Saturday Gardening Thread: February 16 [KT]

From Drabs to Fabs (Furniture refinishers in Utah)

Hello, gardeners and garden dreamers. Some photography, and some content from The Horde. Hope you have some fun with it today. This is unusual:

Maybe this will make more sense:

Credit Charlene Laurence

Passion Fruits

From Wee Kreek Farm Girl in Arizona:

My passion fruit vine is braving the cold alright. I never realized that a passion vine will fruit twice a year. Spring and fall. Spring is obviously better as my passion fruit is struggling to ripen in the cold as you can see from the pictures. They wrinkle up but they also should turn a bit purple, I am getting a bit of wrinkling but not much purple so far. My spring crop last year was about 20 passion fruit. Next year I am going to try to air layer one of the vines to make another plant to put on another section of fencing. It seems to like it hear and is covering about 25 feet of fencing.

She has a Frederick passion fruit, which is a Passiflora edulis variety. It makes a difference which cultivar you get. Sunset says this fruit does not do well in hot weather, but she can grow this one in Arizona. There are some other edible passion fruits, too. Most are tropical.

I tried growing a P. edulis once in Southern California, but I couldn't get it to produce fruit. And here are fruits in winter, in Arizona!

I found some pictures from last year of the passion vine when it was flowering. I put this plant in, in memory of my mom who had passed 3 years ago. She loved passion fruit, so the plaque you can almost see it one of the pics says Sherry's Passion but the vine has overtaken the plaque.

A beautiful remembrance of your mother.

At least my P. edulis was not as attractive to caterpillars as the more common ornamental passion flowers. Here is some pretty good information on growing passion fruits in Southern California

I have always wanted to grow the cultivar 'Incense", which is said to be root-hardy to Zone 5. It has 5 inch flowers that smell like sweet peas. The fruits are said to have fragrant, tasty pulp. It is a hybrid between our native Maypop, which also has edible fruit that is kind of bland and an Argentinian species. There is something rattling around in my brain about cross-pollinating it with the Maypop to get fruit.

Gardening Questions of the Week

Le Vieux Garde asks:

Anybody know what this is?
Is it a groundcover gone wild or a prevalent weed?
Found an open ground in ditches all over my town.

Looks familliar . . . .

We apparently missed Suzanne's question last year, so here it is again:

This is my amaryllis and for two years it has been in this SW window. It has never bloomed. Why do you think that is? Thanks for any info you can spare me.

There may be some tips here. Anybody had success getting their amaryllis bulbs to repeat? How did you do it?

We would like hers to look something like this:

Last Week

Further to Gordon's question on naturalizing bulbs last week, besides the great tips from Tammy al-Thor on climate considerations, I would recommend checking specialist's catalogs and local nurseries for specific cultivars recommended for naturalizing. For example, even in good climates for tulips, some repeat much better than others. Also remember to consider:

Pest resistance (including rodents and deer)

Summer dryness requirements

Planting depth

Mulching and fertilizing

How often they need division

Do you have any reports on bulbs that have repeated well for you? Or did not repeat ?

Nice tips in the comments on rose varieties last week, too.

Critters

If spiders worked together, they could eat us all. Oh, my.

But the polar vortex probably killed off some invasive insect pests. Maybe even some stinkbugs. (h/t Instapundit)

Meanwhile, via Hank Curmudgeon, insects are disappearing from biology textbooks. Jeepers. What is going on with our educational system? In order to get people to remember that one in four creatures on earth is a beetle, people do things like name them after Game of Thrones dragons.

Gardens of The Horde

California Girl sent in some photos. Can you identify these?

