came from
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1406488/#new
where we were enjoying balmy breezes and sunshine through the leaves.
Friends and neighbors, newbies and oldbies, welcome to post about general yard stuff. What do you do with your leaves? Do you use pine needle to mulch? Do you compost? Got bulbs yet to plant? Potted plants all in for winter?
....
I need to move the remaining potted plants to the backyard either tomorrow or Saturday morning.
The girls in my neighborhood are really sweet, but the boys do get into mischief on Halloween, and I don't want my pots to get damaged. :/
I've never lived somewhere that had well water and didn't realize you'd need a separate pump for it. Aren't gyms great, Sally? An extra shower when you need it! LOL
Last night's storm resulted in a carpet of leaves on my front yard. I wish DH would use the mulching mower function and leave the shredded leaves on the lawn, but he says the mower just blows everything at his feet which he hates.
We got about an inch. Just about perfect!
I used to hate mulching too SSG. The mower doesn't mow as good when you mulch. Our mower now allows me to mulch some and bag some. When I'm saving leaves, I adjust the shoot cover to full open and then they all fly in the bag. When mowing normally, I keep it open halfway.
I do have bulbs to plant. I've planted none yet because that's usually one of the last things I do. I'm still working on caging the smaller shrubs to keep the hungry rabbits at bay. All the perennials need to come down yet but some are still blooming so I want to hold off for now. If we could only get that killing freeze. This weekend I'll be mowing, getting pine needles for when the perennials go dormant, planting some perennials, cagining...it will be a full day for sure.
OMG!!!! In two days it IS Halloween!!!! AARRGGHHHH....Already????
I will have to dig through all my candy stashes to come up with some
to pass out--IF anyone comes???? Usually, I don't get any kids.
This has become an "old" neighborhood. No kids around of any age.
Still---have to be ready--just in case.....
Time to put my plastic pumpkin head over the light by my front door.
That's all the "welcome" they'll get.
What do I do with my leaves? I rake them up in big piles and then
go at it with my NEW Blower/Vac. Sucking them up from piles is a lot
easier than from the ground.
Then I put the shredded leaves in black trash bags and--usually--stash them
under my small shrubs by the patio--but the bags from 2 years ago are still there,
so I have nowhere to put them...:o(.
That was the 1st raking. The lawn is covered again..Will have one more go at it.
I may just sprinkle the shredded leaves over my beds as mulch. I know they will low around--
any way I van get around that? I know someone will say--"Dig them in"--but
that is a no-go for me. Maybe a good rain will pack them down?
Jeff--
I have not bagged my mowed clippings in my memory when? Almost never!
I always mulch my grass as I mow. It is good for the lawn.
BUT--here is an odd side-effect. I really think the height of my front lawn has increased
maybe a foot or more since II have lived here... to the extent that it has buried
the sewer clean-out pipe TWICE! By now--I have NO idea exactly WHERE it is??
When I look at pictures of my house in it's earlier years,the front lawn is FLAT.
Now it is like a gentle slope towards the street. Weird.....
Some years ago--I had the County sewer service to come out and ream out the sewer line
from the clean-out to the street. Back then--the clean-out pipe was already buried.
They bitched at me and put on a PVC extension maybe 10" long.
It has been GONE now for years!!! I could give an approx. area of 3' x 3' where it is.
I would love to have some pine needles--but I would have to get in my car, drive 1 mi.
ti the Middle School's grounds and there, on a hillside, are 2 old pine trees
and the ground below them is covered with needles.
Not sure I want them THAT badly. Gita
Sally, the only disadvantage about constant pressure pumps that I can think of is: when you have a loss of power, you have no H2O. While with the tank you have some on a well maintained system you may have 30 gals +. The boys and I have pulled our pump at least 3 times in almost 40 years, twice for repair and once to replace the main pump. It's a major undertaking. The only recommendations I have is: add an additional check valve above the pump ($15-51)http://www.wayfair.com/Flotec-1-Well-Pump-Brass-Check-Valve-TC2502LF-L922-K~YJX1032.html?refid=MX2648563770-BPA49-YJX1032&device=c&ptid=YJX1032, If your drop pipe is ABS (old brittle plastic), replace it with PVC or butyl, and if you only have pipe guides on the drop pipe add a torque arrest device above the pump, it looks like a black foot ball that is expanded on the pipe http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-Torque-Arrestor-EBTA4-8/205618069?cm_mmc=shopping-_-bingpa-_-26-_-205618069&ci_src=328768002&ci_sku=205618069&gclid=CMmQvvrj6MgCFQWRNwodq-YHHQ&gclsrc=ds , also make sure they insall a new safety rope. I imagine your well pump replacement will be at least $3400, to start. Your area maybe more, but adding 1-$200 in cost maybe worth it. After installation you may want to purge you well with some Chlorox (1/2 to 1 gal.) to ensue it has not been compromised by coliform bacteria or anything else.
the new pump is down there, no going back now....
