I made a huge planter/earthbox for Joyce this spring since her bad knees and hips make it impossible for her to bend or dig. I just used one of the big Rubbermaid/Sterlite containers, drilled some holes in the bottom and filled it with dirt. I had a pretty sturdy and tall wooden trellis I was no longer using and put that in the back and some mulch on top.
She has been harvesting tomatoes from it all summer. I planted either three or four tomato plants in there. Next year I'm going to plant some basil under the tomatoes.
Falland Cleaning up Your Garden...What are YOU doing??
Did you make it into an EB-style container with a water reservoir or just treat it like a big planter? I think tomatoes definitely appreciate larger containers. :-)
Just a big planter. I placed it where she could easily water it when watering other plants. It would easy enough to make it into more of a real earthbox. I've seen several people post directions here on DG on how to do that. It's certainly a lot cheaper than buying one. The mulch is important too because anything above ground is going to drain and dry out faster.
Because the plants were so high up, she didn't have to do any bending, not even to pick the tomatoes.
If you keep them watered and fed, you can essentially do the same as French intensive gardens and grow the plants very close together.
X-mas Catcus.....If there is a (Y) at the bottom you would be planting them upside down where in they would not grow. I use straight four segment pieces. Kelp/fish is a good tea maker and foliar feeding organic mix. For foliar feeding use two ounces to a gallon of water. For weak teas use a tablespoon to the quart.
The best prices I can find is for Fertrell products. They are on line with their catalog and it contains a dealer list. They have all the goodies anyone would ever want or need. They do not do mail order. They are the largest and oldest organic source in America.
Pruning X-mas Cactus is best done to an old plant that is not performing well anytime the knife is sharp. Bloom will only form on or from the tip of new terminal growth. Pruning healthy growth is done following bloom which is in late winter or early spring. Continue up to July or August. They need several months to make the growth and form buds following your management to create new growth and consequently set the new buds.
I never move them to a dark room as some advisors suggest. I grow them about sixteen to twenty inches back into the room from an Northeastern or Southeastern window. They spend their entire lives in the same light that violets enjoy.
doc----
I do not understand the "upside down" thing if there is a "Y" at the bottom????? The "bottom" to me is what was there first! Then the new straight growths come from that. How can that be "upside down"????????
I have rooted many cuttings where there is a "Y" at the bottom. I stick it into the soil and wait.....I usually discard any straight, 4 or more, sections that may break off.
Of course--I am NOT all that serious about any of this. Heaven help me if i was......
I DO keep all that you are telling me tucked into the back of my, upside down, brain.....:o)
Gita
Here's one of my X-Mas cactusses after I brought them in blooming away.....
yes folks Gita is sending me brug cuttings- new phase in my garden expertise begins!!
I was out piddling around awhile--moved some daylilies, trying to hold off moving anything because its getting a little dry out there.
Got a light setup to bring in my dozen or so baby Meyer lemons I grew from seeds this spring. and got banana and plumeria in the bedroom, hubby says cool
and a friend gave me an oleander bush. Have to keep the animals away, but since its new to me, I'd like to keep it and have it bloom next summer. Attractive form. This is not a very good picture.
And another garden fairy, er, prince, will be gifting me with badly needed hostas in exchange for a not badly needed winterberry!
Sally,
Your Oleander is very pretty! Now you have a big Oleander--and I have that HUGE Clivia, that my friend gave me, to contend with. New to me too.....
I like this "giving".....We all want something new sometimes---then, after a few years, the thrill of it all is gone--over with. Things grow big....require a lot of care....Don't do what you hoped they would do.....Why not thrill another person with it and pass it on?
WAIT! Just hold it!!! We're talking about plants here----NOT your children!
