Gardening

Hey veejer, this is a great thread, and I'm very glad that you started it, so THANKS! I'm glad to see that Gutmutter's already been in here, 'cause when I have questions about Massachusetts stuff she'll probably know the answer.

I used to be a real hard-core vegetable gardener but I haven't had one here in Massachusetts since the early 1980s. I had veggie gardens when I lived out west but the conditions are so different that I'll be starting from scratch out here this Spring. I've decided to limit myself to growing two things outside this year: (1) tomatoes and (2) catnip.

I'm thrilled that I will get to gorge myself on home-grown tomatoes and not have to deal with those pesky stickers that I've complained about in the "Pet Peeves" thread, and I'm thrilled that I'll have enough catnip to keep all the kitties I know as high as kites for months.

If any FORT cat owners (gabriel, Gutmutter, hepcat, Jewelsy, Marleybone, misskitty and all the rest whom I don't have time to list) want any catnip please just let me know and I'll be glad to mail you some. I'm sure I'll have a ton of it, and I'll grow more next year, too.

If only there was such a thing as "dognip" I'd grow that, too, but one of my coworkers reassured me the other day when he said, "Pom remember, to a dog everything is "nip." I cracked up when he said that, and I think he made a really good point.

Anyway, I'll start some seeds indoors soon, and then I'll throw 'em out back in the little garden plot that my neighbors used to use. I'm thrilled, 'cause it's the first time in years that I've felt well enough to go out there and commit myself to a summer of gardening. I wish I didn't give away that rototiller I used to own when I lived in Colorado, but it would have gone to waste 'til now, anyway.

:dog

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Originally Posted by Pomeraniac

If any FORT cat owners (gabriel, Gutmutter, hepcat, Jewelsy, Marleybone, misskitty and all the rest whom I don't have time to list) want any catnip please just let me know and I'll be glad to mail you some. I'm sure I'll have a ton of it, and I'll grow more next year, too.

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:hiya Pom! Catnip would be great now that I am once again a cat owner, I'll bet Mr. Pumpkin would love it! :cheek

Great idea, Pom...make junkies out of all the FORT kitties! :lol
You might want to get some garden edging that goes pretty deeply in the ground, or else a container for the catnip; it's in the mint family and all of those can send out runners and take over the garden, if it likes your soil.
I made the mistake of not coralling some mint and oregano I put in my garden, and years later I still can't get rid of it.

no such thing as too much catnip, queenb. Although my cat gets so excited when I grow it that she rolls in it and scratches at it and eventually digs it all up. That is the only reason I haven't been able to grow it. For rhubarb lovers I have a favorite mix. When Rhubarb is aplenty, cut it with scissors into a freezer bag and freeze some extra. Then when blueberry season rolls around, make some bluebarb pie (or cobbler). The combination of rhubarb and blueberry is out of this world!!

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Originally Posted by queenb

Great idea, Pom...make junkies out of all the FORT kitties! :lol
You might want to get some garden edging that goes pretty deeply in the ground, or else a container for the catnip; it's in the mint family and all of those can send out runners and take over the garden, if it likes your soil.
I made the mistake of not coralling some mint and oregano I put in my garden, and years later I still can't get rid of it.

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Interesting info on catnip being in the mint family, queenie, I never knew that. But I can attest to mint having the ability to take over the world, and is best when planted in its own pot. It's great to be able to pick some fresh mint for lemonade or iced tea in the summer and well worth growing. :nod

Pom, how nice of you to keep all your neighborhood and Fort kitties high. :lol

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Originally Posted by roseskid

Interesting info on catnip being in the mint family, queenie, I never knew that. But I can attest to mint having the ability to take over the world, and is best when planted in its own pot.

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I agree with you roses, that queenb's just a wealth of useful information! I really appreciate that tip because I wasn't aware of it, either.

I'll definitely grown the 'nip in its own pot (or 5) so that the little plot I use won't get taken over by it.

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Originally Posted by roseskid

Pom, how nice of you to keep all your neighborhood and Fort kitties high. :lol

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Hey, it's my pleasure!!! I wish I could do more but I don't want to get arrested or anything!

I'm hoping I don't run into the problem that Gut's had with catnip. Most of the cats in the neighborhood are indoor cats, but a few may not be. Then again, since I'l grow it in containers I can put them out on the roof, next to my kitchen window, if I find that the loose cats are getting too troublesome with it.

I'll keep you guys posted on the nip's progress and I'll send it out to you cat owners when the time is right. It'll be a blast to share it, and I'll be glad to know that it won't go to waste.

Catnip and tomatoes. What's better???

Pumpkin thanks you Pom! :kitty

Despite a couple of inches of snow and several nights with lows around 20°F, my radishes have sprouted now that the weather has again moderated. Still no sign of the peas and potatoes, but they got planted deeper so I still have hope. The brussell sprout transplants are still green, sort of, but the rabbits have been eying them.

I spent all day yesterday doing yardwork after a year of total neglect due to cancer. Boy am I sore today, but I got so much done! It is supposed to be beautiful all week, so I intend to be out there pluggin' away before the blackflies come. You might be wise to buy stock in Advil! Now I'm trying to find someone to sell me pansies. They can withstand frost and snow, but nobody sells them this early!!! I have a bed all prepared for them.

I'm in the same boat, Gutmutter..since I was out of commision most of the fall and all winter, I've done nothing in the yard in months except for a little raking and pinecone pickup the last couple of months. Save some Advil for me, wouldya? I'm going to try to get my veggie garden ready tomorrow, so I'll have it ready to plug in some t-maters and stuff by the middle of the month. Nobody has the plants yet, but it's just about time for them to appear! I also need to clean up my flower gardens. They are so wild I don't dare call them beds, but they do need to have the grass and weeds controlled before the "good plants" come up too far.