2022 Mid-Atlantic Garden, Lawn, and Other Green Stuff Thread

[mattie g]

6 hours ago, wxdude64 said:

Sounds like it is time to harvest squirrels then...

Believe me when I tell you that I've been fantasizing for years about getting a pellet gun and picking them off from my bedroom window, which overlooks my garden. This year I've been closer than ever to doing it, but I don't think the wife would go for it...and not sure I have the stomach to actually go through with it!

[Eskimo Joe]

5 hours ago, mattie g said:

Believe me when I tell you that I've been fantasizing for years about getting a pellet gun and picking them off from my bedroom window, which overlooks my garden. This year I've been closer than ever to doing it, but I don't think the wife would go for it...and not sure I have the stomach to actually go through with it!

I'm going to be honest with you, it's just easier to get a large have-a-heart trap and get them one at a time, then drive about 2 miles away and release all the same squirrels in a park or game preserver area, etc. If you transfer them all to the same area, they'll group up again and have a better time surviving. Harmless to all parties, but time consuming.

[wxdude64]

9 hours ago, mattie g said:

Believe me when I tell you that I've been fantasizing for years about getting a pellet gun and picking them off from my bedroom window, which overlooks my garden. This year I've been closer than ever to doing it, but I don't think the wife would go for it...and not sure I have the stomach to actually go through with it!

Understand. There are squirrels, chipmunks, deer and bear that have all crossed the property here. The deer think the hostas on one side of the house are a buffet/salad bar. The squirrels broke into or ate every seed in the birdfeeders set out, the one they had trouble with a bear bent the pole over and smashed it to bits lol.

[MN Transplant]

16 hours ago, wxdude64 said:

Understand. There are squirrels, chipmunks, deer and bear that have all crossed the property here. The deer think the hostas on one side of the house are a buffet/salad bar. The squirrels broke into or ate every seed in the birdfeeders set out, the one they had trouble with a bear bent the pole over and smashed it to bits lol.

Hostas are deer food only, and you can't convince me otherwise.  

Plenty of tomatoes, but they are sure slow to ripen.  Our fig tree is finally grown enough to really start producing.

[IronTy]

17 hours ago, wxdude64 said:

Understand. There are squirrels, chipmunks, deer and bear that have all crossed the property here. The deer think the hostas on one side of the house are a buffet/salad bar. The squirrels broke into or ate every seed in the birdfeeders set out, the one they had trouble with a bear bent the pole over and smashed it to bits lol.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0007LQ3RQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

I've had one of these for a couple years now and I can confirm it is 100% squirrel proof.  They can't solve it despite hours of trying.  

 

[IronTy]

Not monarchs but my regalis have started pupating. They're monsters this year. Not sure why they grew so huge other than copious rain and very hot. One of my females is 18 grams.

 

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[mattie g]

17 minutes ago, IronTy said:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0007LQ3RQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

I've had one of these for a couple years now and I can confirm it is 100% squirrel proof.  They can't solve it despite hours of trying.  

 

That's a huge feeder. I have a 1.3-lb capacity feeder that works great. Squirrels have never ben able to feed from it. They just eat the seeds that fall to the ground.

[IronTy]

1 minute ago, mattie g said:

That's a huge feeder. I have a 1.3-lb capacity feeder that works great. Squirrels have never ben able to feed from it. They just eat the seeds that fall to the ground.

All the better in winter, fewer trips outside to fill.   We have so many birds here that it usually needs refilling every 3 days or so.  Stupid house finches just sit there and mow through it.  At least the titmice, woodpeckers and chickadees have the decency to fly away with the seed to eat it (or hide it).  I find little stashes of sunflower seeds in the strangest places.  

[IronTy]

Not sure if there are any other lep lovers here. I had this girl eclose a few days ago. It's actually an eacles imperialis form didyma. The female has much more dark markings on the wing margins than regular imperialis. They're very rare around here. In 20yrs of rearing and collecting down in Calvert co. I've never seen a didyma. Luckily she paired with a wild males, I hope some of her offspring have the same trait.

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[IronTy]

Check these out. L4/L5 larvae of the Death's Head Hawkmoth. It puts the lotion on its skin.

Ok back to my basement to continue sewing....

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[mattie g]

^ = Bait

[IronTy]

^ = Bait

Wut!? At ease @mattie g these babies are too valuable to waste on fish. Those regalis are worth about $10 a piece.

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[IronTy]

Look at these babies. Gorgeous coloring and growing very quickly. They do very well on Chaste which is no surprise since they both hail from the Mediterranean.

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[IronTy]

Look at these babies.  They put the lotion on the skin.

[MN Transplant]

August is the worst

[IronTy]

48 minutes ago, MN Transplant said:

August is the worst

Just waiting on the pattern shift to overseed....

[Kay]

I am finally making headway with Raccoons Who Love To Dig Up Containers. So PSA, they do not seem to like salvia! They don't touch three big containers of it AND I found they stopped &%(-ing with other flower containers after salvia was added.