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 01:14 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good afternoon Greenthumbs and Snowmen

Posted by: Skip. Finish the Wall at February 16, 2019 01:09 PM (/rm4P)

2 Corgis dutifully called
In a couple of weeks the Philadelphia Flower Show is held, a colorful floral wonderland to visit. Mar 2-10

Posted by: Skip. Finish the Wall at February 16, 2019 01:12 PM (/rm4P)

3 Thanks for the tip, Skip.

Posted by: KTbarthedoor at February 16, 2019 01:15 PM (BVQ+1)

4 Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

Posted by: Insomniac at February 16, 2019 01:15 PM (NWiLs)

5 Hiya

Posted by: JT at February 16, 2019 01:15 PM (nubzz)

6 All these colors scare me. It's Andrew Wyeth brown outside and has been for many months.

Posted by: t-bird at February 16, 2019 01:17 PM (Zo1XC)

7 KT are you the one with the pet gecko?

Posted by: lin-duh at February 16, 2019 01:17 PM (kufk0)

8 I really like arbors, covered with foliage or not. It gives such a Secret Garden ambiance to any yard. You step through and you're in a different place, hidden from the outside world (even if your neighbor is right over the fence). It sets a mood.

Posted by: JuJuBee, just generally being shamey at February 16, 2019 01:17 PM (zmIJL)

9 If I had a normal life I would love to go and get loads of photos of the show to send in.
But there are many horde members in this area so possibly someone is going.

Posted by: Skip. Finish the Wall at February 16, 2019 01:20 PM (/rm4P)

10 Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.
Posted by: Insomniac

Nice to see you, too !

Posted by: JT at February 16, 2019 01:20 PM (nubzz)

11 KT, you're holding down the Saturday fort. Great posts, thank you.

I've figured out what KT stands for: Kontent Tsar.

Posted by: DR.WTF at February 16, 2019 01:21 PM (T71PA)

12 no sorry, the pic does not make sense uoside down either

is the rock falling?

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at February 16, 2019 01:23 PM (BJlbN)

13 Great photos!
The 15 or so inches of global warming is almost gone from atop my crocus patch and now perhaps we can get on with Spring.
Looks like the tulips and daffs have survived a well.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 16, 2019 01:23 PM (0tfLf)

14 oh a pond
never mind

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at February 16, 2019 01:24 PM (BJlbN)

15 What ever became of Breadfruit? I never see it in the stores.

Captain Bligh was all on a mission and then poof! we never heard of the stuff again.

With the burning times ahead, would it make a good food source?

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at February 16, 2019 01:26 PM (Z+IKu)

16 For once I have something to contribute to the gardening thread! The purple stuff is called henbit; it's an edible weed, related to mint. I've got a bunch in my yard, bringing a bit of color before the bluebonnets take off.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at February 16, 2019 01:26 PM (R3HPb)

17 Love the rock picture with the water looking like sky until its viewed with correct orientation. Lovely flowers. I'm actually jealous of the snow. At least the mountains in the state are getting snow so irrigation water should be available for the farmers, but I sure would like to get a good dump of wet snow on our ground.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at February 16, 2019 01:26 PM (jUcoH)

18 Nice to see you, too !
Posted by: JT at February 16, 2019 01:20 PM (nubzz)

It's tradition, I can't just stop!

Posted by: Insomniac at February 16, 2019 01:28 PM (NWiLs)

19 Le Vieux Garde's plant looks like henbit. It's a weed, but a pretty one. It fades out when the weather gets hot. California Girls's second plant could be Ribes aureum. I don't know enough about fungi to make a guess on the other picture.

Posted by: Don at February 16, 2019 01:28 PM (2odZQ)

20 Physics nazi says the trees are not real, they are virtual.

Posted by: I like cookies at February 16, 2019 01:28 PM (xxAFD)

21 Good afternoon, y'all.

As to the 'what is it' photos, the first one is a tree with funny stuff growing on it. D'uh! (Can't remember the name of the mushroomy stuff.)

Posted by: JTB at February 16, 2019 01:31 PM (bmdz3)

22 As to the 'what is it' photos, the first one is a tree with funny stuff growing on it. D'uh! (Can't remember the name of the mushroomy stuff.)
Posted by: JTB
----
Maybe mushrooms?

Posted by: lin-duh at February 16, 2019 01:31 PM (kufk0)

23 Thanks for the h/t KT, though it was not deserved! I could do better as far as tips on bulbs go.
Suzanne might try putting her amaryllis in a smaller pot; they like to be somewhat root-bound. They also need to thoroughly dry out at some point,which I think is what forces the dormancy they need.
I"m gonna go with weed on that purple-flowered thing.... I"ve had it everywhere I ever lived!

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at February 16, 2019 01:32 PM (VLXcj)

24 22 ..." (Can't remember the name of the mushroomy stuff.)
Posted by: JTB
----
Maybe mushrooms?"

lin-duh, I'm paranoid. I always think the obvious answer is a trap. :-)

Posted by: JTB at February 16, 2019 01:35 PM (bmdz3)

25 Ok, the rock pic is cool. Now, back to lurking so my black thumb does not kill the thread.

Posted by: tbodie at February 16, 2019 01:36 PM (TUUTu)

26 Not at the farm this weekend. The forecast is for rain the next ten days straight. So I'm at home on the couch with WeaselDog resting and saving energy for when the active farming starts.

Posted by: Weasel at February 16, 2019 01:37 PM (MVjcR)

27 The bottom photo looks like a type of gooseberry or currant.

Posted by: Emmie at February 16, 2019 01:41 PM (4HMW8)

28 While I don't have much of a green thumb (I'm more of a lawn nazi), the RMBS Mom's amaryllis blooms every year, and last year or the year before it bloomed again in the summer. Not sure why, but it was a nice treat.

Posted by: A seal at February 16, 2019 01:43 PM (baPEg)

29 one of the few things I recall from horticulture 40+ years ago ... mints have square stems.

Lots of them around here ... they are nice, except in the fields with crops ... not really a problem there, a winter annual that shows up though. If there is a lot of it, it sucks up moisture (usually bad) and keeps the ground colder (always bad).

Nice memory of Mom with the passion fruit. Beyond the nice sentimentality, a reminder of heritage and how we got here seems essential, especially as the DotComs try to remake us in their own image. (or into their preferred impulse driven consumer widget)

Posted by: illiniwek at February 16, 2019 01:44 PM (Cus5s)

30 Photos of lunar craters sometimes produce an illusion that they are hummocks, until you look at them upside down.

Posted by: Anna Keppa at February 16, 2019 01:45 PM (ooMrJ)

31 Aside from not killing the house plants (their continuation is not a given) the only gardening news is in the backyard.

Our lilac has a lot of buds showing the first signs swelling. We're hoping for some good blossoms and that gorgeous lilac scent this spring.

The little dogwood, which started out the size of a pencil, has survived, grown and has plenty of buds. This is the second winter for it and so far so good. Either we are doing something right or it is one determined little tree. Maybe we should name it Bilbo: small but surprisingly tough.

Posted by: JTB at February 16, 2019 01:46 PM (bmdz3)

32 The maple tree in our backyard has buds already.

Posted by: Weasel at February 16, 2019 01:50 PM (MVjcR)

33 Thanks, Don, for the plant ID. I recently moved and I know very little about the plants at my new home.

Posted by: California Girl (not Caligirl) at February 16, 2019 01:51 PM (L9+g/)

34 Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.
Posted by: Insomniac

............

Well, ain't you the cheery one!

Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at February 16, 2019 01:52 PM (438dO)

35 That purple flower looks like what we call Creeping Charlie.

Posted by: Mrs. Leggy at February 16, 2019 01:53 PM (Vf4Y7)

36 lin-duh at February 16, 2019 01:17 PM

No, I don't have a gecko. It's the daughter of one of my friends who is married to a veterinarian who has the gecko.

I understand that they eat spiders in Arizona.

Posted by: KTbarthedoor at February 16, 2019 01:53 PM (BVQ+1)

37 Elisabeth, Nice to see you post. Hope things are going well.

"The forecast is for rain the next ten days straight. So I'm at home on the couch with WeaselDog resting and saving energy for when the active farming starts."

Weasel, To quote Jeremiah Johnson, "Sound Wisdom". And I'm sure WeaselDog agrees.

