Follow
Share
Read More
Find Care & Housing
i dont like honey wine either , and in fact have never made it .
its just a plan " b " in case we can no longer coerce guatamalan slave labor .
plan " c " is mexican and american drug war " prison " labor .
plan " d " is yobamas dumb a@#s smashing sugar beets with a blunt stick at gunpoint .
we need sweeteners to make booze . im pretty negotiable as to how these sweeteners are brought to market ..
(1)
Report

Thanks Cwillie! Grasshopper lives! I will cover the bougies. These have caused me so much concern-what kind of therapy IS gardening therapy?
It must be survival training, yeah, that's it.
(2)
Report

Lol !! HAHAHAAAH!!! Mead is too sweet for my tastes. Had some in Ireland at Bunratty Castle.
(0)
Report

well ,
hubby needs to learn to roll with the flow . if i could choose between a drunk wife or a sober wife , s*it , this sentence doesnt even require completion ..
BTW .
wines sweetened with honey instead of cane sugar are called meads . they require so much less guatamalan slave labor ..
im way ahead of doc . hes thinking toast , bacon and honey . in my mind ive already cooked the mead into 151 proof lightning .
go BEES !!
(1)
Report

I will buy raw honey from you Cap!!! Great stuff, don't know about cherry wine, ut my drinking days are over since 2 years this May. I am not a good drunk, fell too many times, last time I cut my forehead open and the look on my husbands face às I was all bloody was a look I never want to see again.
(1)
Report

my little cherry propagations are still kickin it . these are from a " known " and trusted cherry tree . two years ago i copped 11 quarts of cherries from the host tree without even straining myself . for a dwarf tree that was a good yield .
meet me back here in 5 years and we can talk about cherry wine .
kidding . i wouldnt trade off cherry cobbler for booze . we'll make booze out of fish heads or something ..
out at the farm , " doc " is dead set on raising bees . the farm foreman claims to be allergic to bees and is a little apprehensive about it . im not . i get higher than cooter brown from a honey bee sting . i dont deliberately screw with em but i dont avidly avoid them either . we'll raise bees , i dont care either way .
(1)
Report

Nature can never to controlled, however, it can be destroyed, as well as cultures and animals. Nature is a tonic, and everytime I step into nature, I receive much more than I can ever give back.
(1)
Report

CWillie writes:

'It is funny that gardeners are trying to be one with nature and yet we are continually at war with the bits of nature we don't want in out gardens, like weeds, squirrels and grasshoppers. "

Yes, how true and how sad, and city code enforcement departments must take the responsibility for much of this, especially the lawn height and weeds laws.

As one of the gardeners I know writes, "weeds are just plant in the places we don't want them to be." It's amazing how Native Americans, colonists and earlier peoples found uses for plants even if they weren't edible or beautiful.

But history has shown that people don't always seek moderate or accommodating solutions, but rather seek to control, especially to control nature.

I'm surprise researchers haven't figured out a way to control the weather, although I'm sure some of them are trying, somewhere, somehow.

It reflects a lot about human beings and our adaptability that we've become so far from learning to live with nature.
(2)
Report

Oh, these bulbs, like all bulbs sold here are not like a bare root plant. It is just the bulb. I mention that because I have seen where they can be ordered with part of the green plant as in a bare root type. Live and learn.
(1)
Report

Oh dang, I ordered them from home depot cuz it was too late to get any from places like Scheiners. These are breaded irises. I will see what I can do to spread them out. I know with daffodils you can plant 2-3 bulbs in a pot together so I did not give it another thought these might be goo close together.
(1)
Report

Oh yeah, iris do best when sitting near the top of the soil, as clumps age and spread they tend to come right to the surface.

It is funny that gardeners are trying to be one with nature and yet we are continually at war with the bits of nature we don't want in out gardens, like weeds, squirrels and grasshoppers.
Nuke 'em Send, or cover those bougainvillea for a little while until the plague abates.
(3)
Report

Sharyn, Please send the cat instead, I will take care of it, and promise that I won't feed it any chocolate grasshoppers at all! I can take better care of a cat than tend a garden.
Lol. Just joking. Was wondering just how crazy this could get with the full moon. Can anybody send chocolate? Fortunately, we have Garden Artist to advise about the Iris plantings. Me, I would be grateful there is a green plant growing at all, and wait for April showers to bring May flowers. It is colder up North, so it takes longer. How many did you plant? I forgot, but it was lots, right?
(1)
Report

Sharyn, I think they're too deep. Did you order them from a quality grower like Scheiners, or buy them at someplace like Home Depot or Lowes? I'm wondering about the accuracy of instructions.

