Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, March 4

Hi, everybody. It's March! Got anything coming up in the garden yet?

Don in Kansas has something growing:

We have a few days of spring here, though winter will return within a week. Outdoors, iris and daffodils are getting started. Indoors, the first batch of seeds are up.

Weather

A backyard scene from sunny Southern California, provided by By-Tor. Elevation about 1100 or 1200 feet.

A scene from earlier this year, different location, still in Southern California.

From a friend of the blog in the Southeast:

You having any adventures with the weather?

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

Hey KT,
Thought our fellow gardeners who do edible gardening might like a look at my latest project. Vermicomposting in a couple of my raised beds. It doesn't look fancy but I am hopeful that it will make my beds very prolific. I used this tutorial of how to do it.
Went to the garden shop and bought a box of red wigglers, they are pricey but I hope they will make lots of worm castings and make many off-spring. I have been saving coffee grounds, egg shells and banana peels any way to make my own fertilizer, but apparently that is just what the worms like to eat so I am happy to let them turn it into fertilizer for me. Shredded cardboard at the bottom, then the worms went in, then coffee grounds, mushed up egg shells, and chopped up banana peel, then more shredded cardboard on top. You are supposed to feed them once week so I will let you know how they do...
For the bird lovers out there, I have attached a picture of our hummingbird feeder last night at dusk. It was getting pretty cold and I think they were all trying to stock up for the night. Usually we have one main hummer who guards the feeder with ferocity, chasing off all who want to feed, but he was feeling generous last night and let some others join him. Sadly, there were 5 all feeding at once but by the time I could get the camera only three remained. Still, nice to see them all sharing.
I got some new to me seeds to try while at the fancy garden shop, because why not. I am going to try pepperoncinis this year, Thai chili's again this year, they didn't go last year, and some tabasco chilis. Also got a couple of new to me tomatoes to try. Small tomatoes do best here because of the heat of the summer. Hope everyone else is dreaming of their spring garden.
WeeKreekFarmGirl

Thanks for the great update! The hummingbirds look sweet!

Puttering

Allow me to introduce you to the most ridiculous yet amazing thing you will see this week. pic.twitter.com/MHlGmz9Ph2
— fragrance and foolishness (@Brieyonce) February 27, 2023

Gardens of The Horde

KT,
This work week ended up being a little more eventful than I expected, so I only remembered to send you these after seeing the gardening post. That is the most "rdohd" thing ever.
This tabebuia was originally planted in our backyard at the corner of the porch and was just in the wrong spot. Early one spring I dug it up and moved it to the front. It was really too late to move it, but I kept the root ball moist all spring until the summer storms began, and here it is 10+ years later in all its February glory.
Either my mother, or my mother-in-law gave us these amaryllis's. They too are early bloomers, which is fortunate as they have a full southern exposure now that we removed our laurel oak. Like most lilies they are inconspicuous broad leafed plants when not in bloom.
The Mrs. and I garden more by benign neglect than as hobbyist's, so the hardiness of the plant determines what we grow and what we don't.
I hope this Lent has us all appreciating God's creations.
Best,
rdohd

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Feb. 25

Any thoughts or questions?

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

Posted by: K.T. at 01:23 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hello!

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 01:29 PM (Zzbjj)

2 beautiful pics, as always

Posted by: kallisto at March 04, 2023 01:29 PM (dCxaZ)

3 Hi!

Posted by: KT at March 04, 2023 01:29 PM (rrtZS)

4 ...i guess it's time to get Skip...

Posted by: kallisto at March 04, 2023 01:29 PM (dCxaZ)

5 CN lolol

Posted by: kallisto at March 04, 2023 01:29 PM (dCxaZ)

6 Pretty dutch iris. I can't grow them here as rabbits eat them to the ground as they do crocuses

My planting of the plum tree despite cold weather seems to be a success. No sign of damage.

