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By RickCorey | Common "easy" annual flowers produce lots of blooms and are very forgiving of soil, climate, and lack of experience. [View the item] |
central Illinois             jmorth Jan 19, 2014 9:39 PM CST |
| Nice article. I've had Kong Sunflowers re-seed themselves for 8 years. Flowering tobacco, Rudbeckia, Nigella, larkspur, perilla, poppy, morning glory, and Cypress Vine also re-seed faithfully. Nothing that's been done can ever be changed. |
Name: Karen Cincinnati, Oh (Zone 6a)            kqcrna Jan 20, 2014 5:33 AM CST |
| Nice job, Rick. Karen |
Name: Rita North Shore, Long Island, NY Zone 6B         Newyorkrita Jan 20, 2014 2:18 PM CST |
| Things that mostly reseed here are 4 o'clocks. But then California poppies do reseed, morning glories, sometimes portulaca's, and always some sunflowers. Great article!  |
Name: Rick Corey Everett WA 98204 (Zone 8a) Sunset Zone 5. Koppen Csb. Eco 2f        RickCorey Jan 20, 2014 2:24 PM CST |
| Thank you all! I till and amend my raised beds until the soil is half-decent, so re-seeders can have a hard time. But I weed carefully around Dianthus and Salvia ... but the Salvia bed was SO overwhelmed by weeds that there were no Salvia left to worry about. It take me a few years of amending and growing in my soil to bring it up to "half-decent". Growing only annuals and vegetables works for me, so I can weed it 100% twice per year, and keep turning bark and other organic matter under to break up the clay that returns as compost is digested. I have yet to fully control weeds in beds with perennials or re-seeders. Once bulbs die back, I can use a scuffle hope on the surface weeds. I have some yellow California Poppies that come back thinly, and they get more hand-weeding than most other beds. I want to get some Mikado Poppies established the same way. The Alyssum win because they grow where nothing else will grow, and they out-compete the weeds. They're like a lovely, sweet-smelling cover crop. But they don't make very good cut-flowers, they sprawl too much. Just because it ISN'T complicated doesn't mean I can't MAKE it complicated! Weather Links ~ Sunset Zones ~ Degree Days ~~ National Gardening Association Kitazawa Seeds ~ Tainong Seeds ~~ ATP Member Map ~~ My Blogs ~~ Coop Extension Finder Seriously Hot Peppers ~~ Seed Library Resources ~~ Piggy Swap Chat #11 |
Name: Rita North Shore, Long Island, NY Zone 6B Newyorkrita Jan 20, 2014 2:41 PM CST |
| Oh wow. I don't till anything but I often do just add compost on top. |
Name: Karen Cincinnati, Oh (Zone 6a) kqcrna Jan 20, 2014 3:31 PM CST |
| I do the same, Rita. Karen |
Name: Rick Corey Everett WA 98204 (Zone 8a) Sunset Zone 5. Koppen Csb. Eco 2f RickCorey Jan 20, 2014 4:48 PM CST |
| My best bed is good enough for that. it got the best soil and the most compost to start with, then got much more compost each year for 2-3 years. Now I can just top-dress with compost and a compost-manure mix that I buy, but I still scratch it into the top few inches so it stays moist and is in good contact with soil critters. Just because it ISN'T complicated doesn't mean I can't MAKE it complicated! Weather Links ~ Sunset Zones ~ Degree Days ~~ National Gardening Association Kitazawa Seeds ~ Tainong Seeds ~~ ATP Member Map ~~ My Blogs ~~ Coop Extension Finder Seriously Hot Peppers ~~ Seed Library Resources ~~ Piggy Swap Chat #11 |
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