Whatcha Up To???

[w_r_ranch]

Roundup Concentrate Max Control 365 is the product you are talking about, Ernie... It is made for "cracks & crevices in sidewalks, driveways, walkways, & patios" and is labeled as such. The active ingredients are 18% Glyphosate, 1.6% Imazapic, 0.73% Diquat

It also specifically states "Do not use over the root zone of desirable trees or shrubs. Do not use in areas that will be planted or seeded within 1 year. Do not use in lawns or for lawn renovation as this product will also prevent desirable grasses from growing. Do not use for vegetable garden preparation or in and around fruits and vegetables. Do not spray desirable plants or grasses. Do not spray landscaped areas with young plants or in an area that will be planted, seeded within 1 year."

Regular RoundUp is the common version. The label specifically states "Use in and around fences, trees, driveways, and flower beds. May also be used for lawn renovation and vegetable garden bed preparation. All ornamental flowers, trees and shrubs may be planted one day after application. Lawn grasses, vegetables, herbs and fruits may be planted three days after application."

 

[w_r_ranch]

Yesterday I line trimmed the yard/hay trap & cut the grass. Today I sprayed RoundUp around all the trees, flowerbeds, fence lines & along all stone walls on the home site. Long day to finish & make the wife happy...

Hopefully I can get back to the garden stuff tomorrow.

 

[ErnieCopp]

I will have to check the container again to be sure, but i think the product i have is an intermediate mix, as i recall it mentioned only a four month control period. So the 365 # probably connects to the full year. I may use some of it on the Easement behind my property, but not sure i will even put it there.

I have always been satisfied with the rresults i get from plain Glyhosate, by adjustinig the amount of concentrate. If i really have a tough problem to take care of, i use the 6 oz to a gallon, but while it takes longer to kill, 2 oz to the Gallon will do okay for some problems.

You are a good researcher, and i appreciate the precise information you frequently contribute.

Ernie

 

[ErnieCopp]

I did a pretty complete spray job, first with Sevin, killing any early bugs, and then with a mix of foliar fertilzer and Immunox fungicide for everything, and then a batch of soluble Tomato fertilizer applied to the base of the tomato plants.

I also used some of the last batch for some of the smaller fruit trees. Won't I be surprised if those trees bear some nice tomatoes.

But just as i started out to hook up the sprayer i ran out of gas in the tractor so had to lug a gas can back to get it going again.

Those two good rains we had a while back has done wonders for everythinng, and i do not think it has ever looked better. Having to irrigate so much from our public water systems just does not give the fresh brightness to the plants that the rain does. Some plant leaves get a brown rim around them from the accumulated salts.

Ernie

 

[Rahab222]

Today I went shopping for additional garden prepping items. Home Depot has some great sales going and the place was packed! I got the large bags of Miracle Grow Potting Soil for $5.00/bag - regular $9.97. I also bought 4 bags of Black Kow compost for $4.97/bag. Plus, (2) bags of Hummus/Manure compost for $4.97/bag. All large bags. Some liquid Sevin that you attach to a water hose and spray (I'm going after the pill bugs in my strawberry boxes tomorrow.) And some more fertilizer stakes for my fruit trees.

Then I drove out to my favorite nursery, Enchanted Gardens, and bought (3) bags of raised bed mix for my potato boxes, as I need to add more soil around my plants. I also got (3) large bags of chicken manure.

I'm going to mix all this together (except the raised bed mix and potting soil) with my cotton burr compost, vegan compost and some peat moss to add to my main garden bed for my tomatoes and peppers. I also got Osmocote, Miracle Grow and Epsom Salts to put in the holes I dig for my tomatoes and peppers. I'm going to have to plant my main garden one section at a time because I've got to start getting these in the ground. I'm going to start with my Tycoon tomatoes.

I also saw an ad in the paper at Aldi's for Arapaho Blackberry plants for $5.99 each, so I stopped and got (4) blackberry plants and one raspberry. These are the blackberry bushes instead of the climbers I have on the fence. I really wanted Navajo blackberries, but they were $29.95/plant at Enchanted Gardens. Maybe next year. The Arapaho are everbearing and I think they only go to Zone 8 (I'm in Zone 9B), but for the price, I'm going to try them. Does anybody know if these will grow well in the natural soil of the Gulf Coast (gumbo) or should I plant them in a 4' x 4' box with my soil mix?

Also, I bought some Tom Thumb tomatoes that supposedly grow well in containers. For the soil in the containers, should I use potting mix or my home mixed soil blend of compost?

I've got a lot of work ahead of me... But don't we all. Hard to believe I want to expand. I also need to get my dwarf pomegranate tree in the ground somewhere. HAPPY SPRING EVERYBODY!

