Garden Geeks thread

[owslachief]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

HGTV has an article on how to attract dragonflies each year.

http://www.hgtv.com/gardening/invite...den/index.html

As Mrs. Les said, the key element is the breeding ground. Either you need to live near a pond or marsh or build something comparable.

Awesome - thanks for the research! What a menu of plants we'll need to keep on hand .

[CLS]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Got sandbagged by a cucumber. Lots of nice yellow flowers, but no cucumbers yet, or so I thought. Moved a leaf and there was Frankencucumber. It's waaaayyy bigger than a pickling cuke is supposed to be, so I doubt it's any good. Odd, because a close inspection yielded no other larger than about an inch.

Jalapenos are doing much better than last year. There are some that could be harvested, but I'll wait, since they're ahead of everything else.

[owslachief]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

In a little wedge of soil next to patio about 4' x 9' x 8', chives, tomatilla, tarragon, sage, arugula, oregano, basil, cilantro (bolted, unfortunately), rosemary, catnip, green onion, Greek thyme. Better close off that oregano - it can really take over.

[Bob Gray]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Cleaned out the last remnants of the spring planting, with a few beets harvested. Only the asparagus left now in the garden. Time to plan the fall planting schedule.

[FreshFish]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

We had a nice surprise this year. Several years ago we planted four blueberry bushes, which have struggled to survive. Until this year, we've rarely seen any yield because various critters got to them first. This year, we put fencing / netting around and over them, and voila! over a quart of blueberries this year.

The raspberries have provided about three quarts of berries so far, with perhaps as much still left to come.

We picked the first row of beans over the weekend. More than enough for a meal. Lots more on the way.

[walrus]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Use Round up in your garden, here is an interesting read.
http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/gly...d-infertility/

One quote
"In fact, beer brewers are having a problem with glyphosate. A few years ago, when one of my colleagues wanted to get more Abraxis test strips for testing materials for glyphosate residue; he was told that they had a 3 month backlog. He asked, what was causing this? He was told that every load of malt barley coming out of North Dakoda has to be tested, because the glyphosate levels were so high that it kills the yeast in the brew mix. "

I'm sure the farmers on here will tell me its BS but maybe its not

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Use Round up in your garden, here is an interesting read.
http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/gly...d-infertility/

One quote
"In fact, beer brewers are having a problem with glyphosate. A few years ago, when one of my colleagues wanted to get more Abraxis test strips for testing materials for glyphosate residue; he was told that they had a 3 month backlog. He asked, what was causing this? He was told that every load of malt barley coming out of North Dakoda has to be tested, because the glyphosate levels were so high that it kills the yeast in the brew mix. "

I'm sure the farmers on here will tell me its BS but maybe its not

Used this stuff all of once- had huge infestation of poison ivy we just couldn't kill. Felt like a terrible person using it. Stuff is nasty toxic

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

I guess I don't have a problem using it when I need to clear things out. I don't buy the list of diseases it's linked to though. Seems off.

On a related note, what's the best way to get rid of a bad case of white clover in and around trees where the roots are exposed? Frankly, it's beyond hand pulling and that hardly works with clover anyways. Thoughts?

[walrus]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

I guess I don't have a problem using it when I need to clear things out. I don't buy the list of diseases it's linked to though. Seems off. ?

Do you buy that it kills yeast in beer?

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Potentially. But then again, a LOT of stuff kills brewing yeast. A hell of a lot of stuff.

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

In general I try not to use too many chemicals. After watching all the research in medicine that assured us things were safe (and then they weren't) I tend to be skeptical. After all, the people paying for most of the research have self interest at heart. It may take a bit more work to use less or no chemical but if I wouldn't drink or eat it straight up I leave it on the store shelf.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Don't get me wrong , I don't like to use them but quite frankly, I'm going to chalk this up to making sure you (general) use chemicals properly. Maybe I'm somewhat desensitized to harsh chemicals because of my background in chemistry and chemical engineering as well as working in chemical plants for most of my career.

So going back to my previous question, I assume I'm not going to get much help on that front.

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

I guess I don't have a problem using it when I need to clear things out. I don't buy the list of diseases it's linked to though. Seems off.

On a related note, what's the best way to get rid of a bad case of white clover in and around trees where the roots are exposed? Frankly, it's beyond hand pulling and that hardly works with clover anyways. Thoughts?

Thought I posted something but now I can't find it. I would leave the clover because it is good for the soil but if you really want to get rid of it you can't use chemicals because the tree roots may absorb it. Best way is to smother it. Lay down a very thick layer of newspaper/cardboard or something papery that is thick. Top with at least a foot of shredded leaves, grass clippings or straw (leaves work best). make sure to pull it away from the actual trunk of the tree as if you bury that too deep it will screw up the tree. Guy down the street cleared a 1/4 of an acre that way. laid logs around the tree and piled all his leaves up in the area with a little hollow around the trunk. Now it is all grass.

[FreshFish]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

We tried planting some watermelon and canteloupe this year, and we have two watermelons on the vine and several canteloupes. I hope the growing season lasts long enough for them to ripen! If we have an early autumn to mirror our late spring, we might not make it. OTOH, if we have a long summer we might actually get a few!

[Bob Gray]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Got some kale, lettuce, and tomato starters going with seeds in egg cartons. Kale are just starting to poke out. May do the same with some arugula and swiss chard if there is time this coming weekend. The asparagus plants made it through the summer for the most part. Also planted some l'itoi onions our nephew gave us. They're quite interesting, as they apparently were brought to Arizona by Catholic priests in the 1700s and have been grown by the Tohono O'odham indians since then.