I seeded four types of native clover and some native lupines based on the recommendations of a local professor at the university.
They took a little while to start thriving because kids and dogs kept churning up the dirt and mud, but its starting to take hold. Much greener and more widespread, and softer, than the native grass seed I planted at the same time. It seems to be helping the grass to take hold in the same areas too. We had a solid two weeks where we couldn't walk outside without getting mobbed by butterflies and other pollinators. Its nice to feel like I'm just dumping water onto my lawn for no reason.
I really like the idea, but I'm worried about the mud issue. We had a big patch of clover, and it seemed like a canopy of clover leaves with mud underneath, so the dog was always tracking it in. Do you think I might have had a different kind of clover? I would really love to do a full clover lawn, but I don't want a muddy kitchen all the time :/
That’s awesome. Bees scare me to death. I often see them in my backyard and run away from them. Lol When do they attack? What if they built their hive in your garden? Don’t they start attacking then?
I got stung by 3 of them once and it hurt bad. I’d learned from my late mother to wash an insects bite/sting right away so it doesn’t swell(I think it relates to washing off whatever chemicals they release onto the skin when they sting you). So I immediately washed their stings and they didn’t swell. It was painful, though.
Life is full of opportunities to learn. "Gotta learn something new everyday." Here's a bit more: There are about 6000 solitary bees that live on the NA continent. Most of them make small tunnels in the ground, and some carve holes in wood, e.g. trees, posts, etc. The ground dwelling ones on average go about 6 inches deep. So that woven plastic "landscape cloth" interferes with them. If they are beneath it when installed, they can't get out. If they are above it they can't make proper homes for their babies. Happy Spring!!
Haha, these ones are so shy I have problems taking pictures of them. I get that people are scared by insects and especially anything wasp/beelike. But there is really no need to :)
We planted a lot of native seeds last fall in the small section between our fence and the ally. I am really hoping the Bush's Poppy Mallow, partridge pea, and pussytoes come up. I have a lot more but those are my top three. I am also hoping the violets we planted are coming up. It looked like they were coming in before the early spring snow hit. I ordered some Ramps from prairie moon that I am waiting to arrive. Hopefully the grow in our new shade garden where we planted a variety of shade plants
I think most natives need shade under trees so they get seasonal sun in the spring. Also I think leaf litter is important. But I'm not sure since they are still in seed
The seeds may take more than 1 winter to germinate, even coming from prairie moon (love them!), just FYI. Our first fall in our house I seeded an area with some native flowers. It took 2 springs before some of them came up and others didn’t show until the 3rd spring.
I am trying to temper my expectations because I know it might take a while. I'm just so excited. We're pulling up some garden barrier this spring and going to be putting down wild ginger. I want to put down tons of types to see what comes up. I know there are tons of beautiful ones that take multiple years to germinate.
I’m with you - I have a few perennials we’re attempting to grow from seed that need cold/warm/cold stratification to germinate and it’s hard not to be excited for when they finally start popping
I love meeting other people who are growing natives! Our first summer the neighbors offered to help us reseed our grass because of our bare patches that hadn’t germinated. They thought our grass had just died. Now they come and collect some of our seeds for their own flower beds!
Our columbine has really struggled which I still can’t figure out because it grows so well naturally in our wood edge along the road. The big-leaved aster and birds-foot violets do well though, as well as some typically more prairie species. And the ostrich ferns only like the south exposure side of our porch, but they’ve taken hold well there. I should consider ginger, I always find some along one of our favorite hiking trails nearby.
You’ll want to deadhead it by removing any dying blooms about a 1/4” to 1/2” down from the top of each stem. You will also want to cut back any stems which only have dead, crispy leaves. Leave the partially alive leaves as the plant can either make use of what remains or draw back the nutrients left in them if it needs to.
Try to water it every morning while it is still cool. Error on the side of giving it too much water at once over watering it multiple times per day. Stick your finger in the dirt before you go to water it. Pull your finger out and check if the soil feels moist or muddy. If it does, you will want to skip watering that day.
Mistakes happen when it comes to watering. If it happens again, fill up some Tupperware or a large bowl with water and place the pot the marigolds are in into the water for a little bit. This will quickly rehydrate the soil and the plant (assuming there are holes on the bottom of the pot).
After you’ve trimmed it back and taken care of its water needs, watch to see if it bounces back. Being honest, there is a small chance it could completely die at this point.
Look for new stems and buds at this point. If it looks like it’s bouncing back, give it liquid plant food or fertilizer. You will want fertilizer/ food which is high in phosphorus. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers, otherwise it may make more leaves than blooms.
Also, consider repotting it into a 12” pot if it bounces back.
It’s always a joy to see this thread posted :) I just got back inside from watering my little balcony garden, and I’m pleased to report that things are looking pretty good! Wife and I had to fasten some twine to the tomato plant to give it some support, because the maters are coming in big this year! Dinosaur kale is coming along nicely and the non-descript micro greens are right behind. My sunflowers are starting to bud too, and I’m so excited for when they bloom.
My catnip and pumpkins sprouts aren’t doing as well as I’d hoped, but that’s on me. I’ve lived in the South my whole life, and I was still so surprised it got so hot so quick. I was lucky that they more-or-less bounced back after being cared for, but let’s just say I’m not planning to carve my own pumpkins this fall just yet. But as I’ve said before, this is just a fun little hobby (at least that’s what I tell myself, I was very saddened to see them wilting in the sun). And hey, my peppers are looking great, especially the cayennes!
Have some pictures! Go easy on my poor little sprouts 😭
Thank you! That means a lot :) I took your advice from a few threads back and made sure they were getting more sunlight. In terms of protection, not much, just trying to keep their little starter trays damp in this heat. They dry out so quickly!
We hit 90F yesterday and I watered some of our starter trays like six times, I feel your pain. How are the pumpkins’ roots looking? If they’re starting to bust out at the bottoms (or sides of you have that kind) it might be time to think about giving them some more space, and the additional soil will increase the amount of water they can have available throughout the day
It’s been wonderful watching everything pop into full green growth over the last couple weeks here!
I’ve got pretty much everything planted out into the garden and things are acclimating pretty well, though I think the squash wants warmer weather to really get going.
I’ve been watching the path I use to walk through the woods on my commute slowly get overgrown with poisen ivy - does anyone have suggestions on what to do about that other than just going through with gloves and clippers? Definitely don’t want to spray anything noxious since its not my land (and I wouldn’t anyway if it was).
Gloves, long sleeves, and pants. You’ll need pull the roots out, or you’ll be “pruning” the poison more often than you’d want.
Poison ivy doesn’t like well manicured areas. If you’re walking through property that’s owned by others, I’ll make an assumption that you have permission. I’d talk to the owner and ask if you can take a weed whacker to the area around the path when it gets overgrown. Do that enough to keep it from overgrowing and it might find a new direction to grow.
I agree with @PaddleMaster about the protective gear if you’ve got permission to do the work there. Have a change of clothes and some rags with texture, soap, and water to wipe any skin that gets the urushiol on it.
But hooray for the rest of the green you’ve got going on!
John Jeavons book, How to Grow More Vegetables (than you ever thought possible on less land with less water than you can imagine) is a wonderful reference on the biointensive method (https://johnjeavons.org/books-and-videos/). And it's now in it's 9th edition.
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