Gardening Thread--if you can offer help, tips, or experience
 

I'm super new to gardening. And I've been reading a lot of gardening forums, but frankly I like and am used to the YT/vbulletin layout.

My tomato plants are on the comeback after a gang of tobacco hornworms (caterpillars) decimated them. (I got even, just in case you were wondering.) Now I've found this little black and red bug on the tomatoes. Just wondering if anyone knows what this is and is it bad for my plants.
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My herbs are doing well after I learned how to properly prune them. I never knew that cutting them helps to redirect their energy. Also I used honey as a rooting hormone for the clippings and now I have all these little basil plants going. :)

Here is my bowling alley of a backyard. I spent the morning putting up the herb tree.
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On the ground in the plastic container are my clippings. I put them in those brown seed starter pot thingys and wet the soil. Then I put the cover on, which isn't air tight, but close enough for a week or so. I checked every few days for new growth, and pulled out the ones that didn't take. Only 2 of the mint clippings didn't make it. :)

The herb tree is so cool. How often do you have to water those?

I want to have an herb garden too, but hate the thought of slugs and snails and things on it. Maybe hanging baskets would work for me, but I don't want to create a lot of work watering and such.

If I could grow one vegetable, it would be zucchini. Love it. I have a huge avocado tree that produces about 5 months in the fall, and papayas that are year around. That's about it for edibles. All the rest are ornamental.

I use large pots and a system called "square foot gardening". Because the plants are close together there is less of a chance of something taking them over. So far this summer my garden is very happy,yelding grape tomatoes,larger tomatoes, basil (man do I have basil),sage,rosemary,peppers,mint,bib lettuce (until it got to hot ,going to plant squash in its place),blackberrys ( this is the only thing that the birds have bothered),oh! and some flowers.
This is my first real garden and I have been very pleased. You can Youtube square foot gardening and there is a ton of information.

We are avid gardeners. We are more into flowers and trees than edibles, but we do have raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.

From what I can find, that bug is a milkweed bug. Looks like they eat milkweed, so you shouldn't have any problems with them.

Milkweed Bug Information

I water them twice a day. I'm in Vegas now so it's very dry,however this is our monsoon season and it's very rainy and humid right now. Crazy right? I know. So the herbs are doing well now. I bought some in late March, early April and did not do well at all. And yes, creepy crawlies on all my plants but what can you do? It's nature. I put out bird seed to entice the birds to come by and patrol my yard.

It does look like a milkweed bug. :eek:

you have a lovely garden. I don't grow veggies or herbs, I am strictly flowers.

How fun!

I have a small garden at home, the trouble is sun. In the summer it's too hot and the garden gets too much sun...in the fall/winter/spring it does not get enough sun. I changed it to flowers and shrubs and I am going to do a raised bed in a different area. Wish me luck.

I had the garden club at my school for the past few years..we have 6 raised beds....5 x12. The garden does really well...we had so much we donated to the local food bank ( fed 300 families).

I don't know what that bug is. This year I have planted very little because in years past I have have had to give away so much that I was constantly delivering things.

This year I only have tomatoes, zucchini, cilantro and basil. I'm watching my first tomato turn red as we talk. The cilantro is just about done because it is getting very hot but the basil is taking over. I grow basil outside in the summer but as it begins to get cool I will clip some and put it in water in the house. It roots quickly in water, then I plant it in a pot and have fresh basil all winter.

I love your herb tree and your yard is charming.

I have the opposite prob. back yard to shady, I put in raised garden beds, 8 of them, filled them with shade loving flowers. The first season I had it I saw flowers disappearing INTO the ground, like the devil reached up and pulled them down. I researched thinking it was moles, came to find out it is VOLES. Just a heads up for anyone thinking about raised garden beds. My prob is, I have woods behind me, to trace where their opening tunnel is, is impossible. So I can't plant seed pack flowers or flowers in 4 or 6 inch pots, I have to buy more of a bush type flower, but I have lots of planters to use.

That herb tree is so cool, love it!

