Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, May 20

Hi, everybody! Don't you wish your garden was in a setting like the one above?

Sierra Foothills Lurker here; forgot to send you this picture taken May 6th after last rain. Don't know if it qualifies as gardening but was taken from near our raised garden bed. In the lower right corner is the top of my huge rosemary. Maybe that qualifies it for gardening.

We love to see the nature that surrounds gardens, too!

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

Grapes are getting bigger as are the crabapples. And the fig going to town!
Almost looks like early monsoon rains are here! Nan in AZ

Wow. Lots of rain in the desert this year!

Ah, Nature

Baby birds about a month ago. They build nests in this same spot every year. Then I clean it out every year.
f'd

What a good guy.

Here's an unusual bit of information. Do you have oaks?

Every 4 to 10 years, certain oak populations will synchronize to produce almost no acorns at all (starving off mammals), only to rain them down excessively the following year. This happens because only one in 10,000 acorns results in an eventual tree https://t.co/dHjvDkqkWt pic.twitter.com/HdLEnBorTG
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) May 18, 2023

From By-Tor:

She's back- right on schedule.

She's cute, considering . . .

Puttering

21 ways to upcycle wood pallets in the garden.

Some of these look more promising than others. There's a link with detailed instructions for raised beds.

Here's another idea: squirrel deterrence:

When a 🐿️ has decided the last few years to destroy my balcony garden so I was left with zero organic produce, you get creative. Pallets, window screen on the outside, and small poultry netting on top so the 🐝 can get in and pollinate. So far, so good. pic.twitter.com/gut9W0YsQH
— Amy (@Nascaramers) May 19, 2023

Have you got other ideas for rodent deterrence or using wood pallets?

Adventure

Wanna try some I.Ds?

Hey K.T.,
I live on Oahu. Thought you could post some of these. Don't know what most are...

Lurker Dave

Gorgeous. More later.

Gardens of The Horde

Hey KT,
A neighbor gave me an amaryllis bulb at Christmas time. A few weeks ago I stuck it in the ground at the edge of my backyard near the common area bordering the creek in my development.
Suddenly there are three red trumpet shaped blossoms! Who knows how long it will survive but I'm glad I did the experiment.
~ Quarter Twenty

Your gamble paid off! Beautiful.

Another cereus bloom, spikes of purple flowers on the Vitex (a chaste tree), butterfly bush bloom. Nan in AZ

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? Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, May 13

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.

Chaste Tree blossom close-up

Posted by: K.T. at 01:17 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Yay horticulture!

And there was great rejoicing.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at May 20, 2023 01:19 PM (s12c9)

2 This thread is plant based and sheetstainable.

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenko stuff at May 20, 2023 01:21 PM (swwFr)

3 Hello Greenthumbs
Still only mild hot peppers and cucumbers, haven't any tomatoes yet. Did just have fresh chives in tomato soup, a nice addition

Posted by: Skip at May 20, 2023 01:21 PM (xhxe8)

4 The pink and yellow flower is plumeria.

Posted by: Emmie -- MoMe-curious AR morons and Farmer, please email me at May 20, 2023 01:21 PM (Emce2)

5 Another name for plumeria is frangipani.

Posted by: Emmie -- MoMe-curious AR morons and Farmer, please email me at May 20, 2023 01:22 PM (Emce2)

6 Tomatoes planted last weekend (Mother's Day) as per the prescribed schedule. Plan to enjoy the first BLT of the season on Independence Day.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at May 20, 2023 01:23 PM (DhOHl)

7 The hummingbird feeder looks great in the Vitex tree.

Posted by: KT at May 20, 2023 01:23 PM (rrtZS)

8 In sifting compost last few weeks one debris I keep out are acorns, I have no oaks though they are in neighborhood. Guess the squirrels bring them over.

Posted by: Skip at May 20, 2023 01:23 PM (xhxe8)

9 hiya

Posted by: JT at May 20, 2023 01:25 PM (T4tVD)

10 My uncle drove a Frangipani. Cute little Italian two seater.

Oh, wait. This isn't the art thread...

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at May 20, 2023 01:25 PM (DhOHl)

11 Late spring this year. I've been gathering a lot of wild leeks lately.

Posted by: davidt at May 20, 2023 01:26 PM (SYTee)

12
My holly bushes went banzai on me. One year they got either too hot or too cold and the growth buds fell/burned/froze off and now they'll never get taller than about 2 feet. They were supposed to become screens between my neighbor's windows and mine. I gave up and transplanted them to another side of the house where they can do their useless banzai thing and now they seem to be turning yellow and dying. Yeah, I shouldn't have had them transplanted at that stage of their development but I figured I'd give them their Hail Mary.

