Gardening

[crystalgaze]

Well... I took a page out of Ken's book & have tried to start gardening (somewhat)....

I haven't planted any thing yet... but I have given the trees in the yard vitamin water.... ~lol~ It's a start...

I've found watering the plants to be quite therapeutic..... Using the pickaxe to dig up guinea grass isn't too bad also.... I am very careful not to let it land on my feet!

I am hoping to actually getting around to planting something some time... I might need some luck, though.... I will try soon.... I just ran out of vitamins for my plants that I'd wanted to use on them! (DRAT!)

Edit: Today, I put out water for the jack spaniards.... I can't believe I'll be doing this regularly now! They kept flying around me when I was on the porch. When I put some water in a pan on the ledge, they left me alone & calmed down immensely.

I put a rock in the pan, so they have something to swim toward, in case they fall in by accident.... Can you imagine...? Me saving wasps?! I've scooped some out of the buckets when I'm outside & see them drowning.... They seem so thankful when they're saved.... (j/k) Now if only I could get the semi-lame bird with the bad leg to trust me.... ~sigh~ One thing at a time....

I am trying to get this vine on the hill to run down the side of the hill & near the house, so it is mostly out of the way when the guys come to cut the grass.... It looks like it's doing ok... but I don't know what type of vine it is: canteloupe or some other kind of melon....

I am hoping it lives long enough to bear something, so I'll know what type of vine it is. The leaves are small & hairy/prickly, compared to the cucumber vine in the yard....

Oh well....

[crybaby1086]

Hey Crystal, Gardening is great isn't it. And very rewarding. You are lucky you live in a warm climate. Here in Newfounland we only get about four or five months growing time outside then it is too cold. I have some plants inside. And one of these days I would like to start some herbs inside as well. I just have to stop being lazy and do it I supose. I hope your vine give's some fruit as well. Nothing as nice as your own home grown food. Happy Gardening!

[crystalgaze]

Thanks CB! Interestingly enough, I've been trying to figure out what was eating the cabbage in the yard right.... & oh boy.... I am sorry I didn't take a picture....

Finally after the outer leaves were gone, there trying to eat the inner leaves was a healthy looking slug the length of my index finger.... I have NEVER seen one of those in the yard.... I always saw these close to like paper-thin snakelike black worms.....or bull ants (huge ants with very striking, eye-catching bulbous body)....

Slugs? ~lol~ Now that's new! I am going to see if it is there on the cabbage plant tomorrow... If so, I am definitely going to take a picture of it! (just so I can believe it)

[crybaby1086]

Hey Crystal, If you want to get rid of him. Sprinkle him with some salt. Somepeople will even put salt around the border of there garden to keep them out. I live near the beach and people around here use seaweed in the garden for just that purpose.

[crystalgaze]

A mighty THANKS to you Crybaby!!! Salt... I will remember that! ~lol~ It's time to go to the grocery store & stock up on it!

I didn't see the slug this morning.... I really wanted to take a picture of it!

[xn728]

hey onika salt will get rid of the slugs but use it in moderation ,,or the salt will stop stuff growing ,,i tend to use salt on the path when i see them there ,,if there on my plants pick them off and put them somewere else
i dont like killing anything ,,but sometimes well you know ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
dont use slug pellets ,the birds will eat them .and it could kill them ,,,,
good luck ,,,hugs ken xx

[crystalgaze]

Ohhh.... I didn't know about slug pellets! ~LOL~ Didn't know they existed....

Thanks for the info! I did see a snail come out the shell & was moving around (S-L-O-W-L-Y)... It was almost sort of cute..... The antennas were moving around, feeling out the environment.... I just left it on the step....

Some of the trees in the backyard got trimmed down today & the yard feels so different! (less claustraphobic!) I actuallly WANT to be in the backyard now....

Alright.... Well, I was going to finally plant some things today in my starter box, & then, I couldn't remember what was going where. It got dark quickly, so I decided to do it another day....

[crystalgaze]

I think I might have messed up my seeds....

Ah, well, I tried....

I used this seed starter (tray thing) that was lying around & it does not seem to absorb water well.... I am a bit puzzled.... I didn't even throw that much on & I doubt there is any real way to retrieve my seeds. (They were pretty small & hard to see for the most part...)

I will try putting it directly in the ground.... Although I didn't want to, due to the wild chicken that walk through the yard....

Edit: I had to save a jack spaniard today (wasp). I got it out with a rock... It fell into my pan of clorox water.... (It was still alive when I last saw it....) Little baby mosquitos (wrigglers) were in the pan, so I had to kill them before they became adults. I washed out the pan, threw fresh water in it for the wasps & put in a new rock....

