Gardeners in the Asylum

[OLS]

Originally Posted by Mr B

So the grid gets placed right over the seed in the seed feeding area?

You empty the feeder, cut a piece of grid to fit the bottom, then fill up the feeder.
Granted, this doesn't work for all feeders, just the kind where you ahve a flat bottom,
like hoppers, flat tables, etc. For tubes it is useless. That's the job of the pellet gun, lol.

[Mr B]

New Garden update video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvtshROK16g

[OLS]

Yep, I forgot about grackles. I see an occasional grackle in my yard, but they REALLY
want the dog food. So at my feeder, I don't have to deal with em as much. But freaking
house sparrows, they are just the worst. The starlings also want the dog food. i shoot em
as fast as they come by. I have a few starlings around that only hunt insects in the grass
and on the sidewalk. I don't shoot those. Only the ones that pass on the skill of feeding
in the dog's bowl get shot.

[OLS]

Damn house sparrows though, I hung a tube feeder on my first day of bird feeding, a whole tube
of Black sunflower seeds. I got home and found the feeder empty, all of the seed on the ground,
and a house sparrow steadily shovelling the seed out to get to what I guess he hoped was millet.
Shot that one, too.

[Mr B]

My messiest one is this style, w/out the suet feeders on the ends. So I guess the grid would have to be placed so that the seed can flow under it to still continously fill, correct?

[Mark C]

Thanks for the tips on zucchini. I don't have black spots so it doesn't look like blossom end rot for me, but the pollination problem pics look about right. I'll have to try hand pollinating.

Here's some pictures of the garden from the last few days:

[Mr B]

Very cool pics!

[OLS]

No, the grid is pretty much the base of it, the feed fills the individual cells and spills over fine.
But from the look of it, your clearance under the glass might be an issue, so you might be better served
by slicing your hands all up with a section of 1/2" hardware cloth and using that as a base, maybe bending
the tips down at a length of about 1/8" so that you get the same effect without the brutal 3/8" clearance
issue inherent with the white grid.

But then I can ALMOST guarantee that if you switch to ONLY the black sunflower seeds, you will stop
having these issues, since I THINK the birds that are ruining your feeder will not prefer these. You still
will attract all the songbirds and cardinals and jays, woodpeckers, etc. You will just lose the grackles,
blackbirds and house sparrows. They need to be eating insects right now, anyway. The mixes contain
mostly millet, cracked corn and red milo, with a few sunflower seeds. Most birds will eat the millet and
sunflower seeds, but will ignore the corn and milo. If you force the issue, the good birds will still come,
but the seeds that attract problem birds will not be available to them anymore and they will eventually
just stop coming. Keep in mind, the BAGS will say 'premium mix" and "songbird mix", but that is just a
clever way to get you to buy them, with the cheap, heavy filler making up the bulk of the bag.
The same birds they claim you will attract with that crap will all eat black sunflower seeds, and what's more,
they LOVE IT.

[OLS]

I think you could also take the advanced step of milling that 3/8 inch thick white grid,
say by rubbing it back and forth on a sheet of rough sandpaper, or some sidewalk or
something, lol, until you got it down to about 1/4" to 1/8". After looking at that feeder
again, I think you could almost get away with it as is. As long as the grid was in contact
with the bottom board and seed could still be picked out under the glass edge. But
knocking it down in thickness by half would also work, if a bit difficult.

[Mr B]

Gotch.
Ya, I dont buy seed unless it is in a clear bag and I can see whats in it. I already mix my seed w/ 50% Black Oil Sunflowers right now. The Doves do a decent job of picking up the stuff from the the ground unless my dog is out there chasing them off.

[OLS]

Originally Posted by Mr B

The Doves do a decent job of picking up the stuff from the the ground unless my dog is out there chasing them off.

And ironically it is the doves that will eat ALL THAT FILLER...they LOVE cracked corn,
will tolerate the Milo, and they will not turn up their noses at millet either. I was only hoping you wouldn't
bring up doves, lol. If you don't care about the scatter, you COULD just do nothing, haha.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by OLS

And ironically it is the doves that will eat ALL THAT FILLER...they LOVE cracked corn,
will tolerate the Milo, and they will not turn up their noses at millet either. I was only hoping you wouldn't
bring up doves, lol. If you don't care about the scatter, you COULD just do nothing, haha.

Ya, its not really in a bothersome area. It up on a hill kinda by itself

[OLS]

You know what is funny. I am not sure, after reading that reply again, whether or not his peppers even emerged.
I imagined he meant stunted. They may not have even popped up yet.

[Mr B]

You may be right Brad. In that case, if the seeds did not sprout yet, you may be a little too late in the season to have hopes of growing and producing any peppers this season.
If you want to try again, just make sure that your seeds are only about 1/4" deep and no more.
if starting in a cup or pot, start with moist soil and only water from the bottom so as not to wash the seeds away.

[Chainsaw13]

Was out surveying the garden this evening. Two days ago I was looking at the cucumber plants, all I saw were blooms and very tiny cuc's starting. Today I pull back the cover and there's a full grown cuc right there. Picked, washed, cut, salted, consumed. Gotta love stuff straight from the garden.

[Fordman4ever]

Sounds delish.

[Mr B]

Alright guys, I'm getting frustrated with my Cucumbers. Every year they taste Spicy and bitter. I pick em late and large, they taste bad. I pick em small and early, they taste bad.
I have grown English Cucs, Burpless Cucs, regular Cucs and the last 2 years Boston Pickling Cucs.
This year I have them in a barrell (grew in the ground before this) with brand new soil.
Unlike years past, I have grown everything organically this year. No chemical fertalizers or pesticides (did not use pesticides before either).
I cant figure it out. I get maybe 1 good one for every 5 nasty ones.
Its not just the skin either. I peeled a 1/2 dozen of them last night and only 1-2 were any good.
The plants are healthy and producing lost of fruit. I just dont get it.

[jjirons69]

Sorry, B, can't help you there. I know the larger they get, the more bitter they get. Other than that, I'm at a loss. Hopefully someone can help you.

BTW, I took a picture of my garden yesterday.

[Chainsaw13]

Yea, sorry B, don't know what can be causing it. I just went and picked some from my garden, plus yellow squash, a eggplant and a Indigo Rose tomato.

[shilala]

B, they bitter when they're over ripe. Size means nothing. Little ones can be over ripe and so can big ones. Try to pick them when they're nice and young and have that whitish color or sheen. Once they get real green they'll start to bitter and turn to yellow.
When I cut them up I always taste each cuke, especially if they look like they're old on the vine ones. If it's bitter I chuck it in the compost bin. It really sucks if you cut a bunch of cukes and every other bite is bitter, ya know? Blech.

I blanched all our beans last night. Got 6 or 7 gallon bags from the little patch by the sidewalk. They are SUPER tasty. Very grassy and strong and sweet.
I'm the only one who doesn't like them, but everyone else loves them. That's not fully true. I like them small, I just hate them when they get big and leathery. I think I got them in plenty of time that I'll enjoy these ones.

I saw the Ravens in the garden today. I will be raining pellet gun death upon them for the rest of the summer, God bless their little hearts. The new pellet gun I got is an absolute beast and insanely accurate. I hope it hits hard enough to wipe them out quick. I don't want a bunch of racket, I live among yuppies and they don't quite understand.