tongue in cheek ...

*ahem*
sundry puts on a serious face

It seems like a big part of what is happening here at DG just lately is bickering. I keep running across arguments in different forums that I visit. I've also noticed discussions about the discussions, and the methods used. I'm sure it must be happening in other forums as well.

Interest in this topic has reached a level where 'bickering' needs it's own forum. That way, those who are not interested in bickering won't have the regular forums cluttered with off topic posts, while those who are interested will know exactly where to go to participate in these discussions, and no one has to wonder if they are posting their argument in the wrong forum. Any expert bicker-ers could help keep those discussions going in the right direction.

If someone did make a mistake and post in the wrong forum, it would be an easy thing to direct them to the appropriate place for their comments. Dave could move accidentally misplaced posts to the 'bickering' forum. In this way, we could be sure that this topic gets the attention it deserves, without confusing the other forums.

What do ya'll think?

Cheri'
(I'm trying to be funny here ... hope no one takes offense)

legal disclaimer: The above remarks are not aimed at any particular discussion or discuss-er. Any resemblance to an actual discussion or discuss-er is purely coincidental. See dealer for details ...

Hey, sundry... I agree 'bickering' should have it's own place, which is not clutering up otherwise friendly places. Maybe you could post this in the Dave's Garden Forum so he will see it, and perhaps even go along with it, LOL!

Bickers weith Sun and Darius. :>

I have tried to stay away from the unpleasantness that has invaded Daves recently. But it's almost like an auto accident, you keep telling yourself to "not look" as you drive by - - but find one's self looking intently.

Soooo, this is the beginning and the end to what I have to say on the subject:

I love Daves and all the value that the site offers: information, light hearted friendship, and sharing. We share our knowledge, share our plants and seeds, and share encouragement to one another. And through Daves, I have met some really super folks, both in person and through email.

However, I find the bickering and recent searching for "righting of wrongs" to be tiresome. I think that Daves has been designed to provide a safe environment in which to share our love of gardening, without worrying about the negatives that many sites and chat forums have experienced.

And if we do not want Daves to become censored like the other gardening site, then we are going to have to act like "big people" and start counting to ten before pounding out responses to some of the discussions.

I am confident that Dave and staff will deal appropriately with this issue and I hope that we can close the door on this situation and get back to gardening! 'nuff said, Nat

This was NOT intended as a slam against the light hearted reponse to this situation - - humor is our best reaction to this situation.

This message was edited Wednesday, Sep 3rd 1:21 PM

ROFLOL! What a truly wonderful idea! And once the forum is established any and all mentions of it can be moved over there! We can choose to not watch that forum and as a result could remain totally oblivious to it all! And no one could claim favoritism because all the angry voices could cry out at each other till the cows come home!

woo hoo! I'm on board y'all. :)

I vote for a bickering forum. Let it all be done there! I don't want to hear about it.

Now that we have a proposed playpen for bickering, anyone wanna trade seeds or discuss composting?

Composting! Now that's the down and dirty kind of posts I like to talk about/participate in. One can never generate enough compost to keep all the plants happy.

I quite agree, Joan. I've started vermiculture, the grand art of worm composting. Those buggers are quiet, do their job and never bark. I sometimes think Doug would like to trade the dogs in for another bin of worms. 8-)

Ahhh, but do they keep the prowlers away like noisy dogs???

Warning, This Premises Protected By Worms

lol

I would like to raise some worms, but I know that I wouldn't go out in the cold to feed them in the winter. I'm a wimp, I can't take the cold. How messy, smelly, etc is it to raise them indoors in the winter?

Cheri'

We keep them in a 30 quart bin in the basement, but you could stick them in a closet, back room, anywhere. As long as you keep the right balance of worms to food, you won't smell food spoilage. They absolutely munch down on coffee.

I've heard of people who keep small bins under their kitchen sink, so as long as you make sure it's not five times as much food as they can eat, all should be fine. If you want, I can send some with the daylilies from the co-op.

...Those buggers are quiet, do their job and never bark...

Oh, I think I gotta get some worms. Sounds like just the pets for me. I wonder how DH would feel about raising worms in the basement. NO JOKE! I've thought about this but not found a way to approach him about this. This is a new house after all and I think he wouldn't feel the same way about it that I do. And, think of how much money they could save us, because we actually BUY compost because we can't generate enough to go around.

That would be cool, Sandra. Thanx!

Every day during the summer, my dog and I treck out to the compost pile to dump the little bucket of coffee grounds, veggie skins, fruit peel ... I call it 'feeding the worms', because my pile doesn't get turned enough to really compost. And it is full of worms! I drink a lot of coffee, so there's about 2-3 lbs of coffee grounds per week.

In the winter it all goes to waste, because I won't go out in the cold if I can avoid it. Brrrr! I hate to be cold.

I'd like to have some indoors so at least some of the stuff would get used. I hate to waste, I just hate the cold more.

I'll get a home prepared for my new house pets. Thanx again!

Cheri'

I take our kitchen waste out to the compost pile in the winter and just dump in on top of the snow along with the rabbit cage cleanings and such. It freezes and thaws in the spring and starts working. (I think!) Maybe something eats it, but that's okay too.

Love it, Sundry!

Hey about worms vs. dogs: My dog had worms, so guess I should have kept 'em?

