Plant Propagation Discussions - Sept 2019

Thank you Sun , I might try
A few plants doing here but other things have my time for now
Kitt , fungus propagation ,, wood shrooms ,,lol

A few flowers still blooming

My fall asters are just starting to bloom and my asclepius tuberosa and phlox are blooming but no monarchs since the one a week ago. I wonder if mosquito spraying killed them?

Of course it's still hot, maybe they are not migrating yet. Beautiful pics Ju

Beautiful hibiscus, Ju.

We haven't had near the amount of mosquitoes this summer like we usually do, I know they spray once in awhile, a neighbor said he gets up at 4AM to go to work and has seen the truck come down our street. We also had less butterflies this year, way less. But still had Bumble bees and honey bees on my bee magnet plants.

I only saw my 2nd monarch for fall today (had one in July, maybe 2 then) and one about 10 days ago. Hopefully with cool weather they will come through, I have planted for them

My smooth blue asters are just about to open. so far since July I have seen 3 monarchs, one on each of 3 different days. Hopefully now that it is cooling off I will have guests

Maximillian sunflower, Lycoris, Bells of Fire Tecoma, Asclepius Tuberosa with a Monarch.

It was a very busy day in Oxdrift. These 2 photos capture all of the plants that have migrated to the house for the long cold Arctic winter . All of the coleus are cuttings started in September. About 70% of the succulents are cuttings as well but some of the larger ones are actually entire plants dug up and transplanted to wintering pots. This morning I fired up the greenhouse and lugged them all out there for a soil soak with Intercept, let it drip through and then lugged them back to the house. It is a job but sure takes care of all the pests that want to suck them dry all winter . Now I should be ensured a healthy start for 2020. Yahoo!
Haven't been on here much as I wear many hat's at this time of the year. This fall I spent a lot of time out moose hunting with my son in law and granddaughter Kira.I managed to get a bull moose tag for the archery season for which I was basically the spectator/tag holder, Steve the guide and with Kira the intended shooter. That season is now over and no moose in the freezer but we had some very heart pounding experiences that most people would never have the opportunity to experience in a lifetime and Kira is just turning 13. Steve is very talented at communicating with and attracting moose so we had some very up close and personal encounters
Yes Sherri, I did find time to post about 15 photos in the contest while burning the midnight oils. Thanks for thinking of me. Also enjoyed a quick scan through all the photos everyone has been posting.

A little off the beaten path but thought I would share this photo of our star moose hunter in full garb with her crossbow.

Gypsi wonderful flowers !

Keith plants in to survive and G,Daughter ready to survive the long cold also ,,lol
neat looking pix ,,

Beautiful pics. I've got to get my greenhouse roof fixed before first freeze, or I will have plants in the garage on the washing machine, lol.

Hunting something as a big as a moose with a bow is a bit challenge, seems like they are a bit larger than deer. Granddaughter looks ready for action.

MANY times larger than a deer and at 23 feet they look ginormous. That's how close we had one in but by that time it was too dark to shoot. There were 2 coming in together and sparring with each other as they came so it was a slow process. Finally one backed off and one came right in. I'm not sure if the one that came right in was the dominant one or the dumbest. LOL. But it definitely contributed to some adrenalin for the 3 of us. I was quite proud of how calm Kira remained! Her Dad has her well prepared.


This message was edited Oct 15, 2019 12:07 PM

1) We celebrated Kira's 13th birthday last night and I gave her this piece of artwork I created for her coop
2) Shadow, Thunder and Phoenix enjoying one of the few remaining fall days in the small temporary run that Tennille added to the new coop. It will be replaced by something larger in the spring.
For the chicken lovers in the crowd, Shadow is an Americauna, (green egg) Phoenix is a Whiting True Blue, (blue egg) and Thunder is a Silver Laced Wyandotte, (Brown egg).
Tennille ordered a chicken harness off Amazon for Reece to give her sister for her birthday. Kira had requested that and I was unsuccessful at finding one in the city. Amazon has everything I guess
3) Steve had very little input into th co-op, however he would have nothing to do with allowing me to install the UGLY rectangular louvers that I was going to use for ventilation. Tennille found these on Amazon. I agree they are prettier than what I was going to use LOL

Any ventilation is good, and those are pretty, so are her hens! Purina has some free signs going right now too.

