The gardening thread. What are you growing in your garden this year?

[BoomerD]

Wow your greenhouse looks amazing @BoomerD! I know you are in a cooler climate compared to me so growing peppers can be a challenge but I'd say you are doing a great job. Your tomatoes look amazing to!

I'm so happy to hear your jalapenos have some heat. I know in an earlier post you had mentioned that you were really disappointed in the heat output of your peppers over the past couple of seasons so it is encouraging to read that you are getting some with that nice heat that they are know for.

So about those blueberries. When is the last time you measured the PH of your soil? I know they do best in a more acidic soil. Are you supplementing them with a soil acidifier?

I probably should do that. I have a bag of soil acidifier I bought a couple of years ago for that and for hydrangeas.

Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier - Turns Hydrangeas Blue Espoma Organic

Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier - Turns Hydrangeas Blue. Use on all acid loving plants including blueberries.

www.espoma.com

 

[sdifox]

Canada Thistle. Lots of it. They respawn even after I dig out the root.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I have a hedge of pitisporum between myself and my neighbor that's largely doing a good job of being a privacy screen above the fence line, but as it grows is thinning out below the fence line (so we can see the fence which ruins the effect a bit).

I don't want to prune them way back to get them to fill out again (since we lose the privacy and some of the wild look).

My wife hates them and hopes they die so she can plant other trees where they are.

As such I think what I want to try is to plant some kind of vine between each one that will use the twiggy internal structure of the hedge as a lattice to climb, while simultaneously filling out the space below the fence line. I figure either they get filled out, or the vine kills the pitisporum and my wife gets her wish.

Problem is, I'm not sure what kind of vine that should be, because it would have to be happy in the shade while competing with the pitisporum for resources.

I'm thinking a climbing Jasmine might fit the bill, and give us some lovely flowers as well, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears. We're in the California coastal area, zone 9. Winter rain and a lot of heavy morning fog/condensation here.

 

[bbhaag]

I probably should do that. I have a bag of soil acidifier I bought a couple of years ago for that and for hydrangeas.

Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier - Turns Hydrangeas Blue Espoma Organic

Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier - Turns Hydrangeas Blue. Use on all acid loving plants including blueberries.

www.espoma.com

I would definitely recommend you test your PH first then use the soil acidifier if needed. You should buy a quality PH tester and use the proper method for testing PH. The soil slurry method is how I do it. It may seem complicated at first but once you get more familiar with the process you can have a PH reading within just a few minutes.

I use this PH meter at work and at home with good results. Just don't buy the cheapest one you search for because there are a lot of knock offs of this brand. Purchase it from a reputable dealer not a place like Aliexpress. HM Digital Pro Series PH-200

Also, if you haven't already you should be doing a winter prune on your plants to help with a larger harvest. Cutting out the older less productive canes and thinning the interior of the bush to help with light penetration will go a long way in helping you get a more productive harvest.

I actually did a heavy prune last winter to one of my cherry trees and the results this spring were very impressive. See post #203 on the previous page for the results. I also did it last winter to my Candice grape and while it is still a little to early to tell this years grape harvest is looking better than ever.

 

[BoomerD]

You're in the biz, so a fancy meter like that might make sense. I have a much cheaper version of this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sun-Joe-3-In-1-Soil-Meter-with-Moisture-PH-and-Light-Meter-for-Indoor-Outdoor-Gardens-SJ-MMPH1/319834887

Yeah, I know I need to prune my bushes. I say that every year...but never do.

 

[bbhaag]

You're in the biz, so a fancy meter like that might make sense. I have a much cheaper version of this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sun-Joe-3-In-1-Soil-Meter-with-Moisture-PH-and-Light-Meter-for-Indoor-Outdoor-Gardens-SJ-MMPH1/319834887

Yeah, I know I need to prune my bushes. I say that every year...but never do.

Understandable but the slurry method I linked to costs you nothing and is a proper way to test PH regardless of which meter you own. The same goes for proper pruning which I also suggested. Its not like I'm throwing out baller gardening tech to get you the best results. Heck the last suggestion I gave cost you only $10 and it made a difference.

 

[BoomerD]

Understandable but the slurry method I linked to costs you nothing and is a proper way to test PH regardless of which meter you own. The same goes for proper pruning which I also suggested. Its not like I'm throwing out baller gardening tech to get you the best results. Heck the last suggestion I gave cost you only $10 and it made a difference.

I think the cheapest I saw it...from Amazon was $61...if you see it for $110, link that, please.

Anyway, we had a couple of warm (65F+) days...I picked a couple of roma tomatoes and one cherokee purple today.


Not sure why the purple looks so beat up...I'm not a fan of "heirloom tomatoes." They usually taste great...but grow...weird. (notice...there is zero sign of blossom end rot on the romas...that's unusual for me. That Hi Yield might be to blame.)

 

[bbhaag]

Spent a couple of hours in the garden this morning doing some maintenance and some harvesting.

We had several eggplant ready to harvest. I think I'm going to try making eggplant butter with some of them.


These are new type of jalapeno I'm trying this year. It is called Megatron and is a hybrid jalapeno. Mouse is for scale. These things are huge!



And of course the butterflies are going crazy for the zinnias. This yellow swallowtail was just ignoring me and diving right in for mid morning snack.

 

[bbhaag]

My wife decided to make an arrangement with fresh cut flowers from the garden. It looks really pretty and fills the house with the aroma of flowers.

 

[bbhaag]

My cactus is getting ready to bloom! 6 years and it has never once bloomed so I'm really excited!

Look at this little bud!


Here is the full size of it. It's so pretty

 

[WelshBloke]

Been picking chillies!

 

[BoomerD]

Been picking chillies!

