2023 Mid-Atlantic Garden, Lawn, and Other Green Stuff Thread

[mattie g]

Figured I should get this going since I noticed some of the local early-budding trees (silver maples?) were swelling just a bit after the recent mild spell. I'm sure I'll have to mow in a couple weeks.

That really got me thinking about getting my seedlings started, which I now realize is only about a month away. And let's admit it...this winter is toast anyways, so we might as well start thinking about spring!

[Eskimo Joe]

Daffodils and crocuses are already spiking up. My garlic is coming along nicely. Might put some collards in around Valentine's Day.

[Ralph Wiggum]

11 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

Daffodils and crocuses are already spiking up. My garlic is coming along nicely. Might put some collards in around Valentine's Day.

My daylillies are sprouting out of the ground up this way. Daffodils are half inch out of the ground. Lilac bush has growth. Magnolia buds close to popping. Cherry Blossom Festival before PD?

[aldie 22]

seems like it has been wet enough this winter so far that the spring should be quite lush when it arrives.....in a couple of weeks

[WxUSAF]

My daffodils on the warm side of my house are 1-3” tall. Gonna be a chickweed apocalypse if we don’t get a cold couple weeks this month and February.

[mattie g]

I've got early-season allergies of some sort (pretty sure it's the early maples) and I've already started sneezing like it's March.

[MN Transplant]

First open crocus sighting 

[Kay]

Idk if this is the right thread but I just took a walk in the woods and saw a mourning cloak butterfly out and about (overwinters as an adult TILT)

[IronTy]

2 hours ago, Kay said:

Idk if this is the right thread but I just took a walk in the woods and saw a mourning cloak butterfly out and about (overwinters as an adult TILT)

That's not too abnormal, you'll often see them during a stretch of mild winter weather.   Now if you see a cecropia moth flying in to your porch light then it's another story...

[mappy]

noticed daffodils around some of my trees this morning. lol

[mattie g]

My seed order from Territorial Seed should be arriving in a couple days. Going to get my setup tidied up in preparation for getting seeds started at the beginning of next month!

I've never had a ton of success with spring vegetables, but I'm going to give it a shot this year. Lettuce, broccoli, spinach, and mache will go in for early season, followed by four different tomato varieties, jalapenos, and Athena melon (with some herbs sprinkled in).

[Kay]

5 hours ago, mattie g said:

My seed order from Territorial Seed should be arriving in a couple days. Going to get my setup tidied up in preparation for getting seeds started at the beginning of next month!

I've never had a ton of success with spring vegetables, but I'm going to give it a shot this year. Lettuce, broccoli, spinach, and mache will go in for early season, followed by four different tomato varieties, jalapenos, and Athena melon (with some herbs sprinkled in).

Exciting!

I've had issues with spring veg most years too especially lettuces. The most satisfying leafies I've ever grown are swiss chard, mustard, kale, and...fortunately I happen to like all of those. Not sure how much veg gardening I will do this year. I was short on time last spring and kinda enjoyed the less intensive annual flowers and herbs garden...we shall see!

[WxUSAF]

February 5th daffodils 

[32º]

On 1/20/2023 at 9:20 AM, mattie g said:

My seed order from Territorial Seed should be arriving in a couple days. Going to get my setup tidied up in preparation for getting seeds started at the beginning of next month!

I've never had a ton of success with spring vegetables, but I'm going to give it a shot this year. Lettuce, broccoli, spinach, and mache will go in for early season, followed by four different tomato varieties, jalapenos, and Athena melon (with some herbs sprinkled in).

Do you use a seed incubator? The tomato seeds and especially the pepper seeds need warm soil (75F) to germinate. I use a string of incandescent Christmas lights sandwiched between large, metal cooking trays, under an insulating hood with grow lights.

[mattie g]

14 hours ago, 32º said:

Do you use a seed incubator? The tomato seeds and especially the pepper seeds need warm soil (75F) to germinate. I use a string of incandescent Christmas lights sandwiched between large, metal cooking trays, under an insulating hood with grow lights.

I've got a couple heat mats plugged into the same timer as my grow lights. Soil gets to 77F or so for the 16 hours the mat is on, so they get plenty of warmth to germinate. The seed trays have tops, so they lose neither moisture nor heat. Overall, I've had really good success with germination with a pretty simple setup!

[IronTy]

I'm literally about to plant my Lola pepper seeds to get ready for spring!  I use covered seed trays, a heated mat, and LED grow lights on automatic timers and every year my peppers and tomatoes grow like gangbusters.  I also have a small desktop fan that I run on a timer every few hours to strengthen the seedling and prevent them from getting too leggy and flopping over.  

