Gardening and Plant Thread

[Mukhrani]

I have a side project where I want to try and cultivate Coral-root orchids in captivity. They are entirely parasitic and use their connection with Russula fungus to parasitize trees. Because of they're entirely non-photosynthetic and has made me do a lot of side research just to understand how it feeds.

They however are terrestrial.
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Coralroots have never been successfully cultivated in containers because they are basically obligate parasites with extra steps. They can spread prolifically and form colonies because the 'system' they're pulling energy from (the mycorrhizae in the soil, but through them ultimately a mature tree or colony of trees) is massive. Unless you want to also grow a ginormous tree for them to parasitize you won't have much luck. I've seen them before in the wild when I was in the Rockies and they really are stunning, so I understand the impulse. The best chance you could have would be to introduce them to a mature stand of trees after inoculating with their preferred fungal host and allowing the fungus to establish itself. I've seen seeds for sale on some websites but if you were successful it would be an involved, multi-year process.

Oh I adore orchids. A cybidium is on my list because it will do excellently in my cold northern climate. I also have a vanilla orchid on my list because I wanna get my own seed pods.

Cymbidiums are super easy, put them outside in the fall right up until the first freeze in full sun, then leave them dry and put them someplace cool till the flowers open. In the late spring/summer put them somewhere with dappled shade and give them a LOT of water and fertilizer. Vanilla is a bitch to get to bloom, the plants need to be like five years old, maybe longer. 10' long vines is typical for your first flower.

 

[WanderingFarmer]

If you're planning to grow vegetables be sure to check your growing zone! I just had to pay extra for fast shipping so my seeds would get here on time all because I was thinking I had another month to go.

Also what's everyone planning to grow this year?

I'm going heavy on the greens, and trying my best to grow as much food as I can to really minimize buying produce.
The short list is greens, cabbage, turnips, beets, carrots, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, cucumbers, beans, peas, squashes of various kinds, melons, and assorted herbs. I got the rough figure of needed plants and scheduling from this online tool Seedtime which wants to charge for some stuff but seems plenty usable on the free version.

Outside the garden I have some blueberries to keep going this year and I'm thinking about establishing a couple of elderberry trees near my beehives.

I'm also experimenting with growing my own tea and tobacco. I know for a fact I live in an area that should be good for both and I enjoy tea more than coffee. Plus I've always wanted to try blending my own from herbs I grow or forage. As for the tobacco a friend of mine gave me a pipe last year so occasionally I'll smoke a bowl. Or grab a pinch of snuff if I need a pick me up. Would be nice to grow some I like and have the know how to cultivate these as trade goods in case Tim Pool ever actually calls it right and something finally happens.

 

[an_actual_reptilian]

The roses are doing quite well. Maybe I am fortunate, maybe it has to do with choosing varieties for your location, but I do not understand why people say roses are hard.

I am having trouble with mine from time to time. Black spots come and go. Ive learned to not get them wet, though.... they still appear and wreck my leaves. Somtimes my flowers will rot before they even open up. And when I've tried ridding pests i always end up destroying foliage. I have 2 rose bushes. At this point i am afraid to even implement ANY pest management. They don't have any on them now for some reason. Right now, I put them in the shed at night because of the cold. And i am scared to trim them. When do you trim them and how? I want to grow more roses, they are just so beautiful.

 

[Big Miss Steak]

I am having trouble with mine from time to time. Black spots come and go. Ive learned to not get them wet, though.... they still appear and wreck my leaves. Somtimes my flowers will rot before they even open up. And when I've tried ridding pests i always end up destroying foliage. I have 2 rose bushes. At this point i am afraid to even implement ANY pest management. They don't have any on them now for some reason. Right now, I put them in the shed at night because of the cold. And i am scared to trim them. When do you trim them and how? I want to grow more roses, they are just so beautiful.

I live in Florida so my roses get wet pretty often. Good airflow will reduce issues with black mold. Choosing varieties that will do well in your area is also key. I have Floribunda roses that deal with the heat a little better and tend to be disease resistant, but this can vary by variety. I did recently obtain a Hybrid Tea and I am curious if it will do well long-term or not.

I have my roses in pots on my patio. They get about 6 or 7 hours of full sun, and I water them every other day. Once a week, I trim off spent blooms or undesirable canes, and pluck off dead or dying leaves. I don't let leaves accumulate on the mulch in the rose pot. I spray with a rotation of Bonide Captain Jack's Copper Fungicide, Bonide Rose Rx, and BioAdvanced All-in-One Rose & Flower Plant Care. If I notice an issue, I spray daily.

