i have discussed the coyotes on several threads in several parts od the US, it is a problem here too, but here there is a lot of desert and vacant desert so it is legal all year round to go and shoot them every night. They have contests here nightly.
My Cottage Garden
Hellnzn, Coyote shooting with a gun contests? Or shoot with a camera?
Beaker, you are a woman of many talents! Sure, post in this forum when you get around to making it....that's the beauty of it -- we can talk about anything because it *always* falls under the catagory of Cottage Gardening! LOL! BUT before that, we are going to demand puppy pictures!!!!
Everybody chant:
We Want Pictures! We Want Pictures! We Want Pictures! We Want Pictures! We Want Pictures!
Suzy
POST PUP PICS PLEASE - POST PUP PICS PLEASE-POST PUP PICS PLEASE :D
There's my contribution....lol!
~Sunny
LOL
Maybe Friday. I get him tomorrow. I received a call Monday night from the gal who teaches the obedience class to remind me. Like I'd forget.
with guns to cut the population, we do not participate but my DH knows a lot of guys that do.
I just stopped in looking for PUPPY PICS!!! Where's the cute little puppers? We can't wait!! I'm figuring you've had him for at least a whole 12 hours...why are you punishing us like this? Share, share, share! Please?
I'm here for the same reason! I hope everything went well with the pickup, and I'm sure you'll be playing with him all weekend.... You'll need a short break! During which you can post a photo!
LOL, just wanting you to know that I'm excited about the new puppy also....
edited to add that what we really need is a photo thread over in the Pets forum so *everyone* can admire him.... and a link to the thread over here, of course! :-)
This message was edited Jan 20, 2007 8:54 AM
I'm on my Blackberry so can't include the link. But there area few very bad shots over in Pets ina thread called West Highland Breeders. I have a class starting in afew minutes, so gotta go.
Ohhh, Ollie is SO cute! Happy Dogmother's Day :D
~Sunny
Not trying to take over or anything...I just don't want anyone to miss THE CUTEST PUP IN THE WORLD!!!
link to thread in Pet's Forum...scroll to Jan 18/19
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/678419/
OMgosh is Ollie adorable!! He'll make a dog lover out of anyone. I just want to give him smooches on his cute little nose.
Welcome Mr. Ollie, I think you are a charmer. You would steal my heart. Patti
All I can say is "oh, my." My heart has been stolen for good!!!
Aw, Pat he is wonderful -- really cute!
Suzy
Here is the link to Ollie's formal introduction to DG. You cannot believe how frustrating it is to try and get a picture of him, but these are better than the first set.
http://davesgarden.com/place/t/685933/
One of the things about Westies is they know they are cute. They require a lot of discipline early on, but if given, will be a wonderful companion later on. He's been keeping me running the past few days and, not having the energy I once did, I'm pretty pooped by bedtime. Oh, how I wish I could fall asleep like he does.
Back to gardening for a moment, I attended my second plant propagation class yesterday and was very disappointed in it. It was more clinical than practical and, other than all the latin terminology, I didn't learn anything I didn't already know. Next week is on cuttings and I'm afraid it will be just as bad.
Oh please tell more about what you mean by clinical as opposed to practical. Where are you taking the class? (I'm a student at a junior college, closest program to me and it's a 45 minute drive!) I need to take propagation the next time they offer it during the day, no night classes for me. We have to actually propagate things.
It was basically about the sexual propagation of seeds. How the seeds develop, how they get pollinated and fertilization, the different types of seeds, the pollenators, etc, etc, etc. What I was looking for was a basic seed starting course, soil mixtures, lighting, heat, watering, etc.
I'm taking the classes at the University of Minnesota Arboretum and it's a long drive for me too. I signed up for the series because I can't keep a cutting alive. Next week's class is on cuttings. If it's the same as this week's class, I think I'll skip the last class on grafting. Not worth the drive or spending 2 1/2 hours freezing in their "classroom". If you have to propagate plants, your classes probably have a more pratical application than what I'm taking.
At the end of this class, they had some seeds we could pop into a pot and take with us. I decided to skip that and started to leave. One of the people who put on the class followed me out and asked me why I didn't want to "plant the seed". I just said, why on earth would I want to plant a Kentucky Coffee Tree seed. She asked me if I had ever seen one and showed me one that was outside the door of the building. Again I asked why I would want "that" in my yard. It was 50 feet tall! Not exactly what I would think about planting in my yard. Pretty cheesy if you ask me. Anyone can pop a seed in a pot of soil. What I wanted was how to get a seed to germinate and thrive until it was time to plant in the garden. The classes are 40.00 a pop for non-members and 25.00 for members. I joined the Arboretum to get the lower price.
