What I've learned I don't know about rose gardening
2 years ago
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What I've learned about bringing Phals to spike
Comments (12)Never, ever put your Phals outside comments i've made in the past apply to here, not necessarily NE USA. As far as getting flowers, if you read the first post plus the in depth FAQ on the subject it all begins to make sense . There are the two groups of Phals. those that need a cool down and those that need a warm up to flower. (though perhaps day length might apply to some species) Some that need a warm up (here) are Phal.violacea and Doritis pulcherrima Phal.equestris blooming seems to be triggered by a cooling down. Cheating. (Phal.equestris x Dor. pulcherrima) x Kingiella philippense bloomed late summer for years in my conditions. After reading various posts i though i would try to make it bloom in the spring so i moved it to my warmer growing conditions in Autumn. Worked like a charm. I agree with the comments about increased light but of course it all depends where you are. No Phal will survive summer or winter outside here, Too hot (sometimes) Too cold (sometimes) and low humidity when the wind blows from the interior of the Continent. Leaf Burn is a function of light plus high temperatures....See MoreWhat I've learned so far about the 4-season thing ....
Comments (10)I also have raised beds in Connecticut and have a couple of them (4 x 12 ft) covered with low tunnels, 4' high, made from 1/2" PVC pipe. I've used them for many years but only as season extenders. I was never able to get any crops to reliably grow during Jan and Feb because of the single plastic cover and no heat. I found that spinach is one of the hardiest crops to winter over if it is about 2 or 3 inches tall in November, but it didn't actually grow much until early March, then it took off like a rocket. I also used the tunnels to start seeds in early March of cold-tolerant vegetables. There was no provision for automatic venting on sunny days and that caused big temperature swings by the time April rolled around. Very heavy wet snows also caused structural problems since the PVC was only half inch. I had a coldframe for a few years with an automatic vent and that actually worked better because it was lower and had less heat loss, but it was not large enough. Last fall I build a large hoop house over two of the raised beds; it is 12' long and 10' wide and about 7' tall and is made from 1" PVC and 6-mil single-ply construction plastic. No heat. It has survived some heavy snow loads without any bending or distortion. I didn't have time to plant anything in it last fall because it wasn't finished until December but I planted lots of cold-tolerant seeds in early February. They were covered with Remay to get the extra protection that Coleman suggests. A min/max thermometer showed the temperature got into the low twenties at night. This week I expect the night temps to stay above freezing. The seeds I planted in early Feb are doing well but the ones I started indoors in late Feb and put in the hoophouse 2 weeks ago are doing just as well or better. I intend to remove the plastic in summer and replace it in November so I don't cook the plants. Temperature control is tough without fans and I really don't want to get involved with electric heat and ventilation (I might change my mind some day). I just built an automatic window this week and installed it yeasterday; it is 30" by 36" with a univent opener. I really needed it because the air temp might be freezing when I leave for work and get really sunny and warm by lunch time. I am working on the second one this week. This is a challenge with a PVC hoophouse because of the difficulties involved in making a window on a curved surface. This summer I am going to dig around the raised beds and put foam board vertically around them as far down as I can dig (about 18" in my stony soil). This should keep it warmer in the winter. I will also put low tunnels inside but I only need thin plastic covering because it won't have snow on it. But they will have to be well sealed especially at the edges of the hoophose where it is coldest. Maybe I'll give in and put a small electric heater in the low tunnel but I will use it to keep it from freezing rather than try to grow things like tomatoes. Then I will be ready to try real 4 season growing; I recommend the book because of the interesting ideas in it and will be looking at this forum for best crops to grow. I'll let you know how It turns out. Bob B....See MoreWhat I've learned about terrariums
