Uh oh... need dahlia answer asap please
diggerdee zone 6 CT
3 years ago
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years agodiggerdee zone 6 CT
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Oh my gosh - I need answers NOW before Ike strikes.
Comments (6)Hi, I am a newbie and have been collecting BST eggs on my fennel since July. I have raised them inside and so far have released 51. If I were you, I would bring them all inside and raise them. They eat a lot in their last instar, so be prepared to have enough food for them. It has been a joy for me to raise these beauties, and my cats are loving them too. I purchased butterfly pavilions from ShadyOaks Butterfly farm in Florida, but you can use almost any container to put them in, as long as they have enough space to hang when they eclose to dry their wings. Do not overcrowd them. The most I have put in one pavilion has been 14, but I could easily have put in close to 20 in each one with no problems. If you are near a Whole Foods in Dallas, I would suggest you purchase some curly parsley and Dill, as well as the fennel they are eating now. Whole Foods does not spray their organic produce, and I have had no problems with mine eating it. Mine have gotten so fat and healthy. Mine have been eating all three and they like a variety, and these are the host plants for BST. Good luck and keep us posted. Betty...See MoreUh oh! Jelly help please.
Comments (17)Building on what Annie said, the commercial pectins (I'm not referring to Pomona's, which is a different type.) rely on a particular ratio of sugar to pectin to set. If you add more pectin, you may get a set - or you may not, because the additional pectin may need additional sugar. The problem with that, unless you're using a reduced-sugar pectin is commercial-pectin jams already have a whole lot of sugar, more by weight than any other type. I know, I know, that's not much help, but it just demonstrates it is a gamble. What Annie's referring to is you can "pretend" the jam is a traditional type and not add any more pectin than is already there. Instead, cook the jam down to the jelling point. What the jelling point refers to is the temperature required for the mixture to jell. Basically traditional jams need to be about 65% sugar (That includes the natural sugar in the fruit, which means riper fruit needs less sugar to set - I hope that makes sense.) Rapid cooking boils off the water until the magic % is reached. So if you have a candy thermometer, dump the jelly into a large non-reactive pan, and bring it to a boil. Check carefully and stir often. You don't want it to scorch. 218 degrees is the temperature for syrup. 220, or 8 degrees above boiling (at other than high altitudes) is the jell point. Basically you can cook the jelly to anywhere from 218-221 depending on the firmness of the set you want. If you don't have a thermometer, you can do a frozen plate test. Put some saucers in the fridge. When it looks like the jelly might be ready, pull it off the burner, plop a drop on one of the cold saucers and put it in the fridge for 3 minutes. Pull it out. If you push your finger against it it should wrinkle. Or pull your finger through the middle. Do the two halves run together? How quickly? If you don't get a good set at 220-221, it's not going to happen. The canning gods are just not co-operating, LOL. If you do decide to cook down, I'd recommend, given the number of jars you have, that you divide the batch into thirds because trying to cook that much jam down all at once, it will be overcooked and you'll end up with what Annie calls grape "taffy." It just takes too long to evaporate all the water off and meanwhile, the sugar caramelizes. Plus a small batch gives you a chance to practice and further develop your jelly-making skills! Carol...See MoreFirst Big Uh Oh...
Comments (31)ajc71...to fulfill your curiosity, it is edgebanded on both long edges. Both sides of the panel are finished but one side is obviously much nicer looking and seemed obviously intended to be facing out. What we interpreted as the inside of the refrigerator panels both had much more color variation but not in a nice way. Here is a pic of when they first installed it. You can see the wide color variation on the inside of the panel. Sorry for the gratuitous BIL butt pic!! This post was edited by dcward89 on Wed, Jun 18, 14 at 13:01...See MoreUh oh...mold?
Comments (7)Lois Good luck with repotting :) I realized that I didn't answer your question about 'nuking' the soil - it would probably help if you are sure there is 'infection' of some kind in the soil. It is possible that soil was stored wet, and fungus grew on it. Sorry this isn't better answer - I never nuked soil (and do not use it for succulents either). Maybe someone else will offer some suggestions. It's unfortunate that MC C&S soil is not as well draining as advertised...that's why it needs to be heavily amended. Many ppl use that mix (lots of perlite or pumice (minimum 50% or more +soil) and seem to have good results. All cacti should be also in well drained mix. They are succulens too. They often need even less watering than other succulents, and definitely very good drainage....See Moreken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
Gawdinfever Z6
3 years agoGawdinfever Z6
3 years agodiggerdee zone 6 CT
3 years ago
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
3 years agodiggerdee zone 6 CT
3 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoYes....that is quite the dilemma. Fingers crossed that all your favorites survive the winter and produce for you again. If not, you might consider waiting for the 50% off sale in late spring. That's what I did and they still had some nice bulbs left. Not as good a selection that's true, but still better than Home Depot.
I came across this old photo from 2007. My garden has changed a lot but I still have those two clay pots, although a little worse for wear. That was taken in early July that year and I had bought the Dahlia bulbs late when they had the 50% off sale, and still they were already blooming in early July. Those were the dwarf varieties and I couldn't have spent more than a couple of dollars a bulb for them. They were the Art Deco series...I think that one might be Monet. I know I bought it that year, this one might be a different one.
They still offer it and I see it's about $3.50 a bulb now, so 50% off...would be pretty reasonable.
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diggerdee zone 6 CTOriginal Author