what have you bought so far? part 2

I know I've read about folks planting directly into new lasagna beds. In fact, I did a very small one around my light pole in front of the house last year. I unexpectedly had an extra clematis, so I made a circular bed about 3' diameter with newspaper, the previous year's container soil, some garden soil from another bed. I don't have much in the way of green stuff. then I planted the clematis, some creeping thyme, coleus and hyacinth bean. everything did fine.

How deep was it, Jan?

Nice DL, Thom--I went to the site & was impressed by the choices. Thanks all, for the tip on lasagna beds---I wish I had more level areas for new beds--a steep hillside in back is not great for planting--Doug would not be happy to see a new bed--he tells me I can't care for what I have, & he may be correct!

Hi!!!! oh Ihave been so busy writing a paper and working...

THe mantis is ordered!!!!!!!

regarding roses, well I have ordered only another 6... just 10% of what is coming! really nothing!

and I am going to the Flower Show Sunday... so if I see mini roses there MAYBE I will get one... oh I am going just to take pictures really!

Can't beat that purple Thom. I will not look a the DA site, nope can't do it, too dangerous.

Kassia congrates on your mantis order. I like it to mix in amendments to a new bed. It does bounce about if you run into a rock, not unheard of here, but it is easy enough to handle once you get the hang of it and let it do the digging for ya. I am a small person and have no trouble dealing with it at all. :)

You will have to post lots of pics of flower show for all of us that cannot go, oh just to see green stuff actually growing and the smell of flowers. Mmmmm, nice! :)

awwwww! I want a mantis . . . . sigh . . . :-)

Tilling is really not good for the soil.

It will give you blisters, too.
I have a copy of the original Lasagna Bed book and the author planted directly into beds as soon as she made them.

edited to make sense.

This message was edited Mar 6, 2008 2:49 PM

please don't give me blisters, Cat. i'll be nice, i promise!

Otay!

And how deep are they when they're new, Cat?

heeheehee.
it was a great monty pythonish curse: "I give you blisters!"

Victor - I'd have to look it up - but I think she went a foot deep - er - high.

Wow - thanks.

Victor, my original lasagna bed, which is my 40x40 veggie garden, was about 8" deep. I used cardboard, newspaper, grass clippings, hay, leaves, green sand, and about 4 1/2 pick up truck fulls of mulch. I didn't plant directly into, I waited about a week or so...if it was wet, and I walked on it, sometimes the mulch would go one way, and my arse would go the other...not pretty. After about 2-3 weeks, it seemed to settle a bit, and I planted the garden that year. My front bed, it's about 4" deep, give or take, and that was newspaper, LOTS of newspaper, that I shredded, so, that was a project, and about 4 truck fulls of mulch. That I planted directly, almost out of necessity. This is also the area that I planted a majority of the bulbs that I listed in a thread awhile back...so, I'll see how well they did/do in the next few weeks. This weather is crazy. Snow, snow, then...40's...rain, rain, and flooding...they are calling for snow sometime in the next day or two....oye.
I checked on the plants I have healed in...my witch hazel is in full bloom...lol. Everything else seems A OK...phew.
I just got my Ensata catalog today...oye...lol.

Who knows what will happen...?

ngam - Thanks for the link. I'd actually been toying with the idea of a mesh trellis like that. Good to know that it'll work.

Thanks, Carrie. I figured the sooner the better but wanted to be sure I wasn't
rushing it.

Grampapa - The chimney gets sun pretty much all day except late afternoon when the trees in the yard to the west block the sun. My one concern in the foot of the chimney doesn't get much direct sunlight except at midday. The chimney is red brick, the house is, well, off-white. It really needs a good power-washing but I'm just happy to be getting the gutters replaced. I lost half the dirt in one of my beds to a overflowing gutter last year.

On lasagna beds, I'd definitely have to go the plant immediately route. Hmm, looks like I'll be visiting Home Depot again. I don't have much in the way of leaves and such that aren't already being used as mulch. Luckily my yard is tiny so I shouldn't need huge amounts of mulch to make the raised beds. One will be roughly 50ftx5ft, the other 9ftx4ft. I suspect I'll be renting a Home Depot truck to haul home all the mulch. My poor little Neon wouldn't be able to handle it. Almost makes me wish I hadn't sold my gas-guzzling pickup four years ago.

Well, I need to mix the soil in my raised beds... I tryed the lasagna bed. I runned out of material to make it... so I had to buy soil and mulch... guess what, now I have leaves and the soil set so much on the beds that it was hard to dig... so I have to add and mix and oh brother I hurt my back... No more... I will add nice things to the soil and use the mantis to mix it... I need to make some beds a little bit larger so I plan to use the mantis to cut some of the soil so I can add some good things... them I have tons of grass to destroy!!!!