Comments (6)Laura: You'd have to talk to bada about terrs for pleuros. Mine is not set up for them, because it gets too warm for them from the heat the lights put out (which is really only slightly above room temp), and I have no cooling system. I believe the trick is to have lots of fans to cool the air, but still somehow keep the humidity high by using a cool mist. There was a long discussion of this at least a year ago. Try searching for it. I think you should find it if you type in 'cooling systems' or something like that. I think that any orchid that likes to stay moist could be planted in the splash zone if they are in the appropriate medium. I have no experience at all with diatomite, so I really can't say a thing about it, but I would actually use a medium that was not very water-retentive. For instance, i wouldn't use sphagnum for sure. I'd probably use bark chips or CHC, and larger ones than one would normally use for such plants. Of course it really will depend on how your waterfall turns out. It will be affected by factors like how strong the pump is (how strong the flow is), and what the waterfall is made of, and if you want more of a gentle trickle, or more of a rush like I have. Of course a trickle won't splash nearly as much. With my waterfall, it is constantly splashing and spraying, so water-loving orchids would either have to be mounted in order to get enough air to their roots, or, if they were terrestrials, it would have to be an extremely open mix. Everything in the splash zone is basically being constantly watered. So yeah, you do basically have to just set up your tank and see what the conditions are like. Jim: I don't know about hydrofoggers. Hopefully Homer will answer that one, but I believe that the ones he uses are the ones you can buy at Michael's and other craft stores. They are sold for use in fountains, to give that 'dry ice' mist effect. And if you use the weekly 40% off coupon at Michael's, they're not expensive at all. As for how to actually hook it up and hang it from the top of a terrarium, I have no idea! Try doing a search for 'Homer' or 'hydrofoggers' or just 'foggers'....See MoreHelp me !!!..I've had an affair and now don't know what to do
Comments (9)"The man that I'm involved with has had 3 failed marriages and done time for drug dealing" Well at least it sounds like you are getting what you deserve. "...since he's found me he's been given a new lease of life" Sure sweetie, he'll be a regular Mother Theresa now that he has you in his life. Reading too many romance novels are we? Sorry if I am coming off harsh, and I realize I don't speak for everyone here, their opinion might be a little more forgiving than mine. But as someone who's been put through the same hell by my piece of sh*t ex-wife that you are putting your husband though, I feel extremely entitled to offer my opinion, since you asked for opinions. I too was a "good honest man" (still am...lol!) who did not deserve it. I was always completely faithful to her. I worked my butt off getting a software business off the ground so my ex could be a stay-at-home for our two kids, which is what we both wanted from the start. And instead of being appreciated for working long days and weekends, then coming home and being a good dad and working on the house and all that, she eventually winds up resenting me for not being around enough and winds up having an affair with someone...which I didn't find out about for 9 months. When I found out, I said I understood (to a point) why she did this and wanted to fix our issues, and resolved to change some things make our marriage better. She said she wanted this too....but her heart was never really in it. Three years later she did it again....this time I told her I was done and we are now amicably divorced (on the surface anyway) and sharing custody or our two kids 50/50. I say "on the surface" because when I think of what she did to me, not only the affairs, but to string me along for years...knowing she wanted out but not having the courage to act like an adult end our marriage the right way before shopping for her next man, my blood freaking boils. I can't explain it, but I feel like I lived years of my life now in some giant lie...I was happy and thought things were pretty good. Good people DO NOT treat people like this. She completely disregarded me as a person, and did what was best for her, with NO regards for my feelings. I didn't matter at all....my pain was just "collateral damage" to her in getting what she wanted. To this day (5 yrs later), while I deal with her respectfully on a daily basis regarding the kids, deep down I wish nothing but bad things for her. The scars of being treated like this, by someone that you loved and treated with nothing but respect for 10+ years, do not heal easily. I suspect they never will. I (half) jokingly tell my friends that I just hope she dies before me so that I can take a big sh*t on her grave, as my final revenge. Well, now you know how your "good honest man" of a husband will feel about you when he finds out. And I hope your daughters do turn on you...you f*cking deserve it. There, you asked for opinions.....oh, and good luck with your new man, he sounds like quite a catch! This post was edited by mkroopy on Fri, Dec 7, 12 at 13:14...See MoreRelated Professionals
Waterbury Landscape Contractors · Brookside Landscape Contractors · Rockland Landscape Contractors · South Portland Landscape Contractors · Tyngsboro Landscape Contractors · Azalea Park Landscape Contractors · Hilton Head Island Landscape Contractors · Petaluma Landscape Contractors · Shoreview Landscape Contractors · Vacaville Landscape Contractors · New Carrollton Landscape Contractors · Centennial Fence Contractors · Cicero Fence Contractors · Gilbert Fence Contractors · Woodland Fence Contractors- 2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoNippstress Nebraska z5 thanked BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14)
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