Home Growmen #78 Using Bodys of Water to Your Favor

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here's the template for next time

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>>944714

tfw in university over 300 miles away from my orchard

>>944669
Whats your opinion of breeding oxen for draft power over Clydesdale horses?

Also whats the best tasting pig breed with the largest litters? Large whites?

>tfw your reaper isn't fecundating

screeeeeeeeeeeee

>>945056
http://heritagefoodsusa.com/blog/heritage-breed-tasting-chart/

>draft oxen

Don't. Stick to horses. You don't want that headache.

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I have a drainage ditch running through my property and it is dirty as heck, has a lot of what seems to be rust in the water. If I dug a wide shallow pond towards the head of my property and planted some native grasses like cattails or bulrushes in there would it help clean it up? I ask because I was thinking about trying a farm system like the Aztecs (pic related) and I would imagine it'd be better if the water was cleaned up some because I would eventually want to try and raise native fish to the water system like bullheads. crappies and minnows. Maybe some sucker fish as well. All help is appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help.

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>>945199
What I am starting with.

>>945199
yes

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>>945199
of course, remember that lake texcoco was pretty swampish so the water did not need to be that clean and clear, that being said with fish in there you should be able to replicate the same system they had minus the human sacrifice

>>945199
>I have a drainage ditch running through my property and it is dirty as heck, has a lot of what seems to be rust in the water.
What do you mean with dirty?
Just muddy, or fecals and chemicals?
Where does it come from? Where is the water from?
Cleaning running water is hard to to.
You could try what would essentially amount to bank filtration, by digging your "pond" at some distance away from your ditch, and having the water seep to it through the soil between. But depending on the ditch, you probably have to either dredg its clogging layer, or remove it's concrete lining, the latter being not adviceable.

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>>945307
I am going on a fishing trip until Thursday, I will take pictures of the water then.
The ditch starts 3 or 4 miles north in a small series of one or two swamps.

>>945200
I forgot to put a compass, up is north, down is south, right is east and left is west on this picture.
Where I wanted to put the first one was where the ditch splits west of the pond because I would then have two sides of it already dug out and then the next one would have two sides and then two sides and so on up to the property line. It is also some lowland in probably a 1/5 of the property if not a little bit more. We have a bridge at the south end of the property crossing the ditch and every few years a beaver comes and plugs it up and when it does the water reaches to about the pond. I wanted to try and dam the pond up some to make the water around my beds deeper so I don't have to dig as deep but either way I'll have to do some digging. The reason I am worried about it being so deep is that I want the fish to survive in the winter. WAYYYY down the road I imagine I could get a windmill to help keep the water open by pumping water around the water in the non flowing areas.

>>945404
>The ditch starts 3 or 4 miles north in a small series of one or two swamps.
So it's probably clean water (in the ecological/toxicological sense).
It it looks rusty and is downstream of swamps, it might be humic acid if I remember correclty (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humic_acid)

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>Parsley finally sprouted

>>945070
I'm familiar with horses, but not with working with oxen. I'm just curious, what is so much worse with them than horses?

>>945485
http://www.draftanimalpower.org/forums/topic/oxen-vs-horses/

I was told a few things about oxen before I started:

They are weaker
They are slower
They are stupid
They are dangerous
You can’t ride them
They have to be worked in pairs, and will only work with their mate

All of which has turned out to be complete….well, you can imagine

I think a LOT of the misconceptions come from the past, when nobody cared how they were trained or harnessed, when they were smaller and fed poorly (out of necessity). They were compared with horses which were larger, harnessed well, fed well and trained sympathetically. Those that took the time to harness and train oxen right seem to have been rewarded, but these accounts seem to be largely ignored by a public in love with the horse.

Don’t know where the needing two people comes from – I work all mine alone?

So far my oxen have turned out to be as strong and fast as any horse I’ve had contact with (and I used to be very horsey, worked with them, ridden since I was a kid etc). They also learn faster, are far more sensible, more sure-footed, agile/nimble/flexible, and don’t let their fear dominate their lives as much and seem to suffer far, far less from lameness, colic etc. Mine are all trained singly, and harnessed with collars or breast pads instead of being yoked to a mate with a big piece of wood. I think this allows them to move freely, and they are faster. Could you jog any distance (comfortably) with a big chunk of wood strapped between you and another jogger?

But, if you LIKE horses, definately work with them. You’ll only get results with cattle if you like them! In comparison I find horses faffy to work with, stupid and ugly, with long naggy faces, knobbly knees and big clompy hooves. Don’t even like the smell. Used to love them, but since I discovered oxen I’ve completely changed! There’s a few exceptions, but I doubt I’ll ever own a horse. Plenty of horsepeople feel the same about cows!

>>945493
Horses are for LARPing autists

>>945500
Most LARPers don't use horses. Horses cost a lot to maintain and require a particular mindset that most LARPers don't have in any manner. I'm not sure about autists though. I've never known any personally.

>>945493
Most of the cows that I've been around were being raised for beef, and where I am, that means a lot of free ranging, so they might as well be feral. They do get friendly with feed trucks during dry years, but other than that, they act more like wild animals than they do domesticated ones.

I do have a lot of experience with horses, and have found that different breeds can have very different personalities. The smartest horse I've ever been around rolled a buddy's English Mastiff once because it was harassing him. Then he stood there, pawing at the dog until the dog got on his back in submission, and the horse then left him alone. It was a clear case of understanding that he was teaching the dog a lesson, not trying to kill it. Most horses would either run, or continue after the dog. I've also been around draft horses that are just fine in the middle of a bunch of hot air balloons, and even sitting through a full blown fireworks display. Then again, I've been around horses who will bolt into traffic because they see a dropoff.

>>945500
You spelled artistic wrong. You probably see that word a lot on any medical document regarding yourself, so I get your confusion.

>>945503
IIRC, there are programs for literal autists that use horses for therapy.

>>945504
The best horses are mixed breeds, just like dogs. There are too many extremes in pure breeds. Be those extremes be physical or mental. Regardless, the methods used to train the animal can be the largest impact. I've seen a dainty women train and rehabilitate a breeding stallion that had killed 2 people in its life time, ride it around bareback without problems. But, it'd still try to kill anyone else trying to get near it.

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>>945506
Therapy for what? Therapy for being awesome?

>>945510
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equine-assisted_therapy

>>945509
A huge issue with pure breeds is line breeding. Anybody on here who saves seeds from species that aren't radical inbreeders and haven't had the harmful recessive alleles bred out of them understands that inbreeding is bad, and that is exactly what line breeding is. Another issue with pure breeds is when they are bred for one specific trait to the exclusion of all else. If you feel the legs on an Arab that was bred for work and/or racing, and then compare to an Arab that was bred for show, you will swear that the working Arab has bones that the show Arab does not. This is because a lot of show Arabs were bred to be as dainty as possible, and thus, are useless outside of a show arena.

I really should have labeled my peppers

>>945514
Horses serve a bygone purpose. Euthanize the rest and use their stalls for tractors.

What are some fecundating tips? Been tapping flowers, using fans and shaking the plants but my hotter varieties don't want to fecundate.

>>945695
Use an electric toothbrush
Or vibrator

>>945695

What plants? The self fertile ones I just flick the flowers or even just leave them alone and let the breeze do the job. Temperature plays a roll if you're hitting extremes on either side.

