Do the wood shavings in your compost break down readily? I tried some but found they tended to clump together 😕 When I’m turning my compost (I have a 3 bin system) I’ll sometimes take the weed whacker to it to help chop it up a bit finer. Really made a big difference with all the leaves last fall. When seen close up like that some of those seeds like bugs! 😳 Great overview of autumn garden chores, thanks for your time & diligence 👏👏👏
Hi there. Thank you! I've found that the wood shavings do break down pretty quickly. They are different than wood chips, which I don't use in my compost pile (although I've heard that you can) and I think wood chips would take much longer to break down. That's a great suggestion about using a weed whacker to your leaves. 🍂 I've heard of people doing that or even mowing the leaves over a few times in order to break them up. I use a leaf shredder which is nice as well. Bugs definitely like to crawl into the seedpods. 🐜 Happy gardening, friend! 😊🌺
Hi Vita Always enjoy watching your videos, so much good information The weather has been so fickle for August so much cold weather has started putting the flowers to sleep. Hardly any rain after spring, we had a couple of rain showers that made the soil damp for about a day. Now fall is here. I had a heavy rain storm before the hurricane, and now in Ohio, I'm by Lake Erie getting the tail end of the storm. I am glad I pulled in my huge pot of the Amaryllis pot and two window planters in the garage. I'm going to let them go to sleep in the pots still spring next year. The deer this year have eaten my Hibiscus they usually don't touch them. I'm a little mad at myself for being seed collecting. my asthma has been horrible this year even wearing a mask outdoors. Finally, since the pollen is low I'm feeling better. I just have 4 plants to bring in, and I have to debug them, for me, I use peroxide 1 part peroxide 3 or 4 parts water. I soak the roots then spray the leaves real good two times rub the leaves and rinse them in the utility sink. two rounds of bug killer that goes through the plant then kills off the bugs two rounds of tea made of those mosquito bits. Then just plain water for the rest of winter. I did that last year and hardly had any fungus nats, or aphids. I only use new potting mix in the house. before I use the soil I make it damp then Microwave the soil 2m 30 seconds.
Hi Michael! Thanks so much! I'm sorry to hear that your gardening season was not so great this year and that your asthma was flaring up. I'm hopeful next year is better for you. 🙏🏼 That's good that you've started bringing tender plants in. It's always better to be ahead of the game than to fall behind I think. You just never know with our weather. Thank you for always sharing your gardening tips! 😊
Awww. Thank you, Maureen! 💞 I think the seeds of plants that have "weed" in their names are usually fine (like Sneezeweed, Butterfly Weed, Joe Pye Weed, etc.). My experience has been that those plants don't seem to be invasive. Great question! 🌻
Your videos are always so inspiring. Sometimes I wonder if I enjoy the process of saving seeds a little more than the actual act of growing the flowers. I love going out to check for new seed pods and bagging up flower heads to save more seeds than I could ever use 😂
Thank you so much! 🥰 It's funny that you say that about seed collecting. I'm right there with you in regards to collecting way more seeds than I could ever use. I always fear that I may collect some seeds that are not viable so I collect more than I really need. And then when it comes time to planting seeds, my hand gets a little heavy when it comes to sowing those seeds... 🤣🌱🌸
Hi Julie! A general rule of thumb is that it's usually safe to dig up dahlias after they have been in the ground for about 5 months so that they have stored enough energy for next year. The longer the tubers are in the ground curing, the more fully developed the tubers and the better the likelihood of their keeping over the winter. 😊🌸
Hi Vita, do you do another round of fertilizing late fall? I was reading the PlantTone instructions and it suggested it. Wasn’t sure if that would mean before or after first frost
Hi there! I've never fertilized plants in the fall. Honestly I think it depends a bit on where you live. Also, if you were to fertilize anything in fall, I suggest early fall is the best time vs late fall. 😊🌺
I am really learning so much from your videos! Do you have a kind of garden "calendar" that you follow or a journal? I'm not a new gardener, but I am transitioning from a mostly vegetable gardener to more of a flower gardener. The winter sowing and fall clean up are new-ish ideas for me. Thanks!
Thanks so much! 💗 I have a spreadsheet that I created for when to sow my seeds (annual flowers & vegetables). The spreadsheet is based off of my average last frost date and looking at when different seeds should be started (i.e. 4, 6, or 8 weeks before my average last frost date). For perennial seeds, I sow those using the winter sowing process since most (but not all) perennial seeds need a cold stratification period. I start winter sowing after the Winter Solstice and end by early April or so. I start my fall cleanup as soon as Fall begins because it takes me so long to clean up all of my different flower beds. Since I've been making RUclips videos, I'm now using those old videos to help me remember when I did different gardening tasks as well. I hope that helps, friend. 😊🌻
Do the wood shavings in your compost break down readily? I tried some but found they tended to clump together 😕
When I’m turning my compost (I have a 3 bin system) I’ll sometimes take the weed whacker to it to help chop it up a bit finer. Really made a big difference with all the leaves last fall.
