Plant propagation part XVIII based on my own experience

Jeanette ~ Thanks, that's good to know about growing the figs under the cedar trees. They can protect them from severe weather.

Welcome Merry. I wish I thought math was merry. I have a math phoebia. I am so fearful of it, that it is the main reason I don't push going to college. I am intelligent but that side of my brain does not get it. A college math professor, who I was friends with, told me that I was able to learn math because I was one of the most analytical people who knew, but I just needed the right teacher to let it click. I don't know how I find that? Conduct interviews for tutors.

Anyways, glad you are here and I would love to see before and after pix of your projects. I need all the propagators I can talk to, to help me figure it out.

Dawn ~ Read the book "Outliers", and it will open your mind to many things...especially about learning about math, and various other things as well...it is a book about exceptional people and what makes them so. I have almost finished it and I was really amazed. I just checked it out of my library...http://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922 - sorry this link does not seem to work...
I think this will...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book)


This message was edited Jul 23, 2010 9:57 PM

evelyn, I thought I sent this but don't see it. Must not have hit the send button.

Anyway, I did not mean "under" the cedar tree. I meant near the cedar tree. I don't know why, maybe DNA, something in the soil, or????

But, my friend said they were a pair. Like some things you plant in your vegetable garden are good to plant together.

Jeanette ~ Thanks again for the tip. Yes, I have been experimenting with companion planting this season. Have you ever read the book, "Carrots Love Tomatoes"?

http://davesgarden.com/products/gbw/c/417/
http://motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1992-02-01/Carrots-Love-Tomatoes.aspx

This must be book review night...LOL!

Mary, I was in Marketplace and saw your Thunbergia Florabunda, Sky Blue. They are so pretty. I had one but just didn't have very good luck with it. It was very sparse blooming and finally sent it to Ibartoo, Linda, in SC. Also saw the blue Pea Vine is it? That doesn't sound right. Anyway, that is real pretty too. Wish they would grow up here.

Another one was the Corkscrew vine. I know you didn't have it, just talking. But, it got such thick roots when I had it but I knew it would never grow here and would eat up the house if I tried to grow it indoors. LOL

I want to order stuff but can't during this heat. Still must wait for another month or more. I'll have to look. I grew Thundbergia in a protected area and it was fine at my old house in another town, near here. I loved it, but it never got thick, it stayed spindly. Loved those blooms though.

I will look up that book. Will it interest me, in other people's triumphs or will I learn the trick to thinking about math and getting it?

The weather here is WICKED. It is presently 85 and it is not even 9 AM. The humidity is high. I am presently taking a short break from watering. Yesterday i planted 18 nice impatients ... I could not pass on not buying them at Lowes .... it was a flat of plugs 1" by 2" and 4" deep. I have yet to give them any water today ... they are in front of house where there is considerable shade.

I decided to slightly move the planter with the fig tree ... Those cantelope plants seem to gyrating too much towards it.

Well break time over ... I'll be back a little later.

Here is a picture of Fiery Temper which was planted around the beginning of July.

Very pretty. it has finally turned up the heat here. Suppose to be high 80s today and 95 tomorrow with 90s all next week. So, maybe I will get some tomatoes. But, someone said that 95 degrees will sterilize the pollen in the tomato plants. Wonder if that is true? Wouldn't that be the pits? All this time with no tomatoes on the plants, and then to have the blossoms ruined?

Wonder if maybe the bees don't come out that hot? Maybe that is it. I sure haven't seen any bees for a long time. And, I do not spray. No reason to. I don't have aphid, or any of those types. Just slugs and moles & voles. Oh, and mosquitoes.

Just looked at the thermometer and it is 53 outside. Wonder how cold it got last night. Been in the 40s at night forever. That is another reason for my tomato problem. They don't set tomatoes unless nighttime temps are mid 50s. Oh well, another year with beautiful plants and no fruit.

Well big doings in town today and tomorrow. Will go in for their pancake breakfast this morning. But not a whole lot that interests me. Bob likes the snowmobile races tomorrow. They see who can get the machines across the river. It is a pretty wide river, so if they even get them across I think they are pretty good. But then to be timed too. Lol, guess they have fun at it.

92 degrees now. Completed outdoor cores. Head was soaked by the time I finished. I picked all the ripe tomatoes ... over 90! I have 4 tomatoe plants ... one is a plum .... harvested over 70 plums today. Guess what I will be doing tomorrow.

I am a bath person. 3 to 4 times a week, I use 2 plastic gallon size watering cans to water the beds bordering the front porch with the previous nite's bath water. while watering those beds this morning I noticed a few new oak seedlings .... last year we had a bumper crop of acorns. For the past two fall seasons I have been shredding all my leaves and heavy mulching the flower beds with the shredded leaves. Difficult to eliminate all the acorns. Oak seedlings were popping up everywhere .... middle of lawns ... planters ... etc. My grandson attributed the bumper crop to all the rain we had last summer. Yesterday while pulling out weeds where my granson is suppose to pour cement into molds for stepping stones I noticed that the soil was extremely dry. My front lawn is very green because it has not been mowed for about 2 months. I gave grandson (Sean) directions to mow the front and discard the clippings (some of the lawn has weeds that have formed seeds).

I am wondering if JB's fir tree problem is a result of poor ground moisture ... last year the ground was never this dry. Here is a picture of a Japanese Red Leaf Maple that we salvage and transplanted during the renovations 2 years ago. I have been watering it faithfully 2 to 3 times a week. Last Saturday we planted 2 nice size (3 gallon container size) hydrangeas that have been receiving considerable water each day. Yesterday, I noticed the leaves on one of them wilting. I immediately gave it another good watering ... within an hour the leaves were nice and firm.

OH MY GOD it is hot! O.K. I promise never to complain about the snow again. Well, maybe not a real promise, for today it sounds like a perfect thing to say. I fed the cats and took the garbage to the barn, watered the south deck but that is all.
Barney is still sick and I am waiting for the vet to call to see if I must bring him in. I told her I needed to start a different medication on him because the diarrhea med is not going to do it, but what the H do I know...Well, Barney got a shot and some IV fluids and $83 later I brought him home. We got home and he had bloody mucus coming out one end and fluids out the other. I am just about crazy. I just finished cleaning up the floors and called the vet, since she was too busy to come in to see hiim, the technician did everything., but she just called me and we talked. She is really a very dear friend of the family and I have known her for 25 years but she makes me so angry at times when she does not treat him with things that make him better. Now it is my fault he is vomiting because I gave him the metronitizol. @#$%^&^%$@#$6 Oh my I am tired, hot and
angry. I want my dog to be well but at 14 I guess he is lucky to be alive. I am going to put him down if he persists on being ill. I can not physically take care of him and clean up after him constantly. Grumble Grumble. Sorry, this of course is our venting forum also.

Hello MARY, WELCOME, I am really a nice person, no matter what Jen says. Actually we love each other but we take shots at each other when we can. In fact, we are on the Administration's "Hit" list because they think we are serious. LOL Truth is, I am so sorry the entire USA stands between us because I could use her help today, big time. That what friends are for isn't it. Help clean up Vomit and Poopy. Yeah!!!!!

I noticed you had green grass in PA.....wow, what a nice sight. It is pretty grass too. We have brown grass and spots of pretty green crab grass here and there. Looks awful.

I think I told you about our baby trees turning brown, etc. Well, My kids went to the Christmas Tree Seminar today in this heat and my daughter just called and said they found a dozen or more people who are having the same thing happening to their baby trees. These trees are anywhere from 2 years to 3 1/2 years old and some a bit older that are in the baby field and being affected. They were told after taking a tree with them that it was the intense sunshine and lack of humidity. I thought we had very humid weather but I guess it was not enough to keep the trees moist where they needed it. We had a lot of rain and snow but this past month with all this very hot sunshine directly on them for so many hours a day has just started to take its toll. The older trees in the big field are all o.k. but they are well established and some are 9 and 10 years old.

