Plant Propagation: The Basics January 2016

Your world sounds like lots of fun Gypsi. You're such a good Mommy too.

yes Gypsi ,, good mommy,, Robin ,,you too ,,,

Me ? cases , Bags , and meters

My world is usually more fun than this evening. I took dogs out 2 at a time to see the chicks in the pen and tell them they were mine, Cici and Camelo first. Then Bravo the giant gsd mix and Teddy the border collie. Bravo was salivating so I made him go in his crate while I took Teddy to obedience class. I guess I was too harsh with the poor thing, he had a panic while I was gone. The diarrhea has been cleaned up and he is not really ill, just prone to some separation anxiety and panic if I scold him. He had a rough puppyhood. Teddy on the other hand circled the pen checking for gaps and sat down by the gate into it like he was guarding the chicks. Border collies are like that. Then he went to class, and really it wasn't his better day either.

will upload chick pics tomorrow probably.

Cute story Gypsi, so sorry about the clean-up in aisle 7, that doesn't sound like fun at all. Even though I had my share when my Border Collie started to age, I'll spare you the details, lol.

Oh boy, chic pics, I hope Jen stays tuned...

Ju, and you're a good Daddy taking care of all those kitties and plants. Looks like we're going to see some action in those whimsical but ingenious little greenhouses.

I need a PH Meter!

It really is an experience isn't it Gyp? Don't know how you do it when you have to work and try to train the dogs without losing the birds all at the same time. As JU said, you are doing real good. Don't know how you do it. I think she could use some help Deb, but you have so much on your plate now, don't know how you can help anybody. Will talk to you all later, Jen

They are my family. My children are grown, grandchildren visit occasionally, never had much family most have passed. So I am pretty deeply involved with training my dogs. I was allergic, still am a little, couldn't have a dog in the house until I was 49 and then it was risky. Got rid of the carpet, deal with dust dander and hair, and I manage ok. Much better than a dog in the back yard, dog beds in the living room and we all watch tv. It is pretty funny. and 5 big dogs are the best crime and male deterrent in existence. Must love dogs? hahahaha. Yeah right the 100 lb Rotti helps answer the door

oh I am still envious of you!

Lol Gypsi, I guess it could be a blessing or a curse, or both...depending.

I'm with you Debra...

I forgot I ran out of the regular wet food I mix in their kibble (1 can per 5 dogs so not much) and I fed them something else. Yesterday all back on regular wet food with a little extra and 4 am almost everyone needs out. Everyone got probiotics this morning. Food changes are not a great thing.

Food changes on dogs are catastropic. Neglecting 1 ingredient once :isnt as bad as totally changing everything. I wish you a lot of luck with training away from the chicken catching. Not all dogs can be. A ton of work, Gypsi.

I agree Kitt, even though their diet would naturally change in the wild, that's something that baffles me.

If you start with a dog that doesn't chase cats training not to mess with chickens is fairly easy as long as the dog is intelligent. Worst chicken killer i ever had was a dachshund. After number 3 he found the humane society. I kept him alive and vetted for 10 years after finding him in the yard when I moved in. I have come home and found the hens loose with my rottie mix, my dobie/gsd mix, my shar pei/gsd mix, and I think I had a lab mix at the time. And the hens were fine. I think that Bravo is smart enough to learn and the rest have already figured it out. I just have to keep them away from the chicks.

What breed is Bravo Gypsi? I know you have other dogs. I have found that if you get a new dog and add to the mix, the first ones normally teach the new one the dos and don'ts. Not kidding. I do not have a fence, and my dogs learn real fast that the limit is the tree line. Well, I take that back. I lost the last one on the highway because she didn't learn soon enough. Terrible way to learn and I don't know how to do better with them unless I were to not let them out unless Candy is with them. The best teacher I had was a Golden. But, think Candy, a yellow lab should be able to teach a new one. I don't think I would take the chance tho. I do believe I would get a fence first. jen

Bravo is a German Shepherd mix, vet thinks with Rottweiler. That is a good thing. Believe it or not my rotti has the lowest prey drive in the pack, he let the kittens play with his tail (which is not docked) and chew on it.