>>945718
reaper and habanero specifically

>>945719

Hmmm.... yeah I don't have trouble with those. Are they indoors? You may want to up the lighting by a whole lot and they like it warmer around 80F.

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>>945722
I found one pepper just now, but only one one of the three habanero and none on the reaper still.

>>945687
Horse ownership has been on the rise since the 1950s. I see people using horses at least once a week and I don't even live near Amish. I've actually considered building a small barn and renting it out to a horse owner just to get access to the manure for my garden.

>>945774
A lot of stables will give it to you if you just offer to clean their stalls. Otherwise, they have to pay to have it hauled off. I used manure as mulch for my 5000 sq-ft garden this fall. I probably put 15 cu-yds on it. I can't wait to see what the worms turn that soil into this spring.

>>945894
Must be nice. Stables here charge you for taking it. It is black gold.

>>945695
>hotter varieties
so I guess chilies?

What I did with mine:
I used a toothpick and fucked around inside the flowers, going from flower to flower every 2nd day or so, like a human bumblebee.
That way I fucked each flower multiple times, so that I always got it at it's prime time.
Had about 80% success with that, but it was some funky birds eye chily that was quite fertile anyways.

Two questions:

1. I found spider mites on a single strawberry plant. There are no other plants nearby. The infestation was localized to a single leaf - I could not see any webs or mites on the other leaves. I snipped the infested leaf off, although I know for a fact that it has had mites since a long time back. What are the chances that other leaves on the plant have mites? It if matters, the infested leaf and the other leaves are on opposite sides of the crown.

2. What are some effective ways to deal with fungus gnats feeding on peppers? I read elsewhere that neem oil, sand covering and yellow sticky traps are commonly used. Does anyone have experience trying these techniques?

Right now, I have covered the soil with plastic because I thought it would prevent the adults laying eggs. Will this disrupt the lifecycle, or will the gnat larvae continue it beneath the plastic?

>>946013
Let the soil dry out more than normal, just until the plant leaves start to droop just a bit. Use a water permeable barrier instead of plastic, so that the moisture in the soil can evaporate through it. Everything else is fine.

Wash your mite-infested/possibly infested plants once a day for a week.

>>946016
Alright, thanks. I'll do that.

>>946013
>2. What are some effective ways to deal with fungus gnats feeding on peppers? I read elsewhere that neem oil, sand covering and yellow sticky traps are commonly used. Does anyone have experience trying these techniques?
I have the same problem currently.
They really seem to be isolated to the pepper. The yellow trap on the pepper is covered in them, whereas the bush lily right next to it only has 5 of them on the trap and the peppermint 1 meter away has zero.
I went from having one flying around in front of my face every 10 minutes to 1 per day by using sticky traps and neem oil. I add the recommended dose to my water and have watered them 3 times (once a week) so far. I will give them a 4th dose and hope that that'll be it. I can at least see dead larvae in the soil, so it was not only the sticky traps that reduced the amount.
I also read somewhere that cinammon is supposed to help. I'll probably put some in the pots after the neem spa.

>>945199
Hello. Likely, what you are seeing in the water are tannins (or tannic acid). If the water is brownish / tea-like, that's what I'd bet on. It's fairly common in areas where water flows past firs or oaks. It's harmless to wildlife and humans. It can make your water a little bitter, but if you run it through a filter it's fine to drink. The color is somewhat off-putting but it's still potable once purified for other stuff.

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>>946013
>What are some effective ways to deal with fungus gnats feeding on peppers?

You want a solution that will work? Centipedes.

>>946013

1- Spider mites get fucked by water. Just blast them with a hose. They're weakling pests.

2- Depending on the pepper age. They handle dry soil well. Fungus gnats do not. I'm a fan of predatory nematodes or predatory mites as needed. Sticky traps are mostly only good for detecting how bad things are.
>Right now, I have covered the soil with plastic because I thought it would prevent the adults laying eggs. Will this disrupt the lifecycle, or will the gnat larvae continue it beneath the plastic?
That just keeps the soil moist, which is bad. They're very tiny and it's doubtful you can block them out.

>>946272
>Centipedes? In MY flower pots?

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After setting up a second grow light my lemon has exploded with growth!

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first time here, just bought some cactus from ikea and need some help. Should I replant them in a bigger pot? And how often should I water them?

>>946312
Looks like you just bought some cacti. I'd leave them in those pots, they don't look stressed. Water them infrequently, and not until the soil is bone dry.

>>946291
Centipedes are an apex predator of the insect world. I have some tiny buggers that dig around in my pots.

>>946314
Okay, thanks a ton for the advice, will do!

>>946315
It's amazing what you can coopt nature for. I leave the wasps and yellow jackets alone. Same with other similar bugs. I did not have a hornworm problem on my tomatoes last year. In fact, the only bug I had an issue with was squash bugs.

So yeah, centipedes are welcome in my garden. Just not in my house.

>>946312

Repot to a pot 3x as big, water every three days or when the soil is dry at the surface

>>946291
Dat aged meme.

>>946342
>squash bugs

Last year was horrific with those for everyone here. I'm hoping this wonky winter hot/cold cycle will make them come out and freeze. Then no problems this coming season. I think I'm going to make a vacuum for them anyway.

>>946429
3days is far too often

I'll just re-ask my stupid question I asked in the last thread:

I just had a brainfart:
Can I use bottles as hydroponics container?
Is there any single stalk plant that I can grow in a bottle full of water with "a few drops" (or whatever the correct amount for such a simple system) of fertilizer?

I dont have any clue about hydroponics (if that is not obvious already…), I'm more of a dirt guy, so maybe you can help.

Issues I have identified so far:
>Probably impossible to pot, once the roots grow to big, unless I smash the bottle or wreck the roots, but unless I dont become too attached to both, the plant and the bottle, this is not a big issue
>light on roots might not be too god. Could be reduced by using a dark glass bottle
>algae (related to the light issue, I guess)
>smell?

>>946645
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_water_culture

>>946648
>Deep water culture
Sounds like a nice science fiction novel.

But this is way too complicated and needs power.

I'm just looking for something that will grow in water + fertilizer, without any pumps or bubbles or checking the pH.

I'm aware that there are reasons that hydroponics do all this stuff, but couldn't there be some greens that will survive the maltreatment I intend?

>>945510
What the fuck is that picture a demon?

>>946653
Try it but everything I have read is you need to bubble them.

Give it a go, come back and post results.

>>946653
Seriously?
Just do the deep water culture with a smaller basin and smaller net.
No need for a pump, use a coke bottle cut in half and the top flipped inside Basin (where the water sits)

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my overwintered jalapeno. surprised he survived with so little light indoors.

>>946674

I overwinter peppers in shit light. They go into a mild hibernation (probably not a real one.) Then just prune it up and let it go in the spring. Good results.

Some people overwinter peppers in environments suitable for good foliage and fruits. It's fine, but I much rather just let them survive because they take up much less space and resources.

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>>946677
yeah i've got all of my plants that i started back in october in my grow tent but no room for the jalapeno so he's just chilling downstairs next to a window

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>>946653
I'm thinking you need to simply do sprouts instead. The turn over rate is very high, they are wicked tasty, and you can have a really small setup of a few jars & have fresh greens every single day.

This will cost more money due to seed costs. You can do this with most seeds. Some varieties are very inexpensive and you can buy them for about $20 per 50lbs bag, if you live anywhere near a feed store/outlet. Just don't buy anything that has stuff sprayed on it. Those will look pink, orange, bright green, etc. That's usually systemic pesticides, germination helpers, and fungicide.

https://sproutpeople.org/growing-sprouts/

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>>946674
Pupper looks really excited to see you but is really lonely over there without someone to help play ball.

