Grateful Dead

Potatos? Maybe if your in Idaho. This ground on which the seed of love is sown, All graceful instruments are known. Don't think Bobby's singing about gardening here, but what the heck, all gardens need LOVE!

just cut the grass for the last time this year. Gathering walnuts as they fall and harvesting late grapes from the vine on the house. Little trees planted last winter have mostly survived the summer and should be fine for next year. The mad red and white Salvia (variety 'HotLips'!) continues to bloom like its summer. Sunny days, but nights drawing in and cooler now, leaves turning. Squirrels and jays hoarding acorns and hazelnuts. Time to sort out some firewood and cook chestnuts on the embers. Last of the basil in pesto soup yesterday, need to cut and dry the rest of the herbs soon. Will have to wrap up the tree fern and the bay tree before the frosts set in.

Recipe is in the recipe forum How are the maidenhair ferns?

marye,I browsed the Jackson Perkins website. http://www.jacksonandperkins.com/. There isn't a listing for "American Beauty". But a request via email or a phone call may produce something. There's a variety out there called "Marmalade Skies" with a fragrant tropical red-orange flower. You might want to ask about it, also. They do mail order bareroot rosebushes. For Oakland gardening, I'm assuming it's best to plant bareroot in April or May? October's a good time to broadcast wildflower seeds before the winter rains.

i dont no if Okland has a costco but lastyear i got some amazing,roses 5gal.for 10.00.i do beleive i got a couple americain beautys i can try to fish around the garage i may have kept the tags.as i ended up will several kinds."cant keep track".but they are huge ,they produce lots of blums constantly.yah i do beleive that Feb is bare root time.im still "test and trial "w/my gardens.i 've lived on the east coast up till 7 yrs ago .do the iris bulbs go in the same time the daffodils do?my mums are absolutly amazing.,my boyfriend came home on day frrom the dollar store and said here got some flowers for ya,.these little guys are huge bushes now.great fall colars npw.cant beleive those little guys took off that way.i wish i had some of your ferns.back home in maasachusettes we have llots of forest so lots of big ferns.well happy planting and yard work.

its amazing doing yard work at this time of the tear as i clean flower pots cut down/back lots of stuff i get to experience the wonder of spring/summer.to see how much things have grown taking on new life.pretty neat.then to see the fruit on the trees for this time of the year and to pick them to bake or make perserves or just snack on .lots of fun,even the raking and clean up.nice way to get grounded and become a part of mother earth,enjoy everyone!

yah the irisrs are going in tommorow.if i dont get started on this stuff i either wont go in or it will go in late.i do have the time,so thanks again..peace,heather

I mainly plant vegetables in my garden. Tomatoes, sweetpeas, cucumbers, grape and cherry tomatoes. That's about all kind of a small garden. Anyhow season is over and it was a great 1. I'll post again next year around mothers day when the garden goes in.

thanks marye for the heads up on the irises i relly have to put them into day.ive been on the putt ridding enjoying the weather .so i shall go put the bulbs in.at least its nice here in sac..peace

Still have a few tomatoes on the vines and some greens, amazing at the end of October, no freeze yet, maybe tonight, makes one think about global warming. Gathered lots of peppers and the last of the basil over the weekend. I make pesto and freeze it and have it through next year. Yummy! If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. Wiliam Blake

i cant beleive the colar in one of my gardens.my roses i think thet are enjoying the break,buds everywhere,and blooms.all my mums are very nice to the fall,garden is taken place.and persimons should be ready for picking this week.and "indian apples"are splitting ready to be eatin.perserve time.and lotes of baking.

