***Official gardening, landscape and yardwork thread***
 

We had a 2014 gardening thread and another planting trees thread. Figured it would be better just to have a general thread to share knowledge about all things yards.

I've learned stuff about growing things here in the desert from people all around the country. Post pictures and share your knowledge!

Stuff is going into full bloom here. Took me about 3 years to get the yard like I want it. Felt like I was constantly doing something every few months between adding drip lines and planting new plants. I think this year I won't have to do much besides growing a few new flowers in some pots. The rest of the yard is pretty full now.

First attempt at growing roses. First one opened today. Mr Lincoln variety.

http://i.imgur.com/un9D22B.jpg

This grapevine started over in my side garden. I didn't realize how fast they would grow and it quickly outgrew the space in a year. So when it went dormant this winter, I decided to attempt to dig it up and move it. God damn that was back breaking work (I literally hurt my back). The roots spread out close to 6 feet and all directions, diving deep down in the ground. I did my best to get most of it but had to cut some of the roots as well and wasn't sure it'd make it when I replanted. This would have been ok too as it only cost me about $11 as a bareroot. Finally this week buds started to form and open. She's still alive!

http://i.imgur.com/QD4uY4v.jpg

After not getting the watering right last spring/summer and almost killing it, the Lime trees looks fresh for a great year. March is citrus bloom season and just riding my bike down the street or driving with my windows down, fills your sense of smell with citrus blooms. It's pretty incredible.

http://i.imgur.com/3gzhxf0.jpg

Q

Very possible but I couldn't find it.

Link?

man i wish i could grow a lime tree/bush. nice!

mods can we merge this with Trump's wall thread?

I even used the three asterisk format and everything
http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=293067

Hasn't been posted in during past year. Weak shit.

But Mods, you can merge this thread with that. I won't even get pissed about it.

I don't care either. I just like to be the boy who cried "Q".

Man that looks good about now. I'll have to wait about two months to see something like that. :grr: I drove from Kalispell to Billings last week and from the Bozeman pass to about Reed Point. it was about the worst roads I have ever seen. I counted 30 plus cars and trucks in the ditch on that stretch. Spring can't get here fast enough.

I did my inital springtime bermuda scalp yesterday, complete with bagging the clippings. It took 8 hours.

Hopefully today or tomorrow I can get the pre emergent spread.

That's a hell of a lot of work. Big yard?

1 acre. I only did the clippings on the front half. I used a particular cultivar in the back that stays really short, so there was no need to do the clippings there.

I just got around to aerating last weekend, the things are way out of whack. Got some seed and hay down in my most troublesome areas (damn nutsedge!!!); let's hope it does the trick.

So between the little Doogie doos (aeratikn), and hay, the lawn looks like crap right now.

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk (so spelling be damned!!!)

Your place looks really nice Lewdog.

Last fall I decided it was time to give covering the lateral lines another shot. I brought in another dump truck load of dirt and of course they had to dump it about a hundred yards from where I needed it. It took several days of shoveling and hauling but I finally got it all spread out and reseeded in mid October.
http://i63.tinypic.com/11sgsnm.jpg

Hey man, it looks like someone broke down in your front yard. You should go help them out.

Thanks for killing my 2014 gardening thread. My best contribution to this place, gone.

My neighbors talked me into displaying "Patina" as yard art. I bought the old 50 in 1984 and got it running and driving then parked it. http://i64.tinypic.com/1sm5fs.jpg

You went to all the trouble to get it running just so you could park it? Sigh.

The story is a little more complicated than that. I bought it in 1984 because it was my birth year. It drove like crap, king pin bushings were worn out. Had plenty of other iron to drive.
I plan on finding the right Dakota (sb, single cab, v8) and putting the body on that when I get around to it.

Tires filled with concrete, or is it on jacks?

I think it's awesome, and I hope you take a scho63-style sabbatical and make it perfect.

Actually that's bad assed. I've got a buddy that's got a couple old t's sitting around his place as art, in flower gardens, in his ****ing coy pond.

I'll keep my eyes open, what years?

That's a cool deal.

They are full of air actually. It was funny, when I decided to move it all the tires actually held air long enough to get it rolled up on my car trailer. A couple of the wheels had actually rusted through but they had tubes in them. Then, last fall on craigslist I found a guy selling tires/wheels off an old 51 DeSoto down in Arkansas, so that is what it is sitting on.

:thumb:

All Dakotas will work if they are single cab short bed Jason. I have found a couple in my price range on Craigslist but have been too late.


Sorry for getting your gardening thread hijacked Lewdog, not intentional.

Range?

Best way to kill weeds other than roundup, pulling them manually. ?

What kind of weeds? There are plenty of selective herbicides out there.

