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2021 Mid-Atlantic Garden, Lawn, and Other Green Stuff Thread


mattie g
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28 minutes ago, poolz1 said:

First winter with trying out the hoop house method.  Results have been much better than expected....although, the mildish winter has helped.  

Been able to harvest all fall/winter.  Spinach, kale, arugula, cilantro, parsley and some asian greens.  Thai basil didnt make it after one of our colder nights back in Dec.

Im still snow hunting but the spring juices are starting flow... Took this pic a few days ago.

 

I’ll stop by on the way to Deep Creek this weekend to pick up some kale and spinach.  Thanks!  :D

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On 1/25/2021 at 3:22 PM, mattie g said:

Decided to drop a few basil, cilantro, and parsley seeds into seed cells and throw them under the grow light a few days ago. Couldn't help myself - I'm already itching to get things started.

All fours cells (two basil, one parsley, one cilantro) have germinated and are growing nicely by now. Parsley is about 3" tall with the first true leaves showing, cilantro sprouted later and is still just cotyledons, while the basil also has true leaves and are about 1.5" tall.

Split nine jalapeno seeds across two cells on Sunday, and will be sowing all five of my tomato varieties this weekend.

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I love spring, and among many reasons why I love it, the most important is that I can take care of the lawn. I mean, it is my favorite activity, and I can afford to hire a gardener that would take care of my lawn, but I just like to do it by myself. Honestly, I don't like to brag, but I have a great lawn, and I don't step on it at all. Before, it was a problem to water the lawn, but thankfully I stumbled on this site https://www.growgardener.com/best-soaker-hose-for-perfect-watering-solution/, and now, I know a few ways to water the lawn without stepping on it.

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2 hours ago, Gelavis said:

I love spring, and among many reasons why I love it, the most important is that I can take care of the lawn. I mean, it is my favorite activity, and I can afford to hire a gardener that would take care of my lawn, but I just like to do it by myself. Honestly, I don't like to brag, but I have a great lawn, and I don't step on it at all. Before, it was a problem to water the lawn, but thankfully I stumbled on this site https://www.growgardener.com/best-soaker-hose-for-perfect-watering-solution/, and now, I know a few ways to water the lawn without stepping on it.

We expect pictures this summer!

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What are people's favorite places to order seeds online? I know a bunch of popular ones but interested in personal opinions. Used to grow more veg but mostly do tomatoes and basil, a few peppers and cucumbers, and focus more on flowers that attract/help out butterflies, hummingbirds, pollinators...Kind of a casual gardener, no grow lights, just start seeds in SW facing window and always a bit late, just getting started :lol:

 

IMG_3235.thumb.jpg.2147a433f6d4d8f71b341a699431b230.jpg

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1 hour ago, Kay said:

What are people's favorite places to order seeds online? I know a bunch of popular ones but interested in personal opinions. Used to grow more veg but mostly do tomatoes and basil, a few peppers and cucumbers, and focus more on flowers that attract/help out butterflies, hummingbirds, pollinators...Kind of a casual gardener, no grow lights, just start seeds in SW facing window and always a bit late, just getting started :lol:

 

IMG_3235.thumb.jpg.2147a433f6d4d8f71b341a699431b230.jpg

We like https://www.rareseeds.com/ for seeds. Used them for years now with great success.

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1 hour ago, Kay said:

What are people's favorite places to order seeds online? I know a bunch of popular ones but interested in personal opinions. Used to grow more veg but mostly do tomatoes and basil, a few peppers and cucumbers, and focus more on flowers that attract/help out butterflies, hummingbirds, pollinators...Kind of a casual gardener, no grow lights, just start seeds in SW facing window and always a bit late, just getting started :lol:

 

IMG_3235.thumb.jpg.2147a433f6d4d8f71b341a699431b230.jpg

I like Johnny's Seeds: https://www.johnnyseeds.com/ 

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1 hour ago, Lucketts said:

We like https://www.rareseeds.com/ for seeds. Used them for years now with great success.

 

49 minutes ago, diatae said:

I like Johnny's Seeds: https://www.johnnyseeds.com/ 

Thank you both. Having fun browsing seeds today. I'll track snow to the bitter end but thinking about gardening again is nice, too.

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While I've browsed this thread in recent years, I've never had a dire need to visit until now...to hit up you smart/knowledgeable AmWx lawn and garden subject matter experts on what I might be able to do to correct some drainage and grass-growing issues in this particular corner of my backyard.

