The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Category Archives: How-to

Hiding the vegetables

Posted on by Posted in Edibles, How-to, Ornamental grass .

With all of the deer that roam my property, I have struggled to grow my own vegetables, outside of some container grown tomatoes on my deck. Yes, I could fence in an area to keep them out, but that is assuming:

A) I have the initiative
B) The time to do so.

Not so much.

I was smart enough to create a raised bed and amend the soil in this bed a few years ago. I am not a complete buffoon. A variety of herbs from basil to rosemary to thyme to oregano to parsley have thrived here. All that was missing were the vegetables. And all I needed to do was find a way to keep the herds out. It seems simple enough but the task eluded me for years.  

This spring I bought a bunch of Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’ because … well … that’s what I do. I had no plan for where they would be planted so I circled the house 3 to 4 times before settling on a spot surrounding my raised bed. That is when the light bulb went off:

I love grasses
Deer don’t like grasses 
Why don’t I hide my raised bed behind grasses  

It was a win/win/win.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to come up with this simple concept but it is what it is. No time to look back and lament.

Here is what the raised bed looks like today:

And all of the tomatoes I planted this year have yet to be touched:

I even harvested a ton of seed grown green beans for the first time:

And I have been eating kale right off the plant for weeks now.

I think I am on to something here.

I plan on adding some cool season grasses as well so there is coverage while the warm season grasses are coming into their own. I also have a bunch of boxwood in the area so it is a garden filled with anti deer venom.

I know, you don’t have to say it … I’m a genius.

And by the way, be on the lookout for an upcoming post from my wife who will tell you about her favorite tomato (you’re welcome hon) and a recipe that includes said tomato.

   

Dividing Karl Foerster Grass

Posted on by Posted in How-to, Ornamental grass .

UPDATE 8/24/17: I am writing this 3+ years after the original post. Just wanted to let you all know that the divisions are thriving and you can see how they look now by clicking here.

Thanks,

John

 

I am still in the process of recovering from all of the plants that were lost over this past harsh winter; specifically trying to replace said plants. I have purchased some new shrubs and moved some other plants around to fill the voids. It’s a pain in the ass but I love it. The challenge of pulling it all together keeps me going at 200 mph day and night.

Now we all know that plants are not particularly cheap these days. So one of the ways I significantly cut down on those costs is by dividing my existing plants. With a little bit of elbow grease, one plant becomes three or four new plants.

Recently, I identified a few open spots in my front bed that could accommodate relatively narrow plants with a decent bit of height. The exposure is about half sun/half shade. I consulted the plant inventory in my brain and had the perfect option within seconds … ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass.

I have had a bunch of these in the same location for four years now and they have never let me down. They look good as early as April (they are cool season grasses so start emerging pretty quickly in the spring) and hold up all through summer, fall and even winter:

It was dividing Karl Foerster grass time . I had yet to divide them but knew it would be an easy task.

So out came the shit kicking boots and I was ready to do the deed:

The grasses have shown signs of life the past week so I knew now was a good time to divide them before they grew out any more and became less manageable:

I decided to dig out one completely from the ground and placed it in the lawn. It couldn’t have been easier to dig it out:

With a few quick and strong daggers into the grass with my shovel, one easily became four. Dividing Karl Foerster grass is fun!:

One of the divisions went right back into the same hole:

And another filled in a bare spot between this Boxwood and Ninebark:

I eventually settled on adding all three of the divisions into the same garden bed for some repetition and nice contrast with their surrounding plant brethren. Dividing Karl Foerster grass is like super fun yo:

The entire task took no more than twenty minutes and very little physical labor. I immediately watered all of the divisions and it was a wrap. Dividing Karl Foerster grass is easy and way way super fun.

Next time you are looking to fill in some bare spots in your own garden, think about dividing some of what you already have. It couldn’t be easier as witnessed by my stellar dividing Karl Foerster grass process above.

Starting seeds indoors

Posted on by Posted in How-to .

I’ve never been able to grow vegetables with any success due to my poor draining soil (waaahhh, I know, I sound like a broken record) and hovering deer population (ditto with these guys). Because of that, I’ve attempted to grow them from seed in containers on my deck. I’ve had some good fortune with this venture but have struggled to find the time to do it right. Keeping the seeds moist, thinning out the seedlings and doing it all before many of the veggies bolt hasn’t been given the necessary attention it deserves.

But spring is now here and we all start anew. Like everyone else, I am loaded with optimism. This is the year I supply the family with homegrown food throughout the spring, summer and fall.

And it all starts today.

I started seeds indoors for the first time (technically the second, I failed miserably last year but kept that on the down low) and WILL teach myself to transplant these seedlings outdoors through trial and error. Here are the seeds I’ve chosen from Seeds Now:        

I am starting small and keeping it simple for now. I even purchased a seed starting kit to save time knowing there are more creative ways to do this for no money at all.

