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Gracii Guns

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5 hours ago, janrichmond said:

@cineater is Leslie a cat? 

No.  She's the native pro I got to give me a three year commitment on our native beds.  Either I got lucky or I don't react, no poison ivy outbreak.  The mosquitos still find me attractive though. :lol:

2/3 of the compost mountain is grinded up. Tim caught me doing it but he's not going to be there tomorrow.  I'm not telling Del it was me until I take out the rest of it.  We're both on different projects in the garden tomorrow so he can just wonder about that.

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The people's house I helped sandbag years ago have water up to the back door.  He said he wouldn't save it again.  The water just keeps coming.  You can see people with boats bringing their stuff out as the water creeps up the yard.

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With the flood, these little black flies, Buffalo Gnats, have shown up.  They are chewing me up and leaving big welts.  Bug spray doesn't deter them either.

This guy is saying he has to go back to his flooded house to get his M-I-L ashes.  You took out all your shit and forgot that? :lol:

Edited by cineater
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Seriously hate sweat running down my back and into the crack of my ass.  Any solutions to that little problem?

Got to run our produce donation over to the food pantry.  Lots of nice people volunteering over there and always happy to see us come in.

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I'm modifying that little saying.  It's a way to help you remember the differences in the rain garden plants by the leaf shape.  I'd tell you the old way but it would only confuse you, thus the change.

Rushes are round.

Sedges have shape.  (Meaning the triangular leaf shape)

Grasses have edges.  (The G and the E don't go together but I can't think of a G word to modify that.)

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Oh, I researched that other little annoying problem.  I am not the only one.  Actually has a name, Swamp Ass.  Okay, not having that. :lol:  I didn't not care for any of their weird ass solutions to the problem.  I think I'll just try tucking my shirt in the back and soaking up that problem.  Cut it off at the pass so to speak.

Edited by cineater
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We have our first wedding at the gardens this weekend.  The pergola looked like a weed patch this morning.  The leads over that have been out of the country.  This evening, it's stunning.  Black leaf mulch just made the whole thing pop.  I can stand on the parking lot and look over the gardens and that spot just draws you in.  Tomorrow's a workday.  Can't wait for the rest of the leads to notice. 

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7 hours ago, action said:

too much hassle. I just nuke it.

lol, funny story about that.  We have wood chip paths at the garden.  I'm not a chemical person but we have people who love Roundup, can't attack that mindset directly.  They were merrily going around the garden spraying that shit.  First indications that may not be as safe as it was billed, we limited its use to people who had 3 hours of chemical handling training.  Our biggest supporter of its use finally read all that small print and found out you can only spray a spot, our paths, 4 times a year.  (3 for us because we have a non growing season.)

When I took over as lead, I suggested we move the chemicals out of the general use area to the secured area and start logging where we use stuff.  Not a popular suggestion but the horticultural head liked it.  Actually is taking charge of it even though we have some foot dragging.  You know, 3 months is long enough to get him a list of what chemicals we are using!  And if the stuff don't get you lead spraying guy, time will.  We need to know the areas that have been treated more than once.

Thank god we've been in rainy, windy conditions this year.  They've been unable to put Round Up down.  The paths look like shit.  One of the new people showed me this and it turns out it wasn't unknown to our group.  When I presented this as an option to using chemicals, lots of push back.  Unfortunately, the head horticulturist was included in the conversation trying to gather support for the wrong side, lol.  He hasn't responded yet but I'm pretty sure he's going to say "light it up", we're getting away from using chemicals. 

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There's this old rambling rose in my garden. It appears to have been left untended for a long time, so has grown at a jaunty angle. Kind of at 50-60 degrees for a few metres. It won't tie to a trellis (in fact the trellis it was initially placed on crumbled when I took it down). It has a lot of bright pink rose heads on, but only on the new growth. If it was my house, I think I would have pulled it out and put a new plant in there. But while it looks fairly wild, it's not actually doing any harm. So I sawed off some branches which were weeping, and I'm just letting the rest be. I also found this little dude! 

 

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Did you see that picture of the dinosaur with pink yard flamingos all over it?  "Picked clean in 90 seconds."  :lol:

I cut my rose like that back to 12 inches every year.  Initially I was hoping to kill it but they don't die that easily.  It's just in the wrong place for me so I'm happy getting a few canes each year.  Whoever planted it got it too close to the house.  How scratched up are you?

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On June 17, 2019 at 10:00 PM, cineater said:

OMG, check this out Flame Weeding.  

 

Im converting to this method!! I have a good foot of straw down across the entire garden, under it is weeded beds covered with UV proof fabric. And still weeds!!!