[mattie g]

Just now, IronTy said:

I'm literally about to plant my Lola pepper seeds to get ready for spring!  I use covered seed trays, a heated mat, and LED grow lights on automatic timers and every year my peppers and tomatoes grow like gangbusters.  I also have a small desktop fan that I run on a timer every few hours to strengthen the seedling and prevent them from getting too leggy and flopping over.  

I do exactly the same thing. My setup isn't fancy, by any stretch, but it's been effective!

I'm shooting to get my seeds started this coming weekend, with an eye to getting my peppers and tomatoes in the ground by the first weekend in May. If it looks like we're headed for a cold snap around then, I'll push that date to the right, as apporpriate.

[IronTy]

28 minutes ago, mattie g said:

I do exactly the same thing. My setup isn't fancy, by any stretch, but it's been effective!

I'm shooting to get my seeds started this coming weekend, with an eye to getting my peppers and tomatoes in the ground by the first weekend in May. If it looks like we're headed for a cold snap around then, I'll push that date to the right, as apporpriate.

Haha, mine isn't fancy either.  Peppers are planted!   This year I may not do tomatoes...we live in the middle of an old growth forest and as years have gone by we get less and less sun.  Combined with the squirrels and crows and I get hardly any tomatoes for us to eat.  It's weird because they say peppers need a lot of sun but my Lola/Sweet peppers get dozens of peppers every year, however I'm lucky to get ten tomatoes.  At this point I basically just grow them to get tomato hornworms every year.  

One thing that does do well in shady conditions is lettuce!  This year I broke down and ordered a cold frame from my burpee catalog.  Put it up yesterday and I'm going to plant my lettuce seeds after this post.  Radishes too.  I love to fry radishes with butter and garlic.  

 

[GATECH]

Had my pool people come out and do the winter clean and prep today!  Cant believe it’s only 3 months until we open her up for summer 2023!  Bring it!

[Its a Breeze]

Not being fooled. Putting my humming bird feeders out next week.....

[mattie g]

47 minutes ago, Its a Breeze said:

Not being fooled. Putting my humming bird feeders out next week.....

https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-migration-spring-2023-map.htm

[IronTy]

Planted my lettuce seeds in my cold box woohoo.  

[WxUSAF]

Blooming daffodils in my neighbors yard. My patch on the warm sunny side of my house will likely bloom this week. 

[MN Transplant]

First iris today 

[IronTy]

Ok, tonight will be a wet, warm February night.   I'm gonna go out after the super bowl and see how many salamanders are breeding in the pond.  I'll post pics up.   I expect spotted salamanders and also some newts.   

[mattie g]

Got my seeds started indoors on Saturday: San Marzano, Cuore di Bue, and Pomodoro Squisito tomatoes, jalapenos, lettuce, broccoli, mache, basil, and parsley.

I'll also direct-sow some spinach and more lettuce and mache in 3-4 weeks and will sprinkle some other herb seeds once the warm weather comes.

I don't have a huge garden, but I make the most of what room I've got!

[mdhokie]

On 2/6/2023 at 12:10 PM, IronTy said:

Haha, mine isn't fancy either.  Peppers are planted!   This year I may not do tomatoes...we live in the middle of an old growth forest and as years have gone by we get less and less sun.  Combined with the squirrels and crows and I get hardly any tomatoes for us to eat.  It's weird because they say peppers need a lot of sun but my Lola/Sweet peppers get dozens of peppers every year, however I'm lucky to get ten tomatoes.  At this point I basically just grow them to get tomato hornworms every year.  

One thing that does do well in shady conditions is lettuce!  This year I broke down and ordered a cold frame from my burpee catalog.  Put it up yesterday and I'm going to plant my lettuce seeds after this post.  Radishes too.  I love to fry radishes with butter and garlic.  

 

You must be building something cool with those 18650s and the microcontroller manual out

[GramaxRefugee]

Pulled a tick off the dog last evening.

I know it's been an early spring, but I really didn't expect that.

[Eskimo Joe]

Garlic is doing very well. Hoping for a banner year.

[mattie g]

1 hour ago, Eskimo Joe said:

Garlic is doing very well. Hoping for a banner year.

I prefer to grow hardneck garlics, which requires extended cold spells to properly split into cloves, so I'm hoping that some of the cold we got in December will help with that. My garlic really struggled last year, so hopefully this mild winter doesn't screw me again!