My granddaughter wanted duck duck goose but her mom didn't catch me at the store so I got the other 2. Free with a bag of feed

All is well here, still under burn bans, but the brush pile is curing anyway. Picked tabasco peppers and dawdling getting them bottled up. Stained more 2x4x10's today, also getting ready to put that trellis in, may take me 3 more days with stain/clear coat, and needing extra pair of hands, chuckl. Heavy thing I built, sheesh. Ought to hold the vines well.
2nd set of carrots coming in, and I have volunteer parsley coming up all in the carrots, so, I need to pot a few up...I will post pics, but am not on my cellphone at present.

My new greenhouse roof is opaque. I liked the light better with clear pvc panels but the heat was too much, and i got heavier panels this time, better hail protection. Business went from high speed to zip with stock market swings, so did greenhouse, going to change a couple windows. have a couple of small ponds to clean but all big jobs postponed, they will call me....trying to keep a crew employed.....

finally got a couple of plants in, and this Titan moth approves. Miley kitty enjoys a messy table

My idiot cats are the same, but Lucy Warbeast is a legitimate paper shredder. Not on cellphone tonite, fighting these sinus allergies and they have me feeling like a bowl of jelly. Where is my Nyquil? cough drops aren't helping nearly as much as the Lifesaver orange mints...sigh. We stood the trellis up, bolted it in and the discussion of fencing around stuff went nitpicking so I walked back into the house. Have some chores tomorro if weather permits, and will snap some pics, but my chicken gumbo is absolutely necessary to my stomach and comes first tomorro. Waving hello at all.

Hello back at you Kitt. Looking forward to those pics. Sorry to hear about your livelihood slowdown Gypsi. That always sucks.
I have an experiment in the works in an attempt to have more of my hardy succulents survive the winter.
First photo: these are all the sempervirens and sedum sexangular thst I had mixed in containers with other succulents. In the past when I take those containers part for the winter I have planted all the hardies into a rock garden and covered them wuth chicken wire. The first time I did that was successful but ever since the deer have ate them all before spring. I have been keeping the used succulent soil mix in a 100 gallon rain barrel in the carport. In the spring when I replant the containers I put old soil mix in the bottom of the pots and top with new. This year I am trying to overwinter the plants in the rain barrel on top of the used soil and leaving it outside up against the back of the wood shed so that it will get snow cover. I then covered them with my heavy duty ATV loading ramps so the deer can't use it as a feeding barrel (2nd photo). Fingers crossed that I haven't just put them in a mass grave. I am hoping that it is finished raining for the fall as there is no drain in the tub and that we get some good snow cover before it gets brutally cold.

This message was edited Oct 25, 2019 2:36 PM

Hope that experiment works for you Keith.
This is the trellis, there are a few modifications still to be made, but winging it as it gets built. Went in search of 4x4x8' red cedar posts, cannot locate them close to me, so came home with my list. 2nd is behind the trellis where a small planter will go. You can see my mole proofing for the ground layer. 3) carrots are coming up, but so is the flat leaf parsley seeds from where I had the dead stalks laid. Allowing them to grow a little while Cuz I have other things to tend to. 49* the low tonite, so my plants are still outside. Gotta get a corner of the house ready for them still. 4) those Lunchbox Orange peppers I grew still producing and I snack on them while up there. Zinnias finally went to blooming. Had to keep adding dirt since the mole thought I was making an a/c cooled tunnel for him. I keep telling my daughter the trellis is a 'feature' -not doing 2 of them.

Wow Kitt, that is one beautiful trellis! So unique! You have made some awesome improvements this year. I am taking notes because we have to to a major vegetable garden makeover in the spring with all new raised beds and a fence. My last raised beds were tamarac which I would have expected to last a lot longer but they are quite rotten already. I am intrigued by the metal that you used. I am squeamish of treated wood in contact with the garden soil. Did you do any research on the galvanized metal as to whether it is considered safe in terms of not giving off toxins. I see lots if people using it on Pinterest. Wendy and I were also looking at some wavy roofing panels at Lowe's tgat almost looked like it was made out of asphalt which I can't see being overly safe.
Have also been looking at fence ideas on Pinterest. I have seen some combined heavy duty hog wire panels and treated wood that I kind of like. I wish I knew how to post pictures off my Pinterest on here. I am quite challenged when it comes to stuff like that. Don't have a lot of computer savy.

This message was edited Oct 25, 2019 10:46 PM

Smarter than I thought! Just downloaded it to my photos. This is one idea that i kind of like. I would probably change the wood portion on top a bit

Is that cattle panels Keith? pretty cool. And yes Kitt that is one gorgeous trellis.

