What did you do in the garden today?

[Sally PB]

I just lock everything up, and frankly, it's not the Air B'n'B people I worry about. It is the fact that we now have people coming and going all the time and I no longer have a clue who some of them are.

One of our neighbors does Air BnB. Fortunately -- so far! -- no issues. Well, we've had to tell people to move their cars, as they are parking in the communal driveway. And one time, a wedding party told their guest that they could camp there instead of paying the campground fee. Except they were on our land.

The neighbor was very apologetic, and said that wouldn't happen again, but if it did, they could tell the offenders in no uncertain terms to move. They didn't leave any mess, so it was ok.

This neighbor is VERY protective of the group privacy we all share. One time a friend of mine came back to get some comfrey leaves. That neighbor saw him drive by and go to my house. He called to make sure I was ok...

To tie this back to gardening, the comfrey leaves were to deter wire worms from his potatoes. It didn't work, unfortunately...

 

[fuzzi]

That's really nice. I live on a lake on property that used to be a resort. For many, many years, I never locked anything including the house or garage. But times have changed. We had some visiting teenagers who thought it was funny to go into our houses and vandalize things. Tools started disappearing out of the garage, etc... After living here for over 20 years, I had to start locking up everything. That's the way our new normal is, unfortunately. That started about 10 years ago.

Most of my neighbors are summer only residents. There was never much worry about people coming and going because I knew them all. However, last year, one of the properties was sold and made into an Air B'n'B and now it's impossible for those of us who live here year-round to know if someone is renting the house or breaking in. That also means I don't know if they are using our access road for rental purposes or if pepople are scoping out the houses for stealing something later.

Although the person who bought that property and made it into an Air B'n'B might be making some money, the rest of us have certainly lost value in our properties in terms of security alone. It's really hard to look out for yourself and your neighbors when you don't know who is coming on going in your neighborhood.

On the positive side, sometimes we get families with young kids and they like to come over to my property to use my swing set and visit the chickens. I'm OK with that. I try to be a good neighbor even if only for a few days for some of these people.

A friend of mine has wooded acreage in western NC. The closest houses have been sold and converted into ABnBs. The renters are speeding around the gravel roads with no regard for other drivers, and keep having bonfires that get out of control. Now the 70 acres that borders his property are being rezoned for tiny houses. That was the final straw, he's moving.

We're the last house on a deadend street, have had a nice neighborhood for 17 years. The house across from me was just sold, new owners have visitors with loud cars (straight pipe?) they rev at 1am, sounds like they're drag racing on a 20mph residential road. They got a dog that they tied in the yard. It whines and barks all day...why get a dog if all you're going to do is chain it to a tree and ignore it?

Oh, and the house had beautiful azaleas and hydrangeas in bloom when they moved in. One day I came home from work and was horrified to see they'd all been cut down!

 

[fuzzi]

Pics of my sprouting seeds.
Turnip-
Beets-
Rainbow Chard-
Carrots- ( which are small and difficult to see, but they're there.)

They'll all need to be thinned out, and go into a nice salad.


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I had fresh turnip greens last night, yum yum.

 

[Sueby]

Morning all. Another great day. Just a little high level haze from the Canada wild fires, but not smokey. We've had great sunsets & rises from it the last few days.

I have 3 pullets coming on Fri so I have to make my integration coop handicap friendly for me today. They'll be locked in for a few days so I have to be able to feed & water them. I have to figure out a way to teach them the nipples without bending...

I will water the transplants & wildflower seeds again today.

Believe it or not, some people are more than happy to try to move into a vacant cabin for the winter

We know that well, we had a lake cabin & we'd occasionally get squatters try to move in. They'd break in & light a fire but get smoked out because they were never smart enough to open the chimney flue.

 

[LifeSimpleAndSweet]

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE????

No more chain wrapping with my jack!

https://gemplers.com/products/metal-t-post-puller-tool

 

[Acre4Me]

Oh, and the house had beautiful azaleas and hydrangeas in bloom when they moved in. One day I came home from work and was horrified to see they'd all been cut down!

That’s sad when that happens. Was there any logical reason for that? Crowding the house? Or in the way of their chained dog?

