Pandemic Garden Club
Nov. 11th, 2022 09:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scrubjayspeaksWelcome to the November edition of Pandemic Garden Club! Growing good things in strange times!
Anyone is welcome to comment with what they're growing right now, things they would like to try, problems they're encountering, and questions they have. Share resources, answer questions, shout encouragement.
As for myself...
The squash are trying SO HARD! Look at this poor little white pumpkin! After the first round of squash this year failed, and failed hard, we replanted. The second round survived but, as they say, at what cost? It's nearly the middle of November, we've gotten down to freezing several times, and the pumpkins are surviving by virtue of the sheets and blankets we throw over them every evening. Are we actually going to get mature pumpkins off any of these vines? I don't know. At this point, we've committed to the bit, inane though it may be.
I only bought one new tree this past month. Definitely I do not have any kind of personal problem. :D They had an event at the community garden, and this smoke tree of exceptionally questionable structure was in their sale area. This photo is terrible--sorry--and fails to capture the deep brown-purple of the leaves, which turn to bright red as they die. I have officially expanded beyond the original diamond arrangement of trees in the wildflower field. I'm going to run out of space, because of the small matter of two sea containers and two defunct horse/stock trailers. It's probably good that we're creating the northern tree wall, so I have someplace else to put more trees. Trees!
One of them turned out to be millet, actually, spread from the wild birdseed mix, but the rest of the broom corn plants have gotten tall and started to form their seed heads. Still not mature enough to cut. I'm definitely going to plant more of this next year--it was a fun one.
We finally had to start closing up the greenhouse doors for the night, as we've been brushing frost temperatures at least briefly. I had already moved some of the most delicate plants into the office for the winter. That's a very selective crowd, though. I've hit the point with some of the plants of saying, either you survive outside with the protection of the greenhouse and/or blankets or you die like heroes. I can only handle coddling so many plants.
But this thing! This started life as a nursery pot for freebie cuttings I brought home. I don't know for sure that this is the same type of aloe as the tentacle hedge I've got planted in the ground now, but it certainly looks like it. Grows like it, too, because it took over and cracked through this pot. It's been in the greenhouse, but it got so big over the summer, we couldn't put the sides back on with it in there.
Eventually, I need to repot it. Or possibly put it in the ground as well. Don't know where, though. The trouble with aloes is that they don't like a lot of direct, scorching sun, which I have in miserable excess for most of the year. I need to work out another shady spot to plant this. Somewhere in there are some smaller plants. Maybe. If they haven't been consumed by this monster. I'm looking forward to excavating them, because I make poor life choices and have terrible hobbies.
Most importantly, we got the first proper rain of the year. In fact, we had a nice downpour this past week. As usual, it only seems to rain during the workweek when I can't properly enjoy it. But look! Toad! This is, among other reasons, why I like the cold and damp months, to whatever meager extent we get them.
Anyone is welcome to comment with what they're growing right now, things they would like to try, problems they're encountering, and questions they have. Share resources, answer questions, shout encouragement.
As for myself...
The squash are trying SO HARD! Look at this poor little white pumpkin! After the first round of squash this year failed, and failed hard, we replanted. The second round survived but, as they say, at what cost? It's nearly the middle of November, we've gotten down to freezing several times, and the pumpkins are surviving by virtue of the sheets and blankets we throw over them every evening. Are we actually going to get mature pumpkins off any of these vines? I don't know. At this point, we've committed to the bit, inane though it may be.
I only bought one new tree this past month. Definitely I do not have any kind of personal problem. :D They had an event at the community garden, and this smoke tree of exceptionally questionable structure was in their sale area. This photo is terrible--sorry--and fails to capture the deep brown-purple of the leaves, which turn to bright red as they die. I have officially expanded beyond the original diamond arrangement of trees in the wildflower field. I'm going to run out of space, because of the small matter of two sea containers and two defunct horse/stock trailers. It's probably good that we're creating the northern tree wall, so I have someplace else to put more trees. Trees!
One of them turned out to be millet, actually, spread from the wild birdseed mix, but the rest of the broom corn plants have gotten tall and started to form their seed heads. Still not mature enough to cut. I'm definitely going to plant more of this next year--it was a fun one.
We finally had to start closing up the greenhouse doors for the night, as we've been brushing frost temperatures at least briefly. I had already moved some of the most delicate plants into the office for the winter. That's a very selective crowd, though. I've hit the point with some of the plants of saying, either you survive outside with the protection of the greenhouse and/or blankets or you die like heroes. I can only handle coddling so many plants.
But this thing! This started life as a nursery pot for freebie cuttings I brought home. I don't know for sure that this is the same type of aloe as the tentacle hedge I've got planted in the ground now, but it certainly looks like it. Grows like it, too, because it took over and cracked through this pot. It's been in the greenhouse, but it got so big over the summer, we couldn't put the sides back on with it in there.
Eventually, I need to repot it. Or possibly put it in the ground as well. Don't know where, though. The trouble with aloes is that they don't like a lot of direct, scorching sun, which I have in miserable excess for most of the year. I need to work out another shady spot to plant this. Somewhere in there are some smaller plants. Maybe. If they haven't been consumed by this monster. I'm looking forward to excavating them, because I make poor life choices and have terrible hobbies.
Most importantly, we got the first proper rain of the year. In fact, we had a nice downpour this past week. As usual, it only seems to rain during the workweek when I can't properly enjoy it. But look! Toad! This is, among other reasons, why I like the cold and damp months, to whatever meager extent we get them.