I don't have any good garden pictures but I have 32 degree low forecast for next Thursday night. I have one good workday before the next wave of fronts, and we worked today. So we will clean a pond on monday, then I will see an aquarium and a vendor, then take a 9 year old to see the six flags zombies, then go home and rush to get everything where it should be before it's too cold Tuesday evening.

and it is what it is, I had a fire in the woodstove last night. picked up some oak firewood from a daughter yesterday. It is still in the car, but dry.

I like your deer proofing keith but I would watch that rain level if it can get past your ramps. I've drowned a few succulents and several aloe vera.

well I need to get dogs fed, need to treat bees for mites tomorrow. and have 2 batteries charging so I have enough voltage to do oxalic acid.

getting ready for winter is rough work. Ya'll stay warm

Hi Gypsi. They are calling them hog panels on Pinterest and Google. I haven't gotten around to trying to source them locally yet, winter project.

I used pressure treated wood, stained and clear coated with a marine sealant. There are 2 types of aluminum sheeting. One is a lead plating, the other is zinc plated. USE the zinc plated. We have a 4' high green coated wire when the side posts are put up. I have as much fun creating as I do smelling the growing herbs. Not sure I would build that trellis as heavy as I already have, but I consider it a brace for the plants. I also have landscaping fabric tween metal and dirt and that is another aggravation to deal with. I did use cardboard as well near the fabric since I happened to have it. Hog panels are different from cattle panels because of the wire awg they use. Sometimes also hog panels have more closely spaced wires running horizontally along the bottom- because hogs root and will get their snouts in the wires and raise the panels out of the fence posts. If you have feral hogs, use the hog panels to keep them out. I am aggravated at Pinterest as it has changed and I don't see the info I once did. Still, I like seeing the pictures.

Well Keith, Lowes had succulents marked down to 50 cents apiece. So with much courage I bought 5, (2 were tiny 4 packs). I got a Grafted Cactus, Graptosedum, Graptosedum Ghostly, Portulacaria afra Variegata "Manny" PPAF 4 pack, and a 4 pack of jade plants, Crassula ovata. The possible victims have been potted in a light loose mix that retains moisture fairly well topped off with cactus mix, and been put in the green house where no cats will nap in the pot. Wish me luck. I used to grow jade plants before I had children, when I had a humidity tray in front of my apartment's huge south window.

Greenhouse got its new roof. Solar pool cover is going on the INSIDE this time, I couldn't get it off this summer and the trapped heat cooked my old roof. I'll be using 3/4 inch styrofoam under the roof, and solar cover over upper walls and windows, on the inside, hopefully hold humidity well.
I did not get the clear pvc this time either. Greenhouse is on the south side of my house, a little shade on top will probably be better

Good to hear Gypsi . Welcome to the succulent addiction. Congrats on new greenhouse roof. I need to do that badly but it hasn't high the top of the priority list yet LOL.

Mine was leaking in multiple locations, couldn't get solar pool cover off this summer and the heat warped my plastic, rain dripping over electrical outlet NOT a good situation. (I hung plastic over the outlet til I could get to it.)

How the garden fence is taking shape- for Keith. Yup rain is coming in harder. Pic 2 and 3 is 10 minutes apart. My guess is we won't have a burn ban after today. Good news is with this rain the ditches are dry and empty, so drain off should be fast.

Looking good Kitt. Wow, that was some rain you had

Fence is gorgeous Kitt. Solar lights on top?

Wow, that is a beautiful trellis. And the zinnias are beautiful. If we had rain like that we would end up in the Colorado River.

I sit about 2/3 of the way down a wide hill that is on my west, and about 1/4 of the way down a wide but lower hill to my south, when the landowner behind my downhill neighbor, southeast of my fence corner raised his property a foot, I got 11 inches of rain in a day around Sept 30th last year and it took 3 weeks for my yard not to have standing water, and my air conditioner slab developed a tilt and the water under my foundation had me thinking I had a leak. So in October last year, while the ground was soft, we did a lot of digging (my crew and I) and installed drains.

If I hadn't put in French drains in 2018 I'd be flooded again. Everything is working, and the gutter we added to the greenhouse drops into a 55 gallon drum with a hose attached about 9 inches up (screen on top so no mosquitoes) The hose pulls the water farther out into the yard.

On the uphill side, at the edge of the lot where it meets my yard, I have a sump pump in a container that connects to 3 inch sewer pipe that runs all along the fence like 100 ft, to the top of my driveway. Float switch activates it.

