Weeds, Weeds, and more Weeds

DAVE
Would there be an interest in developing a DataBase on weed identification. I have several thousand varieties in my garden that I could supply photographs of. I see articles in the paper about how to get rid of this weed or that weed but have no idea if I have it or not. Besides some "weeds" are very pretty. A good example is "Chicory" which is blooming along the roadside right now in Illinois. It is a non native invasive plant (which comes as close to the definition of a weed as I have ever heard). Or is the existing plant data base sufficient with the accompanying remark "Invasive - non-native"??
Jack

That'd be great, Jack, and our plant database is perfect for it.

I'm hesitant, however, to adda new category of "weed" or "invasive". What would be better, in my opinion, would be for me to add a new checkbox for the plant, that you can check if the plant is considered a weed or invasive.

Then, we can have a way for readers to view all the plants that have that checkbox selected.

How does that sound?

Dave

That would be a good way to handle it. Is there a way to sort the plant data base now for certain characteristics such as color, height, etc.?

Not yet, but there will be. It's getting high on my TODO.

Dave

I am the "weed" Queen in my zone. I have a bed dedicated only to such misunderstood and poorly represented flora. If you need any help consider me your first volunteer.


This message was edited Friday, Jul 27th 12:49 PM

That would be great Dave,just sooo many plants to try to identify'
There's also a grass we have around here called "Nut Grass" roots go to China and next to impossible to get rid of'

Been keeping up on the latest weed(Ceresa Lespedesa) the farmers are still fighting to rid it from pastures,large root system' It was initially used for erosion control'

Just another thought Dave' Maybe some tips included as to how to (safely eradicate) these weeds????? Sis''

This morning I finished the TODO item of reworking the browse engine of the plants database.

Go check it out - see what you think. You can now view plants by most characteristics. We'll get a "Can be Invasive" category included soon.

Dave

I just checked it out and what a difference it makes!Our Data base was and is nice but this makes it so much easier to use especially when you need to find something you don't know the name of or to find things to fill a particular situation! Thanks Dave!

The invasive checkbox now exists in the plants database. When you add or edit a plant, you'll see the checkbox under the toxicity checkboxes.

And, you can now browse by invasivity (sp?? Someone correct me if I'm spelling that wrong or if it should be worded differently).

I added pokeweed into the database so we'd have something to look at when you click the link. :-)

dave

Thank you Dave''Appreciate everything you are doing for all of us''Sis''

Wow, Dave - thanks!!! That DOES make it a lot more user-friendly. But ya know....(WARNING: The following questions/comments fall under the "give 'em an inch, and they'll take a mile" heading)

1. It would be even *NICER* if each of those were radio buttons, so you could choose plants for sun, 12-18" high, drought tolerant, etc. Some sections would probably be "choose one", while others you could choose as many as you'd like....for example, height. If I'm looking for something under 3', I could check all the smaller heights for my search. However, some are mutually exclusive - either you want plants that are for sun, or for shade (generally speaking); same holds true for water requirements.

2. Zones are missing - is that because not every plant has zones added to it? If so, I can get busy trying to update the database to add zones.....

3. And while I'm on a roll, how difficult is it to tweak the toxicity section to be an exclusion - if you check it, you would NOT see plants that are toxic. Any plant that has any of the toxicity warnings checked would not be displayed with the results.

Oh, and on the invasivity question - I *think* it's invasiveness....but that's my guess. Thanks again for all your work on this; you're making me feel guilty for not putting in more time on adding plants to this wonderful tool!

Vols, I'm laughing at your post because it's all soo true and real. I love "give an inch, take a mile" kind of users, because they make the site better with all their great suggestions. Not everything can be accomplished, but the things that do get done make the site better!

Ok.

Regarding #1: Yes, and dang it, Vols, I thought I would get away with what I had. While I was programming this, I thought to myself, "Okay, should I make this REALLY advanced with buttons, or can I get away with single click queries".

Well, I took the easy route and not even a day has elapsed and I'm being called on it. :-)

I'll get a button-based interface done to this, but I'm not sure how long it'll take me (read: It may not happen right away).

#2: The zones are in phase 2 of this project. I think there are enough plants w/ zone information to make it worth adding to the query, and I'll add it in when I re-write this with buttons.

#3: That's a good idea! I'll add a fourth button: "Don't show any toxic plants".

Cool - thanks for the suggestions! All 3 are fantastic!

dave

DAVE
Just think how much you are learning about databases, websites, programming, etc. by all of our questions. Pretty soon you will be able to get a real job instead of worrying about too much or too little rain, too cold or too hot, etc.!
This is hands down the best site I have ever seen for responsiveness to the desires of the users. You sure get an awful lot done by just one guy. Are you really triplets? Or, by any chance, is that a cloning farm you are running down there in Tennessee? Better check this guy out Go Vols.
!!!!THANK YOU DAVE!!!!
Jack

Thanks, Jack. :-)

I worked in the tech industry for over a decade, and I actually left it to do farming full-time. Never regretted my decision, and I still get my "technology fix" by doing the programming on DG.

Dave

Hey Dave here's another one for you' Lately booting up is getting slower' I've cleaned/deleted files and still slow as molasses' Other sites load much faster,could this be the volume of posts/info whatever' We have a new pooter'

Sis,

If you are experiencing problems with your new puter (slow bootup times, etc) post to the computer talk forum. Folks there should have your answer.

Dave

Vols: Numbers 1 and 3 of your suggestions are finished! Check out the plants database and see if you like the way it works.

I'll get to number 2 later - my brain is tired and needs rest. Think I'll go mow for a while.

Dave

Wayyyy cool Dave! Thanks sooo much!