Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Nov. 9

Happy Saturday! Thought about some flower arrangements for Thanksgiving?

These have to be up there, in my estimation, with the most beautiful flowers I've ever grown!

This was one of my favourite dahlias this year. As you can see I’ve just dug it out of its container. This was quite difficult as the tuber has got so big. I don’t normally divide tubers but I could see this one would be easy. Now I will have 3 plants next year 🤞💐 pic.twitter.com/6knzeIeB88
— Garden Brocante (@GardenBrocante) November 9, 2024

Have you ever saved dahlia tubers?

Thank goodness 17 out of 20 of the butterfly ranunculus are now showing signs of life (left). This variety are really expensive about Ł5 per corm, the flowers are wonderful and flower earlier than the other ranunculus but they are quite a risky investment! pic.twitter.com/MnN0U8c961
— Garden Brocante (@GardenBrocante) November 9, 2024

Time to put in ranunculus in some climates. I have never heard of "butterfly ranunculus. Have you?

I love the single ones with "eyes". You might want to look up planting schedules for your climate.

One of the few dahlias still putting on a show 🍂🌸🍂 pic.twitter.com/np6uGcNlVc
— Garden Brocante (@GardenBrocante) November 8, 2024

The formal double dahlias are a marvel of civilization. Though there are many other lovely forms, too.

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

Fall and winter garden here on the Texas gulf coast (zone 9A). As long as I plant early enough that the soil is still warm enough to germinate the seeds, cole crops and carrots will over winter just fine. The small bed is underutilized because the house shadow will starve that bed for sunlight in another month as the sun moves south. It has a hopeful tomato, several cabbage, and some just planted cauliflower seeds.
The larger bed has broccoli and cauliflower along the left, some radishes and cabbages in the foreground, sugar snap peas along the back, and three rows of carrots on the right. The radishes and peas will last until the first hard frost, and everything else will grow all winter, albeit slowly. Along with classic cauliflower, we found a Fioretto variety that grows as fingers rather than a head. Tossed with some oil and seasoning, they roast beautifully.
Advo

Wonderful to see and learn about while most gardens are being put to bed. Not sure about timing for the tomato . . . Good luck!

Here's a page on Flowering Cauliflowers like the one you are growing.

I think it's brave to grow cauliflower from seed.

Where did flowering cauliflower come from?
It was first developed by a Japanese seed company, Tokito Seed, and in 2014 they were nominated for an innovation award for it. It is said that a Tokito employee wondered why they couldn’t have a cauliflower with a smaller amount of stem and a better flavor, so the company began trying to develop it. When successful, they named it Fioretto, which means “little flower” in Italian. It is in the brassica family, and is a cauliflower and broccoli hybrid. It is a hybrid cross, not GMO.

So, sort of like the new Broccolini . . . .

Ah, Nature

After posting the excellent Gardening Year in Review by Don in Kansas, I missed his Additional Garden Notes. Here are some of them. There are some wry ones at the link:

Grasshoppers have been a plague, as usual. The only control I have found that works at all is the orb weaver spider. I observed one in my garden wrap up two grasshoppers almost as large as itself in five minutes.

Roundup is no longer Roundup. It used to contain glyphosate, and it was the best chemical solution for most weeds, particularly invasive, difficult-to-dig-out grasses like bermuda.1 However, it’s been reformulated without glyphosate, and it no longer reliably kills weeds. I sprayed the above plant above three weeks before I took the picture. With the old Roundup it would have been completely dead and ready to scrape off the pavement. With the new, disimproved formula, it looks uglier than it did before but is still vigorously growing. I checked every herbicide at Home Despot; not one of them contains glyphosate any more.

Bermuda is an okay lawn grass if all you want is grass. However, it rapidly spreads by underground rhizomes as well as stolons, as insidiously as Marxism. If you have a bermuda lawn and a garden, unless you are vigilant you will soon have have only bermuda. The northern third of my yard is buffalo grass, which has many virtues, not the least being that it is naturally short and doesn’t need mowing. I think the entire yard was once buffalo, but the bermuda growing in the neighbors’ lawns relentlessly invaded the yard from the south.

