|
I will never not be amazed at how well these jerks blend in: Fortunately it was on the potatoes which are dieing back now so not much damage was done. I put him in the driveway and a grackle whisked him off in less than a minute.
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2014 23:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 09:52 |
|
|
Dat fukken bug.  I was checking my cloche yesterday and I could hear buzzing, and I thought something had got stuck inside and could not get out. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a loving huge spider making a nice eternal sleeping bag for a bumblebee. I rescued Mr.Bumbles via tactical stick withdrawal, then promptly dropped him into a bucket of water.  I fished it out, and tried to remove some of the silk, but it did not survive the operation. Then I threw the spider into my cloche because he had a go-getter attitude, and I felt bad about kill stealing. Anyways on the subject of watering, some of my plants seem to retain soil moisture for quite a long time. This is possibly because some of my pots lack drainage holes, is that a bad thing?  I was planning on getting a bunch of builders buckets to plant my flowers in, as they are huge and cost a fraction of what a similar sized plastic plant pot would be, and I was wondering if I need to drill a few holes in for drainage.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2014 00:00
|
|
|
Oh hey sweet a gardening thread, can't believe I hadn't found this before.Shifty Pony posted:I put him in the driveway and a grackle whisked him off in less than a minute. lmao
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2014 00:11
|
|
|
Kill it with loving fire. But I'm glad a bird got a full belly. Dilettante. posted:Anyways on the subject of watering, some of my plants seem to retain soil moisture for quite a long time. This is possibly because some of my pots lack drainage holes, is that a bad thing? Yes, you need drainage holes. I love reclaimed containers for gardening--gently caress spending a fortune on plastic pots. We have some 55 gallon plastic drums that Mr. Cookie sawed in half long ways, trough style, for extra potatoes. He drilled three rows of holes in the bottom of the curve with a half inch bit, then I put in a solid couple inches of river rock, followed by my planting mix. (Mine was for potatoes, so it was acidic and sandy; use what is best for your plants.) They drain wonderfully. If you don't want the added weight of rocks, you can drill holes and use a scrap of screen to cover them. For herbs and flowers, that works just fine for me. I have a couple of 15 gal Smart Pots that I'm growing parsnips in for the first time this year, and so far I love them. Much more economical than regular plastic pots, especially for the size and depth that parsnips need.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2014 01:11
|
|
|
I was thinking about getting a large smartpot for my carambola as it gets bigger; is Amazon the best place to do it? I'm assuming yes.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2014 03:08
|
|
|
Shifty Pony posted:I will never not be amazed at how well these jerks blend in: The worst thing about picking those fuckers off, is that they gorge so much that when you grab them, they start vomiting all over your hand. Get parasitoid wasps and teach them why nature hates them.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2014 05:01
|
|
|
I went with the bird disposal because my parents used to toss hornworms like that into the chicken run. One would pick it up but the others would see it and then give chase. The first chicken was unable to eat the worm because it was busy fending off other chickens so you would get a good 10 minutes of entertainment from the whole affair. Oh and the hornworm would be nice and dead.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2014 05:02
|
|
|
Hi all! Haven't found the veg thread til now, I've been growing veggies for 5 years now and it's seriously one of my favourite activities/hobbies in the world. I have a question about potatoes and the "tater tire" method. This is my first year ever trying to grow one. I'm growing a sweet potato plant cause sweet potatoes are healthy and delicious... also the nursery didn't have any regular tates and it was too late to start my own  Anyway, I have no experience with potatoes, so I'm not entirely sure what to expect.It took a bit to get going, but in the last few weeks it's exploded and the vine is now about 10" long and growing pretty sideways. I didn't realize it'd be so viney!  So if I understand correctly, the idea is that I let the plant grow to be taller than the tire, then I put the tire around it and fill with dirt, essentially burying the bottom half of the leafy vine. Is that right? Then the buried part will become a potatoey part instead of a leafy part? The tires I've found are 8 or 9" across. Should I wait until the vine is longer, or should I put the tire around it now and just not fill the tire all the way, like so:  Also, what kind of dirt to fill the tire with? Potting soil or regular? Also, regarding the sideways nature of the vine. When I put it in the tire, should I try to bury it similarly sideways-ish, or stand it more upright?
