The Gardening Thread: 2018 season.

[LordFerret]

On 4/19/2017 at 10:37 AM, tater said:

Is there a trick to repotting them?

I think the best way to handle it is as @Just Jim suggests. In the past, all of my orchids which were in pots, were simply put into larger pots - small pot into the larger. No repotting. The roots would over grow and find the anchorage they sought in the larger pot surrounding the smaller. The vast majority of my orchids however were anchored to a branch or piece of bark... they seemed happiest that way. As far as sun and watering; In the case of my orchids, it was 'think rain forest canopy', bright but indirect, and lots of misting in the evening/nights/early morning. My personal favorite was a stunning Phalaenopsis aphrodite, a gift, which I had for many years.

 

On 4/19/2017 at 3:36 PM, tater said:

...

...

I forget the name of these (Buttercups?... likely not), but I saw it all over Stone Mountain in Georgia on my hike up to the top.

 

[tater]

I know them here as desert marigold.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baileya_(plant)

 

[Just Jim]

35 minutes ago, LordFerret said:

In the past, all of my orchids which were in pots, were simply put into larger pots - small pot into the larger. No repotting. The roots would over grow and find the anchorage they sought in the larger pot surrounding the smaller. The vast majority of my orchids however were anchored to a branch or piece of bark... they seemed happiest that way. As far as sun and watering; In the case of my orchids, it was 'think rain forest canopy', bright but indirect, and lots of misting in the evening/nights/early morning. My personal favorite was a stunning Phalaenopsis aphrodite, a gift, which I had for many years.

Yes, 'think rain forest canopy' exactly! I should have mentioned, I'm in central Florida, right on the gulf of Mexico, and it's definitely a tropical environment.

Mine are potted in hanging orchid basket things found at Home Depot or Lowes or stores like that, and filled with bark chips and orchid moss:

But I don't repot mine... in many cases I can't, they've outgrown and engulfed the pot, which is fine actually. This one especially, called a Vanda orchid. Unfortunately it's not going to bloom for another month or so, but it's air roots are spectacular! I would love to get my hands on another big one someday.

Oh, and if anyone is wondering why they're all tied with string, it's to keep the wind from spinning them around and hurting the blossoms.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Just Jim

[LordFerret]

9 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

... tied with string, it's to keep the wind from spinning them around and hurting the blossoms.

Clever! Very good idea!

As for the one with the roots, you could make it happy by just adding on more wood on the bottom (more of those boxes, or some rough hewn wooden staves on the corners?)... it will find them and make use of them.

[Just Jim]

5 minutes ago, LordFerret said:

Clever! Very good idea!

As for the one with the roots, you could make it happy by just adding on more wood on the bottom (more of those boxes, or some rough hewn wooden staves on the corners?)... it will find them and make use of them.

No, it's OK, Vanda's are supposed to hang in the air like that. I've seen some that are much, much longer than mine. It just needs to be watered and misted daily.... Oh, and I have butterfly bushes, and a small jade tree, planted under the orchids, so all the excess water falls onto them and isn't wasted.

 

Edited April 20, 2017 by Just Jim

[WinkAllKerb'']

a thing i'd like to do since a while:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layering#Air_layering
+
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycine_(plant)
(wisteria)

+
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsaï#Iexcrementssuki <= @modteam .... i s h i t s u k i :3 :3 :3 or  https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsaï#Sekijoj.C3.BB eventually might fit the species and  might be interesting // flowers and seasoning

@EBOSHI xDr ishi tsuki .... excrement .... oh my ... xDr

ps @Just Jim using a spray on a regular basis // atmo with this one i guess ? ; nice they all look healthy

Edited April 21, 2017 by WinkAllKerb''
wut

[Just Jim]

3 hours ago, WinkAllKerb'' said:

ps @Just Jim using a spray on a regular basis // atmo with this one i guess ?

Yes, most of the time, depending on the weather. Especially now because it's really dry here. But not so much once the rainy season starts.

Edited April 21, 2017 by Just Jim

[tater]

I could potentially get my wife some of those wooden boxes, the ceilings in my house are wood, so screwing in some hooks is trivial... The only issue here would be the utter lack of humidity. Either the inside door (glass) is closed, and it's in heat/AC and dry, or the screen door is open (spring and fall most of the time), and it's dry because it's New Mexico outside, lol. It links like sphagnum moss is in there.

Sounds like an experiment is in order.

@Just Jim, given your climate, you should plant some bananas... I can't believe how well they grow for me inside, if I lived someplace that didn't drop below zero a few times a year I'd put them outside in heartbeat. The one I transplanted pictured up thread I'm actually planning out putting outside for the summer as an experiment to see how quickly it will grow.

Edited April 21, 2017 by tater

[Just Jim]

1 hour ago, tater said:

 

I could potentially get my wife some of those wooden boxes, the ceilings in my house are wood, so screwing in some hooks is trivial... The only issue here would be the utter lack of humidity. Either the inside door (glass) is closed, and it's in heat/AC and dry, or the screen door is open (spring and fall most of the time), and it's dry because it's New Mexico outside, lol. It links like sphagnum moss is in there.

That should work, but I agree, your main concern will be humidity... you may need to spray them a lot. And yes, the package says "Orchid Moss", but it's sphagnum moss... good eye!

