I bet that many of you are about to start your seeds! what are you planting this year? I still have about a month to get my seeds set up, so I'm still looking for ideas. does anyone start their own annual flowers from seed indoors?


Winter's been hard on my smaller houseplants. the last three times in a row that I've watered have been emergency waterings, and it's starting to show. I put a couple of scraggly plants outside to euthanize them I have my larger houseplants in self-watering reservoir planters, and it's been a lifesaver for both the plants and the floor they're sitting on. At least my orchids and christmas cactuses are blooming!

1/30/2014 2:27:52 PM

I'm looking forward to this season. I'll be buying a place for myself sometime before the spring really come around, and hopefully will be able to start at least a quality container garden.

1/30/2014 2:29:03 PM

i just pulled my collards and brocolli a couple weeks ago and tilled my garden in attempt to freeze the blight spores buried in the soil that invaded my garden last summer.

1/30/2014 3:03:39 PM

Broccoli seedlings already at about 2" high. My peppers just started sprouting yesterday.

Getting excited!

1/30/2014 5:03:33 PM

Where's a good local place to get seeds? Despite the fact that I have two seed catalogs I didn't order a single thing.

1/31/2014 4:55:31 PM

My grandmother-in-law bought us a potted elephant ear at a house sale that was kept in a greenhouse. This was in September, so putting it outside was not an option (We live in a Boone). It did not handle the change well and proceeded to get infested by spider mites with a quickness despite near-daily spraying. I've attempted to overwinter it by cutting it down to near the bulbs and placing it in a dark room. My hope is that it will come back to life in April/May if placed outside. How optimistic should I be?

1/31/2014 5:45:56 PM

For some reason this seems early to me? I started my seeds late last year, probably.

I'm not sure I even want to go from seed this year... it was fun last winter, but it was a lot of work and not many of the ones I grew from seed actually did well. I don't have a sunny window, and I didn't want to invest in a grow light. Or a good place for them that's not my kitchen table. I might just go all nursery-started plants this year, and keep it all container. I did from seed and transferred to in-ground garden--and it was pretty wonky.

1/31/2014 9:36:53 PM

no shame in that game! I usually end up buying most of what I plant from a nursery, as most of the good spots for plants in my home are already occupied. The main issue is that they can bring disease to your garden, which I had some experience with last year, with blight from both tomatoes and impatiens going around.

I may try a couple trays of seeds under a grow light, but i'm hoping to sell this year, so I'm honestly worried more about making the place attractive than growing food or 'interesting' plants. I've gotta try to remember these premises and stick to them in May, haha.

2/1/2014 1:38:22 PM

I'll see if any of my carnivorous plant seeds made it through the winter. The plants seem to be doing alright overall, brought many into the garage under lights. Flytraps look like they took it better than anything else. Really hoping that my white pitcher plant comes back. Just took the plants back outside today, and I'm hoping it doesn't get too cold again and force me to round them all back up. Unfortunately, it looks like a lot of my sundews that I left out did not tolerate the deep freeze.

In the meanwhile, I've picked up a new hobby of scavenging and cutting glass...so I've been tossing around the idea of making a small glass greenhouse. Might be overkill to do it with glass, but it would be fun to try.

2/1/2014 4:01:55 PM

Where's a good local place to get seeds?

2/15/2014 9:10:57 AM

Anyone ever use an irrometer or other soil moisture sensor in their gardens?

2/15/2014 11:28:20 AM

Pretty sure my Indian Hawthorne shrubs have bit the dust this winter. Blah. But at the same time that opens up a good section of our front bed to plant some things. Not sure what to do.

This fall when raking leaves, we mulched a lot and put them in our raised beds. Hoping this helps with a better soil start for this growing season. Haven't really decided what I'm going to plant yet.

2/16/2014 12:02:05 PM

Moving right now, skipping spring garden. Will probably get summer started up.