YMMV, I'm talking about this one: https://parkseed.com/summer-jewel-red-salvia-seeds/p/51689-PK-P1/  Grew it from seed a few years ago but it keeps reseeding itself so there is a steady supply. Also does all right indoors for winter. Hummingbirds are crazy about it.

 

[Bodhi Cove]

Bummer, the female hummingbird and her two juveniles left to head south this morning.  

[Eskimo Joe]

1 hour ago, Bodhi Cove said:

Bummer, the female hummingbird and her two juveniles left to head south this morning.  

We're getting transitory hummingbirds at our feeders now. Haven't seen the resident hummers for about 2 weeks.

[mattie g]

23 hours ago, Bodhi Cove said:

Bummer, the female hummingbird and her two juveniles left to head south this morning.  

Did they leave a note?

[Eskimo Joe]

Garden gets shut down this weekend. Save a few eggplants, everything is done.

[mattie g]

2 hours ago, Eskimo Joe said:

Garden gets shut down this weekend. Save a few eggplants, everything is done.

I keep mine going as long as possible, and especially so this year because of all the tomatoes I lost to squirrels. I have quite a few lbs of tomatoes still on the vine and haven't had ANY disease issues with the plants so far. I have plenty of jalapenos going and my basil is out of control, as well.

I'll probably keep the plants up until at least the middle of October, assuming no random early frost.

[Eskimo Joe]

43 minutes ago, mattie g said:

I keep mine going as long as possible, and especially so this year because of all the tomatoes I lost to squirrels. I have quite a few lbs of tomatoes still on the vine and haven't had ANY disease issues with the plants so far. I have plenty of jalapenos going and my basil is out of control, as well.

I'll probably keep the plants up until at least the middle of October, assuming no random early frost.

Our raised beds are cooling off. Ground temp sensor has temps in the mid 70s and dropping by about 1-2 degrees each week. 

[mattie g]

Just now, Eskimo Joe said:

Our raised beds are cooling off. Ground temp sensor has temps in the mid 70s and dropping by about 1-2 degrees each week. 

I've got raised beds and pots, as well. I just go by how the plants look and the general health of any of the fruits and vegetables. I've honestly not had any issues other some standard diseases in the past, and without so much as a spot of fungal issues or the like this year I'm just going to let them run.

I'll check soil temps early in the season when I direct sow spring crops, but otherwise I don't bother. To each their own, I suppose. I just like to keep my garden going for as long as it's willing to keep producing for me!

[Eskimo Joe]

1 minute ago, mattie g said:

I've got raised beds and pots, as well. I just go by how the plants look and the general health of any of the fruits and vegetables. I've honestly not had any issues other some standard diseases in the past, and without so much as a spot of fungal issues or the like this year I'm just going to let them run.

I'll check soil temps early in the season when I direct sow spring crops, but otherwise I don't bother. To each their own, I suppose. I just like to keep my garden going for as long as it's willing to keep producing for me!

I much prefer raised beds because you can control the soil chemistry, and because of the beds being elevated they fare a bit better during wet periods.

[mattie g]

15 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

I much prefer raised beds because you can control the soil chemistry, and because of the beds being elevated they fare a bit better during wet periods.

Same. I love having raised beds. I built mine about four years ago and have had great results with them.

I try not to get too bogged down in my gardening. I've got great soil after having been working and amending it for about 10 years or so, and when I built the beds I made sure to fill them with some of that good soil I'd be working on in the years prior. The beds help keep all the good stuff where it needs to be and, like you said, keep them generally better off during anomalous periods of wet (or dry).

[WxUSAF]

Putting in a new native plant garden bed. Hoping to get all the plants in the ground before the rain this weekend.

[nj2va]

9 minutes ago, WxUSAF said:

Putting in a new native plant garden bed. Hoping to get all the plants in the ground before the rain this weekend.

Great timing for that with the wet weekend approaching.  We have landscapers here this week redoing our front landscaping and adding path/up lighting…I’m happy to see the wet weather this weekend to give it a good soaking.

[mattie g]

I like it, @WxUSAF!

Wife and I have been debating putting in a native bed in one section of our front that doesn't have much grass and could really use some building up. Not sure we'll get to it this year, though, since we have a local nursery coming by today to consult on professionally doing our backyard landscaping. Might be a bit much to do two decent landscaping projects at once. If not this year, then definitely next year...

[WxUSAF]

58 minutes ago, mattie g said:

I like it, @WxUSAF!

Wife and I have been debating putting in a native bed in one section of our front that doesn't have much grass and could really use some building up. Not sure we'll get to it this year, though, since we have a local nursery coming by today to consult on professionally doing our backyard landscaping. Might be a bit much to do two decent landscaping projects at once. If not this year, then definitely next year...

Thanks!

You could just go the cheaper/lazier/slower route and get a native meadow seed mix and just let it fill in. Those usually have a variety of native grasses and wildflowers that will handle a sunny and dry spot well once they are established.  Lots of online native nurseries sell something like that.