Erynne,
Bad bad bad VERY BAD person you are. A great thread, lovely moth pix but......... I need to buy tires and iris, not more seeds. No self-control here AT ALL.
inanda
FYI....Gardens North 50% off Seed Sale
3 "bads" and 1 "very bad" for me!.....sure breaks up the monotony of having to be good all the time, laff.
Another great pic...thanks broots!
Cool moth photos Sandy and Linda! I've never seen them around here....but I don't spend much time in my garden after dark..........that's when the moths come out right? There's too many mosquitoes around here at night....and how the love me so!
Erynne, after your experience with the fish emulsion I think that might be just what my seedlings need :)
Sandy, you must have smelt that fish all summer! EWW.
Steven
Steve, I think broots has got us onto to something good here with the fish emulsion. I gave some to my hosta seedlings and they seemed to like it. Now the hostas are something I wouldn't mind seeing grow big!
Yeah, I want to give some to my Daturas, I had some AV food lying around, but that didn't seem to do too much as they're still sort of yellowy. I'll see if I can get some of it today.
Steven, here's hoping you're hostas grow BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG!
Thanks everyone for the nice comments on the moth photo.
I think everyone that tries the fish emulsion or liquid seaweed will have excellent results. It's basically all I have used for about 5 years. Good luck.
Linda
Steve, no these clearwing moths fly during the daylight, which really sets them apart and you'd swear they were hummingbirds, except for the antennas! I checked the EXIF data on my photo and it was taken July 28 at 11:05 a.m. So, keep an eye out this season!
Erynne & Linda, I'll pick up some fish emulsion this week, try it on my hosta seedlings and report back.
Sandy
I will be sure to keep an eye out for those moths, maybe I have seen them and thought they were humming birds...
Erynne & Linda, my seedlings just got their first watering of fish emulsion :)
One of my seedlings, it's a coral vine, is just sitting there doing nothing so I hope this gives it that boost to get going again also hopfully it'll put some green into my Daturas :)
Steven
BTW, If you're going to get the fish emulsion Sandy, I got mine at Cdn Tire, the same one Erynne and Linda got. I checked at HD but they didn't have it.
Hi folks! I've been using fish emulsion for years too, and it works well at certain times. Because it's relatively high in nitrogen (5-1-1) it can cause too much green leafy growth. So for seedlings, I use 1/2 or 1/3 strength 20-20-20 one week and weak fish emulsion the next, just so the little plants don't get too many leaves that the baby roots can't support. I learned this by trying an experiment: with a full flat of seedlings in cell packs, I fed half and didn't feed the others. Noticeable improvement with the feeding. (surprise surprise). I also bottom water so I don't disturb the roots or splash the leaves.
I drive past Gardens North on my way to the cottage and am sorely tempted to drop in -- if the sale is still on, and if it applies to purchases in person. Not that I *need* any more seeds. I'm knee-deep in plants, flats, ProMix, tubers... like everyone else here!
Hi all. Does anyone have cats, and do they like your fish emulsion? I'm thinking my cat would be all over it if I used it inside...Or are you guys using it only outside?
Joanne
Hi Andy,
More good advice about ferts! I sure could've used all this info last year when I sat there wondering if what I was doing was correct. There's alot of info on the net, so much so infact that a new gardener can be confused/overwhelmed rather easily.
I think the Gardens North sale is for April only and may be exclusive to online purchases but it never hurts to ask!
Joanne, why not get your kitties and do a smell test......get them to take a whiff and see if they get overly-interested or run for the hills. Would be interesting to know what their reactions would be. I can't even smell it in the containers where I applied it but cats do have a better sense of smell than we do.
Have any of you ever heard about indoor potting mixes catching fire? I read this news article and it has me a little concerned:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061125/potting_soil_061125/20061125?hub=CTVNewsAt11
Maybe it's just a rare event with what happened to this couple but I do keep a good-sized bag of ProMix in my basement plant room and wondering if I should be moving it. Where do you all store your seed starting mixes and such?
I keep mine right in the closet with our coats and boots, there's no heat, the cats can't get into it (what a mess they make!!), and it's conveniently located when I need it for fast repots after the cats knock something down(daily occurence here). 6 cats...what on earth was I thinking!!!!
Hi Andy. Thanks for posting your experiment info. I always alternate my fish emulsion w/the seaweed. Probably 2 wk seaweed (2-5-2) & the following week fish emulsion.
Joanne, sorry no cats here, but would be interested to know because I get a lot of cats outside but I'm sure they are here for all the birds as I always find them under the feeders.
Erynne, I certainly didn't like reading that info on the potting soil. First time I have ever heard that. I always kept a bag of MG soil in the hall closet but moved it downstairs awhile ago.
Leeanne, 6 cats!!!! Whoa, you're not lacking for company, lol.
broots, I got kinda nervous reading about potting soil as well. A couple years ago, I had a planter on my balcony and someone (no names mentioned) stubbed out a cigarette in it. Several hours later, I noticed smoke drifting outside so I went to see what it was. Well there was my plastic planter a meltin' and a little fire in the pot. I never thought that could happen but I guess with peat and little sticks in the potting medium it is flamable. I just don't know about a bag of potting soil bursting into flames for no good reason in the house though. I guess my plant room is a highly combustible area,lol.
I didn't think to dilute the fish emulsion further when I used it on my Rodgersia seedlings, lol. Sheesh, it never even occurred to me to do that.
Here's my seedlings a day or two before the fish emulsion. They were literally not wanting to get any bigger and I was ready to flush them.
warning: crappy pic (as usual) but using it just for size comparisons
This message was edited Apr 10, 2007 2:24 PM
And here they are several days later, post fishy:
OMG Erynne, your post on the cigarette in the planter just brought back memories I had totally forgotten about. About 2-3 yr ago my DH did the very same thing. Talk about a terrible smell. I was not a happy wife.
What a difference a couple of days made with your Rodgersia seedlings. Excellent results.
Linda
Burning plastic combined with burnt soil does stink to high heaven! Linda, I bet your DH knows alot better now.
Joanne, I found a link on here about pets and fish emulsion.....not really about a cat but a doggie!
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/704365/
I knew I had read something in DG about pets liking fish emulsion - thanks Erynne. I wouldn't even try it in my house; I know my cat would be all over it!
I'm here to report that the Fish E worked! The leaves on several different plants are definitely bigger! For me it worked best on the flowering maple seedlings and passion flower seedlings, not really anything on the daturas. But we shall see.....
Steven
The leaves on my daturas want to stay pale yellowy green too Steven. I have no idea why, since otherwise they seem really healthy.
--Ginny
Oh good...............I just breathed a sigh of releaf. I must be growing them right :)
Steven