Posted by: JTB at February 16, 2019 01:54 PM (bmdz3)

38 I would like to be back in my workroom scheduling out early starts( indoor) but instead I'm back out shoveling more snow off the roofs I put an addition on the back of my house last summer the roof pitch isn't steep enough for the snow to slide off by itself. The pile of snow I have shoveled off that roof is now about 9 feet high, almost to the edge of the roof that being said I still love winter. Need to plan out my early starts I live about 50 plus miles north of Spokane yet my garden season is the same as Anchorage Alaska

Posted by: Sock monkey at February 16, 2019 01:55 PM (SLTeJ)

39 19 Le Vieux Garde's plant looks like henbit. It's a weed, but a pretty one. It fades out when the weather gets hot. California Girls's second plant could be Ribes aureum. I don't know enough about fungi to make a guess on the other picture.
Posted by: Don at February 16, 2019 01:28 PM (2odZQ)

Henbit! That's it! I knew the name was chicken-y but couldn't recall. Wasn't chickweed.

Posted by: Emmie at February 16, 2019 01:55 PM (4HMW8)

40 votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at February 16, 2019 01:23 PM

It took me a while to understand that it was a pond, too.

Posted by: KTbarthedoor at February 16, 2019 01:56 PM (BVQ+1)

41 The only time my amaryllis hasn't bloomed was when I didn't care for it enough the summer before. I have two that were sent to my husband's funeral service - they were blooming in December 2013, and have rebloomed every year except last summer.
When I arrived here in SC, I placed the pots, completely dry, in the front closet and promptly forgot about them. I figured I'd let them rest for a few months. You can imagine my surprise when I opened the closet and found long pale leaves and a bud.
The bonus this year is that seed pods have formed on one of them, so we'll have more plants next year!

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at February 16, 2019 01:57 PM (NMAzL)

42 illiniwek at February 16, 2019 01:44 PM

Great point on heritage.

Posted by: KTbarthedoor at February 16, 2019 02:00 PM (BVQ+1)

43 I saw Creeping Charlie open for the Wandering Jews in Miami civic Center in 95'
Meh seriously I have a brown thumb but I do have a rose tattoo.

Posted by: sOME mORON at February 16, 2019 02:00 PM (ICWiF)

44 OT:

Argh. I think all these dietary restrictions people subject themselves to is a commie plot. It makes it such a hassle to have a community feast. The commies want to break down all of our voluntary associations and our families and one way to do that is to destroy our enjoyment of breaking bread together.

*sees bread; eeek! gluten!; runs away screaming hysterically*

Posted by: Emmie at February 16, 2019 02:01 PM (4HMW8)

45 Imagine how many more hurricanes we'll have now that Cali's train is cancelled.

Posted by: Lurking Lurker at February 16, 2019 02:02 PM (rLCkV)

46 The purple stuff is called henbit; it's an edible weed, related to mint.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at February 16, 2019 01:26 PM (R3HPb)

That's nice to know! We can critique its flavor and swap recipes in a few months on 2 threads. And have salad during the burning times, too.

Posted by: OldDominionMom at February 16, 2019 02:02 PM (t0Z53)

47 Anybody know what this is? Is it a groundcover gone wild or a prevalent weed? Found an open ground in ditches all over my town.

From the leaves and flowers, looks like henbit or purple henbit. It's a member of the mint family and has square stems. If the stems are square, that's it.

Henbit and purple henbit are edible.

Posted by: Guy Smiley at February 16, 2019 02:03 PM (talIc)

48 I have been trying to figure out the last picture with some help from Google image search. One plant that looks similar is Celandine (Chelidonium majus). The leaves look similar and there are 4 petal and five petal varieties.

Posted by: 40 miles north at February 16, 2019 02:04 PM (o2vOl)

49 I understand that [geckos] eat spiders in Arizona.
Posted by: KTbarthedoor

But in New Mexico, they have dietary restrictions.

Posted by: mikeski at February 16, 2019 02:07 PM (P1f+c)

50 I'm starting pepper seeds today. Trying a new one (new to me, anyway) called Habanada. It's supposed to have the fruitiness of a Habanero, but not the scorching heat.

