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Thanks guys... I'll try adding some of the nutrients you suggested. They do get watered regularly, twice a day at 7am and then 7pm, on a drip hose. The first few came out perfect, but now there are holes everywhere in the fruit. Then the ants get in there, and it's all over after that!
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May 2, 2010 11:52
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Papercut posted:I want to remove a small (~5" diameter at the trunk) cherry tree from my yard, because it's growing sideways and taking up prime garden area. Can I just cut it at the base or will it regrow? I plan to build a planter box in the area after the removal, so do I need to worry about getting rid of the roots or will the ground reclaim them naturally? You can cut it at the base. It may grow suckers though. Digging out the stump shouldn't be too difficult. Start digging about 18" from the stump, and use an old saw (or even better, a wood blade on a reciprocating saw) to cut through the roots. If you don't have either, you'll have to do it with the shovel. Don't dig too deep - 6-8" is plenty.
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May 2, 2010 12:49
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Richard Noggin posted:You can cut it at the base. It will grow suckers though. Fixed. Dig up as much as you can, healthy trees will only try to recover from any wound, so you have to remove the entire trunk. What's worse is that with modern tree grafting, if you changed your mind and decided to let it regrow, the fruit wouldn't be the same because the rootstock is from a different cultivar! Loppers are also useful for removing smaller roots.
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May 2, 2010 14:15
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kid sinister posted:Loppers are also useful for removing smaller roots. My personal tools for such an occasion are a wood-splitting axe, shovel, and a lot of cursing.
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May 2, 2010 15:37
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Cool, thanks for the advice.
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May 2, 2010 17:37
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My garden is growing well, even though it's limited to containers (most of which are clay). Zucchini suddenly flowered yesterday and the upward growth training is going great. .jpg) Click here for the full 600x800 image. The Champion tomato plant (hybrid) was the first to produce fruit and currently has about four fruits growing.  Click here for the full 600x800 image. The Yellow Pear cherry tomato plant came in second with genuine pear shaped fruits. I'm pretty excited about this one.  Click here for the full 600x800 image. My lemon tree was suffering from yellow leaves for a while so it went into a larger pot with soil and fertilizer better suited to a citrus plant. It's doing well now and has about 8 clusters of baby lemon fruits. I'm not sure if I should prune some off or if the plant can support all of them.  Click here for the full 600x800 image. I also have two planters of "butterfly mix" flowers. The direct seeding was much, much more successful than working with a mini greenhouse. Every few days I prune back the smaller sprouts so the bigger ones have a bit more room to stretch. I'm hoping that the flowers will attract lots of bees and things to help out my other plants. .jpg) Click here for the full 600x800 image.
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May 2, 2010 18:09
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Any advice for what to look for in outdoor tool storage? Our yard isn't big enough for a shed, and my downstairs neighbor wants this: http://salestores.com/vifahv513bre.html I'm worried about it being open to the elements. It seems like a big plastic box would be better.
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May 3, 2010 18:41
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Anyone done this, I've spray painted a cheap 3 dollar "Home Depot" bucket black to use as a pot for my tomatoes, and I'm thinking of repeating this process with sand I have left over from winter. The bucket heats up nice and warm which would be great for tomato roots right? I know it holds at least 50 pounds reliably and I'm really cheap. Anyone see any problems with this?
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May 3, 2010 20:49
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I think it might actually get too hot in direct sun painted black. Since it's only 5 (I'm assuming) gallons of dirt, and doesn't have the benefit of the earth as a heat sink. That's just my impression.
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May 3, 2010 21:03
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Well the good news is I have 36 seedlings to experiment with, so I might try one painted gray. Chances are I'll try drilling some homes into some other ones and making upside down planters as well. Sadly all around the property there's tons of shade so I'm trying to learn how to work around that.
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May 3, 2010 21:11
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I just harvested the last of my hot peppers from my Aerogarden. I'm not sure how many people in this thread have an aerogarden in this thread, but I love mine. I cleaned it out today and started up with an italian herb kit this time. I'm looking forward to a steady supply of fresh basil again.
