The Garden Thread that two people wanted

[notthatamanda]

Bore = Well?

My whole towns on wells, even the town water is 7 wells scattered around town. We don't water our grass, ever. Had the well get too low on our first house when we did that and never did it again. The town does odd/even days (they kind of have to because the system can't sustain everyone watering on a Saturday when they remember to) and also restricts completely when needed. It's not hard to figure out who thinks the rules don't apply to them.

[idontknowyet]

We have an irrigation system for the lawn but we rarely use it. The grass doesn't need it in the winter or the summer unless you want a magazine lawn. We hand water the garden based on plant needs but usually 1-2x a week in the winter for most plants.

In the spring early summer the garden needs daily water with the exception of the sweet potatoes. They only need it occasionally.
Summer here nothing grows but okra and sweet potatoes.


We've had watering restrictions(for lawn/irrigation systems you can hand water anything whenever you want) here but i dont even know them anymore.

[notthatamanda]

I went out and got the cherry tomato seeds and planted them. Going to try really hard to keep them alive to actually get them in the garden in the end of May.

[idontknowyet]

I went out and got the cherry tomato seeds and planted them. Going to try really hard to keep them alive to actually get them in the garden in the end of May.

My tomato seedlings arent doing well. I need a greenhouse or light lamp for them. They just keep dying on me.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I don't know about you guys, but our consumer council is investigating price colluding on ginger. I've been buying it for years to make ginger tea, put in smoothies, and lately to make ginger beer. It has been as low as R49.99/kg and sometimes went up to R89.99 - R99.99/kg when out of season, which is when I balked at buying it. However, people seem to have cottoned on to ginger's health-giving properties and some ginger is now imported and the price has gone as high as R439/kg  . My local shop was selling it at R289/kg. I'm putting this in the garden thread as the news showed a short insert on growing your own ginger. The problem is that it takes about 8 mths to mature  I still have a piece of ginger from when it was cheaper (it keeps nicely in the fridge) but am reluctant to waste it on planting in case it doesn't grow. It doesn't have any shoots.

[Simon Haynes]

You can always cut what you have in half (or 4 pieces).  Keep 2, plant 2 in pots and put them somewhere safe until they shoot.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

You can always cut what you have in half (or 4 pieces).  Keep 2, plant 2 in pots and put them somewhere safe until they shoot.

  Will have to give it a try. 

[notthatamanda]

Is ginger invasive? I have wild ginger got it from a neighbor for free as a ground cover. Some people can eat it, some people it makes vomit. Haven't tried.

[Vijaya]

We just started some ginger in pots and will get it in the ground soon, see how it does. Love the stuff.

[notthatamanda]

I'm going to try to start some ginger in pots soon, inside.

[LilyBLily]

I am envious. We have snow forecast three days out of the next seven. February is the pits.

[Jeff Tanyard]

There's a Japanese restaurant near here that makes their own ginger salad dressing.  Fantastic stuff.  It doesn't keep well, though.  It works best when fresh.

Between that and the awesomeness that is gingerbread, it's safe to say I'm a fan of ginger.   

Best of luck to everyone trying to grow the stuff.  And if you succeed, post pics, please.  I'd like to see your fresh ginger crops.  I think it's pretty cool.

Jan mentioned the price of goods in Durban, and that sparked my curiosity about the exchange rate.  When I was in South Africa in 2012, my dollar bought about eight-and-a-half Rand.  Today, my dollar would buy 14.84 Rand.   

That's some eye-catching inflation.  I hope the people of that country are investing/diversifying and otherwise doing what they can to protect themselves from their central bank's printing press.

[notthatamanda]

Tomato seeds are sprouting! I forgot to buy ginger at the supermarket this week.

[Post-Crisis D]

My mother told me yesterday she bought a good-sized piece of ginger root yesterday.  Don't know the weight, but she said about 4-5" in length, so a decent size, I think.  It was $0.35.

[idontknowyet]

I picked and ate the first cauliflower of the season this year. Really didn't expect to get a single one. They werent heading until so late. Now they are huge!!!!

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

My dwarf Ixora is in full flower. I also have a yellow one, but unfortunately the flowers are quite pitiful compared to this one and they are only a metre apart.

