14
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?
@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.
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 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.
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?
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.
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....
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.
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.