When seen close up like that some of those seeds like bugs! 😳
Great overview of autumn garden chores, thanks for your time & diligence 👏👏👏
Hi there. Thank you! I've found that the wood shavings do break down pretty quickly. They are different than wood chips, which I don't use in my compost pile (although I've heard that you can) and I think wood chips would take much longer to break down. That's a great suggestion about using a weed whacker to your leaves. 🍂 I've heard of people doing that or even mowing the leaves over a few times in order to break them up. I use a leaf shredder which is nice as well. Bugs definitely like to crawl into the seedpods. 🐜 Happy gardening, friend! 😊🌺
Hi Vita
Always enjoy watching your videos, so much good information The weather has been so fickle for August so much cold weather has started putting the flowers to sleep. Hardly any rain after spring, we had a couple of rain showers that made the soil damp for about a day. Now fall is here. I had a heavy rain storm before the hurricane, and now in Ohio, I'm by Lake Erie getting the tail end of the storm. I am glad I pulled in my huge pot of the Amaryllis pot and two window planters in the garage. I'm going to let them go to sleep in the pots still spring next year. The deer this year have eaten my Hibiscus they usually don't touch them. I'm a little mad at myself for being seed collecting. my asthma has been horrible this year even wearing a mask outdoors. Finally, since the pollen is low I'm feeling better. I just have 4 plants to bring in, and I have to debug them, for me, I use peroxide 1 part peroxide 3 or 4 parts water. I soak the roots then spray the leaves real good two times rub the leaves and rinse them in the utility sink. two rounds of bug killer that goes through the plant then kills off the bugs two rounds of tea made of those mosquito bits. Then just plain water for the rest of winter. I did that last year and hardly had any fungus nats, or aphids. I only use new potting mix in the house. before I use the soil I make it damp then Microwave the soil 2m 30 seconds.
Hi Michael! Thanks so much! I'm sorry to hear that your gardening season was not so great this year and that your asthma was flaring up. I'm hopeful next year is better for you. 🙏🏼 That's good that you've started bringing tender plants in. It's always better to be ahead of the game than to fall behind I think. You just never know with our weather. Thank you for always sharing your gardening tips! 😊
Your tutorials are the best!
Do you ever feel nervous about growing plants with 'weed' in their name? 'Sneeze weed' sounds particularly risky.
Awww. Thank you, Maureen! 💞 I think the seeds of plants that have "weed" in their names are usually fine (like Sneezeweed, Butterfly Weed, Joe Pye Weed, etc.). My experience has been that those plants don't seem to be invasive. Great question! 🌻
Another great video.
Thanks so much, Janice! 🥰🌼
Your videos are always so inspiring. Sometimes I wonder if I enjoy the process of saving seeds a little more than the actual act of growing the flowers. I love going out to check for new seed pods and bagging up flower heads to save more seeds than I could ever use 😂
Thank you so much! 🥰 It's funny that you say that about seed collecting. I'm right there with you in regards to collecting way more seeds than I could ever use. I always fear that I may collect some seeds that are not viable so I collect more than I really need. And then when it comes time to planting seeds, my hand gets a little heavy when it comes to sowing those seeds... 🤣🌱🌸
Can you also dig up dahlia tubers right now, even if they’re still blooming?
Hi Julie! A general rule of thumb is that it's usually safe to dig up dahlias after they have been in the ground for about 5 months so that they have stored enough energy for next year. The longer the tubers are in the ground curing, the more fully developed the tubers and the better the likelihood of their keeping over the winter. 😊🌸
Hi Vita, do you do another round of fertilizing late fall? I was reading the PlantTone instructions and it suggested it. Wasn’t sure if that would mean before or after first frost
Hi there! I've never fertilized plants in the fall. Honestly I think it depends a bit on where you live. Also, if you were to fertilize anything in fall, I suggest early fall is the best time vs late fall. 😊🌺
I’m in CA 9B but all of your videos still applie to my area. thank you for all of your knowledge
You're very welcome! ☀️🌸
I am really learning so much from your videos! Do you have a kind of garden "calendar" that you follow or a journal? I'm not a new gardener, but I am transitioning from a mostly vegetable gardener to more of a flower gardener. The winter sowing and fall clean up are new-ish ideas for me. Thanks!
Thanks so much! 💗 I have a spreadsheet that I created for when to sow my seeds (annual flowers & vegetables). The spreadsheet is based off of my average last frost date and looking at when different seeds should be started (i.e. 4, 6, or 8 weeks before my average last frost date). For perennial seeds, I sow those using the winter sowing process since most (but not all) perennial seeds need a cold stratification period. I start winter sowing after the Winter Solstice and end by early April or so. I start my fall cleanup as soon as Fall begins because it takes me so long to clean up all of my different flower beds. Since I've been making RUclips videos, I'm now using those old videos to help me remember when I did different gardening tasks as well. I hope that helps, friend. 😊🌻
@@budgetgardeningvita I have used a calendar in that way for veggies, but I never thought of a spreadsheet....may have to try that. Thanks!
Excellent share
@@DaveCollierCamping Thank you! 😊🌻
@@budgetgardeningvita My pleasure
and encouragement to save money
For sure! Gardening is fun and doesn't have to be an expensive hobby. ☺️🏵️