>>946690
izzy a lil shit that doesnt bring the ball back

Good weather today. I took the chance to smoosh some garlic bulbs back into the soil. Their roots popped them up out of the soil. Got in a half hour of weeding paths and turning compost/manure. Can't wait until spring.

>>946692
Because you're just going to throw away a perfectly good ball again.

>>946677
>>946678
I wish I had room for overwintering. Then again, I have many frozen bags of chopped Hungarian wax peppers, gallons of them dried, and about 2 quarts of them dried, powdered, vacuum sealed, and in the freezer.

>>946689
A 50lbs bag of feed corn costs about $9 here. The sprouts are good and the kernals taste almost like candy. They are also really good to fry for making corn nuts.

Brown rice is good for sprouting. Just not polished white rice or wild rice since both have been mechanically destroyed in a way they can't sprout.

Pinto beans are very cheap in bulk, but still costs about $1 or so per pound. It costs about the same as wheat.

Lentils are normally twice as expensive as Pinto beans.

The retardely expensive stuff are things like broccoli seeds. I've seen that as high as $30/pound. They are pretty tasty. Growing the tall varieties of broccoli (early purple sprouting broccoli) instead of the compact ones is better if you are harvesting the seeds. Then you can have salad greens and seeds for planting and sprouting.

One of the best things you can get, usually for free, if you live in an area where it grow is Lambs Quarter [Chenopodium album, aka "goosefoot"]. The plants get massive and they produces something like 50,000 seeds per plant. The seeds are wee tiny, but very easy to harvest and clean. Just rub them between your hands and blow away the chafe; leaving tiny shiny black "buttons". Lambs Quarter is like spinach and a great crop for pot greens and salad greens. Most Chenopodium genus plants can be used like that.

There's a lot of wild seeds and grains most people have access to they can harvest and grow for sprouts or even as a food crop plant. http://www.eattheweeds.com/

>>946667
What plants would take that treatment well?

>>946689
I already grow various sprouts. The most recent things I tried was chickpeas (really tasty, but only a 50% sprout rate) and lentils (not as tasty as chickpeas, quite bitter, but more success). I just used some intended for cooking.

the bottle idea was for decorative purposes mostly, but if I can harvest something, that's always a plus.

>>946674
As it seems, none of the 3 bell peppers I dug out of the garden and repotted in November and then placed cool/dark but frost-free (garage) have survived (all the stalks brittle and dry). Either I damaged too much root, or they didn't like the conditions. So this year, additionally to the ones I'll put in the ground, I'll keep a few potted from the start

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>>946856
Well, you can just use water and nutrient for fast growing stuff. Like in the mustard family. There are all manner of things you can do, even this image. If you cut a bottle use the method in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFXngPx3w3M

And, never use the string method.

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>>946892

>>946892
>>946893
different from what I was envisioning, but those look quite cool.
gotta resarch that a bit, thanks!
cutting glass bottles with home equipement sucks, though.

>And, never use the string method.
why?

>>946908
>why

Because when it does actually work the edges are really fucked up and you need to spend a lot longer grinding it down. Grinding glass is not a safe or fun thing to do (keep it wet so it doesn't send glass dust into the air for you to breathe). The less grinding you need to do the better. Such things are discussed in that video.

Get a bottle cutting jig or a glass cutter an make a temp jig. It isn't difficult.

So I plan on moving my peppers outdoors when spring rolls around. 5 gallon buckets is the plan, and I've been using miraclegro soil. Anybody have any soil recommendation?

>>946435
I HATE THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS!

>>947020
I don't know what your access to manure is like, but I fundamentally have unlimited manure. There is an area behind my barn that gets a lot of it, and the worms turn it into wonderful soil. That's what I use for a lot of my soil when I have stuff going indoors.

>>947127
I collect my own manure

>>947130
Put it on some soil and let the worms go to town then. 2" or 3" deep will produce some beautiful stuff, but it will take time for the worms do do their work. You will get some weeds, but I do it this way because I'm not buying enough soil for as many plants as I am going to have going this year. (Several hundred)

>>946674

It's so green there.

>still three months until last frost

I don't think I can do another winter here. I need to move to the subtropics.

>>946893
I thought most herbs need good drainage and hate wet feet?

Anyone here grow wild stuff?

I grew a bunch of amazing wild strawberries and raspberries last year, so I am trying my hand at some alliums, mints, and other stuff of that sort.

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>>947694
Pic related.

>>947694
I grow,

chickweed
hairy bittercress
lambs quarter
various mints
rasp/blackberries
ramps

>>947704
I have a shitload of the chickweed and lambs quarters (and another weed you might recognize called purslane) growing on my property, I should try growing a patch of those.

How persnickety are the ramps to grow? My aunt and uncle have a big 10 acre property that they said I could plant some in. It has a huge hardwood forest section that would be perfect for them - I figure I will just clear a patch and toss the seeds in during late summer.

>>947739
I grow purslane as well. A lot of wild stuff. With lambs quarter, they are best eaten in spring and early summer when they are under 12" tall. Their stems will be soft enough to easily punch your finger nail into and won't be stringy. Past that time and past that height they will start to get woody and stringy. Treat them like spinach as a pot herb or salad green. Chickweed is best in spring and fall when the weather is very cool. Other times, it sorta dies out as well as becomes stemy and a bit unpalatable as a result.

>How persnickety are the ramps to grow?

Very. You need to grow them on the north side of a hill. I had to transplant them to get them to start. You can only harvest them one time of the year and you need to leave most of them in the ground.

>>946091
It goes through pretty much nothing but oaks and likely has many leaves in it. Problem solved. Thank you for the help.

just ate the first ripe pepper off one of my cayenne plants, and frankly it had very little flavor and very little heat compared to what i'm used to. is it something to do with the age/size of the plant? i was looking forward to making hot sauce but that first pepper was not a good start.

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>>948216

Cayenne heat varies a good deal. try habanero and related peppers (Capsicum chinense... not annuum.) "flaming icicle" is one of my favorites, fruits prolifically, flesh is thick walled, and makes a white hot sauce which is sort of neat.

>>948225
im growing cayenne, habanero, tabasco, thai birds eye, and reaper.

>>948157
Np. Glad I could help.

>>946703
What does your indoor setup look like for starting seedlings? I'm still clearing space to put in a second shelving unit.

This question was for all Homegrowmen: >>948500

>tfw you click on a random post to open the reply box but forget to remove the post number from your post

At least it was my own post.

What's the best grow light you can get for the money? Need to start some new baby fruit plants and my previous source of CFLs dried up. Thinking about trying LEDs.

>>948537
A cheap shop light works exceptionally well. I use a 4 feet long, two 40watt bulb, hooded shoplight that costs only $25 locally (ACE). I use long grow trays under them and keep the light about 2 inches from the tops of the plants. I use a chain and hooks to raise the lights as needed.

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>>945966
This seems legit. Some japs use pic related to hand-pollinate larger flowers. I imagine chiles has quite small flowers.

I posted in the wrong thread
>>948663
Can someone help me identify this?

>>944669
What do you guys think of permaculture?

>>948668
Dandelion.

>>948672
At its core, it is the correct way to do farming.

>>948672

if you put some work into it, it's very good

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Garlic mustard - does anyone forage/grow this stuff? What is it good for?