Since we bought a new house, we were very picky about the lot location. We were looking at this lot that backs up to the park, but I noticed in the afternoon the sun would be beaming down the front of the house and heat up the house. So we picked another lot where the sun goes from left to right and we always have certain spot with sun and some with shade and our south facing wall doesn't get too much direct heat. We even got Boston ivy growing like crazy. Usually those are hard to grow in the desert.

So cool about your school's garden club. I hope to eventually grow enough veggies so we don't have to buy them anymore. Fruits not so much though, we don't have room for fruit trees. Maybe a dwarf lime tree I've had my eye on.;)

Has anyone had success in growing dill? I can get them to sprout from seed but they look so wimpy and don't seem to get any larger than a few inches tall.

ARGH! Caterpillars again!

One of my Desert Museum trees hadn't been growing. All of a sudden it started growing...FAST! Then today all the leaves were gone again and I saw those dang worms all over it! I stopped counting after 20.

Caterpillars: 3
Me: 23+

You nasty wormies show up again in my backyard, I will KILL you and feed you to the birds. :twisted:

Actually my Dill grows like a weed. The thing is it likes mild weather. Not too hot and not too cold. You can grow it in a pot, grows great in. And bring it in when it is too hot.

Here is a company that has environmentally sound products for your garden. Love this company

Environmentally Responsible Gardening Products that Work - GardensAlive.com

A little bit about our gardens.

We have a vegetable garden, herb garden, and a few 18th century flower and herb beds, and rose bed. We grow some heirloom variety vegetables. . . 6 types of tomatoes, peas, Kale, lettuces, eggplant, zucchini, 6 types of peppers to name a few. I am a big herb grower. I grow culinary and medicinal.

The biggest thing we did was rip out all the plants in the garden and decide to put in a 18th century period garden. Looking back at it. . . It was insane lol. Most flowers We had to grow from seed. Getting them from England, Canada and some historical sites. I mixed in some herbs in between like marshmallow. . . It is finally coming along

We lost some trees after Sandy and them a few more a few weeks ago. Some that effect my flower garden. I have some partly shade plants. . . So I will have to see how it goes. I might end up losing those. We have southern exposure . . . So now they are going to get beat down.

My DBF keeps bees. . . So there is a lot of pollination going on. Which is great.it is the weather right now that is not great. . . . It is going to get cooler the next few weeks . . Not good for the tomatoes.

I've started my dill indoors, and it's not really growing that well. One batch I moved outside and potted. They are so tiny still.

I'd love to see pics of your garden sounds so lovely! I started most my edibles from seed, but seeds I bought. I would have had some tomatoes by now but that fricken caterpillars!

Then yesterday I saw a pigeon eating my bird food. Those dirty sky rats! I wonder which birds are eating the caterpillar carcasses. I leave them up on top of the walls and they are always gone within a few hours. I have seen some lovely little song birds and hummingbirds too.

Hi fellow gardeners! I am a master gardener and a certified as a desert landscaper. I garden in both AZ and Maine and design…love both places and ironically have several of the same plants in each of my gardens from zone 5b to 9-10 pretty crazy. I love to dig in the dirt!

Matese, I love the Herb tree that's awesome. I've lived in LV and it is a tough place to garden. The sun is harsh and the wind sometimes harsher with very low humidity. And the soil nearly impossible :)

I've been using grow boxes for some time in both locations…easy to deal with and fertilize and irrigate. I use The Garden Patch brand Grow box but Earth Box is another.

"The first season I had it I saw flowers disappearing INTO the ground, like the devil reached up and pulled them down. I researched thinking it was moles, came to find out it is VOLES. Just a heads up for anyone thinking about raised garden beds." -Matese

My experience w/ Voles is that you have to get someone to come out and capture and 'relocate' …It takes awhile but truly that is the only effective way to get rid of them, all the other gimmicky things are just that. You may want to call your county extension office and see if they have a list of people that do pest control and specifically set traps.

Capt. Noonie are your Desert Museum trees Palo Verdes?

Verbena I'd love to see some pictures of your period gardens. Sounds really wonderful. I am going to be doing a design this fall for beds for a very old property in Maine. I am very excited!

