many years ago Ma planted some flowers that were
supposed to repel mosquitoes. it also happens to
be able to spread more than we'd like. inside the
fenced gardens it was taking over six different
patches. last fall we started getting it out of
three of them, this spring i finished those and now
we've had time to think about what next.

this week we chopped back the rest of it (with the
bees still buzzing all over it -- they switched over
to the many other flowering plants). Ma got it mostly
out of one of the gardens and two others will need a
few square yards of it either smothered or removed
along their edges, but that at least halts the invasion
of that flower going on in the fenced garden patches.

leaving it still having spread into the large area
behind the fenced gardens which contains my second
strawberry patch. as this area was along the large
drainage ditch and it never was properly set up as a
formal garden i did't really spend a lot of time back
there to keep things under control. so the grasses
have invaded from the ditch and the invasive flowering
plant has gotten going in there too.

my original plan that i've been working on was to
gradually get that stuff removed, smothered and to
put down a deep root barrier to keep the grasses and
other weeds out.

Ma decides she wants to chop all that down so we
start on that and almost get done and she says she wants
to either keep mowing it or we have to cover/smother it.
now, if i'd know the choices before spending two previous
days chopping it back i'd have just said smother it (and
not waste time chopping because the stubs from chopping
will come through plastic or weed barrier fabric when you
step on it)... she says that she'll do anything to not
have that area be strawberries again.

since i'm losing my large strawberry patch she says that
we can put one inside the fenced gardens in a currently
unused space (i was eventually going to do this anyways).
that frees up the time i was going to be renovating the
large strawberry patch - when things cool off in a few more
weeks we can start on the new strawberry patch. much
easier location to manage (completely surrounded by formal
gardens, crushed limestone pathways, fenced, etc.). it
won't be invaded by the large drainage ditch grass and
horsetail...

in other news, cherry tomatoes coming in now, many
cucumbers, peppers, onions, beans. hail damage in
places. should be able to make some bean salad soon.


songbird

songbird wrote:
many years ago Ma planted some flowers that were
supposed to repel mosquitoes. it also happens to
be able to spread more than we'd like. inside the
fenced gardens it was taking over six different
patches. last fall we started getting it out of
three of them, this spring i finished those and now
we've had time to think about what next.

this week we chopped back the rest of it (with the
bees still buzzing all over it -- they switched over
to the many other flowering plants). Ma got it mostly
out of one of the gardens and two others will need a
few square yards of it either smothered or removed
along their edges, but that at least halts the invasion
of that flower going on in the fenced garden patches.

leaving it still having spread into the large area
behind the fenced gardens which contains my second
strawberry patch. as this area was along the large
drainage ditch and it never was properly set up as a
formal garden i did't really spend a lot of time back
there to keep things under control. so the grasses
have invaded from the ditch and the invasive flowering
plant has gotten going in there too.

my original plan that i've been working on was to
gradually get that stuff removed, smothered and to
put down a deep root barrier to keep the grasses and
other weeds out.

Ma decides she wants to chop all that down so we
start on that and almost get done and she says she wants
to either keep mowing it or we have to cover/smother it.
now, if i'd know the choices before spending two previous
days chopping it back i'd have just said smother it (and
not waste time chopping because the stubs from chopping
will come through plastic or weed barrier fabric when you
step on it)... she says that she'll do anything to not
have that area be strawberries again.

since i'm losing my large strawberry patch she says that
we can put one inside the fenced gardens in a currently
unused space (i was eventually going to do this anyways).
that frees up the time i was going to be renovating the
large strawberry patch - when things cool off in a few more
weeks we can start on the new strawberry patch. much
easier location to manage (completely surrounded by formal
gardens, crushed limestone pathways, fenced, etc.). it
won't be invaded by the large drainage ditch grass and
horsetail...

in other news, cherry tomatoes coming in now, many
cucumbers, peppers, onions, beans. hail damage in
places. should be able to make some bean salad soon.


songbird

Care to share what that invsasive plant was ? You mentioned that bees were
all over it , and I have a lot of areas here at The 12 Acre Wood where I can
plant it and not care how invasive it is ...

