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

[nj2va]

My cherry tomatoes that I planted a few weeks ago are doing well. The cool snap hasn’t seemed to affected their growth at all. Heat island FTW!

[mattie g]

12 hours ago, Terpeast said:

Anyone know what I can use as a good squirrel repellent for my deck plants? Those little bastards keep pulling them out or tipping my pots over. 

I tried sprinkling ground pepper in and around the plants, but it seems the rain washed that away. 

I've used cayenne similar to how you probably used the ground pepper. It works to an extent, but it's not a permanent solution for sure. I have a problem with them eating my tomatoes, especially early in the season, but I haven't had a ton of success keeping them away except to maybe deter them for a bit here and there.

[BlizzardNole]

13 hours ago, Terpeast said:

Anyone know what I can use as a good squirrel repellent for my deck plants? Those little bastards keep pulling them out or tipping my pots over. 

I tried sprinkling ground pepper in and around the plants, but it seems the rain washed that away. 

I've tried spray repellents and they don't really work long.  After having two nice potted plants attacked and destroyed I got these pot grids linked below.  You can cut them to size and cover with a thin layer of mulch for looks.  The little monsters can't dig in there any more.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B31C21XQ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

 

[nw baltimore wx]

17 minutes ago, dailylurker said:

Same here! Only 42 at my place this morning. Can't wait to get my weed plants in! Tomatoes and other stuff too of course lol

I don’t smoke but I’d like to try growing it. Unfortunately, I don’t have a fenced yard.

[Kay]

Welp, it'll be the second year running growing no veg. BUT I have a table of annual flower seedlings ready to go for the pollinator patch. Lots of different zinnias (fave), tithonia (other fave), and cosmos. And plenty of basil - genovese, thai, and Persian, which I only discovered last year and is delicious! I always let some basil bloom and go to seed so I count it in the flowers too

[Kay]

1 hour ago, BlizzardNole said:

I've tried spray repellents and they don't really work long.  After having two nice potted plants attacked and destroyed I got these pot grids linked below.  You can cut them to size and cover with a thin layer of mulch for looks.  The little monsters can't dig in there any more.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B31C21XQ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

 

Cool concept.

I don't think I have squirrel issues but have been plagued with similar behavior from raccoons. I think I posted about it last year...they will totally dig up containers...I found by accident that they really hate salvia and won't dig any pot that includes it. I'm talking about really fragrant type that smells sage-y/spicy, but only bc I haven't tried anything else. Maybe squirrels hate it too idk!

[wxdude64]

1 hour ago, Kay said:

Welp, it'll be the second year running growing no veg. BUT I have a table of annual flower seedlings ready to go for the pollinator patch. Lots of different zinnias (fave), tithonia (other fave), and cosmos. And plenty of basil - genovese, thai, and Persian, which I only discovered last year and is delicious! I always let some basil bloom and go to seed so I count it in the flowers too

So frost got your plants?  

[Kay]

24 minutes ago, wxdude64 said:

So frost got your plants?  

No, but I totally get how it sounded that way I didn't start/buy any veg plants, mostly because spring and early summer have become super busy times for me plus travel plans. So being lower maintenance about the gardening.

[mattie g]

Finally got my tender crops in yesterday!

[North Balti Zen]

I’m trying for tomatoes this year. Never tried . Just bought six plants and six cages. 

[snowfan]

Planted Trinidad scorpion, ghost, and sweet yellow and red peppers along with Roma, Brandywine heirloom, sun gold cherry, supersweet 100 cherry, and midnight snack cherry tomatoes.

decided against Carolina reaper after growing them the last 2 seasons. They’re just too damn hot for most practical uses. And i still have a bunch in the freezer.

[BlizzardNole]

Yikes frost advisory all the way into central MD.  Gonna be a close call with all my tender annuals in the ground!

Northern PA looking at a hard freeze with temps as low as mid-20s

[North Balti Zen]

FFS

 

no.

[Amorphous Iodine]

One benefit of this dry spring is that stone fruits do not get very diseased.

[CAPE]

Trying to identify this. The leaf looks like wild violet, but I don't recall ever seeing the purple-ish flowers. It has been around mostly in places I don't care about, but now the stuff is prolific. Hard to keep out of the mulch beds. Impossible to get all the roots when pulling it. 

 

 

[WxUSAF]

Pretty sure those are violets 

[CAPE]

40 minutes ago, WxUSAF said:

Pretty sure those are violets 

What will kill them? 

