![greenspace](https://beehaw.org/pictrs/image/71cfa397-fb63-48da-97bf-979678f69a68.png?format=webp&thumbnail=48)
Nature and Gardening
- Need some advice with chilis,
So, the bag is labeled as "peperone" and they are growing well, but when do I water them, I've been doing daily. Also, how do I get rid of flies, baby flies are hatching in my pot and I want them gone, I need an organic and affordable solution for that too.
- What's growing on, Beehaw?
Our peas and beans are really starting to stretch and climb after some recent rains and warm days, which is always very exciting. However, our purple flowering raspberries have started showing off and they took my breath away.
What's growing on with you all?
- Bee Balm coming into flower
[Image description: the tubular red flowers of Monarda didyma begin to emerge from the flower head]
Let me tell you all how much I love this plant -
The red variety, Monarda didyma, attracts absolute droves of hummingbirds to our gardens, but the native purple flowered variety M. fistulosa does a fair amount of feeding their population as well. We also get scads of hummingbird sphinx moths, which are absolutely powerhouse pollinators.
We harvest leaves for drying and using as a native replacement for oregano flavor in recipes, but they also make a lovely tea. I like to blend them with lemon balm, apple leaves, or raspberry leaves in teas. Additionally, a blend of bergamot and New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) make a tea that's incredibly similar to an earl gray blend.
We also harvest flowers specifically for teas, as a number of First Nations peoples in our region would use the flowers to make tea for "dispirited hearts". We don't generally begin harvesting flowers until the first set has passed (for the pollinators), but anyone else growing this plant can encourage additional flowering by cutting the stem just above any node where two sets of leaves emerge on either side.
- Hey, little buddy!
cross-posted from: https://pixelfed.crimedad.work/p/crimedad/710904650365796010
> Hey, little buddy! > > I heard this little guy chirping in a bush while I was cleaning up some dog poop. He didn't flinch when I reached in with my camera to get this shot, so I reached in again and petted him gently with my finger. Hopefully, mom or dad will come back with some food soon. > > \#sparrow #fledgling #bird #birb > > @crosspost@lemmy.crimedad.work
- Community feedback requested
Hey !greenspace -
Tomorrow (Monday) evening I'll be giving a talk at my local library about biochar; last month I gave one about composting. I record these and post them on my yt channel, in part so the library's website can link to the science talks they've hosted. Are events like these something the community would be interested in?
Please let me know how you all feel about this - I know I sometimes post about aspects of my nursery business but do my best to not self-promote in this space.
More broadly, what are folks' expectations for those posting videos of their gardens or other original works? Are there some guidelines we can agree on as a community so folks feel more encouraged and confident in posting about what's growing on with them outside of the weekly post? Personally, I love watching garden tours of other people's spaces during my lunch breaks and would love to feel that connection with those of you who would like to share in that way.
Thank you for your feedback, whatever it may be, and for letting me post pictures of my plants for you all.
- The struggle
[Image description: a hand drawn flower with text that reads "Me meeting someone new. Them: I hear you're into native plants. Me: I don't think you're fully prepared for this conversation"]
- Milkweed flowers
[Image description: several delicate pink flowers announce that the rest of this common milkweed will bloom soon]
- Sedum after rain
[Image description: water droplets of varying sizes rest on the waxy leaves of a Sedum]
To be specific, it was reclassified to Hylotelephium telephium after genetic sequencing.
- What's growing on, Beehaw?
I've really been enjoying our haskaps (Lonicera caerulea) this week while waiting for the strawberries to ripen. The blackberries and raspberries have just been pollinated so there's still some time before those come into season, and the recent warm-but-not-too-warm weather has kicked our beans and tomatoes into gear.
What's growing on with you all?
- Bean teepee has begun
Blackberries cleared, teepee trellis is up, and beans are in. I dug up as many blackberry roots as I could find before putting down several layers of cardboard and then the sand. I assume I’ll be spending the rest of the growing season playing whack-a-mole with the blackberries.
Edit: formatting image link
- In Vermont, a Glimpse of a Plant Last Seen a Century Ago - The New York Times (Free article)
They found a plant thought to be extinct in the area. The article and people involved are extremely excited about their work. Well worth the read!
