Plant propagation part XVIII based on my own experience

Morning,
I have Watersorb powder, and have yet to use it. You can take hydrated crystals and press them thru a wire strainer and get about the same thing as powder would make.
On an edition of the Gardner's Diary they featured an Atlanta yard with 100s of Hydrangeas in it.
The garden tender of some 30 yrs said she really found a great change when she replanted her Hydrangeas with polymer crystals. They have southern red clay and it's hotter there in the summer than it is in Jax.
Jnette is correct about the use of these crystals and sand. Molly Mc said when she was digging up things planted with the WCs that she found no jelly left. I imagine the weight of the plant just forces the crystals thru the sand like the wire strainer. Now, when I plant in the sand I put a layer or two of newspaper in the bottom of the hole.
Lahsalover (sp?) ran the last co-op I saw and might still have some left over.
The biggest detriment to my plants not getting water is the blasted no soil mix the plants are growing in when I buy them. Once all that dern spangum moss gets dry, nothing short of soaking the whole pot in a bucket of water will save it.
You nice folks are very prolific here and I started this reply 3 days ago.
LOL.
Here is this years losing weight history;
In Jan., 2010 I weighed 172. This morning I weighed 149.
Here is how I did it.
When I want a snack I reach for plain almonds and fresh fruit, mostly strawberries.
I also watch my salt and refined sugar intake.
Only eat WM's 9 grain bread and little of that.
In place of sodas I started making fresh squeezed limeade using Splenda in place of sugar.
Let myself have 1 serving of anything.
Use olive oil based margarine, salad dressing, & mayo.
I also have been purchasing frozen steamer meals.
Sometimes that's all the sodium I consume in a day, sodium is usually 30% of the RDA.
In a way I do like the Nutri-system and when my meal is gone I don't have left-overs to go back to for seconds.
I buy potato chips in a box holding 50 pkgs. I only eat one pkg at a time. I also give about half the box to my DS so they don't go stale.
Do check the expiration date on those boxes as they can expire too soon. (Sam's, Costco, etc comes to less than 20 cents each)
I go to several bring food meetings and when I want something decadent I fix it right before one of those. Then I take it to the meeting. I have some there, and maybe bring one serving home.
The rest I give to folks who want it.
I keep 100 calories or less ice cream bars and will stave off hunger with one of those. They also have the cream/dairy that soothes anyone.
At this time I have Rainier and Bing cherries, limes, peaches, and apricots in the refrigerator.
Sidney

Sidney you have a lot of will power. What are steamer meals? Pardon me, but they sound gross.

But you have done great. 23 # in that many months is slow enough that they won't come back in a loooooooong time. How much are you trying to lose? What do you do for the fresh fruit in the winter? Do you freeze any? But then down there in FL I suppose you guys have fresh fruit of a lot of kinds almost year round?

Also, out of curiosity, are you still working or did you retire?

Nice picture Sharon.

Beautiful day here. But still no rain. Weather people are covering their you know what and only saying CHANCE OF THUNDER SHOWERS .... they will not even say storm.

My daughter was suppose to visit today ... but she called and cancel because of a problem with her next door (unfriendly) neighbor(s). There is presently an extremely ugly wire fence between the two properties.

When a good friend called and said they could $40 of 8' high stocade fence for $5 a section, they jumped at the opportunity .... only problem there was they had to resort to renting a truck ($100) to transport the fencing materials.

The present fence is on my daughters property ... they went to find out what permits were needed ... no permit needed to take down the fence ... need a permit to put up fence.

Her next door neighbor has veggies planted all along the ugly fence and is resisting moving them .... over 1 ft of my daughters property is occupied by his vegetation.

My daughter believes the previous owners of her property moved because of these neighbors ... the previous owners relocated only 2 blocks away.

I will either visit my daughter tomorrow or Thursday.

I am schedule to have cateract surgery on right eye on Thursday, Aug 19th.

