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Post by Natalie on Jan 7, 2018 19:05:57 GMT -6
Because I am so tired of the freezing temps, I am thinking of spring and gardening. Does anyone else like to garden? What do you like to grow?
I realize that plants may depend on location, but the main thing I love to grow are flowers that attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds...so zinnias, marigolds, milkweed, parsley, salvia. A couple years ago for Christmas my husband made me a thing out of PVC pipe to hang a couple of shop lights above a small table so I could start some plants indoors. I had great success with tropical milkweed, impatiens, and pansies. I can't remember what else I tried to grow. I have also tried little milk jug greenhouses outside in April for quick growing things.
In the summer and fall my table is used for containers for caterpillars and chrysalis.
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Post by grandpaskitzo on Jan 7, 2018 20:02:10 GMT -6
I use to garden as a kid, but haven’t done so in forever. I plan on starting a community garden this year in my yard. I live on the Main Street in a small town and I’ve got a huge yard. So I plan on making a sign that is going to say ‘the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few”. I hope to spark some interaction with my neighbors and townsfolk, as well as provide good food for anyone in need. I’m very excited to start this.
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Post by barbiosheepgirl on Jan 7, 2018 20:13:41 GMT -6
One thing I am finding that will gorw here at 5000 feet and 10-12 inches of annual rainfall is Lavender. Old English Lavender zone 5 maybe eeks to 4 in southern exposures. Also wished I had planted more honeysuckle. Hummingbirds love it and it is really thriving in high desert too!
petunias and geraniums take the dry heat in summer...
Usually the sheep get out at some point and eat all my planted annuals..
Will we even see summer this year???
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Post by sawdy on Jan 7, 2018 20:24:47 GMT -6
I don't garden but love looking at other peoples gardens. Our growing season is so short that it isn't financially feasible for me to enjoy flowers. We usually can't get annuals planted outside until after May 20ish because of frosts and we don't usually make it much past Labour day without a frost. When you can plop alot of money down for 90 days of enjoyment, and I don't really like being outside because of the mosquitos. I do really like that time of year that the trees are beginning to bud, the snow is melting, the frogs are croaking in the ponds and the mosquitoes haven't hatched yet. That is my favorite two weeks of the year, followed by the two weeks in the fall where we've had a couple frosts and the mosquitos have died out and we get a couple nice warm days. It is apparently not very healthy to wear sunscreen and bug repellent at the same time. When I was in California in November it was beautiful to see all the Birds of Paradise flowers growing everywhere. I only ever get them in a bouquet of flowers that my husband had probably spent too much money buying. Lol
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Post by Natalie on Jan 7, 2018 20:38:05 GMT -6
I don't know if we will be here to see spring or summer. grandpa--that's sounds like a fun project. I have friends who homeschool and their kids helped in a community garden last year. I think they really enjoyed it. One of my kids is interested in gardening, one could probably be easily encouraged to help, and one I am lucky to get outside. BSG--We had lavender growing here when we moved in, but I found that I really, really don't like the smell of it, so I dug it up and gave it to my mother-in-law who loves it. I love hummingbirds. I have some bee balm and agastache (I had to look that up as I always forget what it's called) that they enjoy. The kids like rubbing the agastache because it smells a bit like licorice. Sawdy -- I do not like mosquitos at all. We have a couple of trees that flower in the spring, although frost got my favorite one last year.
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Post by cwood85 on Jan 7, 2018 20:46:17 GMT -6
I love gardening I have a lot more luck with a vegetable garden verses flowerbeds. I am not sure why lol. This past summer did not bring hardly any peppers or zucchini, but I had a nice amount of tomatoes and herbs. Tried corn for a couple years in a row without much luck. I think I am going to give up on the corn.
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Post by grandpaskitzo on Jan 7, 2018 20:48:35 GMT -6
One of my main inspirations is coming from a book I’m reading right now. It’s called Food and Faith by Norman Wirzba. Absolutely must read!
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Post by barb84 on Jan 7, 2018 22:01:19 GMT -6
I planted a lovely bed of lavender about 20 years ago. I planted it in the morning and by afternoon the chickens had dug it all up. So now I stick to vegetables and a fence.
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Post by Natalie on Jan 8, 2018 20:51:27 GMT -6
barb--My brother has talked about raising chickens, but right now he has two dogs, four kids, and bee hives. That keeps him plenty busy. My son once wanted a cow. We have a little backyard, but his solution was to put it in the neighbor's yard. He also wanted a cheetah at one point.
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Post by barbiosheepgirl on Jan 8, 2018 23:06:44 GMT -6
sawdy, sounds like you live in Minnesota! Ah, their state bird, the mosquito! anywhere in the upper midwest describes that lame growing season tormented by biting bugs!
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Post by sawdy on Jan 8, 2018 23:22:59 GMT -6
sawdy, sounds like you live in Minnesota! Ah, their state bird, the mosquito! anywhere in the upper midwest describes that lame growing season tormented by biting bugs! Ha, I know it is bad in many places. I don't have a black fly problem as well as the mosquitoes (Thank You, Lord) but my poor growing season is actually northern Alberta. Last summer they were biting in the sunlight. I thoroughly enjoyed vacationing in the summer in the city where they spray for mosquitos and don't have as much standing water in the ditches. There was a lot of standing water in the ditches around my house last summer. Horse flies were also bad last summer. I got several nasty bites. I am looking forward to one day gardening in heaven. It will be great!
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Post by Natalie on Jan 13, 2018 14:59:42 GMT -6
I got a seed and plant catalog in the mail today. That's always fun.
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