What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

[baywax]

Thanks baywax. Fiddleheads are just what I was looking for! The only problem I might run into is that the elevation I live at is ~1,800ft and the winters can sometimes get pretty nasty. I was talking to a neighbor today and they said they tried growing a fern, but the last winter killed it.

Turbo is right. These are an hearty fern... regardless of how delicate they seem. I think they're a throw over from prehistoric times.

I've got fiddle heads growing at 2000 feet and further up. The snow can get up to 8 yards deep and they'll be fine in the spring. What we call the First Nations have been eating them since the Last Glacial Maximum and that was when the ice was up to 2 kilometer's thick in this region. Go for it dude!

 

[turbo]

For those who would like to have some dill for making salsas, pickles, etc. Listen up! Dill seed is OK. Dill weed is OK (barely). The real deal for dill is the tiny yellow florets, and the best time to harvest and use them is when they are not yet opened up. This is what they look like when they are ready for use in pickles, salsas, etc. You cannot get these in stores, but since dill is a weed, it will grow about anywhere, and you can get plenty for your canning. Grow some dill, but use the florets and compost the weeds and seeds. The tiny yellow blooms are heaven.

 

[B. Elliott]

Please try growing these, if you want ferns. These fiddlehead ferns are Ostrich Ferns, and they grow quite readily in Maine at 45 deg N latitude, and at relatively high elevations, too, as long as there is sufficient ground-water. Ostrich Ferns thrive on the seasonal vaguaries of flood-plains (inundations, covering with silt, etc) and they can withstand some very dry weather once they are established. My wife and I dug some of these, and planted them along the walk-way to our previous house. They were beautiful, and the soil at that place was sandy-acid with great drainage. Go figure!

They definitely sound like a good idea. I've never heard of people eating ferns before, but i'd be willing to try that too... as long it isn't some internet-wide joke just to see i'll eat a fern. There's a pond about 100ft or so out the back door so the ground stays fairly moist. I'm surprised no one's mentioned anything else... there has to be more out there.

 

[turbo]

They definitely sound like a good idea. I've never heard of people eating ferns before, but i'd be willing to try that too... as long it isn't some internet-wide joke just to see i'll eat a fern. There's a pond about 100ft or so out the back door so the ground stays fairly moist. I'm surprised no one's mentioned anything else... there has to be more out there.

The immature curled-up shoots of the ostrich fern are the fiddleheads. Other ferns taste pretty bad, so choose well. My father and I used to head to the flood-plain along the river every evening after he got home from work in the early spring, and pick bags and bags of them. We'd take them home and sit on the front steps shaking off the thin chaff and my mother would rinse them, blanch and freeze them. During the few weeks that fiddleheads were emerging, we would get bushels of them into the freezer. It was free food, and we needed that for the winter. You can order some canned fiddleheads to see if you like them.

http://www.mainegoodies.com/gourmet/fiddleheads.shtml

 

[baywax]

You can order some canned fiddleheads to see if you like them.

Bleschk! I doubt the canned version will be close to the fresh fiddle head!

For your aesthetic garden pleasure another fern, that's inedible, is the deer fern (Blechnum spicant)... it a very beautiful and delicate fern that will grow where moss or lichen has deteriorated the rock or where a tree or stump is decomposing. They don't get big but they are a very pretty like a deer can be and they are prolific.

http://www.floridastateparks.org/hillsboroughriver/images/visitors/HIR-TheFernTree-LorenKrieg.jpg

 

[B. Elliott]

I called all the local nurseries, but no one carries any Ostrich ferns, looks like i'll be ordering a few online. Not surprised though considering I was looking for something a little out of the ordinary. One I came across that really looks cool is a Cyathea cooperi. Found out this while time I've been looking for a freakin' 'tree fern' lol. With this one the really cold winters become an issue again...

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/925/718080.JPG
http://www.donaleaplantbrokers.com/_borders/FREEBIE Cyathea cooperi.jpg

This site mentions that the following tree ferns hold up somewhat well to cold climates...
http://www.angelfire.com/bc/eucalyptus/treeferns/cooperi.html

Cyathea brownii
Cyathea howeana
Cyathea robusta
Cyathea howeana

Looks like I have quite a bit of studying to do! My lattitude is 35 btw.

 

[hypatia]

My spring flowers are blooming!

 

[Evo]

We're getting a hard freeze tonight. I am in the process of moving all of my plants indoors. Hypatia, I hope the freeze isn't going to reach you, those a re beautiful!

The trees have put out blooms finally and if this is a bad as last year's freeze, everything will be black and dead in a few days.

 

[turbo]

No freeze, here, but we have had rain (heavy at times) all night, and my garden is awash with water. It's supposed to continue all day long with 2-4" expected. I'm really glad this didn't happen a couple of weeks ago - we would have been subject to destructive floods. The warm spells (with cold nights) that we had during those weeks reduced the snow-pack considerably, so we might get out of this with our bridges and dams intact. The dam-operators hate to spill water without using it to run their generators, but this spring the emergency-management people have convinced them to lower the levels of their impoundments in preparation for an event like this. That has ticked off a lot of fishermen who have been unable to use boat launches, but it's sure looking like a good plan today.

