Sunday, June 29, 2008

Deadheads & Suckers


My parents and I have been reduced to basically one topic. Gardening. My mom and I speak almost daily. It goes like this,
"What are you doing"
"I need to deadhead and water."
"I just finished. Now I need to pinch the suckers off my tomatoes."
"Me too, ok bye."

That's pretty much it. My mom mentioned to me that I had to pinch the suckers off my maters. I did not know maters had suckers nor how to pinch them. So I made my dad show me and now I pinch my suckers daily. You feel better once you pinch your suckers. You really do.
I knew about the deadheading but a few days ago my mom told me that my flowers are "leggy." Leggy? What to do about that?
Well, the other day Jay brought home a plant from work that had gotten very long and stringy and my mom said it too was leggy. Then she immediately snipped it down and stated that it would now become full and spectacular. And sure enough, it's getting there.
So I figured the same held true for my flowers. They are very green and bushy without a great deal of bloomage. So I de-legged them by snipping them down. What we in this family of gardeners calls giving a plant a hair cut.
There was a good sized mound of plant snippings on the ground and several pots of hair cutted flowers around the yard when I was done.
I'll let you know what becomes of this.

5 comments:

Pat said...

I'm proud of you grashopper...you are one with nature.

Trish said...

Well Grasshopper... love your nickname, you can be sure that's what I'll call you from now on!
Gardening is so relaxing...
love deadheading, love pinching back leggy plants, and as for suckers Tom is always on the lookout.
He's been longing to see your grapevine... was talking about it just yesterday. I think he feels a part of that vine, needs to take it in, touch it. Do what all gardeners do... but mostly he is just happy to know it is thriving!

Felisol said...

Dear Sara,
gardening should be relaxing or at least a way of doing sensible things like feeling earth against your skin, love the sight of seeds becoming plants or even as I do, cultivating wild plants.

Too read your post I had to look up in my dictionary four times, and still I am not certain if you are not mocking me, sitting in front of your PC laughing.

I have not pinched suckers of my roses for two years. Guess what? They have grown wild, full of thorns, but also flowing over of scarlet red, scenting roses.
I pick the louses with my fingers or I search some ladybirds to do the job.

I don't have tomatoes, though. We don't have enough sun and heat for that luxury. So I have to buy these tasteless, scentless, over poisoned and most likely also gen modified examples at the grocer's.
Maybe the tomatoes are worth a mass.
Enjoy.
From Felisol

Deb said...

I haven't even watered my HOUSE plants....I noticed today that one of them is almost gone...a few weeks ago, a spider plant which I've had for YEARS bit the dust because I haven't watered it. (Do you know how difficult it is to kill a spider plant?). As for outdoor plants - ha. I planted NONE this year - relying on my perennials...that is if I can find them amongst the weeds.

I need to quit my job.

Mrs. Mac said...

Earth to sara ... my patience is running thin trying to leave a smarty comment on your blog ... (they keep disappearing into thin 'done' air) ...