What's going on in your garden (2018-2022)?

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

The rhubarb was eaten for evening meal (well some of it, there's loads more roughly 4L or so! ).
We don't add sugar you the rhubarb at all during cooking or when we eat it. In fact I added the juice if a small lemon to the cooking water to prevent discoloration. It worked really well. Hubby made the crumble topping as per my suggestion and simply cooked it in the oven then added it to the hot rhubarb in the serving bowl. It saved overcooking the rhubarb with me having already cooked it. He just zapped out in the microwave for a moment to heat it up before adding the topping. It was tart but yummy. We usually make the crumble mixture with less than half the recommended sugar in it, but that alone is enough to sweeten the rhubarb enough for our tastes. Breakfast will be the same. beNt argument being that baked crumble is not that dissimilar to granola. We always add fresh fruit to the granola and then serve it with (homemade) yoghurt, so how much different is rhubarb crumble with yoghurt?

 

[TastyReuben]

But what I really want to know from all of the other gardeners is this. Why is it I can not grow grass in the lawn for the life of me

I can't grow grass at all. I've had spots in the yard I've tried to reseed and nothing happens.

They sell a pretreated grass seed here, with a coating of fertilizer around it, and the ads show that "it'll even grow on concrete!" - won't grow for me.

Being a redhead with very fair and exceptionally pale skin

I had to chuckle, because when someone has a picture of a person as their avatar, regardless of who that person is, that's what I come to think of them as looking like, and when you said "redhead with very fair and exceptionally pale skin," my first thought was, "What?! You're a somewhat tanned blonde!"

 

[caseydog]

I can't grow grass at all. I've had spots in the yard I've tried to reseed and nothing happens.

They sell a pretreated grass seed here, with a coating of fertilizer around it, and the ads show that "it'll even grow on concrete!" - won't grow for me.

I've almost eliminated all the lawn in my yard in my current house, but my previous homes had BIG lawns, and they were the envy of the neighborhood. A lot of time, effort and MONEY went into those lawns. As I got older, the less I enjoyed that kind of high maintenance yard.

BTW, I have used that coated grass seed for patching thin areas. It works, but you can NOT let it get dry. I had to water it at least twice a day until it got established.

CD

 

[rascal]

Its cooling down here again mate. The front balcony gets the sun all day so you can add 5c. Downstairs we have a winter terrace for sitting and eatin out. In the summer its impossible until about 22.00. How are the mosquitoes there?

No mosquitos here, we sometimes get tiny midges at night. We leave our windows open at night upstairs and ceiling fans in both lounge and our bedroom.

Russ

 

[Burt Blank]

No mosquitos here, we sometimes get tiny midges at night. We leave our windows open at night upstairs and ceiling fans in both lounge and our bedroom.

Russ

We get both, they are vicious Bs every window an doorway has professionally fitted M/nets. I get this if bitten." The typical reaction to a mosquito bite is caused by our immune system's reaction to the protein a mosquito injects into us when they bite. Histamine is released to trigger white blood cells to move to the area to defend against this foreign protein. The histamine is what causes the customary red, itchy, swelled bite. I learned how to protect myself in Florida.

 

[Burt Blank]

But what I really want to know from all of the other gardeners is this. Why is it I can not grow grass in the lawn for the life of me

To get my lawns looking like this I use Epsom Salts. No need for expensive products. Mix in watering can and test a patch 48 hours later you will see the difference.

Clic on this link for more info on the use of epsom salts in the garden. StackPath

 

[caseydog]

No mosquitos here, we sometimes get tiny midges at night. We leave our windows open at night upstairs and ceiling fans in both lounge and our bedroom.

Russ

I can walk outside in shorts in the evening for five minutes, and get at least five mosquito bites. We have West Nile Virus carrying mosquitos here, so I have to be very careful.

CD

 

[TastyReuben]

I don't know what it is about my body chemistry, but mosquitoes leave me completely alone.

 

[Burt Blank]

I don't know what it is about my body chemistry, but mosquitoes leave me completely alone.

I had my first really bad experience in the Camargue horse riding. I was hospitalized because my arm were swollen like the Michelin Man. The Doc explained everyone gets bitten, lucky people don't react.

I can walk outside in shorts in the evening for five minutes, and get at least five mosquito bites. We have West Nile Virus carrying mosquitos here, so I have to be very careful.

