Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread, Almost June! [KT]

Hello gardeners, putterers and dreamers! It's almost June. Anything interesting going on in your garden? First up today, how about we visit Manny's garden on Kauai? Well, actually it's MrsM's garden. Above, a Lobster Claw Heliconia.

And below, a few of MrsM's orchids.

She grows them on the trunks of her Manila palms in the yard.

Wow. We have some indoor orchid enthusiasts in The Horde. How would it be to be able to grow those outdoors?

The Edible Garden

Manny also sent in some photos of edibles:

Here are two views of an habanero plant grown from seed in MrsM's garden. I used one last weekend to make a Thai shrimp recipe with lemon grass, lime leaves and basil, all also from her garden. It was *very* spicy (!!!) but excellent with coconut milk served over green "BamBOOM" rice

Hidden fire. Is that mint I see encroaching?

Anybody else growing super-hot peppers this year? Taking any safety precautions in the garden?

Lemon grass, between her mint and basil (in the background at left.)

Here in Central California, our Apriums made it through 107 or 108 degree heat this week without getting pit burn. Yay! And they didn't get stolen. Yay!

We did give some away. Didn't take any photos. Interesting how fruit of different species doesn't always bloom in the same sequence every year. The year I took this photo, the Apriums and Arctic Star Nectarines ripened at the same time. The little fruits with them are an old Plumcot that tastes sort of like perfume. Kind of mushy, not too sweet. Europeans tend to like them.

Farming, Farmer's Markets, Produce Stands

Sweet cherries are on here. First ones were outstanding. Second batch had some doubles (likely due to March rains). Getting better again now. What's on your local produce counters?

If you missed in the first time, Jim asked for some advice on larger than riding mower tractors. Got any recommendations or tips?

The fields up the road from us that had been planted in grapes, then put up for sale, seem to have been bought. There may be a nut grove still available. If anyone is looking for some land.

Gardens of The Horde

Here is my pineapple guava in bloom. It is a very unassuming bush/tree depending on how you train it. Mostly I see it in bush form. It is evergreen with silver green leaves. But when it blooms the flowers are gorgeous. The petals are eatable and have a slightly sweet and pleasant flavor. I haven't tried the fruit yet since this is the first year it will probably actually produce any. I have two of them about 10 feet apart on the west side of my house.
lin-duh

If they are hardy where you live, pineapple guavas are an attractive shrub. Quite easy to care for. The blossom petals have a mild, fruity flavor.

There are dwarf landscaping varieties. If you want fruit (best flavor where summers are not scorching), look for named varieties. There are a couple recommended for areas with hotter summers.

Thanks, lin-duh.

If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden
at g mail dot com

Include your nic unless you want to remain a lurker.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 12:09 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Pretty.

Posted by: Laughing in Texas at May 30, 2020 01:10 PM (ExV1e)

2 I let them know.

Posted by: Laughing in Texas at May 30, 2020 01:11 PM (ExV1e)

3 I got a late and very limited start on planting, but I do have some bell peppers coming up. I also did some rudimentary landscaping around the flagpole I installed in my front yard and planted a wildflower mix at the base which is now emerging.

Posted by: Bert G at May 30, 2020 01:14 PM (OMsf+)

4 Good afternoon Greenthumbs

Plants are doing well but those inside the mini greenhouse are doing real well. Sadly what I thought was green beans were not.

Posted by: Skip at May 30, 2020 01:15 PM (ZCEU2)

5 Never posted on the garden thread, but what the heck! This morning finished moving 4 tons of rock and installing path lighting that we didn't get to finish yesterday because of afternoon storms. Expecting more today! Have a great day everyone. Life is very hard and try to look for the good things around you. I'm having a difficult time with this lately.

Posted by: Trog04 at May 30, 2020 01:19 PM (oecje)

6 The photography in these threads is always first-rate, and today's is really splendid. I keep meaning to send some of my own, you know, to balance things out.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at May 30, 2020 01:21 PM (l9m7l)

7 Wow love those landscape orchids! Reminds me of when we stayed in Lauderdale, neighbors' trees bore naturally growing orchids. I bought a couple plants at a local greenhouse that specialized in orchids.

Posted by: kallisto at May 30, 2020 01:23 PM (Xhp1L)

8 5. Welcome Trog04! The gardening/puttering Thread is a restorative respite from the Fourth Turning drama of the day.

Posted by: kallisto at May 30, 2020 01:27 PM (Xhp1L)

9 Does anyone have experience with poinsettias? I'm trying to get mine to flourish and grow more robustly but it's like none of the plant food I get seems to have the right ratio of nutrients for this type of plant.