 

[Rahab222]

Oh, I also stopped at Starbucks and got a big bag of used coffee grounds, since I don't drink coffee. One of the two pepper plants I planted in the horse trough a couple of weeks ago now has leaves full of holes. I'll probably replace it. Don't forget to surround your new plants/seedlings with coffee grounds. The caffeine repels slugs and snails because it makes their neuro systems go bonkers and they won't cross the line of coffee grounds. Worked real well for me last year.

 

[wolffman]

It's still too wet to plant any of my spring crops. Looks like the gardens will need another 5 days or so to dry out enough. Mowed grass all day yesterday and will finish today. Gave the knockout roses a handful of pure potassium nitrate yesterday, they go crazy on the stuff. I'm going to have to plant more of everything if I want to keep my expected yields, planting this late was not in my plan lol.

 

[ErnieCopp]

I feel for you Wolff, as i was totally at the Mercy of the weather when i had the Nursery, as those big trees had to be dug in the narrow window between the ground thawing so the tree spade could dig, and bud break. So that time frame could be squeezed from either end.

Ernie

 

[Mr_Yan]

32° to 34° F and rain out side. I'm not going out if I don't have to. Even my boarder terrier (from Scottish and English highlands) thinks is not nice out.

 

[w_r_ranch]

I harvested the last cabbage this morning as Mrs. Ranch wanted it for coleslaw & I needed to remove it to till the garden anyway. It made it to 15" across & 47" around. It weighed in at 18 pounds 3.1 ounces!!!

After that, I ran 4 passes through the garden with the tiller & started forming the rows. I'll finish it over the next couple of days. Now, it's time for a few margaritas before I cook fajitas for supper.

 

[Mr_Yan]

I harvested the last cabbage this morning as Mrs. Ranch wanted it for coleslaw & I needed to remove it to till the garden anyway. It made it to 15" across & 47" around. It weighed in at 18 pounds 3.1 ounces!!!

.

That thing is bigger than my dog. I do call him a third of a dog though...

 

[Rahab222]

Nice note to end the fall season on!

 

[Rahab222]

After gathering up a lot of garden supplies yesterday, which took me all day, I finally got out in the garden today. I fertilized and watered my onion bed; harvested a lot of lettuce for salads this week; picked weeds out of one of my potato boxes; rolled all my different composts together and hand tilled into my main garden bed. I got a whopping (3) Tycoon tomato plants and (1) Beefmaster in. And yes, this took me all day. It really is going to be one section at a time. It seems like everything suddenly needs attention now that things have dried out from the rains. I waited until dusk to spray my strawberry beds with liquid Sevin then covered them with frost cloth to keep the pollinators out and risking a sure death. I think I'll keep the frost cloth on for the duration of the treatment because the plants still get plenty of sun.

The package directions said you can't harvest strawberries for at least seven days after treatment. Does this mean that after seven days I can harvest berries from these boxes if there's anything left from the pill bugs and small, white snails? I figure if I'm still seeing signs of pill bugs and snails after seven days, and I'm sure I will due to there being a bazillion of them, that I'll do another treatment, which would be 14 days with no harvesting? I was absolutely sick to see a multitude of huge, red strawberries filling my 3-year-old box. They had all been attacked by pill bugs or snails. I've basically written off getting any strawberries this year. That's why I'm going ahead with the Sevin treatment. Can I spray it on the dirt, too? The directions said to treat both sides of the leaves, but the pill bugs and snails are in the soil and on the strawberries from the bad compost.

And AAAACKKKKK! I found an adult stink bug on one of the frost cloths I used to cover one of my strawberry boxes. I crushed him. I am going to be watching for those little red nymphs and hitting them with Sevin. So much for going all organic. The leaf hoppers basically took over my tomato plants at the end of the season last year, costing me a lot of tomatoes. The 4' x 4' with tomato plants that started the infestation has lettuce in it right now and nothing's bothering that. I'm going to put the new blackberry and raspberry bushes I bought this weekend in that box when the lettuce bolts. No telling what's left behind in the soil from last year; so I'm not going to go back with tomatoes in this box.

Slowly, but surely, as I'm putting my spring garden together, things are starting to shape up vs. being the shambles it was in when I started. I'll post some pictures when I get everything in order, but right now, I'm still putting everything back together.

Did I mention my whole body feels broken...

 

[45 ACP]

Well I got the spring garden all planted last week, and then mulched it last weekend. I still have carrots going, and the potatoes are doing great! We planted lots of japs, red bells, yellow bells, green bells, cucumbers, eggplant, basil, and beans. When the carrots and taters are done I will plant okra in their spot.

Sorry no pics this time.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Continued forming the rows... almost showtime.

 

[wolffman]

Continued forming the rows... almost showtime.

Yep, they are calling for a chance of rain on Wed. I'm set to take the day off on Thurs if it doesn't. I gotta get this done. I'm hooking up the trailer today, and making a trip south tomorrow for my rice stubble bales that I use for mulch. I hope the rain misses me this time.

