Gardening in your jammies!

So grab a hot cup of java and join me on the deck while i show you what i got growing!

Got to love container gardening! If you ask someone to tell you what plants they would have on their patio or porch, most often you will hear hanging baskets. Don't get me wrong, I love hanging baskets but have you seen the prices they are asking for them now a days? Nothing under $20 to $30 for the smallest and most common type of blooming flowering baskets. Ouch!

So let's think outside the "box". You can start seeds from scratch and grow your own flowers. That is probably the cheapest way to go, but lots of folks don't want to do that. It's time and space consuming. Maybe they have "black thumb" syndrome and manage to kill off everything they try to grow from seed. OK, how about buying some ready to plant six packs at the garden center and stuffing your own baskets. Still cheaper than buying the fully blooming ready-to-go baskets.

However, I ask you to take a moment and considering what you are spending your hard earned cash on. Annuals...... plants that grow, bloom, go to seed, and die in one season. Pretty, short lived, and then gone forever. 

Or..... you can consider other plants for your containers. Pictured on this page today are blueberries in pot! As you can see, they have flourished and are full of ripening fruit, right on my deck! I step outside and hand picked the ripe ones daily right from the bush to my mouth. And yes, in my jammies! How great is that? Lol

I also have my deck, a blooming Celmatis, a yellow rose bush, a small water feature with aquatic plants in it, and even two apple trees!

Remember, in this hot summer weather, to water more frequently than your land garden as containers dry out quickly, and little nutrition in the form of your favorite fertilizer once a week and you will have happy productive plants for seasons to come! 

Terrestrial Gastropod Mollusc

Ha ha, I fooled ya, I knew you wouldn't open up a blog with a picture of slug prominently displayed!
 However since you are here, I hope you enjoy this picture of my red and yellow lilies that are blooming today. By the way, the red lily is a transplant from Clare's pond from Gold Hill. Love them both!

OK, onto the main subject of today's blog, Terrestrial Gastropod Mollusc, the lowly and much maligned land slug. The bane of many a gardener, lol. Slugs are basically shell less snails. Different varieties live in the ocean are know as Sea Slugs, others live in fresh water, known as Fresh Water Slugs, and the ones we know best are the land snails, ie: Slugs.
But what do we really know about them? We know they love and devour our precious decorative and vegetative plants. I swear I have a dedicated colony that attack my ripening strawberries nightly! Their role in the ecosystem is garbage eater, ie: decaying or dead plant materials but of course as we know, they also eat fresh produce too. I've even observed them munching on fresh dog poo! Eeeww!
 What about the slime they produce? I know you really want to know! Slugs produce two types of mucus: one is thin and watery, and the other thick and sticky. Both kinds are hygroscopic. The thin mucus spreads from the foot's centre to its edges, whereas the thick mucus spreads from front to back. Slugs also produce thick mucus that coats the whole body of the animal. So basically one is a lubricant to protect his foot for injury free travel and other protects like a body suit from drying conditions of the environment and protection from predators. Not only are they hard to pick up because of the slime, but they taste bad too!
So, how to do stop these little buggers from eating all our lovely plant stuff? Organic methods include beer in shallow saucers (slugs party like it's 1969) and drown. Also copper banding around the plants is reputed to give off an electrical vibe they don't like (sounds like an urban myth to me), diatomaceous earth (tiny grains of fossilized sea shells), used coffee grounds, ground up egg shells all cut into their soft little bodies so that they dry out and die. Sure you will kill some but I bet you wont make much of a dent in the overall population, but we gotta try!!! You will probably be more successful with iron phosphate baits instead and non harmful to to your curious domestic pets.
Finally, there are Parasitic nematodes (Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita) which are a commercially available biological control method that are effective against a wide range of common slug species. The nematodes are applied in water and actively seek out slugs in the soil and infect them, leading to the death of the slug. This control method is suitable for use in organic growing systems.

Hope you enjoyed this impromptu science lesson, lol. Have a good one!

Research credit goes to: wiki page on slugs

Great way to kill weeds and grass and keep your kids and pets safe!

A proven product for killing  weeds and grass without harming your kids or pets. Straight white vinegar. You can buy it at your local grocery store in a gallon size for a couple of bucks. I pour it into a spray bottle and spray it directly on the grasses springing up between my pavers in the backyard. As we have both a cat and a dog, I didn't want to use anything that could harm them.

  Vinegar will basically burn back the vegetation but does not destroy the roots. So I respray a couple of months down the road as needed. I found last summer, than I only had to spray a couple of times.

I also use straight vinegar instead of softener in my washing machine. It neutralizes the soap residue and the clothes come out of the washer smelling fresh. I noticed the inside of the fabric softener dispenser is pristine white from the vinegar so it must also help keep the inside plumbing of the washer cleaned out too! Of course, vinegar is a must for the coffee maker at removing any mineral deposits.

Did you know that vinegar can be used to remove chewing gum? That's handy when you have kids, lol Got a old presidential sticker on your car? Spray undiluted white vinegar on the decal and saturated it. Let it work for a few minutes, then gently scrap it off. Problem solved!

Clean your toilets with a cup of undiluted vinegar, let it soak for five minutes, swish and flush. Use a spray bottle to spray up above the water line and under the rim.

So many uses! Just "google" for lots more ways to use this most versatile and inexpensive product.

Wha......? Oregon spin on a new road tax

So..... Oregon is about to embark on a first-in-the-nation program that aims to charge car owners not for the fuel they use, but for the miles they drive.
Here is the link to the article from ABC News.

Ok, I get it, we drive more efficient cars (I have a Mini Cooper) so not stopping at the gas station and filling up as much as we used to. Therefore, the state get less road repair monies from the gas tax. I GET IT!
But, what is their solution?

