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What type of plants are you interested in growing? This poll is closed. |
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| Perennials! |
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142 | 20.91% |
| Annuals! |
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30 | 4.42% |
| Woody plants! |
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62 | 9.13% |
| Succulent plants! |
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171 | 25.18% |
| Tropical plants! |
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60 | 8.84% |
| Non-vascular plants are the best! |
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31 | 4.57% |
| Screw you, I'd rather eat them! |
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183 | 26.95% |
| Total: | 679 votes | ||
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Question from a friend: are there any good applications (desktop or mobile) for tracking garden progress? (Crop, planting date, condition, treatment, success, etc)
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Mar 11, 2018 17:32
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Boris Galerkin posted:Does it matter what kind of liquid fertilizer I buy? It can depend on the plant -- some plants want different mixtures of nutrients (African Violets especially). This is usually specified on the fertiliser as a N:P:K ratio, and you can look up online which ratio your plants prefer. As to what kind, there's always the conventional vs organic debate, though for house plants I don't think the environmental impact of using chemical fertilisers is enough to feel guilty about. Some of the organic liquid fertilisers are fish-based and will smell.
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Mar 11, 2018 19:31
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Lead out in cuffs posted:It can depend on the plant -- some plants want different mixtures of nutrients (African Violets especially). This is usually specified on the fertiliser as a N:P:K ratio, and you can look up online which ratio your plants prefer. How do the pencil-sized fertilizer stakes do? Anecdotally my plant's seem to be doing alright with them (i.e. they're growing/not dying) but I don't have a lot of experience/large sample size to compare against.
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Mar 12, 2018 17:03
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WrenP-Complete posted:Question from a friend: are there any good applications (desktop or mobile) for tracking garden progress? (Crop, planting date, condition, treatment, success, etc) I have not been able to find one without a fatal flaw myself so I’ve ended up using a rhs journal and making lists - I think others just use excel spreadsheets and google docs and whatnot but it’s massivly satisfying to be able to make notes after a hard days digging and do ticks.
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Mar 12, 2018 17:34
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So, a while back I bought one of those grow-your-own-cactus-and-succulents thing from a store, and they actually have grown (gasp), and so I've decided to grow some more*. My problem is that I'm trying to get my head around some of the aspects of growing cacti and succulents. For brevity, right now my issue is soil. Like, I've got cactus-geared potting soil, perlite, black sand (I'dve bought more conventional sand, but jesus wept I don't need a fifty-pound bag of the stuff) and coco coir (it's labeled as coconut fiber pith on the box, but the title on Amazon said coco coir, so I dunno), but youtube is giving me such scattershot percentages that I don't know where to start. poo poo, one video I watched said that seedlings do best in just regular old potting soil since they need the moisture. * If it helps, the seeds I'll be potting are Santa Rita, Golden Barrel, Red Barrel Cactus, Cactus Apple, and Night Blooming Cereus.
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Mar 12, 2018 21:20
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I am not a cactus expert, but I have experienced a lot of gardening decision paralysis. My advice is to just pick a soil mix and try it out. If it doesn't work well, try another. You can even try several from the start and see how they compare. A lot of advice is offered by really serious hobbyists and professionals, and they tend to either get caught up in minutiae or oversimplify to the point that it seems like you can only do things one way or all your plants will die. In most cases plants can be surprisingly resilient once you've got the basics down.
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Mar 12, 2018 22:00
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I've gotten the hang of propagating lots of different succulents. What's worked best for me and propagation is coconut coir, indirect light, and daily misting with a spray bottle. I do not like peat moss for succulents. Once peat moss dries it becomes almost impossible to re wet and most succulents like to dry out between watering. If you do have something peat moss based you better get used to using warm water and dish soap to improve how much water peat moss takes up. This is a pretty good guide: https://toddmhuss.wordpress.com/2016/01/30/succulent-potting-ten-rules/ Don't overthinking getting the perfect soil components. The two important parts are the soil take up some water to allow your succulents to absorb the water, than drain off and dry to keep roots from rotting. There's lots of different options in components and half the battle is finding something locally available that works for you and your watering habits.
