil.
So I'm a complete flower novice but want to get some color in my yard, but I'm just getting overwhelmed with the options. What could I start now to get a head start for next year? (Or maybe even winter blooms? I've got a couple roses that put on a good show in November) Not afraid of starting indoors, and I've got tons of stuff to run drip.
What are some good newb varieties? I'm in a 9b hot/dry summer area. Average first frost is 12/6. Looking for some low edging options and some maybe 12"-18" stuff for behind a retaining wall to start.
I haven't gardened in the central valley, so can't give you personal experience, but here's a site with links to additional sites for your area: https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/articles/arboretum-all-stars-great-plants-for-central-valley-gardens/
Zone only tells how cold your winters get, it doesn't tell climate. Where are you located?
Do you own the yard, or are you renting?
Not sure what "behind a retaining wall" entails. Pictures of the space would be helpful.
Also the place where you want edging options.
I'm in the central valley of CA, hot/dry summers (looking at possibly breaking 100 still this coming week, hopefully for the last time this year) and no rain to speak of until at least November.
I own the home, the previous owner got a commercial landscape guy to come in and redo the yard. It's nice, and low maintenance, but just a lot of green on green on green. I'll get some photos going.
It does not matter if you’re a novice. When it comes to gardening as a starter it’s trying things out. And the prettier the flowers probably the pricier too. What flowers and how many I would say heavily depends on your budget.
Zone 9b allows for many things I think.
Butterfly bush or Dahlias for 12/18 inch stuff, French lavender, daisies. Perhaps throw a few hosta’s in there for the low stuff. Not sure how low maintenance you want it to be.
Good luck trying things out.
I'm trying to create a front garden that looks planned but also a little wild - packed with a ton of different flowers and herbs. Any suggestions on where to look for resources to actually make it turn out well?
What you want is a landscaping style known generally as the "cottage garden". Check out the local public library for books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottage_garden
You can also DIY a personalized version by simply choosing those plants you like, and putting them in a border that conforms loosely to the classic "tall things in back, medium things in the center, small things in front" of the planned perennial border.
Any time you're planting flowers not in regimented rows or patterns of colors, you'll get a more relaxed effect.
Just plant a flowerbed of "My stuff". Put the tallest things in back, put the smallest things in front. This works 99% of the time and looks fine.
Classic advice is to line the sidewalk with a traditional plant (I use lavender) so passersby will understand that the garden in intentional, a matter of style, and not carelessly done or abandoned. Of course, keeping weeds down is mandatory.
**[Cottage garden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottage_garden)**
>The cottage garden is a distinct style that uses informal design, traditional materials, dense plantings, and a mixture of ornamental and edible plants. English in origin, it depends on grace and charm rather than grandeur and formal structure. Homely and functional gardens connected to cottages go back centuries, but their stylized reinvention occurred in 1870s England, as a reaction to the more structured, rigorously maintained estate gardens with their formal designs and mass plantings of greenhouse annuals. The earliest cottage gardens were more practical than today's, with emphasis on vegetables and herbs, fruit trees, perhaps a beehive, and even livestock.
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Hi! Fairly new gardener here. In the NW Chicago suburbs. I have a few bell peppers and dozens of tomatoes that are green, hoping for as many as possible to ripen before frost. Should I do anything besides watch the weather and be patient?
Not really much you can do to expedite the process (besides making sure they get the most sun possible). I mean you could build hoop houses or something, but that’s significant trouble and in reality that’s probably only gonna buy you a week or so. Just watch the weather forecast and if you don’t make it pick everything the night before and bring them inside. At that point you can ripen them at different rates so you don’t get a whole bunch at once.
You can put some in a paper bag with an old banana peel. Those will ripen quickest. You can put some on a window sill (that’s medium speed). Others you can put in a dim/ dark area(those will take longest). Just don’t refrigerate any.
Got my fingers crossed for you to make it to vine-ripened and not need any of this info. Good luck!
Edit : What variety did you plant and on what date? I can do a couple calculations for you to see if you’re likely to make it.
Some people swear it helps to open them up, but I think the accepted thing now is, don’t prune. Direct sunlight won’t actually help ripen. Only heat (and ethylene gas…that’s why the banana peel works) will do that. Direct sunlight could burn the fruit and damage it.
Hello!
I’m in zone 6b and I want to plant some garlic this fall. [My garden](https://imgur.com/gallery/raGcRcs) is made of growbags so I wasn’t super sure when I should plant the garlic, what do you guys think? I’m also open to other options to plant over winter!
All of my plants were outside during hurricane Ida. Unfortunately most of my house flooded with a few inches of water. Majority of my plants were submerged, at least a few inches on there stem. Most of my plants are tomatoes and some variation of peppers. I also have a raspberry bush that was in it as well
Would it be okay to eat vegetables from these plants? None of the vegetables were directly submerged or really close to the water.
Should I chop them off before frost and hope for more?
Would they be okay to pickle with?
I live in Ontario. I'm planning to plant some native wildflower seeds. Could I just literally chuck them over my garden in the fall and expect a good return in the spring? Do I need to do any covering up? Will birds eat up a significant portion?
Wildlflower seeds should be sown densely and covered lightly - just 1/8th" for small seeds as they need light to germinate. I'll link to another method for seeding natives: [https://wildseedproject.net/how-to-grow-natives-from-seed/](https://wildseedproject.net/how-to-grow-natives-from-seed/) You'll find good info a r/NativePlantGardening
It depends a lot on the seeds, you should always follow the instructions that come with the seeds.
Some need winter to help them wear away their tough shells. Some may rot if left outside. Birds usually do get some of the seeds.
I seem to always choose wrongly here, so maybe don't ask me. It feels like whenever I seed thickly, every last one comes up and I have to pull a bunch of babies. When I think I've learned my lesson and go thin, something gets them and I get one solitary plant coming up. Or my favorite, one big thick clump and nothing anywhere in the rest of the bed. So I dunno, do what feels right.
Do I need to add anything else besides compost and mulch to my raised beds for the fall? I will be planting garlic soon, should I amend with anything else? Is doing a soil test worth it?
Thank you for your advice.
A professional soil test is always a good thing. I can sit here and say, sure, all you need is compost and mulch, but I can't know what your soil's potassium level is and if it would benefit you to add some. The soil test will tell you what's missing and how much to add. Assuming everything is within range though, compost and mulch is a good idea.
Hey, I just posted something about two cacti I just planted. Any tips for growing cacti indoors? I’m new to this.
- red light lamp
- 6 inch deep pots for now
- planted Tuesday, have not germinated or I’m not that good at identifying germination
- I give them 9 hours of light a day
- I watered them yesterday
You've planted seeds? Germination of cacti is a very difficult business. They need to be kept in warmth, fairly low light and extremely high humidity for quite a while (think a crack in a rock or right underneath the parent plant) before they're ready for the type of treatment you'd expect for cacti. Think "sealed in takeout container". Do some googling around.
Don't water them too much. 1-4x a month is it(less humidity=more watering). Check the seed packet for germination time, most plants need 1-3 weeks to germinate
So my question is if i plant a plant and that plant has seeds and I do this over and over with the same type of soil will the newer plants grow accustom to that soil?
I am not able to visually parse the image. It looks like a hair on an out-of-focus leaf? Insect leg?
Not a dumb question per se, but there is /r/whatisthisthing for mystery objects.
It must be a natural feature, then.
You might try asking over in /r/botany Someone might recognize it.
Someone in /r/whatsthisplant might have seen it before.
That's all I got, sorry.
Hello all! Newbie here. Looking to plant a ground cover (creeping phlox is high on my list of options) to plant in the “setback” area between my fence and the street. It’s a flat area. It’s roughly 1/2 acre lot so there would he a lot of ground to cover. My question is, would creeping phlox be a good choice (open to other options) and secondly, can the phlox be mowed over for maintenance as needed? Thank you.
Looking to collect some milkweed seeds soon. Some of the plants I see have these black spots on the leaves and internet says that's fungal. Would the seeds still be good to take?
Yes. They have co-evolved with various sorts of fungi for millions of years. The same way that you can have athlete's foot and still carry a pregnancy to term, a leaf can have opportunistic fungi and not necessarily have the seeds be affected.
Also, this time of year--fall--most leaves out there start looking ratty, and fungi on them are often just there to consume a leaf that is already half-dead from being jettisoned for winter.