Posted by: OldDominionMom at February 16, 2019 02:08 PM (t0Z53)

51 Just watching a mushroom doc on tv with the wife. I like mushrooms, but its way to complicated for me to learn all of the safe vs poisonous. Some mimic others, so I'll leave that to others and eat packaged.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at February 16, 2019 02:10 PM (r+sAi)

52 In California surely geckos are vegetarians

I think it was end of December noticed daffys popping out of the ground and was worried they wouldn't survive, well they did and are a couple of inches out of the ground.

Posted by: Skip. Finish the Wall at February 16, 2019 02:11 PM (/rm4P)

53 Since moving to CO I've been trying to identify these weird (to me) "cherry bushes" as I've been calling them. They look nothing at all like the cherry trees back east. These are bushes and the fruits grow not in the familiar cherry clusters but all up and down along the branches. Profusely, to the point that you see more cherries than branches.

Turns out they are called Nanking cherries. They do not grow naturally in the wild but escape from cultivation. I see these along trail-sides all over the front range. Now that I know what they are and that they are safe to eat, I'm looking forward to next autumn when they fruit! Sure will be easier to pick that back-east cherries since the bushes only grow to about 8-10 feet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_tomentosa

Posted by: Guy Smiley at February 16, 2019 02:12 PM (talIc)

54 Henbit is difficult to get rid of in grass without killing the grass, too.

What we call Creeping Charlie has similar leaves but doesn't bloom to speak of and spreads out in long strings low on the ground so it doesn't get mown. It's also difficult to get rid of permanently.

Posted by: Ralph L at February 16, 2019 02:13 PM (dYZMU)

55 The wife's Amaryllis blooms every year, sometimes twice a year. They multiply by making another bulb beside the mother bulb. I don't know how they do it. They just do.

Posted by: Ronster at February 16, 2019 02:13 PM (DqSCh)

56 was 58 at 4pm two days ago, then 14 the next morning. Below freezing for another week, but I just saw the daffodils are already up an inch. A foot of snow probably kept the ground a little warmer. Spring has begun ... snow geese have been flying over as well ... and some Canadian geese. Looking forward to the songbirds singing ...

Posted by: illiniwek at February 16, 2019 02:13 PM (Cus5s)

57 No, I don't have a gecko. It's the daughter of one of my friends who is married to a veterinarian who has the gecko.

I understand that they eat spiders in Arizona.
Posted by: KTbarthedoor at February 16, 2019 01:53 PM (BVQ+1)

Just in Arizona? Do they take the train to get there?

Posted by: Anonymous White Male at February 16, 2019 02:16 PM (3sjI6)

58 KT, Thanks for another gardening thread. By its nature (no pun intended) it is positive and life enhancing.

BTW, I would have laughed at the top photo but, growing up in Rhode Island in the 50s, I had plenty of both shoveling and hurricanes.

Posted by: JTB at February 16, 2019 02:16 PM (bmdz3)

59 The first photo is of Tree Oysters and I can't remember the name of the second plant.

Posted by: Surfperch implores you to donate to Ace and keep the blog alive at February 16, 2019 02:22 PM (tVQUs)

60 50 ... "I'm starting pepper seeds today. Trying a new one (new to me, anyway) called Habanada. It's supposed to have the fruitiness of a Habanero, but not the scorching heat."

OldDominionMom, if those peppers turn out as you hope, please let us know. I can't tolerate anything hotter than bell peppers but Mrs. JTB likes a bit of heat now and then. It would be nice to grow something like that for her.

Posted by: JTB at February 16, 2019 02:22 PM (bmdz3)

61 Those mushrooms on the tree do look like oyster mushrooms. Not sure though. Usually mushrooms on trees are bad news for the tree.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at February 16, 2019 02:22 PM (r+sAi)

62 Ralph L at February 16, 2019 02:13 PM

The Creeping Charlie I'm thinking of has little purple flowers that look sort of like orchid. Really tiny, though. And they are kind of hidden most of the time.

Hard to remove from grass.

