gardening during covid-19

[Ruby Slippers]

Well, it's a new year - is anybody else thinking about their garden this season? 🌱🌻🌼🌷🌾

I think I'm going to plant a bunch of red and/or hot pink vinca flowers in the front (they're so easy and produce so much color for almost the whole year), sunflowers, herbs, and maybe some vegetables in the side garden which is the most visible spot from inside the house, and maybe more more vincas on the back patio. The hardest part is watering everything every day - which becomes necessary once it gets really hot here. But since I'm hoping I'll be working from home most of the year if not the whole year, this won't be as much of a chore. 

[Angelle]

I should have done what I was thinking about, and ordered things gradually late last year. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds shut down orders temporarily, the other day, because they had five times the amount of usual orders. A lot of people are thinking about a garden. 

[Ruby Slippers]

Yeah, I saw last year that demand for seeds was going up dramatically. I already had a bunch of herb and veggie seeds, ordered plenty of vinca seeds last year. I'm sure they'll have some in gardening stores. 

[Ellener]

On 1/8/2021 at 4:10 PM, Ruby Slippers said:

Well, it's a new year - is anybody else thinking about their garden this season? 🌱🌻🌼🌷🌾

I've got basil seeds sprouting in the mini greenhouse already, and some paperwhite bulbs indoors. It's really cold here ( for Texas ) but I found 2 large ceramic-looking plastic pots at Dollar Tree last week which will get planted up at some point when it's warmer. I want to grow food stuffs but we'll see what's on offer! The tomatoes did nothing much last year. 

@Angelle I amost wish I'd picked up one of the rooted mini christmas trees being sold off Christmas week...it was @$4 and I enjoy my 'experimenting' very much with unlikely patio candidates.

I've ordered rhubarb seeds and will try them in individual disintegrating pots indoors this spring, they only got so far before dying off last year. They were @ $7 a pack of 500 seeds it says, I think they mean 50 though...

 

[Ruby Slippers]

Winter is pretty much over where I am. So I got 3 big bags of potting soil at the neighborhood hardware store today. A man inside loaded up the bags onto a cart for me, and a man at the register unloaded them into my trunk. I told them both, "You don't get this kind of service at Home Depot - there, you're on your own." They were so nice, totally jumped to help me, which was really sweet and felt like something from another time.

Now I'm repotting some houseplants that need it, fertilizing them, thinking about getting started on my front porch flowers and the rest of it 🌷🌼🌻

[pepperbird2]

My husband bought me  fountain for a holiday gift. For some reason, he thought I liked fountains, and that I'd like one indoors.

I ended up putting it in with my orchids. They love it. It mists them, and they are all in flower. I mostly grow moth orchids, but have a couple of others as well.

[Ruby Slippers]

This weekend I planted hot pink vinca seeds in the hanging pot and two pots on the front porch. I also bought a shovel so I can dig up the flower beds in front and plant more flower seeds, but I was not in the mood to dig in the hard dirt yesterday, so that will have to wait. I'm thinking in the side garden I might just do sunflowers and some herbs. I'm not feeling motivated about all this digging work - though I know that's the hardest part, and then it's all about watering for the rest of the season.

[pepperbird2]

44 minutes ago, Ruby Slippers said:

This weekend I planted hot pink vinca seeds in the hanging pot and two pots on the front porch. I also bought a shovel so I can dig up the flower beds in front and plant more flower seeds, but I was not in the mood to dig in the hard dirt yesterday, so that will have to wait. I'm thinking in the side garden I might just do sunflowers and some herbs. I'm not feeling motivated about all this digging work - though I know that's the hardest part, and then it's all about watering for the rest of the season.

The lady we bought our home from loved gardening, but she sort of over planted. She put in a ton of Solomon's Seal, and the tubers on those buggers take a lot of digging. I took out a lot last year, but I am expecting a repeat this year.
In the fall, I planted a lot of spring flowering bulbs, and I'm hoping they'll all come up. The humming bird vine was really prolific, and there's lot of seed pods, and the chickadees and juncos are very happy. My husband gave me a little "No Face" (from Spirited Away) figure that hangs on a swing in the cherry tree, and I have some little forest spirits ( Princess Monoke) to put on once the snow is gone.