2,4-D took care of all of my broadleafs (dandelions, thistle, spurge, and henbit) this spring. I still have some Poa Annua and some Annual Rye since the 2,4-D doesn't kill grasses, but I'll just have to wait for the heat to kill them. I missed the window in which I can use roundup because the Bermuda is already greening.

To long term solve the weed problem, you need to spray and keep the weeds from coming to seed and keep a pre-emergent down year around for a few years.

What kind of weeds you rocking and what kind of residual do you want? Are you planning on reseeding or anything?

Well I have a big rock planter that runs along the back of my house. Then I have a trellis and walk way that goes along the side of my house where I do not have grass on that entire side of the home. It's just a mixture of small trees, shrubs, and natural grasses. But last summer it started to get over run by weeds and I could not control it.

The rock planter seems like it would be the easiest thing to clean up, figured I would just put weed mat down and put in new rock since no plants are in there anyway, but i can't keep up with all the weeds elsewhere. No worry in my yard area though. Just put pre emergent down and have been all good there. I've tried roundup on the weeds but it doesn't seem to kill them very well and the stuff you buy at Lowes or Home Depot doesn't go very far.

Get some glysophate (generic Roundup) concentrate and use that. You are probably using the pre-mixed name brand Roundup. The generic concentrate isn't all that expensive. A 2.5 gallon jug will cost around $50 and will do 2 acres. Smaller containers can be had, and you can even buy it at Walmart.

https://www.amazon.com/Compare-N-Sav...lysophate&th=1

Make sure you use the roundup while the weeds are actively growing. If you don't, they die VERY slowly. Generally, the hotter it is the quicker it works.

I say get a backpack tank sprayer and nuke the hell out of the area with glysophate multiple times this year. After you have it all under control, explore some grass options that will grow in the shade area and keep the weeds crowded out. Maybe rye for winter and zoysia for summer?

Good idea on the backpack tank, I'll look into it. I don't use it liberally enough may be my problem. I love zoysia grass, but I don't see much of it around KC. It feels like carpet when it's mature. Heard it's hard to get going though.

I'm not sure about the zoysia in KC since I'm in Texas. I do know that it is shade and drought tolerant and that's why I mentioned it for around your trees and shrubs.

Yeah, mix up your concentrate and be liberal with a good spray (not a stream). You can even use this stuff to help mark where you've sprayed:https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Harves...ndicator&psc=1

Just spray until everything is blue and you are covered.

Not nutsedge! And the nutsedge spray can kill the grass too (and not the nutsedge, and me, my problem spots are because of just that.

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk (so spelling be damned!!!)

If you're going to leave it bare get primatol.

If not loochys solution is the way to go. Heat it up. Some phenoxy herbicides would help. Those are 2-4D or Dicamba. If you cant get those get weed b gone concentrate and add it to the mix. The phenoxy herbicides make it grow fast (faster than it can support and kills it). Don't use the full rate but supplementing glyphosate with a phenoxy will allow it to translocate to the roots faster.

Odds are the glyphosate you end up with will have the appropriate adjuvants but adding some non-ionic surfactant will help. If you can't get it add a little dish soap.

Early is better if you can nuke it before it gets established it will be easier to kill.

Glyphosate and phenoxy herbicides won't have any residual, meaning it won't stop new weeds from coming. Primatol will. But if you're going to plant anything else it will kill it too.

so i've got bermuda grass invading a large perennial garden. i don't want to kill the good stuff, but want to stop the bermuda.
suggestions?

SouthEastKansas.

Don't you ever apologize to me you beautiful bastard!

This is totally related. That one of the coolest lawn ornaments I've ever seen. Lewdog doesn't discriminate. This thread is anything "yard" related.

I love the look of your property down the hill but I thought there were some Spruce trees in view along the driveway?

You can't stop the bermuda. The best bet is to get a spray bottle of roundup, set it to spray a jet, and hit the invading runners. You can try to pull the bermuda too, but the roots run deep and long. Either way, it'll creep back in a few weeks. It's tough stuff.

Also, maybe youcan try a plastic barrier buried around the edge. We have a 5 inch plastic edge around our flower beds and it does a reasonable job of slowing the bermuda runners.

This man knows.

You can get a paintbrush and paint it on.

Best bet is weed barrier.

Cherry tomato plant is already massive and giving me 100+ tomatoes.

http://i.imgur.com/v3nhJw4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/V7kCpy7.jpg

Your cherry tomatoes look fantastic!

Glad you like "patina," it is kind of growing on me. The Mrs. even likes it there which really shocked me.

Yes, from the other direction you can see the Colorado blue spruce trees and one of the Austrian pines. I lost three of the Colorado blue spruce last fall to some kind of weird disease, and the well drilling crew destroyed one but we still have eight of them along with three of the Austrian pine trees.