Any other ideas for weed control?

Gardens of The Horde

Thinking about next year yet?

Thanksgiving decorations up yet?

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

More dahlias, including a single one, from Garden Brocante. With mint. Probably a wild mint.

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, Nov. 2

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 01:19 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good afternoon Greenthumbs

Posted by: Skip at November 09, 2024 01:22 PM (fwDg9)

2 Been leaf processing all day but think I might be done for today.
2 things odd, 1st very little rain in maybe 5 weeks and have yet to have frost. Besides in mini greenhouse still getting chili peppers, a sweet pepper plant that again disappointed me is at least still growing.

Posted by: Skip at November 09, 2024 01:24 PM (fwDg9)

3 I have a big sprayer that I've filled with white vinegar that I use to control weeds. White vinegar is inexpensive. It is slower to act and you'll need to apply it daily before it gets any results.
Imagine if someone were to spray you with vinegar daily... LOL

Posted by: gourmand du jour at November 09, 2024 01:27 PM (MeG8a)

4 Rain and 52 here on the beach. The winter ducks are arriving. The merganzers, golden eyes and buffleheads are my favorites.

Posted by: nurse ratched, garbage at November 09, 2024 01:28 PM (OIyEB)

5 "Flowering cauliflower" seems redundant but what do I know about plants.

Posted by: fd at November 09, 2024 01:32 PM (vFG9F)

6 Our grasshopper population decreased substantially after Cat arrived here. He thinks they're quite tasty!

Posted by: JQ at November 09, 2024 01:36 PM (njWTi)

7 I have a good friend that's a farmer (around 800 acres). He does not have good things to say about glyphosate. Mostly related to its half-life and the effects of livestock feed crops that used or are grown on formerly glyphosate-treated land.

Posted by: Bert G at November 09, 2024 01:40 PM (VARTN)

8 I kill weeds with gasoline. Yeah, that's probably a dealing worthy of a death sentence in this modern, green world of fucking madness, but the weeds seem to grow back the next year, so I buy more gas.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at November 09, 2024 01:43 PM (eVr3D)

9 Beautiful dahlias! I wish I could grow them here, but they're a grub and insect magnet.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at November 09, 2024 01:45 PM (mCcjt)

10 The online herbicide suppliers still sell glyphosate.

If you have a Tractor Supply store in your area, they usually still carry the concentrate.

Finally, if you are rural, there is a chance you can get steeply discounted herbicides. Some counties have "Noxious Weed" departments that will sell herbicides at cost to landowners in the county.

They are also actual experts. I used to go talk to the head of the department and tell him what I needed to kill on our farm, and he would pull the best product off of their shelves, tell me the optimal mixing instructions, and the best application advice.

That is all very valuable info, because you spray less herbicide when doing it in the optimal fashion, AND save your time and money.

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at November 09, 2024 01:45 PM (HlyYF)

11 LOL, Dr. Bone!

There was this *one* dandelion by my shop door. I'd tried so many ways to kill it, but it kept growing back...

...Until I had to empty a carburetor bowl at rebuild time. Heh. It's the only thing that worked!

Posted by: JQ at November 09, 2024 01:46 PM (njWTi)

12 I have an ironic gardening success to report! After moving to a house after years of living in a condo with only container gardening I REALLY wanted to grow tomatoes. I have tried over a course of years with no success.

Well, a few weeks ago we had a bucket of compost sitting on our back porch. After a few days I happened to look in the bucket and, lo and behold, there were two volunteer tomatoes growing in the bucket. One is now over 2 feet tall and both have a bunch of blooms. I'll take what I can get!

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at November 09, 2024 01:47 PM (FEVMW)

13 Gorgeous dahlias!!

Posted by: Lizzy at November 09, 2024 01:49 PM (u1uWe)

14 Propane tank and burner device work well when you can use them safely. Fries the weed seeds and damages roots too.

Posted by: whig's phone at November 09, 2024 01:50 PM (ctrM5)

15 Boiling hot water will kill small weeds in sidewalk cracks. That's what grandma used, anyway.

Posted by: JQ at November 09, 2024 01:53 PM (njWTi)

16 I get volunteers tomatoes growing that could be from tomatoes falling off 1 year and seeds growing next or tomatoes in my compost then getting spread back to garden.