Must go try and get this dog to take a nap. He is fighting the shot he got to settle hiim down so I am going to sit down and relax beside him and see if I can get him to sleep.

By the Way, I am far from a master gardner. Just an old lady who loves tropical plants as well as all other living growing things. Hugs to all. JB

JB ... we want fig tree info PLEASE!

I understand how you feel about Barney. I had a toy poodle that I was very attached to. When she got up in age she lost control of bowel movements ... meds helped for awhile .... I had difficulty in holding back tears when phoning the vet about her. Finally, my younger daughter realizing how distraught suggested that she pick up "Sunshine" and take her to the vet to be put down. That is what we did. It took awhile for me to get over the lost.

Darn it is almost 1:30 pm and I still have things to tend to bfore leaving to visit my daughter, Lisa, who lives in Maple Shade, NJ.

JB, have you ever been to the "Christmas Tree Shop" in Cherry Hill, NJ?

Golly Merry I no nothing about fig trees. Did you look it up in the information section of DG?
I usually Google a plant when I want more info and there are great articles from different Universities, etc. about them as well as some good info from other people who have grown them. Sorry I can not help you on that one. It is hotter than you know where in NJ today. Where is Morrisville, PA...I was raised in Lancaster County. I am an old Amish Country kid.
My son practices Criminal Law in Lancaster, PA. He does alot of Federal Criminal Stuff.

No I have never been to the Christmas Tree Shop in Cherry Hill but I have heard about it.
We have our own little Christmas shop starting the day after Thanksgiving. In fact I start to make things, floral of course, for our starting in October. by the time Christmas comes I am sick of it all. LOL

I must go, I spent alot of time doing nothing today except caring for the darn dog. I am so sorry you had to put yours down. I have had to do that several times and I cry everytime.
I am even worse when it comes to horses. I am an old softy, no matter what Jenette tells you.. Have fun in NJ.....JB

Hi, Mary! I am taking a break now as well, since it is heating up here as well. Yesterday it was 89°, and today will probably not be much cooler. I have been watering since about 7:00 AM, since I got outside a bit late today. Still, I did accomplish quite a bit. The color bowls that I had in the front of the house in place of a window box, were a bit fried so I took them down and replaced a couple of plants and gave them a good watering. I think I will keep them in the nursery today and give them a good shot of kelp and let them cool off a bit, since they usually sit in the hot morning sun until the sun goes over the house. Your lawn is beautiful...we have no lawn - we just mow the weeds, though DH put a bit of seed in the back, just to try it, but I do not think he kept it watered enough, but who knows? I have not been paying so much attention to it, as we are working on separate projects for the moment, though we will stop and help the other if needed... Funny thing, Mary, our 20 year old cat is named "Sunshine". (And my sister's name is Mary...there is a long story about that, but another time....) We thought last year that she (The cat, not my sister!) would have to be put down as she had some kind of injury which leaded to an infection. Our vet operated and then gave her a time-release antibiotic and she is good as new...well, not really new, but for a 20 year old animal, she does pretty well. She was previously all matted up and looked terrible! Our dog has been gone for some time now (Black lab - Mutley), which was originally Steve's sister's dog, but he just followed Steve everywhere, and then eventually he just took him home, as I suppose it was "love at first sight". When he used to work at the old office (rural P.O.), Mutley would stay under the desk all day.

JB ~ So sorry for all that horrid mess that your poor Barney is doing...you think Jeanette would come and bring her Shark and clean your floors?? That would be nice, huh? I am sure that the heat just makes everything worse. You must feel like going in and taking a cool shower, but I suppose you need to keep an eye on Barney... So, did they give your daughter a good idea of what to do with the trees? Shade them somehow? Maybe in the future keep them shaded before planting out and wait until they get bigger, if that is not practical and keep them in cans?? Can they be saved now, or are they too far gone??

Well, I must go now, lunchtime over...have fun, everyone...(if you can...) I know JB is not having fun today.

