2019 Mid Atlantic Lawn, Garden, Pool, etc. Thread

[WxUSAF]

9 hours ago, Eskimo Joe said:

How large of a pool in diameter and how deep are we talking about?

15’ x 48”

[Eskimo Joe]

1 hour ago, WxUSAF said:

15’ x 48”

Ours was approved in Baltimore County...it has to be at least 5 feet from the property line, and at least 10 feet from and overhead power line.  

[Eskimo Joe]

13 hours ago, FXW176 said:

So... Kinda, sorta, won’t promise to spam this thread with my butterfly pics, but this one is legit imo. Number six for the season. Released yday.

You can never post enough pictures like this in the garden thread.

[mappy]

hey @FXW176 got my flowers in the ground over the weekend. need to run out and pick up more to fill my space. But i noticed new growth on all of them yesterday, so the transplant didn't screw them up too much. so exciting!

[Eskimo Joe]

57 minutes ago, mappy said:

hey @FXW176 got my flowers in the ground over the weekend. need to run out and pick up more to fill my space. But i noticed new growth on all of them yesterday, so the transplant didn't screw them up too much. so exciting!

This is a great period of weather for transplants...cool, cloudy.  I've never lost a transplant when we have weather like this.  A good shot in the arm will be taking some of the Miracle-Gro water soluble tomato fertilizer (yes this, not the blue stuff) and watering your transplants with this mix in about a week.  It has a lower nitrogen content so it will help promote root and stem health.  One good application should do, and that will bolster the plant(s) before the hot weather comes in.

[mappy]

41 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

This is a great period of weather for transplants...cool, cloudy.  I've never lost a transplant when we have weather like this.  A good shot in the arm will be taking some of the Miracle-Gro water soluble tomato fertilizer (yes this, not the blue stuff) and watering your transplants with this mix in about a week.  It has a lower nitrogen content so it will help promote root and stem health.  One good application should do, and that will bolster the plant(s) before the hot weather comes in.

we put fertilizer into the soil and gave it a good till. the garden plot also serves as a burn pile for brush and the like during the fall/winter. so lots of really good soil for those plants. then topped it off with mulch. 

[WVclimo]

Planted everything on Saturday.  Had enough rain on Sunday to wet the ground but very little since.   Wish the wedge would ease a little as there are good showers just off to my W/SW that the seeds could use.

[nw baltimore wx]

On 5/19/2020 at 6:45 PM, WVclimo said:

Planted everything on Saturday.  Had enough rain on Sunday to wet the ground but very little since.   Wish the wedge would ease a little as there are good showers just off to my W/SW that the seeds could use.

Finished up the planting here today and hoping for some good soaking rains to help things along.

Unrelated, but while I was out working in the yard today, it occurred to me that this year’s maple seed production was really low.  Normally we get inundated by helicopter seeds from the maple in the front yard, then I spend the rest of the year pulling saplings out of the garden. This year, I had very few fall. I don’t even have to clean the front gutter. Maybe the late heat and mini drought are the reasons. Regardless, I’m good with it.

[Eskimo Joe]

After years of dealing with needles killing our back lawn, clogging the pool/gutters, and ruining the deck, we got the approval from our neighbor to remove about 10 large pine trees from the fence line. Hopefully in the next two weeks they will be gone. 

[poolz1]

Slugs are out in full force with the damp and humid weather.  Read an article last year that manual removal of slugs on a regular basis is the best prevention.  After many attempts using every realistic method out there this ended up proving most effective.  I was outside with a headlamp every night picking slugs of our plants.  Unfortunately, it was too little too late last year....the damage was already done to the cabbage and broccoli.  

Instead of waiting for the attack during spring this year I started throwing green cabbage leaves from the grocery store into the gardens.  I was able to remove almost 2 dozen slugs from the gardens this evening that were snacking on the cabbage leaves. 

It took me about a week last year to really reduce the population...I am hoping this method will at least give me a solid head start this year and hopefully make the difference.  Would love to have a healthy cabbage and broccoli harvest this year. Plants are looking healthy so far...All that can change in one night though if I'm not vigilant. 

[Eskimo Joe]

We're now in summer...frogs crawling up the back sliding glass door, singing to their hearts delight, and the cats are having a freak out. 

[JakkelWx]

8 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

We're now in summer...frogs crawling up the back sliding glass door, singing to their hearts delight, and the cats are having a freak out. 

Fire up dem bug zappers!

Do you have one of these bug zapper light bulb things that you suspend from the porch roof and bugs get attracted to them and get zapped?

 

[CAPE]

I was out back checking on the mole activity and the plants after all the rain. This rose bush has gone bonkers the last week or so. I don't do much other than throw down some rose tone. Didn't even cut this one back, as the deer usually chew them down during the winter. They didn't touch this one though.

[nw baltimore wx]

Roses here also exploded. They were laying down yesterday from the rain and blooms.

[FXW176]

On 5/19/2020 at 9:32 AM, mappy said:

hey @FXW176 got my flowers in the ground over the weekend. need to run out and pick up more to fill my space. But i noticed new growth on all of them yesterday, so the transplant didn't screw them up too much. so exciting!

Sweeet @mappy, send a pic if ya can. Been busy with work, yuck, and only been able to mulch my main habitat. Gonna plant seedlings tomorrow, but will still be a bit before they flower. Need to make a run to the local nursery as well.

Did release Swallow #13 for the season today though. (And #14 right after.) P sure this one was a male. Waaay different markings:

 

[mappy]

14 hours ago, FXW176 said:

Sweeet @mappy, send a pic if ya can. Been busy with work, yuck, and only been able to mulch my main habitat. Gonna plant seedlings tomorrow, but will still be a bit before they flower. Need to make a run to the local nursery as well.