- Wild strawberries?
cross-posted from: https://pixelfed.crimedad.work/p/crimedad/705606624585230357
> Wild strawberries? > > Spotted them while mowing my lawn this afternoon. > > \#macro #strawberry > > @crosspost@lemmy.crimedad.work
- Light Pollution Platform de DarkSkyLab : Cartes de Pollution Lumineuse en France et dans le Mondewww.darkskylab.com Light Pollution Platform de DarkSkyLab : Cartes de Pollution Lumineuse en France et dans le Monde
Découvrez la Light Pollution Platform de DarkSkyLab pour visualiser les dernières cartes de pollution lumineuse, images satellites nocturnes et données sur l’éclairage artificiel partout dans le monde. Inscrivez-vous pour réaliser vos propres analyses de données et produire des indicateurs et des ca...
- Loaded for my first farmer's market this year
[Image description: the bed of my pickup truck is loaded with a bunch of plants]
We're bringing:
- Common Ninebark
- Black Chokeberry
- Lemon Balm
- Hoary Mountain Mint
- Dappled Willow
- Carolina Allspice
- Variegated grasses
- Spearmint
- Goji Berry
To a market we haven't been to as vendors before. A friend who is a baker recommended that we attend since it gets more foot traffic than the other markets she and I had been in last year. Wish me luck!
- mosquito bucket of doomsidewalknature.com Mosquito Bucket of Doom
Mosquito season is here! Instead of spraying pesticides onto our entire yards—and onto fireflies, ladybugs, bumblebees, and butterflies—why not kill *only* mosquitoes? But first: let’s PREVEN…
ordered some tablets to make a few of these after i saw the concept recommended on a local forum. can't wait to murder millions of (mosquito) children. 🦟
- What's growing on, Beehaw?
It's June and we have some fruits developing on our haskaps and strawberries; I think something has gotten to our serviceberries and plums though (curculio maybe). And so many more flowers!
Geraniums, Spurge, Lily of the Valley, and tricolor Willow: !
Rhododendron with a solitary bee: !
Some of the weeds have been going haam too; I think I removed about 2 miles of Asiatic Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) yesterday just from one garden area.
What's growing on with you all?
- Training and Pruning Your Home Orchardextension.oregonstate.edu Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard
Learn how to train and prune apple, pear, sweet cherry, sour cherry, peach, prune, plum, apricot, fig, persimmon, walnut, hazelnut and chestnut trees.
Here are some guidelines and techniques for training and pruning trees from Oregon State University's extension office.
How do you all manage your trees? Do you follow one of the methods listed here, or do you have another technique you'd like to share so others can try it out?
- What's growing on, Beehaw?
I was under some physical restrictions and bed rest orders last week, so this week has been a flurry of planting and weeding to get some more summer veg gardens up and running.
Our squashes and pumpkins are pretty much ready to be planted
And my front gardens are absolutely popping off now
What's growing on with you all?
- Outstanding Nectary Plants PDF - Eric Toensmeier
Here is a quick article on high impact plants for supporting pollinators from Eric Toensmeier, author of Edible Forest Gardens and other books. The list is focused on Eastern and Central North America temperate areas.
Don't feel like reading it? Here is a snapshot of the plants listed and their flowering periods:
Curious about the full list of plants from Edible Forest Gardens mentioned in the article? Check out this link here
- Advice Needed: Viable grass for a catio
Hey all, I've created a catio (cat patio) for my two cats in a window well next to my desk. They absolutely love it, but I would like to make it even better for them by using real grass. Currently, I have a pretty good artificial grass in there that they love to lay in and stays green year 'round, which is fine enough. But I would really love to give them some real grass (or moss) to lay on and maybe even munch on.
So, with that backstory, I would love to find a grass that has the following traits.
- Comfortable and safe for cats (both internally and externally)
- Stays relatively short since I can't exactly get a lawn mower
- Doesn't require a lot of sun
It would also be a bonus if it were okay with more arid climates, because I would prefer to minimize watering as much as possible.
My mind goes to something like Spanish Moss since it stays relatively short and is pretty comfy, but I'm not sure if that's the best option, so I wanted to ask people more experience than me.
Picture of the window well in its current state and one of its occupants for reference below.
And for anyone concerned, the well is closed in with a grate and some chicken wire so they can't slip out. They are not outdoor cats, but we do take them out on harnesses for walks. They are treated for pests like tics and mites as a precaution.
