I'm a nerd when it comes to those "personality" assessments. At DHS they were big into the true colors ( green) and our smaller group did the Myers Briggs (INFJ). Current job, our group seems to do different ones every so often. We did enneagram (9w1), 5 voices (creative), and high 5 (believer, philomath, analyst, emphathizer, & deliverer). Ok, so now you know all about me, or all of that is utter nonsense. I think there's some validity in them, but mostly I just enjoy all those kinds of quizzes.

I have a purple and a yellow iris blooming right now. The rest haven't budded yet, but I think they'll all be purple or yellow this year. And my sister's bleeding hearts are bloomimg. She planted them last year & they're slowly getting established. Checked my wintersown containers & I think I'm going to have a lot of mints and milkweeds. If they grow enough I may bring some to spring fling.

The psych major here kind of geeks out on personality tests, but my MB changes with the wind, and I’ve never dived into the others. Always depends on which personality is in charge that day, because I’m in the mood to give different answers depending on the day.

I did MB in my high school psychology class and remember everyone being shocked that I was an I, not an E. It made sense to me. I’ve always been most comfortable in my bubble and was very content in the company of myself. I just happen to be an I who doesn’t have trouble navigating groups and social situations. Where I differ from the Es (I think) is that I’m exhausted by all the social situations and being “on.” A few times in my career I’ve worked in sales, and was very successful each time, but I was miserable because I was so tired from being on.

I was surprised by an iris yesterday. My irises are in the front yard and I don’t leave the house often. I did go to the office yesterday and as I was leaving spotted it. Pic below.

I grow lots of lettuce and kale and dont succession plant but it is scattered everywhere so it gets lots of different sun exposure and therefore, soil temps. With the cut and come again method, I get lettuce until sometime in June. Spring planted kale will grow all summer but it gets bitter about the time the lettuce bolts. I’ve carried it over to fall every year but I’m committed to pulling it up this year. I’m convinced having it around just provides a nesting site for cabbage lopers which quickly destroy the fall plants.

Rebecca, I think people are conditioned to check the health department website for vaccines. I was checking for about 2 weeks looking for an appointment for weeks before I remembered CVS has them. Jumped on to the website and could have gotten her an appointment within 15 minutes. So those of you who know people who don’t want to hassle with getting an appointment, CVS is super easy and at least in my experience you can get a pick of times convenient for you.

okay. Since the post never showed up, I’ll repost it.

I just had another post disappear but this one is genuinely gone I think. Or I can’t see it at least. Grrrr.

Here’s a REPOST of the missing one from earlier this week.

Well, I’ve been a busy little bee! I need a weekend to recover from the last 4 days. I get my 2nd Covid shot on Saturday so I have the coming weekend set aside as a lazy weekend. I hope it feels like a lazy weekend and not a sick weekend. The hubs got his shot on Wednesday last week. He spent Good Friday being lazy. Makes me a little jealous of those who got the Pfizer vaccine. I haven’t heard of all the associated fatigue with that vaccine.

Good Friday is a blur at this point as it is now Tuesday. I know I was off work, as was the hubs. And I know I did some errands and yard work but the only thing I really remember is SoonerGrandMom’s hubby coming by to get some mineral tubs.

Saturday was the nephew‘s soccer game bright and early - 8:30 on a Saturday! It did get me up early enough to get down to the Scissortail Market in downtown OKC. Saw my farmer friend -and talked marketing. He needs to add quite a few people to his CSA and I hope to help him do that. He’s certified organic and pays his hands well, so his overhead is surprisingly high. I need to introduce him to George because his specialty is sweet potatoes!

After the run to the Farmers Market, I came home and had the bright idea of inviting my in-laws, who had my niece and nephew, plus my brother by another mother (my late brother’s BFF) over to grill burgers. I followed that with the even better idea of starting to dig out my rain garden (FINALLY) before they arrived. What was I thinking? Was I drunk? (No, but seems like it).

The get together turned out to be fun and long overdue in this era of COVID. surprisingly, my kiddo who will be 13 next month(I say while sobbing inside) was interested in dying eggs. Surprise. So while burgers were on the grill, I snuck inside to set up egg dying. My niece and nephew (ages 5&3) spotted an opportunity to make a mess and came to help. I told them these were for Keegan to which my nephew so sweetly replied “She’ll let us help right cause we’re her favorite cousins.” Que melting heart. So yes, they helped. My MIL got a picture that I need to have her send me.

After all that, and everyone was home, a friend who is an actress sent me a casting call for a WinStar commercial. I’m in the doghouse with her for putting myself down and not applying for a very high paying commercial she sent me recently, so this was a test. I submitted to prove to her that I wasn’t castable these days and you can guess where this went.

Sunday morning was confirmation I’d been cast as an extra which meant I had to take extra care not to sunburn while in the garden. It didn’t stop me from being out there all day. I’m doing the rain garden in sections since I have to hand dig - the only way to do it in this clay and with large roots from a tree no longer there - thanks Ice Storm! Got one section done. I’m co-opting the bathtub effect along with huglekultur to accomplish my rain garden. So while the ice storm took out my treee, it provided plenty of wood for the pit I dug.

I also planted the tomatoes that I was holding for putting in the ground instead of the raised beds. Soil temps might be a little on the cool side but the hubs accidentally threw out the large sonic cups I was saving for potting up, so my hand was forced.

At some point in the blur of a weekend, the kiddo and I started borage and moss rose seed. The moss rose has already sprouted. So TEENY!!! The kiddo is excited about the borage. Her flowerbed is going to become a small pollinator garden and she’s super excited. Okay. Super might be an exaggeration but like I said, she’s about to be 13, so any interest IS super!

Yesterday was the WinStar commercial. 10 hours on set and 4 hours on the road. Yuck. But my friend is satisfied and I’m feeling less hideous. The WinStar is the one in Thackerville, so I’ve had Dawn on the brain since I got the email. I wished there was anything blooming in my garden because I would have stopped at the Fire Department and left some flowers there in her memory. Lacking any flowers, I simply sent her my love and made sure to take note of the kinds of things she would have alerted us too. For example, the turf grass in the ditches seems to be greener than here in central Oklahoma, but not by much. I would guess by about a week. The taller, native and wild grasses weren’t visibly greening as I drove by them but if they’re like the ones in my micro prairie, they’re greening at the base. The brush in the Arbuckles was also greening and the redbuds were still in full bloom, not leading out yet. Those were the observations I could make while driving highway speed.

If you’re still reading my diatribe, congrats! Best wishes to all. Can’t wait to see you in a couple weeks!

Idle thought I wanted to share (which probably you've all thought before)...in text conversation with my gardening friend in Edmond, we talked about how nice it would be if we weren't 200 miles apart and could help each other with daunting garden tasks (like firing up the chainsaw and cutting down those trees that always sprout and grow in the fenceline). I was ruminating on how it helps with motivation and the tasks just seem smaller.

Something that you would probably know about Larry, with your helper?

I posted this morning and that post seemed to disappear and then I reposted the missing post from earlier this week. Hopefully that means y’all have 2 posts to read from me. Curious what is showing up on your end.

The epically long one wasn't THAT long, Megan. I finally found it right up there where it should have been. THAT sounded like a grueling day--that's 14 hours! You'll have to let us know when/if it airs.

I woke up this morning thinking of Killers of the Flower Moon--which is very odd, because I hadn't paid any attention to it whatsoever, hadn't read any of the "news" about the filming of the movie. Weird. So had to look it up. Gotta order the book. Have any of you read it?

I typically don't go back looking for things (I did because of you saying it appeared), I wonder how much I miss (because of the site's problems)? Yes, it would have been touching if you could have dropped something by in honor of Dawn.

I went in for a dental cleaning, and strangely i feel really good...it's probably too wet to plant anything today (.6 or more yesterday). However, I did notice lots of my seedings apparently rejoiced in the rain and are up outside in their pots. I don't think I need to transplant anything (inside or out) just now. What oh what am I going to do ? I might have to clean house (always needed, seldom done).

Ron took SIL to Pawhuska to the pioneer woman mercantile and the lodge. Somewhere up there he bought Killers of the flower moon. He also bought Footprints in the Dew, about the Mullendore murder in 1970 on a ranch outside Bartlesville. I was a junior or senior in high school at the time, so I remember it. I read that book this week. Killers will have to wait till I get the taxes ready. I also have to see if I can get dad's bank account closed. I'm also afraid it will be a very dark book, because it is a very dark story. Oklahoma history.

Personality tests. I never took them for work, because I never worked anywhere big enough to do them. I took some in high school. It said I should be a plumber. I don't think so. I must be an I like Megan, because I am exhausted by being around people all the time. (And I'm useless in sales). SIL stayed a day too long, I was toast. Tired of small talk.

Megan's post IS there, how strange.

Ok, PMed Rebecca about pecan limb. Ron might like it. Also wondering which vaccine Walgreens is offering? I would like J&J, actually. I don't usually have a bad reaction to vaccines, but Ron does. Didn't want to chance being sick before the wedding. Now I have to deal with that, too. I'm glad to hear it should be easy to schedule.

Danny, it does help to have gardening help. I make my now son in law plant things for me, LOL.

I have a Gogi. I think I got it from Kim at spring fling. It has survived some severe neglect. May have even made a few berries. I has new leaves, too.

Laughing at Nancy as Sheldon Cooper. Maybe his obsessive tendencies, but not the lack of empathy. He was supposed to be a genious, Nancy, if that makes it better.

I guess we could agree to make an effort to make newbies feel welcome, but that it is not necessary to comment on every post. H/J, certainly feel free to comment on what you choose. I appreciate all of you. It's like my daughter's bridesmaids. Each one had a particular skill that ended up being important. They were so supportive. I was truly impressed. I've always been impressed with this group, too.

I need to get it in gear. Yes, Nancy, it's Thursday. XOXO.

Nancy, Sheldon, Severus, and Mr. Spock are all fictional....but are extreme characters, so they're fun to use.

People see personality things differently for sure. Some feel like they're being put in a box...and others enjoy knowing what makes other people their own unique self to better understand them.

I'm the latter. I like understanding someone so I can adjust to them if necessary (once again, that extroverted feeling trait!) OR at least understand where they are coming from.

I agree that people can easily mistype depending on many things. In fact I know a girl who purposely answered questions that put her as a dominant feeler. I suspect people do that all of the time. The tests/quizzes are only a starting place.

These assessments do not put you in a box at all IF they are done properly....but a deeper study of them is required...and most people just aren't that interested to go so deeply.. And that's okay. It's not a requirement of life.

For instance, an INFJ can be very different from the next INFJ depending on many things. They can have different enneagram types, different experiences in life, different love languages, different culture. ALL of this makes for a unique person. Not a person in a box.

None of it is that simple.

Megan, I'm like you in a way. I can be very friendly and warm, so people assume that I'm extroverted. An introvert is someone who gets energy from within...not from being with others. Tom gets energized after spending time with others. I get tired...even if I enjoy it. It's not about being shy.

Jen, the enneagram is the biggie now. I don't want to say what I am because I don't like it. LOL. One guy I studied with said the one you don't like is probably the one that is you. Ouch.

Strength Finders was the last one we did. EVERYONE--even the haters of such things--enjoyed it. It was lighter and most people found it very useful. My "strengths" are 1. Empathy 2. Connectedness 3. Input 4. Intellection 5. Restorative

Oh, and a good example of how people are so unique even within a given Personality Theory...our financial administrator who mostly scored in the "executing" categories (often thought of as hard, rule follower, unfeeling, etc.), scored #1 as Harmony. So...even though she is mostly the rule follower, her #1 Strength of Harmony trickles down through all of those rule following, executing traits. What a wonderfully, unique human!--able to keep the rules and still have a desire to be harmonious.

Each person is so unique like this. I can really geek out on it.

Jen, honestly I like the silly "what fruit are you" quizzes too. Have you ever done the more "serious" and lengthy "which Hogwarts House do you belong" test? I kept getting Ravenclaw, but I thought I would get Hufflepuff. It's been a long time since I've done any of that, though. Oh...another fun one was "what is your daemon" (from His Dark Materials).

Anyway...I'm rambling and not dealing with work right now. We're getting new printers and that has slowed work down.

Nancy, I hope to start with the medicinal herbs again. I have neglected it lately. It could be another year before I'm really back with it. I keep looking at the yarrow leaves in the field and need to grab some soon. Is there anything you're looking for in particular?

Here's another introvert who exhibits extrovert characteristics. When in high school, I was involved in everything! Sports, choir, band, debate, journalism, school government, and so on. By the time senior year hit, I was burning out big time, and when I began college the next year, I joined nothing and spent most of my time by myself. And so now, to this day, I rarely join anything. I do like gathering with just couple friends at a time. And can do large gatherings just fine, but am always glad when they're over.

Your Strengthsfinder test. We had a pastor who provided text and assessments for a class on these. I don't think she had the $$ version, but rather a free alternative--ah, yes, Jen, it was the high 5. It was interesting and I remember thinking the five strengths were spot on. . . can't remember what they were now, though. Good thing it didn't cost money!

The plants all look great. . . I really want to get the tithonia in the ground. I can put them in here and support with floating row covers. . . but don't think I can navigate that at the school. It started out too cool to do yard work this morning. Now it's almost too warm!

I'm not interested in anything specific, HJ, just intending to make far more use of herbs this year than in the past.

My Devil's Walking Stick did NOT perish. It was tiny when I got it--something like 2-3". It's still tiny, but it's got leaves on it. Why in heaven's name did I want that vicious beast? Because it's quite beautiful, I guess. That will definitely have to live here on the north 40, away from any foot traffic. I see life on the Vitex--assume the ones in town are likewise coming to life--that'll make John happy. The elderberry bushes look great, as do the six I started from cuttings.

I'll have a bumper crop of ornamental peppers, too.

Well, Amy, good luck on recuperating from all your obligations--I hope it will be completed soon. My current challenge is to figure out where to plant the fringe tree, vibernum trilobum, and three clethra. Perhaps I'll go study up on that now.

Danny, do I remember that you have grown Clethra? I'm reading that it likes sandy/acidic soil. That shouldn't be a problem with adding aluminum sulfate. . . but I'm wondering just how "swampy" it likes it's bed. I have a couple places it might work. . . no doubt with SOME supplemental watering in the dry months. It looks like a lovely shrub--I'm excited about it. I think it will be in the front yard, bordering the sidewalk (and faces west). I know I know. . . people who learn that west is hot afternoon sun and north is full shade would be flummoxed by our yard. West is full shade all day long, except in two very small open full-sun areas. (I mean SMALL). Further, our heavy rains always overflow the gutters of the porch and flood the ground beneath--it's been a given in the six years I've been here. But I will have one left over--I think I'll put it in a large pot in quite a bit of shade. . .the entrance to our back deck.

WHICH reminds me, Larry, and any of the rest of you who have heavy clay--wait--Megan--you prepared a rain garden, right? Well--Clethra AND Viburnum trilobum--clay and slow drainage, no problem. In fact, Clethra recommended for rain gardens.

I hope I live long enough to harvest plentiful amounts of asparagus! Gary's not helping, as you know. lol. He owes me. Big time. He didn't like his fleece-lined shirt jackets. The fleece ended up showing beneath the bottom of the shirts along the bottom. I didn't like them either. So he asked me if I could help him find flannel-lined ones online--took FOREVER!!! But I finally found some stellar ones! CQR--have them on Amazon for app. $60 each. I loaded him up. He has enough nice shirt jackets for the rest of his life. LOL And he loves them! Score!

Okay. . . . signing off for now.

Jennifer
I have goji berry I have grown from seed. My neighbor Willie Nelson jr tried helping my first sumner my plants were here and weed whacked it to bare soil. It came back. Frozen to-2 still came back. If I ever get to plant it in the ground it will prolly take off.

I am introvert and German ...... nuff said.

My first Iris bloomed today and it was one I got from Moni from the first house. Such a beautiful soft yellow.

I expect to take some Aril Iris photos this morning, including one I haven't ever seen before (they take (for me) at least 2 years after planting to start blooming). I'll share almost certainly.

Clethra, yes, I like it, but I exceeded the water level it can take apparently at this house. I had a planting at my parents house that did superbly (East exposure, with shade of structure from South) in a mossy bed. I also killed it in Oklahoma by not watering quite enough, it has very little drought tolerance. The scent is lovely and I tend to prefer the pink one (something Spice?).

All those little sticks last fall (from the guy on ebay), witch hazel, buttonbush, black currant, etc...they're all in growth now. I knew they were alive last fall, but it's very good to see leaves (lol). Now just waiting on the hibiscus bought from him, I'm sure it's fine.

I'm having grave doubts about the lantanas...which lead me to the next thing. I may have to buy lantana when at Bustani without knowing for sure, because I can't find the hardy ones around here. A week from today is my Bustani trip. It's been complicated, because for the first two weeks they're appointment only. I did not realize this :( But Molly did and Donna made us appts for that day while they were still open (we have one open slot if anyone wants to confirm?) at noon to one.

They wanted to eat first, and I had a 'no no no' moment. I said I want to enjoy everything and not feel I had to swallow my food (because restaurant of choice 'Eskimo Joe' doesn't open till 11), and by time you get food, and allow ten minutes travel back to Bustani, there is no time to savor the food, but rather bolt the food. I didn't want that, so...we'll be eating after 1, and then I won't get home till 8 pm..oh well.

Today the forecast includes afternoon showers/T-storms, but I am hoping to find a way to plug a few plants in the wet soil this morning (if not TOO wet and soil disruptive).

A couple of arils taken this morning....One very subtle and not favored by it's background :)

I’m feeling there’s a high probability that at least two of my crepe myrtles did not survive the freeze. One has struggled in the past, and I’d just gotten it to a decent size from its root growth. But after discovering my dahlias made it through, I’m not wagering on anything until summer.

If the crepe myrtles don’t make it, I think I’m interested in a witch hazel. I also really want to buy some large pots to flank my back gate to put dwarf cherries in. I just don’t know if I could keep the big dog from eating them and they’re really dangerous for dogs, so I would need to sort that out. I grew up with an orchard next to our house. It was poorly tended after the couple who planted it died when I was in elementary school but it survived and produced some fruit for as long as I lived there. I have particularly fond memories of picking those tart cherries! There were peaches, apricots and nectarines, maybe even plums, but the cherries are center in my memory.

Not much to report here. Weatherman said hail so with the track record at my address, I’ll see what needs protection and will make sure the car is in the garage.

Megan, look at it this way. You now have an opportunity to plant a native shrub that will actually help bio-diversity in your area (birds, pollinators,etc). Crepes are pretty much sterile and non useful to anything living here. And yes a witch hazel gives you a very late or very early seasonal blast and I think some moths may use the leaves as a food source (hunch, vague memory). Strangely, I learned yesterday that there is a moth species that this plant is very important for (even if blooming in December/January), it shivers to stay warm and appreciates the rare feed. I can't remember which moth it was, but I have seen them (in Chelsea), I do remember that. And it's an attractive (but small) moth, with color and spots. So yes, that's a win!

Unfortunately, a lot of orchard crops don't do well here. Too hot, too dry, that late frost that kills the blooms 3 out of 4 years, etc. Cherries seem to my memory to be one of the best for consistent production from my memory though?

I hope you get bypassed by the hail, nothing more horrible than going outside and seeing a flat landscape with everything pulped and shredded.

Edit: the owlet moths were the family.

Megan, I've considered Nanking cherry. When I used to help at the Home and Garden Show, Bill (Prairie Wind) had an employee who was really into them. She was such a lovely person btw. Anyway, I want to find a couple of them to add to our fruit bushes/trees. I wonder if there will be any at the OKC Flower and Garden Festival....

I've wanted a witch hazel for awhile. Just need to find a place for it.

Kim, I saw pics of the full sized goji berry and think they are so cool looking. I'll research the berries and see what medicinal value they have. IF nothing else, they are cool looking. Eileen gave me a very tiny one at a SF a couple years back. It died, but it was my fault.

So...I had fun cleaning up some ornament beds last night. What I've found is: hydrangeas are back (already posted pics), two other little shrubs (don't know what they are) are back, the crepe myrtles are back. And I saw life in the Hardy Hibiscus too! Just barely! and the Chaste tree as well.

Where I'm not seeing life is the Pinkie Indian Hawthorn. It was one of the first things I planted and it's so pretty with its pink flowers. I'll give it a bit more time.

The clean up is almost complete...still need about an hour or so to finish it.

Nancy, my asparagus spears look awful! The wind has bent them terribly.

Danny, don't count on us next weekend. I'm still feeling exhausted from the wedding. Beautiful Iris. I can't have them, for some reason my husband hates them.

I have killed 2 witch hazels. Neither were in the ground and I let them dry out. I probably lost the American Strawberry bush to the freeze.

Megan I didn't think it was possible to kill a crepe myrtle.

Devil's walking stick. Wow. Cool plant, but those are some thorns! Clethra is interesting, too, but though I have a low spot out front, dear husband would mow it.

Kim, my gogi is just as tough as yours! Wish it was native!

Have a good weekend friends.

Donna (the lady I'm meeting at Bustani) wanted (and I got for) a American spikenard (aralia racemosa). I got confused and tried to order her Devil's Walking Stick instead (aralia spinosa). Quite a size difference...glad the vendor didn't actually have spinosa in stock :)

I haven't really considered growing any aralias, but if I had the space (where I wouldn't run into it by accident), I would probably do spinosa, because those things are darn impressive when they're in bloom and the berries look nice too.

Hahaha! That's hilarious. I ordered Aralia racemosa a year ago and it's kind of an awesome plant--but certainly not much like Aralia spinosa! The spinosa DOES seem like a bush/tree. you should have, Danny. For the rest of you, here's a link that shows how it is NOT just another understory bush/tree! LOL. Wonder how fast it will grow. https://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2016/8/24/the-devils-walking-stick

Maybe I should plant a big old fence around the spinosa I got--with hazard/warning signs around it. The racemosa is a perennial, so dies back each fall.

It is so NOISY here! Told Garry I felt like we were living in the middle of a tractor pulling contest--combined with race car track. I mean, it is positive HATEFUL. Poor birds and creatures. Poor Nancy. Thunder in the distance which sounds beautiful compared to all this nasty machinery. Heavy rain this evening. I am UP for it. We need it.

Those iris are really gorgeous, Danny! I have app. 150 feet of iris along edges of the yard. . . but singing the usual not-enough-sun blues.

I am so happy! Finally seeing green on the paw paw trees and the American beauty berry. Not seeing anything on the lantanas and definitely not the rosemary, but it's all okay---those are a lot easier to replace than some of the natives.

Well, It's Marina Friday and a visit to the Black Pearl Floating Cafe. And so, Have a great and restful weekend, all!

I put some seeds in potting soil, under lights, for Madge, I think they were wave petunia and some kind of herb.

The only stuff I got growing in the garden.

My plants to be planted later. I often get late frost.

You notice all the small grain growing in the planter boxes. I bought a 50# bag of hen scratch back when we had snow and ice so we could feed the birds. I told Madge that she could place it on the railing. I noticed that a lot of the seeds were down in the planters, and ask Madge to stop feeding the birds so much because they were just slinging the seeds down into the planters . She said "no that is me, they enjoy eating out of the planters much more, because they can stay out of the wing, and scratch in the potting soil". I am sure all of you will know what our planters look like this summer.

This is a picture of the turnip patch I was letting go to seed, because I wanted to leave the flowers for the pollinators.

I have been spending a lot of time at the Doctors office and not feeling like doing much work around here. My helper came down yesterday and cleaned up the wildlife garden. My neighbor came over to help him. My neighbor mowed and tilled my turnip patch. Everything looks nice, but I have nothing left for the pollinators. I am very thankful that I have people wanting to help me, but it would have been okay if they had left the flowers. Some of my clover is starting to bloom, I guess the bees will just have to happy with that.

I notice that some of our crepe myrtle are coming out at the bottom, the tops may have been killed by the cold weather.

I had quite a few extra tomato plants that Mrs Dollar took to the office and gave co-workers. They're all growing them in containers. Through Mrs Dollar , I'm getting questions about wilting , brown leaves, etc and I really have no answers. I tried container gardening 15 to 20 years ago and it was a total failure. Since then, I've just accepted that container vegetable gardening is an altogether diiferent type of gardening, than what I do in the ground.

Am I right ? Or are there any similarities ?

And its not Bloody Mary Friday, because of the possibility of storms this evening, we moved it back to Thursday. And it was really nice on the patio yesterday, no wind.

Lynn, at work it's nice right now. (near where you live) Cloudy but calm. Maybe the storms will pass you by and you can have your Bloody Mary Friday after all.

Also, Lynn, I watched a video about cherry tomatoes specifically in containers. This guy was very quick to point out that a big reason tomatoes do poorly sometimes is they aren't able to absorb calcium properly... HOWEVER soil almost always has enough calcium...the problem is inconsistent watering. BUT he makes an exception for container tomatoes. He does add Epsom salt to containers holding tomatoes. He says it's the only place or time he ever uses it in the garden. I think it is because container soil can become depleted of minerals maybe? He wasn't one of those people everyone makes fun of who adds Epsom salts to everything...he fully understands the inconsistent watering issue. Because I'm such an experimenter, I've considered trying some with and some without and see what the difference is. Just for fun.

In general, consistent watering is harder in containers, I think.

Containers with potting media are not soils. They don't act like soils, they typically don't have any nutrients (or very few). They have totally different wickings and drainage capacities.

Yes, it's another world. However, for a plant person (or this seems to me), I can just look and touch a plant and know if it needs water or maybe if it needs a nutrient. It's intuitive, but also because I've been doing this for fifty years.

Gogi tea? A lady on Facebook uses the leaves. We could mix this with Egyptian spinach. https://www.loveleaftea.com/blog/four-splendid-health-benefits-of-goji-berry-tea/

I am also one that has a hard time at getting containers to work. I have never place garden soil in a container and tried to grow anything in it, but its bound to work if you know what you are doing. I expect that there was a time when potting soil was not around, and plants did fine.

Amy, its Not possible to kill a crepe myrtle because if you’re trying to get rid of one, you can’t kill it. Or at least that’s been my experience. However, I’ve had the one die back to the roots and have the stumps of the row that was planted along the fence when the house was built or in the 10 years before my husband bought it.

Danny, I am excited at the prospect of planting something native. Thank you for the info on the moth! I very much enjoy navigating the national wildlife foundations page that shows what insects are supported by what plants. If you haven’t visited it the site is www.nwf.com/nativeplantfinder

My daughter is going to hate all of you in a few years because you’re giving me great ideas on things to plant under her bedroom window. Devils walking stick. Hmmmm. ;) Have I told you that my husband is the only boy I ever snuck out of the house with? My dads reaction was so bad that when we started dating - 20 years later - I was nervous to tell him!

Lynn & Larry, I do a lot of container gardening and in the ground. Yes. It is very different. Growing in potting soil is especially challenging. I have significantly better results growing in a mix of mostly compost and larger organic material. I’ll sometimes add topsoil or some of my hideous clay for water retention but I’ve done it enough that I know what consistency I’m looking for. I wouldn’t admit that to most gardeners, especially noobs (newbies).

HJ consistent watering IS tricky in containers. A big part of the problem is container size. I see a lot of people just putting things in a container and not taking size and water needs into consideration. There has to be enough soil to hold enough water for the plant to get through until the next watering. And as you can definitely relate to - there is no such thing as a regular schedule for humans. Our tomato plants are far less forgiving of changes to routine than we are. I’m curious about your gardener video. I think, because my planting mix is chiefly compost, I don’t have as many issues as I would with other soilless mixes, but still interested because I have some changes coming down the line and the knowledge will be useful.

The hail missed me. I was carefully watching the radar because a storm near Kingfisher and Cashion was headed right for us and it had a small hail core. I texted my husband and told him to wait it out at work before heading home. It started to rain. It was light but giant raindrops. i realized my container of micro tomatoes was still exposed on the patio. I raced out to grab it and literally minutes later the storm broke off the squall line and skirted to our north!

The wind did pick up and I had planned to grill dinner. I thought since the hail threat passed I could do it. well, the wind blew out the gas grill while it was pre-heating. Now the foil pack dinner is in the oven and smoking up the whole house. I’m not sure what’s leaking, and even with a cookie sheet under them, there’s still a ton of smoke. You would think I was making charcoal. I have windows and doors open and Can feel the difference in temperatures. I have the door out to the garage open. The west facing garage door is rattling and both dogs are on alert!

Lynn, I’ll be looking for my invite to Bloody Mary Friday but might adopt the practice in the meantime. Bloody marys are my jam. If youre ever traveling in the Deep South, order a Bloody Mary. The worst one I had when I lived in the Memphis area was better than any I’ve had anywhere else.

If anyone here is a fan of fried pickles, the same is true of those. In fact, I Can’t even begin to describe how much better fried pickles are in the south than the southern plains!!!!! Even Captain D’s sells fried pickles and if you like them, you haven’t lived until you’ve had a beer battered fried pickle. Drool!

Well, I didn’t intentionally mention folks but there were lots of things to respond to, so I’ve mentioned Lots of you.

one last thing. Nancy, why does it sound like a tractor pull?

Megan, thanks for the tip. I think I have enough compost and larger wood chunks to fill a mineral tub, I also have a plant ready to go in the tub. This may be a good time to experiment, if it works for me I think I can fill at least 12 tubs by next year. I have at least 1000 cu. feet of hay and manure piled up for composting.

Par for the course, I put nitrogen on the yard today, thinking the storms would produce rain that would water it in ......................... butt nooooooooooooooooo ,.... I got nothing.

So I get out the sprinklers tomorrow.

Megan, I'll see if I can find the video again. Somehow I happened on to it.

I love fried pickles. Some are really good and some are just okay. Around here.

Ooo...there's that BBQ place on 23rd that has fried pickled okra. YUM! I just remembered that.

Danny, I guess I was talking about potting soil--or potting non-soil. There's some that come with fertilizers.

The wind picked up crazy. I flew out of bed and started shoving plants in the van shed under baskets tables etc. the weather app said possibility of hail. Not today. Not at my plants. I have potted up over 300 for sale and I am not about to lose all my work

I have at least 10 mineral tubs growing anything from greens to trees. Depending on the root system I put plastic water bottles in the bottom cover with layers of cardboard and a3cu bag of potting mix. I fertilize monthly with Buffalo tea and they are happy. My desert Willow are 5 years in pots. Peach are 2 years. As long as I fertilize everybody’s happy.

I started a post 3 times. . . got into third paragraph and Houzz screen comes up. . . "Oops something came up wrong. . . try reloading or. . . or something. " "See" ya all tomorrow.

Nancy, a sure sign it's time to go to bed ;)

good morning everyone. Sure is cool/cold to me this morning. It's windy too. I will wait till it gets warmer to go out on another Bermuda rampage.

Meanwhile, does anyone want some lambs ear? Mine is getting big. :)

My daughter lives down the street from the Tulsa mesonet station, they got .07". Skiatook got .63 and Nowata got 1.12. We got about a 1/4". Not really enough.

went to Smashed Thumb greenhouse yesterday. Of course it started raining on us. Did not rain at our house at that time, which is maybe 10 miles away. I got a couple of lantanas, celiosa, a Penta...some other things I've forgotten. It's good it started to rain, seems her prices have gone up.

I was never successful growing tomatoes in containers. I don't fertilize a lot. That may have something to do with it. And consistent watering is hard in a container. I bet all those people have them in 5 gallon bucket. Not big enough. I still don't know why people use Epsom salts. Why not a fertilizer meant for tomatoes like tomato tone. How do you judge the right amount without a soil test. Not ranting at you H/J, ranting at the internet.

Nancy, when my system gets like that I write the post in word and cut and paste.

Have a good Saturday.

Okay, I'll try again from the big computer. I had a Bloody Mary toast to you yesterday, Lynn. It wasn't the end all, but a satisfactory substitute. And come to find out, you weren't even around to share the toast! I should take my own additives down there next time (to the marina)--they'd get a good laugh.

I just now saw YOUR post (from yesterday, I guess), Amy. You hurry up and get that vaccine scheduled, before SF. Why is Ron going to like the pecan limb? Does he smoke stuff?

Yes, I expect Killers of the Flower Moon WILL be very dark. The reviews of the book were mixed--while everyone agreed it was an important subject, several said the book was too repetitive and could have been written in half the space. I knew nothing about it. I know a lot more about it now.

Okay, Amy, you did it--I had to look Sheldon Cooper up. Oh yeah, the genius part definitely makes it better. Here's how clueless I was. When I saw that Severus Snape was from Harry Potter, I assumed Sheldon Cooper was, too. LOL And I assume Mr. Spock was from Star Trek (I never watched the original one, but loved Next Generation). Okay. Now I know who the Sheldon Cooper character is. LOL I probably would have watched the Big Bang Theory, had I not run into GDW. I remember watching it a bit with the kids in Mpls.

It is so COLD today! 48 at last glance. Guess what we're having for dinner--CHILI! I told GDW I needed to put the frost blankets back over the peppers out there but it was too cold; maybe I'd wait til this afternoon. He said that made no sense whatsoever. I agreed. Thinking about it just now, I felt guilty, so put on my heavy shirt and got out there to cover them. It's now up to 53. But it's a cold 53.

We got a little over half an inch of rain yesterday--and I was mighty glad to get it. The greens are doing great; I think they grew a few inches just with the rain. I am feeling so SMUG about having them nearly every day. (HJ--I am not a good greens eater, normally.)

The sticks from your ebay source, Danny. I know! Mine were sticks, too--seemed hard to believe it wasn't just a waste of money--but nope, here those little sticks are, turning into bushes.

Question for my asparagus friends. Will they develop better if I cut them off, not letting them go to seed? Seems to make sense since I do that with other stuff.

Funny stuff, Larry, Madge's planters full of bird seed! I've been much slacker than you with hardening stuff off. And now with the latest cold snap. . . well. . . And guess the critters ain't gonna get any turnip snacks!

Speaking of cherry tomatoes, HJ--I was excited to see that Craig LeHoullier has a dwarf cherry tomato! I think I'm going to go all in next year and do only his dwarf tomatoes. I've got a start this year with six of them.

The National Wildlife Federation's Native Plants (and trees) database is awesome. The link you provided didn't work, Megan, but I knew what ya meant. If you read about it, you will see it's in its beta testing phase. Doug Tallamy is their research partner in developing this database. His books, Bringing Nature Home and Nature's Best Hope, as well as watching Growing a Greener World episodes (2 of which feature Tallamy) are what caused a sudden turn in my gardening interests. I've very grateful for the path I started down 3 years ago.

https://www.nwf.org/nativePlantFinder/plants

Megan, I don't KNOW why it sounded like a tractor pull! But if I skip the commercials and ignore the voice, the sound of the tractor?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k8pG397xOI

Yep, that's what it sounded like here yesterday. SO annoying, along with so many other annoying noises, like the guy revving up his car over and over and over. . . race car wannabe maybe. Neighbor to the north sounded like a generator going; neighbor to the south using leaf blower. AGGGHHH.

Happy Saturday!

Y’all need to stop letting me out unattended during garden center season.

Rebecca, I offered a escorted garden center visit to Bustani. We would do our best to enable your purchases though...we're terrible enablers.

No worries, Amy, it's okay if you rant at the internet or me even. haha!

Maybe Epsom salt is less expensive? I try not to concern myself too much with what other people are doing if it's working for them. This guy was very clear with his talk about how garden soil has enough calcium, but it's a watering issue and the plants inability to take in the mineral. He said "it's the only time I ever use Epsom in the garden"...referring to container tomatoes and lacking nutrients in the container potting mix.

My plants made it through the insane wind. We didn't get a drop of rain and we could use some pretty badly.

It's possible we'll put out the SG tomatoes tomorrow. After that, I'll know exactly what I have to share. I suspect no one here will need them. We all have too many already.

The first of the red periwinkles have blossoms now. They look pretty red! My Mom will be pleased.

I woke up to sadness. Tom got up before me, showered and went for donuts. I got up and did my usual thing...go to the utility room, turn on the turtle light and feed her. Checked the dogs water (and noticed a struggling crane fly and pulled it out of the water bowl so it could live), scooped up a bowl of food for Kane. I always feed him first. Looked over to him and he was just lying there. Josi was being very quiet and still. He died last night/early this morning. Tom said he heard him bark once around 5 am. And not again. (sometimes if they hear something outside, they'll bark) He was fine last night. I took him out around 11. He ate and drank yesterday. Had a treat when he came in at 11. I'm so confused about what happened. Maybe a heart attack? He was 11.

My daughter and her husband are about to put their house up for sale, so we went to their house to help them with a few things today.

The peppers have outgrown their stunted state and are looking good. I should have plenty now. Phew!

So sorry about Kane, HJ. But glad he died safe and comfortable at home. I know it hurts.

I'm so sorry, HJ. Our pets have a special place in our hearts.

Well, at least he seemingly died peacefully and at home, that's something, What breed was he,? 11 is old for most large breeds, but middle aged for chihuahuas.

Danny, he is a mutt. He was dumped at a gas station in Gainesville TX. We talked to the cashier who confirmed that, took him, and left our phone number just in case someone came back for him. Most people thought he was a labradoodle. He had blonde wavy hair. The vet said he was some type of terrier mix. a couple of people who have commented on him over the years say Wheaton Terrier. He looks like a Wheaton mix when I compare him to pictures. He was a medium sized dog—about 40 lbs, maybe 45. i think life expectancy is up to 14 years for a Wheaton. Poor guy had some rough health issues including a bad leg injury a couple of months after we first picked him up and you all might remember that issue 3 summers ago when we came home to find him dazed and bruised from his head to the end of his back. That was a mystery snd I still suspect someone came unto our property and hurt him....and then his fur started peeking off along the bruised area. And more. I guess he more than deserved an easy, quick death after all he had been through. Didn’t have to suffer through illness or any type of treatments.

Labs tend to expire about 10 or 11 though...well actually anywhere from 7 on...but much of that may be 'purebred' genetic issues. Mutts are generally more healthy :)

Losing a pet hurts, really hurts. But as was said, he went painlessly. I've been through the opposite with two dogs.

And some ridiculously garnished Bloody Mary's, which I don't bother with garnish, I just love tomatoes .... but these are over the top

The Shed Barbecue and Blues, Ocean City , Mississippi

Another view

Jennifer, I am sorry for the loss of your Fur Baby, we sure miss ours, but do not want another one. At this late stage in our life we feel that the dog may out live us, and that is not what we want, plus it is harder to care for an animal when you get old.

My daughter and grand daughter are coming over today, we are going to work on her truck.

I have got some tomatoes that need to go in the ground. The tomatoes are some I bought early and potted up, not knowing what kind of supply we would have at planting time, and not knowing what my health would be like later. I am still feeling pretty good, but still having trouble getting my heart to behave.

All of the plants that I started at home are very small except the sweet potatoes. I should have plenty sweet potatoes for us, and some to give away. It seem very easy to grow too many sweet potatoes. I expect that we still have over half of what we stored, my daughter says that she still has plenty also.

I have had to start watering my fall garden. It is planted on the highest spot on our lawn and dries out faster than any other spot. I had to make a garden in that spot because all the other places stay too wet in the winter.

We have been getting some rain, but needed a little boost in the dryer area.

My sympathies for poor Kane, too, Jennifer. Hard to believe he was that old. I forget the name of your other one--?

Lynn, that was hilarious!!!!! What a Bloody Mary!

I'm so sorry H/J. It is hard on you to find them that way. It is hard not to get to say goodbye. But fortunate he doesn't appear to have suffered. You took care of him when he needed you. [[Hugs]]