Off-Topic...Any Gardening Happening This Year?

Shawn@PRS said:
Alright folks, let's see those pandemic gardens!

My wife asked me to build a raised garden bead for her this year, we'll see how long she sticks with it. I don't have a green thumb, but I love the idea of a garden.

On a side note: Does anyone have any experience growing Romanesco Broccoli? I've never eaten it, but I am fascinated with the way it looks.

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Shawn,

I've personally not tried broccoli, though my brother in MN has had good success with asparagus early in the season. The reason for the look of the broccoli is based on the Golden Ratio, originally investigated by Euclid of Greek times, and expounded by Fibonacci, who provided mathematical evidence of the infinite series calculation.

Fibonacci's series is found in many of this world's creations, including snow crystals, sunflower seeds (still in flower), insects' eyes, nautilus' shells, and many additional creations.

You can read up on the math here on Wiki, or if perhaps you like to know more, just watch any of the PBS Nature TV series which describes Fibonacci's series.

Personally, I've always been in awe of what natural wonders exist, and how well-thought out the structure and process is involved.
 
AP515 said:
Mother nature knows fractal geometry...
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Knows them? She created them :)
 
bodia said:
We've got a lot planted again this year. All of the basic herbs are covered...basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, chives, parsley, mint, Mexican oregano, and oregano. Some lettuce, spinach, snap peas, rhubarb and horseradish. Then there are the peppers....3x jalapeno, serrano, habanero. Pickling cucumbers, eggplant. Finally, tomatoes...1 of each...heirloom, roma, salsa. Oops...forgot about the raspberry, blueberry and strawberry plants.
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How are you doing with the Raspberries and Blueberries? I've never had any luck with them.
 
CandidPicker said:
Shawn,

I've personally not tried broccoli, though my brother in MN has had good success with asparagus early in the season. The reason for the look of the broccoli is based on the Golden Ratio, originally investigated by Euclid of Greek times, and expounded by Fibonacci, who provided mathematical evidence of the infinite series calculation.

Fibonacci's series is found in many of this world's creations, including snow crystals, sunflower seeds (still in flower), insects' eyes, nautilus' shells, and many additional creations.

You can read up on the math here on Wiki, or if perhaps you like to know more, just watch any of the PBS Nature TV series which describes Fibonacci's series.

Personally, I've always been in awe of what natural wonders exist, and how well-thought out the structure and process is involved.
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Your garden is look spectacular again this year!

This is pretty cool (and trippy), if you're interested in the topic:
 
Shawn@PRS said:
How are you doing with the Raspberries and Blueberries? I've never had any luck with them.
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The blueberry bush is new this year. The old one got ripped out when the deck got replaced. It was really small, but the Mrs did eat some smallish berries from it for a couple of years. I put the new one in a huge pot last fall. It's grown quite a bit so far this year. It's about a foot tall. As for the raspberries, they're actually in part of the landscaping brick wall. I planted one small bush when we had the wall put in 3 years ago. It had berries every year since. The squirrels have gotten all of the berries though, and buried some. Thanks to them, I now have 7 or 8 new bushes growing.
 
Today (Saturday the 6th) was a weeding / watering day. Thankfully, we had some brief but heavy passing showers that gave the garden a drink. Once the rain subsided about 4 PM, did some weeding / trimming of invasive vines and undesirable growth. Beyond my backyard fence, my next door neighbor's patio area is filled with invasive growth, honeysuckle, maple tree seedlings, field weeds, milkweed, you name it, he's got it.

Using my hand clipper, did away with the growth that was poking through the patio fencing. Had promised the neighbor that on a dry cooler day, I'd visit with my hand clippers and loppers, shovel and bow saw, and clear out his patio area for him. (The guy has bandaged bad feet, and doing his normal routine isn't as easy as he'd prefer)

So, in order for my garden to thrive without the invasive stuff coming through from his side, am hoping to help by clearing out his patio area so he can sit out back during the summer and enjoy some sunshine and cool breezes whenever possible.

My feeling is that I might need to invest in some strong weed control in order to prevent this from happening each summer, rather than me repeating the same process every year as has been needed thus far. Will likely need to check with management before applying weed control, but at least the trimming/digging portion can be accomplished without requiring permission from management. Will follow up on this if necessary and describe how well we got on with this...
 
CandidPicker said:
Heh! There used to be an old acronym from one of the older forums, named SWMBO. (She who must be obeyed) A term that used to be tossed about commonly for husbands who needed to toe the line. IIRC, coined by one of our beloved moderators. (He knows who he is...)
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I believe SWMBO was coined by Sir John Mortimer in his “Rumpole of the Bailey“ stories and books.
 
Today is a perfect day for outdoor work; relatively cool (81°F / 27.2°C), low humidity, partly cloudy, light breeze. What to do?

Just spent the last 40 minutes with loppers in hand clearing out weeds, invasive vines and saplings from my neighbor's back yard patio deck.

Kept the ferns and lilies, and the raspberry vines. Banged back into place part of the fence that had come loose because of vines pushing through the fence.

Am hoping to put down some weed control so this will not be a repeat performance each year.

Am in need of water, lunch, and a nap. Will address clearing of cut brush once nap time is over...
 
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06/08/20 - Recruited Mom to help carry trimmed brush out to the community brush pile away from the apartments. Was only a couple armfuls for both of us; thought it would be more difficult; proved otherwise.

