Homegrowmen (Farming and Gardening) Thread #50

US Farm Income and Taxes,
http://www.hobbyfarms.com/farm-marketing-and-management/farm-income-taxes-14991.aspx

US Grants and Loans for Small Farms,
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=GRANTS_LOANS
http://afsic.nal.usda.gov/farms-and-community/grants-and-loans-farmers
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/funding.shtml

Managing Risks on Your Small Farm,
http://agr.wa.gov/Marketing/SmallFarm/managerisk.aspx

Chicken info and forum,
http://www.backyardchickens.com

Rabbit guide
http://www.agriculture.gov.tt/publications/manuals/rabbit-production-a-producer-s-manual.html

A public access seedbank for many types of rare or endangered plants; both edible and ornamental,
http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/index.htm

Organic and heirloom selections:
http://sustainableseedco.com/
http://www.seedsofchange.com/
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Potato, Sweet Potato, and Tubers seed bank (free, but requies filling out forms and waiting in line):
http://www.cipotato.org/

Awesome interactive plant/gardening maps for USA, Canada, France, UK, BC, (frost dates, temp zones, etc):
http://www.plantmaps.com/index.php

Sprout seeds and info:
sproutpeople.org

Insect Habitats for attracting polinating bees, predatory/parasitic wasps, hibernating ladybugs, butterflies, etc.
http://www.inspirationgreen.com/insect-habitats.html

Toad and Hedgehog Habitats,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JetkWtw7Jc
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/frogcrafts/a/How_To_Make_A_Toad_Village.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/hedgehog_home/
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/leaflets/L5-Hedgehog-Homes.pdf

Chili Peppers
http://www.fatalii.net/

More on Aquaponics & Aquaculture,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=26xpMCXP9bw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=_WgfaJjvfxA
http://www.appropedia.org/Aquaponics

Sourcing plants from the grocery,
http://www.diyncrafts.com/4732/repurpose/25-foods-can-re-grow-kitchen-scraps

What are some top-tier shrubs?

>>719614
Yew

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>>719614
Japanese Maple

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So I'm taking care of this guy for about two weeks. What kind of plant is it? Any care tips?

>>719650
That's a king palm tree.

>>719651
No it's not.

>>719665
It's a marijuana.

Help, I'm a new gardener. I just bought a huge bag of "flower mulch" and some "universal plant food", mixed it together and replanted my seedlings. That's essentially what you do, right?

>>719732
If you want to garden you have to research how to improve soil for your plants. It's the most important part of gardening. Flower mulch is not a growing medium, mulch is a thing that goes on top of the soil to protect from temperature and weeds, I have no idea what kind of "universal plant food" you got is, but odds are it's shit.

We can offer some advice if you tell us what you're planning on growing and if it's going to be outdoors or in a container.

>>719732

Pretty much, yeah. Remember to water your plants after you replant them.

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Anybody know what is ailing this poor guy?

My best guess is too much water since it has been wet and misty recently. But he already looked to be in strife before that which I thought was because of too much sun/not enough water. So now I am confused.

>>719650
Better pics from the leaves (from above)?
They somewhat look like Pachira aquatica but not sure

>>719618
I have a bunch of Yew in my yard and they're ugly. Their only redeeming factor is that they're evergreen.

>>719803
You should eat the berries

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I bought a small bush of roses in the supermarket, like a massive retard I am.

The packaging said "PARADE long life roses tm, for house and garden".

How do I ensure these fuckers survive?

In particular, when do I repot them?

And should I cut off the forming flowers do give the bush a better chance?

Thanks!

>>719732
Don't fertilize seedlings. You need, "potting soil", not "mulch."

>>719812
Yew berry seeds are toxic.

>>719827
Replant them any time. If you are planting it outside then make sure there's no frost warnings and you harden it off for about a week. There's no need to trim the flowers. You can trim the dead flowers after blooming if you're not saving seeds.

>>719843
False
The seeds are toxic

I want to grow mustard seeds and pepperoncini here in Montana. Can't find any information online about it. Also could I grow potatoes year round in barrels in a heated greenhouse with artificial lighting?

>>719859

Also I want to plant honeysuckles and blackberry bushes. Will they survive here?

>>719859
You want to grow a mustard plant.

>>719650
Looks like a malabar chestnut senpai

>>719623
What varieties are limited in their growth? My parents have a Japanese maple that is about 15-20 feet tall and 25 feet wide.

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Anyone here have experience growing avocados?

Planted this little guy 3-4 months ago and it has been growing really well, but I don't know what special care avocados might need.

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>>719923

>>719861

Fly honeysuckle would probably do pretty good as it's a siberian plant. Those things are hardy as fuck and not picky about soil conditions.

Also, rubus xanthocarpus is a pretty hardy raspberry plant from Scandinavia. Berry yield isn't that hight, though.

>>719923
I couldn't get a single pit to germinate all winter

>>719980
Me either. I think mine had it too cold.

>>719980

>trying to grow a relatively tropical plant in winter.

There is your problem.

Anyone have experience/knowledge of straw bale gardening?

Looking to get into gardening this season and it seems like a really easy intro way to start (as opposed to building raised beds or having to deal with potentially not great soil if just planting right in the ground).

Pros/Cons of straw bale gardening, especially for a beginner, would be appreciated.

>>720079
I grew it in my house and had it by an electric heater for my room

>>720115
I'm not familiar, is that where you soak the straw bale and grow plants out of it?

>>719858
Read it again, Sherlock.

>>720115
It is just another form of container gardening or no-soil gardening.

My raised beds essentially start out as straw/hay layered with stuff that will compost.

>>720157

Did it have light?

Even as a seed this is important.

>>720221
only window light, so not much in November to February since I'm at 49N

Hello /out/

my neighbor up the street kicked the bucket, god rest his soul, and his wife let me buy what I wanted from his shed. I didn't plan on getting into gardening but my town imminent domain-ed my neighbors house two years ago for some electrical tower wires passing over it or something, either way they knocked the house down and I bought the lot for five bucks. Its been growing nothing but grass for the pass two years so I decided to try and grow stuff in it.

Tested my soil with a kit I bought, everything looks good except my soil has no nitrogen. My wife says I should plant beans to help fix that. I took the broadfork to it and was surprised at how good it tore everything up. I was doubly surprised to find a good amount of earthworms hanging out in my soul.

Now a family friend heard about my antics and is telling me I'm going about this all wrong and I need to make raised beds.

I don't pretend to know what I'm doing, I've went through the old thread linked in this one to lurk some knowledge and I'm looking for more views and advice. I live in kansas if any anons happen to live in the same geographic location.

Guide me /out/, I appreciate anyone who takes the time to reply with their opinion.

>>720283
grow mustard over the entire lot one season. At the end of the season churn it into the soil.
Start from scratch next season.

>>720283
In case you don't want to use synthetic fertiliser for whatever reason (NH4NO3, ammonium nitrate, is cheap and ups the nitrogen levels easily), you could harvest stinging nettles around your area and ferment them a couple weeks with water to get a nitrogen-rich solution. Or bring out some well-fermented compost

>>720283
Ignore your retarded friend you don't need boxes and you can fertilize to add some nitrogen if plants need it

Dig it up and plant

>>720286
this
just leaves are high nitrogen content too

>>720286
>>720289
I'm not opposed to fertilizers but I do really like the idea of fermenting my own stuff so I might try that.
>>720285
I think I'll grow some, any specific kind of mustard or am I good just buying a packets of mustard seed?
>>720288
I typically do but he definitely knows a lot more about this than I do. I just figured raised beds were good for old folks and places with really rough soil.

