Re: Home and garden projects
 

Exactly one year ago Spring was well underway in the PNW. My ferns were over a foot tall, the Japanese maples had all their leaves, the grasses were also tall. This year the extended Winter and numerous late snow storms combined with constant rain since October made the whole garden stay in hibernation. The ferns are just waking up the maples are budding and the grasses also starting to peek through. This was the first weekend this year that I could be in the garden both days without rain.

There is so much yard work, I haven't even chipped the branches brought down by the snow storms - let alone plant something nice.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Just bought a house here and the rear yard (about 1/4 acre) is a blank canvas of grass apart from two mature pecan trees - no idea where to start yet but it's going to be fun!

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Two mature pecans on a quarter acre will surely limit your room and options because the tree roots will take much of the water and nutrients. Fresh pecans in the autumn will be nice though. :)

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On the con side I now don't close until May 9th. :(

On the pro I have found out there is a Hunter Pro C sprinkler system already installed. Another gadget to play with. :thumbsup:

Re: Home and garden projects
 

FIFY. :lol:

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Ha, yeah. It does have a rain sensor so at least it won't double up on watering.

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So far I'm having more success with the ones that are just being tossed in to a cup of water. Only one of my toothpick seeds has sprouted so far.
More sunlight than not seems to be the way forward...

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I did mine on toothpicks, with the bottom qtr in water. It's now 8ft in the back yard.

I planted a mango tree too, that's 6ft.

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Mine simply germinate where they get thrown in the compost heap. Sadly being in central PA they don't survive the winters.

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I've got a couple of those on the go in zip locs right now :)

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Do you keep them inside the house while germinating?

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I do, yes, on a window sill.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

As per poster above, window sill.

I would cauton you if you're hoping to get fruit from one eventually, as grown from seed it's a bit of a crapshoot as to what you might end up with.

You can buy a 6ft sappling where I am for around $20 that will almost guarantee good fruit.

I'm growing from seed cause I just prefer to do something with it than toss it in the trash. Eventually I'll give them away of maybe sell them on craigslist.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Spring - daffodil season! We have several thousand in flower now, and more to flower over the next couple of weeks. I've planted at least a couple of hundred bulbs most year for the past twenty years. We moved in to this house Memorial Day in 1997, so the anniversary is just coming up...

A less welcome sign of Spring is the Japanese knotweed. Locals call it bamboo, I'm trying to educate them .... but I've noticed that knowledge of plant names is not a strong point around here. Anyway, like bamboo, Japanese knotweed does burn very nicely even when green.

We have two major patches of knotweed. One I've contained pretty well by mowing. Twenty years ago, it was in a patch of trash trees and other undergrowth, so impossible to control, but now we've taken all the trees out so are able to mow, the Japanese knotweed is suppressed and no longer spreading. The other area, I can mow part of, but unfortunately it's going down a steep slope into a ravine & stream so is hard to get at, and it's still slowly spreading in that direction.

One advantage of having Japanese knotweed - we have a strict burn ban here from April 15 to May 15. One of the exceptions to the burn ban is attempting to eradicate invasive species...

Re: Home and garden projects
 

At last! I looked out of the window this morning and finally saw the green haze on some of the trees here and there. Still a long way to go, but it looks as if spring is really about to arrive.