I tried, you miserable hollies. I brought you into this world and if you don't make something of it, I'm going to take you out.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at May 20, 2023 01:28 PM (lCaJd)

13 Gardens in... Had a brief hot spell but now back to the 70's

Posted by: It's me donna at May 20, 2023 01:29 PM (bs+z0)

14 I saw a double rainbow a couple weeks ago first thing in the morning. It was only the second time I've ever seen one, errr... two.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at May 20, 2023 01:30 PM (Q4IgG)

15 I go thru a couple of pallets a month. Most end up out beside the road and are gone within a couple of hours. I do keep the best ones.

I might try using one as a cucumber trellis. It's very near time for them to have something to grab on to.

Posted by: fd at May 20, 2023 01:31 PM (iayUP)

16 Quarter Twenty at May 20, 2023 01:25 PM

Fragipani. Heh.

Posted by: KT at May 20, 2023 01:31 PM (rrtZS)

17 "My uncle drove a Frangipani. Cute little Italian two seater.

Oh, wait. This isn't the art thread...
Posted by: Quarter Twenty"

MisHum ONT. Ask him about the crazy Italian who drove a red car.

Posted by: fd at May 20, 2023 01:34 PM (iayUP)

18 The oak leaves and acorns pictured are white oak which has special meaning to me. My paternal grandfather emigrated from Croatia (legally!) in 1895 and became a lumberman. His entire business focused on white oak trees because of the demand for barrels - wine and whiskey I think - and I guess white oak has the right chemistry. The lumber was shipped to European and Mediterranean countries.
A precious family memory is when, near the end of his life, one of my brothers was driving my father from Mobile, Alabama up Highway 43 to Demopolis and dad looked idly out the window at the farmland. He said "This used to be nothing but white oaks. Me and daddy cut them down."

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at May 20, 2023 01:40 PM (DhOHl)

19 Now that I've come in from getting wet, it has stopped raining.

Posted by: JT at May 20, 2023 01:40 PM (T4tVD)

20 Late spring this year. I've been gathering a lot of wild leeks lately.
Posted by: davidt

Gonna have a party ?

Posted by: JT at May 20, 2023 01:42 PM (T4tVD)

21 We went from winter to summer in two short weeks. My garden is mostly planted, but some things will have to wait a week or two. We haven't hit 70 degrees yet so some things will stay inside until then. I got the beans planted in their tiny greenhouses, and if they don't come up I will plant again when it's warmer. Sometimes the risk pays off. The peas are in, the carrots, the parsley. And the strawberries are sprouting new green leaves and working on runners already. DH just doubled the size of my garden last weekend with two huge new raised beds; this weekend we get dirt. I will put up the new tomato greenhouse thingy there, along with onions and spinach and several types of lettuce. I guess I should also start cleaning out the canning jars and do a count. Next year I plow under a quarter acre in Willow for potatoes. Life is pretty damned good in the farming sector.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at May 20, 2023 01:42 PM (LOVUx)

22 I got a double rainbow the other day. Just down the street from my house when I was visiting the lake with my mom.

It's much fainter in this photo than in real life, but if you look closely you can make out both.

https://tinyurl.com/mpkbfswy

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at May 20, 2023 01:42 PM (oINRc)

23 "Have you got other ideas for rodent deterrence... ?"

Yes.

Squirrel Launcher / Squirrel Catapult...Squirrels in Space!
youtu.be/gG9n7ymR4z4

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at May 20, 2023 01:42 PM (nRMeC)

24 We have had a few nice days but been quite cool in mid eastern region so not bothering me not to have tomatoes. Doubt basil would survive outside yet.

Posted by: Skip at May 20, 2023 01:43 PM (xhxe8)

25 the Redbud in our front yard has always done well, including a time a drunk skidded off the road, into our yard and took it down to ground level. (It did manage to rip out the van's entire undercarriage, which pleased me no end.) it took only two years to make a full come back. But this year it looks like it's trying to take over the neighborhood even after the biannual trimming. I wouldn't mind but it blocks the view as I back out of the driveway. A serious, professional, trimming is called for.

I need to check on trying to root cuttings to plant elsewhere on the property. Would hate to waste an attractive plant and it would be a nice tribute to our late friend who gave us the original cutting from one of the estates in DC.