>>720283
What do you want?

A pretty lot with flowers and a bench?
A garden that will feed you cheaper and healthier than the store?
A few herbs and berries but not much work?
A ecological niche for native species to find habitat?
Something else entirely?
Any combination thereof?

>>720283

Your wife is right. Beans will take nitrogen from the air and fix it in the soil. Peas or clover do the same thing if you'd rather grow them. Adding peat/other organic material to the soil will help too since the soil microbes will turn it into nitrogen.

>>720283
If you don't have wood/blocks to make raised beds you can merely heap up rows of soil to make unbordered raised beds.

Soil from an old house site may be contaminated with any number of run off chemicals from the house as well as things destroyed during the demolition. Raised beds are a good solution if you buy/make your own soil for them.

Yard grass clippings are a great way to get lots of nitrogen into the soil fast.

>>720304
a garden that will feed me for sure, though my wife would like herbs as well.
>>720317
Well I just finished throwing some green beans and snow peas down so I'll see if they sprout anything.
>>720321
Thats something I'll have to take into consideration.

This year i'm definitely more concerned about soil preparation for next year than I am with yield so thanks for giving me answers anons.

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>>720333
Start composting. There's many strategies from managed silage to designating a heap. But consider what you put on there. Any plant waste will contain the chemicals used to raise it. Animal droppings are great. But any biomass will do. Put a pumpkin on the compost.

Even if you're not past 50, your back will appreciate raised beds.

The main issue if you don't raise the beds will be drainage. Make sure that works fine even after days of heavy rain before you start on the soil, you might have to put drain pipes under it.

For starters you can simply plant herb pots from the grocery store. They have enough fertilizer to get them through the summer, and something like basil or parsley will come back next year.

Find a selection that will get you through the season and start planning. Some things take several years to carry, like asparagus for instance.

Then talk to neighbors who maintain a garden. They can tell you more about the soil and the climate than we could. Find out if there's a seed bank with local varieties.

If you plant a seed pack of potato then you will get a bag of similar potatoes, all pretty much around the same time. If you plant 5 heirloom varieties you will have something to discover every week, and fried mixed potatoes are just tastier. Same with steamed mixed carrots. And pickled mixed cucumbers.

>>720115
I tried this over the summer and had poor results. The straw bale stayed too moist on the bottom, while the top was dry as bone. Now that it's spring, the bales are toppling over and look messy. The wet straw close to the ground was a breeding ground for slugs too, and they ate most of the side wall plants I tried to grow in the bales.

I've learned a few things from it-- after googling my problem, a few people suggest pulling out straw and stuffing in empty water bottles in the spots with the worst drainage. This helped!

The straw is great as a compost/growing medium though. I have a bale in the shed just for layering in/on my other raised beds.

I can't wait for summer so I can clean up my spring stragglers and make compost out of my crumbling straw beds.

>>720421
Fucking squirrels ruined half my pumpkins last fall

Welp, $230 later, I'm getting 32 c.u. ft of soil mixin's delivered for my raised beds and two bales of straw for some experimental straw 'planters."

Put the seedlings outside in the gentle wind and partly cloudy skies to harden them up a bit.

Too bad this weekend is gonna be cold as butts.

>>719741
Anyone? It is a sargent juniper.

>tfw no garden
;_;

>>719741
It is dead. Pull it up and check to see if it even has roots. Those die a very long time before they turn brown like that.

>>720629
Cheers, I will check it when I get home. Anything I can do if it still has roots?

>>720620
No window either?

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I've been looking for something to pull out smaller weeds with better effort. Has anyone had any experience with these scissor-plier things or better suggestions?

>>720211

Yeah basically. I've read that you need to "condition" the straw bales for 10 days prior to use by watering them every day and adding fertilizer every other day (the water helps push the fertilizer down into the straw bales).

Seems pretty great since the straw bales also act like mini greenhouses (the bacteria causes the inside of the bales to get pretty warm). Apparently you can use the straw bales for 2 seasons before having to get new ones, and then you can just use the straw for compost.

>>720657
What I mean is it may never have had roots. It could just have been a cutting, which will die no matter what you do with that species. I've seen a great many of those in the past. They are part ignorance on the seller's end (thinking all cuttings will root) or simply a scam. The clue is the word "bonsai" on the side. Never buy anything under $500 that says "bonsai" anything on it. Just buy a tree/shrub and start training it.

>>720790
My best advice is to have loose soil to start with. All my gardens have very loose soil. All I do it pick up the weed and shake the soil off it then toss it on the compost pile. I've had luck with a "Wire Weeder" before. Just google. These pull the plant out completely without chopping it up. That helps prevent leaving behind roots/tubers that grow into more plants.

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I have a roughly 4 inch tall glass jar that i thought would make for a neat indoor pot plant. Anyone got any ideas for plants that dont need a lot of sunlight or room to grow? I was thinking of a cactus, but i was hoping for something a little more "lush" i guess
pic related

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Box said 30-40 days sprouting time. This is day 8. Strawberries, by the way.

Are dried oak leaves good to till back into the soil? Growing mostly mediterranean plants (thyme, rosemary, basil, tomatoes).

Is there any plant that can grow in straight up shade like under an oak?

>>720863
Cactus need lots of light so that's a no go.

Your glass has no drainage, so it wouldn't work very well. It's also not very big.

Pothos is a great generic "can deal with almost anything" houseplant. They will grow bigger and hang outside of your jar, which is probably what you don't want.
Philodendron, ZZ Plant, parlor palm, boston fern, gloxinia, peace lily(prefer these honestly), ponytail plalm.. there are quite a few low-light houseplants, but some will grow bigger then others (spider plants reproduce like fucking mad).

So I have a plot of land for growing plants but its under a tree and I might not be able to get a landscaper until the fall. So I'll have to grow whatever I grow on the deck. I don't have money for big clay pots though. What is a cheap way to make large temporary pots that will last the growing season? I'm thinking like newspaper or paper mache or something like that.

>>720929
Chickenwire and newspapers.

>>720932
I'll be doing it on my unused outdoor lounge area which is red brick. What would you reccommend to put on the bottom that is cheap but will keep the water from staining the brick?

>>720932
Also how tall do you recommend? For tomatoes. Herbs.

>>720935
>>720939
Bring a tape measure to a gardening store and find a planter you like. Write down the measurements and copy them to yours.

And use a black plastic garbage bag to line the bottom.

>>720932
Sorry, one more question. What would I use to fasten it. into circles? I found this which seems like a good height and length for a good price. http://www.lowes.com/pd_492405-16418-840222_0__?productId=4780955

>>720941
Thanks. I'll do that. Also good idea with the garbage bag. Just lay it down before putting the soil down or should I try to slide it under the bottom? Sorry if that's obvious. That's the last question I have.

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>>720944

Was trying to help out my dad with his yard because he can never get grass to grow well
Got a cheap soil testing kit and tested several of the barren patches. According to the tests, Potassium levels are high, Phosphorous levels are ok, and Nitrogen levels are fucking nothing

I figure we'd have a much better time getting some nitrogen fixing plants growing out there instead of trying to get the whole yard fertilized, anyone have some recommendations for shit to grow as just ground cover in zone 8a?

>>720944
Lay it in the bottom with a slight incline on each side to keep the water in.

>>720946
Word. Thanks a lot!

>>720946
What gauge is that?