Bravo has a bit more prey drive than the rest but he accepts no really well. He heard the house chicks chirping when I was in the fish room with them this evening and wanted to come in (I have a gate propped in the door way, not strong) but I said no and he stopped. And he dropped both the chickens he caught last year, they were unharmed (although the moulting one was quite naked for a couple of weeks)

I have good fences House gates are sloppy but fences good. I will get some chick pics uploaded but after viewing and sorting a thousand or 2 today I am all done in. Meantime, the ponds are on the hard drive. last one has tomatoes growing on a wooden tray on flowerpower (the wooden sided pond before the tray) nothing looks the same today, Flowerpower got cinderblock sides deeper liner and red flagstone perimeter, and right now the plant tray is full of peppermint but it is dark outside.

JU I know WHAT a meristem is and where it is on live plants. My question - and problem- is that I have only one plant of each variety. . and if I damage the meristem on my live plant, then the plant will die. . and if I don't get a succesful clone from TC..well, I just killed my one and only specimen!!

From what I hazily guess, is that explants are meristematic cells for starting TC (Stage One). I don't know: I guess I need to start with some basic definitions!!

I didn't realize you were jim?????, but I should have recognized Mingles! lol

BetNC I get about being sure with only one plant ,
I am a little "off" when it comes to functioning to Science ...
Sure mingles is a Fun it is exceptionally cold here , their all inside and asleep for now ,
Here is Mingles and Cal (calico) Their arguing over the Blue Ball Lower right ,,

Bet, if I were you I'd clone the plants first via regular (easier) propagating methods. That way you'll have a backup.

sound advice, Robin

By the time I've got a tentative handle on thus TC and am ready to try it. . . the plant will be big enough to clone it the regular way!! lol

Otherwise, you'd be much braver than me to chance losing your only specimen. And, I'm pretty brave lol!

Patience, Enjoyment, education . new things ,, and now Courage !!! lol
I wonder if the pruning match with an Echinacea ,, Created a Milkshake , or Fruit punch Echinacea Courage !???

You've got to have courage to boldly go where few have gone before...

I'd love an Echinacea Milkshake tho.

Hey Robin,, I think I will stay with Green Tea ,, LOL !!!
Oh you will get one ..

hmmmm now I am going to read up on TC, as if I need another something to experiment with :P
love those ponds, Gypsy, and those cats are always a fav of mine to watch.

I like playing ,, this thread has been has been fun , Even when I am not answering ,I am watching ,
Always enjoy your photo's and idea's also Debra , I got the mixed coneflowers and some others from you planted ,
Got the Snowberry from Robin Planted ,
Hopefully a good season up and coming ,, .

I hope you and I get some action on that Snowberry Ju, Debra sent me a Red/Pink one I planted in the fall...can't wait to see it this year. Nice looking tropicals there Ju.

Yesterday was bright and sunny, today looks like your place...looking a lot like winter. I tried to capture a quiet brother and sister bonding moment on the back porch...

Pretty kitties ,Robin , look a little like my older one in their faces , Yours have longer fur ,..All of them definitely have the Lynx look ,
luck to you also ,, I have Hackberry and several planted ,, I have to get the pecan from Debra planted also .

Hay Ju, if you want a pecan TREE seedling, Please by all means holler up. I have SEVERAL. :P thanks to the critters.
wow, you guys have snow. Tommorrow it will be cold cold and windy, no snow, no rain, but next week is supposed to be in the high 60's to low 70's .. dang. Love the pink philo, Ju.

My goodness are you guys talking about planting outside? Really? How do you get thru the snow and ice? Yes, I like your houseplants JU. Where do you get them? jen

Gypsi, are these pictures of your ponds that you do? Very pretty. I really like the blossoms. Do you use a pond fertilizer? Do you work on peoples ponds on a regular basis? Or just when they need something done?

Jen, my planting is being treated like a double stratification and will get kicked out in the snowberry soon as there is no germination yet.

Robin ,, ROTFL The Snowberry ,,

Jen , Those house plants have been here a while ,
It will be a while before much of anything germinates here as far as I can tell

Well, I was going to take pictures of my sprouts, but then I got sidetracked and completely un-assembled all the shelves and lights from the west wall. *sigh*.. on the bright side, I will be able to REALLY organize everything when all this is done, because I bet I have taken at least 5 boxes of stuff upstairs to the garage for Joe to take to the curb. ;D
One of the things I usually do is get my empty pots that already are filled with soil arranged and then lay out seeds, cover with a layer of peat-vermiculite and then cover the tops with clear plastic food- tray domes I usually have stashed from all the pies, cakes and vegetable trays thru-out the year, but this year... all THOSE things were confiscated before I could stash them. I have started hiding the things I want to "save" ... how horrible of me! ( Kinda funny when I bump into one of my hidden things when I am looking for something else)

