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It's songbird's fault
Heh. Songbird suggested this group might be of interest so here I am.
:) I've been reading for awhile and finally got a chance to post. Short intro: dear husband and I are in zone 7b/8a (depending on whose zone map you read) and have been gardening for 30+ years. We moved to our new home less than two years ago and have been working our tails off trying to put in orchards and gardens, having to amend this horrible rocky soil. We had a good harvest last year from the raised beds where we put peas and lettuces, then tomatoes and peppers. The fig and blueberry transplants didn't do much but we didn't expect they would. Neither did the two-year grape vines we planted. Now, there's fruit on the Canadice and Concords vines so we shall see if they survive the birds. The dwarf container blueberries are already producing on the deck and several of the rabbiteye varieties in the orchard are close to being ripe. Did I mention the need for bird netting? :) One problem we're having this year that we never had until now is wilt. One day our peppers were fine, the next day they looked like they needed water. I knew they didn't, but put it down to the heat of the day getting to them. They never rallied and just got worse. Some basil nearby had the same problem. The basil was common Genovese and the peppers were three Bonnie green bells, Bonnie's Big Bertha bell and another variety of golden California Wonder. Oddly, there's a Bonnie red bell that is unscathed and it was next to one of the afflicted green bells. Everything I've read points to a fungal wilt, possibly from contaminated soil, even though the soil was "new". These peppers and basil plants were in small raised beds and large containers. Other large planters and other raised beds were unaffected. I've had plants affected by wilt before now. I have destroyed those plants and haven't planted anything else in the two planters and that small raised bed that were affected. Don't know what else to do. :( Well, I'd better run and deal with the aftermath of the torrential rain and wind that just swept through here after two weeks of no rain. One massive oak tree bit the dust. It's amazing that the power didn't go out. |
It's songbird's fault
On Wed, 28 May 2014 17:36:09 -0500, bluechick
wrote: One problem we're having this year that we never had until now is wilt. One day our peppers were fine, the next day they looked like they needed water. I knew they didn't, but put it down to the heat of the day getting to them. They never rallied and just got worse. Some basil nearby had the same problem. The basil was common Genovese and the peppers were three Bonnie green bells, Bonnie's Big Bertha bell and another variety of golden California Wonder. Oddly, there's a Bonnie red bell that is unscathed and it was next to one of the afflicted green bells. Everything I've read points to a fungal wilt, possibly from contaminated soil, even though the soil was "new". These peppers and basil plants were in small raised beds and large containers. Other large planters and other raised beds were unaffected. I've had plants affected by wilt before now. I have Ack! That last line should read "I've _never_ had plants affected by wilt before now." Just got in after inspecting the garden for hail damage. Several tomatoes were topped. My San Marzoni plants lost at least a dozen wee tomatoes between the three of them. :( Just goes to show, be careful when you ask for rain. You may get more than you hoped for, in liquid and frozen form! bluechick |
It's songbird's fault
bluechick wrote:
Heh. Songbird suggested this group might be of interest so here I am. :) I've been reading for awhile and finally got a chance to post. heehee! welcome. :) from rec.food.preserving as it gets pretty quiet in there these days. George keeps the welcome mat out and the light on and a few others chime in from time to time too, but it's pretty light traffic there most of the time. songbird |
It's songbird's fault
On Wed, 28 May 2014 20:07:54 -0400, songbird
wrote: bluechick wrote: Heh. Songbird suggested this group might be of interest so here I am. :) I've been reading for awhile and finally got a chance to post. heehee! welcome. :) Thanks! :) from rec.food.preserving as it gets pretty quiet in there these days. George keeps the welcome mat out and the light on and a few others chime in from time to time too, but it's pretty light traffic there most of the time. Yep. George is a lot of fun to talk to. And Gloria said hi too. Maybe one or two more will pipe up this summer when canning jars need to be filled. :) But I'll yak here about my tomatoes being topped by hail (grrrrr!) and my wilted peppers. I'd grown most of those tomatoes from seed and they were starting to bear fruit. *sigh* We have 41 tomato plants so maybe one of them will bear a ripe tomato before the next catastrophe strikes. :) songbird bluechick |
It's songbird's fault
On 29/05/2014 10:07 AM, songbird wrote:
bluechick wrote: Heh. Songbird suggested this group might be of interest so here I am. :) I've been reading for awhile and finally got a chance to post. heehee! welcome. :) from rec.food.preserving as it gets pretty quiet in there these days. George keeps the welcome mat out and the light on and a few others chime in from time to time too, but it's pretty light traffic there most of the time. I didn't do any preserving at all this past summer other than the making of some jam and some marmalade. Actually I realised I just lied, I did make some plum puddings of winter use. Now it's getting colder, I must drag one out. |
It's songbird's fault
On 29/05/2014 8:36 AM, bluechick wrote:
Heh. Songbird suggested this group might be of interest so here I am. Welcome bluechick. We won't hold your association with the 'bird against you :-)) |
It's songbird's fault
Fran Farmer wrote:
.... Welcome bluechick. We won't hold your association with the 'bird against you :-)) :p songbird |
It's songbird's fault
On Thu, 29 May 2014 17:34:59 +1000, Fran Farmer
wrote: On 29/05/2014 8:36 AM, bluechick wrote: Heh. Songbird suggested this group might be of interest so here I am. Welcome bluechick. We won't hold your association with the 'bird against you :-)) Ha! Well, birds and chicks must flock together so...beware! :D Thanks, Fran! Glad to finally be here. I hope to become active here. I might even have an answer or two to some questions, after being a gardener for as long as I have. Of course, I don't claim to be a Master. Even after 30+ years, one is always learning. :) |
It's songbird's fault
bluechick wrote:
.... One problem we're having this year that we never had until now is wilt. One day our peppers were fine, the next day they looked like they needed water. I knew they didn't, but put it down to the heat of the day getting to them. They never rallied and just got worse. Some basil nearby had the same problem. The basil was common Genovese and the peppers were three Bonnie green bells, Bonnie's Big Bertha bell and another variety of golden California Wonder. Oddly, there's a Bonnie red bell that is unscathed and it was next to one of the afflicted green bells. Everything I've read points to a fungal wilt, possibly from contaminated soil, even though the soil was "new". These peppers and basil plants were in small raised beds and large containers. Other large planters and other raised beds were unaffected. I've had plants affected by wilt before now. I have destroyed those plants and haven't planted anything else in the two planters and that small raised bed that were affected. Don't know what else to do. :( aw. hard to say from such a distance. it would be very sad if you brought in diseased garden soil. all i can really recommend is to avoid small raised beds as the soil temperature fluctuates probably a lot more than some plants would prefer. i have heard of vascular collapse being caused by hot weather driven evaporation from the leaves exceeding the plant's ability to take up new moisture, but i'm not sure if that is what happened to your plants or not. as to remedies for diseased soil, worms, good compost, rotate to a different crop and time. i sure hope it isn't diseased. songbird |