Posted by: Two Weeks From China is Assho at May 30, 2020 01:28 PM (+dsLj)

10 Bert G at May 30, 2020 01:14 PM
Good luck!

Posted by: KT at May 30, 2020 01:30 PM (BVQ+1)

11 Does anyone have experience with poinsettias? I'm trying to get mine to flourish and grow more robustly but it's like none of the plant food I get seems to have the right ratio of nutrients for this type of plant.
Posted by: Two Weeks From China is Assho at May 30, 2020 01:28 PM (+dsLj)
-----
My experience with poinsettias is that they die. Slowly and painfully.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, 1st Murder Hornet Squadron at May 30, 2020 01:31 PM (4o2K3)

12 My experience with poinsettias is that they die. Slowly and painfully. Posted by: Captain Obvious, 1st Murder Hornet Squadron at May 30, 2020 01:31 PM (4o2K3)

****

LOL

I got a great strain though, it's five years old now and even survived a fall from my second floor balcony. Definitely deserves some love for all my attempts to kill it.

Posted by: Two Weeks From China is Assho at May 30, 2020 01:34 PM (+dsLj)

13 Onto my next task today, the lawn. See how much I can do with the tractor.
It is a fantastic nice day out here.

Posted by: Skip at May 30, 2020 01:34 PM (ZCEU2)

14 Hey fappers. This week chewed me up and spat me out. I'm gonna take a nap.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at May 30, 2020 01:35 PM (NWiLs)

15 The spicy Thai shrimp recipe with seasonings from the garden sounds exhilirating.

I have never hear of green BamBOOM rice.

Posted by: KT at May 30, 2020 01:35 PM (BVQ+1)

16 Today's project: apply wood filler to top of deck railing, sand. I'll paint tomorrow, hope the weather holds up. I also hope my activity doesn't disturb Mama Catbird and her newly hatched brood. They're nestled in the firethorn that protects the deck.

Posted by: kallisto at May 30, 2020 01:35 PM (Xhp1L)

17 for an interesting discovery about bumblebees, apparently they bite plants to make them flower early

https://preview.tinyurl.com/y9u4zvr9

It is Nat Geographic, so of course it talks also about global warming, but it is a decent article

Posted by: Kindltot at May 30, 2020 01:36 PM (WyVLE)

18 What beautiful Hawaiian flowers!! Here in NYS we have nothing like that... darn it.

All my herbs and vegetables have grown exponentially this past week in spite of the unseasonable heat. This weekend it has cooled down tremendously, so I have hope my peas, spinach, lettuce, and mustard greens will really like the weather. (Container gardening)

The rain the last few days has been fairly heavy and steady, so I do not think I will need to water again until Monday or Tuesday.

Happy Gardening!

Posted by: Ann at May 30, 2020 01:37 PM (NDO5Q)

19 Flowers! Pretty flowers! Thank you.

Posted by: Rosasharn at May 30, 2020 01:39 PM (PzBTm)

20 Kindltot at May 30, 2020 01:36 PM
Interesting. You can also beat tomato plants with a stick (lightly) or cut off a few leaves to help induce blossom set.

But bumblebees know stressing plants could induce flowering, too!

Posted by: KT at May 30, 2020 01:40 PM (BVQ+1)

21 I also have to pull the quickly growing thistle plants out of the foundation planting. I'd wanted to leave them there for goldfinch food but the HOA doesn't see it that way.

Posted by: kallisto at May 30, 2020 01:42 PM (Xhp1L)

22 My cousin mentioned African violets when we spoke last week. So I ordered two for him and two for me. Had them delivered this week. I got two miniature variegated ones, but two larger ones for him from the Violet Barn. I have never seen plants packaged as well. They had actual insulation in the box to protect them from extreme temperatures. All plants came through fine and look great. The leaves on my pink and green one are dime sized.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at May 30, 2020 01:46 PM (Lqy/e)

23 Just put in the marigolds.
The slugs seem happy.

Sigh...

Posted by: Diogenes at May 30, 2020 01:48 PM (axyOa)

24 As for actual gardening, it was 90 yesterday, 66 today. I have planted some potatoes and transplanted two sweet potato slips. I don't know if I'll do much more.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at May 30, 2020 01:48 PM (Lqy/e)

25 Flamingo zipper.

Posted by: eleven at May 30, 2020 01:52 PM (Qf83p)

26 hiya

Posted by: JT at May 30, 2020 01:52 PM (arJlL)

27 Of 2 Onion bunches started from compost one is starting to flower, when are they done and should be pulled up?

Posted by: Skip at May 30, 2020 01:53 PM (ZCEU2)

28 Is that a cadaver in the mint ?

Posted by: JT at May 30, 2020 01:53 PM (arJlL)

29 Welcome Trog04! The gardening/puttering Thread is a restorative respite from the Fourth Turning drama of the day.
Posted by: kallisto

(She never welcomed ME to the Gardening Thread !)

Harumph !

Posted by: JT at May 30, 2020 01:54 PM (arJlL)

30 You can also beat tomato plants with a stick (lightly) or cut off a few leaves to help induce blossom set.
-----
So that's where I've gone wrong with tomatoes. I'm too nice to them.