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2014 17:31
|
|
|
Putting more dirt serves two purposes: too keep light away from the tubers and to add more roots because and the vine part you have buried will develop roots (and tubers). I haven't done the tire method but my understanding is you just pull the vines semi-upright and fill around them with soil, ideally leaving 6" or so unburied. I would go ahead and toss the tire on, pull the vine upright-ish and just not fill all the way with regular dirt. Side note: gently caress squirrels.  Now my backyard smells like someone with indigestion overloaded on garlic and boiled eggs. Hopefully that godawful smelling stuff will keep them away and I don't have to go all the way and just enclose my garden in hex netting but dammit I will if I have to! Thanks Austin city council, I really look forward to spending one or two hundred on an enclosure instead of $20 on a live trap and $0.50 on BBs or 10 cents worth of CO2. Shifty Pony fucked around with this message at 01:25 on Jun 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2014 23:19
|
|
|
This isn't really a veggie/herb question but this is probably the best place to ask. Does anyone have any idea what the heck this perennial is? My landlord has them planted all over like 1/4th of my backyard garden and I can't seem to find out what it is looking on the internet. I'm at least 75% sure they're not a weed although they've spread enough that I'm about ready to kill them all.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 03:34
|
|
|
Our first two tomato plants are gigantic and have started fruiting, and the peppers we transplanted a while ago that seemed otherwise stunted have both gone through growth spurts and doubled in size this week  Transplanted Tomatillos, Brandywine, Taxi, and a yellow cherry tomato along with some white bell peppers last week. Our potato plants aren't super full, but they continue to get taller despite getting enough sun. I've mounded them up as much as I'm gonna so here' hoping the are putting as much work into the roots as they are the greens!
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 03:57
|
|
|
ghetto wormhole posted:This isn't really a veggie/herb question but this is probably the best place to ask. Does anyone have any idea what the heck this perennial is? My landlord has them planted all over like 1/4th of my backyard garden and I can't seem to find out what it is looking on the internet. I'm at least 75% sure they're not a weed although they've spread enough that I'm about ready to kill them all. I *think* you've got a case of the mallows on your hands -- likely Malva neglecta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malva_neglecta). Good news is, they're edible! Bad news is, they're really hard to get rid of.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 04:54
|
|
|
boberteatskitten posted:I *think* you've got a case of the mallows on your hands -- likely Malva neglecta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malva_neglecta). Good news is, they're edible! Bad news is, they're really hard to get rid of. That would appear to be it for sure, thanks! No wonder I couldn't find it when I was googling perennials. I killed them off in one area by aggressively applying a shovel but I didn't want my landlord to be pissed if I eradicated something she wanted there on purpose. Guess I better go hogwild on them before they seed.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 05:04
|
|
|
Shifty Pony posted:Now my backyard smells like someone with indigestion overloaded on garlic and boiled eggs. Hopefully that godawful smelling stuff will keep them away and I don't have to go all the way and just enclose my garden in hex netting but dammit I will if I have to! Thanks Austin city council, I really look forward to spending one or two hundred on an enclosure instead of $20 on a live trap and $0.50 on BBs or 10 cents worth of CO2. Just get a live trap anyway?
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 05:07
|
|
|
ghetto wormhole posted:This isn't really a veggie/herb question but this is probably the best place to ask. Does anyone have any idea what the heck this perennial is? My landlord has them planted all over like 1/4th of my backyard garden and I can't seem to find out what it is looking on the internet. I'm at least 75% sure they're not a weed although they've spread enough that I'm about ready to kill them all. I'm going to give you a second opinion, and also not so stealthily plug my own plant thread here (Plants in General Thread  : http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3543738). Due to the plant being as tall as the chain link fence behind it, as well as the fact that the landowner cultivated those plants on purpose, I think it's some sort of hollyhock.I grew some hollyhocks from seed before, and those leaves (and the dead spots on them) are extremely familiar. I don't think it's Malva neglecta because the flower buds don't match up, and photos on the internet make it seem like the Malva is much more scrawny than what's in your photo. EagerSleeper fucked around with this message at 06:05 on Jun 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 05:56
|
|
|
