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Gardening

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  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Shouldn't the birds be eating the flying pests?

    Come on, birdies! Insect buffet, plus wash it down for free as well!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Only very special birds eats bees. Evolution at work you know. Fly-catchers, bee-eaters and some kinds of mockingbirds. You have to be a pretty small, swift bird to do this. Some birds only eat bees part of the year and then change their diet habits. Go figure.

    I'm about ready to start a succulent garden. The trick I'm told is proper DRAINAGE of the soil and, of course, very little watering.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My raised-bed herb garden fared much better than my in-ground garden. I think drainage had a lot to do with it.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited October 2011
    I don't think any bird will eat a yellow jacket.

    We lived on a sand dune in Boise and succulents were easy. Got some hens 'n chicks here in the damp UP, but they seem to doing okay. Of course, we're a couple of blocks from the beach and the yard is mostly sand here too.

    We had some stone plants (lithops) one year but the winter damp zapped them. Pretty fun but they're finicky. Have to mark them well or you'll have trouble finding them in your garden. (link)

    Can't beat aloe plants.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Yep, it's the sand in the soil that does the trick for succulents. That's what "cactus soil" has plenty of when you buy it at the store.
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    I have a succulent garden here in damp/cool Connecticut (mostly cactus) and even more so here I expect drainage really is key. I use a mix of native soil, sand, compost, and fair amount of gravel in raised bed to keep them happy. Of course I also have to have plants that can handle winter temps and have to hope for an insulating blanket of snow for the ones that might be more sensitive.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    We are really enjoying the birds in our yard and patio this fall. This is the first time that Bluebirds have been more than just a fleeting glimpse. We have 6 of them that are hanging around our bird bath. And the Scotts Orioles are feeding heavy at the humming bird feeders the last week. They are just beautiful.. I will post if I can get a good shot of one.

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  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    I sat by my kitchen window this morning and got about 30 shots of Orioles and a bluejay that loves making a mess all over my deck. They will come right up to me to get sunflower seeds. Not at all afraid of humans. I think these Scotts Orioles are the prettiest of the 3 that visit during the year.

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  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Cool pics, Gary. You've created quite the habitat there.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    My wife ordered 65 bulbs today to force over the winter. Paper whites and other narcissi. Can just imagine the wake-like scene in March if they all bloom at the same time. :shades:
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I was eye-balling a bag of 100 bulbs, almost took the bait. Just not sure what to do with my front landscaping overall, so I need to come up with an overall plan first.
  • slorenzenslorenzen Member Posts: 694
    Back in the 90's and early 00's, I wsa going to Netherlands about every couple months.

    I learned to not exchange money at the airport because of the percentage they charged, so I'd typically buy "stuff" at the airport(good shopping at Schiphol).

    I ended up bringing a total of about 400 bulbs home, and my wife was planting them all over the yard...was really beautiful...but something ate them, a bit at a time... :cry:

    Gopher?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Around here, it would be the squirrels.

    They're just a rodent with a tail, and everyone loves them because they look cute! It's a pretty RAT! ;)

    Daffodil bulbs are toxic so those don't have that problems. Tulips are tasty, though.

    That's what the rats tell me. :D
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Yesterday about 5 pm I was watching my bird bath. A Bobcat just sauntered by the picture window in my office. I grabbed my wife and headed to the back of the house to see where he was headed. He just strolled through one of our gardens and up into the fruit orchard. Then he casually leaped over the 5 foot Chain link fence into the open field next to us. My understanding is they eat mainly rabbits. Well we have so many rabbits it is epidemic here. I have kept the squirrels under control with rat poison. Not so easy with rabbits. I hope he lives up to his reputation. He/she was sleek and beautiful.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    That's fun!

    Maybe one of these years I'll see a lynx.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    At first I thought you meant the Pinto clone, i.e. Mercury Bobcat...

    http://www.productioncars.com/send_file.php/mercury_bobcat_1980_2.jpg
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,675
    >They're just a rodent with a tail, and everyone loves them because they look cute

    Here in Ohio, we have voles and chipmonks that like to live in the soft beds for the colder periods. They eat bulbs and roots anytime of year. I spent all summer capturing the chipmonks in a chipmonk trap when they came to our mulch deep bed in the front of the house in a recess which probably stays warmer through the winter. I released the chipmonks at a nearby animal sanctuary.

    The voles required peanut butter on mousetraps and the didn't get relocated.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I discourage squirrels from digging by sprinkling ground pepper on the ground. It works GREAT! I mean, they were stopped dead in their tracks overnight.

