Re: frost holler
LMann76543@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 96-09-24 10:27:00 EDT, you write:
>
> >Barb Johnson, ljohnson@cland.net, zone 5b, near Springfield, southwest
> >Missouri, USA, in a "frost holler" half a mile from the Big Sac River!
>
> Another frost pocket gardener! Misery does love company! Do you have any
> tricks for getting early bloom in spite of your location?
>
> Linda Mann lmann76543@aol.com east Tennessee USA
Hi, Linda! Yes, pots (for now), and raised beds (hopefully next year),
but this is our first year to try it. This is our first year to plant
iris. We've lived on this 5 acres almost 2 years but have spent most of
it just getting the soil ready. We have about an acre of lawn and the
rest is/was a hayfield. We have probably 5,000 square feet cleared now
and we sifted most of the topsoil through two sizes of screen, and some
of it through one size (talk about work!). It is in huge piles now.That
got the weeds and rocks out. We also started a compost pile Fall 1994
before we even moved in (!) which is now completely turned into black
dirt. When Larry and I potted the irises this year used the compost and
a pile of sifted topsoil to fill the 3-4 gallon pots. We do plan to
plant in regular raised beds next year, or whenever, but they aren't
ready yet and I just couldn't stand not planting! The potted iris are
out in the garden area which is south of the yard, also south of a huge
pile of dirt that will shield it, except that we are getting siding on
the house this week and then we will probably move some of the pots to
the south side of the house. We have pots of other things on the
deck--late-planted glads which are still blooming, a big mum, some
marigolds, some almost-dead tomatoes (the live ones are down in the
garden area with lots of peppers and two eggplant plants), also my one
unnamed LA and one Siberian SPIRIT OF YORK (this one newly planted). And
a flat of English peas which I intend to transplant today into the one
raised bed that was here when we bought the place, and used to have
strawberries in it. I have a few iris in it, just to see how they'd do
not in pots. All our iris in pots that we planted in early August have
new leaves and are growing great guns. Hope the newly-planted ones get
their feet under them too. And boy, are they easy to weed!! By the way,
we got our first frost last year Sept 22, at least a month early!
Springfield, 20-some miles away, was close with 33 degrees. We were at
29 or lower.
This looks like it could be another part of my bio that I haven't sent
yet! My bio has come in pieces since I joined the List, and it isn't
finished yet because after a local grower digs his iris next week for
the last time this year, we will get some MORE IRIS! Can you stand it?
(smile). Then I would like to post how many of what kinds I have, and
that will be that, I guess. And at that time, I will have a confession
to make too, that I don't want to make. Stay tuned for more of the
Johnson Gardening Saga!
