February 15, 2014

Yard and Garden Thread: DonÂ’t Be A Tool Edition [Y-not and WeirdDave]
— Open Blogger

This thread brought to you by William Carlos Williams and The Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore:

red wheelbarrow.jpg

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

(DonÂ’t be hatinÂ’ on this poem. ItÂ’s one of my favorites and Andrew Breitbart liked it, too!)


Take it away, WeirdDave:
To tell the truth, I have been having trouble coming up with a topic for today, but then Y-not told me she was going to cover gardening tools and I had it. Today letÂ’s talk about gardening machinery. Rakes, shovels, spades and hoes are nice, but there are a few jobs around the home garden that require a bit more oomph to accomplish. I can think of three items that every competent home gardener should have to hand.

First up is the problem of putting in the garden in the first place. We talked about preparing the soil and various types of gardens in the very first weekend gardening thread, but what about the step before that? How many times have we walked out of out house intending to start preparing that little plot of land for spring and noticed in dismay that over the winter inconsiderate people have dumped refuge all over the place? It’s practically cliché. For example, last year when I first set foot in my garden I noticed that the following things had accumulated over the winter: an old set of golf clubs, 3 broken dishwashers, the rusted shell of a 1952 Hudson Hornet, a canoe, the USS Oriskany, a doll carriage, 15 bumper cars, various lamps, innumerable brake rotors, the Tappan Zee Bridge and the abandoned Ferris Wheel from Pripyat, Russia.

FerrisWheel.jpg

This thing. The roller coaster was there too

I know, right? Inconsiderate people, using my little suburban tract home as a dumping ground. Well, the good news is that I was prepared. Just a few weeks earlier I had been at a local yard sale and gotten a heck of a bargain on a lightly used Newell Shredder. Gingy was a little upset about how the thing blocked the sun from the corner of the yard, but even she had to admit that it was a fortuitous purchase. I went next door and borrowed a clamshell crane from the neighbor and in next to no time, no more than months, I had cleared a spot for my garden down to the bare earth. As an added bonus the money I got for all of the scrap almost completely covered the cost of my seeds for the year. Score!

GardeningTool.jpg

Gardening tool

Now that I had the site cleared, it was time to prepare the land for cultivation. Being in Maryland (zone 6A), the native soil tends to be a hard, rock filled clay. Most local gardeners groan as they recall the backbreaking effort that they put into turning and mixing the soil, days and days of 9-5 physical effort that results in dirt that will grudgingly accept a plow. Fortunately, I know a guy. I think this next tool might be a little too cost intensive for the average home gardener to buy for once a year use, but I definitely recommend that you put out feelers to friends and family, looking for someone with government, specifically Air Force, connections. My guy is a proud Zoomie, and after some back and forth over scheduling, and one postponement, one bright spring day, right on time, I looked out my back bay window and observed this:

BUFF.jpg

Gardening in the BUFF

I danced with glee. I had only been hoping for one BUFF, Dan managed to whistle up 3. After they left, I went out into my yard and the earth was a loose and loamy as anyone could want, just begging me to plant, plant, plant! This tilling went deep as well, for the rest of the season I never dug so deep that the soil turned hard again. Also, I think the organic components mixed into the soil by the 500lb bombs (various slow cats and dogs from the neighborhood, a PLAF company that had been hanging around, trees, my neighbor (I didn‘t have to return the crane, win freaking win, baby!)) definitely improved my yield during the growing season.

Now that the land is cleared and tilled, itÂ’s time to plant. WeÂ’ll talk about that in other blog posts. However, there is one other small timesaving device that I can recommend for the well equipped home gardener, one that is indispensable come harvest time.

So, you had a great year in your garden. Bushels of tomatoes, crisp peppers, tangy onions and your corn grew as high as an elephants eye. Absolutely fantastic. Still, there is one backbreaking chore that remains to be done: YouÂ’ve got to harvest all that bounty and get it back to your house to eat. Who wants to do all of that work? The solution is simple. Send your Clipper Ship to China, have them Shanghai some random folks, bring them back and put them to work.

Jobs.jpg

Jobs Program.

Now, I’m the type that likes to do things once and never have to do them again, so I had them put in rails to handle a full size 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy” locomotive, but narrow gauge is plenty to meet the needs of your average hobbyist. Once the track is laid and your rolling stock delivered, you’ll never have to lug bushels of heavy produce from garden to door again! In fact, if you keep some of the laborers on instead of sending them back to China, they should be able to handle the planting, weeding, watering and tending drudge work that takes so much fun out of the home garden for most people. Hopefully, some of these labor saving devices will be useful and allow you to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing gardening season, free from the hard work that typically mars our hobby. Don’t forget to grow mint for your juleps, they’re just the thing to sip as you sit the verandah and admire YOUR garden.

Railroad.jpg

I laugh at “model” railroaders


And now from your co-hostess, Y-not:

What can I say? I made rather merry last night, Mr. Scrooge, so I have virtually no words to accompany my links today. VD Day only comes around once a year after all, and the course of antibiotics that follows a successful VD Eve can be very debilitating!

Mr. Y-not had been married about 16 years before we even HAD a yard and that first one was mostly a rocky slope, much of which was covered in ivy – POISON ivy – so we were late bloomers (heh) when we got started gardening. Perhaps that explains why our collection of gardening tools, now dragged across FOUR state lines and THREE time zones, is such a woeful mess.

There's no doubt that good tools can make all the difference in the success and enjoyment of a garden. If I had it to do again, IÂ’d try to find a list of essential garden tools like this one or take a class or something. As it is, we have about a dozen hand rakes scattered around our place, but only decent long-handled rake and NO wheelbarrow. IÂ’ve tried for years to get the Mister to buy one, but it seems to be some sort of male ego point of pride to lug heavy crap around the yard in multiple trips when a wheelbarrow would allow us to do it in one. Or maybe he thinks itÂ’s job security to be the brawn in our little two-person operation. I did manage to make him buy this a year or so ago and itÂ’s been very useful:

__57.jpg

That cart, a small hand trowel (which, surprisingly, didnÂ’t make their list), and a pair of shears are my essential garden tools. And after years of resisting them, IÂ’m also now a believer in garden gloves and a pad to kneel on.

What are your most indispensible gardening tools?

The other thing I wish we were better about – and maybe THIS year is the year! – is tool maintenance. We take terrible care of our tools and it shows. Growing up my parents did a little bit of vegetable gardening, but it wasn’t a big thing and I just never developed good habits.

I thought these were some good, simple tool care tips that even someone like myself could handle. And this list, courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens is an even better guideline for those things we all should have done at the end of last Fall – or could be doing now to get ready for Spring. Sharpening and cleaning tools is an important task and earns its own detailed how-to guide.

What other activities do YOU recommend for maintaining your tools?


In my on-line adventures, IÂ’ve been finding some really great gardening resources on the web, so I thought itÂ’d be nice to start a Blog of the Week series. I thought this blog, Gardens of the Wild Wild West was very nicely done. The blogger is what IÂ’d call a Serious Gardener located in Boise, Idaho. She offers a pleasant mix of hard-core gardening tips and celebratory and inspirational posts. She has a very significant web presence, as well as a radio show. You might want to check her blog out, especially if youÂ’re in the wild wild west, like me.


To conclude this weekÂ’s Lawn and Garden, how about a couple of fun videos?

This is my favorite Allstate “mayhem” ad, featuring our friend the lawnmower:





And here’s a video I call “Disco Gardening.”




Happy Gardening!

(Send tips to Y-not on Twitter at MoxieMom.)

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:46 AM | Comments (232)
Post contains 1629 words, total size 11 kb.

1 What grows good under 7" of ice and snow?

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 07:48 AM (T2V/1)

2 That wheelbarrow is for suckers. I have a car that you pull behind the lawn tracker that has a itch you can fold up and turn it into a large wheelbarrow.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 07:49 AM (T2V/1)

3 Gardening in the BUFF looks like fun.

Posted by: Adam at February 15, 2014 07:50 AM (Aif/5)

4 This government is banning everything and anything yet Disco Gardening is allowed?

End Times ..

Posted by: kbdabear at February 15, 2014 07:51 AM (aTXUx)

5 Well, so far my luck with planting and scattering squash, zuccini and kale seeds has panned out about like the wildflowers I tried to grow fer The Widder MaryAnn.

Not a thing so far. Damn it.

Posted by: backhoe at February 15, 2014 07:52 AM (ULH4o)

6 The chickens moved wheelbarrow on purpose.

Posted by: russian toilet hobo at February 15, 2014 07:52 AM (vCyy6)

7 Gardening in the BUFF


I had a guy on my shift at work who was a grunt in 'Nam.  He used to talk about those Buff's coming by carpet bombing.  Said you would shit your pants.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 07:53 AM (T2V/1)

8 What the hell am I going to feed all these coolies?

Posted by: Gingy @GingyNorth at February 15, 2014 07:53 AM (N/cFh)

9 4 This government is banning everything and anything yet Disco Gardening is allowed? ---- For some reason I had the impression that video was in England, but it could be the antibiotics talking.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 07:54 AM (zDsvJ)

10 That green and red blob shooting out of the mower? That wasn't mom's tomato plants.

Trip over, Geico Gekko

Get Allstate, and protect yourself from mayhem like me

Posted by: Allstate Mayhem Guy at February 15, 2014 07:54 AM (aTXUx)

11 That cuz it's about cock.

Posted by: Tattoo De Plane at February 15, 2014 07:55 AM (Y92Nd)

12 Got yard work to do. Later.

Posted by: Moe DeLawn at February 15, 2014 07:56 AM (mETGQ)

13 Obama administration now allows banks to do business with marijuana dealers.

Posted by: Tattoo De Plane at February 15, 2014 07:56 AM (Y92Nd)

14 So our snow is basically melted (although the mountains have fresh snow), but I think we're expecting more this week. I hope so as it is "mud season" around here and the collies are not good about wiping off their paws.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 07:57 AM (zDsvJ)

15 I�m also now a believer in garden gloves and a pad to kneel on



My wife bought one of these (similar but not the same) when she was laying in brickwork around the pool concrete.  I scoffed at it but now I use it a lot both indoor and out.


http://tinyurl.com/pqmyvob

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 07:58 AM (T2V/1)

16 I have a big pile of composed horse crap to spread over the garden beds and then rototill, just can't get to it yet because about 14" of AGW snow lays across my property. I hate AGW snow and the messiah is punishing us with another 3" in the forecast for later in the day.