Posted by: KTbarthedoor at February 16, 2019 02:23 PM (BVQ+1)

63 I can't eat gluten, but I can eat plenty of GF bread.

If I eat just a small amount of wheat, I get horrid sores on my skin that take forever to heal (it's a form of Celiac Disease), so I avoid it like the plague!

Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, Texas at February 16, 2019 02:26 PM (uDcBt)

64 Trametes versicolor...google "Turkey tail mushroom".

The henbit is a cool season weed in the mint (Lamiaceae) family: you can tell by the square stems and the type and shape of the blooms. Tastes like $hit, but you can live on it, as they say

Amaryllis need a rest period in order to stimulate the formation of a flower stalk: let it dry out somewhere dark and cool-ish for about 6 weeks, then pull it out and treat as normal.

Posted by: Brunette the 'Ette at February 16, 2019 02:29 PM (adsVM)

65 Henbit, eh? What clever commenters you all are! ( this is where you curtsey and bow )
And edible too? Strictly carnivore here but I'll try it out on vegans and tell them no, it is not henbane.

Posted by: Le Garde Vieux at February 16, 2019 02:33 PM (swldI)

66 The 'tree mushrooms' have a name which escapes me. However I do know they are harvested to brew natural dyes.

Posted by: kallisto at February 16, 2019 02:36 PM (7U5Zw)

67 63 I can't eat gluten, but I can eat plenty of GF bread.

If I eat just a small amount of wheat, I get horrid sores on my skin that take forever to heal (it's a form of Celiac Disease), so I avoid it like the plague!
Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, Texas at February 16, 2019 02:26 PM (uDcBt)

I've got the same thing. Also, gluten affects my thyroid. I haven't eaten wheat in years.

Posted by: Ladyl at February 16, 2019 02:37 PM (TdMsT)

68 I just ordered my JD's C-Tex tomato seeds.
Seeds were $2.50 but the shipping was $4.95....

Posted by: lin-duh at February 16, 2019 02:37 PM (kufk0)

69 I want to get pepper seeds started as soon as I can, they never seem to get done until after the season is over. Maybe inside in a month.

Posted by: Skip. Finish the Wall at February 16, 2019 02:40 PM (/rm4P)

70 Have a quick question about moles. Just recently showed up in my yard. I've used some of those chemical worms and bought some of those beeper spikes you insert in the ground to irritate them.

Anyone else have some experience and tips for getting rid of them?

Posted by: Biergood at February 16, 2019 02:45 PM (uGKH7)

71 Not much to say about Idaho's Treasure Valley again. A 5th catalog showed up - Burpee Warminster, PA). But we already have all our seeds, so it's mostly useful for fantasizing what flowers we might eventually plant.

This week's lows have been 25 to 35 F, highs 34 to 52. We've had over an inch of rain this week. When I walked out to the back paddock to get a rake yesterday, parts of the lawn made squish-sounds. Another batch of leaves, damp this time, got dispatched into the trash. Not long after I came in, we had a 2-minute burst of sleet or midget hail!

Right behind the house, and in a sheltered corner, we have hyacinth bulbs that are about 4 inches tall, daffodils up to 3 inches, and even a few tulip leaves showing. The crocus sprouts in the far back corner look like they've grown a tad, maybe an inch and a half tall now.

I guess I could mention the gigantic poinsettia a friend gave me at Christmastime. There's a WikiHow on choosing them, and caring for them if you want them to rebloom. So far this one's looking great; though we have a long way to go yet.

If we want to wait for a waxing moon to plant indoor seeds, I think we wait until March 7th or so.

Posted by: Pat* at February 16, 2019 02:49 PM (2pX/F)

72 60 JTB, it sounds like you and I could share shoes. I can grow enough jalapenos to fill the garage fridge with pickled peppers for O.D.Dad, but can't eat them myself. He puts them on everything. I like Anaheims and Bananas. And Poblanos for stuffing.

The seeds I got are from Territorial Seed Co. I'm also trying what they call a Pizza Pepper. "The heaviest and most thick walled we've ever seen with just a hint of zing." We shall see. I'll let you know.