Posted by: Skip at November 09, 2024 01:54 PM (fwDg9)

17 Those orb weaver spiders love to build their webs at exactly "face height". (Ask me how I know.)

Whenever I am walking through the wooded areas on our farm, I am always doing "something". Like looking for antler sheds, nasty Honey Locust tree volunteers to clear, turkey roosts, etc. Therefore, I am seldom looking straight ahead. During certain times of the year, I frequently snap off a 2-3' long twig and wave that up and down in front of me while walking.

My brother thinks that is hilarious when he gets a pic of me walking like that on one of the game cameras.

I will say that those orb weavers do catch a lot of grasshoppers in their webs.

I think even better grasshopper control is to have a good population of wild turkeys in your area. Those guys can eat 20 grasshoppers in 5 minutes and just keep on cruising through the grass looking for more!

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at November 09, 2024 01:54 PM (HlyYF)

18 >>>Propane tank and burner device work well when you can use them safely. Fries the weed seeds and damages roots too.

Posted by: whig's phone

>Those weed-burners are fantastic! Only problem is we need to get a hot-work permit/ticket and a fire-watch for 24 hours.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at November 09, 2024 01:55 PM (eVr3D)

19 Puttering:

Shut off the irrigation water & blew out the pipes yesterday.

Maybe hang Christmas lights later today-- no, they won't get plugged in until after Thanksgiving.

Posted by: JQ at November 09, 2024 01:58 PM (njWTi)

20 Dahlias!

I've been growing them on and off for 35 or so years. They become an obsession.
Great for OCD people.

Posted by: Derak at November 09, 2024 02:06 PM (48axY)

21 Any other ideas for weed control?

Roundup Quickpro 6.8lb at amazon.

It's a dry glyphosate that you mix. When I did the math (not repeated here due to... well... math) it works out to be a much better buy than the gal jugs.
Buy once, cry once.

I lucked out, the last owner left a 1/2 container.
I'll buy it for myself when the 1/2 container is used up.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 09, 2024 02:14 PM (CDKte)

22 I had annoying neighbors when I rented a while back. Their plot out front was a scrub forest whose prize specimen was a dandelion that grew tall and thorny. I stopped gnashing my teeth, adopted it as a pet, and fed it plant food until it achieved triffid status. I named it Melvin.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 02:16 PM (kpS4V)

23 Agent Orange or burnkng

Posted by: Skip at November 09, 2024 02:19 PM (fwDg9)

24 Dahlias!

I've been growing them on and off for 35 or so years. They become an obsession.
Great for OCD people.
Posted by: Derak

You and my brother. He lives North of Nurse Ratchet and uses dahlias as a garden border.
I'm always jealous when he sends his yearly pictures.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 09, 2024 02:20 PM (CDKte)

25 Planted about three dozen daffodil bulbs a couple weeks ago.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 02:24 PM (kpS4V)

26 Your dahlias are gorgeous! I love them but did not plant this year. I seem to kill the tubers in the fall, as I think our storage room...built into the hill...gets too cold. We are in the intermountain west now vs FL since 2015.

Over 9yrs we have made glorious gardens. I have many David Austin roses, and they thrive here.

I have invited myself back into Ace's Place after a six year absense. Due to becoming a grandmother, and it taking 3yrs to remodel this house of my dreams. Strange men inside our home for months on end. Only to repeat again after a recovery. We are all done for a few years, but my granchildren take most of my energy and I quit posting. Possibly due to the election of 2020.

I need to try to grow both ranuculus and sweetpeas. Goals. I plant perennials mostly, under the giant roses.

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at November 09, 2024 02:25 PM (gi+MR)

27 I found that dry roundup sold in packets 10 for 48 bucks.
The directions say to mix one 1.5 oz packet per gal of water.