Well the cooler seasons are upon us. Time to plant. I put in a new fiery red maple tree and re planted a whole bed,moving in a whole new family of day lilies. My favorites to grow cuz they reproduce so easily and keep on giving you new plants-free! Trimmed all the shrubs and bushes,tall grasses too.Cleaned the filters on the pond and changed the fish food over to their 'winter' formula.Keeping up with cleaning away all the flower debris from the dropping blooms off of the camelias (aah! winter color).A fresh layer of mulch has gone on all the beds-it looks so nice for the Christmas season. Time to look for some nice fir trees and maybe a holly or two to plant.Never had such a good time...........

if you are in a wintry place....they're queuing up at the feeders right now..dozens of them ...

looking at Chilli seeds on the net, any recs for varieties that grow well in a hottish dry climate, Bob - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://spanishsunshinedaydream.blogspot.com/ Spanish Jam

http://www.chili-seeds.com/products.asp?cat=10&pg=3 I am not sure about the soil in Spain, but the Thai Dragon seeds might work. then again, you should start them off in pots anyways. here is some advice: http://www.chili-seeds.com/growing_chilli_plants.asp by the way, I have never used that site for ordering/buying seeds; I just found it when I searched for Thai chilli. if you are not in a big hurry, I can probably mail you some seeds that I can buy in Thailand in a month or so. peace.

been doing some yard work its been nice since i got back from mass.seems like spring,from snow to spring.hummm,quantiumleep...just cleanning out old weeds some flowers are popping threw.daffodils,first sign of spring.

It is very confused here none of my bulbs are through yet, but the wild spring stuff is starting to flower, Orchids, buttercups, Poppies, catkins on trees. etc Bob - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://spanishsunshinedaydream.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=633338979 Spanish Jam

Last year I got my vegetable garden tilled and ready, got all my tomato cages and stuff gathered up, and I even got all my seeds started, but then something happened and I couldn't get everything put out. My vegetable garden was about a thirty minute hike from the house. I needed to do something a little smaller in scale that would be closer and easier. I had seen advertisements for these topsy turvey tomato planters in catalogs and online. Being the busy body I am, I couldn't just go out and buy one, so I got to thinking and came up with something that worked out pretty well. First I got a couple of 4x4 posts and bolted them to the front of my potting table. I had a couple of pieces of aluminum angle iron...I guess that would be angle aluminum...funny, I always call it angle iron no matter what it's made of, usually its made out of steel...so I took these pieces of angled material and ran them side by side across the tops of the 4x4 posts to make a flat ledge with a gap in the middle. This was step one. Next I took some big terra cotta planters. I had my seed starts ready and pick out some of the healthiest ones. For tomatoes I did a cherokee purple, jersey devil, and a stump of the world. I also did a squash plant, a white half runner bean, and some peas. Each start was in a peat pellet. Turning each planter sideways I inserted the tiny plants through the drain hole in the bottom of each planter. Next I balanced the planter on the potting table while I added compost on top of the plant, leaving only the tiny little seed start sticking out the bottom. Finally, I placed each planter along the ledge with the starts dangling through the gap in-between the aluminum angle pieces...this part I wouldn't recommend, I tried to pair each plant with something that would compliment it, like basil or spearmint or something to just hold the soil down on top. I found that they were competing for water and nutrients. This would work well if you could set up a drip feed system and give them a steady diet of compost tea I suppose, but for me, watering by hand, it was cumbersome. I wished later that I had just used some moss to hold the soild down. It turned out great. The plants tried to grow up, but when they got heavy, especially with fruit, they hung down nicely...and best of all they didn't touch the ground. I think the squash did the best. The peas didn't do so well, but I will say that if you wanted to do a whole slue of peas or beans like this that it might do good with some planning and preparation, neither of which I ever seem to do despite my best efforts ahead of time. The tomatoes did really well also. The half runner beans weren't as happy. They still wanted to wrap and cling, and when I would train them down the post they would stop growing that vine and start another one up toward the main plant. The same thing happened with the peas. The tomatoes and squash needed no training, twine, wire, or cage, they just hung in there. If anyone is interested in doing this and has questions let me know. I am going away this weekend, but when I get back I will check to see if I have any photos to show you. I think I have a video of something else that has it in the background. I also did some cool things with lavender and sewer tiles that turned out better than I expected...but that is another story... Put your good where it will do the most. -The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

pea pods. I usually don't wait for the May 15th frost-free date in PA, so I end up covering some areas in clear tarp overnight, but it seems that everything is doing well to date! i have 5 big perennial flower gardens that the squirrels seem to have finally left alone this winter. A friend suggested planting a few daffodil bulbs with each cluster of other plants since they are poisonous to the little critters. I have small tufts of daffodils everywhere which is pretty and then to boot- all the other stuff is coming up for a change. The veggie garden is all planted and ready, so we'll see what comes up well. last year everything did well, this year I put in a few things from plant rather than all seed. I got peppers and 2 kinds of eggplant plants because peppers never grow for me from seed, despite adding sulfer... i also put in some romaine from plant, last year it took so long for the plants to get to size. The topsy turvy idea looks good, I think end of summer last year a varmint or two got to the squash and tomatoes. so here's to what hopes to be a good garden year. Ami

