Gardening: Plants, Flowers, Veggies, Trees and All Things Green

[JustAnotherFlower]

Sounds like my kinda day.

Will you plant those outside eventually? Or staying in the greenhouse?

I should have moved my pumpkins inside yesterday. They are warm weather plants and I need them to be ready for the 4H fair in late august. 125 day growing cycle.

Everything else is growing well. Getting ready for our farm stand, with sunflower, lettuce, tomato and marigold seedlings.

I'll plant everything outside eventually. Well, mostly everything. I'm trying to sell some of the extra tomato plants right now.

We haven't started pumpkins yet- it's on the to do list! Same goes for watermelons, cucumbers, and zinnias.

My youngest has been a great helper with making potting mix and up potting tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, basils, and cilantro.

Is the farm stand on your property or at a local farmer's market? It's tempting to see if I can find a niche selling hot peppers at the Farmer's Market, but I'll give things another year to stabilize.

 

[Cymru9696]

I started tomato, cucumber, fennel, beet and sunflower indoors about 4 weeks ago in peat pots with grow lights and natural light.
They will go into the ground in the next week or so, and I figure I have saved over $100 by growing from seed.
My rainwater collection system is crude but effective, and if you garden, you know how your babies respond to rainwater vs tap H2O.

 

[Lily13]

My wife got me this cool little thing where you can make plant starter cups out of newspaper. They are completely biodegradable like a peat pot. I made and planted about 150 sunflowers for our farmstand. What we don’t sell we will plant at the farm and at our house.

Peat pots can get expensive and my mom is an old school newspaper reader so I just take her newspaper recycling once in a while…


https://www.gardeners.com/buy/paper-pot-maker/38-636.html

https://twitter.com/x/status/1648076943378530306

I’ve read that you can use ice cream cones too: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/planting-in-ice-cream-cones.htm

Purple azalea on the edge of my yard

https://imgur.com/a/1IPgMZ0

Beautiful!

https://www.***********/s/m88tej1igiqad0m/1681836371541.jpg?dl=0

Been a beautiful, busy morning of moving plants and up-potting.

Gorgeous peppers. Everything looks so crisp.

 

[Lily13]

I started tomato, cucumber, fennel, beet and sunflower indoors about 4 weeks ago in peat pots with grow lights and natural light.
They will go into the ground in the next week or so, and I figure I have saved over $100 by growing from seed.
My rainwater collection system is crude but effective, and if you garden, you know how your babies respond to rainwater vs tap H2O.

What zone are you that you can plant next week? Our area you can’t plant until after Mother’s Day.

 

[Cymru9696]

What zone are you that you can plant next week? Our area you can’t plant until after Mother’s Day.

Zone 7. I have tracked multiple weather forecasts and there’s little to stand in the way, as temps are mostly way above usual here.
I’ll play it safe with basil and similar, more fragile plants that hate the cold.
Those I’ll keep inside until May

 

[Lily13]

Zone 7. I have tracked multiple weather forecasts and there’s little to stand in the way, as temps are mostly way above usual here.
I’ll play it safe with basil and similar, more fragile plants that hate the cold.
Those I’ll keep inside until May

We are zone 6 and tonite it’s supposed to go down to 39°

 

[Wonderer67]

My youngest has been a great helper with making potting mix and up potting tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, basils, and cilantro.

Is the farm stand on your property or at a local farmer's market? It's tempting to see if I can find a niche selling hot peppers at the Farmer's Market, but I'll give things another year to stabilize.

That’s great that you got the young one helping you out. I miss those days!

Our farmstand is just out the road from our farm. We sell seedlings, flowers, firewood, pumpkins, gourds, and sunflowers. I think you could find a niche market, a friend of mine in Colorado sells all diff varieties of mushrooms at a farmers market and to restaurants.

 

[Wonderer67]

7. I have tracked multiple weather forecasts and there’s little to stand in the way, as temps are mostly way above usual here.
I’ll play it safe with basil and similar, more fragile plants that hate the cold.
Those I’ll keep inside until May

I was thinking maybe you were in Wales given the username. I do the same - plant earlier than I’m supposed to. It’s a risk but mostly turns out ok.