:o)
I give up. You win. :)
I think Doc & Gita need drawings and not just words, LOL, and I bet they'd then be in agreement. I've rooted CC's both by using straight pieces as Doc does (although I did not know that I could bury more than one joint... from now on, I will bury 2 for more roots and better stability!) and by using larger pieces that have one or two segments and then a "Y" -- the branches of the "Y" go up, and the lowest segment/joint before the "Y" gets buried. It's a way to get a more established-looking branching little plant sooner than using smaller straight segments.
Gita, LOL......
doc....
Why do you say "I win!"......This is not a contest....I was just seeking clarification....
How else can I learn?
Sometimes I think I know a lot--and then someone much wiser comes along--and I find out I really don't know all that much after all....
Somewhere--in all my gardening past--someone told me that Cc would root better if it had the "Y". So, I have always adhered to that. Now you are teaching me something different and I want to understand it so I can do it better in in the future....
Thanks doc--you ARE a wise one to me...I always appreciate your knowledge.
Gita
plants and children LOLOL
Since I apparently do not visualize what you are doing I can not pass judgement or criticism without pictures or drawings to illustrate what you are saying.
Doc, I don't know what Gita does, but my "Y" pieces of CC look more like upright "V" shapes once they are planted. I like starting them from bigger pieces that have already begun branching because I'm sometimes impatient. But if smaller 3 or 4 segment pieces are all my plant can spare, those work fine also.
Thanks, Jill.....I hope that explains it to doc......That is also what I am trying to explain.....
Wish I had a picture--but I do not at this time.....
doc--I will take a picture of a broken off section of my CC--yes, I have one--and I hope that helps explain it to you.
Gita
I too know that a "Y" or "V" can be rooted pointing up if there is at least one joint in the soil to produce roots. A straight piece of four sections...two in the ground and two above the soil will produce roots a tad faster.....with or without a rooting booster. However relating to violet cuttings that root faster with half the leaf on a cutting being trimmed off it stands to reason that just so much leaf is needed to excite the roots into forming. My thinking would be that two joints on Christmas Catcus above the ground is enough. The new roots could possibly better cause new growth to become new terminal growth easier when the above the ground leaf material is limited to just two joints. More than two joints above the ground would require the roots to form longer and larger before a heavier or larger top could be expected to take off and form new terminal growth.
I have noticed that what I say is the practice of at least the one firm I have bought plugs from. The greenhouse perfect controll is far better than my living room. By the time I get them they have already started to produce new growth on the two or three segments above the ground sometimes having started with much more above the ground and just a few hair roots supporting the new terminal growth. I believe this growth is excited by chemistry which is the norm not the exception. Most of us can not create perfect but we can get a better end result working a bit slower with less top to support in the begining. I have never tried to do it fast like the greenhouses do all market plants. Because we home growers do not count time as money there may be no difference. I just like to experiment and think less top at the begining is overall a better way to start for me.
If I were to use a "Y" or a "V" at the bottom pointing up I would still like only two segments above the ground and two segment joints in the soil. Sure enough given carefull care even a "V" without two joints in the soil will root. Even a piece laying on the soil in high humidity will root providing the piece has not wilted beyond the point of recovery.
All of the above is not rocket science. It is fun for me too ponder easier ways to get nearly a hundred percent great starts.
Doc, that makes sense. I know I often root overly large cuttings (of many plants), thinking the plants are getting a "jump start" in terms of size, but it would probably be better to root smaller cuttings more quickly and let them take off and start growing.
OK! One more question and I will be filled with all kinds of new knowledge:
WHEN is the best time to prune back CC?
When, and with, is it best to fertilize CC?
Thanks, Gita
I'd prune them back after they bloom, so as not to interrupt a bloom cycle. Or, if you know when yours usually blooms, prune well before that so new growth and buds have time to form.
I don't know if this is what's "best" but my CC gets half-strength water soluble fertilizer (miracle gro or AV fertilizer, whatever I happen to be mixing up) every so often... probably not more than every month or two.
