I went to the Mecca of gardening centers on Tuesday. All those tomato seedlings I planted? scorched. I left them out in the direct afternoon sun too long. I was so bummed.
So I headed over and bought 4 tomato plants. This gardening center draws folks from southern Baltimore, Annapolis, and eastern side of Washington DC. It's huge. They have everything: vegetables, herbs, perennials, annuals, trees, pond flora, etc. And everything there is for Zone 5. It's not like a catalog where you've got to be careful what you buy, make sure you don't buy something for South Carolina, then it dies in the winter.
I wanted to get some Hostas, too. I've got some shady places in my flower beds that need something and Hostas fit in nicely. However, when you visit Mecca, prepare to pay Mecca prices. I wasn't prepared to spend $25 or even $14.99 for any of the plants I picked out, as pretty as they were. The lady ahead of me in line spent $470 dollars. I got out under $10 for my two heirloom and two regular tomato plants.
I heard on the news radio station which has a gardening "column" to put egg shells in with the tomato plants when you plant them to prevent blossom-end rot. Anyone ever try this? Does it work? How many shells?
I really need to get about 10 yards of mulch. My beds haven't been mulched in years. The weeds are so bad. Some have grown into weed-trees. Sheesh. I really want to hire a gardener. When I was a kid we lived in Okinawa and had a gardener. The image of him tending the hibiscus has stuck with me for years. Now I have a full time job and am often too tired or busy to take care of the flower beds after work. Oh well. maybe some day.
But for now, I need to find places for my new tomatoes and a place for the soon to be relocated lilac bush.
2 weeks ago
4 comments:
join the non-gardeners club! :)
it's all i can do to get those tomatoes in the ground (i am constitutionally incapable of growing ANYTHING from seed) along with a couple of other veggies. then if i can remember to water regularly, i'm ahead of the game.
btw, we do use a lawn service - neither hubby or i have time or inclination to mow... when they did some planting for us last year, the 2 most important words in the conversation were "low maintenance."
I'm impressed with your will power. I'm sure dropping $500 would have been easy.
I have enough friends who grow tomatoes that I have been able to resist that impulse.
I once killed a plastic plant. A gardener I am Not! I'll check with my mom about the egg shells though. She'd probably know.
I sent my mom an email about your egg shells and here was her reply. I don't understan it all but then I don't garden.
John, I put egg shells in my compost pile but I'm not a good composter ... in other words I never put it together right so that it gets hot and burns up the weed seeds ets. In fact, I used some compost pile stuff that had gradually decayed recently to plant a semi circle of resurrection lilies around the stump of a tree . The other day, I went by it on the mower and thought I saw a tomato plant ... and the next circle I saw another ... soon I quit mowing and walked back over there and the semi circle around the stump was of tomatoes and a couple of peppers. and an occasional lily. :-)
I was interested to hear about the blossom end rot ... I'll try that. It's worth a try.
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