--
Snag

On Friday, August 7, 2015 at 1:19:27 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
songbird wrote:
many years ago Ma planted some flowers that were
supposed to repel mosquitoes. it also happens to
be able to spread more than we'd like. inside the
fenced gardens it was taking over six different
patches. last fall we started getting it out of
three of them, this spring i finished those and now
we've had time to think about what next.

this week we chopped back the rest of it (with the
bees still buzzing all over it -- they switched over
to the many other flowering plants). Ma got it mostly
out of one of the gardens and two others will need a
few square yards of it either smothered or removed
along their edges, but that at least halts the invasion
of that flower going on in the fenced garden patches.

leaving it still having spread into the large area
behind the fenced gardens which contains my second
strawberry patch. as this area was along the large
drainage ditch and it never was properly set up as a
formal garden i did't really spend a lot of time back
there to keep things under control. so the grasses
have invaded from the ditch and the invasive flowering
plant has gotten going in there too.

my original plan that i've been working on was to
gradually get that stuff removed, smothered and to
put down a deep root barrier to keep the grasses and
other weeds out.

Ma decides she wants to chop all that down so we
start on that and almost get done and she says she wants
to either keep mowing it or we have to cover/smother it.
now, if i'd know the choices before spending two previous
days chopping it back i'd have just said smother it (and
not waste time chopping because the stubs from chopping
will come through plastic or weed barrier fabric when you
step on it)... she says that she'll do anything to not
have that area be strawberries again.

since i'm losing my large strawberry patch she says that
we can put one inside the fenced gardens in a currently
unused space (i was eventually going to do this anyways).
that frees up the time i was going to be renovating the
large strawberry patch - when things cool off in a few more
weeks we can start on the new strawberry patch. much
easier location to manage (completely surrounded by formal
gardens, crushed limestone pathways, fenced, etc.). it
won't be invaded by the large drainage ditch grass and
horsetail...

in other news, cherry tomatoes coming in now, many
cucumbers, peppers, onions, beans. hail damage in
places. should be able to make some bean salad soon.


songbird

Care to share what that invsasive plant was ? You mentioned that bees were
all over it , and I have a lot of areas here at The 12 Acre Wood where I can
plant it and not care how invasive it is ...

--
Snag

I'll bet it was in the mint family! Square stems?

Steve

Steve Peek wrote:
On Friday, August 7, 2015 at 1:19:27 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
songbird wrote:
many years ago Ma planted some flowers that were
supposed to repel mosquitoes. it also happens to
be able to spread more than we'd like. inside the
fenced gardens it was taking over six different
patches. last fall we started getting it out of
three of them, this spring i finished those and now
we've had time to think about what next.

this week we chopped back the rest of it (with the
bees still buzzing all over it -- they switched over
to the many other flowering plants). Ma got it mostly
out of one of the gardens and two others will need a
few square yards of it either smothered or removed
along their edges, but that at least halts the invasion
of that flower going on in the fenced garden patches.

leaving it still having spread into the large area
behind the fenced gardens which contains my second
strawberry patch. as this area was along the large
drainage ditch and it never was properly set up as a
formal garden i did't really spend a lot of time back
there to keep things under control. so the grasses
have invaded from the ditch and the invasive flowering
plant has gotten going in there too.

my original plan that i've been working on was to
gradually get that stuff removed, smothered and to
put down a deep root barrier to keep the grasses and
other weeds out.

Ma decides she wants to chop all that down so we
start on that and almost get done and she says she wants
to either keep mowing it or we have to cover/smother it.
now, if i'd know the choices before spending two previous
days chopping it back i'd have just said smother it (and
not waste time chopping because the stubs from chopping
will come through plastic or weed barrier fabric when you
step on it)... she says that she'll do anything to not
have that area be strawberries again.

since i'm losing my large strawberry patch she says that
we can put one inside the fenced gardens in a currently
unused space (i was eventually going to do this anyways).
that frees up the time i was going to be renovating the
large strawberry patch - when things cool off in a few more
weeks we can start on the new strawberry patch. much
easier location to manage (completely surrounded by formal
gardens, crushed limestone pathways, fenced, etc.). it
won't be invaded by the large drainage ditch grass and
horsetail...

in other news, cherry tomatoes coming in now, many
cucumbers, peppers, onions, beans. hail damage in
places. should be able to make some bean salad soon.


songbird

Care to share what that invsasive plant was ? You mentioned that
bees were all over it , and I have a lot of areas here at The 12
Acre Wood where I can plant it and not care how invasive it is ...

