| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Mar 07 2005 : 2:23:15 PM
I am so proud of how nice my daffodils look right now. I wish they would be so pretty for months..they are one of favorites. I planted them the first fall we lived here and they get better each year. I plan to add to the grouping this fall. I have tulips and iris that will be next. They were here when I moved in. I was noticing touches of green in my herb garden this morning too..hooray!! and my little clump of Johnny Jump ups are as pretty as can be..right out under my big front window.
Spring is nearly here!! I need to hold myself back to keep from planting things too soon!!!!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Mar 21 2005 : 5:27:02 PM
WE had snow this morning...it didn't stick and it got up to 40 later today..real cloudy though...we are supposed to be having some sort of storm come in. I hope the girls (goats) don't pick tonight to have their babies!!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| Eileen |
Posted - Mar 21 2005 : 1:51:13 PM
Hi everyone,
Boy oh boy have we had a storm! Talk about a weather change! It was so windy that even with earplugs I could not sleep. Sounded like a freight train going over the top of the yurt. The rain was astonishing. we must have got about 3 inches in one afternoon. After having none for so long it is a welcome thing but it is just so much so fast that I think it has a hard time soaking in and we loose a lot of the benefit as it runs out to sea before soaking in. Things have perked up but the temperature went down to freezing again and everything is cold. Even the humming birds seem to be shivering and needing a lot more food so the fighting over the feeders is noisy.It has warmed up this afternoon and the sun is out here but there are still a lot of people without power as trees went down everywhere. We were fortunate in that none of our trees came crashing downI planted peas the day before the downpour and for some reason I decided to put a cover over them to keep out the birds. Glad I did or the rain would have washed them all out.
Having a wonderful day otherwise. Allergies are a problem here too especially now that the maple are pollinating but the rain helped to clear out the air.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Mar 21 2005 : 08:22:27 AM
Eileen, Did you get that rain I saw on the weather map in Washington?As I sit here I am enjoying a beautiful rain! We are supposed to recieve 2 inches this week! Thanks for the prayers! What a great gift for the first day of spring!!!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Mar 17 2005 : 7:34:53 PM
Thanks Clare for the link! Very informative...I printed it up to add to my garden references!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| Clare |
Posted - Mar 17 2005 : 09:22:40 AM
Eileen...The garden section every Thursday, for sure, and sometimes the arts and entertainment section on the weeked, are the extent of my newspaper reading.... part of my "limit the negativity input" health perspective! I agree, some new ideas to make taking care of my bulbs easier. Can't beat that! |
| Eileen |
Posted - Mar 17 2005 : 09:17:54 AM
Thanks Clare, I guess it is worth it to read the paper once in a while. If I had any idea I could move my bulbs in spring I would have saved chopping them in half while hunting for them in fall to move or divide them! I do a lot of what he suggest here to increase their effective impact on the gloomy spring grey skies that we usually have here. They are always in danger of over crowding here due to the fact i like to plant the bulbs in big boquets! To avoid the vole destruction of their root systems I plant in pots in some areas of my garden so they start as 4 to 6 bulbs in a 6 inch pot set in the ground and bloom for several years until they become so root bound I have to dig them up and divide them . Funny thing about those black plastic nursery pots, They seem to deteriorate underground and the bulbs break them open to spread beyond the original area I put them. When I dig them up it takes some time to detangle the root mass of dozens of young bulbs.
Still my crop multiplies. Some do not bloom again for 2 or 3 years after I treat them to this division but eventually they return to bloom again.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
| Clare |
Posted - Mar 17 2005 : 08:46:13 AM
Here's a link to an article on spring bulbs, specifically daffodils by master gardener, Ciscoe Morris. Some good tips here and things that I will be trying! Hope it helps y'all too! http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nwgardens/216224_ciscoe17.html
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
| marlyn |
Posted - Mar 17 2005 : 06:01:40 AM
Hard to believe you are so dry in one area and so wet in another. We are having yet more snow today, but on the whole have had a very weird winter with snow, melt downs and freezing rain. Most winters we have so much snow we don't know where to go with it. As the snow is beginning to melt down here now- for spring I hope, there is so much mud. I don't think commercial cleaners have ever been tested on country mud or dust for that matter. I was at my parents yesterday in the city where I usually clean my mom's house but I didn't need to dust, as there really wasn't any. Here on the farm the dust just cakes on in a matter of two days.I gave up on cleaners a long time ago and use a lot of vinegar now.