I posted a few days ago that I bought some tree peonies for fall shipment. We had tree peonies in a previous house that we planted and waited for blooms for several years. Amazing and beautiful blooms. But wondered if the new owners kept them. The owners after us stayed there 4-5 years, then sold it, so the current owners have been there about 5 years. Google maps to the rescue. Street view shows us that the tree peonies are still there!

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Need a little advice....

This is my first year attempting to start seeds for transplanting later in the raised beds. I bought a 50 pack of 3 inch net cups. The seedlings are doing fine, and I have started bringing them outside during the day. My question, if it rains outside and the storage bin lid fills up with 1 inch of water, will it drown out my plants in the net cups? I think I would be in real trouble if I used regular pots with solid walls, but will the slots in the net cups prevent the roots from drowning because they have so much access to air all around the cup?

FYI, I am using these Hefty Hi Rise 72qt storage bins as mini greenhouses. I turn the bin upside down, using the lid as the tray to hold the plants and the clear bin becomes the greenhouse if needed. However, like today, I just let the plants stay outside without the top on. If it rains and the lid fills up with as much as 1-1/2 inches before it overflows, will it drown out the plants in the net cups?

FWIW, I have been bottom watering the plants by putting 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water in the lid, allowing the net cups to soak up the water over a day or two. Then I wait for a few days until I see the top of the net cups drying out. Then I bottom water again in a day or two. It seems to work for me. But I have seen other people recommending that all water not absorbed by the net cup's potting soil should be removed after 20 minutes.

I really don't know what is best. It seems to me that the net cups with all those slots are just different than pots with solid walls and I don't know if the net cups are as prone to overwatering. Anyways, that's my concern and my questions. Thanks for any help in advance.

My seedlings sit in water every day, on heat mats with lights. I don't know if I'm doing it "right" but my plants look amazing.
I wouldn't worry at all about water filling up the bottom tray, but that's just one opinion.
My pots are 3 inches high for reference in this photo.

 

[chickengr]

What kind of snakes are you dealing with there, in Greece?

The Balkan whip snake (mouse eater, non toxic) and vipers so far. in my old place I did not have to deal with snakes. there are a lot of snakes all over greece but I am not familiar with them. I think that vipers are the most dangerous here.

 

[igorsMistress]

Good morning gardeners. I will be doing minimum gardening today. The black gnats attacked my eyes again yesterday. I’ve been using bug spray on me but I can’t use it around my eyes. I woke up with my right nearly completely closed by swelling. Then there’s numerous nibbles on my eye brows. So itchy. I ordered a safari hat with bug netting from Amazon. It will be here tomorrow. I did water my lavender and pansies earlier. I did get the vegetable starts outside and watered them. Then picked some lilac and took pictures. Btw: I guess it’s a weird winter thing, but some of my daffodils are white. Who knew. Lol!
Daffodils and tulips

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I hope you’re feeling better today!

 

[igorsMistress]

Need a little advice....

This is my first year attempting to start seeds for transplanting later in the raised beds. I bought a 50 pack of 3 inch net cups. The seedlings are doing fine, and I have started bringing them outside during the day. My question, if it rains outside and the storage bin lid fills up with 1 inch of water, will it drown out my plants in the net cups? I think I would be in real trouble if I used regular pots with solid walls, but will the slots in the net cups prevent the roots from drowning because they have so much access to air all around the cup?

FYI, I am using these Hefty Hi Rise 72qt storage bins as mini greenhouses. I turn the bin upside down, using the lid as the tray to hold the plants and the clear bin becomes the greenhouse if needed. However, like today, I just let the plants stay outside without the top on. If it rains and the lid fills up with as much as 1-1/2 inches before it overflows, will it drown out the plants in the net cups?

FWIW, I have been bottom watering the plants by putting 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water in the lid, allowing the net cups to soak up the water over a day or two. Then I wait for a few days until I see the top of the net cups drying out. Then I bottom water again in a day or two. It seems to work for me. But I have seen other people recommending that all water not absorbed by the net cup's potting soil should be removed after 20 minutes.

I really don't know what is best. It seems to me that the net cups with all those slots are just different than pots with solid walls and I don't know if the net cups are as prone to overwatering. Anyways, that's my concern and my questions. Thanks for any help in advance.

It depends on what medium you’re using. Some drain better than others and I would think it could be a problem. I would put them on a flat surface instead of in a bin, or drill a drain hole in the side of the bin so it can’t fill with water.