Posted by: Angel with a sword at February 15, 2014 07:59 AM (hpgw1)

17 Oooh, I like that, Vic. Where'd you find it?

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 07:59 AM (zDsvJ)

18 Gardening in the BUFF Arc Light!

Posted by: Fox2! at February 15, 2014 07:59 AM (cHwSy)

19 I have a lightweight gardener bucket that I use a lot when a cart isn't needed. I always have it with me, now. Bought it at a garden shop. Looks like this: http://tinyurl.com/mz7brov

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at February 15, 2014 08:00 AM (IXrOn)

20 BTW, I have (Rhode Island) red chickens and a dark green wheel barrowÂ…. is that a poem?

Posted by: Angel with a sword at February 15, 2014 08:00 AM (hpgw1)

21 Duh! YOu got it at Meijer, right Vic?

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:01 AM (zDsvJ)

22 Who ate my plum The one I had In the icebox? Now I am pissed.

Posted by: Carlos William Williams at February 15, 2014 08:01 AM (597GD)

23 I shall hate on that poem because I had to spend a week in a 400 level poetry class analyzing the darn thing to death. Before that I liked it. But that professor sucked the joy right out of the poem. On topic, I got orchids to bloom again!! This is a major life accomplishment because I have failed forever at keeping an orchid alive, let alone getting more than one cycle of blooms out of it. And don't all you gifted green thumb types start ragging on me and telling me how easy it is to grow orchids.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at February 15, 2014 08:02 AM (RZ8pf)

24 so much fails from a red commander in chief perplexed with a mere umbrella stand aside white folks.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars™ [/i] [/b] [/s] at February 15, 2014 08:02 AM (HsTG8)

25 >>On topic, I got orchids to bloom again!! Congrats!

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:02 AM (zDsvJ)

26 Mom puts my underwear in our garden to keep the chipmunks away.

Posted by: Foton at February 15, 2014 08:03 AM (Dwehj)

27 1 What grows good under 7" of ice and snow? =========== Try 7 feet. Feel my pain.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 08:03 AM (oMKp3)

28 My wife bought one of these (similar but not the same) when she was laying in brickwork around the pool concrete. I scoffed at it but now I use it a lot both indoor and out. http://tinyurl.com/pqmyvob Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2014 11:58 AM (T2V/1) That's nice. I have a small stool I bring out with me, too. But, that's luxury, Vic.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at February 15, 2014 08:03 AM (IXrOn)

29 The tools I use the most (beside the yard tractor are:


Shovels; two different sizes


Yard rake (not leaf)


Ax and tree saw; also related a sawsall.


Wheelbarrow and cart (mentioned above)


small hand spade


different spray bottles for roundup and bug poison


Fertilizer/seed spreader that pulls behind lawn tractor.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 08:03 AM (T2V/1)

30 As far as garden tools go, am I the only one who cannot stand garden gloves? Can't wear them. They ruin it for me.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 08:05 AM (oMKp3)

31 Yeah just read a gruesome book called the woman who swallowed a cat which featured a story of two drunk guys who used a lawn mower to trim a hedge and ended up severing 14 of their 20 (between them) fingers. One of their wives came home and found the guys screaming in agony. She called 911 and proceeded to gather all 14 severed fingers. The guys were lucky and only permanently lost 1 finger each.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at February 15, 2014 08:05 AM (RZ8pf)

32 This week, I've got nothing, but it looks like winter might finally be over ish for me. Next week, gonna make y'all jealous. Although yesterday I did buy 14 burned up loropetalum for next to nothing. By May they will be shining ruby red.

Posted by: traye at February 15, 2014 08:07 AM (bRheb)

33 17 Oooh, I like that, Vic. Where'd you find it?

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 11:59 AM (zDsvJ)


Wifey says she thinks she got it a Lowes but doesn't know for sure.  I am sure you can get one from Amazon, hell they have everything.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 08:08 AM (T2V/1)

34 I fuggin hate that poem.

Posted by: Gerard Van der leun at February 15, 2014 08:09 AM (cmkMu)

35 Thanks Y-Not. I am not really a gardener. Or house planter. But I certainly enjoy looking at the beautiful gardens other people have. I guess my one indispensable garden tool is a landscape company that takes care of my yard. My mother and one of my sisters are master gardeners. Obviously that gene skipped me.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at February 15, 2014 08:09 AM (RZ8pf)

36 +1 for a 4-8-8-4!

Posted by: t-bird at February 15, 2014 08:10 AM (FcR7P)

37 21 Duh! YOu got it at Meijer, right Vic?

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 12:01 PM (zDsvJ)


LOL, the only Meijer I have ever been in was in Michigan when I was there on business.  We don't have those down here.



Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 08:10 AM (T2V/1)

38 30 As far as garden tools go, am I the only one who cannot stand garden gloves? Can't wear them. They ruin it for me. --- I resisted them for a long time, but I just got sick of getting crap under my nails. I don't like leather ones. I use those tight-fitting fabric ones that are held on with velcro.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:10 AM (zDsvJ)

39 31 Yeah just read a gruesome book called the woman who swallowed a cat which featured a story of two drunk guys who used a lawn mower to trim a hedge and ended up severing 14 of their 20 (between them) fingers. One of their wives came home and found the guys screaming in agony. She called 911 and proceeded to gather all 14 severed fingers. The guys were lucky and only permanently lost 1 finger each. Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at February 15, 2014 12:05 PM (RZ8pf) Yea, and now all of the rest of us non-idiots have to have power equipment with dead man switches. Thanks for keeping us safe, government!

Posted by: Weirddave at February 15, 2014 08:11 AM (N/cFh)

40 33?

Yeah, it is startling what you can find on Amazon. So many times I've wanted something I'd have to drive all around locally to find. Search Amazon? There it is....

Posted by: backhoe at February 15, 2014 08:11 AM (ULH4o)

41 1 What grows good under 7" of ice and snow?
Posted by: Vic at February 15, 2014 11:48 AM (T2V/1)

Spinach.
You should have planted the seeds around Thanksgiving, though.

And, NO:  I'm not kidding.

Posted by: jwb7605 [/i][/u][/s][/b] at February 15, 2014 08:13 AM (ZALPg)

42 Here you go Y-Not


http://tinyurl.com/qfvzl6n

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 08:14 AM (T2V/1)

43 All this earth. Could all that is lost ever be found? Could a garden come up from this ground at all? All around Hope is springing up from this old ground Out of chaos life is being found in You You make beautiful things You make beautiful things out of the dust.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 08:14 AM (oMKp3)

44 Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 12:05 PM (oMKp3) I hate gloves too since it seems like all I can feel is *them*. Have to admit that the splinters from the creeping fig I'm removing are starting to get old though, and they're sort of necessary for roses with thorns as well.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 15, 2014 08:15 AM (GDulk)

45 "30 As far as garden tools go, am I the only one who cannot stand garden gloves? Can't wear them. They ruin it for me." Garden gloves are the condom of outdoor work. Condoms are the garden gloves of "indoor work," if you get my drift.

Posted by: MaxMBJ at February 15, 2014 08:15 AM (deaac)

46 Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at February 15, 2014 12:02 PM (RZ8pf) Mazel tov! I didn't manage much success with orchids until I found a semihydroponics method to keep them watere just right...

Posted by: phil at February 15, 2014 08:17 AM (QzdcC)

47 Tools: spade, shovel, pitch fork, rake, trowel, knee pads, hoses, wheel barrow, rototiller, V shaped hoe, stakes and sturdy string to plant straight rows, fencing for climbing beans, tomato cages, and plenty of patience.

Posted by: Angel with a sword at February 15, 2014 08:19 AM (hpgw1)

48 That train for your yard???.  I have been seriously considering getting one of those layouts for my backyard because as a kid I used to love those electric train sets.


The problem is they are damned expensive and it requires a lot of landscaping to put down (and probably a LOT of maintenance and upkeep).

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 08:19 AM (T2V/1)

49 ummm, can you guys even see your lawns? anywho, the pet store has this thing that grows grass so your indoor cats can eat some it's my Waikiki lawn later also, I want a cactus....don't know why but I really want a cactus going by the koolina in a little while and cutting an arm off one and seeing if I can grow it

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 08:20 AM (At8tV)

50 O/T but I'm sure Y-not will allow it--my Swissy's half-sister took Best of Show at WKC. If anyone has an interest in the breed, the breeder I dealt with is in Southern Michigan and adopting a child is probably no more rigorous then what they put me through to get that dog.

Posted by: Conservative Crank's iPhone at February 15, 2014 08:22 AM (nX6oN)

51 That's funny. I was literally about to go out to the garden and remove a big limb that fell when the snow we had snapped it off the neighbors big pine. It killed both of my tomato fences. So yeah, my two heavily used tools today are the wheelbarrow and my chainsaw.

Posted by: Gmac-Pondering the coming implosion, and hoping its 404care at February 15, 2014 08:22 AM (baiNQ)

52 ummm, can you guys even see your lawns? Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 12:20 PM (At8tV) Sure, but I live south of Houston now. Sooo glad not to be in Colorado or Missouri which were my other two options.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 15, 2014 08:23 AM (GDulk)

53 >>also, I want a cactus....don't know why but I really want a cactus I gotta say, the first time I visited Phoenix/Tempe (for a job interview ten zillion years ago) I was so captivated by the desert plants. Something about the contrast between the pale greens and the incredibly intense flower colors really appeals to me. We were able to put together a pretty little cactus and succulents garden in our place in SoCal, but those days are behind us unless we move to AZ someday, I guess.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:23 AM (zDsvJ)

54 I gave up trying to rebuild my (10 year old) 2-stroke weed trimmer, and got a good 4-stroke Ryobi weed trimmer with the tiller attachment last spring.

I'd often considered getting a Mantis tiller for my garden boxes, but this thing is absolutely amazing.

