Bath tub empty

Laurie -

I love that kind of information. Should be fixing the water heater tonight, but I'll make some time to read up on the lady in the Lakeland District. I love to read about behavioral patterns and behavior modification. This is right up my alley.

I've heard the term bracken and have always wondered if it meant bracken fern or something else. Anyway, apparently bracken fern is the most widespread fern (plant?) in the world. I have lots of it, too - in my lawn and in my beds. I don't mind it until it dies. It sounds like that and Stinging Nettle is something we share. Well, I'm very fortunate in that I don't have any nettle (knock on wood). Even the neighbors had some at one point, but don't anymore.

I was blown away by the number of nettles at Sheri's - sounds like all of you got a good dose.

I was a little surprised to hear all of you struggling with the same weeds as we do - somehow I did think they were here and no where else. WE DO NOT HAVE poison ivy, and WE DO NOT WANT IT!

I think Tils method for dealing with the nettles is a good one and strimming/weed wacking is about the same approach. The other way you can remove the stems would be to use a sharpened hoe with a long reach - the stems are quite brittle and the hoe takes them down fast (and is quiet!). Once you have the gauntlet gloves on you can bundle them up - I always wear a fleece pullover when working with them - really seems to stop being stung on the upper body/arms. But I have yet to find trousers that can stand up to them - even corduroy doesn't do it. wellies are great - tuck your trousers in.

Katie, I thought you would find that interesting - somehow I thought it would be right up your street.

Great info here. Laurie and Tills...I'll have to try some of the nettle fixes. Love the nettle tea recipe, Tills, thanks. I think I'll trying brewing it in a 55 gal drum though. Harvesting 55 pounds of nettles may make a dent in my crop! My compost pile is simply a pile of grass clippings and some banana peels and coffee grounds right now, but maybe this will bolster it a bit.

Glad to help, but really I got the facts from a book my DH got for me. so I won't take all the credit, 345 do it yourself, fix 'em formulas for Garden, Tonics! The books cool.
I have mine kinda under control, me and weed-eater 2" tall you are toast, they also say that if you keep them cut off when young they will die also like blackberries. Horsetails not a clue yet, I have more problems with them.

You want some Poppy's on steroids? LOL

Well, Tills. . .when you find out the solution for horsetails, please let me know that one, too! We didn't have too many last year but seem to have a bumper crop this year. And heck, yeah. I'll take poppies, too. I sowed some seeds a while ago and a few of them are coming up down at the end of my driveway.

Sheri, not joking, if you want to come out with at least a 10 gal bucket you can have all you want, or a 5 gal bucket and take one whole one, I must have been outta of my mind (funny) when I started those seeds, way to many for me. and the just keep getting bigger. LOL
But I just love them, I am mother, I started the little buggers. ^_^

So nettles is the new topic, huh? Well, lots of that stuff growing here also.But this year, I have a new way of getting rid of it, AND making a little cash on the side. I guess nettle tea is the new rage on college campuses. My neice and her friends are planting a garden at my place for vegies and the such. I made them a good size bed 20'x30'. They have been over every other day for the last two weeks raking and picking rocks, and planting. They were amazed at the amount of nettles there was. They asked if they could have some, so they could sell the tea at Evergreen College where they attend.I said sure! Yesterday they gave me $50, and said that was my cut from the tea, and could they have more. I don't think I would drink it, but they say it has more antioxidants than green tea, and is full of lots of nutritional vitamins. Still not going to drink it. But they are selling 1 litre bottles for $3. The staff members buy the most, but the students are really getting in to it too.They boil it, steep for an hour, then bottle it up.
Now does anyone have a idea for japanese knot weed? Is it good in salad?-

You just scored, making money on Nettle's. I don't think thats right, what are they doing with it? we all want in LOL

"Nettles have a long history of use in the home as a herbal remedy and nutritious addition to the diet. The Nettle has long been valued as a medicinal and nutritional treasure. Nettle is rich in chlorophyll, and a good source of beta carotene; vitamins A, C, and E; tannins; iron; calcium; silicon; potassium; phosphates; and various other minerals. Rich in iron vital to circulation and helpful in high blood pressure.

Nettle leaf has recently become a popular treatment for allergies based on one preliminary study. Nettle leaf is highly nutritious, and in cooked form may be used as a general dietary supplement.

It is said that the 'sting of the nettle is but nothing compared to the pains that it heals' ".


But I STILL hate them!

It looks like swamp water and there is no way I will taste it. And I hate them, but not as much now!

I know how to feed it to a plant.
How do we drink/eat it. you have a recipe? Would really like to know.

A very interesting link ~

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Nettle.html

I still hate them, too, but, like you Gordon, maybe not quite as much. AND I'm thinking there may be a tad of value in them. . .dang!

They always seem to get me when I am mowing. Gotten used to the sting, isn't as bad as it used to be. Maybe I am growing an immunity to it from constant exposure? Don't want to try that experiment out either!!!!

Nettle tea is a tonic - one that I have used for years. You harvest the new leaves in the spring, push the stalk over with your foot to the ground, then chop the stalks with a hoe. The chopped nettles go into a large garbage can - fill about half-way, then fill with water to about 6" from the top. Put the lid on, let it sit for a couple days, then stir it daily (nothing fancy, merely enough to aerate it), and the brew is ready to use in a couple weeks on your plants.
The harvested young nettle leaves are torn & placed in a kettle or bowl with lid; pour boiling water over this & steep. Actually, it's a rather decent flavour & quite good for you. Clears out the toxins in early spring, and the bonus is the brewed stalks/leaves for your plants.

OK, the nettle leaves seem to have a reasonable use for edible value in tea or I suppose, nettle soup. But what about the roots? I have a large garbage bag full of nettle roots that I dug out of a bed in progress last fall. I can't put them in the compost, don't want to send them to the land fill, and if I dried them and put them on the burn pile would they make dangerous smoke? I am not sur I am up for the complexity of bokasshi...but if that is the only solution. I will have to try.

Hi Gordon - I did not see you at WM today. But I did hear your "plant acquisition encouragement" from afar. So, I scored some nice & unexpected things today, and no rain!

Kathy - All the Cardiocrinum at WM looked like the ones I bought. The heat stressed them all, despite being on the shade table. Looks like they are a definite part-shade plant.

MHF - Bokashi is not really complex, but there is LOTS of info - almost to overload point.
I am in the process of using Bokashi on my tap-root weeds, as well as those all time favourites: Ranunculus & crab grass. Supposed to pickle them.
I will post the results, and FYI - I am naturally a skeptic.
As is the case with most things: time will tell!

This message was edited May 20, 2008 10:01 PM

Alright, I might be sold on making an attempt at bokashi. I also have a large bag of buttercup and an unending supply of dreadfully large weeds. What kind of container will I need?

I am using a big outdoor type trash can, Rubbermaid makes them. Sturdy & when it is shot in a few years, I will cut out the bottom & compost in it. I have a place in my veg garden, but it wouldn't look so bad using a trash can in a side yard.

MHF - Bokashi is actually unbelievably easy. Buy inoculated bran, put weeds in airtight bin, sprinkle in bran, put lid on. Repeat in layers.

I love it. But then I love my compost heap too. And my leaf piles.

Sheesh! You people are so active I cannot possibly keep up! There are like a gazillion posts to go through.
Thumbs up to nettle tea, excellent source of nitrogen for the garden and I understand it's good for people, too.
Thumbs up to bracken fern. I have them and love them. Maybe mine are not as rampant as others. I just cut them down if they interfere with anyone else. also love them standing through the winter.
Thumbs up to the lady and her sheep, and to Laurie who posts such excellent information. I do love it!

soulution for horsetails: lime the soil. Lime it good. They can't stand a high ph. Keep liming it until they die. I tried to grow them in my pond and they died the first year. Didn't even put on new growth. Ph: 8.2

Supposedly nettle soup is delicious. I have a chef friend who makes it. She is going to make some for me to try. I also read that nettles are good for lettuce growth. Pull your nettles and lay them on the lettuce patch!

I don't mind nettles because they are so easy to pull out of the ground. I have lots. What I hate are the weeds with tap roots that won't come out of the ground. And those darn buttercups. I have to dig them out, they don't pull.

Gwen

Gwen - if you water the buttercups well first it helps. I don't have any nettles, but lots of those.

Katie, mine are so overgrown and tangled together. I go out right after a week's worth of rain and still they will not pull up. I have to dig a trowel in under the roots to loosen every single clump.

I bought my first ever bottle of round up yesterday. Buttercups -- look out!

gwen

they are nasty, I would rather fight nettles. than them, gotta bring in the big guns sometimes.
I heard that lime helps get rid of both Butter cups and horse tails, going to give that a try first.

Hi Gordon,
Love your tub, what a great idea! I can't wait to see what it looks like later in the summer.

Lime will get rid of the nasty buttercups with roots of steel?? I will give it a try! They are horrible!

Mary, Melissa, I wonder if baking soda will work. I buy it at Costco in a 12 pd bag. I use it to kill moss. it does a lot better job than the Moss Out, or other products. Jim

Hi Hostajim, sorry I didn't get to come see your lovely gardens, maybe next time!
Could you tell me how to use the baking soda to get the moss out? Can it be used on concrete too? I have been using a mild bleach and water on the walkways but did not want to use it on the grass, I was afraid it would kill it....Any help would be appreciated, all of the north side and some of the south side that was shade is just full of moss this year and I would love to be chemical free.
Thanks,
Carla

Yes, me too!! I'd love to be using baking soda on my driveway rather than something more harsh.

Jim, I don't know why not. It's alkaline. I would certainly give it a try. Same with moss. It wouldn't hurt to try. Nothing ventured, you know.

when I use baking soda on the walkways and driveways, I just sprinkle the powder. if it's dry out, I'll water it lightly. on the lawn, I use 1 or 2 cups to a gallon of water then sprinkle wherever I want the moss to die. you'll notice after applying over the course of a few days that it turns red 1st and then it dissapears. one things about it, the moss doesn't come back the next spring, like the commercial stuff. I treat everything, every 2 years, most of the time. Jim

Would it work on a wooden deck?
Gwen

Gwen, I don't know if it would damage the wood. because of the alkalinity. I haven't tried that yet. maybe test a small area1st, Jim

I'm getting the baking soda this weekend. Has anyone tried it on the roof?

Your neighbors will think it snowed -- on your house only! ;)

gwen

Yeah - and since you see mostly my roof as you're driving down into the vale where the house is, it'll probably catch a few eyes. LOL

My builder told me to get powder tide that you wash cloths with and sprinkle it on the roof to kill the moss. So far of what we can reach it has worked great. Heidi

My daughter has used Tide with Bleach on her roof for years. It works but does come back.

Hi There willow how did your master gardener sale go? Hope you sold a ton. Heidi

We had a great sale and everyone went nuts over the hellebore. Made more than ever.