Thanks anyone who answers!
- What's growing on, Beehaw?
Things are greening up nicely following a few warm rains, and some of our earliest fruits are beginning to set. A little busy this week but I'll be sure to add some shots in a comment a little later.
As an aside, I really appreciate you all sharing what you're up to and enjoy getting to chat with you. I'd like to encourage you to check back in when you've seen some more comments since your last and see if you can provide additional advice or encouragement to others!
- The USDA’s gardening zones shifted. This map shows you what’s changed.apps.npr.org The USDA’s gardening zones shifted. This map shows you what’s changed in vivid detail
There's a good chance your zone shifted when the USDA updated its plant hardiness map in 2023. Zoom in on what that means for your garden.
- Starting a Serrano, a Hungarian cheese pepper, and a cherry tomato in my backyard!
I've mentioned it in the weekly thread but these are sitting an inch deep in nutrients and water. They drink it down, and I refill it when they need it. Its a hydroponic method called kratky. I don't have a hose or a lot of room so this might be a good solution for me. Excited to see how it goes!
- Looking for book recommendations
I would like to eventually begin growing my own food and herbs. Do any of you have good book recommendations for growing food, herbs, or possibly herbal medicine?
I know there are a million options, so a few places to start would be really helpful. I want to start with herbs in a raised planter. I’m in the midwest US, so I’ll bring the herbs into an indoor greenhouse cabinet during the winter.
The larger scale of trying to eat only my own vegetables and maybe chickens/goats would likely be in the distant future.
- What's growing on, Beehaw?
My indoor growing space is bursting at the seams with mountain mint and some very leggy tomatoes I'm babysitting for a friend while she's on vacation. The weather has been relatively pleasant though, so I've gotten a few more things potted and several more trays going now as well.
• Some grasses, elderberry, and Carolina allspice in pots with some hibiscus cuttings in the box !
• Chokeberries, more elderberries, a few types of raspberries, and a few lowbush blueberries I've managed to keep alive after transplanting !
• Even more chokeberries, and a whole other type of raspberry (these ones are red) !
• Another round of brassicas started !
• My worksite supervisor taking a break under a second type of mountain mint I'm growing this year !
What's growing on with you all?
- Everything is so green all of a sudden.
cross-posted from: https://pixelfed.crimedad.work/p/crimedad/692861243492956253
> Everything is so green all of a sudden. > > \#backyard #lush #lawn #springtime > > @crosspost@lemmy.crimedad.work
- What's growing on, Beehaw?
Potting continues here; there are almost eighty elderberries hanging out in our front yard right now in addition to the others (happy to share what the others are if anyone is actually curious). Overnight temperatures are still a little low for some of the transplants potted up this past week and I am running out of shelf space under lights indoors.
Our gardens up front are waking up and they always fill me with joy:
What's growing on with you all?
- What's growing on, Beehaw?
We're halfway through potting up all the plants we've overwintered, but are looking at temps below freezing for the next two nights. Today will be about getting covers ready for everything and setting up ambient warmth for several of our plants that are currently flowering. On my way home from a doctor's appointment, I stopped to pick up a cutting of a curly willow (Salix matsudana) from a woman in town whose tree was damaged in a recent snow storm.
This one cutting was turned into a dozen after I got home. I've planted out three or four and the remaining sections were loosely bundled and placed into our five gallon bucket with several other varieties of willow we're rooting in water.
What's growing on with you all?
- GoPro | Rare View of Humpback Whale Family 🎬 Nathan McBride #Shorts #Whaleswww.youtube.com GoPro | Rare View of Humpback Whale Family 🎬 Nathan McBride #Shorts #Whales
Happy Earth Day from the Pacific Ocean 🌎 GoPro Subscriber Nathan McBride was lucky enough to capture this mother + calf humpback whale off the coast of Cabo...
- Preparing our Denver Garden for Spring | The Quiet Part
YouTube Video
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- Emperor penguin chicks jump off a 50-foot cliff in Antarctica NEVER-BEFORE-FILMED FOR TV | Nat Geo
YouTube Video
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- Mini tour of a mini garden. Micro scale FTW!
YouTube Video
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Here's a little inspiration for folks with small plots and big dreams - Bulgarian homestead on 500m² / ⅛ acre