It's songbird's fault
On 29/05/2014 10:42 PM, bluechick wrote:
On Thu, 29 May 2014 17:34:59 +1000, Fran Farmer wrote: On 29/05/2014 8:36 AM, bluechick wrote: Heh. Songbird suggested this group might be of interest so here I am. Welcome bluechick. We won't hold your association with the 'bird against you :-)) Ha! Well, birds and chicks must flock together so...beware! :D Thanks, Fran! Glad to finally be here. I hope to become active here. I might even have an answer or two to some questions, after being a gardener for as long as I have. Of course, I don't claim to be a Master. Even after 30+ years, one is always learning. :) Yup. What sort of things are you interested in growing? |
It's songbird's fault
On Fri, 30 May 2014 12:01:46 +1000, Fran Farmer
wrote: What sort of things are you interested in growing? Right now we have a couple of varieties of peaches, lots of rabbiteye type blueberries, Celeste and LSU Purple figs, several thornless blackberries (and about a zillion wild blackberries with mean thorns :) and dewberries), 1 raspberry as a test, all sorts of tomatoes (mostly heirlooms), several types of peppers, and bulbing & bunching onions. We're getting the tail end of the English peas now though some are still trying to flower even though it's getting way too hot for them. The sugar snaps just finished producing. Most of the blueberries were transplants of bushes we had at the old house and they had to recover last year from the ordeal. Same for the Celeste fig scions we dug up when we moved. I don't know if the figs will do anything this year because they were frozen back in February and are coming back from the root. The blueberries seem to have recovered completely from the move and are covered in berries. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that another calamity won't hit them. The hailstorm and small tornado we had Wednesday didn't bother them at all though the hail tore up several tomatoes. We had a fall garden with spinach and many types of lettuces. Didn't bother with broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage last fall though we've grown them in the past. We also finally finished the big herb bed and have several types of basil, common chives, flat-leaf parsley, French rosemary, borage (in the herb bed and also next to the tomatoes), several varieties of thyme, Bergamot and pineapple sage, and Texas tarragon because I gave up on French tarragon a long time ago in this climate. The smaller herb bed won't be finished until the tiller comes back from the tiller hospital and then I'll stick the container-bound spearmint in there. On the deck, we have some container-type blueberries (Jellybean and Peach Sorbet - both corymbosum types, which are new to us, and they're the first to produce ripe berries this year) as well as some lemons, oranges and limes. Those citrus trees did surprisingly well last year, even though they took over the sunroom in the winter. The rest of the stuff we're growing this year are mainly to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. |
It's songbird's fault
On Thu, 29 May 2014 17:48:48 -0400, songbird
wrote: bluechick wrote: ... One problem we're having this year that we never had until now is wilt. One day our peppers were fine, the next day they looked like they needed water. I knew they didn't, but put it down to the heat of the day getting to them. They never rallied and just got worse. Some basil nearby had the same problem. The basil was common Genovese and the peppers were three Bonnie green bells, Bonnie's Big Bertha bell and another variety of golden California Wonder. Oddly, there's a Bonnie red bell that is unscathed and it was next to one of the afflicted green bells. Everything I've read points to a fungal wilt, possibly from contaminated soil, even though the soil was "new". These peppers and basil plants were in small raised beds and large containers. Other large planters and other raised beds were unaffected. I've had plants affected by wilt before now. I have destroyed those plants and haven't planted anything else in the two planters and that small raised bed that were affected. Don't know what else to do. :( aw. hard to say from such a distance. it would be very sad if you brought in diseased garden soil. all i can really recommend is to avoid small raised beds as the soil temperature fluctuates probably a lot more than some plants would prefer. The more I examined what may have gone wrong, and what may have been the true culprit, I'm beginning to suspect the plants themselves had a problem, even though they looked fine when we bought them, and the heat may have tipped them over the edge. For one thing, I had two peppers in a whisky barrel. The green bell wilted while the red bell wasn't affected. I checked my gardening database after I posted here and I noted that all the peppers that died in the whisky barrels and all but one in the small bed, were bought at one garden shop. Same for the basil. The red bell was purchased elsewhere. The monkey wrench in my logic is one plant that died in the raised bed was purchased elsewhere. Yet, the basil I grew from seed, planted next to the store bought basil plants, is perfectly fine. We used the same soil mix in the herb bed, the raised bed in the veggie garden and in the planters. So, it's still a mystery. We could have brought in a grub or two from the compost bin but we tried to screen it pretty thoroughly before mixing it in and I didn't see any this time. We've seen a few grubs survive the heat of the compost process before. Must be Super Grubs. I hope they weren't munching on the poor plants' roots but it's another possible culprit. The "small" raised bed isn't actually small. It's small compared to the big bed that is now up to 20 feet long (has been extended twice). Both are over two feet high, to save my back, and both are just over 4 feet wide. The small bed, new this year, is about 8 feet long. Also, we have to use raised beds. We can't easily plant directly into the soil here because we hit rocks after digging down more than a few inches. It was hell getting the fruit trees in, not to mention the bamboo we planted several other places as a screen. The soil at our old house was gorgeous, black loam. The stuff here is lousy. All we can do is bring in garden soil and work in compost and other amendments every time we plant anything. i have heard of vascular collapse being caused by hot weather driven evaporation from the leaves exceeding the plant's ability to take up new moisture, but i'm not sure if that is what happened to your plants or not. I'm not sure either. I wouldn't be surprised if the heat played some part. But more plants than the ones we lost should have been affected, seems to me. Who knows? I'm keeping a close eye on all the other peppers and the tomatoes to see if this is a troubling trend. So far, so good. Nothing looked wilted today even though the tomatoes are still shell shocked from the hail storm that hit Wednesday. as to remedies for diseased soil, worms, good compost, rotate to a different crop and time. i sure hope it isn't diseased. Pretty sure our compost is good. It's the first thing we did when we bought the new house. My husband started several compost bins of chipped up leaves and grass clippings even before we moved in any furniture! You can tell what he thinks is important. :) Thanks so much for all the suggestions and tips. I'll see if I can narrow down the culprit(s). I hope it's not diseased soil, too. |