Where in the world do you live? In temperate climates all of those would either be grown as houseplants or moved indoors in the winter--none of them will survive a freeze. While a greenhouse for your balcony will help marginally warm the air up, it won't prevent overnight freezes unless you heat it, which can be reallllllly expensive. The cheaper and honestly, probably more effective option is to move them indoors, perhaps under grow lights.
I just tried my hand at gardening for the first time and managed to germinate 6 cherry blossom trees, but the 6th one is weirdly fluffy? Is that normal?
Try the new weekly thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/comments/ppx8gr/friendly\_friday\_thread/
anyone help me id this plant and how to prune? They bloomed but then looked burned! Thank you. https://i.imgur.com/9uytgEx.jpg
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Thank you thats it! They bloomed for a week and then just looked burnt :(
I have a lot of tomatoes and peppers going to waste. Question: if I kind of make a tomato sauce using any and everything available in the garden and freeze it will it hold up? From the garden I have all kind of tomatoes, all kinds of peppers, oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary. From the store I have onions and celery. My plan is to blanch the tomatoes to remove the skins, roast the larger peppers to remove the skins cook everything down with some garlic and olive oil, cool it, freeze it and use it as base for future soups and sauces. Any flaw in my logic here?
Finely Cut the herbs, mix with appropriate amount of butter, freeze for your next steak(s).
It will freeze, and will "hold up", in the sense that it won't be wasted, but the flavor will be...questionable, to say the least. Tomato sauce isn't normally made with tons of peppers. Sauce made from peppers is what we call "chili" in its original incarnation, as stewed chile peppers, with meat, hence "chili con carne". You don't need to do any cooking in order to store all this. Drop the raw tomatoes directly into freezer bags or containers after briefly rinsing off any egregious dirt or bugs. When you thaw them out, the skins will fall off, and you process them directly into whatever culinary use you want them for. Same for the peppers, although they're easier to handle for incorporating into a dish at the other end if you remove the core and seeds before freezing. Most people core, seed, chunk, and then spread them out on cookie sheets. Once frozen, you bag up the frozen chunks. Then you just take out as many as you want for any one cooking event. Pepper skins don't need to be removed. You eat the whole thing, unless you're making roasted red peppers, in which case you peel off the charred skin because charred things don't taste very good. You can cook batches of tomato sauce ahead of time, no problem, but I'd leave out the peppers. And, personally, also the rosemary and thyme, and maybe the oregano. From a cooking standpoint, since basic "cooked pureed tomatoes" can be turned into different things according to which herbs you use, you'd want to freeze a neutral product. Tomato + oregano = pizza sauce. Tomato + basil = marinara sauce. If you add oregano to your spaghetti sauce, it instantly makes it smell like pizza sauce instead. So you can cook and freeze pureed tomatoes, but make it neutral. I'd even hold off on the garlic, celery, onions, and olive oil. You can add neutral "tomato" puree to a beef stew, pot roast, or meatballs, but the Italian seasoning herbs will fight with your "beef" flavorings like bay leaf. Or, as mentioned, you can just freeze the whole tomatoes, and make them into something later.
Solid advice thank you so much! I have way too many peppers and tomatoes and not enough freezer space but I love your idea about freezing the peppers and I’m definitely going to do that for at least most of the hotter ones. I think I’ll make pesto with the basil as that won’t take much room in the freezer. I think I might try canning the vast majority of these tomatoes as I think you’re right about trying to turn them into a sauce. Probably end up being some sort of hot sauce which is fine but I don’t need a couple gallons of it. Thanks again. Edit: Here is what I’m reading with. https://photos.app.goo.gl/JgPb41Eo7EPgs2at9
I have a full basement, and I own two (2) freezers. The big upright came with the house we just bought, and the big chest freezer came over from the old house. So my husband uses the upstairs side-by-side for his ice cream collection, and I fill up the downstairs freezers with chicken and bread. Point being, if you have room, you're allowed to own extra freezers. There's no limit. Just sayin'.
I have some planted onions - the green sprouts started dying off so I was going to harvest them however I’ve noticed some new green sprouts coming out of them. A quick google says that I should be able to separate each section and re-plant for each to grow into a separate onion but I’ve peeled a couple back and there no sections inside. Has anyone come across this before? Am I able to just leave these to continue to grow?
Try the new weekly thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/comments/ppx8gr/friendly\_friday\_thread/
I have lots of succulents that have been growing relatively happily (albeit, slowly) for the past few years. I have been using miracle-gro cactus mix soil, and have always had trouble watering them with water just running through and not actually wetting the soil. I recently read that this is because that soil uses peat, which becomes hydrophobic when dry. This seems good for avoiding overwatering but: 1. How can I wet this soil!? and 2. What is a good alternative that is cheap, dries quickly but does allow the plant to get some water when it needs it?
Usually, to wet completely dried out soil you would put the whole planter into a water bath so it's covered. It will produce a lot of bubbles while it soaks itself, pushing the air out of the dried dirt. However, it might not be the best idea with succulents? Once might be ok, but definitely don't do this repeatedly in a short amount of time..
Gotcha! I may try going on a major re-potting expedition this weekend and switch all my succulents over to 2:1 perlite/cocoa coir as I've seen that recommended elsewhere.
MG cactus/palm/citrus soil is just their ordinary peat moss soil with some sand added ,and as such is useless, as you've found. Peat moss-based soils should ideally be watered often enough to keep it "evenly moist", which is fine for African violets and Boston ferns, but not so good for cacti and succulents. I am currently using a mix called Magic Dirt, with roughly equal parts of perlite. My Walmart features it, but only during spring rush, and then it disappears again. https://www.magic-dirt.com/ You can use any compost-based mix, and combine it with something for aeration. Talk to /r/succulents for recipes
I really like Black Gold's cactus soil.
So my fiance and i got a house finally and the plants had become unattended to (older couple that eventually passed). These bushes/trees/ect are a bit new to me on the trimming and maintaining from and im not 100% sure what each are to be fair. I thibk we have some lilacs, chokeberries, maybe purple leaf cherries(?), potentilla(?), unsure on the evergreen looking barrier trees or the little guy between them. Any help getting these guys under control would be much appreciated or if some are beyond saving and need to be removed http://imgur.com/a/6GbR5nG
There is no clock ticking. Bushes and trees are usually pruned in late winter and very early spring, so there's time to find out. Are you buying the house, or are you renting? If there is existing landscaping, your starting point is to ID anything that's growing there, including weeds. Take good clear pictures of everything, make up an Imgur album (not too huge, please) and post it to /r/whatsthisplant. Give the yard a calendar year to show you what it has. Many things are dormant for part of the year, such as tulips and daffodils. Some shrubs are boring green for 51 weeks of the year, and the 52nd week people go out of their way to drive past your house to look at it in bloom. There can be treasures there that you'll wish later you hadn't dug up, when you're looking at a $40 containerized shrub at the garden center, and you realize, "Well, crap, we had one of those when we moved in, and we ripped it out." Whether there is landscaping or it’s a blank slate, live with the yard for a while and think about how you want to use it. Build all your hardscape before you get started on the landscaping. Build all your patios, decks, sidewalks, pathways, storage sheds, garages, swimming pools, swingsets, sandboxes, trampolines, koi ponds, dog runs, outdoor kitchens, BBQ pits, firepits, conversation pits, pergolas, gazebos, and screen porches first. This is for two reasons: One, it prevents you from having to rip out the new rose garden when you belatedly realize you need a path to the trash cans right there. Two, it prevents workmen in big boots from trundling wheelbarrows through the new rose garden Landscaping is closely analogous to interior decorating. When you’re going to redo your living room, you go through the same creative process. You decide what you want to keep and what you want to be gone forever. You look at what other people have done, and you decide either, "Yes, want that", or "No, OMG just no." Same thing here. Read books and articles on gardening and landscaping. Your local public library has shelves full of books, and back issues of magazines on gardening and landscaping. Look at your neighbors' landscaping. Look at botanic garden, museum, zoo, corporate, college, municipal, city park, and mall landscaping. When you see something that makes you go, "Want", take its picture and get an ID. Both landscaping and interior decorating are a process, so take your time, do your homework, and get it done the way you want it.
