Gardening on the Front Range with Storeetllr (Mary)

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day with temps in the mid-60s after a few sunny days of temps in the upper 70s. The lilac bushes were heavy with blooms and heady with scent, and the pear blossoms so beautiful and zen-like. I went out on Monday and bought four bales of straw to try growing a Straw Bale Garden (since we're renting and can't dig up the sunny part of the lawn for a garden), set them up in the sunniest part of the back yard, and started conditioning them.

So, here's the scene that is currently outside my door:



Colorado.

Waaaaah!

The straw bales'll be fun to watch.

Waaaaah! indeed to the snow.

I'm pretty excited to try the straw bale garden, Katherine! It looks pretty easy, after you get it going. I'll post pics as the season progresses.

I think the plants must be used to this kind of weather, because it was like this last year too. The lilacs are the ones I'm most concerned with, as last year we had a huge snowstorm on Mother's Day which buried the lilac bushes, and they were full of powdery mildew later in the season. I am not sure if the late snow was the cause or not, but this year I'm prepared with some mildew remedies at the first hint of the stuff.

Love the late season snowfall. We used to get snow into May, sometimes, in Connecticut, but not more than an inch or so.

I also love Lilacs, but they can't handle a Carolina summer, so I will be enjoying yours. I'm also interested in how the straw bale system works for you.

I'm going to love watching your straw bale gardens develop so please post lots of pics!

Will the milkweed also be in bales or have you gotten permission to plant some permanent plants? (Or are you just going to sew seed and conveniently skip mowing that section of yard?). ;)

It's still snowing, fuzzi, even harder now, and the weather report indicates it's going to continue in my area overnight. *sadface* My poor lilacs and pear tree...

Heh. I think I'm going to choose the second option, Cassie, and also put some in the planters, where it's nice and sunny, near the fence. Last year, our first in this house, where I'm thinking of putting them, there was nothing there except dirt and weeds.

I'll post lots of pics (assuming the straw bale garden is, you know, a success; if not, you may not see me around here anymore. :)

Snow's almost all gone, and temps are supposed to be going up into the 50s. Today's forecast is for rain (and maybe some snow) today and tomorrow, which I'm happy about. Means I don't need to soak the straw bales as Mother Nature is doing that for me. I do have to get out and add fish emulsion to the bales though, get the composting action started.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend in the garden!

Wow! Talk about extremes. Good to meet you Mary. Good gardening!

Hi, Ruth! Good to meet you too! Yes, it was quite a shock to my system, moving here from So.Cal., where it's gardening season most of the year.

Here's a pic I took with my phone this morning when I was rushing out to do an outreach event for the parrot rescue group I volunteer for:



Obviously, this particular lilac bush survived the cold and snow very well!

Beautiful!

>10 Storeetllr: Well, as you said in >3 Storeetllr:, the plants must be used to the weather.

Yes, they survived and will probably survive the next couple of snowstorms (we get them, apparently, up to Mothers' Day, every year, like clockwork), but some of the lilacs (the white ones) didn't do so well last year after the late snowstorm covered them with freezing snow and ice. The purple ones seem stronger.

This morning, I went out and added fish emulsion and guano pellets, plus some compost, to the straw bales, and watered it all in well with warm water from the inside tap, to get it "cooking." I really should have added blood and bone meal, but I think I can do that in a couple of days. Here's what they look like now:



While I was out there, I saw a number of piles of these in the grass between the bales and the patio, close to where the rabbits seem to congregate most. I swear they weren't there a couple of days ago. It looks like droppings to me, but the rabbit droppings I'm used to are much smaller. We don't have cats or dogs (at least I haven't seen any cats), and I never saw a squirrel big enough to make droppings this big. Does anyone know what animal they might be from?





ETA my apologies if I gross anyone out. I am also grossed out. Going out now to clean up all the droppings, but I really do want to know what made them, in case I need to do anything about it.

AETA that I checked some sites online and also looked at enough images of small animal droppings to have put me right off my feed, but I didn't see any that looked like these.

Check this out:

http://icwdm.org/Inspection/Identification%20Key%20to%20Scatdferraro.htm

Not clear from list, but I'm going to guess it's rabbit. Cwazy wabbits.

>13 Storeetllr: could it be deer?

Could be rabbit, but could be deer. Sometimes their pellets stick together like that; you can see in the photos where they would probably break apart and separate. One thing that's not on the chart that we have here is groundhog, but as the groundhog is a rodent, rather than a member of the rabbit/hare family, I'm going to assume groundhog scat is more like a rat or mouse and will be tubular in shape. If you live in a place where hares are, perhaps a hare rather than a rabbit made them? I believe there are certain species of hare that do get quite big compared to rabbits.

>13 Storeetllr: put me right off my feed
Hah, I'll bet.

The straw bales are quite a production. Fun!

>13 Storeetllr: based upon your informative photos, I thought it was more likely to be a skunk, raccoon, or small dog.

Most of the time rabbit pellets are just that, little pellets, like gumballs. Yum. ;)

>13 Storeetllr: You could always ask someone at your local County Extension Office. They could clear up the mystery for us!

>19 fuzzi: I'm going with deer. Pig poo looks very much like that; it's more a collection of the balls stuck together rather than the true tubes that cats, dogs, skunks, and raccoons have. Deer and pig are in the same basic order (ungulates, the hoofed mammals) and many of the ungulates seem to pass ball-shaped dung that may or may not stick together. Even our horses sometimes have this issue, where the individual pieces stick together.

One thing's for certain, this has certainly been a very interesting LT discussion! :)

>16 NorthernStar: Not deer, unless it has wings to fly over the 5' solid wooden fence that surrounds the property. :)

>17 CassieBash: We've had the worse rabbit problem around this area! My sis comes home from work late at night sometimes, and she has seen dozens congregating in small groups up and down the street. No deer though. I almost wish it were deer. But no, not really. Both are destructive to gardens.

>18 qebo: *snerk*

>19 fuzzi: Yes, I've been seeing lots of little gumballs ~ really, smaller than gumballs but bigger than rodent droppings ~ around in the back since we moved in. Nothing like these lovely leavings, though. I don't think they could be dog, as we are pretty well fenced in, but maybe skunk or raccoon.

>20 CassieBash: Haha, "interesting" is one word for it! I have learned a few things I hadn't known before (a few of which I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking I never really wanted to know). Good idea about asking the AG extension office!

(I just saw a really big rabbit run across the yard. I wonder if...but what really stymies me is the shape of the segments ~ not round like pellets but wedge-shaped like...no, not going there. I'll post what I find out from the AG extension office.)

Again I apologize for bringing up the subject, which is definitely an unusual one for LT.

>21 Storeetllr: Deer can easily jump a 5' fence if they have to (or feel they have to), so don't rule out deer just yet.... A dog or a talented cat would help with your rabbit population. Or you could take up the fine art of falconry. :)

Wouldn't be just one fence, as the entire neighborhood is full of 5' tall fences. Also, I have never seen a deer in the area, day or night, and haven't heard of any deer sightings. But who knows. One might have stopped by for a visit.

I sent a query to the Colorado State University extension and hope to hear back sometime in the next few days.

Moving from outside to inside, I tried something different a couple of months ago and transplanted some succulent cuttings a friend rooted and gave me into egg shells. Here they are today, sitting on the kitchen window ledge in their egg carton, looking pretty good, if I do say so myself:

>24 Storeetllr: They're adorable!

Hmm, curious, double post deleted.

Double post! Used to happen to me often, but I thought LT fixed that. Oh, well.

Thanks, Katherine! It was an experiment, to see if it worked before I made more to give as gifts. I think I can count it a success!

>24 Storeetllr: I like! Did you treat the eggshells with anything?

Thanks, fuzzi! No, I just rinsed the eggshells out and poked a hole in the bottom with a needle, then added cactus/succulent mix. My friend said not to overwater, but I've found they need small amounts of water frequently (2x/week, usually) because their planting area is so small.

So, I got a reply from county AG extension: "Your photos are of raccoon scat. They can overcome almost all fences and have probably identified a food source (pet food) or a habitat (attics, barns etc.) They move at night and if your pets come in at night will quickly move around.These appear small so it may be juveniles looking for turf. There is a good raccoon factsheet at: http://wildlifecontrol.info/pubs/Documents/Raccoons/Raccoon_factsheet.pdf"

Raccoon. Ugh.

>29 Storeetllr: Conolences on the coon. Those guys are hard on gardens and statuary. Do you have bird feeders? Our coons, skunks, and opossum love feeding off the stuff the birds leave on the ground. Be aware that they love digging for grubs and worms in freshly disturbed ground so anything you plant may be dug up. Sprinkle a mix of garlic powder (not salt) and red pepper flakes to discourage them. (You could try crushed garlic too.). It smells bad to them and as they lick their paws they'll burn their mouths.

Thanks, Cassie. No pets, no bird feeders, no new digging. Only the straw bales, which I have checked and find nothing to show they're after them. I think I'll wrap them with chicken wire, though, to keep them and any other critters from burrowing into the warmth.

I checked today, and no new scat, so maybe it was a one-off. *cross fingers* I'll keep checking, though, and keep your advice in mind just in case.

Well, I went to the gardening center yesterday for blood meal and ended up with that plus 9 small seedlings (3 tomatoes, 2 peppers, 2 bush beans, and a sugar snap peas) and numerous packets of seeds (many organic and/or non-gmo): Easter Egg radishes, Scarlet Nantes carrots, muskmelons, lemon cucumbers, Nero Toscana kale, Early Wonder beets, dill, Jewel Blend nasturtiums, Rainbow Swiss Chard, sunflowers, calendula (pot marigold), borage and Lemon/Tangerine Gems Signet Marigolds. Also got a soil thermometer, some organic all purpose (4-4-4) fertilizer for after planting, and a soaker hose.

Think maybe I overdid it just a tiny bit?

Hey, at least you got what you went for! :) )

>32 Storeetllr: Maybe you'll need another straw bale?

>33 CassieBash: *snerk* I've been known to forget to buy the thing I actually went shopping for.

>34 qebo: I was wondering about that, Katherine, but my niece, who is quite the gardener, said I can and should grow some of the stuff in containers (three of which I have and used last year) rather than buying another bale.

If it all works out even half as well as I am hoping, I'll probably expand next year to 8 bales, and really go crazy.

Oh! I'm sitting here at my desk near the back patio door watching a pair of robins build their nest in my deck overhang!!!!

There was a robin nest there last year, and I got some really cool pics of the babies and proud parents (https://www.librarything.com/topic/177603#4765083), but I thought I wasn't going be blessed this year. I'm so excited!

>36 Storeetllr: Oh, what fun!

So, it WAS a raccoon, hmm? :wink:

I hope it doesn't come back. We have raccoons all the time: they come looking for leftover cat food. When I see them scarfing the cat kibble, I grab my dog by the collar, and open the door enough for Tirzah to push her head through, and bark. The raccoons usually run immediately, but more casual retreats result in me releasing the dog. The raccoon runs into the woods, followed by a barking dog. Tirzah returns triumphantly. No one gets hurt. :)

Oh! I seem to have lost track of my own thread. Sorry for the delay in responding, Katherine and fuzzi.

>37 qebo: Yes, they're definitely nesting up there again this year, but they're still a bit skittish, so I am avoiding going outside as often as I'd like. And, for some reason, Nickel's being weird about them being right outside her window, whereas last year she hardly noticed. Birds.

>38 fuzzi: You know, I'm not sure it was a raccoon, but I haven't seen any other signs, and we don't leave out anything that could be taken for food, not even fertilizer.

So, it's been rainy and cool the past few days, and this morning I found a bunch of mushrooms growing out of the straw bales. I meant to plant today, but I think I'm going to wait until tomorrow, give the bales another helping of nitrogen and another day or two before planting the seedlings. I do want to get in the seeds, though. I've had a bit of a sore back the past few days, which has slowed me down a lot.

Exciting news! I just heard from the Denver Butterfly Pavilion that they have three types of seedlings for sale (purported to be "perennial(s) that provide() habitat for butterflies):


Blanketflower (Gailardia aristata)


Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)


Bee balm (Monarda fistulosa)

They're also offering a free training about how to get involved with the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project on Sunday, June 7th at Butterfly Pavilion from 9 am – 3 pm. I'm going to try and get there, though that's a really long day!

ETA a description of the seedlings straight from the email I got from the Butterfly Pavilion.

>40 Storeetllr: Only one of those is milkweed, host to monarchs. I have bee balm too; it's extremely attractive to all manner of pollinators.

Thanks, Katherine! I ordered two each, but maybe I should have ordered 3 each of the milkweed and the bee balm. Well, I'm going to try and get there on Sunday for that training and will talk to the trainer about it then.

>42 Storeetllr: Two each gives you more variety to experiment with. I'm not familiar with blanketflower, assume it's offered for its pollinator appeal.

The second one is called just Butterfly weed around here. Monarchs do feed on it, but mostly it attracts a smaller solid orange butterfly that almost matches it in color vibrancy.

