Any Oregon Coast Gardeners out there?

The sun is out, YAY. Time to go outside. Im glad to here that the dierama do so well here. Igneum looks great and I would love to swap with you for some. I have lots of things growing now so maybe in a bit Ill have some seedlings big enough to be moved and we could trade. Lots of meconopsis nepaulensis and and grandis. I would sure love to see those trees in bloom too, what time of year is best?

Well after a bit of looking about at things I was stunned to find this, Passiflora antioquiensis roots. They weren't showing any top growth and were looking rather moldy so I decided to see what was going on underground. It looks like I might have a few of these to trade if they manage to put out some leaves. Oh Im so excited I just had to show and tell.

Here is a picture of their mommy, I think it is my favorite plant right now and It really loves cool foggy weather. Grassy knoll Exotics has them for 15$ now. I paid 100 for mine before I could find it anywhere else, oh well.

Ohhhhh. That is lovely.

Sunny and nice up here today, too, in downtown Seattle.

Kathy

Oh, that's very cool! How big does it get?

Partly cloudy here right now, but rain is on the way.

Its a fairly vigorous vine, mine was about 15 feet long before I cut it back but I bet it would get much longer if it was left alone. It clouded up and started raining now.

Oh--Sannajane---If we ever get down to Eureka again I want to go to Rita's Rarities. A couple of summers ago (Aug.) we were there and went to the farmers market in downtown Eureka. What a nice market!! There were beautiful plants and cut flowers and just everything. We don't have an RV anymore and with the gas prices the way they are, we probably won't get one. Maybe we will just take a few days and do N. CA this summer.

The deer and the moles are a big problem for me, too. The deer didn't come into the back yard for years with the fencing my DH did and our dog--who was young then. But, now, they are moving in again and the dog is too old to care. Sometimes I am too.

We bought the harpoon type mole traps a while back, and they are much more effective than the old jaws style. Last summer they nearly destroyed my strawberry bed before we got the harpoons. Hoping for a better strawberry bed this year.

Sadly, the baby bok choys I set out a week ago are gone!!! The slugs gorged themselves before I discovered they were under the remay blanket I had put over them.
As my dear mother used to say----Somethings alway after my stuff!!

What's gardening without some trials and tribulations? LOL

Oh Bee, those slugs plague me as well. I have been using Sluggo so its dog safe but I think its also slug safe, it does not seem to do the trick. I always used the regular slug bait around my dogs, they were picky eaters, but now I have a bichon and I caught him with some of that blue rat poison in his mouth so I need to be careful with him.

I have good luck with the old type mole traps, someone gave me a harpoon type but I have never used it. You tell me it works??? How do you set them?

That darned farmers market in Eureka showed me the Bolivian Fuchsia for the first time. I fell in love. I now have the red and the white as well. They are so exotic and so hardy, I just love them.

Pogo, wow on the passion vine, I am so ready to trade. I went out and checked my embothrium and its loaded with buds. Probably by next month they should start blooming. The telopea at my uncle's house is also budded, you need to see that one, its beautiful and exotic.

Oh I am tired of the rain, go out and work, it rains, come in to do paperwork and the sun comes out. Of course everyone knows where I would rather be. See now the sun is shining again, out I go.....

I have to say that "harpoon-type" mole traps sounds awful. And I just looked them up and they are awful. So how do you get the dead mole out after you've harpooned him? Is it humane? Is the mole killed quickly all the time? And you're not concerned about any other humans or animals getting hurt?

Washington State has outlawed some of the more vicious mole traps, but I still see people using them in unfenced areas.

I'm frustrated with the moles, too (and the deer, and the slugs), but I just can't bring myself to kill them. I'm still hoping to find a good deterrent.

Well, Katie, I must admit. I don't actually do it. My DH does. It's much more humane when you don't have to have hands on, you know. We have to patrol our fields, too, because the mole holes here are so huge you could lose a small steer in them and I hate the sight of the mounds in our yard. You know, there are just some things you have to turn your head and look the other way. I used to be squeamish about stepping on snails, too, but not any more.
And, I can sprinkle on the bait with glee. I also have a squirt bottle of 1/2 water to 1/2 ammonia. That works immediately. I sound horrible, I know, but darn it. I really do want something to eat from my garden and some nice flowers to look at.