Base unit was pricey ($125), but the versatility and available attachments make it cheap in the end.  I'm thinking about adding the chain saw this spring.


Posted by: jwb7605 [/i][/u][/s][/b] at February 15, 2014 08:23 AM (ZALPg)

55 I have a lot of thorny succulents, so I find tongs to be indispensable for removing leaves and debris. I bought a cheap but sturdy barbecue cooking set from the drugstore that came with tongs, fork and multipurpose spatula. Although I bought it for the fork and tongs, I've found the spatula to be quite useful as a weeder and a cutter (it has a serrated edge).

Posted by: Bob at February 15, 2014 08:24 AM (0e7FJ)

56 hoes are nice wait, is this the ONT?

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 08:24 AM (At8tV)

57 >>50 my Swissy's half-sister took Best of Show at WKC. Ooh! Cool. Best in Breed, you mean, right? We watch WKC every year. Love it.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:24 AM (zDsvJ)

58 49  also, I want a cactus....don't know why but I really want a cactus
going by the koolina in a little while and cutting an arm off one and seeing if I can grow it

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 12:20 PM (At8tV)



Believe me, you do NOT want a cactus.  Once they get started they are like kudzu. And they are damned near impossible to get rid of.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 08:25 AM (T2V/1)

59 We were able to put together a pretty little cactus and succulents garden in our place in SoCal, but those days are behind us unless we move to AZ someday, I guess. -- I lie, of course. We could do same in Southern Utah. My friends have a place in St. George with gorgeous desert landscaping.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:26 AM (zDsvJ)

60 That's a Communist wheelbarrow.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2014 08:26 AM (yDmQD)

61 Swiss mountain dog? Does the breeder have a website?

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 08:26 AM (oMKp3)

62 53 sweet so it's basically take the cut end, put it in sugar water till shoots grow, then soil? we didn't have cacti in Chicago growing up and T gardens like she cooks

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 08:26 AM (At8tV)

63 I don't have any gardening tips today. The global warming is falling again, heavily. However, the temperature is above freezing, so it isn't sticking. That's a pity. I only have about 10-12" on the ground. Wouldn't want to run out.

Posted by: rickl at February 15, 2014 08:28 AM (sdi6R)

64 Here's a link (I think) to that gorgeous dog: http://news92fm.com/414469/richmond-tx-dog-wins-at-westminster/

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:28 AM (zDsvJ)

65 58 And they are damned near impossible to get rid of. this is for indoor, getting rid of is simple...down the trash chute I live in a condo now also, if the cats eat on it, will they get sick?

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 08:28 AM (At8tV)

66 Y-NOT, I like the poems of William Carlos Williams. And since I have nothing of value to contribute to this thread by way of practical experience. :^) I will continue with my alphabetical list of states in the Spring. It is snowing here .We have no heat (The oil company hasn't come yet) and it is 52 degrees inside so pictures of states in the Spring cheer me up: Alaska: http://tinyurl.com/k7x8ttf

Posted by: Fitzwilliam Darcy at February 15, 2014 08:28 AM (XyM/Y)

67 Momentarily OT, is anyone else having trouble getting the livestream to work for Wiserbud's show?

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 15, 2014 08:29 AM (DmNpO)

68 Off literary sock from previous thread.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at February 15, 2014 08:29 AM (XyM/Y)

69 Dang Dave. You don't believe in light-weight machinery, huh?

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 15, 2014 08:30 AM (DmNpO)

70 navycopjoe, You'll have to let the cactus cutting airdry and callus over before anything else. if you pot it up before it calluses, you get rot straight off the mark. After a few days to a month depending on the size and type, you pot in a fast draining gritty mix and wait until the roots come.

Posted by: phil at February 15, 2014 08:30 AM (QzdcC)

71 Ooh, those pictures are beautiful, FenelonSpoke.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:31 AM (zDsvJ)

72 The things I know how to grow require 175 hp tractors, plows, discs, planters and drills, combines, pickers, many trucks, and a helicopter. Mrs. E, on the other hand, can grow anything anywhere with seed, plants, a shovel and some water. We don't plant a garden now, but will start back this spring. At our old house we had 5 raised beds measuring 4'X24'. We had everything legal to plant in ETEX, and spent many happy hours (yes, alcohol was involved) in our garden. No chemicals whatsoever, compost only.

Posted by: Erowmero at February 15, 2014 08:31 AM (OONaw)

73 Niedermeyer, I've been having periodic trouble getting THIS damned site to load!

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:31 AM (zDsvJ)

74 heh me: hey, you want to help me get a cactus? nck: I want you to make me breakfast she was so cute when she was little

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 08:32 AM (At8tV)

75 I think my computer needs a cleanup.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:32 AM (zDsvJ)

76 Y-not, I though it was best of show for that breed? Could be wrong. She's a grand champion now, like her mother. Breeder is Wildest Dream Swissies, website is the name with no spaces and then dot com.

Posted by: Conservative Crank's iPhone at February 15, 2014 08:32 AM (nX6oN)

77 gardening thread? I can't see my garden, grass, or gravel?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at February 15, 2014 08:33 AM (t3UFN)

78 Dang Dave. You don't believe in light-weight machinery, huh? If the job needs doing, it needs doing RIGHT. MOAR POWER!

Posted by: Weirddave at February 15, 2014 08:33 AM (N/cFh)

79 >>At our old house we had 5 raised beds measuring 4'X24'. So was 4' the depth or the width? One frustration I had last year was finding raised beds deep enough. (No, we don't have the tools or the brains to build our own.) Most of them were too damned short for my taste.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:33 AM (zDsvJ)

80 Shouldn't the garden tools thread be referred to as the Place of Spades?

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at February 15, 2014 08:33 AM (g4TxM)

81 Awesome idea, Seamus!

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:34 AM (zDsvJ)

82 Sorry, CC. I probably have the semantics wrong. Handsome dog!

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:34 AM (zDsvJ)

83 Jobs Program.


Then they should have spoons, not shovels.

Posted by: Milton Friedman at February 15, 2014 08:35 AM (PDdqM)

84 70 sweet, many thanks I would have totally messed it up the other thing i'm worried about is making sure there's no bugs on/in it I may stop by the cop shop too to see if its legal or not to take one from the road side there's is a shit ton of enviro laws here

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 08:35 AM (At8tV)

85 Any of you garden types ever use a dutch hoe? No, not Xaviera Hollander. It's an implement with a handle like a rake, and two long tines like a fork, with blade across the ends of the tines. Tines are curved, so if you stand holding the handle, the blade is flat on the ground. You move it to and fro, and work the blade down just below the surface of the soil, and it cuts off weed stems below the surface. Seems to take less effort than the traditional hoe.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2014 08:35 AM (yDmQD)

86 I am now a believer in paying folks to stay home and do nothing. That guy with the chainsaw should never again be allowed out in public with decent people. He should never be allowed to work at a functioning company and should never have access to the internet. Stupidity that strong is a danger to society.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 15, 2014 08:36 AM (DmNpO)

87 85 ever use a dutch hoe there was this time in amsterdam when I........... oh wait

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 08:37 AM (At8tV)

88 Does do their own garden tool sharpening? Is it hard?

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:37 AM (zDsvJ)

89 Near Huron Ohio is an herb farm, that has great starter plants of several kinds. But their specialty is bonsai plants that are perfect scale models of full sized trees, and the G-scale "garden gauge" railways that go with them. The practitioners of this sport are dead assed serious, so, no joking around please. It does nicely span the gap between those who railroad as a nice touch to their garden, and those who garden as a way to improve their railroad. Kind of a couples game.

Were I to get going on this, and I have been tempted, I'd have to go the Gomez Addams route. The railroad has to have a function. It can carry water cans to the south forty, or bring in harvest, or tote a travelers' 24-pack, no matter, but it has to have a real function. Imagine--if you will--a little siding going up between ezch main section of your garden, a spur to your drinking depot, and a grand tour around the defensive perimeter, with a scale model of the Ploesti ack-ack cars to ward off rabbits. And there has to be a crash track.

The worst thing about them is, they're almost but not quite big enough to ride. There is a guy not far away who has the modern version of the rural-park kids' train, and I may have to pay him a visit. It's insanely expensive of course, even more so if you get into real engine building, but jesus christ almighty.

A big local park with extensive woods used to have a miniature train, but of course it had to go with the New Parks movement. Now they've expanded the park, moved in a log cabin, barn, and subsistence farm patch, and do historical re-enacting. I've got a warm feeling deep down inside that the trains are coming back. There is no better way to enjoy a walk in the woods than riding on a train to do it.

Hope I live to see it. Maybe Biden could get us a grant! 

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 08:38 AM (xq1UY)

90 So much depends upon a red wheel barrow beside two old dudes blowing each other

Posted by: Taco Shack at February 15, 2014 08:38 AM (C+qQ0)

91 65 also, if the cats eat on it, will they get sick?

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 12:28 PM (At8tV)



Someone gave me a desert rose last year in the late spring.  I think that is a variety of cactus (not sure because no thorns or stickers).  It was in a 1/2 gal pot.  I brought it inside when cold weather hit because the internet so they can not take cold weather.  My new cat kept doing something to it when I had it on shelves in southern exposure windows and knocking it in the floor which caused all the dirt to fall out.  She may have been nibbling on it, I don't know.  She knocked it off three times.



Finally I transplanted it to a large pot that I put bricks in the bottom of with fresh potting soil on top.  I would carry it out to the back porch for sun during the day and bring it in at night.  I forgot it one night and it got down to 28F.  All the leaves on it or drooping and brown now.  I don't know if it will make it now.  It truly can not take cold. Anyway if the kitth did eat on it it did not hurt her.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 08:39 AM (T2V/1)

92 Posted by: Conservative Crank's iPhone at February 15, 2014 12:32 PM (nX6oN) ========= Thanks Crank. Little Winger is researching dogs. Currently the Brittany and the Irish Red and White Setter are in the lead for next pet status.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 08:39 AM (oMKp3)

93 Hoe link: http://www.gardeninginfozone.com/ best-tools-for-gardening-gardening-weeding-tools Dutch hoe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH9QJYbp3zo

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:39 AM (zDsvJ)

94 88 when I was little and we had a push mower, I used to sharpen the blades basically you file the edges square also the shears we had a sharpener with a V groove I would use seemed easy enough but for the first sharpening of the year, I would get a pro to do it

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 08:40 AM (At8tV)

95 I like cacti. But I don't like desert landscaped yards. I think the trend of growing the succulents in a picture frame is kind of cool.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at February 15, 2014 08:40 AM (RZ8pf)

96 91 many thanks cause i'm sure that the boys will nibble on it

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 08:42 AM (At8tV)

97 88 Does do their own garden tool sharpening? Is it hard?
Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 12:37 PM (zDsvJ)

All you need is a file and some patience.
If you're sharpening lawn mower blades, be sure to "balance" the blade before re-installing it, though.