[Maggie Ann]

Jan, my yellow ixora is pitiful, too. Hoping the recent heavy rains will perk them up.

[notthatamanda]

Oh that's gorgeous Jan!

[LilyBLily]

Beautiful. All I have blooming right now is snow.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Jan, my yellow ixora is pitiful, too. Hoping the recent heavy rains will perk them up.

I wonder why the yellow ones don't flower as well as the others 

[Maggie Ann]

Jan, my yellow ixora is pitiful, too. Hoping the recent heavy rains will perk them up.

I wonder why the yellow ones don't flower as well as the others 

The mysterious ways of nature.

[Jeff Tanyard]

It seems like it's been "forty degrees and raining" this entire calendar year.  Between the dismal weather and my illness and ongoing fatigue, I haven't done a single thing outside.  This is the time of year I usually pull up dead stuff and burn stuff. 

At this point, I'm just hoping I can get some energy back before April.   

[notthatamanda]

33 and pouring here. Colder and sunny is so much better than warmer and gray. Hope you feel better soon Jeff.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Jeff, hope you will soon feel better.
I'd love to know where everyone is when they talk about the weather 'here'.  It's a pity it doesn't show under our avatars.

[notthatamanda]

New England. We're getting rain and Texas got snow. :)

[Vijaya]

Oh boy, all the clouds and cold rain were depressing. Reminded me of Seattle. But today, the sun is shining and it's a balmy 60 in beautiful Charleston, SC.
Jan, you have the most gorgeous flowers.

[Maggie Ann]

It seems like it's been "forty degrees and raining" this entire calendar year.  Between the dismal weather and my illness and ongoing fatigue, I haven't done a single thing outside.  This is the time of year I usually pull up dead stuff and burn stuff. 

At this point, I'm just hoping I can get some energy back before April.   

That kind of weather can add to your fatigue. Do whatever you can to get a good night's sleep and when you do, spend your energy wisely. When you don't, nap.

I often feel like I'm sleeping my life away, but when I look at where I was a year ago, I know the rest has done me good.

[Jeff Tanyard]

Thanks for the well wishes, everyone.

I'd love to know where everyone is when they talk about the weather 'here'.

North Georgia.  It was actually sunny today, believe it or not.  Cold, but sunny.  Currently 26 degrees at about 9 PM.

[Maggie Ann]

The Treasure Coast in FL.

Rainy, windy, 73. With all the rain we've had the past few days, I'm sure we're in for a bit of a cool down.

I'm hoping for more rain overnight because I just put one of my Vanda orchids and one of my Cattleyas in the oak trees. On the other hand, Mikey refuses to go out in the rain, although he's getting better about thunder and lightning. Hope the rain holds off for his walk time.

[Vijaya]

I'd love to know where everyone is when they talk about the weather 'here'.  It's a pity it doesn't show under our avatars.

Could Tim add in field for it? Not to create more work for Tim... on my other board (children's lit) we have places and over the past 15+ yrs I've met many members at conferences or just travelling through. So many friendships forged and strengthened.

[notthatamanda]

I finally remembered to get ginger yesterday. $4/lb. Starting it inside under the grow bulb. We'll see.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I finally remembered to get ginger yesterday. $4/lb. Starting it inside under the grow bulb. We'll see.

Good luck  . Our ginger has come down from over R300/kg to R149/kg. Still far off the usual R49 - R89/kg.

[LilyBLily]

West Virginia, and the snow is finally melting away. I haven't seen actual dirt in weeks, so it's a thrill. Daffodils are up. Snowdrops are visible again. Best of all, because there has been such a continuous blanket of snow, we'll probably have early blooming. That's what has happened every time before when were hit by three feet all at once and it took a month to melt.

Basically: spring is around the corner! 

[Maggie Ann]

My daffodils keep getting taller, but there is no sign of flowers. I checked at Walmart to see if there were any hyacinths or tulips and had no luck.

One of my Vandas actually has three spikes. That's one that has not bloomed before. One of my Dendrobiums has another flowers spike. These guys just keep blooming and blooming and blooming. Not that I am complaining.