CD

Croatian fauna consists of 50 mosquito species, and 15 of them have medical importan- ce. Only 10 species are capable of transmitting the West Nile Virus (WNV). In Croatia the most capable vector is Culex pipiens c. According to species distribution and abundance all of Croatia is a risk area for WNV transmission.

 

[Yorky]

I don't know what it is about my body chemistry, but mosquitoes leave me completely alone.

I wouldn't say they all leave me alone but I get very few noticeable bites. And I regularly slip into slumber sat on my stoep on an evening.

 

[caseydog]

I don't know what it is about my body chemistry, but mosquitoes leave me completely alone.

It's probably the Diet Mountain Dew. Even mosquitos hate it.

CD

 

[Hemulen]

- - -
But what I really want to know from all of the other gardeners is this. Why is it I can not grow grass in the lawn for the life of me (ok there are 2 areas where it does grow but one is the gravel driveway, the other we re-seeded re-deserve we first moved here) but it quite happily grows in all the areas I want and try to kill it (such as flowery beds, veg plots, herb patches, plant pots and so on? It is so annoying! Lol

I'm sorry for deleting my previous post on the subject. Here goes...

As there are dozens of grass varieties (Agrostis sp., Poa sp., Festuca sp., Bromus sp., Dactylis sp., Trifolium sp., Lolium sp., Phleum sp.,…), you should check that the seed mix you’re buying suits the climate, light and moisture qualities and the soil type of the particular spot you’re planting/sowing. ”Grows everywhere” stated on top of a seed carton or pouch is no guarantee. Golf course caretakers are the best experts in growing grass so you can ask them about the varieties which grow best in your region.

Grass hardly grows in extremely shady or dry spots. There has to be a good layer of dirt beneath (preferably 20 cm of light, sand containing dirt) and the soil should be well compressed before sowing. If the soil becomes too compressed (dense and compact) later on, it should be aerated with a lawn fork or aeration roller (with protruding spikes or spindles to make holes to the ground) every now and then to keep the grass roots airy and functional. The possible moss and weeds should be picked out or treated with a specific toxic substance or fertilizer.

Annual fertilization with a specific lawn fertilizer (and possibly extra lime; depends on the natural soil type) is preferable. When sown, the lawn area should be kept untouched for at least three weeks and cut for the first time when 8-10 cm long.

Lawn areas need plenty of moisture during the germination period and in dry seasons. In the winter, excess moist can cause fungal diseases which usually show as circular dead spots or areas – especially if there is a thin layer of ice on top. The situation can be helped by breaking the ice and aerating the ground as soon as the frost has dissolved.

I’ve studied gardening and garden work supervision for four years (two years after high school and two years between my uni studies). Still, our own garden looks like a mess and grass grows best in the flower beds. <Sigh>.

 

[Morning Glory]

Grass hardly grows in extremely shady or dry spots.

This is my problem. I have large trees in my garden and some right next door in the same spot which means an area of lawn is in almost constant shade and the soil is also dry - presumably because of the tree roots? Beyond that (I have a very long lawn) it is mostly moss. Moss looks like grass from a distance...

 

[Hemulen]

This is my problem. I have large trees in my garden and some right next door in the same spot which means an area of lawn is in almost constant shade and the soil is also dry - presumably because of the tree roots? Beyond that (I have a very long lawn) it is mostly moss. Moss looks like grass from a distance...

You're probably right: some trees need a lot of water (birch is the worst in Finland as it spreads its roots everywhere) so nothing grows in their proximity. Some scrupulous gardeners pick out every piece of moss they notice on their lawn. We let it sprawl as it gives a nice Japanese feeling and doesn't need mowing as often as plain grass. The only glitch is that it doesn't tolerate much abrasion.

There are a few perennials which tolerate extreme draught and shade. Here are their Latin names: Waldsteinia ternata (small strawberry-like perennial with yellow flowers), Vinca minor (a common low leaf plant with bluish purple tiny flowers), Bergenia cordifolia or B. crassifolia (a large, low and shiny leaved, high-stemmed plant with purple flowers), Geranium macrorrhizum (spreads like the plague and grows anywhere; has purple flowers and smells nice), Lysimachia nummularia (a crawling perennial with yellow flowers) and Centaurea montana (a bit higher blue-flowered perennial; a large cornflower). You can try to plant a few of these under the trees to get a flowering carpet instead of suffering grass.

 

[CookieMonster]

nice looking carrot!

the list of unsurpassed fresh garden stuff looks like:
peas
carrots
(beans - so common but picked fresh... especially limas/butterbeans)
potatoes
corn
tomatoes