The Gardening Thread

Great times for the garden!
My bulbs of Babiana odorata and Gladiolus tristis are sprouting. Also Pinellia pedatisecta is sprouting. Bletilla striata and Iris japonica have buds for first time in the life. Also yesterday germinated the first seed of a Protea. Akebia quinata is in full bloom and the garden is full of flowers (tulips, bearded iris, cape daisy, etc).

On the bad side - weeds are a nightmare! I must take control on the violets - they filled all the garden! Fumitory, three-cornered garlic and Veronica are other bad pests too.
 
It's that Time of the Year again. The Time when My Cold Hardy Plants and Seeds are Planted/Transplanted with the Days going up into the High 70s and Nights in The Early 40s to High 30s. Everything else will be planted around Mid May
 
Spring almost passed already and the best of the blooming passed away: Tamarix, bearded iris, tulips... all of them lost their flowers. Other plants in bloom now include Oxalis, Antirrhinum, Campanula (that begins now) and my precious Serapias lingua wild orchid. Snails are a nightmare, they reduced almost all my Lasthenia californica to skeletons, and there is no way for Hippeastrum to produce new leaves, being eaten inmediately - despite being surrounded by snail-killer granules!
 
Kakapo said:
Spring almost passed already and the best of the blooming passed away: Tamarix, bearded iris, tulips... all of them lost their flowers. Other plants in bloom now include Oxalis, Antirrhinum, Campanula (that begins now) and my precious Serapias lingua wild orchid. Snails are a nightmare, they reduced almost all my Lasthenia californica to skeletons, and there is no way for Hippeastrum to produce new leaves, being eaten inmediately - despite being surrounded by snail-killer granules!
Click to expand...

Try taking a bowl and sinking it into the ground. Then pour a bottle of beer into the bowl (use cheap beer, whatever's cheapest). The snails will all come for a drink and subsequently drown. Also, try salting them or putting wood ash on them. This will make them melt almost, well it isn't actually melting them, it just dehydrates them but quite a bit of goo will come rushing out. It has to do with osmosis. Some people think this method is cruel though. Also try surrounding the plant with wood ash if you have enough.

How to Use Beer to Get Rid of Snails in Your Garden: 5 Steps

Why Salt Kills Slugs ~ Slug Off

Wood ash can be useful in yard if used with caution | Oregon State University Extension Service | Gardening
 
Thanks Wensleydale. I know all these alternative methods and others (egg shell, etc), but the most effective of all is the snail-killer granulate. The only problem is that I have soooo many snails in my garden that they form a carpet of died shells and the alive ones pass over them to reach the plants.
I'm sorry because it also kill the omnivorous snails Rumina decollata that are helpful chasing the other snail species... but I can't do it selectively. Would be great to create a genetically modified kind of snail that only feed on weeds and respect the other plants, hahahaha.
 
Kakapo said:
Thanks Wensleydale. I know all these alternative methods and others (egg shell, etc), but the most effective of all is the snail-killer granulate. The only problem is that I have soooo many snails in my garden that they form a carpet of died shells and the alive ones pass over them to reach the plants.
I'm sorry because it also kill the omnivorous snails Rumina decollata that are helpful chasing the other snail species... but I can't do it selectively. Would be great to create a genetically modified kind of snail that only feed on weeds and respect the other plants, hahahaha.
Click to expand...

I'd like to genetically engineer a species of animal that prefers and thrives on slug and snail meat, but it doesn't look as if that is going to happen in the near future.
 
Well I have learned one thing over the past month. 4 year Old Walmart Tomato Seeds are extremely Viable. As a test, I planted a bunch in a pot. Almost Every Single one is Alive and Healthy. Looks Like I will have Too Many Tomatoes. But alas, there are many uses for excess fruit, such as Selling them, Saving Seeds, Throwing them into my Little Compost Heap, and of course, eating them (Even though I hate Raw tomato with a Passion, so Into the Oven with Them)
 
wensleydale said:
I'd like to genetically engineer a species of animal that prefers and thrives on slug and snail meat, but it doesn't look as if that is going to happen in the near future.
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These animals already exists. For example fireflies, and the beetles of the family Drilidae, both kind of beetles feeds exclusively on snails and slugs. In islands where invasive snails (Achatina fulica) became a big problem was introduced some carnivorous snails that feeds exclusively in other snails, such as Euglandina rosea. But this was a completely disaster: the Euglandina feeded in the native endemic snails instead the introduced one. London Zoo keep various species of Partula snails from Hawaii that became extint in the wild and only remains in captivity.

Native species of fireflies would not be a problem! But fireflies are not available for breeding (unlike ladybugs or lacewings), and their populations are quickly decreasing!

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Yesterday opened the bloom of my Bletilla striata orchid, yeah! And one day before, also flowered my Ledebouria cooperi :-)
 
Kakapo said:
These animals already exists. For example fireflies, and the beetles of the family Drilidae, both kind of beetles feeds exclusively on snails and slugs. In islands where invasive snails (Achatina fulica) became a big problem was introduced some carnivorous snails that feeds exclusively in other snails, such as Euglandina rosea. But this was a completely disaster: the Euglandina feeded in the native endemic snails instead the introduced one. London Zoo keep various species of Partula snails from Hawaii that became extint in the wild and only remains in captivity.

Native species of fireflies would not be a problem! But fireflies are not available for breeding (unlike ladybugs or lacewings), and their populations are quickly decreasing!

-------------
Yesterday opened the bloom of my Bletilla striata orchid, yeah! And one day before, also flowered my Ledebouria cooperi :-)
Click to expand...

Wow, just like the Cane Toads.
 
I'm happy! A couple of days ago I noticed that all my Dracunculus canariensis are about to bloom!!! It's curious to see that they flower at the same time than Dracunculus vulgaris, despite the canarian one sprouting much before.

Today, my second Protea germinated! And even better: finally start to sprout a pair of Arisaema ciliatum, yeah! I've readed that Arisaema are very tricky plants and often passes one or two years from planting to sprouting. So, these ones sprouted just some weeks after planting. It will be my first Arisaema :)
 
My seeds have begun to sprout. Unfortunately my perennial weeds have as well. I just want to say, I know that you Europeans love Bishops Weed and think it is wonderful but to me it is an invasive plant that is trying to take over my garden and I would like nothing more than to chop it into oblivion. I'm sure it is very nice in its native range but soon there will be huge mats of it trying to choke out my much loved vegetables and native plants. Also hated, Asiatic bittersweet. I must fight for my blueberries by cutting out as much as I can while it is still dormant.
 
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