It's songbird's fault
On 31/05/2014 12:28 PM, bluechick wrote:
On Fri, 30 May 2014 12:01:46 +1000, Fran Farmer wrote: What sort of things are you interested in growing? Right now we have a couple of varieties of peaches, lots of rabbiteye type blueberries, Celeste and LSU Purple figs, several thornless blackberries (and about a zillion wild blackberries with mean thorns :) and dewberries), 1 raspberry as a test, all sorts of tomatoes (mostly heirlooms), several types of peppers, and bulbing & bunching onions. We're getting the tail end of the English peas now though some are still trying to flower even though it's getting way too hot for them. The sugar snaps just finished producing. Most of the blueberries were transplants of bushes we had at the old house and they had to recover last year from the ordeal. Same for the Celeste fig scions we dug up when we moved. I don't know if the figs will do anything this year because they were frozen back in February and are coming back from the root. The blueberries seem to have recovered completely from the move and are covered in berries. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that another calamity won't hit them. The hailstorm and small tornado we had Wednesday didn't bother them at all though the hail tore up several tomatoes. We had a fall garden with spinach and many types of lettuces. Didn't bother with broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage last fall though we've grown them in the past. We also finally finished the big herb bed and have several types of basil, common chives, flat-leaf parsley, French rosemary, borage (in the herb bed and also next to the tomatoes), several varieties of thyme, Bergamot and pineapple sage, and Texas tarragon because I gave up on French tarragon a long time ago in this climate. The smaller herb bed won't be finished until the tiller comes back from the tiller hospital and then I'll stick the container-bound spearmint in there. On the deck, we have some container-type blueberries (Jellybean and Peach Sorbet - both corymbosum types, which are new to us, and they're the first to produce ripe berries this year) as well as some lemons, oranges and limes. Those citrus trees did surprisingly well last year, even though they took over the sunroom in the winter. The rest of the stuff we're growing this year are mainly to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. It sounds like you manage to produce a lot of food from your garden and have done a lot in the time since you've moved. I try to grow citrus but in my climate it's a bit iffy. I've managed to get some lemons but each year lose my mandarins and it's too cold here for oranges. I should do what you do and put some in my sunroom - it's certainly big enough to take big pots of citrus. I do grow figs and I've planted 3 blueberries which I hope will produce next summer. I have lots of different varieties of raspberries but can't get to them before some animal eats them. I suspect mice or rats. I have lots of strawb plants and yet only got about 3 berries this year - same suspected mongrel animal getting the ripe fruit - either mice, rats or possibly blue tongued lizards. I too grow lots a herbs largely because I like to cook. |
It's songbird's fault
Fran Farmer wrote:
I try to grow citrus but in my climate it's a bit iffy. I've managed to get some lemons but each year lose my mandarins and it's too cold here for oranges. I should do what you do and put some in my sunroom - it's certainly big enough to take big pots of citrus. You could have an oragerie. They were all the rage in the royal houses of Europe. The odd thing was they mainly liked the smell of the flowers not the fruit. And you don't have a bunch of beefy footmen to schlep them about. The sun king had one 150m long with thousdands of trees! D |
It's songbird's fault
On 1/06/2014 1:24 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
Fran Farmer wrote: I try to grow citrus but in my climate it's a bit iffy. I've managed to get some lemons but each year lose my mandarins and it's too cold here for oranges. I should do what you do and put some in my sunroom - it's certainly big enough to take big pots of citrus. You could have an oragerie. They were all the rage in the royal houses of Europe. The odd thing was they mainly liked the smell of the flowers not the fruit. I cna't say that I blame them. I love the smell of orange blossom. And you don't have a bunch of beefy footmen to schlep them about. The sun king had one 150m long with thousdands of trees! I'll settle for one footman and only one maid and I'll move the orange trees myself with the aid of my trusty trolley. |
It's songbird's fault
On Sat, 31 May 2014 19:00:15 +1000, Fran Farmer
wrote: On 31/05/2014 12:28 PM, bluechick wrote: It sounds like you manage to produce a lot of food from your garden and have done a lot in the time since you've moved. We had surprisingly good luck with our first garden here at the new place. This will be the second year and all our hard work last year may pay dividends. I say "may" because you never know what Mother Nature has in store. I certainly didn't expect a hailstorm to come through this past week. I try to grow citrus but in my climate it's a bit iffy. I've managed to get some lemons but each year lose my mandarins and it's too cold here for oranges. I should do what you do and put some in my sunroom - it's certainly big enough to take big pots of citrus. It's too cold here as well for citrus to overwinter outdoors. The sunroom and gallery that leads to it seemed to be the ideal solution for us. With all the east-facing windows, the citrus trees thrived. I hope you have good luck trying a citrus in your sunroom too. I misted mine on a regular basis last winter because the ceiling fan was always on, even in winter, and I was afraid they'd dry out too much in the dry air of the house. It seemed to work. That, and the fact that that part of the house stayed pretty warm on sunny days. They didn't drop one lemon or orange but were otherwise dormant (no new leaves or flowers). We didn't have any limes last year but we will this year along with a couple of extra lemons and one more orange. I wonder if there will be room for _us_ in the sunroom this year! :D I do grow figs and I've planted 3 blueberries which I hope will produce next summer. I have lots of different varieties of raspberries but can't get to them before some animal eats them. I suspect mice or rats. I have lots of strawb plants and yet only got about 3 berries this year - same suspected mongrel animal getting the ripe fruit - either mice, rats or possibly blue tongued lizards. Do you have a critter camera? Like a deer trail camera that hunters use? Might want to set one up to take pictures or AVIs during the day or at night with IR, set to trigger after 30 seconds or whatever. We've used the heck out of our cameras. They go through the batteries, though. But that way you'd have a better idea of what is getting your berries. I too grow lots a herbs largely because I like to cook. Me too! There's nothing like popping out to the kitchen garden to grab some fresh herbs. |
It's songbird's fault
bluechick wrote:
.... The more I examined what may have gone wrong, and what may have been the true culprit, I'm beginning to suspect the plants themselves had a problem, even though they looked fine when we bought them, and the heat may have tipped them over the edge. For one thing, I had two peppers in a whisky barrel. The green bell wilted while the red bell wasn't affected. I checked my gardening database after I posted here and I noted that all the peppers that died in the whisky barrels and all but one in the small bed, were bought at one garden shop. Same for the basil. The red bell was purchased elsewhere. The monkey wrench in my logic is one plant that died in the raised bed was purchased elsewhere. Yet, the basil I grew from seed, planted next to the store bought basil plants, is perfectly fine. We used the same soil mix in the herb bed, the raised bed in the veggie garden and in the planters. So, it's still a mystery. .... Thanks so much for all the suggestions and tips. I'll see if I can narrow down the culprit(s). I hope it's not diseased soil, too. you're welcome, sorry couldn't be more precise. too many variables to know what is going on at a distance... from the sounds of it i would say it was the plants/supplier. we've had pretty good luck with the greenhouse here that we like for our starts. we're very short on space here in the house so it makes sense for us to just get them from the greenhouse instead of trying to find a place for them. songbird |
It's songbird's fault
On 5/30/2014 9:28 PM, bluechick wrote:
On Fri, 30 May 2014 12:01:46 +1000, Fran Farmer wrote: What sort of things are you interested in growing? Right now we have a couple of varieties of peaches, lots of rabbiteye type blueberries, Celeste and LSU Purple figs, several thornless blackberries (and about a zillion wild blackberries with mean thorns :) and dewberries), 1 raspberry as a test, all sorts of tomatoes (mostly heirlooms), several types of peppers, and bulbing & bunching onions. We're getting the tail end of the English peas now though some are still trying to flower even though it's getting way too hot for them. The sugar snaps just finished producing. Most of the blueberries were transplants of bushes we had at the old house and they had to recover last year from the ordeal. Same for the Celeste fig scions we dug up when we moved. I don't know if the figs will do anything this year because they were frozen back in February and are coming back from the root. The blueberries seem to have recovered completely from the move and are covered in berries. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that another calamity won't hit them. The hailstorm and small tornado we had Wednesday didn't bother them at all though the hail tore up several tomatoes. Our blueberries were hit by a late frost in early May and dropped their blossoms. We planted them last year and harvested about a gallon of berries that year. We had a fall garden with spinach and many types of lettuces. Didn't bother with broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage last fall though we've grown them in the past. We've got so much broccoli and cauliflower still in the freezer from the garden we had in Louisiana, we moved here in November 2012 so you can imagine how full that freezer is. We also finally finished the big herb bed and have several types of basil, common chives, flat-leaf parsley, French rosemary, borage (in the herb bed and also next to the tomatoes), several varieties of thyme, Bergamot and pineapple sage, and Texas tarragon because I gave up on French tarragon a long time ago in this climate. The smaller herb bed won't be finished until the tiller comes back from the tiller hospital and then I'll stick the container-bound spearmint in there. What are you calling Texas tarragon? Would that perhaps be Mexican Mint Marigold? I took the Mexican Mint Marigold out and bought a "Russian tarragon" from a local nursery, seems to me it tastes more like real tarragon than the other ones. True tarragon doesn't like the weather here. I grow both Greek and Spanish oregano, the Spanish version is what you find in the grocery stores. Always grow lots of big leaf basil, rosemary, common thyme, flat leaf parsley, fernleaf dill (I use the fernleaf in dill pickles or anything that requires dill as the seeds are to strong for my taste.) Lots of scallions, aka bunching onions. This year we bought several Texas 1015 sets and they are bulbing nicely. Lots of garlic and onion chives, we plant them around fruit trees to keep peach borers away. On the deck, we have some container-type blueberries (Jellybean and Peach Sorbet - both corymbosum types, which are new to us, and they're the first to produce ripe berries this year) as well as some lemons, oranges and limes. Those citrus trees did surprisingly well last year, even though they took over the sunroom in the winter. Our only citrus is a kumquat tree, still rather small but heavily in bloom at the moment. I miss my old fifteen year old Meiwa kumquat, it was very prolific, so much so that we ended up composting about ten gallons of fruit as we had eaten and made marmalade and jellies from many more pounds, still eating some of it two years later. The rest of the stuff we're growing this year are mainly to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. My lovely wife grows salvia near the vegetable gardens, salvia attracts bees of all sorts. Our biggest pollinator this year are bee flies, there's hundreds of them in the garden every day. Here's info on bee flies: http://www.cirrusimage.com/flies_bee.htm when bees are scarce these little guys really help out. Your gardens sound like what we used to have until we got old and decrepit. I started gardening with my parents during WWII, as did my wife, in the family "Victory Garden," didn't garden while I was in the military but as soon as we married we were building gardens again. Keeps me sane most of the time. George |
It's songbird's fault
On 5/31/2014 4:00 AM, Fran Farmer wrote:
On 31/05/2014 12:28 PM, bluechick wrote: On Fri, 30 May 2014 12:01:46 +1000, Fran Farmer wrote: What sort of things are you interested in growing? Right now we have a couple of varieties of peaches, lots of rabbiteye type blueberries, Celeste and LSU Purple figs, several thornless blackberries (and about a zillion wild blackberries with mean thorns :) and dewberries), 1 raspberry as a test, all sorts of tomatoes (mostly heirlooms), several types of peppers, and bulbing & bunching onions. We're getting the tail end of the English peas now though some are still trying to flower even though it's getting way too hot for them. The sugar snaps just finished producing. Most of the blueberries were transplants of bushes we had at the old house and they had to recover last year from the ordeal. Same for the Celeste fig scions we dug up when we moved. I don't know if the figs will do anything this year because they were frozen back in February and are coming back from the root. The blueberries seem to have recovered completely from the move and are covered in berries. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that another calamity won't hit them. The hailstorm and small tornado we had Wednesday didn't bother them at all though the hail tore up several tomatoes. We had a fall garden with spinach and many types of lettuces. Didn't bother with broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage last fall though we've grown them in the past. We also finally finished the big herb bed and have several types of basil, common chives, flat-leaf parsley, French rosemary, borage (in the herb bed and also next to the tomatoes), several varieties of thyme, Bergamot and pineapple sage, and Texas tarragon because I gave up on French tarragon a long time ago in this climate. The smaller herb bed won't be finished until the tiller comes back from the tiller hospital and then I'll stick the container-bound spearmint in there. On the deck, we have some container-type blueberries (Jellybean and Peach Sorbet - both corymbosum types, which are new to us, and they're the first to produce ripe berries this year) as well as some lemons, oranges and limes. Those citrus trees did surprisingly well last year, even though they took over the sunroom in the winter. The rest of the stuff we're growing this year are mainly to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. It sounds like you manage to produce a lot of food from your garden and have done a lot in the time since you've moved. I try to grow citrus but in my climate it's a bit iffy. I've managed to get some lemons but each year lose my mandarins and it's too cold here for oranges. I should do what you do and put some in my sunroom - it's certainly big enough to take big pots of citrus. I do grow figs and I've planted 3 blueberries which I hope will produce next summer. I have lots of different varieties of raspberries but can't get to them before some animal eats them. I suspect mice or rats. I have lots of strawb plants and yet only got about 3 berries this year - same suspected mongrel animal getting the ripe fruit - either mice, rats or possibly blue tongued lizards. I too grow lots a herbs largely because I like to cook. I've eaten mice and rats and know what they taste like (think military survival course). How does a blue tongued lizard taste? Anything like iguana? G |
It's songbird's fault
George Shirley wrote:
I do grow figs and I've planted 3 blueberries which I hope will produce next summer. I have lots of different varieties of raspberries but can't get to them before some animal eats them. I suspect mice or rats. I have lots of strawb plants and yet only got about 3 berries this year - same suspected mongrel animal getting the ripe fruit - either mice, rats or possibly blue tongued lizards. I too grow lots a herbs largely because I like to cook. I've eaten mice and rats and know what they taste like (think military survival course). How does a blue tongued lizard taste? Anything like iguana? G Dunno. Some indigenes of my aquaintance tell me goanna (a local type of lizard) is very tasty. But if you have been chasing bush tucker through the bush all day just about anything would be tasty come dinner time. Of course all these native animals are legally protected unlike placental rats and mice. D |
It's songbird's fault
On 5/06/2014 12:24 AM, George Shirley wrote:
I've eaten mice and rats and know what they taste like (think military survival course). How does a blue tongued lizard taste? Anything like iguana? G Reminds me of the movie King Rat. Dunno what a bluey might taste like. If I had any Jack Russells still alive I'd ask them because they used to like to tear them apart and only eat the tail - probably it's full of fat. Mind you, the Jack Russells would tell lies and say they'd never even seen a blue tongued lizard let alone killed one. |
It's songbird's fault
On Tue, 3 Jun 2014 20:55:38 -0400, songbird
wrote: bluechick wrote: Thanks so much for all the suggestions and tips. I'll see if I can narrow down the culprit(s). I hope it's not diseased soil, too. you're welcome, sorry couldn't be more precise. too many variables to know what is going on at a distance... Not a problem. You gave me some ideas on things to check as to the culprit behind the wilted plants. There were too many variables here to know the reason with any certainty. from the sounds of it i would say it was the plants/supplier. we've had pretty good luck with the greenhouse here that we like for our starts. we're very short on space here in the house so it makes sense for us to just get them from the greenhouse instead of trying to find a place for them. Yep, everything still points to the plants themselves - contamination at the supplier or seller. I've put some test plants in the same planters as the afflicted plants and some pepper plants in the same raised bed and nothing has so much as drooped in the past few days. Those sick plants showed signs of trouble in less than a week after transplanting so I would have seen some sign of trouble with the test plants by now. When I dug up the bad plants I made sure to grab as much soil around them as I could, hoping any surrounding plants would remain unaffected. I think I caught it (whatever "it" was) in time. So far, so good. *knocks on head* I miss the greenhouse we had at the old house. Maybe one day we will get one here. It sure does help starting seedlings and cuttings and gets a jump on the planting season. songbird bluechick |
It's songbird's fault
On Wed, 04 Jun 2014 09:21:45 -0500, George Shirley
wrote: On 5/30/2014 9:28 PM, bluechick wrote: On Fri, 30 May 2014 12:01:46 +1000, Fran Farmer wrote: What sort of things are you interested in growing? Right now we have a couple of varieties of peaches, lots of rabbiteye type blueberries, Celeste and LSU Purple figs, several thornless blackberries (and about a zillion wild blackberries with mean thorns :) and dewberries), 1 raspberry as a test, all sorts of tomatoes (mostly heirlooms), several types of peppers, and bulbing & bunching onions. We're getting the tail end of the English peas now though some are still trying to flower even though it's getting way too hot for them. The sugar snaps just finished producing. Most of the blueberries were transplants of bushes we had at the old house and they had to recover last year from the ordeal. Same for the Celeste fig scions we dug up when we moved. I don't know if the figs will do anything this year because they were frozen back in February and are coming back from the root. The blueberries seem to have recovered completely from the move and are covered in berries. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that another calamity won't hit them. The hailstorm and small tornado we had Wednesday didn't bother them at all though the hail tore up several tomatoes. Our blueberries were hit by a late frost in early May and dropped their blossoms. We planted them last year and harvested about a gallon of berries that year. I checked our blueberries in the main garden (not the two container types on the deck) and they're still hanging in there. Not quite ready to pick. The container ones are producing well but I spied a muskrat on the upper deck not far from the blueberries. I scared it and it scared me! I don't know if he was making plans for those berries or not but he's going to have to fight me for 'em. We had a fall garden with spinach and many types of lettuces. Didn't bother with broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage last fall though we've grown them in the past. We've got so much broccoli and cauliflower still in the freezer from the garden we had in Louisiana, we moved here in November 2012 so you can imagine how full that freezer is. A full freezer indeed! We used to grow cauliflower and broccoli every fall but the last time, years ago, we were hit so hard by cabbage loopers that it put me off growing them for years. We used Dipel (bacillus thuringiensis) on all the brassicas but we couldn't keep ahead of the caterpillars. Now that we live in a rural area the bugs are even worse. We also finally finished the big herb bed and have several types of basil, common chives, flat-leaf parsley, French rosemary, borage (in the herb bed and also next to the tomatoes), several varieties of thyme, Bergamot and pineapple sage, and Texas tarragon because I gave up on French tarragon a long time ago in this climate. The smaller herb bed won't be finished until the tiller comes back from the tiller hospital and then I'll stick the container-bound spearmint in there. What are you calling Texas tarragon? Would that perhaps be Mexican Mint Marigold? I took the Mexican Mint Marigold