Wow, so glad you chimed in! I need some advice from an expert! Yes my Desert museum is the palo verde. We are thinking about taking both of them out. I really like our Mesquite a lot better. It just looks so much more lush and grows way faster. Just hoping the caterpillars don't like the Mesquite or ever find it. It's weird, one of the Museums got eaten up but the other one that's like 5 feet away didn't.

We do have a lot of plants that are doing well. In fact only the eaten up museum is the only one.

So far we have:
Mesquite
2 Passi floras (not blooming though, can you offer insight?)
4 Cat's claw vines (2 under the patio cover, two on the roof deck)
6 Boston ivys (two are doing REALLY well!)
4 purple wisterias (doing so so)
2 Queen's wreath (also so so. Moved them into more shade, they seem happier)
1 Maverick tree (doing very well)
2 Humming bird bush/Firecracker growing like weeds
and then a ton of succulents on the roof deck that I don't know most of the names.

We had a bunch of stuff die too though. Ruelia (sp?), Parrots beak, countless veggies and herbs.

"Wow, so glad you chimed in! I need some advice from an expert! Yes my Desert museum is the palo verde. We are thinking about taking both of them out. I really like our Mesquite a lot better. It just looks so much more lush and grows way faster. Just hoping the caterpillars don't like the Mesquite or ever find it. It's weird, one of the Museums got eaten up but the other one that's like 5 feet away didn't." --capt noonie

(sorry but I can't figure out how to copy the quote…and I feel like I have seen that option. I just can't find it!)

Is your PassiFlora in a pot…they seem to be able to be easier to control fertilize etc. in a pot.
Re: you Desert Museum that's a shame they are so beautiful. I'd contact a MG at your county extension office…easier to email I think otherwise you could be in for a couple of weeks of telephone tag.
https://www.unce.unr.edu/programs/si...ener/southern/
There is a link on the left that says "ask a master gardener" if you can take a picture of the tree and the 'pest' that will help them chances are it's a problem in your neighborhood or the region. They can tell you what is the best way to treat them in your area. I love the Palo Verdes because there is less debris with them. I have a better Sonoran Emerald that is just gorgeous I'd be heartbroken if anything happened.

Smart to move your Queen's Wreath…sometimes it is all about location which can make you crazy especially if you want a plant for a specific location/effect. Sometimes they have a mind of their own. Make sure they have enough Potassium (the K number in the N-P-K)

Is everything irrigated in your yard? Ruelia is usually pretty hardy I find it does better w/ morning sun and afternoon shade? Do you grow your herbs and veggies in raised beds or in the ground?

On the bottom right hand corner of each post you will see some buttons. The "Quote" one will quote that post. The next one with the "+ is the multi quote option. I think this forum allows you to multi quote up to three posts, so click that icon one each of the quotes you want to quote and that button will turn red. Then click the "quote" and it will take you to the next screen where you can reply to each.

The last button with the paper and quill is a "quick reply" option. You don't really need that one. It's the same as going down to the reply box at the bottom of the page.

Passifloras, yes they are potted. I read they are considered invasive in some climates, and even though they like semi moist, they are doing well. But NO blooms, which is what I love about them! But other wise they are growing pretty darn fast. Also there are a few passion fruit on the vines now. Am I supposed to pick them off while green or let them ripen on the vine? It's been months and they are still green and feel hollow.

As for the Desert Museum, I think we have made up our minds about taking them out. We just need to dig them out. They grow so slow and I love pruning LOL. I've pruned the Mesquite three times already since it's been put in (beginning of June). I love to prune it into crazy shapes.

Yes front and back is irrigated. Best invention ever. I still go out several times a day to inspect and look for those dreaded caterpillars.

Ruelia said on the tag full sun was ok. We put them on the roof deck and they totally died. Now we train new plants in shade until they seem ok and then move them into sun.

Herbs mostly are on the herb tree, which gets morning sun and afternoon shade. Veggies I started indoors, and then I move out to raised bed. Dill I started from seed and they are still tiny and wimpy looking. I prune them to grow more width, but still they grow so slow. Basil (Thai and Cinnamon) is doing very well. Both in raised bed and herb tree. Peppers were growing well, and producing well, then just stopped.

