The 2020 Garden, Landscape, and Other Stuff Thread...

[taldesta]

It's the hybrid varieties that the seeds are not true. I think you can collect seeds from what they call heirloom tomatoes and replant. Yes to lots of volunteer tomato plants. I generally yank them. They never really do very well if you let them grow.

Good info (my post edited to read "can't") ... yes, I am always thinking of heirloom varieties ... well just because I like time tested survivors (with taste) in the garden. Wait, am I becoming my grandparents

 

[eisman]

Well it's rained every day since Christmas, and everything is green, even the concrete. But all the perennials are breaking ground. Tulips are up, daffodils are 6-8" tall, and the trees are either showing new growth (evergreens) or buds for the coming warm weather. Camellias are starting to bloom and the so are the Pieris, which is good as it gives the hummingbirds something other than sugar water to sip.

 

[22-rimfire]

I think most of my cauliflower heads are done for. I thought I saw them moving back to a white color from brown, but I don't think that's going to happen. I would be afraid to eat them like this. I'm going to cut off the really brown ones and leave the ones that are "less brown" for now and wait and see.

 

[22-rimfire]

Punxsutawney Phil (groundhog) predicted an early Spring today. I have a lot of tulips and daffodils poking out of the ground now. It is a really warm day here today (~65*F) and feels like Spring. It is the nicest day in weeks with overcast skies being the dominant pattern which is a winter pattern mostly.

 

[eisman]

Yesterday it rained again; well, actually it's been raining off and on since Christmas. Today is the first day this year without rain. Yesterday the saturation point had passed "Full". I even had water around the fire pit, and the ground kind of "squished".

Last night we had frost, and today, sunshine. First time this year. My daffodils are blooming...

 

[22-rimfire]

eisman Looks wet. We're probably a couple weeks away from blooming daffodils. If it turns particularly cold, things will slow down. I feel sure somebody around here will have them blooming shortly, but it won't be me as mine are a late blooming variety.

 

[taldesta]

Yesterday it rained again; well, actually it's been raining off and on since Christmas. Today is the first day this year without rain. Yesterday the saturation point had passed "Full". I even had water around the fire pit, and the ground kind of "squished".

Last night we had frost, and today, sunshine. First time this year. My daffodils are blooming...

eisman I truly enjoy pics that 'back up' like this to show the enjoyment of garden areas . As one who enjoys and depends on fire for heat over winter, I envy our access to what appears to me to be cedar offcuts. ? are they ? There's nothing I prefer over having a seasoned cedar 'round' under the hatchet for fire-starting tinder under the hardwood I use to heat over winter.

Have to love daffodils in February for Pete's sake! February.

 

[taldesta]

Punxsutawney Phil (groundhog) predicted an early Spring today. I have a lot of tulips and daffodils poking out of the ground now. It is a really warm day here today (~65*F) and feels like Spring. It is the nicest day in weeks with overcast skies being the dominant pattern which is a winter pattern mostly.

Wiarton Willie, Shubenacadie Sam disagree about start of Spring - the news from Canada (Ontario and Nova Scotia). WW agrees with PP, SS disagrees. That's groundhog politics - oops, hope I don't get banned for this post

We are hovering around the freezing mark. Sloppy snow, making the laneway a trick to exit downhill, a guess to get back in uphill. This is not winter, It is February in name only - supposedly the coldest, darkest, most dreary month of winter for us.

Inside, in the south facing windows: Everything wants more sunshine - even the solar powered night-light.

Coleus cuttings



ETA: Delphinium (I believe & not Caragana) from seed



Chenille (Red Hot Cattails) blooming in face of hog bookend



Basil seedlings waiting for tomato season ...

 

[22-rimfire]

taldesta Did you plant your Basil from seeds collected from last year's plants or store bought seeds? I have one Coleus growing from cuttings taken last fall (several others crooked). It looks like your's, but has the small leaves. I sometimes have Sweet Basil that comes up in the pot I had the plant in last year. But I often just buy a new small plant from the nursery after things warm up. I used to have a couple plants, but I find that I seldom use the leaves and mostly grow it so I can sniff the leaves from time to time. I do the same thing with peppermint and spearmint although I on occasion add a leaf or two to my iced tea brew.

It is amazing how a couple warm days rejuvenate the pansies. They are subdued in colder weather and quickly react to warmer days with fresh looking blooms.

I feel sure it will get colder again soon, but a couple weeks of this and I'll probably mow the grass. I normally mow my grass in late February for the first time to even things up.

I still have my celery.... been babying it.

 

[LEGION 12]

Last of my onions from last summer made into bakon buns .

 

[taldesta]

22-rimfire Basil is from new package of seeds. Mostly I deadhead every bloom in the garden - my morning routine - so haven't saved any basil. But should try doing that.

Yeah ... the scents of basil ... and thyme crushed, and the basil leaves eaten with tomatoes. BTW I've found a brand of tomato that is very tasty even in winter. Described as 'cocktail tomatoes' because of size (approx' 2" diameter). Greenhouse grown in Ontario, smaller size, premium taste - and the description is true. Finally

I'm sure now that I've misidentified 'caragana' in my last post - I'll confirm with an edit but I believe this may be a delphinium seed that waited to take until after I had given up and repurposed the pot to caragana seeds (that didn't take yet?). Ah, the grief, the glory of gardening as I quote my gardening guru ... not to forget the confusion. Ha.