On the downhill side, I added a cloth covered irrigation pipe with box at the low point in the backyard, near my other fence, and that runs under back yard fence, half way up my east flower bed's edge, then connects to solid 3 inch sewer pipe that goes all the way to a popup near the street. This means I can water my front yard's actual St Augustine grass without the water going in French drain.

We got 5.5" in that first hour and a half, with a day total at 6.5". When it rains, it pours. The house is in a low spot in the yard, but raised maybe 4to5' above ground. We landscaped to direct water on down thru that wet weather runoff. My daughter had her own ideas when she placed her house there. Gypsi, I am in creek bottom sandy yard basically. Anything solid in the yard digs itself a hole and sinks into the ground, or creates holes near it. We have been changing the water runoff from the neighbors yard as it runs across the back, directing it away from the a/c unit and under pinnings. This rain showed us how the water was going to run, so we've noted where a bit more effort needs to be put. My cats are not happy summer is gone, they want the heat back.
I laughed at Lucy the other night before the rains...she wanted outside at dark. Normally I let her in before 10 pm. I didn't let her in til 2am. She does come when called and whenever the rustle of paper can be heard, chuckl. When she ran to me from the yard, every hair on her body and tail was at full fluff she was so scared to be out alone. She did so fit the Halloween cat image except she is orange and not black. At present she doesn't like the rain, so having no problems getting her back indoors right now. Over on the other thread I saw Sharon visiting they have posted Christmas trolls from tomato cages. Those things are adorable, I want one.

I have yet to check my rain guage Kitt, but I did get all my non hardy flowers in the greenhouse. I picked the tomatoes. My inground plants are too large to cover, the wind would carry off the cover, so I'm hoping my food forest creates a warm spot. Habanero and chilis are in big pots so I pulled them up under the south side of a tree.

I didn't get my roof insulation in or the rat tunnel filled... sure pays to measure before buying roofing.... or to remember what I got the last time.

That giant italian oregano suggests that perhaps that bog tray (there are fish in the tank below) might grow spinach this winter. Going to give that a try.

With the solar pool cover on the INSIDE I can remove it myself in spring. Once I get the styrofoam board up under the roof with a 4 inch gap, it is staying there. Summer insulation too.

I am told my asclepius tuberosa aren't, leaf shape is wrong. But it doesn't matter, I've got a customer who has a garden full of tropical milkweeds and she will buy any large ones I can get thru the winter in pots. So i brought them in. I'll up pot and cut them back soon

This message was edited Oct 30, 2019 10:44 PM

Wow, you guys have some elaborate drainage going on. With all the rain we had this summer I am sure thankful that I live on top of a hill. The only problem we had is that I had to reconstruct my driveway quite frequently when the rains put trenches in it. My brother in law welded me up a nice drag for behind my quad that takes care .of that very quickly.
By the way we have snow and our 2 week forecast calls for most days to not get above freezing even in the daytime. Overnight lows are up to minus 10C.
Happy Halloween all.
A little Halloween decor idea that I pulled off Pinterest

it froze here last night but my marigolds are still looking good so it wasn't a hard freeze. Another tonight then 10 days no freeze. I think my tomatoes are going to pull through too. Certain things I like about Texas. Summer isn't one of them Marigolds last week, about the same this morning

Happy Halloween all , We get our first freeze here tonight , Trick or treat ,,

Happy Halloween Ju. Good to hear from you

Keith I am always reading along , Always interested .
I have been doing a bunch here or it seems like it ,
I have some wintersowing to do after some early rain and snow here ,

I got less than 2 inches of rain for using that drainage. Going to get some sleep, ya'll have a good one

Halloween finds me wrapped in a soft warm wrap with icy fingers. Hasn't frozen here yet, but the sweet tater vine bit the dust last night. You guys up north have basements, or crawl spaces blocking your pier and beams. Too much water down here, when the wind blows it dries the ground out under the house, but I will tell you, the floor is COLD when air flo wraps around every inch of the house. I LOVE my mattress heating pad. So do the cats, chuckl, and I wake up and kick them out of bed when they start huddling up close to me. Doodle is every bit of 15# of velvet fur, sneeze.
We had another inch of rain last night, but it is that 20mph wind I hate. Brrr. am having internet issues, not staying connected, so catch up with ya later

Kitt I seem to stay in blankets myself

A very late seed arrival Gaillardia