EagerSleeper posted:I'm going to give you a second opinion, and also not so stealthily plug my own plant thread here (Plants in General Thread Definitely could be...just for context, my Malvas (in the SF Bay) are varyingly 6 inches to 7 feet tall depending on yard location, and some have stalks up to 3/4" across. We bought the place recently and initially thought they were intentionally planted, too, especially when they were blooming -- but if you're not totally sure it was on purpose, I'd guess mallow. The picture's buds look suspiciously like the post-flower capsules of doom that mine all have right now.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 08:14
|
|
|
Yeah definitely could be hollyhocks. I'll take some better pictures and look at them more closely tomorrow. My landlord is an old sorta hippy lady so she very well could've planted Malva on purpose or something  . It's been pretty wet this year so everything is absolutely huge.Except my vegetables which I've only had the chance to plant in the past couple days.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 08:21
|
|
|
/\/\ I second EagerSleeper; those are a hollyhock. I have them in the front of the house. The height, the leaves, the flower buds, all the same. Let them go, where they aren't in your way. The flower stalks will continue to get taller, like 6 feet, and be covered with big flowers. Like gladiolus that are hardy for places that get winter. I love mine. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 14:44
|
|
|
I have an office cayenne pepper plant that shares a box with other herbs. the bux is about 8X24X8. The thing was growing upwards nicely but it has recent become a monster and is growing sideways. Is this something I should correct or just let it do it's thing? I probably should have researched the kin d of plant it was but instead I haphazardly added seeds and now it's beyond coralling it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 16:50
|
|
|
Veskit posted:I have an office cayenne pepper plant that shares a box with other herbs. the bux is about 8X24X8. The thing was growing upwards nicely but it has recent become a monster and is growing sideways. Is this something I should correct or just let it do it's thing? I probably should have researched the kin d of plant it was but instead I haphazardly added seeds and now it's beyond coralling it. Peppers are extremely tolerant of pruning. Go to town.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2014 20:41
|
|
|
alnilam posted:Hi all! Haven't found the veg thread til now, I've been growing veggies for 5 years now and it's seriously one of my favourite activities/hobbies in the world. Fruiting plants are safer to grow in toxic soil, and flowers and stuff are obviously fine, but I'd never eat something that I had to dig out of dirt which has been soaking in a tire for months, or which I have to eat the vascular tissue of after it's been in that same dirt surrounded by a gross old tire. Maybe in Mad Max world it's a good idea but common sense says hold on a minute, can you possibly see this NOT being possibly full of toxins? coyo7e fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Jun 10, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 00:02
|
|
|
Jerkass squirrel took another tomato. Steps were taken until I can afford to enclose the garden properly.  Hey they needed some shade soon anyway so...
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 02:52
|
|
|
I've got a few squash plants that have gotten big and are doing fine. However the smallest of my squash plants (anything under 6") quite often get snipped right at the ground level. Whatever is doing it is leaving behind most of the plant. Occasionally a shred of a leaf will be missing but a bulk of the plant remains there next to the stub right at the ground withered away. It happened today during the day as I noted my new crookneck squash starts had one lopped off by the time I got home from work and it was fine that morning. Any thoughts? No pictures at this time but there is not much detail to be seen outside of the description above.
|
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 02:52
|
|
Shifty Pony posted:Jerkass squirrel took another tomato. Steps were taken. Also get a BB gun, gently caress the haters. When I lived in Austin I did that too 
|
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 02:52
|
|
|
Breaky posted:Also get a BB gun, gently caress the haters. I keep leaning towards live trap and CO2 box. Clean, humane, and out of sight with no risk of one scampering to a neighbor's house and passing. We'll see if they get the hint though. At my parents' house the ruger 10/22 would already be getting a workout.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 03:00
|
|
|
This is totally off topic but is CO2 really humane? Wouldn't they feel like they were suffocating? Seems like you'd wanna use nitrous oxide or helium or something.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 03:35
|
|
|
No its relatively humane. It's standard practice in wildlife euthanasia.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 04:09
|
|
|
