AMA I'm a former farmer and Master Gardener

↑ gp2.0 ↓

Wed, May 13 2015, 9:12 am

MagentaYenta wrote:

I used paper clips and clothes pins for my BBs when I had them at another home. In beds for planting bulbs I used chicken wire when squirrels could be a problem.

I started a flower bed on the west side and thought I would plant some sunflowers for the birds. The cat's porch is on that side and I thought it would give him some entertainment. I started all of the sunflowers in Jiffy Starts and the darn raccoons dug each and everyone. On my second try I direct seeded and covered the bed with Remay and sprinkled a hand full of moth balls along the edges. That has met with success so far.

Thanks! Didn't see this until now.

I actually came back to this thread to thank you for mentioning diatomaceous earth, I've been fighting with ants every spring and summer for the last three years, they invade from all sides and eventually make their way onto my counters when they get bored of the floor (yuck!) I sprinkled diatomaceous earth all around the house, indoors and outdoors and the ants are GONE. Yay!!!

↑ gp2.0

Wed, May 13 2015, 9:15 am

Also, how can I keep worms and bugs from invading blueberry and tomato plants, and how do I remove bugs after picking the fruit?

amother

↑ Forestgreen ↓

Wed, May 13 2015, 11:13 am

MagentaYenta wrote:

Patio gardening is easy to do and you can get it all at Lowes or Home Despot. Patio tomatoes and peppers do well. So do greens like lettuces. There are a number of very good varieties of patio veg at your local garden centers. This is a case where the garden center will give you a good tried and true selection. There are bush squash and melons as well. Buy a good quality potting soil. Mix 1 part composted steer manure to 4 parts soil for each container. Make sure that you have a nice layer of pebbles (buy a bag) in the bottom for drainage. Before you put the pebbles in cover the holes with waxed paper (it keeps them from falling out of large pots). I prefer plastic pots for patio gardening since they hold moisture better.

Please check back at the end of the season and let me know how well you did.

So I bought medium and large plastic bins. Drilled holes and planted 2 kinds tomatoes/zuchinni/ yellow squash/eggplant and peppers... well see what happens. I did not do lettuce because I felt it would be a waste as they would have too many bugs to make it worth while.
I will update periodically Very Happy

↑ MagentaYenta ↓

Wed, May 13 2015, 11:55 am

I'm excited for you Ima, and appreciate that you are Forestgreen:)

amother

↑ Forestgreen ↓

Wed, May 13 2015, 12:04 pm

MagentaYenta wrote:

I'm excited for you Ima, and appreciate that you are Forestgreen:)

haha I didnt even realize I was forestgreen but I love that I am Smile

.
Just watered my bins...

↑ noosheen ↓

Mon, May 18 2015, 11:46 am

I am the poster that had wild garlic/onions growing in my front garden.

I literally dug them out one by one this past week with a weeder. Did not pull them out as instructed. I got them all and applied Round up on the whole area yesterday. Now I have a whole front area that one would think could grow some kind of flowers or greenery but every time I've tried in the past, nothing grew. I've come to the conclusion that nothing will grow. So my question is can I buy like plants already in planters and sort of put them in the garden area and cover up the bottom part with fresh soil but not really dig deep to put some kind of color in my front lawn? is that a normal thing to do? I'm very sad that my front lawn is so colorless. Sad

↑ Iymnok

Mon, May 18 2015, 11:51 am

amother wrote:

My mother always plants lettuce. She finds about tree bugs a year. The lettuce in stores is always really buggy by her.

reportrmom

Mon, May 18 2015, 12:36 pm

Why can't I keep an indoor orchid plant alive. Many attempts. They always die. I follow the instructions to the letter. They die. :-(
And also how do I keep ants from eating up the peppers I plant? The plant buds flowers and grows teeeeny little peppers and ants eat them up. :-(

amother

Apricot

Mon, May 18 2015, 1:35 pm

New poster here- and first time gardener! I tried planting vegetables indoors for the first time in the pot you see below and everything is doing great as far as I can tell, though it's super close together. The pea plants are getting huge!! Just wondering if you have any insight to continue cultivating these plants so we can actually get vegetables from them. And BTW, these are on a very sunny windowsill usually, I just moved them to my table so I could add more height to the stakes.
Thanks!

↑ noosheen

Mon, May 18 2015, 2:12 pm

I am not interested in growing vegetables - hope I belong here,
Wild onion poster here...
I love love love flowers! Think Hashem made such glorious colored flowers and I appreciate looking at them this time of year. They make me happy.
I have such a hard time growing anything in my garden , as mentioned b4. What is easier to grow - flower seeds of the flower ?

↑ MagentaYenta ↓

Mon, May 18 2015, 5:53 pm

I'm useless when it comes to orchids, they do need high humidity and warm temps that's all I know.

To the table top gardener, window sill gardens are just that, containers in these plantings are often too small for the plant to reach maturity. Herbs make great window sill plantings since they can be used prior to maturity.

Diatomaceous earth will keep those ants off the plants.

