Gardening

[Marsha Cassada]

Here are my cacti. The only house plant I will bring into the house to winter over. Some I've had for more than 30 years. They all used to fit on a windowsill!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Took a soil sample in today to the county agent. I showed him some roots of plants that had died in the raised bed, and he suspects nematodes. We will have to cover the bed with plastic and hope to kill the nematodes. He will ask the lab to confirm his suspicion. Looking forward to hearing what nutrients we need to add. If we can't kill the nematodes, we will have to take all the soil out of the bed and replace it. How badly do I want to garden??

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Yes, orchids!! LOL LOL! They are so easy to grow. Just water once a week, I use warm water in winter and never let them sit in water.

How are the blooms coming along? I know they seem to take forever.

 

[Kelly]

Yes, taking forever

 

[Kelly]

It’s happening, oh it’s happening.

Well one anyways more to come…

 

[Marsha Cassada]

It’s happening, oh it’s happening.
View attachment 49334
Well one anyways more to come…

Such a lovely winter sight!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Took a soil sample in today to the county agent. I showed him some roots of plants that had died in the raised bed, and he suspects nematodes. We will have to cover the bed with plastic and hope to kill the nematodes. He will ask the lab to confirm his suspicion. Looking forward to hearing what nutrients we need to add. If we can't kill the nematodes, we will have to take all the soil out of the bed and replace it. How badly do I want to garden??

The Lab got back to us with an analysis. It is nematodes. They even DNA'd to see what kind. It is the Southern Root Nematode, a blight upon the planet. Our options are to remove the soil and scour the inside of the tractor tire and replace soil (and be sure to have it tested for the SRN), or leave it fallow and make sure that not even one weed grows in it, or there are some poisons that farmers have somewhat effectively used. So, we are going to leave the tire fallow this year, keep it covered with plastic to heat the soil enough (hopefully), and hope that next year it will be suitable for planting.
I'm going to check the other tires for knotty roots, now that I know what to look for. No one can say for sure where the nematodes came from so eliminating that isn't an option.
So, "they" want us all to be sustainable and grow our own food. Easier to say it than to do it.

 

[Kelly]

The white orchid flowers are the only blooms that have fully opened, the others are still working on it. The yellow has two stems of blooms!

 

[Kelly]

All my orchids are in full bloom and they are just beautiful!














Plus I got 2 new additions:





And this new exotic orchid is a real beauty:


which one is your favorite?

 

[Kelly]

We went to the Orchid Market last week at the Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth, it was breath taking!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Oh, my goodness! Beautiful picture.
And your orchids are really thriving. Thanks for showing them.

 

[Dragon Hill]

They are all so beautiful! Beautiful couple in front of some beautiful flowers, too. I'm kind of partial to the speckled one.

 

[MaryFlora]

Those are all beautiful photographs, and the color variety in the garden is incredible.

You definitely have a green thumb and all of your orchids are gorgeous, but, like Dragon Hill, liking the speckled one just a bit more.

 

[kimbalina]

Hey Kelly, they’re beautiful! do you take special care of your orchids, like only watering them with distilled water? My sister is very fussy with hers! I’m not too fussy with mine but they don’t survive forever!

 

[HersheyMint]

All my orchids are in full bloom and they are just beautiful!
View attachment 49706

View attachment 49707

View attachment 49708

View attachment 49709







Plus I got 2 new additions:
View attachment 49710




And this new exotic orchid is a real beauty:
View attachment 49711

which one is your favorite?

All are so beautiful but my favorite is the 4th pic, purple flowers

 

[Kelly]

Hey Kelly, they’re beautiful! do you take special care of your orchids, like only watering them with distilled water? My sister is very fussy with hers! I’m not too fussy with mine but they don’t survive forever!

Yes, I sign to them and talk to them everyday! Haha Just kidding


I really don’t do anything too special for them. No, I don’t water with distilled water, just good old fashion water out of the kitchen sink. In the fall & winter I don’t water very much but when I do I use warm/hot water. I figured since they are tropical plants they would enjoy warm/hot water This year once they got blooms on them I fertilized them, the directions say to fertilize during the growing season. I never let them sit in water. When not blooming, they live in my West facing window and love the sunny location.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

My onions and kale are doing great. Asparagus is producing sporadically. I need to dig that bed and do some work with it. All the other beds are bare, hoping to starve that disgusting Southern nematode. A few peaches are forming and cherries look good. Apples just blooming. Those blossoms smell delightful. Iris standing tall and peonies beginning to open. Mr Mountain Boomer has been seen basking. I really dislike spring, but on calm days with new buds opening I can sort of see the attraction.

 

[Dragon Hill]

We've had warmer than normal spring, with a couple of cold snaps thrown in. My pear trees were devastated. There's a few sprigs of green leaves here and there now, so maybe they will survive. My youngest fig lost most its leaves, but they are coming back. Plums are ok. Saw the 6' rat snake that lives in my feed shed for the first time this year. It's probably the same snake I said I was going to kill next time I saw it for killing some guineas I was raising. I didn't kill it though.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I just moved all my cacti outdoors. Hopefully I won't have to carry them all back in again! A big box around the saguaro made him much easier to move.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Because of the nematode infestation in my raised beds, and the asparagus not doing that well, I decided to dig up the bed. What a huge job! And the whole root system was honeycombed with nematodes. I will have to dig out the entire tire. Already dug out 3 tractor loader-fulls. My hand slipped off the spade handle and I fell off the tire, onto the wheelbarrow, and onto the ground. Good thing I have strong bones. This will take several days to empty. And I'm seriously looking into chemical nematode killer, as my espaliered fruit trees could be at risk. What a mess. Billy is watching the show from his nearby drylot corral. Pepper comes up into the tire sometimes to help me dig. Chickens gave up hoping I'd dig up a grub. I'm seeing no earthworms. The tire is weirdly empty of bugs.