>>948805
Good as an herb/spice. It is invasive in many states in the USA since it was introduced early on. It wrecks understory ecosystems. Google, "Alliaria petiolata recipes".

>>948807
Yeah, it grows all over the fucking place where I live. I'll have to acquire some plants and grow them in my garden.

>>945896
It is very nice. I haven't had much precipitation for about a month, maybe a little less, and the dirt underneath was nice and moist today, as though it had just been rained on this morning. In the beds that get more sun, the worms have been somewhat active. The soil is already turning into superb stuff.

But yeah, I've turned well aged manure down before. If I ever manage to get into real farming, several acres are going to get some rapid soil remediation in a big hurry.

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still algae farming, expanded onto more racks, pic related.

Some coming into use for organism feed. I have some waterbears chowing down on their choice algae now.

Pretty fun. Lots of sciency stuff like sterilizing things.

>>949188
Did you ever get some builuminescent algae?

http://empco.org/

>>949410
>bioluminescent

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Are sarpo mira potatoes a good variety?

And how do i keep birds away from my seedlings?

>>949428
Sarpo mira are fine. I prefer Yukon Gold for flavor. Use items that flash to scare them off or mesh to keep them from getting to them. Stuff like Holographic Bird Tape, and old CD/DVDs if the latter still exist.

>>949442

Does Yukon gold crop as heavily?

>>949447
No, they are not normally large crops when compared to cultivars like Russet. However, they are a summer crop. Russet is a fall crop. I grow Yukon Gold and Purple Majesty. Purple Majesty tastes a lot like Russet and I can get two crops of Purple Majesty in one season.

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Is this calcium deficiency or am I exaggerating? The leaves are turning increasingly "bubbly", the first 4 or so are almost completely flat.

>>949457
It very well could be. Ground limestone or ground egg shells are a good fix.

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>>949410

I do!

I keep the main tank pretty turbulent so they sort of 'blow their load'. But you can take a sample of them and let it sit a while and then shake and then it glows.

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Picked up a few books on mushrooms today. Pretty cool stuff.

I'm looking at growing some oyster mushrooms. I'm not sure if it's a dumb idea, but being able to sell what I produce and making some money would be nice.

Any advice?

>>945506
I actually went to one of those as a kiddo.

>>949906
Home depot sells kits, a good place to start.

>>949529
Pretty neat.

>>949906
Take my advice, don't do logs. There's too many factors involving them. Try just the substrate in a bag for starters.

>>944669
what plants would you guys recommend as a first for an anon in a shitty apartment where the only windows are away from the sun most of the day?

>>950065
S U C C ulentes

>>950129
>>950065
This, and more specifically Crassula ovata. Almost impossible to kill

>>950065
>>950129
oh i should've mentioned i meaned edible plants

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>>950145
>no sun

sprouts

>>950037
I find that logs are much easier (outside) than bag kits due to mold occurring in bag kits.

>>944669
How do I identify what is a baby garlic and what is a weed? I live in California and went out to check my onions and I I've probably pulled up more garlic than weeds.

>>950391
Smell it.

>>949188
Are you a mad scientist?

>>950413
Holy shit algae are so cool how do I into?
What's a good starter pack/beginner's species?

Do people here grow (anything) indoors, somwehre that isn't in a window?
I.e with other light sources, or none at all.
Can you post your setups?

>>950710
Light sources other than the sun*

>>950710
My lemon is growing almost exclusively on artificial light

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>>950413

It looks a little bit that way in my house. I have tanks along the kitchen walls, tanks in a redundant hallway and a light table for plants.

I'm mostly just trying to get good at growing different cultures. Some are finnicky, some are really fast and then population crash (chlorella.) Some stay very strong for a good while. Upkeep is just adding distilled water and algae food as needed.

I enjoy it.... one reason being I got a new puppy last year and she is wrecking shit up in backyard (puppy being a puppy.) She doesn't do that with algae tanks

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>>950644

Here ya go... excellent good starter kit...
https://www.amazon.com/Algae-Culture-Strains-classroom-investigations/dp/B01ERURPJC/
(they sell prepared media for specific algae like spirulina too.) They sell a good spirulina kit if you just want to get your feet wet a little bit.

And food for them-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OTH5NB6
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OTH5N8Y

You will also need saltwater for some. I use
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255NKA
and a good tool for measuring salinity-
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZ1SMC2

Lastly, some have odd PH requirements. (Spirulina is prolific, but needs a proper PH)
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ph+up+down

And last but not least, let there be light!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M8NKMTP

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>>950710
My seedlings and winter greens are grown exclusively with cheap ass shop lights.

This shows my setup for garlic tops, chickweed, and lambs quarter. It is primarily for garlic tops. The later 2 come with the garden soil and are used as salad greens.

At the end of the month, I'll be starting seedlings for outdoor use on a large scale.

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>>950817
>>950814
Do you have a good microscope and cam for it? That's pretty much the only thing that is stopping me from doing stuff with algae. I really want to see what I'm working with and be able to take photos of it.

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>>950861

Hi. Yeah I have two microscopes- 1 monocular with under-lighting. One stereoscopic with over/under lighting.

Cam wise I'm still working out the kinks. I misplaced my adapter for my DSLR. I have a sort of neat cell phone cam adapter that works better than expected, but isn't perfect.

I feel the same way. I'd like to take pictures too, but really haven't had the time yet to get that set up. Maybe I'll put some more effort into it as much as I can.

>>950870
I'd want to be able to isolate local algae and go from there.

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>>950871

Oh, yeah you'd definitely want a microscope for that. I'm not actually experienced with isolating/culturing algae from water sources containing a large mix of microorganisms. That would be another interesting project, though.

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>>950861

here's about as good as I can do at this particular moment as far as photographs are concerned. I can get a closer look but the cell camera doesn't focus ok at that magnification..

this algae moves all over the place. it's very active with flagella

Just went out and picked up a 20 seed pack of these for $2. http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/tomatoes/tomato-burpees-supersteak-hybrid-prod000979.html

Decided to get fancy.

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>>950906

Found my camera adapter! more of that. these little guys swim all over the place

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>>951034
>>950906
Very neat. I need a larger disposable income for a microscope. The stuff I want is over $2K starting 2500x; AmScope type stuff. That's just the microscope, not including everything else needed. I'll need to look into grants or something in order to write off that sort of thing.

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Got warm enough to bring my baby plants outside

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>>951041

Absolutely not bragging at all, but I'm getting the ok pictures off a very old microscope that I can't find any branding on (I just picked it up and tried to find a label... no luck.) My amscope stereoscopic doesn't have sufficient magnification for worthwhile pictures unless I'm doing a big plant like ulva.. Just sharing a comment on the issue and happy to talk about it more.

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>>951080
1. Plumeria 2.soursop 3.rose apple 4.jackfruit 5.wax apple 6.longan 7.guava 8.guamuchil , all bananas are dwarf Cavendish

>>951084
What are the magnifications on the ones you own? When and if I get rolling I'll be doing more with them than looking at algae of course, but that isn't Homegrowmen related.

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Soon.

Still way to soon to actually plant anything, but I might move some containers outside during the day to celebrate.