I've got a chicken coop to build, baby chicks to brood, and garden beds to get up, so seedlings will have
to come from transplants. Maybe I'll get started early on fall.

2/16/2014 1:20:09 PM

^^^the one i use is called my finger. that, and the rough guideline that if it hasn't rained at least an inch in the past week, it's time to irrigate. do you plan to monitor your irrometer manually, or hook it into an automatic irrigation system?


^^is your new empty spot in sun or shade?



Last weekend, I wanted to buy a Clivia that was ready to bloom at the local botanical garden gift shop, but my husband convinced me we didn't have an ideal spot for it to thrive (it was pretty pricey). I'm still struggling to keep my jungle watered, anyway. But today I went by that old plant torturer, Walmart, and rescued a couple of plants that looked strong, but were just about to dry out. A red aglaonema and some kind of footed fern in a basket, a polypodium, I think.

not my picture, but the same cultivar from the same grower (mine is in the same wicker-type container).

2/16/2014 7:11:52 PM

I want to eventually plant fruit-bearing plants (blueberries, blackberries, apples, figs, mulberry, etc., maybe a nut tree) in my yard. The fruit trees are going mainly in the front and the canefruit will be a privacy border.
Anyone have any recommendations for:

1) local nurseries? I'm willing to pay more if I can get a better quality plant.
2) varieties? I've been contemplating dwarf varieties- take up less space vs. productivity. Also, easier to harvest and maintain.
3) Best light to plant in? I've got almost full sun in the majority of my yard.

2/17/2014 11:49:27 AM

I think you should take a look around the north carolina crop extension service website, since you're still trying to figure out what plants to buy. It's a long time til autumn though, so you have plenty of time to decide what varieties to go with.


here's a good article to start with on the various fruit crops. as they point out, chilling hours are the most important thing to pay attention to when selecting varieties. make sure to check the blueberry link for a chilling hour calculator for almost everywhere in NC.
http://rowan.ces.ncsu.edu/2014/02/fruit-tree-garden-column/



You'll need to plant three different varieties of apples for the best fruit set, and you have to make sure that the varieties you pick bloom at the same time. here's a chart for common species available in NC. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/hil/hil-302.html


here's a nice blueberry recommendation list. i'd double check that those chilling hours are still good in your area, but planting a mix of highbush and rabbiteyes is a solid strategy. http://www.hortmag.com/weekly-tips/kindsofblueberries


canefruits are more challenging in the piedmont due to the heat and soil conditions, but here's everything you need to know about growing them in NC and an explanation of commercially important varieties in the region, but there may be more heat-resistant varieties available now.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/ag569.html

2/19/2014 1:30:48 PM

Quote :

"^^is your new empty spot in sun or shade? "

Partial sun

2/21/2014 11:48:02 AM

no matter what you plant, one thing you might want to think about is composting your leaves before putting them into your beds. fallen leaves are one of the main places diseases hide out and survive the winter. A lot of gardeners only use composted vegetable matter or pasteurized commercial compost and mulch in their plantings. Even if the leaves don't have a disease that will directly affect the plants you spread them under, some necrotrophic species can move on to nearby living tissue, especially in an enclosed area such as a container or raised bed. I'm a bit relaxed/lazy about beds under trees, but I definitely only use new potting medium and compost in containers.


for your new bed openings, do you want to stick to shrubs? do you want shrubs with showy flowers, or year-round greenery? are you interested in planting native plants, or drought-tolerant plants, or do plants from some geographic area or style interest you?


you could go with anything from semi-formal rose beds or trellis, to a naturalized mix of native shrubs and small ornamental trees such as mountain laurel, vibirnum, carolina allspice, red bud, and special ornamental dogwoods and native azaleas; or a bunch of specimen plants such as star anise, small ornamental magnolias, gardenias, hydrangeas or camellias and dwarf japanese maples; or some plain old evergreens like eunomyus, juniper, yew, or barberry and other shrubberies.

