any gardeners?

“Working on digging everything in today. Harvested some compost as well, all the junk mail I've been shredding and putting in there works wonders! Lovely fluffy stuff for the garden. Planted 6 rows of garlic. Picked some peas, lettuce and spiniach today. My rose is blooming like crazy. It's so pretty. too bad its so freakin COLD outside today.”

“There's a lot I need to get working on in the garden too, but I'm leery of using junk mail in the compost because of petroleum based inks and bleaches. Then again, I can get the bacteria needed to break down petroleum products and nastiness like that. Maybe I'll try a test pile of junk mail, just to see how it decomposes.”

“My rose is blooming like crazy too. It's never been so happy.

I never did get around to moving those lilacs.

I have envelopes all labeled to mail out milkweed roots, just have to get the shovel out and the motivation. Those that emailed look for them soon*.


*maybe in two weeks, it's supposed to rain everyday for the remainder of the week. maybe sooner though, depending on motivation.”

“Sweet, looking forward to some milkweed in the spring.”

“Cool Sass. I'm planning on hacking out a shrub I hate. It will make a perfect place for the milkweed.”

“We planted the top of a pineapple this spring....after it warmed up we put it in a bigger pot and placed it outside....now...with winter on the way, I researched what temps it can handle outdoors....it said don't go below 60 degrees....SO....we need to bring it in....
...well..here is the problem.....it is 36" high and 45" wide at it's widest.....where in the world are we going to put it?????”

“Get a grow light and put it in a corner of your house somewhere?”

“we are actually going to have to move furniture to put it somewhere...!!!!!!...I figure we caN JUST PUT IT ON THE KITCHEN TABLE...LOL......sorry...caps”

“Got a spare bathtub and a grow light, Divinity?”

“Violin and tech, the weed is in the mail. ;)

I wrapped the roots in newspaper. We had a great rain yesterday but I'd soak them in water for awhile before planting them.”

“Yipee!

Think I'd be better off putting them in the fridge until spring?”

“Butterfly weed rocks! I have seeds for some but havent had luck sprouting them in pots. I'll throw the seeds outside and try it that way.”

“I think I'd plant them. There's still plenty of time and the last bit of fall, and spring will give them a chance to dig their roots in deep for next summer. There's two or three stems and roots in each package.
Warning, aphids seem to adore this stuff too. So, if you do get caterpillar eggs you've gotta take them inside, and put them in a ziplock baggie until they hatch. Otherwise the aphids will gobble them up. My mom keeps the caterpillars inside until they form a crysalis and hatch. I put the caterpillars back on the bush and let them make their own way.”

“It's actually a variety of milkweed I'm sending. Butterfly weed is gorgeous!”

“We pulled all the annuals and cut down all the perennials yesterday. The tomatoes were still sprouting blooms, the darn things.

We can put plant clippings in the street and the city will take them away, but most of our stuff went into the neighbor's compost pile. I'm hoping to get a little compost in return next spring!”

“Great, thanks sass. Just got some day lillie bulbs from someone at work so I'll plant both ASAP.

I'm hoping the butterfly bushes I planted in August take off next year. I planted 3 colors but I think only one of the colors took root.”

“I'm watching finches pick all the seeds from the black eyes susans and several types of asters around the yard. One little bird is even eating all the catnip seed, which is very plentiful since I didn't deadhead the things like I was supposed to. Its going to be catnip heaven on that side of the yard.”

“dear god, you are going to be invaded by cats next year!!”

“THe feral cats already visit my yard, and leave their calling cards in the hollyhock bed.”

“Hmm, my catnip hasn't flowered/seeded yet! And I basically let it go wild.

I'll come back next year anyway, won't it?

I feel like such a gardening novice....”

“I just scored a gorgeous Rhododendrum and hydrangea for $10 each. I love fall!! Now, if it would just stopp raining long enough to plant....”

“Do rhodies grow up in Michigan? I didn't know that they did.”

“Not wild, but you can get hardy varieties for the garden. They don't get even half as big as what you all grow down south. Puny, but still lovely.”

“There's a dwarf rhodie I've been interested in. It only reaches 3' after 5 years in zone 7.

SO the pond liner was supposed to get here between 11 am and 1 pm yesterday. Dumba$$ didn't snow up until 4:45, so I had to drive a little faster than I'm comfortable with to get the hand truck I rented back to the store before they closed at 5:30. That liner weighed 380 pounds. And it bounced when we shoved it out the back of the semi trailer, too.”

“I've found a drought resistant fruit. I haven't watered my eggplants in over a month, and they don't care. They just keep producing more and more fruit.”