Me & my soft spot for the wasps.... Speaking of them, one nearly flew right into my face! It nearly flew into my left cheek, so I guess it was coming to kiss me! (I guess that's love?) I was glad it missed my face, but it hit smack dab into the wall.... Poor thing... .I actually felt for it....

The neighbor's dog came down when I went to pick out a rock for the pan. She snuck up on me! She's so cute & friendly..... with her white paws!

[crystalgaze]

Those same seeds from above....

Well... I may have messed them up with too much water now! I will try to forget about them to see if something comes up in the seedstarter.

Today was my day to commune with nature.... So.... I did spur-of-the-moment planting... (Yes, I actually planted more things!)

It was nice to be at peace--to not stress about the job interviews, my sig other, life, depression, being sick, exercising, you name it.... The neighbor's dogs came down to greet me... What a nice treat! White paws really seems to like me. She always comes 1st & has a way of sneaking up on me!

Mom got this lucky bamboo shoot in some flowers as a gift.... She's had it in a vase &.... it is growing roots! I SO wanna plant it in a pot & then in the yard! Oh yeah! I always wanted a piece of bamboo in the yard! (I have no idea why! It just looks so hardy & CUTE!)

Now... here's what I planted!

1. Some Tarahumara White Sunflowers (a circle of seeds in a pot)
I'm trying to get a mini Green Hill Zone look in my yard! If you don't get it, don't worry it's a video game thing! (Green Hill Zone is the 1st level in the old Sonic the Hedgehog game for Sega Master System + Sega Genesis....) ~LOL~

2. Moon vine -- (4 seeds in a pot or so; I knicked the seeds & put the pot in my small college fridge) I heard it's supposed to smell wonderful!

3. Catgrass (like oats or whatever for the animals-- 2 pots)


I will see if something grows!

[aim]

Can't say I've ever been into gardening... I've even killed a cactus. Nuff said?

Good luck with the garden!!!

[crystalgaze]

Thanks aim! : )

Now, how did you manage to kill the cactus? (I didn't know they could die!)

Aww... My pots got overrun with ants... Dad said they were biting ants.... I am hoping that something still comes up later.... ~sigh~

What a rollercoaster.... Of course, the pot that's in the fridge is safe from the ants! (Now, let's hope I don't water it too much!) It's not getting any sun though... Hhrrmm.....

I am still working with the vine on the hill. It looks like it's coming along well (I hope).... Some days it looks okay; other days, it looks like it will wilt. I keep throwing water on it, in the hopes that that will help.

[crystalgaze]

Yesterday & this morning, I threw vitamin water on the plants. That's what I seem good at doing! (...maybe that & chasing the wild chicken off the lawn....)

Nothing have come up in the pots or seedstarter yet.... I sort of doubt any thing will grow, but maybe I will get lucky.... (The seeds were old...)

I doused the pots that were overrun with ants with neem oil (just the top). (I don't know if it were a good thing to do, but I do know the ants didn't go back in the pots.)

The vine on the hill looks like it is doing well. It has something on it... It might be some sort of melon...

I saved a bee from drowning this morning in the bucket. It didn't try to attack me after getting it from out of there. (I was so glad...)

The lucky bamboo is doing okay. I will change the water after V-day.

[crystalgaze]

There is a dog that is coming in the yard now....

~sigh~ I had to pelt a pebble after it to get it to leave.... It is trying to take over my yard from White Paws + Brown Paws....

It seems cute & maybe even friendly enough... but I am not ready for another dog & then he tried to be mean to White Paws + Brown Paws....

Now, I can't have that...

[crystalgaze]

Ah... White Paws came to visit me while I was washing the 3rd car for the day.... She didn't stay long, but having her nearby was comforting enough, just when I needed it. She snuck up on me, as usual.

It was a little dark when I washed the car, so I may have missed a spot. ~shrugs~

Edit: When I went to wash the truck, I used a bucket that was behind the steps. Do you know that the jack spaniards seemed to become irate?

They were so annoying at 1st, & I didn't really understand it. I was even peeved....

Then, White Paws came & looked for the buckets of water & that's when I got it. You see, the buckets are in the same spot every day they come to look for it, so when it was not there, they were just sort of like, "Huh?"

Mind you, there were other buckets of water near the FRONT of the stairs, but the dog & the wasps didn't go to those; they went looking for the 1s I'd moved.

I mean it was the look on the dog's face... It was like, "You mean, there's no water?" She seemed genuinely disappointed, so I was like, "Okay, I'll put it back for you. I understand now."

In my head, I thought, "Well, it's 2 to 1..."

[crystalgaze]

I put some sunflower seeds in some dirt & am hoping something comes up this time....