Posted on 03/01/2026 5:58:25 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a 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.
If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.
This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table Recipes, Preserving, Good Living - there is no telling where it will go - and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to/removed from our New & Improved Ping List.
NOTE: This is a once a MONTH Ping List, but we DO post to the thread all throughout the month. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time.
I lost the ‘thread’ of the ‘thread’ for some reason, LOL!
Yes, now I remember that Tub-y sent you garlic. He was mad about the stuff!
His sons are still running his muffler & repair shop as far as I know. :)
Sorry, I meant Swampsniper.
Many virtual hugs.
One of those long line storm systems that spin off twisters - https://radar.weather.gov/station/klsx/standard Click on High Res for bigger version.
Had soup around mid day and took a nap after that. Fire can wait til the storm has passed. Still mid 60s but will start dropping fast any time now. Peak gusts to 48 mph at 10pm. Just started raining. Lights just flickered. Half the county may be out by morning. Phone alert just came in for tornado warning.
I knew something got me out of bed. Some weather was coming in. I'll probably be up and down all night depending on nose level.
It looks like one could easily modify the design to work with clear soda bottles and sections of downed branches about 4” in diameter. The former are easy to come by (including in our ditch every few days!) and the latter we have plenty of - some slightly older so the wood is slightly “punky” but not rotted.*
*The one thing that surprised me in the article @ the link was the recommendation of using treated wood. I’ve not seen the carpenter bees go into pressure treated wood unless it was pretty old. Of course, in this case they are not actually chewing into it.
We got quite a “blow” (storms’ winds) this evening, so there will likely be even more wood down in the woodlot @ the east end of our property. Luckily, I don’t think we got any real damage. I’ll do a more thorough (but chilly!) walk-around in the morning.
Thanks!
The worst storms just missed us. Luckily, I don’t think we got any real damage. But it was interesting: At one point 3 different tornado warnings were layered over us, as different warnings were issued for 4 different spin-ups or rotation more or less to our southwest, detected by NWS’ radar.
You’re welcome. I’m not sure why the pressure treated wood was mentioned either. I think untreated might catch them more easily, but who cares if it doesn’t last 15-20 years? After 5-6 years, the babies they made the first couple of years become adults and then die. Seriously, we have fewer and fewer borer bees each year.
We are having the same winds here, all day long. I thought I might blow away like Mary Poppins when we took our walk today!
It’s all over but the shovelin’!
Looks like we survived The Blizzard of Two Thousand Ought Twenty Six. Snow stopping by us by 10am, but the Blizzard Warning is on until 4pm.
Beau hasn’t left to plow yet, but he’ll do barn chores and head to Madistan in a while. Schools and most businesses are closed. -5 wind chill this morning.
Dolly did NOT mess around on this morning’s Potty Break, so you know it’s cold out there, LOL!
We got about 5” but it is windy, so lots of drifting. The bird feeders are very busy - I filled them last night pre-storm.
My day will consist of shoveling. Hoping for some sunshine which looks possible with temps only in the 20’s, today.
Back to the 50’s by Friday. It’s disheartening, but we’re used to it and I’m so VERY GLAD we got that February Thaw and I got the greenhouse and garden beds all set to rights for the Spring that is EVENTUALLY coming. :)
Diana; We had a lot of sustained high winds in the KC area last night, it sounded like cars were passing all night, but if you looked outside, the streets were empty. Its 16F right now and sunny. Some accumulation in the grass, nothing to shovel from the Driveway. (I did move the Cars into the Garage just in case.)
Peaceful Heritage Passionfruit
(Since mentioned...something on using Aronia Berries.)
https://foragerchef.com/black-chokeberry-aronia-melanocarpa/
Pollard; Stay warm and hope you get better quickly!
Two days until our third spring which looks like it will lead into our second single day of summer - 80+
Sitting here recovering and will be all day because it’s cold out there. Feeling half way decent this morning.
Been playing around with the Linear Actuator and “logic”. I have no idea how to stop the actuator at a certain % open even though I can see what % open it is. Not sure if there’s a way.
The controller doesn’t know that the % reading has anything to do with the relays that open and close it and I see no way to Extend until a certain reading. It only polls for a reading every 3 seconds so it’s not real-time data.
What I came up with is using Timers which can be created. I know how long the full stroke takes, 56 seconds. Half of that time is 50% - 28 seconds.
I used a built in relay that isn’t used for anything right now as trigger to mimic a wind speed scenario. Turn on relay and the actuator retracts to 0%, a 14 second Timer is set, the actuator extends until the timer runs out. That puts the actuator at 25% extended which would be tunnel side 25% open.
The temp vs wind scenario for 25% open? I still need to come up with those and I’m limited on how many logic entries I can have. Luckily relays can be grouped so one command can control a group of relays. Doesn’t need to be too complex. Closing sides part way will be for protecting the plants and then the tunnel from wind damage.
I may end up writing code for the sides and use the built in GUI tasks page for more basic things.
Oh and I had my math wrong on the actuator speeds. They take 56 seconds for full stroke under no load. Little longer under full load. Think I divided instead of multiply.
and with that, I think it’s nap time. Just suddenly got sleepy.
They make these blocks to go on the linear rod ends. Four matching threaded holes on the other side. Will be super easy to attach some flat bar to hold a small sprocket.
I'll be making something for now, likely out of wood, but I have an old bicycle I need to pull out to get the derailer sprocket and chain from - but not today.
Tomorrow I can pull the bike apart and get the chain soaking. Wednesday hopefully get a mock up tunnel side frame built of wood with the actuator attached and have a functional prototype. All bills paid so next week is another tunnel purchase week and will likely be more than "just another few hundred $$$". One more big spend after that for gables and I'm pretty much done.
“I think it’s nap time. Just suddenly got sleepy...”
People say that all the time when they’re talking to me, LOL!
Yeah - another ‘We’re All Gonna DIE!’ Nothingburger - at least by us.
Foster Son DID get the full predicted amounts - I thing 36” total? He’s got two days off - all of the major State and Interstate Highways up by him are CLOSED until they can get them safely cleared. That rarely happens.
And, some power outages around the state. I’ll post highlights when they go to print.
I just finished shoveling - buy the time I got to the bottom, the top of the walkways were completely melted - the sun is partially out, but you sure can FEEL that warmth on your face if you’re out of the wind. I was all ‘Carharted Up,’ LOL!
Beau had absolutely no trouble at all getting out in my 4WD F-150 truck. He’ll plow our driveway tomorrow, probably - with 50 degree days coming it might not even need it, plus he’ll have two tracks packed down so I can get out tomorrow if I need to hit Senior Discount Day at The Piggly Wiggly. ;)
Paths are also shoveled to the bird feeders and compost pile and also down to the greenhouse which is a toasty 72 right now. Checked on my lettuce and spinach seedlings and they are ROCKIN’ it! Even though we’ll be down to 21 tonight, they should be just fine with basically three layers of insulation between them and the cold air. So, even ‘The Blizzard of Two Thousand Ought Twenty Six’ isn’t stopping me this Spring! :)
Interesting. I wonder if any of my wife’s friends have plants that cuttings might be tried from.
Gee, we’ll be colder than you tonight, and NO snow. Just wind and cold. :-(
We’re good here after severe weather was forecast for the day. Our power blinked, but came right back on. My brother, 2.5 hours east, just had a tornado alert with winds of 60-70 mph as front edge came through - no power. One nearby neighborhood has 4,000 out so it may be awhile before he gets his back (he has a generator for fridge, well, etc.).
We will be getting snow overnight & tomorrow - should be mostly squalls, no big accumulation, but cold until Thursday.
Paul. There are a bunch of flowering versions, but I think that the nursery’s variety produces large fruit, so if your are going for the fruit you will probably need to get theirs. (I would try it if I were out in the country.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.