out and bought a "Russian tarragon" from a local nursery, seems to me it tastes more like real tarragon than the other ones. True tarragon doesn't like the weather here. I grow both Greek and Spanish oregano, the Spanish version is what you find in the grocery stores. Always grow lots of big leaf basil, rosemary, common thyme, flat leaf parsley, fernleaf dill (I use the fernleaf in dill pickles or anything that requires dill as the seeds are to strong for my taste.) Lots of scallions, aka bunching onions. This year we bought several Texas 1015 sets and they are bulbing nicely. Lots of garlic and onion chives, we plant them around fruit trees to keep peach borers away. I've grown both "Mexican tarragon" and "Texas tarragon". Everything I've read seems to indicate that they're the same plant, both billed as Tagetes lucinda, but they aren't the same. I've learned that there are two varieties of Tagetes lucinda, one that is tall and one that is short. No other differences are noted. What's being sold here as "Mexican tarragon" is not worth growing. It never comes back after the first year even though it's supposed to be a perennial, has thin curly leaves with a sprawling growth habit, flowers in late spring, and has only a hint of tarragon flavor. It's more like a scrawny marigold. My two "Texas tarragon" plants are absolutely perennials, grow upright, have long 3-in. straight leaves that are anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide, have a strong tarragon flavor and don't bloom until late summer. I've been able to find it at only one local nursery. I got a second one from them this year, 5 years after getting the first one from them. Everyone else around here has the Mexican variety I mentioned above. It's an entirely different plant and I'll be damned if I can find any book or website that makes note of the difference. In my experience growing it, Mexican tarragon and Texas tarragon are not interchangeable. I've tried Russian tarragon and I don't remember if I liked it or not. I do wish French would grow well here but it hates our climate. Last time I grew it I had to treat it as an annual and it didn't do well. I knew I'd forgotten some herbs in my last message! We have Greek and another oregano here that is probably Spanish or Mexican. Both do well here. The Greek is trying to take over the whole corner of the herb garden so I guess it's happy. I will try planting garlic scapes around our peach trees this fall. Thanks for that tip! I'd forgotten everything I'd learned about caring for peach trees. My parents had a peach orchard when I was a child but the trees finally died out. We didn't try to grow them at the old house since the umpteen thousand squirrels we had there would have taken all the fruit anyway. :) As for garlic chives, I won't plant them again. They took over one of our original raised beds at the old house and choked out some of the herbs. On the deck, we have some container-type blueberries (Jellybean and Peach Sorbet - both corymbosum types, which are new to us, and they're the first to produce ripe berries this year) as well as some lemons, oranges and limes. Those citrus trees did surprisingly well last year, even though they took over the sunroom in the winter. Our only citrus is a kumquat tree, still rather small but heavily in bloom at the moment. I miss my old fifteen year old Meiwa kumquat, it was very prolific, so much so that we ended up composting about ten gallons of fruit as we had eaten and made marmalade and jellies from many more pounds, still eating some of it two years later. I saw a kumquat at the same nursery where we got our second Meyer lemon. Almost got it but we've run out of room on the deck. :) Sounds like you had wonderful luck with that Meiwa. I know you wish you could have brought it with you to the new house. I feel that way about the big Celeste fig we had to leave behind. I hope your new tree treats you as well as the Meiwa did. The rest of the stuff we're growing this year are mainly to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. My lovely wife grows salvia near the vegetable gardens, salvia attracts bees of all sorts. Our biggest pollinator this year are bee flies, there's hundreds of them in the garden every day. Here's info on bee flies: http://www.cirrusimage.com/flies_bee.htm when bees are scarce these little guys really help out. I haven't seen them here. I wish they'd visit us since that site said they don't sting or bite. We're lucky to have a beekeeper next door and his girls have been busy with the citrus trees and the clover. I assume they were pollinating the tomatoes but I never did see what critter did us that favor. A few of our salvias are blooming and are covered in butterflies which the hummingbirds chase away. They don't like to share. I'm waiting for the bee balm to bloom. That ought to keep everyone happy. Your gardens sound like what we used to have until we got old and decrepit. I started gardening with my parents during WWII, as did my wife, in the family "Victory Garden," didn't garden while I was in the military but as soon as we married we were building gardens again. Keeps me sane most of the time. Gardens feed the soul as well as the tummy. :) George bluechick |
It's songbird's fault
bluechick wrote:
I've grown both "Mexican tarragon" and "Texas tarragon". Everything I've read seems to indicate that they're the same plant, both billed as Tagetes lucinda, but they aren't the same. I've learned that there are two varieties of Tagetes lucinda, one that is tall and one that is short. No other differences are noted. What's being sold here as "Mexican tarragon" is not worth growing. It never comes back after the first year even though it's supposed to be a perennial, has thin curly leaves with a sprawling growth habit, flowers in late spring, and has only a hint of tarragon flavor. It's more like a scrawny marigold. My two "Texas tarragon" plants are absolutely perennials, grow upright, have long 3-in. straight leaves that are anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide, have a strong tarragon flavor and don't bloom until late summer. I've been able to find it at only one local nursery. I got a second one from them this year, 5 years after getting the first one from them. Everyone else around here has the Mexican variety I mentioned above. It's an entirely different plant and I'll be damned if I can find any book or website that makes note of the difference. In my experience growing it, Mexican tarragon and Texas tarragon are not interchangeable. I grow targetes taragon, here it is called 'winter' taragon. I don't know why as it dies back each winter. But it comes up each spring and if used fresh it is quite pungent and tasty. I cannot grow French taragon, too finicky in my heavy soil. I've tried Russian tarragon and I don't remember if I liked it or not. I do wish French would grow well here but it hates our climate. Last time I grew it I had to treat it as an annual and it didn't do well. Same here. The Russian sort is a waste of time no flavour. D |
It's songbird's fault
I'm rather at the other end of "difficulty growing tarragon" (Zone 4)