Posted by: jwb7605 [/i][/u][/s][/b] at February 15, 2014 08:42 AM (ZALPg)

98 okay, gotta rip the AR apart the gunsmith is near the resort I plan to get the cactus from pgis, remember the cacti on the road on the way from the koolina? those are the ones i'm going for

Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 08:44 AM (At8tV)

99 so much depends upon a red wheelbarrow glazed with rage running down the white chickens

Posted by: jackslimpson at February 15, 2014 08:44 AM (ya1pT)

100 Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 12:35 PM (At8tV) Rubbing alcohol is your friend, when it comes to bugs. Indoors the most common affliction would be mealy bugs ...white cottony masses are the sign most notice first. An easy general purpose option would be to make your own insecticidal soap out of 1 part rubbing alcohol, 2 parts warm water, a splash of cinnamon extract, and a squirt of dish soap. think the proportions are right for that....

Posted by: phil at February 15, 2014 08:45 AM (QzdcC)

101 My dad invented the damnedest weeding tool. Take a used-up handle, short for kneework, close to rake-length for standing, and use a screw-adjusted hose clamp to attach...another screw-adjusted hose clamp. Add a little used electrical tape to keep mud out of the adjusting gear, and you can hoe individual weeds right up the the base of your desirable plant with perfect precision.

They're stainless, so, clean-up is a snap!, and you can adjust for the type of root you're after. In worked-up loam, they'll penetrate several inches, plenty for "emergents." I got on him to patent it and go 1-800-TV, but he got burned on a patent deal once just before WWII and never got over it. So, it's yours, world.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 08:45 AM (xq1UY)

102 Japanese garden tools developed in isolation from the West over centuries. Some of them are clearly superior. Garrett-Wade has a good selection.

Posted by: Mr. Dave at February 15, 2014 08:45 AM (ZZX2X)

103 Little Winger is researching dogs. Currently the Brittany and the Irish Red and White Setter are in the lead for next pet status. ---- Permit me to put a plug in for collies. Both are very people-oriented dogs. We find our rough to be more low-key (as well as more tuned into our emotions), which some think is a characteristic of the variety (after all they guard sheep so they have to hang out quietly & patiently), but both are very gentle with our cats and sweet dogs. The smooth's coat does not mat, but it is a double coat so there is still shed. Just very low maintenance. The rough's coat was a little tricky to care for the first couple years, but as she's matured, it really doesn't take much. But we are pretty good about getting her groomed every 6-8 weeks or so. Our smoothie came from this breeder: http://allcollies.tripod.com/ She raises both roughs and smooths (both can come from a breeding, depending on the parents). She did a really great job raising the pups. Our rough has a few neuroses about things like vacuum cleaners and other noises, but our smoothie has none. The breeder acclimated all of the pups to unusual things when she raised them.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:47 AM (zDsvJ)

104 Sorry but that poem sucks. It has always sucked. It's the equivalent of the modern art that critics ooh and aah over, that looks like a five year old painted it. It's no better than one of those magnet poems that people have on their fridge or bored office workers mess around with in the break room. It's just awful. Awful.

Posted by: Average Jen at February 15, 2014 08:47 AM (1WdJ6)

105 Navycopjoe a desert rose is a variety of cactus from Africa.  However I found this while searching that out.


Caution with Desert Rose


Desert rose contains a white sap that is poisonous to people and animals. When plants drop their leaves during dormancy or due to stress, wear gloves when handing them. Dispose of the leaves, and keep them away from pets and children. The sap irritates skin and can cause problems when ingested. Desert rose leaves rarely excrete white sap unless damaged. The biggest concern when handing a desert rose is during pruning due to the concentration of sap in the trunk and branches.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 08:49 AM (T2V/1)

106 Y-not I love collies, and we have had both collies and shelties in the past. For some reason Little is not a fan.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 08:49 AM (oMKp3)

107 So much depends on apes in the grotto eating figs howling and bare

Posted by: Average Jen at February 15, 2014 08:49 AM (1WdJ6)

108 >>For some reason Little is not a fan. I haz sads. :-)

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:51 AM (zDsvJ)

109 Greetings: Poetry ??? Well how about this ??? I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris and he. I galloped, he galloped, we galloped all three. Anapest, baby, anapest !!!

Posted by: 11B40 at February 15, 2014 08:51 AM (SKCai)

110 seemed easy enough but for the first sharpening of the year, I would get a pro to do it Posted by: navycopjoe at February 15, 2014 12:40 PM (At8tV) A push mower cuts in the same way as do scissors. Essentially it is scissors, arranged in a helix. You want a square edge, with the back relieved, so contact between the blades of the reel and the blade of bed knife is only at the very edge of each. My father was in the lawnmower business for many years, and he trained me to run the grinder that sharpened these things. A good quality reel mower, with a rigid frame, you could set it up so it would cut newspaper without the blades actually touching, because the gap between them was less than the the thickness of the paper. Customers liked to hear the whisper of the blades touching, though. Last year, I scored a Clemson E16 reel mower for $50. They were about the best push mower ever made, with a frame of steel tube and die-cast magnesium. Very light, but also more than stiff enough to keep the blades in alignment. Vastly better than the cheap stamped-steel crap they sell now.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 15, 2014 08:51 AM (yDmQD)

111 I like Imagist poems. They're like water colors to me. For Deep Meaning, I like T.S. Eliot (the Waste Land being my favorite), but for pretty words that make me feel good, I like the Imagists.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 08:52 AM (zDsvJ)

112 The Union Pacific is in the process of moving 4014 to their steam shops in Wyoming for restoration. Plan on spending several years, and several million dollars, returning her to steam. Stories, video on the Trains magazine website (may be behind a subscription wall). Link in nic

Posted by: Fox2! at February 15, 2014 08:55 AM (cHwSy)

113 The Union Pacific is in the process of moving 4014 to their steam shops in Wyoming for restoration. Plan on spending several years, and several million dollars, returning her to steam. Stories, video on the Trains magazine website (may be behind a subscription wall). Link in nic *** A foamer or an insider?

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 15, 2014 08:57 AM (DmNpO)

114 103 Little Winger is researching dogs. Currently the Brittany and the Irish Red and White Setter are in the lead for next pet status.

I had an Irish Setter (red) about 35 years ago.  Very gentle -- loved everybody, you couldn't get it to bite anybody (or even growl).
Best upland game dog -- I hunted quail a couple times and got my bag limit without firing a shot.
The problem with the dog is that it had zero common sense.
Every Irish I've met since had that in common.

She would clear a 6 foot privacy fence at the age of 10 and disappear for a couple of days, then find her way back home as though nothing had happened.

Posted by: jwb7605 [/i][/u][/s][/b] at February 15, 2014 08:58 AM (ZALPg)

115 Sucks to yer ass-mar, and plums and red wheelbarrows. Suited to the season:

In grimy winter dusk
We slowed for a concrete platform;
The pillars passed more slowly;
A paper bag leapt up.

The train banged to a standstill.
Brake-steam rose and parted.
Three chipped-at blocks of ice
Sprawled on a baggage-truck.

Out in that glum, cold air
The broken ice lay glintless,
But the truck was painted blue
On side, wheels, and tongue,

A purple, glowering blue
Like the phosphorus of Lethe
Or Queen Persephone's gaze
In the numb fields of the dark 

(The only thing I've read to match Tom Waits' "gut-shot she-wolf with nine sucking pups" -- it is cold out there.)

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 08:58 AM (xq1UY)

116 @109 The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 09:01 AM (xq1UY)

117 Do any of you have a set up you like for starting seeds? I thinking of shelving with integrated grow lights. (Please keep your replies legal in all 50 states.)

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 09:01 AM (zDsvJ)

118 I used my red wheelbarrow on Wednesday during the snow storm to haul a dead deer out of my yard and into the woods.

Posted by: NCKate at February 15, 2014 09:02 AM (1FoIf)

119 118 I used my red wheelbarrow on Wednesday during the snow storm to haul a dead deer out of my yard and into the woods. -- Whoa! What killed it?

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 09:03 AM (zDsvJ)

120 Essential gardening tools: Power clippers Beer

Posted by: kbdabear at February 15, 2014 09:04 AM (aTXUx)

121 117 Y-not I have south facing windows, and some domed containers. Peat opts and germinating mix, and I'm all set.

Posted by: seamrog at February 15, 2014 09:05 AM (9NdtT)

122 Planting one gallon pyracanthas around the perimeter today. Going for the 'prickly' hedge...

Posted by: Spun and Murky at February 15, 2014 09:07 AM (4DCSq)

123 peat pots

Posted by: seamrog at February 15, 2014 09:07 AM (9NdtT)

124 >>I have south facing windows, and some domed containers. I'm envious. I only have one south facing window... and the damned mountain and hill are in the way much of the day. Grumble, grumble, grumble! The best spot I have to do this is probably in my downstairs family room. It faces west but the deck shades the windows. But we have a place roughed in for a prep sink and the floor is tile so someday that's where we'd like to do it.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 09:08 AM (zDsvJ)

125 No clue, Y-not. It looked like a yearling. Curled up like it went to sleep and it just died. Under some shrubs. Partially hidden.

Posted by: NCKate at February 15, 2014 09:08 AM (1FoIf)

126 Aww, kind of sad, NCKate.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 09:09 AM (zDsvJ)

127 Even though we garden less than a quarter-acre, I find my 3420 John Deere with blade and loader invaluable. You can "shift muck" as the Brits call it on a scale you'd never attempt with a lawn tractor/trailer combination. It will plow, but I don't use one; there are adjustable teeth on the box blade, and after I've moved in a truckload lot of compost, I'll set those full-down and harrow once hard before tilling. It's small enough to make tight turns, so works in a patch only 40 x 50.