Now look at that 6.8lb container for 124 bucks and do your own math as to cost per gallon!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 09, 2024 02:25 PM (CDKte)

28 My wife is doing her best to keep the majority of our property wild without looking horrible. And she set up a camera to catch nighttime visitors. So far, we've seen several deer, a fox, an opossum, a raccoon and one cat that sprays the tree near the camera.

Between her garden outside and the aerogarden, she gets a good supply of food. Now if we can get the deer to stop eating our tomatoes...

Posted by: NR Pax at November 09, 2024 02:26 PM (lXCUP)

29 Young Master Reason and I just cleared rhe gravel driveway of weeds with a $30 propane flammenwefer from Hobo Freight. An hour of manly fun playing with fire in a way Mrs. Reason approved of.

Our lawn is a hodgepodge of Bermuda, St. Augustine, and fescue. It looks good for 45 minutes after mowed, and then goes back to looking shaggy and terrible.

I don't really know how to fix it.

Posted by: reason at November 09, 2024 02:26 PM (Wr+Sw)

30 25 Planted about three dozen daffodil bulbs a couple weeks ago.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 02:24 PM (kpS4V)

The great thing about daffodils is they will return long after you are gone. We have some on our farm from an old homesite 100yrs ago. I have hundreds planted in one garden to reward me now in the spring, after several falls of work and misery.

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at November 09, 2024 02:27 PM (gi+MR)

31 Our lawn is a hodgepodge of Bermuda, St. Augustine, and fescue. It looks good for 45 minutes after mowed, and then goes back to looking shaggy and terrible.

I don't really know how to fix it.
Posted by: reason

Nuke it from orbit, it's your only hope.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 09, 2024 02:28 PM (CDKte)

32 I have invited myself back into Ace's Place after a six year absense. Due to becoming a grandmother, and it taking 3yrs to remodel this house of my dreams. Strange men inside our home for months on end. Only to repeat again after a recovery. We are all done for a few years, but my granchildren take most of my energy and I quit posting. Possibly due to the election of 2020.
Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at November 09, 2024 02:25 PM
-

I remember your user name.

Welcome back and congrats on the grandkids.

i mostly lurk.

Posted by: reason at November 09, 2024 02:29 PM (Wr+Sw)

33 To repel deer from my tomato plants I have had good results from hanging 1/4 of a bar of Irish Spring soap on each plant's cage, about three feet from the ground.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at November 09, 2024 02:30 PM (dg+HA)

34 Nuke it from orbit, it's your only hope.
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 09, 2024 02:28 PM
-

That's what i was afraid of.

Posted by: reason at November 09, 2024 02:31 PM (Wr+Sw)

35 Any tips on using a propane torch? Besides not pointing it at my feet, of course.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 09, 2024 02:32 PM (zlGo9)

36 They have to save all the glyphosate to put in our food crops.

Posted by: Emmie at November 09, 2024 02:35 PM (Sf2cq)

37 Last Spring I decided to transplant the volunteer tomato plants to the tomato patch. They all were cherry tomatoes. Not bad, and they started producing before the "named" varieties I bought, but I found them to be a pain to pick and process.
In the future I will probably do a few plants that way so my wife can go out and eat them as she gets the urge, but I want to grow large tomatoes that are easier to process.

I got a hand cranked tomato sauce strainer that I used for the first time this year. It makes decent sauce, but I was using the cherry tomatoes, so I had to cook them down, then strain them, and then recook them to concentrate the.
I did not get the gallons of sauce I wanted

Posted by: Kindltot at November 09, 2024 02:35 PM (D7oie)

38
35 Any tips on using a propane torch? Besides not pointing it at my feet, of course.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 09, 2024 02:32 PM
----

The playlist is super important. Gunship, Sabaton, maybe The Cult's "Fire Woman", if that isn't too on the nose.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 02:37 PM (kpS4V)

39 33 To repel deer from my tomato plants I have had good results from hanging 1/4 of a bar of Irish Spring soap on each plant's cage, about three feet from the ground.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at November 09, 2024 02:30 PM (dg+HA)

Another suggestion I heard was sprinkle dog fur on the plants. I have greyhounds. This is not an easy thing for me.

