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

[lewdog]

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!

[eDave]

Originally Posted by cooper barrett

You swallowed my load but technically, that wasn't for me

Nobody believes this.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by MOhillbilly

I meant to post this earlier in the week. One of my tunnels early spring.

suhweet! I remember the pics when you were installing it in bad weather.


Damn man, looks fantastic.

[cooper barrett]

Originally Posted by eDave

Nobody believes this.

But, but, but you commented on the pineapple raspberry finish

It was special to me as I had not consumed either in months. Women had mentioned it before but when you, a trusted connoisseu, yet not a Master Sommelier ...I new my Spunk was special����

[lewdog]

Things are waking up or will be soon!

Hong Kong Orchid which blooms January-April.



Guava made it through it's first winter. This is a tropic pink.



Trying a peach tree in a grow bag after killing one in the ground during summer last year.



Grapevine pruned for growth.

[displacedinMN]

So I will buy the house next to you when I retire

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

So I will buy the house next to you when I retire

Yes! I’m a good neighbor and we can be plant friends!

[displacedinMN]

Grandpa Displaced can run the kid to activities

[lewdog]

Hong Kong Orchid. Smells Amazing







Lime tree blossoms and buds


















Wife is growing some "flower" as it's now legal here. Won't post that yet.

[Stewie]

Has anyone used Menard's version of Milorganite? It's far cheaper than the original.

[displacedinMN]

https://www.startribune.com/jumping-...son/600049305/

In Anne Lippin's 25 years of gardening, she's never been so traumatized over a pest. "It's really demoralizing," she said, "to have an invader where I can't combat the invader."

To her great distress, Lippin received confirmation from the Minnesota DNR last summer that she had, indeed, found jumping worms in her St. Paul yard. "If you've been working on a painting for 25 years and you suddenly discover the canvas is rotting — that's what it feels like," said Lippin.

Anne Lippin in her St. Paul front yard garden. For the past few years Lippin has noticed invasive jumping worms in the garden, where they are voracious eaters, particularly of the wood chips that Lippin has used to keep weeds down.

For the past few years Lippin has noticed invasive jumping worms in the garden, where they are voracious eaters, particularly of the wood chips that Lippin has used to keep weeds down.
Also known as the "crazy worm," "Alabama jumper" and "snake worm," this wildly wiggly Asian earthworm (Amynthas spp.) that can cause soil erosion and ultimately kill plants is now reported in the Twin Cities, Rochester and possibly Duluth, as well as southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

The invasion is forcing many Minnesotans to rethink this spring's plant sales, plant swaps and green practices in general, affecting everyone from home gardeners to garden clubs to garden centers and mulch suppliers.

"It's pretty likely that they're distributed in virtually every neighborhood in the metro area," said Lee Frelich, one of the country's top forest ecologists at the University of Minnesota. Not that jumping worms are living in every square inch of soil, he explained, but "if they're in one place in a neighborhood this year, they're going to be all over the place next year."

All Pat Thompson could utter was a high-pitched "Ahhhh" when she heard the news that jumping worms have infested dozens of garden beds at the University of Minnesota, just two blocks from her house. "If [rain] water is moving the cocoons downhill from the St. Paul campus toward me, what can I do about that?" she said.

After examining the soil under ginkgo trees on campus last fall, Frelich discovered "you could just dip your hand in there and get a handful of worms."

The creatures are particularly hard to find in the springtime even for the most vigilant gardener. The "hatchling" worms are too small to identify yet, and their egg cocoons are tiny — like a mustard seed.

That means gardeners may unknowingly spread the worms by sharing plants through garden clubs and spring plant sales. By late July, the mature, 4- to 5-inch-long worms begin to cause noticeable damage, and are laying eggs that can overwinter.

"If you do have jumping worms, one of our first messages is 'keep calm,' " said Laura Van Riper, the DNR's Terrestrial Invasive Species Program coordinator.


'Massive' erosion
What's the threat to gardeners? Experts say "massive" soil erosion is a primary concern, especially on slopes. The jumping worms rapidly eat leaf litter and even larger chip mulch, turning the top 2 inches of soil into a distinctive, coffee-ground-like texture. The loose layer of separate particles "just washes away in heavy rains," said Frelich.

"If you mulch with leaf litter and you have jumping worms, you're essentially feeding them, and their population will explode," said Frelich. The worms also absorb key plant nutrients.

When a garden dries out, the worms cluster around the roots of plants and eat fine roots that absorb moisture. "They damage the roots so badly that they kill a plant," said Frelich, or plants gradually decline. Shallow-rooted plants have a hard time staying rooted.

It's enough to dampen enthusiasm for long-awaited spring plant sales.

"It's just a terrible, terrible thing," said Thompson, who co-chairs the St. Anthony Park Garden Club plant sale in St. Paul. "We are just trying to figure out what to do."

"Prevention is the only known solution," said Angie Gupta, a University of Minnesota Extension educator; she published a long list of plant sale recommendations on the Extension website.

She says clubs can prevent jumping worms from spreading to other yards by not accepting "dig-up" plants or garden materials from infested gardens. Otherwise, gardeners should completely submerge plant roots in water to wash away the soil, any worms and cocoons. The plants can be repotted with sanitized, bagged potting soil from a reputable dealer. Gupta advised buying bare-root plants whenever possible.

