Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Feb. 25

Well, bad weather, even in California, has made international news.

Los Angeles has first blizzard warning in decades
As much as five feet of snow could fall in some areas of usually balmy Southern California

Well, in the mountains. How is the weather treating you and your yard or garden?

Fortunately, we have friends in the Southeast. See the lovely photo above, of a swallowtail on plum blossoms. There are also photos of a bee making plums and some blueberry blossoms below.

Edible Gardening/Farming/Putting Things By

We've already learned a little about the Super Pig Invasion that started in Canada.

A hybrid breed of super pigs--a mix of a domestic pig and a wild boar--is running wild in Canada. And now they have their sights set on the United States.
Originally crossbred to help farmed pigs grow larger and tolerate the cold temperatures of Canada, a drop in the market about two decades ago led some farmers to let their hybrid pigs run free. Now they're running very free, according to Field and Stream. The super pigs are coming south, likely heading to Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Michigan.
The problem? The super pigs are proving hard to eradicate.

These critters seem smart. They eat waterfowl. They pose all sorts of problems, just like regular wild boars do elsewhere in the nation (only worse).

Got any ideas for dealing with them?

This is a domestic hog on our friend's farm. Apparently free from wild boar mixing. Still looks a little scary to me.

The mix that I like is 75% Berkshire, 10 Yorkshire 10 Gloucester Old Spot, 5 Tamworth. No Durock at all.

I have heard stories, years ago, of hunting wild boar/domestic hog mixes in the Mississippi River drainage area. They sounded massive and scary. Don't know if the wild boar part is the same as with the Canadian "super pigs". I'll leave their appearance to your imagination. Unless you have encountered one in real life.

Bacon

This is an Orange Hat micro dwarf tomato, growing in an Aerogarden.
It's said to have dense foliage, and this certainly does. I only planted three pods in the 5 pod garden and it appears that was a good choice!
Supposedly the tomato is cherry sized, a sweet one, with a thin skin. If it is (another dwarf I tried was very thick skinned) I'm going to plant another group outside.
Lirio100

This is fantastic!

International Travel and Adventure

Neal in Israel has done some traveling and has sent us some plant photos. Here are the first of them:

My wife and I visited in Amsterdam in December. When planning our visit, I of course included Amsterdam's small botanical garden, founded in the late 17th century.
Though a botanical garden obviously isn't at its best when the temperature is in the 0-4 degrees Celsius range, the visit was very interesting. We paid the additional fee for a private guided tour, and it was definitely worth the money.

Eastern Cape Giant Cycad - This is one of the oldest container plants in the Western world. It is estimated that it was brought to the Netherlands from South Africa over 300 years ago, and it's still going strong. This is a male plant and, as you can see, it is still virile.

A 300 year old potted plant!

Turkish manna ash, grafted onto local common ash rootstock

"Manna ash". Interesting for our grafters . . . .

Plant Nuts

Tommies are also squirrel resistant (compared to other crocuses)

Crocus tommasinianus is a reliable source of utter joy in the spring garden. In the autumn plant corms of different varieties, and in a few years, the bees and the ants will do the work for you and spread these beauties around, as they have done in our garden at Pershore. pic.twitter.com/qgJhjya3mD
— Alpine Garden Society (@AlpineGardenSoc) February 20, 2023

Gardens of The Horde

We have rain this weekend, snow and wind in the mountains. Anything going on in your yard, garden or neighborhood?

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Feb. 18

Any thoughts or questions?

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

Posted by: K.T. at 01:26 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 where's Skip?

Posted by: kallisto at February 25, 2023 01:27 PM (dCxaZ)

2 Good afternoon Greenthumbs
Poor Daffodils are 10 inches high and it's barely above freezing, but is the worst day for next week

Posted by: Skip at February 25, 2023 01:28 PM (xhxe8)

3 I watched this yesterday:

https://youtu.be/YouHvONe8bI

Now he's not getting a big crop of potatoes in those boxes but it did get me thinking. I have a small yard and a dog that needs access to part of it. The ground bakes really hard in the summer. And it's very windy here. I am thinking about experimenting with this since I have a lot of boxes from the move. I can drive in tposts, tape together boxes and attach to the tposts to keep them from blowing away. I can treat it like a square foot garden. It will mean buying potting soil and such. I can set it up to support a grow cover if needed. And I'm just trying to grow for me. The plants may loosen up the soil and give me a better garden the second year.