Last edited by MagentaYenta on Mon, May 18 2015, 6:01 pm; edited 1 time in total

↑ MagentaYenta ↓

Mon, May 18 2015, 5:59 pm

noosheen wrote:

There are replanting schedules on round up labels, you should check to see how soon you can plant after using round up. I would suggest buying some bags of compost or steer manure, work them into the soil (after the round up label says it's safe to plant) and buy some starts that come in 6 packs. Wave petunias give lots of color, coverage and fragrance. They are cheaper at Lowes or Home Despot. But do not plant or add soil prior to the time specified on the round up label.

amother

↑ Mistyrose ↓

Sun, Jun 28 2015, 4:05 pm

Can you advise me re: my esrog tree? It had brownish edges on the lower leaves and now the lower ones are palish. I recently re-potted it. Does it need more or less water? More sun?
Thanks

↑ MagentaYenta ↓

Sun, Jun 28 2015, 6:28 pm

Here's a good summary of info that may help you.

http://www.keithbrooks.com/caring.html

The following tips relate to the maintenance of an Etrog Tree as a potted plant or tree. Like other citrus varieties, Etrog trees are VERY susceptible to cold while young and should only be planted in the ground in suitable climates.

Location
In South Florida, during the winter, if low temperatures in the 40’s occur, either keep the plant indoors in a warm place that has light or protect it from the cold on the outside through a cover or some other protective shielding. Natural sunlight is best, but you can use artificial light.
In spring, move your tree outside, gradually from a shaded to a more sunny location. The trees should not be in a position where they will be in the sun all day long as too much direct sunlight will burn them up while they are young. Always protect your younger trees from strong winds and storms.

Container
Given light and nutrients your Etrog tree will grow to the size of the container in which it is placed. Once your tree has grown about six inches tall it may be transferred to a 8-10" diameter planter. Make sure it has holes in the bottom for drainage. The largest pot for indoors I would use is 24" diameter. After several years they may grow up to 10 feet like this. You can also prune them. Note the Laws of Orlah regarding replanting.

Potting Soil and Fertilizer
Use regular good quality potting soil and commercial fertilizer (Miracle-Grow or citrus soil).

Watering
Do not over water your Etrog tree. If you will keep the tree indoors, water the tree once or twice a week. If the tree will be outdoors, especially during the hot summer, three or more times a week may be required. In winter two to three times a week should suffice.

Insects and Pests
As with any fruit bearing tree, spider mites, scales, caterpillars and other insects are common.
Spraying dish washing detergent (about a teaspoonful in a spray bottle - 2 tablespoonful in a gallon of water) should keep the insects away.

Pollination and Flower Buds
Citrus trees are self-fruitful, meaning they will produce fruit without having another tree nearby.
Citrus trees require a period of cold weather in order to induce flower budding. For most citrus trees, it takes about 4 to 6 weeks in the 50-68F range to get reasonable flowering (North of Miami this should not be an issue). Be very careful if temperatures drop below 40F for an extended amount of time(more than 2 weeks).

What Happens if my Trees Start to Fruit?
Etrog trees should bear fruit within 4-7 years(in theory, my tree took 7). If you want to use your Etrogim for Succot then you must be sure that there are no defects in your fruit(that did not come from the tree itself). You should have your Etrog checked by a competent rabbinical authority on these matters. Also please note the special laws regarding Orlah and Neta Revai.

Safety
Citrus trees produce VERY sharp thorns. Please be careful when handling the tree, pruning it or if young children are present.

Further reading is available from the work: The Etrog by Zaide Reuven aka David Wiseman

amother

↑ Mistyrose

Sun, Jun 28 2015, 6:38 pm

Thank you, Magenta. I shall study your advice.

amother

↑ Forestgreen ↓

Sun, Jun 28 2015, 7:43 pm

amother wrote:

My bins are growing so nicely!! Many tomatoes are ripening. Zuchinni, squash and eggplant are flowering and a few peppers are growing. We will update when we pick and taste our first veggies. We are super excited country bumpkins living in the big city. LOL

My landlord actually did give us a small patch of land to use for gardening as well (Once they saw our bin versions) where we planted peppers and green beans. DS loved digging in the actual dirt... we started it much later but we shall compare The results.

↑ MagentaYenta ↓

Sun, Jun 28 2015, 7:48 pm

Congrats to you Forest Green. I'm suffering from lack of pollinators this year. It's very serious. I'm going to work on hand pollinating tomatoes and squash tomorrow.

amother

↑ Forestgreen ↓

Sun, Jun 28 2015, 7:54 pm

MagentaYenta wrote:

Congrats to you Forest Green. I'm suffering from lack of pollinators this year. It's very serious. I'm going to work on hand pollinating tomatoes and squash tomorrow.

I was actually surprised to see I have bees coming to my bins. My kids who were quite scared of bees commented last week how excited they were to see them. My 5 year old said he wants them to stay because they will help the garden grow.
I dont know if my squash will polinate well because its very dense. I seem to have dozens and dozens of male flowers with a few females starting now. I do have of ants and other crawling bugs in the garden. Will they also help?

↑ MagentaYenta ↓

Sun, Jun 28 2015, 7:58 pm

Ants and crawlies will sometimes help, esp. with squashes and flowers. I'm just so thrilled for you. I'm happy your children are enjoying the process and participating, and that you are putting healthy food on the table. You will be able to grow greens well into the winter with those bins. Just some tenting is all you will need.

amother

↑ Forestgreen

Sun, Jun 28 2015, 8:04 pm

MagentaYenta wrote:

Once I see how the summer crop goes... ill ask you to explain tenting and what crops can grow into the winter