Posted by: NR Pax at November 09, 2024 02:38 PM (lXCUP)

40 Any tips on using a propane torch? Besides not pointing it at my feet, of course.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 09, 2024 02:32 PM
-

Almost all of them come with 6' houses, which really isn't enough. I bought a 6' extension which helps. I needed an "innie" to "outie" connection adapter anyway, so I got an extension that made that switch too.

Beyond that, just aim for the roots and the rest will burn with it. Keep a garden hose running nearby or some other fire abatements for safety. Keep situational awareness of your hose, tank, others.

And try not to smile too much when you're smiting those little bastages. You want the neighbors to know this is serious business that is being taken seriously, regardless of how giddy this newfound command of natural forces makes you feel. Maniacal laughter is only permitted during the first five minutes!

Posted by: reason at November 09, 2024 02:41 PM (9j+Fn)

41 I had annoying neighbors when I rented a while back. Their plot out front was a scrub forest whose prize specimen was a dandelion that grew tall and thorny. I stopped gnashing my teeth, adopted it as a pet, and fed it plant food until it achieved triffid status. I named it Melvin.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 02:16 PM (kpS4V)

I have ancient climbing roses in the front yard that I have to savagely chop back from time to time to keep them from eating unwary children. I think these are the ones that overgrew Sleeping Beauty's castle and entangled Rapunzel's tower, and the new shoots have blood red thorns which darken to the color of dried blood in Winter.

They are extremely beautiful in their masses of roses in the spring.

Posted by: Kindltot at November 09, 2024 02:41 PM (D7oie)

42 6' hoses, not houses. Thanks, autocucumber...

Posted by: reason at November 09, 2024 02:43 PM (9j+Fn)

43 I have ancient climbing roses in the front yard that I have to savagely chop back from time to time to keep them from eating unwary children
---

Roses need protein!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 02:44 PM (kpS4V)

44 Thanks to KT and all the contributors. Those flower photos are gorgeous and make for a pleasant afternoon.

Posted by: JTB at November 09, 2024 02:47 PM (yTvNw)

45 Roses need protein!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 02:44 PM (kpS4V)

It's the search parties, really. They want to drag the pond, and look down the old well.

Posted by: Kindltot at November 09, 2024 02:48 PM (D7oie)

46 Horde Advice is the best advice.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 09, 2024 02:49 PM (zlGo9)

47
I remember your user name.

Welcome back and congrats on the grandkids.

i mostly lurk.
Posted by: reason at November 09, 2024 02:29 PM (Wr+Sw)

Still the same old cranky super model! I remember you, too! My puppy/toddler joy spread over here unhindered, uncontained, unbinded, and unhinged on Wed morning. I was outta control that night!

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at November 09, 2024 02:49 PM (gi+MR)

48 We are somewhat limited as to having much of a garden outside but still want some edible greenery. The warmest spot in the house is where the furnace and water heater are located. We are making plans to grow some herbs there using grow lights. We use fresh herbs in our cooking and love the idea of having some during the winter. Here's hoping.

Posted by: JTB at November 09, 2024 02:51 PM (yTvNw)

49 I have scored some Canna seeds. When ripe they look like black buckshot. The guides say to knick them or grind off a bit to breach the hull, and they should sprout in a couple of weeks.

It is too late to plant now, so I will get on it this Spring. I am going to try to dig some of the roots this winter so I can plant them too. By then I should have some spots in the yard to plant them.

Posted by: Kindltot at November 09, 2024 02:52 PM (D7oie)

50 I never heard of a dandelion growing thorns? I know weeds often have multiple names but I thought dandelions lived everywhere in the U.S. and were just those lawn weeds with the yellow flowers that then set the seed puffs that are fun to blow as a kid.

