A Weird Hillbilly's Garden

[Ninurta]

7 April 2022

I ain't done until I'm done, and I ain't done yet.

Just because every single one of the hemp seeds I've tried to sprout so far, all 40 of them, failed to sprout, I ain't done trying. I tossed another few in some water to soak for a few hours before I try to sprout them/ This time, I used distilled water instead of tap water, thinking chlorine in the tap water may be the problem.

Once I've soaked them until they sink, I'll dredge them out and try the wet paper towel method. I hate doing that, because they're delicate as hell once the tap root starts emerging and that makes them difficult to get into dirt without killing them.

Grace allowed as how the peat plugs may have had the wrong Ph, and that could well be, as I think peat is pretty acidic. So if I can get roots to pop out of any of the seeds, I'm going to drop the ones that sprout into potting soil instead, and see if that produces any improvements.

I've got a couple of one gallon plastic containers filled and ready to go to re-try the pampas grass.

I'm going to try the red quinoa next before I give up on the idea of getting grocery store quinoa to grow. it's supposed to be better for you anyhow.

ETA: just going over today's photos of the plantation, which is how I check for sprouts and health because I can blow a photo up enough for my old eyes to examine better than the actual plants, and found this on one of the hemp plugs:



Now, both I and my eyes are old, and it's been over 40 years since I raised any hemp, but that big shiny round thing sure looks like a hemp seed hull to me. I don't know if one is finally sprouting, or if something else floated it up out of the peat plug, but the next day or two should tell the tale about it.

Just my luck that only ONE will sprout, and it will invariably be a male plant...

Now, cannabis tap roots usually emerge from the edge of the seed. When it swells as it grows, it cracks the seed along a seam at the edge, and pops out. Then it usually stands the seed up with that edge vertical (which is still horizontal in this photo) as it pushes up out of the dirt and spreads the cotyledons open. I see NONE of that here, so it may be a big fat nothing burger.

Tobacco, in contrast, pops the root web out of the end of the seed case. and stands up from there.

For all you legal beagles out there just a-chompin' at the bit for a kill, don't get yer panties in a bunch just yet. ONE plant (if it even IS a plant, rather than mechanical movement through the peat plug like a coffin floating to the surface in New Orleans) is still under the legal limit in VA for ANY type of cannabis, and that type of hemp is within the Federal legal THC guidelines for growing for any amount of cannabis, so we're good at both state and Federal levels.

Plus, I don't have any qualms about disappearing trespassers, so there is that...

.

[Ninurta]

And the tobacco plantation. Here are two of the 24 peat plugs I have planted in tobacco. Looking at the upper plug, you can see why some thinning out is soon going to be in order. that Midewiwin rustica took off like it's head was on fire and it's ass was catching.



The "1000 Year Old" tobacco is not taking off quite as heavily, but it's a week behind the Midewiwin, so we'll see what the next week brings.

I also noticed another of the Thousand Year seeds sprouting when I went over the photos, so there may be more still to come.

.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

I need help. 

This has started growing around my Ponderosa Lemon tree.

Is it what I think it is?

Regardless what it is, I am going to blame it on the rabbits.

[guohua]

I need help. 

This has started growing around my Ponderosa Lemon tree.

Is it what I think it is?

Regardless what it is, I am going to blame it on the rabbits.

Is that a Watermelon plant?

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

I need help. 

This has started growing around my Ponderosa Lemon tree.

Is it what I think it is?

Regardless what it is, I am going to blame it on the rabbits.

Is that a Watermelon plant?

That is what it looks like to me. But I have not had any watermelon anywhere close to the tree.

So I have no clue how the heck it got there.

Thanks. At least I know I am not that far off.

[guohua]

I need help. 

This has started growing around my Ponderosa Lemon tree.

Is it what I think it is?

Regardless what it is, I am going to blame it on the rabbits.

Is that a Watermelon plant?

That is what it looks like to me. But I have not had any watermelon anywhere close to the tree.

So I have no clue how the heck it got there.

Thanks. At least I know I am not that far off.

Bird dropping are what gives be different plants growing. I don't get watermelon, I am Jealous! 

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

Bird dropping are what gives be different plants growing. I don't get watermelon, I am Jealous! 

I got some of my neighbor's stock fish in my pond from the eagles and hawks carrying the roe on their claws. They grab the fish from my neighbor's stocked pond. Drop the fish on my yard to kill it. They sit their and eat the fish, then they go to my pond to wash and drink.

The next thing I knew. I had stock fish in my pond.

So I am sure that whatever left the watermelon seeds, were trying to pay up for the seven newly budded fruit it took of my lemon tree.
No harm. The tree was not big enough to have accommodated the seven anyway. I am going to have to look out for what animal left papaya seeds and watermelon seeds on my property.

I have to laugh though, because my God given plants are doing so much better than the ones I planted myself.

[guohua]

Bird dropping are what gives be different plants growing. I don't get watermelon, I am Jealous! 