2/22/2014 2:07:19 PM

Since the backyard forest of pines are now gone G.O.D wants to start planting.

2/22/2014 2:35:32 PM

Quote :

"^^^the one i use is called my finger. that, and the rough guideline that if it hasn't rained at least an inch in the past week, it's time to irrigate. do you plan to monitor your irrometer manually, or hook it into an automatic irrigation system? "

Well...I'd like to design one and hopefully do a kickstarter project with it, in the spirit of this
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1387729422/plant-link-listen-to-your-plants but with more accuracy.

But first I figure I'd learn a little more about them and wondered if they are magic for monitoring soil moisture.

Related...what is the best thing to do to make my raised bed hold moisture better? At the moment, the soil that is in there is really sandy (I live closer to the coast). I'm prepared to take most or all of it out if I need to but would like to go back in with something that isn't going to break the bank cost wise.

[Edited on March 1, 2014 at 6:35 PM. Reason : a]

3/1/2014 6:34:59 PM

they make potting mixes for containers with a large percentage of moisture-retaining gel in them. it is possible to purchase just the gel, but your bed would probably benefit from added organic material and nutrients. theoretically you can just add the gel in the holes you dig for the plants, but of course it would be better to rent a mantis-type handheld tiller and go to town with it.


re soil moisture sensors, check out Stevens. they are the industry leader in professional equipment that registers data, etc.

3/1/2014 8:09:29 PM

Anyone have a recommendation for starting a vegetable garden from scratch? On the same tip, a lawn.

I just closed on a house last week and the builder threw some seed/straw down but my instincts are telling me it wasn't that strong of an effort.

3/3/2014 11:08:34 AM

what did the soil look like under the seed and straw? I assume you purchased in a fairly large development. I have bad news for you, top soil is frequently stripped and sold before starting construction. are there any trees older than the house? (if there are, inspect them and see if they were damaged by construction. better to know sooner than later). anyway, getting your soil right is the first step, and if you're not starting with topsoil, you have some work ahead of you.

3/3/2014 11:28:43 AM

Built a raised garden bed this past weekend and plan on filling it up this week. Going to try some kale and bibb lettuce in addition to our normal herbs and peppers (growing tomatoes in a separate area in the yard).

Any tips/rules I should know doing a raised bed in contrast to just planting on regular ground level? This will be our third year doing a back-yard garden and each year it keeps getting better...but it also ends up failing at some point (or at least before we want the gardening to "stop"). Normally it's just shit (pests/fungus/whatever) that destroys our tomatoes. Our herbs usually last throughout the season and our peppers are always strong. But is there a list of pest/fungus preventatives that "every garden needs to have"?

I feel like it's impossible to have the perfect garden, but would like to get more a solid return on our time/money investment this year. If it matters for climate purposes, we do live in Charleston.

3/3/2014 11:31:05 AM

filling a new raised bed can get expensive quick, so check out the 'lasagna gardening' method of building soil quickly. the first year, you technically don't have much soil, but the layered substrate provides the soil components, and most importantly, aeration.


There's a lot of variations on what exactly go in the layers of a lasagna garden, but it's always made with an eye towards drainage. Roots need air to survive. Organic material is what creates soil structure, and soil's structure is what makes excess water drain and creates airspace. When soil builds up naturally, layers of dead leaves, mineral dust and blown dirt, and larger pieces of dead plant material slowly accumulate and decay. The layers of organic material rest upon each other and create a lattice which stores both moisture and air. If we just plop a bunch of 'garden soil' into your raised bed, all of the organic and non-organic particles are mixed up, so it has no structure, so we get soup when we water, and the particles just smush together causing compaction, which kills our plants.