 

[Astronuc]

We finally got some needed rain.

Tonight we have a frost warning. Folks with orchards are nervous, because too much of freeze would kill the flowers/buds and ruin the fruit crop this year. Our area lost 50-75% of the fruit/nut crops in recent years due to sudden frosts/freezes after weeks of warmer than usual weather.

We seem to be cycling (more frequently the last few years) between record warm temperatures and record or near record cold temperatures.

 

[rewebster]

added mulch, fertilized, and turned the garden today---

 

[turbo]

We had a hard freeze last night, and the garlic spouts got frosted pretty bad. They'll survive it one way or another. I am concerned about my best apple tree, though. It has fat buds all over, and I hope they didn't get damaged. Another wrinkle is that because of the cold snap, we have no pollinators around. I have seen a grand total of 2 bumblebees in the last week (during the warm weather, not recently) so we are in real need of some seasonable temperatures.

 

[Moonbear]

We got lucky and the frosts predicted the last two nights didn't happen. It got cold, but apparently all this rain we've been having saved us...the report was that the cloud cover actually held the heat in enough to keep us a bit above freezing over night.

I need to figure out a way to make a little shelter outside to start moving my plants out and hardening them. I haven't been this successful with starting my own seedlings since moving here, and my deck doesn't have any sheltered area to put the plants. I think I'm due for a trip to Lowe's.

 

[baywax]

Hypatia... great spring flowers.

I had one of the ones you pictured (bottom pic) come up during the snow/hail storms we had during april and at the time I was raking around it and accidently up-rooted it. I re-planted it right away and today it looks like your's! Hearty little fellers.

 

[turbo]

Now for some good news. The buds on my apple tree haven't wilted, so they're probably OK despite the heavy frost last night. Also, while I've been outside splitting wood I've seen lots of bumblebees. They've been checking out the apple tree a bit, but their real pay-day will be in the early wildflowers until the apple blossoms open. Fingers crossed for no more frost...

 

[baywax]

Now for some good news. The buds on my apple tree haven't wilted, so they're probably OK despite the heavy frost last night. Also, while I've been outside splitting wood I've seen lots of bumblebees. They've been checking out the apple tree a bit, but their real pay-day will be in the early wildflowers until the apple blossoms open. Fingers crossed for no more frost...

Good news about the bees. There's been a shortage during the past year. I've bumped into some bumble bees lately, more than I've seen in a year.

 

[Astronuc]

This place might be useful for folks trying to decide what to plant.

http://www.garden.org/ediblelandscaping/

I have a rhubarb patch at the top of our property, and patches of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.

Check out the recipe for rhubard strudel - http://www.garden.org/ediblelandscaping/?page=rhubarb-recipe

 

[Ms Music]

This place might be useful for folks trying to decide what to plant.

http://www.garden.org/ediblelandscaping/

We have a local nursery that gives a class about edible landscaping. Just the two words "edible landscaping" makes me drool! I intend to have the majority of my plants be edible eventually. That website looks like a great resource. And recipes to boot! Going into my favorites!

 

[turbo]

My wife dug up some rhubarb that was spreading around her mother's compost bin and we re-planted it near our compost bins - actually in the spot where one of the bins was located last summer. I have never seen so many earthworms per shovel-ful of dirt in my life. the rhubarb should do well there.

 

[baywax]

My wife dug up some rhubarb that was spreading around her mother's compost bin and we re-planted it near our compost bins - actually in the spot where one of the bins was located last summer. I have never seen so many earthworms per shovel-ful of dirt in my life. the rhubarb should do well there.

Planting around the compost is a great idea for those plants you want to win awards at the community fair.

The compost is mostly responsible for my 200 pound pumpkin (didn't win at the fair but was a big hit on Halloween!)

Ladies and Gentlemen... start your pumpkins!

 

[turbo]

Planting around the compost is a great idea for those plants you want to win awards at the community fair.

The compost is mostly responsible for my 200 pound pumpkin (didn't win at the fair but was a big hit on Halloween!)

Ladies and Gentlemen... start your pumpkins!

The grass and weeds are thick and lush around the compost bins, so I expect that the rhubarb will do well. It's located under an ash tree, so it ought to get dripped on during rain storms but still get plenty of sun most of the day. Also, I try to keep the compost bins moist, so I've often got a hose over there and can give the rhubarb a drink at the same time. It looks like an ideal location. I love rhubarb and even as a kid, I didn't bother trying to sweeten it - it's great stuff. My mother used to make strawberry-rhubarb pie using our rhubarb and the tiny wild strawberries that we would pick when I was a kid. If she cooked down extra filling that wouldn't fit in the pie, I used to love to drizzle it over French vanilla ice cream. Mmm! Once the rhubarb is established, my wife and I are going to have to experiment with using it in berry/fruit pies with apples, wild raspberries, wild blackberries, etc.