Flower! Flower or the beatings will continue!

Posted by: Captain Obvious, 1st Murder Hornet Squadron at May 30, 2020 02:00 PM (4o2K3)

31 I've got a Kubota BX-23 with a 500lb front loader, 40" bush hog, and 60" deck. 4WD, 3 cyl diesel. It's a strong little bugger and plenty for my 4 acres. Most of the time I run it with just the deck. I need to put the bushhog and bucket on and then I'll send a pic.
I got it for $6K a few years ago with less that 400 hrs on it. The only thing I don't like about it is the damn plastic hood and fenders.

Posted by: freaked at May 30, 2020 02:02 PM (Tnijr)

32 We put up some more containers to expand the daily eating possibilities. Put in some scallions, cherry tomatoes, carrots, basil, and more leaf lettuce. There won't be enough to preserve, just some veggies from our garden for a treat.

Posted by: JTB at May 30, 2020 02:03 PM (7EjX1)

33 The beatings will continue until the tomatoes improve....

Posted by: JT at May 30, 2020 02:03 PM (arJlL)

34 Later, gardeners.......

Posted by: JT at May 30, 2020 02:07 PM (arJlL)

35 I got a Thai basil plant at Lowe's today. I just had lunch of Chinese asparagus beans saut�ed with pancetta and garlic. I grow the beans.

I have a bunch of big green tomatoes but they don't ripen On the vine. I guess it's too hot.

Posted by: lin-duh en fugue at May 30, 2020 02:10 PM (UUBmN)

36 We have the rocket launch coverage on in the background. This is a test flight to dock with the space station so no botanical experiments. I would love to see more veggie experiments on the station as USA launches become more frequent and reliable.

Posted by: JTB at May 30, 2020 02:11 PM (7EjX1)

37 Any advice for crabgrass and dandelion infestations, besides weed killer? I want these bastards gone.

Posted by: thathalfrican - Clark Kent with the glasses off at May 30, 2020 02:14 PM (d75Wq)

38 Those orchids... WOW!

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 30, 2020 02:16 PM (NZbXf)

39 Pineapple guavas my parents grew them in Santa Barbara. I remember making jelly with mom. Very tasty.

Posted by: AZ deplorably isolated at May 30, 2020 02:17 PM (kp35W)

40 I had pineapple guava plants for years. Somehow I never knew those beautiful blossoms were edible.

Posted by: Cumberland Astro at May 30, 2020 02:18 PM (d9Cw3)

41 Thank you Open Blogger and all moron gardeners for this weekly thread. I have a brown thumb, but love the gardening thread.

Posted by: Floridachick at May 30, 2020 02:19 PM (b4W0h)

42 freaked.. thanks for the Kubota insight.

The late, lamented New Dawn's auxiliary diesel was branded "Nannidiesel", which was a Nordic marinized version of a 2 cyl, 15 hp. Kubota.

Fuel burn was just over a pint an hour at four knots.

Wee little Swiss Watch of an engine it was. I hope your tractor lives a longer life than the New Dawn!

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at May 30, 2020 02:24 PM (QzJWU)

43 I have a mature mango tree (dont know the specific variety - goes on my list of things to find), and an avocado tree. Both are great yearly producers. I'll be hopefully moving within 6 months and have several young mango seedlings and one avocado one from my trees growing in containers. Hope to plant them in my new backyard and give some of the mango seedlings to my son for his backyard.

Posted by: Floridachick at May 30, 2020 02:25 PM (b4W0h)

44 42 freaked.. thanks for the Kubota insight.

The late, lamented New Dawn's auxiliary diesel was branded "Nannidiesel", which was a Nordic marinized version of a 2 cyl, 15 hp. Kubota.

Fuel burn was just over a pint an hour at four knots.

Wee little Swiss Watch of an engine it was. I hope your tractor lives a longer life than the New Dawn!

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
Posted by: Jim at May 30, 2020 02:24 PM (QzJWU)

Should be fine as long as he keeps it out of the ocean.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at May 30, 2020 02:26 PM (NWiLs)

45 I just sent a pic of my Kubota KT. Took me about 15 minutes to take the deck off and mount the front loader and bush hog.

Posted by: freaked at May 30, 2020 02:28 PM (Tnijr)

46 I'm kind of excited to be growing veggies for the first time in ages. After the big D I kind of bounced around, and the townhouse I had was not conducive to anything but begonias and fuchsias in the tiny deck/dirt patch.

This year back at the big house I was laboring over where/how, and thought I wouldn't get to it as there was no place that wasn't solid rock or too much lawn. That's when it dawned on me - that big raised flower bed right outside edging the patio would be a perfect vegetable bed!

Heck, I'm a bachelor now, don't need to impress anybody. I think veggies look just as amazing, plus they feed you! Unfortunately, with the 'rona, a lot of the growers I'd normally get plants from hadn't been at the farmer's market. So, I went with more standard fair out of necessity.

