Has anyone successfully grown apricots in zone 3?
sylvana11
13 years ago
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ljpother
13 years agodon555
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Has anyone grown successfully pepper mint from the seeds?
Comments (5)So is there any hope that some seeds are fertile in my seeds packet? Till now none of the seeds has proved to be fertile, all of the sown ones seem to be sterile? By the way how strong is the pepper mint aroma? I bought once for culinary purposes some mint stalks, but they had almost no aroma of mint, just some greenary scent. The market seller told me later that for culinary purposes some special kind of mint should be bought, which are bought very quickly by restaurants etc. Does your pepper mint have a strong mint aroma?...See MoreWhat have you successfully grown in Zone 7 during Dec, Jan & Feb?
Comments (8)I'm in a colder zone, but it's the arid Southwest, so we have sun almost all winter, and any small protected space will warm up nicely every day. So here's what I do. I have beds 3 and 4 feet wide. I bend 1/2 inch PVC pipe, 10 foot lengths, over the beds and stick the pipe about 6 inches into the soil on either side. In past years I covered these pipes with painter's drop cloths (clear plastic, that is, not canvas) and clipped them on with bull-nose clips from BizMart. But they can overheat in the sun, so this year I am using heavy weight garden fleece (I found some 14'x14'and trim it a bit to fit). This set-up looks like a gardening Canestoga Wagon. Call it a low tunnel. Right now my main low tunnel is still providing carrots from my August planting. However, as I pull carrots, I drop a lettuce seed or spinach seed in the disturbed soil, about one every 6 inches. Spring radishes would be another seed to plant now, and mache and claytonia, which do well in REALLY cold weather. Even if the seeds don't sprout and grow right now, they will sprout and grow VERY EARLY in the new year with just a little cover like the low tunnel. In my low tunnel, I then also put a layer of the thinner garden fleece row cover right on the plants themselves, as added protection when the weather gets colder. I also have a window planter and two hanging pots under there right now, planted with lettuce in September. When the cold weather looks likely to really hit (like this weekend, when temps are supposed to drop to 20 and lower), those pots are coming into the kitchen. If you can't find lettuce transplants now, a neighbor turned me onto this idea: buy a couple of heads of the expensive hydroponic lettuce that still has the roots on, sold in a clamshell with the roots curled up in the bottom. Use the lettuce without cutting the growing bud in the center. Then pot it up and put it in a south-facing window. Granted, I never got enough for a big salad this way, but we always had a few leaves to add crunch to sandwiches in the dead of winter. Finally, even if you don't want to do all this now, not having planted your fall garden in August or September, don't give up! Prepare a bed that you will be able to get to in January and February (I have a bed right in front of my south-facing house for this, yes, right by the front walk). Put up the PVC pipe ribs now, before the soil is frozen. Then in January, when you are DYING to get into the garden, put the plastic cover on, sprinkle a little wood ash on the snow inside (if you have snow) to encourage solar melting, and get ready to plant when the soil peeks out. Unclip one side of your low tunnel and pull the cover back, you'll be surprised how warm it is inside! If the soil is really wet, just put seeds on the surface and cover with a little pile of potting soil. Don't plant the whole thing at once, of course. One day you can plant a few radishes, another day plant a few spinach, and so on. They will take longer to sprout that later plantings, but you'll have extra-early spring greens! In the future, when you plan and plant your winter garden in July, August or September, you can probably have cole-family crops outside all winter (cabbage, kale, collards, broccoli, etc), leeks, and then under a single cover (not two layers like mine) spinach, lettuce, winter radishes, etc. Read Eliot Coleman's Four Season Harvest for more info. Catherine...See MoreHas anyone successfully wintersown impatiens in zone 6?
Comments (15)I live reasonably close to the lake North suburb of Chicago, zone 5 / last frost date is May 15/ and have shady garden, most people usually start planting out their begonia, coleus and impatiens on Memorial Day weekend or possibly a week or two earlier if the spring is fine, which is not often. Yes, I can WS many annuals including impatiens but they would not start blooming at least until mid July and even then it takes them a while to look gorgeous and bushy. So I would get gorgeous plants by end of August- Sept and then first Oct frost will do them in. Kind of not worth it doing for me. So I start my annuals indoor, coleus and begonias are started already, tuberous begonias I start in Dec- Jan. I started pansy/ viola in Dec and they are pretty much getting ready to bloom. They are outside in enclosed Florida porch under plastic wrap, getting their share of our chilly weather. I will set them out in couple of weeks into protected spot and will plant out containers in early April. Pansy can take a light frost and I could always bring in few containers when the weather turns real nasty. I will start impatiens shortly, mid March or so.This year my snowdrops opened as usual on Feb 20 so spring is not going to be early in my neck of woods....See MoreAnyone Successfully Growing Rhodos in Zone 5B
Comments (14)I don't use burlap either, I don't see the return for the effort. Other cultural practices have a much greater benefit. Rhododenrons are pretty tough to grow well in southern Ontario, they require lots of ancillary care. You need to make sure that you've got hardy varieties, the soil composition is correct (high organic, well draining, acidic), planted in a sheltered position (part shade, little wind), the rootball was scored just before planting, topdressed and fertilized every year, and some shelter from winter sun. I did a phenomenal amount of work to ensure conditions mimic a rhodos habitat which in southern ontario, is not easy. One of the biggest shortcomings are the dry summers which can be made worse if you have a thirsty tree nearby (especially maples). I water at least once a week during the summer. The other shortcoming is the soil, which unless you live on the Shield, is exactly the opposite of what is needed. Instead of trying to modify the soil, I just ended up changing it. As for varieties, the Yak, PJM, and Finnish groups are the hardiest but any zone 5 rhodo will work for you. The Dominion aboretum in Ottawa has large rhodos, as does RBG in Hamilton. Azaleas are easier! Simon...See Moresquirelette
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