Ultimately, it's a case of "buyer beware," said Gupta, who encourages gardeners to ask questions. If you purchase plants from a reputable seller like a nursery or garden center, "it's probably OK," she said.

"We don't have any documentation at this point of jumping worms in any of our member facilities — whether they be growers or garden centers," said James Calkins, research information director for the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association. Growers use a peat mix in containers, Calkins said, which "is not a good substrate for jumping worms."

The DNR and Extension are asking Minnesotans to report when they discover jumping worms, and to send in high-quality photos for identification. The worms are smooth, brown or gray with a light-colored ring that completely encircles their body, relatively close to the head. On a European nightcrawler, the raised, saddle-like ring is farther down. Jumping worms also act differently. "They flail about so wildly," said Van Riper.

"I went through stages of grief," Gupta said, when she discovered the jumping worms in her own yard in Rochester. She suspects they came with the mulch she hauled from the Olmsted County compost site.

"They'll smell the mulch and move towards it," Frelich said. "If the worms get into a community mulch pile, they can spread from there to hundreds of individual gardens." Even commercially bagged, heat-treated mulch is suspect, Frelich said, because the bags can have holes and be recontaminated when stored outside.

For the next few summers, Frelich and his research team will study jumping worms' behavior and ways to control them at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, where over half of the woodlands are infested.

They're testing elemental sulfur, diatomaceous earth, slug bait and a natural chemical of black tea leaves called saponins, which is commonly used on golf course putting greens to manage earthworms. Frelich also is experimenting with heat and cold. "We know that 110 to 115 degrees is going to kill even the eggs," he said. That's why you're more likely to find the worms in a shady garden bed, rather than a hot, dry lawn.

Until he has answers, Frelich advises gardeners to be "really careful with plant sales, with mulch and to be really observant."

The frustration is acute for gardeners with jumping-worm-infested yards. "I was like, 'Fine, I am going to dig up my entire yard,' " Lippin said with a laugh. "I will dig it up foot by foot and remove every single worm that I find. And then I thought, 'Well, that's not rational.' "

Gail Brown Hudson is a Minneapolis freelance writer with a master's degree in horticulture from the University of Minnesota. She is an Emmy award-winning journalist, writer and video producer, as well as an avid gardener.

[Bowser]

All I know is the grounds service my place hires does a fantastic job.

[Stewie]

I purchased a new riding mower this year. I went through the manual/specs etc. and found my engine has "break-in" oil. I haven't bought a small engine product for years and didn't know about this.


Anyway, I used my mower for about 5 hours and changed the oil per Briggs engine manual.



Holy moly! What is in the engine, as shipped, is nothing like normal oil. It's very low viscosity and was grayish/blue.


The oil from the factory is supposed to create more friction so it sets the piston/rings/cylinder for long term use and better compression.


I must say I'm glad I drained the original oil and fill with good 30 weight.


I wonder how many people ignore the 5 hour oil change and run the "thin" oil and wonder why things went wrong?


Just an observation if you're curious about new small engine equipment.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Stewie

I purchased a new riding mower this year. I went through the manual/specs etc. and found my engine has "break-in" oil. I haven't bought a small engine product for years and didn't know about this.


Anyway, I used my mower for about 5 hours and changed the oil per Briggs engine manual.



Holy moly! What is in the engine, as shipped, is nothing like normal oil. It's very low viscosity and was grayish/blue.


The oil from the factory is supposed to create more friction so it sets the piston/rings/cylinder for long term use and better compression.


I must say I'm glad I drained the original oil and fill with good 30 weight.


I wonder how many people ignore the 5 hour oil change and run the "thin" oil and wonder why things went wrong?


Just an observation if you're curious about new small engine equipment.

Everything used to take break in oil. Now the specs are tighter and its not necessary in a lot of applications, but yeah, break in oil is deliberately shit oil.

If you had drained it from the start it would burn oil forever.

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Everything used to take break in oil. Now the specs are tighter and its not necessary in a lot of applications, but y20eah, break in oil is deliberately shit oil.

If you had drained it from the start it would burn oil forever.

I looked up break in oil and it seems to be used in high performance racing engines. I assume it's for the same reason. That is, to set the piston/rings/cylinder for long term performance. No matter the machining precision there are always flaws.


I wonder if I can get 20hp out of my 19?

[lewdog]

This thread needs some pictures and updates. I know we have gardeners out there!

Guava flushing new growth




Grew this mango from seed, from store bought mango



Another mango, which actually grow well in pots for years.



Mango flushing new growth after being topped.



Plumeria





Plumeria seedlings



Papaya growth from seed, from store bought Papaya



Passion fruit vine was new addition to yard this year. Trellising up an arbor.





Lime tree....hundreds of limes again this year on a small 6 foot tree. Don't prune them and they grow much better!







Morning Glory trained into a tree to attract all the pollinators to the yard.







10 foot tall pomegranate tree in grow bag



Grapevine



Jalapeno that's been in this spot 5 years. About 4 feet tall.






Please share some photos. I never grew a dang thing in my life until I moved to Phoenix. Now I absolutely love gardening, it's extremely rewarding and a great stress reliever.