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 01:30 PM (Zzbjj)

7 5 CN lolol
Posted by: kallisto at March 04, 2023 01:29 PM (dCxaZ)

I never shout first, sponge, or whoa.

I'm looking forward to warmer weather so I can plant my new red currant shrubs. Unlike the plum tree, I potted those up and they're sunning by a window and growing, so I need reliable weather. The plum was dormant

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 01:32 PM (Zzbjj)

8 Pondering if should post my scaffolding I put up to get some dead branches down. Still have a about 25 foot high trunk, actually 2 of them. But trunk seemed shaky to try a Sawzall to. Better mason scaffold and surrounding it and a chainsaw

Posted by: Skip at March 04, 2023 01:33 PM (xhxe8)

9 I'm looking forward to warmer weather so I can plant my new red currant shrubs.

same here

the plants that are overwintering indoors are getting mighty impatient!

Posted by: kallisto at March 04, 2023 01:34 PM (dCxaZ)

10 My chives are up, Daffodils are high but no flowers buds yet

Posted by: Skip at March 04, 2023 01:34 PM (xhxe8)

11 I love that iris ! I need to take a photo of my little grape hyacinths that have popped up.

Posted by: Tom Servo at March 04, 2023 01:35 PM (GP8Dv)

12 the plants that are overwintering indoors are getting mighty impatient!
Posted by: kallisto at March 04, 2023 01:34 PM (dCxaZ)

I figure I gave them a good start by keeping them inside. The plum tree was much too big and wide to stay inside. I was actually impressed that it wasn't a typical mail order stick with buds.

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 01:37 PM (Zzbjj)

13 Beautiful picture on top!

Posted by: Eromero at March 04, 2023 01:38 PM (0G42s)

14 I was actually impressed that it wasn't a typical mail order stick with buds.

where did you order from?

Posted by: kallisto at March 04, 2023 01:39 PM (dCxaZ)

15 Reminds us of Easter.

Posted by: Eromero at March 04, 2023 01:39 PM (0G42s)

16 I like KIng Julian too, although I thought he was a lemur

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 01:41 PM (Zzbjj)

17 My Aussie friend found a frog like that except he had been trapped in the kitchen oven and was no longer cute, or alive.

The Aussie possums are much cuter than the American ones, I must say.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at March 04, 2023 01:41 PM (X+Ku8)

18 where did you order from?
Posted by: kallisto at March 04, 2023 01:39 PM (dCxaZ)

This was a Stark Bros. purchase, the XL damson plum, a nice self-pollinating type. It was about 5' high above the root line and about 4' wide. The box was immense.

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 01:42 PM (Zzbjj)

19 rdohd, I was thinking, "that is a lapacho tree" and yes, it is.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 04, 2023 01:43 PM (xhaym)

20 Last fall wife found a toad a few times different days in the pipe I use for my flag pole

Posted by: Skip at March 04, 2023 01:43 PM (xhxe8)

21 Thought it was odd the toad climbing up a 3 foot piece of pipe and staying in it. I was afraid it would fall down in and get trapped.

Posted by: Skip at March 04, 2023 01:45 PM (xhxe8)

22 It could snow another 10 inches in CA and the WHARRGARBL Warming activists will DENY it happened.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at March 04, 2023 01:45 PM (Jg7EG)

23 Thanks for all the pics. I love the vicarious gardening. I have a few flowers that reseed themselves and some flowering bushy weeds and wild sunflower cousins in the summers and that is enough given all the other things that clamor for my time but it is very fun to see the pics from people that are serious about gardening and landscaping.

