Where to go or who to call if...
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iochroma
8 months agoRelated Discussions
1 Week to Go, Last Call for Invites to Ocala Swap!
Comments (26)Hello Everyone! Tomorrow is the big day! I am so looking forward to seeing everyone. Anyone who wants to bring a dish, feel free. I will be supplying "crossandwichs", chips, soda and water. We have one other trader bringing a fruit tray and I think someone else is bringing cookies. I am sorry but have forgotten for sure. For those who haven't been to my house before, please take my phone number with you as the roads out here in the forest can be a little funny! My house will be the one with the split rail fence with cow skulls on the posts out front. Also I will have neon green signs out with "Plant Swap" on them to help you find the way. Don't get lost and don't ask "Cletus" for directions! Ha-Ha! See you all tomorrow! Susan...See MoreSo Bill...Mongo...if I were going to go to tile school...
Comments (25)Sure, when I used to use CPE/Noble/Oatey/CPVC, I wrote about their membranes. Matter of fact I still write about them on occasion, but much less on this forum. We've had a slew of threads about PE behind cement board shower construction. If a DIY wanted to try floated mud walls, we'd write about those as well. But it's not generally a DIY-friendly method. When I used Wedi years ago, I wrote about Wedi. When I used Kerdi, I wrote about Kerdi. I prefer cement board over fiber-cement 95% of the time. I prefer fiber-cement over cement board 5% of the time. Each works better for me in certain circumstances. I do think that for moisture control, a topical membrane shower is superior to a membrane buried within the shower wall or buried in the shower base. I don't want cement board walls or presloped mud bases getting wet. I build fairly tight houses, and moisture control is important to me at each and every location in the house. A major point for me is I don't use foam presloped bases. Most every shower is a custom size so packed deck mud works best for me. Wedi told me "...our shower is all inclusive, you use all or none." Kerdi said "...sure, use our foam base or use the membrane over deck mud." I settled on Kerdi as being the membrane for me. Unlike RedGard, it works as a shower membrane and as a steam room membrane. I prefer easy 100% coverage of sheet membranes versus the "I hope I didn't get any pinholes" roll-on membranes. And that's my personal limitation, my personal concern. Kerdi is readily available at the retail level in my area. Kerdi is easily transportable. If Wedi would improve their distribution network they'd make inroads into DIY residential showers. They'd take market share away from Schluter from the builder side of it as well. And there is the big difference. A builder who is set on a product that works for that builder is going to use that product. A DIY person, which is what this forum is geared to, needs to have a retail distribution network in place so they can access these products at the retail level. All this relates to how I build and how the product works for me. So yes, more often than not I do Kerdi showers. If a Wedi guy, or a CPVC guy, or a Kerdi guy, or a floated mud wall guy wants to post, have at it! Heck, how often do I hear about hot-mopped pans on this and other forums? Do I ridicule them? Not at all. It's a regional thing, and I respect that. All are welcome....See MoreIf/Where to Place Kitchen Island
Comments (9)I got this small Amish built island to help with counter / storage space. It is not built in, and this kind of island can be moved to where ever works best, though of course there is no electrical or plumbing. My kitchen is small and so we use the dining room to eat meals, though the kids and I often grab a snack at the island. The top is 36 x 52" and the cabinetry approximately 22 x48" https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~93784356 https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~93784291 Although there are 3 stools, only 2 adults could really sit comfortably. I initially had an inexpensive butcher block top on it, which worked fine for many years. https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~71048330...See MoreRoll Call: Who's got chilli thrips? Where? What do you do about them?
Comments (91)A couple years after the article Sharon posted was published. This was published. I can’t link to it since I am searching for these articles through my workplace at Caltech, and you would get a broken link, but here is abstract copied below. It seems that an important consideration for a banker plant used to host the predator mites is “tuft domatia”, which are little chambers on the leaves that are meant to house the beneficials. The plants provide little hidey-houses along with pollen :-) The predator mite Amblyseius swirskii is an omnivore, eating both pollen and other mites, thrips, whitefly etc. Selecting an ornamental pepper banker plant for Amblyseius swirskii in floriculture crops. By: Avery, PB et al. Abstract: Preference of phytoseiid mite, Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) was assessed on four cultivars of ornamental pepper banker plant candidates; Red Missile (RM), Masquerade (MA), Explosive Ember (EE) and Black Pearl (BP) for potential control of pestiferous insects in floriculture. Significant differences in cultivar preference by A. swirskii was observed in choice experiments whether the test was pre- (with pollen) or during bloom. Overall, female mites laid more eggs when pollen was provided as a food source. The number of tuft domatia per cultivar leaf appeared to positively influence host preference in the choice plant tests pre-bloom. In addition, cultivar RM had the highest mean number +/- A SEM of tuft domatia per leaf (5.1 +/- A 0.3) and motiles per plant (4.0 +/- A 1.2), followed by MA, EE and BP. In choice tests on blooming plants, A. swirskii showed preference for both cultivars RM and MA compared to EE. These experiments indicated that the number of tuft domatia and availability of pollen can influence the host preference of A. swirskii for an ornamental pepper banker plant cultivar. Results from this study will help growers, researchers, educators and extension personnel in understanding the plant phenology promoting adoption of suitable banker plants for managing greenhouse and landscape insect pests....See MoreJalisco Pine
8 months agoJalisco Pine
8 months agoJalisco Pine
7 months agolast modified: 7 months agoI have an update on the Big Stone County, Minnesota trip:
Very sorry about the late post, since I have been very busy recently... earlier this September, as seen towards the start of the post, I went out to my relative's house in Yankeetown, Minnesota. It was a very hot day, and I was wearing long pants to protect against deer ticks (there weren't any) which can carry Lyme Disease (something I have already encountered).
