I stopped by the garden store to get neem oil and got myself a treat!
Any neem oil tips?
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Tomorrow there will be more squash casserole.
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None of our squash have contributed to society in any meaningful way, but our neighbors all have the opposite problem. We got 6 of these yesterday. An hour later, I complimented someoneās giant squash in a community garden, and he immediately tried to give me some. His plot neighbor has been trying to foist squash on him.
In conclusion: squashes all the way down.
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I wouldnāt. The lack of security would be a dealbreaker for me. (We do have a fence and a locked gate and STILL get theft sometimes.)
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Something ate all my scarlet chard. But ONLY the scarlet chard. It left the pink chard and the green chard alone. Huh.
Iām not all that fussed, I knew this might happen because I didnāt bunnyproof the bed and we do have bunnies. And the green chard leaves are bigger than my face and there are a lot of them, so I think Iāll be OK.
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We drove past just it just before 2pm today and the area was covered in shade from nearby trees. No hopes of growing much at all during his time of the year, so itād be a no from us.
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Is anyone thinking about stocking up on seed starting supplies now in case there are shortages in the spring?
I donāt even know what garden space Iāll have, if any, next year, since we might be getting kicked out of our apartment. But if we have a bad covid winter I can see people emptying the shelves of this stuff.
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Iām with you, I definitely see gardening supplies running out if fall and winter are bad. My gardening group has been amazing at sharing seeds and starts, so Iāve already gathered a good stock of seeds and starter trays. Iām also going to use egg cartons and TP rolls for that.
Weāre looking into row covers so we can keep gardening over the winter, and weāve also been picking up free mulch and trying to compost at home so our soil is better and thereās less need to buy fertilizer.
I didnāt think about potting soil specifically. We have maybe half a bag left, so I might grab a few bags early. We used 4-5 bags this year. I wonder if garden centers here even sell potting soil over the winterā¦ I guess we could buy them now and store under the deck.
Are there any other supplies that youāre thinking about?
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I was mostly thinking seed starter pellets. I like the Jiffy pellets - I know thatās an unpopular opinion but they work way better for me than other methods)ā¦ I have an OK supply of seeds that I got at the seed swap in March immediately pre-lockdown. I doubt there will be another swap next year. That thing is always wall to wall bodies. Hm, maybe I should assess what I have seeds-wise and start looking now. Might also put out a call on Buy Nothing for a contactless swap?
I have about a half bag of potting soil, a half bag of compost (I also make my own but not in the quantities I needed this year), some Tomato-Gro (I have no idea whatās in this stuff, itās soil amendment and my tomatoes LOVE it), maybe half a thing of Dr. Earth vegan fertlizer and also some seed starting fertilizer (might need more of that).
I donāt want to buy more soil, though, because I donāt know whether Iām going to need to move next April and I donāt want to have to move those, particularly if Iām unable to garden wherever I move to. Too many unknowns.
This is probably regional, but I bought my potting soil in early March from the garden center - and in early March here, even odds of a snowmageddon. They didnāt have any in, like, January, though.
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Weāve had multiple contactless swaps, they were great! People submitted what they had to offer in a google form, then everyone else could sign up for what they wanted. Then on the same morning, everyone puts their offers out on their porch. (Harder to do with a lot of apartment buildings.) If you want to organize something, I can send you the forms we used.
Our giant tumbler produced 3 small buckets of compost, so we are definitely not compost-neutral either. Iāve just been dealing with our crappy clay soil and a little bit of fertilizer. Maybe I buy some for next yearā¦
The move uncertainty makes things harder to plan!
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I mean, at minimum I SHOULD still have my community garden, unless that org goes down the shitter too. I am glad I didnāt give that up, Iād considered it, and people over at The Other Place had told me I should since I have the backyard, but, WELP, I might not have the backyard any more so that turned out to be a smart move even if it does cost $85 per year.
And yeah, Iād love to see that form. Not sure if my garden org would want to do it, but Iām also on neighborhood groups and local garden groups on social media and Iām sure some people would be into this.
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This reminds me of another question; I know ideally youāre not supposed to reuse soil, but, is it ever OK if you use it for a different plant and the plants in question didnāt have disease?
Like, can I save my soil from my container greens and peas and cilantro that all bolted, and use that to fill tomato pots next year? Adding fertilizer and homemade compost for nutrients?
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Iām a perpetual seed hoarder, but I should look at that. Iāll need more seed starting medium at least.
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Iāve definitely reused soil in the past with ok results - sometimes I find seed starting is a little slower with reused soil, but Iām not sure if the reused soil is the variable that causes that in my case.
I think adding compost and fertilizer and planting a different kind of crop in it should be fine. So greens and peas > tomatoes should be ok!
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After with krmit, you just donāt want to plant the same crop/family twice, and I think nightshades are the worst for that, everything else is kinda OK.
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Iām feeling smug about the late winter lawn care I did. I flung half a bag of chicken shit on the lawn after aerating it with my spikey stompy shoes. Itās been raining since early morning. Perfect.
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Ouch. Yes. That second one is all my 50+ pea seeds that Duckling and I started back in March, then the second round in April, and so onā¦ Sigh. No peas this year.
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