I know that not all plants come with proper identification or instructions. A poster on a gardening forum I visit bought a plant at one of the big box stores, planted it, and was threatened with legal action by code enforcement because the plant was actually an invasive plant iner state. It had been mislabeled by wherever the big box store got its plants.

If I post a link with a "dot com", it'll will get truncated. So Google "Schreiner's irises, planting guide", and click on the first hit "Grow Bearded Iris...". Then click on "planting bearded iris".

(If you really want to be mesmerized by the variety of irises they have, click on "online catalog".

I've bought my irises from Scheiner's - always very, very top quality tubers.

Their guides recommend planting 12 - 24" apart, with the rhizomes "laying down" (horizontally). There's a photo which includes a planting layout.

I'd be tempted to dig up the rhizomes, spread them out, and plant them less deep in the soil. Sandy soil could as I wrote be a major factor as well, especially if they're planted close together and too deep. Too much stress and competition and not enough nutrition.
(2)
Report

Send, I will send my grasshoppers south for you to take care of. Actually, my cat likes them, extra protein.
(1)
Report

I planted them 6 inches apart. That was what was in the instructions that came with the bulbs. Not all came up. I planted them 6 inches deep as per instructions.
(0)
Report

Having two opposing thoughts at the same time can give anyone a headache.

Maybe I will just start to talk to the grasshoppers, ask them what they like to eat, give them that as a trade off to not eat my favorite plants.
(0)
Report

Nuking the grasshoppers! That sounds fun, but not inside, in the microwave. Maybe rent a flamethrower? Or, gather them up, send them off to a candied grasshopper plant? Now I feel like it is mean to hurt them at all.

In the 70's T.V series, KUNG FU", David Carradine was called 'grasshopper'.

Maybe I don't want to be in charge of life and death.
(0)
Report

And I'll take some of those leaping lords as well if they bring their shovels, hoes and chain saws.
(0)
Report

Sharyn, irises planted too close together gradually cease to bloom. How close are yours? How deep did you plant them?

Are these bearded or Siberian irises?

They can also be early, mid season or late bloomers.

Sandy soil could make a difference; Instead of fertilizing them, you might try adding some well composed cow manure, sold in bags in garden centers. You can add it by hoeing out a circle several inches away from the iris, digging down maybe 5-6" and working the manure in. If it still has an odor, just spread it out on top of the soil and let it cure a bit before working it in.

One way you can tell if they'll be blooming properly is to dig up one plant, carefully and tenderly, and put it up in a deep container with your sandy soil mixed with good potting soil). It's kind of like the canary in the coal mine.

If it blooms and the others don't, you'll know something is amiss, either the placement of the bulbs, soil, or maybe some other unknown factor.
(0)
Report

Just my sarcastic sends of humor coming out,!!!!
(1)
Report

you should only try to co-exist if you plan to coat them in chocolate for late night snacks. Otherwise nuke them any way you can.
(2)
Report

Avatar, California poppies blooming now in Big Sur!
(2)
Report

oh, they're up, just not blooming! I see. Should check in here more often, but my ranunculus are still not planted, dying in the pots they came in. Was waiting for holes to be drilled in the new container.
The good news is that the bouganvillas are doing nicely. We are killing the grasshoppers that were eating them. Poor, ugly things. Is it okay to kill them, or should we try to co-exist? They really creep me out.
(0)
Report

LOL!!! send they are about 12-15 inches high. I was concerned, but now I know when to expect blooms. Yes I ummm.. sort of talk to them... you know...you mofo's better bloom soon...just joking!!!
(1)
Report

Sharyn, It's still March here. lol. Have you tried talking to them?
If I were worried, (and you planted so many) I would dig one up and take a look. Re-check if you faced them up the right way? Don't you think there would be a little green growth showing underground?
Don't ask me which way is up-Sorry, I just don't know. Anything with bulbs in my garden grew by itself-I didn't even plant them there!
We will all be waiting to hear!
(0)
Report

Since I have never grown irises before, I have been concerned they have shown no signs toward blooming. After some research for my area, it seems they bloom in late April and into May. I am going to fertilize them since my soil is sandy.
(0)
Report

Glad, LOL!!! Dang, that leaves birds again!!! Geese laying eggs, French hens, and those cute turtle doves!!!
(1)
Report

I will take the leaping lords as long as they gring the golden rings!
(1)
Report

me too!!
(1)
Report

lol
I totally missed that Stacey's partridges were in a pear tree :)
(1)
Report

Start a Discussion
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter