Gardeners in the Asylum

[shilala]

Our garden is still a soggy embarrassment.
These cold nights are great for sleeping, and the rainy days are great for depression, but the combo really sucks for growing a garden.
Rain, rain, and rain in the forecast for the next 10 days, so it'll be more of the same.
I can report a nice pile of sugar peas, the chinese kind that you eat pod and all. Those plants have laid over and haven't dried out long enough to stand back up, so they're starting to rot.
The beans look great!!!

[Mr B]

You guys might also try hand pollinating the squash. They might not be getting pollinated well enough.
Take the "male" flower (the one with the long stem) and tear off the petals to expose the Stamen. Then open the female flower (the one on the end of the small zicchini, squash, pumpkin etc. and rub the Male Stamen all over the female Pistil. This will insure good polination and help with fruit reaching maturity.

[OLS]

MR.B....I wanted to tell yu something about the birds that scatter feed all over, (from your
mention in your garden video) their behavior doubles your seed costs, makes a mess and encourages
the seeds to take root where you don't want them. IF YOU CAN both find it, and FIT IT, you take that
white grid diffuser that people use in flourescent light fixtures, and cut a piece to fit the floor of your feeder.
The birds that scatter seed like that are generally the 'trash birds' like house sparrows that both make a mess
and also intimidate other birds that you actually want. They are a non-native bird that will kill other birds for
nest space, and will eat anything that man drops or gives. Plus they don't sing so much as CONSTANTLY
chatter in the areas where they roost and rest, and it gets old fast. They like to 'rake' their bills across the food,
to get to what they want. The grid allows birds that peck at it to eat just fine, but it confounds the other bird's
ability to rake the seed and scatter it everywhere. I they want to eat out of a gridded feeder, they have to do it
the same as everybody else.

I will also pass on the fact that almost ANY kind of bird seed attracts them, but they
only want the tiny pearl millet seeds. They will throw out everything they don't like to get to that millet. The irony
is that while almost every bird you WANT TO ATTRACT will gladly take black oil sunflower seeds, about the only bird
that won't is a House Sparrow. So if you skip the blends and go straight black oil seeds, they will eventually just
stop coming around, and ALL the other birds will flock to your feeder. The upshot is the House Sparrows that just
have to come are relegated to the ground feeders they are meant to be, looking for bits of seed kernels the other
birds accidentally drop. This creates a LOT less fighting and intimidation at the feeder, and the only other birds
that will be on the ground are other 'good' sparrows and doves. And they are intimidated by the doves, so its payback time.

Usually at the Depot or the Low'es, you can find a busted piece that they can't sell, but leave there on the
shelf anyway, and you can usually get them to sell it to you cheap at the service desk. It would normally
be trashed, and you only need a little of it.

[Mr B]

New Garden update video.

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

[jjirons69]

Originally Posted by OLS

MR.B....I wanted to tell yu something about the birds that scatter feed all over, (from your
mention in your garden video) their behavior doubles your seed costs, makes a mess and encourages
the seeds to take root where you don't want them. IF YOU CAN both find it, and FIT IT, you take that
white grid diffuser that people use in flourescent light fixtures, and cut a piece to fit the floor of your feeder.
The birds that scatter seed like that are generally the 'trash birds' like house sparrows that both make a mess
and also intimidate other birds that you actually want. They are a non-native bird that will kill other birds for
nest space, and will eat anything that man drops or gives. Plus they don't sing so much as CONSTANTLY
chatter in the areas where they roost and rest, and it gets old fast. They like to 'rake' their bills across the food,
to get to what they want. The grid allows birds that peck at it to eat just fine, but it confounds the other bird's
ability to rake the seed and scatter it everywhere. I they want to eat out of a gridded feeder, they have to do it
the same as everybody else. I will also pass on the fact that almost ANY kind of bird seed attracts them, but they
only want the tiny pearl millet seeds. They will throw out everything they don't like to get to that millet. The irony
is that while almost every bird you WANT TO ATTRACT will gladly take black oil sunflower seeds, about the only bird
that won't is a House Sparrow. So if you skip the blends and go straight black oil seeds, they will eventually just
stop coming around, and ALL the other birds will flock to your feeder. The upshot is the House Sparrows that just
have to come are relegated to the ground feeders they are meant to be, looking for bits of seed kernels the other
birds accidentally drop. This creates a LOT less fighting and intimidation at the feeder, and the only other birds
that will be on the ground are other 'good' sparrows and doves. And they are intimidated by the doves, so its payback time.