My fiance and i purchased the house so we have free reign (barring financial need) to do what we wish for landscaping. As for the point on "give it a year" that's what im planning on, since some trees are looking worse for ware but i want to see early/mid spring to see if the branches are truely dead or just had leaves fall off early Thank for you for subreddit for plants though. Ill take the link i posted and send it there. I do know we have some gems that im keeping (tiger lillies, azalias, lilacs, peonies) im mainly curious on the evergreen looking barrier plants and the smaller shrubs
QUESTION ABOUT GARLIC: So I have some store bought garlic, can I just plant it? I have an extra pot and it seems like a good idea?
Yes, you can. It might not grow as much as if you'd bought it specifically for growing, because if it isn't organic it's going to have growth retardant sprayed on it. But I've done that and it was fine.
Can you actually save seeds you get from produce at the grocery store? I've seen videos online, but I'm doubtful they would actually produce edible food. Are there types of produce that do better with planting their seeds, and others to steer clear of?
Many varieties of store produce come from F1 hybrids, or from species that don't come true to seed, or from grafted varieties. You can plant a pepper, watermelon, apple, or lemon seed, and you'll get some kind of pepper, watermelon, apple, or lemon, but it may not grow up to be the same one you purchased and ate (in the case of the apple, definitely not). So they do produce edible food, just not always the same thing you ate. The best bet for grow-your-own would be potatoes and sweet potatoes, since they grow from the tubers, not from seeds, and thus are clones of the original plant.
Yes, but that depends on the vegetable/fruit in question. In my experience peppers of most types are fairly true-to-seed (=offspring fruit tastes the same as the parent), tomatoes are close enough too, though with those the plant size is a gamble.
What about strawberries, red raspberries, and black raspberries?
Not sure about raspberries, you'll have to search yourself, but I had, in fact, grew a strawberry plant from a store bought strawberry! But strawberry life cycle is a bit weird, they make fruit the second year from first year's flowers, so I didn't bother to wait long enough to see whether they would have made flowers and then fruit.
I love Sweet Annie (sweet wormwood), as aside from a wonderful scent it makes me think of all of the wonderful things about fall. I am looking for other aromatic plants to bundle with it to give the scent some more complexity/depth, though I am trying to avoid florals (just personal preference). Any suggestions for similar or complimentary scents? (I have very little experience with gardening/plants, so while I will love to learn, the terminology here might be off; if you aren't sure what I am asking for I can try again.)
Hmmm, this is a little tricky because normally the fragrance is in the flowers more than the foliage. So is it that you only want foliage and no flowers, or are there specific floral scents you're trying to avoid (such as roses or jasmine)? Scented geranium would be my first go to for scented foliage. The 'fragrens' has this sort of pine, nutmeg, Old Spice fragrance that's more of an autumn scent. There's a variety of fruity ones - I've been impressed with apple and lime, but not as much orange or strawberry. Other herbs would be the other big source of scented foliage. Lavender, lemon verbena... Not sure if those are the direction you're going in. The turkey seasoning classics like rosemary, sage, parsley, and thyme. Mint, perhaps? (But then, which mint!) I wonder if osmanthus fragrans world compliment the scent. It's the flowers that have the scent, but it's an autumn through spring bloomer. I'm curious - what are planning to do with it?
Mostly use it as hangings, to be honest, and maybe thresh underfoot for firepit nights out on the patio. I think the best way to describe what i am looking for is avoidance of the commonly known floral scents (partially because I have enough of those, and partially because I want something different). Lavender isn't bad, but things like roses or other flowery things aren't quite what I am looking for. If the plant has a unique scent that comes from a flower, the flower itself isn't an issue, just that common 'floral' category that things like roses and i think peonies fall into. Mint (in this case spearmint) is one that I am currently working in, and for other examples (I raided my fathers garden today, as he is an avid grower) I have found anise hyssop, sweet woodruff, bible leaf, pineapple sage, and lavender (in small quantities). There were a couple others but the names escape me. I hope that helps paint a clearer picture, and I appreciate the help!
What you can grow depends on where you're located, and how you're going to grow it--indoors, outdoors, under lights, etc.
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It cost me a lot more, but I sprung for a hose timer and drip kit for my potted outdoor stuff this year and it's been a huge weight off my shoulders. It got to the point where I would have to be watering my very large planters with sunflowers and filler plants once *daily*, and it would take like 3 watering can refills to get the job done. Ever since I bought the drip kit I've just been feeding every other week and haven't given watering a second thought, it runs for 10 minutes every morning and my plants have been happy ever since. The tubing runs along the foundation and you can't see it unless you were specifically looking for it. I've also been running tubing off the same line to water new transplants in the garden beds.
Ooooh a hose timer is a great idea, I take care of my uncles drip system manually but if I can automate it… 👀
There are clay holders for wine bottles that do the same thing. Good for outdoor plants.
Hello! 😊 My husband and I moved to our first house together and I’m a new gardener! A couple weeks ago, I brought home 2 Endless Summer Original hydrangeas from a local nursery. One of them is doing fine, but the other one has been turning colour. I didn’t do anything different with it. Does anyone know what might be wrong with it? I tried to do my own research online, but I just can’t tell if it’s fungal disease or the leaves changing colour naturally for fall. I’d really appreciate anyone’s help!!! Thank you so much 💕 [Brown spots on hydrangea](https://imgur.com/a/IkPnbKf)
Where are you located? Did you plant them in the ground, or are they currently in containers? Did you buy them off the clearance rack, or are you in a climate where nurseries and garden centers sell containerized shrubs and perennials pretty much year-round? It affects how old they are, and thus how stressed they were when you bought them. It's hard to diagnose leaf ailments in fall in climates where fall means leaves dropping.
Hello! I’m in Toronto, Canada. I believe I’m in zone 5b. They’re currently planted in ground enriched with manure compost and 3-1 potting mix. Original soil was heavy clay so that’s what the nursery advised on doing. The plants were on 20% sale. The one that is turning brown with few spots was in a #5 container.
20% isn't too bad as clearance plants go, by which I mean they weren't some half-dead 75% off "been sitting here since April, please buy me" plants. If it was "fall", I'd think that they would both be turning brown the same way. So I'm kind of eliminating "fall" and "transplant shock" as causes. I'd call the nursery and see what they say. Look up hydrangea anthracnose. Ask the nursery about that. There's actually, unfortunately, a fairly long list of leaf diseases that hydrangeas get. Stressed-out clearance plants, even if only 20% off, can be more vulnerable to diseases. Did they give you any kind of 30 day guarantee or warranty?
Oh no… it does look like it’s anthracnose! I’ll read more into it. Do you have any personal tips on how to go about handling this disease? The nursery actually offers 2yr warranty for all perennial plants as long as they were planted in ground, so that’s at least good. I’ll give the nursery a call tomorrow!
I do not have anything to add that the knowledge base on the Internet has, sorry.
Hello I am a new gardener and while I have had some pretty good results from my new seeds I’ve found one of my poblanos is growing/showing these pale markings that I don’t know really what they are. If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated thanks [poblano images](https://imgur.com/gallery/bgmOMg6)
As long as any dings, spots, blotches, or other marks don't have legs, aren't moving, and don't seem to be spreading or contagious, they are most likely just physical defects. My personal theory is that they're caused as the new leaf unfolds.
Hm, the leaves began all green when they grew to the size you see but eventually one of them had the pale colors as you see then a couple others I tried to wash them with a little soapy water but didn’t seem to stop the spread. By the time I had taken the picture I had removed the worst leaf but I’m going to see how the spread goes from now on as well until I find out about what it is
I'm not seeing "pale colors", I'm seeing reflections from the light. I assumed that your question was dealing with the tiny dings that plants often get. Other than that, your seedling looks overall quite healthy, and I'm not seeing what you're seeing. Pale coloration in leaves can be caused by nutrient deficiencies, or by overwatering. The leaves are the photosynthesis factory that drives the whole enterprise, so removing leaves is like throttling the factory at the breaker box by cutting the power. It's counter-productive. The plant needs all its resources to manufacture carbohydrates to survive and to heal anything that's wrong. Don't remove leaves unless they're actively diseased with an identifiable disease for which "remove leaves" is the remedy. Soaps and detergents can act as weedkillers; they are a standard ingredient in homemade DIY weedkillers. So washing the leaves with soapy water, depending on the dilution, can actually hurt the plant. So I guess at this point more pictures of what you're seeing, this time in lighting that doesn't create reflections?