>>720949
Do you have an idea what I can use on the side to help prevent evaporation from the sides?

>>720952
Doesn't matter what gauge as long as it's solid. And more plastic bags.

>>720948
Red/white clover. It's great ground cover, nitrogen fixing, and will help SAVE THE BEES.

>>720954
Sounds good to me
>SAVE THE BEES
Maybe if our goddamn wasps would stop genociding them

>>720283

Do some research into green fertilizers and cover crops. Basically, inoculate a legume with a rhybozomic organism, and either just grow that and churn it into the soil after a season, or grow it under your main crop.

>>720317

Read my post above. The roots need to be inoculated.

How do I into raised bed gardening? Going to start gardening, thinking about going that route

If there a website where I can look up plants and find out what they add/deplete the soil of to figure out what I should grow in that spot next year? Like Squash depletes X so next year grow legumes in that spot.

>>720956
>wasps would stop genociding them
Or hornets! Oh god the hornets!

>>721001
We actually get to miss out on hornets
Because the fucking wasps kill them

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>>720995
I dont know, sounds like a good concept for a gardening website though.
usually just use this picture

>>720888
>Is there any plant that can grow in straight up shade like under an oak?

Ramsons does pretty well in damp, shady conditions. It's sorta like garlic but not really.

Some berries are also very easily adaptable to shady conditions.

>>720929
>What is a cheap way to make large temporary pots that will last the growing season?

Buy those cheap plastic buckets construction workers use to mix cement and stuff. Drill holes in them for water drainage.

Where I'm at it's like 50 cents per bucket depending on the size you buy. Sure they won't last forever but you said temporary, right? Hardware stores might sell them.

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Found this monster today...

>>719827
Plant garlic under the roses! It helps keep away fungus. Just stick individual cloves (4 or 5 circling the plant) an inch under ground.

>>721124
RIP in piece, fishes

>>720929
Upcycle

>>720949
>keep the water in
Not usually what you'd want to do.

>>721124
Are you trying to repel humans and attract scavengers?

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>>721147
My garden is basically a fish graveyard... pic related from October
>>721181
Haha, it is hopefully deep enough. Last fall I laid boards on the mounds to deter the raccoons which worked fine.

>>721192
Doesn't it smell oppressively bad though?

Or is your garden next to a dock and it doesn't matter anyway?

>>719923

Anyone?

>>721226

No clue bro. A friend of mine planted some avocado pits last year but the plants didn't take to the temperate climate.

>>721209
Oh, I don't smell anything once it's underground! But apparently critters can. This guy was pretty fresh anyway, not so smelly (yet)

>>721209
not him but i imagine under that dirt it doesnt smell

Do protein consuming microbes fix nitrogen?

I imagine blended fish remains would make a decent starter for sewage treatment. But there is secondary fermentation and drying/killing necessary before you use sewage sludge as fertilizer. Having that happen right under the plants seems... daring.

How do you make sure something like salmonella doesn't end up on your produce?

>>721298
I dunno, even general recommended duration for composting plant matter on a heap before you can more or less safely re-use it is 2 years, probably more so for animal matter

>>721354
I'm not so worried about lactobacilli, but e. coli I do mind.

NJ here. Second year of my garden.

Is it too late to start seedlings? I bought plants from a farm last year. Less work but more expensive.

>>721375
Not sure. For summer and fall plants raising them from seeds is still an option. If your climate is mild enough for spring planting, that's now. So go buy young plants.

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Hey Homegrowmen, just started a vegetable garden, and planted some fruit trees. My seedlings are looking fucking fantastic. Growing three kinds of tomatoes, two kinds of cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, some cabbage, and shallots in seedling pods, and in the ground I have carrots, multi-coloured heirloom variety, potatoes, and both brown and red onions. Oh and some sunflowers. Going whole-hog on this. And those are just the seeds, bought some established plants too.

Also getting some seeds for African horned melons and an akebia vine to grow along my back fence.

My intent is to grow fruits and veggies I can't really find in stores. Heirloom varieties, and other sorts that have been ignored by supermarkets. Pic related is the species of broccoli I'm growing, Romanesco.

>>721378

Yeah that's probably the better option.

>>721298

It depends on the conditions of the environment you're incubating them in. In most cases you need an anaerobic environment to grow nitrogen fixing bacteria.

I've never cultured wastewater treatment bacteria, but I've gone to local treatment plants to get activated sludge from their reactors.

t.wastewater engineer

>>721192

Are those just fish you find dead on the beach?

>>721494
They drift to the riverbank behind the old industrial park where the waste dump creek merges.

>>721498

Oh. Sweet score bro! Be sure that none of your delicious veg goes to waste!

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An idea for a potato box...

>>721097
Nice. What berries? I wouldn't mind cultivating some just to up the yield since I just got the plot all cleared and tilled and had soil conditioners added in preparation for this season.

Is there a specific kind of berry cultivar because the sam's club near me has like 3 different kind of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.
>>721100
Bisphenol A

>>720949
>>721176
Do you want root rot? Because that's how you get root rot.

>>721553

Elderberries and raspberries (be sure to pick an autumn fruiting cultivar) would be right on the money for shady conditions.

Blackcurrant also seems to do pretty well

>>721397
Sounds like a great start. Good luck.

>plant peas in transparent sprouters
>can clearly see a strong root in the bottom
>no sprouts yet

SPROUT ALREADY FFS REEEE

>>721620
Thanks, just finished planting the last of the fruit trees today. Only issue is with the soil where I planted them it's pretty shitty, hard-packed, and dry. I dug large holes and planted them all with much better soil, I'm just a bit worried about when they start growing their roots into the original soil. Will that improve as I water my plants, with the soil being somewhat revitalized as they get more nourishment, or is that always going to be mediocre land?

I planted a few native trees, Australian here, so I can see them doing well with shitty soil once they get themselves established, but I'm just a bit unsure about my blood orange, olive, and feijoa trees.

>>721617
Growing an elderberry in a pot and am going to be planting it in the ground once it's larger, it's barely taller than a coke can, got any tips to keeping the little thing lively?

>>721691

My elderberry seems happy with moist, nutrient-rich soil that's a little alkaline. If you can add peat to the earth, do it.

I want to grow something strange. An ancient, exotic plant that will make people go "what the hell is that thing?"

What could it be?

>>721750
desert rose
welwitschia

>>721758
>welwitschia
what the fuck

>>720863
Grow some shiitakes

>>721750

Encephalartos horridus

If it doesn't have to be known to be super ancient, then: Christia obcordata, Platycerium spp., Tacca chantrieri, Frithia spp., Fenestraria spp., Homalocladium platycladum, some of the less common Ceropegias, Cissus quadrangularis, Dorstenia spp., I have no idea what you have access to or how much work and money you're willing to put into this so I'm just throwing shit out there.

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Middle finger to mother nature

>primroses have been out since the started of winter and are still out

Literally what

>>721702
I'll be sure to do that. Needed to buy some peat for some of the other plants anyway.

>>721750
Doll's Eyes. Don't eat the berries, they're lethal to people.

Flying Duck Orchids.

>>721993
For protecting your soil microbes from freezing by covering them in fluffy white powder that will simply melt away when it's warmer?

Why?

>>722042

For giving me two weeks of spring and then dumping that on me right when the ground was about to be workable.

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I'm having trouble with my peace lily. It's a potted indoor plant, receives no direct sunlight, temperature is around 25ºC entire year. It got dark tips last year then I watched an youtube video that said it's caused by too much watering. Now I water it only two times a week but the tips are growing even more. Also now even the new leaves get brown and die before maturing. Whats wrong? Pot got too small? Soil lost some mineral? Still too much water?

