Posted on 08/01/2025 6:03:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
>>glass half-full/empty/gardener
BRILLIANT! Clapping madly.
I looked at leaf guards. Saw price, said no. At 5 foot high I’ll clean them.
Thx! Oh, I’ve decided on a name for that log, Hickory Hideaway. The fake raccoon is just wedged in there, so we want to figure out a way to make that more permanent. Hopefully it takes several years for the log to break down, and hopefully we can make that into a new feature when that eventually happens.
Good job! I only have an axe plus a hedge trimmer because my cousin passed away and I cleaned out his garage. I also liberated a thatching rake. And I have the tank sprayer because of a previously mentioned invasive weed!
( ^ RIP, Bobbert. I'm taking good care of yer tools! ^ )
Standard old school method. String them up and hang them. No blanching needed for peppers and they don’t have to dry quick so no dehydrator needed. A warm dry area inside the house will do.
We have a sunporch that overhangs the front door and woodpile.
It faces west and is not insulated well. Therefore it gets very warm in the summer and pretty chilly in the winter. I think it would be a great place to dry them without the risk of bugs.
We keep the door to it closed especially in this heat because our window AC unit is enough to deal with the main part of the house, but certainly not the added extra load of the heat from the sun porch.
Yet another question:
One of my previously healthiest Cherry Falls tomato plants is suddenly getting rotted ends of most of its small branches. This is not a problem with fruits / blossom end rot, so far as I can tell, and the plant had just set several more fruits that look fine.
Nearby plants look fine.
Possible cause???
Brave (web) “search” gave me a well written long-winded reply that basically said it was clueless:
Someone needs to teach the AI to say “I dunno”!
Thank YOU. Hopefully many people will find the link useful!!
It just dawned on me that a similar “app” for plant PROBLEMS would be fantastic!!!
I own all of the above except for:
Fencing - none needed in the area where I garden.
No Hedge Trimmer - no hedges to trim!
No Sickle and no Scythe - but Beau has those; Scythe is the long-handled version for when he doesn’t feel like weed whacking and goes ‘Old School.’ ;)
My ‘flower beds’ are all raised beds (16 total) with a few perennials and lots of cutting flowers - mainly Dahlia and Zinnia and Lilies. Any perennials I have were already here when I got here and are all shade-lovers around the back of the house. I am so OVER having a Perennial Garden to maintain. SO over it! Food First, LOL!
Love the little raccoon peeking out of the stump! :)
I think that app does have that feature, but you have to pay extra for it! It might be worth it for some people, maybe even myself, but I’m kind of a cheapskate at times, and figure I can look that up on the internet “for free”. I think it does offer a lot of other features, but I’m not sure what all they are.
It’s only 14 feet. It’s the one across the front of the porch which directs the rain water from the roof down into my rain barrel.
We have a ‘So-Huge-You-Can-See-It-From Space’ Maple in the front yard that sends those whirley-gigs everywhere - not to mention dirt and leaf yuck that comes off the metal roof. By the time it gets to the rain barrel, it’s mucking up the filter on top and the water can’t flow into it easily.
I think he spent $25 bucks, total. That’s usually his cash limit to shut me up, LOL!
That’s how we have always seen them when inside that hole, just peeking out. My goodness, the pictures I have of one of those litters! (2017 was my first year, then 2019, too.)
The 3 babies were adorable as they tussled around in the nest. Once we even saw them get into a baby brawl, and one tumbled right out of the tree! From at least 30 feet high! Landed in a bush and climbed right back up and got a spanking, followed quickly by cuddles from Mama. It was hilarious!!
I don’t mind the raccoons in my yard. I do mind them coming onto my deck. I’ve decided I can no longer offer bird seed from my deck. It’s a food source that the raccoons are keeping an eye on.
I just happened to see, Menards’ is blowing cheapo gutter leaf guards out online:
These are not the greatest, so I wouldn’t use them in a hard spot to get to, really high, etc., but at 5’ up...?
I been taking care of many small projects here today. Too many to list. But, an interesting one was a quick take-apart of a (also cheapo) LED / Solar security light from Menards. It looks practical to replace the battery cell with TWO of higher capacity. It “probably” is practical to pull out the solar panel for relocation on a long wire, replacing its spot on the unit with a blank plastic or metal piece / panel.
For a cheapo this thing is bright. I doubt it’s really 1200 lumens as claimed — I’d say more like 600, but, it’s enough for a small area security light, plus it runs at 20 lumens (may actually be “close” until something triggers the motion sensor.)
Another test will be to see if our cat triggers the light within, say, 10 ft. away. If yes, one of these goes up by the chicken house. Not for the cat! For raccoons and opossums...
It’s the end of the growing season; everything is simply pooping out.
Harvest your fruits and let the poor thing pass on. ;)
Another one of my endless problems this season is my Peach tree. She set a ton of fruit, but it’s all ROTTING on the tree before it even ripens! Fungal issues from too much early rain is what I’ve been able to come up with. Frustrating - because I LOVES me a good ‘Contender’ Peach!
I even picked a few that were close to ripe, to ripen on the kitchen counter. Same thing - went straight to rot. :(
I’ve had to say it all season long - so GLAD I know where the Piggly Wiggly is! We won’t starve, at least! ;)
I know the system well. We have a wall AC and window AC. We have a sunny room that gets hot and since we heat with wood, it gets cold too so we close it off from us as needed.
Keep in mind though that hanging peppers to dry works really well in Mexico and the SW USA. Temperate climates, not as well. You can get a cheapo hygrometer from walmart to know the humidity of different spots in the house. I think I paid $8 or something.
I can't get it lower than 60-65% in here this year but this year is not normal. We also don't have a tight house. I've never monitored the sunny room.
Above the fridge would be a good spot but for most people, that's a cleaning project first. :) People have dried and cured things in their attics forever.
We have a Bosch Duel Fuel range that I can set to 100 for bake or convect bake. I’ll start them on the sunporch until they’re mostly dry. No point in burning our eyes out on released pepper fumes.
We learned that when I dehydrated some garlic.
I’ve collected rain water many times but never in an ideal place. Tunnel is no exception.
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