>44 2wonderY: There seems to be a bit of marketing going on with butterfly weed these days; I've seen it called "butterfly flower". I guess since it's more appropriate for the home garden than swamp milkweed or common milkweed. I had monarch eggs and caterpillars on my butterfly weed last year.

Blanketflower is commonly seen in the west, growing wild, as well as in gardens. It's seen in one form or another in all of the Americas. There are several species of moths and butterflies that depend on it, too.

My husband fell in love with the picture on the packet of seeds, long ago, and I kept one of the plants growing for several years after he was gone (I think it finally just wore out). It was Gaillardia Pulchella (aka Indian Blanket), and just bloomed its little heart out.

I've had it growing here, as well (although I think it was Gaillardia Grandiflora), but the nuisance value was too high for where I had it planted, and I pulled it out. Some places are good to have lots of bees, and some places are not. Where it was, was decidedly not.

Now I think I'll have to put some in along the back fence, for the nuisance value...

>43 qebo: Two each sounded good to me, though I'm not familiar with any of these plants (except, I think, maybe bee balm, which I think I used to grow when I owned a house and was a stay-at-home mom and could garden to my heart's content.

>44 2wonderY: I'm learning so much about butterfly culture!

>45 qebo: I think it's due to the alarming way the population is falling. I just watched the TV news (for the weather, which believe it or not is for snow on Mothers' Day ~ again this year) and there was a story about how Denver Parks is working to bring back the monarch population, in part by pushing people to grow milkweed.

>46 Lyndatrue: Now I think I'll have to put some in along the back fence, for the nuisance value... LOL

Hi, Lynda! Good to know about Blanketflower/Indian Blanket plants! I have a number of places I can put it where bees are not a huge issue, though I'm not a fan of up-close-and-personal experiences with bees.

Speaking of nuisances:



Mama and Baby Bunnies. Oh, joy.

>43 qebo: Blanketfower is kin to sunflowers, members of the aster family. Asters are big favorites with butterflies as a general rule, and were a good chunk of the native plants I bought Friday. My non-fiction book is about attracting butterflies and hummingbirds and it talks about asters as a staple in any butterfly garden. They like them because each "flower" is actually made up of multiple flowers clustered together and thus makes feeding really easy. Plus, the large, strong flower heads can support a butterfly's weight easily.

>48 Storeetllr: Try sprinkling garlic powder (not salt) on and around your garden plants. Or take up falconry. :)

>49 CassieBash: Oh, yes, my African Grey Parrot would be thrilled to share the roost with falcons. LOL

I'm just grateful it's not my property and that the landlord isn't blaming us for the rabbit problem.

So, I'm glad I'm getting a couple of the blanketflowers. I also plan to plant sunflowers in the garden and hope those are a hit with the butterflies, hummingbirds and bees too!

ETA the weather forecast for this coming Sunday is SNOW. Wonderful. I am going to try and get the seedlings and seeds in the bales tomorrow or Friday, knowing I'll probably need to cover them Saturday and Sunday nights with plastic.

>50 Storeetllr: I was joking about the falconry, but seriously, you might give the garlic a try. That's what I'm doing this year (mainly as deer repellant; don't seem to have a rabbit issue yet) while waiting for marigolds, which are a natural deterrent. I went out and as I approached my flowers, I thought that if I didn't know better, I'd think it was an Olive Garden rather than a flower garden! So far it seems to be working; even the raccoons haven't been digging up the newly planted stuff as they often do. (Coons love wet, freshly disturbed dirt to dig around in, looking for tasty bugs and worms.)

I figured you were kidding about the falcons, but the image of Nickel sharing the place with one was too funny. She'd never leave her cage! And there'd be a lot of terrified squealing going on every time the falcon ruffled its feathers. Or, you know, if she happened to glance across the room at it. (She squeals like a little girl if the curtains on the window near her cage move.)

Anyway, I'm going out today and think I'll buy some garlic powder to try. I'm not so worried about the things that will be growing on top of the bales, but I plan to plant some flowers (including marigolds) and herbs on the sides where the rabbits can easily reach them.

We used to have a rabbit (or two) that would nibble in the backyard. Since I got a dog who loves running around the backyard, the rabbits apparently thought better of visiting; I've not seen any in a couple years. If one did stop by, I'm sure my dog would chase it, but she has no talent for catching. She does find turtles and plays with them as if they were a ball...

Yes, dogs are wonderful for keeping the rabbits away. We had three here visiting on Monday and Tuesday, and the yard was completely rabbit-free those days. It didn't take long, though, for the rabbits to figure out when the dogs left and that it was safe to come back. Little critters are not going to be happy next week ~ we're dog-sitting one of the pooches for 9 days. Heh.

>54 Storeetllr: Maybe 9 days will be enough to fool them into thinking the dog is there for keeps!

Wouldn't that be great! We've dog-sat a few times, but only for a few days each time, so maybe a longer stint will do the trick.

>56 Storeetllr: you could leave a couple dog 'scats' at the edge of the yard to deter other critters...

We've tried that, at least inadvertently, the last few times we've had the dogs visiting us, but it hasn't seemed to work. I'm going to put down powdered garlic and what's left of the natural repellent I tried last year (also to no real avail) around the straw bales once I plant. Maybe that will deter the little critters. If they weren't so destructive of the lawn and didn't leave so many droppings EVERYWHERE, I'd enjoy having them. I'm just afraid they'll decimate the garden, at least the plants like lettuce and chard and beets and kale and the flowers.

Forecast is for snow in areas of CO...while we're getting a tropical storm. Fun. Not. ;)

Crazy weather! Not fun at all! I'm sort of getting used to Colorado weather, but the first spring snowstorm I experienced (last May on Mothers' Day) really threw me for a loop. All my Colorado LT friends warned me not to start gardening until after Mothers' Day, but coming from Southern California I found that difficult to believe. Now, I'm a believer!

We used to get occasional snowfalls on Mother's Day in Connecticut. Here in eastern NC, last frost is early April, tax day being fairly safe for planting annuals.

I love the Crystal Coast, which is where my sister worked for a couple of years when she was still doing temp nursing work, and that was one of the places my sis and I talked about settling in, back before her daughter moved to Denver and had my sister's first grandchild. Now, I couldn't move her away from here with a pry bar.

That's a nice area. We've done long weekends in Salter's Path, just north of Emerald Isle.

The sun! It came out! After a cloudy morning, we had an hour or so of sun this afternoon, and it was crazy wonderful! Then it got cloudy again and now it is raining. (The weather report today included a calendar of May showing only 2 days so far without rain, hail or snow, and only 3 days that the temps got into the 70s. It's just depressing.)

BUT, while the sun was shining, I went out and did some planting in the back (with Nickel perched in the pear tree supervising). I planted the seedlings (three tomatoes, two peppers, two bush beans, three snap peas, two zucchini) and some seeds (nasturtiums, marigolds, kale and borage). I still have two bales to plant, and the sides of all the bales. It's still not great weather for the seedlings, but I can't wait any longer or they might not produce before first frost.

I didn't have time to take pics of the inchoate garden before I had to scurry to get myself, the bird, and the gardening tools inside before the rain got bad, but I think we're supposed to have some clearing in the morning and will try to get some pics then ~ after I plant the rest of the seedlings (the milkweed, blanketflowers and bee balm; basil, cilantro and parsley) and more seeds (chard, dill, calendula, sunflowers, more nasturtium and borage, and radishes).

I think I'll wait until next year to plant beets, carrots, cukes, and musk melon and hope I can keep the seeds mostly viable until then.

I feel so happy to have had a little time in the garden and gotten some work done FINALLY!

>63 fuzzi: I was only near the NC coast for a week a couple of years ago, fuzzi, but I loved it! I had also spent some time in the Ashville area a couple of years before that, and loved that part of NC too.

BTW, this is what I awoke to on Mothers' Day.



The snow was wet and heavy and broke a lot of branches (the pear tree lost a couple, and the linden tree/bush in front, plus the lilacs were bent to the ground), ruined some flowers (my iris *sob*) and even downed some trees in the neighborhood.

>64 Storeetllr: Do you have plans for any black swallowtail caterpillars on your dill and parsley--assuming your planting them more for your use instead of host plants, that is?

I'm actually planting enough for both me and butterflies, or, rather, caterpillars, Cassie!

I bought a four pack of Italian parsley, and will transplant it later today. I hope to attract butterflies!

>68 fuzzi: I imagine you will, what with four parsley plants in the garden! Not to mention all your other butterfly attracting plants.

I tried to start parsley inside, but got only one scraggly seedling out of it. I think I'll end up buying a few seedlings next time I get to the garden center, though I'm going to shove a few seeds into the sides of the bales and hope a few of them grow. Also planting dill seeds, marigolds, calendula and borage in the sides. Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best!

Not sure how this straw bale garden thing is going to work out. If the plants actually grow well, I will try again next year, but I will be buying the bales from a farmer and not the feed center. My straw bales had too many seeds in them, and I've got a crop of grass of some kind growing all over it.

I can't take a pic of what I've planted, because it's all tented due to the hail we've been getting. I had just finished planting lemon cuke and radishes yesterday when it started, and I had to run inside to get the plastic sheet and set up and get it secured so the wind (we get a lot of wind here) wouldn't blow it away. I decided to leave the plastic up until this round of storms is over. That may not be until late this coming week. Boo hiss.

I love Borage! I've seen Dill seedlings for sale, but supposedly it does not take well to transplanting.

>68 fuzzi: Good luck! Hope you get lots of cats crawling on your parsley!

>69 Storeetllr: Look for plants with small orange or black balls on them; these are swallowtail eggs (the darker the color, the closer to hatching, with black meaning an imminent hatching). I've found and bought such plants--and sometimes you can even find the cats already hatched and eating. If you explain you're taking these because of the eggs--make sure that the person checking you out is mindful of the egg or cat--they're usually very accommodating.

>70 fuzzi: I've heard that about dill, so I planted seeds. Love borage too!

>71 CassieBash: Thanks, Cassie. I haven't seen anything. It's possible we just don't have enough good plants in the yard (yet). I'm working on it! :)

No seeds have sprouted yet, but it's early days.

Yesterday I planted the milkweed, bee balm and blanketflower seedlings in the bales (I decided against putting them in our clay-ey soil). I planned to plant the daylilies (thank you again, fuzzi!) today after amending the clay-soil with compost and organic fertilizer but it's storming. :(

All the seedlings, even the zucchini which looked pretty sad when I put it in the bales last week, are doing well.

Crossing my fingers everything does well in the bales.

The baby robins have hatched! They're living in a nest under the deck eaves right outside my back door, and I saw them for the first time yesterday. They are already really big, and I think they hatched just a day or two ago! They make the sweetest squeaking sounds when mom and dad bring them something to eat.

Will take pictures as soon as possible.

Pictures! Pictures! We all want pictures! :D

Yes, we definitely want pictures.

Happy to oblige, though this isn't all of the pics I wanted to take this morning. But in the middle of my taking pics, the wind came up, the sun disappeared under the clouds, it got cold and started to drizzle. Yuck.

Anyway, here are the bales, taken from the north end:

From front to rear, showing: Tomato, bee balm, tomato, cherry tomato, peppers, zucchini (can't really see), milkweed (can't really see) and blanketflower.

Second tomato from end:


Peppers:


Bee balm (planted on the side of the bale):


Milkweed (planted on the side of the bale):


Bush beans (in a pot, not the bales):

Thanks for the pics, they're interesting!

So, how do you plant in the bale, dig out a hole? Never mind, I see it (again) now, post 13!

>75 Storeetllr: That's really cool. I might try it sometime even though I don't need to.

I did need to make a hole in the bales for the seedlings, fuzzi, nice and deep, by separating the straw with a trowel. The compost and fertilizer mentioned in >13 Storeetllr: that I applied to the tops of the bales have since sunk into the straw and dissolved, making the straw a fertile medium. At least that's the theory.

It is cool, Katherine! I just hope I did it right and it works. I'll keep everyone infotmed!

I'd like to try straw bale plantings myself. If I can find bales cheap enough, I'd like to start cultivating my downslope. That's the only way I can think of to give the desired plants half a chance.

Here's my most recent inspiration from one of the orchard books I've been reading:

>79 2wonderY: Oh, that's beautiful! Makes me wish I had land for it and that I was young enough to actually handle a job of that size and nature. Four straw bales and a few containers are just about all I can manage though.

>if you go to one of my old threads
http://www.librarything.com/topic/144009

and down to post #84, you'll get a taste of my downslope view where the above photo has been superimposed, at least in my head.

>81 2wonderY: Nice!

So, as promised, here are the pics I managed to get of the baby robins:


May 30 - Four "baby" robins big as their parents already


June 1 - Last fledgling left in nest and just not quite ready to fly


June 1 - One of the braver of the fledglings, but having a rough time getting lift, so resting for awhile on a dead branch in the corner of the back yard


June 1 - Nickel, keeping close watch to be sure I don't "adopt" the baby robin because Nickel's an "only" bird and means to keep it that way

>82 Storeetllr: Cuteness!

>82 Storeetllr: This is the first year I can remember that we didn't have at least one bird nesting outside our windows. We're on the second floor, so we're a good height. Last year I had doves right outside our window, but the existing nest has a lot of wear and tear from years of use, and they didn't show much interest in rebuilding, even though they raised two perfect children there. We had a robin nesting in another library window about two years ago, but I think a storm took out their nest before the babies were quite ready, and the window's been vacant since. I miss having baby birds right outside my office window, though.

>82 Storeetllr: nice photos! Good job. :)

Nice pictures!

June 3, 2015:



Waaaaaah.

>87 Storeetllr: Waaaaaah.
June?????? Are you sure you want to live there?

This is why people in your area need to invest in tunnel covers! :-(

>87 Storeetllr: words fail me...

>87 Storeetllr: You have my absolute sympathy, poor thing. We here in the arid side of Washington state are in the beginnings of a severe drought. I still don't think I'd want to see your view. I'll try and send you some warm weather. We're about to have plenty.

Here's hoping the robins made it through okay.

>87 Storeetllr: Condolences. I hope you at least haven't had tornadoes close by. Did your hay bales help insulate the plants, though? Have you lost any plants?

When we lived in the hills of NE CT, we used to cover our annuals with paper bags from the grocery store, one per plant, like a tent. I've seen people use milk jugs with the bottom removed, too, to protect their tender plants from this sort of thing.

Getting caught up with threads in the group. Good job with the succulents! I would never have thought to create planters out of egg shells.

>48 Storeetllr: - Bunnies! So cute, but so disastrous to a garden.

Love the success you have had with bale planting!

>82 Storeetllr: - Love the pictures of the baby robins and the ever watchful Nickel!

Whoa! Looks like I lost track of my own thread! Thanks to all who have visited since I last posted that sad pic of hail on June 3, and I apologize for the delay in responding.

>88 qebo: Some days I love living in Colorado, Katherine. Other days, I'm sure I made a terrible mistake by moving here.

>89 ronincats: Next year, Roni. I will buy a tunnel cover way in advance of spring.

>90 fuzzi: Me too, fuzzi.

>91 Lyndatrue: Thanks, Lynda. If I could send you our dampness, I would. I used to live in So.Cal., so I know how it is to live with drought and fire. As it is, I hope your drought isn't too bad and there are no bad fires out your way.

BTW, the robins made it fine, and a new family of robin babies just hatched yesterday!

>92 CassieBash: Thanks, Cassie. Tornadoes all over Colorado, but so far none in our back yard. I lost a couple of plants, but the rest are thriving now, if looking a bit ragged.

>93 fuzzi: I cut out the bottoms of a few milk jugs and have used them for protection from hail and snail damage. Unfortunately, though, the last hailstorm arrived so quickly, I didn't have a chance to get out and put up the milk jug and laundry basket protectors before half-dollar sized hailstones were coming down so hard I was afraid to even use an umbrella. Also, lightening.

>94 lkernagh: Hi, Lori! Thanks so much for posting today and reminding me I hadn't posted to this thread in a long time. Glad you enjoyed the pics of the garden, the robins and Nickel.

Bunnies. Cute, damaging to plants, and carriers of plague. Actually, not plague. That's the prairie dogs. But the rabbits are carrying some sort of disease that is harmful to humans and dogs. We're advised to not go out and work in the garden without wearing gloves and closed shoes and long pants and even a mask, if doing mowing. Not fun.

As for the bale garden, I took some photos of it yesterday and this morning. It's crazy how a couple of them seem to have collapsed to half the size they started. Inside, there is no more straw. It is all composted material.


This morning. That's kale in the container to the right of the bales.


Another from this morning, taken from the opposite end.


Yesterday, showing the relative heights of the bales currently. The tomatoes are doing great, as are the blanketflowers and the kale! The rest of the plants are surviving.

>95 Storeetllr: How fun, and productive! Finally looks like summer there.

It did look like summer, didn't it! Today, however, is cold (yes, cold ~ 59F now, with a high of 66 expected, IN JULY) and raining, and the forecast is for thunderstorms all week till Friday, when the temp's supposed to shoot up to 84F. LOL

My garden likes the moisture, though I worry about the tomatoes (and lilac bushes and roses) getting powdery mildew.

I'll be over to check out your gardening thread later today, Katherine ~ I seem to have lost track of EVERYONE'S gardening threads over the past couple of weeks, not just my own.

>95 Storeetllr: I love the last picture; makes the tree look like it has buttefly wings. Too bad about the killer rabbits, though. But your hay bale planting does indeed seem to be a great success!

Thanks, Cassie! I hadn't noticed it before you mentioned it, but it does, doesn't it! Fun!

The bale garden seems to be thriving, though I think I've got snails or slugs because some of the leaves (especially the basil and the lower leaves of the peppers) are full of holes. I caught and disposed of about 6 of the nasty little things a few days ago and haven't seen more since. Hoping the plants recover okay.

There have been loads of ladybugs in the garden this year, and I've seen quite a few monarchs flitting around, though I haven't seen any of them land anywhere nearby.

Sad news about the last clutch of baby robins ~ I found two of them dead in the yard, and no sign of the parents.I have no idea what happened ~ they weren't eaten or anything. I guess they fell out of the nest before they were ready to fly. :(

>99 Storeetllr: sorry to hear about the Robins. It could be disease, as well.

Sad whatever the cause, but scary to think it could be disease as my parrot and I sit outside pretty much every morning right below where the nest is.

Oh! I wasn't thinking disease either, but I had to remove two dead chicks from my front sidewalk last week. They were very small, without full feathers yet, and no nest particularly close. Hmmm.

>101 Storeetllr: and >102 2wonderY: Fearsome as it sounds to find an unexplained dead bird that could be a carrier, there are multiple things that are often the cause. The most likely birds to be infected are "gulls, terns and shorebirds or waterfowl such as ducks, geese and swans." (Taken directly from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/avian-in-birds.htm)

Robins and the like are seldom in contact with waterfowl (which are the wild bird population's normal vectors for infection).

In case you honestly want to read about symptoms (not before breakfast, though), here's an additional link:

http://www.gemplers.com/tech/avianflusigns.htm

>101 Storeetllr:, >102 2wonderY:, >103 Lyndatrue: Not to be a fear-monger, as there are lots of causes for dead nestlings and fledglings, but keep in mind that avian flu isn't the only bird disease, and while robins aren't on the most susceptible list like the corvid family, they aren't immune. That being said, I fear that robins also aren't the best nest-builders and we always find a few dead babies that seem to have suffered from the poor architectural skills of their species. Storeetllr, if you're really worried about West Nile virus, you can keep an eye on it here. If you want to really put your fears to rest, you might take the dead birds in a plastic bag to your DNR or County Extension Office to rule out both WNV and avian flu. Then you'd definitely know if there was a risk to your parrot, or if it's just robin carelessness, predators, or another less-worrisome problem.

Big changes from the images in >95 Storeetllr:. The bale garden is doing amazingly well, and I have the best tomatoes, cukes, and sweet peppers I've ever grown, at least in recent memory. Only trouble is, the bales are breaking down, and the tallest of the tomatoes wants to lay down, while the hybrid tomato is leaning into the cherry tomato, which has pretty much covered the peppers (until I got in there and did something about the problems). Here are a few pics of today's garden.


Tall heirloom on the north end, next to hybrid Golden Jubilee in the middle and cherry tomato next to that. You can barely see a few of the pepper leaves, peeking out from under the cherry tomato. The one in back gave up and has started growing down the side of the bale. Cuke is on the right, trying to take over everything.


A closer look at the tomato gang.


Freshly picked cherry toms, lemon cuke and fresh herbs.


Three Golden Jubilees and a few cherry toms for contrast.


Lunch the other day, fresh from the garden. Lemon cuke and Golden Jubilee tomato. Yum!

At last! I've been patiently waiting for an update on your garden for WEEKS, Mary, but it surely was worth the wait.

>105 Storeetllr: Impressive!

I grew lemon cukes for the first time this year. They're good, but so odd looking.

Nice looking tomatoes!!

Tomatoes are a vine, so they tend to revert to horizontal growth...at least that's been my experience. :)

>109 fuzzi: I don't think I'd thought about tomatoes being a vine before, although many varieties seem to be that way. Is it possible that they're like beans, with bush and "pole" varieties?

I know that Early Girls are insistent on becoming a jungle, and I've even set up a second tomato cage to support extra growth when necessary. I always found the early versions of Brandywine to be very well behaved (happily living inside their cage), but with the advent of commercial versions of them, they seem to have adopted the vining characteristic.

My cukes are that fat round shape, growing longer and fatter, if I let them; but they turn bright orange, even the tiny ones. I'm using up seed that I bought at the hardware store almost randomly. They were sold as pickling cukes, and they are very firm.

eta: They are Boston variety, but appear to have incorporated USDA germ line that increases the beta-carotene content. Hmmm Gonna have to think about growing them again

Thanks, all!

Ha! I was waiting for what seemed like weeks for the tomatoes to ripen, Roni. Definitely worth the wait, and all the work.

Thanks, Katherine. I'm impressed too. Never had such success with tomatoes. So far, I've had more than I usually was getting in a season, and there are still lots more on the vines waiting to ripen. I think this straw bale gardening idea is a winner!

They are funny looking, Jane! But the taste and crispness! Very mild. Do your have little stickers on the skin?

Thanks, fuzzi. I knew they are vines, but I've never grown such prolific, heavy vining plants before. It caught me by surprise. Next year, I'll be better prepared.

Oh! Hi! Two more visitors to the garden while I wasn't looking. Welcome!

Hi, Lyndatrue! I tried Early Girl last year and didn't have much success. This year I tried Brandywine (tallest one on the end), Golden Jubilee (the one in the middle), and plain old cherry tomatoes. The Brandywine wants to take over the world, lying down while doing it. I actually had to prune it some to keep the branches from breaking off in the strong winds we had a couple weeks ago.

Huh. I wonder what the name of those orange cukes is. Have you pickled any yet, Ruth?

No, and I didn't mean to. I thought they'd be a petite size. Ha!

>114 2wonderY: Lemon cucumbers turn orange as they grow, but they do NOT taste good once they do. Do yours start out pale at first?

It may also be a function of rich soil. On the other hand...

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/154574/

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/72557/

When I was young (a long, long time ago), pickling cucumbers were often orange.

Here's an interesting read (and caused me to find the two links above).

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1448508/orange-cucumbers

Please ignore the crazy non-gmo people commenting towards the bottom. Slice a couple open and take a taste. I'm betting on old-fashioned picklers.

Tomatoes come in two types, determinate and indeterminate. Determinate varieties tend to be bushier, to produce one main crop and then stop. These are the ones recommended for pots and patios. Indeterminates will take over the world under the right conditions and keep bearing until frost or death from other causes. I have grown such varieties vertically up string or wire or netting, pinching off all the offshoots to keep it to a single vine. But usually I don't have the energy to keep up with them. ;-)

>116 ronincats: thanks, the determinate/indeterminate differences slipped my mind.

Here in the southern USA, gardeners often cut and root tomato "suckers", to get a second crop from the first. If one does not use chemical controls, but goes organic, it's probably the only way to have tomatoes continue bearing until frost, due to the myriad of tomato pests here.

I've neglected this thread shamefully, and I apologize!

I've had pretty good luck with the garden, getting a good crop of tomatoes and lemon cukes, which turned out to be a big hit! Now, toward the end of the growing season, the tomato and cuke harvest is slowing down, but the flowers! Gorgeous! Here are a few pics of the garden and of a couple individual nasturtium flowers. Notice you can barely see the straw bales:









I'm already planning for next year's garden, with at least 6 bales rather than the 4 that I planted this year, and adding more herbs, flowers, musk melon, and zuccini, and an additional lemon cuke.

Nice!

>118 Storeetllr: Success!

Lemon cukes were a big hit here, too! I'm definitely adding them to the permanent roster! They had the best flavour of any cuke I grew this year.

Woo-hoo! Glad the bale experiment worked so well for you!

Thanks, all!

>121 tardis: They are pretty wonderful, aren't they! I'm actually thinking of putting in 3 or 4 plants, because we all (me, my sis, niece and great-niece) loved them, and one plant just didn't provide enough cukes for us all to get, well, enough.

>118 Storeetllr: gorgeous Nasturtiums! I can't grow them here, it's too hot. :(

I wonder if using straw bales helps prevent the transference of diseases and pests from one year to another?

Oh! I wonder if you could grow nasturtiums in the shade there? I love them, and would hate not to be able to grow them. I used to grow them in SoCal, in the low desert, which gets pretty baking in the summer. Just had to make sure I put them in partial shade and kept them watered.

Yes, the bales are supposed to prevent transfer of diseases from one year to the other, because you compost the straw that's left after the harvest and then use fresh bales the following year.

I tried growing Nasturtiums, they fried. They are annuals, and probably just can't handle the stress of our summer heat.

I do manage to grow perennial Evening Primroses here, but planted between the shrubs that are in front of my porch, so they are sheltered. The plants bloom in April/May, then fry into brown sticks...but when autumn arrives, I see fresh green leaves emerge, which remain throughout the winter.

Tomatoes are still producing, and the nasturtiums, blanket flowers, pot marigolds, and other annuals are still blazing with color, but the nights are getting longer and colder and it will soon be time to put the garden to bed for the year. I hate thinking about it, and the long cold winter ahead!

There are still so many green tomatoes left on the vines that I'm planning to hang the plants, roots and all, from hooks in the garage before the first freeze, which I expect in a week or so, and let the fruits ripen on the vine. Now to buy some hooks.

Anyone had any luck doing that?

>127 Storeetllr: Oh, my, something I know about. Tomatoes are very easy to ripen over the winter. Leave them on the vine, and just put them on some newspaper, or you can go to a ton of trouble and make nice little newspaper funnels, and hang them high overhead. They'll ripen either way. I just mostly take them off the vine, or else leave them on a branch with a few leaves, and place them one layer deep in a large laundry cart I've had for a million years or so.

This is only to keep the bugs and dirt off. I've hung them over the tomato cages, in other years, still on the vine. As long as they're not bright green, and have started to turn at least a bit (you can tell because the green is more grayish, less bright), they'll ripen just fine. Take off the bright green ones and toss them out (unless you want to make fried green tomatoes, or green tomato relish).

I've had ripe tomatoes into January, some years.

Thanks, Lynda! I think I'll try it your way, on newspapers. The easier the better, that's one of my favorite mottos! Fresh ripe homegrown tomatoes in January. What could be better? My sis tried to make fried green tomatoes one year, but they didn't turn out. This year, my niece pickled her overabundance of green cherry tomatoes. Green tomato relish doesn't sound half bad either!

So, I have been saving seed from this year's crop. First time ever. So far, I've managed to save a ton of nasturtium seeds, which I love because it's beautiful and edible, plus borage, blanketflower, marigold, dill and calendula. I may try to save some of the heirloom tomato seeds, because those tomatoes, though not the prettiest, are the sweetest and tastiest tomatoes I've ever eaten! I've still got a lot of lemon cuke seeds, some of which should be viable next year, so no need to try and save those. What else? Oh, yes, probably try to save some pot marigold and cosmos seeds.

Anyone else into saving seeds? If so, do you have any advice for me?

So, we had our first light dusting a week ago, and then a few days ago had a more substantial snowfall. The forecast is for a really heavy snowstorm, maybe a blizzard, overnight on Monday. Guess it's time to get the garden ready for winter. I was out today working on that and thought I ought to take an "after" picture. (The "before" can be seen at >13 Storeetllr:, and the "during" at >95 Storeetllr: and >118 Storeetllr:.)



Already dreaming of spring...

>130 Storeetllr: You sure don't get much window of opportunity there.

Hi, Katherine! Gardening in Colorado is weird, and a little nerve-wracking. If you wait too long to winterize, you lose any plants you want to keep overwinter either indoors or well-mulched outdoors. But if you do it too soon, you're likely to miss a week or two of additional growing season. And it can happen overnight. Two weeks ago, I checked the weather, and the overnight temps were looking good, in the 40s. Then one afternoon a day or so later, I got an alert on my phone that warned of frost that night. Eeek!

That's anywhere. We had frost warnings a few weeks ago, and friends had frosts. We seem to be a bit protected right here. Now we've had a few weeks of sunny days in the high teens. Some of those tomatoes might have ripened. I still have pepper plants that might ripen their last fruits.

We're up and down in northwest Indiana, too. Had a hard frost on Saturday morning, then a pleasant day with lows in the upper 30s/lower 40s Saturday night, with a 60 degree high on Sunday. Yesterday was so nice that my sister saddled her pony and went for a short ride. Earlier, the "s" word (snow) was kicked around and it had shown up on radar to the north of us, in Michigan. For the first three days of this week, we're in the 50s and 60s and lows in the 40s; by Thursday the temps drop to highs of 40s and lows in the 20s and the wind returns. Ah, yes. The joys of November weather! :)

Sorry, I should have clarified. Gardening in Colorado is weird for this former Southern California girl. :)

ETA it's snowing right now! First big snowfall of the season, and by "big" I mean more than a few inches. It's supposed to dump anywhere from 3" to 3'. And first really cold day.

I like snow, but prefer how we get it here: 1-2 snowfalls of 3-6", which usually melts the next day.

I don't like shoveling it, or driving in it. I had my fill of snow, living in New England until I was 28.

There are certain four letter words that should not be used in polite society. Especially S__W.

>137 MarthaJeanne: Some time ago, our morning local NBC news team referred to that word as "sn". It became a running gag for that season that the morning crew never actually said the word "snow", just the sounds of the first two letters. It was funny hearing a meteorologist talking about "sn" instead of "snow". But I have to admit that the funniest meteorologist moment we've had locally was during a tornado watch. One of them went through tornado safety procedures--basements, sheltered spots, etc. Then he got to the old myth about opening the windows to equalize pressure (long since proven ineffectual, and it only wastes valuable time you could spend getting to proper shelter) and he said, with a completely straight face, "Don't bother to open the windows. The tornado will do it for you." My sister and I laughed so hard!

Just now got this alert for our area...*sigh*....

Issued by The National Weather Service North Webster, IN
Tue, Nov 17, 9:43 am EST

... A POTENTIAL OF ACCUMULATING SNOW THIS WEEKEND...
EARLY INDICATIONS SUGGEST A POTENTIAL OF ACCUMULATING SNOW THIS WEEKEND... MAINLY FROM LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. THIS SYSTEM IS STILL SEVERAL DAYS OUT AND ANY SMALL CHANGES IN FORECAST TRACK WILL INFLUENCE THE POTENTIAL OF ACCUMULATING SNOW... AND WHETHER PRECIPITATION FALLS AS MAINLY RAIN OR SNOW. DETAILS IN TERMS OF FORECASTED SNOW AMOUNTS AND TIMING SHOULD BECOME CLEARER BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT OR THURSDAY. STAY UPDATED ON THE LATEST FORECAST OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS CONCERNING THIS POTENTIAL FIRST ACCUMULATING SNOW EVENT OF THE SEASON FOR THIS WEEKEND.

>139 CassieBash: that means WATCH OUR CHANNEL AND INCREASE OUR RATINGS!

>138 CassieBash: I like that, "sn"...

>140 fuzzi:: Actually, it came in from my Weather Channel app, which stupidly didn't have the weather statement physically up yet, so I had to go onto the actual Weather Channel site to find out what the statement was. (The statement has since been posted officially in the app, but this is one of the problems I have with the Weather Channel app. When you have an important weather statement, it should be available to view in the app as soon as it sends the alert, more as a matter of principle than safety, since these statements are usually not immediately life-threatening issues.) So in this case, it means USE OUR APP AND WASTE VALUABLE TIME! But yes, it does probably boil down to the same thing.

We still use "sn" personally at home.

My sister has been handing out treats to the squirrels over the past few weeks. She isn't here today, but this little guy (or gal, not sure which) wasn't deterred by that fact or by the fact that I do not give out treats to them. It sat on the deck rail for a good ten minutes while I was making my coffee and Nickel's breakfast, apparently thinking that, if it stared at the magic patio door long enough, a treat would appear.

I just wish I were that focused on anything.

But you see, if it had been a crow with the evil eye, you would have felt that you had to obey the STARE. Squirrels just don't have the same intensity.

I'd have fed the crow and raven and pretty much any bird without them having to resort to the evil eye. :)

My sis is the crazy squirrel lady. I'm the crazy bird lady. Just ask my crazy bird Nickel. :)



"This is true," says Nickel. "Mary is promiscuous when it comes to birds. Sometimes I despair."

>141 CassieBash: try weather.gov. Or Weatherbug. Both work well on my iPad.

>144 Storeetllr: Oh, it's all over now. I'm coming to visit. Tell Nickel I'm on the way...

Er, when it gets warm again, that is.

>146 Lyndatrue: Yeah, I'd wait until it's a bit warmer here. If the coming year is anything like last, that means maybe June 15. :) But you'll be very welcome anytime! And Nickel loves company, especially when they give her almonds. And pay attention to her. And clap when she does or says something cute. Or pretty much when she says or does anything. She's such a ham.

Gardeners are some of the best people in the world!

I ordered some orange milkweed seeds in order to do some winter starts. I ordered 50 seeds from a woman in Kansas on eBay who collected the seeds from her garden. It was $2.50 for the seeds, and $2.50 for postage. I got the package yesterday, and in the envelope were the orange milkweed seeds PLUS gift packets of marigold mix, four o'clock mix, wildflower mix, and purple milkweed and maroon hollyhock seeds! So, I'm planting the milkweed seeds and putting them outside in the cold this week so they can be ready to plant come spring. (I am giving some of the seedlings to my niece who plans to plant a garden this year even though she just had a baby, and I may offer some to friends and neighbors. Assuming I get anything. :) I'll also strew the wildflower seeds around now. I need to read how to grow hollyhocks and four o'clocks before I do anything with them, because I've never grown them before.

With the seeds I collected this year and some I saved from last year, and the herbs I overwintered inside, I'll only have to buy tomato seedlings and zucchini seeds.

>148 Storeetllr: What a nice thing for her to do! Mary, when I was a little girl growing up in Denver in the 1950s, I remember hollyhocks growing in every vacant lot (imagine vacant lots in Denver!--ha). My mother also had four o'clocks growing outside the back door, and I used to like to collect the seeds. I planted both of those in my Missouri gardens "just because," and had both for about 20 years in my gardens.

Your hollyhock plants will probably live only a couple of years, but the nice thing is they reseed if you give them room (or you can harvest seeds in the fall). I sowed my seeds (in late fall) right into the ground in a flower bed beside the house along the driveway where they got plenty of sun. You'll have to start yours indoors because of the time of year, I would think. They like heat and sun (and also rich compost), but they also like moist earth. I planted seeds of several colors one year, and I never had to plant them again. The thing is, the plants (except for seedlings) don't transplant well because of their taproot, so put the seeds in a place where you don't mind seeing them "pop up" from year to year (or transplant the seedlings). They like water, so in Colorado you'll probably have to water them daily, at least a little bit. Water from below and you'll have less chance of the plants getting rust. Mine usually had rust (the foliage, particularly the bottom) because I didn't use fungicide on them. Some years the rust was worse than others, probably because some years I wasn't too careful about the way I watered them. I didn't really care. Some people stake them, but I never did. Cut the stocks way down when they're finished blooming, and they'll probably bloom another year. They sound like sort of a pain, but they're not. Mine were pretty much on self-care for years, and they were beautiful every year. One last thing: don't expect flowers the first year. They have a rather short (2-3 weeks?) blooming season, so don't go on vacation when they start to bloom, or you'll miss them. The big fat bumblebees that I had around my yard like these flowers.

As far as the four o'clocks are concerned: sow the seeds into the ground where you have plenty of sun (and room) and stand back. Ha. If given enough sun, one plant can become huge (like 3'x3'). These also reseed easily. If your garden is like mine, you'll be pulling them up like weeds. Otherwise, they take over. Four o'clocks like the same conditions as hollyhocks--full sun, rich soil. I could count on them to stand up to the terrible Missouri heat without a problem. Mine bloomed from mid-summer well into the fall and first frost, which was sometimes November. I planted these mostly for the nostalgia of them. I never noticed that bees or butterflies were particularly interested in them.

What a lovely story, Becky! And thanks for the advice on growing hollyhocks and four o'clocks. We are renting, and neither our from or back yard gets as much sun as I'd like, but I know exactly where to plant both for best effect and culture. Not sure my landlord will appreciate a kudzu-type flower, but I'll do what I can to keep it in check as long as I'm here. :)

Last year was the first time I ever saved any seeds from my garden, and I found it exhilarating. I'll be doing it again this year, assuming I manage to get anything to grow.

ETA I see you are a neighbor! Are you anywhere near the Denver area? We have some really fun LT meetups a few times a year, and sometimes get visitors from far away that we plan meetups around too.

>150 Storeetllr: Yes, I'm in Canon City, so I'm not far. Plus, my son and his fiancée live in Aurora, so I have plenty of reason to head that way. I'm part of the 75 Books group, so I've heard about the Denver meet-ups in the past. I will watch for them--fun.

It looks like you had good results from your straw bale planting. I thought of you when I saw this today on my fb page.

http://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2013/04/30/the-straw-bale-pallet-crate-garden-sim...

>151 labwriter: Hi, neighbor! Canyon City's not too far at all. Our next meetup is, I think, going to be toward the end of March. I'll let you know.

>152 labwriter: Great article! I just plopped four bales on the bare concrete slab out back so they would get the most sun possible. I had a few little problems ~ turned out our rabbits liked to burrow into the straw ~ which a planter like the one shown would probably prevent. This year, I was thinking of putting them on chicken wire fencing and wrapping it up the sides aways so the little critters couldn't get inside.

Thank you, I hope you had a good holiday!