A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs What did you do in the garden today?

Today was gorgeous so I made a rock garden. I didn't put as many plants in it as I would have liked...but isn't that the story with any garden? I'll be adding onto the rock garden through out the spring and summer. I didn't have top to add some hens and chicks that I have.

Here are some pictures...









So, what did you do in the garden today?

pretty. What are the stone flower things?

In the second picture? It is a type of succulent, but I don't know what kind. I have the picture in mystery plants hoping for an ID. :) I LOVE succulents because they look soo odd. Eventually I want some babies toes and split rock plant. If they aren't hardy enough to put outside, then I'll pot them and put them in the house. They are just soo NEAT looking!

gosh, I thought it was made of stone.

Nope, it is made of plant. 3 leaves fell off so I'm trying to root them so I have more of it.

Good luck getting them to root. They are cool plants.

This far today I've managed to weed the old zinnia bed and around the blueberries.

Fertilize the blueberries and the azaleas.

And plant the gerber daisies in a pot by the front door.

Not much but as much as I could handle.

I hope to get out there and take some pictures but it's kind of overcast today and I'm not sure the pictures would come out very well.

isn't that a hen and chick?

all I've done in the garden today and all I WILL do since it's too wet, is treat some ant beds with garlic.

Its in the hens and chicks family. :)

Really? ants and garlic? How do you do that? There is a mess of larger black ants near my hens and chicks and those suckers are all over the place!

I usually use ant killer for large ant beds that are not around my veggies. but I use garlic in the garden. I buy chopped garlic from the dollar store. it's in a bottle and only cost a dollar or two. you just sprinkle on top. it seems to work better if you can get it IN the mound, but you gotta be quick. I retreat with garlic every other day or so, 2-3 times. they move on out...or die. not sure? but it works for me.

TK, I hope you take pictures overcast or not. They'll turn out good enough to see what you've been doing.


It's dreary and drizzling here too.

Cricket, I read once about putting something near an ant bed and they eat it and then it expands and kills the ants. Can't remember what it was!!! don't think it was yeast....it wasn't alkaseltzer either (that's for seagulls )

I think it's cornmeal...???....or maybe instant grits...? I believe it may be something 'instant' that works along the same way as the....well... you know alkaseltzer.
from what I read about the garlic, garlic kills fungus which is the main food source of ants. so if their main food source is suddenly gone they FREAK OUT! and leave.

I pulled a lot of weeds and decided to look into something like preen. Does anyone have any recommendations for combating weeds? I looked at preen and the bayer brand but I am not sure what to go with. Is this safe to use around the regular flowers?

I'm not an expert....heck, I'm still learning how to do ALOT of stuff. But I seem to remember people talking about weed killers and how you are not supposed to get that stuff on your flowers. If I remember correctly, anything with a wide leaf (like wider than grass) is doomed if that weed stuff hits it. Be careful with it!! Have you looked into gardening fabric??

I raked my veggie garden yesterday of all the debries .And burnt them. THen I took ROund up ......Hubby mixed, and sprayed all the goofy weeds.....That should kill all.. But be careful with it ..Just spray where you need it .

This is before any planting is done at all.. In a week hubby will plow under the soil for the garden .. Then lettuce an onions will be planted......
carrots.

the plants are all coming up already. maybe I'll just weed for now and see how crazy it gets! I'm afraid of the fabric because they are all perennials. I think I will use that in the one bed I have that will be all annuals.

I've used the fabric with perennials before. I transplanted all of them, so I just sliced large X's into the fabric where I wanted the plants and then covered the fabric with mulch. You could always try mulch around your plants to hinder weeds. I see you are in Easton. I live outside of Williamsport right now, but grew up in Reading.

that brings up another question- the mulch from last year is still there- should I remove this and get new mulch or can I leave it?

I always just kind of mixed the last year's mulch into the dirt a little, added compost, and then topped it with new mulch. It decomposes...of course, my mulch was always pretty dead after a year. I used black or brown mulch. That was at my old house. I haven't totally decided what to do here. We have a place that has brown mulch for $20/truck bed, so it would be pretty cheap for me to get some. I have to reshape my beds before I do anything tho. I'm sure someone with more experience will be around to help you out.

leave it. the purpose, or ONE of the purposes of mulch, is to feed the soil with decomposing organic matter. put new on top if you want, but leave the old.