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>>951372
Moved my ornamentals outside a couple days ago (mostly date palms and yuccas), if some unlikely severe frosts come later this month or March I'll have to move them back, but the containers are huge so short nighttime dips below 0 are no worry
Also sowed some carrots and onions a week ago, but they'll take a while to sprout

>live in tropics
>growing lemon trees
>try to move them into full sun to acclimate them
>leave em out for one hour in the sun yesterday
>today they all got burnt tips

FUCK THIS SUN, JESUS

>>951560
>live in southern Ontario
>leave lemon plant too close to the window
>leaves get damaged by cold

>>951572
how does this mongrel plant even survive in the wild

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>>951577
It kinda doesn't actually

>>951577
It's a bit like the equivalent of a panda of the animal kingdom.

>>951589
That is a huuuge hat.

>>951630
Hi /an/

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>>951572
>>951560
German lemonfag here (50°N), my 2 have already grown back almost all of what I pruned away in November, and more branched out at that. Sitting on WSW window in relatively chilly room (15°C-ish at night and in cloudy weather, locally around 20 when the sun's out).
Might have to prune once more before moving them outside (mid- to late April)

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>>951669
Close-up on one of the places I pruned

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>>951674
...and what it looked like 2 months ago

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>>951115

I used a yellow 10/0.25 lense and the camera adapter I believe is 2x. I have a blue 40x too but it will take some practice getting an image out of that.

I want one of those trinocular Microscopes w/ 2000X Magnification. Though I wouldn't care if there was just one eyepiece and then a tube for the camera. I actually can't see out of my left eye so the binocular stuff is kinda lost on me.

>>946645
Algae doesn't do fuck all to plants (if anything, they fix nitrogen for the plants). People control it for cosmetic reasons or to reduce gnats. You don't have to worry about that latter problem using a liquid medium so there's no real reason to control them.

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MY GROWING BOY

>>951749

Invest in a green lense. What is it? :)

>>951669
how long did it take before they get that big? i am germinating some seeds right now

Carob seeds came in today. Now for the fun of waiting a sixth of a year to see if any sprout.

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>>951759
Seeds were planted May 2015, sprouted Jul 2015. Growth was a bit slow until around Apr 2016 (pic), but then I moved them outside again for summer and growth kinda exploded from there
As seedlings though, they have lots of thorns and may take up to 15 years to first flower/fruit, and even then not optimally, plus the roots are very sensitive and don't like to be below 10°C for long. If you want faster/better results, you're better off buying a pre-grafted plant from the store.
But I didn't do it for the yield, rather just to see it grow from zero

is there a website or guide that lists the best plants to grow in my state/area and maybe also what's already native?

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>>951756
Lemon trees

>>951669
>>951674
Looks pretty nice. Ontario anon here. My lemon is still less than 30cm but have noticed drastic improvement since I put a grow light on it.

>>950037
Thanks anon

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My russian red kale

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I've been growing a Portulacaria Afra for a while and it's been doing fine but it refuses to branch out. Will it branch on its own, or will I have to defoliate for it to branch?

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>>951572
Same feel, friend.
I moved my lemon baby to artifical light from a shitty chinese growing LED strip and it seems to be growing ok but my god it's slow, anything I can do to speed it up a little?

pepper plants with small leaves and a lot of brownage. what's wrong?

>>952656
Never grew this particular specie, though usually if you want a plant to branch out you can give it more light and top it.

>>952657
Citrus are quite slow to grow. If you can get the light closer without too much heat, that may help. What are the specs of your lamp?

>>952698
Could you post a pic?

>>952657
Stop using the shitting chinese light. They dont ever pump out enough.

>>952725
don't really know the power output. Ratio is 4 red to 1 blue LED, and the power is 12V but the effective wattage is not measured.

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>got some shop lights
>got some metal shelving units
>got a big stack of geenhouse seedling flats
>got a ton of seeds for this season's gardening
>LET'S DO THIS!!!
>greenhouse trays (10.5"x21") are a few inches too long/wide and I can't fit 2 trays per shelf (15"x35"), shop lights are 48"

This really rustles my OCD. I wanted a clean cut looking setup with aluminum foil backed cardboard reflectors all around the shelving. Now it will be wonky as shit, unless I lay down some money for matching equipment. Everything is second hand and ultra cheap at least.

>>950391
>>950397

If you're new to gardening, it should be added that you might need to crush a small portion of the plant to get a good whiff.

What are some fruits/vegetables that have cultivars not sold in supermarkets because of a compromise in package ability, or are taken before truly ripe? An example of this that I already know of is strawberries.

>>952891
Most everything actually.

>>952899
I should have put an and, not an or. I highly doubt they do this for things like lettuce.

>>952919
By this I mean pick some kind of unripe lettuce, if such a thing exists.

>>952891

I'd say all fruits that i can think of

>>952920
>>952919
I see what you mean now. As for the lettuce, yes, homegrown will be nicer simply because it won't be a week old or more since it was harvested. The lettuce in the stores can often be "dry" when compared to fresh harvested lettuce at home.

The biggest one I can think of are pineapples. They are always green here. In the 1980s they were very yellow. Dole even states on the label (at one time) that they will ripen after picking, which I've never once seen that happen. I've grown my own pineapples and picked them when they were fully bright yellow (grown from Dole pineapple tops) and they are NOTHING like the store bought pineapples.

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Here's a question, I currently have little lemon plants growing next to a north facing wall where they are in constant shade, they cannot handle direct sunlight, would it be better to build a tiny greenhouse thing with some mesh so they get slightly more light than they do now?

>>952823
Don't you have light wave-length, and a number of lumen?

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After finally eating one for the first time at almost age 30 (they're a very uncommon thing where I live), I decided to give MemePlant™ a try too, wish me luck. Placed it on the top of the radiator (30°C), also a plastic bag around (temporarily taken off for the pic) because fuck refilling the water 3x/day, how long should it take for the root to come out? And for it to shoot at the top?

No cacti or succulents?

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Look at this shit, 15 minutes of sun in the afternoon and it's got burnt tips.

>>953569
Sunscald looks different than that. Most likely something physical happened to it.

Best pre mixed potting mix. Go.

>tfw I've been in hospital for a week
>tfw I'm getting discharged today

I miss my garden lads.
My beetroot. My radishes. My cucumbers. My chamomile. My tomatoes.
Especially my grass. I miss it so much.

Hold me ;__;

>>953657

pH 6-7 most of the time, unless you want to grow things from acidic soil like camellia
high dry weight
high organic matter rate
high electric conductivity
high cation exchange capacity
high water retention capacity
C/N ratio around 15

Soil must look dark and have a fine grain size. Big chunks of matter are to avoid, since they indicate a non-ended composting.

I avoid soils with too much peat because they retract a lot after watering. I avoid those with conifer bark compost because they're often very badly decomposed and doesn't provide a lot to eat for the plants.

Ideally you want to adjust the potting mix with garden soil and draining elements. That can make one part of mix, one of garden soil, one handful of perlite/clay beads ; as it can be 3 parts-1 part-1 handfull. It all depends on your soils' aspect and about what you want.

>>953681
Noticed I didn't gave scales for reference. Once again, the higher the better :

-For dry weight, it's a matter of not buying water instead of potting mix (2kg dry weight with a 10kg potting mix bag means you buy 8kg of water...). It usually floats around 30-50%.
-For organic matter rate, you got to look if it's related to dry weight or total weight. Usually between 15 and 30% related to total weight.
-Electric conductivity usually goes from 25 to 85 ms/m
-CEC from 10 to 200 meq/100g
-Water retention capacity usually between 60 and 80% per volume

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Some guy on reddit bought "strawberry" seeds off of Ali Express.