One thing I did pick up on, but not from the instructor, but from a side conversation behind me, was that someone said the ph of their water was too high and it tended to promote bacterial growth such as the bacteria that causes damping off. Then someone else said that most city water has really high levels of ph (whatever ph is). So, I'm wondering if that isn't part of the problem I seem to have with cuttings and am wondering if I'd have different results if I used bottled water. For sure, I want to find out what ph is and how much of it is in my water. So maybe it wasn't a total loss.
Yes, I know I'm whining, but I really expected something different.
I hear you on that. I ended up dropping my Landscape Plans (design) course twice ($$) due to just not getting anything out of it. The instructor makes all the difference.
Sounds like a review of botany that could've been covered with a hand-out, if it was necessary at all. We need to take that first, and I have. I think I would be really put out if that's what you get for a class on propagating.
I think an explanation of pH and growing media, foot candles of light and the role of temperature would all have been more appropriate topics to address. I'm sure since it's an arboretum, they would tend to give you a tree seed to start with. Maybe Kentucky Coffee Tree is just easy to grow for beginners?
Well, all pH is, it's a scale that measures the relative acidity or alkalinity of soil or water, by measuring the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. There is probably someone here who can/will get a lot more technical than that, but for growing plants that's all there is to it.
I found this on google, I hope it's easy to follow.
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/waterchemsitry/a/waterph.htm
This message was edited Jan 21, 2007 4:39 PM
This message was edited Jan 21, 2007 5:08 PM
I just realized something, only the first paragraph really applies to what we were talking about. But adding hydrogen peroxide would lower the pH, maybe that is what the people behind you were discussing? Remember, I'm still learning too, so not afraid to tell you, that I don't know. Or how exactly it is used in propagting cuttings, but I bet someone over in the propagation forum would know. LMK when you find out! :-))
edited to say: I don't know for sure that the hydrogen peroxide would lower the pH, so don't want to state that as fact.
This message was edited Jan 21, 2007 5:32 PM
Well, that sent me off looking for more information and I think I've decided (without really knowing what my ph is) a reverse osmosis unit to purify my water. Now to look for something in my price range.
That sure sounds practical, LOL.
Oh Pat, you got GREAT pics of Ollie for him to be so young and restless :) My Jack Russell still is restless when DH is home - if DH moves, Anakin (the dog) moves. It drives DH mad sometimes. He can't seem to understand that it's because the dog loves him so much (I had the dog before the husband...lol) Anakin is the 2nd terrier I've had (first was a rat terrier) and I declare they are the easiest dogs to train.
You're doing a great job, and I bet it's not long before the cats and Ollie are best of buddies (that is, IF the cats are into wrestling and being dragged by the tail, which is what Anakin does to Mr. Simmons, DH's cat...hahaha)
Thanks for sharing the pics!
~Sunny
I have damping off here too. someone told me to keep tea in a spray bottle and spray it daily.
Here's some great info on damp off and how to prevent it from the Tom Clothier site. http://tomclothier.hort.net/page13.html
I just posted this in another thread too.
This site lists some chemicals you can use, but I've never had to use any chems. I use a weak chamomile tea to water occassionally, I top w/ ground cinnamon and/or chick grit and I always, always have a fan running in the room my seeds/cuttings are started in. Both cinnamon and chamomile tea are natural anti-fungals and will also help fight fungus gnats. Chick grit is sharp and physically stops ickies...it's not sharp to us, just to ickies.
You can easily test the pH of your water by getting test strips at Wal-Mart. Look in the pet dept where the fish supplies are sold...or if you have a soil test kit you should be able to do it that way, just don't add any soil. Better yet, ask a friend who has a fish tank for a test strip rather than buying a test kit yourself, I'm sure they'll share.
Light stand instructions. Anyone wanting a prettier copy can dmail me and request I send a copy of the Word document to their regualar email address. Don't forget to include the address.
http://davesgarden.com/mail/pm/174891/
Thanks for the dampening off directions. If I get those Delph seeds I really need to protect against the dampening off. They say delphs are prone to dampening off.
Beaker, your gardens are breathtaking! Wow and in zone 4a! You do the cold zones PROUD!!!
I bet you are just loving all the snow we are all going to get today .... I know I am!!
We need to start a post of what our cottage gardens look like in the snow. :o)
Need to make those warm zoned people jealous!!!!!!