I squish aphids when I find them and I spray. I have encountered a few beetles/worms but never on a large scale and I can just pick them off.

I fertilize monthly with a rotation of Rose Tone, Alfalfa Meal, and Jack's Classic Fertilizer.

I do a hardcore shaping trim only if I feel the rose is getting unruly. When trimming, you want to cut just above a five-leaf node. This makes it more likely for the rose to bloom from that cane.

I have them in FoxFarm Ocean Forest soil.

 

[Just_A_guy]

For those of us who have to deal with tropical plants in a cold climate. I suggest bringing them into the bathroom when you shower to get them some steam.
Here is an update on my witchcraft.

IDK why the thumbnail blacked out but it shows up correct if you click on it.

 

[NoReturn]

For those of us who have to deal with tropical plants in a cold climate. I suggest bringing them into the bathroom when you shower to get them some steam.
Here is an update my witchcraft.
View attachment 8485463
IDK why the thumbnail blacked out but it shows up correct if you click on it.

Given the shape of the thing, the reveal is funny.

 

[an_actual_reptilian]

I live in Florida so my roses get wet pretty often. Good airflow will reduce issues with black mold. Choosing varieties that will do well in your area is also key. I have Floribunda roses that deal with the heat a little better and tend to be disease resistant, but this can vary by variety. I did recently obtain a Hybrid Tea and I am curious if it will do well long-term or not.

I have my roses in pots on my patio. They get about 6 or 7 hours of full sun, and I water them every other day. Once a week, I trim off spent blooms or undesirable canes, and pluck off dead or dying leaves. I don't let leaves accumulate on the mulch in the rose pot. I spray with a rotation of Bonide Captain Jack's Copper Fungicide, Bonide Rose Rx, and BioAdvanced All-in-One Rose & Flower Plant Care. If I notice an issue, I spray daily.

I squish aphids when I find them and I spray. I have encountered a few beetles/worms but never on a large scale and I can just pick them off.

I fertilize monthly with a rotation of Rose Tone, Alfalfa Meal, and Jack's Classic Fertilizer.

I do a hardcore shaping trim only if I feel the rose is getting unruly. When trimming, you want to cut just above a five-leaf node. This makes it more likely for the rose to bloom from that cane.

I have them in FoxFarm Ocean Forest soil.

Thank you for the product drop! I live on the Gulf Coast one rose bush seems to not care about the heat, the other seems to get stressed out. What size pot are you using? i dont want to put them in the ground, the soil is heavy clay and won't let shit grow, I learned the hard way when i tried planting pumpkins, cucumbers and tomatoes. Also this past summer's heat quickly killed those. but i dont feel badd cuzz the old dude a few houses down had trouble with his cucumbers too.
Have you tried neem oil? Neem oil wrecked my leaves...every time. I thought about getting a soft rag and getting the aphids off when i see them, but I get worried about ruining the leaves. How close to the base do you trim for the season? IS there a trimming for the season? Sorry for so many questions. I want to buy some roses offline and have ,more beautiful but dont wanna do that untill i can at least get these 2 bushes in good shape.

 

[Big Miss Steak]

What size pot are you using?

The bigger the better as long as you are careful not to overwater. None of my roses are very large. The biggest is a topiary rose that I have in this pot.

Have you tried neem oil? Neem oil wrecked my leaves...every time.

Yes I have actually used that. It can damage the leaves... I am not sure why. Maybe it's the sun hitting the oil? I do know neem oil is an ingredient in some of the sprays I regularly use and that doesn't seem to cause issues. I use neem on my herbs and they don't mind.

I thought about getting a soft rag and getting the aphids off when i see them, but I get worried about ruining the leaves.

Just pinch them between your fingers. They don't bite, and you're less likely to damage the leaves or buds that way. Mash all the aphids you see, then spray.

How close to the base do you trim for the season? IS there a trimming for the season?

I don't think there's a serious need for a trimming season if your area doesn't get frost/below freezing. From what I understand, in warmer areas, you want to trim back in late Jan - late Feb, focusing on shaping the plant and removing dead canes (I remove dead canes as I see them). However, you only want to do this if the plant is well established. Most of mine are quite young/small. The topiary had a hard die back when I got really sick and didn't water it, so it's already a little naked and I won't be trimming it further except to remove canes rubbing against each other.

