Today the Joe Pye Weed arrived, 10 plants carefully wrapped and each one positioned in a box to arrive whole, looking great.
Growers Exchange is the only place where I buy herbs.
I had to chase a bunny out of the back garden, where I planted six of them. While I was gathering up tools and trash, he hopped back, doubtless curious about what was new on his menu. I chased him away, yelling, "Not your garden. Get out." He hopped a few steps and waited. I pursued him until he was in the front yard.
Rain Water - Always for Planting
My mother's secret recipe was either 1) rainwater, or 2) stored water to let the chlorine evaporate out. Her school room flowers bloomed while others drooped. The teachers asked her secret; she smiled.When plants arrive, I soak them for hours if possible. We have an all-night rain coming, so I gave them a few minutes of rainwater, then a soaking at the end.
Roses get several days of soaking, the bottom half only.
Plants can be immersed before digging them in, but not overnight. The more fragile ones, like Bee Balm, will start to die from too much water.
Rain water lacks chlorine and has usable nitrogen for the plants. During a storm, tons of nitrogen come down and green up everything, as noted in Isaiah 55:8ff.
I have rain-barrels and buckets all over the back, where the roof collects and dumps the water. I usually have a supply, and if not, I fill a garbage pail with Springdale water to let the chlorine evaporate out.
Yes, I dump water out from the barrels to avoid mosquitoes multiplying.
Rainwater for Doting on Flowers
One member (name withheld) kids me about dumping rainwater from the barrels, filling in the sentence for me - "because rain is coming."I pick flowers to dote on so they grow even better. I did that with the slow-growing Crepe Myrtle, which now reaches up to the kitchen sink window. The plant grew faster and flowered better than its "drought tolerant" identical brothers in the front yard.
A day or two after a rain, I will pour a bucket on the kitchen window Crepe Mytle, for continued growth and flowering. I saw damage that could only have been caused by a Fluffy-Tailed Food Thief, aka a young squirrel. Looking closer, tender new branches were torn off on one side.
Over-watering can be bad from the garden hose, but it seems fairly difficult to over-water with stored rainwater. Last year was such an extended deluge that I saw lack of growth (little sun) but no death from extensive rain storms followed by more of the same. I did not use rainwater supplements.
I was happy to get the garbage barrels out of the flooded backyard, several times rolling the barrels through the house to avoid sinking into the mire, with muddy groan, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown.