JB is right Mary, your lawn is beautiful. Would be even prettier if your grandson would cut it without waiting 2 months. I know, you don't need someone from Washington state haranguing you about cutting your lawn. Especially when I don't have one. LOL, All of mine is natural. I live in a forest with mountains. I have a perennial bed, a hoophouse where I grow tomatoes and cucumbers, and all the rest are on the decks in containers.

If JB and I didn't luv each other I would hate her for misspelling my name every time she talks about me. I know she does it on purpose so I haven't given her the satisfaction of saying anything about it.

Oh, hi there JB darlin' when did you sneak in?

You know JB, you should quit your b--------g (I would fill that in but you know Admin is just sitting there waiting for us to use a word on "the list" to suspend us.) about that poor little dog and having to clean up after him. Just think how bad he feels. And, knowing it makes you unhappy to clean up when he knows he isn't suppose to do that. I so hope they can help him. What is wrong with them that they can't? Why don't you call that vet at home and tell her you want some curin' done on that poor little animal.

LOL, that's the way Bob talks to his doctor. When he went in for his first appointment he asked him if he could do some curin'. Think the doctor was shocked to have someone talk to him like that. Bob told him that if he couldn't, he would go to someone who could. He really likes him.

You call that vet in the morning and make her come out and make a house call. You would if it were one of those dumb birds. And tell her to bring her meds that work with her.

ROTFLMAO!!!! You can count on that one Evelyn. I will take my Shark over there and wrap it around her scrawny neck if she says one more nasty thing about poor Barney.

Then I might struggle with that Shark to clean her floors all right. You can count on that!!

Grrrrrr. OK I just spent some time creating a post and it did not get posted.

This was not a good day for me. I finally was ready to visit my daughter Lisa (who has a pool) around 2 PM. Within a few blocks of leaving my abode I notice a red light on the dash. Pulled over it was a light indicating break problem. Drove the car to the local Tires Plus (Approximately 1/2 mi;e from my residence) ... 4th visit since may 27th of this year. diagnosis ... break line leakage ... big job ... cannot be fix until Monday. Left car there ... they supplied me with a ride home.

The reason my front lawn is so green is because it has not been mowed in so long. Most of it is slow growing zoysia grass. When I noticed the condition of the soil being so dry I told my grandson not to mow unless I directed him to do so. He now has orders to mow ... but at the higest setting and to use the bag. He hates using the bag ... but he hates raking more.

This message was edited Jul 24, 2010 8:32 PM

JB if you know where Trenton, NJ is you can easily find Morrisville, PA. It is directly across the Delaware River (I hope you are familiar with that river) from Trenton.

Please excuse my digressing ... but the teacher in me cannot resist telling you a little about the history of Morrisville, PA.

Morrisville is named after Robert Morris, an American statesman, signer of the Declaration of Independence and financier of the Revolutionary War. So dedicated to the fight for independence, Morris, known to be one of the wealthiest men in the country, financed Washington's army to the point of his own bankruptcy. Later Morris partitioned congress to make what is now Morrisville, capital of the United States. After some political maneuvering by Alexander Hamilton, Morrisville lost by two votes.

He and Benjamin Franklin paid a visit to Betsy Ross to commission our country’s first flag (the stars and stripes).

In 1789, President George Washington appointed Morris Secretary of the Treasury, but he declined the office and suggested Alexander Hamilton instead.

He never recovered the wealth that he enjoyed before the revolution. He died in 1806, in relative poverty, at the age of 73.



Pictured is the Elephant Ear planted about the middle of June. I should start keeping a journal of my gardening and plant endeavors. I just detest record keeping. That and lesson plans are things I do not miss in respect to teaching.

My daughter,Lisa, who teaches pre-k purchased the bulb for me to grow. She thinks her youngsters will be amazed at how large some leaves can get.