For me, the ability to load over the side of a small dump truck (350/3500 series) was important. If you're sure you'll never ever have to load into a truck, there are two sizes smaller than the one I chose. My previous IH 300's clutch had me walking like Walter Brennan despite youth and vigor, so I wussed out and got the e-Drive system with just Go and Back-Up pedals. If you will only make longish runs, a shuttle-shift manual transmission would do and they cost way less.

Implements are expensive so you want to CBA, or share/borrow. With a tractor, you can use the contra-rotating rototiller, and in heavy or clay soils the difference between than and a TroyBilt is as great as a front-tine to a hand hoe. But they cost so frickin much that I've hemmed and hawed over them for ten years.

Beware antiques unless you're into old vehicles, except of course the red-belly Fords and Ferusons, the MGTC of tractors. You can only lose money on a 9N if there's a tragic boating accident on the ferry to North Bass.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 09:13 AM (xq1UY)

128 I have a small backyard, with a couple of vegetable patches, two semi-dwarfed fruit trees (one apple, one pear), and four grape vines. My tools:

Digging fork
Spade (one of those big heavy English ones)
Pruning shears
Pruning saw
Hatchet

And, most useful of all:

Japanese gardener's knife

I absolutely swear by it for working with soil. It's always on my belt when I'm working in the garden. It's also one of the most useful things to bring on a camping trip.

I also use a lot of old plastic buckets, the kind that commercial food companies use for supplying restaurants. They're not UV-safe, but if I keep them out of the sun, they last a long time, and they're very handy.

Finally, last year I made a big purchase: a chipper-shredder. I *love* my chipper-shredder. I now turn the prunings from my trees into mulch, which I trade to a neighbor who keeps chickens in returns for guano which I add to my compost pile. Win/win!

Posted by: Brown Line at February 15, 2014 09:13 AM (a5bF3)

129 125 No clue, Y-not. It looked like a yearling. Curled up like it went to sleep and it just died. Under some shrubs. Partially hidden ========= Do you have problems with chronic wasting disease in your area?

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 09:13 AM (oMKp3)

130 Spaniels are nice but shed A LOT and can be high strung and prey driven. Oh, and they shed a lot, the soft downy fur that sticks to every thing. The most important thing in getting a dog is research, research, research. Know what your getting into and then look into good breeders. Look for red flags like breeding several breeds, always having puppies available, not letting you come look at their house/facilities, them not asking you a lot of questions, saying that they ship anywhere/anytime without the breeder or you present with the puppy, no health/genetic testing of parents, no affiliation with breed clubs/AKC, not knowing about health issues inherent to the breed (EVERY breed has some), etc. a dog is a 10-15+ year commitment so do the right thing up front for yourself and the dog. To keep this on topic my second orchid's blooms are starting to open. I need to get my yard scheduled to be aerated, scalped, and top dressed in the next few weeks. I crawled around my front yard on my hands and knees every day last spring pulling weeds. I had one of the nicest, densest yards in the hood This year I think I'm going to spray since my hands hurt so bad from doing that last year

Posted by: lindafell at February 15, 2014 09:15 AM (PGO8C)

131 117 Do any of you have a set up you like for starting seeds? I thinking of shelving with integrated grow lights. (Please keep your replies legal in all 50 states.)
Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 01:01 PM (zDsvJ)

I have a "custom" seed starting box with a temperature control unit (my design) I've used for about 15 years.
One thing I learned from experience (and my gardening buddy, also retired) will agree with is that grow lights are not what you want.  Sunlight. Sunlight. Sunlight.  Artificial lighting produces tall, spindly seedlings that you'll end up bracing.

Start out with a Styrofoam cooler with a piece of plate glass over the top, and if you have any method of temperature control, try the heating pads that fit under the starting trays (they add about 10-15 degrees over ambient).  Typically, plug the heating pad in after sunset, and unplug it at dawn (the sun will heat the interior).

I start my pepper plants at 80 degrees, and get about 90% germination.
Tomato plants (and most flowers) like 70-75 degrees, also 90% germination.

Avoid the "self rising" peat starters.  They don't hold any "food", and peppers won't even germinate in them.


Posted by: jwb7605 [/i][/u][/s][/b] at February 15, 2014 09:15 AM (ZALPg)

132 >>Finally, last year I made a big purchase: a chipper-shredder. My husband won't let me buy one, for some strange reason! ;-) Seriously, though, it'd be awesome to have one.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 09:15 AM (zDsvJ)

133 NDH- Just amazed at the audacity of hauling an engine that's been cold for 50 years off to return her to steam. And the first step is some 1250 miles, just to get her to the shop. At 25 mph. Plus frequent stops for inspections and lubrication to make sure that everything stays in good shape.

Posted by: Fox2! at February 15, 2014 09:16 AM (cHwSy)

134 I have a "custom" seed starting box with a temperature control unit (my design) I've used for about 15 years. One thing I learned from experience (and my gardening buddy, also retired) will agree with is that grow lights are not what you want. Sunlight. Sunlight. Sunlight. ---- Hmm. So it almost seems like what I'd need to do is set up a small greenhouse in the sunniest part of my yard. That's probably a couple of years off, unfortunately, as we have some maintenance stuff to deal with in the near term.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 09:17 AM (zDsvJ)

135 What's the best flower to plant on a bed of dead mobsters?

Posted by: --- at February 15, 2014 09:18 AM (MMC8r)

136 135 What's the best flower to plant on a bed of dead mobsters? ========== Pansies.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 09:19 AM (oMKp3)

137 Meh.  Just hire some aliens to do your filthy shitty jobs.  They're not going anywhere.

Posted by: Fritz at February 15, 2014 09:21 AM (UzPAd)

138 The most important thing in getting a dog is research, research, research. Know what your getting into and then look into good breeders. --- I agree on this. We also hit some local dog shows. Finding a good breeder is a little challenging. We had no problem weeding out the obviously irresponsible ones, but the difference between a breeder who really makes the effort to raise stable pet quality puppies and one who breeding for show dogs and not that interested in the pet aspect was hard for us. Our rough's breeder was so busy that the litter was not acclimated to enough indoor household things. (She was in California so the dogs were kenneled away from the house and spent a lot of time outside.) In contrast, the smoothie's breeder, who also shows dogs, put a lot of effort into exposing the puppies to household activities.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 09:21 AM (zDsvJ)

139 Posted by: lindafell at February 15, 2014 01:15 PM (PGO8C) ============== After being involved with dog breeders for over a decade, I have to say that as a group, they are some of my least favorite people. No offense to any dog breeders who may be posting or reading here.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 09:22 AM (oMKp3)

140 We have a little snowblower, a Toro 3.25 hp. A little bitty 2-stroke that you have to mix the oil and gas. The whole machine weighs about 40 pounds. It has been going strong for a dozen years. We had to use it to snowblow our whole damn street because the plow didn't come. My neighbor asked how much it cost to get one - I said I thought it was about $300 but that I don't believe you can even buy one now. Because it is a stroke and therefore not green. But I can't see any electric being able to replace this thing. And a 4 stroke, to provide the same power, would be much heavier. No wonder we don't go to the moon anymore. I know, seems a non sequitur, but it isn't that we can't - we won't.

Posted by: blaster at February 15, 2014 09:23 AM (4+AaH)

141 Just amazed at the audacity of hauling an engine that's been cold for 50 years off to return her to steam. And the first step is some 1250 miles, just to get her to the shop. At 25 mph. Plus frequent stops for inspections and lubrication to make sure that everything stays in good shape. *** It's quite a feat they are undertaking, but folks love the old steam engines. I asked, because readers of Train Magazine usually fall into one of two categories: foamers or insiders. I am of the insider variety.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 15, 2014 09:23 AM (DmNpO)

142 No wonder we don't go to the moon anymore. I know, seems a non sequitur, but it isn't that we can't - we won't. **** Have you ever seen the contrails those rockets leave behind?!

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 15, 2014 09:24 AM (DmNpO)

143 Dear Gardening Thread, I've heard that putting a dead hobo/hippy in the ground when plant a new tree will make it thrive. And it will also help with established trees that need help. Is this true? Wondering in Austin

Posted by: lindafell at February 15, 2014 09:24 AM (PGO8C)

144 130 Spaniels are nice but shed A LOT and can be high strung and prey driven. Oh, and they shed a lot, the soft downy fur that sticks to every thing. The most important thing in getting a dog is research, research, research. Know what your getting into and then look into good breeders. Look for red flags like breeding several breeds, always having puppies available, not letting you come look at their house/facilities, them not asking you a lot of questions, saying that they ship anywhere/anytime without the breeder or you present with the puppy, no health/genetic testing of parents, no affiliation with breed clubs/AKC, not knowing about health issues inherent to the breed (EVERY breed has some), etc. a dog is a 10-15+ year commitment so do the right thing up front for yourself and the dog.
<snip>
Posted by: lindafell at February 15, 2014 01:15 PM (PGO8C)

Research.  That's how I ended up with a Goldendoodle.  Poodle smarts, Golden Retriever attitude, hypoallergenic hunting dog that won't let me out of her sight and goes beserk with happiness when my grandkids show up.
She'll be 7 months old Monday, and so far is exactly the dog I wanted to get, and am going to attempt to outlive.

Selecting a reputable breeder is the hard part.
Mostly "exotic" dogs, but I got everything they claim, and then some: http://www.heartlandclassics.com/

Posted by: jwb7605 [/i][/u][/s][/b] at February 15, 2014 09:24 AM (ZALPg)

145 OT, but look what I found in the Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore link in the original post: http://rwb.paris.free.fr/reviews-Meg.htm Reading that book review is like looking in a funhouse mirror. The reality is that America is being socialized and collectivized through application of the Shock Doctrine.

Posted by: rickl at February 15, 2014 09:25 AM (sdi6R)

146 Oh, the 4014 Big Boy will be put under steam

Posted by: EH Harriman at February 15, 2014 09:25 AM (Q6pxP)

147 On the seven inches of ice issue, yes spinach for sure, but once you get the ice off (see tractor, above) you can put your peas and lettuce in any time now.