I got some of my neighbor's stock fish in my pond from the eagles and hawks carrying the roe on their claws. They grab the fish from my neighbor's stocked pond. Drop the fish on my yard to kill it. They sit their and eat the fish, then they go to my pond to wash and drink.

The next thing I knew. I had stock fish in my pond.

So I am sure that whatever left the watermelon seeds, were trying to pay up for the seven newly budded fruit it took of my lemon tree.
No harm. The tree was not big enough to have accommodated the seven anyway. I am going to have to look out for what animal left papaya seeds and watermelon seeds on my property.

I have to laugh though, because my God given plants are doing so much better than the ones I planted myself.

WOW!
Free Sushi!

[Ninurta]

I need help. 

This has started growing around my Ponderosa Lemon tree.

Is it what I think it is?

Regardless what it is, I am going to blame it on the rabbits.

It certainly looks like a watermelon vine. Here is a picture of a wild growing watermelon vine in Australia for comparison of the leaves and vine:



BTW, papaya are considered native to certain areas of southern Florida, and have been since some time before 300 AD. They were brought there by a precursor tribe to the Calusa that were there when the Spaniards first invaded. They are another link in the evidence chain (along with some of the pyramidal mounds in Georgia) for the theory that the southeastern US was colonized by Maya Indians from Yucatan centuries ago.

.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

It certainly looks like a watermelon vine. Here is a picture of a wild gtowing watermelon vine in Australia for comparison of the leaves and vine:




.

My mystery watermelon. 

I am going to keep a close eye on this one.

Just thought about something.

I have had some of my neighbors cows come visit, the horses, and donkey too.

Wonder if one of those fellows left the gift.

[BIAD]

I need help. 

This has started growing around my Ponderosa Lemon tree.

Is it what I think it is?

Regardless what it is, I am going to blame it on the rabbits.

This reminds me of BIAD's foray into feeding the birds that sometimes visit my garden.
As mentioned before, years ago my wife and I took up all the turf (mainly moss and small blue flowers!) from my front,
side and back garden and replaced the surfaces with a membrane and tons of beach-pebbles. My better-half assured
me that has I got older, managing the large areas could be a chore I'd struggle with and it would be prudent to get it all
sorted before that time came.



Before this project, there was a set of paving-slabs for a path in our front garden which I took up and used as single
spots to step on in my side garden, stable places where I could set ladders and in some areas, position ornamental
plant pots for decoration purposes.

One of these slabs I used amongst the pebbles was where BIAD's bird-table fell onto during a violent wind we had recently.
After picking it up, repairing the damage and re-anchoring it a more secure way, I thought no more about it. Then a week
later, small strands of grass began to appear around the slab of impact... it was the damned bird-seed that had fallen off
during the table's crash and now -where once nothing grew except the little Speedwell weeds that managed to transition
from the front-garden through the gate, sturdy grass was sprouting up!
.................................

In the Banners thread, I mentioned that some weeds that had ventured onto the public (tarmacadam/asphalt ) pavement
outside my property were actually breaking-up the asphalt and the main culprit was the Dock Weed. I cannot begin to
explain how many times I've been on my knees out there hacking the soft root out of the wide cracks in order to save the
cheap-act the local Council had done to 'upgrade' the paving of the estate. The roots have made the flat surface bumpy
and undulated. These Dock weeds -with their easily breakable and pulpy roots, somehow can get into cracks and
devastate a much-harder substance than the roots themselves!



But my latest woes come from this fast-spreading chap, the Germander Speedwell (-although the image below was taken
from Missouri Botanical Garden. Org, that assured me it's also known as Corn Speedwell.) Hundreds of these buggers must
have watched the movie 'The Day of The Triffids' and decided to emulate the brutes!

The first image is the culprit that's destroying the public pavement, the second, third and fourth ones are regular visitors to my
garden!


Dock Weed.                                         Hairy Bittercress.                                 Smooth Cat's-Ear.                                     Corn Speedwell


(But oh, I wish I could grow melons!)

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

This reminds me of BIAD's foray into feeding the birds that sometimes visit my garden.
As mentioned before, years ago my wife and I took up all the turf (mainly moss and small blue flowers!) from my front,
side and back garden and replaced the surfaces with a membrane and tons of beach-pebbles. My better-half assured
me that has I got older, managing the large areas could be a chore I'd struggle with and it would be prudent to get it all
sorted before that time came.



Before this project, there was a set of paving-slabs for a path in our front garden which I took up and used as single
spots to step on in my side garden, stable places where I could set ladders and in some areas, position ornamental
plant pots for decoration purposes.

One of these slabs I used amongst the pebbles was where BIAD's bird-table fell onto during a violent wind we had recently.
After picking it up, repairing the damage and re-anchoring it a more secure way, I thought no more about it. Then a week
later, small strands of grass began to appear around the slab of impact... it was the damned bird-seed that had fallen off
during the table's crash and now -where once nothing grew except the little Speedwell weeds that managed to transition
from the front-garden through the gate, sturdy grass was sprouting up!
.................................