Posted by: JTB at May 20, 2023 01:44 PM (7EjX1)

26 He said "This used to be nothing but white oaks. Me and daddy cut them down."
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at May 20, 2023 01:40 PM (DhOHl)

My grandpa went sorta round the bend when he got older. He planted I don't know how many trees in Laramie, WY, but he ended up in assisted living in Washington State. He would sit in his hospital bed and look out the window and tell the nurse he planted all those trees out there. It was sorta sweet. Of course, he also broke his hip falling out of bed while trying to grab the nurse's ass, so maybe not all that sweet.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at May 20, 2023 01:46 PM (LOVUx)

27 Yuddisthira: light effects are very tricky to catch on film. Several times I've taken pictures of particularly beautiful sunsets, but I look at the screen and see that the colors the camera recorded are different than the colors I'm seeing with my eye.

Posted by: Tom Servo at May 20, 2023 01:50 PM (S6gqv)

28 *broke his hip falling out of bed while trying to grab the nurse's ass*

All men die. Few men truly live.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at May 20, 2023 01:53 PM (DhOHl)

29 Maybe it's the relatively mild winters we've had the last couple of years but our dogwood and crepe myrtle have taken off. The crepe is now over seven feet tall. Considering they started out the size of anorexic pencils and I planted them, this qualifies as miraculous.

Posted by: JTB at May 20, 2023 01:54 PM (7EjX1)

30 All men die. Few men truly live.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at May 20, 2023 01:53 PM (DhOHl)

Same grandpa was with Pershing in Mexico, and then went on to WWI at Belleau Wood and Alsace Lorraine. Pulled guys out of no-man's-land to safety and got several medals for that. Then got mustard gassed and sent to a hospital where he had a torrid affair with a woman in Paris (I don't know if Grandma ever knew about that, but we have letters....). He was a painter, but had to be a farmer. Shot a dude in Seattle who was trying to mug him; charges were never filed.

Grandpa lived. Until he didn't.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at May 20, 2023 01:57 PM (LOVUx)

31 Here's a photo of the double rainbow I saw the other morning. Couldn't quite get the whole thing in one frame.

https://tinyurl.com/437pj7m4

Posted by: Martini Farmer at May 20, 2023 02:00 PM (Q4IgG)

32 Vitex do particularly well in Texas as they are drought, heat, and pest tolerant and don't mind bad soil. We planted eight along our fence line as screens when we moved in 6 years ago. (To give you an idea of how bad the soil is we had to rent a jack hammer to make holes big enough to plant them. No, I'm not exaggerating.)

This year, having survived two ice storms and a very severe drought, they are finally coming into their own. All are at least 6 feet tall and covered with blooms. When they fully blossom the hummingbirds are going to be in heaven.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at May 20, 2023 02:00 PM (fTtFy)

33 I bought a couple bolts of tulle fabric to keep various critters at bay. I container garden only. A length of it around the base of the tomatoes and pepper plants, fastened with a clothes pin, keeps them from digging in the containers. Once fruit has set, I use it, or organza "party bags" over the tomato clusters to keep the birds and squirrels from stealing my crop.

I also use the tulle for my broc/cabbage/cauli to keep the bugs off them. A long piece of tulle over a row of 4-6 plants with clothes pins attached to the pots. Water and sunshine get in, white butterflies that want to lay eggs stay out, lightweight enough that the plants are able to grow freely.

Posted by: cfo mom at May 20, 2023 02:11 PM (Q8bDL)

34 30
'Shot a dude in Seattle who was trying to mug him; charges were never filed.'

Back when sanity reigned.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at May 20, 2023 02:14 PM (roH4R)

35 Some of my worries are that the potatoes are not doing as well as I want. Some were not breaking the ground so I dug down and found them and have left them a little dirt to fight through.
My early yellow plum was too early so most of the flowers did not get fertilized because of the late snow, but the other fruit trees are doing well. We are not as far along in the season as the Arizona pics.
My thimbleberries are blossoming wildly, so I will find out if this plant has good fruit or not good fruit. Same thing with the blackcaps. They are wild native plants so it is hard to predict what they will be like.

Posted by: Kindltot at May 20, 2023 02:14 PM (xhaym)

36 PEST DETERRENCE:

Shave thin slices of ivory soap and leave it around the garden. All around. You can even rub ivory on individual leaves of plants.

