2025 Gardening thread, whatcha growing or doing in the yard

[TEOTWAWKI inc.]

I just finished installing drip irrigation for all of the in-ground fruit trees. Still need to run a permanent water line to the garden and greenhouse area, but for now I can just turn on the house and go do something else for a little while.

Ordered some fairly rare apple trees. One of them was known to be grown by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. In a few years I'll start crossing them in an effort to patent my own varieties. The genetics are non-existent in modern apples, but they sound like they would have some very desirable characteristics.

That will be awesome to see what can survive all winter. I can tell you the snow just melted off my raised beds and my spinach looks like it survived the winter. I’d add spinach into the mix for your winter planting in there. It will be great just to have a place to be out of the wind and rain when it is cold outside.

Snow, lol.

 

[Saltwater60]

I just finished installing drip irrigation for all of the in-ground fruit trees. Still need to run a permanent water line to the garden and greenhouse area, but for now I can just turn on the house and go do something else for a little while.

Ordered some fairly rare apple trees. One of them was known to be grown by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. In a few years I'll start crossing them in an effort to patent my own varieties. The genetics are non-existent in modern apples, but they sound like they would have some very desirable characteristics.


Snow, lol.

Crossing apples is tough work and I would reach out to someone with knowledge on how to get what you want. Sounds like a real fun project and made me think of this article. The Modern-Day Johnny Appleseed

 

[GTN]

Still to cold to do much so I’ve been making platforms to hold my containers, bought a cattle panel for trellis, trying to learn about plant layouts, started making a 3 bay compost bin and sowing seeds indoors. My snow peas and kale are doing great but spinach, sweet peppers are not. Just planted lettuce and mint for mojitos last night

 

[Saltwater60]

Still to cold to do much so I’ve been making platforms to hold my containers, bought a cattle panel for trellis, trying to learn about plant layouts, started making a 3 bay compost bin and sowing seeds indoors. My snow peas and kale are doing great but spinach, sweet peppers are not. Just planted lettuce and mint for mojitos last night

Sweet peppers are slow to germinate and I did way better direct sowing spinach. Spinach has a long tap root. Peppers took me 2-3 weeks to germinate. They are now showing their second set of leaves.

 

[stokes]

Since we're talking trees, when is the best time of year to do major trimming? Looking at a huge maple tree and smallish mullberry. The mullberry will also need a root cut. The tree is about 6 ft from my blacktop driveway and the root is going under and lifting the pavement, causing a crack in the blacktop. Is it safe to just cut the root from the main tree?

 

[Saltwater60]

Since we're talking trees, when is the best time of year to do major trimming? Looking at a huge maple tree and smallish mullberry. The mullberry will also need a root cut. The tree is about 6 ft from my blacktop driveway and the root is going under and lifting the pavement, causing a crack in the blacktop. Is it safe to just cut the root from the main tree?

Before bud break and the sap starts flowing well. I’d do it asap.

 

[stokes]

Before bud break and the sap starts flowing well. I’d do it asap.

Thats what I thought, thanks.

 

[TEOTWAWKI inc.]

I signed up for Free Wood Chip Mulch from ChipDrop Hopefully at least one tree service in my area is a member.

We could find a use for, literally, mountains of wood chips. I would take 1,000 cubic yards right now without thinking twice.

 

[Saltwater60]

I signed up for Free Wood Chip Mulch from ChipDrop Hopefully at least one tree service in my area is a member.

We could find a use for, literally, mountains of wood chips. I would take 1,000 cubic yards right now without thinking twice.

I’ll need some this spring since I’m going to get the wine cap mushroom this year for my wife and kids. I don’t like mushrooms but I’m excited to try something new.

 

[TEOTWAWKI inc.]

Tilled where the greenhouse is gonna go, and a few rows of the garden. The rare apple trees were just delivered. Need to figure out where I'm planting them.

 

[GTN]

Getting the garden laid out.
1st photo is what I had and will have again. Other photos are of area being added on.
Tomorrow the trellises will be going in. I’ll pick up dirt Friday so I’m ready to go when the time for the seedlings is right. Then I’ll cover the black plastic with wood chips.
I need to figure out a boarder to keep the chips in and make it easy when cutting the grass

 

[Saltwater60]

Getting the garden laid out.
1st photo is what I had and will have again. Other photos are of area being added on.
Tomorrow the trellises will be going in. I’ll pick up dirt Friday so I’m ready to go when the time for the seedlings is right. Then I’ll cover the black plastic with wood chips.
I need to figure out a boarder to keep the chips in and make it easy when cutting the grass

Nice and I like it. For the boarder I would trench it, add 3-4 inches of paver base, 1 inch of sand and then put bricks there. Add landscaping fabric in the hole prior to adding the stone and sand. Then put whatever pavers you want there. This way the rocks won’t sink into the ground and if they shift a bit they are easy to pick up and relevel.

 

[TEOTWAWKI inc.]