Wish me luck.

Next week, I’ll be direct sowing seeds outdoors in containers. Good times.

“Prune in June” – Sneezeweed

Posted on by Posted in How-to, Perennials, Pruning .
Quick one today as I continue with my 2nd year of doing the “Prune in June” series.
I cut back one Sneezeweed (Helenium) by 1/2 in mid June last year hoping it would bloom without falling over. Here is that plant a few weeks later:  
After further review, this was due to really poor drainage in this spot more than anything else.
Another Sneezeweed that was cut back by 1/2 bloomed at a much smaller height and did manage to stay upright.
A third plant was left untouched but had sufficient support when it bloomed at close to four feet tall.
Now we fast forward to 2013. 
The Sneeezeweed that was located in poor drainage has been moved to a new spot, chowed down multiple times by a family of rabbits and will not be part of this pruning experiment.
The other two have been cut back by 1/2 a few weeks later than last year:    

Now we kick back and wait.
John 

“Prune in June” – Boltonia

Posted on by Posted in How-to, Perennials, Pruning .

Here in zone 6B New Jersey, Boltonia typically blooms in late August/September and any blooms that time of year cannot be understated. They have a fantastic flower color and can be statuesque if situated in the right spot where they can be supported by other plants.

Unfortunately, I have struggled to get these perennials to NOT topple over once in full bloom:   

Last year, I finally took things into my own hands and cut them back by 1/2 in early June. By the time they started blooming in September, they were about a foot shorter than normal at 2 1/2 feet:   

The results were a marked improvement from prior years but I still think I can do better and keep them even more upright.
So this year, I waited two weeks longer before cutting the three Boltonia back by 1/2:
Now we wait and see if this will make a difference at all.
Have a great weekend.
John  

“Prune in June” is back – Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’

Posted on by Posted in How-to, Perennials, Pruning .

Last June, I started my “Prune in June” series covering perennials I cut or pinched back in June to control the ultimate height and/or look of said perennials. June has come and gone already, but I logged my cutting back of these same perennials to once again closely analyze the results.

Today, we are talking Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ but my guess is this same approach can be applied to other upright Sedum cultivars.

As a recap, here is what a pinched plant looked like by late Summer:

And a photo of an unpinched one:

A pinched plant in October:

And again, an un-pinched plant at that same time:

As you can see, the pinched plant bloomed later (by about 1 – 2 weeks) and provided extended color deeper into the Fall. That works for me.

The number of blooms on each stem was also greater on the pinched back plant which gave the Sedum a “fuller” look. Again, a win.

So for 2013, I pinched back each and every bud on each and every Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ plant. Here is how they looked pre-pinching:

And how they now look post-pinching:

As I did last year, I’ll be tracking the results throughout the Summer/Fall. This is life changing info we all need and I am here to provide just that for you.

You are most welcome.

John

Cutting back the ornamental grasses with my daughter

Posted on by Posted in How-to, Ornamental grass .
I had the itch to get outside and “do something” today and based on the time of year, knew it was time to cut down the ornamental grasses. There was a time when this might be a 1/2 hour task, but with my steady accumulation of grasses over the years, it has become a monumental task. 
Today was nasty; all sorts of windy and cold, but on a whim I asked the kids if they wanted to assist their dear dad with his gardening work. My daughter volunteered with gusto and put a huge smile on my face. We got all bundled up … well she did at least, because as you know, I’m way too tough and manly and can handle the rough conditions without a jacket or gloves. 
The plan was for me to cut down the grasses with the hedge trimmer and she could help with carrying the dead grass blades to the compost bin. Things were moving swimmingly at first: 

But then she started to get bored.

I thought long and hard about letting her use the hedge trimmer and eventually figured I could allow it but only after a safety lesson from me. So we went through an impromptu training and I have to admit, she picked it up super quickly. I had some reservations at first, but she seemed good to go and the trimmer has a safety shut off and the blades are pretty dull. I knew she could do it.