I know, I know. It's so frustrating to me, too. But seeing as it's only me and as I'm a pushover for all life (unless it's dangerous to me), I'm having to learn to put up with the mole hills. I don't even kill the slugs. They are excellent at recycling. And I never know what I'll come back as in my next life - don't want to make anybody mad. LOL

As far as the holes, I have it doubly bad in that the dog digs after the moles and those holes are real ankle-turners, too, especially if the grass is long.

I do a lot of slug-picking at dusk and then fling them into a wild area. This year I may try Sluggo on my Hostas, but I'm not sure.

I'm never confident about using chemicals, even those that are harmless. "They" initially said that DDT was harmless. And now vets are noticing and increase in lymphoma in dogs which is, they think, due to the weed and feed products we use on our lawns.

And I have a dog that has to taste-test EVERYTHING. I did have some success with copper strips keeping the slugs at bay last year, so I'm going to do more of that this year.

For the slugs I am going back to my old soda bottle. Probably you guys know that one, take a 2 liter soda bottle, cut off the top part, just where it starts to narrow, take the part you cut and stick it in the bottle, neck down and then staple the sides. Put your snail poison in that and a little water, lay it on the side and stick it in a damp shady place. Oh the slugs and snails you get, then when its full toss the whole think in the garbage and do another. They work very well indeed. Critters cannot get the bait, the slugs crawl in the small opening, snack and die.

I am vicious when it comes to moles and gophers. They are rodents, to me its like having mice and rats in your home, to have these rodents in your garden. The moles have incredable thick skin so am not sure with them but gophers are just covered with fleas. And these things can have 3-4 litters of 3-5 per year, do the math. I don't feel bad killing them, they can live in the woods near me, or in any of my neighbor's yards, by the way, my neighbors are the ones that provide homes for them, then they come to me. So the moles want to EAT, kill, my worms. I love my worms so I am actually saving their lives by killing the moles.

We are supposed to have a dry weekend, hopefully with a little sun??? What would that be like?

I shouldn't tell you what I do with slugs.....

Okay Sanna, I usually cut them in two with my scissors. Can you do worse than that? I have no mercy, they have no mercy on my plants. Death to them.

I did like that squirt bottle with ammonia and water. You use half and half? And is it just the ordinary ammonia and it does not hurt the plants? I think that is a great idea. Some of the small ones escape my scissors.

Okay.... yeah, cut them in two with scissors and pruners..... then, if I don't have my pruners with me, I find the nearest sharp pointy stick and I "skewer" them..... okay and then.... on my deck I have a jar.... oh no, I can't go on. People may find I am worthy of being sick.....

One of my neighbors just hated to kill anything. She fell in love with the dierama and I told her not to put any in her yard as she had moles, gopher, voles and even boomers. She put them in anyway as she loved them so. They came up and bloomed, she had a lot of them. One day she was saying the foliage was all brown. Sure enough, all eaten and she had not a one. She got very quiet and then she said, where can you buy traps? Don't know if she did but I think perhaps, her husband got the task.

We can change our minds. Its so much better if a husband takes care of it, however. If one is so lucky.

Yeah, sometimes it's just like the cartoons, where the plant is suddenly pulled down into a hole in the ground. Whoosh! Plant gone!! Very frustrating.

I hadnt heard of the soda bottle trick for the slug bait, I have always been scared to put the bait out because there are so many cats around and I wouldn't want to poison them, thanks for the Idea. Im not sure how well this would work for the gophers but it might be worth a try. I put all of my bulbs that were going into the ground in those little mesh plastic aquatic planting baskets so that they could be easily moved later without losing any. The bulbs have grown fine and as long as the gophers didnt come down from above it might help. That sun is shining now, hopefully it stays that way

If you don't care about killing them gophers will eat poison very well. Cats will not eat a dead gopher, however I have never had one come above ground, they seem to go deep and then die. Moles are hard to get rid of but they don't eat bulbs, they just expose the roots to air, I will stomp down the area so the air pocket is removed. I am going to do the soda bottle the pet safe stuff for slugs just is not working. Going to do the ammonia thing as well.

It rained so hard last night but today is gorgeous and clear. I am thinking its not going to rain, but it sure is cold. I need to get the grass mowed but its so wet and never seems to dry out long enough to mow. Maybe next week.

well, I am going to give the strawbale gardening a try this year. I just got the bales today and I have got to water them and let them age for a couple of weeks . Then we will see if the strawbale gardening is all its cracked up to be. I hope so as it will be alot easier to garden at this level vs down on the ole pray bones.

