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GANDHITRON posted:There is a spray of a bacteria (Bt) that you can use. I believe it constipates or otherwise makes eating difficult for cabbage worms, so they just starve and die. Might be conflating that with iron phosphate and slugs, though. yassssssssssss I've been out in the yard killing them with a chunk of chicken wire and scraping the worms off the leaves but I want something a bit more definitive.
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Aug 17, 2020 23:03
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OSU_Matthew posted:That’s a great idea! I’ll skim back the mulch and just trench them in with a hoe. Which, speaking of... how much mulch should I keep over bulbs? I would say a few inches like normal but don't absolutely bury smaller bulbs. Maybe the total depth of soil+mulch is 2-3 inches deeper than the recommended burial depth? Is this crazy, what do others think? quote:Oh whoah, neat! I love Zinnias, I’d never seen these before... Adding this to my list, along with pink sky petunias This is embarrassing, these aren't zinnias, they are Gazanias. :p In particular, this is "Sunshine Mix", which can be found really cheaply at larger grocery stores or home/garden centers. Don't buy them at Park Seed, they charge way too much and meter out the seeds like Scrooge McDuck.
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Aug 17, 2020 23:20
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GANDHITRON posted:I hate garden pests. I once respected and valued all life, but now anything that poses a threat to my kale gets fuckin' mushed. Tell me about it. This is supposed to be my relaxing, zen activity, but all I can feel when seeing these evil fuckers crawling all over my plants is seething rage. I just checked, and the diatomaceous earth doesn't seem to be doing poo poo at this level of infestation, they're happily crawling around inside blobs of white powder, building webs around it. I don't even care about organic solutions at this point, I just want all spider mites to die in flames.
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Aug 18, 2020 00:31
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I planted a giant Marconi plant because i was just trying to fill out a pack of 10 or 12 when I was at the nursery and it was something I didn’t have and haven’t ever had Finally decided to pluck the lone fruit on what rapidly became the biggest pepper plant in my garden, and munched the fucker like an Apple It had a delightful little kick and a wonderful burst of sweet flavor. I turned to the plant and said “hell yeah biddy, make me some more of those!” And proceeded to take a second bite And within about five seconds my mouth was on fire and it’s taken about 15 minutes to feel relatively normal, though I’m still blowing snot everywhere Marconis are supposed to be 1-1000 scovile, with jalapeños in the 2500-8000 range This loving pepper was closer to habanero territory in how much it hosed my mouth up Only one other person in the neighborhood has a garden as far as I know so I gotta see what he has that could’ve possibly cross-pollinated my plant I am still excited for another pepper to put in a salsa, though.
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Aug 18, 2020 00:45
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That would only happen if you planted the seeds. Pollination won’t do anything to the fruit in the first generation.
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Aug 18, 2020 00:59
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poo poo, yeah, you're right. Weird batch from the nursery then, I guess.
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Aug 18, 2020 01:02
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Peppers are notoriously promiscuous even in the best of setups. I've had ornamental ghost peppers and melt-your-face-off cayenne before. The cayenne ended up getting sliced lengthwise and making little hot vodka airplane bottles and they were incredibly hot. No idea what happened there. Both from farmer's market starts. mischief fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Aug 18, 2020 |
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Aug 18, 2020 01:33
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I've got a bunch of cayenne and it's all habanero level or hotter It's great for drying out and grinding into a spice mix
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Aug 18, 2020 01:50
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I set out to trim the tomato branches that are really infested, and at the same time top them because they've grown unruly and leaning against each other, which probably contributed to the spread of the evil fuckers to begin with. When I realised that the only parts that weren't infested enough to warrant pruning were the tops I'd have to shorten anyway, I had to call it quits. It's going to be palliative care for these tomatoes.  cherry maters, in typical 2020 fashion, you barely had 3-4 weeks of yield before falling to the hordes of bloodsucking parasites.
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Aug 18, 2020 02:33
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Today's harvest from the volunteer bitter melon vine, which by itself is producing a couple pounds a week. Didn't really need to plant four other vines this season: A lot of poo poo's been doing so-so this year, after a late start due to the pandemic loving up planning. In the spring the superstars were definitely the random greens from Kitazawa (standouts being the komatsuna and that one bok choy cultivar that just would not bolt), right now it's bitter melons, long beans (getting two meals for two a week out of a 4' x 2' patch of raised bed), and two Japanese eggplants (which I'm also getting about two meals for two a week out of).
