19
votes
Tildes Gardening Group: Week 6/4/26
Welcome all to our weekly (ish) gardening group discussion!
Feel free to discuss anything related to gardening, beginner or advanced, challenge or success.
‘Seed’ questions?
Has the weather been working out for you?
What is your favourite gardening tool, or are you looking to get a new one?
What is your biggest error this year?
It's really reassuring to hear that at least one other person is just starting seeds now. I'm two weeks behind my planned schedule (because life), but Zone 6 and a recent history of late frosts has me disinclined to plant out anything before June 1 hereabouts.
I am determined to plant my own seedlings this year, though - the market-bought plants from last year didn't have nearly the flavor of the varieties I usually grow.
I haven't yet started my tomatoes and cucumbers if that helps. I'm in 8a, so warmer than you.
I've started seeds very early in the past and always regretted it. At this point I'd rather be a month late than a month early, I lost most of my starts last year and had to start over because the originals were too weak.
I've been planning on starting only a few seeds this year, but haven't yet and am not particularly bothered by my slowness. Maybe today finally?
Usually I start by mid-march indoors, but then have to keep them indoors until early-mid may, and it's a whole lot of space and care that I don't really have the wherewithal to deal with this year.
(Plus even in years where Ive been more on top of things, direct sows have to wait until may)
I am 7a and before yesterday we had only started the 10 week out seedlings. Yesterday is when we started the things like peppers, tomatoes, squashes. So it doesn’t seem like you are behind to me.
I don't have too much to add, but I finally began the long process of turning my yard into a native plant habitat. Not too much happening so far, but I'm hoping to see some results later on into the season. I had sown a small native plant garden on the side of my house a couple weeks ago, but April marked the opening of one of my nearby native nurseries! I was able to get plugs of some 25ish species and set them up around my yard. It won't be anything like a true habitat with how spread out it is and how few of each species I got, but some is better than none.
I did something similar a couple of years ago and ended really happy with the results. Not everything survived, but most of it did and it’s been a little different each year.
That sounds really exciting! I think you’re right that some natives are better than no natives. And they should start filling in as time goes on.
That's my hope! I got a few groundcovers that should start taking things over and hopefully prevent the spread of some of the invasives in my yard, but we'll see how it goes :)
Also Monarda is one of my favorite genuses, so your name makes me smile :) I've planted bee balm more times than just about anything, I think!
Invasive and noxious plants are the bane of my existence. They require diligence that I don’t always have. The US native plant, red twig dogwood (Cornus sericea) is easily propagated and colonizes extremely well. I’ve been propagating that, and it has finally started filling in an area that has been hard for me to keep on top of. I have hope that in another year or two, I won’t have to do much of anything in that area. If you’re in the US, the USDA has propagation protocols for most of our natives if you’re interested.
I think only one other person has commented on my name! I too loveMonarda and have tried my hand at growing many species, but they don’t do too well here. They are not native. I have noticed that other people have an easier time growing them, and I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. I suspect that my property is just too wet. I gave up a few years ago, but have been thinking about trying them from seed to save money. I do so love watching the hummingbird feeding from them.
Environment is everything. Finding plants bred for or native to my area has made everything a lot less work.
@nukeman @vord @zenon @crialpaca @Aran @pistos @thecakeisalime @tyrny @pekt @rosco @dustylungs @lackofaname @neonbright @monarda @tanglisha @Esteebestee @mimic @Zenon @lynxy @monarda @gourd @sparksbet
(Let me know if you want me to stop pinging you!)
Yes, thank you. I've been trying to cobble together an update on my garden (of houseplants) and will take this as motivation to make it happen.
Life has got on top of me here. I’ve planted a few more seeds, but not as much as I wanted. The weather has been mixed: after some initial sun we have had very high winds and even some hail.
I don’t have much in the way of gardening tools, and have only recently got some gardening gloves! I obviously have a trowl, spade etc but not much else.
I have been curious about getting a hori hori knife, but it seems quite expensive for what is quite a basic style of tool. Has anyone else tried them?
My biggest error this year has been not hitting it hard enough early enough due to other things in life, and now I am playing catch up.
I have a hori hori knife and use it often. These days I almost always it when I would have used a spade in the past, the smaller profile means I usually have it with me. The serrated side is great for cutting up turf in small amounts.
Seconding the benefits of a hori hori knife. Especially when they have measurement indicators on them. Great for planting, weeding, and other general uses.