If you don't have access to a large amount of decomposed leaves, you can substitute straw and newspaper, and compost, if you have it. The best source for manure is horses, since they eat fancy food as a general rule, and there won't be anything too disgusting in it. you used to be able to get it from the horse complex at the fairgrounds pretty readily. bagged composted manure is a good option (and still cheaper per volume than potting mediums, if you're counting). and since you're starting pretty close to when you want to plant, you need to count on at least 6-8 inches of high-quality potting mix and sand in the top layer (mixed with your own top soil if you have some light, organic soil).





A caution about using pine needles and peat moss: These two components are very acidic and can take a long time for the acid to leach out all the way. so if you use a large amount of this, your bed may only support acid-loving plants. (if you've ever seen pine trees that only moss will grow under, yeah, that's why). you can counteract this by mixing a very small amount of lime with the peat moss, but it's best to use these ingredients in moderation. If you have to buy stuff in bags, composted manure, container potting medium, topsoil, and finely textured hardwood mulch is preferable to peat moss.



If you didn't dig out the sod from under your bed, you need to kill it asap with cardboard or something else that will block out light. do it today if you can. then you can build your lasagna garden at your leisure.


Regarding crops, tomatoes love raised beds, and appreciate deep rich organic soil, and they will benefit from having new soil. (crop rotation is good- if you're having recurring problems in a spot, the soil may be infested. pick your varieties carefully and get ones with major disease resistance). other crops that could be fun are carrots and onions and other root crops that are challenging without the right type of soil, such as daikon radishes or even sweet potatoes- this could be nice with their attractive trailing leaves. a squash or zucchini plant could add some visual contrast as well.

As far as what every garden needs to have-- 10-15-10 fertilizer, insecticidal soap, and a pheromone trap for beetles come August. If you have roses or apples, you need black spot spray. a bottle of roundup if you like cleaning up paths. that's pretty much it. don't be so hard on yourself, taming nature is a fool's errand, and problems will always crop up from year to year. Some plants may never like your yard, and you may never understand why. there's only 10,000 more to try




since you said you were interested in salad greens, I've just seen this idea this weekend, and i think it looks interesting enough to try.

Quote :

"This worked well for me for many years - it's a simple, weed-free way to grow lettuce, spinach and even radishes. Take a 2 cubic feet bag of potting soil (I used Miracle Grow), rumple it around quite a bit to loose the soil, poke quite a few holes in the back side for drainage, then lay the bag on a smooth surface that will allow drainage and not get too hot, and cut out the top, leaving about a 4 or 5 inch border all around. Lightly rake through the soil to even it out and loosen it even more, then carefully, and evenly sprinkle the seeds around. I put my salad green seeds in an old spice bottle with large shaker holes, added some cornmeal, shook it all up to mix well and sprinkled them out of it. I put the cornmeal in there to allow me to see that I had covered the soil evenly. If doing radish seeds or spinach, just make lines the depth mentioned on the seed pack, plant the seeds and cover appropriately. For salad greens I sprinkled a lite covering of soil over the cornmeal and seeds and then spray-misted to water them in. I put my bags on metal sawhorses and grates to make them waist level. This kept the bags off the hot concrete and I didn't have to bend over when cutting my salad. When harvesting, just use a pair of scissors and cut what you need - don't pull the plants out. Same goes for spinach - they will grow back almost magically overnight, and you can't tell where you cut. Spray mist the seeds and plantlings at first when watering, until they are established, then you can water more vigorously as the plants mature. You will probably need to water more often, since the depth of the bags are not as deep as a regular in-ground garden. I just kept mine moist, but not sopping wet. THIS CAME FROM Kim Anderson DesmukeNorth Texas Vegetable Gardeners "

[Edited on March 3, 2014 at 12:29 PM. Reason : ooh, i know. how about planting some strawberries? ]

3/3/2014 12:18:50 PM

Quote :

"what did the soil look like under the seed and straw? I assume you purchased in a fairly large development. I have bad news for you, top soil is frequently stripped and sold before starting construction. are there any trees older than the house? (if there are, inspect them and see if they were damaged by construction. better to know sooner than later). anyway, getting your soil right is the first step, and if you're not starting with topsoil, you have some work ahead of you."

