Daily Musings - page 17

I think we have a match.LOL

Between you two, maybe.

I think Al is very cute.

And I'll let him know you feel that way...

Men prefer the word handsome.

All I have to say is: they're all annuals if you don't dig them up!

Including one James Hoffa.

Annual or Manual?

I'm with Al & Michaela. Dahlias are very rewarding for the amount of work they ask for. I don't grow them in pots except to get the tall ones started early. I only have a few of the tall ones. Growing them in pots all season IS a lot of work.
I don't pamper them, I feed them with granular slow release fertilizer once as they start to bloom.
I don't wash or individually wrap them for the Winter.
I find dividing them on a sunny April day to be very relaxing. Yes, I divide in Spring.
My worst problem is finding homes for the extras every year. They are like rabbits.
What other flower will give you continuous flowers for 4 months+ and cost nothing after the initial purchase, year after year?
This was my soap box rant for the day.

Hey, Al. That's a fabulous shot. I knew you could do it. Now you have a WOW pic, above and beyond your others.
Andy P

Yer makin' me laugh here too!!

Oh, I'm pro-dahlia. I'll make a home for your extra 'rabbits' Andy!

Alright you guys convinced me. Store them, keep them happy all Winter, divide them and send some to me next Spring.

Thanks Andy

Yes there is the multiplying effect, but I still have only a few that I keep doubles of and some that I give away and don't keep if I don't like.

I hope your kids never disappoint you Al.

You know it - could always get others ;)

I am soooo with you on this one, Andy. I start mine in pots every spring - but as soon as the danger of frost is over, into the ground they go. :-) Growing tall ones in pots over the summer does seem like a lot of work.

Even the little dahlias you buy at the nursery will grow tubers and you can keep those over the winter and divide them. I did :-)

Victor, after Seandor divides my dahlias etc., you want us to send you some? I don't think any of them still have their names...

x, Carrie

Sure I take anything for free. If they don't do well I'll surely come up with names.

Question for those who have experience with RoundUp. How far away must you stay away from good plants to assure they're not affected? If I used it in a two inch wide 'trench' after I remove stones that outline my beds, how far would it 'travel' underground to neighboring plants?

It says it is not mobile in the soil - I would agree basically. I have sprayed inches away from plants I wanted without any harm.

Thanks Al.

Last Sunday I had my first real chance to photograph a dewy spider web.
I posted the front side in the Photo forum, I'll post the back here. I will admit to using a Misting bottle to augment the "dew".
Andy P

Cool Andy!!

I love spiderwebs early in the morning. Thanks for sharing your pictures, Andy :-)

Andy - awesome photo of the web! Good to know the misting trick.

Victor - I tried using Roundup on my gallant soldiers in the veggie garden....was sure I kept it contained far enough away from my tomato plants. Wrong! Many are compromised now. I know that putting empty pots over the "good" plants that are close by when you spray helps a lot with the air drift, but I'm afraid in my case there may have been some underground drift too...not sure, but I'm not using Roundup in the veggie garden again. By the way, plain old, cheap vinegar seems to do the same thing as Roundup, but again, I worry about the underground drift to other good things. I would like to hear from others about their Roundup experiences as well. I have a lot to learn on that front!!

Thanks. I have heard mostly good things about vinegar, but some not so good. Never tried it myself. Wouldn't use my Balsamic of course!

Tomatoes are one of the most sensitive plants to herbicides - so yes keep away from them.

Louise:

I have used plain white vinegar for years rto control the weeds growing up in the walkways to my house. I have been lucky enough so far, to not have to 'pickle' too near to any good plants. I have usually kept the vinegar about six inches away.

Andy:

So THAT's how you created that beautiful spider web photo!!

I'm glad to hear that you have done that, Candyce. I have weeds between the bricks on my patio, and I'll try that there.

Al - thanks for letting me know about the tomato sensitivity. I wish I'd checked it out here first before I blew it with the Roundup. Sadly, my weeds were so bad in the pepper section, I actually doused 2 of my prize seedlings along with the weeds before I realized it. I instantly washed them off within a minute or so, but to no avail. That hurts!!

Victor - do you make your own herbed vinegar with your balsamic?? I love to put up some bottles when the chive blossoms are just opening. I add garlic cloves and whatever herbs strike my momentary fancy. It's yummy.

I've used vinegar for years. It works best when the sun is on the 'weed'. It doesn't kill everything. Brear leaf lawn weeds and lawn will die. Strawberries and Knotweed will not be affected. Dandelions will die on top but re-grow.
Any vinegar with 5% acid will work. An old Windex sprayer makes a good applicator.

I started using the misting trick last year for pics. It's kind of cheating but ...... Artistic license, lol.

Good thing you didn't mix up the water and the vinegar sprayers.

Not likely, Victor. I use the water sprayer often to shoo unwanted critters before Sarah goes nuts. It worked on skunks a few days ago but that's a long story.

Glad Sarah didn't get hit by the skunk.

Nice shot Andy!

Or, he(you) should BE glad Sarah didn't etc...

Andy, did the spider mind? It's a lovely shot!

x, C

Great spiderweb pic!!! Awesome!

Sarah got blind sided by a 4 pound Pinkenese yesterday. The little devil came up from behind as we walked. What a surprise!!! She pinned it quickly and let go on my startled command. It ran off. No harm done except for the shock, lol. It's a ratty looking dog we have had 'run-ins' with before.
Carrie, the spider didn't like the misting, I was careful not to damage the web. It was all gone the next day, though.
I'm picking peppers, tomatoes, blackberries and even strawberries now. The broccoli keeps growing but no head is showing, weird.

Poor Sarah! Please give her a rub behind the ear from me.

Good girl, Sarah.........pin him again!!

Sarah is such a good girl, I could just as easily have said the 'K' word and we would be done with that little terror. I don't want her to get aggressive, though.
She is shedding like crazy with this heat, a bath this weekend will take care of that along with 4 thorough brushings after she dries out. She has a very dense double coat. Even the Vet commented.