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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 14, 2006 18:39:47 GMT -6
I've come across a new gardening technique where you don't even break up the ground in order to grow a garden. It's called: "Lasagna Gardening".
I discovered this new technique when I found and bought the following books:
I see that Patricia Lanza has another book out, called:
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Post by LMV's Old Account on Apr 15, 2006 15:54:28 GMT -6
hehe
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 15, 2006 19:37:17 GMT -6
Hey Phalon ... thought you might find these forums fascinating.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 16, 2006 21:37:19 GMT -6
Mia, I've done aspects of that lasagna gardening before, but not actually on purpose. Some of the best tomatoes, and most interesting looking squash - vines so huge they threatened to swallow the yard, house, and take over the neighborhood - have sprouted from my compost pile.
I do do the newspaper layering purposefully, laying down thick layers of it, and spreading mulch over the top. I do it to kill the grass though, when I am laying out a new bed if I don't feel like waiting for Hubs to get around to tilling for me. It works as a great decomposable weed barrier too, and I just plant my shrubs or flowers through it.
Cool beans on those gardening forums. I checked out the horticulture professionals areas, and there is a gardener writers' forum there which I might dapple in. Thanks.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 16, 2006 21:54:12 GMT -6
You're very welcome Phalon ... I love when I discover things that I know members will enjoy.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 16, 2006 22:17:52 GMT -6
And you are very good at that, Oh Fairly Bored Ma.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 16, 2006 22:43:13 GMT -6
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Post by fallenangel on Apr 17, 2006 7:00:15 GMT -6
I have to ask what happened to spring. We may have to bump the summer thread up. The last 3 days here have been in the 90s. Hot and the way they are talking dry for awhile.
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 17, 2006 16:10:56 GMT -6
Autumn and Spring never last long enough ... why is that? Is a couple of months of "open window" weather too much to ask for?
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Post by LMV's Old Account on Apr 18, 2006 17:00:16 GMT -6
LOL agreed! f*&%$# weather is compleatly *$#%^& ARGH my hayfever has been on my back all season and im just begining to get annoyed plus my hayfever has been making me more vunerable to my emotions lol, oh well *Closes window* love you all *cherry* *LMV*
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Post by Siren on Apr 18, 2006 21:12:11 GMT -6
We broke a state hi-temp record yesterday, and had another warm one today. Tomorrow, though, it's supposed to hover in the low 70s. I'm ready for that!
My roses have been spectacular, just covered in blooms.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 19, 2006 0:11:37 GMT -6
In the nineties, Yinyang?! Roses already, Siren?! Wow! One of the things I dislike about spring is the flip-floppy weather.
Dressing to work outside is tough this time of year. It's been barely forty degrees when I leave the house in the morning, and it's usually 5 to 10 degrees cooler where I work. Winter jacket, sweat shirt, and two pairs of socks to start the day. The liner comes out of the jacket by about 9:30. Jacket and extra pair of socks off by 11:00. Sweatshirt off by noonish. Sun out, then behind the clouds. Wind picks up, then dies. Sweatshirt back on at 12:30. Off at 2pm. On again at 3pm.
Looking forward to wearing just a t-shirt and shorts. So are the kids, complaining now of either being too cold, or too hot in whatever they are dressed in.
But the flowers of spring! The saucer magnolias are blooming, and cherries and pears are just starting to open. Forsythia and daffodills are still going strong. And the quince! Such a riot of color.
I went roller-sking this evening; I hadn't been in over a week. When did everything turn green all of the sudden? Wild flowers blanket the woods. I saw trillium; such a pretty dainty flower. There were lots of yellow flowers shaped somewhat like columbine, except a much lower plant with narrow, spotted leaves. And a goregous white flower on a plant with large scalloped leaves. I don't know what either flower is and I'll have to take pictures tomorrow so I can see if I can find them in our reference books at work.
