Anyone into gardening here?

[jc100]

I have a 10x12ft pergola in the garden that I built that’s about 7ft tall. For the last 10+ years I’ve been training a grape vine to cover the cross beams for some shade and as a bonus it’s been providing fruit too. That is until this year when some fucker snipped the main vine and killed it all. It’s either the hydro line clearing people or my neighbour. Anyway, I’ll probably never find out. Regardless, I want to get something to cover the pergola and I don’t want to wait 10 years.

Right now I have a Chilean vine of some kind that is supposed to flower (firecracker vine? Glory vine?)…and it hasn’t. Ever. I got a couple of clematis on sale today, maybe those will work better.

Anything else that might be worth trying. The area is part sun/part shade with late afternoon sun. I don’t want anything that’s ridiculously aggressive like a Boston ivy as that can get out of hand.

 

[Sunday Rider]

No buds at all coming up from the old stem? I find most vines that aren’t grape, get out of control after a few years. Mind you grape can too off you let it.
Virginia creeper will grow fast but it can take over too. Japanese Wisteria takes a while but is very nice too.
But grape is my favourite for cover and the grapes are a bonus. Mind you the raccoons know when they are ripe so I try to get them first otherwise the raccoons eat them and leave their crap all over the place. Disgusting animals.

 

[nobbie48]

Wisteria is pretty but IIRC considered an invasive species, not that anyone seems to care. Or do they?

I'm not sure how it propagates and the danger of it becoming another kudzu, growing at a foot a day.

 

[Sunday Rider]

Wisteria is pretty but IIRC considered an invasive species, not that anyone seems to care. Or do they?

I'm not sure how it propagates and the danger of it becoming another kudzu, growing at a foot a day.

Didn’t know that. It has some beautiful fragrant white flowers. I have it beside a lawn chair and it will slowly take it over in late spring so I have to beat it back. It hasn’t propagated anywhere like the Virginia creeper.

 

[jc100]

No buds at all coming up from the old stem? I find most vines that aren’t grape, get out of control after a few years. Mind you grape can too off you let it.
Virginia creeper will grow fast but it can take over too. Japanese Wisteria takes a while but is very nice too.
But grape is my favourite for cover and the grapes are a bonus. Mind you the raccoons know when they are ripe so I try to get them first otherwise the raccoons eat them and leave their crap all over the place. Disgusting animals.

I can’t see any buds. I thought that was strange too. The main stem is a good couple of inches thick. I haven’t cut it back yet just in case it starts to show signs of life.

 

[Sunday Rider]

I can’t see any buds. I thought that was strange too. The main stem is a good couple of inches thick. I haven’t cut it back yet just in case it starts to show signs of life.

How much stem is left? Try to give it a nick until some water flows out amd perhaps that will get it going.

 

[jc100]

How much stem is left? Try to give it a nick until some water flows out amd perhaps that will get it going.

OK. So…weird thing. No sign of life a week ago. Went out today and went for the nuclear option of getting a clematis and a new grape vine. A really nice seedless white Niagara grapevine so that even if the birds get to the fruit they won’t leave red stains on my new deck. What do you know, old grape vine faithful has sprouted two new strong buds a few inches long. Might get some decent coverage after all.

 

[jc100]

The new pond appears to be working.

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[Evon]

The new pond appears to be working.

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I envy how clear your pond is

 

[jc100]

I envy how clear your pond is

strong pump and lots of aeration!

 

[matthew]

Finally everything is either in the ground or in a container

Smith Farms

Smith Farms. 99 likes · 10 talking about this. An urban "farm" trying to create awareness about the benefits and fun of growing your own food.

www.facebook.com

 

[nobbie48]

I have a 10x12ft pergola in the garden that I built that’s about 7ft tall. For the last 10+ years I’ve been training a grape vine to cover the cross beams for some shade and as a bonus it’s been providing fruit too. That is until this year when some fucker snipped the main vine and killed it all. It’s either the hydro line clearing people or my neighbour. Anyway, I’ll probably never find out. Regardless, I want to get something to cover the pergola and I don’t want to wait 10 years.

Right now I have a Chilean vine of some kind that is supposed to flower (firecracker vine? Glory vine?)…and it hasn’t. Ever. I got a couple of clematis on sale today, maybe those will work better.

Anything else that might be worth trying. The area is part sun/part shade with late afternoon sun. I don’t want anything that’s ridiculously aggressive like a Boston ivy as that can get out of hand.