Anybody tried this?

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2023 01:35 PM (l6vlV)

4 Eagle covered in snow, Big Bear lake CA.
Live cam.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenko Solutions at February 25, 2023 01:35 PM (C+hp5)

5 Lirio's tomato variety sounds like a great one for small areas.

Posted by: KT at February 25, 2023 01:40 PM (rrtZS)

6 Posted by: Skip at February 25, 2023 01:28 PM (xhxe

Taking away your Frist! makes me smile

Posted by: kallisto at February 25, 2023 01:42 PM (dCxaZ)

7 Pondered all day to go out and burn up sticks and dead wood, but it's cold out.

Posted by: Skip at February 25, 2023 01:43 PM (xhxe8)

8 >> Los Angeles has first blizzard warning in decades

Scientific proof of Global Warm... I mean Climate Change! Reeeeeeeeeee!

Posted by: Science Believer at February 25, 2023 01:43 PM (uWF4x)

9 Blueberry blossoms are cute! It's nice to see how one of my favorite fruits start out.

Posted by: kallisto at February 25, 2023 01:48 PM (dCxaZ)

10 Driving to work one foggy morning I happened upon a large wild hog trotting along the shoulder...I mean LARGE...VW beetle large.

Posted by: BignJames at February 25, 2023 01:49 PM (AwYPR)

11 ooh that Aerogarden is really tempting me!

I am just here trying to not start any seeds yet ... but I wanna

and planning what trees absolutely need to come down this year (there's some kind of illness going thru the forest)

Posted by: BlackOrchid at February 25, 2023 01:50 PM (w0NJk)

12 I reckon we got about 37 flakes of snow from the storm.

Posted by: Weasel at February 25, 2023 01:55 PM (WoIMU)

13 Tomato pod looks great. I did a lot of container gardening last summer, and am always interested in new containers.

I planted a damson plum tree yesterday. I was hesitant but called the company, and the said to go for it as tree was dormant. Unlike some mail order trees, this one looks like a tree and not like a stick. Very exciting.

Posted by: CN at February 25, 2023 01:56 PM (Zzbjj)

14 and planning what trees absolutely need to come down this year

I'm heartbroken that I have to take down a tree directly in front of my house. Former owner planted a silver maple in the dead man strip.

Yep. A tree that gets 80 ft. tall is planted in that little strip of green between the sidewalk and the curb. What a freaking idiot, he couldn't have planted a city tree? So now my front lawn, which is tiny, is just mainly silver maple roots sticking out. But I don't care about that, it's what are the roots going to do to my foundation?

And, misplaced as it is, and potentially dangerous...that tree provides welcome shade in the summertime and a home for the birdies as well. It really hurts me that I have to terminate it.

Posted by: kallisto at February 25, 2023 01:57 PM (dCxaZ)

15 Was finishing a book, read it in a week

Posted by: Skip at February 25, 2023 01:59 PM (xhxe8)

16 We once got pigs from an old German lady. And yes, she had some large ones! When they were little, she taught them to be afraid of a stick. Full grown, you could break a stick on their back and they wouldn't notice it. But if they saw the stub, they would run off. She used a stick to herd them. We always had hampshires. They do a great job of breaking up the ground.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2023 01:59 PM (6lj/r)

17 In Sacramento CA, we have a Mediterranean climate that limits gardens, especially if a drought is happening (7 out of 10 years). However drought resistant plants do love the long sunny days. Its the 110F highs in summer and the 30F lows in winter that make gardening difficult, and good grass a nigh impossibility without extensive watering. However given all that I have sustained an acceptable garden for humming birds - the voracious little spider eaters.

Posted by: Matthew Iskra at February 25, 2023 01:59 PM (bX0d3)

18 >> the Super Pig Invasion that started in Canada.

I hope they make it to Seattle. One of the lefties down the street allows rats to live in her back yard for 'nature' reasons. The number of lefties killed by 'coexisting' with wild hogs could be illustrative.