Yeah....the ground under the straw looks mighty red. It's an older neighborhood. My backyard is also slightly sloped so it may have washed some seed away. There is a crepe myrtle back there and it seems fine.

3/3/2014 12:49:15 PM

If you want to garden this year, raised beds/lasagna garden is also probably going to be your best bet. you can try the lasagna gardening system I described above without building a formal raised bed. You should also investigate container gardening.


If you really want to grow grass anytime soon, your cheapest option may be buying topsoil. your soil is going to need a lot of aeration and amendment, no matter what you do... and that's got to start with a soil test. The most economical choice is probably trying to establish a naturalized group of trees and shrubs. How much are you willing to spend on the endeavor in the short term, and what's the area of your yard?

3/3/2014 1:06:30 PM

Quote :

"you could go with anything from semi-formal rose beds or trellis, to a naturalized mix of native shrubs and small ornamental trees such as mountain laurel, vibirnum, carolina allspice, red bud, and special ornamental dogwoods and native azaleas; or a bunch of specimen plants such as star anise, small ornamental magnolias, gardenias, hydrangeas or camellias and dwarf japanese maples; or some plain old evergreens like eunomyus, juniper, yew, or barberry and other shrubberies."

Sorry for the delay, appreciate the thorough response. Our front yard and bed is very large. The previous owner created a retaining wall on one side that encloses the bed from the law with a space that's probably 1000 sq ft. If the indian hawthorn are in fact dead/disease ridden & needing to be pulled, there's 9 of them that will free up the space. The bed currently has a foundation hedge of inkberry holly, two different camellia varieties, two rows of two azalea varieties, a row of gardenias, a japanese maple, hostas (some of which I probably should divide again this year; they are enormous), an single Rhododendron, and a single forsythi I planted.

So yeah; a lot going on. What I should do is take a picture so you can see the current landscaping design. The Indian hawthorn is toward the front of the bed. The bed is a bit of a slope, so with it in the foreground I have a few options for height, but definitely not something too large that would block the back.

[Edited on March 3, 2014 at 2:15 PM. Reason : ]

3/3/2014 2:13:26 PM

Too late to edit again and seeing more typos my phone wasn't liking this page for some reason earlier. I think you get it though.

3/3/2014 2:58:23 PM

This may seem like an odd request, but if I post some pictures of two of my plants, would someone be able to help me with how they are arranged in their pots? They are golden pothos that came from cuttings, and they basically look like 5 or so legs just jutting out of the pot while a lot of the arrangements that I see in the store have them nicely growing densely.

3/3/2014 4:55:37 PM

no pics required on that one actually, there are a lot of plants called pothos, and a pic would clear that up, but here are the general instructions. If you are certain that you have Epipremnum aureum, feel free to proceed.


how long are your trailing stems? hopefully your plant is doing well and they are getting quite long. If your plant isn't growing much and doesn't look well, just focus on re-potting for the time being. If the stems have been growing and you have some excess length, then it's time to take cuttings and root them in the pot, filling out the areas which are bare. Check the soil before you get to cutting, though. it may be time to knock off all the old dirt ( and a few roots), and re-pot it in the same size pot with new dirt for your cuttings. I recommend this if it has been more than one year since being repotted or purchased. If your stems are wrapping around the room, you can consider sizing up the pot a bit. make sure your soil is succulent mix or something well-draining, as Pothos dislikes wet feet.


