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I planted a little balcony garden and now there are a million flies on my balcony. I think it's my smelly compost potting soil the garden center told me to get. How do I get rid of them or at least greatly reduce their numbers?
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Apr 8, 2015 22:13
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Cpt.Wacky posted:Sounds like fungus gnats. They love overly moist soil so let the pots dry out more before watering them again. You could try a beer or vinegar trap to cull some of them. Or read about all the wonderful pesticide options here: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05584.html I made a little bottle trap for em and it didn't work. I also picked up a bag trap at the hardware store but no luck so far. Perhaps i'll try out some pesticides if it doesn't work well enough.
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Apr 9, 2015 05:21
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Sulla-Marius 88 posted:Oh my god I hate my loving cats. After 3 weeks the chili seeds have finally sprouted and are doing quite well. I wake up this morning and find out that the cats have just eaten them all. But I already have cat grass, there are four goddamn pots full of fresh cat grass on the same balcony - didn't touch the cat grass, oh no thank you, just my tiny motherfucking seedlings. I've got an upside down wire basket over mine to prevent just that.
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Apr 30, 2015 04:44
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I had good luck covering my pepper pots with saran wrap and watering them with warm water.
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May 1, 2015 00:32
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I think you can pick leaves off the spinach as soon as the plant has enough to keep itself alive without em.
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May 8, 2015 23:23
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Jan posted:Well, it's been two weeks of nothing but wind and 10C/50F weather... RIP thyme, RIP oregano, I couldn't even remember your names. It took me 3 attempts to get basil growing this year, don't sweat it and try again.
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May 24, 2015 02:09
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Cucumber juice makes a good gin and tonic.
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Jul 14, 2015 04:43
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My pepper plants are doing pretty well, it's been hot lately and they've been loving it.
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Aug 1, 2015 03:41
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Adult Sword Owner posted:I think seeds from supermarket food is probably not the way to go. Tell that to my supermarket lemons.  Did you peel the seeds? I peeled the lemon seeds and put them between a folded moist paper towel in a ziplock bag. Then I put it on my fridge for a while. Once they had like 2cm-ish roots growing out of them I put them in a hole root down about a quarter inch under the soil.
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Mar 27, 2016 05:43
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Motronic posted:I don't think you understand what is being said here. The original guy asked "How can I germinate these supermarket seeds" so I posted how I managed to do just that. I don't see the problem?
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Mar 27, 2016 17:21
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SniperWoreConverse posted:
They have a fibrous membrane that you can peel off with your fingernails. I peeled them so they were like the middle seed in this image. 
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Mar 28, 2016 07:52
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My blueberry didn't really take off at all this year, I bought it last spring. The leaves were wimpy and kinda red/brown. I finally got some acid loving plant fertilizer and now it's really perked up. Don't think i'm going to get any berries though  .
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Jun 10, 2016 06:22
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Cpt.Wacky posted:I've had such poor luck with peppers outside in the PNW that I'm seriously considering an LED grow light setup and keeping them indoors. I finally got some production out of jalapeno and marconi rosso, but it's not looking likely that they'll ripen fully. If it works for weed, then why not? I've had decent luck growing jalapeños on my balcony in seattle. A few plants even survived winter out there and produced the next year.
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Oct 7, 2016 17:10
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Cpt.Wacky posted:Seattle average 5-10 F warmer than my location Dang. In that case my dad had a pretty easy time of growing jalapeños and birds eye chilies under a growlight before.
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Oct 7, 2016 20:44
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100YrsofAttitude posted:Hello! I've looked a bit about the thread and I wasn't able to find much info on balcony gardening. I grow peppers in pretty cramped spaces on my balcony. They're probably not as productive as they could be but they still produce a good number of pretty hot peppers. They're probably spaced about a foot apart in a windowsill style planter. To start them I plant a seed or two in a few plastic cups and start them indoors. Then I transplant the best couple of them outside when it warms up a bit.
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Feb 21, 2017 19:17
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100YrsofAttitude posted:Great advice from the two of you thank you. Looks like my weekends planned out. That's almost warm enough, it's still been dipping into the high 30's on occasion at night here so I haven't put anything outside but last year I had stuff outside on valentine's day. I'm waiting for the lows to be about in the mid 40's with highs in the 60's before I move em out. Now is a good time to start your seedlings if you haven't already though. I have one of those wire trash baskets turned upside down over my plants so my cat doesn't eat em. A suggestion for your more shandy balcony is to grow mushrooms. I leave bags full of substrate just sitting outside on my balcony and occasionally mushrooms pop put if i remember to dump water on it every now and then. Not quite veggies and herbs, but it's not that hard and they grow faster than lots of plants. http://www.namyco.org/docs/grow_oyster_mushrooms_on_kitty_litter_illustrated.pdf Flipperwaldt posted:I'm gonna repost this picture: Yeah, the subdued production has been the only problem I've had growing them in about a gallon of soil each. Thai chilies are an excellent choice for limited space though as they produce very well in my experience but I haven't had any pepper just fail me.
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Feb 21, 2017 20:04
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Pham Nuwen posted:I've heard hydrogen peroxide mentioned as a solution for mold, I can't remember what dilution you're supposed to use though. This works kinda, at least it did with some mushrooms I was growing. Increasing airflow helps too. E: I just eyeballed it and poured some n in a spray bottle with some water.
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Mar 16, 2017 17:22
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My container carrots did terribly last year, they produced a single sad bad tasting carrot
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Apr 2, 2017 04:48
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How does that watering thing work
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Apr 3, 2017 23:23
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indigi posted:Hello, thread! I am pretty brand new to the gardening world and wanted to know if there are any standard/go-to books everyone recommends for beginner veggie/herb gardening. also would like to know about berries and mushrooms, but those aren't a requirement. I grow mushrooms, it's really easy. I mostly use this method. http://www.namyco.org/docs/grow_oyster_mushrooms_on_kitty_litter_illustrated.pdf And I've successfully grown mushrooms using stems of shrooms bought at the farmers market.
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May 3, 2017 17:42
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Sir Bedevere posted:I have read white led light is no good...lacking uv light I think. I grow mushrooms, I've grown various oyster mushrooms, shiitakes, and lion's mane. For some of them I buy little kits from the farmer's market and others I propagate myself on recycled newspaper kitty litter. They grow faster than most plants, but it isn't really that different of a process.
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May 28, 2017 20:12
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Micomicona posted:OK, I finally figured out what the hell was wrong with my raspberries. They were here when we moved in a couple of years ago, in an orderly bed. I was under the impression that they needed to be cut down to the ground every winter; since the canes all died and were also hugely giant--but this is apparently only true for some raspberries, because since I've been pruning them yearly they've neither flowered nor fruited! I guess some are on a two year cycle. I have a raspberry plant, and yeah it only fruits on canes that are from the previous year. They look dead in the winter pretty much but they produce leaves in the spring. I trim them and they still fruit.
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Jun 29, 2017 08:05
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turing_test posted:I'm trying to sprout some mint and some basil from cuttings (I've never done this before). I trimmed the lower leaves off of my cuttings and the basil seems to be growing tiny roots, but the mint isn't going anywhere (it's been about a week and I've been changing the water every other day). The cuttings are all sitting under a grow lamp that's on for 24 hours a day (I'm also not sure if I should get a timer for the lamp). I had the same problem with a mint cutting. I ended up just sticking the end of it in the pot of another plant I had and left it alone for a week or so. I noticed it hadn't really wilted by then so I pulled it out and it had some roots. I put it in its own pot and its doing fine.
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Aug 4, 2017 22:10
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I use them as screens to keep the dirt in on the bottom of pots on my balcony since they last for years
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Mar 3, 2021 00:40
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i have an indoor grow light for some plants, it works ok. it's one of the clamp on ones i tore apart and zip tied into a display case to keep my cat from eating the plants inside. i didn't know white ones are better now though, when these die i'll definitly look into replacing them because it looks like im growing weed in my living room from the window.
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Jun 17, 2021 18:09
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i think they do taste better if you grow them but the difference is not as significant as with something like a tomato
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Mar 30, 2022 21:52
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They look really nice but the chore hater in me keeps thinking about mowing around them
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May 14, 2022 19:41
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Where did you get the plant
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May 27, 2022 01:10
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I'm gonna get one and presumably kill it
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May 27, 2022 01:43
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PokeJoe posted:I'm gonna get one and presumably kill it update: i got the sichuan peppercorn plant last weekend and put it in a pot today
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Jun 10, 2022 23:01
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my blueberry bush produced a single berry this year. it was pretty tart!
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Jul 28, 2022 19:48
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I hope my peppercorn tree gives me some fruit next year
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Sep 10, 2022 04:01
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Xpost I built a cold frame and it rules
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Sep 26, 2022 20:05
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Green tomatoes can ripen off the vine, but if they taste bad ripened on the vine it's probably not worth it
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Oct 4, 2022 00:04
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Flipperwaldt posted:I should probably try the green tomatoes. I might go back to bell peppers and onions next year. at the very least you could grab a few of the best looking green ones and let them ripen on your counter. you already put the effort into growing them 
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Oct 4, 2022 11:49
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the grocery store isn't really a place known for taking good care of it's plants so it's probably been poorly watered. if it were mine i'd probably transplant it and prune it at the same time just for convenience sake, at least the leaves with dark spots in case they're infected or something
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Oct 22, 2022 09:30
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I've had mushrooms come back from being outside all winter but im in the somewhat temperate PNW. If you basement them you might want to water them like once or twice a month, and be careful about bringing pests inside that may be hiding in the substrate but other than that I think you should be fine. You can probably get them to fruit indoors even if you put them in a plastic tote and manage their humidity and air access
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Oct 27, 2022 18:16
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if you ever want to move stuff gravel will be very regretful if you ever need to mow that area again. plants love to grow between it too. cardboard+woodchips is cheap, fast, and easy.
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Oct 30, 2022 08:29
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Some plant I bought recently must have had some slug eggs in it because my balcony is absolutely overflowing with the bastards and I've never had a problem in many previous years 
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Nov 23, 2022 06:51
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 00:45 |
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I started a compost bin on my balcony last month, the perfect time for it to freeze. Seems to be working though as the center is warm even though the outside is frosty/crispy
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Dec 23, 2022 02:21
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