Posted by: OldDominionMom at February 16, 2019 02:51 PM (t0Z53)

73 You can set mouse traps for moles, actually have caught some inside my garage. Try some out in garden, use peanut butter unless got another bait idea.

Posted by: Skip. Finish the Wall at February 16, 2019 02:55 PM (/rm4P)

74 >>> 68 I just ordered my JD's C-Tex tomato seeds.
Seeds were $2.50 but the shipping was $4.95....
Posted by: lin-duh at February 16, 2019 02:37 PM (kufk0)

...yeah, seems pricy for shipping seeds. Hopefully they will give you lots of tomatoes.

Shouldn't you get some catnip for all those kittens you're getting?

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at February 16, 2019 02:56 PM (0ReGO)

75 PS: Next weekend, I'll be attending a 4-H training event. I'll try to post on Saturday night. (But if I happen to miss a week, there probably isn't much to say at this season anyway.)

Posted by: Pat* at February 16, 2019 02:56 PM (2pX/F)

76 You can set mouse traps for moles, actually have caught some inside my garage. Try some out in garden, use peanut butter unless got another bait idea.
Posted by: Skip. Finish the Wall

Great idea! Didn't think of that. I'll definitely give that a try.

Posted by: Biergood at February 16, 2019 02:58 PM (uGKH7)

77 Pets are up!

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at February 16, 2019 03:01 PM (0ReGO)

78 72 ... ODM, Thanks for the information. Even I can deal with banana peppers.

Posted by: JTB at February 16, 2019 03:09 PM (bmdz3)

79 Shouldn't you get some catnip for all those kittens you're getting?
Posted by: Helena Handbasket
------
no kitten today. Couple of more weeks...

Posted by: lin-duh at February 16, 2019 03:39 PM (kufk0)

80 Have a Philodendren house plant. You know, the heart shaped leaves.

Weirdest thing, it's pretty big. Maybe a little root bound now. Well I went to water it. Not a plant guy, K? Well the pot was full of water. !? I don't know. Anyway I emptied it out. It's not looking too good. Can I cut it back? Would that help it?

Posted by: Common Tater at February 16, 2019 03:52 PM (cdo+X)

81 80: I had an old house plant that stopped using water and nearly died. I put it in a bigger pot with new soil and its coming back. My guess is that even with using plant food the soil plays out and has to be replaced after about 5 years.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at February 16, 2019 03:54 PM (jUcoH)

82 That sounds about a perfect description. I'll figure something out. It was a funeral ..."gift" when dad died in 2012. I feel guilty if I don't take care of it. Not too guilty. Dad joked he killed houseplants by pouring mixed drinks out on them. He wasn't a plant guy either. Thanks.

Posted by: Common Tater at February 16, 2019 03:59 PM (cdo+X)

83 Just checking in with me pals. Your gardens are all lovely showplaces. I'm down in the dumps.

Posted by: Plum at February 16, 2019 04:00 PM (5MFsW)

84 Helena Handbasket at February 16, 2019 02:56 PM

There are some catalogs with high shipping charges like that. Pricey for small orders, especially. Some of them encourage group orders.

Posted by: KTbarthedoor at February 16, 2019 04:01 PM (BVQ+1)

85 Exactly; I don't want to kill mine that lives at work cuz it was a gift when my mom died in 2012. I'm not great with plants but so far its still alive.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at February 16, 2019 04:03 PM (jUcoH)

86 My amaryllis repeated this year. How I did it: Last year it was placed in the south window at work, 7th floor, constant sunlight, referred to as the Amaryllis Rehab Center (ARC). After flowering, it grew most of the summer. Some time during the summer, I stopped watering it and moved it under my desk at work. As the leaves died off, I cut them off. When it was quite dormant, I moved it to a dark cool place in my basement. In early December (I think), I took it back to work and placed it back into the ARC, watering it once a week. After about 2-3 weeks I saw leaves begin to sprout, then finally a thick growth that turned out to be a stalk with four flowers on it. It bloomed last weekend.

Posted by: Nancy at 7000 ft at February 16, 2019 04:14 PM (Nrxta)

87 Wood decay fungus looks like one of the Trametes (sp.).
I sure hope that's on a cut log and not an upright (for awhile) tree!