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Aug 18, 2020 02:34
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This is my first season gardening and despite devoting nearly all of my free time to it for a couple months I've only produced some hosed up Bibb lettuce, kale, and maybe three full grown fruits from ten separate zucchini plants. (Oh, and a shitload of grape tomatoes and an 18 oz slicer tomato, but those plants were bought by my parents instead of me starting them from seed, so they don't count.) I guess there's always the indoor hydroponics growing season: whenever I get off my lazy rear end and hang up my grow light. But congrats to everyone else's yields!
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Aug 18, 2020 02:51
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SubG posted:A lot of poo poo's been doing so-so this year, after a late start due to the pandemic loving up planning. In the spring the superstars were definitely the random greens from Kitazawa (standouts being the komatsuna and that one bok choy cultivar that just would not bolt), right now it's bitter melons, long beans (getting two meals for two a week out of a 4' x 2' patch of raised bed), and two Japanese eggplants (which I'm also getting about two meals for two a week out of). Long beans and eggplant are top of my list for next year. Did you get those seeds from Kitazawa too?
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Aug 18, 2020 03:03
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GANDHITRON posted:This is my first season gardening and despite devoting nearly all of my free time to it for a couple months I've only produced some hosed up Bibb lettuce, kale, and maybe three full grown fruits from ten separate zucchini plants. Just a note while I'm having a midlife gardening tantrum - don't be afraid of failure. Everyone in this thread, everyone that's ever tried to grow anything, we've all had absolutely poo poo show results. I started with bolted lettuce and beans I didn't pick in time. I've graduated to existential torment on a garden bigger than some small farms. You have to keep learning. The produce is nice but the knowledge is priceless. Enjoy the sun warm tomatoes along the way.
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Aug 18, 2020 03:03
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mischief posted:Just a note while I'm having a midlife gardening tantrum - don't be afraid of failure. Everyone in this thread, everyone that's ever tried to grow anything, we've all had absolutely poo poo show results. I started with bolted lettuce and beans I didn't pick in time. I've graduated to existential torment on a garden bigger than some small farms. Counterpoint: I'm just gonna learn how to make my own booze and then trade that for food in the Aftertimes.
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Aug 18, 2020 03:24
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showbiz_liz posted:Long beans and eggplant are top of my list for next year. Did you get those seeds from Kitazawa too? The long beans are from seeds saved from last year. I think they were originally kurosanjaku long beans from Kitazawa four years ago. They're super productive and tolerate the heat fairly well (although triple digit temperatures most of last week have several of the plants looking a bit done in). The beans are typically a little on the short side for long beans (most of 'em are around 12" and 18" at peak ripeness), and they're a little thicker/meatier/whatever than what I think of as the classic Chinese long bean, which are a little drier and starchier. These guys are almost like a cross between the longer, narrower Chinese long beans you find at 99 Ranch or whatever and a fatter, more tender green bean/haricot vert. I'm super fond of them (which is why I've been propagating the seeds for several years) but I could see someone who expects a specific texture/size/mouthfeel/whatever from long beans to think they're not what they want.
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Aug 18, 2020 03:27
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GANDHITRON posted:Counterpoint: I'm just gonna learn how to make my own booze and then trade that for food in the Aftertimes. I'm very close to razing my entire garden, building a steel building, and doing literally the exact same thing. I get to be more smug about it if we both do it though. It's only fair.
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Aug 18, 2020 03:32
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mischief posted:Just a note while I'm having a midlife gardening tantrum - don't be afraid of failure. Everyone in this thread, everyone that's ever tried to grow anything, we've all had absolutely poo poo show results. I started with bolted lettuce and beans I didn't pick in time. I've graduated to existential torment on a garden bigger than some small farms. I'm not at "garden bigger than small farms" but I still screw so many thing up so much. It really is all about learning. And if you've read this thread you know the thing I learned how to do is sauce tomatoes. I don't publicide the cucumbers as much because......they are just annoying after a point of being tired of eating and pickling them. And then there's the squash. So good, for just a little bit of them than I should just be ripping them out of the ground to put on the compost pile.
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Aug 18, 2020 05:41
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First year will always be difficult because you probably haven't improved the soil months beforehand. The good news is that now is the time to start doing that for next year - start your compost heap and get some green compost cover seed like a cheap mustard. Reach out to any potential compost / manure sources, bury it raw before winter. Also garlic can be planted now and is very satisfying.