>>722129
Both too little and too much watering causes that. Also, don't use tap/well water, use distilled drinking water for about a month. Also, if it has been in the same soil and pot for a long time, repot it with new soil, keeping about 25% of the old soil. If you don't want to repot, flush the soil with the distilled drinking water so it removes as much mineral build up at possible.

Does anyone here know anything a bit more in-depth about succulents?

I have a dwarf aloe that I keep indoors(overwinter, outside in summer) that has been slowly losing leaves from the bottom up. They shrivel and dry up. I repotted it thinking it was a fungus, and while there were some dark marks along the meristem they were not soft, there was no bad smell.

I've had this plant for 2 years and it has very seldom lost any bottom leaves until this winter. I sprayed it with neem oil in case of fungus, but I'm really, really upset at the thought of losing this plant.

It's in a grit mix type of soil, as well. I'm at my wit's end without anything to do. I can't find anymore information.

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>>721993
Kek I wish we'd have had any snow like that in the past 3 "winters" at fucking 50°N
Pic related was the whole extent of "snow"fall in this winter (2cm of snow/rain mix that fell one November evening at +1°C and was gone by midnight), other than that just shitty greyness and an extended autumn lasting since October

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>>721494
The little ones came from a friend's gill net, but I found the big one (rockfish, I think) on the beach. My ground is all sand so I try to keep what organic matter I can.

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Has anyone experience with rucula?
Just bought a pack of seeds and after one month they are only 2 cm tall. The packet says 30 days for baby leaves but are these baby supposed to be this baby? They are nowhere near the ones I find on google. Did I fucked up something? I water everyday and they get plenty of light and warm temperature.

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>>722281
Same boat here, I'm thinking my soil needs a good tilling of compost after I pull those failed babies out. I was so excited for fancy salad too, now It'll be too warm here to try again until fall.


On an entirely unrelated note, I have an obscene amount of honeybees n my yard. There must be a beekeeper nearby or something, because my back yard literally hums in the afternoon. I have one of these taking up a huge part of my yard though, and they literally drip with sap and pollen this time of year. My own flowers are benefiting immensely though, I don't have a single unpollinated flower!

>>722281
They should be about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide at most. The older they get the more bitter they become.

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>>719923
watch for mites feed plenty of nitrogen rich compost, they also love water, try not too use fertilizers that are too strong when the plant is young, when its older it can take it. Also make sure that it doesn't get too much sun, depending on your cloud coverage where you live it should be fine outside in a south facing area.

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>>721124
Reminds me of a german "hügelkultur"

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Hey /out/, I've just been given an allotment which I'm really excited about. It's been empty for about a year and is quite badly grown over with grass and weeds. I've started digging it out but should I be flipping the soil over and burying the grass or just getting as much dirt off the roots as possible and chucking the grass itself? I want to avoid the weeds coming back but without losing too much soil in the process.

Any advice in general would be greatly appreciated!

Lads, I've had a lot of problems with seeds lately, they get really leggy and weak for some reason, have been soaking the seeds for about 6 hours and planting them out in vermiculite and Sandy loam.
The germination rate sucks compared to when I was growing them indoor and they get really weak, what do bros?

>>722424
Looks like bad drainage. It's uneven. Has the surface hardened from evaporating standing water?

If you collect the weeds and cut the grass into mats you have a hugelkultur ready to go. Make sure it can't float away in heavy rain. In wet climate don't dig it into the ground but place it on top of the surface level. And dig a drainage ditch.

If you want raised beds just build them on top. Cut the grass and weeds for compost to add to your soil in 2 years.

If you're just digging rows leave the grass intact between. It will not only combat erosion but provide an infrastructure of organisms for your ecology. Dig out weeds one by one, there's special tools. But really a lot of weeds means a healthy meadow that attracts beneficial bugs and would feed rabbits or chickens well.

Build a few bee hotels and a hedgehog wintering box. You don't want to remove habitat without replacing it. You will need those bees. And predators keep the balance so you won't have to worry about slugs.

>>722431
Take them indoors. It's too cold.

>>722434
How do you figure? Temps are still around 20C and we're only in autumn now, plenty of Sun to be had.

>>722443
It's too hot.

>>722431
>>722443
99% f the time it is because of not enough light. What has the weather been like there? Also, 20C air temp is one thing, but what are soil temps like? 20C is a bit lowish. They could easily dampen-off in that temp range. What types of plants are they?

>>722447
20C is 68F

>>722432
>Cut the grass and weeds for compost to add to your soil in 2 years.
Or fourteen days using beed, cola, and ammonia...right? Is that a good idea for making compost guys?

>>722554
It's microbiology. If your microbes eat a pile of cuttings in 2 weeks then they will eat you in week 3.

Any idea how can I remove the salts from my watering water?

Other than distilling it. I don't have the means to fully boil 12 liters of water each week.

>>722588
Collect rainwater instead if you only need relatively little?

>>722588
Reverse osmosis pump?

>>722424

The easy way if you've got some time is to get some cardboard and cover everything, then spread compost on top and let the little fuckers go to work.

>>722588
You don't have to boil water to distill it. A smartly constructed barrel lid will distill a glass to a bucket for you every day just from normal evaporation, depending on your sun and day/ night heat differential.

>>722707
Pics?

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>>722716

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I've wanted to make a little terrarium/landscape and i've been collecting moss and other little things but i've realized that sticking mushrooms to the moss will probably not work. Pic related, it's what i've made so far.

What do mushrooms need to survive and multiply?

What other plants live well along side moss?

>>722795
Most mosses and most mushrooms get along great if you grow the mushroom first in a log.

>>722807
What's the process of mushroom sticking to wood? Can they attach themselves again?

>>722810
No, that's just the fruit. The plant is a fine mycelium that forms a network in the wood itself.

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These threads are my favorite on 4chan. I look forward to growing with you guys all season.

>>722707
>>722734
"Solar still" normally used for survival at sea. Those are really easy to DIY. Just paint everything black and allow the top layer to be clear plastic.

>>722810
>>722795
You have to get a culture or spores of the fungi, inoculate the log and take care of it until it flushes. You can get culture sources from the mushrooms. Just look up the methods needed for that species of fungi. Some don't like logs. You can also buy "mushroom plug spawn" from online. Fungi.com is a good place to start. There's also mushroom info in the torrent links in the OP and second post.

>>722821
>>722832
Thank you guys!

>>722734
You should be able to increase yield by saving daylight heat in rocks and utilizing the greater differential to cold night air. A few degrees do the work, but with 15 or so centigrades differential it will be like when you take a soda bottle out of the fridge. And use a coaster!

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>>722810
This is what a fungus looks like.

The stalk with the parasol containing the spores which you know as mushrooms, that's it's dick.

And don't tell me plants don't have those. It's not a plant.

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>>722855

>>722855
Currently researching how to extract the spores and cultivate them. Tfw none of alfie's mushroom rants struck with me, i should have listened.

>>722879
So if a bear eats my daughter, is the bear then my son?

>>722884
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPG05XaihcA

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>>722886

>>722383

Thanks anon.

Yeah, I had some mites a while ago, now I check it every other day. They just target the young ones so it's easy to keep track of.

>>722884
cut off caps, put them on paper. bam spore print. steam sterilize or pressure cook your growing medium in mason jars. apply spores. wait till white and fluffy.