Posted by: 40 Miles North at February 25, 2023 01:59 PM (uWF4x)

19 And, misplaced as it is, and potentially dangerous...that tree provides welcome shade in the summertime and a home for the birdies as well. It really hurts me that I have to terminate it.

yeah it can be hard

sounds like that one needs to go

I'm looking more at the disease - I don't own the woods so I can't stop it, but when a tree on my property is sick enough I feel I must have them cut down. these are massive oaks. every year I have at least one sick one. hoping my culling will stop this disease spreading down the hill. I'm the only one who cares and does this tho. my neighbor never cuts a tree, leaves them standing there dead. had two fall into the house?!?! and still

sigh

Posted by: BlackOrchid at February 25, 2023 02:01 PM (w0NJk)

20 My townhouse doesn't have much room for a garden, and I hadn't grown tomatoes for a few years. I saw a mention of something called micro dwarf tomato and thought I'd try it. The plants in the picture are 5 to 6 inches high, it's a little weird to see the tomato starting to grow!

Turns out there are quite a few of these micro dwarf varieties being offered now, although the plant size does vary. There's one that produces at four inches high! Most of the ones I'm looking at run from 6 to 15 inches high.

Posted by: Lirio100 at February 25, 2023 02:01 PM (w/VHS)

21 you like your Aerogarden tho, Lirio100?

Posted by: BlackOrchid at February 25, 2023 02:02 PM (w0NJk)

22 What lovely pictures!
I agree with kallisto, those blueberry blossoms are so cute, and they will be so yummy!
here in the Frozen Norf it is seed catalog time, planning the garden for spring; it always gets modified as we visit the Amish greenhouses to buy seedlings in a few months.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez - we are being gaslighted 24/365 at February 25, 2023 02:04 PM (VohFI)

23 I need to get someone out to take down trees next to the house. There is a line of trees along the fence line. I'd like to take out the little ones. I don't know what anything is yet. I want some elderberries and rugosa roses at the back by the alley. I'm feeding birds back there at the little tree. I just need to find out what spring and summer are like. Local hardware store has seed starting stuff out.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2023 02:05 PM (6lj/r)

24 I'm looking more at the disease - I don't own the woods so I can't stop it, but when a tree on my property is sick enough I feel I must have them cut down. these are massive oaks. every year I have at least one sick one. hoping my culling will stop this disease spreading down the hill. I'm the only one who cares and does this tho. my neighbor never cuts a tree, leaves them standing there dead. had two fall into the house?!?! and still

sigh
Posted by: BlackOrchid

Dunno where you are, or what type of oaks, but in the white oak and evergreen oak groups, most of the killer diseases can be controlled, even cured.
Get a Board Certified Master Arborist. Shouldn't be super expensive.

Posted by: MkY at February 25, 2023 02:07 PM (cPGH3)

25 Yes, I have two Aerogardens! The second is a 7 pod, although again I'm not using all seven. I'm getting ready to plant that one. These I intend to pot up and not keep there. I've waited as long as I can stand (!) to start planting for the summer--one going in is Genovese basil because I love the fragrance of that one.

Posted by: Lirio100 at February 25, 2023 02:07 PM (w/VHS)

26 Should mention ASCA certified arborist, too.

Posted by: MkY at February 25, 2023 02:08 PM (cPGH3)

27 Lovely fruit blossom pictures.

Posted by: PaleRider at February 25, 2023 02:14 PM (3cGpq)

28 >>> 3 I watched this yesterday:

https://youtu.be/YouHvONe8bI

Now he's not getting a big crop of potatoes in those boxes but it did get me thinking. I have a small yard and a dog that needs access to part of it. The ground bakes really hard in the summer. And it's very windy here. I am thinking about experimenting with this since I have a lot of boxes from the move. I can drive in tposts, tape together boxes and attach to the tposts to keep them from blowing away. I can treat it like a square foot garden. It will mean buying potting soil and such. I can set it up to support a grow cover if needed. And I'm just trying to grow for me. The plants may loosen up the soil and give me a better garden the second year.

Anybody tried this?
Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2023 01:35 PM (l6vlV)

Never seen this before but now I want to try it too!

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at February 25, 2023 02:17 PM (llON8)

29 Interesting week for weather around here. A couple of days ago we had a record high temperature of 80 degrees. The record it broke was from 150 years ago. (So much for the current global warming BS.) Today it's overcast and just above freezing. A few miles west of us the ground was snow covered. It won't last but looked impressive.