Yes this is the spring. It means cool to warm tempatures low humidity and everything is putting out new leaves. In about a month the tempature will rise to the upper 80's and humidity of about 80-90% all day long. I know I know everyone thinks Miami is Palm Trees and sand. Well the palm trees you are thinking of are coconuts and not native to Miami. Miami Beach is man made (mostly). They dregged the bay and made islands. Covered them with sand and hotels. Most of Miami a 150 years ago was called Pine Rockland. Which is tall pine trees with palmetto bushes, hard rock and a few other plants like coontie etc.the pine is called Dade County pine and is one of the hardest woods in the world. The Everglades kind of started where our airport is today.In fact at one time there were rapids along the Miami River that were demolished in the 1880s to make way for farm land. Miami is not a jungle. It is in fact a pretty dry place most of the year because we cannot store water-it drains through the limestone into the ocean.Yes it may rain alot but it goes swiftly out to sea. Miami also had very beautiful hammocks and mangrove areas. It is home to the largest variety of rare plants in the world. In my yard is the southernmost Sugar Hackberry in the United States plus other rare plants. I belong to the Native Plant Society which is dedicated to restoring yards and habitats to the original ecosytem.I have a small amount of grass however most of my yard is covered with ground covers,bushes and trees that feed birds, bugs and butterflies.Today I counted over 40 butterflies in my yard plus numerous snakes,lizards and birds. I don't fertilize or spray anyhting in my yard. If you want to see what Miami used to look like visit Bill Baggs state Park, the Everglades national park and Shark Valley. And the road goes on forever.... BobbaLee

The native crocs were endangered but now have nests as far north as Broward County. They are shy and try to stay away from people. Alligators are aggresive and every year kill a few people in Florida. I love Captiva and Sannibel heavily damaged by Wilma alot of structures were destroyed.Many of the islands south of there have been overrun by water monitors and pythons released by idiots into the wild. Marye the time I spent in Muir (?) woods was one of my lifes highlights.You are lucky to be so close to Monterrey. Muir and Yosemite and the wine country. And the road goes on forever.... BobbaLee

It's a vision of pinkish-white loveliness I can enjoy for a few days. It's just too bad that the abundant quantity of very small fruit it produces it utterly useless to me. But at least the birds, bugs and bees get to have a field day. Go, Nature! Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.

Have you ever seen those ads for "tomato trees"? Jack-And-The-Beanstalk of tomatoes. They claim to grow 8 feet tall and produce tons of great tomatoes. A couple of years ago the Mercury News bought one and grew it and to their amazement it was "as advertised." I am trying a couple this year so we'll see how it goes. The leaves really look like Solanum, but they are still very small. Having temperatures at night in the 30s and low 40s is unusal for April around here and the tomatoes do not like it.

FINALLY got to "play in the dirt"! 4 "Better Boy" tomatoes in the ground. Cleaned the bed and worked the soil around the rosemary. Same with the thyme (can't believe it survived winter). Mint has reappeared. Planted the oregano and basil and parsley. Throw in some cayenne peppers and bell peppers. Not a "big" garden like we had growing up in south Arkansas, but big enough to make me smile. Lot of good memories of gardening with my dad. Now, he doesn't garden. He raids mine, and has made friends with the good vendors at the local Farmers Market!

