It's become clear to me through posts and PMs that there are some gardeners here just waiting for the chance to discuss gardening!
So, I was thinking... how do you use gardening, or how does it affect you if you need a break, need some respite, need to relax, need inspiration....how do you use it as a therapy tool in caregiving?
What are your activities: Do you go out and pull weeds, read a magazine, design new beds? Look through garden catalogues? Go to garden stores?
And what interests have you added to your gardening? Visit estate or garden displays? Do you go to garden shows?
Does anyone design and plant Knot Gardens? Raised bed planters? Assistive gardens? Pollinator gardens (and have you thought of ways to help the bees and butterflies?)
Are your gardens primarily for pleasure or food, or a mix of both? Do you grow plants for medicinal purposes? Which ones, how do you harvest and process them? Any suggestions?
Do you grow plants that can be used in crafts, such as grapevines for wreaths and lavender for lavender wands? Do you make herbal products such as creams, lotions, chapstick?
What else can you share about gardening and the means in which it nurtures your soul?
Tree trimming incidents between neighbors could be increasing.
It's common to have disputes-one wants the trees to grow, the other objects to the overgrowth onto their property.
The tree company cut a nearby tree, and I heard yelling. Went to see, and the tree owner was yelling not at the tree trimmers, but the neighbors. Content was actually a hate incident (not a hate crime). Used profanity, told them to go back to where they came from.
Another person down the street was angry they cut her fruit tree on her own property.
Others with fruit trees were not cut.
So, in the news, a person was killed over a tree incident. First ever I have heard of this. Maybe the anger is out of hand, out of control.
We are about to get pups! (Something the plant does to reproduce itself).
Something is terribly wrong when you buy something beautiful you might like, bring it home, and find that you want to give it away to neighbors. It's been that way for awhile now.
My own garden is neglected in 107 degree heat.
2 gallons put up yesterday and planning one more excursion to have some to share. I process everything and give frozen canning jars of fresh tuna juice. I may be doing it all wrong when I read about all the gifts of fresh produce that the recipient has to process. :-/ oh well! I am happy when I get my jars back.
We are heading into our planting season and I am looking forward to the harvest. Hopefully it is as bountiful as what I have been reading here.
I understand your "un-ease" at asking for catalpa pods. I don't find that sort of thing comfortable. R just walks up, rings the doorbell. has a good chat and gets what he wants - be it seeds or sometimes fruit.
We’re now northeast of there, in a cooler zone. We have a lot of black walnuts. We planted hundreds of conifers, then once they grew tall enough, infilled with deciduous trees. Hoping the conifers would hide the deciduous seedlings from hungry deer. We have gluttonous rabbits too.
cw - I'd never heard of a catalpa tree until we identified the pods. R took them from boulevard trees in Calgary. Tulip trees are lovely (I saw many in the UK) and the black walnut sounds amazing.
I think the plan is to keep them inside for the winter and plant them out at the lot next spring. I hope our climate isn't too harsh for Catalpa,
I suspect R wouldn't mind us sending you some seeds if you can't get any.
Good for you planting indigenous trees and those at risk, I love trees. Parts of Ontario, I gather where you are, have a great mild climate for growing.
We have a couple of different acorns from the Denver Co area (which has some cold weather) planted in pots. and will see what happens there.
Yes, we are growing seeds. I think I mentioned before that R in his travels collects seeds from any bush or tree that he likes and dares to try growing them in our climate. He came back from his trip with 3 kinds of acorns, 2 kinds of maple seed, sand plums and I'm not sure what else. I germinated some catalpa seeds he had collected earlier which are growing nicely in a pot and we are working on some acorns. We will try to grow them into trees on the lake lot. It's a good hobby for both of us - very manageable.
So...you are growing a Catalpa tree from seeds?
O wow!
His name is Howard. He is light brown, digging his hole at noon.
We met face-to-face. My first thought, automatic, was to run water in all the holes to force him out. Recalling that my Dad, a tree surgeon used to stand there with a sharp pole to kill the gophers as they exited. Nah, that's not me.
This gopher will be protected under the "live and let live" standard. Even though he is a "rodent". I read that they eat insects. There are also piles of dirt made from red ants, and they are disappearing.
Nature is so fun to watch.
nacy - apparently they can be grown indoors in a deep pot with lots of light. I'm not sure it would be worth trying. I gather outdoors they need a warm climate.
The Sweet potatoes did have nice leaves.
I donated the plants to a neighbor, without guilt.
This all started when a sweet potato sprouted and I let it grow, all by itself.
cw -can you bring the plant indoors? Flowers mean fruit!
Rocky's new grass seeds germinate well so she is regularly munching on the new growth. I germinted some catalpa seeds R picked up in his travels. We
ll see if the tree grows here. Got an acorn planted too. I am growing a sweet potato in a pot. Not sure if I will just keep it for the leaves or try to get some tubers from it. That will need a much bigger pot.
I think if you can make several batches of various items by doing the canning storage maybe get ahead by a year worth of food, then it might start getting a little downhill from there? because you make a batch, eat a batch, and keep that cycle going. Living off-grid must be the best feeling in the world? ok maybe second best feeling in the world.. :)
Of course the things that yield the best and are easiest to grow are usually the things that are dirt cheap to buy in season.
My gardening these days is confined to the balcony and my indoor plants which are adjusting well. I am growing oat seeds in an old roasting pan to give Rocky some greens. Despite tenting saran wrap over the pan to keep the moisture in, the seeds have not germinated as well as I would like. However I did get some green blades growing and put them down for her and she munched the lot and pulled up a few. But she likes it and goes out for a taste daily except yesterday which was too hot for her.
We also have an elm tree seedling growing in a decorated watering can, With temps here in the 90s I'm watering the oat grass and the elm seedling daily. It will need to get planted out at the lake this fall.
100 pounds of sweet potatoes from slips of one potato!
That's a lot of pressure.
Videos said to change water every two or three days.
I have already failed.
However, this should be fun, right?
These suckers are growing by themselves.
There are so many so-called slips, I could have a 5 ft. x 5 ft. garden.
Planting in the morning, or very soon into available square planters.
Thanks Cwillie, I will do that!