Oh that grass is the prettiest when it fills in. Isn't that golf course grass? I am so sorry about Barney. I put my 15 year old dog Koala to sleep last Wed. and took the day off from work on Thursday because I was just too upset and knew I would not be able to fake it, since I work with the disabled, they would feed off of my vibe. It is hard to let them go, but at some point it feels cruel to watch them struggle so with a greatly diminished quality of life. Oh how we hoped we would wake up and she would be gone. That decision is a hard one to live with. We made it too late for our baby though. We had our first real hot day and her mostly blind and totally deaf, dimentia brain got her tangled in rabbit proof fencing, front leg, back leg and part of her mouth was caught and she could not figure out how to get out or even what she was caught in. This was the hardest part for us, knowing we let this happen because we did not want to let her go. Luckily she was in a shadier side of the fence but it was freaking hot that day, so????

It was 103 here I think today and a little muggy, because our swamp coolers kind of suck. It is hot and windy now. I did some watering this afternoon and some sowing in my garden last night of Celosia seeds from last year. They may not grow but it is ok since they freely sowed about 15 plants or more in the front yard. I was hoping to get some in my lasagna garden in back.

I am seeking an efficent and economical method of placing plant markers in the garden.

The best idea I have found so far is:

I have been using plastic knives for years as plant labels. I write the name of the plant on both the handle and on the blade with a Sharpie. I then shove the knife blade into the soil. Over time, the writing on the handle may become difficult if not impossible to read; however the writing on the blade that was in the soil is still legible.

It was posted on the following site:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tips/msg031828284097.html

How do any of you presently mark outside plants?

I planted the bulbs of this last sping in a flower pot ... they were small bulbs ... no floweres last year ... but what spetacular blooms this year. Can you ID it for me please.

I can't keep a legible label to save my life, if you find out let me know. I get all these seeds and plant them, then I have no idea what they variety is called, if I know what the heck the plant even is. I tried a lot of stuff and this year my Michael's craft store Popsicle sticks and outside paint, covered with fingernail polish, did not hold up to my watering.

Guys, where do I put my watermellon and cantelope seedlings to do best? Sun/part sun? Can they take heavy soils or do they need great drainage? Water a lot? ?????

Greetings from little rock:
I knew I had to get on or I would be forever getting caught up on things here. Welcome Mary...
I am so sorry to hear about barney, its sad to hear when a loved part of the family (and yes dogs and cats are people too) is have such a hard time.
I spotted a wierd concept for a business today. 1 800 got poop (or something like that) they will depoop your yard for you. lol talk about a crappy job. I guess the guy that cleans the truck has an even worse job???
Ok Christmas tree's, it might be a mamoth job but what about putting the row cover on the trees and running a soaker or mist nozzeles under the blankie to increase humidity?
OK my turn... "the comitee" (home owners association) decided it was time to cut down all the rogue volunteer saplings, trees, shrubs and privit on the back side of the back yard. Keep in mind the wall runs north to south is brick and faces the west. I lost all my noise buffering and even worse I lost 1/2 of my shade over the nursery. GGGRRRR I am ^&&%%$# in excess. Ok now to their side of the story. My dear wife told them they could do it because it was part of the easement of the utilities and the cities streets. but why do it in the middle of J U L Y !!!!!!.... and the day I am leaving for the weekend to be with grand babies ...!!!!! It just chaps my rosey what ever....
Yes pollen on tomatoes become sterile or unviable in excessive heat mid to upper 90's.
A thought for the unheated green house I read somewhere about, I use about 10 or more gallon jugs full of water to passively heat my greenhouse. I am also planning to get heat cables to put on my bench's to help knock off the chill.
Also I am planning to use the row cover/frost blanket as a seperator to my leaves that I put over my container grown plants. I am thinking it will help clean up in the spring.
Ok heat we are consistantly hot in the summer. I remember one year we had 100 days of 100 degrees plus with no wind and not a drop of rain. and I decided to take on a part time job at a friends organic farm. he sold itty bitty veggies and fresh herbs to the local high end resturaunts.
well its my bed time.
I hope everyone gets some of the rain they are talking about here in little rock tuesday 50%
Dave

FYI .... The "Christmas Tree Shop" only has christmas theme items when other stores do. Their focus at the present time seems to be back to school.