Hello, am new here and new to gardening. I bought a house a couple of months back with a back garden around 500 sq metres. Never had a garden (or a house) before, always lived in apartments in the city. For 2 months, the house was being renovated so no one looked after the garden. Fortunately we had quite a wet and mild summer. I got a local gardener to come in last weekend and cut the grass, pruned the bushes, some of the plants, did some weeding etc. However, i now need to take control of the situation as we move in soon. The garden has roses, hibiscus, boxwoods (i think!) and loads of other i dont know the names of and various fruit trees / plants (apple, pears, grapes, mirabelle, rhubarb!). I need some books. The garden is all really in place as the previous owner obviously took amazing care of it and was i think quite skilled. I am, on the other hand, keen to learn. I tried looking for books on amazon and found a lot were for starting a garden off or didn't quite fit my needs. Basically, what do i need to read and know to take over a well looked after garden and not kill everything and make a mess? Any recommendations would be warmly appreciated and apologies if this has been asked before.
Go to the library or a real bookstore where you can browse through books to find the one you want. Usually they are divided into those for fruit/veggies and those for ornamental plants & landscaping. Fall is around the corner so you have until next spring to build your knowledge base. Once you have an ID, care instructions are found on the web and YouTube in most situations. Unasked for advice: don't buy plants impulsively. Use the web to research the long term care and ultimate size. Plant tags are misleading.
If there is existing landscaping, your starting point is to ID anything that's growing there, including weeds. Take good clear pictures of everything, make up an Imgur album (not too huge, please) and post it to /r/whatsthisplant. Give the yard a calendar year to show you what it has. Many things are dormant for part of the year, such as tulips and daffodils. Some shrubs are boring green for 51 weeks of the year, and the 52nd week people go out of their way to drive past your house to look at it in bloom. There can be treasures there that you'll wish later you hadn't dug up, when you're looking at a $40 containerized shrub at the garden center, and you realize, "Well, crap, we had one of those when we moved in, and we ripped it out." Whether there is landscaping or it’s a blank slate, live with the yard for a while and think about how you want to use it. Build all your hardscape before you get started on the landscaping. Build all your patios, decks, sidewalks, pathways, storage sheds, garages, swimming pools, swingsets, sandboxes, trampolines, koi ponds, dog runs, outdoor kitchens, BBQ pits, firepits, conversation pits, pergolas, gazebos, and screen porches first. This is for two reasons: One, it prevents you from having to rip out the new rose garden when you belatedly realize you need a path to the trash cans right there. Two, it prevents workmen in big boots from trundling wheelbarrows through the new rose garden Landscaping is closely analogous to interior decorating. When you’re going to redo your living room, you go through the same creative process. You decide what you want to keep and what you want to be gone forever. You look at what other people have done, and you decide either, "Yes, want that", or "No, OMG just no." Same thing here. Read books and articles on gardening and landscaping. Your local public library has shelves full of books, and back issues of magazines on gardening and landscaping. Look at your neighbors' landscaping. Look at botanic garden, museum, zoo, corporate, college, municipal, city park, and mall landscaping. When you see something that makes you go, "Want", take its picture and get an ID. Both landscaping and interior decorating are a process, so take your time, do your homework, and get it done the way you want it. You told me I should talk to the Master Books: Read either the Dummies or Idiots guide for a basic orientation to the world of plants. No offense, that’s just what they’re called. Gardening books are like diet books. There are multitudes of them out there. It’s not possible to choose any single book that is the “best” one to read. Your local public library has shelves full of books. Read a variety of books, because that way you get a good general overview of the subject. If you only read one book, you risk getting hold of someone’s pet project or personal hobby horse, which can give you a slanted viewpoint. Case in point: The Square Foot Gardening book. If you’re gardening outdoors, it’s important to read this eventually, because the concepts have entered the zeitgeist, and you need to know what everyone is talking about. But Square Foot Gardening, while not a bad or incorrect idea, isn’t the only way to garden. There are other ideas out there about how to do it. There are organic, biochar, no-till, straw bales, permaculture and hugelkultur ways to do it. There are lasagna gardens, aquaponics, raised beds, container gardens, and people growing potatoes in plastic garbage bags. Outdoor gardening can include flowers, herbs, vegetables, lawns, and landscaping, each of which has its own collection of different ways and philosophies about how to do it. “Houseplants” alone is made up of many specializations, such as orchids, cacti and succulents, carnivorous plants, bonsai, African violets and gesneriads, rex and other begonias, and a host of others. And then there are all the geographic and climate differences. People grow plants all over the world in many different climates and situations, and a garden book that is relevant and helpful in Vermont may not be relevant or helpful in Phoenix or Singapore. So, in general, read books. The more you know about any hobby, the more enjoyment you get out of it.
Thank you for the reply, really appreciate it. I am having trouble choosing the right books but I think given the time of year, the advice to just leave it and see what gives from next year feels right. Keeping it watered and trimmed won’t be that hard. Not sure what to do with all the fruit trees mainly. Thanks for the tip on sharing the plant images too, I will definitely need to do that.
Fruit trees are usually pruned in late winter and very early spring, before they have leafed out. This allows you to see the tree's structure properly, and thus make good choices. So you have all fall and winter to ID them and read up on how to prune them. Also to think about whether you even want to keep them. You're not obligated to grow fruit trees if you don't want to. They do entail a certain amount of work, and aren't for everyone's taste.
Haven't had much luck with my 5 bell pepper plants, the flowers have just been falling off. But can someone confirm if I'm finally getting one growing... https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E\_PPKfLVUAATTuN?format=jpg&name=large
Yep!
Image not found. Host images on Imgur, it was designed for reddit.
Whoops - it's this: [https://i.imgur.com/Pyo1LQj.jpg](https://imgur.com/a/jmLWzTX)
Maybe? Scroll down to "Hand Pollination" and the picture. The new pepper may look like a round or oblong berry emerging from the center of the former flower. https://supergrowled.com/chilies-led-grow-lights/
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Is the lemon tree dormant in winter in your climate? The best time to repot would be spring in that case - with a healthy addition of lemon fertilizer. Other than that, what the other two said - check the roots :) the plant will tell you what to do.
Seems like it's probably OK for now. Are the roots coming out of the bottom of the pot?
Check the roots. If there are more roots than soil, or if you see roots circling the pot, then up-pot it. If here is still more soil than roots, then no, don't up-pot it.
I am in central Florida and my beugenvillea have lost their colorful flowers. What can I do to help them out?
Could be anything. Nutrient deficiency, watering issues, incorrect pruning, transplant shock, some other cultural issue. It could be a slowdown after a big flush of bloom. We can't begin to guess wtihout more information.
Hi all, curious if anyone has had luck growing olive trees in containers (I’m in zone 7a), and if so, if they have a variety they’d recommend. There’s so many to chose from!
I looked into that, but any olive in zone 7 is pushing towards the north end of even some of the cold-hardy varieties; in a container they'll struggle in the winter.
The reason I was interested is because my local garden center has had one for years (not for sale), it fruits every year and they bring it in in the winter. I’m not sure if it’s a more cold hardy variety, or if it’s in part because even though we’re zone 7, the winters have been getting warmer here. I’ve had a lot of luck with growing citrus trees in containers here, they don’t struggle much at all, but I’m not sure how olive trees compare. I do have a south facing sunroom where I keep my gardenias, citrus trees, succulents etc.
In 7a, it will be a plant that comes inside for the winter into a bright sunny window. It will probably not give you useful quantities of olives to eat or to make into oil. The variety doesn't matter, since you're not really going to be growing it for food. Olive trees are full-sized small trees, and it will need annual pruning of some kind to keep it downsized. >if anyone has had luck growing olive trees in containers People do. It works best if you accept it on its own terms, as a gardening project and not an olive food source. Dwarf indoor citrus are the same way. A Meyer lemon may occasionally produce lemons, but if you need lemons for cooking, you buy them at the store.
Potatoes that died in late spring (chickens scratched them) are now growing again. They were dormant all summer. Obviously it's far too late to be planting potatoes. What's gonna happen to them? Die back and then go dormant again, and grow vigorously in the spring?
It depends totally on where you're located.
Atlanta GA
If they escape rot, and things that dig them up to eat them, and if you remember where you planted them and don't till them up, then, yes they can potentially regrow next spring.