Celebrity, Beefstake and Brandywine. Armenian cuke, Thai peppers, Serreno and bells. I saw at the nursery they've got all kinds of death peppers - not just habanero, but red savina and ghost peppers. Took a pass on those. Lots of herbs, Basil varieties, oregano, cilantro, parsley, thyme... And some marigolds in the blank spots.

The ex actually used to grow for farmer's market, our yard was certified by the county. Then she decided she was allergic to anything from the nightshade family - which means nothing but cucumbers and? UGh. Try gluten and vegetable free eating for a decade.

My orchids have been amazing - I just grow in window. I have one big phaelenopsis that started blooming in January, and just now the flowers have faded (6 months for second time!) however, this year it put up a new spike, and that's opening up now. It's a double spike to boot! So, I'm looking at possibly an entire year of non-stop flowers on one plant!

I sure wish I could grow outside like on Maui, but if there's any advantage to living in CA, it's an extended growing cycle. Really looking forward to eating my first grown tomato for the first time in well over a decade! Any squirrels that try for my brandywine are toast.

Posted by: clutch cargo at May 30, 2020 02:32 PM (8B6Ng)

47 "Wee little Swiss Watch of an engine it was"
It's such a cute little motor, with it's tiny little alternator and injection pump. The hydraulic 4WD rocks. If you can get traction it will go there.
I took the plastic side panels off a while back because they were falling apart. Like I said, I don't like the plastic body parts, but that's how they are all made nowadays.

Posted by: freaked at May 30, 2020 02:33 PM (Tnijr)

48 Oooooo! Parrot's Beak Heliconia! So colorful and trippy-looking.

Their flower bracts are so thick and heavy I'll bet the one pictured weighs over a pound.

Roses and peonies are at peak bloom here this week. Clematis is done flowering. Everbearing strawberries have begun producing, peas still going, annuals finally potted up.

And my battle with Elm suckers continues...

Posted by: JQ at May 30, 2020 02:33 PM (whOIk)

49 And my battle with Elm suckers continues...
Posted by: JQ at May 30, 2020 02:33 PM (whOIk)

Elm suckers? Do they suck other kinds of wood?

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at May 30, 2020 02:36 PM (NWiLs)

50 ..Should be fine as long as he keeps it out of the ocean.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at May 30, 2020 02:26 PM (NWiLs)

Should be fine. Unless he's running a fish farm. In which case, I need to know how deep in the soil to plant the fish for a good crop.

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at May 30, 2020 02:36 PM (QzJWU)

51 "Kind of mushy, not too sweet. Europeans tend to like them."
Yep, sounds like Europeons....

Posted by: OrangeEnt at May 30, 2020 02:36 PM (0jfkF)

52 Haha, Insom! Glad you got a sense of humor again.

No, these are root outgrowths from trees cut down a few years ago. The b@st@rds refuse to die...

Posted by: JQ at May 30, 2020 02:39 PM (whOIk)

53 Wow, excellent ideas about the Thai recipe. Those orchids are incredible. And lobster claw....never knew the name of those amazing flowers.

Does anyone have experience with no mow lawns?

https://tinyurl.com/y2h9xuym

You would only have to mow once or twice a season. It is not a beautifully manicured lawn, it is more for a more woodsy setting. A ground cover.

Posted by: MikeM at May 30, 2020 02:40 PM (qQTwh)

54 52 Haha, Insom! Glad you got a sense of humor again.

No, these are root outgrowths from trees cut down a few years ago. The b@st@rds refuse to die...
Posted by: JQ at May 30, 2020 02:39 PM (whOIk)

Heh. Never lost it, but it was a lot more morbid...

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at May 30, 2020 02:41 PM (NWiLs)

55 My "implement" tractor is a 1947 Allis Chalmers B.
WE did a valve job on her a few years ago, and it's still strong enough to pull the trip bottom plow, 8' disc or 4' harrow.
Mostly, except for plowing the garden once every 5 years or so, I use it to plant food plots for deer and bees.
Today I'm nuking about an acre of fescue (worthless, unless you cattle farm) and planting buckwheat tomorrow. Never have raised it. Looking forward to it.
Supposedly the honey will be darker than clover.
We planted 40 tomatoes, about 25 peppers, beans, cukes, etc.
Second planting of lettuce and spinach is coming on. Current butter lettuce is trying to bolt.

Posted by: MarkY at May 30, 2020 02:41 PM (bDRB8)

56 50 ..Should be fine as long as he keeps it out of the ocean.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at May 30, 2020 02:26 PM (NWiLs)

Should be fine. Unless he's running a fish farm. In which case, I need to know how deep in the soil to plant the fish for a good crop.

