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Topic: Happy Gardening Day!
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nonsuch
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1402
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posted 18 May 2002 05:11 PM
No gardening - too cold, and i have 30 Mother's Day strawberries to plant out.But, there are a couple of family birthdays to celebrate, so the weekend isn't a total loss. Happy Victoria.
From: coming and going | Registered: Sep 2001
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Slick Willy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 184
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posted 18 May 2002 06:01 PM
Damn it Jim! I'm a doctor, not a damned pond pump mechanic!Spent the morning and afternoon working in the garden. Pond pump is shot so went and got a new one to replace it. You do know that those sump pumps work every bit as well as a name brand pond pump at about a third the price. My honeybunch made her first water feature using some of the drift wood and stones she brought back from Victoria and with a little guidence (drilling holes in ceramics) she put together a very nice planter for some bamboo to go on the patio. Just have the lighting left to install and then bedding plants and we are in business. I want to change a small flower bed into a raised flower bed and should get started on that in a couple of weeks or so. I used to love going out to Buchard Gardens when we lived in Victoria but there is something you get when you work hard on your own garden that you don't get looking at the nicest displays. With luck in another few weeks I'll be able to put the pool fish out and get the lillies growing. As cold and cloudy it is, it is still summer now that I have gotten my fingers into the earth.
From: Hog Heaven | Registered: Apr 2001
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Slick Willy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 184
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posted 18 May 2002 10:46 PM
Heh heh sorta 'lance. Water wants to move, so it must be pumped. Fish love this moving water stuff too. As part of the filtration of the pond, we added a stream (birds love this) and hope to have a toad move in soon. Wingnut, sounds like you are interested in a pond. You do understand that it is a hole in the ground that you throw money into, right? For us though it is worth the money and the work as it makes a little spot in Toronto alot more peaceful, seductive, attractive, alive, content, secluded, and stuff. But more on this later. We had some last summer and I noticed lots of bulbs busted open. I know some birds will peck at them and we have seen racoons at the pond having a good sniff around. There is a woodchuck under the neighbours garage that comes to the pond each day and I think he may have had a taste aswell. It didn't much matter to us though as from three plants hundreds upon hundreds came. Also fish love the roots and will eat and spawn within them. We composted I would guess 350 to 400 some odd plants from the orignial 3. From tiny to something that could use a punt for crossing ponds kick ass. They aren't that hard to build and can be from simple to just plain nuts. Ours is small actually at 220 gallons. But small can be under a gallon and up. What I like is the sound that comes from moving water. It has to move over things to create the splashing sound. But that in itself is an adventure in finding stones and bits along the beaches and rivers and parks around Toronto. As I said earlier my wife brought back some small stones and driftwood she picked up while out on the coast. We picked up some small terracotta saucers and sand and crushed rock along with a oblong deck planter. Added a smiling kitchen god (most call them Buddah) a 60 gallon per hour pump and my wife put it all together. The water collects in the planter where it is pumped up through a 1/2" hose to a hole cut into a 12" long piece of twisty driftwood. It runs down the driftwood into a terracotta saucer filled with some nicely marked stones and trickles back down into the planter through a few holes drilled into the terracotta. Lovely sound, looks beautiful and is a simple way to add contrast and texture to the edge of the patio. But back to ponds. The 220 gallon we have now is very nice as it is large enough for a few fish, a few plants and once it is in balance, it take only a few minutes each week to keep up. For starters, those rigid precast plastic pond liners are great. just dig out the ground, fit it in level and filler up. But that is just a taste. Once you find out whether you into it or not, you have lots of room to move up to more elaborate ponds that become small eco systems. Yes you finally get to be God. To be honest, I am at the point where 10,000 gallons does not sound outrageous. But that will be in the future. When keeping fish in a pond, the same rules apply that you use for keeping fish in a tank. The pond has to cycle or fish die. Let me know if anyone wants to hear what cycle means. Feed em, change out some water each week, and give them some cover to hide from the sun and preditors. Badda bing. I could go for pages here so maybe it would be best to just ask questions. heh heh
From: Hog Heaven | Registered: Apr 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 18 May 2002 11:12 PM
I was out planting the veggies this afternoon in the prairie wind. At this point I haven't decided whether I am windburnt or sandblasted.Rule Brittania! Bonne fête de Dollard.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Slick Willy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 184
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posted 21 May 2002 10:23 AM
quote: Better damn well warm up this week so I can do something with them!
As you wish. Wednesday weather for Ottawa forcasts highs of 19 and warming toward the weekend. Looks like a great time to get your perennials into the ground and tend to some of the other chores. Not sure if everyone knows about Lee Valley or if it is a little secret. Great place for ideas and really good quality stuff. Prices are a pleasant surprise once you understand that the goods are high quality. If you haven't been there, you want to be. They do mail order and online sales too. Sorry for the commercial but I love these guys. The free catalogs are great too. Lee Valley
From: Hog Heaven | Registered: Apr 2001
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vickyinottawa
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 350
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posted 21 May 2002 10:42 AM
Lee Valley: Dangerously close to my workplace Am eyeing the folding wheelbarrow Thanks for the weather update....the planting may begin this evening, before my meeting.... [ May 21, 2002: Message edited by: vickyinottawa ]
From: lost in the supermarket | Registered: Apr 2001
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 21 May 2002 12:32 PM
quote: I was out planting the veggies this afternoon in the prairie wind.
