Your neck of the Woods part 3

I am sure it was just a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry to make you feel uneasy G. I surely didn't mean a thing by that comment. Just a joke. I don't care what anyone does w/any traded plants. Well...I do care in the sense that I would hope they were cared for and not discarded, since most were grown from seeds or cuttings with TLC, but other than that - do whatever. Gardening and sharing is what we're all about right?

Hey Gita, August is doing well in school, except that he keeps getting in trouble for talking to the kid next to him. The kids got out of school 2 hours early yesterday because of the heat, which many people think is crazy but his school doesn't have a/c. Most kids these days have a/c at home so they aren't used to the heat. Can you imagine trying to wrangle 20 5 year olds by yourself in 100° heat + humidity? God Bless the Teachers.

I guess you could transport the caterpillars to the new parsley to save them the trip. :)

My garden is getting no respite from the heat though. Most of my petunias have given up the ghost. Even my cockscomb are drying up in some places! I've been really impressed by the gomphrena though. They are drought tolerant stars right now. I like them because they don't really get going till in the second half of summer, and don't crowd out the early blooming annuals. I don't like that they take forever to bloom from seed. I didn't really start the seeds till the last frost date as my garden bed didn't depend on them so much, but anyway lesson learned for next year. I miss my annual Salvia 'Fireworks(?)' from last year. I gave away all the baby plants that I grew this year. Here's last year's front bed in August. Sorry no pics of this year's gomphrena right now.

Judy, No I won't be able to attend. I have church that day and honestly, I don't like driving down that way during the weekend because it's my work commute, which I drive too often for my liking as it is.

My neighbors say they think my front bed looks nice, and I think that my maintenance of it encourages/forces them to plant and maintain their front yards in order to keep up with me, but no one is as nuts about it as me. My front bed looks like a jungle compared to theirs. I've planted tulips and my neighbors have followed suit, so that's about it. I keep hoping one day that they will say "Can you just take over my flower bed?"

August is probably bored with the subject matter at school and that's why he's talking. They haven't started assessing the kids and dividing them into groups by aptitude yet. He's kind of a free spirit and doesn't like to follow directions. I'm not worried about him, he's a strong (read: stubborn) kid. :)

Swallowtail is chomping away merrily and getting bigger every day! :)

Wind, the Inky Fingers you shared at Jan's swap has done well for me. too! Did you first come by it via Coleuslover? Do you raise seedlings and plants for the Mount Laurel plant sale every year like she does?
Hey Coleuslover, tell us how you overwinter your lovely coleus varieties!

Anyone who has named variety coleus cuttings can always offer to share them for postage over in the Coleus Forum. One year I had almost 30 'takers' and some even sent cuttings back to me for the Spring since I no longer overwinter mine!

I was very lucky in that for 3 years my bosses let me overwinter my huge coleus plant collection under the benches in a greenhouse kept just above 40 degrees where they kept some of their stock plants of tropical and tender perennials until 'wake up' time in early Spring for propagating for that season. Amazing what 2-3 year old coleii look like!

(And, yes, Gita, these old pics are as large as I can get them!)

Karen--

I love Gomphrena (aka Globe Amaranth) as well, but they never do great in my beds...

Another star of the late summer/fall beds is the Lantana. They can be in
full bloom as snow starts to fall.....;o) Then I have to yank them out...
I have never tried wintering them over, but some people say you can...
My space in the house can get so limited with everything coming in...

Yesterday, I started making a list of what needs to be done outside...
Filled a whole page. 18 items!
Still will make notes on my beds for next year. One BIG note will be to NOT
stuff them full to the hilt--as when everything grows big--it blankets out
some of the smaller stuff. Looks beautiful--but,eg, my E. side bed--
all you see are the huge caladium leaves--not much else...choke!!

Will, also, seriously limit what I grow from seed, even though I am collecting seeds
from everything as we speak. Half of my DR table is full...
It just is not worth growing something from seed if I can buy it in a cell-pack for $2.

Does anyone know some place that may want lg. amounts of seeds donated to?
I literally have zip-loc baggies full of some seeds...Would be great to share....
(ahem...get rid of them)..

I was talking to Jill at the swap about my AV's never blooming--and she suggested
I transplant them in fresh soil, prune the roots a bit, etc. I will do that....
BIG job--as I have so many--big and small....

If we get some decent rain--so i don't have to spend 2 hours every day watering everything,,
I may have (make) the time...I don't work again until Sunday, so NO excuses!
"X" on running around shopping just to kill time!

Gonna take my BIG pot of "Inky Fingers" to the GH's today. Happiness is....
giving something away to a "worthy cause"........