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
Posted by: Jim at May 30, 2020 02:36 PM (QzJWU)

I can just picture that as a Hannah-Barbera cartoon. Driving his underwater tractor on the ocean floor, a giant plastic bubble over the top, and fish faces pointing up out of the sand.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at May 30, 2020 02:43 PM (NWiLs)

57 Just about done putting this years vegetable garden in. I have zucchini and musk melon left to do. The wife is going to pick up some started eggplants from a friend that has a few extra. Flea beetles destroyed most of the ones we had planted.

Posted by: Evasiveboat42 at May 30, 2020 02:43 PM (Rz2Nc)

58 NASA here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMsvr55cTZ0

T minus 37

Posted by: m at May 30, 2020 02:46 PM (qtcsy)

59 37. thathalfrican, I can't help with the crabgrass and if I had my druthers I'd leave my yard dandelions alone because I consider them medicine and food. Unfortunately the HOA doesn't like that idea either.

Posted by: kallisto at May 30, 2020 02:49 PM (WoSlu)

60 MarkY. 1948? Wow!

Sir, you'll NEED to be sending pics of that in to our host, for a (hoped for) Horde Tractors feature.

If enough get in, maybe it could be an annual thing?

I love being at County Fairs and such, and seeing how those old farm implements worked.

So much mechanical genius, with zero electronics, and ZERO "made in chy nah", too.

Watching that old stuff actually working in the fields is awesome. You can easily see why so many of our Dads, Uncles, Grandpas and their friends, were missing fingers or limbs.

Oh, and freaked? Bet you could get a custom car or motorcycle builder to make you exact duplicates of the plastic parts, but in steel.

Won't be cheap, of course. So very NOT cheap.

But, steel.

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at May 30, 2020 02:49 PM (QzJWU)

61 Am I an irresistibly delicious fruit or a gay porn site specializing in older Indian men?

Posted by: The Mature Mango at May 30, 2020 02:50 PM (H5knJ)

62 Something is eating my horseradish plant's leaves and it's not my dog this time. The leaves are just full of holes. My dogs eats the whole leaves.

Posted by: lin-duh en fugue at May 30, 2020 02:50 PM (UUBmN)

63 As for actual gardening, it was 90 yesterday, 66
today. I have planted some potatoes and transplanted two sweet potato
slips. I don't know if I'll do much more.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at May 30, 2020 01:48 PM (Lqy/e)

There is always tomatoes.

I bought a bundle of green onions at the supermarket, and for a laugh, planted them. They are doing very well, and I am waiting on seeing what sort of onion I get out of them. Buying them from the store that way is cheaper than buying the onion starts at the farmers' market

My Korean melons are starting to pop up, it must have just gotten warm enough to start to grow.

Floridachick, I adore guavas and I wish I could grow them here, but we are too far north

Posted by: Kindltot at May 30, 2020 02:50 PM (WyVLE)

64 Pets are up!

Posted by: m at May 30, 2020 02:55 PM (qtcsy)

65 53. MikeM is that an ecolawn? I'd love to do that but .*somebody* won't allow it.

Posted by: kallisto at May 30, 2020 02:55 PM (WoSlu)

66 "Bet you could get a custom car or motorcycle builder to make you exact duplicates of the plastic parts, but in steel.
"
I could make the parts and may do that one day. The side panel are superfluous, but the rear fenders I could build up pretty easily.
I bought a new hood for it not long after I got it and cracked it within a month. Glued it back together with Gorilla glue and the glue joint is probably the toughest part of it. If it breaks again though I may try to pound a hood out.

Posted by: freaked at May 30, 2020 02:56 PM (Tnijr)

67 Deer.

The original looters.

Posted by: deplorable unperson - Have you reported in to your assigned Contact Tracer today? at May 30, 2020 02:57 PM (JFe9H)

68 Kallisto, not sure. Very low maintenance and watering. But not sure of definition. Hahaha...yup...the style is not for everyone.

Posted by: MikeM at May 30, 2020 03:00 PM (qQTwh)

69 clutch cargo I had the same problem buying plants this year, except mine are flowering. So the 2020 'rona containers rely on old standbys such as petunia and impatiens.

Posted by: kallisto at May 30, 2020 03:00 PM (WoSlu)

70 Any farmer and many hobbyists will know more about tractors than I do ... BUT I do have five now, bigger than lawnmower size. I just got back in from recovering one of them that sunk in some bog while mowing ... tractor two got it out after a lot of digging by hand.

The two main work tractors I bought first were Zeters (Czech Republic) ... local dealer seemed I could get a lot of name brand (in Europe) tractor for much less than IH or Deere. Some of the alternate brands are cheaper, but looking at weight, they seem a little frail from ones I checked on. Lots of steel seems generally a good thing.

I already had a Farmall M, fairly recently bought a 1963 Farmall 706 because I wanted a cab, and a loader I have will fit it, and my uncle had one. I use it for spraying, and on cold days with snow, the cab with heat will be a luxury. I also bought an Allis Chalmers B for some mowing, also one from my youth.