>>723099
Thats good to hear mites love them for some reason, do you live in an are where there are other avocado trees around?

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>>723211
MORELS DAMNIT

>>723211
Growing store bought shroom ends in spent coffee grounds not good enough for ya anon?

My citrus seedlings are doing great.

However...
There's a mold in 2 of the pots. I cover them for warmth and humidity, this really isn't the climate for them. And within hours there's a mold layer on top of the fresh potting mix. Looks like a spider web. I just burn it away, but I know it must look the same within the soil.

Now is this a normal thing for high octane planting mix? I understand fungi are crucial for plant health, but should they be this aggressive? Will this cease after a few weeks? Or have I got my soil infected with some household mold? I live in the city and the plants sit by the window, picking up anything the wind carries.

I know I could just remove the covers and let the pots become too dry for the mold. But that would also mean exposing the seedlings meant for tropical islands to this unsuited climate before they even have roots.

Any ideas?

>>723265
Depends exclusively on variety of fungi.

>>723303
Too wet. Also, don't fertilize seedlings.

>>723342
So what do you plant them in? Glass wool?

>>723345
Normal soil, not high octane planting mix. Once they have grown to an appreciable size, you can move them in to better soil. There's too much risk of burning the roots when they are seedlings, if you use fertilizer mixed soils or try to fertilize them.

>>723347
It's all I had on the balcony. I put the seedlings in a shot glass sized tissue cup with soil from last year which has been washed by rain in the plant box. It still draws moss like a mother- but it shouldn't be too sharp any longer. Then I planted that in flower mix fresh from the bag. And I water directly to the stem, so it washes away from the plant.

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What does /out/ know about HB-101? I got some free samples in the male and want to know what's what. Apparently its super potent because the vials are miniscule yet meant to be dilutes in 10-20 GALLONS of water.

>>723303
I had my lemon seedlings standing outside when they were small at temps up to 40°C and only 30% humidity (probably even hotter and drier in the specific corner), they didn't mind. Of course needed lots of water during such days

>>723218

nope, but I am trying to grow a second so they can pollinate each other in the far future.

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I'm gonna post some pictures of my indoor setup and see if anyone can provide some input to help out the plants with problems

Have all the plants inside for the time, don't think it's be a good time to move them outside yet since we're still have spontaneous frosts (Zone 8a, but we have plenty of days with 60 degree differences between the low and high)
Got 3 lights going on a 12 hour timer

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>>723478
First one, a Loran Strawberry plant that probably needs to be moved out of its temporary pot
Water it every day, and use some foaming indoor plant food every week or so

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>>723480
Another Loran Strawberry, no idea what the hell is on the leaves but it seems to be doing pretty well

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>>723482
Lemon tree sapling, was just a stick and 2 leaves when I started taking care of it and I think it's in pretty good shape, it just hasn't seemed to be growing much the past few weeks

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>>723483
Jalapeno plant, seems to be doing well and I water it periodically + use a spray bottle with liquid fertilizer concentrate added

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>>723484
Aloe Vera, seems like it just doesn't give a shit and I water it about as often as the Jalapeno and use the liquid fertilizer

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>>723485
Ozark Beauty Strawberry, it's doing really not ok and I'm trying to take care of it like the other strawberries

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>>723487
Another lemon tree sapling, this one had some discoloration on the leaves and it hasn't quite gotten better, and on top of that it lost one of its few leaves the other day

>>723478

Could just be the camera, but that doesn't look like nearly enough light. Also, you need to pop the bottom off the "Self Watering" pots. They'll just keep the soil moist for too long and you'll have root issues.

>>723480
You are over fertilizing. Thats why the edges of the leaves are brown. Also that 'pot' needs drainage holes.

>>723482
The white stuff is mold, they need more air flow/less leaf moisture.

>>723483
>>723484
>>723485
Looks healthy enough.

>>723487
Beyond salvage.

>>723489
You need to water ALL the soil, not just by the stem. The roots will be across the entire pot.


Generally, it looks like you're killing your plants with too much love. Cut back your fertilizing to once a month, MAX. Make sure your soil isn't retaining too much moisture and isn't compact. Lose the glass watering turkey basters. A good rule of thumb: the soil should be as evenly damp as a wrung out sponge.

That being said, moving them outside to a semi-shaded area when you can will help some of your issues out a lot. Bring them in at night as needed. There will be wind and sun heat to evaporate any leaf/soil surface moisture away and you can water the entire surface of the pot, letting excess run off. The wind will also firm up some of the weaker strawberry stems.

Hope this was constructive, keep at it.

>>723494
Alright, thanks for all the help
As for the light, I've got a 60W incandescent grow light and 2 23W fluorescent lights

Whats the best consumable plants I can grow in pots on my windowsills/framed balcony?

>>720888
>tilling leaves back into the soil
>2016
Just leave them on top and make sure they're spread more or less evenly. They'll decompose slowly, won't rob nitrogen, and will probably build organic matter faster, to say nothing of the fact they form a great mulch.

>>720995
It's not a big deal in a normal garden. Just don't grow the same thing in the same spot for more than a year or two in a row, and make sure you have as much variety as possible, and you should be fine. Legumes every other year, or every year rotating through.

>>723556

Depends on how much light you're getting, really.
'Patio-sized'-fruit trees and berry shrubs usually do pretty well on balconies and you can usually grow a variety of herbs on windowsills, like sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil and mint.

>>719608
Anybody got experience with growing seeds in seramis?

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>>723443
Ow wonderful I was about to tell you to plant another one for when it flowers one day, a big happy avocado will give you a lot of fruit, hopefully one day we you can post pictures of it here. good luck with your gardening anon

>>723352
It is straight ammonia or nitrogen or something? lol

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It snowed today, but cleared up into a nice day.

I finally got to fill my raised beds with the bagged soil I bought earlier this week. Kicked my ass mixing all that shit up.

Whoever suggested diapering it around on a tarp, thank you. That was a good idea and worked wonders.

I'm also watering blood meal into those straw bales to use as 'planters'.

>>723968
Yeah, filling beds and gathering materials really is the ass kicking of the season. After planting, it's just pruning and perusing until harvest time.

I planted my peppers a week ago and see no sprouts. I panicked and started more inside, even though the take up to 2 weeks to sprout.

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Check out this small awkward flower that self seeded next to its parent.

They are dianthus. I did wonder what the crosses could look like considering the species differ quite a lot in shape and size in some. Now I know... Not very beautiful.

>>720888
Ferns. Any Forest Fern. They grow great in partial shady areas.

>>724060
I really like the red flowers. Is that the parent plant?

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>>724137
Yeah the red is the parent. Dianthus is really easy to grow from seed and comes in many different varieties. Here are some more of mine.

>>723942
I have no idea at all. And I was wrong. The tiny vials go in 1 gallon.

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Tips for rhubarb?

>>724385
Give it space, and harvest leaves every so often. I've done pretty much nothing for mine and it's been growing for more than 30 years, maybe a little compost around it every spring before it sprouts

>>724385
If planting a bought root cutting, wait one year for plant to establish before harvesting.

>>724385
Plant enough so that when you harvest you'll only take a few stems from each plant instead of cutting everything off.

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My shiitake logs have been flushing the past couple days. This is what they look like right now. The cracking on the tops of the mushrooms indicates they were too dry for a short period. I've been watering them and it has been raining, but I really need to put some plastic hoops over them to help maintain the humidity to keep them from drying out.

These logs are so old they feel like I could easily crush them with my hands. Time for new logs.

