BYC gardening thread!!

[hippiestink]

I'm just waiting until we move to a bigger place, I plan on having a greenhouse for my tropical foods (peppers, avocados, citrus).

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, peppers are a perennial... in the right climate. I might be able to keep one alive in the house in the winter, but it would be a stretch b/c of the lack of light and the dry air. some folks do successfully winter them over, prune hard and then set out again the next summer. I'm thinking that would be so much better to have a pepper plant as a house plant than an ornamental that gives no return. I keep thinking that, but in the business of fall, I never get those good plants potted up. But, I've kept citronella and rosemary, and my lemon tree going through the winter. Time to get more creative with winter plants in the house, I think. Perhaps a whole window full of herbs with a grow light over them. I could make that happen over the kitchen sink with a shop light. Hubby wouldn't like it. Too red neck for him, but it would work!!!

 

[KentuckyMom]

I tried keeping a pepper plant over winter last year, thinking I'd have a better chance at getting peppers sooner this summer/fall. It survived, but I'm not sure that it will produce any faster than the ones I planted from seeds.It STILL looks kind of puny. I really need to get those epsom salts but keep forgetting when I'm in town. My puny peppers need help.

 

[Arielle]

Peppers are something that grow like weeds where we are.. I have orange, yellow and red and the chooks love them. Also planted chillies (really hot ones) and Henry my roo, took a bite and looked at me as if to say 'OMG these are really hot and soo good, come on girls)

'Consequently I don't have many chillies left. You would think that the heat would come out in the eggs but it doesn'tl

Chickens don't have taste receptors for "hot". I bet Henry and his girls don't have any issues with parasites!

No wonder Henry was quick to call the girls!!!!!! ANd yyup I quickly thought of the latter too!! lol

No I don't seem to be bothered with anything, but we do have lots of ticks do you think I should check chooks for ticks? and can they give them tick bite fever? I have had a few sessions with my dogs and they get really sick - even with the frontline stuff. Can you put tick stuff on chickens?

GIven that you are probably eating the chicken eggs or the chicken meat, do not use typical commerical tick and flea products on the chickens. YOu will need to try other options. Perhaps sulfur powder on the chickens directly. YOu would need to test this out on your tick population.

I have started researching flea repellant options-- lots in the mint family-- but have not gotten to the ticks yet. In general, having free ranging chickens we have far less ticks than we used to. We have lymes disease from the tiny deer tick. All of us, humans in the house that is, have had Lymes, and the horses too. I expect the dogs too. Cats are very good are removing ticks before imbedding; only find the deer ticks imbeded along the ear tips of cats with white ears.

Sorry -- more info than you asked for.

 

[lazy gardener]

I've not had the same good luck with cats and ticks. My cat(s) are plagued with them, though none so far this year. The only tick I've seen was plucked off my neck before it embedded. It was huge. But my cat(s) have had up to 5 ticks/week between the 2 cats. They have always been on the face or neck, particularly along the carotid artery. Often find nymphs in the spring on the cat's eye lids. They are so very tiny that they look like a little tiny bit of dirt, no bigger than the dot on this i.

 

[Bugseye]

Yikes! Makes me think about how soon I can get the chickens out there for pest control. I'll want to fence them out of the lettuce; but I have more ticks than I have ever seen in my life, and they know how to find me!

 

[dan26552]

I've not had the same good luck with cats and ticks. My cat(s) are plagued with them, though none so far this year. The only tick I've seen was plucked off my neck before it embedded. It was huge. But my cat(s) have had up to 5 ticks/week between the 2 cats. They have always been on the face or neck, particularly along the carotid artery. Often find nymphs in the spring on the cat's eye lids. They are so very tiny that they look like a little tiny bit of dirt, no bigger than the dot on this i.

Try apple cider vinegar in their water, we had the same problem with ticks on our dogs last year.

 

[A-K-A]

Try apple cider vinegar in their water, we had the same problem with ticks on our dogs last year.

What ratio?

 

[dan26552]

Quote:
We just put one capful in their water a day, I don't know how "big" their water bowl is though, but my dogs are both about 50 pounds

 

[whoop whoop]

No wonder Henry was quick to call the girls!!!!!! ANd yyup I quickly thought of the latter too!! lol

GIven that you are probably eating the chicken eggs or the chicken meat, do not use typical commerical tick and flea products on the chickens. YOu will need to try other options. Perhaps sulfur powder on the chickens directly. YOu would need to test this out on your tick population.

I have started researching flea repellant options-- lots in the mint family-- but have not gotten to the ticks yet. In general, having free ranging chickens we have far less ticks than we used to. We have lymes disease from the tiny deer tick. All of us, humans in the house that is, have had Lymes, and the horses too. I expect the dogs too. Cats are very good are removing ticks before imbedding; only find the deer ticks imbeded along the ear tips of cats with white ears.

Sorry -- more info than you asked for.

You can never have too much information - thank you

- Lymes sounds awful we have tick bite fever and that's pretty ghastly. The cats can have ticks they don't get sick like dogs but still the problem is they drop them everywhere and then they find a new host, normally me as they sleep on my bed.

I have a Doctor friend who is a medical doctor but she turned to Homeopathy as she says that we are all immune to the anti biotics now, and that homeopathy is the way to go. I must say her stuff really works, she gives the concentrate and not the piddly pills.

She suggest psorinum in a spray for the chickens and has made some up for me, I will let you know if it works.