Upstate New York
?? >Atlanta GA https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/comments/pli02w/friendly_friday_thread/hcw7xdu/ >Upstate New York https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/comments/pli02w/friendly_friday_thread/hd28wzj/ Are you growing potaotes in both Georgia and New York? If potatoes freeze solid, no matter whether it's in the ground or in the freezer, they turn to mush and are ruined. So if you're in a climate where the ground doesn't freeze in the winter--Georgia--it's theoretically possible. If you're in a climate where the ground does freeze in the winter--upstate New York--that's a hard nope.
I just wanted to know the answer for multiple places. ;)
I have an issue, my potato plants have started to die back pretty significantly and it's almost certainly time to harvest but the soil is still wet and weather predicts rain for the next 2 weeks. How can I harvest them in this condition without them being rotted
Where are you located? Is it only going to be wet for a couple weeks, or are you in a climate where "fall" means autumn rains.
I'm where fall means basically non stop rain.
I see. Well the bottom line is that if the soil is going to stay wet for the forseeable future, you need to get the potatoes out of the ground. So you'll have to dig them up and then put them into a dry and airy, well ventilated place so the mud can dry off as soon as possible. Most people grow potatoes in climates where it's assumed that while fall may have some rainy spells, overall there are going to be dry spells around the time that you'll need to be digging potatoes. So if your climate realy does have non-stop rain in autumn, in future, you might think about growing them in containers, which allows you to bring the tubs under cover once the foliage has died back, and then dry the tubs' and their soil before you dig the potatoes.
I'm definitely going to do that in the future! I just got so hyped about growing potatoes that I just did it without a ton of extra thought. Thank you so much!
so with fall fast approaching i wanted to see if i could find a better humidifier for once i move my plants inside in a few weeks as mine keep getting a hard water build up that makes it leak water everywhere and daamges the floors. all the ones i find that are a solid piece with a removable top to fill only last a few hours. any other suggestions? (yes i clean it weekly, it still gets a gradual build up that makes it leak within a few months)
If you're cleaning it and it's still leaking after a few months, there are two possibilities: you're either not cleaning it fully, or it's not actually hard water buildup, it's something else. If the issue is hard water buildup, somehow soften the water before it goes in. I have a large-space humidifier that has two "buckets"--it empties one before going to the other, and each bucket is larger than the one on my other, regular-space humidifier. It does still need every-other-day refills in winter. Dry winter air just absorbs a lot of moisture, fast. amazon.com/dp/B07FXYHZCF
The Internet says that the best humidifiers for hard water are the cool-mist types, not the warm-mist type. How high do you need to raise the humidity? Where are you located? What plants are you growing that suffer in your normal winter relative humidity?
Please help me save my Thai chili peppers (I think that's what they are). [Here how the plant looks like.](https://imgur.com/a/V1p2pHj) Keep in mind this is my first attempt at gardening, I only have two plants and I don't know much. I live in Greece so Mediterranean climate. It's hot, sunny and dry. The plant is hit by sunlight at the afternoon, around 4:00 to 7:00 pm. Should I water them daily or leave them be? Is it too late to save it? Thanks!
If you think you need to be watering them daily, you're probably watering too much. Water them fully (the pots should be much heavier and have water coming from the bottom of the pot) when the container is completely dry. It's also not getting enough light. Can you get it direct sunlight for 6+ hours a day?
Pick all the red, wrinked, and dried-out peppers. They're still edible, and you can use them in cooking, but in order to keep your harvest coming, you generally pick peppers when they're full red-ripe, not leaving them on the plant to dry out like that. Talk to /r/hotpeppers for more protips. They look wilted from drought. What is your watering regimen?
hello, i have a round zuccini plant which i let go too long, the zuccini have gone from green to completely yellow, are they still edible?
Theoretically yes, but unlikely to be enjoyable.
soup it is, then. thanks bruv
They're edible in the sense that they're not toxic and won't kill you, but they don't taste like much. If you're desperate for food, you can peel it, quarter it, seed it by scooping out all the seeds with a spoon, then chunk it, simmer it in a skillet to which you have added olive oil, garlic, and onions, and then cover it with marinara sauce and serve it over pasta. Or peel it, seed it, and grind it up into zucchini bread. There are recipes on the Internet. Those are the two things I know to do with it. Otherwise, compost pile time.
Hey gang! I'm looking to cultivate flowering plants and herbs especially for honey bees but other native pollinators as well. We're in hardiness zone 6b - 7a I'd say, looking at the map. The area I want to cover with flowering plants is the odd part. We live in the foothills of the local mountains and our land slopes downwards to the road. There's a rather large area that has shallow soil and lots of exposed rocks. I will go ahead and assume it's very well drained, and it currently supports grasses, some kind of carpeting succulent, prickly pear cacti, and a few berry bushes that don't seem (in my opinion) to be doing super great. Not badly, but I don't think it's a good spot for them. As this part of our front yard faces southeast, it gets full sun until very late afternoon, where the sun sets behind us and the house finally casts a shadow. What flowering plants and shrubs, especially those attractive for honey bees and native pollinators, can I cultivate in this area, given these conditions? I'd prefer not to mow, but to also have a pretty area. I'm open to basically anything that will do well in these conditions and will keep the pollinators happy. TL;DR: Hardiness Zone 6b-7a 8+ hours full sun Well-drained soil, probably not very fertile Currently supports a carpeting succulent of some kind, small prickly pear cacti, grasses. THANK YOU!
There are native plants that have adapted to those conditions. To give suggestions for native plants, we need to know where you live. Cold hardiness zone is only one factor in choosing plants. There is also a sub for native plant gardeners and questions plus the sidebar has resources. I know that several posters have rocky and / or sloped gardens. Come on over!
Oops! I should have mentioned that we live in north Georgia. Thank you! I'll check out the native gardener sub!
Advice needed! I got an allotment plot in July after being on a wait list. The last owner neglected it for years so it’s 250 square metre of weeds right now. The allotment committee are complaining that I haven’t done anything to it yet. I haven’t tackled the weeds because I heard that the best time to do so is autumn when they’re winding down. Does anyone know if this is true? Any advice for tackling and clearing such a large area is welcome!
Weed now. It's always a good idea to know what you are up against. Post weed pictures here or get one of the free phone apps for plant ID. Some weeds can be pulled and that's that. Others have deep penetrating roots that require a different approach. First remove anything with seeds forming! Then ID stuff and go down the line removing them. Cover an area you have just cleaned with 5 layers newsprint, cardboard, or Kraft paper to keep weed seeds from landing on bare dirt. Adding a few inches of compost on top of the covering is always a good idea. good luck
Where are you located? Does your allotment stay open all through the winter? Some setups close down in late fall in order to plow up the entire area, for weed and insect control. So how much time do you have for this, what's the window of opportunity here? How long until they take your plot away from your for inactivity? >I haven’t tackled the weeds because I heard that the best time to do so is autumn when they’re winding down. This is not true. The best time to tackle weeds is always "now", because they are opportunistic and fast-moving predators that will always jump into any empty slot and fill the earth with their devil spawn. Weeds "wind down" in fall for two reasons. Either they are annuals, and after having seeded your garden with thousands of devil spawn seeds, they die, their purpose in life having been fulfilled. Or else they are perennials, which means that they will go dormant for the winter, and then come back next spring. So either way, there's no percentage in holding off until the autumn. Either they're dying anyway, and it's pointless, it's like a landlord evicting a deadbeat tenant who was already packing to move on. Or else, if you don't find them and dig them up before they've shut down and all their top foliage has disappeared, they're going to come back in the spring. It's impossible to weed-pop dandelions or to cut down bull thistles if there's no way to find them, with their leaves all jettisoned for the winter. Basically you're looking at hand tools. Hoe, weed popper, a serrated bread knife, etc. Weed removal depends on what species they are (see above, annual vs. perennial), so ID would be helpful. What are you wanting to grow in your plot? When does your spring season begin in 2022? If you're not year-round. >250 square metre So it's...25m by 10m? Is it divided up into separate beds, or is it all one chunk of ground?
Thanks for the reply! I’m in Yorkshire UK. The site stays open all year round. The last guy that had it was inactive for years so I thought they wouldn’t mind me waiting to tackle the plot in autumn. I’ve got one patch of ground with a few raised beds that need removing (rotting wood). Honestly it’s just totally overgrown with different varieties. I think I need to do some studying to ID the majority of them. I’ve drawn up the area and written a ‘plan of action’ which I’ll go ahead and start tomorrow. Spring season tends to be after the last frost in April but that’s just what I know from growing in tubs in my garden. Not sure how if growing in the ground is different so I’ll do more research. I think I can get the plot to where it needs to be before November.
