I'm here.

I see that certain posts and people are "thanked". How do you do that?

I'm not sure how I managed to get here. At first it said it didn't recognize my email and then when I tried to start a new account with the same email, it said my email and username was already taken! What in the world? Somehow, I clicked the right thing and it all worked out.

yay! I can delete my posts!

I've been gone a few years - did I miss anything okiedawn?

I'm here, I think. They say that the only thing that is constant is the fact that nothing stays the same. Guess that's true, but I don't have to like it. It's nice to see some familar Okie names here.

I am here too and trying to figure this place out. I am so thankful that Houzz took over and did not let this place go bye-bye!

okierod, Nah, ya didn't miss much. We had droughts, wildfires, tornadoes, ice storms, floods, flash floods, more tornadoes, plagues of blister beetles, Japanese beetles, Squash Vine Borers, Grasshoppers and more tornadoes. We had tons of snow, thundersnow, thundersleet, graupel, derecho winds, the second worst drought ever, earthquakes, Earthquakes, EARTHQUAKES and more tornadoes. Did I mention hail? Golf ball sized, hen egg sized, baseball sized, softball sized. More Earthquakes. We quaked and we shaked. We had more tornadoes, downbursts, and the occasional low-pressure remains of a gulf Hurricane or Tropical Storm. Folks here had babies, got married, got divorced, became grandparents and great-grandparents and sent children off to college only to have them come back as young adults. The younger ones among us sent their kids off for their first day at day care, kindergarten, high school or maybe summer camp. Or, they home-schooled their kids and made gardening a part of their curriculum. Some of us buried loved ones and our gardens helped us heal from the pain. We got sick, we got well, we learned to count our blessings and to count on friends to get us through the tough times. In between it all? We gardened, we mowed, we raked and we hoed. We sowed the seeds, pruned the plants, harvested, cut flowers and made bouquets and we fed the butterflies, the hummingbirds the birds and the bees. We became skilled at using row cover to protect plants, starting seeds indoors to get off to a head start, and using cold frames, low tunnels and high tunnels to help us fight the heat and the cold. We replaced lawns with wildflowers, used edible landscaping around our homes, built lily ponds and other water features, and we got hot, cold, wet, dry, stinky and dirty (not necessarily all in the same day). We composted, we mulched. We watched dust storms rise up from the parched soil in northern OK. We harvested herbs and flowers, fruit and nuts, and lots of veggies. We fought fire ants. We discovered our phones were smarter than we were, but that they could access cool gardening apps and give us weather warnings right out there in the garden. We harvested, we shared, we canned, dehydrated and froze the surplus. We gave a lot away. Other gardeners gave us their excess. We tried new plants, and sometimes they survived, though sometimes they did not. We cut down old, dangerously diseased trees and planted new replacement trees. We saw school gardens and community gardens spring up across the state. Through it all, we were here, talking, seeking advice, giving advice, sharing ideas, posting photos, sharing seeds, sharing the harvest and just living life.

So, okierod? Tell me: did you miss anything? (grin) Now that I think about it, I think you missed a lot. Somehow, we all got older, but we're going to pretend we didn't.

And, hey, welcome back! Haven't seen you here in ages.

Dawn

Fashionably late!

Did you bring us the traditional fudge for the first snowstorm of February?

Dawn, are you sure you were not a author in your PTGL (Prior To Gardening Life)? LOL. You have good writing skills. Loved your post - good chuckle for a cloudy, cold morning.

Mary

Mary, Hi! Thanks for the kind words. I hope you're well there in Texas and hope y'all been getting some rain lately.

Actually, I was a writer, briefly majoring in journalism and editing the college newspaper in my PTGL back when I was a very old kid or a very young adult. However, a couple of years of journalism courses (and this is NOT a reflection on my professors, whom I adored and respected) ruined the whole idea of writing for me as I found that I was not the sort of person who wanted to sensationalize stories and get in people's faces and ask them questions when they'd just gone through a traumatic experience. It just didn't appeal to me. Back then, it never occurred to me that there were other fields of writing besides news writing and editorial writing. Then I fell in love and got married and did the whole career woman thing (in the aerospace industry) followed by stay-at-home mom routine and then fell in love with gardening. The only writing I do now is right here on GW. I'd always gardened since I was a young child, but didn't get really serious about it until I quit my job to stay at home and do the whole mom thing because that was when I finally had enough time to do gardening the way I wanted to do it.

I was just trying to fill in Okierod on what has been going on the last few years here, while avoiding such topics as Monsanto, GMO crops, politics and world affairs. So, if I made you chuckle, I feel like I achieved my goal of being informative but having a little fun with it as well.

Dawn

I don't talk much but I made it here too.

No fudge! I don't mind the cold temps right now, but no ice please. I prefer no heavy precip at all until about March 10 so I can get everything done.

Since the blueberries are mostly gone and I have stopped growing for farmer's markets, I don't contribute much these days.