The property is a few acres of prairie; mostly made up of non-native grasses with Canada thistles. There are some old growth oaks in the property, as seen in image 1, which I was not able to readily identify. A closer relative of my grandmother introduced red pines a while back to the start of the property, which now have formed a pure stand of them today. The red pines are very hardy to sandy soils on the property (the same for the entire species) and drought (another species-wide aspect).
When I arrived at the property, I headed out down a mowed trail, which my relative mows frequently down to the beach. On my way down I came upon a dense thicket of Canada thistles. Buffalo burs (Solanum rostratum) showed soon after, in occasional individuals. A few trees (image 2) poppped up too, one of which an oak, the other was unidentifiabke from a distance (I stayed out of some areas of grass, since there is barbed wire - hidden - from when there were sheep, goats, pigs, etc... on the property). I reached the top of the hill leading down to the beach -- steep -- and looked at various rocks for cacti -- none. Then came the beach area, the main highlight of this post.
The beach on the property is mostly eroded and unpleasing, with mucky water and thick brush. I can indeed confirm, that there are sanburs (Cenchrus longispinus) on the beach: the first record of them in Big Stone County, having came over across Big Stone Lake from Roberts County, South Dakota (image 3 and 4). I have came to a decision that I will not need to relay information to a botanist to record the population, since it is insignificant and un-notable. Also on the beach were sunflowers (image 5), which I was not able to idenftifiy despite difficult trying; they appear to be distinctive from other sunflowers found in the state from differentiated involucres (or bracts around the infloresence) and leave structure. The flowers are very similar to Helianthus nuttallii or possibly Helianthus giganteus. These plants are found along the entire main beach with forbs and grasses (image 6). When coming back from the beach, up the hill, and to the house, I noted many sandburs having been stuck in my shoe. I managed to remove every one of these to prevent the spread of the noxious species. That is the end of this update.
Images:
Image 1 a - Old growth oak: Supposedly the DNR have been on the property to survey the oak trees before, but they were not champions at the time.
Image 1 b - Old growth oak: A farther out image of the same oak as above; note prairie in background.
Image 2 a - Old growth oak and other tree: This oak (far left) and unidentifiable tree from a distance (center) are near the top of the hill. Can anyone identify the tree?
Image 2 b - Old growth oak canopy: This is the canopy of the old growth oak above with the other (unidentifiable) tree to the far right.
Image 3 - Sandburs on beach: The sandburs (Cenchrus longispinus) are very presky plants! They have formed an entire population on the beach as seen here.Part 2 below!!
Jalisco Pine
7 months agoPart 2 of the Big Stone County, Minnesota trip:
Image 4 - A sandbur (Cenchrus longispinus) specimen I collected at the beach: This is a key identifier of the species.
Image 5 - Unidentifiable sunflower on beach: This sunflower is undidentifiable for the most part. Does anyone know what Helianthus species this is? I was thinking Helianthus nuttallii at the least.
Image 6 - Sunflowers on beach: This is a photo of what the beach at the property looks like; note Big Stone Lake to the left and dead tree to the northern far righthand corner.
Part 3 below!!Jalisco Pine
7 months agoPart 3 of the Big Stone County, Minnesota trip - Miscellaneous photos:
Image 7 - Canada thistles at start of path: These Canada thistles, along with many stinging nettles, creates a very suitable environment for getting injured! The Canada thistles on the property are proportional, but are not "noxious" in this case (meaning they are not everywhere). There are no native thistles on the property because of these guys, which is a real bummer.
Image 8 - An overview of the hill: The hill, as seen right above, has many trees, occasional rocks, and of course, prairie. The rocks are likely from an old farm building nearby, which burned down in a fire a ways back. There are broken glass bottles in the same farm building, a real hazard to those unsuspecting of a tetanus infection.
Thank you everyone for your help in this forum, and I will keep you updated yet again if I head back again! Thanks!
macranthos
7 months agoJalisco Pine
7 months agoJalisco Pine
7 months ago
Jay 6a Chicago