Posted by: PaleRider at March 04, 2023 01:46 PM (3cGpq)

24 I am also considering other fruit purchases and I'd love to hear what sort of elderberries are most successful. One of my aunt's had a large plant that had been trained to look more like a tree than a shrub. Great jam every year

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 01:49 PM (Zzbjj)

25 We started seeds indoors this morning. Ordered what we didn't have, but want.
Found that we failed to make notes at the end of the season, re: which tomatoes excelled, which were not worth it, etc.
We both did remember that Celebrity has been the star of the garden since we first planted them 4 years ago. We're expanding our heirloom tomatoes. Fewer Brandywine, more variety.
I took down both ends of the fencing around the garden and plowed. Brought up some of that clay, and eliminated the hard pan we were getting. Used the old Allis trip-bottom plow.
This, exactly. https://tinyurl.com/2m3kfnu4

Posted by: MkY at March 04, 2023 01:52 PM (cPGH3)

26 It could snow another 10 inches in CA and the WHARRGARBL Warming activists will DENY it happened.
Posted by: Dr. Bone at March 04, 2023 01:45 PM (Jg7EG)

That's why the name has been changed to Climate Change. Now human activity can be blamed for every kind of weather.

All weather now supports the argument.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at March 04, 2023 01:52 PM (Qzn2/)

27 WeeKreekFarmGirl, I bought a bathtub that I put up on cinderblocks and filled with dirt, leaves, compost and weeds as a vermicomposter.
The plans I got said to have the drain clear and have it arranged so it will drain fully into a bucket so I can collect the worm bed leachate in a bucket and use it on my trees. I messed up and have the other end an inch too low so I am sure it is always sodden at the end away from the drain, but I am not sure it is a bad idea.

Like you, I have arid summers, so I dump my dishwashing water from my sink in it, and I collect the run-off leachate and use it on the trees and berries, and tomatoes.
The sink water keeps it all moist and mostly not stinking, and the leachate is good for the trees.

The downside is that it attracts black soldier fly maggots and the hoverfly maggots, but they are both native pollinators as adults so there are worse things

Posted by: Kindltot at March 04, 2023 01:53 PM (xhaym)

28 My iris is conspicuous by its absence. Hmmm. It may be warm enough in Little Oaxaca on the Miami by now to justify raking out the hostas and trimming the rose bush.

Posted by: exdem13 at March 04, 2023 01:54 PM (W+kMI)

29 the grape hyacinth is also conspicuous by its absence. Hmmm. (stares at volunteer rosebud tree)

Posted by: exdem13 at March 04, 2023 01:57 PM (W+kMI)

30 29. My grape hyacinths are leafing up nicely. No stems yet, but they always bloom. I did have a clump that was buried in leaves toward the back of the yard and did not seem to revive. A year later, lazy me, I cleaved up the leaves, thinking I'd plant a perennial in the spring, and they went right back to flowering.

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 01:59 PM (Zzbjj)

31 My adventure today is smoking a 10lb pork butt. Its been smoking going on 3 hours now and the bark looks fabulous.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at March 04, 2023 02:00 PM (E+05M)

32 I am also considering other fruit purchases and I'd love to hear what sort of elderberries are most successful. One of my aunt's had a large plant that had been trained to look more like a tree than a shrub. Great jam every year
Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 01:49 PM (Zzbjj)

We have native blue and red elderberries, and I am planning on getting some cuttings rooted. I like native plants because they survive neglect better.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 04, 2023 02:00 PM (xhaym)

33 My adventure today is smoking a 10lb pork butt. Its been smoking going on 3 hours now and the bark looks fabulous.
Posted by: Maj. Healey

Sounds wonderful. I'm smoking a point tomorrow, and my wife is brining the flat for pastrami. (Next week).

Posted by: MkY at March 04, 2023 02:01 PM (cPGH3)

34 But crocuses, dutch hyacinths, a tulips are expensive rabbit food. I learned this by an epic fail. I planted about 500 crocuses one fall and not one bloomed, the rabbits sheared them to the ground. Nothing the next year.

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 02:01 PM (Zzbjj)

35 Getting wind gusts, probably 25 - 30mph, should go clean up branches I cut down but they are not going anywhere if I don't.

