It's become clear to me through posts and PMs that there are some gardeners here just waiting for the chance to discuss gardening!
So, I was thinking... how do you use gardening, or how does it affect you if you need a break, need some respite, need to relax, need inspiration....how do you use it as a therapy tool in caregiving?
What are your activities: Do you go out and pull weeds, read a magazine, design new beds? Look through garden catalogues? Go to garden stores?
And what interests have you added to your gardening? Visit estate or garden displays? Do you go to garden shows?
Does anyone design and plant Knot Gardens? Raised bed planters? Assistive gardens? Pollinator gardens (and have you thought of ways to help the bees and butterflies?)
Are your gardens primarily for pleasure or food, or a mix of both? Do you grow plants for medicinal purposes? Which ones, how do you harvest and process them? Any suggestions?
Do you grow plants that can be used in crafts, such as grapevines for wreaths and lavender for lavender wands? Do you make herbal products such as creams, lotions, chapstick?
What else can you share about gardening and the means in which it nurtures your soul?
And I’ve planted several dozen vinca in the front yard, the kind that are annual flowers, in shades of pink and purple.
Ga, the vincas I have self seed which is why I love them. I don’t have to buy every year.
My grandmother had a cider press. I think one of my cousins has it. I’ve got her butter churn and butter moulds. I’ve actually used the churn a couple of times.
I bring a rock home from every trip I take. I have them in my flower garden.
https://www.agingcare.com/discussions/cooking-is-good-therapy-438777.htm?orderBy=recent&page=1#comment862722
That reminded me...does anyone here use a dehydrator?
Real, I didn't know that peanuts can break up the soil, but it makes sense because they produce root systems with the peanuts subsurface. I grew them once, years ago; your comment reminded me of that. Maybe I'll grow them again, with some added coffee grounds so the worms can help break up the soil.
I could also grow sweet and white potatoes. I'm planning to use morning glories and vining plants such as pumpkins as ground covers.
BTW, did anyone know that morning glories can kill unwanted small trees and saplings? I train them to grow on the tree, and they seem to block out air and smother the tree.
Not asking specifically where you lived, but it must be interesting and of a specific geologic category to have geodes. I found a brachiopod in my rose garden; that was a very contemplative moment .... this little fossil that lived millions of years ago somehow was (probably) brought by a glacier and deposited in my yard.
Becky, did you ever get the New Shelter magazines? They were wonderful, as was Mother Earth News way "back in the day." Ever since I saw a plan for a cider press in MEN, I wanted to build one. Maybe....some day....
I loved the times when those magazines were prevalent; there was so much more of a widespread attitude of cleaner living, of more "close to the land living".
I loved the old Rodale magazines. Also Mother Earth News. Haven’t read one of those in years. Now I mostly watch P Allen Smith on PBS. His vegetable shows are fairly good.
I’ve got a bunch of plants started. I’m tripling my garden this year, I think. I canned and froze what I thought was plenty. But I’ve run out of green beans, tomatoes, frozen corn, broccoli, Brusselsprouts. I have about two weeks worth of potatoes left. No sweet potatoes. We’ll be having to buy at the grocery now.
I don't know about Rodale mags, I have a book that is an
1 1/2 inches thick and is all about composting.
I have found that I really have to see what works in my yard, it has its own micro climates so I have not had any luck with anything but plant and see.
I agree about the prices of plants, I think it depends on where you live. I pay on sale 99cents per pound for broccoli. I can't grow it, it just bolts. I really like the plants that keep on giving. Kale, tomatoes, shard, herbs, artichoke, asparagus and the like.
Cwillie, I have found some geodes while out rocking but I have never gone to a cut, I usually just do it where ever I am.
Aphids are starting on the roses now. I used neem oil and am happy with the results.
Smeshque, yes, I was asking about the manufacturer. I've looked at Mantis and another brand which I can't remember now. I found a good video which compared 3 brands in action; one was clearly better than the other. But I always like to get input from those who have tillers.
Some areas have grown so clogged with vinca that it's literally impossible to shovel and break up the masses.
One thing I'm considering is using Daikon radishes and worms. Another organic gardener uses the Daikons as a cover crop in the fall; they send out deep roots, then die but break up the soil before they pass away for winter. I'm thinking of trying them to see what they'll do in the spring.