We are off to a really difficult start to the growing season. Today is only the 5th day of seasonal warmth. Its been over cast, cool with moderate rain and almost no sun. The only upside is that its nice to feel useful to newer gardeners who are less prepared to adapt. I would have been fine with all my seedlings until the cat happened, so I was mostly from seed and thats the worst with no sun. The farmers confirmed what the Almanac predicted: lots of cabbage bettles (worms?) and of course... Im growing tonnes of it.

Its all worth it once we get to eat from it, which I have! Chives with bacon and sour cream on a baked potato and today Im going for all the fresh herbs armed with ground pork, rice wine vinegar and coconut milk... zeroing in on what the dish will be as I go.

How is other peoples seasons going?

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On one hand I am glad that we are all in this together with the difficult season, but Im sorry to hear its a mess. Im so happy the flood is receding!!

I think my beets caught the soggy leaf thing that all the swiss chard is getting at the community gardens. Shame, was gonna do a second sowing. Might yank em and start something else. Slow germinators like echinacea and lovage are starting to show. Big sigh of relief.

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My lovage has already gone to seed.  Never heard of the soggy leaf thing.  Is that a fungus in the soil of some kind?

I'm growing veggies in with my flowers this year.  Kale, swiss chard, kohlrabi.  I eat that for breakfast while I harvest. :lol:  I have some really cute patio eggplant, purple, in with my orange butterfly weed.  Makes an interesting display.  Looking like this week is get up there at the crack of dawn and run off by 9.  Damn it's hot!

I'm also working in the native bed this year.  Joined a new group for native plants and have my friend's yard we are putting in native beds.  Have a little nursery of native plants I'm growing at home.

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Youre kidding me about your lovage?!?! Thats impressive! How tall of a plant is it? Mine are almost an inch!! :lol: As far a the soggy leaves, many of us do share soil in common so it likely could be that. I note also that a neighbour was cautious to ask if I had chard before approaching with a sample to discuss. I held it because I dont have chard. Next morning my beet leaves had it. I wonder if it can be passed by touch and in the air?

Youre eating a bunnies diet! :lol: That egg plant and butterfly display sound really striking. I hear you with the newly arrived heat, by noon its time to sit under the tree and contemplate the following days am tasks!

Thats so cool about the natives gardening. Id love to hear more as you go? Would be great to learn more about!

None of my garden is in bloom or fruiting so no fun pics yet, but I have been harvesting my culinary herbs and am a sucker for kitchen pics

9dTRRJDh.jpg

Made some "Thai" style pork meatballs! Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Basil, Lemon Thyme

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Lovage is a perennial where I am.  Our plants have been around a few years so they get around 3 feet tall and bushy.  First year plants are normally only one stalk.

Here's an article that may help with the chard and beets:   https://harvesttotable.com/beets_and_chard_growing_proble/  I want to say damping off but that's when your seedlings are looking healthy and the next day they just fall over.  Could have been you handling it but it could have blown over.

Natives in my area aren't natives in your area.  They are pretty interesting.

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I have to say working the native beds is a little challenging for me.  Love the two women I work with but they are hitting on a few of my pet peeves.  I can only stand that so long.  The one talks baby talk to the bugs.  Grown adults talking baby talk just makes me cringe.  You know, what the fuck is the matter with you! :lol:  And the other one is always trying to pick the bugs up and be friends.  "Leave the fucking wild life alone!"  The rant goes on from there. :lol:  I mean, both harmless acts on their parts, but inside my head I'm screaming at them.

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And the talk keeps building to downsize our garden.  I hate to see it but the hard truth is we don't have enough labor to support it.  Personally, I don't want to spend 4 hours a day up there and would like to pursue some of my other interests.  Thus far all my suggestions for increasing participation have gone into the group decision making process and fizzled out.  I could step up and start implementing stuff but it would be me carrying the load and I don't want too, lol.  Not too worried, they talk a lot but when it comes to doing, maybe next year.

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I had to downsize my gardening a few years ago and it really sucked. But at the same time now I cannot imagine having that much garden. 

Lentils are in! First time. They can get tall so I hope I situated them well. My large crops are all in, finally. 

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Gardening is a lot of work.  We've gotten so hot I feel like I need to go up there at night with my headlamp and work it.  But nobody is out there looking at it so let the weeds have it for the moment.

I've been harvesting camomile for tea but I think I'm reacting to it.  When I drink it, the next day I wake up all stuffy.  I'm allergic to anything flora when in close quarters so I'm thinking that extend to ingesting it too.  Thing is I just got use to the taste, lol.

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Not a bad idea to work at night! My nearest garden has zero work left to do, which bothers me as much as how much work there is at the large one, lol.

Thats no good about the chamomile. Sorry to heat that. How long are you drying it for before consuming it?

Harvesting chamomile early in the morning is one of my favourite things! Mines not back yet, but about 4 inches and growing fast!

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