It's time for a new weather forum. April's here and things are at least two weeks early (maybe three!) in my garden. Yesterday it was 88 and sunny - today it's supposed to hit 79 with a chance of rain... I hope so, because it's getting dry in my garden.
Pic 1 is a group of "Sum and Substance" hostas as they look today. Pic 2 is how they looked on April 26, 2011 - three full weeks later! This warm weather has certainly affected the growth in my garden!
It is overcast now, warm and muggy, it has been sprinkling. It says a high of 80 with a 40% chance of rain, but it's closer to 100% here, it is 76° now. I figure a heavy sprinkle is just right for watering plants. - http://www.kshb.com/subindex/weather/forecast/7_day_forecast
Yikes! That's what I have to look forward to?! I think the clay is keeping my 'Sum And Substance' from getting big too fast here. I expected big though, hope they get as big as yours.
Mine were small when I bought my 3 'Sum And Substance's 2 years ago, they were only $5.99 ea. at Kmart, maybe they won't be huge for a couple years.
If your soil is heavy, the "Sum and Substance" (or any other hosta, for that matter) definitely won't reach their full potential. They really need to have very loose, well-drained soil to thrive.
If I were you, I'd dig them up (now, while the full growing season is still before you), pull most of the dirt off the roots and re-plant them. While you have them out of the ground, dig a much bigger hole and fill it with compost (I use a horse manure/straw mix that I pick up at a local stable - they pile it up and after a few months, it has formed a nice, loose compost). Plant your "S&S" in the compost and add more to fill the hole. Water them and stand back!
Thanks, I have a couple that are planted in clayey soil, the rest are still in pots, I'll do that when I plant them. It'll be kinda difficult to dig the other 2 and repot, I have weedfabric in there and it's not really the ground, it's a rectangular patch that I filled in with soil that was dug up when we had the deck built. I think at the most it might be 8 inches deep of that soil, but I want them to thrive so I may be digging them up and repotting. Right now, it's a Francee and a Blue Angel in there. There is 2 Heucheras, 2 Ligularias and a Ghost Fern also in there. -
Here is the spot today, the Hostas are sprouting finally.
Hot and humid til the rain moved in this morning. Moved in much earlier than was supposed to. Oh well. We need it. Just wish it helped me pull the chickweed!!!
It is hot this afternoon but must not complain, beautiful Hawaiian weather. We have been praying for it and now we have it.
Billyporter - Been in Hawaii 36 years. Raised in England before that. The soil arrived yesterday evening. Its almost black. Looks good. Turns out the guy thats selling it gets large loads of free green waste mulch from the County. The County has mountains of green waste that they grind up into mulch and then give it away free. Trouble is you need space to let it sit for 6 months to a year to rot down. This guy does just that. He adds fish water from his ponds, manure from his animals and then heats it up, turns it and breaks it down into what we had delivered. He does all the work and us gardeners get the benefits for a price. He is stretching things to describe it as organic. I had 10 ton of County mulch delivered some years ago and found plastic bottle tops, golf balls, nails and all sorts of junk in it. It is also known that they add broken pallets to the heap and who know if they are termited treated. I'm happy. I now have a 2 cubic yard pile of potting soil just waiting to be used.
High 83, cold front moving in, 30% chance of rain, which we still need.
Took the plants out of the GH so if it does rain they can all have a drink now.
Need to get some seeds planted and plants, esp. plumies repotted.......
Still working at Mom's. Hopefully it'll be cooler in the garage with the cool front coming in.
Happy Easter Everyone!
Jeanne
51°/67°/38°
Partly cloudy. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph.
Thanks Lea,
I think we're about that far ahead here in Iowa. A month for some things and then we're to be down to 31° Thursday night. I hope nothing is damaged as so much is starting to bloom. Especially the lilliput iris.
Wow! Isn't that some difference in the hostas!
Will,
Your weather has the same daytime temps as mine, but my nights are much cooler.
Pepper,
Chickweed and dandelions are what I've been concentrating on. We aren't getting much rain so I've been out every day, all day...
Mike,
Wow, 36 years in Hawaii and England first. You've seen a bit of the world :o)
Awesome on the compost!
Jeanne,
I peeked at my seeds and was suprised to see them sprouting already! I took them outside yesterday for some fresh air, LOL! They'll have to stay in now since we won't be in the 70's this week.
80 degrees yesterday, in the 60'S today, raining near ,not here though.lot's growing ,be back later with the pic's
Low 60s for a high, cloudy and sprinkles a couple of times.
I didn't get anything done outside today. Grrr.... I have decided that I will still pull the chickweed out of the garden but cardboard is going down after that to really kill it. I'm putting tomatoes in buckets this year so that will go on top of the cardboard. Everything else I will cut holes out for them. Except potatoes and onions and they will have a bare patch open. It's the only way I can control weeds this year in the veggie bed. Everywhere else it's handweeding when I get a chance. Well, one other bed will have cardboard on it but it's bare so the cardboard will help me create a new and better bed.
I have a few garden pics but none on the computer yet. Busy working this week. A couple hours today to help unload plants for the greenhouse and about 6 hours on Sunday for our BBQ cookout we do to bring in customers.
A few yellow and red tomato seedlings, lettuce, and spinach, we will see if after next week, as there outside.
46°/62°/30°
Mostly cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph.
Juhur,
We love pictures!
The seedlings look great! Mine shot up before I knew it and I didn't have the lights on. They got leggy fast. Luckily, when I transplant the tomatoes and peppers, I can sink them.
Pepper,
The cardboard with tomatoes on top to hold it down is a great idea! I never have any luck planting veggies in pots. I think I overwater. Any way... if you are lucky you'll kill any seeds too. Maybe preen and water in first.
YUM! I'd come for the BBQ!
We had a full moon with a fog of clouds around it . Two long jet trails ran paralell right beside it and I could see other clouds. Neat sky for being five in the morning
The warm temps have brought spring to my yard. I just hope Mother Nature takes pity on me.
I took all these yesterday
Today is 58 tonight31 or so, same tomorrow approx.Two freezes in that forecast for two days later this week.
The lettuce and spinach are in SWC's so I don't have to bother much about watering.And I'm not all that worried about the cold with them as i've seen them easily survive 28 degree freeze or frost.
Nice pic's also to you billyporter,and does Mothernature ever take pity on anyone?
She reminds me that she's predator number #1!!
Cool (59 degrees at 1:45 pm) and partly cloudy. Overnight low in the low 40's - perfect growing weather for the hostas. We've had (very) light rain for the last 24 hours. Not enough to do any good, but it made spots in the oak pollen dust on my car (LOL).
Why can't we have had this weather last week, instead of the heat that fried my tulips?
Chilly this morning and when the sun came out we warmed up to lower 60s. Not too bad once it warmed up.
Bp, Preen won't do much good in that bed. I'm fighting roots. Hence the cardboard. I have to take the potato fork hopefully tomorrow and loosen them up some before pulling.
Wet most of the day yesterday while we were over on the hot side of the island. Drier by cloudy today
Having trouble sending multiple photos. Took my wife to a local truck stop for lunch :). This was the view behind us at the restaurant table
Second picture is Mauna Loa Volcano that was on our left as we drove across the center of the island.
Lunch was actually at one of the luxury resorts on the Kona coast. Here is a photo of Mauna kea that was on our right as we drove across the island. Both mountains are about 12,000.
Also another photo from our lunch stop.
Man oh, man, what I would'nt give to be there tonght and tomorrow,Brrrrrrrrr!!!!!
33°/62°/36°/
Plentiful sunshine. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph.
Juhur,
No she doesn't!!! LOL! Father Time isn't very kind either :o)
Lea,
Awwww, your tulips!
Oh Pepper,
Roots are bad. I think the cardboard will at least kill thise under. If they sneak up around it they can be sprayed or mown off.
Mike,
Of all the wide open scenery, I notice your wonderful highway first!
Oh, now that is picture perfect. How could you not touch the water everytime you saw it?
Neat volcano picture too! It covers a very large area!
LOVE the statue!!
Juhur,
You and me both!! It's beautiful there!
My neighbor called me last night. She had been talking to the nursery that comes out to planrt trees for her. They told her our 30° temps shouldn't hurt anything. I'm waiting for the sun to come up, but I don't think anything here will be hurt.
I think we got to 30º last night, too. The ground is not frozen so everything here should be fine, too. No frost, just snow. About an inch or so. It's almost gone now.
Mike, thank you for those pics. Makes me homesick but I feel calmer now. LOL
Another ho-hum day. We've had a lot of them this spring. 50º to 60º, sunshine & windy.
Hired a collage grad to be head gardener this summer. She has a BS in horticulture from U of MN.
She cleaned up my flower bed. Really nice work.
Cold this morning. Actually was chilly if you weren't out there for long but I was out in the greenhouse picking off dead blooms and my fingers got numb after a few minutes. lol. Much warmer this afternoon with temps in the low 60s and sunny. Gonna be this way for the foreseeable future. Highs in 60s, lows in 40s or 30s.
Still plan of posting pics soon but am swamped so haven't had time to download them. I will get there soon!!! I hope.
Man, was it cold here last night 30degrees at midnght and was still getting colder,Well, two more frosts to go.60's and sunny today that's what it's suppose to be all week. I'll be glad when the cold moves on.
Sure glad you are getting frost instead of us. Low overnight was 49º. Today in 60's.
Sounds like today and tonight here , should I wish you an Easter or May blizzard?{LOL}.
That's evil, Juhur! LOL!!!
We hit 60º today after a low of 29º last night. I covered up a couple of birdhouse gourd plants but they're dead anyway. Oh well...time to start again!
60s for a high and cloudy all day. A few sprinkles here and there but not enough to make any difference.