--
Snag

I'll bet it was in the mint family! Square stems?

Steve

I've been trying to get borage (and other stuff) started here , supposed
to bloom later than most of the stuff here . I need something that blooms
into the summer heat , we have a dearth of nectar sources after about
mid-July , and often no nectar flow in the fall . Bees gotta eat , and
feeding them sugar syrup gets expensive .

--
Snag

In article ,
"Terry Coombs" wrote:
I've been trying to get borage (and other stuff) started here , supposed
to bloom later than most of the stuff here . I need something that blooms
into the summer heat , we have a dearth of nectar sources after about
mid-July , and often no nectar flow in the fall . Bees gotta eat , and
feeding them sugar syrup gets expensive .

At the moment (but not MO) the red monarda (bee balm, but also popular
with hummingbrds) is still working, the catnip is blooming & popular,
and rose of sharon is popular with the buzzy gals as well. Purple
coneflowers (echinacea) are out. The "everbearing" raspberries continue
to flower. Sedums have not quite started yet. And, of course, clover.

Buckwheat should do well for bee forage and takes some heat; you may
want to plant it after other things are finished and plow it down after
the bees work it but before seed sets.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.

Terry Coombs wrote:
....
Care to share what that invsasive plant was ? You mentioned that bees were
all over it , and I have a lot of areas here at The 12 Acre Wood where I can
plant it and not care how invasive it is ...

almost everything we grow here is full sun
tolerant plants, so i'm not sure how well it would
fare in a woodland setting.

in nosing around i can't find the tag (we kept
them for everything we planted, but for some reason
not this one), but it would say that it is some
variety of penny royal.

i'd not put it in any place that might be grazed
or used as fodder because it can be toxic. i've
chewed on a few leaves over the years and kept
thinking it was a wimpy oregano that somehow got
in, but Ma kept calling it mosquito weed.


songbird

On 08/07/2015 01:18 PM, songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
...
Care to share what that invsasive plant was ? You mentioned that bees were
all over it , and I have a lot of areas here at The 12 Acre Wood where I can
plant it and not care how invasive it is ...

almost everything we grow here is full sun
tolerant plants, so i'm not sure how well it would
fare in a woodland setting.

in nosing around i can't find the tag (we kept
them for everything we planted, but for some reason
not this one), but it would say that it is some
variety of penny royal.

i'd not put it in any place that might be grazed
or used as fodder because it can be toxic. i've
chewed on a few leaves over the years and kept
thinking it was a wimpy oregano that somehow got
in, but Ma kept calling it mosquito weed.


songbird


Kudzu?

Terry Coombs wrote:
....
I've been trying to get borage (and other stuff) started here , supposed
to bloom later than most of the stuff here . I need something that blooms
into the summer heat , we have a dearth of nectar sources after about
mid-July , and often no nectar flow in the fall . Bees gotta eat , and
feeding them sugar syrup gets expensive .

if you don't have meadowland/open areas i'm not
sure how well most flowering plants i can think of
will do.

bee balm and the related bergamot are later
blooming.

some asters. russian sage.

if you start it now buckwheat should be blooming
in 4 - 6 weeks (needs sunlight). for next year's
blooming i would mix in with that some white clover,
red clover, alfafa, and birdsfoot trefoil. then you
could mow this field in patches to keep some of it
from flowering earlier and then it could be left after
the first or second cut to bloom later. it will take
a few years for the alfalfa and trefoil to really get
established.

for the immediate and shorter term buckwheat is a
good stopgap plant and a good nursery plant for the
clovers, trefoil and alfalfa...


songbird

songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
...
I've been trying to get borage (and other stuff) started here ,
supposed to bloom later than most of the stuff here . I need
something that blooms into the summer heat , we have a dearth of
nectar sources after about mid-July , and often no nectar flow in
the fall . Bees gotta eat , and feeding them sugar syrup gets
expensive .

if you don't have meadowland/open areas i'm not
sure how well most flowering plants i can think of
will do.