Enjoy the grass ...

 

[taldesta]

Last of my onions from last summer made into bakon buns .

Still cookin' I see ... and it's looking darn good at that!

 

[22-rimfire]

22-rimfire .... Ah, the grief, the glory of gardening as I quote my gardening guru ... not to forget the confusion. Ha.

Enjoy the grass ...

I cut off the blossoms routinely on by Basil with grass clippers. I'm not real careful about my "grooming".

Grief I understand.... I had such big hopes for my container grown onion sets I planted in the fall. I put in a lot of the little bulbs only to have ONE come up. Depressing after so much planning and effort. But I am going to plant that container full in about a month or so with new onions. Debating whether to trash the soil (store bought) and start over this spring.

I do enjoy the grass so to speak. I don't think I'm anal about it like some who want essentially a golf green in their front yard.

 

[22-rimfire]

Back to more seasonable temperatures after a cold front passed through. With it came a lot of rain (~4.4 inches) over two days. We are having snow flurries this morning with temps just above freezing. Surprised they didn't call off schools. So, there is some flooding going on at the moment in the area. They actually called off schools yesterday for road flooding and the flu. I don't live in a flood prone spot.

Another two or three weeks and it should be time to plant cold season garden items.

 

[eisman]

what appears to me to be cedar offcuts. ? are they ?

Yes; I have all the cutoffs from my fence building last summer still in the woodpile. Along with trimming from the trees in the yard and some of the old fence. I still have about 20' of the old fence stacked somewhere else waiting to be cut up for this summer. I should have put a cover over the wood, but didn't. Now it's too late; with all the rain I'm going to have to wait to have dry stuff for fires. But if I tarp it now it'll be moldy.

It's still raining; hard tonight with wind. They have been posting flood warnings both north and south of me. South there's a couple bridges out and roads too. I had to go up north and pick up some stuff today and snapped this out the window. It's the Green River (a couple miles from where the killer operated), and high as I've ever seen it. I used to ride that bike path (under the bridge) back and forth to work. Apparently it's got water standing on it too.

 

[22-rimfire]

Snowing here this morning.... yep, real snow. The weather forecasters missed it a bit... said 1/2"; we're at over 2" and still coming down. Measured 3-3.5" at the moment. Grass is mostly covered now in the yard with a few taller grass sprigs poking out. Been checking the highway cams. Not a good morning to be on the highways. Interstates are all backed up in places. The snow is supposed to turn to rain later in the morning and begin the melt. Our cats are not liking the snow. This is the first snow last year's kittens have seen.

TVA is moving a lot of water through their dams right now (160-180K cubic feet per second) in my area and a lot more down stream. They are predicting another big rain this coming week (inches), so they are letting go a lot of water which creates minor flood conditions in the lower lying areas along the Tennessee River.

Added @4:00 PM; The snow is mostly melted except in shady spots now.

 

[22-rimfire]

A couple cardinal pictures of them hitting my feeders in the back yard. With the snow, the feeders were very busy. These pictures were taken with them perched on a dogwood behind the feeders. Both are cropped somewhat. Hope you enjoy.

I basically had my camera supported on the door frame with the door partially open versus using any kind of tripod or other support. I still need to get used to where the camera focuses.

 

[taldesta]

A couple cardinal pictures of them hitting my feeders in the back yard.

Absolutely stunning !

 

[22-rimfire]

Absolutely stunning !

I thank you for the comment, but I need to do better.

I mentioned focus issues and my brother who takes lots of bird pictures suggested I choose different focus points (head, body, general, and so forth) and take more than a couple shots trying to get things in their best focus if you have time. The camera kept focusing on the branch beneath the birds but I can't tell that until I look at the pictures. At the distances involved, I can do no better manually and it's just a guess. He also said to pay attention to the shutter speed if you are hand holding the camera which I already know, but it is easy just to accept what the camera gives you and snap away.

I really don't know my birds other than the common ones. I don't see all of a sudden going out specifically on hikes and so forth just looking for birds. But you never know and I'll just have to see how this type of photography develops for me.

I do see that you need to practice a bit with the bigger lenses as their use is not like some of the shorter telephoto lenses. So, maybe trying to take pictures of birds will give me good practice for more warm weather pursuits that I generally favor. I do want to make some effort to photograph Bald Eagles, but they aren't real common in my area. There are some places where they are routinely seen however and I need to visit a couple of those locations.

 

[taldesta]

Focus is a challenge for me also with the dslr. even with just a zoom lens ... but the male cardinal pic is a knockout. I know that birds don't sit and pose for long! There's always a time urgency about bird pics. To get up close, the long lens is such a help but of course they take in less light ... so bigger aperture and less depth of field at a given shutter speed ... and it's hard for me to gauge the focus on the subject as I look into the viewer. So it's between a rock and a hard place - fast shutter speed to stop action opens the aperture = less depth of field. I am open to being corrected on this - I forgot most of what I used to know from my trusty old film and slide cameras. I miss the depth of field preview button! I do recall that I would opt for underexposed shots that had good focus and stopped action ... and correct for exposure in the darkroom.

Maybe over in the photo forum might have some suggestions. I can't follow that forum on dialup as it is pic heavy. Unless you are shooting for action with a long lens I would try going aperture priority ... and stalk relaxed birds