I have only a small windowsill on which to grow although I fit a lot on and ktell;p a diversity for interests sake. I humidify and water but have never bothered with nutrition.
Mimosa
Cacti
Coffee plant
Wormwood
Anthrium
Oak bonsai
Divanorium
Eucalyptus
Sage

What I'm missing are some flowers, preferably with some longevity.
Suggestions?
Also suggestions generally on other plants that can be kept in small space?

Tl;Dr: growing with limited space, windowsill gardening?

Guys, I have a soil compactation issue on a potted lemon tree. What are some ways to fix it without stressing it too much?

>>724579
Get a few live earthworms. They're sold as tackle.

I have a stupid question. After removing a plant from a pot for transplant you usually end with this root-and-soil on a stick kind of thing.

Is it dunking the roots and shaking it a bit around in a barrel of water to remove the previous soil a bad idea?

>>724584
What are you removing the soil for? I used the described method when I transplanted seedlings into my aquaponics system. Apart from that I don't see why you'd remove the soil. I would try to disturb the roots as little as possible.

>>724533
I'm planning on sticking a couple logs for mushrooms in my back yard here in maine this spring. Do you have any info that could help me?

>>724588

It's from a really old pot, and it's pretty compacted.

>>724584

It depends on the plant. If it's a tree (not a palm), shaking the substrate off and cutting off old damaged roots is possibly a great idea. Doing that to my potted trees is part of their regular maintenance every two years or so and it always gives them a boost.

If it's a herbaceous plant, however, it's probably going to be set back a bit but if the soil's really that compacted, I say go for it. But, now, if it's a plant that's known to like a more cramped container and despise disturbance of its roots, prepare to see it do the opposite of thriving for a while.

>>724598
I would reduce the drainage of the pot and soak the soil in water for a bit before removing, then drain the water. It'll make it MUCH easier to remove the soil in the bucket. It'll probably remedy the compaction problem alone, though. You could also use a coat hanger and stab it into the soil a few times with the water to help it penetrate the compacted areas.

>>723485
Aloes don't like a lot of water make sure the soil is 100% dry before watering again

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Would a toffifee tray work as a seed tray or is it too small? I'm all out of shit to plant my seeds in.

>>724740
yeah just poke holes in the bottom for drainage. Toothpicks maybe?

>>724740

looks pretty small desu sempai. While it would certainly work to raise some seedlings you'd risk damaging your babbies trying to replant them from that tiny container.

Grr the weather here in the UK's done its best to destroy my peas. I've put some poly over them for the time being to protect from the wind - their little feelers are starting to take hole of their stakes but not quite enough yet. The radishes remain resolute and unabashed by Hurricane Knobhead.

Had a friend tell me his small plastic greenhouse even managed to migrate to next door's garden, presumably wrecking the pots that lay inside.

Anyone else in the UK been at all dicked about by the weather this weekend?

>>724740
Too small, not enough soil to hold moisture for very long.

>>724590
Keep them in the shade/tree dappled sunlight. Place them somewhere you can see them once a day as you walk by. Then you'll never forget them. A polytunnel setup is good to help hold moisture, but if it is in the sun it will cook them. High winds and dry days will halt mushroom growth instantly, so a polytunnel or other humidity tent is needed. Normally, in the 50F weather of spring and fall you can get flushes after a good rain with some cloudy days for the rest of the week. It is intermittent in most places so a humidity tent of some kind and dunking the logs in a trash can of water for 12 hours may be needed.

Google up info about it.

>>724552
>What I'm missing are some flowers, preferably with some longevity.

African violets (Saintpaulias)
Tropical hibiscus [Hibiscus rosa-sinensis] (once established, it can drop all its leaves if you move it across the room where the temps change a good bit.)
Oxalis triangularis
Anthurium
Streptocarpus
Porphyrocoma pholiana

Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea muscipula)
Sundew (Drosera derbyensis pictured)
Tropical pitcher plants (Nepenthes)

>>724584
>>724579
>>724598
I agree with using water soaking to help loosen the soil.

While your plant isn't a bonsai, some methods of bonsai care can be used. Essentially, you use a rake like tool on the root ball to pull apart the roots and untangle them. You can replace 90% of the soil, but try to keep at least 10% to mix in with the new soil (unless the old soil had some disease-causing pathogens.) You can be a good bit rough, just don't snap off everything. The tree will recover and with new loose soil it will do better than ever. Repeat this once a year to prevent the compaction problem and have an easier time.

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>>724976
Even here in the somewhat wind-sheltered German Upper Rhine it's been stormy as fuck the last 2 days. I guess the tomato seedlings which I had left outside are done for now

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>>724584
>>724588
>>724598
>>724606
>>724612

>planting plants with gfs roommate.
>she removes the root bound plants from their six-pack nursery tray
>she squeeses the roots and soil back and forth to 'loosen up the roots'
>mfw i can hear the roots snapping and popping in the soil

all her plants died after a week. she forgot to keep watering them.

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does this look correct?
plant seem to be growing a bit thin, what can i do to remedy this now.

>>725156

What kind of light is that?

It should be as close as possible without burning the plants. An IR temp gun is really great for checking temps under grow lights.

>>725159
if i put it closer then the plants closest/furthest away start bending towards the light

>>725162

I'm still curious about what kind of light it is. It looks pink like an LED panel, but fluorescent tubes?

You should do around 6500k color for seedlings, very bright, not too hot. Add more lights if you've got issues with bending, or at least rotate the plants. An oscillating fan is awesome bleeding off excessive temps, too much surface humidity and providing some mechanical stimulation to the plant stems.

>>725167
>pink like an LED panel, but fluorescent tubes?
exactly what it is, dont know the colour as i wasnt the one who bought it (dad tried to grow some tomatoes indoors last year and then i took over by making some raised beds)

will look into the fan/another row of lights

>>725169

Ok, thanks. Yeah, I'd lower the lights, add a fan (lowest setting, oscillating), and get a long blue fluorescent or two or three or four or five.

What you're doing doesn't look awful at all, though. Good luck with it!

>>725169
>pink like an LED panel, but fluorescent tubes?
>exactly what it is
So left or right?
- Yes!

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>>725174
it is 2 pink flurescent tubes

>>725173
ok, i need one more rack of 2 lights and then grab bulbs.

any suggestions on fans, or just check out rona/home depot or smthn?

last year early in the season

>>725110
>she forgot to keep watering them
Well that would kill them regardless right?

>>725185
>any suggestions on fans, or just check out rona/home depot or smthn?

Anything that will start up when an outlet timer turns on. (Analog push button type fans.) It turns out that's something of a tall order these days and I've had better luck getting that at the local hardware store. You might not use timers, but you might someday? It's nice when the fan actually turns on when the timer clicks on.

I also wanted a tower fan for my grow and it was difficult at the time to find one online that would turn on when the timer turned on. Here is one, but be aware it's not amazing.
http://www.amazon.com/Holmes-HTF3110A-WM-31-Inch-Oscillating-Tower/dp/B004R9X6VU

>last year early in the season

Nice.

>Want to grow avocados

>Live in midwest

suffering anons.

>>725156
Tape some aluminum foil to all sides to act as reflectors. Basically, box in the plants with reflectors. That is what I did and it really helped. Leave holes to vent heat.

I have 3 squares left in my 16sq ft vegetable garden. What should I grow? No tomatoes though, I've never been able to get them to grow in my beds and I give up on them.

I already have
kale
lettuce - multiple varieties
carrot
onion - multiple varieties
broccoli
green bean
cucumber

>>725326

If you're doing carrots you might as well do radishes too. You can plant them in the same rows and harvest the radishes before the carrots crowd them. Good space saver since you're in tight quarters. Beets might be a good addition too since they're companions with the kale, broccoli, and onions. Maybe a couple stalks of corn to give the beans something to climb, though corn is a bit of a space eater.

>>724976

Dutchfag here. The storm rekt my strawberries (hanging setup didn't agree with the strong winds) but otherwise I'm good. UK got it worse than us, though.

>>725326
peas mah boi

>>725326

potatoes!

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Shears or knives for trimming plants?

>>725487
Depends on the plant and type of cut needed.

>>725487
Fingernails

Do you soak your seeds before planting, /out/?

>>725877

Depends, but usually I just plant, water well and cover with plastic wrap to keep them moist. Always seemed to work well for me.

>>725877
1 soak (2-8 hours)
2 keep in glass and wash twice daily until seedling (1-6 weeks)
3 plant in neutral soil or substrate, small pot (tiny)
4 plant in fertilized soil

Plants differ wildly. My avocado has been half-soaking for 2 months now without effect. Guess it's dead.

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Brown thumb from Puerto Rico here, lovely zone 12b. This is just my second time attempting to raise some plants from seedlings. Hopefully these survive.
These are cherry tomato seedlings that began sprouting just last week, and appear to be healthy, surprisingly. Leaning a bit too much for my liking, but this is all I can do for now while I get them a proper table or something to put them upon. Using a potting soil that apparently doesn't exist on google, and filtered water. I believe I'm going to have to thin them when their first set of true leaves emerges...?
The three middle rows are two rows of black seeded simpson lettuce (peer pressure) and one of recáo/culantro. I haven't ever tried to grow those (my first attempt was also cherry tomatoes) so I'll just leave those there for now.
Would love any type of general advice to keep these little things going.

>>726203

4a here. I did one cherry tomato plant in a decent sized container (12 in or so) last year. You'll probably have to thin them unless you have a lot of space/containers. Jealous that you get to start them from seeds though, I don't think the growing season is long enough here.

Anyways I just put a couple onions and a horseradish in the ground today since the ground was semi-workable and it won't be workable for awhile after we get more snow and freezing temperatures this week. Also been munching on the pea sprouts pictured here >>721993
I'm going to miss challenging our late winters when I move next year.

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What's those designations you keep using?

Dfa here.

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>>726255
Nice! Yeah, I have absolutely no idea what to do with 33ish plants now, and maybe after thinning and sorting out space. I wonder if I can just gift some of them to relatives so I don't feel too bad.

>>726302
Looks like I land on Af.

Pic is my first attempt at plants, a month ago, when I had embarrassingly little knowledge of them. Neglected while stressing over real life issues. rip

>>726302
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones

>>726302
>same designation for Monticello as for Miami.

lmao, what is this load of shit?

>>726382
It's climate zones, not lowest annual average temperature.

>>726370
What is it?

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Got some sort of cactus here (anyone can classify species?) that's been doing pic related.
How do I go about separating it to make a clone one out of it? It has no roots yet as you can see. Should I cut it off the mother plant first and then place it on some soil? Or leave connected and wait for roots to show up?

>>726564
After some googling in the meantime, found out it seems to not be a true cactus but rather one of those
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haworthia
and probably this one
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haworthia_attenuata

>>726564
I have no idea so I'll say probably peyote.

And no, captcha, I don't know your cacti either.

>>726564
Can't say I've seen that before. My GF grows Haworthias, and she's had babies grow in the soil next to it, without the little umbilical cord thing visible (maybe there's one under the soil). I showed her the picture and she's not seen anything like it, pretty cool!

>>726582
>>726608
After reading some more, it says that such offshoots without roots are supposed to be cut and then left to dry for a few days.
But I wonder where exactly to cut, simply sever the "cable" coming from the mother plant close to the base of the offshoot? Or remove it completely and also cut away some (millimetres) of the base?

>>726564

Whenever I've done that with plants that are on runners I've cut it completely off the parent and left maybe a quarter of an inch on the baby. Then leave it on a sunny window sill or placed on top of the soil for another succulent. I have an aloe plant that I use as a nursery for that kinda thing. It's got 4-5 jade leaves that are taking root. Its almost best just to ignore them.

>>726629
Oh yeah jade, got one too in a pot that will sometimes drop a leaf (either just like that or when you touched it while walking by/moving it etc), and when forgot to clean it off will root itself easily

I guess I'll just clip it off then close to base, let dry a little and put on some soil

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Any advice on how to treat that?...mine doesn´t feel too good

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Apparently there's some life left in my Pachira aquatica I radically cut back about 3 weeks ago

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back again w/ a bit diff setup

still figuring out how i want to setup the second lamp.
what setting should the fan be on (high/low?) it does swivel which is good

>>727004

Why do you have a fan?

>>727004
Lowest setting. It should be further away if it is too strong being that close.

>>727078
It strengthens the plants from the gently movement the air gives them. It also helps even temperatures out. However, it does mean the soil will dry out faster. There's a balance that needs to be maintained.

>>727078
>>727098
ok, how do i know if too strong?

>>727102

the plants die

>>727103
alright i guess good so far then!

>>727004
>back again w/ a bit diff setup
>still figuring out how i want to setup the second lamp.
>what setting should the fan be on (high/low?) it does swivel which is good

The fan just needs to be running on the lowest settings for all the benefits (unless it's very far away, which yours isn't.)

>>727109
ok sounds good

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>>726524
They are also cherry tomato!

Posting from phone, so here's this from 5 days ago. I really need a table or something.

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Just had some 2 week old fenugreek.

What flavor of plant baby do you like?

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My peas are dying for some reason (I believe it's a soil problem) and I won't be able to harvest them. Can I use the leaves and stems in a soup like collard greens? Are they toxic? They will just die anyway.

>>727289
They are edible and some people grow them exclusively for their tender shoots and leaves. Any part of the plant that you find palatable can be eaten. Older parts will be tougher, stringier, and/or more bitter. Younger parts are usually choice. Immature pea pods are great.

>>727179
Are you just sprouting them in water? For some reason my beans rotten before sprouting. Should I sterilize them in boiling water first?

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Today I found out that one of the growing points of my S. Flava was dead due to fungicl attack. I removed the dead part and treated the rest of the plant (which seems healthy) with fungicide. Should I remove all the brown dead rizome or is that enough? It very hard to get out and I don't want to hurt the healthy parts.

>>727508
It looks like the fungi is only eating the dead stuff. Only if it attacks the living tissues would there be a problem. Most plants have their own anti-fungal chemicals in their living tissues.

>>727514
Well this part was alive at least a week ago...
For a plant that lives near swamps and soggy areas sarracenia are very sensitive to fungi.

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Haven't had a garden in forever and going for it this year.

Hey /out/, first time posting here. My grandmother's house always had a nice front garden, but in recent years it's become nothing but patches of dirt, weeds, and those weird looking onion things. Can I get some basic advice on how to start a garden from scratch for a complete beginner? How to fertilize the soil so it's not hard and full of weeds, what kind of grass seeds to put down, what are some low maintenance reoccurring flowers? Stuff like that!

I'm on a pretty fixed budget, but I do wanna fix things up right. That's why I'm coming here, and not just buying sod and potted plants from the supermarket. Any advice would be appreciated!