Good luck with them Gourdbeader, and I'll be waiting for updates, either here or at the SB forum!

Sanna

WOW--Gourdbeader----Thanks for the picture. I sure hope you take pictures throughout the growing season and show them to us. I, for one, am very interested in this way of gardening. And, I'm all for easy.

About the ammonia and water thing. It does not harm the soil or lawn at all, but I don't spray a nice plant. Rather, I pick up the slug (with a gloved hand) and throw it on the ground. Then, spray with glee. Tee Hee

It froze here for the second day in a row. Birdbaths were iced over both mornings. I had just put out my peas yesterday that I grew in peat pots in the greenhouse. They had their third set of leaves and long roots, so I needed to. Now I am afraid to go look. However, peas can take really cold weather, so hope they are okay. Baited with lots of You Know What. I also used remay over them, so they should be okay.

Have a great gardening day everyone. The sun is going to feel great!

Yeah, what's up with this frost stuff??? We haven't had it that low, but it's been much colder during the nights & mornings for this time of year than I remember for a really long time. Either that or my memory is just not as good as I remember! LOL! This morning it's overcast, but I think it should clear up a bit. Supposed to get up to a whopping 56 ~ woo-hoo.

I'm with you. There was frost and ice on the windshields this morning. I agree, whats up with that. I'm hoping for a nice sunny day and looking out the window, I think I am going to get my wish.
An early wish for a Happy Easter to you All.
Jan

I am not liking the frost at all. It has not seemed to damage much but it makes me cautious of putting things out from the greenhouse, which is jam packed. Oh, well, maybe next month.

Busy redoing my telopea and embothrium. They are coming out of the winter blues, the embothrium in pots look awful but lots of new growth so will be okay in a month or so. So many plants, so few hours. I do love working out there which is a good thing because I am really, really behind in my work. I think per the latest forecast today is the last dry on in awhile. So really working hard to get it done. Then the rain is back.

I am tired and would really just like to sleep. Couldn't sleep well last night due to the stupid knee hurt. Had to get up and take an excedrin. It seems fine in the day, decided to talk to me at night....But hey, it thats all that is wrong in my world than I am pretty lucky.

Happy easter as well, I don't even much notice easter except I gave my gd some chocolate bunnies, I was good and only ate one, it had peanut butter too, I could have eaten them all and not even told her....

Hey beebonnet, you could do like my rotten hubby did one day. Told our nephew that the slugs liked salt and sent him out the door with a salt shaker. OMG that poor boy came running in the house screaming at the top ;of his lungs that the slugs were foaming. I just could have hit my sweet hubby over the head with a rotten slug. Can you imagine to horror of that poor little boy salting the slugs and the reaction to the salt. .................................hehehehehe...

Well, yesterday the weather was nice enough I was able to get out and do some weeding in a bed that really needed it... and the signs of new life are exhilarating! This morning it's 38 but sunny, but the forecast is for rain. Looking outside I can scarcely believe it ~ guess I'd better get out there while I can. Maybe the Easter Bunny left me some goodies. Y'all have a good day!

Sanna

The frost was in fact most unwelcome, I do wish it would warm up a bit. The forecast calls for 5 days of highs in the 40s with rain and wind, not very spring like at all. In spite there is lots of new growth coming, to bad its not nice enough to spend much time looking at it, today was beautiful and I was stuck inside at work. I guess that always seems to be the problem with the weather. Those nasty slugs do love my bulbs, I havent had too much damage from them as of yet but I always feel nervous about stepping out one day and finding a favorite plant in ruins. They sure know what to pick when it comes to plants. I always wondered why they couldn't just graze the grass and the weeds, then we could all be happy? Last summer I had a tiny little orchid, dendrobium cuthbertsonii, brand new with one little flower and the whole plant was small enough to fit on a quarter. You can guess how this story ends, with a little orchid funeral. Hope everybody had a good easter.

Hey---I just learned in the new article about slugs here on DG, that the ingredient in slug bait to look for is iron phosphate. It supposedly does the trick better than any. I looked on mine and it does have it. And, it seems to be working. The kohlrabi plants are still with me.

It was 24 degrees here again this morning!! And, it has been nippy outside all day. A cold goes-right-through-you type of breeze is blowing. Oh, My---When will the real spring get here? The one where I have to trade my sweatshirt for a T-shirt and the soil is perfect to dig in. Maybe I'm rushing it.