Why would you ever trust something from China?

>>953693
Looks like something in the Amaranthaceae family.

>>953677
What happened anon? And at least you're getting out now!

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I started a garden last week, having never planted anything my entire life. Today I planted some tomatoes, and a basil plant sprouted last week. Hopefully they grow well and don't die, but I'm just playing it by ear now.

>>953716
Nice. You'll have lots of weed seeds pop up from time to time. They often come up before everything else. If you learn what is edible in the wild for your location, you may find you can eat most of the weeds as salad greens or pot herbs. I pull the weeds, clean them, let them soak in salt water then rinse and eat in salads.

When was your last frost in that area if you have frost?

>>953717

Thanks. I do have a lot of weeds, and I've been clearing them as they pop up.

The pallets were originally there (I did not make it but I might expand in the fall), and had basil and arugula planted by my father. The basil plant that sprouted was from the previous year's basil seeds that dispersed last fall.

I tilled the soil that was originally in and mixed in some compost to get what you see.

I live in Houston, so we don't get a lot of cold here (it was almost 90F today). It went below zero for one day in January and killed one of my lime trees.

>>953736
That seems like a good start. Then the only thing you may need is a sun screen to prevent hot summer days from scalding the plants.

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>>945493
>In comparison I find horses faffy to work with, stupid and ugly, with long naggy faces, knobbly knees and big clompy hooves.

Any thoughts on those topsy-turvy tomato growers

>>953713
Had a cyst grow under my tongue. The surgeons drained it, but I'll need to get it removed in the future

I'm back at home now, and first thing I did was pick some stuff. I'll post photos in a few hours

>>953677
Great, someone growing chamomile. Tell me, does it take a lot of space to grow? I imagine it spreads. And do the flow buds grow back after you pick them or is it a one-and-done deal until next year?

>>953835
They are okay if you need space. I've seen a few break off though.

>>946653
kratky method if you haven't figured it out in 10 days

>>953716
>>953717
Hope one of those weeds is purslane. That shit is the bomb. I used to pull it as a weed, until I learned what it was and tasted it. Now, I let it stay as a living mulch if it isn't interfering with anything.

>>954122
Same with chickweed for me. It comes up first in the spring, even lasts through winter usually, and loves the cooler weather. It suppresses all manner of weeds I can't eat. Purslane comes up when it is much much warmer and leaf miners tear it the fuck up. I find that it does best in semi tall plants because it will send up stalks instead of laying flat. It has less slug and leaf miner damage when it goes vertically. Still an army of slugs can wreck it overnight. Chickweed runs good interference for slugs at least. It prevents the main crop plants from becoming oasis for slugs.

>>953993
>Tell me, does it take a lot of space to grow?
I've got one growing in a large pot at the moment, however I won't be doing this next year.
You're correct. It does spread, so if you can get it in the garden, you'll find it'll do much better.
>And do the flow buds grow back after you pick them or is it a one-and-done deal until next year?
It's not a one-and-done deal.
I've already gone through and harvested the flowers twice. There are still more flowers now ready for a third picking, however I've noticed these flowers are much more sparse, so I'm thinking I'm going to leave them till they go to seed.

However, this summer has been quite cold and not very sunny. So I'd imagine that if you have a really sunny summer, it would be possible to even do 4 pickings.
I've heard of people harvesting their chamomile flowers all the way into the early weeks of autumn

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>>953877
>I'll post photos in a few hours

Better 14 hours late than never

Yesterday after coming back from the hospital I got into the garden and picked a lot of roquette (there's so much. It's fucking gone everywhere).
The cucumbers have come out perfectly.
The radishes were really nice, albeit some have now gotten so large that they're woody inside.
The beetroots this year have really underperformed. I'm thinking it may be because I wasn't too pedantic in covering them as they grew. Nonetheless, it tasted great in the salad.

>>954184
Nice. *wistfully stares at the snow outside*

>>954205
>mfw it doesn't snow here in Australia

I know it must suck to have it snow all winter and not grow anything, but sometimes I'd just like to look at some snow out of my bedroom window while sipping on some hot tea

So I germinated some tomato seeds in a starting tray, when do I transplant to small pots? When they grow their second set of leaves?

>>954364
I would say when the green part of the plant is about the same size as the area of the hole it's in or roots poke out the bottom

>>946342
The fuckers in Hawaii are 8 inches and bite, super cool to see them guard babies and eggs though. I also found diplopods, milipedes, to be excellent composters for wood in hugles.

I want to try growing potatoes in 5 gallon buckets. Should I build one of those sub-irrigation deals for it out of a second bucket, or will that rot the potatoes?

>>954364
Before the roots start to get complex and tangled up with roots from other tomatoes. You can pretty much do it now if the cotyledons are there.

>>953136
MIne took like a month or so for a root to show up, then another few months for the shoot to start growing

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>>946342

>>954122
>>954140
>Purslane
How the fuck do I grow that stuff in pots?
I once made the mistake to grow a few in my garden without knowing that they are not only consideret tasty, but also as weeds.
Fucker took over half of the garden the next year and is impossible to get rid of.
But in pots, indoors?
The just dont want to grow.
Should I put inside my windows (oldschool euro-double windows)?
Should be above freezing in there, but not by much during the night.

>>954539
It needs high temps to grow well, noticed that too last summer when it volunteered in my outside palm container (only really picked up speed in June-Sep)

>>954545
>It needs high temps to grow well,
fits what I read about it on wikipedia, but the indoor trial I had so far are just small and die soon, whereas the outdoor ones just exploded, as soon as there was not regular frost anymore.
Weird.

>>954562
>>954539
They need strong light.

>>954568
They have quite strong light. Directly at the window. Maybe they dont like the coco substrate I am using? (that cheap IKEA stuff, easiest option when you do have only a small flat). I my garden they used to grow in very clay rich soil.

>>954573
In your garden, they probably have light, especially strong light, for at least a few more hours.

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>>954600
Sure, during sunny days, they had more light than at my window, but they also grew like insane under shitty conditions (rainy and cold), like weeds generally do. Yet, indoors it seems as finicky as those lemons the anons upthread talked about.
Oh well, I'll see how it develops (pic related is 2 weeks old).
Maybe I'll "steal" some dirt when I go hiking the next time and try another round in something loamy.

>>954610
What you think is "a lot of light" indoors even near the window is in reality equivalent to semi-shade at best, even more so during winter

>>954573
Use soil, not substrate. Use more light than just a single window.

>>953136
Mine has taken almost 3 months now jut to get a stem to come out

>>953716
Where abouts are you at? Isn't it a bit early and cold for tomatoes and basil? Good luck and don't forget your compost & mulch.

>>953136
one thing I've noticed is that peeling the stone makes all the difference.

I tried it a bunch of times; and only when I removed all of the husk from the stone did I get root.

And the root came out after like a month, it was really fast when the whole stone was peeled and water could get to it easier

Anyone, is it too early/too late to start from seed? I'm sure I could easily looks this up but I'm putting my faith in /out/

>>955012
shit, forgot to mention, I'm Northeast US

>>955012
start what exactly? what zone are you in?

>>955012
Start seedlings 2 months before the last frost for your area. For me, that's March 1st. Thus, I'm getting things ready for all the seed trays.

>>954990

Thanks for advice. See here:

>>953736

I live in Houston, but even still we've had a warm winter this year (it was 88F on Saturday) so I went ahead and planted. The basil sprouted up on its own as well.

>>955035
Thank you, May 15ish is last frost so I've got 3 weeks to get my shit together.

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>>955035
I started my seeds at the beginning of this month, but my last frost isn't until around the 1st of May. Are these tomatoes/tomatillos in danger of getting too big before then?

>>955195
>>955186
Keep a fan blowing slow air on them. the vibrations will help them develop stronger and shorter stems. Keep the lights as close to the leaves as you can without touching them or burning them (2 inches usually). That will help prevent them from growing leggy when trying to reach stronger light.

Most seedling packets have starting instructions for the length of time to last frost. Otherwise, just google the plant type for that specific info.

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My doggo keeps on shitting on my iris circles.

Now should I leave the poopoo till spring or clean it now.

>>954863
>>954863
>>955009
Thanks for the experiences so far, guess I gotta bring some patience, huh? No biggie, I've had several types of cuttings take up to 4 months to root before (and some not at all, it's now my 4th or so try to get an olive cutting to root, been sitting on the radiator since early November, and nothing significant has happened so far)...
Yeah I did remove the skin, plus I'm hoping the high temp treatment will get me faster results too, as it does when germinating for example tomatoes (take just 3-4 days @ 30°C opposed to 15-25 @ 20°C)

>>955035
>>955013
Average last one is around Apr. 8 here, but with strong yearly fluctuations. Also low winter light means I have to grow things slowly at cool temps, else it gets leggy. That's why I started some of my peppers and tomatoes already in mid-late January

>>955272
Spread it around and cover it with some leaves. It'll decompose.

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I have some purple potatoes that I've been trying to cultivate into a massive crop. I started with only 10 tubers, each 1-1.5 inches in diameter, that I ordered from online in 2015. Now I have enough to plant 1 raised bed (already planted), plus have a few left over for personal eating. The ones I've been keeping indoors started sprouting at their eyes when the winter temps raised and things got humid for a few weeks. I had been removing them and trashing them in the compost, but thought I'd give them a try for planting this time.

It's only been a few days and they are already starting to grow into new plants. It looks like I'll be able to exponentially increase the number of plants now.

I just wanted to share since most times people cut the potatoes up into sections, 1 eye per section then plant them. I'd been reducing the amount of potato that I cut off for that over the years with good luck. Glad to know that I don't even need to cut the potato at all and that even the tiniest nubs will grow into whole plants.

>>955274
don't move it to soil until you get a lot of roots. I did it too soon and it killed mine.

Any tips on germinating onion seeds? Tried planting some last year and they didn't even show up until like October so I'm trying to start them inside this year.

Had to "pin thread" to get something to click on to open it up in the Catalog since there's no image.

>>955731

I had the same problem, i think the image expired since the thread is too old

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>sorting seeds
>trying to juggle lists for things I like to eat, things I need to buy, things I have, and things I need to start next week indoors.

Cripes. I need a larger garden for all this stuff. At least I have several additional beds ready this year!

>>955735
4chan had trouble last night and this morning with image posting and a lot of threads lost images. The missing images do seem to be from old posts.

>>955496
Yeah, will let it have at least well-developed "secondary" roots before potting

>>955578
I went and got a $1 flimsy cake pan from The Dollar General, put some seed starting mix in it, and put a shitload of onion seed in it, ruffled the surface a bit, and watered. A few days later, onions came up.

In many locations, you can actually plant short day onions in the late summer/early fall and have a spring onion crop ready to go around May-ish.

>>955886
>In many locations, you can actually plant short day onions in the late summer/early fall and have a spring onion crop ready to go around May-ish.

I do this for garlic and elephant garlic.

Hey German lemon guy. Any sign of flowers on your lemon trees?

>>956084
No, and as they are seedlings, I'm not expecting any to pop up in the next 8 or so years, though it can vary, some people have reported flowers in as little as 2-3 years. The thing with seedlings is that it's always a genetic lottery.
If you want quicker results, you'll have to buy a grafted one

How long does it take to shape a potted rosemary into a mini christmas tree? Gonna try my hand at making one with all these cuttings I've been planting.

>>956257

I think potted rosemary makes for shitty christmas trees tbqh

go for some cypress if you really have to

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>>946433
Oldfags? In MY /out/ board?

What's the best way to remove grass from an area where I want to plant some vegetables?
Do they make something I can use to kill grass and only grass, or am I going to have to pull it out manually?

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This little sucker sure got a nice growth spurt. Its taller than me already.

>>956550
IIRC there are herbicides that only work against monocots. So it works if you want to plant for example tomatoes, but not onions

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>>956546
It's More Likely Than You Think.

>>956550
Boiling hot water. It will kill anything you pour it on at the base where the roots are. If you have veggies intermingled with it, just mulch over everything except the veggies. Mulch can be anything from plastic to wood chips. There's really no need for anything else.

Thanks to the super early thaw I was able to go out and dig up, split, and replant some ancient rhubarb that's been growing in our backyard for decades. Not sure how well it'll take since I was kind of rough on the roots but it seems like a pretty hardy motherfucker.

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My Monstera (Swiss Cheese plant/fruit salad plant/Mexican bread plant) is dying for an unknown reason.

The newest two leaves had dried and wilted to almost nothing. I've looked at forums and there's a ton of things it could be. My guess is poor soil so I'm going to treat it for that, but since the newest stem grows from the second newest stem, does this mean the plant is dead for good if I lose the newest stem?

Should I propagate now and risk damaging it more?

Anyone know where I could get redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) and redwood violet (Viola sempervirens) seeds? I'm in SoCal

>>956555
avocado?

>>956550
Dig it out, compost it, and till it back into the soil with peat or coffee grounds to improve structure/water retention.

You'll have to retill it every season, but that's life. If the grass doesn't come in the weeds will. If the weeds are killed off, the cyanobacteria and bryophyte spores naturally present in the soil will colonize. You can only fight so much and the more you kill off, the less nutrients will be in the topsoil.

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Los Angeles guy here.
Can anyone help me identify what kind of plant this is? I've searched online (closest thing I can find is dogwood) but haven't found anything, the smell is familiar but hard to describe.

Also anyone have any experience growing achacha (or any kind of mangosteen for that matter) here?

>>956762
Any downside to just killing the grass with boiling water and replenishing lost nutrients by buying fertilizer? Because that sounds a lot easier.

What's the best way to germinate dried seeds?
Submersion in water, wet paper towel, or just planting them straight into wet soil?

>>956768
Clivia miniata?

>>956773
Hydrate them, keep them warm, and slightly moist. Some seeds need things like cold stratification, acid/basic dips, and/or scarification. Just google the seed type like, "cherry seed germination". Rarely, some need to break down an internal chemical over years to germinate.

>>956773
Depends on the seed and the climate

For example basil seeds are hardy as fuck and grow wherever you drop them here

Other seeds need very specific conditions

>>956783
That seems to be it, I was hoping it was something edible. Thank you!

>>956790
No problem anon. I'm not completely sure but I definitely wouldn't eat them!

/lit/ has their meme charts
/v/ has a few "must play" list images around
/fit/ has their squats and oats (last time I checked)

What are the top 10 meme plants to grow? It depends on area of coruse. But there are surely some useful/fun/easy/hard plants that anyone can keep ina pot at home.