[pepperbird2]

I've got all my perennials and annual seeds on order, and am trying my hand at growing more vegetables in cloth grow bags on the deck. One perennial I'm really looking forward to trying is meadow rue. If I can get it to take, it will be big and very pretty.

Unfortunately, the frost heaved a lot of the bulbs I planted up, so I've had to go and ad some more soil to cover them. The deer also ate a few, but they're hungry and I can't begrudge them a meal. Our resident crow family has stayed throughout the winter, and with any luck, they'll raise a family again.

Edited March 16, 2021 by pepperbird2

[Taramere]

On 3/16/2021 at 5:56 PM, pepperbird2 said:

Unfortunately, the frost heaved a lot of the bulbs I planted up, so I've had to go and ad some more soil to cover them. The deer also ate a few, but they're hungry and I can't begrudge them a meal. Our resident crow family has stayed throughout the winter, and with any luck, they'll raise a family again.

One of the crows in my garden has become really tame. Since the weather has been improving, I have my coffee outside first thing, and the crow perches on the back of the seat next to me (looking for food). I'm trying to teach it to speak, but it just cocks its head from side to side and occasionally has a fit of cawing.

I've got a lot to do gardening wise.  I'm trying to clear a few feet of weeds each day.  Inside, I've made a start on tomatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, salad and sweet peas.  I've got chickens, hence a lot of compost from them, but I don't want to overcompost the planting areas.  I might have to buy some soil to fill my planters up.  I like this time of year, when you can really get started on gardening.

[Wiseman2]

Rabbits ate my stuff. 🍅🥕🐇🥀🌻🐇

[pepperbird2]

On 3/20/2021 at 7:20 AM, Wiseman2 said:

Rabbits ate my stuff. 🍅🥕🐇🥀🌻🐇

We dont have a lot of those here...we mostly have wild snowshoe hares, and they haven't taken too much.
My crocuses are up, and I saw some colts foot as well. I saw my first bumble bee of the season, and she very much appreciated the early flowers. My sunflower, squash, tomato and bell pepper starts are up and I'm just waiting on the peas and cucumbers. I've got two flats of sea holly cultivars, and if I remember correctly, there's about six types planted along with some columbine.

[Angelle]

I've ordered a grow light from Amazon (one that wasn't that expensive, and had a lot of good reviews). I was feeling so down and just annoyed with myself for not getting started in January/February, that I almost told my dad to just do whatever he wanted to do with it (plant shrubs and trees around the fence, and the property), and spread grass seed, where I've had raised beds. I've barely used them since 2016, when my mum died.

In another thread, a poster said that the OP was co-dependent. I think I might be, to a point, but a lot of people have also been negatively affected by isolation, and that's been my life, for a while now (before covid). I was once again feeling tentatively excited about where things might go, January of last year, and started to make goals again, only for covid to hit. I was a lot busier, and happier in my own company at times, when I was surrounded by people. When there was a lot of drama happening at home, the garden was an escape, and it calmed me down. Ever since my mum died, I've had trouble sitting and reading outside, let alone trying to organize the garden. I read better when I'm in the van, or when I get into a comfortable, quiet groove, and I'm reading late at night, or in the early hours, before it gets light. 

Anyway, I'm giving it another go, and also trying to figure out what to do with the raised beds, so that we can actually have a pretty garden again, too. Fingers crossed. 

[Watercolors]

On 6/30/2020 at 6:50 PM, pepperbird said:

Anybody else doing some gardening because they can't go out? I love working in the garden anyway, and since I was stuck at home, I was able to give it a good spring clean up. I ordered a lot of perennials, and most of them came up. I was able to visit one  garden centre a few hours away that had special hours, and we picked up some small shrubs and I was finally able to get a gas plant! (Dictamnus). I've never small scale grown vegetables before, but this year, my son and I put in pumpkins and potatoes- they have really taken off.

I find working in the garden really peaceful, and there is something about getting your bare feet on the grass and your hands in the soil that I really believe everyone needs- especially now, with everyone coping the covid-19.

 

Gardening indoors/outdoors is great because it produces serotonin in the brain. Even scooping potting soil into flower pots without wearing gardening gloves is good for your peace of mind. It's very healing. 

[lana-banana]

Yesterday we picked up some annuals to decorate our planters in the front and back. Our color scheme this year is white, pink, and blue, and I'm very pleased with all the blue flowers I found.

Not that winter really exists anymore, but this past February-March we had an ongoing cycle of extremely warm weather and cold snaps, so I was afraid our more delicate perennials wouldn't make it. Even the salvia looked touch and go for a bit. But they all rallied, including the Concord grapevine and fig tree.

Edible-wise, we currently have some beets, rhubarb, strawberries and kohlrabi going; cross your fingers for us. I also picked up some candy onions just to try. Peppers will happen in the summer.

[glows]

lana-banana, any lobelias? 

I love those blue flowers. 

 

[lana-banana]

8 hours ago, glows said:

lana-banana, any lobelias? 

I love those blue flowers. 

 

Yes! They were so beautiful I had to have them. I'm hopeful they'll do well!

[Prudence V]

I must have pulled out about a metric ton of nettles. 🤬

[lana-banana]

3 hours ago, Prudence V said:

I must have pulled out about a metric ton of nettles. 🤬

As in stinging nettles? Send them my way, I love them! They're one of my favorite parts of spring cooking!

[pepperbird2]

The plants are starting to come up, and the squill, primroses, crocuses, coltsfoots etc. are already blooming. My peas are up, and I picked up some grow bags and have squash, sunflowers, peas,. carrots, kale and some other veggies started. I've got some heritage tomatoes coming in, and I'm trying my hand at growing sea holly from seed.

Is it just me, or do grow bags closely resemble those reusable cloth shopping bags?

[Prudence V]

On 4/12/2021 at 6:38 PM, lana-banana said:

As in stinging nettles? Send them my way, I love them! They're one of my favorite parts of spring cooking!

How do you manage to get them to taste of anything other than cow puss and grit? When I first lived here, I tried to be positive about nettles. I gathered recipes for nettle salad, nettle soup, nettle tea.... I harvested loads of tender new nettle shoots, washed them carefully in cold water for hours at a time, did everything I was advised to do and the results were 🤢🤮 Now I stick to harvesting wild garlic, and just compost the nettles. 

[lana-banana]

2 hours ago, Prudence V said:

How do you manage to get them to taste of anything other than cow puss and grit? When I first lived here, I tried to be positive about nettles. I gathered recipes for nettle salad, nettle soup, nettle tea.... I harvested loads of tender new nettle shoots, washed them carefully in cold water for hours at a time, did everything I was advised to do and the results were 🤢🤮 Now I stick to harvesting wild garlic, and just compost the nettles. 

It must be the environment! Nettles here are just dark and earthy, in a great way; I live off nettle tea and use it as a pizza topping (and make an infusion of it to ward off allergies). I don't wash it for hours, since I can only get it directly from farmers' markets. The most I do is drop it straight into the pan or hot water to render it inert. But if it still tastes bad, it clearly doesn't want to be eaten 😛 My great longing is fiddleheads. They're nowhere to be seen around here.

Green garlic---well, all garlic is my favorite. But I love when it's young and fresh and sticky. Ramps are wonderful, but scapes are better in my opinion.

[Wiseman2]

3 hours ago, lana-banana said:

I live off nettle tea and use it as a pizza topping

Doesn't it have poison ivy like properties? Or is that a different species?

 Shakespeare's Hotspur urges that "out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety" 

[lana-banana]

2 minutes ago, Wiseman2 said:

Doesn't it have poison ivy like properties? Or is that a different species?

 Shakespeare's Hotspur urges that "out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety" 

Yes. You have to wear gloves to pick and handle them. Stinging nettles will absolutely harm you if eaten raw, but exposure to heat renders them inert. You can blanch them, or just dump boiling water over them for tea; you can also toss them in a hot pan or oven and they'll be fine.

[glows]

I eat dandelions. No nettles. 

3 hours ago, lana-banana said:

It must be the environment! Nettles here are just dark and earthy, in a great way; I live off nettle tea and use it as a pizza topping (and make an infusion of it to ward off allergies). I don't wash it for hours, since I can only get it directly from farmers' markets. The most I do is drop it straight into the pan or hot water to render it inert. But if it still tastes bad, it clearly doesn't want to be eaten 😛 My great longing is fiddleheads. They're nowhere to be seen around here.

Green garlic---well, all garlic is my favorite. But I love when it's young and fresh and sticky. Ramps are wonderful, but scapes are better in my opinion.

Fiddleheads are delicious!