I also need to solarize, but was thinking of large sheets of plastic. I have lots of space, so I thought I'd solarize one bed at a time.
I asked about natural tick repellent on another forum. I'll gather the links and share them. They're certainly not welcome in my yard, and thus far I haven't been plagued. But the tick population is increasing so I need to be vigilant.
CWilie, Rodale's Organic Gardening was a literal Bible of how to garden organically, but it gradually deteriorated and just segued away from its core issues. I have boxes full of old OG magazines that I've saved. At one time all the articles were indexed.
I haven't seen seed potatoes, but haven't been to stores that might have them. I've noticed that onion sets aren't even sold in grocery stores anymore. And the place where I bought buckwheat is now just lawn machinery.
Linda, I love posts in which gardeners share the wonder and pleasure of gardening.
The device that you bought to make applesauce - is it like a Kitchen Aid mini food processor? I bought 2 for Dad, one to puree food at his house and another for my house. I haven't used them for anything else yet, but can think of a lot of uses once the garden starts producing.
I really am enjoying reading all these posts not only about flower gardening but all the ancillary issues.
Does anyone know any natural tick repellent. They are already so bad here. I hate ticks. :(
Garden, we use tiller, to till areas. Are you asking what kind as in what brand of tiller? Ours is a troy built, Horse. Works great and does a wonderful job preparing the ground. We also have killed the weeds with a tarp, kills them within a couple of days, really quickly.
If you compost correctly, it is the most amazing process, my first 3x3 pile, poop, dried stuff and greens, a little water and a little time - beautiful soil, smells like fresh cut apples, no kidding. When you do it right, no foul smells at all. I use my old rugs to cover my pile, very dry here and keeping the moisture up is important. The bugs I get I never see except on the edges of compost pile. When we started we got the Rodale book on composting, wonderful instructions.
Glad you got out and found some cool rocks, that is my all time favorite past time, I am a rock hound. I think just getting out into nature really brings me back in balance.
I was thinking of one of the lighter weight ones; they're not as powerful, but I don't think I could manage those big old ones. Heck, I don't even have a way to get it from Dad's to my house.
Also, anyone use a tiller to plow up the yard/garden before planting? If so, what kind, and were you pleased with it?
But I did want to comment on CWillie's friend with fish fertilized roses. We discovered the benefit of lake weed from the lake close to our home. Every year big dredging type machines would scoop masses of weeds from the lake, to keep the beaches clear for swimming.
Dad would haul his handbuilt trailer to the beach and have a load of lake weed deposited in the trailer, bring it home, we'd help unload it, and he'd return again. We then spread the lake weeds all over the garden.
We had the best gardens when we mulched with lake weeds, taking care though not to rake the weeds too close to the plants so that the stems didn't burn b/c the weeds were fresh and heated up in the sun.
But one year I had a real scare. Dad had brought a trailer full of fresh weeds over to my house; it was warm and steaming a bit. I was tired after unloading all those weeds, so I took a nap, but put the weeds in the garage so code enforcement wouldn't run over and cite me.
I left the garage partly open so the weed pile could get fresh air, and so the weeds wouldn't heat up the garage and start a fire (or so I thought might happen).
My nap was interrupted by the sound of a fire truck. I awoke with a start, scared and totally convinced the seaweed had caught on fire. I peeked out a window, saw a ladder truck in front of my house. I became even more scared - what if I had set my garage on fire from storing the weeds?
Quickly got dressed, ran outside, and saw that the firemen were going down my driveway, but to the back of the house next door. The alcoholic junkie had set the back yard on fire, having decided to just burn the weeds in his back yard instead of raking or pulling them up.
The fire had spread to the line of trees along the back yard and was quickly moving in both directions from the initial starting point. Neighbors along the back yard fence had called the fire department.
I was relieved, but scared, and never again hid the weeds in the garage. From then on, regardless how tired I was, the whole pile got spread the same day I got it.
But I sure would love to find a source for a few trailer loads of lake weeds.
And BTW, morning glories and roses loved milk water. I left about 1/2" of milk in the jug after drinking the milk. Filled the jug with water, then poured it around the perimeter of my roses and MGs. I had the best roses when they were fed with milk residue.
There was a lady in my home town who had the most amazing roses. Her secret was that her husband was an avid fisherman and she buried the waste under her roses... I wouldn't want to tip toe through that garden, at least not bare foot!