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

[Eskimo Joe]

1 hour ago, mattie g said:

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!

Hardnecks are the best. My wife is sicilian so we make our own tomato sauce and when combined with home grown garlic, it makes for one of the best meals you'll ever have. We cannot go back to store brought garlic.

[diatae]

4 hours ago, mattie g said:

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!

My hardneck was awful last year too. We're building a garage over my current bed, so no crop for this year. I hope yours turns out ok!

[WxUSAF]

Buds on my red maple have to be 4-6 weeks ahead of normal schedule?

[mattie g]

38 minutes ago, WxUSAF said:

Buds on my red maple have to be 4-6 weeks ahead of normal schedule?

Sounds about right.

[Paleocene]

1 hour ago, WxUSAF said:

Buds on my red maple have to be 4-6 weeks ahead of normal schedule?

Cars in my neighborhood have a light dusting of pollen from maples and others today.

[mattie g]

12 minutes ago, Paleocene said:

Cars in my neighborhood have a light dusting of pollen from maples and others today.

ItS nOt PoLlEn!!1!

[Ralph Wiggum]

5 minutes ago, mattie g said:

ItS nOt PoLlEn!!1!

Well, it isn't debris from salting the roads, so what is it?

[mattie g]

4 minutes ago, Ralph Wiggum said:

Well, it isn't debris from salting the roads, so what is it?

Someone posted a tweet in banter that claimed it was related to an incident from three weeks ago, but the post was rightly hidden...but not before some of us saw it and commented on it. 

[Ralph Wiggum]

6 minutes ago, mattie g said:

Someone posted a tweet in banter that claimed it was related to an incident from three weeks ago, but the post was rightly hidden...but not before some of us saw it and commented on it. 

Ahhh, I see. 

[nw baltimore wx]

2 hours ago, WxUSAF said:

Buds on my red maple have to be 4-6 weeks ahead of normal schedule?

Some of the red buds from my swamp maple have fallen on my driveway already.

[IronTy]

Camellias have started to bloom.  This beats even 2012 as the earliest date in the 17yrs I've had them.  

 

 

[mattie g]

38 minutes ago, IronTy said:

Camellias have started to bloom.  This beats even 2012 as the earliest date in the 17yrs I've had them.  

 

 

Ours often bloom around Christmas and into January and February, as their name would suggest.

[IronTy]

23 minutes ago, mattie g said:

Ours often bloom around Christmas and into January and February, as their name would suggest.

What!?  Ours never bloom that ?early/late?  Are they sasanquas?  We have a couple of those and they typically bloom in late fall or early winter but that's typical for sasanqua.  But japonikas (in my pic) don't normally bloom until early spring.

[mattie g]

41 minutes ago, IronTy said:

What!?  Ours never bloom that ?early/late?  Are they sasanquas?  We have a couple of those and they typically bloom in late fall or early winter but that's typical for sasanqua.  But japonikas (in my pic) don't normally bloom until early spring.

No idea! They were here when we moved in 13 years ago.

[Eskimo Joe]

Lawn is slowly waking up. Everything is getting that look of anticipation of leaf out.

[nw baltimore wx]

58 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

Lawn is slowly waking up. Everything is getting that look of anticipation of leaf out.

Parts of my lawn need to be mowed.

[vastateofmind]

23 minutes ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Parts of my lawn need to be mowed.

Preach. Gonna have to mow everywhere next week at the latest, given some of the heartier patches of new grass growth...and if so, it'll be the earliest mowing I remember for 30+ years.

On a semi-related note -- definitely heard the peepers waking up in the wetlands backing my neighborhood, on several of our warmer evenings last week. Sure, we COULD still get snow....but all the signs are pointing to an anomalous early welcome to spring.

[IronTy]

3 hours ago, mattie g said:

No idea! They were here when we moved in 13 years ago.

They must be sasanquas.  It's normal for them to bloom in late fall or early winter.  The flowers are kinda lame compared to japonicas though.  