    You have to re-sprinkle every couple weeks.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,675
    >discourage squirrels from digging by sprinkling ground pepper

    Is this packaged ground pepper? Or pepper ground fresh from the corns?
    That's an idea we'll try because it may discourage the chipmonks. Maybe even the voles would give up.

    I can see guests walking past the bed that the chipmonks and voles like and sneezing from the pepper smell while waiting for us to open the door!

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
    You need to use cayenne. Sprinkling it around the plants is okay, but a cayenne, Tabasco and water mixture sprayed on plants and ground surrounding it really works. Of course, after a rain you have to reapply.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The only catch is, your salad will be [non-permissible content removed]-EY! :D
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    I've used Cayenne for the monks, they don't like it. I have sprinkled it around their burrows, they cover it up, I sprinkle again, they-----------, eventually they get the idea and go elswhere (perhaps not far though). I just buy the cheap stuff at one of those bargin places (they don't know the differance ;) )
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The chipmunks around here demand organic. ;)
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Out hiking today and the nature trail sign recommended that you borrow Gary's cat.

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  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Yes, just ground pepper from Safeway in a can.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    My wife spotted this Monarch Chrysalis hanging on a bougainvillea next to the milkweed. We still get a few Monarch caterpillars and the butterflies on warm days. They have just about eaten all the leaves off all our milkweed. Also getting lots of snow peas. Tried our first Fennel a couple nights ago. I think we may have harvested before it was ready. Tasted good. Just kind of woody. The snow peas are great. Having another batch tonight. Also Tilapia with cilantro cream sauce. mmmm good :)

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  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I had 4 deer in my front yard this morning. It was like the Serengeti out there.

    Tomorrow I'm cutting some horse tails from a friend's garden to use as a screen for the back deck. They'll be in large pots. You don't wanna put horsetails in the ground or they'll get away from you. I hope to keep the horsetails about 1 inch under water, so as to attract frogs next month.

    Finally getting large numbers of birds to my feeders---hummingbirds, goldfinch, bush [non-permissible content removed], oregon junkos, nut hatches, tooheys (sp?), blue jays (big suckers!), house finch, hummers. Crows and vultures near the creek of course.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Do you have any of the Fallow Deer that are causing a ruckus at Pt Reyes? The invasive species of plants I have to hack down are Rock Rose, Pride of Madeira, Papyrus and Rosemary. I like some of it but they grow and spread fast. A seedling Pride of Madeira will be a 5 foot in diameter bush in one year. Beautiful flowers in the spring. The birds and bees love them. Then they get kind of ugly.

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  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    No they don't seem to have the long necks of the fallow deer. Pt. Reyes would offer such animals a lot more shelter than around here, which is mostly pasture land or vineyards.

    My main animal problem is squirrels digging into my succulent garden. I may have to get out the old pellet gun and I have warned them that I am a very very good shot.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Deer have eaten pretty much all my hosta.

    I have chip munks...may have to borrow that gun. They chewed up a wiring harness to the tune of $700! :sick:

    That makes the gun a sure-fire investment. Pardon the pun. ;)
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    To be fair, I'm going to put up a little warning sign for them to read. :P
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Better be careful. You did see what the animal rights wackos did to 14 trucks belonging to Harris Ranch? You are in the heart of fruits, nuts and flakes up there.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I'm thinkin' we're not going to be seeing a Save the Squirrels campaign anytime soon in Sonoma. :P
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    There comes a time when man has to take control of nature. I think squirrel infestations is one of those times. My rabbit problem seems be taken care of by a very bold Bob Cat hanging around here. I have seen him twice now. Strolled right by my office window in broad daylight. Another time he was on a big rock and just stared at me for a good long time. Then sauntered off. We have a lot of hawks, owls and some golden eagles. They do not seem to keep up with the squirrel population very well.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    You put a sign, hey, fair game.

    How does roasted squirrel taste? ;)
  • slorenzenslorenzen Member Posts: 694
    Tastes like chicken... :P
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    they DO eat squirrel in some parts of the USA, but not so much in Sonoma--LOL!

    Okay, I have an irrigation question, so please see NEXT POST and give me your advice, everyone!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I've decided I'd like to start a winter vegetable garden, which we can do very successfully where I live.

    What I'd like to do is grow the veggies in RAIN GUTTERS secured to the back fence.

    Since there won't be a great deal of soil (no problem, the veggie roots will grow nicely laterally if I space them well enough), I will have to water frequently.