Pogo---I'm sorry about that orchid. Was it on the patio? I never take mine outside although I have read they really like it in summer. I have been thinking about putting them in the greenhouse this summer after we put up the sunscreen stuff.

It is cold even though the sun was out. I guess this cool weather now will make us appreciate the real warm weather when it comes, 24 degrees, brrrrr. The orchid was out in a little poly greenhouse I have. It stays vented wide open so it really is just to keep the water off of things but the orchids love it and the cool night time temps seem to make them come into bloom for me more reliably than if they are left indoors. Only put out your cool growers though. I have a gongora that just stops growing if its put outside and a paphiopedilum that hates it too. You are right about the sunscreen, be careful, it is so very easy to burn them after they have been inside and boy does it make them ugly if they do burn.

Pogo----Appreciate is right. I can't wait!! Funny, though.....I feel the same way about hot, dry weather without rain, watching for clouds, waiting for rain weather. Maybe that's because we have a well that tends to dry up in Oct. if it has been an unusually dry summer. Oregon is different that way----Rain, rain, rain all winter and spring and then suddenly, no rain for months. It can be cool, even cold, but no rain. Or it can be warm and humid, but no rain.

Tonight they say we are to have snow to 500 feet. Can that be??? We will see.

We're down to 35 here tonight on the coast!!! (With rain forecast, but no snow....) And dang it's almost April!

I woke up to snow this morning. I am so sick and tired of cold weather I just Long for some HOT SUMMER DAYS AND NIGHTS....... Will they ever come??? We are just 6 miiles inland from Newport and I here that they even saw some light dusting here and there. Will some one out there do a sun shine dance. Hey, thats a good idea. I should make a call to the local chamber of commerce and ask them to put on a SUN SHINE Dance. Now doesn't that sound like a winner??

I did see that snow level in the forecast, that would mean some snow in the hills right here, currently 36 here in coos bay so I guess its possible. I know what you are saying about the long dry summer. It seems like a miracle when year hear some raindrops finally at the end. I would rather deal with wet and dry cycles though, than months and months of snow on the ground, we are lucky for that. What im really hoping for now though is some nice mild weather, it seems about time for it, I wouldnt even mind some showers if it would just warm up. I want to move some of my plants and seedlings outside and it just wont stop frosting. It is sunny now so im hoping things will warm up a bit but still the next 5 days call for lows in the mid 30s, not safe for little seedlings. I guess well keep waiting. Sanna I would have though you would be a little warmer down there but i guess not with 35. These are more like january temps!

hi!!
im in coos bay, s. coast oregon. hasnt the weather been totaly weird lately!? sunny but freezing, snow, hail, thunder... what next!? lol

I'm in Toledo, just outside of Newport. We had snow the size of quarters this morning at 9:00. Snowed for about 20 minutes then stopped. The sun is shinning beautifully right now and Its 5:13 PM. Go figure. I think it must be in the upper 50's low 60's right now.

We've had this horrible wind for the last 2 days.... cold cold hard wind. Makes it not very pleasant to be outside. I did get some weeding done in a couple of the beds. I followed the sun! And tonight we have a frost warning..... argh....

I am with Sanna. We had frost last night and I think its with us for the next 3 days. That wind is awful, its the cold north wind, goes right to your bones and its so cold. I hate that wind. I was in and out of the greenhouse today, tried to be more in as it was warm in there.

To me this year has been the strangest. We can go from sun, to rain, to hail, to sun in minutes. I don't remember the weather like this in the past.

Got some new leptospermum, that is one of my favorite plants in the world. Of course, I have a few favorites....

My friend sent me some lions tail seed, I am so happy. I love that plant.

I am tired today, worked long hours....should do paperwork but not gonna.

It's been hail here. We've had more darned hail and sleet the last few days than we usually see in years. Nasty weather, and changing, man, Think it's cleared and by the time you get your coat on, it's pouring again.

hi rebecca.... (and suzy)
you mentioned lepto. i work in a whole sale nursery here in coos and the owner is kinda know for having lots of lepto. i have myself the ruby glow, snow flake and martinii. they are really tough plants that took all what winter threw at them and came out great. i also have a tiny lepto. that i took home from a 4" 3 weeks ago called candy cane. sorta looks like a martinii but its a clearer pink/red with white striping. very cute. HATE THIS WEATHER!! pooey.........to cold brrrrrrrr