Donna,

Please elaborate. I help in veggie gardens for free.

Johnny

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden for the food bank.

I'm with ya, Donna! And we aren't far apart! I'm going to call K&K this week. I'll let you know what estimate they shoot me...and I'll be watching this thread to see if anything else shows up!

Johnny - draej & I both reside in rural NE Norman area so that might be farther than you travel, but hey!!!! If you have friends or know someone....we'd appreciate the share!

Personally, I have 3 raised beds that need dug out so I can lay hardware cloth. I didn't think I really had to worry when they were first built, but last year the gophers decimated those beds so now I have nematodes. Again. Blech.

I seriously do NOT understand why God created those rodents.

Thanks, Johnny, but free is not necessary! I have a small potager that is made up of 6 beds about 3 - 4' wide and anywhere from 5' to 15' long. Bermuda grass has grown up in the paths, and all of last year's dead plants are still there. (See why I would feel bad about you doing it for free?)

if you are still interested I can send you a photo tomorrow.

Thanks for your kind offer.

Donna

p-mac, thanks.

When I am overcome by Garden Fever, every year in early February, I never think of things like gophers and nematodes. It's only later, when we have 3 digit temps and little creatures are eating my veggies, that I think, "What have I done?!?"

Donna,

Any landscaping company can help you. I tend to focus on gardens I can plow or till.

That said, I am available to help any organization create a community garden. Please let me know if you hear of any interest there.

I am trying to help some UCO students start a garden. We still need the land there.

Johnny

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden for the food bank.

Thanks, Johnny. I appreciate the offer. My place is too small to plow, and even getting a good sized tiller in there probably wouldn't work.

Hi draej and p-mac. I sent both of you an email. I do not live far from Norman.

Thanks
Scott

Thanks, Scott! Got it and replied!

Donna - I totally understand the Garden Fever. I have a strange case of it this year. It's almost non-existent. In fact, I gave serious thought to NOT. Haven't started a single seed this year, despite all the tempting catalogs. But with the weather warming....I'm beginning to rethink everything. Our 3-digit temps in the summer have worn me out the last several years. I've just got to learn to work smarter, not harder and not let those little pests take my joy of playing in the dirt!

Scott, I have checked my inbox and spam folders and I don't see your email. I also checked to make sure garden web has my correct email address. Maybe it got eaten by cyberspace alien monsters. Darn. Would you mind sending it again?

Paula, I am in the same state -- minimal garden fever. These hot summers have about done me in. I have come to the same conclusion that I have to work smarter if I am going to succeed and not kill myself with heat stroke. Part of it for me is that spending time on my knees is getting to be too uncomfortable. I have been thinking of doing something with straw bales to raise everything up, but haven't figured it out. More challenges, er, opportunities!

You ladies need a pretty spring day with butterflies flitting around, hummingbirds visiting the flowers, fruit trees in bloom and perfect, mild weather to give you Spring Fever. I have a huge case of it down here. Maybe I could mail y'all some Spring Fever germs?

I do confess, though, at the end of the last two summers, I have toyed with the idea of taking off a whole calendar year and not having a garden. I just have felt so exhausted by the whole battling-the-drought-and varmints routine. And I was serious about it too, more so this past fall than the year before. It is one reason that I haven't planted a true fall garden the last couple of years, and why I didn't even get my grow lists made and all my seeds ordered until this past week. Usually I do that in the fall, but back in the fall I was thinking a year off might be nice.

Then, I asked myself what would I do with all the spare time if I wasn't gardening, canning and cooking and I decided I'd go nuts. So, here I am with Spring Fever (albeit a case that was late to develop) and the urge to plant. If we have another horrible year of drought, though, I may pull the plug at midsummer and temporarily retire from gardening until 2016.

okiedawn, thanks for the offer of germs. :) I understamd your desire for a year off. I dread the heat and the discouragement that comes with working in it, the tomatoes that don't produce, and the amount of water it takes. I have relied heavily on other people doing the hard work for several years and that has kept me going. I would prefer doing more of it myself, but can't tolerate the temps. Time to get out the garden planner and work on a positive attitude! I want that fresh organic produce and I love flowers!

I tilled a couple of spots this afternoon. They were too wet, but that is my story every year, if I wait for the soil to dry it is too late to get in an early crop.

Mom got to sit on the deck in her wheelchair and watch me. I plan to plant some flowers in pots on the deck for her to care for when the weather is a little warmer.

Larry

Donna, I'm always glad to share Spring Fever germs.

My problem, as always, is that I plant too many tomatoes and we end up buried in an avalanche of tomatoes. This year I'm only planting half as many tomato plants and will use the freed-up space for more flowers. That's one of the ways I thought I'd make gardening more fun and less work. If I only have to spend half as much time in the kitchen canning tomatoes, that leaves more time to enjoy the flowers.

I worked outside for about 5 hours today. Among other things, I noticed a couple of dianthus plants were blooming, chamomile volunteers are sprouting, and the pathways are filled with annual bluegrass. Tomorrow I'll spend part of the day yanking out that grass that is sprouting in the mulched pathways. Ladybugs were flying as were the bees. Unfortunately, the plums are incredibly close to blooming---today I could see the white of the petals, so the flowers are kinda at the point of no return. So, I'm not expecting any plums this year.

Larry, I'm glad you got to spend a little time working in the garden today and glad your mom got to sit outside on the deck and watch your work. You're such a good son!

Dawn

Larry, I second what Dawn said, you are such a good son. I don't know how you get so much done with all of illness in your family. A little container garden will be nice for your Mom.

I am a Spring gardener, and a summer gatherer, I think. I plant and get everything in as good a shape as possible in the cooler parts of the year, but I limit my effort as the hot weather arrives. I'm glad to harvest anytime, but my garden doesn't remain as neat in the heat of summer.

I also tend to plant too many tomato plants, but we have to have our salsa. LOL

Dawn, sorry about your plums, but I guess we just must realize that in Oklahoma it is likely to happen. My son lives almost at the Kansas/Oklahoma state line and has a productive apple tree. Luckily it blooms late and usually has a lot of apples. Last year he got a freeze while the tree was in bloom and some blossoms fell and others didn't. I guess it just depends on the stage of the bloom. He still got apples, but a reduced amount. Even the quality didn't seem as good last year. They mostly became apple sauce and apple butter last year.

Donna I resent the email. Hopefully this one works. If not you can click on my screen name and send me one, I think.
Thanks
Scott

Carol, I know that growing plums here is a crap shoot, but in the good years, they are just so good. It just seems like the good years are getting few and far between any more. Even the native plums in our neighborhood have frozen for several consecutive years.

If this keeps up, Tim and I may build a high tunnel that will be heated and grow dwarf fruit trees in containers. That would be a fun retirement project (and we're not likely to get around to doing it until after he retires one of these years).

I noticed today that our native blackberries are up and growing---about 6" tall already. What is wrong with everything? I know we've had too much heat this winter, but they're still "awake" very early.

I have the spring fever germs! we have bok choy and carrots in the greenhouse in tubs. Several peppers started to germinate today. My 4 year old daughter has tomato plants and herbs growing in the bathroom window, and my peach buds are swelling. To bad it is so early. Last year I lost them to deer and this year I expect it will freeze them. But...that's Oklahoma gardening.

Scottcalv, what do you do for garden cleanup! I'm in need, too - NW OKC.

Scott, I harvested the first spear of asparagus today. I'm pretty sure we've never had any in February before. I also bought 4 tomato plants at the Walmart across the river from me in Gainesville. My own tomatoes and peppers are just sprouting now, but having 4 bigger plants to obsess over will keep me calm.

Oklahoma gardening is beyond challenging, but every now and then we have a really great fruit year when the last cold weather is extra early and nothing freezes and then it is so worth all the other years when our fruit freezes year after year. The last year we had like that, we harvested just under 400 lbs. of fruit from a total of 5 trees (3 plum, 2 peach) and I canned and froze fruit like there was no tomorrow.

MiaOKC, I tried to send you an email, but under HOUZZ I do not know how. If anyone does, please tell me!

I cannot find how to email, either! I have a Yahoo account where I usually funnel all my junk to keep the spambots at bay - miaokc (at) yahoo (dot) com. Let's start with that. Thanks!

Oh, we may have to mutually follow each other to send messages through Houzz. I'll follow you, Scottcalv.

https://support.houzz.com/hc/en-us/articles/203895438-How-do-I-message-another-user-

Mia,

I'll make that link a clickable one.

Houzz: How Do I Message Another User

Holy Nematodes. Can it get any more difficult???? Sorry for being a hater, but I'm REALLY not diggin' this Houzz stuff.