Thanks Thom. Hope yours works out great! Looking forward to the photos.

Anyone using a tiller in our soil is a brave soul. I went to a plow match in Newbury a few years ago. Members of the local draft horse association were plowing an old field w/ horses and antique plows. Sure enough, someone broke their plow on a piece of fieldstone 1/4 way into a row! This field is on the Spencer-Pierce Little farm, which has been continually plowed since the 1600's- shows just how much stone there is to perk up.
I've had to add purchased compost every year for the past 10 years on my place... my gas-guzzling pick-up has earned it's keep!

Same problem here. My county is named Rockland for a reason!

Oh ya, we got rocks for sure around here. I have dug holes 3' by 3' for roses and after you take away all the rocks , two large wheelbarrows full, there isn't anything left to backfill the plant. Loads of compost and top soil needed. I have had rocks get stuck in between the mantis tines. Good news is there are plenty of rocks around to grab another one and knock it out. I do not till any more than necessary because I do not want to pulverize the soil, but in places where "no one has gone before" so to speak, it is the only way someone my size can deal with adding such large amounts of amendments. After the initial work over, the old shovel and garden fork are employed exclusively. :)

Victor - Ralph Snodsmith (on radio) always says the exact same thing about Rockland County.

Many people think Long Island is all sand but we've had fertile farming here for centuries and we're blessed with great soil.

amen to that.

I bought another DL....it's a beautiful color as long as it really looks like this in my garden!

'Lavender Stardust'

Very pretty Celeste - I can't wait to see your blooms this year.

I am sooo envious of all these beautiful daylilies everyone is showing me . . . sigh . . .

Me neither Anita...I have so many from last year that never bloomed....I'll be in DL heaven this summer!

Pixie, I really like that one alot...time for google...lol.

Oh Dear Thom, what did I do? Started you out early this morning didn't I?
Ok so here is the picture of the one from the other day.

'Cimarron Rose'

I have a bid on 'Bohemia After Dark' too.

LOL...I just got in from work. So after the good mornings with Paul, and taking the pups out, and feeding the cat, I plop myself in front of the computer and veg... Then I visit the gardening sites, and DG, and yahoo...and google. I like that one also. Someone keeps bidding on the DL's that I bid on...I keep getting the emails telling that I've been out bid, and it riles me so. I just viewed the newest NEW posts...oh boy...that's all I have to say, is "OH BOY."

I hate it when I see a picture of a flower I would be interested in and then only to find they are selling seeds not the plant it's self!

I really want 'MALAYSIAN MARKETPLACE' it's a bi-tone and im drawn to them. This one is not coming down in price and it's always a single fan for sale! I want a dbl. fan and I want it cheap!! LOL

The older you get, Pixie, the more you'll find that even double fans aren't enough! We all want blooms NOW, not five years from now.

That Bohemia one would be ideal for Anita as she could probably throw a ball to her neighboring town with that name.

I agree Pirl, it's one of the reason I buy from Oakes...instant gratification! You get a clump from them most every time!!

You guys are driving me crazy with all these gorgeous pics of DLs. I have already started plotting a new bed for them next year. Cannot go looking online it's too dangerous, bad enough there is a DL farm less than 5 miles from here. I can only go once a year to drool and purchase. A good thing in the long run really.
http://www.tranquil-lake.com/index.htm

How lucky you are to be so close!! I'd be broke if I lived that close to a DL and Iris farm!!!!!!!!

Oh, NO!!!!
ANOTHER local grower I have to visit... there goes more $$$...
I'm going to get back at you all for turning you on to New England Bonsai Gardens-
www.nebonsai.com
They have lots more than just bonsai. They sell "pre-bonsai" shrubs like Bougainvilleas, plus I've seen micro-mini hostas there, too!!! They have awesome sales.
If they were a few miles closer to me, I'd have to sell my house... now that would defeat the purpose!

That color of DL would go perfectly in my gardens, Pix. Jax ---the prices of bonsai! I did love the Japanese black pines--a lot! However, those are prices I would pay for a car! Kassia--is that the Boston Flower Show? Have been a few times, when it was in the old location. One year, a thick cable from a radio broadcast broke--flames were creeping up a burlap backdrop, & the fire alarms went --we all had to evacuate through the big roll-up doors, while the firefighters were trying to come in! Hairy!

Are you saying I have to wait five years for the daylilies I started from seed? I thought it would be a year or two. . . . sigh . . .