Posted by: Skip at March 04, 2023 02:02 PM (xhxe8)

36 Oh, and one more thing, I have seen three bluebirds so far this year. Normally I never see any unless I am way up in the hills. I suspect they are either migrating or they came down out of the hills because of the snows.

We also saw white egrets and wild swans this week, and the swans at least tend to only show up here when the weather promises to be horrendous.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 04, 2023 02:03 PM (xhaym)

37 This is a guy plowing with the 116. His tractor is a C, mine's a B, and he backs into the furrow? Dunno why.
You can see why it was called a trip-bottom. Pre-hydraulic ingenuity.

https://tinyurl.com/3ezh8hn8

Posted by: MkY at March 04, 2023 02:04 PM (cPGH3)

38 We also saw white egrets and wild swans this week, and the swans at least tend to only show up here when the weather promises to be horrendous.
Posted by: Kindltot

How encouraging!

Posted by: MkY at March 04, 2023 02:05 PM (cPGH3)

39
We have native blue and red elderberries, and I am planning on getting some cuttings rooted. I like native plants because they survive neglect better.
Posted by: Kindltot at March 04, 2023 02:00 PM (xhaym

I tried asking my cousin what sort of plant her mom had, but she had no idea. As they need pollinators, I thought I'd mix varieties and see what comes. I have a relatively bare space I'd like to see covered with fruit, so elderberries seemed like a good size plant

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 02:07 PM (Zzbjj)

40 CN @ 24-
Did your Aunt raise hamsters?

Posted by: Eromero at March 04, 2023 02:09 PM (0G42s)

41 Did your Aunt raise hamsters?
Posted by: Eromero at March 04, 2023 02:09 PM (0G42s)

Hope her Uncle didn't dig canal locks in the basement

Posted by: Kindltot at March 04, 2023 02:10 PM (xhaym)

42 Well, I'm off to pick up a rewired wall sconce and stop by the garden store to buy blood meal for the roses. Thanks for the pics!

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 02:11 PM (Zzbjj)

43 CN, you won't go wrong by asking the local nurserymen. The ones that grow non-standard fruit like to talk about it, and they can give you good information on what bears well and what tolerates the local climate. Most of them have online catalogs now, so you can see if the berries look right

Posted by: Kindltot at March 04, 2023 02:12 PM (xhaym)

44 My Irish potatoes are halfway to harvest, I have fertilized and mulched our citrus trees, and I have repotted a pair of what are allegedly American Chestnut trees, yeah, the ones that went extinct a century ago.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at March 04, 2023 02:13 PM (yQpMk)

45 I'm giving up on my attempt to grow a few All-In-One almond trees. The temperature is fine but it appears to be two humid. Every year they lose their leaves in the Summer to what appears to be a fungus and have to grow new ones, spending all their energy on that rather than getting bigger or bearing nuts.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at March 04, 2023 02:16 PM (yQpMk)

46 43. Thanks

40. Not sure what this is about.

Posted by: CN at March 04, 2023 02:19 PM (Zzbjj)

47 We had icestorm damage, had to empty the pantry. Mrs. E found my last jar of fig preserves. Never had enough yield to can more than six or eight pints. Still tastes perfect after ten years.

Posted by: Eromero at March 04, 2023 02:20 PM (0G42s)

48 sorry, CN. Monty Python flashback.

Posted by: Eromero at March 04, 2023 02:21 PM (0G42s)

49 and I have repotted a pair of what are allegedly American Chestnut trees, yeah, the ones that went extinct a century ago.
Posted by: G'rump928(c)

They weren't extinct. West of the Appalachians there were pockets that trekkers had planted. Two huge ones were at Arbor Day foundation, til the idiots killed them putting in a new water line.
Deer really like the nuts, so there are many places to buy them now.
I have 3 growing.

