Anyone into gardening here? | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Anyone into gardening here?

Lyndsay said:
Nice, Wingboy. Why not give us all the recipe? I really miss my garden; maybe next year.
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My late Dad gave me this recipe many years ago.He grew his basil in big strawberry planters.You need lots.

2 cups basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts (walnuts are cheaper Dad said)
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Toss it all in a food processor and go nuts.
 
I was so into the gardening last year that i was too busy for anythng else, and I failed my exam as a result...
 
I think one of my neighbours is into gardening. The police must have green thumbs too because they paid him a visit a couple weeks back...

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Besides the regular landscaping (put in by previous owner) I have a 15x20 pergola covered in IVY, up the posts, across the top... Looks nice, but what a F'in mess... Japanese Beetles and Wasps have made the backyard unbearable due to the IVY, not to mention the crap that is constantly falling from it and staining my deck. I have been trying to summon the will to chop it all off and be done with it, then cover the top in UV shaded Polycarbonite and have a nice sheltered area off my house.

But for some stupid reason, I am struggling with killing the plant I pretty much hate right now. Please, give me strength!!!
 
eastcoast_gsx said:
...Japanese Beetles and Wasps have made the backyard unbearable due to the IVY, not to mention the crap that is constantly falling from it and staining my deck.
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I've never heard or seen a deck being stained from Ivy. Is the stuff that comes off the ivy sticky? I was thinking it could be aphids or mealybugs - both of which secrete a sticky syrup like honeydew. When that falls off the leaves and onto the deck or any surface, all the dirt clings to it and it's a real pain to clean it up. Wasps love it too. If this is the case for you, then you only need to control the pest making the secretions...

The beetles might be feeding on the aphids (if that's your problem), although usually it's ladybug beetles that feed on aphids - I've never heard of Japanese beetles feeding on aphids, because they usually feed on leaf matter....

Sometimes, just taking a hose and washing the plant down will help to control whatever pests are on it - enough for you to be able to enjoy your space.
 
afelotreyu said:
I'm trying so hard to find a bonsai or two

I want a mini maple like so:
bonzai1.jpg

and maybe a pine of some sort...

I just don't want to buy it already old I want to grow it myself ... anyone any tips?
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Give up, lol. Bonsai and riding just don't go together. They need a lot of prep work and are a struggle just to keep alive, not to mention all the pretty ones need to be grown outdoors.
 
shanekingsley said:
I've never heard or seen a deck being stained from Ivy. Is the stuff that comes off the ivy sticky? I was thinking it could be aphids or mealybugs - both of which secrete a sticky syrup like honeydew. When that falls off the leaves and onto the deck or any surface, all the dirt clings to it and it's a real pain to clean it up. Wasps love it too. If this is the case for you, then you only need to control the pest making the secretions...

The beetles might be feeding on the aphids (if that's your problem), although usually it's ladybug beetles that feed on aphids - I've never heard of Japanese beetles feeding on aphids, because they usually feed on leaf matter....

Sometimes, just taking a hose and washing the plant down will help to control whatever pests are on it - enough for you to be able to enjoy your space.
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Garden centres and Costco sell biological pest control seasonally. Might be too late now but if you get the preying mantis eggs from Costco and release them at the right time my guess is that you won't have too much of a pest problem later in the summer. The bad news is that you will have a lot of fat preying mantises.
 
Tomatoes are in.Small i know,but quality!
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There are some really awesome marigolds that we produce in the greenhouses that are very fine leaved and are much more smelly than the typical ones. I would think that they would be even better as a pest deterrent. They have really sweet but pungent lemon and tangerine scents... I'll try and get the variety names...
 
I need an ornamental plant for the front of my house. Something that can also survive the winter & don't need to be replanted every year. Any recommendations?
 
Are you putting it in a pot? If so, it helps if the pot is insulated so the roots don't freeze.

How tall can it get? If you are planting it in the ground, there are tons of options...

Do you want a shrub? An evergreen like a Boxwood or a Japanese Yew will give you green colour all year round, but no flowers.

