Re: New England ~ May 2014

NHGardener 5/3/2014, 9:16 pm

Ooh. That does look a lot of work.

But they said they worked on them at Univ. of NH, so I think I'll look on the UNH website or contact them if I have to and get the scoop.

lyndeeloo 5/3/2014, 9:47 pm

OMG you all are too funny. Gateway tree rofl

and thanks can i borrow a shoehorn. Next you'll be convincing me to buy an orchard. Not helpful!!!

I love the artichoke joke. They are an experiment. Sweetheart had to have them. They are going to be interesting if nothing else. Thank you for the link. I need all the help I can get with the artichokes.

I didn't buy the second pear tree. The tags on the bartlett pear at Lowes AND HD both said self fertile no pollinator needed. Too much conflicting info about pollinators or not. So I decided to see what happens this year before buying another thinking

CapeCoddess 5/4/2014, 7:17 pm

I saw the cabbage butterfly this morning. New England ~ May 2014 - Page 3 950477

I was talking to my mother on the phone while sitting out on the front porch and she says, "Hurry, go get the spatter screen and smack it down!" I don't know which surprised me more, the butterfly or her comment.

I wonder if we can eat them...

boffer 5/4/2014, 7:54 pm

Does attending FTA make you a fruitcake or a fruitcase? Good thing you're not growing almond trees! Wink

This thread is a crack up! lol!

CapeCoddess 5/4/2014, 8:12 pm

Boffer wrote:Does attending FTA make you a fruitcake or a fruitcase? Good thing you're not growing almond trees!

This thread is a crack up!

It makes us Fruitees, silly. And while you're cracking up we're having to have secret FTA support meetings in the PM.

Heeeeyyy...nut trees!!! Fellow Fruitees, what say you? Do you have any? Do they grow in NE?

(OMG, how embarrassing...tablet says butt trees... Embarassed

)

lyndeeloo 5/4/2014, 8:19 pm

boffer wrote:Does attending FTA make you a fruitcake or a fruitcase? Good thing you're not growing almond trees!

This thread is a crack up!

Maybe a case of fruitcake. In a nutshell, Almonds or not, I'm surely a nutcase. And a fruitee.

lyndeeloo 5/4/2014, 8:24 pm

Hi CC. Can we grow peanuts? I think they are actually a legume. Right? Maybe they don't count as a nut.

CapeCoddess 5/4/2014, 8:32 pm

I don't see why we couldn't try to grow peanuts. I mean, I would buy some shelled peanuts and plant some. Is that how you would do it? Actually I think peanuts grow in Georgia where it's warmer. I think up here we grow chestnuts. I would love to grow almonds! I'll look into this tomorrow. I have to go to bed now. Night all.

boffer 5/4/2014, 8:35 pm

Sometimes you feel like a nut...sometimes you don't... New England ~ May 2014 - Page 3 Free_icon__music_notes_by_shiningenjeru-d4cai4k

**AtlantaMarie** 5/4/2014, 8:47 pm

Yeah, p'nuts are one of our big crops down here. Remember Jimmy Carter? He's a p'nut farmer.

And don't forget, our PM meetings are held at midnight in our bathrobes & slippers with flashlights while slug hunting!

yolos 5/4/2014, 9:44 pm

Almonds grow on trees. Peanuts grow in Georgia. I grew some last year on a lark. They did okay but took up too much space for the yield. This is all I harvested out of a 4 x 4 space. Of course I learned a lot and would probably be able to double the yield if I grew them again. They have a pretty unusual growth habit though and it took a trial run to find that out. Not planting any this year.
New England ~ May 2014 - Page 3 Peanut10

New England ~ May 2014 - Page 3 Peanut10

I have quite a few seed peanuts left over from last year. If anyone would like any seed peanuts, send me a PM.

NHGardener 5/5/2014, 6:53 am

Woohoo! Nuts!

Yes, a year ago someone gave me two Chinese chestnut tiny trees, I think he grew them from... seeds? Cuttings? They haven't grown a whole lot (maybe the spot is too shady) but I thought it would be fun to have Chinese chestnuts, I guess you can eat them.

Others I know grow hazelnuts, I was thinking of a hazelnut tree eventually. Then there are hardy kiwi vines that grow here, you need a male and a female, but I believe it can be years before they produce fruit.

And I was just talking to someone recently who has an almond tree here. I don't know how mature it is, and I don't think it's produced any almonds yet.

Some also grow fig trees, but I think you have to container those and bring them into a warmer spot in winter?

lyndeeloo 5/5/2014, 6:48 pm

I'd love to grow almonds. Yummy! But I think I should stick to fruit trees for awhile.