OK! Load of laundry first..... Gita

An example of plants "taking over"....I KNOW there are other plants, gasping for air,
under all those big leaves.

Karen, I was thinking about going to that Greenbelt garden tour. It's pretty easy for me to get to, and the pictures look fantastic!

Donating seeds:

http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/Seed_Donations.html

Or start a Seed Lending Library!

http://www.richmondgrows.org/

Ssgardener, let me know if you go and maybe we could meet up although I have no idea if or where! How close is Behnkes?

Coleup, Behnke's is only about 10 minutes from there.

I'd like to go, but I also have no idea when or if! It would most likely be later in the day.

Thanks, Judy.

They say not to send seeds older than 3 years.
many of the seeds i would donate are in that category, but I know
they would germinate--like 4's, Daturas, Sea Oats, as well as many flowers.

G.

There used to be a "Free Seeds For Newbees" here on Daves Maybe under Welcome Mat Forum? Also, have to tried posting the older than 3 yrs seeds you have on the Seed Traders Forum? This poster had success when she did!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1320669/

ssgardener and coleup: I might -- not at all sure -- go to this Sunday's Greenbelt garden tour (and ssg, also the Takoma end-of-the-season event). It depends in part on how much I can get done in the yard before then....

lol Happy, or how much I need a break!

Our County Fair is this weekend, too. I do love to see what veggies take the ribbons (So far only two garlic bulb entries which would ensure mine a ribbon just for entering!) Love seeing the different breeds of chickens and other livestock. (I practice my farm animal sounds as I tour) Last year there was a zebra (!) integrated into a horse herd. Wayne and I also enjoy the old steam engines and antique garden machinery...crowds are generally small so one can actually see things......One year they had a "Husband Calling Contest" along with the Hog Calling --- haven't perfected that one yet!

Judy--

OI don't really want to get into seed "trading" again--since all i do is mail mine out
but do not trade. I sure don't need any more seeds--so it becomes a
one-sided thing.

Seems I read (on the DG Forum???) that the "Free Seeds For Newbees"
was eliminated.....gitten rid of or so it seems in my memory.
Don't remember the reasons given--but it was some kind of a problem....

We just had a T-storm pass over....(2PM) Very little rain, unless it circles back.
I got all excited! RAIN!!!!! It was no more than a drizzle...

Just looked out the door--all blue skies to the West--and the dark
clouds moved over to the East. Hope they circle back!

G.

and the boardwalks on fire
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/gallery?section=news/local&id=9245873&photo=1&pid=9245840

Huge thunderstorm here in Maryland near DC. I saw the news about the boardwalk--yikes!

It is raining again and rumbling all over.
This will help a lot. It is a slow, steady rain.
We must have missed the earlier downpour. Unless that was while i was in the
grocery store for 20 minutes???

G.

Happy, I know what you mean, I have a lot to do on Sunday, so it all depends on how much I get done. I'd forgotten all about the TP event...

What is the Tacoma Park end of season event?

Well I learned a lesson...don't leave Oxyclean powder on clothes too long

sheesh

flowAjen -- I had no idea!!!

coleup -- the Takoma Horticultural Club is a local club for the Takoma Park neighborhood (DC/MD). http://www.takomahort.org/

At least the stain's gone, flowAjen!

;)

Hm, I think it would be great to have a list of known clubs in the Mid-Atlantic forum sticky (some place). I'm sure there are a ton of them and it doesn't have to be inclusive. Just a start, I think it would be a good resource for our forum.

WoW on the oxyclean. True to name I guess..hahaha.

OH, Jen! That is bizarre! How long was too long?
Did you use it wet or dry? How much of the OX. did you use?

I use Oxyclean on stubborn stains. I don't know how you used it--but
I make a wet paste right over the spot and rub it in real good. Dribble a bit more water if needed..
I have left these for a day or more if needed--and then washed it in the laundry.
Works quite well....

I was "sold" on Oxyclean some years ago in a demo at a fair.
May have been some "fix"--but they poured red wine (??) on a cloth and then sprayed
it with Oxyclean and it came right out--in a matter of seconds.

Using the little measuring cup--I usually add a full scoop to each laundry load.
Whether it helps a full load of asst. dirty clothes--I don't know. I just do it.....
I believe anything I see........most of the time G.

Geez--so many posts in between the one i will reply to....

Re the caterpillars on my parsley. They all founf their own way to the other one.
Now they are all over that one...
I KNOW I will not have a shred of parsley left to eat....

Oh well--all for the sake of nature! Parsley is cheap to buy...
Just took these to show you....G.