 

[Borek]

My approach to gardening: let it grow. I love things like lilac or mock orange - at least here, once planted, they are hard to kill, yet they flower each year. Lilac is almost open :)

 

[baywax]

The grass and weeds are thick and lush around the compost bins, so I expect that the rhubarb will do well. It's located under an ash tree, so it ought to get dripped on during rain storms but still get plenty of sun most of the day. Also, I try to keep the compost bins moist, so I've often got a hose over there and can give the rhubarb a drink at the same time. It looks like an ideal location. I love rhubarb and even as a kid, I didn't bother trying to sweeten it - it's great stuff. My mother used to make strawberry-rhubarb pie using our rhubarb and the tiny wild strawberries that we would pick when I was a kid. If she cooked down extra filling that wouldn't fit in the pie, I used to love to drizzle it over French vanilla ice cream. Mmm! Once the rhubarb is established, my wife and I are going to have to experiment with using it in berry/fruit pies with apples, wild raspberries, wild blackberries, etc.

That's going to be some major zinger pie!

I'll be right over.

 

[baywax]

Just kidding. My mom used to pick rhubarb out of the lane where it grew wild. She'd make this gooy mess of it by boiling it and not adding enough sugar. I'd eat a bit and smile... then this huge shudder would run up and down my spine and I'd stop eating it. Can't stand rhubarb now.

 

[turbo]

Rhubarb is wonderful with wild berries. Sweet strawberry-rhubarb pie filling drizzled over a split biscuit with a topping of real whipped cream ... Mmm what a treat!

 

[turbo]

I planted two plum trees in the front lawn yesterday, to go along with our cherry, apple, peach, and apricot trees. They are all still saplings, but I have more patience than disposable cash - I can wait a few years.

 

[baywax]

Rhubarb is wonderful with wild berries. Sweet strawberry-rhubarb pie filling drizzled over a split biscuit with a topping of real whipped cream ... Mmm what a treat!

Mom never got so creative with the rhubarb. Its funny too because my dad was growing raspberries and everything else he dreamed of growing while he commanded tanks and killed nazis for 6 years during WWII. I guess betwixt the mom, the dad and the berries and the rhubarb (shudder) did never meet.

 

[baywax]

I planted two plum trees in the front lawn yesterday, to go along with our cherry, apple, peach, and apricot trees. They are all still saplings, but I have more patience than disposable cash - I can wait a few years.

What kind of plums are you growing?

 

[Evo]

At my last place I planted dwarf peach and plum trees and they produced the first year. I figured anything in a full size tree would be wasted since they'd be out of reach.

The pear tree I planted was supposed to be a fruitless flowering ornamental. For 10 years it looked sickly, wouldn't grow and always seemed about to die and never flowered, then 5 years ago it just took off and started producing tons of the sweetest, juciest pears I've ever had.

 

[turbo]

What kind of plums are you growing?

IIR, the variety I just planted is Denton American. They are highly recommended as pollinator-companions for hybrids that don't breed well.

 

[turbo]

At my last place I planted dwarf peach and plum trees and they produced the first year. I figured anything in a full size tree would be wasted since they'd be out of reach.

The pear tree I planted was supposed to be a fruitless flowering ornamental. For 10 years it looked sickly, wouldn't grow and always seemed about to die and never flowered, then 5 years ago it just took off and started producing tons of the sweetest, juciest pears I've ever had.

Some of this behavior can be due to the way pear trees and apple trees are propagated. Generally, the dwarf/ornamental varieties are grafted onto hardy non-hybrid root stock. Is its possible that the graft died back and the root stock threw out some branches?

 

[baywax]

IIR, the variety I just planted is Denton American. They are highly recommended as pollinator-companions for hybrids that don't breed well.

I inherited a pruning plum tree... that's the only name I know it by. Instead of spraying it with diazinon like the orchardists all around us, I used onion water that seemed to keep the pests at bay. In the old days I hear they used crysthanthemum oils as an anti-pest agent.

These were great to eat fresh off the tree.

 

[Evo]

I inherited a pruning plum tree... that's the only name I know it by. Instead of spraying it with diazinon like the orchardists all around us, I used onion water that seemed to keep the pests at bay. In the old days I hear they used crysthanthemum oils as an anti-pest agent.

These were great to eat fresh off the tree.

Those look like the plums on my little plum tree, before it died.

So sweet, but it was always a fight with the birds to see who'd get there first. The birds usually won.

 

[Moonbear]

I inherited a pruning plum tree... that's the only name I know it by. Instead of spraying it with diazinon like the orchardists all around us, I used onion water that seemed to keep the pests at bay. In the old days I hear they used crysthanthemum oils as an anti-pest agent.

These were great to eat fresh off the tree.

Those look like the plums my grandfather used to grow! If he'd leave them long enough to get ripe, they were very tasty, but he always picked them too early and too sour (he liked them that way ).

 

[baywax]

Those look like the plums on my little plum tree, before it died.

So sweet, but it was always a fight with the birds to see who'd get there first. The birds usually won.

Early bird gets the plum!

I really did have to leave them on there till end of july... right around when some of the pumpkins were starting to show promise. And, like you say, you can't stop the birds when you leave them on that long. I don't like nets all over the trees... its ok for hops... hops have a certain importance!