    Sooooo, I was thinking:

    1. Can I run a BURIED soaker hose through the length of the gutter (20 foot, with drain holes)?

    2. If so, what diameter soaker hose?

    3. AND, how do you hook this up to a regular garden hose so that i can just use a spigot to water the veggies?

    They do make ready-made 50 foot soaker hoses with garden hose connections but they are rather large diameter and besides I can't use 50 feet.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited January 2012
    You could get something like link for ~$35 or so. 1/4th inch hose.

    Seems like everyone in Boise but me had a residential sprinkler system. The big box stores were full of parts so maybe you could just get a couple of connectors and a bit of hose, but the kit may wind up being cheaper, if overkill for what you need.

    Don't know why you couldn't hook it up to a hose with a Y connector or a quick release or an on/off valve, instead of controlling it from the house tap. Could put it on a timer too.

    My wife thinks you'd need a lot of holes punched in the gutters to keep the plants from getting sogged out.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited January 2012
    yeah I did plan to run it off a garden hose, thanks.

    I will need drain holes but there's also not a lot of soil that you can put in a gutter--just evap alone will account for some.

    That kit is overkill for my plans but it does inspire me to look for simpler ones--thanks!

    also I want a soaker hose, not a drip. The roots of these veggies will be growing laterally, not down, so I think I need to soak the entire soil evenly.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited January 2012
    Always used the terms interchangeably but I guess there is a difference. Never saw a small diameter soaker hose, but they sell 1/4th inch soaker tubing on Amazon. So maybe there's some in your area you can buy by the foot. You probably aren't far from, ahem, hydroponic country. ;)
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I can get 1/4" soaker...just found some! Now I have to figure how to attach that to a garden hose--a need some fitting---I have a punch and 1/4" fittings, but I guess a need some PVC with a garden hose female end. ??

    Not many stoners here in Sonoma...we grow grapes. One has to go up to Mendocino for the herbs.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    We have lots of squill blooming in our yard and the pear tree blossoms are about 1/3rd popped out. Can see the white on them. I guess that's what having temps 40 degrees above normal in March will do.

    Looks like frost Monday night so good chance that'll zap the pears.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited March 2012
    Yep fruit trees sure don't like frost, although if they are next to the house, then the radiant heat might help them. Olive trees are pretty hardy and frost-resistant, but they're a very messy tree to have around.

    My rain gutter veggie garden has been a great success--I'm already eating it! Contrary to some observations by local gardeners, the shallowness of the gutter did not in fact stunt the plants--of course these were not root vegetables. And the height of the gutters, wired to the fence, makes maintenance easy (no bending over), keeps them away from critters, too.

    And replanting for the next rotation is easy, too. Just scoop out the old dirt with a trowel in one long FOOP, then add new soil, fertilize and stick in the starters every 8" or so. Replace the drip line and bingo, you're ready to go in about an hour or less.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    We have a wysteria tree in our front yard and it's in full bloom, looks beautiful.

    The Hyacinths are past peak, same with cherry trees. Dogwoods look good. It's a nice spring if you're not bothered by the pollen.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited March 2012
    That was fast - they looked like they had a long way to go when we were in DC a week ago. We did hit the peak of the cherry blossoms (and peak traffic too - yikes!). Got to see a lot of dogwood, redbud, camellias and all kinds of bulbs and lots of azaleas, including a bank of 30,000 blooming ones at a SC plantation tour. Kind of a bummer that they (and the camellia) don't have any scent to enjoy though.

    Now, in about 6 weeks, I'll get to enjoy Spring all over again here in the UP (where it was ~25 degrees overnight; the pears fortunately look fine, still in bud stage). :)

    Enough stuff is out that people are sniffling though.

    Shifty, my sister is a big gardener. She's got an 8' section of gutter she's going to plant with something. Have to tell her to hang it somewhere and save her back.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,675
    edited March 2012
    Love that blue wysteria tree and bush friends of ours down the road have on an old family homestead. Last year they hung solid blue with blooms, much like the tulip trees have been doing this year.

    Beautiful year.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    When stuff starts growing in the gutters it's time to clean them. ;)
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    edited March 2012
    Our wisterias are just coming into full bloom a bit late. Our peach and plum trees are just starting to bloom. Our Cherry trees are usually first and they are just starting to swell up to bloom. Cold days so far this year. No frost this year at all. Great year for oranges. We have had oranges every morning since December and there are still some left.

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  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Wisteria is beautiful but I'm not planting it because it dies off in winter and goes bare. I've decided on Star Jasmine instead which is evergreen.
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