Mary

Hi All
Congrats Sidney on the weight loss. I know how hard it can be I have about 40 pounds to loose myself.
Mary I know this suggestion will really chap the neighbors behind but I would make sure the property lines are correctly marked and then tell the guy either move em or loose em as you plan to spray down the line to remove any vegitation that may hinder the fences installation with say 30 day certified notice or with a witness to say yes she gave him 30 days notice. I believe that by law if its on your property or overhanging the air space above your property you have the rick to trim it away. Please check with someone who is more schooled in the law than I am before you do anything drastic.
Its amazing how a little round up can really ruin a veggie patch. I know it sounds mean but the guy is not leaving much in the way of options. are you going to do the fence yourself or hire it out? It sounds like hireing the job out would be well worth the money just to be able to sit back and watch the entertainment he will give you. As you can see I am big on "its my property and I will do what I want on it as long as I don't break any laws".
I will put you in my prayers for your eye surgery to go well with 100% success.
Slow day today as I am not getting out in the blasted heat.
Stay cool
Dave

Jnette,
I am not retired yet. I however have not been given a call from the hall in over 16 months. I went ahead and filed for early SS. Its less than a $1,000 a month, but fortunately my house is paid for.
If you shop Sam's or Costco you can get fresh fruit all year. I never eat frozen, but may start as one cup of blue berries a day helps with memory. Frozen blue berries are much cheaper out of season.
I justify the expense out of season by the fact that I could be paying that money to doctors.
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers are frozen and I try to get them on
sale.($2.50 ea)
They have a 2 pc plastic cooking pkg. The top perforated tray is meat and veggies. The bottom bowl is sauce. You microwave the meal 4 to 5 min. Remove film on top, dump the top basket into the bottom bowl and stir. Ready to eat. This whiskey steak I'm eating now is pretty tasty.
I'm also trying to figure how to make mini e-buckets with the plastic top baskets.
Mary,
Neighbor feuds are the pits. Unfortunately they know where you live and when you are home.
Cataract surgery is the best and the new lens they put in will allow you to read without glasses and doesn't dissipate like Lasic does.
Dave I guess it was you I was telling the weight loss saga to.
As for exercise, I garden and do some walking.
I also suck my tummy in as hard as I can several times each hour and count to 10 or 20. That has kept my tummy flat for 40 years.
Have a great day.
;)

You have the best thing going for you Sidney. No house payments.

I will have to try the fruit in the winter. I really do not like buying any but local. Most of the stuff we get in the winter comes from Mexico. I got asparagus at Christmas from Peru. I was super hungry for asparagus or I would not have bought it.

Yes Mary, the eye surgery is great. I think you have to make a decision tho before you go in as to which kind of lens you want. Either way you have to wear glasses. Either for close up or distance. I guess their is a new lens that is a trifocal now, but I didn't want it. I didn't want the trifocal glasses so decided I didn't want to take the chance on a lens I couldn't take off. LOL Also, I don't think they have really perfected it's use yet and there are additional surgeries you might have to have with it. Just the info I got from the stuff they gave me to read.

Jnette,
Our sweet Giant strawberries come from Calif. and the wonderful fat asparagus from peru. Artichokes, I'm not sure. They do fly many things from around the world.
Here in Fl. the strawberries are small and sour.
A large strawberry has 6 calories.
I'm off to Costco.
LOL
;)

Jeanette ~ This year I am going to establish an asparagus bed...if the darn gophers will keep out...otherwise I will have to devote one of the Square Foot Gardens to it. Maybe I will plant half in there, just to be on the safe side. We eat a lot of asparagus and I might as well plant things that we eat, as it not only saves trips to the grocers, (but eventually), saves money. I think I will try and plant artichokes as well, as we both eat a lot of them as well. I will have to cast a net over the strawberries, as I seem to lose them to the birds. Also the blueberries. And for now, I have frozen bb's in the freezer.

