Why oh why can't baking be broccoli?
7 years ago
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7 years agoRelated Discussions
why oh why are my zinnias always a failure???
Comments (14)Hi Nina, "I buy packets that show large, full blooms and when they bloom they are about half the suggested size and one layer of petals instead of three or more." Some seed companies buy their seeds from growers who do not spend the extra money to hire people to rogue their fields, and the zinnia varieties "run out" under those conditions. Generally, the seeds in packets on seed racks are not the best. "I have bought several packets that show bluish purple and when they bloom they are always magenta or towards pink. I don't really believe there is a bluish zinnia." The color pictures on seed packets are not reliable and, even if they were pretty good to start with, the ink colors aren't lightfast, and some colors fade with exposure to sunlight. In general, seed racks are not a good place to store seeds. I have even seen seed packets that were water damaged, but still for sale in a home store. The best way to purchase seeds is by mail order or online sale from a reputable seed company. Higher prices do not always ensure higher quality, but lower prices usually mean lower seed quality. You stand a better chance of getting quality seed if you buy from a seed company that also sells to commercial growers. "I don't really believe there is a bluish zinnia." There are bluish zinnias, but they are not for sale commercially. As a person who grows zinnias as a hobby, I can assure you that there are lots of zinnias that you can't get commercially. I don't think there will be a true blue zinnia until blue genes (I always think of blue jeans when I say that) from other flowers that have true blues are added to zinnias by genetic engineering. That has already been done to get blue roses. But in the meantime, there are bluish lavender zinnias that actually look sky blue when they first open in the shade. But on exposure to sun, that color turns to a lavender. They are not available commercially. "Does anyone know if it could be a deficiency?" Zinnia buds and blooms can be seriously harmed by certain nutrient deficiencies. For the best results, use a soluble nutrient formula that contains a complete range of macronutrients and micronutrients. That includes the usual nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium as well as magnesium, boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc. Plants, including zinnias, also need quite a lot of calcium, which unfortunately is almost always absent from soluble nutrient formulas. Hydroponics growers almost always supply calcium as calcium nitrate to their plants. Garden soil usually contains some calcium, but not always enough for zinnias (or tomatoes). If you have previously added lime or gypsum to your garden soil, it should contain enough calcium. If I see calcium deficiency symptoms in my zinnias (and I do from time to time), I include some calcium nitrate in their foliar spray. Foliar feeding is a good way to make sure your zinnias get the nutrients they need. If I see boron deficiency symptoms, I add a little extra boron in the form of boric acid in my foliar spray. You have to be careful with boron, because it doesn't take a lot of it to reach a toxicity level. I also supply a little cobalt and nickel to my indoor zinnias, but there is usually enough of those in garden soil. And it is beneficial to supply soluble silicon to zinnias, to increase the strength of their cell walls, which makes for stronger stems and leaves, which contributes to disease resistance. Rice growers frequently supply soluble silicon in their fertilizer, because it is important for rice stems to be strong to keep the seedheads out of the water. It may seem counter-intuitive, but sand is not a way to supply silicon. I use a solution of potassium silicate to supply soluble silicon to my zinnias. ZM...See MoreWhy oh why do stores not list toxic plants?!
Comments (22)The above-linked University of Nebraska page is a little sketchy: "Crincum" and "Huemanthus" are misspelled: they mean Crinum and Haemanthus. Anthurium spp., Adenium obesum (desert rose), Aglaonema cvv. (Chinese evergreen), and Coffea arabica (coffee plant) aren't on the list at all, despite being reasonably popular houseplants. Adenium is even toxic enough to be dangerous, and they still leave it off the list. Cotyledon spp. are in fact toxic, whatever they tell you. Poinciana gilliesii is called a bird-of-paradise, but it's not the bird-of-paradise people grow indoors as a houseplant. The houseplant is Strelitzia reginae and/or S. nicolai. Is Poinciana toxic? Is Strelitzia? Which one are they talking about? Boston ivy is misidentified (Parthenocissus quinquefolia is Virginia creeper; Boston ivy is Parthenocissus tricuspidata) and not ordinarily grown indoors. Corn plants (Dracaena fragrans) may or may not be toxic to people, but they are to pets, even though they've got them listed as non-toxic. Crotons (Codiaeum variegatum) do not produce "croton oil:" that's a different thing from a different plant (Croton tiglium), which is confusingly also called a croton. Only Codiaeum is used as a houseplant. And those are just the problems between A and C. They don't seem overly concerned with accurate identification, toxicity to pets, distinguishing between houseplants and outdoor plants, or noting that even among plants which are toxic, some are more dangerous than others....See MoreBeleza vs. Minas - why, oh why can't I decide?
Comments (36)Donna - nope, I haven't yet, and our courtesy hold on our Minas will end in a few days. What to do, what to do... Karlarock - Can you tell me if your stone is oiled in the photos? I really need something that will say, "Hello, I'm a black stone, and only at strange angles and bright sunlight can you see my hidden greens." ;o) Mustbnuts (I love your username, BTW!) - we'll have white beaded inset cabs on the perimeter with *some* variety of soapstone, and carrara marble on the island. Whether the island will be stained or some other paint color (green, perhaps?) is still up for debate. Further complicating things is that I have two very different carrara slabs from which to choose - one very calm one which I have seen in person, and one very veiny one I've only seen in photos. I'm leaning toward the veiny one, but I couldn't have a very veiny Minas in the same kitchen. We got photos of some new Minas slabs this morning which have even fewer white veins than the very quiet ones we have on hold, but it still appears to have a lot of the little white "spots," and I'm not sure I want that. In all of the finished Minas kitchen pictures I've seen, the stone appears solid black with white veins, without all the splotchies. Am I wrong about this? Do you Minas owners have those little spots, and they just aren't apparent in the photos?...See MoreWhy, why, why can't I......
Comments (30)Let me just echo what melsouth said above. I was quoted an upcharge by one cabinet maker for painted white, but in our current new house the price was the same for stained or painted white from a different cabinetmaker. Perhaps you can get an estimate from another shop. It also bothers me that your cabinet maker is trying to discourage you from using white since he prefers stained. He should NOT be doing that. In a previous home, I let myself be pressured to do some things by the cabinet maker and always regretted those choices since I really preferred other things, but felt I had to go with his recommendations. As others have said, you're stronger than you even realize after sustaining the loss of your husband. It's natural to struggle with decisions following that...and sometimes I've found just getting a bit older can make decision making (particularly so many at the same time) more likely to be overwhelming. Just take them one at a time, and it will get done. My sincere sympathy over your loss, and I hope you'll still find the joy in each new day you have. Regarding appliances--if YOU like white cabinets and choose that, you can go with either white or stainless. With cherry, IMHO stainless would look best. We went with stainless in this house with white cabinets because I didn't care for the appearance of big white refrigerators. But we chose the stainless look frig that doesn't show fingerprints. I've found that the stainless undermount sink I thought I'd hate, is actually less work than my previous white one. As with so many things, in the long run, it will work out. Just take it one step at a time. Keep us posted. You have so many friends here ready to help you....See More- 7 years ago
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