I've included here a pic of that problematic corner -- the area outlined in YELLOW tends to be the collection point of the outflow "pool" of moisture in my backyard -- there's a French drain dug from the other end of my backyard, routing runoff from "uphill" neighbors, around the addition built off the back of our house, to this "downhill" corner of the yard. It's soupy right now, because of the melting of the snow/ice from this past week. When the weather gets nicer/warmer (e.g., late March through October) and when the sun angle is obviously higher, this area only stays damp maybe a day or two after hard rains, but then dries out pretty quickly. We can, and have, lived with those conditions just fine. The area outlined in yellow really doesn't grow grass...but as mentioned, it dries pretty quickly in spring/summer/early fall months, so it's fine. This has been standard operating procedure for the nearly two decades we've lived in this house.

My new challenge is the area outlined in RED -- for some reason, in the fall and early winter of 2020, the damnable SQUIRRELS that infest the mature trees surrounding our backyard, literally and completely DUG UP this section, removing ALL grass (which existed in this area before), and turned it into a new extension of the semi-annual mudpit that exists in the yellow-outlined area. The area in red will start to get full sun within the next few weeks, and continuing until October/November, but -- it will now (apparently) be an extension of the yellow-outlined, non-grass mudpit. 

So, my question to you -- what would you do in either of these areas? Replant grass in either or both areas? Just put down mulch or some other low maintenance option? Both of these areas get sun from about mid-March through October. I've never tried to grow grass in either area (though grass grew just fine in the red-outlined area before now), but I feel like I need to do something to mitigate the damage that the squirrels have done in the red-outlined area. I don't know...I'm at a loss, and my wife is ready to start going Rambo on ALL squirrels that appear in the backyard.  :)

Thanks in advance for sharing your opinions.

InkedPXL_20210221_193010303_LI(2).jpg.c7e387e96bd757b282eb9289461926c2.jpg

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17 minutes ago, vastateofmind said:

While I've browsed this thread in recent years, I've never had a dire need to visit until now...to hit up you smart/knowledgeable AmWx lawn and garden subject matter experts on what I might be able to do to correct some drainage and grass-growing issues in this particular corner of my backyard.

Maybe a stand of siberian irises would work in the yellow area. They are pretty tough and they like wet soil but can deal with dry too. Foliage is nice and still looks good when they aren't blooming.

https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/1997/3-28-1997/growiris.html

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49 minutes ago, vastateofmind said:

While I've browsed this thread in recent years, I've never had a dire need to visit until now...to hit up you smart/knowledgeable AmWx lawn and garden subject matter experts on what I might be able to do to correct some drainage and grass-growing issues in this particular corner of my backyard.

I've included here a pic of that problematic corner -- the area outlined in YELLOW tends to be the collection point of the outflow "pool" of moisture in my backyard -- there's a French drain dug from the other end of my backyard, routing runoff from "uphill" neighbors, around the addition built off the back of our house, to this "downhill" corner of the yard. It's soupy right now, because of the melting of the snow/ice from this past week. When the weather gets nicer/warmer (e.g., late March through October) and when the sun angle is obviously higher, this area only stays damp maybe a day or two after hard rains, but then dries out pretty quickly. We can, and have, lived with those conditions just fine. The area outlined in yellow really doesn't grow grass...but as mentioned, it dries pretty quickly in spring/summer/early fall months, so it's fine. This has been standard operating procedure for the nearly two decades we've lived in this house.

My new challenge is the area outlined in RED -- for some reason, in the fall and early winter of 2020, the damnable SQUIRRELS that infest the mature trees surrounding our backyard, literally and completely DUG UP this section, removing ALL grass (which existed in this area before), and turned it into a new extension of the semi-annual mudpit that exists in the yellow-outlined area. The area in red will start to get full sun within the next few weeks, and continuing until October/November, but -- it will now (apparently) be an extension of the yellow-outlined, non-grass mudpit. 

So, my question to you -- what would you do in either of these areas? Replant grass in either or both areas? Just put down mulch or some other low maintenance option? Both of these areas get sun from about mid-March through October. I've never tried to grow grass in either area (though grass grew just fine in the red-outlined area before now), but I feel like I need to do something to mitigate the damage that the squirrels have done in the red-outlined area. I don't know...I'm at a loss, and my wife is ready to start going Rambo on ALL squirrels that appear in the backyard.  :)

Thanks in advance for sharing your opinions.

InkedPXL_20210221_193010303_LI(2).jpg.c7e387e96bd757b282eb9289461926c2.jpg

I'd fill both with Allium Millennial. You'll get three seasons of green, summer blooms, the squirrels will avoid the area altogether, they're low maintenance, and drought tolerant.