I saw a huge Lindera benzoin. I never would have recognized it if not for the blooms. I'll have to pay attention to it throughout the seasons now that I know it's there. Its common names are spice bush or wild allspice, and every part of the shrub - flowers, bark, leaves and berries - are supposed to be very aromatic. I smelled the teeny yellow flowers, and though not very strong, it was a delious spicy scent. The pioneers used to use this bush as a subsitute for store-bought spices.
And I spotted the first Amelanchier blooming I've seen this year! I've been waiting patiently for mine at home to bloom; I put it in three years ago, and it never has. I think this is the year; it has nice fat buds on it that look ready to open any day now.
Ok, so I don't dislike spring too much afterall.
Chere, have some tissues. For your hayfever and your flip-floppy like the weather here emotions.
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Post by fallenangel on Apr 19, 2006 8:08:15 GMT -6
YES 90S. Todays high suppose to 82 so maybe a little better. My roses havent bloomed yet. Hopefully soon though.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 20, 2006 17:19:35 GMT -6
Took the girls out on the trail with me yesterday; a nice walk after school. Here are pictures I took of some of the wildflowers we saw, (I lost my sunglasses while doing so - second pair in as many weeks. Grrrr.) Trillium Mayapple Merrybells Fawn Lily Bloodroot
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Post by Mini Mia on Apr 20, 2006 18:02:10 GMT -6
Ooooh ... Nice photos, Phalon. And ya got 'em to show up on one try.
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Post by Siren on Apr 20, 2006 20:06:24 GMT -6
Beautiful pics, Gams. Thank you!
You've given me an idea for Mother's Day. I think I'll see if I can find a spice bush for my mom. I looked it up, and I think we're in a zone it could do all right in.
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Post by LMV's Old Account on Apr 22, 2006 1:37:30 GMT -6
i am so tired folks lol hey siren..hows life?
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Post by Phalon on Apr 22, 2006 6:17:40 GMT -6
Don't go thinking I'm all technical now, Mia - you know better. Thanks to Scrappy - all I had to do was send her the pictures and she did that Hostess Cupcake thing, and gave me the thingy in brackets to copy and paste.
Too cool, Siren! I'm glad you did your homework and thinking about a spicebush for your Mom. Though not particularly the most "showy" shrub, it is a wonderful native plant. The tiny flowers sparkle in the early spring when little else is blooming here. And the drupes, (berries), provide food for the birds in the fall. Something new I learned about it the other day, is that it is also host to many of the swallowtail butterfly species.
Hi, Chere. Flu gone? Get some rest and feel better.
Today is Earth Day; and a happy one to all. Hoping that everyone takes a moment to ponder what we all can do to help preserve the magnificance of this planet this day - a daunting task, but one small step at a time, one would hope that every little bit collectively can make a difference. It has to.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 23, 2006 7:33:19 GMT -6
I hope that everyone has been out enjoying the weekend.
A beautiful one it has been here - everyone having the itch to get out in their yards and plant something....trees and shrubs mostly, it seems. I can barely move, we were so busy at the nursery Friday and Saturday. Cars triple parked in our two parking lots and lined up and down both sides of the road. ACK!!! Only four of us in retail trying to handle literally hundreds of customers, some of them taking as long as a half hour to forty-five minutes to wait on, (picking out living investments takes a while, especially when some people need hand-holding to decide). Desperately trying to get the boss to hire a few part-time weekend employees; problem being finding someone knowledgeable and who will agree to work every weekend. Sigh. I am beat.
And today I need to take care of my own yard....I've got roses I rescued from the brushpile last year and over-wintered in the vegie patch that Hubs is threatening to evict because he needs to till, and a huge elderberry bought last year which I never got around to getting in the ground; I've got to find homes for all of them in the garden. Yesterday I bought a nice American Hornbeam that needs to get in the ground. Tons of hostas given to me by a friend that I threw in pots last year because I didn't have a place ready for them, and the perennial geraniums that I had in pots gracing the front steps - those also need a permanent place to live. I don't even want to think about all the weeding that needs to be done.