 

[Rahab222]

Wolfman; I'm right along with you on the Gulf Coast. Make that thunderstorms for Weds. We're supposed to get our annual, Easter cool front in this weekend. Hopefully, if I work hard this Friday and Saturday, I'll get all my tomatoes in while the nighttime temperatures are still between 50 - 75 degrees. If I do, it'll be by a nose. With all this rain in, everything I've already planted - potatoes, onions, lettuce, strawberries and planting my new blackberry and raspberry bushes are all requiring attention at the same time. The rains have put me so far behind, I don't know which way to turn first. Guess it will have to be the tomatoes. Peppers can go in in April. Good luck!

 

[wolffman]

Wolfman; I'm right along with you on the Gulf Coast. Make that thunderstorms for Weds. We're supposed to get our annual, Easter cool front in this weekend. Hopefully, if I work hard this Friday and Saturday, I'll get all my tomatoes in while the nighttime temperatures are still between 50 - 75 degrees. If I do, it'll be by a nose. With all this rain in, everything I've already planted - potatoes, onions, lettuce, strawberries and planting my new blackberry and raspberry bushes are all requiring attention at the same time. The rains have put me so far behind, I don't know which way to turn first. Guess it will have to be the tomatoes. Peppers can go in in April. Good luck!

It's the tomatoes and cucumbers that I would have liked to have in the ground already. Heck, I usually have cucumbers in the last week of Feb. This will hurt our pickle stock this year for sure. The farmers around here are working through the night right now, they were planting across the road from me at 3:30 this morning in some heavy fog.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Grilled burgers today. After the meat was off I put on a bunch of hard wood chunks and closed the grill up tight to see what happens. If it goes well I may get some low quality hardwood lump charcoal for my next burn.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Yan, If your grill let in too much air even closed up, just get an air tight container to do what you wanted to do,, During my years of cruising i carried my charcoal in a 3 gallon old fashioned cream can, and when i finished cooking i would put those burning coals in a coffee can on top of my unused charcoal, The tight lid snuffed the fire out, so i had no sparks flying if a wind came up while we were eating, and the next time i cooked those used briquettes were the best charcoal i ever had.

Ernie

 

[Mr_Yan]

OK @ErnieCopp you're giving me some ideas. I think my grill will let in too much oxygen but it is worth a try right?

The common method I've seen online for making lump charcoal is a steel barrel inside a steel barrel. Right now I don't have access to or space for a steel barrel. But if I could make a small amount of charcoal after each grilling it would be akin to just in time manufacturing. What suggestions do you have for a container I could put the wood chunks in and place on top of the coals in a grill? Even an old pasta pot may work.

I was just outside with a flash light and the rustling of the leafs I've been hearing are night crawlers. The ground is COVERED in night crawlers.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Yan,
I have never made any charcoal myself, but hunted in the backwoods down in Mexico, and they made lots of charcoal as a by product of making bootleg mescal. It was very simple and made wonderful mesquite charcoal. They would dig a hole in the ground about 8 or 10 feet across and about 5 or six feet deep, fill it with mesquite wood, and set it on fire. When the wood burnt down to a bed of coals, they would toss in Agave hearts. they are about 1 foot wide and tall, several layers of them, and cover with wet burlap sacks which created some steam and then covered the wet bags with dirt and the coals would roast the agave while the fire was gradually snuffed out.

So you could do some simple testing on a much smaller scale. Dig a ten gallon hole, fill it with wood, and burn it down to coals. Not sure what you would have to put between the hot coals and the wet burlap but maybe green logs would keep the burlap from burning, or maybe with a small hole a piece of sheet steel would work, and seal the cracks with dirt. Simple process, Burn hardwood down to coals, snuff out all the fire by cutting off oxygen, and let it cool.

Ernie

 

[Rahab222]

Wolfman; I know the fields between Sugar Land, through Needville and onto Freeport well. All old stomping grounds. I think when the cotton comes in, I'm going to stop by the gin and ask for some free cotton burrs. That's where my Dad always got his.

Did you notice the weather forecast has changed for Weds. from an 80% chance of thunderstorms to 20% chance of rain? Scattered rain the rest of the week. Cool front this weekend. I had to go out and water everything today, including my transplants.

I'm off this Friday for Good Friday, so I'm praying to play catchup on the garden. Lots and lots to do. I really need to get all my tomato plants in. All my kinks are just straightening themselves out from last weekend's work in the garden... I really felt like my whole body was broken.

 

[wolffman]

Hey, I make charcoal sometimes. Not for cooking, but for sparkly things I make for July 4th and New Years. Same process though. I just use a metal 5 gallon bucket with a small hole drilled in the top.

 

[ErnieCopp]

I had a good idea today, so will pass it on. I needed to sprinkle some coated grass seed in some thin spots in my lawn, and throwing grass sed accurately is difficult. While looking for some way to do it, i noticed an empty snail bait bag, with a screw cap on one corner for sprinkling snail pellets. I put the seed in there, and it worked perfectly for placing the seed where i needed it. I am saving the bag for future use.

Ernie