but I do generally keep some going. Lost it all a year ago and reaped the rewards of being generous with it - got some back from a friend I had split some off to. It's marginal to make through the winter, so I try to maintain it in many different spots so that I have better odds of at least one making it - and it wants to be split regularly anyway lest it gets rootbound, so that works. Despite being rather harsh, this winter didn't finish off the returned splits. AFAIK it's French - both the original label and the lack of flowers concur on that point. Major pest is foaming aphids. Harvest-wise we've got nothing going yet other than a FEW Asparagus. (and the bumper crop of weeds, including the crop-weed catnip) but various things are coming along. I planted garlic WAY late for me (December, I think) and it actually did the textbook thing of not really sprouting until spring, where I usually have 6" high garlic sticking out of the snow. The result of last year's experiment with cutting/leaving scapes has put me in the cutting scapes camp for now. I've got the head of heirloom (someone's Grandma's) garlic I was given two years ago up to 34 plants, and am growing 50 Spanish Roja, with a few survivors of last year's flood that took out the mutt-garlic (unknown non-scaping) bed coming back up there, but I'm leaning towards giving up on the mutt-garlic, as it's been dwindling on me, which was why I got the SR three years back. Strawberries took a major hit either from the winter or from the side-effects of the winter (I don't know if they were killed or eaten, that is.) Raspberries and blueberries look good, cherries & plums look good now but usually find a way to disappoint me before it's eating time, hops need more room to grow. Grapes are somewhat in there with the cherries and plums - more than usual dieback, I did get them pruned in the winter, they look good now, on the rare occasion they make much fruit the raccoons usually take it. I'm pretty sure I need to do more management during the growing season, but I'm also pretty sure they'd simply like more sun and I'm not seeing a way I can do that. One of the Filazels took a big hit from EF Blight (I'd guess) last year, but it's not all dead, and the others look fine, though the squirrels get nearly all of those. Two shallots (from the food supply side of things) that were sprouting got planted and are growing - they are throwing scapes or flowers - should I cut those off, or not? My "Hybrid 'shallots' from seed" experiment of a year or two ago was pretty disappointing, so I'm hoping for better luck from these "appear to be actual shallots." -- Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away. |
It's songbird's fault
On 7/06/2014 11:14 AM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
I cannot grow French taragon, too finicky in my heavy soil. Interesting. My French Tarragon is as tough as old boots and I grow it in what I'd consider to be heavy soil. |
It's songbird's fault
Fran Farmer wrote:
On 7/06/2014 11:14 AM, David Hare-Scott wrote: I cannot grow French taragon, too finicky in my heavy soil. Interesting. My French Tarragon is as tough as old boots and I grow it in what I'd consider to be heavy soil. The summer rain might be a problem too. D |
It's songbird's fault
On 8/06/2014 9:43 AM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
Fran Farmer wrote: On 7/06/2014 11:14 AM, David Hare-Scott wrote: I cannot grow French taragon, too finicky in my heavy soil. Interesting. My French Tarragon is as tough as old boots and I grow it in what I'd consider to be heavy soil. The summer rain might be a problem too. Could be. I tend to let my tarragon get quite dry before I notice that it's gagging for a drink - dunno why it thrives given how badly I treat my poor clumps. |
It's songbird's fault
Ecnerwal wrote:
.... Strawberries took a major hit either from the winter or from the side-effects of the winter (I don't know if they were killed or eaten, that is.) what type of soil are they in? i've not had problems here and we have had mixed weather the past few winters to show that strawberries are pretty hardy when it comes to cold. most of the trouble i've heard with them dying off is when they are in fairly sandy soil without much mulch or cover for the winter. then they can get frost heaved and dried out. songbird |
It's songbird's fault
In article ,
Fran Farmer wrote: On 8/06/2014 9:43 AM, David Hare-Scott wrote: The summer rain might be a problem too. Could be. I tend to let my tarragon get quite dry before I notice that it's gagging for a drink - dunno why it thrives given how badly I treat my poor clumps. Apart from being miserable, clay does hold water, so that probably helps. Where it rains more, good drainage helps - where it rains less, clay can be a good thing (not being from where it rains less, most of the time, and being abundantly supplied with clay, I found that sentence hard to actually commit to print...2-3 dumptruck loads of sand would improve my garden immensely.) I really don't find it fussy, just prone to not all surviving the winter. On the other hand, I seem to recall that I expanded the range admitted to in one of the rec.gardens FAQs that was or is running around the net from days of old. -- Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away. |
It's songbird's fault
In article ,
songbird wrote: Ecnerwal wrote: ... Strawberries took a major hit either from the winter or from the side-effects of the winter (I don't know if they were killed or eaten, that is.) what type of soil are they in? i've not had problems here and we have had mixed weather the past few winters to show that strawberries are pretty hardy when it comes to cold. most of the trouble i've heard with them dying off is when they are in fairly sandy soil without much mulch or cover for the winter. then they can get frost heaved and dried out. Normally they laugh off the winters, frequently having green foliage throughout, so this was a surprising departure from the norm. They are in horse manure (to be picky, composted HM - essentially anything resembling dirt in my garden is composted HM from 1-20 years old with a bit of other compost making up an insignificant proportion, and "soil" being essentially non-existent) - on top of clay - dig a few feet down and you can make pots out of it. Mulched with lots of pine needles. I think I have 4 out of 9 in one patch, of which one is somewhat normal and the rest have obviously suffered, and 1 out of 15 in the other. -- Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away. |
It's songbird's fault
Ecnerwal wrote:
.... Normally they laugh off the winters, frequently having green foliage throughout, so this was a surprising departure from the norm. They are in horse manure (to be picky, composted HM - essentially anything resembling dirt in my garden is composted HM from 1-20 years old with a bit of other compost making up an insignificant proportion, and "soil" being essentially non-existent) - on top of clay - dig a few feet down and you can make pots out of it. Mulched with lots of pine needles. I think I have 4 out of 9 in one patch, of which one is somewhat normal and the rest have obviously suffered, and 1 out of 15 in the other. we've got mostly clay soil here too and this past winter was ok, didn't notice any major loss of plants. a thick mulch could be a potential problem with all the snow cover we had. i do mulch some plants, but none of them heavily, just a light mulch layer so that the soil is covered to help keep down frost heaving. songbird |
It's songbird's fault
Ecnerwal wrote:
.... Apart from being miserable, clay does hold water, so that probably helps. Where it rains more, good drainage helps - where it rains less, clay can be a good thing (not being from where it rains less, most of the time, and being abundantly supplied with clay, I found that sentence hard to actually commit to print...2-3 dumptruck loads of sand would improve my garden immensely.) i'd take 2-3 dumptruck loads of shredded bark over sand any time as that forms such a nice layer on top of the clay that the worms can enjoy. helps keep things moist and cool when it gets hot. i've found that adding sand to clay is often just asking to make very hard soil and that the added organic matter is much better (and lighter to move :) ). last winter growing the winter wheat and winter rye as a green manure/cover crop that was turned under a few weeks before planting was the best thing i'd ever done for soil texture and making the clay much easier to deal with this spring. lovely results in many respects, only a few negatives which don't bother me at all. songbird |