>>727624
Oh! I forgot to mention, I live in NY, so I'm looking for plants that can survive a winter and grow back.

>>727624
>>727627
Flower recommendations:

Azalea
Iris
Tulip
Hyacinth
Daffodil
Lily
Gladiola
Hosta
Fern (no flowers)
Hibiscus
Rose-of-Sharon

That's a start at least. As for the yard. Just use a standard yard fertilizer you spray on with a garden hose/sprinkler. Don't worry about the weeds too much, lots of grass seed and regular mowing will keep them in check. I eat the weeds so I let my lawn over grow for a while, harvest then mow. Only when it is overgrown do I really notice there's tons of non-grass type plants. A lawn full of flowers is also nice to look at. Mostly, it is companies that want you to buy their fancy expensive repeat-use anti-weed products.

As for what type of grass, that depends on a few factors so read up:

http://www.lowes.com/projects/lawn-and-garden/seed-your-lawn/project

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>>724533
Update.

The weather here is turning dry and windy, which isn't normal for this area. Normally, there's nothing but rain for weeks.

I had to move the shiitake logs into a storage shed that doesn't have a floor. Only 4 of the 8 logs are flushing, the rest are just too small and old now to produce anything useful. Notice how the caps of the mushrooms are broken up. That is a sign they were getting dried out then started growing again. They doubled in size since I put them indoors yesterday. Here they will be cool and moist without any wind.

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What kind of potatoes do you grow?

These are Yukon gold potatoes from last season. I dug them up 2 days ago. They'd been keep in the ground all winter with a layer of hay over them. I also have purple potatoes that I'm hoping the moles haven't found.

>>727476
Soak for 6 hours
Wash twice daily for week/s
Enjoy

If yours rot then they either don't get washed enough, or they don't dry enough in between.

>>727724
You can also construct a sand box for your roots. Keep it in a cool place and keep the sand warm, and it will preserve your carrots and potatoes all year.

>>727750
>warm
I mean wet. ffs

This isn't strictly gardening but it has to do with my yard, so I will ask because I don't know where else to ask besides /an/.

In a yard near my house there's an anthill near the road, and I'd like to save it if possible. When people back out of their driveway they just run over it and don't give a shit. The ants will just get right to fixing it the best they can, but they just have it run over again.

Is there a way I can move the colony safely to my yard? I know it's probably stupid to everyone else, but I think ants are pretty neat and I have two hills in my yard that I can't bring myself to destroy. They're not doing me any harm, so I just leave them alone and let them go on with their lives.

I thought about just getting a shovel and digging up a good amount, but I don't want to separate any ants from the colony because I wouldn't want to be a foraging ant and go back and be like "hey wait a minute what's going on here this isn't right."

Any suggestions?

>>727750
True, but I'd rather only dig them up once. The only location I can keep stuff is outside. I heat with wood and indoors is 80+ in winter.

>>727843
>Is there a way I can move the colony safely to my yard?

Not unless you have a week to excavate them gently. If you accidentally kill the queen there's a chance there's nothing else ready to make the change into a queen for a while and the hill will be predated by another colony and destroyed. Moving a colony properly is really tricky work.

>>727855

Damn. Well, if it's dangerous like that I should just leave it alone. I'm sure the surface damage is annoying to them, but it's way better than being taken over or something.

I just feel a little bad each time I take my dog for a walk and see their hard work for naught.

>>727863
If it is on soil and not directly on a road or driveway surface then put a fence around it with some reflectors for people to see.

>but it's way better than being taken over or something.

Ant life is amazingly hostile. Some of the largest wars on earth are being waged by them this very moment. One war is between 1 supercolony against another. There's even a massive front line that is spread across a few miles in the USA.

>in 2004 scientists began to map out the boundaries of the different supercolonies that clashed in San Diego. On the border of the Very Large Colony and the Lake Hodges Colony thirty million ants die each year on a battlefront that covers miles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_ant#Global_.22mega-colony.22

http://www.radiolab.org/story/226523-ants/

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>>727871

>>727871
>>727875

I don't think they'd care about the reflectors, honestly.

I think ants are pretty fascinating. I left a sort of going strawberry on top of the biggest ant hill in my yard. Hopefully they'll like it. They entertain me enough, I figured I could give them a little something.

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>>727855

/an/s resident ant hobbyist here.

>move
no
>dig
no

My opinion, just let them be. They're a hardy kind of animal and bounce back from just about anything at all, even cars.

If you just gotta do something to make yourself feel better, just put pavers over the top of them. Get some wide flat stepping stones to cover up the part of the hill that is in your driveway. They will dig up in a new location that isn't covered.

If anybody asks why you're putting pavers randomly in your driveway, say you're thinking about doing the whole driveway like that or that people are driving in too fast and its a "speed bump."

Or just tell them you're personifying ants, nbd.

What kind of ants are they anyway?

Pictured: one of my colonies.

>>727895

They're not in my driveway. I can get a picture tomorrow and post it here and maybe you can identify them? I just think they're regular black ants.

Oh, and since you're the ant fellow, is it bad to kind of push in the hill once in a while? I sometimes nudge it with my shoe and I feel like I'm giving the ants a drill to test their readiness and everything. Is this traumatizing them or doing anything bad to them? Looking at it now I feel like I'm being a little hypocritical.

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>>727901

You seemed a little hypocritical when you suggested digging them up so they wouldn't be disturbed :^)

That being said, you can fuck with them a lot and they'll be fine. A nudge now and then is fine. If you REALLY want a show, go to a nice pet store and buy a dozen pinhead/small crickets or a fruit fly culture. Drum up the ants a little with your toe and then pour on the crickets/fruit flies. It's neat to watch them all tackle a food item.

>>727922

Well, I was planning to dig them up with good intentions, you know. I don't think I could do the letting them attack thing. I'm not a big fan of even hurting small insects if I can help it.

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>>727942
Plant some stuff that aphids like around the ant hill. You may trigger them to farm the aphids.

>>727708
This is exactly what I needed! Thanks a lot anon, I appreciate it!

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What method would you guys use to trellis indeterminate tomatoes in my garden area? Pic related.

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>>728213
Not sure if it's visible, but there's cables still on the clothes line.

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>>728213
>>728214
Professionally, I used metal hangers (yellow) with plastic twine (white), and plastic tomato clips (orange squares) to hold up indeterminate tomato vines. As the vine grows longer/taller, you unwind some twine with the hanger and move the top of the plant both down and slide it to one side. The upper 5 feet of the plant always stays off the ground. Eventually, the plant gets so long that its vine rests on the ground. The leaves and old fruitless trusses on that section are removed (they are usually dying leaves by that time.) In a greenhouse setting these vines can last a 2-3 years and be 50 to 75 feet long. They are trimmed of all suckers too and only allowed to grow from the top. Their immature fruit are trimmed to only allow 4 tomatoes per truss. However, in a home gardening setup with a limited growing season, I don't recommend trimming the immature fruit off the trusses.

>>727565
I haven't even started any indoor seed this year, but I have stuff planted in the garden. Just waiting for the ground to warm and things to begin.

I know established asparagus will push up through just about anything over them, but how well to seedling asparagus push up through stuff? I have living mulch made of chickweed it has to grow through. Chickweed is one of the first extremely early plants to grow when there's still snow on the ground which makes it an awesome edible ground cover to prevent early weeds in the garden.

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>>728229
>Chickweed
Oh don't remind me, shit overgrew everything over the winter (the barren tomato beds from previous year, the winter onions...) and never really stopped at any point because it was so mild