[nw baltimore wx]

@mattie g and @Eskimo Joe and @anyonethatknowsaboutgarlic

Hardneck garlic is the type the goes brown and falls over in early summer, right? I’ve had good success with it but how do you store it and foR how long?

[mattie g]

14 hours ago, nw baltimore wx said:

@mattie g and @Eskimo Joe and @anyonethatknowsaboutgarlic

Hardneck garlic is the type the goes brown and falls over in early summer, right? I’ve had good success with it but how do you store it and foR how long?

Not sure about going brown and falling over, but they're the type that forms scapes (which you cut before they bloom) and that have the hard stem between the cloves. You do need to harvest them as the leaves start to brown, which usually happens in early to mid summer, so maybe that's what you're referring to. Wait too long to harvest and the cloves start to separate and the head definitely won't store as well.

From what I've read, they don't store quite as long as most softnecks, but I've stored them for 8+ months on a number of occasions, as long as I've harvested them in good time and cured them properly.

[Eskimo Joe]

15 hours ago, nw baltimore wx said:

@mattie g and @Eskimo Joe and @anyonethatknowsaboutgarlic

Hardneck garlic is the type the goes brown and falls over in early summer, right? I’ve had good success with it but how do you store it and foR how long?

Plant in December, cover generously with straw. Cut off the first set of skanes that appear. Let the leaves go brown after that but harvest before the stem withers. Use a fork if the ground is hard. Let dry in a shaded, dry space for a week. Cut and clean as appropriate. 

[Its a Breeze]

On 2/24/2023 at 9:24 AM, Ralph Wiggum said:

Well, it isn't debris from salting the roads, so what is it?

https://wtop.com/weather-news/2023/02/dust-spotted-on-cars-west-of-d-c-where-did-it-originate/

Not sure if tweet stated it was from two states over, more like 7 to 8 states over. 

[WxUSAF]

Looking like my saucer magnolia will probably start to bloom in the next 5-7 days and then probably get nuked when #thebestpatternever arrives with temps in the low 20s. Also seeing buds on willows, Bradford pears (ugh), and some cherries already blooming.

[BlizzardNole]

Got my trays of milkweed going so they'll be ready to plant in early May -- after we endure a few weeks in April with blocking and coastal lows bringing low 40s and rain.  Watch it happen

[Ravens94]

Spring

[nj2va]

I have been painstakingly trying to pull up all the hairy bittercress in our back/front yard before the seeds mature and they “pop” when you touch it.  Such an annoying weed.

[nw baltimore wx]

8 hours ago, nj2va said:

I have been painstakingly trying to pull up all the hairy bittercress in our back/front yard before the seeds mature and they “pop” when you touch it.  Such an annoying weed.

Did you put down a pre-emergent?  Anything labeled for crabgrass should work.

[nj2va]

41 minutes ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Did you put down a pre-emergent?  Anything labeled for crabgrass should work.

Ah, thanks for that recommendation!  Will do that this week.

[vastateofmind]

18 hours ago, nj2va said:

I have been painstakingly trying to pull up all the hairy bittercress in our back/front yard before the seeds mature and they “pop” when you touch it.  Such an annoying weed.

Dude, PREACH. I despise this stuff....my front yard is covered in this damn weed already, but somehow, it never appears in my BACK yard. So bizarre. I think I'm just gonna break down and call TruGreen this season...there's too many challenges going on in both the front/back yards that I can't seem to handle this year.

[nj2va]

2 hours ago, vastateofmind said:

Dude, PREACH. I despise this stuff....my front yard is covered in this damn weed already, but somehow, it never appears in my BACK yard. So bizarre. I think I'm just gonna break down and call TruGreen this season...there's too many challenges going on in both the front/back yards that I can't seem to handle this year.

We just got back from dinner and I was outside pulling these fckers up when I got out of the car.  Let me know if you like them…I’m ready to give up and do the same ha.