Posted by: PaleRider, deplorable basket of garbage at November 09, 2024 02:52 PM (CKOCg)

51 From Boise area: Highs 48-54 F, lows 23-32. Rain predicted for next Monday, so leaf cleanup is Job One.

A crazy week! Spent all day Sunday teaching adults at the rifle range, Monday night teaching kids at a different range, all day Tuesday as poll workers, Wed. trying to recover, Thursday raking/bagging leaves and teaching kids air rifle, Friday sweeping/shredding more leaves. I spent this morning raking sycamore leaves into piles for easier bagging. We'll spend the afternoon shredding maple leaves for the compost bins. And we'll spend tomorrow bagging up those sycamores for the trash company to pick up.

Under Puttering, we bottled up the chokecherry wine we made as an experiment. We didn't get enough of any other fruit to do anything with, so this was what we came up with. We'd definitely add less sugar next time.

Posted by: Pat* at November 09, 2024 02:54 PM (uZr1u)

52 We had a wet snowstorm yesterday. I spent some time puttering with some of the branches it brought down. It has been mild and many of the trees still had a full set of leaves, plus I never did get a tree pro to trim them up this summer. I still have more cleanup to do enjoying the break and looking at all pretty flower pictures.

Posted by: PaleRider, deplorable basket of garbage at November 09, 2024 02:58 PM (CKOCg)

53 Pat*, why don't you shred the sycamore leaves for mulch/compost too?

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 09, 2024 02:59 PM (vF3Jg)

54 *waves to Eris*

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 09, 2024 03:00 PM (PiwSw)

55 Keep situational awareness of your hose, tank, others.

Otters?

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in Solidarity with the Struggle at November 09, 2024 03:00 PM (ejGl1)

56 Pale Rider, it was some sort of bristly weed with dandelionish heads. I dunno, I'm not a weedologist.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 03:01 PM (kpS4V)

57 >>>Still the same old cranky super model! I remember you, too!

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat

>Clever girl! Seems the mama raptor from Jurassic Park is back and ready to feed.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at November 09, 2024 03:02 PM (eVr3D)

58 So as far as weed control goes, the time-honored formula needs to be readjusted:

Slap Hot ~~Iron~~ To It.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 09, 2024 03:02 PM (PiwSw)

59 It's the search parties, really. They want to drag the pond, and look down the old well.
Posted by: Kindltot at November 09, 2024 02:48 PM (D7oie)

My David Austin roses read their width and height potential from the online catalog and laugh. I have trees basically along an eastern fence that are outta control. So tall I cannot prune them back for heavy snows. The rest I have pruned a week ago. I have about 30. When we moved here there was one sad Peace (I think) rose that tries to top the second floor deck. They are easy and love it here in zone 4. Heavenly in late May and bloom all summer into fall. Some were sending out 5' shoots again and I whacked them back. These are bushes, not climbers. The climbers go nuts and I can't control them at all. I do love them.

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at November 09, 2024 03:03 PM (gi+MR)

60 I can tell you what I know about killing blackberries. They sort of shut down during a dry spell. If you spray then, they don't really absorb it. You want to spray the day after a rain. They will absorb the poison and it will work better

Posted by: Notsothoreau at November 09, 2024 03:05 PM (gfViB)

61 ChristyBlinky, that's some fairy tale stuff.

German fairy tales.

Who'd you bury?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 03:06 PM (kpS4V)

62 web search says Eris' neighbors weed was probably this. Sonchus asper, the prickly sow-thistle. We get non-prickly sow thistle here, as well as many prickly or thorny weeds. My weed control consists of trying to kill the spiny tumbleweeds, spiny thistles, and varied spiny burrs. Regular old weeds might get mowed, but if I like their flowers I'll let them bloom before knocking them down.

Well I do some half hearted general weed spraying in the horse pasture area, as well as only letting the horses on it for a couple months until the grass quits growing. Horses will kill grass by over grazing the ones they like, plus too much foot traffic.

Posted by: PaleRider, deplorable basket of garbage at November 09, 2024 03:16 PM (CKOCg)

63 Artichokes are members of the thistle family. They grow tall and spikey and have beautiful purple flowers. They are fun to grow en masse in a somewhat rocky wild area.

