gardening during covid-19

[Ruby Slippers]

Nice! I wasn't aware of vinca minor, but googled and they're so cute. Definitely something to consider for a year when I'm more serious about the outdoor garden.

[FMW]

I'm renting a small loft for the time being, but it has six 10 foot windows that are perfect for the 12 house plants I have, several are huge.  I had a big house with three floors previously, so condensing them to one 800 square foot area is a little intense.  But I love them. I've re-potted a couple over the past few months.  

I look forward to buying another house with a small yard.  

[Ellener]

I've already split the pothus I bought a few weeks ago, and some camelias a friend gave me from her garden finally rooted and have gone into soil today.

Learned that some plants will root and continue to grow in water or soil but you can't root them in water then get them to grow in soil apparently. Who knew?! This applies to pothus, so I put two in soil and a cutting indoors in a vase of water.

A friend sent me some Cypress Vine seeds from Monticello, they have gone crazy, they love the direct sun which has wiped out the lavender.

103 degrees here today...

My little tree house balcony garden has been such an addition to life this summer 🌻

[Ruby Slippers]

I got my little ficus/burgundy rubber tree, monstera, and 4 little baby surprise house plants in the mail and they're looking happy by the window. 

I got myself a small bunch of (cut) hot pink carnations for my desk. Carnations are underrated. They've really opened up, they last quite a while, and they're cheap.

[major_merrick]

We always have a huge garden, but I've been out in it more due to staying home for pregnancy.  Kind of tired of the heat, though....above 80 is just not my thing.  I spend more time in the kitchen putting away the produce.  I'm getting better at canning. 

[K.K.]

So far this year I’ve killed some petunias, a double knock out rose bush and a rosemary plant. I suck at growing things. Black thumb. This year was a new record though. Three days was all it took for them to wither and die, even with watering and fertilizing and supportive baby talk. 2 hours in the suffocating heat to plant them in their pretty little pots and it was all in vain, man. All in vain. 🙄 

 

 

[Ellener]

Half my plants died whilst I was sick.

[pepperbird]

The sweet cherries are all picked, and we had enough this year that I was able to share some with the birds. It's been over 35 degrees celcius (humidex) every day for the past week with little to no rain. I've been watering a lot, and the humming birds are back. There's a ton of bumble and mason bees, and we've even got some bats and a pipe organ wasp nest. They're pretty docile and fun to watch. I put out a pan of water every day, and it tends to be well visited by the bugs and birds.

I've been digging the solomon's seal out of the back garden. I love to use native plants, but that one is out of control. It has these really big stolons and tubers, and I keep thinking it's too bad it's not edible, as I have a bumper crop. The milkweed and monarda are blooming, and the golden rod is about ready. The wolf's bane is blooming, and the coneflowers are too. Even my scented geraniums recovered, and the millet, potted lavendar, mini roses, loquat and 25 jack fruit seedlings are are loving being up on the deck. The lemon tree and tiger flowers are also really happy up there as well.
In a couple of months, it will be time to plant the fall bulbs. By then, the potatoes, pumpkins and kiwis should be ready.

[lana-banana]

My husband moved all the vegetable plants to the basement with fans and grow lights. They're doing just fine. As for the outdoors...

Dead as a doornail: sage, dill, oregano, probably rosemary, most of the petunias. RIP.

Weirdly alive: the hydrangea. I really thought it was done for, but it's showing tons of new growth at the roots. We may nurture it back to life yet. Also some squash seedlings that have sprouted up in all of my planters, which means maybe the compost wasn't quiiite done cooking before I used it. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.

Not weirdly alive: purslane! I planted some purslane in our top-row planter last season. It briefly showed up here in the spring, then appeared to die off, and I was disappointed because I really love purslane. But after a few months in hibernation (?) it's back and has spread all the way across the planter. It makes sense because purslane is a weed that spits in the face of unrelenting sun. It's just nice to see it thrive. 

[seren]

We’ve got a lot of space for gardening, we have a small orchard, mainly plums, damsons, apples and quince, we’ve overlooked pruning, but this year we paid more attention to our trees and it’s paid off, particularly with our plum tree which is full of fruit. We were always talking about turning the garden where we sit the most into a cottage style garden, we’d already put in some flowers, but this year I sent for loads of plants, It’s looking beautiful, I’m sure next year will be even better. I’m particularly pleased with the David Austin roses we planted, I planted 4 shrub roses, picked for their heavy scent and a climber to go over the gazebo my husband built for me, so I can sit out in all weathers. He’s also made me raised beds so I can garden as I use a wheelchair more and more, my strawberries and salad veggies are in there too.