Her first task, a bunch of ‘Karl Foerster’ grasses:      

She attacked with reckless abandon and did a phenomenal job:

Next, was a decent sized Switch grass:

Again, no problem at all for my little girl:

We took a break, so I grabbed my phone ready to record my young apprentice at work. Girlfriend kicked some serious butt:    
Damn impressive, eh?
We weren’t able to cut down all of the grasses, but I promised my daughter she could continue to be the “cutter”. Yeah baby!
Before we could head back indoors, I made sure to give one final lesson to my protege and shared with her the differences between “cool season” and “warm season” grasses. We got down on our knees and I showed her how this Feather Reed grass is already showing signs of new growth in this cold weather:  

All in all, a damn good day. I got some gardening chores done and my daughter was officially introduced to power tools.
John  

Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ – Final pruning results

Posted on by Posted in How-to, Perennials, Pruning .
Back in June, I pinched back one of my Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ as a pruning experiment. You can read the original post here.
I then updated the results in early September which you can also read here.
I’m here today to state that I will, without a doubt, be pinching back all of my Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ in June next year. The ultimate size of the plant that was cut back didn’t differ much from the unpruned plants, but the blooms on the pruned plant have persisted longer into fall and that is enough to convince me it is worth it. 
Here is a bloom on the pruned Sedum (as of today): 

And a bloom on one of the unpruned plants (as of today):

The difference may be subtle, but I’ll take any extended bloom color whenever I can get it.

Maybe I’ll do a double pinch back next year and analyze the results.

Is it June yet?

John

What f’n Red Sorrel taught me

Posted on by Posted in How-to, Weeds .
I originally hated writing this post about a friggin weed. 
It pained me to no end. 
I felt like a weed didn’t deserve my time and effort, so all I really wanted to do was wallow in self pity about how this weed was slowly bringing me to my knees. 
And then I realized I couldn’t have been more wrong. 
The weed in question, red sorrel (aka sheep’s sorrel) has been plaguing me for years. I would do my best to eradicate it by hand (no chemicals here) only to see it come back ten times worse. I’m talking carefully pulling out the roots and rhizomes like I was detonating a bomb. Some times the roots would extend two to three feet but I’ll be damned if I didn’t get them all. 
I just pulled and pulled, never taking the time to actually research what I was pulling out. I was like a caveman:
“Weed bad, must pull.”
In fact, it wasn’t until I started this post that I even knew what this weed was called. It took a desperate plea on Facebook, along with the photo below to get an answer as to what it actually was:  

Once I got the name and confirmed that it was in fact accurate, I began to read up on it. As I learned more and more about this plant, the skies opened up and shouted “Now learn from what you are reading dumb ass”. OK, got it.

So here is what I was able to dig up and how that bit of info taught me more about my soil and growing conditions than I ever anticipated:

  • Prefers, even thrives in acidic soil – I would have guessed this soil was closer to being alkaline but either way, I NEED to get my soil tested. I’ve been too damn lazy to do it but why I deny myself this important bit of info is just plain dumb.
  • Thrives where there is a lack of nitrates – Reason #147 why I need a soil test.
  • Thrives where there is poor drainage – No friggin surprise there 
  • Thrives where there is little competition with other plants – The best solution to handling weeds has always been to provide them with competition and “weed” them out. I need to take this to a new level and plant more where there are any open spaces. Now that, is music to my ears.  
  • Pulling out these weeds can actually promote more to appear as each broken root can produce another rosette – I’ll never get that time wasted back. Will definitely rethink my approach when dealing with these. Here I am pulling the weeds a few weeks back: 

And how it looked when I was done: 

And then sadly,  a few weeks later:            

  • Is commonly used as greens for salads and is loaded with nutritional value – you mean I could have just pulled the leaves and made a f’n salad? Get me the blue cheese dressing already.

It took a weed to teach me that I need to “get in touch” with my soil and I thank it for teaching me that lesson. I’m so caught up in buying a plant, finding a space for it and then hoping it will all work out.

Remember, it all starts with the soil.

John  

“Prune in June” – Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ – UPDATE

Posted on by Posted in How-to, Perennials, Pruning .
On a whim, I pinched back one of my three Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ perennials back in June just to “see what happens”. How’s that for motivation?
Unlike the cultivar ‘Autumn Joy’ which almost always toppled over for me in the past, ‘Autumn Fire’ has remained upright and flourished through the summer and into the fall. But I couldn’t resist tweaking this late bloomer just for shits and giggles. 
Here are the results to date:
Here is the sedum just after being pinched back in late June:

  

And here is how one of the individual stems look today: 

As compared to one of the unpinched sedums:

As you can see, the pinched ‘Autumn Fire’ has more blooms per stem which are smaller than the unpinched sedums.

Here is a shot of the entire pinched ‘Autumn Fire’:

And a photo of an unpinched one:

Obviously, the pinched sedum is “behind” the other two in terms of bloom time and that was expected. You can see that better in the photo below (pinched sedum is at the top):

So, what does it all mean? I’m not sure.

The pinching worked as expected but truthfully, I should have either pinched them all or left them all unpinched. They would look their best and have the greatest impact while all at the same stage of blooming.

However, I think I prefer the look of more but smaller bloom heads and I like the idea of potentially extending the sedum bloom season further into the fall, so I’m leaning towards pinching all of these in unison next summer.

A final evaluation to come in the next few weeks.

Thanks for following along.

John