View attachment 128357

Oh my!

 

[WelshBloke]

Oh my!

From the bottom; Fucking hot, oh Jesus no, meh, ouch spicy, and I don't know about the long ones yet!

 

[bbhaag]

From the bottom; Fucking hot, oh Jesus no, meh, ouch spicy, and I don't know about the long ones yet!

Your peppers look great!

 

[BoomerD]

Since I added the Hi Yield, my pepper and tomato plants have greened up nicely and grown dramatically, but aren’t doing much production.

 

[WelshBloke]

Your peppers look great!

I usually grow them in pots that are a bit small as I dont need a huge amount of them. A few small plants gives me enough variety of chillies in the freezer to keep me going to the next season. This year I got sent a padron plant and next year I need to grow a few full sized versions of those!

 

[BoomerD]

Since I added the Hi Yield, my pepper and tomato plants have greened up nicely and grown dramatically, but aren’t doing much production.

Thought I'd add a pic:



Quite a few green tomatoes, not many turning ripe yet.

 

[BoomerD]

I know I'll never get very many tomatoes from my plants here. Climate just isn't great for them, greenhouse or not...but I did pick one 13+ oz Cherokee Purple this afternoon...



It's bigger than my fist. Will probably eat it tomorrow in a salad...ended up using it on BLTs.
I have a couple more Romas ripening and some early girls starting to show the first blush of color.

 

[bbhaag]

Looks delicious BoomerD! Your greenhouse looks great to and in few weeks you will have more tomatoes and peppers than you know what to do with.

I spotted this beauty sucking down the sweet nectar that my lantana plants are producing. So far I've counted around 4-6 Monarchs fluttering around the yard. They are so pretty......


And the cactus bud I posted a pic of a couple of weeks ago is getting closer to blooming!

 

[nisryus]

So this is not growing flowers, but i am trying to save my lawn XD

I have a Crepe Myrtle in my backyard, right by the kitchen window. Its pretty big and over two stories tall. It literally shades 25% of the yard.

Problem is part of the lawn near it has been dying slowly. Her we use StAugustine, so needs lot of water and sun. So lack of sun might be one of the reason that part is so bare.

If I trim the whole thing down to 6 ft, and resod a few piece of St Augustine, anyone has experience if they will repopulate (it spreads through stolons)? My wife thinks the Crepe Myrtle is sucking all the nutrient and water so the grass died.

 

[iRONic]

Ohman… I have a love/hate relationship with my crepe myrtles. My wife loves them , and I hate em.

I have Bluegrass/Rye grass and another perennial mix and they don't seem to be bothered by the trees. When I bought this house eight years ago there were five of them planted around this AC unit. You couldn't even see it! I thinned them out and do the decorative pruning. Unfortunately on the other side of the fence is my swimming pool. Every stiff West Southwest wind puts an inch of the white flowers on top of the water! Those fuckers are coming out next Tuesday by a professional landscaping contractor.


These 5 get to stay.

Have you had your soil tested by a local extension service?

 

[BoomerD]

Ohman… I have a love/hate relationship with my crepe myrtles. My wife loves them , and I hate em.
View attachment 128739
I have Bluegrass/Rye grass and another perennial mix and they don't seem to be bothered by the trees. When I bought this house eight years ago there were five of them planted around this AC unit. You couldn't even see it! I thinned them out and do the decorative pruning. Unfortunately on the other side of the fence is my swimming pool. Every stiff West Southwest wind puts an inch of the white flowers on top of the water! Those fuckers are coming out next Tuesday by a professional landscaping contractor.

View attachment 128740
These 5 get to stay.

Have you had your soil tested by a local extension service?

I planted a crape myrtle in my side yard when we lived in CA. Yes, they’re messy as hell, but, for the most part, it sweeps/rakes up easily enough…however, about a year after I planted it, the neighbors put in a pool…then, the next year, they sold the house. The family who bought it owned a nursery/landscaping biz in the SF Bay area somewhere…and they HATED that tree…the purple flowers kept getting blown into their pool, and because they didn’t maintain the pool correctly, they’d lay on the bottom of the pool and stain the plaster.
One day, I noticed that the crape myrtle looked…funny. About 1/2 of it was starting to die. I could never prove it, but I was positive the neighbors sprayed it with something like Roundup. I was happy when they lost the house to foreclosure a couple of years later.

 

[nisryus]

Ohman… I have a love/hate relationship with my crepe myrtles. My wife loves them , and I hate em.
View attachment 128739
I have Bluegrass/Rye grass and another perennial mix and they don't seem to be bothered by the trees. When I bought this house eight years ago there were five of them planted around this AC unit. You couldn't even see it! I thinned them out and do the decorative pruning. Unfortunately on the other side of the fence is my swimming pool. Every stiff West Southwest wind puts an inch of the white flowers on top of the water! Those fuckers are coming out next Tuesday by a professional landscaping contractor.

View attachment 128740
These 5 get to stay.

Have you had your soil tested by a local extension service?

No I haven't get the soil tested. However, i do notice the soil are kind of compacted. Maybe need to loosing the soil, or put another layer of top soil?

 

[iRONic]

Without knowing your soil composition any amendments that you add to it could be just a waste. Just my opinion… Post reply

 

[BoomerD]

Without knowing your soil composition any amendments that you add to it could be just a waste. Just my opinion… Post reply

And, home builders being what they are, they often scrape off the good topsoil, build the house, then replace the soil with crappy, cheaper soil. Dig a hole, if you see obvious strata, have the soil checked at every level. Our house in CA...every time I'd dig a hole in the back yard, I'd hit stucco...where the contractor cleaned their mixers and stucco equipment. In one place, there was a mess that was over 2' deep.