I worked in my garden today ..my herbs survived the winter too!! Sweet!! Rosemary, thyme and sage all doing grate!! But my lawn looks weak, really weak its crap grass and weeds and not the good kind either! ;) My daisys are big this year too! Sweet :)

I'd have no lawn - just dirt! At least they're green (now).

compost is totally cool! I never had this stuff bloom before, and then last year I put one of the comost cans near it and presto!! inside the compost can where the sun don't shine!!

and more

more: note my homemade bird bath! lots of great tits in the garden! the unruly part of the compost heap, only leaves and branches and stuff:

one of 4 compost cans:

just one more:

it should be noted, there is no bottom on the compost cans. so all of the gook from the degrading food waste, after the maggots, worms, and other bugs get through with it, soak into the ground or turn into a yukky muck that hasten the bio-degrading of tougher stuff like tree branches and fallen leaves.. after I get lots of disgusting, stinky food waste eaten up and the worms digested poop pass out, I move it into another can which has leaves and branches. the leaves and such have been fermenting at the bottom of the most un-ruly compost heap for years but they don't seem to go away until they are covered by the naturally processed food waste... everyyear, when leaves fall, they get tossed on the top of the heap, adding to this cycle, and the circle of life. gathering what the trees spill, returning it to the earth. lots of back-breaking work, shoveling and wheel barrowing the stuff around, but in the end, I get really nutritious soil that the trees and plants love. I know there are some 'chemicals' I have no idear what, or some substances that people use to hasten the compost process, but I never add any of that stuff. time does it. I think that you can see the benefits in the lushness and vitality of the bushes and trees in our little plot o' land on the planet DarkStar. peace.

I looked at your posts last evening and it is all so lovely. Thank you for the walk around your part of the garden.

my pleasure, docks. ( -; I will not get on my -bio-degradable soapbox to extoll the virtues of compost, but lessening the load in landfills, and returning to the earth what can be returned, and feeding the plants is enough reason in my book. As I started doing the compost in our garden 9 or 10 years back, it has certainly added vitality, life and blooms, and even though we are away sometimes for a few months at a time, the garden survives no matter what the season. the trees have very deep roots, and since we are in some 'foothills' next to a river, plenty of water available. I put the plants and trees to bed as the cold rain and snow comes, surrounding all of the beds with the compsot much, and covering that with fresher leaves, to hold the moisture, and warmth in. as you can see, there are only a few portions of the garden that are 'organized' I just kind of let it grow, let it grow, let it grow .... extra points for anyone who can identify any of the plants or trees, don't ask me, I never studied up, and gifts of trees, plants, flowers, or bushes from friends or Arbor Day / Tree City groups got all mish mashed into a jungle of vines, ivy, trees, tunnels of darkness under the canopy of leaves, into the deeper corners of that space. ( -; as an aside; a few people have asked me about how to post pics in private messages, and it is pretty easy to do if you have a digi camera and a little time and patience. I used to suggest imagevenue.com as a host site, but after a while, if you are not a paying member, (I am not a paying member) they do, in fact, dump your pics out. it m,ight be better to create an album using photobucket.com, still for free, I think. just be sure to click on the keep album private or something like that because otherwise the pics and your album are available for all of the world to see; some people get pretty up-tight about stuff like that. the imagevenue.com way I used it, is not even registering to be a member; so maybe that is why they have dumped some of my pics; and once they are dumped, in a forum post here, you might see a little red x thing, or the pic might have changed, as they use that very same url to host another pic. I am a total 'puter dum dum, and even I could figure out how to upload and set the pics here. peace.

ive been thinking about getting together a window box for my room at school and growing tea roses. any advice?Peace, The Kid

Here's a site for you....http://www.articleonlinedirectory.com/Art/12369/93/Tea-Roses-Tips-To-He…

thanks for the advice.Peace, The Kid

Find space for this one if you can! Has bicoloured scarlet and white flowers which change with the temperature. When its cool they are more red and in the height of summer they are almost entirely white. Subtle it ain't, but its great fun and makes us smile every time we visit it. And it was developed in at Strybing Arboretum in San Francisco!

Hey Deadhead kid if you want to grow roses in a window box look out for 'patio roses' specially bred to be small and grow in pots. But don't forget to 'dead head' your roses to keep them flowering! heh heh

This time of the year. Have been getting fresh greens and spinach and lettuce out of my garden for about a month now. Have two farmers markets within about a mile of where I live (some things are getting better in the world). At the markets right now I have been getting fresh beans, peas, cherries, strawberries, and much more, all locally grown and much of it organic. If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake