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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

JCC The JCC Gardening Club

Discussion in 'Community' started by G-FETT, Apr 29, 2016.

  1. G-FETT

    G-FETT Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2001
    Oh yeah, I've got a Sycamore in my garden. They can be a nightmare to keep in check. Leaves aren't especially nice in Autumn either.
     
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  2. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    A me has been nice enough to dig out a giant tunnel system for me.



    As for trees, I don't mind the leaves from the apple tree in my yard so much as those from the three giant beach trees in my neighbor's yard.
     
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  3. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    SuperWatto Why don't you just pile up the leaves in a corner of your garden? Sycamore leaves are toughish but they will eventually decompose into compost. We have a giant tree of the variety that has the really thick, rubbery leaves, but we manage to compost them in less than a year -- six months if we take the time to crush them before piling them up.
     
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  4. SuperWatto

    SuperWatto Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 19, 2000
    Chyntuck, you may have saved my spine.
     
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  5. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Hehe, not quite. You do have to turn the pile every once in a while to speed up decomposition :p (or you have to be very patient)
     
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  6. Sauntaero

    Sauntaero Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 9, 2003
    And leaving some leaves on the grass is good for it, right? Mulch it in with the first cutting in the spring. Bonus fertiliser.

    I got some watermelon seeds from a friend, now I'm dreaming about next year's garden. Assuming we buy a house this winter.
     
  7. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Sauntaero If you're talking about a fast-decomposing variety of leaves, or leaves whose decomposition will be accelerated by freezing/thawing, I can't imagine why it wouldn't work.

    Also, if you want to plant watermelon you definitely need a house with a big garden :) The vines sprawl all over the place!

    In other gardening news, the avocado pits I planted a few weeks ago sprouted. I hope they'll grow enough by springtime that I can transfer them to the garden.
     
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  8. G-FETT

    G-FETT Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2001
    Might be in the dark, dull days of November but doesn't mean things stop in the garden.

    Am just sowing some broad beans - They should come through in around two weeks and because they're hardy the plants will over-winter and grow quickly in Spring.

    Should be ready to harvest in June;

    [​IMG]

    Will post a pic when they've germinated. :D
     
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  9. Sauntaero

    Sauntaero Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 9, 2003
    Interesting. How do those beans taste? Or, how do you use them? I've never met any beans that could overwinter, but we have kind of extreme winters here.

    Speaking of which, summer is now officially over as there is an actual blizzard going on outside. Temp at 19°F/-7°C and falling, 50 mph/80 kmph winds, snow settling (amazingly, since the wind is driving it pretty much horizontally). It's surreal, yesterday was warm enough to be out in a t-shirt. I pulled some last lettuces and radishes yesterday, the kale might survive this blast, but if not, it was sure a great season.
     
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  10. Sauntaero

    Sauntaero Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 9, 2003
    Yesterday:

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Today:

    [​IMG]
     
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  11. Rylo Ken

    Rylo Ken Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2015
    we're supposed to get that photo tomorrow :( I miss my tomato/pepper garden.

    But next year I'm going to plant beans in honor of all the G-FETT bean porn he posted.
     
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  12. SuperWatto

    SuperWatto Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 19, 2000
    I've also already taken vows for next year, go procrastination!
     
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  13. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Yikes, I feel cold just looking at this :eek:

    G-FETT Are those fava beans? I also planted some in containers last month; I'm not counting on much of a harvest but at least they will revive my severely depleted potting soil. How do you prepare them? I have a bean-and-artichoke recipe somewhere that I must dig up for the foodies' thread.
     
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  14. G-FETT

    G-FETT Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2001
    Sauntaero - Broad beans are high in iron so to be honest they don't taste that great. When they are young they taste OK either boiled or part part boiled. You can have them as a main vegetable with a meal or you can put then in salads, etc. I've never been keen on them (much prefer runner beans) but through I'd have a go at growing them - As it's something I've not done yet. Looks VERY wintry there BTW! :eek:

    Rylo Ken - Bean Porn is always good! [face_cowboy]

    Chyntuck - Yes, we call them Broad Beans here but they are the same as Fava Beans.
     
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  15. G-FETT

    G-FETT Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2001
    Here's my Brussels and sprouters looking pretty shook up in the frost earlier in the week;

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 25, 2002
    Isn't frost supposed to make them taste better? Or am I thinking of root vegetables?
     
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  17. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    G-FETT My mother-in-law says that if you cover the soil with a thick layer of straw or dead leaves before the frost, it will protect the roots from the cold and your plants will fare better in winter -- not that she has needed to do it very often, it hardly ever freezes here, so I'm not sure how efficient (and for how long) it would be in your area.
     
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  18. G-FETT

    G-FETT Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2001

    They do say that Brussels taste better after the first frost but personally I've never tasted much difference tho... [face_laugh]


    It rarely gets cold enough to need need to do that here. Last time we had really damaging frosts was December 2010 when it was exceptionally cold and snowy all month. That year my father did lose his Brussels and Sprouter plants.... Was the only year I can remember when we all had to buy Brussels for Christmas dinner as all of his plants were killed by the frost.

    Generally though they will be OK down to -10c (14f) After that they are at risk. Some nights innDecember 2010 it went down to -15c which is exceptionally cold for here.
     
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  19. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Compost disaster!

    I went to dump the week's kitchen scraps on the compost pile after lunch, and I found out that whoever did it last (I strongly suspect my 7-year-old nephew) forgot to close the cover of the compost bin -- and of course it had to be a week with torrential rain, so instead of a compost pile I found a wet, slimy, putrefying mess [face_sick] Cue running around the neighbourhood to figure out something dry to add to it (thankfully the coffee roasting shop had a ginormous bag of chaff and the pet shop a lot of spoiled animal bedding), taking down the whole pile (with all that water it was damn heavy) and re-building it... There went my Saturday afternoon.
     
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  20. G-FETT

    G-FETT Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2001

    Oh No! Hope you can rescue the compost! :(
     
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  21. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Well, that's the beauty of compost, isn't it? You can always rescue it -- worst case scenario, bury it in a corner of the garden and let the worms do the work for you. In this case however, it's almost one cubic meter and burying it is not an option. So my cousin's husband is going to shred the Sunday papers and mix them into the pile too, just to be on the safe side (and I wish him a pleasant Sunday afternoon [face_devil]).
     
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  22. starfish

    starfish Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 9, 2003
    though its cold here now, I was able to harvest another row of potatoes and some sunchokes the other day.

    [​IMG]

    and this morning the garden looks like this.

    [​IMG]
     
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  23. PatttyB0123

    PatttyB0123 Former RSA star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2003
    wow. Thanks so much for tomatoes idea. [:D]
    You saved my tomatoes. Sorry late respond. I was in the middle of finals.
     
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  24. G-FETT

    G-FETT Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2001
    starfish We call "sunchokes" "artichokes" here. I never really liked them though.

    Where are you? Looks very cold.

    Well after just over a month my first Broad Bean has just poked through the soil.

    [​IMG]
     
  25. G-FETT

    G-FETT Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2001
    I pruned back all my fathers rose bushes at the weekend (horrible, prickly things really LOL [face_laugh] )

    So here's the recently pruned bushes sitting in a light covering of snow


    [​IMG]