Posted by: MkY at March 04, 2023 02:23 PM (cPGH3)

50 American chestnuts aren't extinct. They get hit with a blight that kills them but seems to be on the east coast. They aren't native on the west coast but should grow okay. There is a group trying make blight resistant trees.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 04, 2023 02:25 PM (6lj/r)

51 Grumpy, aren't you in Mo?

Posted by: MkY at March 04, 2023 02:28 PM (cPGH3)

52 Daffodils ... up about six inches, has been warm, yellow buds well developed.

Iris by the porch are turning green and also up six inches. I never cut them back and they stayed a little green all winter. Just checked and found peonies just poking through under the leaves. Time to prune the grapes.

Nice spring pics up above ... flowers are good.

Posted by: illiniwek at March 04, 2023 02:28 PM (Cus5s)

53 They weren't extinct. West of the Appalachians there were pockets that trekkers had planted. Two huge ones were at Arbor Day foundation, til the idiots killed them putting in a new water line.
Deer really like the nuts, so there are many places to buy them now.
I have 3 growing.
Posted by: MkY at March 04, 2023 02:23 PM (cPGH3)

50 American chestnuts aren't extinct. They get hit with a blight that kills them but seems to be on the east coast. They aren't native on the west coast but should grow okay. There is a group trying make blight resistant trees.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 04, 2023 02:25 PM (6lj/r)

That is the source of these trees, allegedly. I got them from a potter I know.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at March 04, 2023 02:28 PM (yQpMk)

54 Grumpy, aren't you in Mo?
Posted by: MkY at March 04, 2023 02:28 PM (cPGH3)

Baldwin County on the Gulf Coast. LA, Lower Alabama, as the saying goes. About 30 miles above the Salt Line.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at March 04, 2023 02:29 PM (yQpMk)

55 Baldwin County on the Gulf Coast. LA, Lower Alabama, as the saying goes. About 30 miles above the Salt Line.
Posted by: G'rump928

Got it. I was trying to figure out how you had potatoes half way to harvest.
Don't plant those chestnuts anywhere close to the house. Fruit has a brutal husk.

Posted by: MkY at March 04, 2023 02:32 PM (cPGH3)

56 The grove I found, planted in the 1920s, turned out to be European chestnuts. They weren't interested after that.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 04, 2023 02:33 PM (6lj/r)

57 I think I'm going to order dome elderberries from Starks. I planned to put some in by the alley. I make my own elderberry syrup and would love to have a supply.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 04, 2023 02:37 PM (6lj/r)

58 For a century, potatoes were a main cash crop in Baldwin County. Within living memory, we had railroad lines that pretty much existed to carry off the potato harvest. I know people that worked in the potato sheds as teens during the harvest.

That and pecans were the money crops.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at March 04, 2023 02:37 PM (yQpMk)

59 There's a remarkable story about a particular chestnut tree and Anne Frank. A white horse chestnut was the one bit of nature she could see out of the attic window while her family hid in an attic in Amsterdam for two years. She mentioned it three times in her diary.

Offspring of that tree have been planted around the world, including one on the grounds of the US Capitol building.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at March 04, 2023 02:38 PM (DhOHl)

60 Is a couple of buds on Daffodils, picked up my branches and now it's hot chocolate time. 49 degrees

Posted by: Skip at March 04, 2023 02:38 PM (xhxe8)

61 Always a lovely thread. Thank you.

We've had a gentle winter in the mid-atlantic region but still looking forward to the Spring blooms. Very soon.

WKFarmGirl, worms ARE expensive so good luck raising them. Don't know where you're located but you could have a little business on the side selling to anglers in the future. (I buy many containers of worms for a family pet and, come fishing season, windup in competition with them.)

