Posted on 10/18/2013 1:07:54 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!
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“Did you work for an airline?”
No, except for one trip to France and Monaco, my husband’s insurance company sent us to these places for two weeks and they paid for everything.
Oh, and they paid for one trip to England, but I paid for the rest of the trips to England because my son lives there and I’ve been going there for over twenty years to see him. With all those trips, I brought back a whole set of English china and a number of tea sets.
Shots:
Get over it - it is just a very thin needle - that is all that is going in quickly and out quickly. People tend to react to the whole assembly when it is just that very small needle going in and out quickly.
I had cataract surgery on both eyes. After all that was over, I watched, or started to watch, a cataract surgery on line. When I saw the surgeon stick a needle in the eye and move it around in the eye, I closed the page - could not watch that. If the needle had stayed still, it would have been okay but dragging a needle around in the eye was too much. Sticking a small needle in the arm or abdomen is nothing. Years ago, I gave myself allergy shots in my leg, just a tiny needle in and out.
My cataract surgeon did my left eye first. You are not put totally out for cataract surgery. I could see in my eye what he was doing. When he broke the lens, I saw it happen in my eye - it looked like pieces of sparkly glass falling down in my eye, then I saw the pieces being sucked out of my eye.
One goes back to the eye doctor the next day. I told him about seeing it happen in my eye - I thought that was normal. He said he had never heard of that happening before - said it should be written in a medical journal. I was shocked - I wasn’t supposed to be able to see that.
When he did the right eye, he had the anesthetist knock me out completely. He didn’t tell me he was going to do that. The reason for not knocking someone out is so the patient doesn’t come to and move his/her head - the head has to stay still. I suppose, since he knocked me out, there was someone holding my head to be sure it didn’t move. He had to stay in my right eye longer than the left eye as the cataract was larger in the right eye. That eye swelled due to that and I couldn’t see anything out of it the next day. As the swelling went down, I could see.
Dentist:
Going to a dentist was the worst thing for me - I hated it all my life until now. The dentist I have causes me not to dread it, it’s nothing to me now. He can take out a tooth so easily, I never know when it happens and he sews up the wound so it doesn’t bleed afterward. I have never had one pain after the tooth is out. He wants to make a bridge where he took out the tooth but I’m waiting for cool weather to do that as I’m tired of going out in 100+ heat to do anything. I think our hot weather is over now.
Don’t freak out with having a shot. Promise yourself a treat when you get out of where you had the shot and only think of that when you are getting the shot. A little needle and you get a treat afterward. A needle isn’t going to kill you so don’t worry about it. Only worry about something that might kill you.
If it was that logical, it wouldn’t be a phobia.
Since you said that the apples you are now gettting don't seem that same as what was previously there, it sounds like you have "rootstock ".
The fact that you are pleased with the fruit sounds like you have the best of both worlds .
Other than propagation by seeds, which will probably not remain 'true' due to seed polination, there are ways to duplicate exactly the tree.
"Air-layering ",generaly done on early spring 'green growth', using X-acto knife,sphagnum moss, "Rootone"(rooting hormone), and a plastic baggie.
"Air-Layering to Clone Your Fruit Trees(Diagram/illustration )" see at :
< http://www.pbcgov.com/newsroom/0212/02-08-12_air_layering.htm >
Also there is "Grafting", which matches up the green cambrial layer of the host and 'graft', which can be found at :
< www.appleluscious.com/orchard/grafting.html >
"T-bud " (generally done in Ausgust)
"Whip and Tongue" ( Feb - May , done while still winter dormant)
"Omega Grafting" (speialized cutting tool , matched size diameter of host and graft)
Personally, I have had more success at "air-layering", but wanted to give you all examples of "exact copies" of your host plant.
The seeds might work for you, but the results with air-layering and grafting will be less time consuming and quicker, and exact.
I’ll probably try multiple methods. I often start more plants than I need and give them away to neighbors.