Sydney ~ You should be able to grow just about anything in FL, right? Maybe try to plant some things in the off season. We can grow tomatoes in winter like you can...most years...my son lives in FL. Did I say THAT??We cannot grow tomatoes in winter unless we had a warm GH, which we do not....what was my fingers typing??

Sharon ~ Thanks for all the nice pictures...everyone else, let's see yours, OK? We won't get any snow until December, most likely. Usually late December. Sometimes we have a "White Christmas", but not always. After that it is usually cold until late March...but this year it was unusual...late May! A very short spring - one month is not long enough to do all the spring chores...esp. weeding! I am still doing it! I have, however, started a small "lasagna bed"...no straw or hay, just compost, cardboard, newspapers and chicken manure. (And no, I don't have chickens.... I have to buy it in bags.) I may start getting horse manure from a neighbor, but just for composting as I have heard if you put it in your garden beds they are full of weed seeds.

Well, I must go now, as I am at the library and the computer is through with the updates and I have more errands to run, as today was my chiropractor day. Have a great day everyone!

~ Evelyn

I had to edit my comments to Sydney....

This message was edited Aug 4, 2010 12:29 PM

There is a small shopping center within walking distance (less than 1/4 mile) from my house. It has two stores that I frequent ... one is a very large Dollar Tree that has large sliding doors that open automatically. Right next to it a what is known as the FARM STORE. They sell all types of fresh veggies and fruits at prices lower than the supermarket chains. They also sell fresh seafood and some dairy products such as milk and cheese.

They are sending me literature regarding the eye surgery. I will not know what time the surgery is until the day before. Hopefully it will be in the morning as my daughter just informed me that she has a "Popsicycle Party" from 5 pm to 7 pm scheduled for the day they have scheduled the surgery. The party is for parents to have their children investigate the pre-k classroom.

My daughter, Lisa, just discovered that the majority (if not all) of the neighborhood have problems with this one neighbor. The neighbors in the rear are estactic that a new fence is going up between the properties.

They have torn down and trashed the old fencing. Last night they put up a line for where the new fencing would be. Well the PITA (Pain In The ?) neighbor moved it (TWICE).

Mr. PITA is finally moving his plants. Only because my daughter informed him that the zoning personnel said she had the right to pull up anything that was on her property.

Sidney .... how many calories are there in other fruits? Blueberries .... Bannanas Watermelon Cantalope Oranges .... I think I better stop ... Love Ya All

Mary

Mary where are you going for your eye surgery? Did you see that weather forecast?
I spent the day unfortunately, inside working on bank statements, etc. I still need to put the expenses for July on the computer and then I am finished for the month. I need to get going again with plants...........two months with no selling is not good but it looks like we have another hot one coming up. I moved your black PW to the floor of the greenhouse and hopefully I can keep enough alive to send you all your little babies.
My SIL checked the red maple tonight and he said he thinks they will make it. We are irrigating again, started this morning. Did the Pussy Willows, Iris, Holly ( variagated and regular) and peonies.....they are really dry again. Tomorrow the veggies that did not die get a drink...tomatoes and peppers are all that is left, then the red maple get it Thurs. We do need rain.
I spent almost a month working with sick people and it really took its toll on me. I am not as patient as I once was. I wish I could cuss on here. I need to. LOL
Hey Jenette.....love you.

EKKS! Chiropractor!

The only time I have ever been to one was after a bad car accident many years ago. I dreaded those sessions. I finally convince the doctor to send me to physical therapy .... that I liked. My spinal column was so messed up the only way I was able to work was with a TENS unit.

Two summers ago (when all the exterior renovations were goin on) my syadic nerve went hay wire on me. Just touching my right foot to the floor sent horrific shooting pain up my leg. I had to crawl to the bathroom. As the day wore on the problem would subside.

I ordered myself an inversion table .... 15 minute sessions twice a day and in 2 weeks the problem was gone. The only problem is the inversion table I have is difficult for me to pull the lock and then to unlock. I saw one that is just as good and for the same price that has done away with this problem for pld weak folks like me.