Posted by: Nom de Blog at May 20, 2023 02:15 PM (UNQS9)

37 Back when sanity reigned.
Posted by: Dr. Claw at May 20, 2023 02:14 PM (roH4R)

My brother still has his lovely pearl handled Colt 45. That think is a canon.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at May 20, 2023 02:15 PM (LOVUx)

38 Pest deterrence around here has the fences from about two feet above the ground up to 7 or 8 feet. Moose will eat anything. When they boy was young, he asked grandpa about the garden fence, why it was so high. Dad told him we had giant rabbits.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at May 20, 2023 02:17 PM (LOVUx)

39 Martini Farmer that's neat

Posted by: Skip at May 20, 2023 02:19 PM (xhxe8)

40 Greetings gardeners!
Hey, is there a phone app that can identify plants?
I think I read about one, but that was a while ago.
I've got something taking over my property and have no idea what it is.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at May 20, 2023 02:23 PM (MeG8a)

41 Posted by: JTB at May 20, 2023 01:44 PM (7EjX1)

Redbud wood has an interesting spicy tang when used for smoking meats. The twigs are also nice for shawl pins or irregular looms because of their wavy shape.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 20, 2023 02:25 PM (nC+QA)

42 Ah, it's called "picture this".

Posted by: gourmand du jour at May 20, 2023 02:25 PM (MeG8a)

43 41 ... "Redbud wood has an interesting spicy tang when used for smoking meats. The twigs are also nice for shawl pins or irregular looms because of their wavy shape."

Polliwog,
Thanks for the suggestions. I wouldn't lack for pieces of various sizes. Time to get out my whittling knives. Shawl pins, pipe tampers, dip pen holders, so many possibilities.

Posted by: JTB at May 20, 2023 02:29 PM (7EjX1)

44 Posted by: gourmand du jour at May 20, 2023 02:23 PM (MeG8a)

The only one I found seems to be subscription-only. I'd love to know if there's a free one.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 20, 2023 02:30 PM (nC+QA)

45 Hey, is there a phone app that can identify plants?
-------------

On iPhone when I open pic of plant there is an thingy to left of trashcan icon. It's and "i" in a circle with some plus/diamond marking next to it. When clicked on it has link under "Add a Caption" that's call "Look Up - Plant". I think it runs off Siri Knowledge.

Posted by: olddog in mo at May 20, 2023 02:32 PM (ju2Fy)

46 > Hey, is there a phone app that can identify plants?
___________

I have "LeafSnap" for Android but if you have Google's suite on your phone (and who doesn't?) take a picture and then go into the Google Photos app. Pick you photo and press the "Lens" icon if you see it. It's a photo/picture ID app and it'll scan the web for similar or identical photos and tell you what it thinks it is. Probably about 85% accurate.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at May 20, 2023 02:32 PM (Q4IgG)

47 Brought up on later thread than this but hear there is a bird app that can identify birds by calls.

Posted by: Skip at May 20, 2023 02:34 PM (b44O8)

48 tulle fabric to keep various critters at bay
Posted by: cfo mom

Nan in AZ might need to use this stuff to protect those grapes soon.
Next door neighbor had grapes on a trellis next to the fence line, they did really well too.
After the 1st year we watched the grapes get big and then the birds finished them before they were ripe.
He put tule bags (green) around the bunches the next year and none were lost to the birds.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at May 20, 2023 02:34 PM (hI5oy)

49 Had a monarch butterfly checking out the butterfly weed (*not* butterfly bush, this is a relative of milkweed) yesterday.

Butterfly weed is also known as "Pleurisy root" which was used for treating lung ailments for a long time. All the modern literature says "Do Not Use!" but 200 years worth of previous literature says it's among the safest things with practically no side effects.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 20, 2023 02:35 PM (nC+QA)

50 33 ... cfo mom,

Thanks for the tips about uses for cloth in the garden. Could be helpful for us and we sent the info to our niece and her husband who are doing their first gardening this year. She came back immediately, all excited. They try to limit any chemicals and other deterrents and this would be helpful.

