The Gardening Thread

[thorny]

And Unlos, I am so envious of your wealth of burdock! I can't imagine having enough to be able to use it for mulch.

Be careful what you wish for!

Enough burdock to use it for mulch is also enough burdock to take over and squeeze out other plants; which you won't have time to prevent it from doing because you're going to be too busy removing burrs from the dog, the cats, and your own clothes and hair.

-- and don't even think about sheep. I know of a woolspinning group called the Burdock Spinners' Guild; but they're not actually in favor of mixing the two.

[Róisín]

I have been in climates where burdock does that, as in southern England. Where I live now is way too hot, dry and rocky. The small amount of burdock I manage to grow I have to nurture like a delicate exotic vegetable!

[Lenny]

A year ago I received some small pots, earth, and lots of herb seeds ideal for making tea (chamomile, peppermint, etc.). I planted them back then, but only a few seeds came up and they died quickly.

Since I am a student with a hectic life and someone who forgets stuff easily I just left the pots as-is for a year, and this year they actually started coming up and growing! Now I have plants that are actually plants, and not seedlings that die in the baby stage. Some of the chamomile plants are quite large now.

I might possibly have too many. But we'll see who survives in the end :'3 I don't have a green thumb by any means, I'm all too happy I've gotten them to this stage.

[Róisín]

The nice thing about chamomile is that you can plant out your excess plants in any bit of waste ground to make a chamomile lawn, or tuck them into odd corners between other plants and let them grow into a pretty scented groundcover. Chamomile, like toadflax, is actually good for other plants growing near it, since it gives off oils that prevent a number of moulds and other fungal diseases.

[thorny]

Róisín, I've heard that yarrow is also good for other plants growing near it. Have you heard that, and/or had experience with it?

[Róisín]

Yeah, yarrow is good for other plants. And like nettles, comfrey and elder, its leaves make a good addition to compost, speeding up the composting process and adding mineral nutrients. Plus yarrow is a useful medicinal herb, being a styptic and vulnerary as well as a component of herb teas for colds and menstrual problems. I grow it for the bees and hoverflies, and because the flowers are pretty and are a frequent component of the bunches of cottage flowers I sell at the Farmers Market. Allround useful plant, as well as an attractor of beneficial insects.

[Sc0ut]

Yeah, yarrow is good for other plants. And like nettles, comfrey and elder, its leaves make a good addition to compost, speeding up the composting process and adding mineral nutrients. Plus yarrow is a useful medicinal herb, being a styptic and vulnerary as well as a component of herb teas for colds and menstrual problems. I grow it for the bees and hoverflies, and because the flowers are pretty and are a frequent component of the bunches of cottage flowers I sell at the Farmers Market. Allround useful plant, as well as an attractor of beneficial insects.

I'll never get enough of this kind of comment

Speaking of growing "wild" flowers, how does one get around to it? All the things I've planted so far have come from seeds I saved or bought, but I've never seen yarrow seeds being sold. If I wanted to reproduce a plant I see in the wild, will cuttings or roots work for most things, or do I have to get seeds? (I know different plants are different and you can't possibly cover all possibilities, I just want to know what's my best bet.)

[Róisín]

Yarrow grows well from root cuttings, but many nurseries sell the plants, and I know some herb seed companies sell yarrow seeds. But wild-gathered mature yarrow seeds will usually sprout just fine.

Did you know that the botanical name of yarrow Achillea millefolium) comes from Achilles of Trojan War fame, who is supposed to have used it to dress the wounds of his soldiers, and from the Latin words for 'thousand leaf', because of the many tiny leaflets?

[thorny]

Thanks, Róisín. I knew some of that, but not all of it.

Yarrow does grow wild around here. I keep meaning to dig some up and move it to an herb bed, but I never seem to have time and a bed ready when I notice it.

[Unlos]

Eee look my tomato has grown into a triphid of unanticipated height (even though I tried to prune the suckers some grew too large while I looked away), with lots and lots of green cherry tomatoes on it! I hope I'll find someone willing to water it when we leave for vacation next week.

[Róisín]

Cherry tomato plants will often grow into big sprawling vines, bearing many small fruits (one year I was fortunate enough to grow a 'currant tomato', those in particular give a very good yield of small but tasty and extremely nourishing fruits). Generally cherry tomatoes are more resistant to cold and to disease than are the larger fruited types. You are fortunate!

[thorny]

I hope I'll find someone willing to water it when we leave for vacation next week.

If you can't, there are various automatic watering devices made; including some amounting to water bottles with slow-release spikes on the end.

You might need quite a batch of them for a tomato plant that size, though, if you're going to be gone very long. Tomatoes, especially bearing stage tomatoes, need quite a bit of water.

[Unlos]

Thank you, Thorny and Róisín (and sorry for taking so long to reply). The plant drinks between 5 to 10 liters per day in the steady heatwave we're having. And we'll be gone for three weeks so it would definitely have died without someone watering it. But, help arrived because my 92 year old neighbour was willing to take it in!! So me and my husband have just carried it down two flights of stairs spilling just one tomato out of more than 50. 

[Kat Sohma]

Hey y'all!
My family just moved out to an area where we now have two acres of land. So we now have tons of gardening space.
Weare working on fixing up the house first, and revitalising the garden beds in front of the house.
Already, we have purchased Catnip (my own choice), Spearmint, and Marigold seeds. How should we start these, and when? It's July, but we still have about 3 months of warm temperatures here in hot-as-heck Texas.

[Ana Nymus]

In my experience, marigolds are pretty easy to start with. Water the dirt lightly, poke seeds a half inch or so into the soil, and they should be sprouting within a few days. You should be able to start them right now, I think, and they'll bloom until fall!

The other plants I don't have any experience with, but check the packaging for advice, and pay attention to your hardiness zone. Different zones have different windows for planting and growing. Depending on which part of Texas you're in, it could be anywhere from zone 6 to zone 9. It'll help you predict when the growing season ends, and with that information you can decide whether or not there will actually be enough time for your plants to grow fully and flower.