I just gave a potted rose of sharon to my neighbor this morning. I started them from seed this spring and now they’re all 2 foot tall but they’ll be in good shape for planting in the spring.
One can get over a phobia with logical thinking and a plan for when the incident happens again, like taking a shot. I had patients with various phobias and we worked through them with logical thinking and a plan of something to do when the phobia wanted to come back.
One woman patient would get in her car after work and lock it and was afraid someone would get her before she got home. Once in her house, she checked every door, made sure all the blinds were down - she hid in the house in one room so no one would get her. We worked through that with logic and a plan and she was okay.
I had Vet patients with PTSD who had various behavior problems/phobias and logic and a plan worked for them. One of those Vets wanted to strip off his clothes in public. The first time he came to see me that’s what he did in my office.
One can get over a phobia about a shot using logic and a plan. Any phobia can be overcome, it doesn’t have to be permanent.
The giving away excess plants makes for "good neighbors", and is highly reccomended .
My rose of sharon is now under the neighbors spreading maple tree (heavy shade)inside their property line, and didn't flower as much this year.
My dad had real good luck with that on pecans. I had very few pecan grafts that took. He had trouble with pears and apples, and I was probably over 95% with those.
The key seems to be almost exactly same sized "root" and "stock" ( although I have not personally used that process).
The cambrial layers (green colored cambium ) of host and stock have to match up almost exactly and maintain contact for the graft to take .
As stated , I prefer to use 'air layering' since you can see insde the baggie within a couple of weeks to see if the rooting has taken place .
Grafting can become an ornamental art-form through 'Espalier training' of multi-grafting different stock on one singular rootstock .
Pecans and other nut producing flora are definitely more difficult to graft ; I haven't even attempted them.
Still harvesting red raspberries off the bushes next to my house. I’ll be making jam and syrup soon (and Mr S is making raspberry cordial!). Will be harvesting our horseradish soon. Temps around mid-50’s - 60’s during the day around here and in the low to mid 40’s overnight.
I let pole beans dry on the vine and now have a bunch put back for next year. Got to get the garden cleaned up and put to bed for the winter. Can’t wait to get those first seed catalags in the mail! Time to troll Lowes for any good garden markdowns!
I agree the dentist is the worst. Brother had a mouth full of fillings, but wound up with false teeth at age 16. So mom didn’t want to waste money on fillings. The only time I went to the dentist was when the tooth hurt and the dentist pulled it.
I always had to go by myself. He told me I was going to have no teeth left if I didn’t get fillings. I pestered Mom so much she finally went with me to get the fillings. The dentist started to take xrays, but she wouldn’t let him. He refused to fill them. I was around eleven.
As soon as I got married and on my own, I went to a different dentist, and asked him to fix my teeth, and let me pay 10 bucks a month, as that was all I could afford. He agreed to do it. Then he also put in a bridge. He was rough. He sure didn’t put any novacaine on the gum first.
When he put on the bridge, he couldn’t get the back teeth area numbed enough that I didn’t feel it. All those teeth had to be filed down, and an impression made for the bridge to fit over the stubs that were left.
It was very painful when the meds wore off because the nerves were all exposed. Thank goodness I only had to wait 2 days to get the bridge put on, but those shots hurt even worse, because the gums had not had time to heal.
For years after that, I would get sick and throw up every time I had to go to the dentist. I still went. You do what you have to.
Finally, I found a dentist who was very gentle, and I got better. Now, I just have slight nausea which I fight with a gulp of CocaCola.
I have been trying to “get over it” all my life. While I am better, I suspect I am as over it as I am going to get.
We have been in the 60s daily and 40s nightly. That is changing tomorrow, and we’ll be heading into the 30s nightly and 50s during the day.
I’ll be racing around covering stuff up and digging up more stuff to bring in at the first of the week.
I think people our age had problems with dentists in that time period. Their equipment wasn't great back then and pain was going to happen during the filling process.
