Gardening tips in the pandemic

I'm growing my self-seeded chili peppers in their magic pot again. My chilis love the dirt in this pot.

After first frost in November I toss some of the frost damaged peppers in the dirt of their pot and cover with a little soil. Next Spring the seeds sprout and repeat the process.

Usually get flowers and shrubs at Home Depot in April. Now I’ve got nothing. Had some grass fertilizer from last year thankfully - trying to control som of the weeds. But a disaster for spring gardening this year. Hoping that I can do some plant shopping in May.

I splurged on several hanging baskets that were at Fred Meyer. I was doing essential shopping, and they were there...

How does a total newbie learn to garden? Is there a book or YouTube series you’d recommend? (As step by step as possible)

I had to go to Home Depot & get my own garden & potting soil....meaning I had to literally get it myself from the outdoor section where the heavy bags were piled high, drop them onto a wonky wheeled dolly I’d found, pay for them, drive my car to the front & load them. Some people were not amused. But I figured fuck it, they were open & doing business, I’m getting dirt. There were tons of beautiful, untouched pots of blooming flowers both inside & outside...but it was very cold, windy & self-serve.

I stared seeds this year. Hadn’t done it for a while but made the same mistake — starting them too early. Now I’ve had to take the jiffy pots & replant them into 2.5” and 4” planters, I really don’t have enough room in the sunny and UV light area. And were still getting freeze (not frost) warnings, so I can’t plant.

It’s ridiculous that there are still freeze nights in PA at end end of April. Good in a way I guess - minimizes urge to get outside. But I had so many gardening projects scheduled for spring that are slowly fading from possibility.

I’m sad that I can’t afford much for gardening this year. I was planning on building a raised bed for vegetables, and I usually have lots of hanging baskets, which are my splurge item. I’ll see what I can do with seeds this year.

I bought some seeds. I think I might be able to get potting soil via curbside pickup.

If I can have someone get me a selection of annuals for curbside pickup, we might be OK for the season.

It may not work but honestly, I'm just doing this for shits and giggles, something to do.

We have a big pot where I'll try to do vegetables, two medium pots where I'll plant seeds, and a window ledge sized thingy where I can plant the annuals.

I'm crying thinking about all my plants in the office, dead. No one has been there in a couple months.

In the meantime, I have some seedlings going as replacements when we finally get to go back in. But, my babies!

Ask on a local message board (eg Nextdoor or Reddit) about a good quality, high end gardening place.

You will pay a 10-15% up charge but you will also be able to speak with a knowledgeable person who can tell you exactly which plants are good for you to start out with for your particular microclimate. Take pictures on your phone of where you are hoping to do your gardening so that you can show the person when you’re talking to them about it.

R10 I've actually tried to do that on Reddit but no one has replied.

Guess I should break down and try Nextdoor.

I started some seeds too since I haven't seen any plants for sale or been able to go anywhere, but I found some packets at the grocery store a few weeks ago and started some zinnias, bachelor buttons, marigold, and forget-me-not. I also had some old hollyhock seed my sister sent me so I just popped them into some dirt and hope for the best. Luckily I have a Joseph's Coat rose bush that is loaded with buds at the moment.

I ordered a rosebush to replace one I stupidly transplanted a few years ago. My last frost date is May 22. So I won’t see any shipments for now. I really wanted some purple scaevola I bought last year & reordered from Burpee. They cancelled & refunded me most of my money - but not the shipping & handling. Bruh, you can’t charge me shipping & handling for something you neither handled nor shipped. I emailed them but haven’t heard anything. Tomorrow, I’m going to start emailing them every single day.

So many of the seeds I looked at weren't even being sent out until October. odd.

Lovely rose r12.

R13, where are you? That’s a late last frost date!

7a. Very cold springs & cold autumns with gales here. Two of the last 5 years we didn’t get many flowers on our hydrangeas because of cold temperatures in May. It stays in the 40s until June, then one day it’s 85 degrees & it’s hot & humid all summer. September comes, gales start up, it gets cold by the end of the month .

I am in Southern Cal and having trouble with my plants. I planted one basil and one jalapeño plant. They both look like they’re dying. I only water them every other day and they get plenty of sun. Any ideas what’s going on?

Geraniums are pretty and bulletproof. They tolerate heat, full sun, dry, wet. The only thing they don’t like is, if a plant is acclimated to being an indoor plant and flowering indoors, and you put it outside, it will go into shock, and take 2 months to recover before it flowers again. Meanwhile, it could be next to another plant that is acclimated to outdoor use, and the outdoor temperature cycle, and that plant will do fine.

R4 YouTube is a great resource. Figure out what zone you are in for planting/flowers. For example, the growing zone for the Midwest is totally different than Southern California. Therefore you pick plants, vegetables, flowers, that do well in your zone. Also think about where around your property outside do you want to put certain plants. You got to figure out the percentage of shade versus full sun, How much water do you get from rainfall,ETc

If you have space you can grow autumn gourds/squash/vegetables/pumpkins. Seeds are cheap and you can look forward to it all summer .

pumpk - ins = pumpkins I'm new here. I cannot dit?

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R23 No.

My tomato plants are ready to go into the ground next week. It’s been tilled and composted and is just waiting. They’re cherry tomatoes, tiny bite-sized flavor bombs. I started then from seeds I got last year and now they’re a foot and a half tall. I had them under a baby grow light at first, then my big grow light I bought for growing pot. My babies. Can’t wait till they start producing!

Do you only plant cherry tomato plants R25?

R26 I’m planting green beans this year too (they can’t be transplanted as seedlings so you have to plant the seeds in the garden after the last frost) and I sent away for some Cherentais melon seeds (a small French melon that’s said to be heavenly) but I haven’t received them yet. They sent an email saying shipments were delayed due to the pandemic.

What about planting regular tomato plants? Is it too late?

R28 Definitely not too late. Still many weeks of growing season left.

R18 here. Do you think adding miracle Gro will help my basil or jalapeño plants?

r18/r30 That pic looks like sun scald/sunburn to me. Don't fertilize a plant that is under stress. Basil does just fine with minimal or no food. Pinch off those useless leaves and the plant should be able to right itself.

I've never been successful at growing peppers, IIRC, they need low nitrogen fertilizer at specific stages of growth: I think it's when you set out the plants, and again when flowering occurs. Best to Google to find out.

R31 do you think those plants are getting too much sun? Maybe I should move them to a less sunny spot?

r32 Basil enjoys full sun. The plant is probably floundering because it hasn't established a sufficient network of new roots. Be careful not to overwater. It would be a good idea to provide temporary shade for awhile. I always direct seed basil and have outstanding success with it. Scatter the seed on moist soil and water in well. Basil loves the heat and germinates in about a week.

r18 -- This is what your jalapeño's problem looks like to me:

I like this guy’s gardening videos, very informative and easy to follow.

R33 & 34 i’m going to look into that. Probably going to try a less sunny area for the time being. Thank you.

I’m growing special magical mushrooms 🍄❤️❤️❤️✌️ ☮️