I will try to keep some water on hand re that power out potential. Note to self- keep buckets filled. We can fill up a 30 gal plastic barrel I have, and cap it. With neighbors all around and dense suburbia, we can get by.
edit- just noticed that Ric gave me a big helping hand- I had forgotten to add the link to new thread from last one.
Way to watch my back, buddy!
This message was edited Oct 30, 2015 1:26 AM
I think the photo contest is over for submitting new pics.
You have until 8 PM Pacific Time on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 to enter your photos into the 2015 Photography Contest.
Read more: http://davesgarden.com/contest/2015-photo-contest/#ixzz3q4zJi082
I started looking through the entries last night and voted on a couple of categories.
I look forward to doing the same...I also cannot believe how bad some of the entries are!
I like to see the entries in full screen. It is amazing how fast i can decide on "NO"...
Then--going through the elimination of my favorites is hard...
However--it is a good system they have--so the elimination from X# of favorites
just happens...
Gita
I am still pulling up annuals--no matter what.
Then will rake the beds clean and see what else has to go.
My Cherry Tomatoes are still fruiting. Have to wait to pull those up.
Will try to use up the newly shredded leaves as mulch.
Got nowhere to stash the bags-full.
Need to rake the leaves one more time....I think they are all done falling...
Jeff---
I still have not planted the Ratibida pinnata and the Penstemon Digitalis
you gave me at the Swap. .Sorry! They are alive and OK.
My beds were so full of stuff and junk I just could not find a spot.
Still not sure exactly WHAT spot to plant them in--if it isn't too late...
Tell me I can still do it.............Tell me they will be OK...............please......
Could they stay in pots all winter??? probably not......
Gita
My kalmia have not flowered in ten-odd years yet they all have red berries. What's up with that?
Jeff--
After looking into these two plants--there is NO way I can grow them in my garden.
They need a meadow! A field somewhere! Somewhere with an acre of land...
I'll see if Olga will allow me to plant them in her BIG empty bed.
If not--they will go Bye-Bye! Sorry.
Gita
I'm going to try and design a protective cage for our fig. The last 2 years it has died back to the ground due to winterkill. This was the first year it has produced fruit so I'm figuring I can with some work end up with more than a bush.
Ric--
When my neighbor, Olgas DH was stil lalive, he used to 'insulate" cover the
lower part of his Fig Tree. Of course--his tree was already huge!
It was aand is so very special to them--as it started out as a smuggled cutting
in a suit case from Spain. No one wants to own the ones I grew from cuttings.
No one wants to take care of it--ut they ALL want one because it was their Dad's.
His son and his Grand-sons--they all want HIS Fig.
WHY am I the only one that has cared for them making sure they grow and survive???
Yes--the last two winters did a number on the figs. Also all the Hydrangeas.
But--they all re-grew from the base. Life goes on...
Mine is now in its 3rd year from a cutting. No figs yet. I bet next year i will have some (???).
I plan to haul it inside this winter. It is in a 14" pot and about 4' tall now.
I will never have a place to plant it into soil, so it will have to fend in a pot.
I do not really want it or need it--but I grew it from a cutting, so I am curious just
how far I can get with it in the pot.
It is ALL an experiment. A labor of love.... G.
Gita, I got my fig from you!!!
No Ric ours didn't come from Gita. It came from Critter and extra one that she picked up. Ours is a Chicago Hardy
maybe this will keep the rabbits away
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BCHPAFK/ref=dra_a_sm_mr_ho_it_P3073_100?tag=dradisplay-20&ascsubtag=3c2287728123cd46eaadcc1ce71bb175_S
Zombie Gnome!
Meanwhile- I dug up the offspring of the tiny Rudbeckia Triloba baby I got this spring. HUGE. Just one of them will turn into a patch 2 feet across easily, next summer. And I have about TEN hearty offsets .
And I dug up two hostas, because they will be laying the pump electrical across the front flowerbed. Although- maybe I should tell them where I want to wire to go, NOT in a straight line because THAT would be right through where I liked those hostas. We're hazy on how deep they want to go... and I'm wondering if I'll want to divide the hostas, as long as they're are up...
Eeww....that's a gruesome-looking gnome (great for Halloween, though!).