[mattie g]

14 hours ago, CAPE said:

What will kill them? 

Agree that they're wild violet. I've been told that the average homeowner really can't even get broad-application herbicide that will handle them but not nuke basically everything else around - it requires professional application.

[CAPE]

Just another weed I will learn to love I guess lol. I am good with moss and clover- good groundcover since the grass never lasts past the solstice. I have an innate hatred for dandelions though.

[Bodhi Cove]

4 hours ago, CAPE said:

Just another weed I will learn to love I guess lol. I am good with moss and clover- good groundcover since the grass never lasts past the solstice. I have an innate hatred for dandelions though.

I'd happily trade your dandelions if you would take my Virginia creeper

[Eskimo Joe]

23 hours ago, CAPE said:

Trying to identify this. The leaf looks like wild violet, but I don't recall ever seeing the purple-ish flowers. It has been around mostly in places I don't care about, but now the stuff is prolific. Hard to keep out of the mulch beds. Impossible to get all the roots when pulling it. 

100% violets. If you want to mitigate them without harsh chemicals, try removing all the mulch, put down a dense layer of newspaper, then 3 to 4 inches of mulch. It will work well for a year or two.

[CAPE]

2 hours ago, Bodhi Cove said:

I'd happily trade your dandelions if you would take my Virginia creeper

I have that too, but it stays mostly along the edge of the woods.

[WxUSAF]

Watered established perennials and some shrubs 

[BlizzardNole]

Wow the 7-day QPF outlook with zero.  Time to start running the sprinklers even for the grass and watering established shrubs.  We need rain soon!

Flower garden looking good but I have almost no hummingbirds this year.  I always have had lots by now so I have no idea what's going on.

[North Balti Zen]

Yeah, I’ve only seen one hummingbird at the feeder. Absolute change from last year. Puzzling.

[CAPE]

15 hours ago, WxUSAF said:

Watered established perennials and some shrubs 

Just did the same thing this morning. So nice out, but the soil is parched.

[frd]

On 5/22/2023 at 4:54 PM, CAPE said:

I have that too, but it stays mostly along the edge of the woods.

What is the best clover killer @CAPE?  Thanks. 

[CAPE]

22 minutes ago, frd said:

What is the best clover killer @CAPE?  Thanks. 

Most general lawn safe weed killers will do it I think. I leave it alone because it's a good groundcover in combo with the grass (before it goes to hell).

[BlizzardNole]

4 hours ago, North Balti Zen said:

Yeah, I’ve only seen one hummingbird at the feeder. Absolute change from last year. Puzzling.

That's not good to hear as you are the third different location I know of where activity is way down this year (me in Germantown, parents in northern Calvert, and you).  I've kept notes for over 10 years and it's been very consistent:  arrive late April, lots around except for a bit of a quiet period in mid-late May(probably nesting), then lots again for rest of summer.  I keep two feeders out of sight from each other plus lots of attracting flowers.  Other years I could sit by a window or on the deck and see them around almost all the time.  Now I might see one brief visit if I sit out there for a half hour.

I've had whole days where I didn't see a single one and that never happened in past summers.  I was wondering if the dryness or the super-warm winter had something to do with it but that doesn't make sense.  I hope there hasn't been some kind of big population decline like what has happened to monarch butterflies some years.  I have not been able to find anything doing web searches.

It's still just early June so I hope they show up soon.

 

[wxdude64]

8 hours ago, BlizzardNole said:

That's not good to hear as you are the third different location I know of where activity is way down this year (me in Germantown, parents in northern Calvert, and you).  I've kept notes for over 10 years and it's been very consistent:  arrive late April, lots around except for a bit of a quiet period in mid-late May(probably nesting), then lots again for rest of summer.  I keep two feeders out of sight from each other plus lots of attracting flowers.  Other years I could sit by a window or on the deck and see them around almost all the time.  Now I might see one brief visit if I sit out there for a half hour.

I've had whole days where I didn't see a single one and that never happened in past summers.  I was wondering if the dryness or the super-warm winter had something to do with it but that doesn't make sense.  I hope there hasn't been some kind of big population decline like what has happened to monarch butterflies some years.  I have not been able to find anything doing web searches.

It's still just early June so I hope they show up soon.

 

Just had our first sighting here Thursday, and only one. Usually we have 6-10 fighting for the feeders.