Posted on 05/31/2013 12:45:59 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!
Red, remember when JADB put up growing areas on this site?
If anyone remembers that site it could help Marcella plan her gardens.
So sorry to hear about Cashmere.
After months of consulting Max’s vet about his sudden vomiting and getting no answers, we consulted a new vet in February. He also was losing a lot of weight and had suddenly became quite boney. The new vet kept him over night and fed him until he vomited. Then he took X-rays and discerned a thickening next to the pyloric valve at the end of the stomach.
We didn’t know what it was, but you could tell that Max was in distress. The distress had come on suddenly because he’d handled the vomiting OK until then. His previous diagnoses had ranged from digestive upset to Lyme Disease. Most of the time Max vomited outdoors and just gobbled his food back up, and we never knew about it. That wasn’t working any more.
The vet recommended putting him down, or opening him up to take a look (no guarantees). I didn’t think that he was strong enough to withstand surgery (he’d lost 10 pounds in 10 days) — 20 lbs since the illness onset. We agreed , and it was a remarkable experience. All of the tension went out of his fur as he drifted away.
Afterward, the vet asked to do a post mortem — for free — and we agreed. It turned out that he had Pancreatic Cancer. Nothing could have been done, so it was good that we let him go before it got too bad. I was just about to go into the hospital for a full knee replacement, so we have not discussed getting another dog. The problem is — Max was the perfect dog. Hard to replace that.
Since he was a rescue, we don’t know how old he was, but we would have had him 11 years in April, had he lived. We think he was about 12, but could have been as old as 13. I feel cheated because my previous Golden lived to 15 1/2. I know that’s irrational, but that’s how I feel. 15 1/2 would have been too short a time for such a wonderful dog.
Beautiful!
Marcella, go to http://allthingsplants.com/apps/calendar/?q=yourtown%2C+TX++zipcode&print_friendly+1
That will tell you exactly what you can plant and when.
I know how awful it is sometimes when learning to read before 1st grade. I read Science Fiction before school...flunked the fist grade because I talked too much and walked around the room..boring!
Marcella, go to http://allthingsplants.com/apps/calendar/?q=yourtown%2C+TX++zipcode&print_friendly+1
That will tell you exactly what you can plant and when.
I know how awful it is sometimes when learning to read before 1st grade. I read Science Fiction before school...flunked the fist grade because I talked too much and walked around the room..boring!
I used supports on my peas, better than store bought. Next year, I’m planting them in Jan and keep them in the garage under grow light with a small fan blowing on them until March then outside they go.
WOOPS! forgot...yes, the peas I’m growing are the kind in stir fries.
Thanks so much for that website. I printed it off and it will be very helpful. There is so much to learn when you want to already be planting, I appreciate information from anywhere that give me a better idea that I’m not screwing up.
There was murder on my mind when the squirrels and birds ate my perfectly good seed. Now I have nets to prevent that.
I am so sorry about you loosing Max. I do know how the loss hurts. I told my wife I did not want another dog but I am really rethinking that.
We picked our first ripe tomato today, an Early Girl. A few more are turning red, also. Our Cherokee Purple and Brandywine continue to grow larger and larger. We have never had an heirloom tomato do well while living on the swamp in Alabama. This is our third season to garden in Texas, and our first at planting heirloom varieties.
What do you guys think about this?
It’s usually hotter here than it is this year. We are somewhere between 88-90 which is cool for us. Normally, spring planting is over. However, the squirrels/birds murdered the seeds of my Little Finger Carrots, two kinds of lettuce seed, Borettana Cipollini onion seed, and Armenian Pale Green Cucumber.
Now, I have grow bags and netting to prevent the murder of more seeds. I still have some of the carrot seed, onion seed, cucumber seed, and have new Little Gem Lettuce seed and also have new Mortgage Lifter Red Tomato seeds. I have cherry tomatoes and Roma tomatoes ripening now and then they will be over. Sure would like to have large tomatoes growing if that is possible now.
If I plant the above carrot, onion, lettuce, cucumber, and tomato seed am I wasting my time and the seed because it’s too late in the season? I recall Johnny said a while ago, some plants would bolt if I planted them now.
I hate to give in to the freaking squirrels/birds and admit defeat for this summer. In July, it will be 100 degrees here if we have “normal” temperature.
To plant or not to plant – that is the question – what would you do?
I am going to plant sweet potato slips because I just got them in the mail and they have to go in one of the new deep containers that will sit on the deck and be covered by net and will do that Monday whether they live or not.
“I told my wife I did not want another dog but I am really rethinking that.”
I lost my Yorkie I had for 17 years and went about 5 years before I got my present Yorkie almost two years ago. She has her own personality and is a wonderful little dog.
It took us about 4 years between the loss of our Terra before we adopted Max. One of the problems was being afraid that the new dog could not measure up to the old dog. It took about a week before one of us looked at the other and said, “You know, Max is BETTER than Terra.”
In many ways Max was not really better — just different. He was never the retriever, or hunter, Terra was. And he never learned to balance a bone on his nose. And we never had to spell in front of him, but he didn’t bark, or whine, or piddle in the house — EVER. But, he was a good, loyal, pleasant companion who went to the office with us nearly every day of his life. We all miss him.
I had some seeds in the garden shed, in a plastic box. Evidently the mice knocked the box off the shelf and ATE some of the seeds...This fall the seeds are going in a box with a lid that will not come off when it hits the floor. But I guess, they need to eat too.
I would love to have a good loyal dog again. Every dog I have ever had the opportunity to have live with me has turned out to be friendly loyal companion.
It’s just personal prejudice, but I think that big dogs are more loyal and better companions than little foo foo dogs.
You wouldn’t say that if you knew my Prissy, 5 lb. Yorkie. If I cry, she rushes to my face to lick my tears. She watches both the front and back door and if anything moves in either place, she barks, waits for me to look at her and if I don’t get up right that minute, runs to my chair, jumps up and beats me in the chest with her two front paws until I go see what’s out there.
If she hears noise outside after dark, she sounds like she is going to tear something up, a growl and bark that says whatever that is, is dead when she gets to it.
So, she is an excellent guard dog, talks to me in every way except words and takes care of me every day. She loves to play and kisses everyone she sees.
She likes the UPS truck and knows when it goes by and makes me get up, go to the door and lift her up and when the truck comes back by, the driver waves at her. She goes nuts when the driver has a package for us and he takes her and plays with her before he leaves.
My Yorkie is as big as a big dog in her mind.
The only “small” dog I ever had was a Schnauzer. You’re right. He thought he was a big dog and would get into fights with them. I remember once when he got out and nobody noticed, my husband came rushing to the front door carrying him — dripping in blood. He’d been coming home from work and found him in the street rolling around in a fight with the neighbor’s yellow lab mix. The Schnauzer was on the bottom and looked like a goner.
My husband washed up the dog in preparation for taking him to the vet, and couldn’t find a mark on him. It turned out that (while on the bottom of this dog fight) our dog had placed a few strategically positioned dog bites on the yellow lab’s privates.
That Schnauzer was not particularly loyal, however. And we eventually had to put him down because of repeated seizures. He literally was crazy.
Oh yes. We have to or the raccoon will get them. Our chicken coop looks like a mess with deer netting and hardware cloth covering every possible entry point for the predators, but we seem to have the problem licked. It's up-armored to the max.
It's kind of funny though, since we have neighbors who have several clutches of bantam chickens with chicks that free range all over the place, yet they survive.
aftr, Don't feel cheated by the loss of your companion. You gave him 11 more years of a happy life.
/johnny
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