Posted by: Lola at March 04, 2023 02:39 PM (GshMh)

62 Red wigglers, the Cadillac of worms.
Available in fine worm shops everywhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK2cZssgJzc

Posted by: Dr Johnny Fever at March 04, 2023 02:40 PM (F6Xpw)

63 We are still cleaning up from the storms. I had over 5 inches in my gage in one day.

There was a mud river flowing in my chicken coop. The chickens all stayed up in the raised floor half of the coop so they were safe but it was a muddy mess. I had a 50-75' red oak fall and take out an olive tree and two other pine trees fell.

There was just so much water and the ground was saturated.

Posted by: CaliGirl at March 04, 2023 02:41 PM (oeVy+)

64 Central Iowa here, so no planting outside here yet. Another 6-8 weeks before it's safe from frost.

I have tomato and pepper seeds that I plan to start indoors next week. Heirloom tomatoes and weird shaped hot and ornamental peppers. Including one tomato that's supposed to be fuzzy, like a peach.

Posted by: a.moron at March 04, 2023 02:45 PM (F6Xpw)

65 Is a couple of buds on Daffodils, picked up my branches and now it's hot chocolate time. 49 degrees
Posted by: Skip

And WINDY !

Posted by: JT at March 04, 2023 02:48 PM (T4tVD)

66 Reporting in from the 321 (central florida, space coast) -
Spring came upon us last or two ago, might have it another week or two before summer hits. 85 in the shade.
Had to get into attic last night to relocate thermostat line from exterior right next to kitchen door to garage to far side of living on an interior wall. That door is the most used exterior door and every time it is opened the AC kicks on.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at March 04, 2023 02:49 PM (dKTH7)

67 Dr Jonny Fever @ 62- red wigglers
We haven't had a compost pile invyears but still have red wigglers. I rescued one from under my truck at 0500 yesterday morning big around as my finger(anybody knows me says I got gorilla hands). This worm dude/dudette was almost a foot long. Could have hooked MobyDick with it.

Posted by: Eromero at March 04, 2023 02:59 PM (0G42s)

68 I guess the wind blew the Pet Thread away !

Posted by: JT at March 04, 2023 03:02 PM (T4tVD)

69 The grocery store had potato and onion starts! I was in the produce section, looked down and saw buckets of them. I did get a few to try the potatoes in boxes thing. It's supposed to be 70 here tomorrow so will try and clean up the yard a bit.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 04, 2023 03:02 PM (6lj/r)

70 Very pretty pictures!

We had snow here in Apache Junction this week.
I'm glad I didn't plant any tomatoes!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 04, 2023 03:06 PM (lCP9Y)

71 We are still cleaning up from the storms. I had over 5 inches in my gage in one day.

There was a mud river flowing in my chicken coop. The chickens all stayed up in the raised floor half of the coop so they were safe but it was a muddy mess. I had a 50-75' red oak fall and take out an olive tree and two other pine trees fell.

There was just so much water and the ground was saturated.
Posted by: CaliGirl

Last Friday I flew into Fresno to stay with family in Lemoore for a birthday party in Porterville.
You definitely had a bunch of rain!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 04, 2023 03:08 PM (lCP9Y)

72 Poppies and Lupine blooming on the property (we didn't plant them).
I'll take the better half out for a drive on Monday or Tuesday to see wildflowers. The weekly storms we've had here will have supercharged the desert blooms.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 04, 2023 03:11 PM (lCP9Y)

73 I have never had trouble getting worms in my compost bins, we have them all over here. I heard one of the better ways to buy the red wigglers is to get them from the local stores that sell fishing worms. Probably were grown locally

Posted by: Kindltot at March 04, 2023 03:12 PM (xhaym)

74
I'm pretty pissed off right now because we had a little bit of an Indian summer last month that got my cherry blossom tree to start going off, and then a big windstorm yesterday that damaged all the flowers. I hope it's not too late for it to bounce back

First year I've had one, so I don't know.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 04, 2023 03:21 PM (oINRc)

75 JT at March 04, 2023 03:02 PM

Look again.

