Fafhrd on 17/11/2006 at 05:46
While we're on the topic of horticultural stuff, I've got a question.
There's a wild blackberry bush growing a few blocks away from my house. What's the best way for me to take some of this bush and grow it actually in my yard? Should I just uproot one of the smaller seedlings and nurture it in a pot until it's large enough to fend for itself in the ground, or would a clipping suffice? and what's the best way to force root growth in a clipping?
Navyhacker006 on 17/11/2006 at 12:51
When I was much younger I had a small plot in the backyard with these tiny (baby?) radishes, onions, and carrots. Tasty.
Maybe I'll see if some of the things mentioned ITT can grow here.
Also, for relevance:
Inch by inch, row by row;
I'm going make this garden grow.
All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a
piece of fertile ground.
pavlovscat on 17/11/2006 at 15:22
Son of a bitch! The garden looks so nice. And, here I thought we were doing a good thing. Boy, it is not gonna be fun to explain to the husband why we have to get rid of the mulch & re-do the gardens. But, that stuff will have to go. Thanks for the heads up.
Aerothorn on 18/11/2006 at 09:01
Good job taking the info and acting on it :)
Gardening is hard stuff, and environmentally-friendly gardening is even harder, as there is a huge industry trying to sell people magical-garden-helpers (like fertilizer) that are almost all environmentally harmful to some degree.
You might want to look into what is called 'compost tea' - it's an organic, environmentally-friendly solution filled with plant/soil helping microbes that you can spray on plants.
Zygoptera on 18/11/2006 at 22:53
Quote Posted by Jennie&Tim
If you can, grow rosemary, the fresh herb is magnificent. I have only one big bush now, the other succumbed to our very wet winter last Spring.
Rosemary will grow easily from cuttings if you want more plants. Take a 6" length straight sprig, cut its stem on an angle, strip the lower leaves and stick it into straight potting mix, keep out of direct sun and water every couple of days and it will likely take without any other treatment. The one I did for my sister a couple of years ago is nearly a meter tall now. Best done in spring though, so you'd need to wait a while.
Quote Posted by fafhrd
There's a wild blackberry bush growing a few blocks away from my house.
Blackberry will take extremely easily from cuttings- just cut a stem with a few leaves in spring and stick into potting mix- or from rootstock or from seeds. That's also a negative as it is invasive and extremely unpleasant if it grows too much, why it's classified as a noxious weed here. Commercial equivalents (boysenberry, raspberry etc.) are better if you know someone with them as they will easily take from cuttings too and are a lot easier to control.
pavlovscat on 19/11/2006 at 01:02
Quote Posted by Aerothorn
Good job taking the info and acting on it :)
Gardening is hard stuff, and environmentally-friendly gardening is even harder, as there is a huge industry trying to sell people magical-garden-helpers (like fertilizer) that are almost all environmentally harmful to some degree.
You might want to look into what is called 'compost tea' - it's an organic, environmentally-friendly solution filled with plant/soil helping microbes that you can spray on plants.
Yeah, I'm learning that. I miss the pony I had as a child. He made great fertilizer! ;) This compost tea...does that serve the purpose of commercial fertilizer as well? I know most of those aren't environmentally sound.
What else is good for trees? We have 2 young oak trees that I'd like to give a little help.
Tocky on 19/11/2006 at 02:43
You live in Texas. Does moo ring a bell? I can hardly walk a hundred yards in any direction without stepping in fertilizer here in 'sippi.
And the only problem with boysenberry and raspberry is they aint blackberry. Sometimes wild is betta. Some things is best left alone. The ground is sour up theya on that hill. The soil of a mans heart is stonier still. Ayah.
jay pettitt on 19/11/2006 at 09:52
Quote Posted by pavlovscat
What else is good for trees? We have 2 young oak trees that I'd like to give a little help.
There's not much you can give to an oak tree (apart from chocolate spread) to help it along, but there are plenty of things that can hinder them. How young is young and how long have you had them?
pavlovscat on 19/11/2006 at 16:44
Quote Posted by Tocky
You live in Texas. Does moo ring a bell? I can hardly walk a hundred yards in any direction without stepping in fertilizer here in 'sippi.
I'm living just west of Houston in suburbia, no cows here. I guess they sell manure by the bag or something.
Quote Posted by jay pettitt
There's not much you can give to an oak tree (apart from chocolate spread) to help it along, but there are plenty of things that can hinder them. How young is young and how long have you had them?
Chocolate spread?:confused:
I'm not sure how old they are. We bought the house in May & these were part of the landscape package. I think they were planted around Jan 06, maybe a couple months sooner. The trees are both 2.5-3 inches in diameter & about 11.5 feet tall. One is definitely a live oak, but I'm not sure what variety the other one is. The leaves are much skinnier but still roughly oval. They are planted about 9 feet apart in the front yard. This seems too close to me, but we're in a restricted deed subdivision, so we can't change the landscaping. They are also staked between metal poles, I assume to keep them growing straight. They are in full sunlight. It is very dry soil here.
jay pettitt on 19/11/2006 at 18:09
Stakes aren't there so much to make the tree grow straight as to stop the tree wobbling while the roots get established. A bit of wobble could loosen the hold that the roots have in the soil.
Avoid watering unless it's an absolute life or death emergency. If you water the roots will concentrate near the surface which will be a) annoying later and b) make your tree suffer in dry spells when the top soil drys out.
If they're planted in the lawn keep a couple of feet around the trunks clear of grass until they're all big and grown up or at least responsible teenagers. Grass is evil.
Feed with chocolate spread sandwiches on the full moon. Then chill out. Trees have been doing this stuff for a long time; they're quite good at it. You're right about 9ft being a bit close though - they're going to end up interfering with each other and competing to be the tallest. Buy some loppers on a pole.