Friggin' grackles...

[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]

Originally Posted by OLS

MR.B....I wanted to tell yu something about the birds that scatter feed all over, (from your
mention in your garden video) their behavior doubles your seed costs, makes a mess and encourages
the seeds to take root where you don't want them. IF YOU CAN both find it, and FIT IT, you take that
white grid diffuser that people use in flourescent light fixtures, and cut a piece to fit the floor of your feeder.
The birds that scatter seed like that are generally the 'trash birds' like house sparrows that both make a mess
and also intimidate other birds that you actually want. They are a non-native bird that will kill other birds for
nest space, and will eat anything that man drops or gives. Plus they don't sing so much as CONSTANTLY
chatter in the areas where they roost and rest, and it gets old fast. They like to 'rake' their bills across the food,
to get to what they want. The grid allows birds that peck at it to eat just fine, but it confounds the other bird's
ability to rake the seed and scatter it everywhere. I they want to eat out of a gridded feeder, they have to do it
the same as everybody else.

I will also pass on the fact that almost ANY kind of bird seed attracts them, but they
only want the tiny pearl millet seeds. They will throw out everything they don't like to get to that millet. The irony
is that while almost every bird you WANT TO ATTRACT will gladly take black oil sunflower seeds, about the only bird
that won't is a House Sparrow. So if you skip the blends and go straight black oil seeds, they will eventually just
stop coming around, and ALL the other birds will flock to your feeder. The upshot is the House Sparrows that just
have to come are relegated to the ground feeders they are meant to be, looking for bits of seed kernels the other
birds accidentally drop. This creates a LOT less fighting and intimidation at the feeder, and the only other birds
that will be on the ground are other 'good' sparrows and doves. And they are intimidated by the doves, so its payback time.

Usually at the Depot or the Low'es, you can find a busted piece that they can't sell, but leave there on the
shelf anyway, and you can usually get them to sell it to you cheap at the service desk. It would normally
be trashed, and you only need a little of it.

Very good info, thanks. So the grid gets placed right over the seed in the seed feeding area?

[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]

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.

[DPD6030]

Got a question for you garden "experts". I planted 4 green pepper plants and not a single one of them has grown since planting about a month ago. Everything else is growing great (tomatos, jalapenos, beans, cucumbers, zuchini and squash). Any ideas why the green peppers are not growing?

[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]

Originally Posted by DPD6030

Any ideas why the green peppers are not growing?

As the county agent here says, get a soil test, lol. However under those circumstances,
I think it is safe to say that if started from seeds, the seeds could have been old and barely viable,
or not viable for another reason, and if you bought them as seedlings in a nursery or garden
center, it could still be the same, even plants that manage to spring from weak seeds can
grow, but in a very stunted fashion, with little vigor. Outside of that, it could well be the odd
season we have had this year, EVERYTHING seems to be getting a slow start. Except weeds.
Add to that you are in the mitten as you say. I am sure there are others who could be more helpful.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by DPD6030

Any ideas why the green peppers are not growing?

If you have any good compost, make some compost tea. I hope to be making a video on that this weekend.
Make a dilution of 30% Tea and 70% non-chlorinated water and spray it onto and all over the plants. Then drench the roots w/ a 50% dilution of the same.

Get some Azomite rock powder and work it into the soil real good around the plants. This has over 60 trace elements that your soil has probably lost over the years.

P.M. me your addy and I will mail you some Azomite if you cannot find it near you.

http://www.azomite.com/