When I went there last Sunday I purchased packets of seeds marked 88% off. Since my granddaughter works there I had 20% taken off the remaining 12% ... which means I paid 9.6% of the original price marked on the packet.

If you live anywhere near one ... you need to check it out.

The following web site can be used to determine if there is one near you. To see there latest circular click on FLYER.

http://www.christmastreeshops.com/frames.htm

I love bargain shopping.

Not a clue Mary, other than a lily. Looks like a Stargazer of some kind. My SG turned from their beautiful colors to dark purple. They were that color for a couple of years and then they disappeared. I don't know if the voles ate them or what.

I don't mark my plants outside. I just remember what they are.

edited dto read:

Think we all cross posted.

This message was edited Jul 24, 2010 7:23 PM

Marry:

http://www.growersupply.com/virota1perro.html
the alluminum ones are 50 to a box. the rolls of lables that slip over a branch hols marking best I think... I have started using a greese pencil and parts cut from the slats of mini blinds. its $8.00 for a long one at wally world. sharpie fades in time so relabeling every year is a but much for me.

http://www.growersupply.com/py4and6plla.html

I am going to buy a box of the 5 or 6" ones here but I will most likely use a lot of them. email me if anyone is wanting to get in on the case Pughbear7@hotmail.com . I would consider doing a coop but as I am a seller I am not allowed to host one and its one lousy case for peat's sake.
I guess its likle the hot dog vendor on the corner. they are $3.00 and he doesn't care if you buy it or not...someone will eventually....
anyhoo nitey night,,, yes I did say it once before but mary cross posted on me and it like the last cookie in the box...can't leave it alone...
Dave

Mary its in the lily family ...either star gazer or oriental. Orientals face down star gazer face up. Some have been advertised to get 6 feet plus

I am not having luck with lilies here except day lilies for some reason, at this point. I have in other yards but here not.
Cool label link. Thanks. I need some of those asap. I have so many giant, giant Zinnias at this moment, that I have completely lost my landscape on a marginally landscaped part of the yard. There better be some awesome blooms out of this crap. It is like a jungle or forest. Tall plants are usually something I am interested in but at the moment. I could use a change of height.

Dawn ~ Do you have any pictures of your lasagna garden? Does it come with pasta?LOL! I have a salsa bed going with peppers, onions and cilantro. I am trying to grow tomatillos as well, though I am not sure about them. Soon I will be starting the fall veggies, I have been weeding and watering practically all day since quite early this morning. I have been soaking my starter containers in bleach and water with a little soap. I wash them up in the evening and then put a new batch in. I hope to also get all the usable pots clean soon as well, after I do these first. Fortunately, it has only been 90°, or a little over in the late afternoon. (I never thought that I would say...only 90°, but you and Sharon have such extreme heat.) I don't think I could take much of that. I would probably stay indoors all day and be really lazy! LOL! Sorry about your Koala...that is never easy.

Mary ~ Thanks for the history lesson, but can you teach us any math? My dad tried to teach me calculus, but to no avail. I did well in Algebra and Geometry but that was in high school, and have used neither since. It was just plain arithmetic that I had problems with but the calculators have made that much easier. (It really messed up my chemistry grades when we had to do gram/liter conversions...I could not figure it out at all...) Still, I do try and practice my arithmetic when I have a simple addition or subtraction to do. It was interesting to know why Asians do so well at math. When I read "Outliers", it really opened my eyes to a lot of things. Also it has inspired me to try harder at my goals and not give up so easily, even in this hot weather....I understand your situation about losing a post...it is very frustrating...it has sure happened to me several times. Then I forget what I wrote...LOL!

Jeanette ~ How are your tomatoes doing? Do you have any fruit on them yet...? I am just starting to see some now. At least it warmed up for you. I wouldn't worry too much about the fluctuation in weather...and it is something of which we have no control anyway, but still, I hope that it improves for you. Have you got that Shark yet under control? I steamed the floor last night, or was it the night before? Anyway, it is still clean. We are always coming in and out and it is a miracle if I can skip a few days, and just sweep or use the dust mop.