FWIW I’m enjoying my morning coffee on the deck and also enjoying the fragrance of the nearby forsythia. It’s sort of vine like but I don’t know what it would do overhead

 

[nobbie48]

This used to be and still to a degree is the dump side of the yard. I threw together the assorted paving stones instead of taking them to the dump and even used some scrap plastic eaves troughs. Wifey added the floral bits.

 

[jc100]

My Ontario native cactus is doing well. The sad specimin I got from crappy Tire has been in our poly greenhouse for a good few weeks and its grown nice new paddles. Going to acclimatise it to full sun now and then plant it out in a bed

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[Sunday Rider]

My Ontario native cactus is doing well. The sad specimin I got from crappy Tire has been in our poly greenhouse for a good few weeks and its grown nice new paddles. Going to acclimatise it to full sun now and then plant it out in a bed

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Never knew they could thrive here over winter.

 

[jc100]

Never knew they could thrive here over winter.

The version in the photo is hardy to -35C. There’s another variety from Alberta that’s hardy to -50C. These cacti have evolved with anti-freeze proteins in them to last the winter. The Alberta variety has been frozen down to beyond -100C in liquid nitrogen in an experiment and carefully thawed out and some of it survived.

Even more interesting is that this variety has cactus paddles that are edible and so are the fruits that are produced just like its desert cousins. The paddles can be cooked and used in Mexican food as “nopales” (I’ve cooked them in tacos before, pretty tasty) and the fruit are the prickly pears which are quite sweet although last time I had them I spent about a week pulling spines out my hand.

I have to make a special spot in my garden for them as they won’t like clay soil though. My plan is to get some rocks to make a perimeter for an elevated bed, dig a decent pile of earth out of the inner ring and replace it with gritty soil for drainage, then see if that works.

 

[LePhillou]

I have a 10x12ft pergola in the garden that I built that’s about 7ft tall. For the last 10+ years I’ve been training a grape vine to cover the cross beams for some shade and as a bonus it’s been providing fruit too. That is until this year when some fucker snipped the main vine and killed it all. It’s either the hydro line clearing people or my neighbour. Anyway, I’ll probably never find out. Regardless, I want to get something to cover the pergola and I don’t want to wait 10 years.

Right now I have a Chilean vine of some kind that is supposed to flower (firecracker vine? Glory vine?)…and it hasn’t. Ever. I got a couple of clematis on sale today, maybe those will work better.

Anything else that might be worth trying. The area is part sun/part shade with late afternoon sun. I don’t want anything that’s ridiculously aggressive like a Boston ivy as that can get out of hand.

black eyed susan vine, it will spread a a lot and if watered properly will give some nice bright flowers
but you'd have to buy probably 5-6 of them to cover it and start them up high
When i had them 2 years ago:

June 5

vs
June 30th

 

[sburns]

My Ontario native cactus is doing well. The sad specimin I got from crappy Tire has been in our poly greenhouse for a good few weeks and its grown nice new paddles. Going to acclimatise it to full sun now and then plant it out in a bed

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I'm very curious to know what happens over the winter with this. Please keep us updated!

 

[Sunday Rider]

The version in the photo is hardy to -35C. There’s another variety from Alberta that’s hardy to -50C. These cacti have evolved with anti-freeze proteins in them to last the winter. The Alberta variety has been frozen down to beyond -100C in liquid nitrogen in an experiment and carefully thawed out and some of it survived.

Even more interesting is that this variety has cactus paddles that are edible and so are the fruits that are produced just like its desert cousins. The paddles can be cooked and used in Mexican food as “nopales” (I’ve cooked them in tacos before, pretty tasty) and the fruit are the prickly pears which are quite sweet although last time I had them I spent about a week pulling spines out my hand.

I have to make a special spot in my garden for them as they won’t like clay soil though. My plan is to get some rocks to make a perimeter for an elevated bed, dig a decent pile of earth out of the inner ring and replace it with gritty soil for drainage, then see if that works.

Gonna have to find some of these. Very intriguing. Thanks!

 

[jc100]

Gonna have to find some of these. Very intriguing. Thanks!

Looks like Canadian Tire had quite a few across different stores but that was about a month ago. If you find someone with a mature plant ask for a paddle and grow that one up. Mine will need to grow a bit before I start separating out bits though.