Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
digit_gw

When All this Holiday Madness is Over

digit
10 years ago

Are you ready to leap on the new growing season like a . .

. Lappet-Faced Vulture on the flanks of a Jackal?

Steve
(thank Scott Simon for the imagery ;o)

Comments (11)

  • mstywoods
    10 years ago

    Ok, digit - had to bite on that one and went to google images. Now that is one ugly bird!!

    Thanks for keeping the RMG going with your messages ;)

    I'm overwintering some baby Russian Sage plants and hoping they'll make it so I can place them in some other locations in my back yard.

    Also overwintering my Pineapple Lily. I've only had the one blooming season from this lily, when I first bought it (had a whole thread about that at the time) but it hasn't bloomed since. Not sure what to do to get it to do it again, or if it will. Last year, I cut back all the foliage and stored just the bare bulbs over the winter, thinking maybe that might help. Did get all the foliage growth over the summer, but no flower. Still have them in the pots and the foliage is looking very sad right now. Maybe I'll try different soil and/or fertilization next year and see if that jump starts it.

    What's everyone else have planned/started for the next season?

    Marj

  • lizbest1
    10 years ago

    Limited wintersowing the beginning of January. I want to start another garden in the spring to spread out the peonies I overbought and ended up having to plant too closely last fall, want to intersperse later blooming perennials and bulbs so I'll be the Reorganizer next spring/summer! My goal is to wintersow a bunch of different penstemon, agastache and a few other perennials that grow well here to help fill in the existing gardens after moving peonies. Also going to try roses again next year after advice from locals in the Rose Forum. I'm going through some on-line catalogs and trying to limit myself to a few very hardy ones. Even if they can take the Elizabeth weather I'll still have to defeat the deer....Anyone ever use those crazy looking motion sensor water jet thingies? Saw this one on Amazon, think I'll give it a try.
    Anyone have any suggestions on perennials that wintersow well and can take the Colorado weather? Looking for summer and fall bloomers....

    Here is a link that might be useful: motion sensor sprinkler deer deterrent Amazon.com

  • treebarb Z5 Denver
    10 years ago

    I visited a GW Tree forum member's garden back east last summer while on vacation. In September, I sent him a couple of Colorado grafted conifers to say thank you for letting me spend an entranced half a day in his garden.

    To reciprocate, he sent me a box in late October, 35 tree seedlings, shrubs, perennials, clematis and seeds. I thought he was sending me a couple of things, but OH, MY!

    I ended up heeling most of it in my raised veggie beds as I knew I couldn't get all of it planted properly before winter came. I'm going to be very busy transplanting in April so that I'll have a veggie garden to plant in. And I've never been happier to have that problem! It makes me smile every time I walk by the garden. The promise of spring, indeed!

  • jaliranchr
    10 years ago

    Been getting odds and ends together for a few weeks. I still have sweet banana peppers ripening in the dining room window. Peppers. I have all the sweets figured out, but not sure about what hot ones for this year. Tomatoes ... that's always the biggie for me. A few favorites then the hard choices begin.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. Looking forward to the planning and planting seasons with all of you!

  • digit
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Marj, the only plant that I "started" to over-winter was a Thai Dragon pepper that hadn't matured fruit and was in a pot. After about 6 weeks in the greenhouse, all the peppers were red and I just harvested them and, heartlessly, let the pepper go. I'm not much for house plants especially since I can hardly find room for them once they have to get out of the way for the seedlings. I don't even have much room for ME once I start sharing this south window in March!

    Liz, I like how Colorado State University included a planting scheme in their suggestions. I've attached a link below. Those motion detector sprinklers? You will have to leave pressure on in a hose all the time. It had better be your best hose.

    Barb, I have to do all my real serious gardening on other people's property! It really works out quite well because I kind of end up with as much room as I want . . . thru the growing season. Here at home - I don't have room for trees! I hope you can work out a scheme for all those plants and still have veggies.

    Bonnie, Merry Christmas! I will have a number of new tomato crosses to try this year! They are f2's & f3's & f4's! They may be a little risky to share but I am really curious how they will turn out. I can tell you about their genetics and may have something special in those packets I got from a gardening buddy!

    Steve

    Here is a link that might be useful: Perennial Gardening, Colorado

  • luckybottom
    10 years ago

    We are so excited about parsnips. I used my homemade seed tapes and got the BEST crop EVER. Picked some the day before Thanksgiving to make "Parsnip Pudding".

    We are inviting all that want to come over sometime TBD in January to make seed tapes. I should have seed for all of parsnips and carrots. So all you would have to do is help pick the date and bring your roll of toilet paper. Plus what seeds you want tapes of.

  • digit
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Well, they are nice, Bonnie!

    I am a little surprised that GW attached a video advertisement with the "Charmin' Bears" to your message . . . .

    (What would Christmas Eve be like without a commercial message??? ;o)

    Steve

  • highalttransplant
    10 years ago

    Merry Christmas from the "other" Bonnie : )

    Haven't made any plans for the new year yet. Had a few pepper plants that I was attempting to overwinter in the garage. They made it for two months on nothing but the sunlight that comes through the garage windows. Then we had a couple of weeks in early December with below zero lows, and just with opening and closing the garage door, the plants died of frost bite.

    Not sure what the New Year will bring. I am now working full-time, and with three kids, I may have to scale back my gardening plans. I want gardening to be a pleasure, not a chore, so some restraint with seed starting would be wise ... though probably not likely!

    Best wishes in the New Year to all my fellow RMG friends!

  • mla2ofus
    10 years ago

    I've been getting a few seed catalogs in the mail and have been picking out some new (to me) veggies and annual flowers to try this year. I started my seed way too early last year so I'll have to try to control my need to see the little green shoots emerging. January and February is the hardest longest months for me.

  • digit
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I don't know if we make gardening easier by scaling back on early starts, Bonnie! It is later sowings in the garden that can add to work.

    (Procrastinating on New Years Resolutions until mid-year is always best! ;o)

    February . . . fortunately, no Leap Day in 2014 . . . otherwise, it is still a month of Ground Hog Days.

    Steve

  • david52 Zone 6
    10 years ago

    I'm overwintering, in pots, about 60 clematis vines, the usual armada of large containers of geraniums and a dozen other assorted plants, rosemary, oregano, basil.

    Now that the solstice has hit, all the day-length plants have died back. They really take off in March.
    Just think - soon its time to sow onion seedâ¦..