Mary

Whew ..... nice to hear from you JB. I get concern that you may at times be pushing yourself too hard. Mother Nature is teasing us ... why do the weather forecasters get our hopes up by saying watch for POSSIBLE rain showers or storms. What the heck do they think we were doing? NOT WATCHING??

My primary care physician referred me to Total Eye Care. A doctor Stein will do the surgery. I do not know where .... all that info will be in the literature and papers they are sending me.

I think it is OK to say PITA

Mary

All is well. Todd's family left today to go back to Spokane. Housekeepers will be here tomorrow. That timing was on purpose. I took off the lid of the EZ Cloner and something has put out a very large root. I will take it out and pot a little later. I will take a photo before I pot it.

I am in charge of caring for the cat next door. They are on another trip. They will be gone until next Thursday. I will take a photo of this cat. It was left at a Vet's office 11 years ago when it was a kitten and he called my neighbors and asked if they wanted it. It is a great cat. Very friendly, and should be in a Harry Potter movie.

I designed the new pot at the entrance of our area and the owner of the landscape company came by to tell me how great it looked and again offered me a job. I told him I did not want to get up early to go to work. He told me I could name my own hours. It would be fun designing but it is still working. But I am thinking about it. I have not told DH because he would not like it.

I am going to be spending the next two days planting irises. To early but have no other option.

I have had sciatic before and I have total sympathy. What a burning pain that just does not stop. I had a tummy tuck and mine went away. My mother had it, my brother and daughter have it. My daughter is very slender. My mother was not and neither is my brother. My brother one year younger than me is having surgery again today. They found cancer again in his bladder. He has already had one kidney removed because of cancer. He had the first cancer removed from his bladder in March. They are keeping a real close eye on it. It is like scraping off a polyp if you catch it fast enough. Say a prayer for him.

Sydney, great job on the weight loss. Sounds like a good menu. Elevlyn needs to spice up her plate. She is such a lovely lady eating boring food. I love blue berries in Greek yogurt.

I can see Jnette sitting on that wonderful deck, drinking a wonderful cup of something hot and just taking in her world. My back garden, under the feeder for the small birds is just packed with half grown quail and their parents. Today I counted 12 babies and 3 parents. Photo attached I took yesterday. They are in the shade of the African Sumac, which has finally stopped shedding. They are standing on the pony wall to hold the wrought iron fence for the greenbelt area. You can see their furl on their head in the shadow.

This is a photo of the group, mostly children. I cannot get closer because they are really jumpy. I have a great lens but this is the best I can do. Tomorrow I am going to try from the back garden upstairs patio.

The dirt they are eating on is suppose to be pink crushed granite. As you can see it is mostly black from the bird seed. In my younger years that would have driven me crazy but I love the birds so much, I do not even see it.

Sharon did I tell you about the little hummingbird that came in the house the other day? I might have so I will just quickly tell the rest of you. My ceilings, are A frame so 28 feet high with windows and of course that is where it was flying so we couldn't get it. I thought it had died but then the next day I saw it up there.

I went out and got a hummer feeder and brought it in. The little guy took one look at it and flew right down and sat down to eat. I had it in my hands so I just walked it and the bird out the door.

Yes, we do enjoy the decks, but I am getting so many plants out there and the summer is so short to enjoy them. I love the quail Sharon. We have grouse above the house on the mountain and can hear them. Also, we have wild turkeys that fly off the granite rocks next to the driveway.

Sidney, I think the thing that bothers me most about buying the imported fruits & vegetables is that we don't know how they are grown. When we get ecoli off of things grown in our own country, as tightly as our agriculture laws are, how do we know about others.

LOL, JB, I thought you were a nurse in the marines. WHAT? You weren't? Sure glad of that. LOL, love you too. Now quit that cussin'. You're going to get us thrown off here. They can read your mind when it's that loud.