Did release Swallow #13 for the season today though. (And #14 right after.) P sure this one was a male. Waaay different markings:

 

Here are a couple pics 

[WVclimo]

We planted our vegetables two weeks ago tomorrow.  That weekend we had enough rain to wet the ground (0.05" total from a couple of light showers) and 0.41" more the following Friday.   Now this week we have managed to total 0.20" from three events since Wednesday evening (0.02" today.)

Even though a few things are growing, it's not nearly where it could be had we had more luck with the rain.  Unless something can pop this evening it looks like I'll be watering this weekend.

[wxdude64]

14 hours ago, WVclimo said:

We planted our vegetables two weeks ago tomorrow.  That weekend we had enough rain to wet the ground (0.05" total from a couple of light showers) and 0.41" more the following Friday.   Now this week we have managed to total 0.20" from three events since Wednesday evening (0.02" today.)

Even though a few things are growing, it's not nearly where it could be had we had more luck with the rain.  Unless something can pop this evening it looks like I'll be watering this weekend.

Sitting at 6 1/3 inches for the month here, I'd share if I could....

[Mrs.J]

While not directly in my backyard. Spent the last two days helping our friends, where we board the younger Miss J’s pony. Put in fencing for a “Health and wellness” paddock, aka a dry lot. Glad we got the use of a post driver as the ground was hard as a rock. 

 

[CAPE]

I have a mini obsession with driftwood. I have it in random places outside and inside the house. This is my driftwood/rock garden, with some potted plants and the weather station. (it sits over top the septic tank which is just below the surface, and I always had a square brown spot there lol).

[MN Transplant]

Feels like we are at "peak yard" this weekend.  Serious green before it all goes downhill in the summer.

Pano of the backyard

[CAPE]

6 minutes ago, MN Transplant said:

Feels like we are at "peak yard" this weekend.  Serious green before it all goes downhill in the summer.

Pano of the backyard

I was just thinking this after I mowed earlier. Lush green.

I need to stay ahead of the game if I have any chance of my grass not frying in the next few weeks. Despite over 2.5" of rain over the past few days, I will run the sprinkler tomorrow. Insane how quickly the soil dries out this time of year here. Being in the woods with well drained soil makes it very hard to sustain the grass during the high sun angle period, esp if it's torching and dry.

[frd]

49 minutes ago, MN Transplant said:

Feels like we are at "peak yard" this weekend.  Serious green before it all goes downhill in the summer.

I also thought about this as I mowed the lawn this glorious morning. I can tell the sun and temps are stressing the cooler fescue grass out rather quickly. 

Everything looks great but the last heatwave did in some on the front lawn. Now the focus is keeping crab grass away and weeds in general, focus on the flowers beds and the garden. Then plan for the eventual over seed in early Sept. Last October the front looked great.    Good advice regarding seed from @C.A.P.E. 

The never ending cycle. Wonder what a neutral or even a Nina Sept QFP will look like around these parts,  LOL probably a brown and dry look. Unless the tropics make multiple visits.  

[poolz1]

Hugelkultur bed is thriving....Actually, everything is doing pretty well.  Plants are loving these brilliant sunny days.

 

Peas

 

[Eskimo Joe]

I like your setup for the peas. When we eventually move into a larger house, I'd like to try something like that for our beans.

[nw baltimore wx]

13 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

I like your setup for the peas. When we eventually move into a larger house, I'd like to try something like that for our beans.

I prefer bush beans because the climbing varieties overtake everything. I’ve got a lot of climbers from last year germinating in the garden that I hate throwing away so I’m moving them to a setting on the other side of the yard where they can do whatever they want.

[nw baltimore wx]

1 hour ago, poolz1 said:

Hugelkultur bed is thriving....Actually, everything is doing pretty well.  Plants are loving these brilliant sunny days.

 

I don’t mind admitting that I had to look up hugelkultur bed.  Very cool.

[poolz1]

2 hours ago, nw baltimore wx said:

I don’t mind admitting that I had to look up hugelkultur bed.  Very cool.

Dont worry...I had never heard of it either as of about 2 years ago.  I was researching permaculture and found this method (huglekultur) is just a piece the permaculture pie.  Thought I would give it a try where we had an existing garden that was too far away to water regularly.  Honestly, I have yet to water this bed for 2 years.  I do water seedlings until their root structure can reach the dampness about 6" down.  

Here was the process a few years ago.

[nw baltimore wx]

43 minutes ago, poolz1 said:

Dont worry...I had never heard of it either as of about 2 years ago.  I was researching permaculture and found this method (huglekultur) is just a piece the permaculture pie.  Thought I would give it a try where we had an existing garden that was too far away to water regularly.  Honestly, I have yet to water this bed for 2 years.  I do water seedlings until their root structure can reach the dampness about 6" down.  

Here was the process a few years ago.

That's really cool.  What veggies have you grown there?

[poolz1]

2 hours ago, nw baltimore wx said:

That's really cool.  What veggies have you grown there?

Pretty much everything except root veggies and greens.  Ive used it mostly for tomatoes and vine veggies.  It's easy to train the vines over or around the mound.

On a side note...I pulled the wood chips off the top of the bed this late winter and added about 3" of our compost to the top and placed the wood chips back.  The only thing I have actually planted this spring is the row of tomatoes you see across the top.  Everything else is volunteer.  2 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 2 cucumbers and 3 of something that I am not quite sure yet what they are.  They look like cantaloupe.