This message was edited Jul 25, 2010 1:11 PM

Pretty, evelyn- is that a cupid's dart? I have a few, but mine aren't that rich a blue.
Mary, nice to see a new face- I pop in and out, I'm not very talkative but am a good listener.
Hey, guys, a job opened up for a City Gardener here in greater Omaha, so I am applying. The best thing is, it is year-roun d, they have a gh and do their own propagating in the winter. I would be in Heaven (Heaven DOES have greenhouses, right). wish me luck!
JB, sorry to hear about Barney, that is the sad thing with pets, but they do bring so much joy. That is one of the better things about birds, at least the few that I've lost- they go quickly, and you hardly have time to do anything, let alone have to make decisions. So far I've only had to put one down, and even though he was never tame I cried my eyes out for 2 days.
Gotta run- church is coming, and I take my Mother every Sunday.

Here is a thought .... would applying a Uv-Resistant Acrylic Coating to plant makers amelorate the fading of permanent markers?

http://www.acmoore.com/p-34739-uv-resistant-acrylic-coating-aerosol-clear-11-ounces.aspx

Oh wow Avainut, what a cool job that would be. When do you find out? That would really be fun. And year round! I sure do wish you good luck. That would be a dream job to have.

JB how is Barney this morning? Poor little guy, can you get him to eat some soup or something? He needs some liquids.

evelyn, my tomatoes are finally coming on. Starting. All it takes is warm weather I guess. It sure would help if I could see a bee once in a while. Nothing. But, something must be pollinating them.

I haven't used the Shark since my initial trial with it. I have used my regular sponge mop. I is so easy to use. One of these days I will try again with the Shark. Guess I could go help JB out if she weren't so darned far away. I would if

edited to delete a duplication

This message was edited Jul 25, 2010 8:47 AM

Barney update please. Thanks for the kind comment about my Koala.
I do have some pictures of my first lasagna, the others are not as good, for various reasons, but they are newer and have less paper in them. I am going to start adding paper and card board as the rainy season comes and hope we have one again, since we usually don't get much.

This was how it started. This is more recent. Though it has had better years since the start before hollyhocks took over and slugs and gopher damage.

This was after about 9 months. This was the circle area in the first picture, it is a memorial garden to my Koala's daddy, Mushi.

This was Memorial Weekend.

Dawn, what's the deal with a Koala? I must have missed it some how. I don't remember reading anything about one? Did you have one as a pet? That would be interesting. Tell me about it. Or, if you don't want to repeat, tell me where your post is. The date. Would love to read it.

Your lasagna bed looks good except for the straw on top. I don't think that would be a good idea since that and paper dry out too fast. I think I would cover them with soil of some kind. Straw, paper and then soil. Just my opinion. And water with the hose. I wouldn't wait for rain in the heat. I think the heat and water would make a good rotting material. Just my opinion.

Jeanette: you are not alone ...Koala??? it reminds me of the teenage girls and squirls.... squirl where where quick...lol
anyway back home and headed to bed
Have a great evening
Dave

Koala is my dog that I put down last week.
The straw and cardboard were all mixed down under that straw you see and a lot of top soil, natural soil, manure and compost is under the straw you see, but I made the bed in late summer before the rains, and I put Amonium Nitrate in it to break it down faster. As you see the picture, was how it was before my leaves fell and my grass clippings went on it that were composting all summer, which held moisture in the straw you see, then in the late Winter, I put down a skip or two of topsoil across it so that I could plant since all the cardboard was not broke down and some of the straw in the picture was not either. I poked holes in the wet cardboard and planted what you see. I agree the straw does not hold moisture and that is the problem with my present project. I did not get skips of soil, so this one has been breaking down for 3 years, I throw a bag of this and that in spots as I plant. This one has a lot of small elm sticks under it so it will take forever to break down.

That is a tongue twister.