Posted on 02/28/2014 12:35:18 PM PST by greeneyes
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks.
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I thought that the bad drywall was Chinese made, imported after Katrina, then banned. I could be wrong about it not being imported anymore, it would not be the first time I mis-remembered(how did you like that Liberal-ese word?
You remember correctly. After Katrina, China sent over a bunch of drywall that made a lot of folks sick. But I think that even our drywall has become tainted. I know that when building, I prefer to hang drywall in the summer so that the house can air out. But then again, perhaps it is something in the sheetrock mud that is not healthy.
Neighbors have been talking about wild hog in the area too. I've seen a couple roadkill, but I haven't seen any close to my place, nor do I want to. They are more destructive than deer. Hogs will take down fencing and root through an entire garden in a night.
I wouldn't mind shooting a hog for the freezer though.
And I have earthworms everywhere in the garden this year. Not tilling seems to have made quite a difference there.
/johnny
It's going to be in the 80s today, but into the 20s for a low Monday and Tuesday.
This time of year is very annoying. I need the AC now, but will be running the heaters most of the week.
/johnny
We have a couple who insist on feeding those cute widdle Bambi creatures despite everyone, including the game warden, not to time and time again. The drought has a lot to do with them birthing and grazing on lawns but there is the river to drink from. Just wait until one attacks someone and then we’ll see how cute they are. One decided he didn’t like my brand spanking new car just from the showroom floor. We had a stand off for a few minutes until he charged. That wasn’t the first or the last of our vehicles meeting deer.
We had wild hogs tearing up yards and scaring people until one neighbor set up traps and put an end to that problem. The only good wild hog is the one in the freezer.
They only had two and neither was acceptable. They were way tall and where they were grafted, the trees bent badly to the side. Wouldn't be able to get either one in the car and they were bad being bent the way they were.
There was an excellent Page Mandarin Orange of the right size for a patio, just measured it and it's 3 ft. 9 inches tall, straight trunk, no thorns, and bunches of buds all over it getting ready to bloom. It says it has “medium size, juicy fruit, easy to peel” and directions to use a container for it as did the lemon. I think the pot it is in is the right size so I don't plan on transplanting it. I suppose a colorful pot to put the black one in, would look nicer on the deck.
Back when I was considering a patio fruit tree, I wanted oranges but I could not find anyplace that could send them to Texas and, at that time, neither Lowes or Home Depot had them, so I gave up, thought they were not for here, and went to the Meyer Lemon tree.
A very nice man helped me and he put one of the Meyer Lemons in the cart, then I changed my mind because that tree just didn't do it, gave up on that and found the orange one, so he took out the Lemon and put in the orange.
I looked at herbs, and only got Italian Oregano. I have two types of basil grown from seed so didn't need theirs.
Looked for Cilantro everywhere they might have it, none there. I want that for sure.
I got five Lantana as they had gotten more in - these are the ones I wanted that have the variegated colored blooms.
HA! HA! FOUND STEVIA! Bought one! This is a broad leaf Stevia. The one, sockmoney, you sent me has small leaves and a stick trunk. This one is a soft plant with no trunk. I don't know the difference between the two plants.
/johnny
/johnny
I've already started putting down old carpet and padding over the area that I will incorporate into the garden next year. A year to smother out the grass makes it a cinch to dig, and then layers of compost and more mulch will keep it grass free. What's not to love?
/johnny
At the rate you are going, in another 50 years, you are going to have the best Soil Texture in the country. :)
It sounds like you looked at the tree type Meyers. They were 3-4ft tall and looked just as you described. The patio Meyers were not with the rest of the fruit trees, they were under the canopy just outside of the main building on metal racks by the annual flowers. At least you got a fruit tree now for your patio farm.
I asked that man working there to take me to those patio Improved Meyer Lemon trees and that’s where he took me. Perhaps he took me to the wrong place, he did say they were getting more in. At any rate, I’m glad to have the orange tree rather than lemon.
Hmm, I was outside where the annual flowers were as the herbs were out there, too, and I looked at the annual flowers and think I would have seen patio trees if they had been there. I can tell you the place was packed with cars and trucks, too, and there were people buying stuff right and left. Does where I was outside sound like where the lemon trees were?
Sounds like you accompolished a lot today. I, on the other hand am nominating myself for the “so lazy you stink” award.
I keep going and buying these easy peay smart pots..unfold, fill, plant. I don’t need them. I have a greenhouse, a garden, my seed starting stuff, and grow lamp.
Today, I bought this one: Delusions of grandeur, envisioning with flowers and veggies...somewhere in my yard.
http://www.smartpots.com/big-bag-bed
Ok, I promised more when I was awake.
I was able to find true potato seed at http://www.tomwagnerseeds.com/
I had picked out 3 varieties that looked interesting, but when I went to order, the one that had looked the best was sold out. I got my order today, and they included a bonus packet. Guess what variety the bonus packet was? Yup, I got the three varieties I’d wanted, and only had to pay for 2 of them :)
The advantage to true potato seed is that it can be stored for several years if need be, whereas seed potatoes need to be planted every year. My thinking is, with true potato seeds, I have a back-up in case my crop gets wiped out or my seed potatoes go bad. I’m the kind of person who prefers having back-ups to my back-ups, so this is nice.
I have seeds for several different fruit and nut trees stratifying in the fridge right now. I also have ginseng seeds in there. Not sure if I’ll plant those this year, but they can stay in the freezer until I’m ready for them. Ginseng is worth a fortune, but it’s hard to grow and takes years to reach a worthwhile size. Still, I think it would be fun to try.
I’m still waiting for the bulk of my herb seeds. The most important one, to me anyway, is the skullcap. I did finally find a good source for that! It’s one of my “sleepytime meds” as I sometimes call them. It’s an herbal muscle relaxer. The last year or so I’ve had this problem where my muscles twitch so much when I’m trying to sleep that it feels like my arms and legs are all trying to run off in a different direction, and skullcap is the only thing I’ve found so far that will calm that down.
Oh, if anyone has tattler lids and hasn’t tested them yet, TEST THEM!!! I got a bad batch of rings, the food I canned tasted so strongly of rubber that I was still tasting it 9 hours later. I’ve read dozens of reviews and none of them mentioned that, so sending Tattler an email is on my list of things to do on my day off. I think I might just order regular lids in bulk from now on.
Tended the potted critters today. The sprouted store onion is GROWING like TOPSY! I have a sprouted grocery store irish potato that I hope to get into dirt after the upcoming blizzard. The sprouted sweet potatoes also seem very happy.
I stumbled across this web site that I thought other newbies like me would like to have:
http://www.almanac.com/content/frost-chart-united-states/zipcode/76041
It is the FIRST AND LAST FROST DATES for your area. Just enter your zipcode!
Based on this date that this site gives, counting how far back before my last spring frost date should I start my seedlings?
Isn’t it really cold there right now? I see it’s 19 in the TX panhandle..next to OK.
It’s supposed to get here tomorrow..this evening it was in the 70’s.
That chart gives the 50% risk of last frost. If you search around, you can get the 90% risk date, which is a couple of weeks later for us in SE Texas. It changes from Feb 27 to Mar 17, which is more accurate, but still leave a slight chance of frost. Try your county agent for a date or NOAA, which I would trust more than any other internet site.
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