Posted by: JTB at May 20, 2023 02:36 PM (7EjX1)

51 Bought plants before last weekend and closed the valve on rainwater drum and there is still nothing in it.

Posted by: Skip at May 20, 2023 02:40 PM (xhxe8)

52 Set up my apothecary this week. Turns out there *was* an outlet at the top of the counter, so I moved the small dehydrator in there and Inspector got me a set of plug in light bars so I can see what I'm doing. The dehydrator is running pretty much constantly as I bring in flowers and herbs. I also have tinctures and vinegars processing using what I grew, which gives a definite sense of accomplishment.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 20, 2023 02:40 PM (nC+QA)

53 Picture This identified my weed as "spreading pellitory", a species of Parietaria.
Picture This is 7 day free trial, then $29.99 a year.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at May 20, 2023 02:44 PM (MeG8a)

54 Picture Id at the Apple store seems to work well for plant identification.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at May 20, 2023 02:45 PM (XnsY+)

55 can't wait for the results of "picture this " with antiques

Posted by: REDACTED at May 20, 2023 02:48 PM (us2H3)

56 "spreading pellitory" is spreading faster than I can pull it up. Not only that, the stems break off easily leaving the root ball intact. Now it's all intermingled with my desirable plants.
This means chemical warfare.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at May 20, 2023 02:53 PM (MeG8a)

57 I've got something taking over my property and have no idea what it is.
Posted by: gourmand du jour at May 20, 2023 02:23 PM (MeG8a)

Hubby says plantnet

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at May 20, 2023 02:59 PM (8xNLw)

58 My nemesis is nutsedge. Spray the Sedgehammer but it just comes right back next year.

Posted by: skywch at May 20, 2023 03:04 PM (uqhmb)

59 I have a non plant question: has anyone asked a priest to bless salt? What kind of salt did you bring?
(I know you can bring any, but what did you personally bring)

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at May 20, 2023 03:09 PM (8xNLw)

60 Quiet today.

Posted by: Infidel at May 20, 2023 03:16 PM (kHtnd)

61 I have poison ivy everywhere, did by neoprene gloves to at least get some of it

Posted by: Skip at May 20, 2023 03:19 PM (xhxe8)

62 I have a non plant question: has anyone asked a priest to bless salt? What kind of salt did you bring?
(I know you can bring any, but what did you personally bring)
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at May 20, 2023 03:09 PM (8xNLw)

Priests are entirely invented by the Catholic church. There is no biblical basis for them.

Posted by: JmT at May 20, 2023 03:21 PM (o/vR0)

63 Horsetail.

Everywhere. Every part propagates.

Cannot get rid of it.

I think it would entail not planting anything for a year and nuking it with herbicides all season long.

Posted by: Derak at May 20, 2023 03:24 PM (vtPVv)

64 Excitement. 4' snake just slithered out of ivy onto pool decking. Too fat to get under steps to deck. Looks like he just had a mouse for lunch.

Posted by: olddog in mo at May 20, 2023 03:25 PM (ju2Fy)

65 Quiet today.
Posted by: Infidel

WHAAAAATTTT ?

Posted by: JT at May 20, 2023 03:27 PM (T4tVD)

66 PET NOOD

Posted by: Skip at May 20, 2023 03:29 PM (xhxe8)

67 Excitement. 4' snake just slithered out of ivy onto pool decking. Too fat to get under steps to deck. Looks like he just had a mouse for lunch.
Posted by: olddog in mo at May 20, 2023 03:25 PM (ju2Fy)

Some yahoos would kill it. Good on you for observing.

Posted by: JmT at May 20, 2023 03:32 PM (o/vR0)

68 Hi, plant-based Maroons.

"Squirrel Launcher" —you think you've got a sure-fire method of discouraging them, then you see them lined up to take the "ride," two-acorn tickets in hand.

No real gardening at Rancho Webworker this year. The free-range garlic is sprouting up everywhere. And Daughter's garden has been flourishing, so she's shared some of that wealth. But Milady and I have been… busy.

Between the long dry spell, and now several days of downpour, construction going on, and a mower that went out of kilter, that part of the lawn that isn't a sea of mud is half-dead and in places scoured to the ground. (Hm. Those Zero-Turn mowers are kinda pricey.)

And the houseplants stuck in the back room for the winter didn't get enough care. A few survived. Sad collection on the front porch.

Aaaand, nothing on the peach trees again this year.
🍑

Say, that turned into a dismal rant. Oh, well. *Post*

Posted by: mindful webworker - all thumbs, all black at May 20, 2023 03:36 PM (h8QI+)

69 Oopsy. Willard m'self.

Nood Pet Threat
https://acecomments.mu.nu/?post=404428

Posted by: mindful webworker - fetch! at May 20, 2023 03:37 PM (h8QI+)

70 Boise area: Lows 57-62 F, highs 81-90. Some rain, one thunderstorm. Changes since last week's 5-part post (if you didn't read it, go back and look, lazybones): First mosquito bites of the year. First radishes and green onions harvested. Finished removing dead leaves from one raised bed of strawberries (#11) - more than half done with the other (#

.