If your potting soil is decent organic based they likely need little if any fertilizer. I can't bring myself to be that stingy so I water with extremely light teas..........whichever one I am doing but not more than twice a month during the winter resting period. I treat the violets and other house plants the same way in our winter. Spring, summer and fall the same light watering fertilizer teas but weekly or every other watering when twice a week watering is in order.
Here in Northcentral Pennsylvania the plants slow down begining right now. They show a desire to grow (thinking about it) begining about the first of March. I'm stingy with water and fertilizer while they are resting. By April I'm back into weekly very light teas and increase the tea strength a little more when they start to move again. I figure if they are pushing new growth they are using more water and fertilizer or teas. If they get to really going to fast I simply skip the tea or give it less frequently figuring they have enough at that time. Rule of thumb is if the leaves lighten add more or strengthen the tea. If the leaves move to a darker green reduce the teas.
Trim after bloom unless one arm gets out of the norm for that pot. Then trim only that one part of the plant anytime. Some of my Christmas Catus are forming buds as we speak.That is my promise of a season to soon be upon us.
doc,
I know you spoke of all your "teas"....
Would a light solution of Fish Emulsion be considered a "tea"?
I have the granular Kelp Meal--which looks like coarse black pepper. I can no longer find the "Liquid Seaweed" I used to buy. Can granular kelp meal be used to make a tea? I don't think it dissolves.....
On slow-growing plants--like my Aloes, CC, Epis and NB Cerius, I also prefer using organic fertilizers, but that is limited to only the Fish Emulsion that I now have. I think the last gallon of this I bought actually had liquid see weed mixed in it......
I really shy away from the "blue water" fertilizers on these kind of plants. It's OK on annuals and such--for a quick fix
.
For general garden fertilizing I use the appropriate Espoma products (The "Tones"....) and, by now, I swear by Beyer lawn fertilizers. My lawn has never been better....
I had Lawn Service for 15 years but gave it up due to the cost ($45 a treatment on my small property) and also I hated when they started scooting around on those motorized fertilizer dispensers. SO MUCH hit or miss! Five minutes--and they were done! And for that? $45????
Cancelled them and started doing it myself---and my lawn has never been healthier! Just have a bit of clover to deal with......
Thanks again for your input.
Gita
Doc, Is there a thread where you've posted any of your tea recipes? If not, it would be invaluable to many of us if you could start one. Thanks!
We have seen several black fuzzy caterpillars in the last few weeks -- maybe 1" long and 1/2" wide -- very very fuzzy looking. I wish I had taken a photo. Any idea whether they are friend or foe?
They're probably woolly bears. Lots of photos and info here:
http://www3.islandtelecom.com/~oehlkew/indexarc.htm
I thought woolly bears were smaller. And mine don't have a stripe -- maybe I need to look closer. Mine might be the giant leopard moth caterpillar, but I can't tell what size those are supposed to be. I'm ok as long as I shouldn't be squishing them.
Look at the link, Happy. You'll see they come in several colors with and without stripes. Yes, the Giant Leopard looks likely since that one is solid black.
I'm not "cleaning up" so much as being kind to my beds and plants. My Azaleas, Laurels and Hydrangeas have been increasingly chlorotic all summer. In the last 6 weeks, I've amended their soil with first Greensand and then Ironite. Now I'm going to try a liquid Iron foliar spray. It's strange, the Rhodos all have good color, even those right beside the chlorotic Azaleas.
The soil in my one shrub bed is way too rich. The level of this bed had to be raised and in doing so I used way too much leaf mold as it was free from the township. So far I have applied 4 bags of gypsum to the soil and am going to mix 3 bags of Espoma soil Perfector into the earth.
DSO was way overly generous in his mulching of my shrub beds, so I've been thinning the mulch layers and dispersing the excess to some areas that never got mulched. This should have the benefit of aiding some of my areas of poorer soil as well as making my shrub beds less attractive to the voles.