[QUOTE=AZME;4466717]Hi fellow gardeners! I am a master gardener and a certified as a desert landscaper. I garden in both AZ and Maine and design…love both places and ironically have several of the same plants in each of my gardens from zone 5b to 9-10 pretty crazy. I love to dig in the dirt!I've been using grow boxes for some time in both locations…easy to deal with and fertilize and irrigate. I use The Garden Patch brand Grow box but Earth Box is another.
The first season I had it I saw flowers disappearing INTO the ground, like the devil reached up and pulled them down. I researched thinking it was moles, came to find out it is VOLES. Just a heads up for anyone thinking about raised garden beds." -Matese
My experience w/ Voles is that you have to get someone to come out and capture and 'relocate' …It takes awhile but truly that is the only effective way to get rid of them, all the other gimmicky things are just that. You may want to call your county extension office and see if they have a list of people that do pest control and specifically set traps.

My problem with Voles is...I am in a heavily wooded area, I traced one tunnel into the woods. There are several tunnels that go deeper into the woods, makes it difficult to trace them all. I will have to live with them and see what they don't like. Thank you for your help, nice to know we have an expert gardener on site.

I am giving you a link to my favorite arborist in Phx. Guy rocks it…honest, intelligent and knows his stuff…he has a bunch of tree articles and blogs on his web site. Here is a good one on the do's and don't for healthy Trees

http://www.itreeservice.com/pdfs/article1.pdf

The crazy thing in the desert re: plants is many are grown in California. So the tags that reflect their "full sun" are not our Mojave or Sonoran Desert full sum. I lived in Vegas for 10 years before moving to AZ.
My favorite wholesaler also is a wholesaler in LV. Mountain States Nursery.
Links | Useful Resources | Mountain States Wholesale Nursery
I am linking what they have on their site for local nurseries which means they supply them plants (maybe not all but some) The great thing about Mountain State web site is that they have a plant database with information and pictures like nobody's business….It is the best! I use it all the time. Also if you see something on their site that they don't have I'd go to an independent like Plant World on W. Charleston and ask if they can you one. I work with a small nursery here and if I don't see what I want they find it and they use local growers so I know what I put in my yard or clients is AZ hardy makes a HUGE difference!

Thanks for the help with the quotes! I must be losing my eyesight!!! lol

thanks so much for the links. I will go read them in a bit. I'm sure it's several hours worth of reading.

We go to Plant World only to look at the birds. LOL I find their prices high, and some outrageously so. Locally we buy from Star, or if something we think may not make it from Lowe's or Home Depot for their great return policy on plants.

The only problem I have w/ Lowe's or HD they use growers in CA that don't always do so well in the desert and so that the culture doesn't match up …full sun etc. I only buy certain things there because while they do have a liberal return policy…if I commercially install something the labor to replace it ends up being worth buying a locally grown plant that I can pretty much count on. And I pick and choose. I check the sales I buy 1 gallon plants vs. 5 gallon…things like that. The other issue is that some of their growers use peat in their pots which when it dries out does not necessarily hydrate well in the desert. So I will buy things like verbena, succulents, and some desert adapted plants from their. Your county extension may have a plant sale. Usually they do once or twice a year and those plants are often from cuttings etc that master gardeners locally have grown. When we do ours everyone donates a certain number of plant-lings :) that they have grown or split or what have you…The prices are usually AMAZING!!!

Yeah there was a plant sale at the Springs Preserve a few months back. But we didn't find anything we liked. It was still an enjoyable day tho.

AZME, do you know about passi floras? I got two from Lowes. They already had blooms and full fruits on them. Since we got them, no more blooms. Flower pods are empty, ie they have the flower spots but inside are empty or fall off. Obv they had blooms and fruits before. Now not so much. Vines themselves are growing like crazy. They are in pots.

Also when we bought them, they had a few fruits attached. Eventually they fell off naturally. They were still green and hollow feeling. They turned purple ish later but were still hollow feeling then turned wrinkly.

Great thread with lots of information...I've often thought it would be wonderful to be able to not only feed my own family and friends but to donate to a food pantry. Awesome...maybe in my retirement years.