Simply Marlyn |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Mar 16 2005 : 1:47:51 PM
Thanks for the great tips! Eileen I can sympathize with you on the water situation!Washington must be set up differently on water than Kansas...we do have a vast aquifer here but it has been drastically lowered because of a 5-8yr long drought. I live surrounded by tilled fields and a dirt road that is heavily travelled by semi trucks. The dust problem is horrendous. I have been suffering most of the late winter from dust related problems, not to mention it is a challenge keeping our home clean and breathable! You had mentioned you were dealing in some kind of air filtration business...I would be very interested in any info on this. I will send prayers your way for the clouds to open up over your parched areas...and please send some my way too!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Mar 16 2005 : 1:25:10 PM
Quilcene area of Washington state, wish north Florida could send you some of the three inches we have had through the night and today. We are swamped!
jpbluesky |
| Eileen |
Posted - Mar 16 2005 : 08:46:49 AM
I have narcissus that have been in bloom for over a week now but my daffodills are just beginning to show color in the bud. Some that seem to get more shade are not even showing color yet so I think your daffodills are fine meadowlark.
The trick is as the others have indicated, this year right after they bloom do the bulb food feeding and next year they will be georgeous! Also this year mark where they are and after the green dies back, if they are too crowded you can dig them up and separate them. Always put a little bulb food or bone meal in the hole with a little soil just before you put in the bulb.
Today we are getting a wind storm that I hope is packing some much needed rain. Our state has already declared a water state of emergency and is beginning to set restrictions.
Everything here is so dry already that I am having to water!
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Mar 16 2005 : 04:38:21 AM
Perhaps a soluble bloom booster would help a little on your Daffodils, but it is the care given to the soil in which the bulbs live all year long that will really make a difference in it's blooming success. My hubby is the flower grower in our yard, and I concentrate on the vegetable garden, but I know he mulches and composts the soil all year and also thins the bulbs out when they become too numerous in one area, giving the bulbs room. Once they begin to bloom, everything is pretty much set. So get some of that bone meal, like Clare mentioned and baby them for the next blooming season! They will get better each year!
jpbluesky |
| Clare |
Posted - Mar 15 2005 : 8:43:09 PM
It's my understanding that after daffodils bloom it is important to leave the foliage alone until it deteriates on its own as this is a regenerative process for the bulb. Also, bone meal applied after blooming acts as a supportive fertilizer to strengthen the bulb for the next bloom cycle. |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Mar 15 2005 : 8:28:46 PM
I think mine are blooming now because they are next to a south facing wall up against the house. I have just enriched the soil a little with homemade compost and like that...it really isn't the best soil I guess. My tulips are not close to blooming yet and the iris are really overcrowded...dividing them was one of those things I didn't get done in the fall.Jenny... I don't think giving them a shot of liquid fertilizer would hurt...could jump start them into hurrying to bloom. Good luck!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| cecelia |
Posted - Mar 15 2005 : 5:40:53 PM
We now have more snow on the ground than we have had all winter - March is a strange month, and Spring arrives on Sunday. However, my daffodils are 6" tall already - though they won't be blooming for some time. Some of them are planted close to the back of the house, so the heat from the sun against the bricks warms the ground early. Can't wait for the blooms!
Cecelia
ce's farm
"Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery" Victor Hugo |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Mar 15 2005 : 4:31:22 PM
Question: Can one fertilize daffodils and tulips struggling to grow and bloom? I have noticed around my town spring flowers blooming everywhere and mine are barely up and growing. They are established and the early blooming variety...I guess I am just so anxious to see some color besides brown in my yard.