The soil in my large roadside bed under Maples is very dry and granular. I've added 10 bags of gypsum to this area. I've read that Gypsum can increase the moisture retention by 25%. This week I am going to coat the surface of this bed with composted leaf mold.
As a mild fertilizer and nitrogen fixer as well as animal repellent, I've applied Milorganite to all of the beds. This week I will also treat the grass with Milorganite.
My planting activities now are exclusively focused on bulbs. I say this but every few days a couple of more plants that I've forgotten that I ordered keep showing up, mostly things that were back ordered. Daffodils are this week's project. I'm still awaiting on one shipment, but sadly can't recall who it's from. I'm adding 5 new Daffodil varieties and replenishing 2 others.
There are lots of other bulbs to be planted, but I'm awaiting a large delivery of Permatil. This year, I'm going to plant the bulbs in Permatil and see if that will keep the voles from eating them. They had a feast on my Hyacinths, Lilies and Tulips.
Next week I am going to broadcast one last ZP vole poison treatment as well as use up my last spray bottle of Castor oil based vole repellant.
Yesterday was spent exclusively in raking the downed branches and leaves out of the beds after Saturday's storm. So far, I've picked up all of the black walnuts and am now focusing on getting the BW leaves out of the beds so I can grind all of the other leaves for mulch. I'm going to apply a layer of ground leaves to all of my shade beds and then let the remaining dropped leaves cover the beds.
I also plan to cover my tree line woodland beds in composted leaf mold before applying the ground and whole leaves.
When the permatil arrives, I am going to continue digging and filling "Moats" of it around all of the shrubs as soil perfector and vole prevention. There are about 100 shrubs still to be moated. With whatever Permatil is left, I'll start moating the Hosta. I ordered an entire pallet of the Permatil and know that this will only cover maybe a third of the hosta. I had a really tough time finding a quantity of the product this late in the season and had to work with the manufacturer and a local nursery to get it. There will be no more available until next year. This is not an item to buy online as the shipping costs are double the product cost because of the weight.
Hopefully, I have enough WiltPruf to spray all of the shrubs for winter. I hoping this will protect most of the young ones and those close to the windy road from winter kill. There are still about 25 Hydrangeas for which I have to make wire cages. I am planning to fill the cages with leaves to try to protect the buds from a late freeze like last year's.
Wow, does this sound like I've got enough going??????? Time to get to work. GO PHILLIES!!!!!!
PHEW! stormyla, your property must be gorgeous.
Wasn't yesterday gorgeous?? It was in central MD. I fiddled with another houseplant -divided a pot with three of Gita's little pregnant onions, into individuals, now that Hubby has told me that a pothos he put on the 'giveaway table' at work was taken within an hour. ( I have this 'thing' about giving houseplants- I don't want them to be potted up just to die on a table. but hard to just let them die in my yard either. Even tho annual flowers die, that's their nature ..) Put leaves in compost. My goal this year like last, is that no leaves will leave the property. I try to get most of the lawn-landed leaves to go under the mower and stay there. Anyway, was just killing time until the rest of the crew could be rustled up for a hike. Good Hike-hence today I can justify a few hours on my butt at the compy.
Cutting down my Brugs yesterday and today. really hate to but we are expecting 30* on Wed. I did use a new pruning spray the cover the stub this year. It sprays out of the can and looks like black tar. Without over the years, water got into my cuts and rotted a very of my inground Brugs. Maybe this pruning spray will save more of them now.
Sally, It's far from gorgeous. There are still lots of eyesores, but I'm working on them. Right now my hill with the Groundhog den and vole tunnels is undergoing reconstruction. I've dug out and removed the surviving plants and they are all sitting on my patio. Still haven't gotten anywhere near touching any edging.
Gita and Cordeledawg, All your talk and photos of Brugs is starting to make me want to try one. I'd love one of those with varigated leaves. Do they need full sun?
Stormy....