I still consider myself a beginner, but I haven't really found a need for many tools outside of gloves and pruning scissors for harvesting. Maybe it's because my square foot garden effectively functions as a raised bed so there's less need for them? Honestly not sure. The few things I've wanted I've been able to 3d print. Small items like little domes to prevent strong thunderstorms from beating down newly transplanted seedlings.
That knife looks pretty cool, but I'm not sure of it's utility especially at that price. Maybe I'm missing something. Do you have soil that's very compacted and difficult to dig in?
There are those that garden with knives, and those who do not.
My father - who had a truck garden covering more than an acre - never left the house without his knife on his belt.
Me, on the other hand - I've been gardening for decades and rarely use a knife, not even for harvesting. On the other hand, my personal landscape is littered with uncountable pairs of secateurs...
I guess it depends on your own style of gardening, and of course your garden itself.
Why not get a cheap holstered garden knife and see how it works for you, before commiting the money on the fancy brand name version? I know that even if I was given one as a gift I would never use it, but clearly others work differently!
It’s not a bad idea
Lots of fun the past week.
Being in on the border of US zone 9 and 10 in the American Southeast, the weather has quickly changed from nice and mild to full on summer (we don't get spring or fall here). Unfortuantely this caused all my four of broccoli plants to panic and bolt before they could finish their heads. Such is plant life in this area I guess.
On the brighter side, my sweet 100 cherry tomatoes have been to flush and I should get a first harvest in another week or two. It's very small since these were the first couple tomatoes, but it's a promising development for two plants that survived a couple 15F nights and just barely survived it.
In place of the broccoli I planted a hot banana pepper, hot poblano pepper, hot serrano pepper, and an eggplant. I ran up to a Home Depot to pick those up instead of trying to fumble with my grow light setup that's currently taken down. Also peppers are slooooooow and I wanted something in the garden sooner than later.
My dad had a couple extra okra seedlings, so two of those went in as well. All plants that do well with this kind of climate. They are just getting over transplant shock so nothing there yet.
My Brandy Boy tomatoes are progressing very well, they're only about 3 weeks post-transplant so they're picking up the pace.
Pole beans are doing great! They're just starting the vining process and I have tomato cages to help guide them to the trellis. Once these start going you have to harvest almost every day too.
Lastly, I ordered some ground cherry seeds to direct sow. Not ideal to direct sow, but again, indoor grow lights aren't setup right now. But another plant that should do well with the heat.
Outside of plants, within the next week or two, I'm planning on installing some 10ft T-Posts and a 40% sun shade cloth to help with the brutal sun. I've never used it before, but I'm very hopeful this will stop the sun from scorching leaves especially as we move toward June/July.
The pictures I said I'd take, that I didn't upload... until now...!
I'm a little sad because there was something growing out of that small container (forgot what I planted in it - probably mint seeds?) but it never grew past that initial tiny sprout, and it's gone now :(
Just realized the photos also show the extent of the sun that the plants get (taken around 930 AM). Still haven't gotten around to getting the mylar sheets.
Planning on starting this week, though since we’re starting our plants in an aerogarden (indoor hydroponic setup) we’re a bit late to be sure. Though we’re in Ohio (and it’s going to frost this week most likely), so we’re really only a month or so behind for starting inside.
We’ll let them sprout inside, and then transplant to pots on our balcony once they get a couple leaves & it’s warmer outside.
We live in an apartment so just planning on a handful of herbs, tomatoes, and peppers.
Last year, we started quite a few plants inside in our spare bathroom, but since we got a cat and her litter box is now in that bathroom we don’t want her to get into the plants unsupervised. So we’re just doing the aerogarden starting and keeping it where she can’t get to it.
I planted my seeds 10 days ago... a little late for zone 5b. Most of them have sprouted now! Yay!
There are different varieties of tomatoes, Alpine strawberries, bell peppers, and basil. I’m going to plant the other vegetables directly in the ground in late May/early June.
I also have to protect our garden from our new puppy (an 8-month-old devilish Bernese Mountain Dog, my lavender has already suffered her ravages). I really love this time of year, but I don’t have much time!
Dogs are so funny. A friend of mine struggles to keep hers out of the kale and parsley. At least they get fresh breath from parsley,
It's a great idea to set aside some parsley for my dog, who eats poop !
Obligatory pic
I just looked up parsley and cats, looks like it's bad for dogs in large quantities, whatever that means.
ASPCA parsley listing.
Thank you for the information, I would have done the research before :)
I am an anti-gardener. In previous weeks I have been trying to covertly toss away my husband’s potted plants.
A few years ago we basically just gave up on the front lawn and it continues to be our best landscaping idea yet. Local plants have found the area where the grass has died and over time has taken over the place. We do need to lop away some of the taller ones from time to time but it is essentially self-maintaining otherwise. The native plants also have the quality of improving the soil it’s grown in so if we wanted to plant something more purposefully decorative it should be pretty successful.
There are some who might be tempted to point and say that my lawn is overrun by weeds, but my response to that is that nature is frickin’ beautiful and can’t you see the pretty wildflowers? My lawn is imperfect and it browns seasonally, but in my eyes we have the best landscaping in the neighborhood.
The back yard, on the other hand, remains a concrete maze of potted succulents and cacti. Sigh….
May the anarchist gardening revolution long continue comrade
Ha! It's really me being a lazy chump. But I do advocate for lazy gardening techniques like no-till. I'd probably practice it if my backyard wasn't entirely concrete.
It seems lazy, but I keep hearing from folks that do both that the weeds end up worse after tilling.
You have my dream front yard! I've been trying to convert my wife to the idea of letting the grass die and putting in native stuff instead, but she's not convinced. Those native landscapes are beautiful! Have you had any issues with your city or neighbors trying to get you to switch back to what a "proper" lawn should look like?
I’m honestly amazed that I don’t I live in an HOA neighborhood too.
I personally have a much worse opinion of the neighbors who have the cheapest possible astroturf lawns. But hey, I still have a higher opinion of them than I do of the ones with perfectly manicured grass.
My front yard has been mostly taken over by wild strawberries. They stay green all during our yearly summer dry season.
Our snailtank avocado has started sprouting, and will hopefully have a leaf soon.
We haven't given much thought to the inevitable transplant. We should probably get a pot....
That's exciting! It's so fun to see them come to fruition from a pit. We had one that ended up getting about 25 inches tall with like 8-10 leaves before I killed it by forgetting to get someone to water it while we were on vacation. RIP Jeffery. Hoping yours leafs soon!
I didn’t get anything done this past week. The days I had available were rainy. Rain doesn’t usually stop me from doing stuff, but for some reason it dos this week. It’s good to read all the stuff the rest of you are doing!
We're still just dealing with the potted plants on the patio, but man have things exploded. We've been having wild weather this late/winter and early spring - like day in February that were over 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Last week averaged between 75-80 degrees all week. I finally adapted to the change and started watering more like 2 weeks ago. Since then everything has exploded!!! The lemon and lime trees are both bursting with new foliage and buds. My Black Mission Fig finally bounced back and is in full foliage and we even have 3-4 figs sprouting! I mentioned last time, but the Pride of Madeira continues to start new buds. I think in like a month it'll be gorgeous and I'll finally post some photos. Even the olive trees, both of which are effectively dwarf in their 20 gallon pots, are starting to bud. Hoping we get a few olives from them this year.
Outside of all those the succulents are going nuts, our grape vine is starting to recover from the shock of deers trimming it's initial grown, and the Peony is sprouting new shoots like crazy!
After a very sad stretch of gardening in 2025, 2026 is shaping right up!
I love the time of year when everything comes alive again. It’s so good for the soul.
I harvested a bunch of Javanese ginseng that was growing where the Owner had left it before they moved out. Was nice to get a couple of meals worth of veggie servings out of it.
No real progress planned this week. Still have life admin stuff I'm working through, and my wife is out of town so between work + kids + that stuff I'm just in maintenance mode watering our current plants.
I won’t know my biggest error till end of the season, lol.
Beds are still being prepped and seeds slowly starting.
I finally found some yellow begonias for some decorative pots I have on my front porch. They are always my preference since my house is blue. Unfortunately in the front landscaping the mountain lilac I planted last spring didn’t make it through winter, so I have to decide what to replace them with. I have some white hydrangeas further out that keep getting bothered by deer so I might transplant them over to solve 2 issues, but I am on the fence about it since it would have them up next to some pink hydrangeas and I don’t know if I want such similar blooms together. My bleeding heart is coming back really nicely which is great, and I am waiting to see if my lady fern and NJ tea also comes back. I built and painted some arbor I want to mount around my porch this year for Virgin’s Bower and American wisteria, but I don’t know if I will end up getting to that this year. I do however plan to add more ferns and probably a pink summersweet into a gap I have near the back porch.