You're a braver man than I am, Arch.... We put off planting until this damned wind dies down. Gusting to 60kph!!!! Crap! The forecast is also threatening freezing for 3 nights this coming week, so now my house is full of bedding plants that I don't dare put out, even though it's going up to 29 degrees today. I'm very cross about this weather.... I want to put out my herb garden! I want to plant peas and carrots! I want FLOWERS!!!! Dammit! (PS -- We love Lee Valley, too... Good thing we only have mail-order access!)
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 21 May 2002 01:18 PM
Hey Zoot;I went out to the garden yesterday, and was literally blown off-balance by the wind as I was watering. You can still harden-off those bedding plants. I've been leaving mine outside for a week, and they froze (mildly - no damage) only once! No frost in our northern forecast this week.... Love those Lee Valley catalogues. I find their gadgets intriguing. I look at some gizmo and think, 'That's a great idea,' and turn the page.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 21 May 2002 02:20 PM
quote: Any chance you guys can make a covering with poly over your bedding plants? I know the wind can get under damn near everything.
I've considered it, but with a 3-day 50-60 kph blow, chances are it'll wind up in somebody's yard several miles away. Our yard is pretty sheltered, but with new plants, they're still pretty tender and will take a beating. Especially the basil. And the veggie garden is a plot in a community garden, so it's wide open, no shelter at all from the wind. A cover wouldn't last a minute. I usually plant bushy sunflowers as a bit of a windbreak, but they won't be up for a while, and planting carrots and beets in this wind... Might as well not bother, they're gone before they hit the dirt (even more so when the gardening assistant is 4 yrs old!). quote: You can still harden-off those bedding plants. I've been leaving mine outside for a week, and they froze (mildly - no damage) only once!
I've been doing just that, but I take 'em in overnight. I need to get them in the ground, though, my 16 mo old is waaaaay to interested in the little pots. Last year I put my basil under cloches (made from clear plastic juice jugs) overnight for the first few weeks, left them on for windy days. But this wind is just mental.
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 21 May 2002 02:38 PM
quote: How lovely! I hadn't noticed the tryst rings. I'll have to go look in the catalogue again. Might have to put a bug in the blond guy's ear... He hates to think anybody's as good at romantic as he is!
I hate guys like that. They make those of us whose idea of being romantic is to turn down the volume on the hockey game look bad. Hey, I have a plot in a community garden too! It's very exposed, so I plan on erecting a 1X4 frame surrounded by poly to shield the plants. Between the wind and the gophers last year, they really took a beating.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Slick Willy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 184
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posted 21 May 2002 03:06 PM
quote: I hate guys like that. They make those of us whose idea of being romantic is to turn down the volume on the hockey game look bad.
But Arch, I thought it was old smoothies like you that paved the way for the rest of us stiffs. I swear one night a month of slathering on the mush and you coast for the next 30 days. Hell with a little extra effort you can start getting cold beer and big stinky sandwiches delivered at the start of the second period. I mean so I've heard. That is to say if my wife reads this board from work heh heh you know just big talk in front of the boys. heh heh Sweetie. Darling. Oh hell!
From: Hog Heaven | Registered: Apr 2001
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 21 May 2002 03:10 PM
quote: Hey, I have a plot in a community garden too!
We've got loads of bunnies in ours... Exercise the dog in the winter by setting her loose in the field, the bunnies lope around while she goes nuts. Had a gopher last year, but there's another gardener, an old farmer retired into the city, who "took care of him" for us... Promised he didn't use poison, and I don't want any more details... Do you think your frame would affect the light levels? Sounds like an intriguing idea. I love the community garden plot. We don't have to sacrifice kid-and-dog playing space to have fresh, home-grown veggies. I'm still finishing beans from last year's crop! It's amazing how much you can produce in one little plot. We're trying raised beds this year, and mulching with straw to keep in the moisture. The raised beds prevent frost somewhat, I'm told, so if we can extend the growing season a week or two, that'd be good. [ May 21, 2002: Message edited by: Zoot Capri ]
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 22 May 2002 12:03 AM
Now I really dislike this guy...Willy, this secret of yours, how do you manage it? It sounds like science fiction to me. quote: Do you think your frame would affect the light levels? Sounds like an intriguing idea.
The poly doesn't inhibit light at all. I've seen greenhouses covered with the stuff. The damn wind blew a flat of plants off my patio table today. Losses are moderate, but sheesh.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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nonsuch
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1402
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posted 22 May 2002 01:39 AM
This year, i'm putting all the delicate stuff (peppers, tomatoes, eggpalnt) in plastic tents. A chore to build and a pain to maintain - since plastic sheet only comes in 10' width, so the tent can't be any taller than about 3', and i have to crawl in there and sweat like a pig while weeding, but they simply won't survive any other way. Everything else will just have to take its chances with global warming.My little pondling is doing okay. Two frogs, a regenerating cattail; chervil, angelica, irises and violets very happy on the periphery. With any luck, it'll be warm enough to get out there and do some serious digging tomorrow.