Planted more trees. Hopefully that's it for the season. 26 in the ground - Esopus Spitzenburg, Victoria Limbertwig, Red Rebel, and American Summer Pearmain (apples) were the latest addition.

 

[Saltwater60]

Planted more trees. Hopefully that's it for the season. 26 in the ground - Esopus Spitzenburg, Victoria Limbertwig, Red Rebel, and American Summer Pearmain (apples) were the latest addition.

Sounds like fun. Now the waiting game to get the goods out of them. Make sure you look up how to control pests and disease in them. Apple trees need a lot of inputs to stay disease free.

 

[Saltwater60]

Holy crap it’s warm today and should get the ground thawed and get things going. Nice and sunny here too. My pomegranate has started breaking its buds. I hope I get some fruit from that and my fig this year.

 

[S&W Fan]

I’m looking forward to getting some figs this year too. I’ve got two fig trees growing that have been in the ground now for two years. Fig tree are slow growers but should yield a few figs in their 2nd to 3rd year

 

[Saltwater60]

I’m looking forward to getting some figs this year too. I’ve got two fig trees growing that have been in the ground now for two years. Fig tree are slow growers but should yield a few figs in their 2nd to 3rd year

Mine grew like crazy last year. I started it early in my basement with my heat pad and lights. It got off to a great start and then grew 2+ foot and added about 8 branches. I kept pruning out the middle to prevent it from getting a fungus. I’m hoping to get a few this year but we will see. It’s on the young side but hoping.

 

[Old Jalopy]

I'm really hoping for my wife's sake we have a normal weather set for the spring. Year before last, we planted a bunch of vegetables and then got some late frosts and almost everything died. Replanted with already growing plants, but they didn't do well, and it wasn't the same as starting from the seeds you harvested from years past crops.

 

[TEOTWAWKI inc.]

Ordered bees from a guy at work. Never kept bees before. Looks like it will be about $1000 for everything to get started.

 

[Saltwater60]

Ordered bees from a guy at work. Never kept bees before. Looks like it will be about $1000 for everything to get started.

Awesome. I love this. I wanted bees but I did an internship with a nursery that had them and I found out I’m slightly allergic so it’s not worth the risk.

 

[Robin]

I'm allergic to the point that had the Army known, I would have gotten a deferment. I did keep bees for a couple years though, I had a bee proof suit, all in all it was pretty cool.
Robin

 

[TEOTWAWKI inc.]

Just got confirmation on my grapes. 150 vines shipping on 3/31.

 

[Saltwater60]

I

I'm allergic to the point that had the Army known, I would have gotten a deferment. I did keep bees for a couple years though, I had a bee proof suit, all in all it was pretty cool.
Robin

I thought about doing it anyway but there’s a lot to it and I’m limited on time and space. My mother is like deadly allergic where she carries epi pens and steroids to take if she gets stung. Her body blows up like a watermelon if she gets stung.

 

[TEOTWAWKI inc.]

I think it would take many years of beekeeping for me to not treat every interaction with them like ordnance disposal. Bees are pretty cool though.

 

[GTN]

My reactions to bee, wasp, hornet stings seems to be getting worse with every encounter. Last fall a honey bee got me bad. Leg was all swollen up and red. I’ve already been stung by a hornet last month. Had a forearm that looked like Popeyes.
Dr still says not bad enough for a epipen

 

[Saltwater60]

My reactions to bee, wasp, hornet stings seems to be getting worse with every encounter. Last fall a honey bee got me bad. Leg was all swollen up and red. I’ve already been stung by a hornet last months. Had a forearm that looked like Popeyes.
Dr still says not bad enough for a epipen

I think it depends on how they get you. My reaction was from me taking off the bee suit and I got stung by three at one time. I basically squished them into my arm taking it off so it was a deep sting.

 

[Robin]

My reactions to bee, wasp, hornet stings seems to be getting worse with every encounter. Last fall a honey bee got me bad. Leg was all swollen up and red. I’ve already been stung by a hornet last month. Had a forearm that looked like Popeyes.
Dr still says not bad enough for a epipen

The last sting I got the Doctor told me that unlike many allergic reactions that ease up with time and exposure, bee stings get worse with age and the number of exposures.
Robin

 

[Saltwater60]

Heading home today from a quick vacation and I hope my seedling tender did a good job or I’ll be sad.

 

[Saltwater60]

Heading home today from a quick vacation and I hope my seedling tender did a good job or I’ll be sad.

They did not do a good job. Dry as a bone and some dropped over, dead, and shriveled up. It’s not that hard. I had already watered the trays so they don’t look dry but they were so dry the soil contracted from the edge of the seed trays about 1/8” or more. Not to mention when they turned the trays they lifted the seed cells out of the labeled tray and rotated them so now I’m not sure what is what or what will germinate.
To be fair most look ok but it’s not hard to call me or just water them. I said not to let them get dry, dry but to dry out a bit just on top.

 

[stokes]

They did not do a good job.

Shoulda had them send you an email explaining what they did for the last week, then fire them