Posted by: JTB at February 25, 2023 02:17 PM (7EjX1)

30 Is that almond blossoms in that second photo?

Posted by: polynikes at February 25, 2023 02:19 PM (6pcCZ)

31 I've killed a "hybrid boar" while hog hunting in OH. Their snout is shorter than a 100% wild hog, and they lack the high shouldered profile associated with most Russian and Razorback boars. But they taste great, which you can't say for most wild boars (wild sows make fine table fare).

Posted by: PacosMojo at February 25, 2023 02:19 PM (juP73)

32 I started my gardening adventure with an Aerogarden. Then, when I moved into grow boxes and eventually the whole side yard, and six beds in front, the Aerogarden sat looking neglected.

I remember reading about some guy in Texas that has a corral setup on his property. Every year he gets it going. The wild hogs get used to it being there. And then he closes one end, and sets a one-way gate. And then he has his pork needs covered for his extended family for the year.

Now in North Dakota, Minnesota and Montana, I cannot imagine such a generous source of protein will wander off any of the reservations. They may wander on, but not off. I can also see the Hmong being cheerfully willing to make the trip north to rescue the locals from the invading hogs.

Posted by: Gordon Scott at February 25, 2023 02:20 PM (R8PVB)

33 My gallbladder just twinged at that salad.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at February 25, 2023 02:21 PM (Jg7EG)

34 It's been a mild winter for the most part. I have the feeling we are being set up for a nasty March. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the cherry tress blossoming about a month early and the daffodils showing. Just glorious when the bright sunlight hits them.

Posted by: JTB at February 25, 2023 02:21 PM (7EjX1)

35 17 In Sacramento CA, we have a Mediterranean climate that limits gardens, especially if a drought is happening (7 out of 10 years). However drought resistant plants do love the long sunny days. Its the 110F highs in summer and the 30F lows in winter that make gardening difficult, and good grass a nigh impossibility without extensive watering. However given all that I have sustained an acceptable garden for humming birds - the voracious little spider eaters.

Posted by: Matthew Iskra at February 25, 2023 01:59 PM (bX0d3)
----
That's odd. Mediterranean climate means wet winters and dry summers. California, at least the coastal area, is a desert climate. There are no droughts, just normal desert weather so when it rains it is the oddity. Remember the song 'It Never Rains In Southern California"? Also 'California Dreaming'.

Posted by: Ciampino - do you vellicate in your sleep at February 25, 2023 02:21 PM (qfLjt)

36 I am thrilled to hear about the micro dwarf tomatoes, Lirio100! Because of the deer out here, I have to use mesh cages to protect plants unless the deer don't like them. (The list of stuff they don't like is a VERY short one.) I tried tomato plants, but even supposedly compact ones grow two big for my cages.

The micro dwarfs might be a perfect solution--and I have an Aerogarden where I could start the seeds now so they'd be ready to plant in a few weeks.

I would so love to have fresh tomatoes!

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at February 25, 2023 02:22 PM (fTtFy)

37 Just received a flyer in the mail from Ace Hardware. Says on the front "Prepare for hummingbird season."

Didn't even know it was legal to hunt those little guys.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - Z28.310 at February 25, 2023 02:23 PM (Bd6X8)

38 The swallowtail pic makes me think I should call Mom & dad and see about all the swallowtail pupae dad gathered in last fall to save them from hungry birds. A butterfly garden is no good without any butterflies!

Posted by: exdem13 at February 25, 2023 02:24 PM (W+kMI)

39 It's official. Mrs. JTB approves of that bacon bits salad. But she might want to cut down on the greens.

Posted by: JTB at February 25, 2023 02:24 PM (7EjX1)

40 We can almost eradicate the bison but the wild hog population seems to be expanding despite widespread hunting. I think areas need to put out some type of birth control feed out for the hogs.

Posted by: polynikes at February 25, 2023 02:24 PM (6pcCZ)

41 40....

A healthy sow can have up to three litters per year.

Posted by: PacosMojo at February 25, 2023 02:29 PM (juP73)

42 Hogs of all kinds reproduce at an incredible rate. Local governments need to put out a cash bounty for every one killed.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 25, 2023 02:29 PM (jz8lK)

43 35
Well I stand corrected. It appears that coastal CA is considered a type of Med climate. Nice map and very good description here:
https://is.gd/ljX1fE

Posted by: Ciampino - do you vellicate in your sleep at February 25, 2023 02:30 PM (qfLjt)

44 Those wild boar/ pig hybrids offer a wonderful chance to relive history. A 45-70 round with a 500 grain bullet and 60 grains of black powder will do the job. It sure worked for the buffalo hunters in the late 1800s. A bit of history, healthy outdoors fun and nutrition. Win-win except for the hogs.

