Smartie's Bar & Grill #75

Probably half of what I know about plants has come from killing them. I'm hoping that one day I'll get over all the rhododendrons I've murdered and will try planting them again...

 

My wife has a friend at work who is part-owner of a blueberry farm and last night she came home with five blueberries that they grow on their farm, so they should be able to handle our summers. I also bought two O'Neals at Lowes that can take the heat so we're back in bidniss.

Ya! Between the 7 new bushes and at least 3 I have to move to a cooler spot I know what my weekend is going to look like:

 

They are finally listing the house beside me for sale. Breaks my heart. I liked not having a neighbor.

 

Another week or so, and my blue car will no longer be blue. The yellow haze will be very evident. The pollen slick on the deck actually becomes hazardous, I've slid and slipped and almost wrenched my arm from the socket trying not to fall walking just 6' from door to off the deck. Going to have to spray Dawn detergent on it and use a stiff bristled broom. That stuff is worse than ice!

 

We have a lot of pollen here mostly pine pollen right now and then the good stuff comes in...the chinese privet starts blooming and I loathe, despise, hate, abhor and just don't like the stuff. The correct name is ligustrum sinense very invasive plant and will upset your allergies like nothing else.

 

wifey has had allergy symptoms for a month now... don't know what it is, maybe the salt cedar.

 

Siesta time! Reading Ezequiel, puts me to sleep dreaming of the prophesies

 

I call it loving them to death because of wanting them to do better and they end up dying...sigh.

 

Doesn't this look like winter is over.

 

@Tigger2 You were right about the paint. The kit I bought didn't have burnt sienna and I bought a tube of professional Winsor Newton all the difference in the world between the paints.

 

Hallelujah.

Beautiful plant. What is it?

 

Dutch Iris?

 

It’s an iris and someone told me it was a butter and eggs iris. I bought it in a batch of bulbs and it keeps coming back each spring.
I leave it where it is that is until May and we are having some landscaping done. I told the landscaper there were things there I wanted to save. We will see how that works.

 

Probably I heard it was called a butter and egg iris. I have a purple variety too.

 

Yes I agree. I didn't want to push you straight towards professional paints as they are quite expensive. The student ones are far better than the kits I see so many people struggling with (which makes many people give up) but the professional ones are far better still.
I'm not painting well at the moment, my last three works have all been poor, no idea why. Might be lack of time causing me to rush.

 

Went here to Boca grande today fished a little but mainly swim in the Gulf of Mexico and drove around checking out the island you got to have plenty of money to live here everything cost twice as much hell at $6 just to get on the causeway the water is a turquoise blue green

 

Here it is, a barrier island in SW Fl. Tarpon fishing in Boca pass is world famous. Invasive, black spiny tailed iguanas are all over here. I almost caught a baby one until it ran on a protected dune. 50 miles from my house.

 

Rhododendrons aren't particularly hard as long as they are matched with their specific light requirements for the variety. They like to be neglected. If you plant them in the fall, you can just plant and not tend to them at all and they should be fine. Most people tend to water them too often or at the worst times possible like in the scorching summer heat. My problem with them are the deer. I have several that are just as tall as they were 4 years ago when I planted them because the deer keep eating the new growth off the tops. I noticed this weekend that they had done it yet again.

 

Bummer. We've got a lot of deer in our area and they're the most destructive pest we contend with. I have to put cages around the trunks of all our young trees to keep Bambi & Co. from wrecking them.

 

Nice. The only iris I'm familiar with are the tall bearded varieties. My wife has moved those without any issues.

 

Update on my soil block posts on Page 17 (past pic above) -

My first tomato seedlings emerged today! I planted them 10 days ago and that's been consistent with my past results when germinating in cool temps.

And my experiment using composted cow manure in the block mix worked.

Another thing I have learned is that you should water the blocks every day while the seeds are germinating, not every other day as some people have suggested. Perhaps I can do that after the seedlings are up, but the blocks are drying up in two days.

 

How big are the blocks? Maybe 2"x2"? Yeah, I could see those drying out quickly.

For seed starting I use a sterile starting mix, and save the fertilization until after good roots have formed, or the seedling may spend too much time on the leaves and not enough on the roots (P & K). Manure is nitrogen rich, and may contain high levels of ammonia.

Keep us posted how it goes!

 

Yup, they're 2X2 blocks, and if you're germinating in cool, humid conditions you could probably get away with watering every other day but It's been a little warm this week, so that has ramped up the evaporation rate. Ive also gotten excellent germination rates (mid 90s+) keeping my seeds wet so I'm playing it safe with what I know from previous years.

As for the block mix, I'm using 1/2 Jiffy Starter mix and 1/2 compost and composted cow manure, and from the looks of the compost and manure it appears to be more compost than manure. Based on that, I think I've got something around 15% (plus or minus a few percent) composted manure in the entire block mix, and I'm not picking up any odors off the blocks, which is good. Judging from the soil block recipes I've read online, it appears I'm putting less nitrogen into the blocks than I would be if I used their fertilizers.

I'm totally winging it and I probably won't be able to assess the results for a few more weeks but so far so good (knock on wood).

 

Well guys, I usually start out with a good staring mix like Pro Mix. I put it in 6 pack trays and I use a seed starting mat. Then I repot in a 4 inch pot and put them outside in the cold frame. I bring them into the shed if temps fall below 25. I use cheap dirt in the 4 inch pots. I have a lot of plastic pots lying around so I don't have to purchase them. I just use a weak solution of Miracle Grow in the 4 inch pots. I will be putting everything in the garden soon.