From: coming and going | Registered: Sep 2001
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Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560
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posted 22 May 2002 09:08 AM
quote: I mean so I've heard. That is to say if my wife reads this board from work heh heh you know just big talk in front of the boys. heh hehSweetie. Darling. Oh hell!
HAHA - hey Slick, what do you mean, if she reads this from work? Is your wife a babbler here!? Who is she! WHO WHO WHO!? Enquiring minds and all... Vicky, you work near Lee Valley? Poor sucker. But you know what? I'd be much more tempted by the Ikea next door, personally. I'd be coming home every day with a new candle, knick-knack shelf, what-have-you.
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001
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Slick Willy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 184
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posted 22 May 2002 11:00 AM
quote: HAHA - hey Slick, what do you mean, if she reads this from work? Is your wife a babbler here!? Who is she! WHO WHO WHO!? Enquiring minds and all...
Heh I'm not sure. I don't think so but she can anytime she wants to. Sometimes she will be here working and reads what I'm looking at or what I'm posting and it gets us talking sometimes. I just need to watch my Ps and Qs or I could end up giving her the idea that I could be doing a lot more. Why, she could get the idea that I should be bringing her a cuppa tea in bed every morning too and then where would I be? Well the sun is shining and the temps are warming up. I best get out and tend to the yard work while things are quiet. With a little luck and a loooooooong network cable I just might be able to Babble and hammock this afternoon all under the guise of working. That's why I wear the headphone mic unit instead of the beerholder hat. Just so people will know what I am working at.
From: Hog Heaven | Registered: Apr 2001
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 22 May 2002 12:27 PM
quote: Why, she could get the idea that I should be bringing her a cuppa tea in bed every morning too and then where would I be?
Precisely where you ought to be... In her good books! Were you not aware that it is the man's duty to wait hand and foot on the goddess? Okay, I have jinxed myself big-time. I shouldn't have bitched about the wind gusting up to 60 kph -- it's gusting up to 70 kph this morning and it's cold to boot. Guess gardening is also out for today. PS -- Nonesuch, I'm jealous of your violets! It's too dry out here for them to grow. [ May 22, 2002: Message edited by: Zoot Capri ]
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 22 May 2002 01:17 PM
Willy, yer full of beans, but I like your attitude.I brought the plants into the house this morning because the wind is beating them up so bad outside. Yeah, and it's cold today too. I've got the windows closed up, but I smell dust constantly and have a sore throat. I got them dust bowl pneumony blues. Well, gotta hitch the Oldmobile to the mule and head to the mall...
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 22 May 2002 01:54 PM
Yeah, I having a 4 day sinus headache from the dust. Went out to my plot yesterday and there's actual soil drifts! Sky's got that ugly dirty-yellow-brown cast today. Gross. Unfortunately, I have neither Oldsmobile nor mule... And I don't think Kali the Dalbrador would look kindly on being hitched to the minivan... I think it's short trips on foot for me.... quote: Yeah I heard something like that but I just gave that chick a slap on the ass and made her go make me something to eat and a beer before she had to wash my car.
As if you're fooling anybody! Hah!
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 22 May 2002 06:57 PM
Aie! Attention mes oreilles! So who DOES say "pommes de terre?" Cara Sposa and everyone else I've met from France says "patates." Do they use only "patate" in Quebec? I know a guy from Beauport who call spuds "pataks" sometimes. By coincidence, we're having Raclette pour souper ce soir.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 22 May 2002 06:58 PM
Holy Cats!!!! It's pissing rain out here!!! The forecast was for showers, not deluge! And I just noticed this second, a fine hail to go with that deluge.... The prairies.... Such an inviting climate....
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 22 May 2002 10:20 PM
quote: Well, if living in Saskatchewan meant I got to own my very own home free and clear I'd put up with the hail and all that too.
We're not free-and-clear owners, Dr C, but we've got a nice, big character place for about a third what my SIL was offered for her 2 bedroom bungalow in Marpole. quote: ...but I confess I've never cared much for Regina. (Sorry, Zoot Capri!)
It has a subtle charm -- and you have to know where to look for it. Love it here. Saskatoon's got a river, but we've got a much better park. And it's been home for 4 generations...
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 22 May 2002 11:09 PM
quote: "it's dry cold"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!! It's not the Manitobans, usually, it's the Torontonians. And they always say it like it's a good thing, as if we have it easier.... Let me explain prairie cold. Yes, it's dry. The reason it's dry is because it's SO damned cold at -40 that the temperature itself sucks the moisture out of the air. Add to that a good, hefty wind that gathers speed as it whistles across the flat plains, and you have the kind of cold that not only crystalizes your breath as it leaves your body, it actually sucks the moisture right out of your body! Thanks, but I'll take a damper cold any time! At least it won't cause skin damage in under a minute. Oy vey, dry cold..... LOLOLOL!!!
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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'lance
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1064
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posted 22 May 2002 11:42 PM
quote: Let me explain prairie cold. Yes, it's dry. The reason it's dry is because it's SO damned cold at -40 that the temperature itself sucks the moisture out of the air. Add to that a good, hefty wind that gathers speed as it whistles across the flat plains, and you have the kind of cold that not only crystalizes your breath as it leaves your body, it actually sucks the moisture right out of your body!