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May 4, 2010 00:33
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mugrim posted:Anyone done this, I've spray painted a cheap 3 dollar "Home Depot" bucket black to use as a pot for my tomatoes, and I'm thinking of repeating this process with sand I have left over from winter. The bucket heats up nice and warm which would be great for tomato roots right?
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May 4, 2010 07:42
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Would it be ok to ask a general plant question in here? Some years ago I bought a bonsai (well, something labeled as a bonsai) from a Target and when it hardly grew at all I decided to "free the bonsai" by re-potting it. Well, one thing led to another and now I have a sizable tree in my sun room. It has dark, shiny leaves and a thick trunk that's smooth and shoots out roots/branches randomly. However I have no idea what kind of plant it is, since it had no label when I bought it... So basically I'm wondering if anyone knows what it is, and also if it would be ok to put outside for the summer in sort of central Massachusetts. Here it is as a wee plant:  Slightly chewed upon close-up of the leaf:  And what it looked like in October - it's significantly wider and about a foot taller now:  Also, my catnip, basil and eggplants are growing and the flowers I'm trying to grow are finally shooting up from the dirt. Yay! I was beginning to lose hope. Anyone else notice that when they start a garden, suddenly everyone's giving you seeds? In an unrelated note, I hate cilantro.
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May 4, 2010 15:11
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From the look if it it's most likely a Ficus benjamina, they're very common indoor houseplants. Given enough space they can turn into a full-grown tree (Ficus is actually the fig genus, the benjamina is a non-fruiting variety). What I've seen about these trees is that they tend to drop leaves in response to any changes in light conditions, so putting it outside may make it suddenly shed, but it would eventually recover. However, it would then shed leaves all over again when you bring it back inside, which you'd have to because Ficus isn't cold hardy.
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May 4, 2010 16:50
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 One of my strawberries is starting to turn red! Little thing better not go ripe when I'm out of town next week.
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May 4, 2010 17:33
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Marchegiana posted:From the look if it it's most likely a Ficus benjamina, they're very common indoor houseplants. Given enough space they can turn into a full-grown tree (Ficus is actually the fig genus, the benjamina is a non-fruiting variety). What I've seen about these trees is that they tend to drop leaves in response to any changes in light conditions, so putting it outside may make it suddenly shed, but it would eventually recover. However, it would then shed leaves all over again when you bring it back inside, which you'd have to because Ficus isn't cold hardy. Seconded. My stepdad has one that looks just like that and it started close to the size yours was and now it is seriously a tree. It hits the ceiling in our kitchen and has done so for over a year. We have to trim it back every few months.
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May 4, 2010 21:18
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In that case it will stay in the sun room. Thanks folks!
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May 4, 2010 22:52
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Any idea what could be causing this on these zucchini? I'm growing three different varieties in the same area and they're all showing the same symptoms. I checked the undersides of the leaves and didn't see any mites or anything. I'm guessing it's fungal so I'll probably spray them down with some neem oil this evening. Generic garden picture  Half my tomatoes: Amana Orange, Marvel Stripe, Costoluto, and an unknown Brandywine cross. Borage and a couple basil varieties are growing in between.  A tea cultivar of Camellia Sinensis, ordered from http://www.camforest.com/ 
funkatron3000 fucked around with this message at 13:39 on May 5, 2010 |
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May 5, 2010 13:35
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That's powdery mildew on your zucchini, so antifungals should work on it just fine. It usually doesn't get severe enough to affect the yields of plants unless they're especially susceptible though (grapes are very susceptible to powdery mildew, zucchini usually not so much), but it's still a good idea to spray if you're concerned about it spreading to other plants.
