Posted on 05/17/2013 1:01:42 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. 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 Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
I’m taking benadryl but the rash is getting worse. I know this had to have come from that seed packet because it’s not growing anywhere else. But I’m sure F-M could claim it was from a bird or blew in on the wind. These seed companies get their seeds from around the world so who knows where this came from and it could be anything.
As for tasting it, I “assumed” it was some sort of lettuce since that’s what I’d planted. I was leery of it because of the smell so just nibbled a wee bit and spit it out. I just hope hubby got it all dug out or it’ll regrow. I’m usually cautious pulling weeds and am always counting leaves (the old three flee for poison ivy). I’ve never had a problem with anything poisonous in the garden and this thing was smack dab in the middle.
You are making good progress.
Making good progress. You may want to figure out how you are going to shade the cooler weather crops such as lettuce and carrots. I imagine that the sun could really beat them down this time of year in Texas?
I knew that the newspapers had changed, but wasn’t sure about anything else. Those soda can cases are colored all over, so I just feel uncomfortable about those.
Anyway, I have plenty of carboard with out them. I just take them to the recycling center.
Hope you are feeling better. Stay safe.
Hope you are feeling better. Stay safe.
Thanks. It is becoming a passion. Hoping by next summer I can learn pickling and canning. I am also going to learn how to brew beer this summer.
Hoping the wife and kids got the hint for my fathers day gift.
I am using a Houston planting guide that tells me when to plant and what to plant for spring and the varities that grow here best and there is a separate list for fall, as to what grows in the fall and when to plant it and the names of the varities that do best here.
The heirloom tomato seed I buy from Terroir Seeds has a list of those that do best in heat and drought, so those are the seeds I’m buying.
I’ve got gobs of that very light row cover if I needed shade and I would if I tried to grow the lettuce now. I think I’m stuck with grocery romaine until fall.
OK. I thought you had said something in one of your posts about planting some more lettuce or something.
Yes, I am sure there is lettuce seed in my mail box and I’ll get those seeds out of the box tomorrow. It’s Little Gem lettuce seeds. I’ll read the instructions but don’t think I can plant it now.
Looks like there’s going to be a bumper crop of strawberries this year, my plants are blooming like crazy. I counted 34 flowers and buds on a single plant, and more just keep coming! Good thing I perfected my pie crust technique last month. It’ll be too hot to bake when they’re actually ripening, but I can can them up in a syrup and use that to make the filling from. Mmmm, strawberry syrup......
My back garden has 3 tomatoes growing so far, but 2 of them are in the same hole :/ The last 2 I’m waiting to sprout are both Opalka paste tomatoes. I know Roma is the most popular one, but I don’t like growing what everybody grows, it leads to monoculture. Still, if they don’t show some vigor soon I’ll look for a different paste. Maybe Roma, maybe not.
Still waiting on the cucumbers and zucchini to sprout. The cucumbers are a new variety, but the zuchini is one I’ve grown before, and vigor has never been a problem!
Yesterday I put a sort-of fence as a boundary marker on my land, so hopefully the neighbor’s hired hands don’t clip the edge of my bigger garden with their tractor again. The fence is just wooden stakes and colored ribbon, but it’s visible. I’ll try and get something more solid up eventually. But, 215’ of fence in one day! If anybody sees my right arm laying around, could you mail it back to me?
I was hoping to have my potatoes planted before now, but they’re in the back garden, which means they’re in Dad range. He’s not happy unless he’s pulling stuff apart and redoing it, and he says my potato towers aren’t in a straight enough line and have to be redone. Honestly, I keep looking, and I still think the line is straight, but that’s not good enough. He keeps putting off redoing them, so I told him I’m planting them by June 1, wherever they are. We’ll see what happens.
(He does this with everything, and I mean EVERYTHING! I don’t think he’s lived in a place more than a week before trying to remodel it.)
-Some varieties root more easily than others.
-Some cuttings will wilt and flatten themselves, then suddenly perk up and start growing. Others will act like they were never severed and will just keep going. Even if you think a cutting is dead, treat it like it's alive for at least a few days. It might surprise you.
-Moisture is critical. If, during the first few days, you don't find yourself wondering if you've drowned them, chances are they're too dry. After the third day, start cutting back on the water and see how they do.
One year, Hubby had so many strawberries, we couldn’t begin to eat them all. I ran them through the juicer and made syrup out of them for pancakes.
Then I took the fiber and made fruit roll ups with the dehydrator. It was really great for snacks and school lunches.
Little Gem is more heat tolerant than some of the lettuces. I have actually had some success growing it inside in front of the patio door. It grows kinda slow and elongated indoors.
Handy for sandwiches. I just break of 2or3 leaves and wash them- then put them on the sandwich.LOL.
Small stand of red clover in one of my planted areas, it quickly became almost overwhelmed with powdery mildew!
I decided last year after fungi destroyed my tomatoes I WOULD NOT let it happen again. So I broke out the sprayer, made 2 gallons of Potassium Bicarbonate solution, and sprayed away.
Powdery mildew has retreated almost totally! Plus, the potash in the solution is an EXCELLENT fertilizer!
For those who can’t get the potassium bicarbonate, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) works almost as well.
Suit yourself, but it’s best to operate from an informed position. The ink plants are governed by regulations—we had to have mouse traps outside the building and be rodent free for health reasons. They made me take down my finch feeder.
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I am sorry, but I thought I made it clear that I do compost newspaper and was not concerned with their ink, since I already knew that most toxic materials were no longer used. I also happened to confirm that the newspaper I subscribe to doesn’t use toxic materials, so I believe that qualifies as being informed.
I do agree that it is best to make an informed decision. The paperboard cartons are colored all over and coated with something. I did a few searches, including the material safety data sheets, and was not able to ascertain exactly what they were made of.
So out of an abundance of caution, I decided not to use them since I wasn’t fully informed, rather than just assuming that they would be fine. Also, having put one over an area to kill some weeds, I noticed that it didn’t seem to decompose very well.
Since they decomposed so much slower than other things, and I didn’t want to just assume they would be perfectly okay in the compost heap, I decided not to use them. It wasn’t worth the effort to me to research it further.
I am talking about shipping cartons - not food packaging-big difference. The terms organic and natural are over used hype that are actually almost meaningless, and I am not impressed by their use. I’d rather know what the official chemical name is.
I don’t usually partake in rancidity or burnt foods nor do I eat stuff from China. In fact, I try to stay away from all things China if possible-but that’s another story.
Do you know what the actual chemical composition is of the paperboard carton shipping containers? I don’t, but thanks anyway.
That’s great to know. Thanks for sharing.
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