Yabbut... when we arrived in Calgary in March, it was cold. I mean, god/dessdamned cold. But weirdly enough, I didn't mind it. Now, it's true I'm a Torontonian manqué, having done seven (7) years there (1982-1989; I Got Out the day before the Skydome officially opened, figuring God/dess was finally about to put Hir little finger down on the place, like a cigarette ember that had smouldered too long. And so it proved. Naturally, I've been nostalgic for it ever since). But I'm from the Ottawa Valley, so this seemed like proper winter. It was somehow bracing. After 12 years in BC, I felt like I was back in Canada. Now, I admit I didn't have to be out in it long. Back in Vancouver, I did field work 12 months a year and barely noticed a difference (OK, the Jan./Feb. cold could seep into your bones, somehow, but that's different from having your skin frozen). It's been a bit slow for me of late, field-wise, so I was spared frostbite. Still, I've experienced worse. Next winter, I'm sure the novelty will have worn off.
From: that enchanted place on the top of the Forest | Registered: Jul 2001
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Slick Willy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 184
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posted 23 May 2002 09:58 AM
quote: It has a subtle charm -- and you have to know where to look for it
Oh it does not. One thing it dies have that is inspiring is the hoarfrost on the trees in winter. They get frosted just as you see in movies of evil frozen antagonist lairs. The wind is insane and has always been so. The winters are long but you do see the sun when it's cold. And the seasons are really screwed up there. What is it, about a week of spring, a month and a half of summer, 3 weeks of fall and 40 weeks of mind numbing cold and snow. There is a big park in the center of town with a lake but last I saw of it it was a toilet for geese and the lake is just about big enough for a small canoe. Does Regina still hold the world record for longest bridge over the smallest stretch of water? Do they still sell t-shirts to visitors that says "I drank Regina water and lived"? And mosquitos, you don't know from mosquitos. You can lose five pounds just walking to the car. But the housing is cheap. A no great shakes bungalow in Toronto costs more than a nice five bedroom, three car garage on a half acre with pool. Regina housing
From: Hog Heaven | Registered: Apr 2001
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'lance
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1064
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posted 23 May 2002 02:10 PM
quote: It has a subtle charm -- and you have to know where to look for it.
I found the same of Edmonton. Hated it first time I was here (fall 1999), like it now. When I'm travelling for work reasons, I see the worst of cities -- industrial sites, derelict as often as not, and hotels.
From: that enchanted place on the top of the Forest | Registered: Jul 2001
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 23 May 2002 02:57 PM
quote: Oh it does not.
Now that's just not nice, Willy. Cut it out. Sure, we get wind, but usually it's manageable. We don't get smog, we have lots of sun, and the spring/summer and fall are usually pretty nice. We get about 3 months of deep cold (extreme cold snaps come and go, last about a week to a week and a half at a stretch on average), but even that has its pleasures -- like the hoarfrost, ice crystals sparkling in the air. And what better excuse for a roaring fire in the fireplace? And then there's the fact that one can be out of town in any direction from our place in 5 to 15 minutes. And sunsets! You've never seen such sunsets as we get out here! quote: There is a big park in the center of town with a lake but last I saw of it it was a toilet for geese and the lake is just about big enough for a small canoe.
Now that's just plain nasty. Wascana Park is quite beautiful. The lake, I will admit, is not the most clean and clear, but it's man-made and on the prairie, where clear lakes just don't happen. Wascana is also linked to numerous other parks from the north-west corner of the city to the south-east, all with bike paths and green spaces. We have a higher percentage of space devoted to parks in this city than the majority of Canadian cities. We've also got some cool little neighborhoods springing up, like Cathedral Village. Lots of old character houses, all services you need within walking distance, arts festival every spring, lots of active community involvement. Good place to raise kids. quote: And mosquitos, you don't know from mosquitos. You can lose five pounds just walking to the car.
Not when it's dry or windy. You probably have more of 'em up north, around Prince Albert, where the prairie turns to forest and they get more moisture. And around Yorkton, which is again more damp. And no worse than Winnipeg, Calgary or Edmonton, or so I've observed. You know, people always make Regina out to be such a hole... It really pisses me off. It's actually pretty insulting. And the link you posted -- That house is overpriced. Somebody'll probably wind up paying at least $20,000 less for it. [ May 23, 2002: Message edited by: Zoot Capri ]
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 23 May 2002 03:10 PM
quote: I've always seen Saskatoon and Regina as roughly equivalent.
Me too, which is why I don't understand Saskatudlians' attitude of superiority. I don't know Cathedral, but I once called Broadway a "smug backwater of ersatz bohemianism" on my radio show. Do you listen to Regina Community Radio? I have, on the 'net a couple of times. It sounds OK. We used to brag that ours was the only station of its kind in Saskatchewan. Our signal is so weak that sometimes one cannot hear it even in Saskatoon, while people all over the planet can listen to cjtr.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 23 May 2002 03:20 PM
quote: I don't know Cathedral, but I once called Broadway a "smug backwater of ersatz bohemianism" on my radio show.