I have some giant noble green spinach, and an oakleaf-looking lettuce, that established themselves and do not need to be started each year. This winter will be an "interesting" test of their hardiness. They will poke up through the snow in early March. If any is left standing at season's end, they stay green all winter, and even though I haven't picked any I leave it in to scare the neighbors.

They grow in partial shade so bolt pretty late. When they do, I go over the whole patch with a Gravely sulky mower (made in 1974 but looks 30 years older) and just knock living hell out of them. That spreads seed and in two weeks they're growing again. Proof that God loves us and wants us to eat salad. 

Many times I have cut fresh "Par-Cel" off the top of celeriac to make a dressing for a Christmas bird. It will also flourish in snow, and start fresh in the spring.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 09:26 AM (xq1UY)

148 Posted by: jwb7605 at February 15, 2014 01:24 PM (ZALPg) ============= We had an Irish Doodle. Lovely dog, wonderful qualities along the same lines as the golden doodle only with a bit of Irish setter thrown into the mix.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 09:28 AM (oMKp3)

149 Grammie, it looked normal weight and healthy. I'm in the city so our deer population isn't too huge but they all seem well fed and very active.

Posted by: NCKate at February 15, 2014 09:29 AM (1FoIf)

150 YouTube has several videos for garden tool sharpening.  Top priority:  hoes, shovels, hand-held digging tools.  Belt sanders are great for this.  Also, now is a good time for wood-handled tool maintenance - a light sanding, followed by one or more coats of linseed oil-kerosene mix, soak overnight, followed by another light sanding.  The wood handles last long and feel better while in use.

Posted by: mrp at February 15, 2014 09:29 AM (JBggj)

151 I need to haul my ass outside and edge my drive and sidewalk but I am too friggin lazy today. The Crepe Myrtles and and Banana Tree need to be pruned as well. That is the extent of my gardening chores.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 15, 2014 09:31 AM (DmNpO)

152 Hmm. So it almost seems like what I'd need to do is set up a small greenhouse in the sunniest part of my yard. That's probably a couple of years off, unfortunately, as we have some maintenance stuff to deal with in the near term.
Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 01:17 PM (zDsvJ)

Nah.
Just put the Styrofoam Cooler near a south facing window indoors if the weather is cold, and rotate it often -- the seedlings will "bend" to follow the sun.

If the weather is anywhere near co-operative, you can put the cooler outside.  With a piece of plate glass on top, the temperature can dip to freezing once the plants get started -- the cooler will store enough heat to keep them from freezing.

Cool is actually an advantage once they get started.  The plants tend to get really thick, robust stems and they don't get overly tall.  Plus, they're almost pre-hardened.

Posted by: jwb7605 [/i][/u][/s][/b] at February 15, 2014 09:32 AM (ZALPg)

153 After being involved with dog breeders for over a decade, I have to say that as a group, they are some of my least favorite people. Grammie winger, I agree. I've been lucky to find small hobby breeders who breed and show for the love of the breed and are very protective of the breed. Of course, the last two breeds I've owned were rare breeds when I got them. One became recognized by the AKC several years ago and has become very popular since and the breed has gone down hill sadly. My current dog is a very old breed on the decline in popularity, less than 200 born in the US last year and even less than that in the UK. The breeder is very sweet and nice, flew the puppy to me half way across the country. I had to pay for the flight but the dog itself was no more than most common popular breeds. My dog will be 3 in May and my breeder has just had another litter, her first since. She does show and had best of breed at WKC in 2013.

Posted by: lindafell at February 15, 2014 09:35 AM (PGO8C)

154 Grammie I found them to be a gossipy lot. Lotta bad mouthing of each other. It took a year to find our breeders. First one was a flake. Second one was great.

Posted by: Y-not on the phone at February 15, 2014 09:36 AM (zDsvJ)

155 Thx jwb.

Posted by: Y-not on the phone at February 15, 2014 09:37 AM (zDsvJ)

156 #150  Nix the kerosene.  Use mineral spirits for thinning the linseed oil.

Posted by: mrp at February 15, 2014 09:39 AM (JBggj)

157 Lindafell, my garden has benefited by the inhumation of squirls, raccoons, and opossums. Possum and coon seem close enough to hippie and hobo to test out.

My sister just got an "Aussie-doodle." I'm torn over whether to refer to is as a DulStralian or a BichonDingo. Sumbitch is way too smart; trouble's a-comin. 

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 09:42 AM (xq1UY)

158 Loop hoe AKA Hula hoe. A must. #11 Round Up.

Posted by: Golfman in NC at February 15, 2014 09:44 AM (i8kJ3)

159 OT question: If you were buying a refurbished laptop, of the 3 which one would you choose: Dell, Toshiba or Lenovo? It's not for gaming or anything fancy. Mostly just internet use.

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami at February 15, 2014 09:45 AM (bCEmE)

160 If we ever get above freezing, where is all of this snow going to go? We had sub-zero temps and I'm sure the ground is rock solid frozen.

Posted by: seamrog at February 15, 2014 09:46 AM (9NdtT)

161 Lindafell - Your dogs sound very interesting. What breeds are they?

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 09:46 AM (oMKp3)

162 My sister just got an "Aussie-doodle." I'm torn over whether to refer to is as a DulStralian or a BichonDingo. Sumbitch is way too smart; trouble's a-comin.
Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 01:42 PM (xq1UY)

Yup.
In my town, <pick-your-breed>Doodles are popular.
One day at the dog park, it seemed to be "Doodle Day".
They (including mine) spent all their time frustrating the purebred herding dogs.
Fun to watch.

Posted by: jwb7605 [/i][/u][/s][/b] at February 15, 2014 09:47 AM (ZALPg)

163 The Crepe Myrtles and and Banana Tree need to be pruned as well. I saw Crepe Myrtles and Banana Tree open for Grand Funk Railroad in '69.

Posted by: real joe at February 15, 2014 09:47 AM (xXhgd)

164 154 Grammie I found them to be a gossipy lot. Lotta bad mouthing of each other. It took a year to find our breeders. First one was a flake. Second one was great. ========== Yes, you're very accurate about the bad- mouthing. Also, some dog breeders ( not all) have a big problem knowing what they do not know. I spent eleven years in a veterinarian practice that did a lot of kennel and breeder work. Breeders give out a lot of really bad information to their clients.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 09:51 AM (oMKp3)

165 If you were buying a refurbished laptop, of the 3 which one would you choose: Dell, Toshiba or Lenovo? It's not for gaming or anything fancy. Mostly just internet use. **** I can only speak to Dells. I've owned 2 desktops and 2 laptops and have never had a single problem with any. Not one problem in 14 years of using Dell. When my old Dell laptop was hit by a paralyzing virus and I had to get a paper done in a hurry, I bought my current 14" laptop at Walmart, at 10 pm, for about $350. That was years ago and, if I have a single complaint about it, it's that some of the keys are starting to go wobbly. That's to be expected with near around the clock use for several years straight. Whatever brand you buy, unless you're a serious gamer, don't get suckered into buying more than you need.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 15, 2014 09:52 AM (DmNpO)

166 I saw Crepe Myrtles and Banana Tree open for Grand Funk Railroad in '69. *** It never gets old.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 15, 2014 09:52 AM (DmNpO)

167 The only thing worse than dog breeders are cat breeders. I denounce myself, and am putting myself in time out.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 09:54 AM (oMKp3)

168 I asked, because readers of Train Magazine usually fall into one of two categories: foamers or insiders. I am of the insider variety. Not an insider. If by "foamers" you mean the folks who chase trains, not one of those, either. I have been known to check what's on the siding where the interstate crosses over the NS, and the HMCRR (nee L&N) runs down to the Tennessee along the west side of the condo property. Used to have a car float up the river to Guntersvile; now it just serves some industries on the south side of town.

Posted by: Fox2! at February 15, 2014 09:55 AM (cHwSy)

169 Posted by: lindafell at February 15, 2014 01:24 PM (PGO8C) The hippies do better hanging from the tree. And the tree will do better too.

Posted by: Golfman in NC at February 15, 2014 09:56 AM (i8kJ3)

170 159  If you were buying a refurbished laptop, of the 3 which one would you choose: Dell, Toshiba or Lenovo? It's not for gaming or anything fancy. Mostly just internet use.

Posted by: Tami at February 15, 2014 01:45 PM (bCEmE)


I would get the Toshiba.  Have not had good luck with Dell laptops.  The fans tend to die and then they overheat and shutdown.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 09:56 AM (T2V/1)

171 Thanks NDH. The laptop you bought at Wal-mart was a Dell?

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami at February 15, 2014 09:56 AM (bCEmE)

172 Thanks NDH. The laptop you bought at Wal-mart was a Dell? *** Yep. And for less than $400 I got a laptop with even more power than the first laptop, custom ordered, which cost me nearly $2k just three years before. You can now get a lot of computing power for very little money.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at February 15, 2014 09:59 AM (DmNpO)

173 Everyday is Spring Time with President Obama as our leader. When Bush was president everyday was a disaster and living mess.

Posted by: Dorcus Blimline at February 15, 2014 09:59 AM (oXavK)

174 Grammies, I use to have Cavalier King Charles Spaniels back before AKC recognition. My last one died in 2006. They have many health issues and shed like crazy but were very sweet dogs, had a total of six over the years. My current dog is a Dandie Dinmont Terrier. I was looking for a dog that did NOT shed, had relatively few health issues, was pretty long lived, not too big, didn't require a lot of exercise, and was sturdy enough to handle three young kids. I settled between the Dandie and the Tibetian Terrier. I settled on the Dandie because you can see their eyes 😃 and I really like the breeder. I had to wait a while for a litter and go through a rigorous screening process (which told me I was on the right track), and she actually checked all 6 of my references. I knew going in it was going to be extra hard since most reputable breeders won't look at you twice if you have a child under 3-4 in the house, I had 3 kids under 5 when I was looking. Luckily, I had a good knowledge of dogs and lots of great references including AKC judges and breeders.