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Aug 18, 2020 08:12
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I woke up this morning and my indoor jalapeño plant (in New England for what it's worth) has a strange new bedfellow: Anybody know what species of mushroom it is? And also a recommendation on a good fungicide that won't hurt the peppers? The plant is fruiting right now and I don't want to lose a solid dozen peppers over this.
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Aug 18, 2020 13:02
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Should I top my tomatoes earlier then 1 mo to first frost if I'm worried that the last week or two leading up to first frost will be around 35? I'm trying to get some late ripening action going Motronic posted:I'm not at "garden bigger than small farms" but I still screw so many thing up so much. Show me your pickles please (I love them and have always wanted to make my own but never have and I'm really into your sauce) I wish everyone would post more pics in this thread. I grew a bunch of dahlias this year is there a better place to share some pretty flowers? Learning is the best and asking questions and failing is the only way I do it, cest la vie Harry Potter on Ice fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Aug 18, 2020 |
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Aug 18, 2020 15:17
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CommonShore posted:I'm going to put a bit of a cold cover on my tomatoes this September while things finish off but I'm moving (to a bigger garden) so my attention to the old garden is going to decrease. I was looking at a zone 3 blog a while back (Manitoba, I think) - I'll see if I can find it again. EDIT It was Alberta - https://northernhomestead.com/growing/ Dukket fucked around with this message at 15:38 on Aug 18, 2020 |
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Aug 18, 2020 15:27
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mentholmoose posted:I woke up this morning and my indoor jalapeño plant (in New England for what it's worth) has a strange new bedfellow: That’s not going to hurt your pepper. Just means you need to back off on the watering. Just pick it off and leave the surface to dry out. If you’re really hating it you can spoon off the surface and replace with new soil, but it’ll come back if you keep it wet like it is in the picture.
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Aug 18, 2020 16:00
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Jhet posted:That’s not going to hurt your pepper. Just means you need to back off on the watering. Just pick it off and leave the surface to dry out. If you’re really hating it you can spoon off the surface and replace with new soil, but it’ll come back if you keep it wet like it is in the picture. Mushrooms feed on cellulose mostly, and it's unlikely to hurt anything or use up what your pepper needs. If anything it might release more nutrients for availability. Note that what you see is the fruiting body, the mycelium are already all throughout the soil already
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Aug 18, 2020 19:02
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Dukket posted:I was looking at a zone 3 blog a while back (Manitoba, I think) - I'll see if I can find it again. Ah yes I found them too! We're doing similar things, and I'm thinking about doing some of their fall planting methods for spinach and early spring planting for sprouts and cabbage. Their season is a bit different from mine (I'm in Manitoba) because they're at altitude up there on the escarpment. Our seasons are the same length but everything for my summer is more extreme - bigger rains, longer dry spells, harsher sun, and hotter days.
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Aug 18, 2020 19:11
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Does anyone here have chickens? I am really tempted but wife is not convinced. How labour intensive is it, what kind of schedule do you need to keep, can you ever go away, do they smell, how much space do they need? I know there are probably lots of resources but I'm really looking for some proper disclosure on what living with chickens is actually like. Produce! 
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Aug 18, 2020 23:16
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CancerCakes posted:Does anyone here have chickens? I am really tempted but wife is not convinced. Check out the backyard chicken thread! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3417601 Chickens are pretty low-effort once you get the proper coop and enclosure set up. They shouldn't smell if properly cared for, but their manure is really "hot" in nitrogen and can get really nasty if not dealt with. They should be locked into a secure location at night and let out in the morning. Depending on how much space you have that can be a large dedicated run so you don't have to do anything, or a smaller coop and you just let them roam during the day. If you have a back yard you probably have enough space. Chickens eat anything, up to and including mice, sand are great pest control but can do some damage to garden beds with their scratching and fruit with exploratory pecking. They shouldn't be let unsupervised around anything that will be eaten by people. It's pretty easy to go on a week vacation if you have someone to give them food and water. Chickens, depending on breed, can be pretty hardy, but will need some special care. You should know the signs of being egg-bound and a few other common diseases.
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Aug 18, 2020 23:41
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My wife and oldest daughter helped process about three dozen chickens for a friend of ours and between that and the rest of the complaints they've had I think it's safe to say we'll probably never go down the chicken road. We don't even have a family pet at this point and we appreciate that convenience a lot. If we do end up clearing our land it's extremely likely that we'll get into cows. I helped my grandfather raise them on his farm as a kid and much prefer them to the hateful little dinosaurs.
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Aug 18, 2020 23:49
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I have Japanese quail because they are quieter and smaller than chickens and take a lot less space, and mature faster. They live in small open-bottom coops I pull around the yard to new spots about once a week. They are currently in the shadiest spot of the yard because heat wave. One coop is 2X4ft and has 4 quail, the other is 2X6ft and has 5 (4 hens and 1 rooster), and each is 1 foot tall (any taller and they may startle and flush upward and break their necks). My quail are "jumbo" meaning their eggs are 12-15g instead of 9-10g, so about 4-5 quail eggs per chicken egg. As meat birds, they are 4-5oz dressed (again, a bit bigger than standard size quail).. They take 6-8 weeks to reach egg-laying age and about 8 weeks to butchering size, and live a few years though egg production is greatest in the first 1-2 years. We hatch our own eggs, which takes 2.5 weeks and a $70 incubator off of Amazon, and then 8 weeks later butcher that batch unless we are replacing any of the laying birds. We are currently getting 55-56 eggs a week, equivalent to 12-14 chicken eggs.   
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Aug 18, 2020 23:58
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GANDHITRON posted:This is my first season gardening and despite devoting nearly all of my free time to it for a couple months I've only produced some hosed up Bibb lettuce, kale, and maybe three full grown fruits from ten separate zucchini plants. It's a journey, not a sprint. More than anything I wanted milkweed this year. Whelp, my milkweed is roughly 6" tall and are not flowering. Next year I'll try again. Gotta have an easy going attitude for this stuff I think.
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Aug 19, 2020 00:50
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Dr. Chaco posted:I have Japanese quail because they are quieter and smaller than chickens and take a lot less space, and mature faster. They live in small open-bottom coops I pull around the yard to new spots about once a week. They are currently in the shadiest spot of the yard because heat wave. One coop is 2X4ft and has 4 quail, the other is 2X6ft and has 5 (4 hens and 1 rooster), and each is 1 foot tall (any taller and they may startle and flush upward and break their necks). My quail are "jumbo" meaning their eggs are 12-15g instead of 9-10g, so about 4-5 quail eggs per chicken egg. As meat birds, they are 4-5oz dressed (again, a bit bigger than standard size quail).. They take 6-8 weeks to reach egg-laying age and about 8 weeks to butchering size, and live a few years though egg production is greatest in the first 1-2 years. We hatch our own eggs, which takes 2.5 weeks and a $70 incubator off of Amazon, and then 8 weeks later butcher that batch unless we are replacing any of the laying birds. We are currently getting 55-56 eggs a week, equivalent to 12-14 chicken eggs. When I was in 7th grade, one of my classmates used his allowance money and his farmer grandfather’s supply catalog to order 500 baby quail to his parents’ house. Oh boy.
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Aug 19, 2020 01:38
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Earth posted:It's a journey, not a sprint. More than anything I wanted milkweed this year. Whelp, my milkweed is roughly 6" tall and are not flowering. Next year I'll try again. Gotta have an easy going attitude for this stuff I think. You probably won't have to try again! Milkweed take about three years to get fully established. They will die down to the ground over the winter but the root system will remain and they will return and grow bigger every year until they reach their full size. A lot of native perennials take a few years to really get going. I planted Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed) last year and they got about 8" tall and only one flowered. This year, they were about twice as big and all but one flowered. I also have some A. syriaca (common milkweed) that's two years old that hasn't flowered, but it did get a lot bigger this year and has many more stems. So perhaps next year. Perennial gardening takes patience.
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Aug 19, 2020 02:15
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Well I'm convinced, I'm going to do quail next year. I did ducks this year and although I enjoy them, quail sound like a cute factor step up. I could probably just sell baby quail to fund the hobby, or find one of our CSA members who wants either eggs or meat. What do you feed them? Can't say I've seen quail feed at the farm store lol
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Aug 19, 2020 02:19
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vonnegutt posted:You probably won't have to try again! Milkweed take about three years to get fully established. They will die down to the ground over the winter but the root system will remain and they will return and grow bigger every year until they reach their full size. A lot of native perennials take a few years to really get going. I don't mean to be ignorant but we treat milkweed like a weed around here. The only people that I know growing it have butterfly farms. Why in the world?