Well, Cathedral is pretty bohemian. The majority of the artists living in the city are in the neighborhood (I wouldn't say we're smug, per se). But there's also an amazing mix of socio-economic classes that manage to cooperate through a very active community association and a designated community school. Edited to add: CJTR is only a few months old, and while I've listened some, I know some of the people involved in getting it started up. I'm really encouraged that it's up and running, because the rest of the radio stations (except CBC, which I like) really suck. Ya gotta problem with bohemians? [ May 23, 2002: Message edited by: Zoot Capri ]
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Slick Willy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 184
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posted 23 May 2002 05:39 PM
No offense intended Zoot, I lived there for a few years and escaped. Different strokes for different folks and some people love Regina. quote: And the link you posted -- That house is overpriced. Somebody'll probably wind up paying at least $20,000 less for it.
I agree but here in Toronto you wouldn't touch that place for under 300k. And if that isn't shocking enough you should see what you can get for their asking price here. heh heh I guess you just get jaded after leaving Regina for a normal city like Toronto. Sure the air may be toxic but with the cheap price of bottle air who cares? Not to mention we got the Leafs and that in and of itself makes Toronto the best place in Canada. please address all flame mail and letter bombs to [email protected]
From: Hog Heaven | Registered: Apr 2001
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 23 May 2002 05:51 PM
quote: I guess you just get jaded after leaving Regina for a normal city like Toronto.
AAAAHahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!! Okay, you've just redeemed yourself with humour -- Toronto, NORMAL!!!! Hah!!!! Me, after a week or two in Toronto, I also feel a need of escape. Nice place to visit, but no way could I live there. My head clogs up within a few hours of arrival. I know about the housing price thing in TO and Vancouver. Friends in TO, friends and family in Van. Even cities like Edmonton and Calgary, we'd have paid twice what we did for something comparable to our place. But out here, for what they were asking ($154,000?) you should be able to get at least a big garage included, and likely some other extras. [ May 23, 2002: Message edited by: Zoot Capri ]
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 31 May 2002 11:46 AM
Hum a little Percy Grainger, haul out your hoe, and get to it.When gardening, keep in mind the immortal line from the classic film, Roadie: "Everything works if you let it." Meat Loaf courage [ May 31, 2002: Message edited by: Arch Stanton ]
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 01 June 2002 09:55 AM
The meteorologists are saying that it is drier here now than it was at any time during the dirty thirties.I can believe it. We had snow last year, but nothing - snow or rain - yet this year. I got a sprinkler for the garden this spring. I put some tomatoes, peppers and cabbages out in the ol' allotment last night. The soil was like light sand mixed with powder. I decided to irrigate. I put the sprinkler on at 8 pm and returned at 6 this morning to find my plants were under water. I guess that means that 10 hours under a sprinkler is a bit much?
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Slick Willy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 184
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posted 01 June 2002 10:43 AM
Yes just a little bit. All you need is about an inch or two. You can buy a gauge or use the tried and true ol' timey method, a cup. Sure it doesn't offer all the high tech advantages like lines on it and official rain measuring cup status but wo cares? heh heh Just put the cup where the water from the sprinkler will fall into it and wait till you guess there is an inch or two in the cup. Baddabing You da rainman. Even better is a rain barrel hooked up to the evestrough around the house. So when weather does make with the cats and dogs, you can save the water to use it as needed. Also I read something about watering during the day. There is a myth that is you water later in the day when the sun is strongest, the beads of water on the plants will magnify the light and burn the plants. It just ain't true. As a matter of fact it gives excess water a chance to evaporate a little and helps to prevent mould. From what I've heard, best time to water is early morning. Best time to cut the grass is early evening to give the lawn time to recover before the sun hits it and photosynthisis begins for the day.
From: Hog Heaven | Registered: Apr 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 01 June 2002 11:53 AM
Since I have a 25 minute cross-town drive to the garden I can't be there to monitor my moisture levels.I've never heard of raindrops causing the sun's rays to burn leaves before. I'd guess the Creator would have figured that one out on his own and set up a system of checks and balances. I don't water in the middle of the day because the water evaporates in the sun before it has a chance to soak in.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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vickyinottawa
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 350
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posted 01 June 2002 06:45 PM
My roomies think I'm nuts 'cause I often garden in the early a.m.....the dog gets me up anyway, so I figure, what the hell.I just got back from a work trip to discover that I've missed about 1/3 of the Irises... I have 2 different kinds. The massive ones will bloom this week - hooray! The stuff I planted in my shade garden before I left town seems to be doing well...most of my herbs are rockin' - I never thought the french tarragon would be perennial, but it's really growing well. Today I planted pumpkin seeds in my front yard. Part of my rebellion against lawns. Wish me luck. I can't think of anything cooler than a pumpkin vine winding through the grub-destroyed grass
From: lost in the supermarket | Registered: Apr 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 01 June 2002 11:13 PM
Way to go Vicki! Pumpkins in the front lawn...marvellous idea. A person could grow Howard Dill's Atlantic Giants in a lawn and tell the neighbours that the fruit are lawn gnomes.On another note...I checked the allotment this aft and found my rice paddy of this morning has reverted to its semi-arid state. But it's a humid semi-arid state.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 02 June 2002 02:58 PM
It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring...Finally a little natural moisture. It's been really dry, I've needed to water every day. I missed one, and my cabbages are looking dreary. I fear I will lose all but one. Will have to replace them, as Ms B requested cabbages to grow especially (no idea why, other than borscht, we don't eat a lot of cabbage... But she's 4 1/2, and she's got her own section of the plot this year to grow what she likes). Tomatoes and peppers seem to have weathered it, though. We have a weed problem with sunflowers this year -- we planted 'em 2 years ago, last year they seeded themselves a bit, so we had them again, and this year! Holy cats! They're everywhere! I've pulled out tons already, and the neighboring plot will have to as well, or risk getting overrun. I gave some to another community gardener who happened to ask what they were. Nice to dig them up and see them of some use instead of becoming mulch! I like your pumpkin idea, vicki, but I think I'll stick to lawn -- need kid and dog playing room in the yard... But my front yard pansies, fuschias and impatiens are doing great and look nice. Now I'm going to paint the second coat of bright yellow paint on the front screen door if the rain lets up....
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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skdadl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 478
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posted 03 June 2002 09:41 AM
quote: In a prior life I would never have believed I would be in this conversation or that this life were even possible. What the hell happened?
Awwwwww Well, Wingy, it sounds to me as though you fell in love and are now living happily ever after. This just makes me feel warm all over. I am so pleased. (Re the hyacinths: Guys, hyacinths bloom in the spring, fairly early spring, no matter when you plant them. If you bought forced ones -- ie: already blooming -- this spring, plant them now and they'll be up late April next year. You can also just buy the bulbs (lemme check whether hyacinths are bulbs or corms ...) in the fall and plant them then. It's true that they like to be cool -- most of the bulbs do -- the flowers last longer that way.)
From: gone | Registered: May 2001
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Slick Willy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 184
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posted 03 June 2002 10:43 AM
quote: What are you paying for lillies? They are quite expensive out this way. Also, way back I asked you what could be eating hyacinths. Well?
I thought I answered but you know what happens to the old thinker when the sun gets on it. The lillies I bought went for $19 and $29 for the jumbos. That is a little on the high end though but they were there and I was tired of walking. The Hyacinth is cheap $2 per and are floaters. I have seen birds, racoons, and squirrels munching away on them and suspect the local woodchuck is adding a little to his diet now and again. Could even be bugs though I think perhaps in addition to other munching monsters. I had so many last year that I never really got concerned about it. This year I just bought one. How are you regulating the water temps? My pond is at the mercy of the elements are far as temps go as I use no heater or chiller though the pump does give off some heat. quote: In a prior life I would never have believed I would be in this conversation or that this life were even possible. What the hell happened?
I hear ya bro. If you asked me what I would plant in a garden 20 years ago I would have laughed at you and said maybe some dope. Now I am up each morning at 6 and with coffee in hand head out first thing to look at what's beginning to bloom and what is coming along. And to think that my parents had to damn near go to war just to get me out of bed for high school. heh heh My next "thing" is starting to move from the back burner to the front. I have an apple tree that was cut down a couple of years ago due to it kicking the bucket. We cut up most of the limbs and sent them to the wood pile but I kept the trunk and main branches intact, about 8 feet, and set it up on chocks and covered it to let it dry out. I stood it up (actually upside down) this weekend and I am about to begin carving my own totem. I did a little practice with a carver who knows about all this stuff and he showed me some techniques. So I hope to have it done before fall, with the wife's help of course, and set it into the garden. I hope to get four figures into it that include a raven and a kitchen god, and the other two we are still talking about. It is all really symbolic to us and more of a conversation piece/friend to watch over the garden. I am still alot closer to making fire wood than art but it should be great fun for my first try. Carving has a real satisfying quality about it. My carver friend even made loan of some of his tools for me to get started along with a good book on carving.
From: Hog Heaven | Registered: Apr 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 03 June 2002 09:54 PM
My granny's been a guerilla gardener for years. Sometimes if she sees a plant she likes in a store she'll snip a bit off and propagate it at home.Her best gardening advice: "On every green thumb you'll find a callous"
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 04 June 2002 12:12 PM
Weeds?Luxury! I only wish we had weeds to contend with. It's so dry the weeds don't grow.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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clersal
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 370
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posted 06 June 2002 12:20 AM
I bought 12 Tiny Tim tomato plants, $3.50. I have planted them from home grown and I have never had much success. Probably has to do with the light and humidity. This is my first year buying from a nursery. All my other vegetables are from seed. Lettuce, Swiss Chard, grean beans, yellow beans, cucumber and zuccini. I don't do carrots or onions as they are always cheap to buy. I also do potatoes, not for the price but for the new potatoes. Shit they are good. I have done the chinese peas, that I like a lot but they produce like mad fiends. Radishes I usually do but this year I am on a Swiss Chard kick. I have a small garden as I am not into pickling and freezing. I have hops growing up the side of the house. It makes a really nice vine. The hops has had some kind of a disease the last few years. It comes up okay and grows healthily for about a month and then boom! In come the tiny green caterpillars that eat the shit out of it and it looks like my grandmother's crocheted table cloth at the end of the summer. I have tried dish soap sprays but I probably don't do it enough. Anyhow the bloody plant has to figure out how to deal with it. I would buy a chicken to eat the caterpillars but I think Jerome would kill the chicken.
