WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 13 MARCH 28,2014

Free Republic | March 28, 2014 | greeneyes

[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.

[JRandomFreeper]

There is a magnesium fire starter that has a rod in the side of a block of magnesium. If you hit/scrape the rod with the back edge of a knife, very large, hot sparks fly. It's the best I've ever used. I don't bother with shaving bits of magnesium, because I've always got good, dry tinder and don't need it.

That one is inexpensive, and I have a couple. I'm very happy with it.

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

My dryer lint appears to consist mostly of cat hair.

Ditto.

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

I also use a feather tip for hand pollinating.

/johnny

[Black Agnes]

Y’know, now that we have chickens I’ll have to start saving clean feathers to do just that!

[trisham]

What a difference in climate. Our lettuce seeds have sprouted and the seedlings are about an inch and a quarter tall. Two of our tomato seeds have sprouted. All of these are still in the kitchen, since we’re still not much above, or even reliably above freezing at night here in Massachusetts.

Tonight
39 °F
Rain
100% chance of precipitation

Tomorrow
45 °F
Rain
100% chance of precipitation

Tomorrow Night
33 °F
Ice Pellets
60% chance of precipitation

Monday
42 | 31 °F
Ice Pellets
60% chance of precipitation

Tuesday
49 | 30 °F
Partly Cloudy

Wednesday
55 | 32 °F
Partly Cloudy

[Marcella]

Supposed to be 45 tonight, then mostly 50s at night and 70s daytime, one day shows low 80s.

[trisham]

That’s a huge help in growing tomatoes!

[Sarajevo]

If anyone can provide insight on what I can plant in central Texas I would appreciate it.

Fruit and Nut resources

[Sarajevo]

Yep. From HEB. It’s been in the ground for abut 5 years now, and is short, but still greens up before the other varieties.

[rightly_dividing]

We had to go into town to get an oil change on Her car, so we went to Lowes while waiting for it. The clearance rack had lots of half off stuff and my wife filled a shopping cart. I needed another rain gauge but could not get another just like the old one. It turns out that I got one that is larger and easier to read, and measures to the 1/8” She planted all the flowers in various pots and I installed two new hooks for hanging baskets, along with 2 window box versions of the coconut hair baskets. They required some thought to mount correctly because the were made to hang on and apartment porch railings. I fabbed a simulated rail on the window casing and it worked out okay.

I was really warm out there today; we both are exhausted. We just can’t take it anymore.

I may have a buyer for my old Chevy truck and my old car as a package deal. It’s just a matter of establishing a price. Yay! :) Then it’s just one vehicle left to replace and we will be free of Government Motors cars and trucks!

[Sarajevo]

Heh-heh. We sent Andy the same link! Arbequibna olive trees also grow well in the high pH caliche soil. They require very little care and are drought resistant. They are slow growers though. Mine have been in the ground for 3 years, but they did produce some fruit last year.

I have found that citrus is difficult. The only tree that I have found to be cold tolerant is a Flying Dragon. It's another slow grower. Of course, I have seen Ponderosa Lemon trees in the city that survive and produce fruit.

Japanese Loquat is a tried and true tree for the S.A. area. It produces lots of fruit that look and taste like apricot.

[SisterK]

Thank you very very much. I will look out for such a sparker. In town there is a sporting goods store and a military surplus. Perhaps one of them stocks this nifty tool.

[SisterK]

Cat hair would probably make a wonderful sweater or cap.

[Ellendra]

This is kind of strange since I have a couple wild grape vines growing on my property that appear to be unaffected by Pierces Disease.

It happens like that sometimes. In the quest for flavor, other qualities get lost. See if you can graft onto those wild vines, they might confer their resistance to the grafted variety.

[Ellendra]

I’m curious, about how much seed do you get from the average sunflower, after the shells are removed?

I’m trying to plan out what I’d need to grow to maintain my current diet, more or less.

[Ellendra]

Thanks. I will keep my eye open for flint and a small piece of steel.

Try the camping section. I have a flint-and-steel set that fits on my keychain. I've found the manufactured ones easier to use than the "raw" kind. They last just about forever.

[JRandomFreeper]

I’m curious, about how much seed do you get from the average sunflower, after the shells are removed?

Dammit, I know the answer to this, and it's written on a small scrap of paper somewhere around here. I also told Marco, so she may actually remember the number.

I'm thinking (almost, but not quite guessing), that I got 4 oz of seed per sunflower. And that the shelled weight was 25%.

I remember a bunch of dividing by 4 when I did those measurements/calculations.

I will look. I need a real notebook, instead of scraps of paper that I do calculations on.

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

Ronson flints for old fashioned cigarette lighters fit inside the hollow of .22LR hollow point rifle rounds, and spark when they strike a metal object.

I don't know if that factoid is useful, but I had it, and have verified it.

Don't shoot at fuel spills with a .22LR rifle round modified like that. It could cause a fire.

Ahem...

/johnny

[sockmonkey]

Cat hair would probably make a wonderful sweater or cap.

Yes, you can pretend it's angora. The color is pretty icky gray & orange tabby, maine coon..tuxedo cat..If I had all white cats, it might be okay.

[SisterK]

Thanks for the tip. I have little and not strong hands so I need the easy option.
I am overdue a stroll through the camping/sporting goods store.