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May 5, 2010 13:56
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mugrim posted:Anyone done this, I've spray painted a cheap 3 dollar "Home Depot" bucket black to use as a pot for my tomatoes, and I'm thinking of repeating this process with sand I have left over from winter. The bucket heats up nice and warm which would be great for tomato roots right? I can't see a black bucket protecting from frost very well either, usually you're supposed to take a black filled container and set it beside the plant so the heat can radiate outward, I think a bucket of sand would get super hot on sunny days and super cold overnight, since black releases heat more quickly as well. I don't think a tomato plant would be too happy in a black bucket of sand, personally. Too much drainage, too much heat, too little heat conservation after dark. Results would probably very based on summer high temps and how close you cut it to when it frosts.
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May 5, 2010 20:56
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Does anyone have any ideas about what this might be: Click here for the full 1944x1296 image. It's a tree about 10-15 feet tall that was covered in these flowers, and I think it's a California native. A passerby thought it might be some kind of lilac, but the flowers seemed smaller/finer than any lilac pictures I can find.
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May 6, 2010 01:44
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It snowed here again today. I hate you guys with your perfect climates 
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May 6, 2010 07:52
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Papercut posted:Does anyone have any ideas about what this might be: It looks like a Mock Orange. Whatever it is, its beautiful.
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May 6, 2010 16:46
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I have baby bunnies under my dutch barn. I am simultaneously pissed off and so  it hurts. I guess I can share my lettuce for a season, they've left the tomatoes alone so far.I'll have pictures tomorrow. Their mom ate through a privacy fence, chicken wire, and about 4" of dry red mud to get back in the fence. I figured she had babies in the yard somewhere but tonight was the first sighting.
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May 7, 2010 01:33
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mischief posted:I have baby bunnies under my dutch barn. I am simultaneously pissed off and so http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3219174
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May 7, 2010 02:20
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I knew what the link was before I clicked. That's an awesome thread but these are some gangly skinny rear end local rabbits. Doubt they would be worth the effort. I killed one last year, I figure this is just my comeuppance.
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May 7, 2010 02:22
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Zeta Taskforce posted:It looks like a Mock Orange. Whatever it is, its beautiful. Yeah I want to find out so that I can plant it in my yard. It looks good and was an absolute bee heaven when I saw it.
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May 7, 2010 03:26
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 I finally got most of the garden planted over the weekend. Root crops were direct seeded in the middle, peas in back, and cabbage and broccoli on the side.   My transplants for the most part turned out well. The major exception were the onions. I might have started them too late or overcrowded them. They are a bit perkier now, but still small.   Mostly flowers. I put them in the front yard last night.  I probably started the tomatoes too early. They will get some time outside next week and be in the ground in 10 days weather permitting. I'm giving most of them away to friends and family, but if anyone is in the Boston area let me know and I can give some to you or trade.  I've been told by more than one source that my grow setup is being wasted on tomatoes and flowers. Question: I have more onion seedlings that I have not planted yet. I'll see how the ones that are already in do, but if they are a lost cause I won't plant the rest.
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May 7, 2010 03:44
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My attempt at a garden isn't going too well. All my plants are covered with little fruit flies and there's a mushroom growing next to my rosemary. What should I do, I don't want my plants to die 
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May 8, 2010 23:27
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 Suggestions neededI have my 4' x 8' raised bed garden prepared and ready for my seedlings. It's been bare for a week or two, I noticed a slightly raised line going through the garden. I dug down about 10" and found a mole trail. The box is 20" deep so he is well inside the box and apparently enjoying it. Last year I used Castor oil to keep the moles out, there is no screen on the bottom of the box. Apparently it works by driving all of the worms and grubs in the soil away so the moles have no reason to tunnel in your garden. I have not used any this year so far. My choices are: 1) Relax, the mole will not come back and completely destroy a whole seasons effort. Remember they are eat worms not plants. 2) Castor oil worked last year, just go back to that. 3) Don't gently caress around dig that 20" of soil out of the box, try and fail to lift the box out of the slight hole it is in, disassemble box, add a wire screen of some type, remake box back inside the hole and add the dirt back. Any experience or thought are appreciated, I spent a few hours on google researching this, have not found any real answers beyond the choices I listed above.