Debra that happens to me frequently about confiscated Too much here , not enough room there ,,, Not much doing here
Still trying to start a few ,, still trying to get a blade for a third machine ( all I have to do is go get the thing ,,,
Cold winter day but sunny ,, makes me long for better feeling weather ,

Those ponds are all at my house actually. I raise my own water lilies for the most part, starting cuttings I buy from customers usually. All I do for a living is work on ponds and work on the website right now. The bees, I get paid for a removal here and there but for the most part they cost instead of paying cash. I have regular customers I see spring, spring and fall, monthly, and some every couple of years if the pond is large enough and stable enough. I do cleanups, repairs, seal stone with aqueous silicone to stop it from leaching, diagnose and treat fish diseases or bring the sick ones back here to isolate and treat, or euthanize. I also fill in ponds, build them, install pumps and filtration. I use helpers but most of them are dependent on me to know what to do, it takes years to train a good helper and mine both retired in 2015, getting close to 30, the work was too hard for them.

The big wide flat tray in picture 5 has tomato plants growing on it - that is a 2014 picture. In 2015 the spider mites got the tomato plants, and when you are running pond water through the plants you don't spray with anything but water. And I just didn't have time to save them. That is aquaponics. Raising food plants using fish waste for fertilizer.
Mostly the water lilies do not get chemical fertilizers. I feed the fish and the fish feed the plants.

OK, I can understand wintersowing Robin and JU. Laugh at me if you want, but I thought you were planting plants.

Debra, when you take them to the curb, that is for garbage pickup? Wish we had that. Haven't had since we left Seattle. Here we have to take it up where the landfill used to be, and now they have the big cargo containers we dump the cans into. Then, guess they haul it to a landfill. Maybe ours got all filled up. Don't know how that works. It was more fun when we first moved over here. There were 4 or 5 old men sitting out there, just BSing, when you drove up they went thru it when you unloaded, took out the things they wanted to keep for their garage sales I suppose, and then when you were done, they would debate (negotiate) over what to charge you. LOL, that was 20 years ago and somebody decided that wasn't the way to do it and it all went to hell. Now we have to do stuff right. Probably weren't making enough money that way.

Deb, you need big boxes and first thing you do is use a big felt tip pen, black, and write "SAVE" on it. that is being nice. I would write "KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF". Oh, it's Joe? Nope I would not write that for him. Save would be good. LOL, he is too much help to be mean., But, yes, those containers are good for "germinating" Robin and JU, not planting. seeds.d

jen

Hmm, there's been no confiscating 'garbage' just moaning and complaints. I'm so lucky!

How are you feeling Robin? No aches and pains? Wonder how Patti is. Have any of you talked to her?

Gypsi, sounds like a real busy job you have. Are you saying the guys that retired were 30 years old, or worked for 30 years? That would be a lot to have 30 years invested in a guy and have him retire on you. Guess then you have to start all over. When do you get to retire? jen

Jen, thanks for asking. I suffered with a migraine last night and all day today. I told my brother I'm going to quit drinking because this is what I come away with from the Wine Not Tasting event. My brother chuckled and said I never really started. Well, that sounds like the best time to quit then.

I'm glad you quit, Robin, an occasional wine now and then is all I have, but for the most part, I can't remember the last time I had a hangover migraine and hope to never experience that again. Glad you feel better!
Joe and I worked out back all day yesterday, and today is my day off so we will try to get as much done as possible. supposed to be 74 Thursday.. everything here is waking up , don't ya know it will prolly snow the next week after.

the guys who retired were 27 and 28 years old, the 27 year old had 8.5 years experience, I hire young people and I pay better than most of what they can get with their youth and lack of experience but the job is seasonal and they also work elsewhere and train. Typically they retire around 30 as they have gotten enough proficiency at their "day" job to not need the side work.

I don't plan on retiring. I can pick and choose my work, but I am healthier for keeping moving and at 56 I can outwork most 18 year olds precisely because I keep moving.

The healthiest people I know garden, do carpentry fix cars or other physical activity for a day job, much more consistent exercise than a gym membership.

This message was edited Feb 15, 2016 10:26 AM