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Aug 19, 2020 02:28
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Sprue posted:Well I'm convinced, I'm going to do quail next year. I did ducks this year and although I enjoy them, quail sound like a cute factor step up. I could probably just sell baby quail to fund the hobby, or find one of our CSA members who wants either eggs or meat. What do you feed them? Can't say I've seen quail feed at the farm store lol They need higher protein than chickens. The local Tractor Supply has Purina Game Bird Chow, which is 30% protein, for $23 for 50lbs. Non-medicated turkey starter would also work (Purina's website calls the game bird starter "game bird and turkey starena"). Our layers also get oyster shell on the side, and they like to eat various weeds from the yard, especially clover. Their favorite thing in the world, though, is bugs, especially cockroaches. We find big fat cockroaches on the ground and drop them into the quail pens and they get so excited! One will pick it up and run around while the others chase them, and this gets the rooster all excited and starts crowing and mounting everyone. It's great fun. Last weekend we collected a bunch of stink bugs and fed them to the quail, which my three-year-old thought was amazing (I did too).
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Aug 19, 2020 02:34
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mischief posted:I don't mean to be ignorant but we treat milkweed like a weed around here. The only people that I know growing it have butterfly farms. You hit it in your post. Various species of butterfly depend on milkweed for food. Most notably, monarch butterflies are wholly dependent on milkweed for sustenance. I should also note that monarchs remain quite endangered, and in some areas messing with or removing wild/cultivated milkweed can net you a fine. It’s also a lovely thing to do. People plant it to attract butterflies and support butterfly populations, both local and migratory.
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Aug 19, 2020 02:36
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Ok Comboomer posted:When I was in 7th grade, one of my classmates used his allowance money and his farmer grandfather’s supply catalog to order 500 baby quail to his parents’ house. Oh boy. You can't just drop that and not tell us how it was resolved.
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Aug 19, 2020 03:50
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poeticoddity posted:You can't just drop that and not tell us how it was resolved. His grandfather made room for most of them on his farm and took them. IIRC his parents held onto like 10 of them and raised them up for a season. IDK what happened after, we stopped being friends in 8th grade and then went to different high schools. Also tens of quail died, I believe, in the initial upheaval and from being kept in relatively small quarters (their basement) for a few days.
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Aug 19, 2020 04:07
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vonnegutt posted:You probably won't have to try again! Milkweed take about three years to get fully established. They will die down to the ground over the winter but the root system will remain and they will return and grow bigger every year until they reach their full size. A lot of native perennials take a few years to really get going. Whoa, what the gently caress. I did not know it was a perennial. Learned something today. That's amazing, but the problem is I have to move them because they're currently in my veg box and they need to move to my flower bed. I assume there's a prime time to move them. Also, I know where a bunch of common milkweed is in some ditches and I might try to transplant those to my local garden.
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Aug 19, 2020 15:46
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Earth posted:It's a journey, not a sprint. More than anything I wanted milkweed this year. Whelp, my milkweed is roughly 6" tall and are not flowering. Next year I'll try again. Gotta have an easy going attitude for this stuff I think. Yeah ours took a few years to get started, it keeps coming back stronger each year Ok Comboomer posted:His grandfather made room for most of them on his farm and took them. IIRC his parents held onto like 10 of them and raised them up for a season. IDK what happened after, we stopped being friends in 8th grade and then went to different high schools. Also tens of quail died, I believe, in the initial upheaval and from being kept in relatively small quarters (their basement) for a few days. Honestly this is probably pretty normal for quail, they like to kill themselves at the best of times. Breaking their necks jumping, drowning in a millimeter of water, just having a heart attack...
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Aug 19, 2020 15:52
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Jhet posted:That’s not going to hurt your pepper. Just means you need to back off on the watering. Just pick it off and leave the surface to dry out. If you’re really hating it you can spoon off the surface and replace with new soil, but it’ll come back if you keep it wet like it is in the picture. DarkHorse posted:Mushrooms feed on cellulose mostly, and it's unlikely to hurt anything or use up what your pepper needs. If anything it might release more nutrients for availability. Works for me, thank you for the responses!
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Aug 19, 2020 15:57
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