Kept most of the plants in the greenhouse at work again. I'm not even bringing them out during the day. Just too cool out. I'm so glad I haven't started my garden yet!!!
Frequent moderate rain showers, occassional blustery winds, just a little sun this afternoon, temp never went over 70f.
Supposed to dry out over night and tomorrow am, then another period of showery rain Sunday pm and Monday.
I guess our perfect Hawaiian weather took a break again.
Waterlilies will never get going without more sun.
Was able to get Gloxinia seeds in a tray. Not sure if I will succeed with them.
Fuchsias going crazy with buds and blooms
Same here as Pepper, overcast most of the day and kinda gloomy. I have noticed the big stores have already put annuals and stuff out and have had out for a few days, I hope they don't get a suprise! Hi billyp, your temps seem like they'd be a little more iffy on bringing stuff out early, I'd be pulling my hair out there! I'm not bringing anything out early here except a Wandering Jew plant, for a houseplant they can go down to 15 or 20 degrees.
The nites get cool! The ac was on then I turned the heat back on.
The cool weather here today (hovering around 60) was perfect for a day of work in the garden. Low in the 40's tonight, which is seasonally correct. I saw this bleeding heart blooming today and could not resist a photo.
35°/68°/38°
Plenty of sunshine. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph.
The only frost damage I had was to the butterfly bush. The leaves on top had blackened patches, but I don't think it will affect any blooms. Naturally it's out way too early. Everything else looked great and the bleeding hearts are blooming away!
The little lilliput iris are also all coming into bloom and are a nice show of color. Add that to green green grass and it's looking good here!
I had hung clothes out yesterday morning and was going to mow after dinner. We had a piddling rain move in and ruin that. So, I'll be working out today. I really need the exercise. I haven't done much since we had the boys. We walked, but they don't power walk, LOL!
Bernie,
Is she the same girl you had last year? Wow! Very nice work!
Pepper,
I hear ya! I just unload the camera and then go take more pictures, LOL!
Juhur,
Cracking UP! We could very well have a May Blizzard!
Aww Celia,
I hope you have more gourd seed :o(
Beautiful Forsythia! We have yards full of the most beautiful flowering trees, shrubs and lilacs around town. Just gorgeous! I hope the sun comes out and it warms up because we can't smell them on the air yet.
Mike,
You have to have bad weather days to fully appreciate the good days :o)
Shortleaf,
I saw Walmart bringing things out too, but I know better than to be tempted by anything yet. Not even pansies.
Lea,
I just love the Bleeding Hearts!
Have a sunny Sunday everyone!!
No, this is a different girl. Fresh out of collage & happy to be working in the dirt. Said she was stuck behind a computer in all her jobs through school.
Faint rain yesterday, totaled .01", wow!
Cloudy & windy today.
Sally, I went to HD to get more and found one more kid pack with gourd seeds. I got it home...it has no seeds in it! Somebody took them. Now, I have to go back and try to find them somewhere else.
70º toady, sunny and beautiful.
42°/62°/29°
Windy with sunshine. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph
Bernie,
I hope she really likes her job. Being outside gives you a different outlook!
Celia,
I read that with my mouth hanging open. Someone was low enough to steal seeds from a packet. Then I just had to laugh at the chance of that happening! I hope they really needed them.
Freeze watch tonight and I am so hoping we miss it. Everything is green and blooming. I mowed yesterday!
Sally, it was one of those little cups that have growing medium and instructions for kids. It was probably a kid who took them.
75º-80º today. Woohoo. Snow later in the week. No...really.
56°/83° Sunny
Boy did I have a lot to catch up on. Love all the garden photos. Billy love the old house, so cool to have the foundation where you grew up making a garden plot for you. I wish I had that much land for gardens. Sorry so many got a dip again in temps, that always seems to happen around the first of April, even way down here....I guess that is Mother Nature's April Fools.
We had three days get up to 90 last week, a taste of summer, but then a front cooled us back down, not near enough rain that we so desperately need. But this weekend and today are lovely. Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend.
Some photos of my little backyard garden end of March.
Temps shot up to 70 today with some nice sunshine. Enjoying it while it lasts!!
Grey skies, light to moderate rain showers, no sun, temp never went above 65f today. Its pounding down again right now.
Enjoyed the garden pics Sunkissed.
I remembered a garden we drove past in Kaneohe on Oahu. It was a small lot and the only open space was just enough room for the owner to park their car just inside the gate. The rest of the yard was totally imersed in plants, either in the ground, in pots on in hanging baskets. You could not see the house. Plants were hanging over the sidewalk. Narrow allyways between the plants indicated how to get to the house. All the plants were healthy with many varieties..
That was my dream garden when I lived on Oahu. Now I still want to have my yard planted to that intensity but with a couple of acres it means thousands more plants. I did nail up a 20 foot metal rail between two trees last week for hanging baskets. The lawn is slowly shrinking. so I'm moving in the right direction..