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Mar 15 2005 : 05:30:08 AM
Thanks jp for starting another thread on trailers...Now back to the food...Kim, what is an Italian beef? Sounds wonderful! Maybe I should start a new thread on "Farmgirl Picnic Fantasies" or something like that...
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Mar 15 2005 : 04:54:16 AM
Aunt Jenny - what a wonderful memory! I can just see your little face and your dog's face peeking out the top of the camper.
Meadowlark - My dad also had a dream like your dad's, and we did not have a trailer home but every summer we went to the farm in Iowa, and then we would continue on out West to Yellowstone and to Idaho, Montana and Colorado. The campgrounds were so cozy then and kids would get to know each other. Those family vacations were the best.
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Mar 14 2005 : 8:29:20 PM
I have always wanted one too...don't see it happening any time soon, but its a good dream. we had a cab over camper when our family went on vacation. I remember me and my dog being in the top watching out the front window...loved that!!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Mar 14 2005 : 5:42:55 PM
Airstream Trailers!!! Now that is a memory! When I was a child my very proper civil engineer father and devoted homemaker mother and my sister and I traveled the wild , wild west in the 60's in our '63 Biscayne Chevy hauling a factory fresh '64 Shasta travel trailer. We were true "road gypsies" stopping at every KOA campground between Illinois and Zion Natl. Park in Utah! My father drooled at the thought of being able to afford a gleaming silver Airstream to forfill his wanderlust for the "open roads" of America! Being a very frugal man, alas he never bought an airstream... But I have taken up the dream! I am always in search of that perfect old vintage silver beauty! What fun we all had those sweet years in that tiny trailer! Would love to join a farmchick caravan and go "avisitin'"...
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| Kim |
Posted - Mar 14 2005 : 3:46:20 PM
Since you can never have too many deviled eggs, I'll bring my Buffalo Wing DE's and I make a mean Italian Beef.
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Mar 14 2005 : 12:25:08 PM
Girls - pile into your Airstreams and come on down! Florida is no stranger to those! Strawberries are scrumptious ripe right now. And the evenings just right for sitting outside around a fire. And the welcome mat at my house is always out, in any weather!
The idea of progressive campfire dinners made me laugh in happiness. What a great idea! And I also loved the post from Marlyn, because I had the same thought last night when I was thinking of peach ice cream! We always stray a little from the main topics we begin, but we still have the same intent in mind! :) Spring, and food and friendship and gardening and country girls all in a row!
jpbluesky |
| Clare |
Posted - Mar 14 2005 : 12:10:02 PM
Me thinks we all need to "retire" and form a Farmgirl Caravan in those old 1940's silver trailers and go "avisitin"! Wouldn't that be a hoot!!?
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Mar 14 2005 : 11:52:24 AM
Mmmm...Black Forest cake Bramble LOL! Now that comment is going to get us all going in another direction away from daffodils again...Let's see...JP right now and her fresh fruits and anything that is green...Eileen and Clare in April or May with the berries and herbs and spinach...Bramble in June and strawberries, Aunt Jenny anytime with her fresh eggs from her hens...My cucumbers and beans put up in August from Kansas...and Margret,Robin and Marlyn in the early fall for apples, corn and pumpkins and lovely, crisp cool weather to enjoy! A progressive farmchick potluck that spans 6 months and all of the continent!
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. |
| bramble |
Posted - Mar 14 2005 : 09:49:43 AM
Marlyn, Margret and Robin-- Though not as northern as you girls we have been having a true winter this year with predictions for snow sleet and rain the rest of the week. But have faith---today is bright , crisp and sunny and I spied my crocuses peeking through the remnants of snow. I also saw a redtail hawk and a blue heron in the river today so...spring is rounding the corner!
As for the ice cream... June is strawberry season here, August for peaches! Just think if our "picnic" was like a progressive dinner and we ate our way across the country by what's in season! Jeannie, we would all be headed your way first!
with a happy heart |