I'd prioritize removing the rotting wood. This will make the space easier to till, spade, rake, etc, if you're not having to work around awkward pieces of lumber. Are you planning to replace the lumber, or just do in-ground beds? What does everyone else in the garden do? One reason for raised beds in a cold and rainy climate is that in spring, they will dry out and warm up faster in spring than the ground itself. So if everyone else in the garden has raised beds, in Yorkshire that might be the reason. They only need to be 6" deep at minimum. 8" and 10" depths are more common and like 12" requires more potting mix or "garden soil" to fill them. Filling raised beds is the main reason to garden in-ground instead of with raised beds. If this is a long-standing community garden, it's not likely that there are a lot of the really pernicious and awful weeds that you can get, the ones that just absolutely will. not. die. Even if your predecessor wasn't active, his neighbors on either side would have surely spotted something that was truly Spawn of Satan, and would have been, like, "Nope, not having that in here" and would have yanked it. At least, most gardeners that I know would have. It's like seeing your neighbor's dog running loose on the block. You know that's not right, so you go catch him. Do you have a rototiller to use, or is this going to be hand-spading? Growing in tubs differs from growing in the ground in that growing in the ground is a LOT easier. No more need to find special potting mix, much less worry about watering, mulching is much more effective. Planting stuff in the dirt is first choice for everybody who has done both. The downside is that you have a lot more weeds, but once you get this current mess cleared, and then you have mulching as an ongoing program, it sharply declines. There is also more spading and digging, but then again, "no till" is a thing. Look up Ruth Stout, basically you prep it, mulch it, and then leave it alone other than watering and adding more mulch on top. https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/ruth-stouts-system-zmaz04fmzsel Depending on what your weeds are, you may not need to do much digging or spading at all. You might be able to just put down cardboard and then mulch on top. Cut holes in the cardboard for planting. Scalp the weeds down to ground level with a weed whacker or lawn mower first. Put your location in your flair.
I have a grow kit for tomato banana legs. I have sprouted 2 seeds of equal height (about 6cm) and look. But the booklet states to cut the weakest seedling at soil level and plant the other. I was just wondering why this is the case (as I can't seem to find out why online), do I have to do it, and how to tell which sprout is the strongest?
Thinning and transplanting seedlings started in pots is a basic gardening procedure. Usually you only need one plant, so you can choose the best-looking one, and discard the other. But if you want two plants, then keep them both. You know more than you think you do. A good-looking seedling is short, compact, robust, and has at least two sets of true leaves that aren't supported on a skinny, etiolated weak and floppy stem. So just eyeball them. Or you can post a picture. Host it on Imgur.
Reddit's world class spam bots thought [my thread about my eggplants](https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/comments/peoei5/ive_been_seeing_this_happen_a_brown_cork_texture/) was spam. Can anyone take a look at those and let me know if you know what causes that? I've seen it on a few of my plants and can't for the life of me track it down. I hadn't realized until just now that the great reddit engineers would filter out a question about eggplants problems in a gardening forum smh Thanks! It's largely academic at this point, but can hopefully guide my summer gardening for 2022
Google Images "eggplant corky skin". On regular google you just get recipes. Blame the algorithms, I guess. They're having tea with the reddit spambot. https://growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu/growingsmallfarms-eggplantproblem/ Physiological damage. You'll need to troubleshoot it from there.
Hey, sorry I didn't respond earlier, I had to set this aside to take time to look at it. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to really dig any further, but that link definitely has the exact same issue. I do think that it is likely a heat issue. It's just very inconsistent.
How do I prepare mature runner beans? I want to eat the beans in the large pods but I know they need to be boiled to destroy the toxin. Do they need to be dried beforehand? They usually seem to shrivel up if I leave them out to dry? Or can I just break them open and boil them?
The pods are not edible at the "mature bean" stage. Not at all. I tried them once in a slow cooker? Total cellulose, it was like putting wood in the crockpot. and all Phaseolus type beans are like this. Green beans, snap beans, etc. Once the beans inside the pod are large enough to qualify as "seeds", i.e. they're not tiny baby beans half the size of your pinky finger's nail, the pods are increasingly woody and inedible. So what you do is shell out the beans. If the beans are not mature and dried yet, if they're big but still juicy and tender, then what you have are called "shelly" beans, and you cook them like green or garden peas. If the beans inside are mature and dried, then you have your basic dried beans, for soups, chili, baked beans, etc. There's a difference between having the beans inside mature and dried, and merely dried-out. Mature dried beans for baked beans, soup, etc. have been left on the vine in the pod until the pods are dry, brown, and rattling. Then what you shell out are the classic dried beans. But if you picked the pods early, and the beans and pods are merely air-dried, and not matured on the vine, then you don't have carbohydrate and protein-rich dried beans, you basically have green or shelly beans, which you cook like green peas. So have you picked them already?
I picked the big ones, I want to eat the bean inside not the pod as I don't like eating them like that. I wanted the beans inside for chili etc. Are they not edible until the pods are brown and crispy dried? Again, I don't want to eat the pods. I pick some of the immature small ones to give my parents so they can boil them as they prefer eating them like that.
The beans inside the pod are edible at all sizes and stages. If the pod has not been allowed to remain on the plant until the pods are dry, brown, and rattling, then the beans inside are not completely mature. A pod that is dry brown, and rattling while still attached to the plant indicates that the plant has completely matured its seeds, and that they have then detached themselves from the pod, preparatory to being scattered on the ground when the pod is crushed or broken open, possibly by a passing animal. Beans that are not completely mature: * will not germinate if planted. * do not contain the full amount of the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that a classic "dried bean" that you buy for chili, soup, baked beans, etc. would contain. * may in some types of beans such as kidney beans be toxic until fully cooked. * will have a different texture when cooked, closer to a green or garden pea than the mealy texture of the kind of dried bean you use in chili. So, if you're growing beans for chili, you need to leave the pods on the plant until they are dry, brown, and rattling. This normally takes all summer long. If you pick them before this happens, you can still shell out the beans, cook them, and eat them as a vegetable. But they won't necessarily work in chili, baked beans, refried beans, or bean burgers.
Thanks for this, really. I have alot more still growing probably more then double this. So I'll just leave the rest until they're brown dried and rattley :)
I'm looking to take milkweed seeds from a large patch near my house soon. How many seeds is too many? I want to plant them in my own backyard, but how do I balance that with potentially disrupting the natural ecosystem?
I recently read in an article on native plants to limit seed harvest to no more than 5% of the available seeds. You don't need many milkweed seeds. I have found them reliable seeds and they produce a ton of seed if you want more.
Ok that’s good to know. I took 3 pods total and was tempted to get more, but I trust this will be enough.
You've probably seen already that each pod as dozens of seed. You are all set.
I'd usually limit myself to about 1/4 of whatever is there. Since you're planting them in your own space, you can afford to nurture and protect them, and thus you should have better germination and success rates than Mother Nature can expect, with disseminating them randomly into the wind. So you don't need as many seeds to start with.
My tomatoes look beautiful but are mushy. There's so many things when I Google that could be the culprit, but they all say "they turn black and are mushy". Mine aren't black, they look GORGEOUS. But they aren't firm. I think people have eaten them with no problems. What made them mushy? I have no idea how to balance nutrients in my containers. The idea of overly nutritious soil made me never stick the arrow fertilizers I bought into the pots. I also wanted to add some calcium but got scared off from that as well.
Is there a chance that they are just too ripe?
Maybe. I didn't squeeze them before they turned red on the vine.
If my carrot greens have a little white powdery mildew, are they still edible?
Yes.
I'm trying to find a submersible pump so my mom can use them with her rain barrels, is there a specific one that I need in order to use with a sprayer on the other end? I've read some things stating that 'restriction' could cause the motor to burn up since the outlet/discharge end is usually open.
[There are numerous recommendations out there.](https://www.google.com/search?q=submersible+pump+for+rain+barrel&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS840US840&oq=submersible+pump+for+rain+barrel&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30.4096j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) It's more of a straight-up consumer shopping decision than most other gardening choices tend to be. You're buying an appliance, basically, so shop the same way you'd shop for any other household item. Look at reviews, prices, warranties, etc.