Posted by: lindafell at February 15, 2014 09:59 AM (PGO8C)

175 Today's high about 60F and clear skies, so yes yard work beckons.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at February 15, 2014 10:00 AM (i4AI5)

176 I noticed a few, more than a few years in truth, that my elderly neighbor used Round Up in a pourable container. I started using it like that instead of spraying it. There is no worry that a breeze may come along & it might get to a plant you want. Felco pruners are the best for roses. They get dull & I buy enough replacement blades & one anvil blade every year. I have to change blade approximately once a month. Felco makes a great spray cleaner & I use it on all tools that have gotten a bit rusty.

Posted by: Carol at February 15, 2014 10:02 AM (z4WKX)

177 where is all of this snow going to go?

Basements. There, I said it.

They used to knob off the tops of trees, to force them to grow small limbs used to make implement handles. If you ever see a row of those, it's one of the weirder sights you'll find in a traditional agricultural setting. It's called "crofting," and includes all the skills of shaping and fitting hard and springy woodparts. Like buggy whips, it's one of those lost arts you can get pretty rich at if you had the balls to stay with it. Without crofters, there'd have been no base ball bats.

Rake and hoe handles almost always fail where the rivet goes through the ferrule. I suspect moisture and darkness are involved. With a little practice, you can master holding these in a vise, shortening as little as possible, and reshaping with a drawknife (or carefully, gloved-handed, cornstalk machete), like sharpening a really big pencil, and refitting into the ferrule.

In olden tymes, they didn't use pins or bolts to hold those in. If you can get away without boring a hole, try it. Less places for rot to start. Or try bashing in a wet oak pin instead of a screw. I've had luck with several small short nails, farther up the shaft (ooh), so as not to weaken the main wood so much. Drill first.

Since I still have tools my grandfather brought out from CT in 1921, some are old enough to actually dry-rot in the main wood of the handle. Haven't beaten that yet, and have the empty ducked-ape spools to prove it.

My grandfather was an artist with a hoe (both kinds, they tell me), but had a curious attachment to the high-wheel cultivator. Think I have four. They're swell in soil that's already so loose it doesn't need working. Other than yoking up an ox to the front leads, there must be something about their use I didn't learn.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 10:02 AM (xq1UY)

178 Oh, the 4014 Big Boy will be put under steam UP expects to have her out of the shop in 2019. 3 to 5 million dollars worth of HEAVY TLC. And boiler inspections, replace everything that needs replacing, fabricate a few things they don't have in stock/can't scavenge, convert to oil burning, etc. 1,200,000 pounds of steel, water and fuel.

Posted by: Fox2! at February 15, 2014 10:04 AM (cHwSy)

179 lindafell - Those are both great dogs. I've only ever come across one Dandie Dinmont, and that was at a dog show. The Cavalier King Charles is so very very sweet. So many great dogs, so little time.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 10:05 AM (oMKp3)

180 Nood

Posted by: Y-not on the phone at February 15, 2014 10:05 AM (zDsvJ)

181 It just started snowing here! It seems like we have snow every three days here.

Posted by: Carol at February 15, 2014 10:05 AM (z4WKX)

182 Thanks Vic. Seems we have competing views on Dell.

Posted by: [/i][/b][/u][/s] Tami at February 15, 2014 10:10 AM (bCEmE)

183 @  177


    Stringer, you might try using epoxy made for fastening wood/metal together. You can find it at any hardware store.

    I have 3 or 4 hoes/rakes that I did this to.  So far, everything is in one piece yet.  Bonus is there is no hole for moisture to get in.

  

Posted by: irongrampa at February 15, 2014 10:10 AM (SAMxH)

184 I have been watching The Manchurian Candidate on TCM on demand. I paused it to read here, I'm going to finish watching it. Then vacuum house & wash kitchen & bathroom floors. I'll be back tonight. Have a nice afternoon!

Posted by: Carol at February 15, 2014 10:11 AM (z4WKX)

185 Thanks Grammie, My vet and groomer both have have said this is the only Dandie they know of in Austin. My groomer is only one of 4 or 5 Master certified groomer in Texas. You guys think breeders and show people are bad? Yeah, there is a whole grooming thing too, HA!!! My breeder thinks that there might be one other Dandie in Austin but she doesn't know who it belongs to. For a terrier she is very calm, doesn't bark unless she's sounding an alarm, and yes, she can talk to you when she wants something.

Posted by: lindafell at February 15, 2014 10:13 AM (PGO8C)

186 But Carol, you and I are in our angry bitter way "used to it." Consider how soul-crushing this will be in the south. I can't think of how to help.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 10:13 AM (xq1UY)

187 i use a Japanese garden tool thats a cross between a hand shovel and a hatchet. it also has saw teeth and a root popper. can't recall the name of it, sorry.

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 15, 2014 10:14 AM (KgN8K)

188 car thread up

Posted by: Vic[/i] at February 15, 2014 10:15 AM (T2V/1)

189 lindafell - I hear you about the groomers too ! LOL There is a master groomer here by me but my dog hates her so I do her myself. I wouldn't recommend me, even at a deep discount.

Posted by: grammie winger at February 15, 2014 10:16 AM (oMKp3)

190 http://is.gd/StKxQE this

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at February 15, 2014 10:17 AM (KgN8K)

191 Why, thanks, IG! I'll mess around with that idea.

Mine are frustrating because you hear them crunch a little while using them, but the damage is deep down inside, and you know how it is about fixing something before it's broke?

I have some hypodermics and I'm not afraid to use them. Getting an idea here.
Of course, this is museum curating more than anything else. I probably could fit a modern-production new handle to any of them, but I'm sentimental, and cheap.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at February 15, 2014 10:18 AM (xq1UY)

192  Niedermeyer's Dead Horse, what is a foamer?

Posted by: Ronster at February 15, 2014 10:23 AM (puNd6)

193 Stringer Davis, It is horrible for our southern states because they do not have the equipment for it. I had news on Thursday am, but once I heard that OJ was on a hunger strike I turned it off & went to work. When I got home that night & put television on, it was still on FNC & first thing I heard was about OJ aka Killer Simpson & his hunger strike. The only news I have heard is from Rush, Levin & local radio show. I have been watching either TCM live or on demand or MGM channel. I never saw Manchurian Candidate. I asked Vic yesterday how much snow he had gotten & it was approximately same amount in Boston area, 6 to 7 inches, Where do you live?

Posted by: Carol at February 15, 2014 10:23 AM (z4WKX)

194 Niedermeyer's Dead Horse, what is a foamer? Ronster, in context I'd guess a "foaming at the mouth" rail fan. The kind who crowd crossings, chase trains, trespass on the rails.

Posted by: Fox2! at February 15, 2014 10:48 AM (cHwSy)

195 Late again...*sigh*...

My favorite 'garden tool' is:

the Sunset Western Garden Book, mainly because you don't need to know plants' Latin names to lookup their requirements.  Common names will refer the reader to the appropriate Latin entry(ies).

It covers design and has chapters which highlight plants by major characteristics such as size, water/light/soil requirements, bloom-time, etc. 

As a casual gardener, I am mainly interested in individual plants. (as opposed to any particular 'theme')

A few favorite links:
 --- sunset.com/garden
 --- extension.usu.edu
 --- plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet
 --- pubs.ext.vt.edu
 --- lancaster.unl.edu/hort/



Posted by: JeanQ at February 15, 2014 10:48 AM (82lr7)

196 I hate to say that it's lovely out here today- DFW- and I'm going to go turn the compost heap later. I pruned the spearmint and stuck the little runners in seedling trays- they will go like hotcakes at church. But it will doubtless get bad for here again, so there's that... My tools are the usuals- but I like cut-up t-shirts for tying up vines. I make the strips with my rotary cutter. I have a compost sifter that my husband made for me out of 1x2's and hardware cloth. It fits over the wheelbarrow. It would be improved by a handle at each end to make shaking it easier, but I do love it. Our raised beds are 4 x 8. He has also made me a set of fence panels, 4' by 24" that I can move wherever needed, to deter bunnehs, etc. I tie them together with those long plastic zip ties. Sewed a night cover to fit over them, out of plastic tablecloths from the Big Lots. Got tired of weighing down the plastic drop cloth with bricks...

Posted by: Sal at February 15, 2014 10:58 AM (lrTwr)

197 I'm with you Sal, it's a yucky 71 in Austin 😜😚

Posted by: lindafell at February 15, 2014 11:02 AM (PGO8C)

198 My new fave garden tool is a Honda cultivator. We usually have a bumper weed and sticker crop, so the cultivator helps keep itin check. Less weeding all the way around!

Posted by: HenrysMommy at February 15, 2014 11:05 AM (8wu51)

199 Y-Not @ 79-
We had 5 raised and timber-enclosed beds each measuring 4 feet by 24 feet and tillable to elbow depth. Now, that texture, is what we called tilth when I studied HS Ag in 64-67.

Posted by: Erowmero at February 15, 2014 11:06 AM (OONaw)

200 So about 18" deep or thereabouts?

Posted by: Y-not on the phone at February 15, 2014 11:09 AM (zDsvJ)

201 Thanks for those links JeanQ. And, damn, I meant to discuss composters. VD day drive ut from my mind. Maybe next week we can do those and raised beds.

Posted by: Y-not on the phone at February 15, 2014 11:11 AM (zDsvJ)

202 I'm lucky that I have a mobile groomer. Nothing fancy but the dogs like her and she does a good job.

Posted by: Y-not on the phone at February 15, 2014 11:13 AM (zDsvJ)

203 Sunny and 70 here. Yard is mowed and edged, and I am working on a permanent herb bed by my back door. Have it blocked in with some plastic edgers and the soil broken up (black clay gumbo). Going to add in compost, peat, vermiculite, and some of the ground up leaves from the mower to make it fluffy. It will rest for a few weeks prior to planting. I am also going to pot up my tomato seedlings this evening. They are out growing their current lodgings and need some more room.

Posted by: SouthCounty at February 15, 2014 11:13 AM (6CSR9)

204 Gloomy overcast, 40s and breezy here today--rain on the way. 

Thank you for the garden threads, Y-not and WeirdDave, it's sunshine for the mind!