Scott, Well, I guess I'll have to make my own fudge. I hope you get your wish for no heavy precip. We had very light precip this afternoon, but after going without rain for so long last year, I'm going to be thrilled this year about every drop that falls.

I'm sorry about the blueberries. Was it drought that ultimately got them? I didn't know you'd stopped growing for the farmer's market either.

My berries seem to last about 5-6 years before decline. That is the limit for artificial soil, drought, and poor pruning. I am down to 3 healthy plants and a dozen that are hanging on out of 60 originals. I've not decided yet on starting a new area of berries this fall. I still have about 30 qts left in the freezer. I did zero garden last year except for my jalapeno and bell peppers.

I've always wanted to grow blueberries in the worst way possible but have entirely the wrong soil, the wrong pH water and too much heat, and almost perpetual drought, so I have refrained from planting any. I have watched your experiences and read every word you've ever written about growing blueberries figuring that one day I'd follow your lead and plant blueberries. Now, see what you did.....with your blueberry dreams fading, so are mine. That is not a bad thing though. You saved me years of time, effort and expense, and I do thank you for that.

No tomatoes? Oh wow, I am shocked. How in the world did y'all make homemade salsa? My family will die if I ever stop making homemade salsa.

Dawn, I'm just east of you, and I'm going to try blueberries in Smart Pots and see how that works.

If you don't have a water source that will allow you to use rainwater, you'll need to acidify your tap or well water in order to water them. Even when you grow them in pots, using alkaline water will kill them over time. Our water tests around and above a pH of 8.0, so is far too alkaline for blueberries. It never has been the soil mix that has held me back. Anyone can mix up an acidic soil mix and grow blueberries in containers. It is the fact I'd have to acidify water every time I water them. I just didn't want to get into doing that. There's enough other things to do on hot summer days so I didn't want to have to add acidifying water for blueberries to the list. As close as your are to me, I'd be surprised if your water isn't strongly alkaline like mine is.

I do hope you have success with them so that maybe then I'll decide to try them. I really want to grow them because my husband and son love blueberries (I like blackberries more). Every year I tell myself to just go ahead and buy 3 or 4 plants and raise them in containers in an acidic mix with acidic fertilizer but I hold back because of the water issue.

My uncle grows the most gorgeous and huge blueberry plants in far northeastern TX not all that far from where you and I live in southern OK, but he has deep, acidic, sandy soil.

Dang, didn't even think about the water. Was thinking about using lake water to water with, until I get gutters installed, but just looked at Texomas pH and it's between 7.2 and 8.5. Hopefully they can last a couple of years with tap water until I can reside the house and add gutters. Got me thinking about a solar still that could be easy to make.

Forgot to mention got 2 Tifblue and a Climax at Lowes.

As for blackberries, what is some good ones to grow here?

I'm here.... I think. Trying to figure out the new system and wanting the old one back. Flis

Hi everyone. Hope you are all well and staying warm.

At little surprised at the new sight but wasn't to bad to figure it out.

I've got Early girl tomatoes coming up. I started 3 from seed and 2 came up! Also started

Black Krim and Cherokee Purple. We'' see how it goes.

Coonx, Any of the blackberries with the names of Native American tribes will grow well here----Cherokee, Apache, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Shawnee, Navaho, etc. To see descriptions of these varieties and more, Google and find the websites for Simmons Plant Farm (may be listed as Simmons Berry Farm) in Arkansas or Bob Wells Nursery in Texas. Both have great descriptions of the varieties they carry and I think they both carry both thorny and thorn-free kinds. Bob Wells Nursery probably has the largest selection if you're looking for some of the less common ones, but I see at least 3-5 varieties of blackberries in the big box stores every year. Don't forget dewberries too. They like our soil and weather.

Flis, It is good to see you here!

Sorie, After using the new website for a couple of weeks now, I've gotten used to it. And, it sounds like things are going just fine with your seedlings. That's terrific. Now, if only the weather would be a little more cooperative.

Trying to check in. Darn, it's been a while. I had no idea we came so close to losing this jewel called Garden Web. Things have certainly changed since the days when Spike ran this place, LOL.

Hey Wolflover, It has been a long time since we've seen you here. Welcome back! I hope y'all are doing well.

I wonder where Spike is, what he's doing and what he thinks of all the changes? It has been a long time since anyone was sent to Disney by Spike.

For those of you who weren't members of GW when Spike owned it, he would ban people who broke his rules, and often there was no warning. One day, you'd try to log on to GW and get redirected to a Disney website and that was how you found out you'd been banned. His forum, his rules, but I'm glad we no longer have to worry about anyone being sent against their will to Disney (with absolutely no disrespect intended toward the actual Disney corporation).

I am here. I posted in the beginning, but do not usually have much to say this time of year. I intend to use more perennials and annuals this year, but still have about 110 rose bushes.

I am please to see so many posts. They seemed to have been slow in coming in the beginning.