I have power line easements about 60-80 ft wide thru the woods , they get
pretty good sun .

bee balm and the related bergamot are later
blooming.


I planted some bee balm , never came up - maybe next spring .

some asters. russian sage.


There are some asters around , growing wild .

if you start it now buckwheat should be blooming
in 4 - 6 weeks (needs sunlight). for next year's
blooming i would mix in with that some white clover,
red clover, alfafa, and birdsfoot trefoil. then you
could mow this field in patches to keep some of it
from flowering earlier and then it could be left after
the first or second cut to bloom later. it will take
a few years for the alfalfa and trefoil to really get
established.

for the immediate and shorter term buckwheat is a
good stopgap plant and a good nursery plant for the
clovers, trefoil and alfalfa...


songbird


I'll have to check out the buckwheat , they've been saying on
beesource.com that some varieties don't produce much nectar . I did scatter
some sweet clover seed , didn't come up . Neither did the borage , bee balm
, penstemon ,or the hollyhocks - I may have waited too late . I have
reserved some of the seeds I bought , planned on scattering them this fall
in hopes they'd germinate next spring . I'd love to crowd some of the
grasses out with other stuff that's more bee-friendly .

--
Snag

songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
...
Care to share what that invsasive plant was ? You mentioned that
bees were all over it , and I have a lot of areas here at The 12
Acre Wood where I can plant it and not care how invasive it is ...

almost everything we grow here is full sun
tolerant plants, so i'm not sure how well it would
fare in a woodland setting.

in nosing around i can't find the tag (we kept
them for everything we planted, but for some reason
not this one), but it would say that it is some
variety of penny royal.

i'd not put it in any place that might be grazed
or used as fodder because it can be toxic. i've
chewed on a few leaves over the years and kept
thinking it was a wimpy oregano that somehow got
in, but Ma kept calling it mosquito weed.


songbird

Our woodland setting includes power line easements that are kept clear of
trees . Small chance of anything but deer grazing here , I'll check out
"mosquito weed" .

--
Snag

songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
...
Care to share what that invsasive plant was ? You mentioned that
bees were all over it , and I have a lot of areas here at The 12
Acre Wood where I can plant it and not care how invasive it is ...

almost everything we grow here is full sun
tolerant plants, so i'm not sure how well it would
fare in a woodland setting.

in nosing around i can't find the tag (we kept
them for everything we planted, but for some reason
not this one), but it would say that it is some
variety of penny royal.

i'd not put it in any place that might be grazed
or used as fodder because it can be toxic. i've
chewed on a few leaves over the years and kept
thinking it was a wimpy oregano that somehow got
in, but Ma kept calling it mosquito weed.


songbird

Looks like it is pennyroyal , and yes Steve , it is a member of the mint
family . I'll be getting some seeds ...

--
Snag

Terry Coombs wrote:
songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
...
I've been trying to get borage (and other stuff) started here ,
supposed to bloom later than most of the stuff here . I need
something that blooms into the summer heat , we have a dearth of
nectar sources after about mid-July , and often no nectar flow in
the fall . Bees gotta eat , and feeding them sugar syrup gets
expensive .

if you don't have meadowland/open areas i'm not
sure how well most flowering plants i can think of
will do.


I have power line easements about 60-80 ft wide thru the woods , they get
pretty good sun .

bee balm and the related bergamot are later
blooming.


I planted some bee balm , never came up - maybe next spring .

seeds?


some asters. russian sage.