I wasn't taken to the dentist until I was about ten. I needed five fillings and he did them all at once. The continual grinding of the “drill” and pain associated with that traumatized me and it went on forever to get five filled. Now, they have much better drills and it's fast and doesn't hurt due to better ways to anesthetize the nerves.
So, I dreaded the dentist, too. I used to say I'd rather go to a gynecologist than the dentist. Kids now days have the benefit of super tools and deadening that we didn't have.
A true story: I was in my late 30s and needed two bridges done. The dentist lived in my subdivision so we knew each other. I would drink wine at home before going to see him and take the wine bottle and a glass when I went to see him as these procedures took time after time of going there. When I got in the chair and the dentist came in, he would close the blinds so no one could see in and see me drinking wine. He would do some work and stop and I'd drink more wine. He would jokingly say I was the only alcoholic patient he had.
As I said on this thread somewhere, my present dentist is so fine I have no apprehension going there. Between good tools and good deadening now, plus his skills, going to the dentist is no big deal. What is a big deal is the amount of money it costs to have any dental work done.
I don't think they're overkill at all. Just the intimidation factor should keep critters away. They probably take one look at them, and think, "OMG, it's those re-education camps we've been hearing about. "
You guys know the two regular squash in the ground were killed fast by borers and I gave up on those squash and planting in the ground. I recall, greeneyes, you thought moths would find squash even on the deck and borers would kill them. Well, this moth/borer resistant squash appears to be the real thing. It's got the natural resistance and being off the ground, going for it.
The squash vine is 12 ft. long now and shows no sign of stopping to grow, all suspended in the air. There are blossoms open and many to open and I do mean “many”. There would be enough squash on this one plant to last someone a long time especially since the length is so long. Hmm, I need to look in my waterbath canning book for how to use vinegar to can these squash. And, I need the rest of the canning stuff like jars and lids and the vinegar, etc., whatever the books says. Gee, I could actually have something to can which I have never done, either, right along with never having grown anything.
It's possible something can still happen to this squash and I do have some yellow leaves on it that bother me, like why did they do that? It may be too much water since it has rained here so much lately.
I know I am new to this to be giving advice, but this Tromboncino Squash appears to be the perfect squash to grow - moths/borers are not a problem, it grows fast, it grow very long, it is filled to the max with blossoms, so the yield will be very many and some can be left on the vine and become a winter squash of a tan color like butternut squash.
As long as it grows up rather than on the ground, it doesn't take up much space, just the planter it is in. The dolly rightly_dividing made for me was more important to have than I realized at the time. This plant has tendrils everywhere to latch on to whatever is close, so I moved it around when tendrils got too close to something to latch onto and I could regulate the sun it got. That 13 inch circumference barrel with the framework to hold it as it grew was perfect for this plant. I will get more of these barrels for spring.
Right now, I've got all the seed envelopes around me and I've got to plan which ones for spring and what I still need to get when they (seeds or plants) are available and how many more containers I will need.
Johnny, would you plant one or more of this squash if I sent you the seeds? I only offer them to you because they shouldn't be a problem to grow. I don't remember if you don't like to eat squash.
/johnny
Hmm, maybe I sent you some already. I’m going to get another envelope of them, and it’s no problem to mail you some, so I’ll do that when you are ready to plant them.
Back in the 70’s, my folks moved in next door to a man that was from the Philippines that grew squash on overhead trellises, with the fruit hanging downward. The squash grew to 24” - 36” and up to about 3” diameter. My dad grew these from seed also. We just called them Phillipeno squash. I had never seen any like them until one day I noticed the same overhead trellis system(pipe racks) at a house in a fishing village in S. Alabama. I regret never stopping in and asking about their squash. The ones my dad and his neighbor grew never had any borer problems, or any other bugs or virus. I wonder if yours are the same or similar variety; if so, get ready for some really big squish.
Okay, now I gotta search squash for answers.
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