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Mar 12, 2018 22:07
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Hubis posted:How do the pencil-sized fertilizer stakes do? Anecdotally my plant's seem to be doing alright with them (i.e. they're growing/not dying) but I don't have a lot of experience/large sample size to compare against. I feel like I've had success with them. Houseplants (unlike bulbs or vegetables) don't need a lot of nutrients since they generally aren't doing a lot of growing. So the odd bit of fertiliser is good, especially if you want them to flower, but I feel like the range they'll tolerate is pretty broad.
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Mar 12, 2018 22:20
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Stores double the price of cactus specific poo poo and it drives me nuts. I have a lot of succulents and as long as you have a hole in the bottom of your pot and water is draining and you don't overwater them you'll probably be fine. I've had a lot of success propagating them in normal potting soil and soil I dug up from my yard, they are pretty tough as long as you get it into you're head that more water=/=more growing. Move them around to find somewhere they like too; my big aloes hate direct sun. Weirdos In news that doesn't matter to anyone but me my 5 year old R. luteum golden comet rhodie is getting ready to bloom and I'm so excited, the flowers smell incredible. Its trunk is also progressing nicely, I'd like to eventually do some wiring on it but we'll see. I love spring  Anyone have any luck collecting madrone yamadori? I hear they are a huge pain in the rear end to transplant
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Mar 13, 2018 00:29
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Lead out in cuffs posted:It can depend on the plant -- some plants want different mixtures of nutrients (African Violets especially). This is usually specified on the fertiliser as a N:P:K ratio, and you can look up online which ratio your plants prefer. Thanks. I just bought a bottle of generic “houseplant fertilizer” and hopefully it works out. The bottle says to use 1 capful per liter of water (and to use it once a week), but how am I suppose to water my plants with fertilizer? Normally I just pour enough water into the pots until it drains out from the bottom. Depending on how much I overwatered I’ll use a turkey baster to suck up the excess water. Should I be using fertilizer in all my water (eg mix up 1 liter per instructions, mix up more as I need it) or is it enough to just use 1 liter of fertilizer water distributed to all my plants and then regular water to top them up with water until it’s draining?
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Mar 13, 2018 11:12
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trip report from a while ago: this stuff actually did work to get rid of fungus gnats: It took a couple months (normal winter watering, so maybe 4-6 waterings?), but I've finally stopped seeing any. I think an important thing was to use the blunt handle of a spoon to break up the hard/dry soil beforehand so it actually penetrated well throughout. I bet a lot of the first times there were dry voids where larvae were able to remain. I used 3 spoonfuls in 1.5L of water each time and watered like normal
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Mar 13, 2018 18:03
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Hey gang. Never owned a plant before, and of course the first cactus I buy seems like it might be on its last leg :/ I bought it in November, kept it inside on a windowsill for a while, and it started to grow white/grey scales. I brought it outside for more sun, in a spot that was only drenched in sun part of the day and covered in shade the rest. Didn't want to scorch it or anything. I moved it gradually down to where it would get more and more sun during the day. I sprayed it with 3-in-1 as recommended by the local shop where I got it. Didn't seem to do much, and its condition looks like it's getting worse. Anyone have recommendations? I'd like to revive this sucker!   
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Mar 14, 2018 02:53
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ShoogaSlim posted:Hey gang. Never owned a plant before, and of course the first cactus I buy seems like it might be on its last leg :/ Well firstly that could be something viral rather than fungal, in which case there's not much you can do. But secondly, the cactus looks otherwise fairly healthy. I'd just keep giving it lots of sun and very occasional water, and see how it does.
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Mar 14, 2018 05:54
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ShoogaSlim posted:Hey gang. Never owned a plant before, and of course the first cactus I buy seems like it might be on its last leg :/ Those are in fact mealybugs, a type of scale insect and they are bastards and you should get rid of them. E: I'm not actually 100% sure but that picture looks like a textbook case of a mealybug infestation. If you can easily scrape those bumps off then they are definitely mealybugs. A tried and true method to get rid of those bastards is to nuke them with a spray bottle of 70+% isopropyl alcohol, or a Q-tip soaked in the same. Catpain Slack fucked around with this message at 10:15 on Mar 14, 2018 |
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Mar 14, 2018 10:10
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Catpain Slack posted:Those are in fact mealybugs, a type of scale insect and they are bastards and you should get rid of them. The people I talked to at the cactus store said it looked like an infestation as well. I appreciate you chiming in. I'm gonna get some isopropyl alcohol today
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Mar 14, 2018 20:32
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I’m honestly surprised that it takes actual work to care for a cactus. Growing up in the desert those were just things that existed everywhere and never died.
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Mar 15, 2018 11:46
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Boris Galerkin posted:I’m honestly surprised that it takes actual work to care for a cactus. Growing up in the desert those were just things that existed everywhere and never died. Where you deny a service provided by nature, you must do nature's work.
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Mar 15, 2018 19:36
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That's not a cactus, it's a euphorbia, possibly Euphorbia confinalis? This page goes into some details on the differences like euphorbias having a milky sap and in cactus it is clear. All cactus come from the Americas but Euphorbiaceae are mostly from the Mediterranean, Africa, southern Asia and that hemisphere. Looking at the environment where your plant came from can give you ideas on how it likes to live.
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Mar 15, 2018 20:28
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English Ivy as a houseplant always weirds me out a bit - really hard to keep alive indoors, and yet... 5 mins away from my house you can walk down a really cool old railway line with ivy growing up huge walls made by dynamite blasting though rock.
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Mar 15, 2018 21:22
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learnincurve posted:English Ivy as a houseplant always weirds me out a bit - really hard to keep alive indoors, and yet... 5 mins away from my house you can walk down a really cool old railway line with ivy growing up huge walls made by dynamite blasting though rock. Yeah ivy is basically a pest here. The gardens in the place I'm currently renting were pretty heavily overgrown with it and I had to do some serious cutting back. (Lol that and brambles.) Ivy also attaches itself to walls with a kind of plant glue that's near-impossible to get off, so good luck once it starts doing that to your paint job inside your house.
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Mar 15, 2018 21:51
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I wish American stores would stop selling English ivy altogether. Besides the property damage, it's one of the worst invasives and literally kills trees.
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Mar 15, 2018 22:09
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So last November I slipped a disc putting up pots for winter. I had back surgery Feb 1 (and may need another surgery, fingers crossed not) so this year I'm not doing anything in the garden and definitely not in planters - no hauling pots, no carrying soil, no bending, no tugging a hose. However, should I just leave the beds alone and till the gently caress out of them in 2019 and amend the soil then, or plant a no-maintenance cover crop? We are in Pittsburgh. I kinda love alyssum but my helper is truculent and a real downer to be around, so I don't want to ask him for much help. PS. Anyone else get hosed by their love of nature? L5-S1 survivors can I get a what what?
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Mar 16, 2018 00:12
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That70sHeidi posted:So last November I slipped a disc putting up pots for winter. I had back surgery Feb 1 (and may need another surgery, fingers crossed not) so this year I'm not doing anything in the garden and definitely not in planters - no hauling pots, no carrying soil, no bending, no tugging a hose. I mean, if it's just a matter of scattering some seed and raking it in gently, and you can do that with your injury, then why not just toss over a cover crop? I also don't think it's the end of the world if you don't -- you'll have weeds to deal with, and they'll likely seed, but weeds will grow no matter what you do.
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Mar 16, 2018 02:47
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Fitzy Fitz posted:I wish American stores would stop selling English ivy altogether. Besides the property damage, it's one of the worst invasives and literally kills trees. Is that the same as pixie ivy?
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Mar 16, 2018 03:42
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:Is that the same as pixie ivy? Yup Hedera helix.