From: Canton Marchand, Québec | Registered: Apr 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 06 June 2002 02:13 PM
How long before the rhubarb poison wears off? What if one wanted to use the hops in...I dunno...brewing ale?Question for clersal - were you referring snap peas when you mentioned Chinese peas? I've never tried to grow them. I tried growing michili cabbage a couple of times... *pauses to reflect that comparing peas and cabbage is like...apples and oranges -Chinese notwithstanding* ...but found that they bolted in the heat, so I never did harvest any.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 19 June 2002 12:24 PM
My granny had tent caterpillars in her crabapple trees last weekend. She has a failsafe method of dealing with individual bugs; she squishes them between her fingers.So there I was, teetering on a stepladder, pruning shears in hand, clipping the tips of branches that had become covered with clusters of newly-hatched caterpillars. I'd cut off the tops and throw them to the ground, where someone else would step on the bugs. You don't want to know how I dealt with gophers last year... [ June 19, 2002: Message edited by: Arch Stanton ]
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 19 June 2002 01:18 PM
Two words:"Cabbages" "Beets" [ June 19, 2002: Message edited by: Arch Stanton ]
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Debra
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 117
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posted 19 June 2002 01:40 PM
About four years ago I dug up all my plants and in the process unfortunately killed a beautiful rose which I had rescued from a vacant lot. The next spring I noticed a small plant that had grown from one of it's hips. The rose is now about two by three feet and blooming beautifully. I also have some species ramblers that I have started from one mother plant that are ready to burst with bloom. Ever notice how the gifts are the ones that do best? This is what the first rose looks like
From: The only difference between graffiti & philosophy is the word fuck... | Registered: Apr 2001
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Slick Willy
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 184
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posted 19 June 2002 02:36 PM
I think it is called a "single" Michelle, as opposed to doubles that have layers of petals on each blossom. I notice a number of you are "farmers". Our back yard looked like a landfill and even though it now looks very nice I would never eat anything that was grown there. We have Rasberries along the boarder with the neighbour we replaced the dirt that was there with clean earth. Also my wife dug out a small bullrush last year when we were down at the lake. We put it in the pond in a container and though it grew well it never reproduced the cat tails. Over winter we just left it in the pond and let it freeze. This year I was thinking to myself that this would be the last year for the rush as it has massive roots and doesn't do much other than add some contrast of height. Yesterday I found a cat tail starting and it is about as thick as a pencil. I pointed it out to my wife last night and I tell ya, if she had a tail she would have cleared off the table with it she was so happy. So I guess the Rush will stay and my waterlillies will have to just get along with them in the pond.
From: Hog Heaven | Registered: Apr 2001
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Jo Jo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2196
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posted 20 June 2002 12:02 AM
earthmother, I believe that is called Rosa glauca. I have one in my garden that just started blooming for the year. It is a species rose, truly stunning. We love roses, have a lot of them and this is the time of year when they bloom and the garden is paradise.I have been reading the posts to this thread over the past weeks and have been so glad to see the cross country enthusiasm for gardening. I love to garden. And am fortunate to have enough space and a friendly climate in which to dabble. (not as friendly as the west coast however). It is my saviour. It soothes my soul. It is the one place I have experienced pure joy. Very early one summer morning, birds singing, mist rising, oh my heavens.... When the world according to Gordo gets too much to bear, I retire into my garden and the rest of the world can just piss off as far as I am concerned. Ah, yes and then there's Lee Valley....... So from April to October I don't pay much attention to the rest of the world. And for my own survival, it's probably just as well. Happy gardening everyone... see you in the fall
From: BC | Registered: Feb 2002
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 20 June 2002 02:34 AM
I went out to the allotment today. Too dang muddy to hoe.Spuds are coming up erratically, as are bush beans and one variety of spinach. The broad beans and corn are looking promising... This looks like a good year for cabbage and onions.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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skdadl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 478
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posted 20 June 2002 09:49 AM
earthmum, that is so beautiful. I love the single roses and the native rugosas best of all -- the singles remind me of the Alberta wild rose, which has flatter and broader petals and is paler than yours, but gives the same effect ...We have a climbing rose we planted six or seven years ago that has almost-single flowers -- we call her Ariadne, although I think you find her in catalogues under the name Shropshire Lass. She has grown like mad, way out of my control on the fence side of our place, although I made myself prune back hard last year from the centre. What we have right now is a dense central bush flowering all over the place on our side of the fence, with drifts of blooms way up high and hanging over on our neighbours' where I couldn't prune -- this will last for about two weeks, overwhelmingly beautiful, the best thing my garden ever does, and she won't rebloom -- but gosh! it is worth it!!! I would post a photo if I had that capacity ... The blooms are pink as buds and as they open, but then white as they suddenly become flat, with intense yellow centres. My neighbour also comes from Medicine Hat (we grew up a few blocks from each other, which we only found out when her husband asked Fang one night where Redcliff's name came from), and she feels the same way I do about those wild flat blooms suddenly poking in her windows each June. We are so unlike in so many other ways; but over the roses, we have bonded.
From: gone | Registered: May 2001
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skdadl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 478
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posted 20 June 2002 11:32 AM
Don't worry, vickyinottawa -- your peonies will last for you ... as long as there's no sudden downpour ... Here, sadly, but as usual, the peonies started opening earlier this week -- just in time for some of them, anyway, to be dashed to pieces by a cloudburst. Luckily, more kept their heads and waited for the dry spell we now seem to have. And they are, as all proper peonies must be, apparently, covered in ants! Doesn't seem to hurt 'em -- but does anyone know why that happens? Why do peonies always have ants on 'em?