When you examing the vine, you will see that each leaf comes from a joint on the stem with a tiny bud. The cuttings themselves need to be at least two of these buds- 3 is also a good number. just cut in the centre between the joints, not too close to either bud. then you will remove the leaves from the bottom section and just plug them into the soil, making sure the bud is fully buried. If the leaves attached to the top section are large, just cut them in half. they won't grow until the bottom bud grows roots, and will require a lot of water. It's still important to leave at least half a leaf, though, as the plant will cannibalize this for carbohydrates. then you'll need to mist the cuttings on a daily or twice daily basis, while making sure the plant doesn't get too wet. you can consider using some plastic wrap to hold in a little moisture around the soil, but don't smother the remaining vines.


here's a little information on your plant that you might find interesting. This plant has been a popular houseplant for a long, long time, but it's wild origins have only recently been discovered, and the form of the plant that we all know and love is actually just the seedling of a massive vine that grows to have leaves over 2 feet in length. http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Epipremnum%20aureum%20pc.html


and, if this isn't the plant you have, just post a pic

3/4/2014 10:29:22 AM

picked up a couple houseplants tonight at the local hardware megastore.

a very small streptocarpella (Cape primrose, a relative of african violet), and a davallia fejeensis (rabbit foot's fern). The streptocarpella had neighbors that were blooming that attracted me, but I chose a plant that was symmetrical and healthy, but didn't have flower buds. The fern has really lush foliage and smaller feet than the one pictured, which is good. They absorb humidity, but when the pot gets full of them, they usually end up depriving the plant of water by making it run off the top, and the plant loses a lot of leaves.

3/7/2014 11:14:32 PM

Things I learned the hard way over winter: Don't put your carefully propagated streptocarpella that is in a bottom watering hanging basket in your small greenhouse when you bring them inside. $@&#€£! root rot. I'm trying feverishly to repropagate cuttings from it. I'm a sad panda because those are great plants and super easy to propagate (when it was healthy and kicking).

As for those pothos, I'll post pictures this week now that I am on break.

3/8/2014 9:19:04 AM

I planted a few pepper seeds in indoor starter pots to try to get stuff going a little early. Meant to do it weeks ago, but kept forgetting. Hoping for habaneros and some of those long, thin, red ones. Hoping the crop turns out as well as it did last year!

3/8/2014 3:03:55 PM

Thank you, GREEN JAY, for your advice. Instead of harassing folks here, I just read what you posted and was able to ask the people at Fairview Greenhouses when we were in town this past weekend. I chopped up the pothos a bit and have a few cuttings in water after just directly repotting those that had roots started already. I'll let you know how it goes.

3/11/2014 1:51:54 PM

Planted all of our normal stuff this past weekend (no seeds...just small plants). Mostly herbs and stuff (basil, parsley, mint, oregano, thyme...I'm sure I'm missing something). Then some peppers and tomatoes. The new things we added this year were kale and bibb lettuce. Really hope those work out. Would love to have some kale for smoothies and salads...and we both love bibb lettuce.

Oh...and our meyer lemon tree survived the winter frost. All of the leaves turned brown and fell off, but now the limbs are turning back green and we're finally seeing new growth. We really thought we had a goner with that one...so we're pumped. Its probably our favorite shrub/tree along with the loquat tree. Although we might have killed 2/3 of our loquats when we stupidly relocated those right before the 2nd big winter storm.

3/11/2014 3:06:11 PM

I'm moving in mid-April, so I haven't done any gardening at my current place, and don't want to move plants because I'll already have a lot to do. Need to start planning out what I'll want to do at the new place. Last year was a in-ground total failure (not enough aeration was the killer, so much hard-pact clay soil and I hand-tilled), so I'm thinking about some small, standalone projects that will satisfy my gardening urge without being a 160sqft garden attempt. I was thinking planters with tomato plants, some herbs and leafy greens, and now I'm considering the potting-soil-raised-platform method that GREEN JAY posted earlier. Looks easy and neat.

3/11/2014 3:59:08 PM

I almost forgot about the shitload of Japanese maple seedlings I started last year. I've got a couple that are about 1-2 feet tall, a couple about 6-10 inches tall, and a shitload that are only a few inches tall. If anyone in the Charlotte area needs some, let me know.

