AMA I'm a former farmer and Master Gardener

FranticFrummie

Thu, Apr 09 2015, 2:04 pm

MagentaYenta wrote:

Frummie, that is the price we pay for living in an area of the country that is green and anything grows. I've replaced round up with salt and vinegar. If I pull a weed and don't get the root I just pour a bit of salt and vinegar mixture on it. ( I use 8oz of the cheapest salt I can buy to a gallon of 6% (canning) vinegar. Kills 'em dead. The exterior beds here are planted with evergreens and the beds are finished with bark, I use the mixture on any weeds I find in those areas as well.

I've been doing the battle of the blackberries creekside for three years and I'm meeting with some success. I whack them back with limb loppers or a machete, then I spray the whole mess with my vinegar and salt mixture. I now have 10 yards of waterfront view. Get them in early spring when they are vegetating. This summer I will rent two mini goats to add the finishing touches to the upper bank and then plant it with day lilies next spring.

I've been seriously considering "Rent a Ruminant" for a while now. My landlord (in his great wisdom) decided to plant ivy, and a bunch of other highly invasive plants all over the property, and no matter how much I whack it back, it comes back greener and lusher. I haven't seen the borders of the flower beds for several years.

I'm also considering hiring a couple of teenagers with chain saws to just mow it all down. Scorched earth!!!! Mad

MagentaYenta

Thu, Apr 09 2015, 7:14 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

Ivy is going to take wacking and pulling and vinegar spray. Even if you put goats on it, they will not get to the roots. I'd keep cutting that ivy back and spraying it and continue all through the summer. You'll have a clue as to how much work will be left when the rains come in Oct. I find ivy one hundred percent worse than black berries. Ivy ruins fences and structures.

MagentaYenta

Sun, Apr 12 2015, 6:33 pm

Raisin wrote:

I have 2 cases of apples, 2 cases of lemons, 1 of limes, 2 of juicing oranges and a case of butternut squash left from pesach. Plus 4 huge cabbages. Also some beets.

How long will they keep for? We have a juicer so the fruit will get used for that and veggies will get cooked eventually but need to know how quickly.

The butternut squash should last for a couple of months in a cool dry space. The cabbage will need to be refrigerated but at this point they were harvested weeks ago and losing quality and nutrition, make some sauerkraut. The beets should be declining as well. If they have tops I'd take the tops off, chop and lightly saute and then freeze for later use. I'd then bake and pickle the beets.

amother

Mistyrose

Mon, Apr 20 2015, 2:47 am

My houseplants are growing mushrooms! So, okay, I was just picking them off, but now I see green mold too.

I don't really think I water them too much.

They're mostly peace lilies.

One Wandering Jew (so far no mushrooms). There are a couple of sort of cactusy looking things - one, I think, is called mother in law's tongue. Those are also okay (probably bec. I forget to water them...)

Do I have to repot everything? Throw out all the old soil? Sterilize the pots?

(Anon in case anyone here knows me and my mushrooms... & why can't I get normal edible mushrooms, at least? These look more like the toadstools you see outside, probably poisonous!) I'll try to take a couple of pictures tomorrow..

mandksima

Mon, Apr 20 2015, 11:05 am

I LOVE this thread.

I planted carrot seeds 2 years ago in a pot with other flowers and saw nothing from then that year. Then, this year something sprouted and I saw it was one bunch of carrots growing. I pulled it out thinking they were ready and saw they were 2 tiny carrots so I quickly stuck them back in and hoped for the best. They actually continued growing and now the greens are much higher but I don't know when to pick them. I want them to be the longest possible as there are only 2. How tall should the tops be before picking?

The shmitta year has been great for all of my trees and plants. My sad no-fruit bearing pear tree that is at least 15 years old, suddenly had 7 pears last year and this year I see many, many growing. They will be ready in a month or so. I am so excited as I love eating organic pears and the bugs and birds haven't bothered them last year so I did no maintenance work on the tree. Should I bother to put any fertilizer around it at this point?

We have huge pine trees growing over some of our gardern area. the needles fall to the grass and it doesn't grow. Last year was pretty awful for all of the trees and flowers and I thought it was because of that so I try to take the needles away. Do they take away oxygen from the trees? I assume the pine sap also drips and I don't think I could do much about trimmimg the branches back as they are super high up. Any suggestions? I have a pomegranate, nectarine, apple, lemon, orange, clemintine and grapefruit tree all in that area as well as various flowering plants like snapdragons and hardy asters. Remember that winter here is not too cold and it is rainy so many flowers are in bloom now.

Thanks!

Rubber Ducky

Mon, Apr 20 2015, 11:22 am

mandksima wrote:

...We have huge pine trees growing over some of our gardern area. the needles fall to the grass and it doesn't grow. Last year was pretty awful for all of the trees and flowers and I thought it was because of that so I try to take the needles away. Do they take away oxygen from the trees? I assume the pine sap also drips and I don't think I could do much about trimmimg the branches back as they are super high up. Any suggestions?