We’ve  planted a lot of vegetables, the hares munched all my young cabbages, but ignored my rainbow chard, our potatoes have gone crazy, on reflection the soil had too much nitrogen so we’ve loads of greenery but less tubers, we were really successful with those we planted in old tyres, they’ve been delicious. Being so far North our gardening season is usually around a month later than the rest of the U.K. though the weather is milder than most think. We’ve also planted a lot of runner beans, our favourite, right now it’s full of flowers, we’re just waiting for the beans. Our peas are a disaster, I think we had them in the wrong place and will move them next year.  My cottage garden is now settling in nicely, we’ve no lawn in that bit of garden, just flowers and vegetables, I hope next year it will get even better.

Out the front I’ve thrown loads of bee bombs, they’re wild flowers and they’re really beautiful. It’s a very large space, it’s also where my 3 dogs run about all day, they need more space than we do, so that’s staying the dog’s  place, though the ticks have become a nuisance. My husband is on furlough and has really enjoyed gardening, he’s also made a huge garden table and benches from an ancient oak that blew down some years ago, it’s amazing and sits in the garden right where we look out at the place the tree once stood, I love that.  As someone who’s still shielded, I’m immunocompromised, I’m grateful for all my space and living rurally, how people have coped in flats or with no garden is amazing. 
 

We’ve had our first grandchild during lockdown, we finally got to see her when she was a week old, I’ve bought us and her parents David Austin roses with her name. I’m hoping they’ll thrive as she does. I’m determined that when my husband goes back to work I can keep up weeding and planting. I’m so grateful for my garden, just can’t wait to eat those beans and hope the pigeons leave some for us.

 

Edited July 25, 2020 by seren

[Ellener]

5 hours ago, seren said:

the ticks have become a nuisance.

I'm in quarantine so my vet mailed me a dose of Bravecto for my pup, it's just one pill which the dog likes the taste of. An infestation gets out of control here, the fleas take over, and ticks cause Lyme disease which is almost always misdiagnosed at first, it's a severe bacterial infection.

 

 

[Ruby Slippers]

My house plants are looking so good. I've figured out the two basic keys to success: as much light exposure as possible, and watering at the right frequency. My next project is to make a hanging basket for one of them and hang it from the ceiling in front of a living room window.

My friends who sent me a house plant for my birthday said it's a subscription and 2 more plants will be coming. Awww! These are two good friends from college who really made a birthday that could have been kind of a bummer due to a recent breakup and quarantine very special and I love them for that.

[pepperbird2]

i've got pumpkin vines that are doing well, and the potatoes are doing fantastic. My milkweed had its first monarch, and it's also very popular with the vespid set. The monarda and sea hollies are thriving, but I lost both my icelandic poppies. I've also got about 20 jackfruit plants started from seed. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them.

Our yard is full of hummingbirds, and we even have a crow family roosting in the next yard. I've never seen a baby crow up close before- I didn't know their eyes were blue. There's also a lot of bumblebees out and about.

[Ruby Slippers]

I didn't invest the time and effort this spring, but I'm thinking about getting my sprinkler system fixed early next year so I can go all out. Getting the plants in the ground isn't that hard, and neither is the ongoing maintenance. It's the daily watering that becomes a chore. So if I can automate that, it'll be so much easier.

I've always envisioned beautiful gardens surrounding my home. I've done a lot of tinkering over the years and have found flowers, veggies, and herbs that do well in my area. Next year, hopefully I'll take my outdoor gardens to the next level 🌻

My houseplants are looking very cute. I brought in this nice wood plant stand from the sun room, have been rearranging, and things are looking so good in here - like a peaceful spa retreat with creative projects here and there, full of life and chill.

Edited August 17, 2020 by Ruby Slippers

[pepperbird2]

I have some orchids growing in the house, and they do well. they're phalinopsis (moth orchids) and really easy to care for. I also have a collection of scented geraniums. I ordered them back in February, but they didn't get shipped out until June, and the poor things looked awful by the time they got here. we clipped them back hard, and they made a complete recovery. I;ve also got lemon balm and lemon verbena, and my husband decided to try growing his own basil.

The winterberry hollies I planted didn't take, but I'm not really surprised. Next moth, I've got a few hundreds bulbs coming in. Most are for naturalizing, but I've got some nice species tulips as well.

[Kitty Tantrum]

@Ruby Slippers I was thinking earlier today that next year I'm putting EVERYTHING I CAN on a drip watering system. Crank the water on, leave it for a while, turn it off. 😁

I helped assemble and maintain a handful of those when I was a kid, for entire small fields of strawberries and tomatoes and stuff. I wasn't really sure if it would be worth the hassle for such a small garden, but now that I'm in the thick of it, I TOTALLY think it would have been.