Posted by: KT at March 04, 2023 03:22 PM (rrtZS)

76 got my cherry blossom tree to start going off,

wut the kidz call it now

Posted by: REDACTED at March 04, 2023 03:28 PM (us2H3)

77 >> 11 I love that iris !

Great shot, Don in Kansas. If you told me the irises would bloom in Kansas before California, I would not have believed you, but here we are.

Posted by: 40 Miles North at March 04, 2023 03:31 PM (uWF4x)

78 Hey Kindltot, I am hoping to NOT get the maggots, but we shall see. I did try to get the worms at a local "bait" shop. Really just a gas station that is sort of near a lake, but all they had were earthworms, which do alright in the cooler months but aren't good for here when it gets really hot. The red wigglers tolerate heat better so that is why I went to the garden shop to get them. I did put some earthworms in as well because, why not and they were cheap. My first feeding is tomorrow so I will see if they have been busy working or not.

Posted by: WeeKreekFarmGirl at March 04, 2023 03:33 PM (M8plP)

79 I hope none of our lot lives in San Bernandino Cty, CA.

Posted by: exdem13 at March 04, 2023 03:39 PM (W+kMI)

80 68 I guess the wind blew the Pet Thread away !
========
That wind could blow away several moles living around here. The cicaida plague a couple of years back blew up the mole population again, and the little earthmovers have been making pests of themselves any time the weather surged a few degrees above freezing.

Posted by: exdem13 at March 04, 2023 03:42 PM (W+kMI)

81 Here in south Texas, we’re pulling up our winter garden (broccoli, cauliflower, lots of carrots, and a few radishes) so we can prepare for a short spring season (tomatoes, pickle cucumbers, cantaloupe, and jalapeños).

Other than the peppers, nothing much will live past mid-June. We spend the summer keeping the weeds down before planting the winter garden at the end of October.

Posted by: Advo at March 04, 2023 03:46 PM (VHN21)

82 If the size and number of plants in our yard are any indication, it's going to be a good year for bluebonnets in our part of central Texas this year.

We have several blooms already.

And we heard migrating snow geese above today. Looks like an early spring around here.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at March 04, 2023 03:52 PM (fTtFy)

83 WeeKreekGirl, Arizona Worm Farm in southwest Phoenix is an alternative source for your red wrigglers. But you'll probably never need to buy any again. My garden is full of weeds and the scuffle hoe is not sufficient for the ones with the deeper tap roots. I chop them and they're six inches tall four days later.

But there's snow on the Superstitions, the Four Peaks are completely white, the desert is green, green, green. A few saguaros blew over, but if you can manage to lift them, they can be replanted and braced. An 18-foot saguaro can weigh 4000 pounds.

We didn't get as much rain as Caligirl, but there's been enough that my water and power company, the Salt River Project, is actually going to let water flow into the river bed in Phoenix. They know it will disappear into the sand, but the point is to recharge the aquifer.

Posted by: Gordon Scott at March 04, 2023 04:19 PM (4HyR7)

84 Hi Gordon, I have been to the worm farm before to get a truck full of compost. It is pretty far away from me so I went to the fancy garden store instead to save a little time.

Posted by: WeeKreekFarmGirl at March 04, 2023 05:34 PM (M8plP)

85 From Boise area: Lows 23-30 F, highs 39-52. Snowed Mon. and Tues. evenings, and some days had drizzle.

We're cutting leaves or ornamental grass and Siberian Iris before they sprout, topping up trash with leaves from the drains. Watching the crocus and hyacinth sprouts slowly emerge - crocus are 2 inches tall now. They were new last fall so I can hardly wait to see their show!

I planted 6 poblano peppers, 6 beefsteak tomatoes, and 3 each Roma and San Marzano tomatoes in some old 6-pack containers. Decided to do it on the day Venus and Jupiter were closest together, and the Moon was waxing - sounded like an auspicious day to do it.

Posted by: Pat* at March 04, 2023 10:14 PM (5hYlu)

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