Also used a weed whacker on remaining untrimmed weeds and grasses, then applied some Ortho spray to control growth from returning this season. Will let the Ortho dry and then survey results Wednesday before looking towards helping him replant more desirable ground cover next year.

I'd post before & after pics, but I don't think my neighbor needs his unsightly deck area being advertised on this forum.
 
Well, here's a before / after image of the neighbor's backyard fence...imagine this with growth encroaching inside his fenced-in area through the fence into my garden...

4kurnNL.jpg


PLVwabZ.jpg
 
Shawn@PRS said:
Was that wild grape? Those roots are strong
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Shawn,

I think what looks like grape leaves are most likely maple saplings. There's other stuff in there that might be some type of invasive vine (not kudzu) as well as smaller weeds from the ground up. The vegetation that was firmly established in the fence line itself needed to be cut out (1-½" thick vine branches) and the fence re-hammered to its posts.

Along the woods line some distance away we might have wild grape vines, and there might be some encroachment when birds make nests in the surrounding cedars and perch on the fence. Though I seriously don't think they're grapes, but some other type of wild inedible berry-producing vines...

A good shot of Ortho Extended will keep the trimmed vegetation from growing this year. The Ortho is systemic, and will reach the roots.

I've let the neighbor's wild raspberries, ferns and wild roses have their part in the north inside of his patio, and let some of his south inside remain, just so it doesn't choke out my seedlings growing on opposite fence south side...
 
CandidPicker said:
Shawn,

I think what looks like grape leaves are most likely maple saplings. There's other stuff in there that might be some type of invasive vine (not kudzu) as well as smaller weeds from the ground up. The vegetation that was firmly established in the fence line itself needed to be cut out (1-½" thick vine branches) and the fence re-hammered to its posts.

Along the woods line some distance away we might have wild grape vines, and there might be some encroachment when birds make nests in the surrounding cedars and perch on the fence. Though I seriously don't think they're grapes, but some other type of wild inedible berry-producing vines...

A good shot of Ortho Extended will keep the trimmed vegetation from growing this year. The Ortho is systemic, and will reach the roots.

I've let the neighbor's wild raspberries, ferns and wild roses have their part in the north inside of his patio, and let some of his south inside remain, just so it doesn't choke out my seedlings growing on opposite fence south side...
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I could have the name wrong, but we have a invasive vine that looks like grape leaves (but I've never seen any actual fruit on it) with a really woody root system. It's hard to kill. Because we live very near the Chesapeake Bay and I'm trying to prevent runoff, I tread very lightly when it comes to using weed killers or chemical fertilizers.
 
Shawn@PRS said:
I could have the name wrong, but we have a invasive vine that looks like grape leaves (but I've never seen any actual fruit on it) with a really woody root system. It's hard to kill. Because we live very near the Chesapeake Bay and I'm trying to prevent runoff, I tread very lightly when it comes to using weed killers or chemical fertilizers.
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Have you tried a mixture of cleaning vinegar and a bit of dish soap? It roasts dandelions, grass and the like. Might not work but may be worth a try. At least it's not harsh on the environment. It's all I use now.
 
Shawn@PRS said:
I could have the name wrong, but we have a invasive vine that looks like grape leaves (but I've never seen any actual fruit on it) with a really woody root system. It's hard to kill. Because we live very near the Chesapeake Bay and I'm trying to prevent runoff, I tread very lightly when it comes to using weed killers or chemical fertilizers.
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It could be Ground Elder or Bishops Weed. We have an infestation and it drives me wild. If you leave the smallest piece of root it just comes back over and over!

Try Napalm!
 
Shawn@PRS said:
I could have the name wrong, but we have a invasive vine that looks like grape leaves (but I've never seen any actual fruit on it) with a really woody root system. It's hard to kill. Because we live very near the Chesapeake Bay and I'm trying to prevent runoff, I tread very lightly when it comes to using weed killers or chemical fertilizers.
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Normally I'd apply an organic weed control (what Dave quotes below) except that vinegar and soap requires repeated applications after it rains and doesn't reach the weed's roots. The Ortho will be a one-time application (perhaps once more much later this year if the roots push through and the vines come back).

dmatthews said:
Have you tried a mixture of cleaning vinegar and a bit of dish soap? It roasts dandelions, grass and the like. Might not work but may be worth a try. At least it's not harsh on the environment. It's all I use now.
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Am familiar with this. As was said, the above is good on dandelions and grasses...what's needed in this case is to get to the root of the vines that are persistently growing...Shawn is correct...the vines may not be grapes, but a separate type of vine that resists organic weed killers...FTR, like you folks, am concerned bout he environment, but also need to consider the reasoning associated with using Ortho...using the bigger "mallet" mentality here is likely my reason...

Alnus Rubra said:
It could be Ground Elder or Bishops Weed. We have an infestation and it drives me wild. If you leave the smallest piece of root it just comes back over and over! Try Napalm!
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Will need to check Wiki for the eye-view descriptions and get back to you. And no, I'd not even consider Agent Orange as a defoliant. That's some nasty stuff there one of our apartment dwellers was privileged to experience during the late 60's. He's wheelchair-bound thanks to that stuff. Napalm, on the other hand, might not go over too well as being an insurance liability for open-flame...:eek:;)
 
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