“Our fall crop of leetuce is up, maybe 6" tall. Looks good. Lots of rain. 70 and sunny tomorrow (rewally today, but much much later). Gonna eat some and give some to the bunnies..Our radishes look good so far too. A few kolrhabi left still....”

“Got the "weed", Sass.

Thanks a bunch.”

“Me, too. Arrived before the weekend but I was away family camping so I couldn't say "thanks" until now.”

“No problem guys. Sorry I didn't send seeds too. I stupidly sealed up the ziplock I had them in and they got all nasty and moldy.

Scored again at the little market across the street with all the gorgeous overpriced plants. One clematis and one more viburnum. The viburnum was originally $49.99, the clematis $39.99. both cost $20. I love fall clearances!

Lots more rabbit poo in our future. Sunshine gave birth to five little black and pick wiggly things today. As soon as I left for work tonight my mother in law fvcked around with them, right after I talked about how we are leaving her and the babies alone and she explained to Abby about how we can't mess with them because mom might eat the babies.”

“Nice, Sass. I had that happen a few times when I was raising rabbits. Nothing like having to pick out dead little heads and feet, since that's all that is left.”

“Sass, a way to prevent mold in seeds is to save those little packets you get in food or new shoes that say "do not eat" on them, they take they absorb moistere. Put those packs in with your seeds.

I hope the babies are ok :(”

“I raised rabbits when I was a kid, with my brother. At one point we had 50 of them, a mix of Netherland Dwarfs and Holland Lops. As long as the mother is already comfortable with you, doing a quick "finger and toe" check on each kit (baby) is OK. In the 6 or 7 years we had rabbits we never had a litter cannibalized.

You do get that problem if you don't keep all of your rabbits in seperate cages, especially the males. Females should go in a seperate cage a week before birth with a nesting box, but can go back into a female "general population" after weaning. We always kept them in their own cage, though.”

“The male is in a separate cage. Sunshine didn't seem to mind me checking out the babies, but all I did was lift the blanket of fur and check to see everyone was breathing and I'm the chief care giver for them. My mother-in-law has never touched the rabbits before, they don't know her and I'm not sure how much she handled them. I haven't been out yet today. The rain has stopped and the sun is supposed to come out soon; I'll check on them then.

Tech, I mis-calculated the time she's been pregnant and unfortunately she didn't show any signs of nesting even the day before yesterday, so she didn't get a box. She did make a nice nest for thm of straw though.”

“Your MIL was wrong to handle them in any way, don't feel bad for being angry! Might not hurt to put a box in there now, filled with some pine shavings. The mother might like it better than her straw nest and might move the kits into it. Since they are outside and its getting cold it might give them better protection. Once she is used to the box you might move them over yourself.”

“Good idea Tech, I'll take her box out there this afternoon. The hutch Birch built has a huge bedding area, enclosed, with a small door into the wire area. She was smart enough to make her nest in the most protected area of the bedding area. Believe it or not Birch just got done putting up insulation and siding on the hutch. Aren't we silly? I lost my dutch bunny when I was a kid the first winter we had her. I don't want the same thing to happen with Abby's.

Thanks for the silica sugestion SC. What a great way to recycle those little packets! BTW, I have about three tomatoes worth of bloody butcher seeds for next year. OMG they were amazing! Ugly things though.”

“Sass, I've grown bloody butchers for ever. Great tomatoe, one of the earliest and there are plenty of tomatoes a lot uglier then that!”

“Rabbits can take the cold. We had nice wood hutches, but they weren't insulated (your rabbits get a bonus since yours are). They are fine well below freezing. What kills them is drafts. We put up thick clear plastic every year (salvaged from the state fair, it covered the indoor table exhibits), draped roof to ground, held to the ground with firewood. That also gave them a greenhouse effect; their water wouldn't freeze in the daytime until it was really cold. If you think back to where your bunny was kept when you were a kid, it was probably drafty.”

“Sass, if all your babies make it, I would be interestd in buying one from ya..

I Miss my bunny :(”

“Maybe you shouldn't eat them next time!”

“I didn't eat my bunny >:(. He was a pet, a very beloved pet! >:(”

“Aww I'm sorry, I was just kidding! I thought you posted a kidding thread about eating them once...”

“bunnies are sacred creatures.”

“Mrs. Who?”

“I have nothing against raising rabbits for meat, infact I plan on doing just that, but that one was a pet rabbit--------not on the dinner menu.”

“Gotcha. I'm easily confused, what can I say.”

“;)


Aren't we all.”

“bunnies and kitties are very cute together.


last edited: 10/23/07 9:50:17 AM”

“They sure are :)

My bunny and kitty were friends”

“Tastes like chicken. Really, they do.”

“Tastes like chicken. Really, they do.



And they #&%!$ like rabbits.”