Posted by: JeanQ at February 15, 2014 11:18 AM (82lr7)

205 As a three-time vice president of the Brattleboro Democratic Womens' Garden Club, I can tell you there is no such thing as too much soil preparation. Tilling, peat moss, organic fertilizers. We have been picking rocks here since Colonial times, and we still pick more every spring.

Posted by: Mary Cloggenstein from Brattleboro, Vermont at February 15, 2014 11:29 AM (ACq/K)

206 I used several containers to start tomatoes this year, "Rapid Root Trainers" (fantastic for transplant-sensitive plants, not necessary for tomatoes), peat pots, cut-off styrofoam cups with drainage wedge cut out of the bottom (all of the above with Miracle Gro seed starting mix) and peat pellets. I then saw some NK "Pro-Hex" starters at Wal-Mart. Their design encourages uniform seed depth for shallow-planted seeds like tomatoes. There are ridges and a open bottom which encourage roots to go down instead of around, almost like the Root Trainers. All of the systems above worked, but I liked peat pots the least and will probably go with the NK hex starter in the future for tomatoes, as I have some pretty old seeds which take some babying. Forget the "greenhouse" that comes with the hex inserts. Who starts 72 of the same kind of seedlings at home? Not even me. (I'll use the "greenhouse" for "winter-sown" seeds such as lettuce after adding ventilation and drainage holes.). Look up "Winter-sown" on the inter tubes. I can fit 9 of the NK hex cells in a plastic barbecued chicken container with a clear domed lid for when the seeds are sprouting over heat. Then I take the lid off and use the base for bottom-watering the hex cells. (Add vent windows to the "chicken dome" - also good for "winter-sown" plants with added drainage in the base). I put sprouted tomato seedlings 2 inches below ordinary cool white fluorescent tubes (ordinary shop light) for 16 hours a day with a fan in the room if they can't go outside, but as soon as temps top 45 degrees in sun (50 degrees when overcast), out they go. I still supplement with indoor lights sometimes when they have spent time outdoors during the day. Seedlings in the NK units need to be transplanted sooner than those in larger "cells". My first seedlings get moved up to larger containers today. No more indoor light. Outdoors during the day. Olympics-inspired dark salad tomato competition this year is between Nyagous (our current champion) and De Barao Black (don't let the Brazilian name fool you - it's from Russia). A lot of great open-pollinated tomatoes are coming out of the former Soviet Bloc because the government couldn't afford to develop hybrids and some people worked up their own cultivars to sell for a little cash.

Posted by: KT at February 15, 2014 11:37 AM (qahv/)

207 Wow, impressive KT!

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 11:40 AM (zDsvJ)

208 My dad had a scuffle hoe shaped like a crescent moon. Great for close work. Have never seen another like it. Looked a bit dangerous. For gloves that aren't too annoying, I prefer the Atlas type with fingertips and palms dipped in rubber or whatever else they use for the chemical-resistant ones. One of those garden benches that reverses to a kneeler is also great when the soil gets too hot to kneel on here. I use it as a bench when showering the dogs, too.

Posted by: KT at February 15, 2014 11:47 AM (qahv/)

209 Where are you, KT, that your soil gets HOT? (And can I move there!) :-)

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 12:02 PM (zDsvJ)

210 My wife and I are pretty serious gardeners. I have a question for the Horde. Does anyone out there use a propergarion chamber to start thier flats? If so what method do you use to keep humitiy up ? I am building a small chamber and am thinking of just putting a shallow dish (kitty litter box) full of water in the bottom Should I buy a humidifier ? I'm into this project about $75 to this point

Posted by: NativeNH at February 15, 2014 12:07 PM (q+VZ/)

211 Native NH, the tray full of water should work fine for humidity.  

Personally, I'd *try* that before purchasing a humidifier.  What size is your chamber?

Posted by: JeanQ at February 15, 2014 12:23 PM (82lr7)

212 Late because I've been outside shoveling global warming. AGAIN.

The best tool I have is a two wheeled "Ladybug" wheelbarrow. It's small enough to be easy to handle and doesn't want to tip over. 5 stars.

Posted by: Xavier at February 15, 2014 12:30 PM (uUbbK)

213 Now, I’m the type that likes to do things once and never have to do them again, so I had them put in rails to handle a full size 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy” locomotive, but... It's worth mentioning that UP has reacquired 4014, and is looking to restore it to operating condition. It's been rolled out of the LA County fairgrounds and is currently at the old West Colton SP yard waiting for the weather to improve for its journey back to Cheyenne, WY.

Posted by: Blacque Jacques Shellacque at February 15, 2014 12:33 PM (jVaLp)

214 I'm using one of those plastic covered patio mini greenhouse 4 shelves about 18" x 33". I have two 75 watt lights for heat controlled by a thermostat Going to start about 4 flats at a time

Posted by: NativeNH at February 15, 2014 12:39 PM (q+VZ/)

215 Thx NAtiveNH.

Posted by: Y-not on the phone at February 15, 2014 12:51 PM (zDsvJ)

216 I'm using one of those plastic covered patio mini greenhouse 4 shelves about 18" x 33". I have two 75 watt lights for heat controlled by a thermostat Going to start about 4 flats at a time

The litterpan/watertray should provide adequate humidity *and* fit nicely! 

Good idea to put something under the water tray, or elevate it slightly, to protect your flooring from condensation.


Posted by: JeanQ at February 15, 2014 12:53 PM (82lr7)

217 Planting my Irish potatoes today. A block or reds and a block of whites.

Posted by: toby928© at February 15, 2014 12:55 PM (QupBk)

218 >>217 Planting my Irish potatoes today. A block or reds and a block of whites. Do I have to say it? Racist!

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 01:00 PM (zDsvJ)

219 Racist! Indeed. Note the segregation.

Posted by: toby928© at February 15, 2014 01:18 PM (QupBk)

220 Mmmmm....fresh potatoes!  I like the tiny ones, freshly dug up and steamed, skins *on*....

We grew red (forgot the variety) and Yukon Gold last year, they did very well in raised bed.

The gold ones had such rich flavor and texture.

Posted by: JeanQ at February 15, 2014 01:20 PM (82lr7)

221 >>The gold ones had such rich flavor and texture. Yum! I gotta share this trick that I hadn't heard of before from a Gordon Ramsay shepherd's pie recipe. When you mash up your potatoes, in addition to adding butter, stir in egg yolks. Very yummy. Makes them a very pretty color but I also think it adds something to the consistency. More oompf. Very good in the shepherd's pie dish.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 01:24 PM (zDsvJ)

222 in addition to adding butter, stir in egg yolks

Oooo--decadence in a thick rich creamy buttery spoonful of mashp'tater heaven.

Okay, I've goofed off enough today.  Chores await.

Thanks again for this thread!

Posted by: JeanQ at February 15, 2014 01:31 PM (82lr7)

223 Cocks

Posted by: Zakn at February 15, 2014 01:59 PM (zyaZ1)

224 Thanks JeanQ I'll probably add a small fan of some sort to keep some air flow. I have relatively good luck just starting flats in a small 10'x 16" hot house. My propergarion rate on some things, peppers 4 O-Clocks and a few others is abysmal. The hot house has zero controls all manual

Posted by: NativeNH at February 15, 2014 01:59 PM (q+VZ/)

225 We've got a 5,000 gallon swimming pool set-up as a home-built-bastardized aquaponics setup. Only growing leftover celery and tatsoi now, but as soon as it stops freezing I'll have a zillion cukes, 'maters, and other stuff to add.

Also have a little setup in a ten gallon aquarium in the kitchen that doesn't provide much other than some rosemary for spice, but a lot of entertainment.

We also have a rottweiler (who is a big baby), a chihuahua (who is vicious) and a purebred English Mastiff I got as a stray who is just the best dog ever. The best dogs are the ones who find you, not the ones you find and pay for. Honestly.

Posted by: Kathy in FL at February 15, 2014 02:56 PM (FFIoe)

226 Y-not, I'm in the Southern San Joaquin valley. The soil does get hot here in summer. Hotter than most plants like, which is why I started tomatoes in January. A lot of plants shut down in July and August here. Eggplants, cowpeas, okra and a few others keep going. We have another planting season in the fall. Temperatures run about 10 degrees cooler here than Phoenix on average in the height of summer, and it cools off most nights in summer. There are lots of places where the soil gets hot. If I were you, I wouldn't think about moving here to garden until the drought is over, though.

Posted by: KT at February 15, 2014 03:38 PM (qahv/)

227 Y-Not @ 20o-
Dang, have you seen my arms? My elbow deep is exactly 18". And yeah, it takes a lot of mechanical tilling and spading, but is well worth it. We used t-posts and stock panels for climbers like pole beans and such. Except for tomato cages, everything else was pretty much on the flat.

Posted by: Erowmero at February 15, 2014 03:51 PM (OONaw)

228 227 Y-Not @ 20o- Dang, have you seen my arms? My elbow deep is exactly 18". -- Nope, but I've done a lot of comparison shopping for raised beds! I wound up going with this one: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/137008013636146039/ Overall height (to top of trellis) is 4 feet, so there is one deep section for planting (can't remember if it's 18" or 24") and a shallower one.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 04:25 PM (zDsvJ)

229 Yeah, it's terrible about the drought there, KT. I lived in eastern LA county for ~4 years. Even there it was dry, but not like what you're suffering through.

Posted by: Y-not (@MoxieMom) at February 15, 2014 04:26 PM (zDsvJ)

230 A transplanting spade. Contractors' shovels (the curved pointy ones you usually think of when someone says "shovel") are good for moving dirt, but their gardening value is limited. A transplanting spade is long and narrow, so you can make deep holes, clean up the edges of holes, and cleanly dig out shrubs and other stuff to plant or transplant.

Posted by: Otto Zilch at February 15, 2014 05:48 PM (uzDOO)

231 Kathy, the swimming pool full of aquaponics will be interesting to read about.

Posted by: KT at February 15, 2014 08:48 PM (qahv/)

232 Thanks for the laugh, WeirdDave. I'm not someone who puts a lot of effort into gardening. I put the stuff into the ground, if it grows, great. If not, less work for me.

Posted by: Blake at February 16, 2014 06:17 AM (rvVUZ)

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