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Mar 16, 2018 10:07
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What are some good vine like plants that I can hang indoors right in front of a south facing glass wall? I wanted to hang it up in the space between the glass and the curtains so it would get the full light of the sun and not shaded. And I wanted it to just grow downwards towards the ground.
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Mar 16, 2018 17:34
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Boris Galerkin posted:What are some good vine like plants that I can hang indoors right in front of a south facing glass wall? I wanted to hang it up in the space between the glass and the curtains so it would get the full light of the sun and not shaded. And I wanted it to just grow downwards towards the ground. Heart-leafed philodendron and pothos. Granted they might try and grow upward anyway, they don't seem to mind regular re-training. It'll hang if you don't give it something to climb. Even though it lacks the specialized aerial roots of English ivy that glue it to surfaces it wants to ruin, philodendron don't give a gently caress as it stands against my wall and laughs at the ceiling. My wife joked that it'd continue to to scale the ceiling, leaning against whatever part of the texture it could find purchase. 
Big Nubbins fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Mar 16, 2018 |
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Mar 16, 2018 21:05
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Boris Galerkin posted:I’m honestly surprised that it takes actual work to care for a cactus. Growing up in the desert those were just things that existed everywhere and never died. Trying to learn how to grow the things (I don't think I'm doing very well at it, since either every one of my current fresh attempts has failed or I'm simply impatient), at least a few places have mentioned that when you think of cactuses, you're usually thinking of one big saguaro or a few patches of other cacti. Cacti make a ton of seeds; the exant plants you see are the survivors. If it was easy to grow, deserts would be covered in them.
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Mar 16, 2018 21:10
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I bought a house last fall and it's been an adventure so far. At the time of the purchase, I couldn't prioritize landscaping and I didn't think it mattered too much given that snow was on the way very soon. Spring is just about here, though, and here's the little plot of gardening I need to figure out:  I have a few questions: 1.) What are some pretty, colorful plants that don't grow too large or tall to step over and that can live with weekly watering and minimal sunlight (this area's typically in the shade)? It's OK if they're a little pricey; obviously I don't have space for more than a couple of plants anyway. Ideally these would be perennials. 2.) I feel like an idiot asking this, but what the gently caress is that black tarp that's under the mulch? It looks awful. Is that an anti-weed thing? 3.) I heard that you should leave old mulch and just add a new layer on top, but this is the oldest, saddest-looking mulch I've ever seen and I think it's going to outlive me. If I rake it up and start fresh, how thick should the new mulch layer be? 4.) The shrubs were insanely overgrown; my dad trimmed them back when he visited a few months ago. He might've cut them too much, though; it looks like they're really struggling. Anything I could do to improve that, or are they hosed? Also: I don't know whether to classify this thing as a lovely tree or as a giant weed:  I think it might be two plants that grew right next to each other? There's two trunks. Anyway, it looks ugly as sin outside of the summer months:  Is something like that going to have some big root system and I should hire a tree removal service to get rid of it, or can I just cut it down myself? Any advice is appreciated, thank you!
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Mar 17, 2018 01:15
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surf rock posted:I bought a house last fall and it's been an adventure so far. At the time of the purchase, I couldn't prioritize landscaping and I didn't think it mattered too much given that snow was on the way very soon. 1. Hostas, smaller cultivars anyway. They're perennials, great for shade and are very care free, unless you have very hungry wild rabbits. 2. Yep, it's a weed barrier. They don't work, or rather they do, but not very long. 3. Just put down more mulch on top. You want at least 4 inches. 4. This time of year, you'll just have to wait and see what survived winter. I bet that all your trimmed back bushed are fine. As for that tree/bush thing, do you have a better picture of its leaves? I can't identify something that blurry. If it does need to go, that's really small. You could definitely remove it yourself if you need to.
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Mar 17, 2018 03:29
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Shame Boner posted:Heart-leafed philodendron and pothos. Granted they might try and grow upward anyway, they don't seem to mind regular re-training. It'll hang if you don't give it something to climb. I thought pothos too, but I'm not sure that it would like full sun?
