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Post by Unswamping on Apr 1, 2017 14:36:12 GMT -5
PC, i hope you are feeling better after the brochitis. That is a pain to recover from, with fatigue lingering for awhile. Ive had carpenter bees here and they can get pretty big. They buzz around me alot but they dont bother me. If you just ignore them, they will ignore you. They dont sting people unless extremely provoked, they would must rather fly away. The good news is they help control pest insects. The bad news is they like to burrow in wood. I cut up sections of an old hose, about foot long pieces and grouped them together. That will give them a home and discourage them from burrowing in my wooden deck. The amish wagon sounds really cute. Im glad the company is sending you a second one. Titanium bits should be able to drill holes in the metal. I got a set at lowes for $25, dewalt which is a good brand. May seem a bit pricy but i will never need to buy bits again.
Another big bug you might see is a hummingbird moth. Big, black dive bomber that looks like a hummer with fast beating wings. Unlike hummers, they are not timid at all and will fly right next to your head. If youre trying to attract hummingbirds, seeing one of those is a good sign, their eating habits are the same, they just find it faster than hummers. CC that cicada killer is really interesting. Ive probably seen them and never realized what they were.
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Post by Fivecat on Apr 1, 2017 21:54:02 GMT -5
Oh no! I hope you feel better soon!
Wood bees are large bees and they can do some serious damage. I've had 2x4s outside they made tunnels in that were a 1/4-1/2 inch in diameter. Bumblebees are small bees and while I've heard wood bees don't sting, bumblebees definitely do!
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Post by purpleangel on Apr 2, 2017 6:56:14 GMT -5
Unswamping - A few years ago my now-dh called me over to see a butterfly bush. It had a huge funny looking hummingbird/not hummingbird on it. It was a giant hummingbird moth. I've never seen one before and it was really amazing. Creepy at first and then really beautiful in its own bug-like way. (Had to share.)
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Post by phoenixcat on Apr 3, 2017 10:44:26 GMT -5
I need to take a picture of my "bee" and/or "moth". Whatever it is - it is not particularly aggressive and it is either solitary or just a few of them. It almost seems to "keep me company" as I'm wandering around the backyard - probably letting me know it is his/her territory and I'm only a guest Worked on the vegetable and some flower plants all afternoon yesterday. This is it for vegetable spring planting. If it doesn't make it - it is simply too late in the spring/summer season now to rebound. Gave up on the swiss chard - will try again in the fall. I'm still at about a 50/60% success from the original planting. Success means "not dead". Roma tomatoes are doing fairly well. The super sweet - I'm down to just 2 plants. Bought a few very robust tomato plants at the nursery yesterday. It would be nice if at least a 1/3 of the plants produce fruit. Cucumbers and patty pan squash are my stars. My potatoes seem to be doing something - getting green above the dirt so that's pretty cool. Would like to re-pot all my front porch flowers this evening. And, the backyard flowers tomorrow. But I will hope that I can at least finish this week. Saw a very cool 8' x 8' raised bed garden that is a standing one - U shaped - so you can walk in the middle and access all your plants. Hmmm - where do I have 64-70 square feet of space? Dreaming................... PC
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Post by Unswamping on Apr 6, 2017 19:38:26 GMT -5
PC ive seen that u-shaped bed too. I was thinking the same thing, where could i put it. Im glad the squash and cucumbers are doing ok. If you planted the tomatoes deep, it may not seem like they are doing much right now, at least above ground. They are probably building up a sturdy root system, which they will need once the above ground part starts growing. My experience has been, that they seem to not do anything for a few weeks after transplanting then suddenly they explode all over the place (which is why i suggested putting the cages on right away.) it always seemed once i gave up on them, they would grow two feet over night. Im hoping the same happens for you. I decided im not putting anything in this year so im living vicariously through your garden. (I may scatter some wildflower seed in the back, where there is no grass once the last frost happens but thats it).
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Post by phoenixcat on Apr 9, 2017 19:09:59 GMT -5
Squash and cucumbers are blossoming And lots of green above the dirt on my potatoes Not buying any more small flowers - just die within a few days. Going to try my luck with succulents for decorative plants. Had an unexpected delay. The gardener showed up yesterday and stripped my citrus trees of all the fruit. We were planning on having that done but thought we would get advance notice So all of a sudden - I'm flooded with 321 grapefruit (yes I counted) and about 40 lemons. Have 80% of the grapefruit packaged in bags of a dozen. Hmmm - thinking of dropping at the front door, ring the bell and RUN. Actually off the top of my head I have places for about a dozen bags to go. Going to look into places that take food donations tomorrow. Seems like the girl scouts were doing something for that. Need to work on my freezers tonight so that I can juice the other 20% that I'm keeping. Since we weren't expecting the gardener - DH gave him all my big planters for the grapefruit. So still haven't replanted a bunch of "bush" plants because I had to empty the containers. Maybe tomorrow........... PC
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Post by Unswamping on Apr 9, 2017 20:47:43 GMT -5
321 grapefruit! i would have totally freaked out if i came home and saw that. Did you have any idea there would be that many? I would be visiting all the neighbors and dropping bags off. Do people leave their car windows open? You could gift them with a bag, maybe with a note you want to share the abundance? Honestly i wouldnt know what to do. Great job on the squash and cucumber blossoms. I know people do like to eat squash blossoms but if you pick them, you wont get a squash. The flower needs to stay on the plant for the squash to develop. You doing great!
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