The 2019 Garden, Landscape, and Other Stuff Thread...

OH no!
I like measuring and gaging (rulers, calipers, micrometers, dial indicators, and more--and tracking data) BUT I don't have of those! or a rain gauge. I'm not sure if either will be an easy sell around here.
22-rimfire 22-rimfire I agree that I like something more accurate, too. If I'm going to bother to measure...so, I'll take a look. Thanks for the tip.

LEGION 12 LEGION 12 what is the make on that meter? I want to look up the units, range, calibration, etc. Could you give an example of how you use it and how you interpret/use the data?
 
OH no!
I like measuring and gaging (rulers, calipers, micrometers, dial indicators, and more--and tracking data) BUT I don't have of those! or a rain gauge. I'm not sure if either will be an easy sell around here.
22-rimfire 22-rimfire I agree that I like something more accurate, too. If I'm going to bother to measure...so, I'll take a look. Thanks for the tip.

LEGION 12 LEGION 12 what is the make on that meter? I want to look up the units, range, calibration, etc. Could you give an example of how you use it and how you interpret/use the data?
Look at Wind & Weather web site and search rain gauges. Mine is the large cylinder one (STRATUS). They are sold other places. It measures to 0.01" precision.

Those moisture meters are pretty inexpensive. I wonder how accurate they are? I searched on Three Way moisture meters and about $10 give or take.
 
OH no!
I like measuring and gaging (rulers, calipers, micrometers, dial indicators, and more--and tracking data) BUT I don't have of those! or a rain gauge. I'm not sure if either will be an easy sell around here.
22-rimfire 22-rimfire I agree that I like something more accurate, too. If I'm going to bother to measure...so, I'll take a look. Thanks for the tip.

LEGION 12 LEGION 12 what is the make on that meter? I want to look up the units, range, calibration, etc. Could you give an example of how you use it and how you interpret/use the data?
Haven't used for PH or light got it after I planted . I've only used the moisture meter seem to be pretty accurate .
 
Busby Central is full of colour for her visits. Pretty sure it is the little girl hummingbird returning. The petunia patch, under which she was found last September, has come up from seed again this year. She hangs around the bee balm. Foreground gaillardia (tall ones), then geranium pot (red on left) and nasturtium planters full ... then bee balm.

DSCF6378 LAWN JUNGLE GAILLARDIA 2 650 MED.jpg


No pollinators were eaten during this filming :D

DSCF6370 WHITE SPIDER GAILLARDIA 650 MED.jpg


First of 50 gladiolas to begin flowering along with cosmos in the new dig between the wild and the 'semi under control' lawn

DSCF6316 FIRST GLADIOLA COSMO BEE BALM 650 MED.jpg

I definitely had to stake the hollyhocks/bee balm and after this evenings rather violent wind and rain storm there will be some individual repairs needed for sure. Happy to see some water from the sky! Bee balm is a shock of red on the eye.

DSCF6354 BEE BALM FLOWERS 650 MED.jpg

Black currants (edited to correct spelling) are so plentiful and bursting with that 'spruce' flavour. Tomatoes are coming along - Daisy walks past them on the porch and does a double take when her nose lets her know. Good-dog fencing is in the works :rolleyes:

I use a moisture meter as well (exactly like LEGION 12's) - mostly for the begonias because the corms will rot with over watering. That's also why I shield them from the rain at all times so the watering can be completely controlled. Very accurate when reading taken at the root for moisture.

Happy gardening all :thumbsup:
 
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taldesta taldesta Stunning pictures and your flowers look fabulous! Do you stake up your glads? Everything seems to grow for you.

Maybe I need to pick up a moisture meter. I pretty much just wing it.
 
Thanks 22-rimfire 22-rimfire

All the planters and expanded garden areas have reduced the front lawn to a minimum that I can mow with a reel mower - yes, not an easy way for me ... but nice and quiet. There is more lawn than that one pic shows because the camera is held low and that compressed the look of colourful blooms. Yet, I have the oasis I was shooting for and can more easily ignore the wild areas that I cannot manage well.

I don't know if I will have to stake the glads or not. At one end of that new dig, the glads are almost twice the height compared to the half closest to the house. I suspect that the house area has been backfilled with more granular, faster draining soil and water retention causes the difference. Soil amendment needed - perhaps this fall when I lift the glad bulbs.