For most smaller farm work, the old tractors still do a lot of work, especially if they have low hours, but hard to tell if they are the "real hours". I really need low hours and almost everything functional.

Posted by: illiniwek at May 30, 2020 03:04 PM (Cus5s)

71 ..Deer.

The original looters.

Posted by: deplorable unperson - Have you reported in to your assigned Contact Tracer today? at May 30, 2020 02:57 PM (JFe9H)

BANG!

The primary and preferred solution, to either or both.

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at May 30, 2020 03:04 PM (QzJWU)

72 ..For most smaller farm work, the old tractors still do a lot of work, especially if they have low hours, but hard to tell if they are the "real hours". I really need low hours and almost everything functional.

Posted by: illiniwek at May 30, 2020 03:04 PM (Cus5s)

Line 'em all up, write up the caption for each, and send in the pic?

Do they have their own Barndominium, or ?

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at May 30, 2020 03:06 PM (QzJWU)

73 "My "implement" tractor is a 1947 Allis Chalmers B.

WE did a valve job on her a few years ago, and it's still strong enough to pull the trip bottom plow, 8' disc or 4' harrow." MarkY

nice ... I'd have no idea how to do a valve job, I guess if I had to I could learn from YouTube. ha

I have a three bottom plow I've used once, behind my Farmall M. It struggle a little on hills, I can't imagine my little Allis Chalmers B being able to move it a foot, but maybe it is the little engine that could. Sounds like yours is very productive.

Posted by: illiniwek at May 30, 2020 03:16 PM (Cus5s)

74 We now have Honeycrisp apple and Red Haven peach trees, and Carmine Jewell and Romeo cherry bushes in the ground. The Romeo cherry has blooms but I have not seen any bees visiting.

Posted by: Emmie at May 30, 2020 03:20 PM (clsJu)

75 "Do they have their own Barndominium, or ?"

I have a quonset built around 1948, I think they used U of Illinois plans. 40' x 60' ... I rent the back half out to the guy that plants and harvests for my, and have other barns with space still ... but I may keep buying toys till everything is full. I don't check ads very often, but Facebook marketplace has some tractors and old farm trucks, other implements ... easy to check them out.

KT showed pics of two of my tractors with mowers, maybe a year or two ago.

Posted by: illiniwek at May 30, 2020 03:24 PM (Cus5s)

76 Illiniwek,
The trip bottom is a #118.
So, one bottom, and 18" moldboard.
It was made for the B, methinks... or a not so big horse.
Dunno how old the disk is. It has a seat, if that's a clue.

Posted by: MarkY at May 30, 2020 03:24 PM (bDRB8)

77 Looks like we'll have a *yuuuuuge* crop of cherries this year.

Too bad we didn't spray; they'll probably have fruit worms.

Tree is about 30ft tall! Cherry-fall will be about 4 or 5 inches deep, I'd guess. Ugh. What a sticky mess...

Posted by: JQ at May 30, 2020 03:40 PM (whOIk)

78 ..Tree is about 30ft tall! Cherry-fall will be about 4 or 5 inches deep, I'd guess. Ugh. What a sticky mess...

Posted by: JQ at May 30, 2020 03:40 PM (whOIk)

Call the guys from the "Moonshiners" TV series. They'll be happy to take 'em off your hands.

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at May 30, 2020 03:45 PM (QzJWU)

79
JQ I don't know of any cherry pests here.
Do you get critters inside the fruit?

Posted by: MarkY at May 30, 2020 03:45 PM (bDRB8)

80 Do my eyes deceive me, or did Brother Insomniac really skip the evergreen Biblical passage?

Well, then, I must pull out my favorite quote of yesteryear.

****
You have to destroy the garden in order to save it."

Mutually Assured Gardening.
Posted by: Anon a mouse at June 03, 2018 02:17 PM (7LY+6)

*****

In tge Naughty garden, the vegetables are all coming up. I pulled the markers out today.

The two red radishes, planted from moldy castoffs, are producing flowers, which is fine. They were for fun. The ones I'm watching are the daikon, which need to be thinned soon.

I found a strawberry plant in the lawn, a descendant of the groundcover I planted when the garden had bald spots everywhere. I may find it a new home and see how it does. The birds like them.

Other than that, all the tedious tasks come into play now: cleaning mold off the house, staining and water-sealing, window-cleaning, etc. The storm earlier this week tore up the weedblockers I put around the plants. (Mostly cardboard.) I bought landscaping pins today, as well as picked up the yard.

I thought previous windstorms and polesaw diligence had cleaned the dead stuff out. Nope.

Maple tree: Hey, Roof! I got a present for you!

Posted by: NaughtyPine at May 30, 2020 03:46 PM (/+bwe)

81 That MrsM has quite a garden.

Posted by: 40 miles north at May 30, 2020 03:46 PM (o2vOl)

82 oh, "trip", not triple. thanks for making it clearer to me. yeah, my three bottom has the trip rope too. pretty clever tech for the day.