We got down to 24 the other night so I bundled all the fruit trees up. The first on in the picture is actually covered by a large car cover. :D

I planted a couple varieties of cherry tomatoes last year and that was my favorite. Can't remember the name though.

I put out my tomato plants a couple days ago after the 24 degree night. I started these from seeds in January and have had them in the south windows.

Looks great! That's one bad thing about being in suburbia, not a lot of space to do much here.

I am always just amazed at how big these cherry tomato plants get. Mine get 7' tall each year and really bush out, taking over much of the small garden I have.

Do you do the straight red cherry tomatoes or do you mix in some of the golden varieties?

Last year I just bought three different kinds of cherry tomatoes, two had an egg shape and one of them was round like yours. I want to find those round ones again this year, they were by far the best. I am not sure what you mean by the golden variety?

The six plants I put in are beef steak seeds . All of the seeds I planted came up, so I gave some to others. I don't want to make the same mistake I made the last two years of planting too many.

The super sweet cherry 100 tomatoes are the best. Look for those. Plus they produce tons from one plant.

https://bonnieplants.com/product/sup...et-100-tomato/

Golden variety are just that, yellow cherry tomatoes. Same size and shape, but slightly different taste.

http://media.aerogardenimages.com/me...swatches_1.jpg


If I had as much room as you I'd do a golden cherry plant and a super sweet cherry tomato plant.

Beefsteak tomatoes are great too! With that many plants you're gonna have pounds of tomatoes!

Sun Sugar is the best variety of yellow cherry tomatoes. There's also a yellow pear tomato that's a mini tomato also has really good flavor. I agree with lewdog super sweet 100's are the best cherry tomato, not sweet millions, sweet 100's. I haven't found a grape shaped tomato that I like as well as cherry shaped ones.

Has anyone addressed moles? Are there any tried and true methods to extinction?

After many tries, I found this thing, and it worked perfectly for me...

https://www.amazon.com/Manning-Produ.../dp/B0000BYDPE

That is absolutely brilliant.

When are you guy's in KC putting down pre emergent? I was early last year and don't want to jump the gun again.

What are you after?

Last week.. The hardest part was waiting for a "day after rain" and/or "morning with dew" so the prevent sticks.

Honestly, I don't get it, none of the weeds are up, so I'm not sure what they thing the granuals are going to stick to, but I waited patiently.

THAT being said, like I've told every man I know, when you buy a house you only agree to having a kitchen and/or mud room AFTER she agrees to a sprinkler system! If I wasn't in the market for a new AC unit (talk about a dry anal raping!!!), this was the year where some people were going to trench the lawn and casa-de-Glory whould sport a six zone sprinkler system. It will happen next year,,,,,,, or I move! Damn hoses, damn hoses to hell!!!!!!!!!!! They're a waste of money, water, and my ****ing time!

If there is nothing up and all you are after is residual, roll, then water.

That's what I did, kinda... I waited for a morning with a little dew, did the deed, waited a day, then dragged the sprinklers around (like a bitch) that next day.

I had aerated a few days before, so it was iffy. I know, I know, I shoulda aerated last fall. I ****ed up!

It'll be fine, I'll wear the Guido hat for one more year..

I've been toying with not using the crabgrass control. I'm not sure my lawn needs it and I've read more and more research about fertilizing early being bad for the root system. The pre-emergent sacrifices root growth for the protection. Since my lawn and the other 2 lawns I take care of in my spare time have pretty solid turf thickness, I'm really considering letting go of that step.

Anybody else thought about this?

Well shit, I just aerated (pitting 3-inch holes into the root system), then "prevented"!

I might end up saying that the "prevent defense" never works!

See, NFL is life!!!!!

It's my understanding the pre emergent doesn't need to stick to the leaf, that's weed killer. Pre emergent should soak into the soil at a certain soil temperature range like 58 consistent degree?

Crab grass and anything else.

Let's hope you're right and the instructions were wrong.

Wasn't saying right or wrong, I just know I was too early last year. Thought about doing it today but I mowed short to get rid of the dead grass and get the sunlight to the base and managed to hit the sewer cover. Picking up new blades tomorrow and hopefully didn't bend the spindle shaft.

Pre emergent is to prevent seed germination.

Once germination begins, the pre emergent has no effect. The you have to use a broadleaf weed killer.

Put an application of pre emergent down now and a second one at the end of April.


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Oh, i'm not mad at you, I'm pissed that a ****ing AC unit costs a billion ****ing dollars! As far as I'm concerned, with the way I hate heat (I pray I never see another day over ~78 in my life!!!), I don't give a shit if my lawn looks like a live in the ****ing desert because the AC assholes are going to charge me a price that eliminates me getting a sprinkler system!

Yeah, **** "hot", and Scotland rocks compared to sandy places!

