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Kumquats are a very compact citrus that bears alot fo fruit on a small bush and is also one of the most cold-hardy citrus. I think they are hardy down to 20F or so which may extend the season it can live outdoors by quite a bit. Satsumas get pretty big and IDK that I'd consider them viable indoor plants, especially for the small amount a small tree will produce. Myer lemons are another good compact citrus that produces a good many fruit in a small space.
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Feb 5, 2024 01:44
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you can grow a smaller citrus tree no problem, they make great bonsai and table plants, they flower a lot and smell great, there are variegated ones with cool looking leaves and stripey fruit, but you’re not gonna get something that can really bear fruit at that size unless it’s a calamondin or kumquat tree, or it’s hella old and thick and pruned way back. I have two small lemon prebonsai, one Meyer and one pink, that have fruited every year in the three years I’ve had them, and it’s only like 1-3 lemons apiece and the trees really struggle to hold them up, and I’ve never had the lemons fully mature. They suck up a ton of water and resources from the plant so I usually end up removing them after I get tired of pretending I’m doing agriculture.
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Feb 5, 2024 02:49
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i think there's a hypothetical chance i'll move within 2 years so would a 5 gallon pot suffice for a satsuma until then? as a reference, here's a photo of the applicable floor space I could put it there's not really that much space horizontally and it'd be a struggle if the foliage grew to dominate the area since i'd rather not encroash into the walkway as that'd disturb other residents
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Feb 5, 2024 03:04
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Discussion Quorum posted:Good news, chive flowers are edible and make your salad feel 300% fancier You can also infuse then in vinegar. It comes out bright pink and very chivey.
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Feb 5, 2024 10:22
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Futaba Anzu posted:i think there's a hypothetical chance i'll move within 2 years so would a 5 gallon pot suffice for a satsuma until then? as a reference, here's a photo of the applicable floor space I could put it yes 5gal should be ok for 2ish years if they are sold in 1gal, you can always put it in something better or prune it down if your plans change
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Feb 5, 2024 10:48
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Pruned the hell out of my peaches, apples, pears, and figs. I had to be quite aggressive because the previous owner hadn't pruned them at all as far as I could tell. Apparently he was one of the "I definitely know how to do it and won't entertain the idea that I should research it" types. The peaches now have a cup shape and are within reach of the ground, even though it required removing some very long branches on the more mature one (the tips of three of the branches were level with the second floor window). Still plenty of leaf/flower buds present even if they look rather stripped.   Removed an absurd number of suckers coming up from the roots of the fig, but that's just how figs roll.  The apple and pear I don't have pictures of but they were rough. Just an absurd amount of vertical growth from branches that had to be removed.
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Feb 6, 2024 03:35
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Will using a red heat lamp inside my grow tent affect the day/night rest cycle of my plants? I've done my requisite amount of googling and I'm getting a lot of "yes, no, maybe" bullcrap. I'm thought about splitting the difference and putting the lamp outside and point at the Mylar sheets (from a safe distance) for completely radiant heat.
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Feb 8, 2024 19:45
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I'm starting tomatoes, peppers, and some wildflowers indoors this year. Specifically in my home office, and they're due for their first baby dose of fertilizer soon. My go-to water soluble ferts have been fish emulsion (which smells like what it is) and Miracle Gro organic (which smells like cat piss). Recommend me something that will not have my office smelling like a dead fish that pissed itself. I can get Fox Farms stuff at a local ag supply store, but I can't exactly crack open the seal and give it a smell test in the store.
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Feb 8, 2024 21:06
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Two things for my take: 1. I've never fertilized starts. 2.  Miracle Gro and the like are easily the most nose friendly that I've ever used. My favorites are fish/squid emulsion, blood meal, and bone meal, none of which I would enjoy having in my actual office.Not joking at all but I'd hit up the weed threads.
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Feb 8, 2024 21:34
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Worm castings tea might not be too stinky
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Feb 8, 2024 21:40
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Lawnie posted:Worm castings tea might not be too stinky Vermiculite is good smellwise
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Feb 8, 2024 21:45
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It also adds about as much to the dirt as your post.
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Feb 8, 2024 21:48
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Between pellets of cow or chicken dung that I dissolve in water, chicken is the least pungent, but definitely not odorless. The cow dung I also don't recommend indoors as it seems to contain all sorts of insect eggs that are apparently viable. I used to have these pink and blue granules that were derived from petrochemicals I think that didn't smell whatsoever. No idea what a similar product in America would be called though.
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Feb 8, 2024 22:02
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You could probably dilute down hydroponic fertilizer and "fertigate" with that, though I'm not sure you'd find something with the right NPK balance and obviously it's not organic. I use General Hydroponics in a deep water culture setup and it doesn't have any odor I can detect.
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Feb 8, 2024 23:10
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I used the Fox Farm liquid line when I had a pepper room in my basement. Doesn’t stink and the general nutrient levels worked right. I think there’s guidance to dilute to something like 1/8th of what you’d normally use for small seedlings, but I’m not at home to look for where I wrote it down.
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Feb 8, 2024 23:23
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Jhet posted:I used the Fox Farm liquid line when I had a pepper room in my basement. Doesn’t stink and the general nutrient levels worked right. I think there’s guidance to dilute to something like 1/8th of what you’d normally use for small seedlings, but I’m not at home to look for where I wrote it down. You're right, also the newer labels have a measurement for seedlings. At least on my bottle of grow big it says 2.5ml/gal rather than normal feeding rate of 10-15ml/gal
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Feb 8, 2024 23:29
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I know it needs to be super dilute, but they're in 50/50 peat/vermiculite currently, which has like no nutrients. I'm probably a couple weeks from needing to do anything.the milk machine posted:I use General Hydroponics in a deep water culture setup and it doesn't have any odor I can detect. Yeah, I was thinking hydroponics nutrients might be the way to go. Thanks!
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Feb 9, 2024 00:16
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Dr_0ctag0n posted:You're right, also the newer labels have a measurement for seedlings. At least on my bottle of grow big it says 2.5ml/gal rather than normal feeding rate of 10-15ml/gal Super useful to put it on the labels now. I had to dig it up on their website or probably a weed growers forum when I was looking for it. Just don't use the quano one indoors where you'll smell it. It is what you'd think it is. The regular vegetative growth Fox Farm had no odor that I could smell after mixing. General Hydroponics is also not smelly, and they have feed charts on their website too.
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Feb 9, 2024 00:46
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I'm converting my suburban midwestern lawn into prairie plants because I hate mowing. I planted several hundred plants in front of my house last year and now it's time to work on the back. I put in a big order with Prairie Moon and here is what I have planned for my first round of plantings: Andropogon gerardii (Big Bluestem) Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie Dropseed) Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem) Chasmanthium latifolium (River Oats) Panicum virgatum (Switch Grass) Sorghastrum nutans (Indian Grass) Bouteloua curtipendula (Side-oats Grama) Carex molesta (Field Oval Sedge) Eragrostis spectabilis (Purple Love Grass) Artemisia ludoviciana (Prairie Sage) Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower) Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed) My backyard was entirely buckthorn and Tartarian honeysuckle when I moved in. I'm still working on removing the buckthorn that pops up after two years, but I'm hopeful that I've exterminated most of it.
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Feb 9, 2024 17:16
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goatse guy posted:I'm converting my suburban midwestern lawn into prairie plants because I hate mowing. I planted several hundred plants in front of my house last year and now it's time to work on the back. I put in a big order with Prairie Moon and here is what I have planned for my first round of plantings: Post pics!
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Feb 9, 2024 17:29
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Good luck! I seeded a xeristrip on my property with prairie verbena and pink evening primrose. Where it widens out, I've seeded various coneflowers, lanceleaf coreopsis, lemon mint, and Engelmann's daisy. Sadly, we have had such a warm winter that I am wondering what germination is going to look like for things that want to be stratified. Fortunately, I also stratified a few things in the fridge, so I have some milkweed and Rudibeckia starting indoors.
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Feb 9, 2024 21:20
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Discussion Quorum posted:Good luck! I seeded a xeristrip on my property with prairie verbena and pink evening primrose. Where it widens out, I've seeded various coneflowers, lanceleaf coreopsis, lemon mint, and Engelmann's daisy. Sadly, we have had such a warm winter that I am wondering what germination is going to look like for things that want to be stratified. I threw down a bunch of seed mix amongst my plants for stuff I wasn’t able to buy in plug form, like partridge pea, plus some freebie mixes from Prairie Moon and MNL. We are also having an unseasonably warm winter with low precipitation so I hope that things still come up. I learned of the existence of prairie parsley (Polytaenia nuttallii) through one of my plant groups. It’s a host plant for the black swallowtail caterpillar, so now I’ve got another thing to add to my list of things to plant this year. I have surprisingly few photos of my garden as a whole because it’s not terribly photogenic yet - tiny plugs spread out a foot to two feet apart on a backdrop of wood mulch doesn’t photograph very well.
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Feb 10, 2024 03:28
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Discussion Quorum posted:I'm starting tomatoes, peppers, and some wildflowers indoors this year. Specifically in my home office, and they're due for their first baby dose of fertilizer soon. For the past few years I've been using Dr. Earth Pump and Grow  for my seedlings. It has a slight odor, but it's more of a molasses smell than anything offensive. The only time it's really even noticeable in the room is after everything's been potted up and I'm fertilizing like 12 flats at a time with it.
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Feb 10, 2024 12:23
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Investing in proper pots and containers would have made the project a little to expensive, but I managed to snag some containers kinda like this one for a fantastic price (free). They need some work on them. Drainage holes in the bottom, for one. Then some sort of mesh to keep everything thats inside staying inside. They're about 28cm wide, 25cm deep and about 45cm long (Or about 11, 9 and 17 inches). Past that, I need some questions answered. I've seen just as many posts out there that say to put rocks on the bottom for drainage as ones that say not to, so a definite answer one way or the other would help. Also, are there any reasons I shouldn't be using a container like this at all? I think lastly, can I just leave the containers with the holes on the balcony itself, or should I be looking at something to elevate it a little? Once all that's done I can decide what's actually going into them. Dr_0ctag0n posted:I would recommend looking into self-wicking buckets for balcony gardening. You can build some really easy or buy a pre-built kit like an earthbox. I had great success last year with hot peppers in a small 8x5ish spot of full sun. Do you have any good DIY tutorials that I can look at and see what sort of work would need to be done?
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Feb 10, 2024 18:13
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I've been tasked with helping my gardener wife with an irrigation system. We are in coastal British Columbia which gets very dry in the summer and very wet in the winter. Our area introduces restrictions every season on overhead watering. I want to use a drip system with several zones controller by electronic valves. My initial thoughts are to get a starter kit from Irrigation Direct such as the one below https://www.irrigationdirect.ca/Drip-Irrigation-Watering-Kit-For-Row-Crops-JUMBO-w-3-4.html and add the zone control with solenoid valves purchased separately.  Maybe it's better to purchase the items separately? I can get OK pricing on plumbing parts through a relative. The first season we would be running a hose to the system and next season bury a permanent line to the house. I know next to nothing about irrigation or potential pitfalls and would appreciate any input or ideas.
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Feb 10, 2024 18:23
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OscarDiggs posted:Investing in proper pots and containers would have made the project a little to expensive, but I managed to snag some containers kinda like this one for a fantastic price (free). Are they food grade? You don't want them to leach anything out. Drill your holes, put some landscaping fabric on the bottom (to keep dirt in and let water out) but no rocks, and I've had the best luck with my containers if they're elevated. Not so much for drainage, but to keep the hot concrete away in the summer.
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Feb 10, 2024 19:13
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OscarDiggs posted:Investing in proper pots and containers would have made the project a little to expensive, but I managed to snag some containers kinda like this one for a fantastic price (free). Those would probably work fine for a self-wicking container, or at least as a free test for leafy greens and herbs or onions but they're pretty small if you plan on growing larger plants like tomatos, peppers, cucumbers, etc. I had 4 pepper plants in one container that would slurp up 3Gals of water every few days during the hottest months of the summer. I had to cover them to protect from the apt maintenance spray-painting the buildings and as soon as the sun hit them it inflated like a sauna with all the water that was being perspired through the plants, here's a picture lol   Rocks are generally used just as a buffer layer between the soil and the artificial water table so you don't have the dirt sitting underwater which will drown the plant or cause root rot and invite fungus. If you set up a wicking container properly you won't really need rocks in the bottom unless you want to add extra weight to make it more stable or just use the single container rather than one with a 'false bottom' created by nesting two. Here's a slightly over-complicated version that shows a way to make them with 5-gal buckets, it's got some diagrams to see how the basic structure works and you could apply it to any containers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOXDCFSKdNo For your containers you'd just need to put something in the bottom one to keep the top elevated a bit like maybe some empty crushed soda cans or rocks and then drill some holes in the bottom of the top bucket so when you water it all drains down in and then slowly wicks up either with the roots, or cotton strings, old clothes strips, or whatever you have laying around to hang down into the water and draw it up into the soil. Dr_0ctag0n fucked around with this message at 20:07 on Feb 10, 2024 |
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Feb 10, 2024 19:33
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effika posted:Are they food grade? You don't want them to leach anything out. As far as I can tell its polypropylene which should be food safe, but I don't know about food grade. Dr_0ctag0n posted:Here's a slightly over-complicated version that shows a way to make them with 5-gal buckets, it's got some diagrams to see how the basic structure works and you could apply it to any containers. This could be made to work very nicely, thanks.
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Feb 10, 2024 20:37
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This year I am contemplating converting part of my lawn into buckwheat, for both food yield and the cover crop utility of the vegetative growth. Anyone ever planted buckwheat and then eaten the groats?
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Feb 11, 2024 15:00
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therunningman posted:I've been tasked with helping my gardener wife with an irrigation system. Zone control sounds cool but it's probably easier to just pick relative flow rates for each bed and then control the whole thing at once with a timer.
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Feb 11, 2024 23:54
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therunningman posted:I've been tasked with helping my gardener wife with an irrigation system. Yeah the only reason for multiple zones is if you don't get enough pressure to water everything at once.
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Feb 12, 2024 02:33
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Yes that's my thinking. It is too much to run all at once and will definitely need zoning. We have a substantial flower garden and also vegetable beds and various borders and shrubs and trees that need watering. No lawn though. We tried using some drip hoses this season and it was definitely too much for a single zone and required constant babysitting.
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Feb 12, 2024 04:11
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I have set up one sprinkler system, using stuff from that exact website (their warehouse was actually really close to where I was living). One thing to think about is that they're using different tubing and connectors for the drip irrigation than for sprinkler irrigation. I'm fairly sure the solenoid system you put in your post is only for the sprinkler system pipe, and designed to be buried. There are adapters, though, so you could run buried pipe to each zone, then adapt it to the drip system poly pipe. You'll need a manifold for the solenoids (can be bought pre-assembled), and a box to bury them in. Or, you could just take their suggestion with that kit you linked and add a hose-end multi outlet timer. It probably won't be as fancy or robust as the solenoid system, but might be enough? I'd also say to find a calculator online and figure out how much pipe etc you need. 100' sounds like a lot, but if you're thinking four zones it might be way too little. Edit: for the size of system you're talking about, the pipe cutter is worth getting. Also, make sure you design out your whole system before purchasing. It sounds like you can email that website and they will help you with your design. That's probably a good idea... Lead out in cuffs fucked around with this message at 05:17 on Feb 12, 2024 |
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Feb 12, 2024 04:50
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Someone gave me a piece of a puzzle that I was missing in my war against certain pests and bugs. Have a friend who moved to my area (Canadian prairies) from Vancouver Island a few years ago - he's going into his third season gardening here. He says that he completely gave up on growing any brassica here, particularly anything that's vulnerable to flea beetles and/or cabbage moths, whereas I've been struggling against them for some time They're several orders of magnitude worse here because we're smack dab in the middle of canola country. I can actually see a field that rotates between canola, barley, and soy from my garden.  I had never put it together that the recommendations about "just use BT spray" or "netting will keep the kale growing nicely" may have been from contexts that aren't evolutionary thunderdomes for the most pernicious and destructive garden pests against these crops. I might not even bother trying kale again. I had limited success with netting last year, but the space the kale took up was totally not worth it compared to the yield it gave me. Idk. I'll have to see how I feel, and maybe I'll just go down to like 4 plants on a variety trial kind of thing. I love leafy greens but our cool - extremely hot - cool climate makes lettuce and spinach bolt quick quick. In other news: I'm going to start my onions and leeks this weekend in my new grow light cabinets that I built from plywood seconds and scrap wood over the winter. The season is beginning!!!!!!
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Feb 13, 2024 16:19
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Don't feel bad, kale sucks in every way.
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Feb 13, 2024 17:06
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Why plant kale when you could plant a leafy green that doesn't taste hateful and bitter?
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Feb 13, 2024 20:13
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I dunno what kinda kale y'all are eating - it's delicious! Sure, curly kale is bullshit, but Red Russian is fantastic. Lacinato isn't bad either.
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Feb 13, 2024 20:34
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goatse guy gets it. Gai lan, yu chow, mustard greens, turnip greens, malabar spinach, amaranth.....
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Feb 13, 2024 20:41
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So, now I’ve nearly killed my bok choy seedlings in the grow tent, I’ve discovered that they are cool weather plants. Apparently, all leafy greens are. I’ve been playing around with hydroponics since November. Had a lot of fun…murdered a bunch of plants.
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Feb 13, 2024 20:59
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Marsupial Ape posted:So, now I’ve nearly killed my bok choy seedlings in the grow tent, I’ve discovered that they are cool weather plants. Apparently, all leafy greens are. I’ve been playing around with hydroponics since November. Had a lot of fun…murdered a bunch of plants. I've always wanted to give hydroponics a try. Did you buy a system or build your own?
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Feb 13, 2024 21:26
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