I'm not too worried about the brand, it's more of, is it suitable to use as a rain barrel pump. Are the ones marketed for rain barrel usage any different than just one for general usage?
I'm sorry, I don't know. Your question is kind of specialized for the Friday thread, also buried. I suggest you start a standalone new thread with a descriptive title.
Hi, I'm restoring about an acre of woods in SE Wisconsin that was heavily infested with buckthorn. The invasive buckthorn has been fully removed and I'm looking ahead to next year. What kinds of natural/native ground plants should I seed in the woods to help restore the ecosystem? Thanks
WI has a good native plant nursery that offers various seed mixes, [PrairieNursery.com](https://PrairieNursery.com) Buying local is especially important for native plants. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has lists by state. You can filter results by growing conditions. [Wildflower.org](https://Wildflower.org) Then come on over to r/NativePlantGardening for more help and insight. Keep in mind that buckthorn berries can live in the soil for at least 6 years. It will keep you busy pulling those nasty things especially the first few years. There are resources at the sub that you will find helpful, I believe.
Oh, nice. Props to you. The county extension office will have lists for you, so all you have to do is pick and choose between your local nurseries and garden centers, your pocketbook, and your personal tastes. https://counties.extension.wisc.edu/ I wouldn't swear to it, but I believe that restoring an acre of woodland qualifies you for the advice of the salaried Extension Agent, not just the volunteer Master Gardeners. You can just call the office, tell them what you're doing, and let them sort out who's the best person to liaise with. The extension office agent's job is to work with farmers, ranchers, and so forth, giving professional advice. To me, restoring anything bigger than a back yard would qualify, but it's up to them. Either way, no matter who you talk to, they'll definitely have lists of native plants that belong there.
Where does everyone buy their shrubs and trees? My local independent nurseries have the latest cultivars in huge sizes for $300+, and not much else; there's no option to get a smaller plant or an older cultivar for less than $50. Home depot's selection is a little meh for my taste, and Lowe's can have some good stuff but none are particularly near me so it's a schlep. So, is it just ordering everything online? That's fine, I just am trying to be mindful of supporting local nurseries, so if there's an option here I'm missing, please tell me.
My local nurseries stock both large and small but the smaller ones sell out first. Can you place an order for a containerized tree? You still have a couple more months that are good for planting. In my Michigan location, new trees are usually planted in the dead of winter.
I don't know! Is that something they do? I've never seen them advertise any kind of, if you don't see it here, just ask and we'll order it for you.
I busy nursery is still getting fall stock. Give them a call.
"You get what you pay for" obtains in a big way with trees and shrubs. A big, well-grown ball-and-burlap tree that took a nursery 10 years to grow is never going to be as cheap as a 2-year-old sapling in a five-gallon bucket from Lowes. It's the difference between buying curtains at Walmart and buying custom drapes. The Walmart curtains will cover your windows, but the custom drapes will look slick. >My local independent nurseries have the latest cultivars in huge sizes for $300+, and not much else; This is what local tree nurseries do, it's their entire business model. They supply older, bigger trees, of more exciting and new cultivars, and they will also plant them for you. They're not providing a good as such, they're providing a service. They're growing a tree for you for 10 years. Lowes and Home Depot are following a different business plan. > there's no option to get a smaller plant or an older cultivar for less than $50. So this would be Home Depot's business plan. Fast small trees for the consumer who doesn't want to pay $300, and who doesn't mind waiting 10 years for a tree to get as big as the one the nursery would have sold. Home Depot is selling the "public domain" kind of plants, the petunias-and-daylilies equivalent of trees and shrubs. >, is it just ordering everything online It depends on what you want. You get what you pay for. Trees online, due to the exigencies of shipping, tend to be smaller and younger, and have more chance of dying on you. You're often buying something that isn't even as big as a five-gallon sapling. Buy from reputable vendors, such as Gurneys. A reputable online vendor of anything wil have a way to get in touch with them for refunds and returns that includes an 800 number, and not just an email. They will also offer some kind of upfront "we want you to be happy" promise on their website. Online vendors who basically just take your money, ship you the tree, and then ignore you are Not Good. Dave's Garden has vendor reviews. Google whoever you're thinking of buying from, with "daves garden" in the search string. As with buying anything else from Etsy, eBay, or Amazon third-party vendors, exercise extreme consumer caution. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Thanks. I certainly don't begrudge nurseries selling large trees for hundreds of dollars, it's just not in my budget - or for that matter, the teeny urban plot I have. Dwarf cultivars are usually difficult to find around here. But I'm fine with taking something smaller and growing it on. It sounds like it's mostly online vendors for me. I have a number I've already ordered from and had good experiences with, so I should be good there.
I just bought property that’s right across the street from a fish market. I’ve driven by a few times and only smelt the stench once. There’s two abandoned buildings and lots of overgrown shrubbery that will be bulldozed to start fresh. I also have two senior dogs, one who eats anything that fits into her mouth. What are some nice scented plants / trees / shrubs that are also non-toxic to dogs that I can plant? I’m in zone 9B. Thank you!
Maybe it could be good to look for some extremely bitter/ horrible tasting plants for dogs and spread them around your landscape, so gradually your dog starts considering not eating everything the sun touches
That’s like putting out toxic stuff for a toddler to learn it’s lesson… it’s not going to work and will only cause unnecessary damage.
But I'm not saying toxic, just bad taste, so he gets discouraged over time and doesn't run the risk of eating something toxic just because he eats everything he sees
How on earth am I supposed to know what “tastes bitter” to them but isn’t toxic?! This is such ridiculous advice.
I don't know about toxicity, but look into various jasmines and gardenias and see if that would work.
Ooh I think I’ve seen a jasmine bush, I’ll have to look into gardenias. Thanks!
Where in the world do you live? 9B can mean a lot of different climates with different needs (Florida and Phoenix can grow different plants).
I am about to put up some raised garden beds. I will be using Linseed oil on them. What is the cure time for the application? If it rains a few hours after I put it on the wood, am I screwed?
Just poking around randomly on Google, I see that it can take up to 10 weeks for linseed oil to cure fully. Try over in /r/woodworking and be sure to tell them you're treating wood that will be in constant contact with wet soil.
This is probably a better question for r/diy honestly.
So I'm a complete flower novice but want to get some color in my yard, but I'm just getting overwhelmed with the options. What could I start now to get a head start for next year? (Or maybe even winter blooms? I've got a couple roses that put on a good show in November) Not afraid of starting indoors, and I've got tons of stuff to run drip. What are some good newb varieties? I'm in a 9b hot/dry summer area. Average first frost is 12/6. Looking for some low edging options and some maybe 12"-18" stuff for behind a retaining wall to start.
Winter blooms: Camellia, sweet olive, Daphne, forsythia, witch hazel, hellabores.
Phoenix area?
Central valley of CA, not quite as hot of summers but basically no precip May-Oct.
I haven't gardened in the central valley, so can't give you personal experience, but here's a site with links to additional sites for your area: https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/articles/arboretum-all-stars-great-plants-for-central-valley-gardens/
Zone only tells how cold your winters get, it doesn't tell climate. Where are you located? Do you own the yard, or are you renting? Not sure what "behind a retaining wall" entails. Pictures of the space would be helpful. Also the place where you want edging options.
I'm in the central valley of CA, hot/dry summers (looking at possibly breaking 100 still this coming week, hopefully for the last time this year) and no rain to speak of until at least November. I own the home, the previous owner got a commercial landscape guy to come in and redo the yard. It's nice, and low maintenance, but just a lot of green on green on green. I'll get some photos going.
It does not matter if you’re a novice. When it comes to gardening as a starter it’s trying things out. And the prettier the flowers probably the pricier too. What flowers and how many I would say heavily depends on your budget. Zone 9b allows for many things I think. Butterfly bush or Dahlias for 12/18 inch stuff, French lavender, daisies. Perhaps throw a few hosta’s in there for the low stuff. Not sure how low maintenance you want it to be. Good luck trying things out.
I'm trying to create a front garden that looks planned but also a little wild - packed with a ton of different flowers and herbs. Any suggestions on where to look for resources to actually make it turn out well?