We ate our first garden tomato today! It was DELICIOUS. I actually think I've been watering them a little shallowly because it had more solids than juice (which I kind of like), and the flavor was intense. I've heard that's a "technique" some growers use, so for now I'm pretending I did that on purpose.

Something is eating almost all of my kale. Probably slugs and snails. They leave most everything else alone. I haven't really done anything for pest control this year, just kind of feeling out what might be necessary.

Only two of my nasturtium seeds ever sprouted, but I guess that's okay because I forgot how big they can get when you plant them straight in the ground. I eventually had to carefully pick them up and trellis them. They seem quite happy now, and they're not choking everything else out!

[pepperbird2]

9 hours ago, Kitty Tantrum said:

@Ruby Slippers I was thinking earlier today that next year I'm putting EVERYTHING I CAN on a drip watering system. Crank the water on, leave it for a while, turn it off. 😁

I helped assemble and maintain a handful of those when I was a kid, for entire small fields of strawberries and tomatoes and stuff. I wasn't really sure if it would be worth the hassle for such a small garden, but now that I'm in the thick of it, I TOTALLY think it would have been.

We ate our first garden tomato today! It was DELICIOUS. I actually think I've been watering them a little shallowly because it had more solids than juice (which I kind of like), and the flavor was intense. I've heard that's a "technique" some growers use, so for now I'm pretending I did that on purpose.

Something is eating almost all of my kale. Probably slugs and snails. They leave most everything else alone. I haven't really done anything for pest control this year, just kind of feeling out what might be necessary.

Only two of my nasturtium seeds ever sprouted, but I guess that's okay because I forgot how big they can get when you plant them straight in the ground. I eventually had to carefully pick them up and trellis them. They seem quite happy now, and they're not choking everything else out!

do you harvest the flowers and seeds? they're nice in a salad.

[Ruby Slippers]

My mom told me seeds have been in demand and in some cases hard to find. I have a bunch of seeds from a couple years ago - sunflowers, lots of vegetables and herbs. But I don't have any vinca, so I went ahead and ordered plenty of red and hot pink vinca seeds for spring.

I also just got a new baby string of pearls plant for the house. I saw in some article that these are "in" this year. Not that I care - I just think they're cool

[Ellener]

On 8/18/2020 at 11:23 AM, pepperbird2 said:

I have some orchids growing in the house, and they do well. they're phalinopsis (moth orchids) and really easy to care for.

Give me some hints! I've had three as gifts this year and two died. The one which survived is in one of those tiny pots and outside in the little plastic greenhouse! where it seems happeir.

Do they need a lot of light?

 

[pepperbird2]

3 hours ago, Ellener said:

Give me some hints! I've had three as gifts this year and two died. The one which survived is in one of those tiny pots and outside in the little plastic greenhouse! where it seems happeir.

Do they need a lot of light?

 

I mostly grow moth orchids ( phalinopsis) with a few others from time to time. I mist them every day, make sure their arial roots are healthy and that they have fresh bark. They are in a kitchen window that gets light but isn't overly sunny. Whatever you do, don;t ever cut off all the flower stalks. This can kill the plant. Let them die back, and when they're all dry, you can cut them off.
Hope this helps :)

[Ellener]

16 minutes ago, pepperbird2 said:

don;t ever cut off all the flower stalks. This can kill the plant.

oops.

That's why this little one survived then...

Thanks @pepperbird2

[Ruby Slippers]

The kitten has been chewing on my house plants and I'm very annoyed. I read a tip to spray the leaves with diluted lemon juice, as cats don't like the smell and taste of citrus. Hopefully that works so I don't have to keep babysitting the little bugger. 

[Prudence V]

On 7/25/2020 at 3:22 AM, seren said:

we have a small orchard, mainly plums, damsons, apples and quince

Sounds like our garden. No quinces this year, but *plenty* of apples. 
 

I’m jealous of your hares, though. We see them in the fields but they don’t visit our garden, probably because of the dog. 

[Ellener]

37 minutes ago, Prudence V said:

I’m jealous of your hares, though. We see them in the fields but they don’t visit our garden, probably because of the dog. 

the hares here are bigger than my dog! 🐶

[pepperbird2]

On 10/24/2020 at 11:42 AM, Ruby Slippers said:

The kitten has been chewing on my house plants and I'm very annoyed. I read a tip to spray the leaves with diluted lemon juice, as cats don't like the smell and taste of citrus. Hopefully that works so I don't have to keep babysitting the little bugger. 

You could try a hot pepper spray. You spray it on the foliage. You basically just dilute a bottle of tobassco or other hot sauce and then. spray it on the leaves.