Hummingbirds posted:This is totally off topic but is CO2 really humane? Wouldn't they feel like they were suffocating? Seems like you'd wanna use nitrous oxide or helium or something. I've always wondered this too so I looked it up and someone said this on a wikipedia talk page: Asphyxiation is not caused by an increase in CO2; it is due to tissue hypoxia (not enough oxygen reaching the tissue). A buildup in CO2 can cause deep sedation to occur and proceed to death if it is not corrected. This condition is known as CO2 narcosis. The patient may or may not experience discomfort. Although our primary drive to breathe is CO2, if the oxygen level in the blood drops to a certain level it will also stimulate ventilation. If this decrease in oxygen occurs before the increased CO2 has sedated the patient, the patient will experience the sensation of suffocation. Neserita 20:23, 19 April 2007 (UTC) Apparently CO2 acts as a sedative so sudden high concentrations will stun the animal before it actually runs out of oxygen so it won't be able to feel like it's suffocating when the oxygen in its blood runs out a short while later. Nitrogen and other inert gas asphyxiations don't sedate the victim but since they're able to exhale the CO2 from respiration they don't feel like they're suffocating though they would be more aware than something stunned by CO2 until the oxygen in the blood ran out. my kinda ape fucked around with this message at 05:12 on Jun 10, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 05:07
|
|
|
Breaky posted:I've got a few squash plants that have gotten big and are doing fine. However the smallest of my squash plants (anything under 6") quite often get snipped right at the ground level. Whatever is doing it is leaving behind most of the plant. Occasionally a shred of a leaf will be missing but a bulk of the plant remains there next to the stub right at the ground withered away. Is there any chance of rabbits doing this? I've had rabbits both snip and run like you said, and I've had them sit there and eat the entire plant before.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 13:51
|
|
Tyson Tomko posted:Is there any chance of rabbits doing this? I've had rabbits both snip and run like you said, and I've had them sit there and eat the entire plant before. I haven't seen any rabbits before around here and no evidence of pellets anywhere near the property either. When this happened previously I thought it was due to rats because there are a lot of them around here. However, this happened in broad daylight in a bed exposed in full sun. I doubt a rat would have done it. I was wondering if it was a bird or something. So yeah, could be a rabbit but 0 info to suggest any around.
|
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 13:59
|
|
|
TheBigBad posted:No its relatively humane. It's standard practice in wildlife euthanasia. Also swine/poultry slaughter! I really would prefer to just keep them out however. In an (sub)urban environment when you take one out another just moves right in. Where I used to live I would road trip them several miles over to the rich part of town so they can deal with them.
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 15:02
|
|
|
So I took some of the saucer-sized lower leaves off my brussels sprouts, sliced them into ribbons and cooked 'em up like collard greens (collard up some greens? I dunno I'm no saucier). Goddamn, they're pretty good - I'm surprised nobody's begun selling them as the new hipster superfood like kale and stuff seems to have become. I was just looking for something to do with them since they were about to get grabbed and strangled by my peas however, A+ would recommend whole brussels sprout leaves. I gave everything in my garden a shot of 12-1-1 a couple days ago and everything but the jalapenos are looking great. Next year I'm gonna go all  with soil tests and poo poo, once I have a couple of baselines to work from. The jalapenos are a bit yellowish still and a little limp. I'm not too concerned since it's not my plant and jalapenos are cheap as hell, although I am curious as to the cause.Shifty Pony posted:I keep leaning towards live trap and CO2 box. Clean, humane, and out of sight with no risk of one scampering to a neighbor's house and passing. The other option is to use capsaicin. Squirrels generally hate spicy. Breaky posted:I haven't seen any rabbits before around here and no evidence of pellets anywhere near the property either. When this happened previously I thought it was due to rats because there are a lot of them around here. However, this happened in broad daylight in a bed exposed in full sun. I doubt a rat would have done it. I was wondering if it was a bird or something. TheBigBad posted:No its relatively humane. It's standard practice in wildlife euthanasia. 
coyo7e fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Jun 10, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 23:09
|
|
coyo7e posted:Don't mention this in Pet Island. They feel that whacking their feeder mice on the head 2-4 times is more humane before feeding them , and they will shitpost the hell out of you for mentioning it. I used to like Pet Island. It's turned into a stranger and stranger place over the years though. I sometimes have to sit on board reviews of ethical / humane practices etc, CO2 is also classified as a humane way to euthanize rodents in biological experiments.
