Posted on 09/13/2013 1:04:36 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!
NOTE: This is a once a week ping list. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest are welcomed, so feel free to post them at any time.
What is the mix of bird seed you use and what does it cost?. Can you post a photo of the label? We buy black oil sunflower & shelled sunflower for the feeders and millet for the ground song birds. For the doves,and quail it’s a mix plus Lady Bender makes a killer “suet” biscuit for the woodpeckers, grosbeaks and chickadees.
I am not sure which company, probably Burpee or the other brand that Lowes also handles. That is the only place my wife would be buying seeds from; she never buys zennias online. Some were giant zennias, I know. They seem to love lots of hot sun, the kind we have down here in the Swelter Belt. Kinda make me wonder if last years seeds were not up to par, on a national scale for some reason. She will not be discouraged, she will plant more zennias next spring.
Sounds like Lady Bender has bird food figured out.
Wow, so beautiful. God is good indeed...
She will not be discouraged, she will plant more zennias next spring.I ♥ zinnias a lot. Thanks for the reminder; I'll be joining your wife (for the first time).
Re-read about the Sears Craftsman garden hose and it’s made of 100% natural rubber and made in the United States. I think because it is natural rubber is why it has a lifetime guarantee and why it won’t kink. I read customer comments and cars can run over the hose with no effect to the hose.
I looked up natural rubber and no where did I find lead is added to that rubber to make anything.
The plastic connections on this hose I have are still spewing out water but I’m managing to get enough water out of the sprayer to water the plants. Believe the new hose will get here this week.
There was no squirrel in the trap this morning.
“(sorry, I’m a bit of a newbie on these threads so I’m not familiar), or do you have space in the turf as well?”
Let’s see if I can bring you up to date about this weekly gardening thread fairly quickly. There are two weird people who post here - one is me and one is JRandomFreeper - Johnny. The rest of the posters are normal people.
I started trying to grow food plants in about March of this year. I planted some plants in the dirt garden and they were all murdered by squirrels and birds and insects in the garden dirt plus the Texas sun burned them up. I swore off garden dirt as plant murderers live there and the sun also kills them.
I have a fairly large wooden deck, so I started over and grow only in containers with potting soil mix. I have a murdering squirrel or more than one as I don’t know the individual names of the squirrels as they haven’t told me. I have a squirrel trap on the deck to try to catch him or them.
The only plants in the dirt garden are in one long planter on top of the dirt and Egyptian Walking Onions are in that planter.
Welcome to the gardening threads.
/johnny
“I’m not weird, I’m eccentric.”
A rose by any other name is still a rose.
Lots of rich soil now in that area.
/johnny
This is the area right after first tilling. Mostly sand, very little organic material.
Here it is with additions of broken pottery, chunks of plaster of paris, and some rich compost ready to be incorporated.
There will be a LOT more organic material going into this area over the next year. Probably 10 lbs of material per square foot of garden.
/johnny
Beautiful fall weather here and I’m planting mums and cold weather crops. Recently discovered the Carolina wren has built a nest in the artificial floral arrangement on the front door. That is the second time she has done that. I suppose she will be a permanent summer visitor! lol
Blow up the stump with black powder. Funny story about my husband who did that:
For a year, we lived in a community outside St. Louis, MO. Husband was sent there to “fix” problems the insurance company had with it's medical insurance policies.
So, we were living with northern people. There was a stump my husband wanted out of our back yard and in this community there were no fences between the houses - it was all open area. He had worked on this stump and this day he put black powder into the stump and set it off. There was a loud explosion.
It was July 4th and people around us thought the blast was a July 4th celebration. Down the hill came a bunch of children with flags headed to the explosion site. It was hilariously funny.
My husband was a former Marine and he liked to blow up stuff. He was an expert marksman - if he aimed at something, it was dead after that one shot.
Lifetime warantees are pretty common on hoses, but they will still fail. I had a LT hose fail within 6mo, it now has three repairs on it and has been working well for 3 or 4 years now. One I bought from Sam's Club last year split in a few weeks, but has held up well after that initial repair. I keep a supply of brass repair parts on hand to keep me from driving just for a $3 part. The same fittings will work to repair the main line on our drip system, also, so it is doubly important to keep some on hand. We have 4 100' or 125' hoses, so it pays to be prepared. Same deal with hose gaskets, buy them in a multi-pack and keep on hand.
I did get out and fix my Nissan truck this morning. r_d and Mrs. r_d happy now. That Chevy was killing me in gas.
Now I'll get out there and get a picture for Mr Bender and my morning will be complete.
“Here it is with additions of broken pottery, chunks of plaster of paris....”
Why are you putting those items in the dirt? Doesn’t it make planting more difficult?
I drilled a lot of holes in the stumps, and fed the wood fungi fertilizer. I covered it up with decomposing organic material and left if for about 5 years. It's small chunks now.
I do dispose of out-dated reloading powder by using it in the yard as a fertilizer. Safe, effective, and the yard loves it. I just don't make it go boom.
/johnny
After I finish mechanically preparing the area, I will treat it with compost tea, a strong brew of soil microorganism that will have places to take up residence and grow strong.
I'm serious about taking care of the soil, and letting the soil take care of the plants.
/johnny
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