There are some asters around , growing wild .

the white smaller ones are earlier bloomers
here than the later purple ones. the purple
asters are about the latest flowers we'll see
along the roads.


if you start it now buckwheat should be blooming
in 4 - 6 weeks (needs sunlight). for next year's
blooming i would mix in with that some white clover,
red clover, alfafa, and birdsfoot trefoil. then you
could mow this field in patches to keep some of it
from flowering earlier and then it could be left after
the first or second cut to bloom later. it will take
a few years for the alfalfa and trefoil to really get
established.

for the immediate and shorter term buckwheat is a
good stopgap plant and a good nursery plant for the
clovers, trefoil and alfalfa...

I'll have to check out the buckwheat , they've been saying on
beesource.com that some varieties don't produce much nectar . I did scatter
some sweet clover seed , didn't come up . Neither did the borage , bee balm
, penstemon ,or the hollyhocks - I may have waited too late . I have
reserved some of the seeds I bought , planned on scattering them this fall
in hopes they'd germinate next spring . I'd love to crowd some of the
grasses out with other stuff that's more bee-friendly .

depends upon the plant, but many seem to do better
when planted later in the summer and into the fall,
but some need disturbed soil, others need some action
to get the seeds down in far enough, others need a
bit of fire or heat, others need the cold and frozen
time that winter can provide. patience and watching
areas you've put things to see what sprouts when...

sometimes adding some potted plants will help get
a patch established.

oh, besides buckwheat, radish works well as a nursery
crop as it also grows quickly. some varieties of flax
are very nice to look at too, but it might be too late
to plant them down there (golden flax seeds i like more
than the black seeded types). radish blooms the second
season (as also the purple top turnips, beets and chards).


songbird

Terry Coombs wrote:
....
Looks like it is pennyroyal , and yes Steve , it is a member of the mint
family . I'll be getting some seeds ...

wish you were more local, i could happily have
you come over and dig up what's left of it.

for next season i forgot to mention the venerable
sunflower as they are later season flowers.

babies breath and mums are two other garden plants
we have which bloom later.

for a little earlier blooms the wallflowers are bee
magnets (if you like orange). for a little later
the buttefly weed (orange, yellow or reddish) are
also nice to look at. the flower clusters are the
same type as the milkweed, but the orange is a nice
change. these have been blooming for a little
while here, but it's one of my favorite wildflowers.
the pods are like the milkweed too, fuzz all over
blowing seeds around (the key to harvesting these
seeds is to pick the pods a little before they fully
split open and then you can hold the fuzz together
while taking the seeds off (he says after doing
several other fun things with pods, seeds and fuzz...
))...


songbird

In article ,
"Terry Coombs" wrote:
I planted some bee balm , never came up - maybe next spring .

find plants, if at all possible - then grow, divide, spread. Seeding is
chancy at best.

Also - goldenrod, thyme, lavender.

And this stuff I call false milkweed, but don't really know what it is.
Looks sorta like, but has purple flowers on top, and no pods.

The USDA suggests going out midday and having a look (hedgerows, other
power line easements, weedy roadsides) at what's getting worked to find
local plants/weeds that work in your area.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.

On Friday, August 7, 2015 at 8:39:47 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
...
Care to share what that invsasive plant was ? You mentioned that
bees were all over it , and I have a lot of areas here at The 12
Acre Wood where I can plant it and not care how invasive it is ...

almost everything we grow here is full sun
tolerant plants, so i'm not sure how well it would
fare in a woodland setting.

in nosing around i can't find the tag (we kept
them for everything we planted, but for some reason
not this one), but it would say that it is some
variety of penny royal.

i'd not put it in any place that might be grazed
or used as fodder because it can be toxic. i've
chewed on a few leaves over the years and kept
thinking it was a wimpy oregano that somehow got
in, but Ma kept calling it mosquito weed.


songbird

Looks like it is pennyroyal , and yes Steve , it is a member of the mint
family . I'll be getting some seeds ...

--
Snag

You might want to check with local beekeepers, most honey from mint plants is not palatable or saleable. It's alright if you can segregate the honey and leave it for the bees to eat. Buckwheat is pretty much the same. It's the darkest honey you ever saw with a medicinal aroma and taste. However it is popular with the modern "hippie" types who use it like medicine.

Not trying to be a know-it-all here, just trying to prevent some of the mistakes I made 40 or so years ago.

Steve