;) Kimberley

Well then GW, you will have to send your worms vs dogs to the bickering forum ASAP!

Good thread sundry!

Now, here's a silly question: Where do you get the worms? Will regular earthworms do the job or do you have to buy "special" worms?

And Dave could charge extra for the bickering forum. Sort of like pay per view. Then everyone that wanted to just drop in and see what the latest bickering was all about would have to pay for that priviledge. It could be like a soap opera every day. It sure is hard to read and not have an opinion. Still I love all the ones that are doing the bickering and hope it will stop. Sort of like when the kids were growing up and would get in a fight and I would have to break it up. They evenually grew up. There is still hope.

Love it! PPV Celebrity Bicker Match!

Where's the link to the Bickerin Thread? I need to unload!!

TC...

(Borrowing the following well-worded statement from Sundry)
Legal disclaimer: The above remarks are not aimed at any particular discussion or discuss-er. Any resemblance to an actual discussion or discuss-er is purely coincidental. See dealer for details ...

oh yeah, disclaimer here also.

Alrighty then! PPV Bickering! We'll have to give it a better name if we expect anyone to pay. How about

'Garden Mud Wrestling' ?

'Mud Slingers' ?

'Compost Wars' ? (I borrowed that one. Thanx Sandra)

LOL! Help me out here.

Cheri'

The Compost Heap, because it's where all the "garbage" goes, it all breaks down, and you hope something good will come of it eventually.

This message was edited Thursday, Sep 4th 4:47 PM

I kinda like yer suggestion gw. "The Compost Heap" does breakdown and something good does come out of it!
Great analogy!

TC...

ROFLMAO! I looooove it gw.

he, he, he,
compost heap
sounds great to me (:

Yep, a Compost Heap would be a heap of help around here. Just throw the the offending parties in a little room, and don't let them out till they kiss and make up. That would accelerate a willingness to forgive and move on......no contact with anyone else but themselves.......No PPV...just the two of us.........er them!!

"eyes"

'The Compost Heap'

Perfect, tho I don't think anyone will pay to go there ... LOL!

And speaking of composting ...

nmax, everything I've read says not to use regular worms out of the garden. You buy the red wigglers either locally or mail order. Now, remember, I've never done this, only read about it.

Check out the WatchDog: http://gardenwatchdog.com/advanced.php?category=96&submit=Search

Cheri'

PS - mail on the way to you!

Yes, for composting, you do want red wrigglers - which definitely cannot survive NY winters, so I keep them in the basement. Mine are doing pretty well - If anyone is going to start this, I do have some suggestions- the key item being that you need a good place for the worm tea to drain.

I have several holes at the bottom of my bin, but it involves lifting the bin, placing it over something to catch the drips while I drain the tray underneath.

Does anyone have any good ideas on drain holes?

When it drains out then, how do you keep it until spring? In milk jugs? I'm assuming that this is the gold you are looking for by doing this, right?

I put a gallon of water in the corner, wait a day for it the chlorine to neutralize, then add the brown stuff and water any indoor plants, etc. Too many days and it gets a bit funky with almost a skin on top.

How much of this stuff are we talking about? It doesn't sound like much, to be a problem in the winter.

Since my little 'worm farm' is going to be small, would 5 gallon buckets work? I could put holes in the bottom, and nest it inside another 5 gal bucket. Then it would just be a matter of taking it out of the one bucket and setting it in another. Total of 3 buckets involved.

That sounds too easy, must be a flaw in that plan somewhere.

Cheri'

Hummn, now that this thread is totally hijacked, please keep talking WORMS! 5 gal. buckets? Oh, I hope this will work--I rarely cook, (since it's just me) and I was afraid I'd have to buy groceries just for the worms, lol!

viola - you can join us - we'll be the compost warriors. We'll hijack angry threads, talk about the joys of worm poop and 5 gallon buckets.

Cheri' - that might work and you'll learn one thing, if the worm family gets too big, they get banished to the guest room or basement or closet in another spare bucket. So far, I've had 30 quart bin last me about 6 months. I slowly remove casings (the nice word for worm poop) - and mix in the soil outside. Then of course I spend time weeks later pulling unwanted tomato plants because.....whaddayaknow - I composted tomatoes.

LOL! so worms don't "process" the seeds? That's too funny!

As I said earlier, I don't turn my compost enough for it to really get hot, so I don't add the seeds to the bucket. I'll continue that practice with the indoor worms. I wonder if 'store bought' tomato seeds are a problem? We don't have any real tomatoes in the winter . . .

Anyway, worm poop is worth a few 'tomato weeds'.

Joan, the poop is the gold. =)

Cheri' < compost warrior hi-jacking my own thread before it get angry - LOL

Is it OK to put the red wigglers directly into your garden to fend for themselves and to direct deposit the golden doo?

I'm finding conflicting information on that ... some places say you can buy the worms to put in the garden, but most say you have to protect the worms from the cold.

I do notice that some places suggest replenishing your garden worms annually, leading me to believe they don't expect the worms to make it through the winter. hmmmmm

Maybe it depends on your zone.

Cheri'

Well then, in the summer the worms make compost and come winter they ARE compost. Works either way I 'spose. :)

Cheri' - probably a better chance in your zone than Albany-tundra, NY. In fact, can I join the worms down with you in LA for the winter? I'm very low maintenance and don't bark at the mailman!