Oh wow, Bob just reminded me that the rain barrels were full. I don't know why he hasn't had the spigots open. I placed the hoses right where I wanted the water to go and didn't know he had them closed. I will have to go out tomorrow and make sure where the water goes. This afternoon I was on the phone in the middle of programming a phone for his mom and all of a sudden the skies just opened up and the loudest boom of thunder and lightening right on the house. As solid as this house is, it shook. So we had a down pour. Bet the rain barrels ran over. Darn!!

Is thar a mouse in the corner???? very cool....
Mary my wife is an accountant and her eye dr said to make sure they map the eye when doing one surgery not sure which cause I have pretty good vision except for reading I started to go into a joke but thought it would not be apropriate as eye surgery is a big thing.
verry cool pics. I can only hope that my back yard reaches the escape level I want it to be.
More in the am as its way past nighty night time.
Dave

Jnette,
I cook my asparagus until it's soft. A friend told me years ago that the fatter the stalks the more gourmet it was, so I don't buy skinny stalks anymore.
on any given day we can all be attacked by 'booger bugs' so I just use reasonable caution and don't worry about ecoli or others.
I give more thought to trying to use the powder Watersorb without inhaling any of that dust. Same with Sevin and other powder garden chemicals.
I also believe that there are inspections by US Ag on thing brought in from other countries. I also believe big companies like Costco are conscientious about what they sell and where and how it's grown and handled.
I wash Wa cherries before I eat them though.
;)

Sidney, why do you cook the BJ----- out of them? I just put a little oil, salt and pepper on mine, sometimes some grated Parmesan, sometimes Italian dressing, and roast them. Wonderful. Why are you steaming everything?

I agree, you should wash everything first. They normally are sprayed. I don't think the Ag, or Costco goes out to foreign farms and looks at the growing. They probably randomly test on import. They don't even have enough inspectors to look at everything in this country.

Dave, I can't find a mouse in the picture. What picture are you looking at?

Well I was mistaken. Only two cuttings had roots. One was a plant I forgot I also added. An ivy a friend gave me and I had no room so had to double up. The leaf is gray green with a purple outline. I will take photo soon. Anyway I took photo of Hardy hibiscus. I broke Creeping Charlie when I was taking it out of the plug. Now is back in the EZ Cloner. Photo Attached.

Sorry Grandma had to give you an updated photo of Luke and Natalie.

The kiddies are darling Sharon. Bet that little girl lis a lot of help with Luke.

Not a clue on the plant. It is hard to see. Well rooted though.

It is a Hardy Hibiscus. Sorry the photo was blurry. just like my eyes. I need to get to bed early. I quit drinking Pepsi yesterday and today I had a crushing headache. Actually laid down and took a nap.

You are having withdrawals, huh? Caffeine? Now I know where you got all your energy. Maybe that would help me. Nope, just have jittery nerves.

OK Sugarweed, you have talked me in to it.I will start my diet today. I keep saying 'tomorrow', and before you know it it will be winter and much harder to get decent exercise.

So, anyway, when's the best time to transplant iris?

A woman who grows Iris to sell told me you can transplant Iris 6 weeks after it has finished blooming. I would guess now is as good a time as any. I am not an Iris Expert.

I want you to see what "nap time " looks like at this farm. These are the kittens I rescued and had nuetered. The father of the twins is missing on this one. Oh yes, I hate cats.

Here is another of the twins and their mother. They are all so playful. But on here they are waiting for Barney and me to come out the door. Every afternoon I walk the dog, these cats wait for us to come out the door and follow us all over the farm on our walk. I feel like the pied piper lol. It really looks funny, walking a dog and four or five cats running after you. My life is never normal.

Speaking of birds, in order to raise any sort of sport bird, we need a special permit here in NJ. I wanted to do quail and pheasants at one point and after I saw what we had to go through to have a game bird farm I gave up. I adore them.

It is again in the 90s with humidity so high you can hardly breathe. I guess I will give the dog a bath after lunch , clean bird cages and go down to the base (Mcguire AFB) to pick up some groceries and wine. It is just too hot to begin repotting for fall. I can not take this humidity, it makes me sick.