|
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 23:15
|
|
|
My girlfriend works as a zookeeper and has to dispatch rats and mice to feed her animals on a regular basis - she says she hates using the CO2 chamber because they start squealing frantically and blow the capillaries in their eyes before they go, whereas one good thump will down them before they know what's happened. With nitrous, they would definitely enjoy the ride down. Of course, you'd probably have "undetermined sources of leakage" any place you employed it, though 
|
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2014 23:29
|
|
|
Critter chat: I never kill my feeder mice before feeding them. That's the [corn]snake's job. Whatever does the job the fastest is the most humane, and the snake is like lightening. Garden update, only because I am so excited and happy about how things are going! Since the potato flowers fell off, I know I'm ~6-7 weeks off of harvest, so I felt around in the soil to see what was going on. With almost no effort I found a half dozen golfball sized taters, so I am pretty excited to see what's going on under the entire plot. Anticipation!! My tallest tomato is just past my elbows and my shortest ones are up to my hip, and flowers are out in droves, so all's well on the tomato front. My tomatillo plants are still on the small side (I think?). Like a pepper plant that has sprawled all over the place. But there are several little lanterns set on them. I used to grow husk cherries, so I have a fondness for seeing those little bitty lanterns. Peppers are all flowers and new leaves daily. I'm pretty sure my little fig has set a few fruit at some of the nodes, but time will tell. Gurney's is having their end of season clearance, so I got a little stupid today. More carrot seed, which will not go to waste. Scallion seed, which I figured I would direct sow in some pots. They grow quickly anyway. I got some spinach seed for later in the fall, and some spare basil and coriander (I just sow new seeds in pots every few weeks or so. That way, when they flower and bolt, I can just ditch them because I have fresh ones.) The problem was they have figs for $5.99, so I ordered a second one.  I have a week or so to find a spacious sunny spot. Maybe it can hang out next to my mock orange...And we finished laying our garden patio yesterday before the rain hit, so I ordered a hammock from Amazon to go on it.  I watched a little bird zip through the sky this afternoon chasing some big bug. I also saw a redtail hawk crying and hunting the next yard over. At dusk, we have bats (not sure what kind, probably pips or brown bats) that swoop all through the yard chasing bugs. I cannot wait to watch the yard go by from a hammock! I seriously love the backyard.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2014 00:08
|
|
|
I'd really like to plant pumpkins this year for the family kids to freak out over and carve. I know pumpkins take up a fuckton of room, but I'm wondering for 5 kids or so (so like 8-10 pumpkins) how many vines would I need? Is this a thing I can plant in a clear area of my yard and just let the vine go everywhere? We currently have lawn with a 4x4 "raised" bed off one end, but that is only 4" higher than the rest of the yard, and all the grass grew through the bed. The dog likes to poop there now. Could we plant the vine in a large planter and let the ends just go wherever?
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2014 00:56
|
|
|
My god. Typical alpine utah 99.9999999% sunshine is becoming brutal for pretty much everything organic around my home. We finally have some cloud cover this afternoon. I can almost hear my garden and lawn sighing with relief.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2014 01:53
|
|
|
Amykinz posted:I'd really like to plant pumpkins this year for the family kids to freak out over and carve. I know pumpkins take up a fuckton of room, but I'm wondering for 5 kids or so (so like 8-10 pumpkins) how many vines would I need? Is this a thing I can plant in a clear area of my yard and just let the vine go everywhere? We currently have lawn with a 4x4 "raised" bed off one end, but that is only 4" higher than the rest of the yard, and all the grass grew through the bed. The dog likes to poop there now. Could we plant the vine in a large planter and let the ends just go wherever? Trellis perhaps? IIRC folks have done that and made hammocks for the melons/pumpkins and such.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2014 01:55
|
|
|
I feel bad for everyone with drought issues but holy poo poo it will not stop raining here. Today is day 16 of every day is a rainy day. 10 or so of those have had severe thunderstorms. I don't even know what to do anymore. When its dry you can water but at this point there's no other option but be wet. I had to use the string trimmer on the lawn because the wheels on the mower wont turn they just dig in.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2014 04:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 31, 2024 09:52 |
|
|
Amykinz posted:I'd really like to plant pumpkins this year for the family kids to freak out over and carve. I know pumpkins take up a fuckton of room, but I'm wondering for 5 kids or so (so like 8-10 pumpkins) how many vines would I need? Is this a thing I can plant in a clear area of my yard and just let the vine go everywhere? We currently have lawn with a 4x4 "raised" bed off one end, but that is only 4" higher than the rest of the yard, and all the grass grew through the bed. The dog likes to poop there now. Could we plant the vine in a large planter and let the ends just go wherever? I think 2 to 4 per vine is normal for most varieties but apparently you can get more smaller ones by pinching off the female flowers for the first few weeks. Vines can go wherever but beware they'll start to root along their length when they rest on soil so it's harder to rearrange if you aren't doing it as often. I wouldn't let them go wherever on grass though since you won't be able to mow there. I've grown spaghetti squash on a fairly sturdy A-frame trellis and it worked pretty well. I'm trying it again this year with butternut and sweetmeat. If I was growing sugar pie pumpkins I wouldn't bother with extra support for the fruit but anything bigger should probably have it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2014 06:30
|
|