Or just call in an air strike.

Posted by: JTB at February 25, 2023 02:31 PM (7EjX1)

45 A healthy sow can have up to three litters per year.

Aw heck, I can drink 3 liters of beer a day!

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenko Solutions at February 25, 2023 02:32 PM (fXRJa)

46 40 We can almost eradicate the bison but the wild hog population seems to be expanding despite widespread hunting. I think areas need to put out some type of birth control feed out for the hogs.

Posted by: polynikes at February 25, 2023 02:24 PM (6pcCZ)
----
Does wild hog taste different to domestic pork?

Posted by: Ciampino -- do you vellicate in your sleep at February 25, 2023 02:32 PM (qfLjt)

47 snowy and wet here in my neck of the lack-of-woods.

Posted by: stochastic kulak anachronda at February 25, 2023 02:34 PM (cFL1s)

48 Oh, and growing potatoes in containers: Consider the squirrels. I had four barrels I was growing using the layering method. It went very well until time to harvest. What were those holes near the plant stems?

Out of four barrels I harvested about three pounds. Fricking squirrels got the rest.

Posted by: Gordon Scott at February 25, 2023 02:35 PM (R8PVB)

49 Trap wild hogs live, give them hog bullet proof vests and meth pumps, parachute them into Tehran. Hilarity ensues.

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenko Solutions at February 25, 2023 02:35 PM (fXRJa)

50 Trap wild hogs live, give them hog bullet proof vests and meth pumps, parachute them into Tehran. Hilarity ensues.

And that's how the meth-hogist denomination came to be.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - Z28.310 at February 25, 2023 02:37 PM (Bd6X8)

51 >>> 40 We can almost eradicate the bison but the wild hog population seems to be expanding despite widespread hunting. I think areas need to put out some type of birth control feed out for the hogs.
Posted by: polynikes at February 25, 2023 02:24 PM (6pcCZ)

Bison don't have litters of anywhere from 8 to 12 bisonlets. The problem with birth control feed is the same as with poison; you can't prevent any other animal from getting into it.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at February 25, 2023 02:38 PM (llON8)

52 Tom Servo @42-
Hog gestation roughly 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days., boom another litter as many as 15 at times.

Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 02:39 PM (0G42s)

53 Tom Servo @42-
Hog gestation roughly 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days., boom another litter as many as 15 at times.
Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 02:39 PM (0G42s)

How long until she weans? Or can sows breed while they're nursing?

Posted by: Fox 2! at February 25, 2023 02:40 PM (qyH+l)

54 The big bad wolf had the right idea, but he never really had a chance, did he?

Posted by: Gordon Scott at February 25, 2023 02:41 PM (R8PVB)

55 I ordered seeds for 5 varieties of micro tomatoes. I'll let you know how this experiment goes.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at February 25, 2023 02:41 PM (fTtFy)

56 Pondered all day to go out and burn up sticks and dead wood, but it's cold out.
Posted by: Skip

I removed the ice from my birdbath(s) and replaced the water.

They haven't re-froze (yet)

Posted by: JT at February 25, 2023 02:45 PM (T4tVD)

57 Snow on the Grapevine (I5) is no bueno.
The Grapevine is a tough drive on a good day.

Posted by: gourmand du jour, gimpy edition at February 25, 2023 02:45 PM (jTmQV)

58 It is gorgeous on the Gulf Coast today, after a foggy start. My taters are happy. I keep going out and using the Hula Hoe to deweed around our citrus trees. I am almost too late getting the cottonseed meal down.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at February 25, 2023 02:47 PM (yQpMk)

59 Snow on the Grapevine (I5) is no bueno.
The Grapevine is a tough drive on a good day.

Ooh-ooh, I just went out for a drive
But the highway is a slip-n-slide
With the snow falling all around
Now my pants are a darker shade of brown
You know these ain't snow tires
And to survive is my one desire
Should have watched the weather yesterday
Don't you know that