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Mar 17, 2018 08:04
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surf rock posted:I think it might be two plants that grew right next to each other? There's two trunks. Anyway, it looks ugly as sin outside of the summer months: I guess plant some evergreens (or leave your garden treeless) if deciduous trees trigger you that much.
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Mar 17, 2018 08:07
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I’m fairly confident that that’s a hawthorn tree, you can just cut it down and dig it out - although I would wait till after the spring blossoms and see if you change your mind or not.
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Mar 17, 2018 09:04
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MisterBibs posted:Trying to learn how to grow the things (I don't think I'm doing very well at it, since either every one of my current fresh attempts has failed or I'm simply impatient), at least a few places have mentioned that when you think of cactuses, you're usually thinking of one big saguaro or a few patches of other cacti. So when I think of cactus, I think of scenes like these:   https://www.hunker.com/13427777/types-of-arizona-cactus  https://www.quantumbooks.com/other/how-cacti-can-live-without-water/  http://www.placestoseeinarizona.com/tonto-national-monument/  http://www.coloradoguy.com/arizona-scenery/photos.htm  https://freerangestock.com/photos/87049/cactus-and-desert-landscape.html And every single house that doesn't have grass landscaping:  Those deserts, my "backyard," do look pretty covered with them to me. e: Let me clarify: I was surprised that you needed to do actual work to care for cactus because cactus were just so plentiful and literally everywhere where I grew up, which is a 100% suitable environment for them to grow up in where you don't have to bother watering them because nature works in their favor. It never occurred to me that people living in places not like those regions would want to keep a cactus as a plant indoors or out. So in my mind cactus are just associated with all the poo poo I posted pictures of simply cause I never thought about it before. But now I have. That's all I was trying to say. Boris Galerkin fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Mar 17, 2018 |
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Mar 17, 2018 14:19
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kid sinister posted:1. Hostas, smaller cultivars anyway. They're perennials, great for shade and are very care free, unless you have very hungry wild rabbits. Thanks for the advice! Also, sorry, I don't have a better picture from when it had leaves. learnincurve posted:I’m fairly confident that that’s a hawthorn tree, you can just cut it down and dig it out - although I would wait till after the spring blossoms and see if you change your mind or not. Thanks!
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Mar 17, 2018 15:07
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I grow lots of random plants from seed in my apartment that I get from everywhere. My two most recent projects are a rainier cherry tree and I think a Mimosa pudica but I got the seeds from along the Nile in Sudan (I seriously only got three/four sprouts from thirty seeds I'd collected).  The cherry tree has been happily growing but recently it's been developing spots on the leaves causing it to start breaking up, is this caused by a nutrient deficiency? I use a general purpose slow-release fertilizer that was mixed into the soil so I don't think that's the cause but I'm stumped. 
Ashex fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Mar 17, 2018 |
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Mar 17, 2018 16:11
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^^very cool Boris Galerkin posted:Those deserts, my "backyard," do look pretty covered with them to me. Just think of a jungle where every possible inch of sunlight is covered with something growing vertically, then realize how empty a desert seems. I can see how you would consider that somewhat covered though Different topic: how can I figure out how warm my greenhouse stays at night? I want to move succulents out there but I'm still getting frost on the ground and I doubt it stays much warmer than a few degrees compared to the outside. This is a kit metal frame/glass paneled greenhouse on a cement pad
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Mar 17, 2018 18:21
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:^^very cool Have you put succulents in a greenhouse before? I'd be worried about moisture and mould.
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Mar 17, 2018 19:10
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Lead out in cuffs posted:Have you put succulents in a greenhouse before? I'd be worried about moisture and mould. Nope I didn't think about that I just wanted to get them more sun and I'm tired of moving 8 big jades out in the morning and in at night
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Mar 17, 2018 19:55
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I think I accidentally overwatered one of my houseplants (small orange tree), and some of its new leaves have started to droop. Should I leave it in the sun or move it to the shade? Should I mess with it or just leave it alone? I've read conflicting advice online. 
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Mar 17, 2018 20:35
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