Monitor our driving habits and destinations? Starting July 1, up to 5,000 volunteers in Oregon can sign up to drive with devices that collect data on how much they have driven and where. The volunteers will agree to pay 1.5 cents for each mile traveled on public roads within Oregon, instead of the tax now added when filling up at the pump.

What???? No way! The government has no business sticking their noses into where I drive my car, when, where or why! So, here is my thought, flawed I am sure but maybe an idea worth exploring.

Granted, the state needs more money for road repairs. Yes, its evident in the road conditions we drive on. What if they went by odometer readings? I would say yearly on our state tax form. And to keep people honest, have the readings done yearly at DMV? Maybe in the month of your car's registration tag so they arent be hammered in April. Seems there is just no end to the "nanny" state that Oregon seems so determined to cram down our throats.

June, Roses, and Summer weather

My first rose on this plant and it's a beauty! Taken in the early morning light so nice petal details really show up.
 Here on the Oregon coast, we have iffy summer weather in June. Generally we don't really get the summer days and heat until July so a few days of gorgeous unadulterated sunshine and warmth is a real treat!
 Problem with roses and our typical mild wet weather is fungal disease. It makes me just want to cry to see the leaves all turn black and fall off. So, I knew that baking soda in a solution helped, so I did a google search for a formula and here it is:

The Baking Soda-Vinegar Formula

1½ tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ tablespoons Safer Insecticidal Soap (or liquid, not dish, soap)
1 gallon water
1 tablespoon vinegar
Mix together the baking soda, oil, soap, and water. STIR in the vinegar last - don't shake! Pour into a no-clog type hose-end sprayer. If you only have a couple of roses to treat use a hand-held spray bottle. Spray in the morning and when the temperature is less than 80 degrees. Thoroughly soak all parts of the plant. Apply weekly as needed.

If you remember your high school chemistry, when you mix an acid (vinegar) and a base (baking soda) they cancel each other out and you get water that has a neutral pH. So the question is, how does this formula work to kill mildew?

When baking soda and vinegar are mixed they produce water, carbon dioxide (which bubbles away), and sodium acetate (which stays in solution). I found many references to sodium diacetate as a mold and mildew inhibitor in baked goods and some references to sodium acetate as a fungicide. Apparently, the active ingredient of the baking soda-vinegar solution is the sodium acetate.

The Vinegar Rinse

2 tablespoons white or cider vinegar (5 percent)
1 gallon water
Pour undiluted vinegar into the container of a dial-a-spray hose-end sprayer. Set the dial to deliver 2 tablespoons per gallon and start spraying. Soak the entire plant, making sure to get the undersides of the leaves. Spray only in the morning. Apply once a week as needed until the weather warms up.

recipes found at Good Earth Organic Rose Care
nice site with a ton of rose information, recommended!

I'm sorry, but I just got to comment on "Caitlyn " issue

I hope she knows that
 a bra is always a good
idea, lol

 I generally pride myself on being open minded but what this person is doing to him or herself is beyond comprehension.
 I "get it" that some people feel they should be a different sex than what they were they born to, I am ok with same sex marriage. Afterall, if two people choose to partner up for life, then yes, they should have the same "rights" as a "straight" married couple. It's important to be able to handle medical issues, legal issues, etc for their partner.
 However, I am agast that our President comes out on Twitter and praises Bruce/Caitlyn and calls him/her brave and courageous. I know that is his personal opinion but really, couldn't he have just sent a private message to Jenner? He represents more than just himself, he is the leader of our country for crying out loud! And I suspect that the majority of America does not agree with him.

The cover on Vanity Fair is beautiful, don't get me wrong on that, but remember, it is a photo shoot and no doubt digitally enhanced as well. But in the end, regardless of what he says or frankly feels, he is still a male in drag, artificially and surgically altered to look like a woman. He will always have the DNA of a male, he can remove his male genitals and have a female equivalent surgically done, but that won't make him a woman. And he says he is still attracted to woman sexually. That's a whole nother subject!
 And what his kids, grandkids? He is still a Dad to his children, but his daughter, Cassandra says, that she and her "Dad" can now have relationship and "just be girls together". Really, with 65 yo parent? I don't think so. I suspect all his family are having mental issues adjusting even though this has been in process for years.

 So I guess what i am saying is, I am glad he is happy with his choices and more power to him, but for me, I can't fathom the sudden fascination and outright adoration of Americans over his change. A million followers in 4 hours? wow! Comments like brave, beautiful and historic. Wow again. Sorry, you will always be Bruce Jenner calling him/herself Caitlyn to me, but that's just my opinion.
 Good luck Caitlyn cause when the show is over and the crowds drift away, you are stuck with what you have done yourself. I can't imagine what all the years of synthetic drug therapy and surgeries will do to your body as you age further. It's a sad future but one you felt you had to make.

Lets have a conversation

This family is having a meal together but no interaction with 

each other. What opportunities are they missing with their
 teenage son?

So I am at the local fast food restaurant having a quick snack and as I'm eating I look around the room. Every single person had their eyes glued to their favorite electronic device, from cell phones to tablets. Doesn't anyone talk to each other any more?
What happened to having a conversation during a meal? What the heck happened to eye contact?

 Wikipedia describes a conversation as follows: Conversation is a form of interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people. Typically it occurs in spoken communication, as written exchanges are usually not referred to as conversations. 
The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization.

==========

 Be sure to reread that last line again, I think its important. So people, put down your phones and tablets, look your friends or family in the eyes and say something! You may be surprised, they might even answer you! lol

Hugs