Thinking I'll need a stretcher by the end of the day.
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Post by Siren on Apr 23, 2006 8:28:57 GMT -6
I especially love your posts this time of year, Gams. You are truly in your stride when planting season comes around. I would love to see your yard, and have you answer my "what's thises" and "what's that's" as we tour your flower beds and grounds.
Our Earth Day was beautiful - bright and sunny, with a little breeze to keep the heat down. My sis, GG, and I helped out at lakeshore sweep, helping clean up at the Shawnee Twin Lakes. About 70 people gathered for this first-time event. We teamed up with a live-wire granny and her 2 grandsons, ages around 11 and 7. The granny, a retired librarian, was everything I hope to be in my later years - active, funny, inquisitive, mouthy (well, I've already got that part), and bright as a button. She related some of her adventures with her family - river rafting, riding her motorcycle, hiking - and said that one daughter plans to write a book entitled, "The Crazy Things I Let My Mother Talk Me Into". And she said that when she dies, she doesn't want to be "stuck in a box in the ground", but to have her ashes scattered from a bluff in one of our state parks. Now that would be the way to go. What a gal!
The lakeshore sweep was fun. And it was great to enjoy the silence outdoors, feel the wind off the water, and check out the critter tracks in the sand. As the group assembled for a final tally, we found that we had filled a huge dumpster with garbage bags. Felt good knowing we made a bit of a difference out there. We were worn slick, and happy as clams (or freshwater mussels) at day's end.
Today, it's a family birthday party for GG, and a visit with the folks. ~Siren
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Post by fallenangel on Apr 24, 2006 17:42:06 GMT -6
Part of my roses and peonies are blooming. Finally. Nice red color.
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Post by Siren on Apr 24, 2006 20:09:11 GMT -6
Glad spring has come your way, yinyang. Peonies - I love them! A gorgeous, old-fashioned flower. My mom grows some beauties. My roses are still blooming. And the good rain we got today should really urge them on. My salvia is just beautiful - prettier than it has ever been. It grows in a little area in front of my garage door, about 1 foot by 1 foot. Amazing that it could do so well in such a small area. But it's thriving.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 24, 2006 23:35:07 GMT -6
Hi yinyang. What part of the country do you live in, may I ask? Just curious - your weather seems so much warmer than where I live.
Siren, I know where you live. You've got roses and peonies already; our roses are just leafing out, and the peonies just came up out of the ground a couple weeks ago. I love peonies but don't have any in my yard.....hmmm, wondering if there is a spot for them. Looking forward to my roses blooming, but it won't be until June though. And if you were ever to come have me show you the grounds, (BOLL - that's what Hubs calls it - "the grounds". Big eye roll there), it'd have to be then.
In June - or late September/early October. That's really the only time I'm proud of all my hard work; it looks fabulous those times if I do say so myself. I have tiny pockets here and there that I'm satisfied with all season long, but like our 100 year old house, the work is an ongoing process to get it to the vision I have in my head. All that was planted in the yard when we moved in, (this'll be our sixth summer here), were six mature maples, three lilacs, a smoke bush, a hedge of spirea along the ravine sidewalk, and a huge rambling Seven Sisters rose by the garage. It's a large lot for being in town; a double lot actually that runs the length of three of my across the street neighbors. We lost one maple to lightening, and I hacked the lilacs down to the ground, though one remains, refusing to give up. Six trees, nearly fifty shrubs and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of perennials later, I am still not nearly finished.
A family birthday celebration for GG? Just GG? Sounds like a grand time; I'm sure there was food galore, (you know a complete rundown is in order, don't you?). I hope the birthday girl(s) had a wonderful day.
We have a lakeshore sweep as well as a river sweep here too, though not on Earth Day - but always a Saturday in spring so I'm never able to attend because I'm working. I'm glad you participated in yours; too often, I think, people adopt the attitude, 'someone else will do it', when no, we should all be doing it.