It's songbird's fault
On 6/5/2014 4:54 AM, Fran Farmer wrote:
On 5/06/2014 12:24 AM, George Shirley wrote: I've eaten mice and rats and know what they taste like (think military survival course). How does a blue tongued lizard taste? Anything like iguana? G Reminds me of the movie King Rat. Dunno what a bluey might taste like. If I had any Jack Russells still alive I'd ask them because they used to like to tear them apart and only eat the tail - probably it's full of fat. Mind you, the Jack Russells would tell lies and say they'd never even seen a blue tongued lizard let alone killed one. My Rat Terrier lies about what she's eaten too, until she burps and gives it away. |
It's songbird's fault
On 6/6/2014 8:14 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
bluechick wrote: I've grown both "Mexican tarragon" and "Texas tarragon". Everything I've read seems to indicate that they're the same plant, both billed as Tagetes lucinda, but they aren't the same. I've learned that there are two varieties of Tagetes lucinda, one that is tall and one that is short. No other differences are noted. What's being sold here as "Mexican tarragon" is not worth growing. It never comes back after the first year even though it's supposed to be a perennial, has thin curly leaves with a sprawling growth habit, flowers in late spring, and has only a hint of tarragon flavor. It's more like a scrawny marigold. My two "Texas tarragon" plants are absolutely perennials, grow upright, have long 3-in. straight leaves that are anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide, have a strong tarragon flavor and don't bloom until late summer. I've been able to find it at only one local nursery. I got a second one from them this year, 5 years after getting the first one from them. Everyone else around here has the Mexican variety I mentioned above. It's an entirely different plant and I'll be damned if I can find any book or website that makes note of the difference. In my experience growing it, Mexican tarragon and Texas tarragon are not interchangeable. I grow targetes taragon, here it is called 'winter' taragon. I don't know why as it dies back each winter. But it comes up each spring and if used fresh it is quite pungent and tasty. I cannot grow French taragon, too finicky in my heavy soil. I've tried Russian tarragon and I don't remember if I liked it or not. I do wish French would grow well here but it hates our climate. Last time I grew it I had to treat it as an annual and it didn't do well. Same here. The Russian sort is a waste of time no flavour. D I had the same problem with Russian, yanked it out and gave it to the Russians who live next door, they love it. I got another Mexican Tarragon, works for us. |
It's songbird's fault
On 6/8/2014 11:38 AM, Ecnerwal wrote:
In article , songbird wrote: Ecnerwal wrote: ... Strawberries took a major hit either from the winter or from the side-effects of the winter (I don't know if they were killed or eaten, that is.) what type of soil are they in? i've not had problems here and we have had mixed weather the past few winters to show that strawberries are pretty hardy when it comes to cold. most of the trouble i've heard with them dying off is when they are in fairly sandy soil without much mulch or cover for the winter. then they can get frost heaved and dried out. Normally they laugh off the winters, frequently having green foliage throughout, so this was a surprising departure from the norm. They are in horse manure (to be picky, composted HM - essentially anything resembling dirt in my garden is composted HM from 1-20 years old with a bit of other compost making up an insignificant proportion, and "soil" being essentially non-existent) - on top of clay - dig a few feet down and you can make pots out of it. Mulched with lots of pine needles. I think I have 4 out of 9 in one patch, of which one is somewhat normal and the rest have obviously suffered, and 1 out of 15 in the other. Heh! We live in Harris Cty, TX, there's five feet of Houston gumbo under this house with about two inches of sand on top. We actually found some white clay while digging a hole to plant the Meiwa kumquat. Wife is an artist and kept it in case I ever set up her kiln again. |
It's songbird's fault
On 10/06/2014 1:01 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 6/5/2014 4:54 AM, Fran Farmer wrote: On 5/06/2014 12:24 AM, George Shirley wrote: I've eaten mice and rats and know what they taste like (think military survival course). How does a blue tongued lizard taste? Anything like iguana? G Reminds me of the movie King Rat. Dunno what a bluey might taste like. If I had any Jack Russells still alive I'd ask them because they used to like to tear them apart and only eat the tail - probably it's full of fat. Mind you, the Jack Russells would tell lies and say they'd never even seen a blue tongued lizard let alone killed one. My Rat Terrier lies about what she's eaten too, until she burps and gives it away. :-)) So you too know that disgusting habit of the rotten little liars! |
It's songbird's fault
On 13/06/2014 6:01 AM, Derald wrote:
Fran Farmer wrote: On 8/06/2014 9:43 AM, David Hare-Scott wrote: Fran Farmer wrote: On 7/06/2014 11:14 AM, David Hare-Scott wrote: I cannot grow French taragon, too finicky in my heavy soil. Interesting. My French Tarragon is as tough as old boots and I grow it in what I'd consider to be heavy soil. The summer rain might be a problem too. Could be. I tend to let my tarragon get quite dry before I notice that it's gagging for a drink - dunno why it thrives given how badly I treat my poor clumps. Do you let tarragon wilt before watering? "Let" is too active a word - it implies that I am active in what happens to the tarragon whereas it's more a case of my neglect. I have 2 tarragon patches both along a path that I usually follow to get to any of the following (worm farm, compost bins, veggie patch, chook run, nearest garden tap to back door). One patch is close up to the wall of the house with a few other herbs including mint in a pot buried almost up to its rim. That tarragon gets little rain or watering by me and the other patch is beside a number of clumps of chives and garlic chives on the western edge of my rose garden. That patch faces due west and gets fierce afternoon sun so it gets parched quite often. They tend to be fairly desperate when I notice that they need water but sometimes I will be consistent and good at giving them water for a few weeks at a time. Presently, I'm forbidden from growing tarragon due to my propensity for leaving it out in rain. She Who Knows reasoned that her occasional use of tarragon in the kitchen does not warrant the coninued cost of replacing plants as I kill them; sigh.... I do well at protecting (most of) the other kitchen herbs from too much sun and too much water but for some reason there seems to be a block on tarragon and thyme. Which kitchen herbs are you protecting from the sun? Most of my kitchen herbs are planted where they get as much sun as I can for them because I've always thought that increased their 'volatile oils' (although that may not be the best way of describing their active ingredient). I find that thyme in particular thrives in full sun and loves the heat, - as does rosemary and basil. |
It's songbird's fault
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