Love all the dog and puppy pics ..... soooo cute.
toofew
Hi Toofew, the now must have gone south of us as it was cold, cleart and sunny today. I wish we'd get more snow. I think our current snow base isn't more than 2 or 3 inches. As such, the garden looks pretty crappy right now. I always worry when there's not much snow and it is so cold. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't lose too many plants.
I think there is a reason why people live in warmer climates and it's not because they enjoy snow, LOL. Thanks for the kind words.
actually we do get both here in the high desert, not often, but every few years we get snow, not this year but we did get 3 degrees and killed alot of growers plants, and the DG ers here and in Oregon and Az. too
Pat, did I see you post that you're planning to get more alstromeria this year? I just saw that buggycrazy has several to choose from at great prices- the best I've seen, and wanted to give you the heads up. The best deals are when you get 25 plants. That would be way too many for me, since most are tender, but I'd be happy to split an order with you if you're interested.
Neal
Good morning, Neal!
Let me take a peek and I'll get back to you.
I suppose you would want to go for the Bright Pink. I see they also have the Rose Pink for 20.00. This is really a good deal. Last summer, the potted ones were going for 16.00 a pop locally. Not sure what I would do with all of those, but I'm very interested. Are you planning a mass planting at your new digs? That would be lovely.
I wonder if Vossner might also be interested.(in half of my half). I usually just buy one of a variety. I have Sweet Laura and Freedom and two others I can't remember the name of. I have to do pots because it's too cold for them here. They seem to be doing great in the basement and I have one sitting on my window sill that needs potting up.
Do you think you might be interested in going for the Rose Pink as well? If we could get Nery and perhaps one other person, that would be 6 each and you could have the 2 extra. LOL, the shipping would be more than the plants, but well worth it. If you just want to go for the one, that's OK, but I'd still want to split my half with someone.
These are great little plants; very resilient. The first two I got came from Wayside and they were in very bad shape when I got them. I started feeding them Maxi Grow and they came back nicely.
They are all so pretty I was having trouble choosing, and you know well my shameless love of pink, lol. I love the idea of more varieties, hehe, I'm so easy! Rose Pink did indeed catch my eye, so I'd definitely be interested in those. My indecisiveness even had me considering the mixture, and I usually don't do mixes. I'll grow them in pots too; I'm not willing to risk it in the ground. I do plan on doing some mass plantings of annuals and poppies since I'll have SUN!
I've read that they don't like to be disturbed and can take a year or so to settle in, but yours bloomed well the first year did'nt they?
Not the Wayside ones. I had to baby them all last summer. The ones I got at the local nursery did well. I wouldn't expect too much the first year and I don't know what size Buggy will send. I would expect anywhere between 1 to 4 rhizomes. But, if you don't start now, you'll still be wishing next year.
The price can't be beat. I went out snooping around today and found some dwarf types at Willow Creek for 10.00 a pop. That was for a 4 inch pot. Then at Flowers and Greens, they sold theirs in one to 4 rhizome clumps; anywhere from 5.00 to 12.00. You can't pick what you want for the 5.00 ones, but I think the clumps are bigger.
Should I contact Nery and she if she is interested? At that price, I decided I could afford to include them in my plants for the spring plant swap plus give a few away.
Oh yes, I think she'll be interested too :)
So you'd recommend going ahead and getting them growing as soon as they come in?
I was working on my lasagna garden all dang day and got a little sunburnt on my cheeks, I had spf 30 on too. Wierd heat streak. I feel like i do a lot of work and never get anywhere with it.
Join the club, Hellnzn11 - I feel your pain (so to speak). No sunburn here, though!
Sure do wish it was sunburn weather here!
Neal, I intend to bring mine up from the basement in April and get them going again. I'll probably start feeding them some weak maxi grow and hopefully they will be all set to go out into my little greenhouse stand mid May.
I'll dmail Nery and see if she is interested and if there is one or two more people who also want to join in, that would be great.
I'd love a little sun right now :)
Susan
In Ga. you looked like you may have some windy weather if the Daytona 500 is a preview of your weather. Today is grey and raining , thankfully because my lasagna garden needs it and all my plants I bought for a buck at Lowes for a dollar as they were dying from the freeze and now look great. SCOOORE. WE ARE IN A RECORD BREAKING DRY WINTER SO WE COULD USE A LOT MORE RAIN.
ha ha! I just was cutting off the tops of some $1 plants I got from Lowes!! :) The green sprouts are coming up. Those babies just needed some TLC and I'm just the one to give it to them. It amazes me how the general public doesn't understand that you paying for the roots when they are about to finish season!~!
Susan
come on Happy dance with me to the Peanuts music. I wished I had bought more. I am going to that cheap state nursury before they close though.