That wind last evening tried to lay the red hollyhocks low and those will need very tall stakes so they can finish off their season without snapping off midway on the 'trunk'. The four foot stakes strung with cord isn't working well for these tall guys.

My garden guru says that with the moisture meters it is important to insert to the root level and read it there, not after pulling it up. It is a temptation to bring it to eye level to read rather than stoop to read it in the pot - well, for me at least it is :D

My best trick to growing is to not post pics of my multitude of failures :eek:
 
A mystery plant found among the glads and cosmos - as kindly identified by annr :) (thank you!) - turns out to be:

Solanum rostratum (Buffalo Bur Nightshade)

Physiology and Phenology
S. rostratum takes less than a year to become productive; in North America the species germinates in autumn, grows in winter and flowers in late spring and summer (CSU, 2014), The species can reportedly reach reproductive maturity within 4-6 weeks of germination (Vallejo-Marin, 2014). It reproduces by seeds, which its dehiscent fruits propel upon drying and bursting (Whalen, 1979). Each plant can produce 40-80 berries (PBI Solanum Project, 2014), and individual plants have been recorded to produce over 78,000 seeds (Lin and Tan, 2007).

... is listed in the FDA Poisonous Plant Database (FDA, 2014).

One toxic and nasty plant as it turns out. Likely it came to life when this new garden was turned up this spring. It's new to me and the only one I've seen so far. Control is called for.

DSCF6398 WEED ID SOLANUM ROSTRATUM 650 MED.jpg
 
Nightshade likes areas that are not disturbed but were previously disturbed.... like an old corn field or garden that has remained fallow for a couple years where you often can see many of the plants growing. Yeah, they're poisonous. I would just cut it off and put in with the garbage and dig the roots out. I don't know if they would survive just being cut off, but if you don't want it around, I'd dig it especially if it is just a few plants.
 
Congratulations. I believe that I mentioned earlier that I yanked two of my spent tomato plants and replaced them with two new plants in my large containers. I don't know if I'll see ripe fruit, but it will be fun none the less. Depending on where you are (geographically and average first frost date), if you are going to try a second tomato crop, it's time to get fresh plants and get them in the ground.

I ordered one of those soil moisture meters. Sounds like fun to use and who knows, it may be useful. ;)

I have just a couple tomatoes ripe or about ripe at the moment. Seems to be a bit of a hiatus. My sister visited me last Friday and cleaned me out of ripe tomatoes. That's okay. She picked up two new Dachshunds to replace the two that her son took with him in July when he moved a 1,000 miles away. One is a tiny puppy (just weaned) and the other is 10 months old that the breeder just had and the pup needed a good home. The older pup was returned to them because the owner couldn't take care of the dog. So, they did the best thing and returned to the breeder who has contacts. They should liven up my Sister and Husband's lives again as they were missing the two that departed.

We have been eating garden grown tomatoes since the last week of May. Things usually peter out in August here. We have been lucky this year with tomatoes. We have had a continual ripening of fruit without being totally overwhelmed with numbers where you waste a lot. This is making up for last year which was terrible.

I started out in terms of ripening with a medium to small tomatoes (in container and called Patio). They ripened in numbers and each tomato was about all that was needed for a sandwich without waste. The other plants were growing and maturing with larger fruit. They have been ripening in the last couple of weeks. The earliest ripening plants are gone now and replaced with new plants. I guess you could say that things worked out pretty well this year in terms of staging ripe fruit.

I'm hoping the two new tomato plants do okay. They just started to blossom. I avoided buying the really big plants that already had fruit on them. I guess the next garden project will be onions in the new containers probably in a month or so.
 
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22-rimfire 22-rimfire
I like your tomato story, yum (ours seem okay so far—lots of new ones).
How’s the moisture meter working out? Any discoveries?
 
22-rimfire 22-rimfire
I like your tomato story, yum (ours seem okay so far—lots of new ones).
How’s the moisture meter working out? Any discoveries?
I won't get the soil moisture meter until late next week as I ordered in through Home Depot with free store delivery. So, it takes about a week. I wasn't in any big hurry to receive it.

This plant needs water .
I am looking forward to playing with the moisture meter when I get it.
 
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