We are zone 6 and tonite it’s supposed to go down to 39°

I agree Lilly. I think we’re in zone 7. Didn’t it change a few years ago. Regardless, it was cold last night and I’m glad I brought my pumpkins inside.

I usually abide by the Mother’s Day rule as well. You never know what will happen this time of year, it can be 90°, or 30°.

A surprise late frost can be so heartbreaking if there is just too much emerging to cover.

yes, I always cheat and put my stuff in the ground a little bit early, Especially for stuff I want to have ready for the 4H fair in mid august.

 

[Wonderer67]

The four stages of punkin farming.

1. Collecting the unsold punkins.
2. Our annual Christmas Day punkin smooshing w my family.
3. DEC 26th is picking up all of the seeds: rinsing them, and drying them and putting them in a cold place to stratify.
4. The new years punkins. These are my super max and big max varieties. Trying to go for a county record.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649128921625948162

 

[JustAnotherFlower]

A gentleman gave me $40 dollars for this tomato and one other..

https://www.***********/s/c2tm1o26vg2lbgu/20230419_160605.jpg?dl=0

 

[Wonderer67]

Wow! $40 for two plants? That’s amazing!

 

[JustAnotherFlower]

Wow! $40 for two plants? That’s amazing!

It was a happy surprise for me, too! One lady paid $5 and another $10 per pot.

I meant to ask you- do you ever toast the pumpkin seeds and sell them?

 

[Wonderer67]

That’s fantastic!

I used to but haven’t in many years. We didn’t sell them, just for the fam and neighbors. But now that everyone loves pumpkin spice anything, there may be a market for it. Cool idea.

Last year and this year we had two huge gallon bags full of seeds. I haven’t bought pumpkin seeds in years.

 

[JustAnotherFlower]

That’s fantastic!

I used to but haven’t in many years. We didn’t sell them, just for the fam and neighbors. But now that everyone loves pumpkin spice anything, there may be a market for it. Cool idea.

Last year and this year we had two huge gallon bags full of seeds. I haven’t bought pumpkin seeds in years.

Pumpkin spice pumpkin seeds? Hrmmm... I would go with candied ones..brown sugar with a pinch of salt then a hint of pumpkin spice and nutmeg.

That's awesome!

 

[Wonderer67]

Pumpkin spice pumpkin seeds? Hrmmm... I would go with candied ones..brown sugar with a pinch of salt then a hint of pumpkin spice and nutmeg.

That's awesome!

Maybe even pumpkin spice pumpkins. …might be a tad redundant…

 

[Wonderer67]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649153607311192064

 

[Lily13]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649153607311192064

Very pretty. I cannot wait to start my flowers. I usually do the cools (pink, blue/purple and white) but I’m looking to put some pizzazz instead this year.

 

[TunnelKing089]

Red azalea close to the backporch

https://imgur.com/a/Hui1zcD

 

[PhiloDaddy]

Spring is so short where I live...

 

[Wonderer67]

View attachment 2228224

Spring is so short where I live...

Where do you reside? Those daffodils are hearty.

My friends in the upper Midwest are STILL waiting for spring to arrive.

 

[PhiloDaddy]

Those are crocuses and I'm in southern New Jersey. USDA Zone 7. This was from a couple of springs ago.

Daffodils are already dying back here. Lilacs, dogwood and wisteria are in bloom.

 

[TunnelKing089]

Spring came very early here in NC,we had buttercups up and blooming in mid February.Warm typical La Nina winter here in the east,all the cold stayed mostly out west.

 

[JustAnotherFlower]

Last look before the 31F temps tonight...

https://www.***********/s/yylqufqmsk1bjbo/20230423_091021.jpg?dl=0

 

[Lily13]

Those are crocuses and I'm in southern New Jersey. USDA Zone 7. This was from a couple of springs ago.

Daffodils are already dying back here. Lilacs, dogwood and wisteria are in bloom.

Are you ocean county? They generally have a better growing season then us up north

 

[Lily13]

Last look before the 31F temps tonight...

https://www.***********/s/yylqufqmsk1bjbo/20230423_091021.jpg?dl=0

I hope they make it!