Do you want a perennial flowering plant that dies off in the winter but comes back the next year? Ornamental grasses can be really nice and so can flowering perennials like Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Astilbe or Irises...

There are some really nice scented plants that flower like Lavender and Sage.
 
shanekingsley said:
Are you putting it in a pot? If so, it helps if the pot is insulated so the roots don't freeze.

How tall can it get? If you are planting it in the ground, there are tons of options...

Do you want a shrub? An evergreen like a Boxwood or a Japanese Yew will give you green colour all year round, but no flowers.

Do you want a perennial flowering plant that dies off in the winter but comes back the next year? Ornamental grasses can be really nice and so can flowering perennials like Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Astilbe or Irises...

There are some really nice scented plants that flower like Lavender and Sage.
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LOL, didn't know there were so many ornamental plants out there.

I plan to hang it off a wall in a pot. I can take it down every season, but I don't want to put it in the house every season. I want it to remain outside.

I think I'm looking for a perennial, most of all good looking, but having a scent would be a bonus. I'm planning on putting it close to my doorway.

Thanks
 
There are thousands of ornamental plants to use. I spend all day every day working with plants and there are thousands I have never worked with.

A pot hanging off a wall is unlikely to be insulated so the plant would most likely die outside. It can be about $25 each year to buy a colourful hanging basket that is a mixed planting of trailing and flowering annuals.

If you wanted to get a little creative, you could buy the annual plants as small ones and plant it yourself each spring in a hanging pot. A few weeks after planting it will start to get bigger and by the late spring it should be looking good.

But since you said perennials... I would suggest having something trailing around the perimeter of the pot like Ivy, Thyme or Lantana (scented) and then a larger centerpiece like an Asparagus Fern, Scented Geraniums or Munstead Lavender that would go dormant in the winter, could possibly be cut back and will regrow (depending on the location).
 
shanekingsley said:
There are thousands of ornamental plants to use. I spend all day every day working with plants and there are thousands I have never worked with.

A pot hanging off a wall is unlikely to be insulated so the plant would most likely die outside. It can be about $25 each year to buy a colourful hanging basket that is a mixed planting of trailing and flowering annuals.

If you wanted to get a little creative, you could buy the annual plants as small ones and plant it yourself each spring in a hanging pot. A few weeks after planting it will start to get bigger and by the late spring it should be looking good.

But since you said perennials... I would suggest having something trailing around the perimeter of the pot like Ivy, Thyme or Lantana (scented) and then a larger centerpiece like an Asparagus Fern, Scented Geraniums or Munstead Lavender that would go dormant in the winter, could possibly be cut back and will regrow (depending on the location).
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Your "trailing & flowering annuals" looks nice. I've always seen those around.

I don't know much about plants so I will google the names you mentioned.

Where would I be able to get those plants? Rona & Lowe's??
 
Wingboy said:
My late Dad gave me this recipe many years ago.He grew his basil in big strawberry planters.You need lots.

2 cups basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts (walnuts are cheaper Dad said)
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Toss it all in a food processor and go nuts.
Click to expand...

I made two batches of this last night, NO walnuts ever with utmost respect to your Dad, they are bitter and nasty in pesto.
Batch one I followed the recipe, batch two I toasted the pine nuts in a fry pan first. The toasting made a difference I think.

Used it as a topping on bassa fillets, buttered some toasts on the side with it, tasty stuff.

4 cups of basil was about $15bucks, but you cant put a price on great taste cooking at home.

anybody have any success growing herbs indoors? cooking herbs not smoking herbs
 
You could try a winter hardy banana plant for something exotic, musa basjoo I think it's called, they grow like crazy, I had a 4ft one the past few summers. An admission though, my first one died outside over the winter, the others I bring indoors. With a large enough pot and something covering it the plant might be ok, you also have to cut off dead foliage for the winter. If you buy a small plant for a few bucks this summer and plant it in a big enough pot it will be 3-4ft tall or more at the end of the summer.
 
I really would like to know how to keep my lawn green this year. I'm sick and tired of seeing the grass greener and thicker on the other side. For once I would like to be the otherside. Surely it can't just be watering everyday. Also is there a particular time I should be watering, morning vs evenings?
 
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