Nice pictures JB. How about a picture of barney? How is he doing?

"Have you ever noticed? Anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac." -George Carlin

I shall be visiting my daughter today.... will give an update on the new fence when I return.

Mary

A Riddle:

There was a green house.
Inside the green house there was a white house
Inside the white house there was a red house.
Inside the red house there were lots of babies.

What am I?

ARE YOU GRANDMA??? MARY
jeanette - I was refering to sharon's second pic in the lower rt corner....
Asparagus vs moles and other nasty critters - I would try building a cage out of chicken wire or some othe metal screen and bury the new roots inside the box. it should allow you to get the crop going without any critters getting a free tasty dinner. Just a thought

Not much going on today. its all about moving stuff to get ready to raise the floor in the living room. the dining room is ready for hardwood. Kim is so antsy its not funny, its going to be a rough rehab I just hope I get parole after a few years....lol

Stay cool everyone
Dave

JB, I love the cats, and I'm not even a cat person. But, I've always liked the black & whites. Been years since I have had one of those. Those pictures are great.

That's what I thought Dave, but I still don't see the mouse. A little bird yes. Know how i know? Mouses have tales. LOL

Don't know Mary, now if you had said black babies I would have said watermelon.

You gotta use something smaller than chicken wire for voles. Moles will come up in the chicken wire that has the larger holes and voles will come up in smaller holes.

Dave why are you raising the living room floor?

Happy Birthday Sharon!!

Any special plans for the day? Must be something!

Have a good one!

watermelon is the answer!

Yes Dave, I am a grandma .Did you forget about the grandson that lives with me? I have 2 daughters .... one lives in North Carolina and runs a music business .... my younger daughter lives in Maple Shade, NJ (about a 25 mile drive) Each daughter has 2 daughters and 1 son.

It is hot and humid here. My head is soak with sweat from watering the plants in containers.

JB .... Please try not to be in the greenhouse.


Dave ... keep us posted on renovation progress

Mary

I did not know it was Sharon's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARON! ENJOY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~ SHARON!! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Evelyn

Good Grief it was hot and humid today. I did nothing outside or in the greenhouse and I went to lunch with a friend and bought wine and gin. So there. Now I am going to have a bite to eat (very little bite) and watch TV. This weather drains me and I am not doing anything. Will walk later if it cools off. Have a good evening and a very Happy Birthday to Sharon. God Bless JB

So!! JB, you're a gin & tonic lady! You and Bob would surely get along. I do not like the smell of junipers. Not the plant, nor in a bottle or glass. LOL

That weather saps everyone's energy. Don't know how you can stand the humidity. When it gets hot here it is a dry hot so you don't feel it so much. Sure, you feel it in the direct sun, but not in the shade or in the house etc.

I either go out before noon or wait until around 4 o'clock when the sun goes over the mountain and then I water. Sometimes my brugs are really hanging. Especially when they are in the direct sun. Their leaves are so big they get the sun full bore. But, I can't take them all out of the sun. Not enough room on this side of the deck.

Happy Birthday Sharon. Yes I am still lurking around. Been pretty busy with Mom. Not doing so well, won't eat and is now down to 119 # from 170 about 3 months ago. The yard is still just looking at me. Weather has warmed up a bit, but only every so often, then back down in 60's. I am not complaining, but the plants are. All else is going good. Made a cake towel for the bride's shower and it went over pretty well. Will post pictures as soon as I get some if you want to see it. Time to go out and water. See all later. Have a good one, and be healthy all. Lee

Lee, sure do want to see it. I have never heard of a cake towel. Is that what you said? When is the wedding? i want to see pictures of the dresses too.

Our weather did one of those dipsy doodles last week too., Felt kind of good for a day or so didn't it? However, after what JB and others are going thru I sure can't complain about our weather. Actually, when I think about winter, I love this.