Brugs DO like full sun--but in the hotter climates prefer to have a bit of shelter from it in late afternoon sun. I always have had one in bright AM sun (until 2-3PM) and it has done well. The other one in full evening sun is always wilting for want of water.....Their leaves are huge--so the transpiration is way above average.
They need a lot of watering and are "pigs" when it comes to feeding them. Whatever you throw at them--they love....many people use 20-20-20.
However--I think the more organic fertilizers are best--like Fish Emulsion, Kelp and any of the organic teas. Also--a handfull of Epsom Salts now and then helps. You will learn a lot on the Brug Forum. Just reading the "stickys" will be educational.
If you are seriously considering Brugs--there is a lot to know about them. It is NOT your average plant to have.....I would spend some time on the Brugmansia Forum and learn all you can before jumping into growing Brugs.
For example--I just sent Sally many cuttings from my "Maya". She went to a lot of trouble learning all she could about how to grow them--root them--etc....This will make your first 'go" successful.
If all the "Maya" cuttings I have potted up make it (maybe 15)--I will be glad to send you a rooted cutting next Spring.
Please remind me.......Gita
Everyone has been really busy, I get tired just reading what you all have been doing. I still have some plants to trim back. A few shrubs and an evergreen topary to wrap in burlap. It started to rain yesterday so I had to come in side, and today while I was at work it started to SNOW!! Just a few wet flakes, and then turned back to rain.
Where has the Summer gone! BooHoo : (
Lady, Talk about a topiary have you seen this.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/916236/
WOW Stormyla, You have really been getting down and dirty. LOL
I really need to feed my plants and augment the soil more often. Let me know how you do with the vole issue I planted lots of bulbs this year which will probably end up getting eaten. The leaves on my azaleas aren't looking to wonderful but one of them started blooming a few weeks ago. Not a lot of blooms but maybe a dozen or so. I'll have to check out some of the things you are using.
Thanks for the link Holly, that is beautiful! I think my spiral tree would look nice beside it. LOL
How adorable was that???
Wow, stormy... after reading that report this afternoon, I needed to take a nap on your behalf! :-)
Gita, Thanks for the info and the very nice offer. I did do some reading on the Brug forum. I read about 6 or 7 of the threads, but none of them mentioned the sun requirements, which I thought was odd. I'll spend some more time with it over the winter.
Lady, SNOW!! I can't even imagine it yet!! I considered wrapping some shrubs, but thought I'd try the Wilt-pruf. It worked great against transplant shock, but it is a transpirant designed to prevent winter kill. Actually, I thought the burlap and cold blankets might end up blowing away. Even though it's much warmer here than your area, my yard gets ferocious wind.
Hollyann, that's some topiary!!!! Hope no one tried sitting on it. I'll let you know about the bulbs next spring. None of my reblooming azaleas have bloomed yet this fall. I hope that they still have some roots left.
Critter, Thanks!! I really needed that nap.
Stormyla, I put in two re-blooming azaleas this year and one of them re-bloomed for me the other is growing fine but not blooming. I wasn't too sure that they would be hardy in my area. The info on hardiness I got wasn't too specific. But the Azalea I was talking about blooming isn't a re-bloomer just an old azalea that I have had for years. Hey maybe it saw the other one blooming and got confused. LOL
I was thinking about relocating the Azalea at Josh's house it's in full sun about 2/3ft tall. Looks like it's been there a little while but it also looks as though a tree may have been removed from nearby so maybe it had been in the shade previously. Also the trellis with the climbing rose would give it some shade. Any suggestions
You mentioned putting somethin g tall for privacy. My reaction to that was, do you have room for crepe myrtles there? Do CMs do well up there or is it a bit cold? I am not a good landscaper tho.
Storm, I wind jute string around the burlap and tie it. You can snug up the branches and they will rebound in the spring. I also put in long plant stakes (I use re-bars) next to my tall spiril evergreen to give it more support for heavy wet snow.