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2024 Mid-Atlantic Garden, Lawn, and Other Green Stuff Thread


mattie g
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  On 3/9/2024 at 3:48 PM, nw baltimore wx said:

I’m going to have to cut the backyard in a week.

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LOL. My wife relented yesterday and mowed our front lawn...it might be our earliest ever mowing. It was definitely in need of a haircut, though, and would've been an absolute mess if we let it go 'til next weekend....with a number of days in the 70s forecasted between now and then.  ;) 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I decided to wage a bit of a battle with wild violet. Futile I know. I just want to keep it from completely taking over the mulched plant beds. Ripping the roots out but they are dense and the rhizomes are extensive. Never ending lol. I'll give it a go to see if it makes any difference. In the end I will probably have to learn to love it, just like my dandelion farm. :yikes:

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  On 3/24/2024 at 5:00 PM, WxUSAF said:

Violets are native at least! Host plants for some butterflies as well. 

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Yeah and it isn't ugly. It has become more prolific over the last couple years in certain places though. I can't maintain more than a small area of decent grass, so it is mostly a combo of moss, clover, dandelions, and now violet everywhere else. Doesn't look nice when it takes over the mulch areas though.

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I just started a bunch of flower seeds for my annuals pollinator patch. Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) which I HIGHly rec for anyone who wants to see a lot of butterflies and hummingbirds ..also zinnias (same) which I'm kinda obsessed with and started 10 types. Some cosmos. Also genovese basil, persian basil, flat parsley, dill. I may pop in some cucumbers but they usually break my heart all too soon, aaaaand I'm skipping tomatoes/other again this year.

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I mowed early this year on Saturday, front yard wasn't quite ready but the back was a jungle. If i waited until after this weeks rains I would have been one sad feller. It's funny how you get out of yardwork shape during the winter, those first few times out are a challenge as I get older. That sure sucks to say

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  On 3/31/2024 at 8:38 PM, Kay said:

I just started a bunch of flower seeds for my annuals pollinator patch. Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) which I HIGHly rec for anyone who wants to see a lot of butterflies and hummingbirds ..also zinnias (same) which I'm kinda obsessed with and started 10 types. Some cosmos. Also genovese basil, persian basil, flat parsley, dill. I may pop in some cucumbers but they usually break my heart all too soon, aaaaand I'm skipping tomatoes/other again this year.

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I'm looking for a batch of native flowering seeds that I can scatter over a 100 x 100 ft area. It's slightly moist, with intermittent sun. Looking to just throw them and see what grows. Any suggestions?

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  On 4/4/2024 at 1:32 AM, Eskimo Joe said:

I'm looking for a batch of native flowering seeds that I can scatter over a 100 x 100 ft area. It's slightly moist, with intermittent sun. Looking to just throw them and see what grows. Any suggestions?

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Prairie Nursery and other online nurseries have seed mixes that would probably work for that. 

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  On 4/4/2024 at 1:32 AM, Eskimo Joe said:

I'm looking for a batch of native flowering seeds that I can scatter over a 100 x 100 ft area. It's slightly moist, with intermittent sun. Looking to just throw them and see what grows. Any suggestions?

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Those are both good suggestions for seed mix sources. I grow flowering native perennials but have never tried a seed mix scatter/meadow approach over a large area. Has anyone? Let us know how it goes if you try it?

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  On 4/4/2024 at 1:32 AM, Eskimo Joe said:

I'm looking for a batch of native flowering seeds that I can scatter over a 100 x 100 ft area. It's slightly moist, with intermittent sun. Looking to just throw them and see what grows. Any suggestions?

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  On 4/4/2024 at 10:00 AM, WxUSAF said:

Prairie Nursery and other online nurseries have seed mixes that would probably work for that. 

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  On 4/4/2024 at 10:09 AM, dailylurker said:

American Meadow 

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  On 4/4/2024 at 12:29 PM, Kay said:

Those are both good suggestions for seed mix sources. I grow flowering native perennials but have never tried a seed mix scatter/meadow approach over a large area. Has anyone? Let us know how it goes if you try it?

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I have a 20x15 spot I'd like to try something like this, partial shade though..... same seed types?

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Seems the past 4-5years, a ninja cold snap would ruin the emerging flower buds on our pink dogwood resulting in no, or just a few blossoms. This year our luck changed. I'm thinking there was likely at least one cold morning in late March while we were traveling, as the bottom 1/8th of the dogwood hasn't flowered much but the rest of the crown looks pretty good right now.

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  On 4/16/2024 at 5:19 PM, Eskimo Joe said:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say no late freeze this year.

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Depends where you are. The USDA screwed up big time moving the Shen Valley to a warmer zone it appears. Dont get me wrong I would love to have an extra 2-3 weeks of growing season. But a lot of people are about to lose their gardens this week. 

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  On 3/31/2024 at 8:38 PM, Kay said:

I just started a bunch of flower seeds for my annuals pollinator patch. Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) which I HIGHly rec for anyone who wants to see a lot of butterflies and hummingbirds ..also zinnias (same) which I'm kinda obsessed with and started 10 types. Some cosmos. Also genovese basil, persian basil, flat parsley, dill. I may pop in some cucumbers but they usually break my heart all too soon, aaaaand I'm skipping tomatoes/other again this year.

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I want to add both to my garden this year.  My mom had some last year and her garden looked like one of those butterfly exhibits!

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  On 5/4/2024 at 12:40 AM, Eskimo Joe said:

My fig tree lives!

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Mine too. I added cow manure recently will give more fruit late in the season. Apply straw mulch as a top dressing to keep moisture in the soil,  but also prevent the heat when it gets to 90 and above. 

Early in the season they say by hitting the lower bark it signals the fig to wake up from its winter slumber.    

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  On 5/4/2024 at 1:10 AM, frd said:

Mine too. I added cow manure recently will give more fruit late in the season. Apply straw mulch as a top dressing to keep moisture in the soil,  but also prevent the heat when it gets to 90 and above. 

Early in the season they say by hitting the lower bark it signals the fig to wake up from its winter slumber.    

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Eh?

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  On 5/4/2024 at 2:46 AM, Eskimo Joe said:

Eh?

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Nitrogen is key to a fig tree producing fruit. The fig tree may also require trace minerals and a rather large area under the tree canopy free of grass,  but covered with straw to prevent nitrogen run off and to keep a balance of soil moisture.   

Here is a good link 

FYI.  The title below seems that the article is only about nitrogen,  but it is a much broader article in general.  

 

https://www.growveg.com/guides/how-to-fertilize-fruit-trees/#:~:text=Once young trees find their,but this method has drawbacks.

 

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  On 5/3/2024 at 1:47 PM, nw baltimore wx said:

I know it's been discussed in the past, but what are some good remedies for carpenter bees?

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Google Carpenter bee traps. You can buy them or make your own. As the owner of a log cabin in an area with plenty of carpenter bees, I've found these to be the only effective solution. Key is to place them in areas where bees tend to drill- if there are previous infestations, puff delta dust (or pump WD40 lol) in the holes-which are up to a foot long and always take a 90 degree turn from the opening. Once the queen/larvae are eradicated, plug the hole and place a trap there. Best done at the end of summer/early Fall. Next Spring when they return, you got em'. It's effing glorious. If you plug the hole and leave anything alive in there, the woodpeckers will come and peck out the whole channel, requiring repair of the wood. I made all these mistakes years ago not knowing the nature of it.

Original B Brothers-Carpenter Bee Trap

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