**camprn** 5/5/2014, 7:03 pm

Time to turn the monster pile. Wish I had a bobcat or something else with more horsepower than my garden fork and flat shovel.
New England ~ May 2014 - Page 3 10173587_10202711559844974_7701581114977088779_n

New England ~ May 2014 - Page 3 10173587_10202711559844974_7701581114977088779_n

lyndeeloo 5/5/2014, 7:09 pm

camprn wrote:Time to turn the monster pile. Wish I had a bobcat or something else with more horsepower than my garden fork and flat shovel.

OMG Camprn!! Just looking at it gives me a backache. Maybe you could plan a pile turning party with pizza as a reward for helping out.

Marc Iverson 5/5/2014, 7:13 pm

Make like Sepp Holzer, the hugelkultur guy, and drill some holes down into it that you drop peanuts into, and then get some pigs to turn the whole thing inside out trying to find the peanuts.

I'm assuming everyone owns pigs or has them nearby. Very Happy

Marc Iverson 5/5/2014, 7:16 pm

NHGardener wrote:Some also grow fig trees, but I think you have to container those and bring them into a warmer spot in winter?

Must vary by climate, but in our climate here in a valley in Southern Oregon, getting down to the mid to low 20's is unusual and rarely lasts long, and lower than that is quite unusual (though we just had that, and worse, this year). We have fig trees growing out in a side yard, not in pots but in horrible native soil (decomposed granite with a think skin of topsoil), and they're just fine. We got down to 15 degrees in December.

**camprn** 5/5/2014, 8:13 pm

Marc Iverson wrote:
NHGardener wrote:Some also grow fig trees, but I think you have to container those and bring them into a warmer spot in winter?

Must vary by climate, but in our climate here in a valley in Southern Oregon, getting down to the mid to low 20's is unusual and rarely lasts long, and lower than that is quite unusual (though we just had that, and worse, this year). We have fig trees growing out in a side yard, not in pots but in horrible native soil (decomposed granite with a think skin of topsoil), and they're just fine. We got down to 15 degrees in December.

This is the New England region and we have hardiness zones that go to 3a to 7. Those of us in the colder climes have sustained winter temps of 20F and below for upwards of 4+ months. By the way, the middle of my compost pile is still frozen. New England ~ May 2014 - Page 3 950477

lyndeeloo 5/5/2014, 8:26 pm

First strawberry flowers today. Can't wait for the berries!

mollyhespra 5/5/2014, 8:30 pm

camprn wrote:(snip)
...By the way, the middle of my compost pile is still frozen.

I was wondering about that when I saw your pile. DH has been steadily removing the thawed "layers" into a new pile, but I've still got at least 2 feet of frozen compost in my bin.

Marc Iverson 5/6/2014, 1:55 am

camprn wrote:
Marc Iverson wrote:
NHGardener wrote:Some also grow fig trees, but I think you have to container those and bring them into a warmer spot in winter?

Must vary by climate, but in our climate here in a valley in Southern Oregon, getting down to the mid to low 20's is unusual and rarely lasts long, and lower than that is quite unusual (though we just had that, and worse, this year). We have fig trees growing out in a side yard, not in pots but in horrible native soil (decomposed granite with a think skin of topsoil), and they're just fine. We got down to 15 degrees in December.
This is the New England region and we have hardiness zones that go to 3a to 7. Those of us in the colder climes have sustained winter temps of 20F and below for upwards of 4+ months. By the way, the middle of my compost pile is still frozen.

Well then, obviously you should move your fig trees to Oregon.

NHGardener 5/6/2014, 6:54 am

Wow, that's some pile camp. What do you have in there? That's a lot of stuff!

In other news, grow lights were put away yesterday! Yay!

mollyhespra 5/6/2014, 8:46 am

Light frost last night, even though there was nothing in the forecast. The peas & strawberries & garlic don't mind, so no worries there.

Also, CC just for you: my fist peep at an asparagus spear from the older part (8 yrs old, maybe?) of the bed. Nothing at all from the ones planted 2 years ago. Have yours sprouted yet?

NHGardener 5/6/2014, 10:25 am

Mine have! I have to figure out how/when to pick them now. This would be year #2.

mollyhespra 5/6/2014, 2:47 pm

How thick are your spears, Jessica? My second year spears (last year's) weren't thick enough to harvest yet, being pencil-thin and thinner. I'm hoping that maybe this year I might get some, but with my first planting I waited I think 3-4 years to harvest, just letting the roots get enough reserves, and now the spears from that planting are consistently nice and thick.

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