Posted by: nurse ratched, garbage at November 09, 2024 03:19 PM (sBRFC)

64 In fact maybe what I call sow thistle is something else. I've heard some folks call it wild lettuce. The horses will eat it so it doesn't spread too much.

Posted by: PaleRider, deplorable basket of garbage at November 09, 2024 03:19 PM (CKOCg)

65 >> 53 Pat*, why don't you shred the sycamore leaves for mulch/compost too?
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 09, 2024 02:59 PM (vF3Jg)

They decompose more slowly than the other leaves, and jam up the shredder when they are wet. And once wet, they won't burn, so off they go to the county recycle where they have big time power equipment to do the shredding and turn the compost.

Posted by: Pat*'s Hubbie at November 09, 2024 03:22 PM (uZr1u)

66 I bet that's it, PaleRider. This one got Audrey II-sized.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 03:23 PM (kpS4V)

67 They decompose more slowly than the other leaves, and jam up the shredder when they are wet. And once wet, they won't burn, so off they go to the county recycle where they have big time power equipment to do the shredding and turn the compost.
Posted by: Pat*'s Hubbie
=====
Yes they do. We had to take ours down as it was causing some pretty severe problems like clogged gutters among other issue and way to close to the house we bought.

Sycamores also cause a lot of people allergies which may not always be diagnosed using standard scratch tests. Pretty at a distance, not so great close up.

Posted by: whig at November 09, 2024 03:25 PM (ctrM5)

68 60 I can tell you what I know about killing blackberries. They sort of shut down during a dry spell. If you spray then, they don't really absorb it. You want to spray the day after a rain. They will absorb the poison and it will work better
Posted by: Notsothoreau
====
Very true.

Posted by: whig at November 09, 2024 03:26 PM (ctrM5)

69 Pretty at a distance, not so great close up.

Used to date her

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in Solidarity with the Struggle at November 09, 2024 03:26 PM (ejGl1)

70 #22' Eris, are you sure Melvin wasn't a thistle?
Not that he couldn't identify as a dandelion, of course.

Posted by: From about That Time at November 09, 2024 03:27 PM (4780s)

71 PET NOOD IS UP

Posted by: Skip at November 09, 2024 03:28 PM (fwDg9)

72 I have a large sycamore that gets in the compost but can't be but a 1/4 if less in amount. Seem to go like the other maples

Posted by: Skip at November 09, 2024 03:30 PM (fwDg9)

73 Digging Purple Yam & a FINAL Farewell to the PRONG Garden Tools 8:37
Self Sufficient Me
https://youtu.be/aqTZkoy_uQU

Posted by: mindful webworker - red-pilled and black-thumbed at November 09, 2024 03:38 PM (qrBtf)

74 Mom gave me one of these:

davidaustinroses.com/products/eglantyne

Gorgeous! But so very very thorny. Even the leaves had little hooked thorns. Every pruning session was a bloodbath, so I left it at the old house when it sold.

Thanks anyway, Mom!

Posted by: JQ at November 09, 2024 03:41 PM (njWTi)

75 50 I never heard of a dandelion growing thorns? I know weeds often have multiple names but I thought dandelions lived everywhere in the U.S. and were just those lawn weeds with the yellow flowers that then set the seed puffs that are fun to blow as a kid.
Posted by: PaleRider
=======
There is an invasive species called Yellow Star Thistle that looks like a dandelion flower but with spurs. Nasty and introduced to the US about 1800.

Posted by: whig at November 09, 2024 03:45 PM (ctrM5)

76 Gorgeous! But so very very thorny. Even the leaves had little hooked thorns. Every pruning session was a bloodbath, so I left it at the old house when it sold.

Thanks anyway, Mom!
Posted by: JQ at November 09, 2024 03:41 PM (njWTi)

Not all are super thorny. I have a tee shirt full of holes, sporting a few little pokes right now, and always wear gloves. I think they are worth it as I love their bloosm. And, like deplorable garbage people, they are determined to grow however they please and to heck with me trying to tame them! I don't like fussy florist roses, altho my husband sometimes buys them for me and I am thankful for his thoughtfulness.

