lillypilly mentioned on Better Homes & Gardens
Amelie
18 years ago
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18 years agoRelated Discussions
I shoulda known better.......never mention an idea to my DH
Comments (4)Hi Jenny, welcome to the forum! 1. Almost all commercial 'cactus &succulent' soil contains large amounts of peat. It is far too water retentive for most succulents. Use about 75% inorganic materials with particle sizes from 1/8 to 3/8 inch like perlite, pumice, gravel, etc. Use 25% or less of the store cactus and succulent mix as you organic component. This will allow for proper water drainage. Don't use sand, it compacts and blocks drainage. Succulents will not tolerate more than a couple of days with wet feet. Allow the mix to become completely dry before watering. 2. Only you can determine how often to water. It depends on too many local variables (heat, humidity, soil mix, your plants, when it last rained, etc.) for anyone to recommend any particular schedule for watering. Don't let any succulent sit with wet roots for more than 2-3 days. 3. Your cereal bowls with a hole drilled would be fine containers, but may be too large for small plants. Co-planting may be helpful, but make sure the plants have similar cultural requirements. 4. The prime directive for succulent growing is: If in doubt, Don't! This applies to everything. Don't water unless you are sure the pot is dry top to bottom. Don't trim unless you are sure the plants needs it. Don't repot unless it is necessary, etc. 5. The directive above derives from the ideal cultural practice called Benign Neglect. Don't take any action unless you are certain it is necessary. Succulents want to be left alone. Fussing over them is a sure way to kill them. 6. Every plant has it's own cultural requirements. It is important to know what you have so that you can give them proper care. So, the next step is to post some photos of your new plants so that we can identify them, and give you proper care advise. Succulents are much easier to care for than geraniums. You just have to be observant, and not do too much. Welcome to our passion. Folks here are very friendly, and will be happy to help you learn more. Brad...See MoreLooking for Better Homes and Gardens white canning bands
Comments (6)Hi Annette - I can't help you find the lids and I seriously doubt anyone can as they have been pulled from the shelves all over. According to BH&G they were only offered thru Walmart and they pulled them all once all the issues with started coming out. The lids and/or the bands were only available on the case of jars. But I have to tell you that if the original owner of them is upset about the rings rusting then she is remarkably uninformed about the nature of rusting of bands - all brands of bands rust - not to mention the reasons why all these jars were discontinued, pulled from shelves, and not recommended for use. There are discussions about the problems with them on canning and craft forums all over the internet. The main issues, aside from breakage even when used just for candles is they were made in China and reportedly had a too high lead content. The simple solution IF she wishes to continue using the jars for some reason is to replace the rings and bands that come on them with either the gold or silver sets available from Ball or Kerr. That way they all match. Otherwise you can call BH&G at 1-800-420-2852 ans ask if they will sell you any supply they might still have. Dave...See MoreBrix is a big thing and it is hardly ever mentioned.
Comments (5)Well, Miranda, I am quite impressed with your presentation! BRIX is something that has been fascinating me since we had Nick Francisco of Blodgett Nursery in Orlando speak to our Tropical Fruit Club a couple of times recently. There is so much to learn about it but the important thing to keep in mind is to supply minor and trace minerals to our deficient soils. One of the nutrients overlooked is calcium. Sugars hitch a ride on the calcium traveling in the plant. Having high sugar levels not only makes the plants healthier, it also helps to make the plants more tolerant to cold temperatures. It acts as an antifreeze, just like what is used in cars. I paid $69 for my refractometer but my husband said that I could have gone to a car-part-store and got it cheaper. My husband has one of these meters that he uses to check the level of sugar in the car radiator (of course, that form is poisonous). I didn't know that he already had one. Another important thing is to have healthy microbial life in the soil. That's why I am so big on using lots of compost. The mircobes break down the fertilizers to make it available for the plant to absorb. Nick highly recommends this website on soil biology http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/concepts/soil_biology/biology.html This is an excellent website to learn more about BRIX: http://www.highbrixgardens.com/highbrix/highbrix.html One important way to fertilize plants is by foliar spraying. Once a week I am now making brewed compost tea, filtering it and then spraying it on the leaves. I have seen a noticeable difference in the veggie garden with only 3 appllications, once weekly. I posted the question on how do I make compost tea on the compost forum and I got the answers I was looking for. After buying the equipment to get started, I can make free fertilizer. How neat is that? Christine...See MoreWell I better get better at this fast
Comments (16)Leava, The watering issue always will be with us so I try not to stress over it when I have to stop watering and let plants die, which generally happens about 1 out of 3 years here. Unfortunately, it often happens 2 or 3 years in a row, but then after that, I know it likely won't happen for a while again. It is excrutiating to leave our lovingly-raised plants to suffer, but that's just how it is when you live and garden in an area prone to drought. It is a shame that some years we have way too much water and other years we have way too little, but we sure can't do anything about it. Succession planting sounds harder than it is. If you know you're planting broccoli, for example, and it matures in 60 days from transplant, just look at the calendar 60 days out from your transplant date and ask yourself what grows well if planted in that month. I usually start seeds of succession crops in tiny bathroom-sized paper cups with the bottoms cut out about 5-7 days before I expect to harvest the in-ground plants. Then, with harvest in the morning and transplanting the new crop (cups and all to lessen transplant shock) in the afternoon (or evening if the weather is very hot), that bed doesn't stay out of production long. You also can plant many succession crops by direct-sowing the seed in the ground, but with each crop you have to know your soil temps and air temps and make sure it isn't too hot for the succession crop to sprout. I just like starting mine inside in cups so I'll have an "instant replacement" and fill up that space and put it to work right away. I hate sowing seed in summer, waiting a week or two for it to sprout, and then having to thin or replant in areas as needed. I'd rather have the sure think of plugging in a growing plant into each bit of available space. Really, if you're replacing cool season crops, you have to replace them with a warm season crop so that narrows down your choices a lot, and it shouldn't be tomatoes or peppers (unless they're a new batch for fall) since they already should be in the ground before you're harvesting something like broccoli or cabbage. It can be harder to decide on succession crops for fall because you can choose from both some shorter-season warm-season crops or some of the cool-season crops. For fall, I try to plant more of whatever we have put up the least of or whatever we like the best. I don't necessarily succession crop after mid-summer if it is a very dry summer because there's no point in planting something that will struggle with a lack of water. Dawn...See MoreAmelie
18 years agoRaymondo
18 years agoannabel__WA
18 years agoAmelie
18 years agofemmeradsy
18 years agoannabel__WA
18 years agoLilium_Lilu
18 years agoAmelie
18 years agomarkau
17 years agojoekoel
8 years ago
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