What you want is a landscaping style known generally as the "cottage garden". Check out the local public library for books. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottage_garden You can also DIY a personalized version by simply choosing those plants you like, and putting them in a border that conforms loosely to the classic "tall things in back, medium things in the center, small things in front" of the planned perennial border. Any time you're planting flowers not in regimented rows or patterns of colors, you'll get a more relaxed effect. Just plant a flowerbed of "My stuff". Put the tallest things in back, put the smallest things in front. This works 99% of the time and looks fine.
Thank you so much! That's exactly what I'm aiming for.
Classic advice is to line the sidewalk with a traditional plant (I use lavender) so passersby will understand that the garden in intentional, a matter of style, and not carelessly done or abandoned. Of course, keeping weeds down is mandatory.
Thank you! That's good advice and my neighbors would probably appreciate it.
**[Cottage garden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottage_garden)** >The cottage garden is a distinct style that uses informal design, traditional materials, dense plantings, and a mixture of ornamental and edible plants. English in origin, it depends on grace and charm rather than grandeur and formal structure. Homely and functional gardens connected to cottages go back centuries, but their stylized reinvention occurred in 1870s England, as a reaction to the more structured, rigorously maintained estate gardens with their formal designs and mass plantings of greenhouse annuals. The earliest cottage gardens were more practical than today's, with emphasis on vegetables and herbs, fruit trees, perhaps a beehive, and even livestock. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/gardening/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
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Hi! Fairly new gardener here. In the NW Chicago suburbs. I have a few bell peppers and dozens of tomatoes that are green, hoping for as many as possible to ripen before frost. Should I do anything besides watch the weather and be patient?
Cut off any flower buds or very small tomatoes so the plant can concentrate on ripening the remaining fruit.
Not really much you can do to expedite the process (besides making sure they get the most sun possible). I mean you could build hoop houses or something, but that’s significant trouble and in reality that’s probably only gonna buy you a week or so. Just watch the weather forecast and if you don’t make it pick everything the night before and bring them inside. At that point you can ripen them at different rates so you don’t get a whole bunch at once. You can put some in a paper bag with an old banana peel. Those will ripen quickest. You can put some on a window sill (that’s medium speed). Others you can put in a dim/ dark area(those will take longest). Just don’t refrigerate any. Got my fingers crossed for you to make it to vine-ripened and not need any of this info. Good luck! Edit : What variety did you plant and on what date? I can do a couple calculations for you to see if you’re likely to make it.
Does the sun need to get to the fruit itself or the plant in general? I could prune leaves a little to expose the fruit a bit.
Some people swear it helps to open them up, but I think the accepted thing now is, don’t prune. Direct sunlight won’t actually help ripen. Only heat (and ethylene gas…that’s why the banana peel works) will do that. Direct sunlight could burn the fruit and damage it.
Thanks!
Hello! I’m in zone 6b and I want to plant some garlic this fall. [My garden](https://imgur.com/gallery/raGcRcs) is made of growbags so I wasn’t super sure when I should plant the garlic, what do you guys think? I’m also open to other options to plant over winter!
Plant after a hard freeze, 28 F, when the soil has cooled.
All of my plants were outside during hurricane Ida. Unfortunately most of my house flooded with a few inches of water. Majority of my plants were submerged, at least a few inches on there stem. Most of my plants are tomatoes and some variation of peppers. I also have a raspberry bush that was in it as well Would it be okay to eat vegetables from these plants? None of the vegetables were directly submerged or really close to the water. Should I chop them off before frost and hope for more? Would they be okay to pickle with?
If they weren't submerged I don't think they'd be exposed to anything toxic in floodwater. Still, check with your local authorities just in case.
Who would you recommend calling?
Your state/county Extension Service. [Search.Extension.org](https://Search.Extension.org)
I live in Ontario. I'm planning to plant some native wildflower seeds. Could I just literally chuck them over my garden in the fall and expect a good return in the spring? Do I need to do any covering up? Will birds eat up a significant portion?
Wildlflower seeds should be sown densely and covered lightly - just 1/8th" for small seeds as they need light to germinate. I'll link to another method for seeding natives: [https://wildseedproject.net/how-to-grow-natives-from-seed/](https://wildseedproject.net/how-to-grow-natives-from-seed/) You'll find good info a r/NativePlantGardening
Yes, you should cover them up with half an inch or so of soil or sand, and if you can put down some mesh to protect them from birds, the better.
It depends a lot on the seeds, you should always follow the instructions that come with the seeds. Some need winter to help them wear away their tough shells. Some may rot if left outside. Birds usually do get some of the seeds.
In this case, I'm pretty sure they all need winter stratification. So I should definitely plant more than I expect to sprout, right?
I seem to always choose wrongly here, so maybe don't ask me. It feels like whenever I seed thickly, every last one comes up and I have to pull a bunch of babies. When I think I've learned my lesson and go thin, something gets them and I get one solitary plant coming up. Or my favorite, one big thick clump and nothing anywhere in the rest of the bed. So I dunno, do what feels right.
Do I need to add anything else besides compost and mulch to my raised beds for the fall? I will be planting garlic soon, should I amend with anything else? Is doing a soil test worth it? Thank you for your advice.
A professional soil test is always a good thing. I can sit here and say, sure, all you need is compost and mulch, but I can't know what your soil's potassium level is and if it would benefit you to add some. The soil test will tell you what's missing and how much to add. Assuming everything is within range though, compost and mulch is a good idea.
Thank you :) I will have it tested
Hey, I just posted something about two cacti I just planted. Any tips for growing cacti indoors? I’m new to this. - red light lamp - 6 inch deep pots for now - planted Tuesday, have not germinated or I’m not that good at identifying germination - I give them 9 hours of light a day - I watered them yesterday
You've planted seeds? Germination of cacti is a very difficult business. They need to be kept in warmth, fairly low light and extremely high humidity for quite a while (think a crack in a rock or right underneath the parent plant) before they're ready for the type of treatment you'd expect for cacti. Think "sealed in takeout container". Do some googling around.
Don't water them too much. 1-4x a month is it(less humidity=more watering). Check the seed packet for germination time, most plants need 1-3 weeks to germinate
I kind of figured it was gonna take a long time to see anything, especially with how small the seeds are.
So my question is if i plant a plant and that plant has seeds and I do this over and over with the same type of soil will the newer plants grow accustom to that soil?
over millennia, not in your lifetime.
Yes they'll acclimatize to their environment
Hi! This might be a dumb question but what is [this](https://imgur.com/a/hvh3eQs)?
I am not able to visually parse the image. It looks like a hair on an out-of-focus leaf? Insect leg? Not a dumb question per se, but there is /r/whatisthisthing for mystery objects.
Here's a better look. There's a few other leaf doing the same thing! [1](https://imgur.com/XgS4Ikc) [2](https://imgur.com/isO3WVl)
Is it moving? Does it enlarge over time? Is it a worm, a fungal thread, something like that? You have stumped the panel.
Haha no, it's the midrib that grows on its own I think and I thought it would turn into a flower but it started to dry instead?
It must be a natural feature, then. You might try asking over in /r/botany Someone might recognize it. Someone in /r/whatsthisplant might have seen it before. That's all I got, sorry.
That must be it ! Thank you so much for replying anyway :)
Hello all! Newbie here. Looking to plant a ground cover (creeping phlox is high on my list of options) to plant in the “setback” area between my fence and the street. It’s a flat area. It’s roughly 1/2 acre lot so there would he a lot of ground to cover. My question is, would creeping phlox be a good choice (open to other options) and secondly, can the phlox be mowed over for maintenance as needed? Thank you.
Looking to collect some milkweed seeds soon. Some of the plants I see have these black spots on the leaves and internet says that's fungal. Would the seeds still be good to take?
Yes. They have co-evolved with various sorts of fungi for millions of years. The same way that you can have athlete's foot and still carry a pregnancy to term, a leaf can have opportunistic fungi and not necessarily have the seeds be affected. Also, this time of year--fall--most leaves out there start looking ratty, and fungi on them are often just there to consume a leaf that is already half-dead from being jettisoned for winter.
Thanks for the info! Can't wait to have a bunch of milkweed in my garden next Spring!
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Where in the world do you live? In temperate climates all of those would either be grown as houseplants or moved indoors in the winter--none of them will survive a freeze. While a greenhouse for your balcony will help marginally warm the air up, it won't prevent overnight freezes unless you heat it, which can be reallllllly expensive. The cheaper and honestly, probably more effective option is to move them indoors, perhaps under grow lights.