Posted by: illiniwek at May 30, 2020 03:48 PM (Cus5s)

83 NASA's YT blurb on the feed:

Watch history unfold on Saturday, May 30, as NASA and SpaceX launch astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station. This mission marks the first time since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011 that humans will fly to the space station from U.S. soil. The mission's first launch attempt on Wednesday, May 27 was scrubbed due to weather conditions.

Tune in starting at 11 a.m. EDT as NASA and SpaceX provide joint, live coverage from launch to arrival at the space station. Teams are targeting 3:22 p.m. EDT for the launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station on Sunday, May 31.

Posted by: deplorable unperson - Have you reported in to your assigned Contact Tracer today? at May 30, 2020 03:52 PM (JFe9H)

84 I like the orchid photos. So pretty! Had no idea they grew in trees.

Here in Michigan, we're fighting a ground-based orchid. It was intentionally introduced from Europe in the late 1800s and grows multiple stalks from rhizomes. Roundup doesn't kill it.

I'd rather have delicate orchids that are finicky.

Those pineapple guava are so beautiful. The blossoms are like fireworks.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at May 30, 2020 03:56 PM (/+bwe)

85 Do you get critters inside the fruit?

Yes. Tiny white worms. I have seen their adult flies before. Here's an article on them:

preview.tinyurl.com/yaevtrvz

The time to spray is right now or, perhaps, last week and we can't do it.

Ours is a Bing cherry (I think). Fruit ripens approx. last week in June thru first week in July: large, dark reddish-purple and very tasty... I try to not think about the worms... only eat a couple cherries per year.

Posted by: JQ at May 30, 2020 04:09 PM (whOIk)

86 Hmm, well I just looked up a degree-day calculator. We should've begun spraying 3 weeks ago.

sigh.

Posted by: JQ at May 30, 2020 04:19 PM (whOIk)

87 Noticed some white spots on my tomato plants. I looked closer and a lot of them were actually very tiny holes. I did see some gnat like bug on them, so I sprayed them with some plant insecticide I had on hand. What I'm wondering is what kind of bug is this, I don't recall seeing it before.

Posted by: Farmer at May 30, 2020 04:21 PM (MxPkF)

88 Farmer, are they aphids? Very easy to kill with soapy water spray.

Posted by: JQ at May 30, 2020 04:24 PM (whOIk)

89 Deer at 3 am.

BANG might bring cops.

I need stealthier solutions. Maybe a pet tiger.

Posted by: ultraviolet supremacists at May 30, 2020 04:28 PM (JFe9H)

90 socka go whey

Posted by: deplorable unperson - Have you reported in to your assigned Contact Tracer today? at May 30, 2020 04:29 PM (JFe9H)

91 From Idaho's Treasure Valley (Boise area): I was late in reading the overnight thread, but posted anyway. There was a bit of discussion on "persuade me to move to your state". If anyone is not happy where they live, please consider moving to Idaho, especially the Treasure Valley, which is called the Banana Belt of Idaho (mildest weather in the state). Idaho has plenty of water, plenty of hydropower, we grow food here, and most everybody has guns. We've got snow and mountains if you like winter sports, we've got hiking, rafting, marksmanship competitions, and gardens. (Plus, you could meet The Famous Pat*, "accept no substitutes!", in person!)

I haven't had any trouble with my poinsettia, a Christmas gift from a friend in December 2018. Last year, I was thinking about doing the whole reblooming thing as described on Wikihow, about cutting it shorter in April, only watering lightly, then doing the cover-with-a-box thing in autumn to get it to bloom at Christmas again. I did cut it down shorter in April, and watered every other week. My schedule's too erratic, and I was breaking off leaves doing the box-cover thing in autumn - so I just gave up on the box, put it in the dimmest (least-used) room in the house, and let it flower when it wanted to, which was February/March. I've watered it every week all winter, but now I think it's time (and past) to give it a bit of a trim again. As far as fertilizer, I have an ancient bottle of "Liquid Miracle-Gro 8-7-6 with chelated iron", and I put about 6-8 drops of that into its water, once a month or so. It's been doing great.

Now, to our screwy weather. On Fri. 22nd at dusk, I had to run out and cover all the tomatoes and watermelons because we were about to have FROST. (That was at the end of a soggy wet week.) Today and tomorrow it is predicted to be nearly 100 F. And I've had my first mosquito bite of the year.

Let's see -
We've harvested asparagus (nearly done), green onions, radishes, spinach, and now lettuce, so far. I've spotted strawberries turning red, so it's good we put the bird netting on already.

The cantaloupe starts all died, so I planted seeds instead - some have sprouted so far.
We put out our 8 poblano pepper starts, which got sun-blasted and mostly look dead - we'll have to see if any of them survive. If they don't, we'll look to buy some, but if we can't find them, we're out of that crop for this year.