 

[WanderingFarmer]

The parsley rises.

My first round of garden seeds should be arriving today. Gotta get some seed starting mix so I can get them growing.

 

[Gnu Fig]

My first round of garden seeds should be arriving today. Gotta get some seed starting mix so I can get them growing.

Thanks for the reminder to get my gear in order for this coming season.

I've got some perennial kale, ground cherry, and pepper seeds I want to have growing in a raised bed this year.

 

[WanderingFarmer]

Brussle sprouts, cabbages, collards, kale, kohlrabi, and swiss chard all planted! At least my first run of them. Here's hoping they all make it so i can figure out how to properly cook all those things, saurkraut not withstanding.
I have a book called Six Seasons that has some pretty good recipes in there, but does anyone have any other good cook books they'd recommend?

 

[Rekieta’s Broken Penis]

My garden’s gone gangers since I set up automatic irrigation.

 

[Mukhrani]

For those of us who have to deal with tropical plants in a cold climate. I suggest bringing them into the bathroom when you shower to get them some steam.
Here is an update on my witchcraft.
View attachment 8485463
IDK why the thumbnail blacked out but it shows up correct if you click on it.

My Catasetinae are jealous of that spa treatment. I throw them in an unused cabinet and open it once every few weeks until I go 'damn, it has new roots!'

 

[femboy fart huffer]

People are fucking growing things already? It's still frosting every other night here. I don't really have any plans for the year. There was one plant that I was pretty interested in until I saw it was something like 500usd for a very young one and I was on the edge of where it can live. The only other plant that I really want to keep I finally managed to buy a couple of last year because they're stupidly rare, they were doing good for most of the year until they just decided to all die off, one of those things where the base/roots die (not hibernate/dormant) and then the rest of the plant all dies almost overnight without giving you a chance to do anything.

 

[WanderingFarmer]

People are fucking growing things already? It's still frosting every other night here.

Yes. Gotta have little plants good and strong so they can take advantage of the first week after the last frost! Some things are tolerant, and even taste better when they get some frost.


My kohlrabi has sprouted in only 3 days and the Parsley is coming on strong.

 

[UselessRubberKeyboard]

Sticking to potatoes, salad and herbs this year. Fruit trees will get fed well, but the borders are gonna have a simple raking to get up weeds, then flower seeds chucked down and whatever comes up comes up. This year is shaping up to be difficult and we’re not going to have a lot of time to garden.

If anyone wants any mint, I am apparently now your go-to keyboard. After years of not being able to grow it, the stuff has finally taken off…and taken over my herb bed. And the wall of the herb bed. And the grass around it. I’m half expecting to go away for a few weeks this summer then return to a two-storey mint groot telling me I’m no longer welcome.

 

[Mukhrani]

Sticking to potatoes, salad and herbs this year. Fruit trees will get fed well, but the borders are gonna have a simple raking to get up weeds, then flower seeds chucked down and whatever comes up comes up. This year is shaping up to be difficult and we’re not going to have a lot of time to garden.

If anyone wants any mint, I am apparently now your go-to keyboard. After years of not being able to grow it, the stuff has finally taken off…and taken over my herb bed. And the wall of the herb bed. And the grass around it. I’m half expecting to go away for a few weeks this summer then return to a two-storey mint groot telling me I’m no longer welcome.

The next time I plant mint I'm going to build a concrete sarcophagus à la Chernobyl to contain it.

 

[WanderingFarmer]

The next time I plant mint I'm going to build a concrete sarcophagus à la Chernobyl to contain it.

You're only delaying the inevitable.
The only thing that can outcompete Mint is Kudzu.

 

[UselessRubberKeyboard]

You're only delaying the inevitable.
The only thing that can outcompete Mint is Kudzu.

I’m hoping kudzu won’t be an issue in the U.K, because the mint monster is bad enough. I thought brambles were frustrating but this is insane. Not even a flamethrower would work.

 

[femboy fart huffer]

I thought brambles were frustrating but this is insane.

Brambles are great though? Get a wire fence for the end of your garden and let the brambles grow on them. Basically a free barbed wire fence and you get literally kilos of free blackberries every year. I would say split it half and half with raspberries but I've never had much luck with them, I think the end of my garden is too heavily shaded or something.