@theTractor@plants I was wondering about that. I recently got a greenhouse where I put plants in that just won’t survive in my room conditions. It’s not fully insulated so I thought I don’t need a fan. Maybe I need one.
probably yes, but arm yourself with fungicide because when it attacks a plant it is difficult to make it recover, at least in my experience. Good luck! 😉
@plants If you are concerned about the planet I am seeking help in keeping my ecostrike alive on my website: https://fastfrwrd.io where anyone can join to take on eco challenges by staying off platforms that don't run on green energy. We make field notes and get points which can be used to trade eco goodies. You can also indicate on your profile if you are looking to date and find the challengers who have similar lifestyles to yours in the challenge who are open to dating new ppl!
@michael@plants all of those are delicious, although you guys will need to spray the almonds and apricots with a weak copper and neem solution to keep fungal diseases at bay since you (like me) are a little north for them. I spray 3x in spring and once in fall, never while flower buds are open so I don’t hurt any bees.
Hm. Ich suche für'n Garten ne stabile Beetumrandung für's Gemüsebeet. 20 cm hoch soll sie sein, auf individuelle Länge zuschneidbar (Standard is nich). Die Kunststoffdinger (welliges Plastik vom Meter) waren ja nur eine Übergangslösung. Einerseits soll sie stabil genug sein, um die rechteckige Form zu behalten, andererseits so flexibel, dass ich auch ne Rundung abstecken kann.
#Dorstenia gigas in winter hibernation - close-up #Dorstenia gigas in winter hibernation - close-up #Dorstenia gigas in winter hibernation - whole plant - only a few leaves
Ich muss mir dieses Jahr wirklich einen Schlauch kaufen, den ich im Badezimmer anschließen kann, um den Balkon zu gießen. Die Gießkanne ist zu schwer um sie mehrmals hin und her zu schleppen und Wasserflaschen in die Kübel stecken war letztes Jahr auch nicht das Wahre. Hat jemand Empfehlungen? @plants
Polar vortex deep freezes are now becoming normal. We’re halfway through the January 2024 polar vortex, so I figured I’d write a little about how we’re keeping plants alive as the temps drop to 5F/-14C and the weather stays basically below freezing for a full week.
In-ground row crops: We’ve got various winter veg, mainly greens, right now. We topped the tall ones and took the largest of the kohlrabi. Then we covered them with two layers of ag-15 row cover. They are currently maintaining a temp difference of 5F/2.5C at night, and more than 15F/8C with sunlight. We had some tunnel collapse from snow & wind. We’ll know later what survived.
In-ground trees: We have two meyer lemons and a bay laurel in a very exposed part of the front yard. These all got a wire frame around them, filled with loose leaves, then covered with ag-15 and 8mil translucent plastic. The lemons also got a wrapping of incandescent Christmas lights, ~50 watts each. There’s no way to get a good temp reading, but this type of scheme has worked for us before. There’s also a trifoliate orange rootstock in the same area – it’s on its own.
Unheated greenhouse: We have a QuicTent polytunnel with basil & cilantro on a planting table. This is covered with ag-15 and a moving blanket. This is holding 10F/5C above at night, 15F/8C with sunlight. The basil is probably dead, the cilantro will probably be blanched, but survive.
@plants
Heated greenhouse: Another QuicTent, with lots of cobbled together remediation. It houses all our tenders, including potted citrus, dahlias, and peppers.
The north side is covered with two layers of heavy black/silver tarp. The south side has one layer, retractable during the day. We’ve insulated where possible with moving blankets and fuzzy acrylic materials, making a room within a room. We also added about .25 tons of water in buckets for heat inertia, I believe that was wasted effort. The mulch floor is damp from recent rains and has done a good job of keeping humidity high (50-85%).
There are two resistive heaters for a maximum 2kw heating. I’m running both heaters at 50%: one set for 50F/10C, the other for 40F/5C. We can hold a 35F/20C difference with 1kw overnight. I’m estimating $15-20 for the full week of heating. Which is about half the cost of any one tree in here. During the day, with the south tarp retracted, it will almost get to 70F/21C when outside temp is 20F/-7C.
Planning for next year:
We will be re-locating the unheated greenhouse, and adding a climate-battery. This will circulate greenhouse air through tubes buried in the ground, which is still warm 2ft/.6m down. If this works, we’ll fit a similar system for the heated greenhouse as well.
Both greenhouses will get permanent 1-2inch/25-50mm insulation board on the north side. It will be white to give diffuse reflection of the winter sun. We will cut insulation board to fit the endcaps, overlapping the door zippers. The doors will be covered with moving blankets.
We’ll do a better job preparing to make the room within a room, by putting shelves and tables such that they don’t cross rib lines.
The outside of the greenhouses will get mulched leaves to about 12 inches/25cm.
I’m not going to bother moving a quarter ton of water for “heat inertia”.
I am going to flood the mulched floor to ensure keep humidity levels high and steady.
All greenhouse zippers will be replaced with ones made by YKK. QuicTent makes a decent product for the price, but the zippers are crap. The Velcro on the windows is also crap. Window corners will either get snaps or holding stiches in the corners to ensure they don’t leak air during the winter.
It's very rewarding to see what these native plants bring to our gardens. My garden at this time is 60% native. Will be 100% native in the next 2–3 years. Cardinal Flower-Humming bird magnet and Great Blue Lobelia from last summer. #nativeplants @plants@nativeplants @nativeplants@nationalparks
Appreciate a boost if you love wildlife and native habitat.
I have two plants in the foil greenhouse ( in the living room) that got these black spots recently. I don’t see any pests, could it be fungal? They still grow well and it’s not on the newest leaves. They live next to each other. @plants
@DanyWho@plants It looks like sooty mould to me. “Crassula ovata is susceptible to mealybugs, unarmored scale insects that are common pests of succulents and other houseplants. The nymphs of mealybugs pierce the outer layer of plant tissue, feed on the sap, and excrete honeydew which can cause sooty mold. Wiping the infected area with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol can help control them.”
@rmishra@plants@nativeplants. Mastodon has a great native plant community. Native plants and native pollinators photos are common. Being in Minnesota in December I don’t have any current pollinator photos to share.