Definitely divide the hostas; you'll be glad you did.
is there a 'minimum' number of buds/eyes per division? These aren't huge, just nice size this year, probably/maybe would need dividing next if I don't now.
Eewww...that gnome is freaky!
Gita, the penstemon digitalis doesn't need a meadow and it might even do well in your YUK bed. I'd grow them in those pots until they get to planting size. If you plant them as they are in an established bed, they will quickly get run over by the neighbors.
That gnome is terrible. My sister just bought a house that has gnomes (the non-gruesome type) everywhere in the garden...anyone want some?...she does not want them.
This weekend I put my girls to work and we dug up all my canna lily bulbs. We had such fun. (Sorry if the pics are sideways )
Also got some pots put away for the winter and some seeds sorted and put away and ready for the Robin and for my storage.
All in all a great weekend.
Cute pics Marta! Nice to have little helpers out there.
Digging tubers is fun, like treasure hunting...cute!
Nice pics of the girls Marta. Sounds like you had a great weekend. I did odds and ends of things inside, and the weekend flew by without me getting out there to do anything. Still have the fall bulbs to plant.
Cute picture!
Gita, I have my Penstemon in my small yard with no problem at all. They don't spread wildly or need frequent dividing. They don't take up a lot of room at all.
Nice pics Marta, also nice to have young helpers. I just delivered the last of our tenders perennials to Josh's basement on Halloween evening. They were having a street party for Halloween and all seemed to be having a good time greeting all the Trick or Treaters.
FALL that time of year that every time you mow, you hope it's the last time. LOL
I love mowing in the fall because you can see the progress you're making in cleaning up the leaves.
LOL Jeff, I spent the day putting my perennial garden beds, to bed, and mowing. I weeded the strawberries and aspergras, treated with Preen, and mulched with straw. I hope to finish the mowing tomorrow. The straw for the strawberries I ran through the mower bagger to make it finer. Now all I have to do is dig a big ditch and line it with newspaper for our pond plants. Since many of our pond plants are truly bog plants they need a more stable environment than a shallow pond or container for winter storage. I just love this baby bear weather, not too hot, not too cold, just right.
Ric, I have pond plants that really are bog plants too, and I wasn't sure what I should do with them. I'm interested in your plans....after you dig the ditch and line it with newspaper, what will you do?
Sounds like a busy day Ric!
The soil temperature has been so warm that I have dandelions blooming in my yard. In November!
I'm still going to wait as long as possible to bring in the last of the containers. The aroids are not even close to going dormant. And the citrus might finish ripening outside this fall!
But the zoysia grass has already gone dormant and won't need to be mowed until late April at the earliest.
haha. We have plenty of dandelions but I haven't spotted any blooms. Has the zoysia turned tan?
Well, I don't see frost for another week. Some of mine are small and tucked against the warm wall. I really don't see bugs, but there are Salvia and marigolds if they need flowers.
Yes the zoysia has been tan for awhile now.
We're now getting mosquitos around here. Boooooo!
Those suckers! And you oughta know...poor 'canary'!
Yesterday, I got ambitious and thought I would try to remove the brown dead crab grass
patches from my lawn out front. You can just see the areas where the crab grass grew--
ugly, dry and brown patches.
Got my long-handled cultivator and hatched away. Pulled up as much as i could.
In a way, it is probably a lost cause....but I thought I would do it anyway.
Leaf-rake cleaned up some of the smaller clumps left.
Why am I telling you this? Because--every dead clump of crab grass had small
new green leaves growing from it. So much for all this warm weather....
Maybe I should use a weed-killer on them? Nice, fresh, new growths....BAM!
77 degrees predicted today!!!! New record!
Those early frost-nights a month ago sure messed everything up.
Look!
I wouldn't waste your time with weed killer on the crabgrass. It's annual so it's demise is on the way.
Gita, reseeding those spots you've cleared my be worth while. I'm going to do that to mine. Trying to get some leaves mulched for on the beds.
Muddy, I just cover them with more paper and bury them. It makes them easy to find and fairly clean. Most of the time the paper needs to be moved to the compost, it doesn't break down in 1 season.
I wasn't sure what to do with the bog plants that were in floating containers in the pond but, after some online research, I concluded that I should follow Ric's lead and make a bog. They're now "planted", still in pots, in a ditch I lined with extra pond liner with a few holes punched through.
I still see bees around. I almost stepped on a bumblebee today, so picked it up and put it on a New England Aster that's still in full bloom. It started nectaring right away.
Edited to add that my post crossed with yours, Ric. Thanks for the advice!
This message was edited Nov 6, 2015 1:05 PM