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May 9, 2010 03:03
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I transplanted my tomato plants a couple of weeks back from small pots into a larger trough-type container, but they don't seem to have grown very much at all since then. Is it possible that I waited too long before repotting them and that they're stuck at that size now (about 12 inches tall)? I might try pruning them back a bit to see if that makes any difference.
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May 9, 2010 16:22
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I would wait to prune them until they have recovered from the transplant. Often you'll see the plants slack off and look pretty sad when you transplant them. Give them a little bit of TLC and the prune them when they look a bit more resilient. http://www.wikihow.com/Prune-Tomatoes
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May 9, 2010 16:27
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Marchiegana asked me a long time ago to report on the progress of some carrots I transplanted (you're not supposed to transplant them for future reference but I didn't know that  ). Answer - mixed but I think it's the planter. One half the planter is looking good and strong, and the other half of the planter got shortchanged a little on the sun & water and the seedlings didn't take.  My greenbeans have started taking to the trellis but one got ambitious and placed a flag on the top first.  All in all, I'm really happy with the way the garden is going already. I've gotten so much lettuce that just thinning it out every couple of days is giving me a big bowlful of greens. I am already seeing that I didn't leave enough room for the zucchini. My cucumbers never seemed to take, though. I'm not sure what pissed them off but they're never going to recover now, I fear. It's hard to tell in this picture but they're only about 3 inches tall. 
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May 10, 2010 01:32
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We've had some rainy and cool weather for the last three weeks in the south of France. Experts say the Greeks are to blame. The plants aren't doing too bad so I forgive them. I've stopped nipping the strawberry flower buds at the beginning of the month, they leafed-up nicely:  Mt. Everest plant:  The tomatoes have grown nicely as well: 
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May 10, 2010 13:41
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There was frost on the ground this morning. Frost! I hate my life.
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May 10, 2010 16:30
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MarshallX posted:There was frost on the ground this morning. Here too, AGAIN. I am seriously getting sick of this poo poo, our last frost date should have been the end of April at the latest and here it is halfway into May and we still have frost. I'm running out of cucumber seeds, I need to put my tomatoes out, and my pole beans still need to be planted.
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May 10, 2010 17:20
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Chajara posted:Here too, AGAIN. I am seriously getting sick of this poo poo, our last frost date should have been the end of April at the latest and here it is halfway into May and we still have frost. I'm running out of cucumber seeds, I need to put my tomatoes out, and my pole beans still need to be planted. Just cover them up. I’m from Northern Vermont, and it seems half of gardening there is constantly covering stuff up. They’ll be fine. Weather is weird here too. I took a few days off from work last week, got everything planted. We had record heat, super breezy, intense sun, very low humidity. Very unlike New England in early May. I ended up planting a bunch of seeds and transplanted my flowers cabbage, broccoli, and onions. Worst possible transplanting weather and I spent all week trying to keep everything going. Now its cold and blustery, and I think I will just barely escape frost.
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May 10, 2010 17:44
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What can I do about bugs eating my common sage? There are round holes about 1/4" all over the leaves, I don't see anything on the leaves but I didn't get a magnifying glass or anything. Fake edit: Decided to stop being lazy and take some quick pictures, its dark and drizzling so they aren't great but I did find a caterpillar(?) on one of the sage leaves.  Click here for the full 786x772 image. The worst leaf.  Click here for the full 1408x1056 image. Went ahead and took some quick pictures of the rest, they are all doing pretty well except for the chives, they don't look so hot. They are yellowing at the ends were I pruned them and some dieoff around the base. Did I trim then wrong?  Click here for the full 1408x1056 image.  Click here for the full 1408x1056 image.  Click here for the full 1408x1056 image.  Click here for the full 1408x1056 image.  Click here for the full 1408x1056 image. Traxxus fucked around with this message at 23:47 on May 10, 2010 |
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May 10, 2010 23:44
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Is there anything edible I can plant in shadier parts of my yard? Like under a lemon tree?
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May 10, 2010 23:58
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Papercut posted:Is there anything edible I can plant in shadier parts of my yard? Like under a lemon tree? Chickens.
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May 11, 2010 00:59
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