Anyone else getting their gardens ready?

I know for those up north you won't be ready for a while. Down here in Texas we have had an extremely mild winter. I started weeding yesterday. Planted some onions.

Though it might be nice to have a thread about gardening. I could use any pointers and suggestions. I plant tomatoes and peppers every year. My Mexican Oregano and Rosemary have wintered very well this year. I am not a master gardener at all. But I have found you cannot kill Rosemary, Oregano, or Chives -- even if you try. I usually have good luck with tomatoes - but this year I am going to try to start some from seed. I have a lot of luck with Basil, but every year I my Cilantro dwindles to nothing very quickly.

For flowers I love Morning Glories -- another plant suited for dummies like me. I haven't had much luck with flowers the past couple of years. My front yard is pretty shady. I usually plant impatients but the last couple of years I haven't wanted to mess with them. So my flower beds have been bare except for weeds. I'm thinking of planting Caladiums. And for the sunny backyard -- Lantana and Plumbago.

 

I love plumbago! Try some coleus for your shade; they don't flower, but come in a variety of pretty colors.

and

You are mean! Just kidding - fun to think about getting in the yard. Only 2-1/2 more months of winter here.

 

I generally prefer for the snow to melt and the ground to thaw first

 

It's been consistently warm enough to clean out the flower bed since we didn't last fall but otherwise, we have to wait until at least Mother's Day. There is a risk of frost otherwise. We do have tulips and lilies planted so they will come up on their own when it's time.

 

Except for two brutal -10 nights, our winter in New England has been pretty great. Snow totally melted in the last warm spell. My snowdrops are up and blooming...usually they bloom in the snow, I have greenery from the Crocus plants and just saw yesterday next to the house foundation, the tips of some daffodils and tulips

 

I'm planting mint for Mojito's this summer.

 

I forgot about mint --- i always get a few plants -- again one of those herbs that is hard to kill even if you tried. Good for mojitos and insect/rodent repellent too. I have to keep mine in the shade here -- it doesn't like heat.

I usually won't put my tomato plants out until late April -- it seems that every time I plant them in late March or early April -- we get three hailstorms -- you can count on it here. Not one or two -- but three.

 

I am painfully jealous. It will be... 3 more months, maybe, before I can get out there and put anything in the ground without fretting about frost kill. General wisdom is that anything you plant before the May long weekend is a crap shoot. Blah.
I'll be starting plants inside over the next couple weeks though. I should be able to transfer them into the greenhouse at the beginning of May for a couple of weeks.

Tomatoes are fairly easy to start from seed, just make sure you don't overwater them. a little root booster doesn't hurt either. Mine grew like gangbusters last year and that's propped up on a box on my table with grow lights in the dining room fixture!

 

We go year-round here, though what's doing better than others in the raised beds does vary -- parsley and alstroemeria couldn't be happier, oregano and roses not so much. As for the yard, the sage, mandevilla, polygala dalmasiana (sweet pea shrub) and lavender essentially are 10-12 month bloomers, the lilac are in full seasonal color now. The cistus should pop here in another month and while not a flowering shrub the dodonea are putting on lots of mass. The citrus doesn't look so great but is still fruiting, as is normal. Last weekend we started plotting out annuals and what we want to swap out/change in the perennial department.

Some of you were around when we scorched earth and re-did our yard at the last place. Terri hadn't seen it since we moved so a few weeks ago we drove by while coming back from the desert. The two mesquite nearly drape the entire front; we couldn't believe it. The new owners hardly effed with what we did and that was kinda heart-warming.

Good thread.

 

I have Plumbago in the L4

already have things started in an AeroGarden I got for Christmas and they will go in my mini greenhouse till it's time to plant

 

Believe me I will be jealous of all the northerners by May when it is in the high 90s to 100's with humidity that feels like a wool coat that will be here until the later part of September. But right now 70-80 degrees in February -- it is wonderful. If we get some nice bluebonnets this year I will take some pictures. Bluebonnets in Texas -- if you have never been through the Texas hill country with the bluebonnets blooming I highly recommend it.

Another great flower is Vinca -- but it is particular -- not to dry/hot and not too moist. I love the purples and white. It also spreads easily. Lantana is hardy for zones 8-11 which means you could probably grow in the 6 or 7. It is drought tolerant and the deer leave it alone -- which is a plus. I am tempted to plant a lemon and avocado tree -- but I would have to keep them in planters probably.

I tried strawberries before but the critters and birds love them and always got them before I had a chance to pick them. We have a place that grows strawberries nearby and you can go pick them. Also by June and July the peach orchards are producing -- if we get enough cold nights and the hail doesn't ruin them. And if you ever have a chance to buy Pecos, Texas Watermelons -- jump on it --- there is nothing better. Our local grocer use to carry them. I don't know where they go but I have trouble finding them.

 

Val it is great having farmstand produce and fruit at hand!

Here it is berries, artichokes, leafy greens, asparagus, broc, caulilower, Brussels ... and flower fields. Oh, shoot, WINE, too.

 

If you love morning glories, try Mt. Fiji. They don't grow as tall as the "garden" variety but the blooms are large and very colorful. I save seeds each year from that year's bloom and they always breed true to color. Gorgeous. We live in central NJ and our last frost date is May 15th so we won't be starting to plant until then. Our problem is always traveling during the growing season. We have no one to weed and water while we're gone; also, the deer have a field day while we're away. They seem to know!

 

Keep it contained. That stuff is invasive!

 

Another one up here in the great white north of Minnesota... I started doing strawbale gardening a few years ago. Love it! No bending over, no weeds, produce earlier than most. So I'm looking forward to the end of March prepping the bales for planting. I don't do a lot, a few tomato plants, a few cucumbers, sugar snap peas. I tried lettuce mixture last year, twice, but I have so many rabbits they got on the bales and chewed everything down. Have a number of asiatic lilies, day lilies, heuchera, coreopsis, blue eyed oat grass... But... the dang rabbits were getting to most of it. Tried the pellet stuff for rodents and small animals, didn't work. Blood meal has seemed to keep them from digging and eating the new blueberries bushes I put in. Kind of expensive to put that down on all my garden spaces. Any ideas from anyone would be great. I live in town so can't shoot them.

 

Vegetables?

Arent those the green things I see people eating?

None for me thanks.

 

We have a few coyotes that we would be happy to export down south to control your bunnies!

 

Check, need more Bacardi and limes.