Sammy

Dawn, that really made me laugh thinking of Spike losing his temper and sending members to Disney. Oh my, that was so crazy! If you were really good and penitent he usually let you come back. :)

I'm not the obsessive gardener I used to be. When we moved I left behind my 20 year old well tended, well loved garden beds, and had to start over from scratch with terrible clay soil. Several years of drought in a row burned me out on gardening for a few years. But I'm putting in some raised beds this spring and hope to be back here asking for advice and learning. Imagine my surprise getting on here to see if it was time to plant my potatoes and seeing all the changes. :)

I want to share some pics later of some of the fossils and mammoth teeth I found during those terrible drought years I got burnt out trying to raise a garden. ;) I had to develop some new hobbies and droughts are great times to find prehistoric stuff in Oklahoma!

I figured you'd remember Spike's banning routine.

I remember when y'all moved and you had to start over with horrible soil and so many of your plants in containers. I'm so glad you're back. Honestly, these last few drought years have just beaten the tar out of all of us. Did you move the greenhouse when you moved or did you leave it behind? I can't remember.

You're in the right area of the state to find lots of fossils and stuff. I do think it is cool you have found them there. At least you don't have to water fossils in drought. We have found some in our creek bed, which is about the only rocky spot in our clay soil. With so many droughts, the creek is a mere trickle of its former self

Several long-time members have found their way back since Houzz bought GW and I would imagine it would be shocking. There was little warning. Tamara had announced GW had been purchased by Houzz and that changes were coming soon. We didn't know when. One day, when we tried to log on, there was a graphic with a garden gnome working on fixing a problem. When the website began available again, the old GW was gone and the new Houzz format was in place. We've been stumbling around trying to figure out how to navigate it ever since. The first few days were awful, but once we learned how to block all the mail notifications, or limit them as desired, and once we found our clippings were still here, just listed under Bookmarks, everyone's ruffled feathers began to settle down a little. The first couple of days were awful, but Houzz personnel have been working diligently to address as many of the issues as they can, and a lot has improved in a short while.

I'm thinking this spikey dude wouldn't like me very much. LOL

Bon, I am sure he had his reasons. Not that he had to explain himself. It was his website and his rules. Most people who got banned had been, um, argumentative on many occasions and just couldn't calm down and remain civil. It is one thing for someone to have a bad day and let loose on someone on a forum who has rubbed them the wrong way on one specific bad day. He let that sort of thing slide. It was the folks who were repeatedly, aggressively confrontational, who called names, who tried to turn things political, etc.

Sometimes someone would just disappear and eventually we'd get word they'd been sent to Disney. Sometimes they came back later. Sometimes they didn't.

I can't think of anything you've ever done to earn a Spike-type ban either. : )

"disney" It still cracks me up!

It was really funny...but I heard along the way that Disney wasn't too happy about it :)

Lisa, That is funny. I always wondered how Disney felt about it.

I will be checking in here for advice when the weather improves. I am not having very good gardening weather at the moment. I got some city compost a week ago; it rained on it and froze - still working on getting it out.

Carol from Tulsa. Haven't been on GW in a couple of years, but this reminder persuaded me to return. Hi y'all!

I haven't been on here for a while -- but I'm baaack! Dorice

here now, not crazy about this

It grows on ya, like a fungus.

Here, too

I'm here. I don't post anything very often.

I'm here too. I rarely post; Usually just a lurker, learning from everyone else. But I'm so glad to see y'all are still here!

I'm here. We're in stage 5 watering so no watering except for what's in the rain barrels or what can be saved from household water use.

Yay! It is good to see so many long-time members and infrequent posters are back!

Loretta, I was wondering about how bad things were getting there, and that sounds pretty bad. I wish y'all would have a nice rainy year and get some major drought relief. Once you hit Stage 5, there's not a whole lot of options and it is hard to watch even well-established plants just fade away and die.

I finally found a way back in! I'm slow figuring it out, but I did it. lol

I'm lurking as usual.

Daleok

Think I got it y'all know how bad I am at this stuff

Tree

I float in and out to read what's going on and look for advice. I wondered why my Google searches would show GardenWeb, but the Houzz website kept showing up. Hopefully, I'll figure things out.

Carol aka Sandplum1

I finally found it again! So happy!!

Hi everyone! I'm here, but mostly lurking these days and absorbing the garden wisdom posted by everyone. :) We purchased our first home in Aug of last year so i've been slowly clearing the backyard for my new garden. Cant wait to get to the good stuff, but it'll be some time. Until then i'm living vicariously through you all.

It isn't bad once you get used to it. If you find things that you don't understand, just ask here as it is likely that we've all encountered the same things these last few weeks.

It is good to see more and more people posting.

Sandplum, Your GW name makes me chuckle. My sandplums started blooming yesterday so you timed your appearance here at GW/Houzz perfectly, arriving right along with the sandplum blooms.

Dawn

Thank you, Moni, for starting this thread. It warms my heart to see so many of us gathering here. This is a good thing, as "Martha" would say!

Hi everyone! This is miraje/heather from the old forum. I know I haven't been around much, but now that we're settled into our new house I might stop by more often!