Screenshot_20210221-162716_Chrome.jpg

Screenshot_20210221-162945_Chrome.jpg

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5 hours ago, Kay said:

What are people's favorite places to order seeds online? I know a bunch of popular ones but interested in personal opinions. Used to grow more veg but mostly do tomatoes and basil, a few peppers and cucumbers, and focus more on flowers that attract/help out butterflies, hummingbirds, pollinators...Kind of a casual gardener, no grow lights, just start seeds in SW facing window and always a bit late, just getting started :lol:

My three favorite sites are: Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek, and Territorial. All three sites have a great virtual presence and you can get their free catalogs in the mail. If you sign up for their mailing list, the catalog will come sometime in mid-January which really spurs the itch for spring.

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1 hour ago, Eskimo Joe said:

My three favorite sites are: Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek, and Territorial. All three sites have a great virtual presence and you can get their free catalogs in the mail. If you sign up for their mailing list, the catalog will come sometime in mid-January which really spurs the itch for spring.

Just placed my order with Baker Creek :) Johnny's is flooded, having a such a hard time keeping up with demand rn they're only taking farm orders for a bit. The pandemic has been good for the seed business. I've used Territorial before and was pleased, but not for ages. Now to finish the SW window rearrangement and set-up, it's getting real in here!

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Got the tomatoes into their cells yesterday. Jalapeños are taking true sweet time, but I’m not surprised since the heat may will only bump the temp by about 15 degrees from the 56 ambient down there. They may well not germinate for a couple more weeks.

@Kay...I use Territorial. Always liked their options and customer service. I used to order my tomato and pepper plants from Lazy Ox Farm (they’re fantastic), but I wanted to give starting everything from seed a whirl this year!

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2 hours ago, mattie g said:

Got the tomatoes into their cells yesterday. Jalapeños are taking true sweet time, but I’m not surprised since the heat may will only bump the temp by about 15 degrees from the 56 ambient down there. They may well not germinate for a couple more weeks.

@Kay...I use Territorial. Always liked their options and customer service. I used to order my tomato and pepper plants from Lazy Ox Farm (they’re fantastic), but I wanted to give starting everything from seed a whirl this year!

Nice, good luck with the seed nursery! I still haven't tried growing peppers from seed but may someday take the journey. 

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@Kay & @diatae, I really appreciate your quick and workable suggestions of the irises and allium for that problem corner spot of the backyard. I'm reasonably sure that I'll have to turn that soil again and convert it to a garden bed...but at least I have some great suggestions to get started. Thanks again!  :) 

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4 hours ago, vastateofmind said:

@Kay & @diatae, I really appreciate your quick and workable suggestions of the irises and allium for that problem corner spot of the backyard. I'm reasonably sure that I'll have to turn that soil again and convert it to a garden bed...but at least I have some great suggestions to get started. Thanks again!  :) 

Just remembered...you might want to look into "rain gardens" for ideas. You may already know this but they're plantings for areas that regularly get runoff but also dry out (so not the same as a wetland).

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10 minutes ago, Kay said:

Just remembered...you might want to look into "rain gardens" for ideas. You may already know this but they're plantings for areas that regularly get runoff but also dry out (so not the same as a wetland).

Yes, a rain garden is a great idea.  And plant native plants!!

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9 minutes ago, WxUSAF said:

Yes, a rain garden is a great idea.  And plant native plants!!

Good idea, and I should have suggested native irises. I have a neighbor who has some that look similar to siberian in a place that gets muddy but also dries out and she's a knowledegable gardener and believer in natives so it was probably one of these. https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/iris/Blue_Flag/index.shtml

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5 hours ago, vastateofmind said:

@Kay & @diatae, I really appreciate your quick and workable suggestions of the irises and allium for that problem corner spot of the backyard. I'm reasonably sure that I'll have to turn that soil again and convert it to a garden bed...but at least I have some great suggestions to get started. Thanks again!  :) 

You could do some smaller river jacks as a covering too. It’s a little more expensive obviously but you will essentially only pay for it once whereas mulch is every year (2 for dyed).

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On 2/21/2021 at 8:13 PM, mattie g said:

Got the tomatoes into their cells yesterday. Jalapeños are taking true sweet time, but I’m not surprised since the heat may will only bump the temp by about 15 degrees from the 56 ambient down there. They may well not germinate for a couple more weeks.

Pleasant surprise: As of yesterday afternoon, seven jalapenos had sprouted...

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16 hours ago, mattie g said:

 

Pleasant surprise: As of yesterday afternoon, seven jalapenos had sprouted...

Check that...all nine jalapeno seeds have sprouted.

And after checking this morning, two different types of tomato (Jersey Devil and Orange Paruche Cherry) have started to sprout!

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