I thought about starting a thread for such things; environmentally conscious things we can all do. It's such a humungous task with no end in sight; a seemingly bleak outlook for this planet. But there are simple things we can do as individuals to be stewards of the earth. Any opinions? Too preachy a thread? Too boring? For most maybe, but an important issue which I feel we might all benefit from, sharing ideas with one another.
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Post by fallenangel on Apr 25, 2006 8:46:56 GMT -6
My flowers bloom in a series in my yard. Irises,roses,peonies,than lilies. I cant gripe. This way I always have flowers blooming. Dont mind you asking Phalon . I live in Arkansas. Dont tell its a secret . ha .The weather is actually better today. 74 with rain in the forecast.
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Post by LMV's Old Account on Apr 25, 2006 21:03:02 GMT -6
walks into the board *oW!* Sneezes her head off *smiles and greets everyone*
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Post by Siren on Apr 25, 2006 21:06:44 GMT -6
I lived in Arkansas for a couple of years, yinyang, in Ft Smith, and then in Barling, just outside FS. I really enjoyed it - friendly people, pretty scenery, and a very affordable place to live.
GG's birthday party was really fun, Gams. And what a feed: Swiss steak, fresh green beans, fried or mashed potatoes, a corn/squash/onion stirfry, pinto beans, and my Aunt Jean's sourdough bread. And for dessert, banana split cake and wacky (chocolate) cake - Jess, GG's fiancee, said we needed both. My mom and I will have our joint birthday party this Sunday. Her birthday is Monday. I've requested fried chicken and German chocolate cake. I think Mama will want smothered steak and coconut cream pie. So, we may have to crawl away from the dinner table! Gams, the one who should see your yard is my mom. She knows so much about plants. I can just imagine you two putting your heads together. She'd be gathering cuttings and sprouts from you, and bringing the same to you from Oklahoma. Man, I bet your yard is just breathtaking at its peak. But like my mom with her yard, you're never satisfied with yours. Such is life with artists! Why, may I ask, did you try and get rid of the lilacs? My mom has a sweet-smelling old lilac bush in the yard. It's at least 50 years old. My mom says my great granny planted it.
The lakeshore sweep was my first Earth Day event, and first ecological event. I hope it's the beginning of something for my sis and me. We are both great lovers of nature, and like seeing it preserved.
As for an ecology thread, I don't have much to contribute. But I'd be interested in what others have to say. ~Siren
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Post by Phalon on Apr 26, 2006 0:11:50 GMT -6
I used to go out with a guy from Arkansas. I was not romantically attracted to him, but loved the way he talked....especially the way he called out my name in that sweet, slow drawl. We remained good friends though, and still occasionally the way he said certain things.....swoon. I love a good accent. I wonder what ever happened to him; we lost touch a number of years ago. Last heard, he married - a woman from Michigan ironically. I wonder if it was the accent that got her?
The lilacs; they were huge, very old and very scraggly. I'm sure they were planted when the maple they stood near was young. Too much shade and they did that leaning Tower of Lilac thing trying to reach for the sun. My serviceberry is planted in their place now, and naturally an understory tree in the forest, does well in shade. And it is blooming now! First time since I planted it, undoubtedly putting all its energy into setting roots through the ground clogged with the old gnarled lilac roots.
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Post by fallenangel on Apr 26, 2006 8:02:48 GMT -6
Accent..we have an accent ? lol .. I planted petunias the other day .I love flowers. Going this weekend maybe to get a geranium.
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Post by LMV's Old Account on Apr 26, 2006 16:50:27 GMT -6
SNEEZES* hmph *mutters* so how are all the gorgeous people on these boards lately?
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Post by Siren on Apr 27, 2006 20:32:57 GMT -6
Sorry, lmv, looks like all this talk of flowers has you sneezing again. *handing over the kleenex box*
I don't know about the gorgeous people, but this really average one is doing good, thanks. A gorgeous, mild day here.
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