1 hour ago, tater said:

@Just Jim, given your climate, you should plant some bananas... I can't believe how well they grow for me inside, if I lived someplace that didn't drop below zero a few times a year I'd put them outside in heartbeat. The one I transplanted pictured up thread I'm actually planning out putting outside for the summer as an experiment to see how quickly it will grow.

Oh yeah, and any kind of citrus tree. The only problem with having a big banana or orange tree is you can end up with so many you can't eat them all or give them away, and a lot just go bad and get wasted. 

Edited April 21, 2017 by Just Jim

[adsii1970]

1 hour ago, Just Jim said:

Oh yeah, and any kind of citrus tree. The only problem with having a big banana or orange tree is you can end up with so many you can't eat them all or give them away, and a lot just go bad and get wasted. 

[Edited by adsii1970]

I have a miniature lime tree that's about three foot tall. Last year, I purposefully pinched all the lime blossoms off it to encourage growth. This year, because of the weather, I had blooms in early March. This morning I counted 38 limes on it...

 

[Dman979]

1 hour ago, adsii1970 said:

I have a miniature lime tree that's about three foot tall. Last year, I purposefully pinched all the lime blossoms off it to encourage growth. This year, because of the weather, I had blooms in early March. This morning I counted 38 limes on it...

 

When life gives you limes...

[adsii1970]

8 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

When life gives you limes...

Squeeze them into your iced tea!

[tater]

20 hours ago, Dman979 said:

When life gives you limes...

You make a beverage that is inconsistent with forum rules?  

[Dman979]

4 hours ago, tater said:

You make a beverage that is inconsistent with forum rules?  

I see no reason why limeade would be inconsistent with forum rules.

[adsii1970]

4 hours ago, tater said:

You make a beverage that is inconsistent with forum rules?  

 

5 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

I see no reason why limeade would be inconsistent with forum rules.

An iced tea with lime squeezed into it is not a violation of forum rules. It is not an "adult" beverage and therefore, safe to discuss...

[tater]

I meant "you" as in the person with the limes... if it was ME it would be inconsistent, I suppose. Though I also enjoy delicious limeade!

[adsii1970]

3 minutes ago, tater said:

I meant "you" as in the person with the limes... if it was ME it would be inconsistent, I suppose. Though I also enjoy delicious limeade!

No, I do drink those "drinks that would be inconsistent with forum rules" and surprisingly, lime goes good in them, too!

[Vanamonde]

So. 

Gardening. 

[tater]

My kale (growing inside, right now) is big enough to eat... turns out that whichever of us bought the seeds bought a dwarf variety, so that explains why it looks tiny.

I see a micro-greens salad in my future.

[tater]

Was very tender compared to store kale. I think it would do better outside, and with more stress, actually. 

 

[tater]

Some back yard pics:

My basil is not super happy (too sunny/dry), but the flat leaf parsley that seemed to have died last year came back on its own (right):

 

Oregano and thyme always happy (particularly the oregano, that stuff would choke out mint):

 

 

[Beehelp]

I don't have a garden and deny working at my mother's orchard. But I have Basil in a pot and that's my pride! 

[UnusualAttitude]

Wow, time flies. Time for a long overdue update...

Good news, though. This year looks like it's going to be a good one, despite an early heatwave and temperatures well above 35 degrees. I've put in a lot of work just to keep everything properly watered but it's starting to pay off already...

Like the 20 kgs of taters harvested yesterday evening!

Sorting for storage...

...in a cool, dark, but above all dry place. The house where I live used to be bar/restaurant, and the bar is still here with refrigerator cabins underneath it, although the actual refrigerators have been removed. Perfect.

Inevitably, some potatoes were damaged by fork and spade during the harvesting, so these are no good for storage and will go straight to the kitchen to be cut up for tonight's potato salad.

I've also put aside the smaller potatoes and will attempt to seed them later this summer, hopefully for an autumn crop. You gotta love the awesome "free food" aspect of 'taters.

Elsewhere in the garden, my tomato plants are already over a metre high... (peppers and courgettes in the foreground)

...and the first fruit are growing. It is worth noting that the plants that are (by far) the most vigourous and precocious actually sprouted wild at the bottom of my garden from fruit left to rot last year. The plants that I grew from seed in my greenhouse are all less than a foot tall at present. They are comparatively weedy and flowers are only just starting to appear on some of them. That's nature for you...

Also, sweetcorn is doing just fine...

...as are the melons...

And a final gratuitous shot for all you Basil fans, @tater and @Beehelp...

"There's something about this that's so green, it's like how much more green could this be? And the answer is none. None more green."

 

[tater]

My basil and mint look really moth-eaten compared to yours (I realize there must be a term for the proper pest, but that's what they look like). What do you recommend for a safe insecticide, @UnusualAttitude?

On the bright side, we've been eating home-grown (tiny) bananas the last week.

Edited June 21, 2017 by tater

[UnusualAttitude]

9 minutes ago, tater said:

My basil and mint look really moth-eaten compared to yours (I realize there must be a term for the proper pest, but that's what they look like). What do you recommend for a safe insecticide?

That's unusual, because many people consider both basil and mint to be effective insect repellants themselves. Some gardeners even suggest planting basil in between rows of tomato plants to keep away various pests, and in window boxes to keep mosquitoes out of your house.

I must say, your basil looks exactly like my basil does when I don't give it enough water... just sayin'.