It's snowing the grapevine
Cars are spinning all around mine
Oh, it's snowing on the grapevine
Oh, I'm just about to lose my mind
Honey, honey, yeah

Posted by: Blanco Basura - Z28.310 at February 25, 2023 02:53 PM (Bd6X8)

60 Anybody tried this?
Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2023 01:35 PM (l6vlV)

I'm growing my taters in a 110gal plastic tank from Tractor Supply. So it's like growing in a single square foot gardening square. My plan is to harvest the potatoes at the start of April and replace the plants with about 10 Basils for the Summer, and then grown Fall potatoes starting in early September.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at February 25, 2023 02:54 PM (yQpMk)

61 76 and sunny in the coastal bend of Texas

Posted by: DanMan at February 25, 2023 02:58 PM (8uzBS)

62 The Grapevine is a tough drive on a good day.

Took the "old" grapevine route years ago. Technically closed, but motorcycles for the win.
Awesome Twisties but even then road in bad shape. Friend on his sidecar sat IN the car operating throttle and brake left handed. Good times. Great views. Wonder how much road is left now after so many years and recent storms.

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenko Solutions at February 25, 2023 02:59 PM (fXRJa)

63 I memory serves sows can breed while still nursing, probably why boars (and sows) will eat the odd piglet ot two.

Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 03:00 PM (0G42s)

64 Squirrels, yeah. I live near a strip of woods in northern VA. We also have deer, unlikely as that seems. I have an Asiatic lily I get flowers on maybe every other year--they apparently like the buds.

If this Orange Hat continues to do well I'm going for more micro dwarf seeds myself.

Posted by: Lirio100 at February 25, 2023 03:00 PM (w/VHS)

65 Jt your bird bath should be good now for the next week

Posted by: Skip at February 25, 2023 03:01 PM (xhxe8)

66 Jt your bird bath should be good now for the next week
Posted by: Skip

Unfrozen ?

Whoa !

Posted by: JT at February 25, 2023 03:03 PM (T4tVD)

67 Hey ma the hogs ate the baby!

https://tinyurl.com/2utjdk36

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenko Solutions at February 25, 2023 03:05 PM (fXRJa)

68 Hogs will eat your baby. They'll eat any thing they can including each other. They can crack hickory nuts, bones don't faze them.

Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 03:13 PM (0G42s)

69 And, dayum. I didn't need to see that Commissar.

Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 03:16 PM (0G42s)

70 My dog likes squirrels. He's even caught one. They do eat at the bird feeder and I've let him chase them several times. I am missing part of the fence on one side. When I get it fixed, he'll have more time free in the yard. There are so many things here that can eat up crops. We have grasshoppers too. That's why I'm thinking I might want to just play this year.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2023 03:16 PM (6lj/r)

71 Fat man on an ottoman, that's me.

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenko Solutions at February 25, 2023 03:17 PM (fXRJa)

72 >>> 70 My dog likes squirrels. He's even caught one. They do eat at the bird feeder and I've let him chase them several times. I am missing part of the fence on one side. When I get it fixed, he'll have more time free in the yard. There are so many things here that can eat up crops. We have grasshoppers too. That's why I'm thinking I might want to just play this year.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2023 03:16 PM (6lj/r)

Chickens *love* grasshoppers. And crickets, and spiders, and tomato cutworms, and ...

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at February 25, 2023 03:17 PM (llON8)

73 Wild hogs do not have growth enhancers, medications, etc, pretty much organic, Ciampino.

Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 03:18 PM (0G42s)

74 I can't do chickens. I have an autoimmune disease triggered by bird dander. I probably shouldn't be feeding the wild birds but I miss having chickens.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2023 03:20 PM (6lj/r)

75 We miss you too.
- the chickens

Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 03:29 PM (0G42s)

76 >>> 74 I can't do chickens. I have an autoimmune disease triggered by bird dander. I probably shouldn't be feeding the wild birds but I miss having chickens.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2023 03:20 PM (6lj/r)

Well, crap. So no birds at all?? Sorry to hear that.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at February 25, 2023 03:32 PM (llON8)

77 They put growth enhancers in hogs?
Hogs that literally eat anything?

Posted by: gourmand du jour, gimpy edition at February 25, 2023 03:36 PM (jTmQV)

78 LOL. It's hailing in Southern California. That hasn't happened in years.

Posted by: 40 Miles North at February 25, 2023 03:38 PM (uWF4x)

79 From Boise area: Lows 21-43 F, highs 37-54. Daytime sleet briefly on Tues., a pelleted snow squall Thursday late afternoon.