TODAY, I replanted a couple more watermelon seeds. I only had one of about five seeds that came up. I put two seeds in each hole this time. I can always pluck out one if both come up.
something ate one of my okra seedlings. so, I replanted a couple of seeds in that hole then planted a couple of more 'just in case'.
I gotta stop planting! my garden is full already!

btw.........dont tell anybody, but today I noticed I have weeds out there! tomorrow I plan on doing some weeding.

Take our little digger and get under the weed to make sure it comes out.

Ps Welcome to the club.

I have a little digger for weeds too, dodge. but it's attached to the end of my arm. ha ha

Holy

Keep thy faith Babe........

I pulled a few weeds, did a lot of looking, and papered and pine strawed a row that I'm pretty sure I"m not waiting on seeds to come up in.

one of my little watermelon seedlings was broken over. I, of course, immediatley started cussing squirrels. then I noticed a little green bug that look a lot like a lady bug but green, was on that little seedling. I squashed him. I hope I didn't just squash a 'good' bug if it wasn't him that did it? anyone know what kind of bug that might have been?

I dont know what it is..
Just get a bucket of hot water and drop the bug in it an watch it suffer like it does to our plants..

Yesterday I realized aphid season has started. Which means it's open season on aphids. Thank goodness I'm armed to the teeth!

I hate aphids. I mean, I really hate them. They are fascinating critters & all, but I hate them.

We must defend our plants.

Farmers have to go to classes to keep a license to spray the baddies.
That is penna only.

Awful trying to survive farn life.. If we let all the insect attack an not kill.
THere would be a food shortage in usa.

so it figures......Thy shall kill bugs, weeds......to supply our NEEDS.

Whoa Dodge, you're sounding right militant! :-)

Doesn't food come from the grocery store?? (Haha)

Back to work. seeds don't plant themselves. (Well, sure they do... but those bean seeds aren't going to get from from the table & walk outside!)

goodness. I sqaush one bug and get everyone crazy violent.

Holy


Not violent.........Were doers.........

We spray and pray and say.......
You will weed us some day.......

tee hee

I had a magnificent day planting, and killing aphids. Aphids were disposed of very humanely. No suffering at all. Smush. They didn't even see it coming. And the remains were dispensed with a squirt of water.

Tomorrow it will be time to pay attention to the lettuce.

weeds, weeds, everywhere and no one wants to pull them up! (I have ryhmes too, dodge!....kinda?) ha ha
I did nothing in the garden today, but look. but tomorrow I plan on pulling weeds, finish up with the mulching, and transplanting my last bit of seedlings.

Oh Cricket, Your wicket>.lol

LOL
Now weed pulling .....Here is a easier method take a pail with you , and your digger.. I have a bulb setting digger which I use. Pit the point under the weed and lift the weed that way.. It saves me lots of work.
See my sis do that .

THe dandelion drives me bonkers.

Keep trying .. If all else fails use spot weed spray..
Or put down card board or news paper......Thick..

Hope I give you one good hint........

Wish I could join you all in the garden already. We still have snow on the ground around here. The sun is out with no clouds around so hopefully some of the snow will be gone by tonight. I do have my greenhouse and most of the plants are doing well. Today is my fertilizing day.

rOSEPETAL...

YOU WILL YOU WILL......Just hold still.. :ding: :ding:


they you can boast the most.

tilled the garden spots and pulled and cut a few weeds. How can I kill of pachysandra? it's taking over an azalea. Roundup doesn't touch it.

All I've managed is to watch things grow. I have a peony bud that I can't wait to see. I didn't expect to have any blooms this year so you can imagine how excited I am.

today I put out some tomato plants, squash plants, bell peppers (thanks to TK), marigold seeds and sunflower seeds. No cucumbers yet.

Yesterday I aquired and planted two little rose bushes. I also bought a hedge trimmer but it was raining yesterday and couldn't try it out. Today was the perfect day so I got out my new (and first) power tool and went to town on the bushes in front of the garden. I like power , all my bushes got trimmed in less than an hour and they look good!