Posted on 05/22/2015 1:05:17 PM PDT 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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Hybrids are generally known for their vigor, early production, numerous production of fruits, ability for transportation over long distance, disease resistance etc..
They are selectively grown, genetically selective, for the above characteristics.
Hierlooms are bred from known genetic lines for flavor ,taste, or disease resistance, and seed reliability to reproduce exact repleacas of the mother plant.
Many 'preppers' suggest using the hybrids first for food production and vitality, and 'Heirlooms' for plant consisistancy thereafter for reliability.
Rooting hormone is good and viable only for about 1 year , then it looses it's effectiveness and ability to create roots.
After dipping in water , then hormone powder, place in soil, or rooting/seedling medium, for roots to occur.
Use rooting hormone on 'new spring growth' (green/ with buds), especially on perennials and annuals .
Placement in water will only dillute the effect of the rooting hormone- .. place it in soil , or spagnum moss to have consistant moisture for root growth and nutrients !.
There is a separate rooting hormone for trees and shrubs that is twice the consistnancy,
at three-times the price, but in my mind , not worth the price !
Indirect light should be good ; on the other hand , direct light will dry out the plant before leaves begin to grow, or the roots, to support plant life .
Another suggestion, after dipping in water, place a toothpick in the slit to open it up, while dipping it in rooting hormone.
This will expose additional plant medium to the rooting hormone
Then, remove toothpick, place in soil, in indirect light.
Please advise as to success, or failure...(unlikely, but still possible, nonetheless)
Tulip Poplar are known for their quick growth, and not known for cellulose deveopement.
I would suggest a "marked out dibble Board", along with a fire-charred and hardened dibblestick for intensive gardening (correct spacing and correct seed depth).
That will give you correct distance ,intensive gardening, with maximum seed germination .
Now all you need is Master Gardner training... ! LOL !!
Now go, grow yourself into a second income !
Any new updates on Johnnies condition - a day later ?
Yes !
"vermiculite..is that it holds water better than perlite."
and Perlite is sterile, and is beneficial to seedlings, adding to soil porosity, and soil friability.
So it is win /win !!
I warned one of our cats not to chase the squirrels on the deck railing. Sure enough, this week he fell in the river and was so embarrassed that he refused to come in to get dried off and then took off not coming home until noon the next day. His sister averages depositing one snake a day in the kitchen floor. Lizards, salamanders, butterflies, grubs and lately june bugs don’t stand a chance, either. And they like cilantro!
It’s been too cloudy for anything to grow since they were transplanted. It rains just enough so it’s too muddy to get out to the garden to tend it so the weeds and snails are happy. All I can get to is the front bed so smash a couple dozen snails daily.
Have been making an effort to do more kitchen trash planting. Have some carrot tops and lettuce on the windowsill that need to be put in soil. The front bed is filling up with onion roots and garlic so we’re safe from vampires.
I have not done more than a few. I had one root just by sticking it in water once. Rootone powder has worked for me too when put in a small amount of seed starting medium (sterile)and watered daily. I don’t cut a slit, just a clean straight cut. I also go for just one leaf node, typically the biggest one and sometimes they even have some leaves coming out. Sorry I am not more of an expert!
Heard from him; he's still able to eat today. He has pain all the time, depends on a certain medicine, and a new doc (female), has screwed up, ordered the wrong stuff, so he has to straighten that out next Tuesday. I’
I wish I could go there and stomp on the doc and chemo people, however they did manage to finish the chemo this time without them shutting down and going home as they did the last time.
Both Bob and I have had trouble with docs screwing up lately. Bob will have a procedure next Tuesday to put a shot in his lower back to stop pain from nerves there that go to his legs.
He has filled out three sets of papers because the doc to do the shot has an office in another building, and, he has an office in the building where the shot will be done. These two offices don't share any records. Then, in the building where the shot will be done, on first floor - on the second floor is where the main ortho doc is and those two offices in the same building, one on first floor and one on second floor, don't share any records.
If that sounds confusing, it is - none of these people share patient info. even though they are all part of this same Orthopedic group. Bob was ticked off these people don't talk to each other even though they are dealing with the same patient.
I went to my doc a few weeks ago, and the doc herself weighed me and measured me and said I was 5'3”, which I'm not. Then, the PA took my temp. and said it was 99.2, which it wasn't, I didn't have fever. Then, the doc was going to send new orders of my prescriptions to Walgreens, and they never got them, so had to call doc to please send the prescriptions. When I made that call, the answering person wanted me to just leave a message and I balked - told her I wanted to speak to a live person - she finally gave in and connected me to the doc's assistant.
This is what I have decided - if something is physically wrong, do research to find out what is wrong, then go to doc and tell doc what is wrong, give him/her the research to prove it, and suggest the meds you need and ask for the scrips to be ordered right then while you are there.