1--Some of the diehards that made the trip
2--some more of them
3--This one got lost--left on the chewed down parsley--
going: "Hey! Where did everyone go??"

cool swallowtail cats!

I do the same thing with the oxyclean, make a paste and let it sit, must have been in hamper for more than a week though

I don't use oxi-clean but had some blood on a shirt last week from the hospital. It was 4-5 days old when they released me and to my surprise, a dash of hydrogen peroxide on the spots still took care of the days-old stains.

Jen--
Having all these caterpillars is all YOUR fault!

Do you remember--last year--I wrote and posted pictures of these and
said I had found two caterpillars on my potted Parsley and I had killed them?

YOU jumped all over me!!! Well-- I DID NOT know back then what they would turn into.
Now i am more smart--and a lot more tolerant.

I will just have to live with NO fresh parsley! Or Dill, for that matter...
Gita

This picture is from last year--August. The ones I killed................:-{

hee hee sorry!!! Guess you need to keep some herbs inside on your window sill they shouldn't get to those


you know what works WONDERFUL on blood, Nature's miracle...it's found by the pet stain stuff. My daughter tripped and fell on the playground at school and had blood all over her navy blue wool dress coat. I thought it was a goner for sure, amazingly took out the blood and did not stain her coat
woo hoo!!!!

WOW I didn't know Oxyclean could do that.

Flowajen, I'm a huge fan of Nature's Miracle. That stuff works! It's fantastic with pet stains.

Talking about pet stains--mu daughter had an old cat (18yrs.)-since put down--
that had started peeing on the carpet in a corner of their LR. I am sure she was
incontinent--at that age.

She has tried all kinds of cleaning and disinfecting--bought all kinds of products--
but the odor persists. It has gone into the rug and the padding...and floor.
She cannot pick up the rug to clean underneath as it is wall-to-wall and in
a very inaccessible corner.

Any suggestions?? Thanks. Gita

hi, Gita. I had that happen once with an elderly cat and wall to wall carpeting in an inaccessible corner. What I did was have a local flooring company come over and tear up that one corner of the carpet and replace it with vinyl. Since it was really an inaccessible corner the one patch of vinyl in a corner next to a filing cabinet ended up looking fine, and it took care of the odor. When it gets into the carpet/pad like that, there's really nothing that can be done except to rip up that portion of the carpet.

Cat--

That cannot be done at my daughter's. She rents this apartment...
even if it is in a single house.

Also--I don't think the owner will foot the boll for that-he is a real tightwad.

But thanks for your input. Gita

Then I would suggest:
1) lift up that portion of the carpet
2) put Nature's Miracle (odor eliminator) down on the base and let it soak
3) then, paint that section of the base with KILZ, which is an odor-eliminating paint
4) cut out that section of the pad and get a small piece of pad to replace it
5) soak the smelly section of carpet in Nature's Miracle, or try to match the color and replace just that section

Vinegar usually works for me.

I think I had a bear visit my front yard either Wednesday or Thursday night. I noticed when I got home from work yesterday that the bird feeder pole that is anchored in a sleeve cemented in the ground was completely bent over. At first I thought it might have rusted at the base and the winds from Wednesday's storm blew it over, but when I looked closely it wasn't rusted. Also, it took a lot of strength to bend it over like that - both Mike and Lowell tried to bend it back upright and could only bend it about half way. The bird seed and suet were eaten too. The seed in the squirrel proof feeder was gone and the feeder that holds four suet cakes was missing except for one empty cage found further away. No sign of the other three cages or the suet feeder itself - we got joking that maybe it got stuck on the critter's nose or that it was already full and carted it away to eat later LOL. Another funny thing is that the non-squirrel proof feeder that has bird seed with cayenne pepper in it was untouched. The sales lady at the Wild Birds store assured me that the squirrels would leave it alone but that the birds would love it. I guess this critter didn't like it either.

I can only assume it was a bear. I can't think of anything else that would be able to bend that pole, and bears are notorious for raiding bird feeders. We have been here since the late 1980s, and have seen a lot of wild life, but never a bear. People who have been here longer than us have said they have seen bears in these woods way back when, so it isn't an impossibility. Time for a critter cam?

Years ago I installed some custom copper bird feeders for a client, and a bear bent them down in mere days. Later that week another client up the road saw a bear cub on her porch... suburban Asheville, not in the woods.

yes, vinegar can also help to neutralize the ammonia odor in cat urine.

Sorry if my suggestion seemed overly-complicated. When it comes to cat urine odor, whatever works is good!

This message was edited Sep 14, 2013 8:39 AM

wow aspenhill!