From: gone | Registered: May 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 20 June 2002 11:47 AM
Hmmm, roses.We found a climbing rose (genus "Blaze") plant in a bargain bin at a major international Babylon department store yesterday. I'm presently soaking the root-ball before transplanting. I don't recall ever having seen a climbing rose in action before, so we'll see how this turns out. Any advice on pruning? The package says to prune the branches back 6-8 inches upon transplanting. I know nothing about pruning. Earthmother's rose does look like a wild rose. We have them all over Saskatchewan, so Alberta can't make claim to them being an "Albertan" plant. (Never mind me, I once blew a job interview with the Foreign Service because I wrote "Anywhere but Alberta" on my application when asked "Places where you would be willing to work"). About 4 or 5 years ago I dug some wild roses out from a gravel road and transplanted them to a flower bed in my front yard. They have grown, but never bloomed.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 20 June 2002 01:46 PM
quote: Are your wild roses getting enough direct sun, Arch?
AHA! No. They're on the west side of the house, so see the sun only in the late afternoon and evening. Thanks, Zoot. (Zoot, as in suit? As in Cab Calloway hi-de-hoeing on the Isle of Capri?) didn't think so.
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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'lance
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1064
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posted 21 June 2002 12:22 AM
quote: the singles remind me of the Alberta wild rose, which has flatter and broader petals and is paler than yours, but gives the same effect ...
That is a great photo, earthmother. A few years ago I found tiny wildflowers up in some high alpine country that looked very much like that. Not much bigger than your thumbnail. When I looked them up in a book I'd brought along, they turned out to be... yes, a member of the rose family. Of course now I can't remember what member, but there you are.
From: that enchanted place on the top of the Forest | Registered: Jul 2001
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 25 June 2002 05:19 PM
quote: Do you want to know my potato bug theory?
Then how come I get fewer potatoes when my plants get infested? I hate potato bugs. I'm sending Ms B into the patch with a jar this year. Also grew onions in between the rows to discourage them... We'll see if it works.
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 25 June 2002 08:01 PM
Dang! Anaother perfectly good theory squashed like a bug by reality.How about the one wherein if you plant marigolds and nasturtiums with your cabbages, the flowers will deter cabbage moths? I once tried that one, dutifully surrounding each cabbage with flowers, and then one August day I saw a moth alit upon a marigold blossom. Some deterrence!
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560
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posted 25 June 2002 08:30 PM
quote: I hate potato bugs. I'm sending Ms B into the patch with a jar this year.
Ha! Get the little one to do your dirty work! Actually, it's a good idea since little ones don't tend to mind handling the creepy-crawlies. It takes every ounce of self-control not to show revulsion at bugs when I'm around Amir. I don't want a) for him to pick up my hard-shelled bug phobia or b) for him to think being afraid of bugs is a girl-thing. Then again, my father gets pretty freaked out at june bugs, moths, and to a lesser extent, most other creepy-crawlies. Strangely enough, though, caterpillars, worms, and reptiles don't bother me at all. Go figger.
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001
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clersal
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 370
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posted 26 June 2002 01:42 PM
I hate those big daddy moths. Fortunately so does Jerome. I am not wild about hearing them flapping their wings when Jerome is mauling them. Then I don't like the squeaks that come from the others.Alfred hates houseflies so the house is houseflyless. Is that a real word??? Back to the subject at hand. I won't go near my garden today as it is hot and muggy and the blackflies are waiting. Again, all the critturs are inside. Must get some more lettuce seed.
From: Canton Marchand, Québec | Registered: Apr 2001
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Debra
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 117
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posted 26 June 2002 01:47 PM
to the tune of let it snowWell the weather is hot and muggy, and the garden is awfully buggy, still I must dig and weed, and plant lettuce seed, lettuce seed, lettuce seed.
From: The only difference between graffiti & philosophy is the word fuck... | Registered: Apr 2001
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Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560
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posted 26 June 2002 07:49 PM
Yeah, Amir has been watching ants, and the other day he told me with great satisfaction, "I stepped on the ant, Mommy!" Then we sat down and had a talk about how it's not nice to step on ants because it hurts them very, very much, and sometimes it makes them dead.He didn't get "dead", but he did get the "hurt" part, and now he just watches them. Not that I'm all that concerned about the ants, but why encourage him in gratuitous killing if it's just as easy to watch the ants instead of step on them? I have this horror of Amir growing up to be the kid at school who picks legs off spiders or wings off flies. Brr.
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001
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Arch Stanton
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2356
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posted 27 June 2002 01:01 AM
If I may do a little moralizing here...I sometimes catch bugs live (flies and wasps too) that are in my house and throw them outside.If I have ants on the doorstep, which I always have every summer, I try not to step on them. Some of my neighbours call the exterminator right away if they see any bug in their yard. That or they're setting sugar-borax piles around to kill all and sundry little critters. Then again, these are the same people who put the weeds from their garden into garbage bags and throw them out with the trash. What's up with that?
From: Borrioboola-Gha | Registered: Mar 2002
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