Only 4 edamame seeds sprouted, so I put more in today. I also did some fill-ins on the 2nd variety of corn, and as long as I was there, I weeded out mallow, and lamb's-quarters, and any crabgrass big enough to grab. I left the purslane, because I heard it helps the corn roots break into the soil. Plus supposedly it's edible.
I added a few more basil seeds to my "Third Place Herb Garden". (Wonder if there will even be a Western Idaho Fair this year, for me to compete in? I won three 3rd place ribbons last year, now I'm hooked.) I planted some English thyme seeds, because my 2 small starts are not looking robust enough - I thought I might as well try a backup plan, just putting seeds in the bed to see if they grow.
Something's nibbling on the green bean leaves, so I put some fill-ins into the row, in case some of the plants don't make it.

The 6 watermelon starts look good.
I planted zucchini seeds.
The Beefsteak and Legend tomatoes that my neighbor gifted me still have healthy fruits - all tomato plants are looking good.
I've finally got plenty of carrot sprouts; I ought to thin them a bit. It will be cool to have all 4 colors when I harvest them!

Still doing all right: remaining green onions, remaining radishes, all 3 types of potatoes, spinach, lettuce, shelling peas, blueberry bushes, parsley (2 overwintered!), oregano, sage (had to cut off winter-killed leaves but it's come back strong), 3 new apple trees.

The lily of the valley are done. The purple Siberian Iris are halfway done. The Johnny-Jump-Up pansies by the shed continue to delight. There's a clump by the shed, of mixed-up Fireweed and a tall red penstemon - I'll look forward to the hummingbirds going after the penstemon.

In one of the "blueberry" beds, the one I put hummingbird attracting mix in, I now have things I didn't get last year - Arroyo Lupine (4-5 feet tall!!, multiple flowering stems), and Sweet William Pinks (in white, and pink, and deep red). I need to either save flowers from, or weed out, all the chamomile I grew there previously. I miss the Scarlet Sage and Rocket Larkspur I had last year, but they haven't shown up (yet?).

In the other "blueberry" bed, which might now be better termed the chives bed, I had to pull out a lot of the chives, and cut the bolting cilantro shorter. I made room down the center for a row of hollyhock seeds (we'll see if they grow). And at one end are a few potatoes - since we re-use last year's potato bag soil for this year's lawn patching, occasionally there's a "surprise potato" in the lawn. Those get dug up, and stuffed into a little trench at the end of the chives bed.
***
Everyone stay safe out there, from viruses, and all other harms...

Posted by: Pat* at May 30, 2020 04:58 PM (2pX/F)

92 Treasure Valley sound spectacular, Pat*. If I hadn't settled in here, I would be tempted.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at May 30, 2020 05:37 PM (/+bwe)

93 thathalfrican: "Any advice for crabgrass and dandelion infestations, besides weed killer? I want these bastards gone."

Not really, besides the weed killer.

If you really do want them gone, plan on a one year project. Don't fight too hard on spray applications. Just mow and bag the seed-saturated clippings to get the next year's crop down into the low millions for the current year.

Also, to get an early start, apply a pre-emergent herbicide (dithiopyr) now. Current studies conclude that for crabgrass, you make two applications per season in a split application. The reason is to split the dosage over a longer period so that the pre-emergent resides in the top layer of soil longer for better control. It does indeed work, but timing is important.

For dandelion, it's a winter/spring broadleaf weed, so you need a fall pre-emergent for it. And to help the process, just mow the dandelion when you see the flowers. By keeping down the flowering, you stop the prolific seeding. (Try prodiamine or pendimethalin as they remain in the soil longer over the winter compared to dithiopyr.)

Usually, after one season of pre-emergent, you'll be rid of the vast majority of weeds. Then keep the lawn fed and mowed regularly and it'll start taking care of itself. You may even be able to reduce or even remove pre-emergent applications.

One trick I've found to reduce chemical applications is to make one, may two, passes around the lawn perimeter with granular pre-emergent to keep the initial weed invasion down, and that's it. Or look for spots where drainage enters your property and concentrate your attention there since that's where most infestations get their start. You can really reduce your costs and applications if you focus on trouble spots first as opposed to treating every square foot equally.

But I still haven't found an "organic" way of removing weeds from a problematic lawn. Been looking for decades, but at some point, you sort of have to bite the bullet and get after it to get the lawn to a healthy, competitive state. Also, timely aeration is extremely helpful. Grass loves it even though it gets torn up a bit in the process.

Posted by: AnonyBotymousDrivel at May 30, 2020 05:47 PM (HhXSr)

94 Such gorgeous pictures!

Posted by: Summer of Love at May 30, 2020 07:39 PM (FJrl0)

Processing 0.02, elapsed 0.0207 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0085 seconds, 102 records returned.
Page size 78 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.