>>956889
Herbs
>Basile, rosemary, coriander (ew), mint, chives

Vegetables
>potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, lettuce, spring onion

Aesthetics/house plants
>fiddle leaf fig, fruit salad plant, syngonium, devils ivy

At least in the subtropics of Australia anyway

>>956661
>My guess is poor soil
Weird. My monstera is growing like a fucking monster, even though I haven't changed the soil or even fertilized it for years. Reason for that being that it grew so large that I simply can't move it anymore, without breaking it. Oh well, it's its own fault.

>>956661
If you can save any part of a stem, you should be able to get that to root and produce new growth again. Keep in mind though that they're very susceptible to overwatering.

>>956889
>What are the top 10 meme plants to grow?

It depends on your diet. A better question is what meme techniques are used for farming/gardening. That's usually listed in the OP though. As far as memes go I think there's only the, "growing pumpkins indoors" thing.

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I have such a big garden but i am to lazy/unknown on how to even start.

All i had last year were some carrots and tomatoes

some tips on how to remove the grass and make it good for planting veggies?

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So the weather has warmed up and it's time to make some changes
I've got a lemon tree sapling that has survived its second winter, and a jalapeno plant that I kept alive with it over the winter. Both in need of more room, but I feel like keeping them "mobile" would be ideal so I can drag them back into my garage next winter.

I'm in zone 8a, and it tends to get pretty hot so keeping those 2 sufficiently-watered is a concern.
For the lemon tree, I was thinking moving to a bigger pot and putting one of these in: http://www.gardeners.com/buy/adjustable-diy-self-watering-pot-reservoir/34-507RS.html
Any thoughts?

And for the pepper, I figure I can either do that, or get a 2'x3' or so box planter (Either with wheels or one I can put on a rolling base), burying an olla pot in it, and adding a few more peppers to the whole planter
Good idea, or no?

>>956694

Yes sir.

It should have a bit more than a year by now.

>>956555
>>956945
Whereabouts, climate-wise? Because I'm planning one too right now (>>953136) and that would be a massive growth in just one year, but I'm in a cool temperate place where it will be able to be outside only ~7 months/year (and warm enough for significant growth only ~5)

>>949188
Nice set up holy shit

>>956889
/an/ plant thread's #1 meme plant is of course Dionaea, making up a perceived 70% of the posted pics
And if you're hanging around ITT here from around August-October, the same holds true for hot Capsicum cultivars (I mean it makes sense somehow, you technically only need 1 plant as you never use much of it at once)

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>>956930
>some tips on how to remove the grass

Boiling water and/or mulch. I prefer mulch since it is easier and eventually adds to the soil. I normally put scrap paper/cardboard down then mulch over top. Bunny tractor is also an idea.

Can I start my carrots directly on the ground?
Should I use seed starting soil or just regular potting mix?

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>>956965
That's mostly true due to western diet and cooking methods:

Tomato
Potato
Pepper
Carrot
Sweet Corn
Beans
Onions
Garlic
Lettuce
Cucumber
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Pumpkin
Watermelon
Apple

Meh, I'll google an image instead. There!

Stuff on my list is often a bit different due to local and preferences:

Eastern Black Nightshade
Tomatillo
Flint Corn
Purple Potatoes
Chickweed
Lamb's Quarter
Burdock
Purslane
Paw Paw

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>>957038
Always start carrots, parships, and queen anne's lace in their final spot in the ground. They don't form well when you transplant them. That isn't to say you can be careful and develop a good method that does not disturb them when moving.

>>957051
What's with all those mushrooms?

>>957059
Mycorrhizae

>>946312

>get gifted cactus
>put it outside
>completely overlook the fact i'm in fucking Florida
>wonder why my cactus turned into a soggy spongy mess after a few weeks
>wonder how clueless my dad was when he gave it to me

I'm thankful I inherited my mother's green thumb. And discovering drip irrigation.

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Cobbled together a second tomato shed tonight (foil will come later), this should raise the total rain-protected capacity to 20 plants
Can't wait to plant them, ~7 more weeks

>>957190
Looks nice, tasty tomatoes will come to you.

>>956934

You can use that, or a 2 liter bottle, or milk jug with a pinhole or two facing the plant's root system.

Pretty common with peppers at least.

>>956934
What do you mean by "pretty hot"?

Peppers deal very well with thirst. Lemons need a lot of water, but not a damp soil neither, soil must be a able to dry a little.

The systems you're talking about may help if it's very hot and you're not there often to water them when they need it, by example during vacations.
Though they have two downsides :
- the plant must develop its roots inside the water storage before it to be effective (I really don't believe that "evaporation moistens the soil" with the surface/plant water debit we're talking about). So you've got to plan well ahead the time you're leaving your plants alone.
- and there's the risk of the plant not liking having its root in water all the time. I heard olla pots deal better with this aspect but never tried it myself.

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>>957190
Removed the few weeds that still were there and buried a few flower boxes for watering today. Mulch will be renewed next

I'm going to attempt to grow some vegetables.
But I'm a bit over whelmed with the pH measuring information and soil types.
If I just throw the seeds onto the ground what's the worse that could happen?

>>958090
Do you want to grow in pots or in plain soil?

Pots mix are usually well balanced for quite everything, often with a pH of 6,4.
Plain soil may be more variable but I wouldn't sweat it. Ideally you want a pH between 6-7 for most of the plants. Some need more acidic soil, but they're quite specific (camellia or blueberry by example)

>>958101
Directly into the ground.
I'd like to grow spinach and carrots for now.

>>958090
Seeds are cheap as hell so you won't be risking a whole lot by just tossing them in the ground.
There are certain vegetables that are easier to grow, I believe leafy ones like spinach and lettuce are among them.

Also I've had great success with growing sweet potatoes with no maintenance.

>>958106
I forgot sweet potatoes existed. Thanks for the idea anon.
How do you prepare your sweet potatoes?

>>958090
>But I'm a bit over whelmed with the pH measuring information and soil types.
Unless you want to grow something really specialized or very hard to grow, or if you want to start a commercial operation with maximum yields, you need not care.
Most hobby garderners just throw seeds into whatever dirt they have in their backyard and are fine.

>>958107
I usually boil them and incorporate them into other dishes, or eat them on their own with a little salt and butter. Last week I combined them with some sauteed onions and cabbage somewhat in the style of bubble and squeak.

>>958110
Can eat the leaves too, lots of nutrition.

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I'm patiently waiting for the 1st of March to plant the seeds for indoor starts. I'm getting 4 more shop lights; LEDs. I have enough room ready for 180 plants, but hopefully I'll get another shelf ready for 90ish more soon.

>pic related, spent toilet paper/paper towel tubes filled with soil and put into empty mushroom containers

>>957190
>>957802
Nice. It will be interesting if you post progress images later in the season.

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>>958309
Welp, call me crazy, and I probably am, but here another progress sooner as intended. Because late February is absolutely the perfect time to plant tomatoes outside at 50°N, right? Then again they are leftovers from my germinating box which I would've tossed away anyway, as the window sill is already full of pots with replanted ones. So if those two here die, not a big loss, if they make it, that'd be a nice bonus.
Average last frost is around April 8 here, but there's a (very slim) chance we won't get another from now

NEW THREAD: >>958315
NEW THREAD: >>958315
NEW THREAD: >>958315

>>957724
Very hot as in May-September is 90F+ (before heat index), and months of drought in the summer is common
Last year I had a hard time keeping those 2 well watered just on work days, the pepper especially was looking bad for a while but the fucking state flooded it exploded with growth