Winter Gardening
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- biogardener
- TCfromKY
- Gay_Klok
- Howie
- MaggieM
- Howie
- biogardener
- Gay_Klok
- Gay_Klok
- Gay_Klok
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» biogardener - Are you kidding?
Are you kidding, Gay? The longer the winter, the shorter the growing season, and the harder we have to work to get accomplished in 5 months what others do in 8. In the summer, we garden day and night, or else we would starve.-- posted by biogardener
» TCfromKY - Re: Winter gardening
In response to Winter gardening posted by Gay_Klok:We love to start seeds here too! As a matter of fact, be sure to read my article on Monday.
I've always wondered what it'd be like to garden somewhere that has no seasonal differentiational (is that a word?) zones. I don't think I'd like weeding 12 months a year or deadheading twice a year either.
-- posted by TCfromKY
» Gay_Klok - Re: Re: Winter gardening
In response to Re: Winter gardening posted by TCfromKY:Tasmania is the coolest state of Australia, next big area of land, down South, is the South Pole!
So, we do have seasons and Autumn colours. But classified as temperate cool, approx American 7 - we do not have a good system in Australia. I also think that only temps are taken into consideration in these gradings, not rain, wind or sun hours. We are about the same as the warmest gardens in England and Ireland.
But, Traute, the weeds do grow all year and if I manage to have more than a weekend away, it is all hands to the wheel, to mix metaphors
-- posted by Gay_Klok
» Howie - Re: Re: Re: Winter gardening
In response to Re: Re: Winter gardening posted by Gay_Klok:<img src="http://www.suite101.com/files/topics/319/files/AnimatedGardenAdventures.gif" width="85" height="60" alt="Photographed by Lake Matheson, New Zealand, 24,854 bytes" align="left">I just knew, somewhere lurking in the dark, there was at least one single advantage in gardening in the North. It is weeds. For months out of the year we do not have to pull them out from under the snow. Traute and I have it over you in at least one respect, although a poor one.
-- posted by Howie
» MaggieM - Re: Re: Re: Re: Winter gardening
Dear Howie - greetings from the other side of Lake Ontario! Yes, we have it over Gay with the weeds. And I could not do it as religiously as gay must, but I wish I could go and spend a wek or two helping her and Kees out on that front at this time of the year.I am a plant tender and seed starter too. My tending is limited due to my lack of good winter light from windows. I do now have two pots of spring bulbs on my dining room table (hyacinths and tulips - tulips destined for my office desk because I am starved and only tending a fool-proof snake plant in my windowless, dry office.
I do have at home two pale pink geraniums ivy-leaf that I bought at bargain prices from one of my favourite plant people at my local farmers market late last summer. Can't be propgated by seed. Never got re-potted from his containers, so I just clipped off the flower stalks and parked them with the catcti in the only window I have that will sustain any sun-loving life over winter. They are OK, have continued to put up flowers. Now, comes the DECISION! Do I re-pot and cut them way back at the end of Feb. or do I slip them? I have ordered seeds and find that I have so little space for seeds/baby plants since I must set up my one light bar on the desk/table in the TV/guest/pets' room, so I need you, or someone else to tell me if I can do the re-pot/clip. I think I'll do it anyway, since I don't have space for any baby plants that aren't seed started (march-April) or the "plugs" that will come when space is a huge issue for me in April! Help
Maggie
-- posted by MaggieM
» Howie - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Winter gardening
In response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Winter gardening posted by MaggieM:What I have done with geraniums is to make cuttings from the growing tip and rooting those. Geraniums are susceptible to some disease which starts at the bottom. However, I have successfully also cut them back, did not repot them, and left them overwinter in the basement, 55F, 13C, with a modest amount of light from windows. They were in a reasonably large pot. If yours are in sub miniature pots, you should repot them.
I am fortunate in having a walk out basement with windows on three sides. This is my winter gardening room. A heated tray for starting seeds and a bank of eight double 40 watt florescent lamps are my substitute for summer.
-- posted by Howie
» biogardener - I love weeds
I love weeds. Many of them are edible, and almost all of them are richer in nutrients than other plants. I just make sure I pull them before they go to seed. Then I either eat them or compost them, but I always enjoy them. It was weeds which kept us alive under Russian occopation in 1945 when there was no other food to be had for love or money. If you want to know my favorite edible weeds, you can find them listed in this article. Most of them grow almost anywhere in the world.-- posted by biogardener
» Gay_Klok - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Winter gardening
In response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Winter gardening posted by Howie:Your basements are another thing you have over us, Howie.
When I married Kees in Canada, a thousand years ago, he kindly rented a lovely house from a just retired bank manager spending long service leave in Mexico.
In the basement was a lovely collection of African Violets which I had suggestions written down on how to attend them. I was very nervous, sure that with my lack of experience I would kill them all, by too much wayer or forgetting to turn off the light.
I didn't but did put a stain on her lovely floral covering of her couch! I spring cleaned the basement [as well as the house] - scrubbed and polished every surface to try to make up - And Mrs davis was the first person to visit me and our first born baby in hospital with a huge bunch of flowers. I told it felt like she was mother substitute and she was thrilled
-- posted by Gay_Klok
» Gay_Klok - Re: I love weeds
In response to I love weeds posted by biogardener:Traute
Even quite hard to grow ornamentals may become "weeds" sometimes. My gardens have always turned jungle-like!
-- posted by Gay_Klok
» Gay_Klok - Re: Re: Winter gardening
In response to Re: Winter gardening posted by TCfromKY:We do have seasonal differentional zones in Tasmania - In fact we can have 4 seasons all in one day :=]
Normally we have good Autumn colours but in many parts of Oz they miss this beautiful season
-- posted by Gay_Klok
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