Husband finished trimming the wild rose hedge down to 4 foot height, then we piled all the cuttings, plus apple tree trimmings, in the fall burn pile.

Go out after sunset on a clear evening, check out Venus and Jupiter in the west - March 2nd is when they're supposed to be closest together.

Posted by: Pat* at February 25, 2023 03:50 PM (VsoW4)

80 No birds and not even down garments. It didn't help staying in the house that many years either.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2023 03:52 PM (6lj/r)

81 What kind of farmer lets his stock run free, possibly to starve, or fall victim to predators? Maybe some hippy-dippy wanna-be farmers, but not real farmers. More likely those "super-pigs" got released as a result of vandalism by animal-rights activists.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 25, 2023 03:56 PM (tkR6S)

82 Domestic hogs get all kinds of chemicals in their feed, and yeah, just like wild hogs they'll eat rats birds snakes whatever they get their teeth into.

Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 03:59 PM (z3WCn)

83 A .303 can put down Zulus, Hottentots, and Malayan Commies, among others. Should work on hogs.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 25, 2023 04:02 PM (tkR6S)

84 There's been wild hogs in America since the Spaniards in Florida, and those were made wilder with European/Russian boars imported for hunting purposes. They spread north and west. Pecaries and javelinas don't enter this equasion. They are like the rabbits of the pig universe.

Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 04:07 PM (z3WCn)

85 Pecaries and javelinas don't enter this equasion. They are like the rabbits of the pig universe.
Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 04:07 PM (z3WCn)

Have a, have a, have a, javelina!

Posted by: Boy George at February 25, 2023 04:08 PM (tkR6S)

86 >>> 84 There's been wild hogs in America since the Spaniards in Florida, and those were made wilder with European/Russian boars imported for hunting purposes. They spread north and west. Pecaries and javelinas don't enter this equasion. They are like the rabbits of the pig universe.
Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 04:07 PM (z3WCn)

I've seen a couple places saying that the feral hog population needs to have a 70% mortality rate (I'm assuming from any cause, not just humans) in order to keep it from growing, but it's believed to be currently around 30% or so.

I guess that means there will be plenty of bacon in the face colander times...?

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at February 25, 2023 04:10 PM (llON8)

87 AOP@ 83-
.303 works just dandy, Mrs. E shoots a .270, has put 275 lb boar down in his tracks at 85 yds.

Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2023 04:11 PM (z3WCn)

88 Interesting post from David the Good about planting potatoes from seeds(!):
https://is.gd/7kPb45

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at February 25, 2023 04:30 PM (llON8)

89 Just looked, chives are up a few inches, maybe start cutting some soon

Posted by: Skip at February 25, 2023 04:45 PM (xhxe8)

90 The national news is having a ball about "Snow in Sunny Southern California". Live reporting from Mt Baldy, with a snowplow pushing a couple of feet of white stuff in the background (Fox), 3 foot drifts against a building at Mt Wilson (CNN), leaving the impression of cars sliding around on Santa Monica Blvd.
Mt Baldy (town) - 4200 ft elevation. Mt Wilson (observatory) - 5700 ft elevation. SM Blvd dead ends at the Pacific. - 0 ft
"If it bleeds it leads, but we're not above(!) making shit up."
Had 3-4 in Wednesday morning, but mostly gone today. High elevation Sun and <20% RH will do that. Supposed to get another inch or so Sunday, here on the back side of the Mogollon.

Posted by: buddhaha at February 25, 2023 06:20 PM (8UsxE)

91 sign in

Posted by: andycanuck (Vwz3I) at February 25, 2023 07:33 PM (Vwz3I)

92 My winter herb garden isn’t only herbs this year. I have 2 1/2 inch tall, pomegranate trees, habanero peppers, arugula, morning, glory, spinach, and plans for more.

In case anyone ever wondered, you can grow pomegranate trees from seed. They don’t root deeply, and are therefore a good candidate for a container garden indoors. I am in northern Michigan, and planning on growing my own pomegranates. Who cares if they’re only 2 inches across?

Posted by: Don Draper at February 26, 2023 12:26 AM (SXH3O)

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