PS - never believe what the doc says as he/she is probably wrong.
I wish there was more sun to grow tomatoes and cucumbers etc. That’s ok, I guess, because there is a squirrel problem. D*** thing is digging up everything it can. Dried blood has been scattered everywhere but to no avail. Is there another remedy that can be used?
Well, excuse me! I will keep my thoughts to myself in the future.
I guess it is time to spend more time in my shop and less online.
Some will say that hybrid seeds are more productive and less prone to diseases. The truth is, that depends on the plant. Tomatoes show little or no difference between the higher-producing hierlooms and the hybrids, where corn often shows a drastic difference.
Generally speaking, if a particular species is prone to inbreeding depression, then the hybrids will be stronger and more productive. But, most people have never even heard of inbreeding depression.
Rule of thumb:
Grasses and brassicas: Save seed from as many different plants as possible, preferably 200 or more.
Nightshades, legumes, and curcurbits(squash, cucumbers, melons): It’s ok to save from just one.
Saving from a wider base helps slow down inbreeding depression in the plants that are vulnerable to it.
Which doesn’t quite answer your question. In species like nightshades, legumes, and curcurbits, hierlooms tend to be more tolerant of less-than-ideal growing conditions. They became hierlooms by being plants that people could depend on for survival. (This assumes you’ve chosen varieties that are at least reasonably disease-resistant.) Most modern varieties are grown in carefully irrigated fields and under relatively controlled conditions. Even the climate they were developed for might not match your own, and it won’t say that on the packet.
And, quite frankly, the same might be true for what was in your can of seeds. Go ahead and test them, then if you decide some don’t pass muster, we can help you get hold of better varieties for your growing conditions.
Actually , my comment was complimentry and praising your inventiveness.
Dibble sticks go all the way back to early horticulture, and were even used when prehistoric mankind was still in the 'hunter-gatherer', semi-nomadic culture.
They were used to spread grains and plants beneficial for food or grazing annimals.
The use of a dibble stick with a dibble board provides for what we know now as "bio-intensive planting ", correct spacing of plants, and superior seed germination.
My comment was meant to be complimentary to your use of agricultural tools by using two tools for increased productivity . Well done !
I’m in SW VA, near you,. My neighbors are very knowledgeable and I was surprised they didn’t care about heirloom seeds.
Since they used to depend on their gardens for food/money they tend to the hybrids because hybrids are more reliable and better producing. Seeds are cheap.
I’m a big heirloom fan, but if it was a matter of life or death if they produced well...
“And, quite frankly, the same might be true for what was in your can of seeds. Go ahead and test them, then if you decide some don’t pass muster, we can help you get hold of better varieties for your growing conditions.”
Thanks ;)
Time will tell how they’ll do - I just wanted to see if they’d even sprout since I was past the 4 year recommended use-by date. That they’ve sprouted and are growing well makes me happy. Boy, do things grow well here! (Includes the weeds and poison ivy too...)
I have another generic question, being new to the gardening world.
I have 4 small beds for now that I’m growing vegetables and herbs in, just because they already existed and I didn’t have the ability to rototill more. I rather like having the small beds, since I can easily reach all parts of them for weeding and maintenance.
However my neighbors all have large rectangular plots of tilled land. I see that watering is easier that way, weeding too since they leave room in between the rows to rototill up the weeds.
I just like the way my beds look, pretty as a picture, surrounded by grass, bushes, and trees.
Any thoughts on what is the best (I probably mean the easiest) gardening method when there is plenty of land available?
Yes, all this rain is wrecking our gardens, too. : (
The grass is happy, green as can be and growing like crazy so we get to mow it about every five minutes before it chokes us to death.
The rainy weather continues in Central Missouri, so no gardening for me this weekend. That, and I’ve got other more important things to do.
We’re having a small get-together this afternoon to celebrate #1 Daughter Leah’s return to the states from a two year tour of duty with the Marine Corps in Japan. I did pick a nice selection of salad greens this morning to serve to our guests.
She’ll be home for ten days, then the three of us will be piling into her VW Beetle for a leisurely drive to Camp Pendleton CA, where she’ll be spending another two years to satisfy her commitment to uncle sugar.
Plants that need frequent tending, like tomatoes and green beans, I prefer to have in beds. That way I can walk through and harvest every day without compacting the soil, and it’s easier to reach all parts of the plant.
Plants that don’t need frequent tending, like dry corn or winter squash, I prefer in plots, because I’m basically planting and ignoring them. Plots are more efficient use of space, because you don’t need to leave a path every few feet.
If I was growing sweet corn, I’d probably have it in something in between those two. A plot with every 4th or 5th row missing, so I could reach the middle ones, but still have them close enough together for good pollination. (Corn is wind-pollinated.)
Like with so many things, the answer is “it depends” :)
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