We mulch our blueberries with fallen pine needles, which are acidic. Blueberries like very acidic soil. There are some blueberry varieties that will grow in mild winter climates.

amother

Mistyrose

Mon, Apr 20 2015, 3:58 pm

I found this regarding mold in plants:

Quote:

You can easily make your own concoction at home to take care of the mold, and get rid of it quick. What you’re going to need is hydrogen peroxide, a spray bottle, and some water. And, you’re going to mix up one part hydrogen peroxide to nine parts water, and then you’re going to put that in a spray bottle, and you’re going to spray the soil. You want to spray it one to two times a day until the mold starts to go away, and hydrogen peroxide is a great natural anti-fungal, so it’ll make sure it’ll work on that mold. So, you just spray your plant. And, just spray it right – you try not to get too much on the leaves, you know, just try to focus on the soil. And, do that about one to two times a day, and your mold problem will go away.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/video_1225......html

Magenta, do you agree?

MagentaYenta

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 11:26 am

Someone up thread had a question about understory planting. A good way to understanding how this works is to take a trip to a botanical garden or a state park. In natural settings there are understory plants that thrive below deciduous and evergreen trees. Rhodies, azaleas, columbine, bleeding hearts, fuschia,bluebells, lily of the valley, violets, Siberian and some hostas all work well under evergreens. Day lilies are perfect under deciduous trees.

If you are going to be planting under larger trees be aware of their root mass and impacting the growth of the tree. Small Siberian iris make nice plantings under evergreens and add springtime color and you don't need to dig deep to plant those bulbs/rhizomes. Remember that the trees will compete for nutrients so water and fertilize your understory plants.

MagentaYenta

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 11:37 am

Re: molds and fungus in potted plants. Anytime you find a mold, or fungus in a potted plant it's an indicator that the soil chemistry is out of balance. Rather than a topical treatment I would repot the plant in a clean pot (bleach the old one) with good quality potting soil and a fair amount of pebbles on the bottom to assist drainage. Before replanting rinse the root mass with fresh water. Water only when dry allowing excess water to run out the bottom. Drain the saucer and wait until the soil is dry before the next watering.

Treating with a topical only delays the problem from presenting again. Peroxide and bleach will only kill off the visible parts of the mold or fungus. Spores and mycelium will still survive below the soil and will present again once the conditions of optimum water and heat are reached.

Last edited by MagentaYenta on Tue, Apr 21 2015, 12:18 pm; edited 1 time in total

MagentaYenta

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 11:44 am

Blueberries: A local nursey (not a garden center) will likely have blueberries that are hardy for your zone. If you don't have access to pine needles, buy some wood shavings at farm supply or pet store to be used as mulch.

There are several varieties of blue berries that are hardy during harsh winters, most are bred from native cold tolerant species of vaccinia or grafted root stock. Plants with grafted rootstock may not be as cold tolerant as native species.

When buying vaccinia stock or any fruit stock, buy from a reliable nursery and do not pinch pennies. You get what you pay for. Remember too that it will typically take three years for a fruit tree to produce, blueberries are older stock and most will produce their first year. Cane berries will produce their first year.

If you are going to experience minus temps, buy some hay and give your blueberries some insulation with hay and burlap or remay to keep the hay in place. Do not wrap the plants in paper or roofing paper. You are only dooming them to a slow death.

Last edited by MagentaYenta on Tue, Apr 21 2015, 11:56 am; edited 1 time in total

MagentaYenta

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 11:56 am

mandksima wrote:

I cannot help you with carrots. I'm hopeless, I did some checking and some old wives tales indicate that the root is usually 1/2 the size of the greens. Try that as a guide.

You are a lucky lady to have an abundance of fruit trees. Spray in the fall with tea tree or neem oil. If you have insect problems buy some traps at a garden center. Prune in the spring (Sunset Garden Book has some great pruning instructions) and mulch and fertilize after last frost when the trees are just coming into bud. (This advice is not for citrus.)

Pine, fir, hemlock etc are all self cleaning trees. No need to trim, trimming is typically harmful for these trees. The understory doesn't need to be cleaned or raked, it's there for a reason. It's part of the ecosystem that the tree creates and uses to sustain itself. Please leave it be.

If you have a great deal of sap leakage you may want to call in an arborist (a tree Dr, not a tree trimmer). It could be a symptom of insect infestation. There are boring insects that can cause a great deal of damage to pine trees. Entire forests of evergreens are being decimated here in the west and other areas due to boring insects.

amother

Aubergine

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 12:07 pm

I have have a large property. When we bought our brand new home it looked beautiful since it was surrounded with gorgeous green grass all around. Well, there is barely any grass a few years later. It is just dirt, weeds and a little bit of grass. All I want is green grass!! And I was told that since my property is so large in order to maintain grass I will need to install a sprinkler system. We have looked into that and it would cost us a few thousand dollars so we are not able to do it. One summer, we put lots of seeds all over and spent hours moving sprinklers around but the grass barely grew. HOW CAN I PLANT GRASS? That's all I want... I might want to add some color after I have grass but in my opinion it's kind of silly to plant flowers if my property is mostly dirt and weeds. I think that the builders had put down grass carpet when we first bought. If I do that again, it will die ... no sprinklers here .... so how can I get green grass to grow???

MagentaYenta

Tue, Apr 21 2015, 12:16 pm

amother wrote:

You are asking the wrong person about lawns. I'm not a fan of them at all, they are expensive, chemically dependent and waste huge amts of water. You may want to talk to your local nursery about installing a new lawn. It is an expensive process and if you have a large lawn, it will need sprinklers. You may also need soil brought in. Depending on the area (planting zone) you may need to plant in spring or early fall. Developers and homebuilders often get deals on sod or seed for new homes. It enhances the look of the property but the seed or sod may not be appropriate for your area. Lawns of natural grasses usually thrive and may be a good option for you to investigate.