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at November 09, 2024 03:56 PM (gi+MR)

77 61 ChristyBlinky, that's some fairy tale stuff.

German fairy tales.

Who'd you bury?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at November 09, 2024 03:06 PM (kpS4V)

I hear Obungo is missing in action, or was. I might know where...

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at November 09, 2024 03:58 PM (gi+MR)

78 My husband has some space for two trellis veg gardens. He mostly grows tomatoes. We've harvested them all and the green ones to ripen. I come from a farm where Daddy grew everything as a hobby. Best summer meal to be had was fresh tomatoes, peas, ham and salad. With cornbread. He had a cattle ranch as a hobby as well. I like cows.

Personally, being a redneck, I like fried green tomatoes, but you need to know how to cook them. Will make some soonish. I would have to refer to a recipe, but the key is slicing them and putting them in a big ole bowl of ice water for 30min. Then bread, dip in eggwash, bread again, and fry. This plus shelled lady peas and I am in heaven. Can't get those peas out West. But the mountains are worth my hardship.

And, from my late and great grandmothers, on New Year's Day, if I don't eat Emeril's collards, black eyed peas, cornbread, and pecan (puh chan, Yanks) for dessert, I know they will come back and haunt me. Plus I'd worry about a really bad year of no luck.

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at November 09, 2024 04:09 PM (gi+MR)

79 LOL, ChristyBlinky!

Even while I wore long leather gloves and canvas shirt, that rose still found ways to draw my blood. It bloomed better if I kept up with deadheading, but that was still a tricky task.

Its color, scent and form were outstanding, though.

Posted by: JQ at November 09, 2024 04:10 PM (njWTi)

80 JQ, I look like a deranged hobo in my garden gear, but I still look better than Hillary, even when she tries. I just don't care as it is my back yard. I try to look a bit better in the front yard for our neighbors...and they are all GOP and hallelujah we lucked out moving here!

My husband gripes a lot about the rose thorns and they seem to attack him worse. So it may be attitude?

I mock that hag Hil endlessly and will til one of us croaks.

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at November 09, 2024 04:21 PM (gi+MR)

81 Hahaha, I have other roses here and they don't attack me the way Eglantyne did.

Posted by: JQ at November 09, 2024 04:23 PM (njWTi)

82 Oh, and the current roses don't *sucker* as badly, either!

Posted by: JQ at November 09, 2024 04:25 PM (njWTi)

83 Climbing America is my favorite. A little thorny but not vicious. Hundreds of blooms all season.

Posted by: JQ at November 09, 2024 04:43 PM (njWTi)

84 Mix 1 gallon of white vinegar with 1 cup of salt & 1 tablespoon of dish soap in a sprayer container. Shake or stir well.

Apply the mixture on a sunny day. Spray the weeds directly, making sure to cover the leaves. (Reapply as needed.)

Depending on the weed & the season, you may only need to apply the mixture once but, as the mixture may not work its way into the root system, you may need to treat the weeds multiple times.

I usually wait until we're have a few sunny days & then spray on the 1st of them. (I'm most often using the formula for grass growing under & between fencing where it's impossible to cut or pull, and also around a shed which is sitting on (and surrounded by) a gravel bed. Once the grass and weeds are 'dead' looking, they comes out with ease.) I spray 3+ times a year but, with the extreme dryness of the past summer & fall, this year I'm staying with 3.
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A mixture of equal parts vinegar & water poured into holes drilled into tree stumps can kill root systems. Epsom salt or rock salt will also dissolve tree stumps relatively fast.
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In the garden, the Italian eggplant is still producing in the now cool weather. 5+ months!

Posted by: L - If they'll do it with you, they'll do it to you, too at November 09, 2024 06:01 PM (NFX2v)

85 You can still buy the original formulation of glyophosate. In fact you can buy extremely concentrated versions if worried about it being banned. I bought a 50% concentrate on Amazon from a place in Texas. The use it to kill algae in garden ponds at the higher concentrations.

Posted by: jeremiah at November 09, 2024 07:00 PM (1Qk/u)

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