Posted by: MarkY at February 16, 2019 04:22 PM (DtoPC)

88 We have a Philodendren for over 25 years in the same pot, never change the dirt. Toss it outside in summertime and get little heart shape red flowers every year.

Posted by: Skip. Finish the Wall at February 16, 2019 04:32 PM (/rm4P)

89 Interesting Skip. I wonder if the outdoors allows new material to be added to the dirt, or if potting soil just used to be better. I had never repotted mine cuz I figured I don't need it to get any bigger and I give it fertilizer spikes. At first I thought a co-worker was trying to be nice and it was getting a bunch of extra water. But in that plant's case between becoming root bound and the soil it came in getting pretty gummy it just wasn't taking up water anymore and putting it in new potting soil and I did use a real pot vs the plastic dish in a basket it had come in rescued it. It should be good for another 5-6 years now I hope.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at February 16, 2019 04:43 PM (jUcoH)

90 That top picture of the rock represents the Democrat / #NeverTrumper view of the US, our problems, and the world today.

That bottom picture of the rock represents the Conservative / traditional view of the same.

Posted by: LeftCoast Dawg at February 16, 2019 04:48 PM (sy5kK)

91 Nice to see you, too !
Posted by: JT at February 16, 2019 01:20 PM (nubzz)

It's tradition, I can't just stop!
Posted by: Insomniac

I know, I know !

Posted by: JT at February 16, 2019 04:56 PM (nubzz)

92 38
... Need to plan out my early starts I live about 50 plus miles north of Spokane yet my garden season is the same as Anchorage Alaska
Posted by: Sock monkey at February 16, 2019 01:55 PM (SLTeJ)

Hey Sock monkey! Are you planning to come to the PacNWMoMe in May? It is in Yakima, because us dry-siders wanted to make the location centralized. And also dry-side Morons from WA and OR, and ID and MT, could attend too!

email Mark Andrew Edwards, link on top left.

Posted by: LeftCoast Dawg at February 16, 2019 04:58 PM (sy5kK)

93 Is the tree bark growth a lichen?

Posted by: kallisto at February 16, 2019 05:00 PM (DwZvw)

94 Us wet-siders, geez, I live on the wet-side.

Posted by: LeftCoast Dawg at February 16, 2019 05:00 PM (sy5kK)

95 Skip. Finish the Wall at February 16, 2019 04:32 PM
You sure that is a philodendron and not, say, an anthurium?

Posted by: KT at February 16, 2019 08:50 PM (BVQ+1)

96 My all-time favorite bulb is ranunculus. But, unfortunately, they do not grow in zone 6A, southern Idaho. They sure grew prolific in my old home in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada but will not return just to have ranunculus. So I bought myself some pretty good looking fake ones and that will have to suffice.

Posted by: S.Lynn at February 16, 2019 08:53 PM (bRHI1)

97 Biergood: "Anyone else have some experience and tips for getting rid of them?"

Victor Out O'Sight Mole Trap

Only traps are reliable. Pretty much everything else is a waste of money. The scissor-type from Victor is excellent IF you can find a reused mole run and set the trap right. Go to YouTube and search for how to set the traps properly. They can visually explain it better than I could describe. But they do work.

Or maybe you can get a pet hawk.

Posted by: AnonyBotymousDrivel at February 16, 2019 08:59 PM (6eEQ+)

98 kallisto: "Is the tree bark growth a lichen?"

It's the fruiting body of a fungus. Whatever tree it is on is likely in a world of hurt. The fungal hyphae are winnowing their way through the tree with much vigor.

Posted by: AnonyBotymousDrivel at February 16, 2019 09:03 PM (6eEQ+)

99 Thank you KT for sharing the picture and my question concerning my amaryllis that just doesn't bloom. I appreciated the link you put out there. Nice site. A "thank you" to all that told me your amaryllis story and advise.

I will share another pick when I get a bloom, hopefully. lol

Posted by: Suzanne at February 17, 2019 07:17 AM (NLEnr)

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