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Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 30) August 27

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. The end of August is approaching and the temperatures have moderated here in East Central Mississippi. Lows are in the mid 60’s with daytime highs in the high 80’s to 90 degrees. My garden is thriving in this weather. The sweet and hot peppers are abundant and the tomato plants are back in production mode. I think I will be removing my okra plants this week. They are huge and sprawling and over seven foot tall. They have to go so the sun can get to other plants. If you are a gardener or you are just...

British beekeeper breeds 'super-bee' that protects itself from deadly mite wiping out colonies

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Ron Hoskins has found a breed of the insect that protects itself against the parasite blamed for the alarming fall in numbers. The 79-year-old made the discovery after realising that one of his hives had far fewer deaths from the varroa mite than others. He found that the insects in that hive 'groomed' each other to get rid of the mites before they had the chance to do any harm. Now he is attempting to spread his mite-resistant breed of bees by cross-breeding them with queens from other hives. Decline: The UK's bee population had dropped by 60 per cent...

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 29) August 20

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. Freeper tubebender submitted a request yesterday afternoon via FreepMail that we make one of our threads about the garden magazines, books and web sites we peruse to further our quest for the perfect Zucchini??? It is a great idea. How about we also add seed catalogs and where we get our recipes to the list also. Here a just a few web sites that I like to go to regularly: Mississippi State University Extension Service National Gardening Association Pick Your Own - Also Info On Canning, Freezing and Recipes All Recipes.com Brewing-Compost-Tea Vegetable Gardener finegardening.com Pruning Tomatoes

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 28) August 13

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. Typical August weather has set in here in East Central Mississippi with days in the mid 90’s and nights in the mid 70’s. I have pears and a few figs maturing and being picked. My garden is still producing but just a little slower in this heat. This is typical for me. Daisyjane69 asked me to pass on a link to a weekly radio gardening show by a gardening expert in NE Ohio. It provides advice about vegetables, flowers, shrubs, trees, soil, watering, bugs, fertilizer, pruning, and EVERYTHING. At the link you can download the programs and...

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 27) August 06

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. It has been extremely hot over a good portion of the southern U.S. this past week and the heat is expected last for another week or more. Freepers please stay safe when outside tending your gardens and keep yourselves well hydrated. Also your gardens may experience some drought stress, but over watering, as Freeper and Master Gardener Daisyjane89 has been warning us, can be equally devastating, especially when drainage is poor. Poorly drained, soggy soil conditions combined with hot weather can wipe out a plant in a matter of days. Water deeply and infrequently. If you are...

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 26) July 30

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. Hopefully everyone has had some success with his or her garden this year. The Dog Days of summer are upon us and as summer comes full on we are now enjoying the fruit of our labor. If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.

Latest 'green' packing material? Mushrooms (not magic)

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Packing foam now entering the marketplace is engineered from mushrooms and agricultural wasteA new packing material that grows itself is now appearing in shipped products across the country. The composite of inedible agricultural waste and mushroom roots is called Mycobond™, and its manufacture requires just one eighth the energy and one tenth the carbon dioxide of traditional foam packing material. And unlike most foam substitutes, when no longer useful, it makes great compost in the garden. The technology was the brainchild of two former Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute undergraduates, Gavin McIntyre and Eben Bayer, who founded Ecovative Design of Green Island,...

Mugabe and the White African (Brilliant Documentary)

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Has anyone seen the documentary "Mugabe and the White African?" I watched it last night after downloading it and it's brilliant. What do you think of it, if you've seen it?

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 25) July 23

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. I hope all of you are doing well and your gardens are flourishing. I ran across a thread posted by FReeper Lorianne last night that I thought everyone might find interesting. It is about an enterprising 14-year-old young Lady from Michigan who is using her love for gardening and making a few dollars on the side. Link: A Michigan Teen Farms Her Backyard

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 24) July 16

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. It is mid July and the heat has settled in for a long stay here in the South. My tomatoes are finally showing some pink. The eggplants, okra, peppers and watermelon plants are thriving in the heat and the water bill will take a beating this month. I hope all of your gardens are thriving and doing well. Chime in and let your fellow Freepers know how your garden grows! If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and...

Idaho man finds weed in his weeds

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

A man probably wishes that he started weeding in his yard sooner. That's after he told police that he discovered a tray of some 28 marijuana seedlings in an overgrown portion of the backyard near his Moscow home... (Assistant Police Chief David Duke) said the man who lives at the property isn't being considered a suspect. Information from: The Moscow-Pullman Daily News, http://www.dnews.com

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 23) July 09

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. It is the second week of July and many of you have been enjoying the fruits of your labor for the last few weeks. Enjoy those homegrown tomatoes! For those of us who got late starts on our gardens our time will come! Below the Weekly Gardening Banner is a link to a very good tutorial on how to save your own tomato seeds. If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper...

Good News!! Cow Flatulence May Reduce Greenhouse Gasses

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Here's hoping this puts and end to this entire smelly mess. For the second during the past few week, cow farts have been absolved of causing global warming. This reports says that bovine toots may actually reduce greenhouse gasses. Two weeks ago air quality expert Dr Frank Mitloehner said the IPCC report linking livestock to global warming is very exaggerated. This made cows ecstatic, as they no longer have to walk around with silly pink tanks on their backs to collect their farts for science.

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 22) July 02

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. I hope all FReepers have a safe and Happy 4th of July weekend! If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 21) June 25

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. Here in East Central Mississippi the weather has been typical for the middle of June and the official start of summer. Temperatures have been in the mid nineties in the afternoons and high sixties to low seventies overnight with afternoon showers every other day or so. My garden is thriving in this weather and doing very well. I have not had to do any extensive additional watering which is good. Also this past week I noticed quite a few honey bees up in the garden. I hope they decide to visit often. In the past years my...

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 20) June 18

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice. If you have a question about gardening or just an observation to share please feel free to stop by and participate. There are no stupid questions, just honest ones.

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 19) June 11

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners. It looks like from all the pictures and comments that most of your gardens are coming along great. My garden is about three weeks behind where it was last year at this time but all is well and it is coming along fine. If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice. If you have a...

Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 Vol. 18 June 4

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Good morning gardeners! Wow June is here already. I hope all of your gardens are flourishing. Can you believe that last year at this time there were freeze and frost warnings for the North, Northeast and some of the higher elevations? This year the freeze warnings seem to be contained within a certain household in Tennessee. I just had to say that, couldn’t help myself! If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is...

Top-to-bottomato

Thursday 2nd of September 2010 01:30:31 PM
Posted by admin / Under Gardening

Area gardeners report success with hanging tomato plants ~Connecticut~ Is there an upside to upside-down tomatoes? Those jarring late-night infomercials hawking the "Topsy-Turvy," a planter designed to dangle tomato vines instead of the traditional stake-and-tie method, would have gardeners believe the planter is an innovation on par with hydroponics. But in practice, green-thumbed residents of Northwestern Connecticut said they're still trying to figure out whether the hanging tomato is a trend or a transformation. For Torrington resident Sherri Waldron, a mom of two kids whose backyard ball-playing would leave a vegetable garden in shambles, hanging tomato plants has emerged as...