3/12/2014 1:05:42 AM

I planned on using my day off Friday to get the garden tilled and the soaker hoses run. Thanks to the ice storm, now I still have 4 trees I need to cut up and move. So looks like the garden will have to wait.

3/12/2014 9:32:01 AM

Oh I am back! I have been doing serious gardening. I will try to upload pics. I had twenty something trees removed from the yard, so I have much to work with. I have already started seeds, since I am putting a community like garden in my back that my neighbors and nieces can use to grow plants of the edible sort. I still have a ways to go, but I need to get it done before last freeze.

3/12/2014 10:29:00 AM

i got choy, collards and kale plantlings in the ground last week, have some lettuce and spinach in pots that i will put in after tomorrow night's 20 degree cold. got some seeds started of tomatoes, peppers and okra that i'll put out in a few weeks.

3/12/2014 12:04:27 PM

What's the best place in the Raleigh area for small plants of lettuce, herbs, and other spring-friendly plants?

3/12/2014 2:36:58 PM

What are some good bushes you can place on the perimeter of your property that will grow quickly and provide privacy (in our acidic soil)? I planted a red-tip (it's what they called it at the farmer's market) and it did ok. Any other ideas?

Also how often (and when) should I fertilize them?

3/12/2014 2:49:16 PM

^^I'd say Logan's.

^My family has red-tips planted all along their yarddown at the beach. They put them in 15+ years ago, and they're almost as big as trees and create a impenetrable wall. (and i don't think they fertilize them, that i'm aware of.)

[Edited on March 12, 2014 at 2:59 PM. Reason : ]

3/12/2014 2:59:24 PM

I've got a flower developing from a Sarracenia flava I took in from someone who almost killed it last year. By the time I got it, there were basically 2 phyllodia and a mostly withered pitcher. I know that plants near death will throw flowers in a last-ditch effort to pass something on before they pass on, but clipping the flower before it has a chance to drain the plant's last bit of energy might just save it.

I know I have it in the right setup right now (has been since early fall), but do I just cut it anyway?

3/13/2014 10:37:45 PM

Finally got my seeds. Planting summer seedlings in pots under the grow lights and some salad greens in containers.

3/14/2014 11:55:39 AM

My Pro Plugger that I orderd just arrived. I'm going to try and cover my back yard with plugs this season. Hopefully by the end of the year, I'll have more grass than weeds. Has anyone else had luck using one of these things?

3/14/2014 11:45:15 PM

I made a pinterest board with most of the species/varieties of houseplants I have right now. A couple of small palms and crassulas which I have yet to identify aren't on the list. I just made the list very quickly, so maybe they aren't the best photos of each species. http://www.pinterest.com/bonewhiteglory/my-houseplants/


^I don't grow grass, I just have a wildflower lawn, and I make beds where it won't grow well, so I have no comment on the plugger. Good luck with that. If it doesn't work, consider sowing white clover to cover the bare spots.


^^still on my to-do list for the weekend! I've been caught up with cleaning/organizing/renovating so far. What are you planting? I'm going to post a picture of all my seeds later. Some are two and three years old though, so who knows if they'll germinate. are you using fresh seeds?

^^^ That sounds like a tough call. If the plant still only has two phyllodes, flowering could very well tax it too much to recover. but it may have been at the point of no return anyway... in which case, seeing the flower for a few days might be slightly satisfying, at least. what did you decide to do??

3/15/2014 5:07:36 PM

I'm gonna go ahead and cut it as soon as it's far enough from the rhizome that I don't damage anything else. I wanna at least give it a chance.

3/15/2014 11:11:31 PM

Borrowed my in laws rotor tiller and tilled the leaves and compost in to our raised beds. Planted two strawberry vines just to see how it goes; if something happens it'll be for the kid also planted another blueberry bush as last year husband weed whacked the seedling this one is bigger so hopefully he doesn't make the same mistake.

3/16/2014 9:10:53 AM