That's my plan...

But **** "hot"!

Use a product call Dimention. Its a great preemege for annual grasses....foxtails, crabgrass. It also has the added benefit of being a decent post emerge control on crabgrass and foxtail .That means you can miss that perfect window you are looking for most years. The variable that impacts germination is soil temperature. Crabgrass and foxtails will start germination at low 60 degree soil temps at 1 inch depth and get really going at low 70's.

May have to go to a place like Grasspad where they have employees who actually know things you need to know.

Anyone know anything about grapes? My grapevine is thriving now. I didn't grow it like suggested though by creating one large trunk up to about 4 feet before splitting off into 2 separate branches. I instead split the vine into 2 branches from the ground. Not sure if it will matter?

http://i.imgur.com/PMe4jqD.jpg

These have recently appeared and look like grape clusters. My only question is why are there so many clusters together and does anyone know if I thin them out? I can't imagine how heavy that would be if all those clusters formed into fruit!

http://i.imgur.com/6H2WZhw.jpg

Dude, you have a green thumb. It's fun ain't it? You need to delve into this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=grow...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Also relevant:

https://www.google.com/search?q=grow...s+in+phoenix&*

Nicely done Lewdog.

Off topic, you ever think of getting rid of that pool fence. I hate them and removing it really opens up your back yard. Unless kids are imminent, of course. However, the thought of all that fencing covered in grape vines sounds pretty cool. Turn that space into The Wine Grotto.

Good links. These are the Flame or the Thompson variety which are supposed to grow well here. I can't remember which but I think they are similar. I learned how to prune the canes and did that this winter. What those links still don't answer is pruning the bundles or leaving them? Looks like some say not to let the plant set fruit in the second year. I might go ahead and leave two good looking bundles on each side and see what happens.

I don't have much of a green thumb, which is why this has been so fun. I never tried to grow even so much as a single plant until 3 years ago when we bought this house. We paid someone to do a backyard renovation as there was nothing back there but a pool. We planted stuff that is fairly easy to take care of but does require some knowledge and care. Since then I've added other stuff that requires quite a bit more knowledge/work but it's fun learning.


I hate that pool fence with all my heart. It's hideous, ugly and definitely segments the yard. And of all colors, why did they choose white?!?!

But kids might be on the horizon so it stays for now, or I would totally remove it. But I had an ah-ha moment this past fall when I realized after 1 year on the wall by my small garden, that the grapevine had already outgrown that space (who knew grapevines grew so fast?!). So I figured I'd give a shot to transplanting it which I read isn't easy. It surely wasn't. But I figured if anything this pool fence could be good for, besides an eye sore, would be to trellis a vine across it. And since grapevines produce such beautiful leaves, I figured it would actually look nice against the white pool fence (great choice in color!).

Looks good Lew.

I have enough 2-4D on my truck I could probably kill it from here.

Flame and Thompson are both table grapes (seedless and thin-skinned), have you looked into any wine grapes? There are so many varieties of grapes you could have quite a little vinyard. Of course there are the concord grapes that are used in grape jelly.

Thanks for the suggestion but I wanted table grapes. Also, only certain types will grow in the desert heat of Phoenix.

There's so much bourbon and beer to go around that I rarely make time for wine, so that's out.

But the neat thing about grapes is you can grow them vertically so easily, that placing them across arbors or fences can be relatively easy.

Anyone tried making container gardens on a backyard wooden fence? Thinking about something similar to those windowsill planters, but longer to span the width of my fence posts, and potentially of different depths to account for the needs of different sorts of plants. I figured it would work well for things like lettuces, peppers, and shallow root veggies, but wondered about something for tomatoes or even asparagus.

I am guessing soil drying could be a problem and was thinking about getting a rain barrel in place and some drip irrigation from it, but I'm a little worried I might be heading down a path wrought with frustration and little in the way of success.

I grew tomatoes in range buckets for several years. That's pretty easy. But I live in the great American desert so watering everyday was going to happen whatever way I chose to do it.

Got a patio installed last week. Going to go the green thumb route instead of sod. spent $200+ over the last couple of days getting dirt and seed and such. Hopefully all will be well in 3 weeks.

What's that made out of? Is that the color because I really like it!

Looks like painted concrete. Bing-Image "painted concrete", it's amazing!

Figured it probably was. And yes, that stuff can look absolutely beautiful.

that's great!

Feb 19 I planted spuds. Pretty deep because I was afraid of more frosts. Yesterday they started to come up. Crazy spring

I put down pre emergent yesterday. Feldman's had it on sale, 18 lb bag of Hummert's DYNA GREEN for $12.99, bought 3 bags, each bag treats 5,400 sq ft. I guess this stuff is recommended by Toby Tobin, 15-0-5, never heard of it.