2 of 3 cantaloupe seeds sprouted, nothing yet from cucumber or butternuts. Chokecherry trees blooming - will mark the ones that have dark black berries this year, as they're the only ones that have enough flavor for jelly. Potato bags getting topped up with our compost. Put a pinch of 21-0-0 fertilizer on each corn sprout, filled in the blank spots with new seed.

Picked up the 2 pots of "unknown ever-bearing strawberries" I caught from under the lilacs last year, and transplanted them into the end of bed 11, while topping up low soil level and adding peat moss for the acidity - plan is to replace both beds full with those new berries over time.
(part 1)

Posted by: Pat* at May 20, 2023 03:54 PM (wd7fb)

71 I can testify to the oak acorn behavior. I used to mow a church yard that had perhaps two dozen mature oaks on an acre of lawn. Every few years the trees would go crazy and the entire lawn would be covered in acorns. I thought, hey, acorn flour is a thing, right? It is, and not worth the trouble if you have access to wheat flour.

For Arizonans, the monsoon is indeed underway. I saw on the satellite pics that the flow has shifted from southwest off the Pacific (and thus wrung free of moisture by the mountains) to southerly off the Sea of Cortez a.k.a. Gulf of California.

For non-Arizonans, it means it's raining somewhere in the state most every day, and because the air is so clear, those storms can be seen 200 miles away. Howling winds and dust storms happen too, sometimes combined with the rain. I was a weather guy in the USAF and the monsoon weather is just weird.

Posted by: Gordon Scott at May 20, 2023 04:06 PM (WViYk)

72 Boise, cont'd: That odd mark in previous post is #8 - our raised beds are numbered.

Husband bought more "potato pots" to try tomatoes in - currently 4 SunGolds, with Jobe's Tomato Spikes. He created screens that will protect them from brightest afternoon sun, which will stay on for a few days, till they get used to full morning sun.

Puttering on new flower bed: Husband trenched under future stone wall, added "road mix" (small rocks/sand) and tamped it well. Soon he'll start moving the stone we bought, to build the wall itself. He's also been mowing, I've been composting grass.

Flowers: marigold sprouts at ends of tomato beds. Put some yarrow seeds into damp paper towel/plastic bag in refrigerator to chill for a month (that's what package said to do). Bearded iris are blooming (lavender/purple). Siberian Iris (purple) missed Mother's Day but they've now started blooming. Lilacs, lilies of the valley, dogwood, redbud all past prime. Giant lupines showing flower stems.

Pulled out dead spearmint stems, moved wandering sprouts back into correct bed, watered in. Basil seeds sprouting; nothing from parsley seeds yet. We installed pea fence.
(part 2/end)

Posted by: Pat* at May 20, 2023 04:08 PM (wd7fb)

73 It's really smoky here thanks to forest fires. How do dogs handle smoke?
Posted by: That Northern skulker at May 20, 2023 04:03 PM

Dogs are the most man friendly animals. Horses next.

Posted by: JmT at May 20, 2023 04:16 PM (o/vR0)

74 I would live trap and kill that squirrel.

Posted by: CaliGirl at May 20, 2023 04:17 PM (uaGp1)

75 As predicted, the winner of the first vegetable of the season award is (much to my husbands dismay)…zucchini! Incoming!!!

Posted by: keena at May 20, 2023 05:12 PM (RiTnx)

76 Here’s a tip I got that worked for me last year. Plant allysum with tomatoes. They attract a wasp that kills tomato hornworms. And they smell pretty like honey!

Posted by: keena at May 20, 2023 05:13 PM (RiTnx)

77 I just wrapped up two projects. The first was an old kitchen knife that I replaced the handles on. I bought it sometime in the late 80s and the stabilized wood handle has been slowly disintegrating. I chiseled the old handle off and epoxied on some micarta scales that I purchased. I also replaced the aluminum pins with stainless ones. After about a million hours of sanding it looks and feels fantastic.
The second project was a bit more abstract. I want to teach myself some Blender (the 3d design software) by fooling around with some really old 3d files I made years ago. Unfortunately, Blender wont import them, so I also had to learn a little Python (the scripting language). It's a pretty simple script with only about 120 lines of code. But, it works as required converting .wrl files to .obj files that can be imported into Blender.

Posted by: Abzod at May 20, 2023 07:55 PM (HqRdV)

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