In the Banners thread, I mentioned that some weeds that had ventured onto the public (tarmacadam/asphalt ) pavement
outside my property were actually breaking-up the asphalt and the main culprit was the Dock Weed. I cannot begin to
explain how many times I've been on my knees out there hacking the soft root out of the wide cracks in order to save the
cheap-act the local Council had done to 'upgrade' the paving of the estate. The roots have made the flat surface bumpy
and undulated. These Dock weeds -with their easily breakable and pulpy roots, somehow can get into cracks and
devastate a much-harder substance than the roots themselves!



But my latest woes come from this fast-spreading chap, the Germander Speedwell (-although the image below was taken
from Missouri Botanical Garden. Org, that assured me it's also known as Corn Speedwell.) Hundreds of these buggers must
have watched the movie 'The Day of The Triffids' and decided to emulate the brutes!

The first image is the culprit that's destroying the public pavement, the second, third and fourth ones are regular visitors to my
garden!


Dock Weed.                                         Hairy Bittercress.                                 Smooth Cat's-Ear.                                     Corn Speedwell


(But oh, I wish I could grow melons!)

Persistent little devil's, they are.

Got to love their fortitude. How some of them manage to beat the heat, the cold, being walked on, driven on, yet they still manage to break through, and will bring man back to his knees over and over again.

Hope springs eternal. 

[Ninurta]

@"BIAD" - I had a close friend many years ago with whom I shared many adventures. He was a rough and tumble sort of fella who gave no shits about anything at all, and took no shit from any man. He was fond of uttering the phrase "in the end, the wild will win" in reference to the notion of nature taking back the planet from mismanagement and poor stewardship of humans. He was killed 30 years ago, but now, 30 years later, it seems the phrase is just as true now as it was then - in the end, the wild WILL win, and it seems to be taking it's start with your macadam!

I have seen water and air filled bladders move tons of rock, so weed roots, even soft ones, do not surprise me when they start re-arranging the works of Man on the face of the Earth.

.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

@"BIAD" - I had a close friend many years ago with whom I shared many adventures. He was a rough and tumble sort of fella who gave no shits about anything at all, and took no shit from any man. He was fond of uttering the phrase "in the end, the wild will win" in reference to the notion of nature taking back the planet from mismanagement and poor stewardship of humans. He was killed 30 years ago, but now, 30 years later, it seems the phrase is just as true now as it was then - in the end, the wild WILL win, and it seems to be taking it's start with your macadam!

I have seen water and air filled bladders move tons of rock, so weed roots, even soft ones, do not surprise me when they start re-arranging the works of Man on the face of the Earth.

.

Between water, wind, and fire, we are toast. Mother Nature is flushing herself clean with an enema. The plants will survive anything man can screw up.

I have been watching the increase of destructive weather and Earth events that have been occurring globally. Some say the increase is due to us having a more global real time communication ability. I agree we are able to hear about events quicker than ever before, but still, we are having more events and they are more destructive.

Mother Nature has taken her gloves off. I do believe we are witnessing a change in our weather patterns and events. I think some areas are impacted more, because of how we have terra formed these areas. But I don't believe in climate change as the result of man's carbon footprint.

This is just a small glimpse of what is going on.

[Ninurta]

It's been 3 months and some days since an update.

Since then. I've transplanted the tobacco into bigger and bigger pots from the initial peat plugs. This weekend, I commenced to transplanting them iinto the yard, as several have outgrown the coffee cans I had them in.

2 or 3  months ago, I transplanted one into each of two planters, The one died, and the other is surviving, but is not doing much towards leaf production. We had a lowly onion trying to sprout itself in the kitchen, so I planted that into the planter with the surviving tobacco plant. Since I did that, the bugs have stopped eating the tobacco. I don't know if it's due to the onion, or if the tobacco increased it's nicotine content in the leaves. I've read some that tobacco increases it's nicotine content in response to getting bug eaten - nicotine is a natural insecticide. Either way, bugs leave it be now, but it still hasn't caught up with the plants I just popped into the yard and out of the coffee cans, and it is the one plant that has been out in the Big World the longest..

Friday, I popped 5 of the Midewiwin tobacco into the upper yard, and Saturday I added two more, for a total of 7 Midewiwin plants out in the big world. This evening I popped 6 of the "thousand year old tobacco" into the mid yard, so I've got a total  of 13 plants out at the moment.

I still have 9 Midewiwim plants in 3" pots that I'm planning to put into coffee cans tomorrow. Just 1 of the thousand year old tobacco left in 3" pots. In coffee cans, I still have 5 Midewiwin, and 4 "thousand year old" plants.

So that is a total of 21 Midewiwin and 11 Thousand year old plants still surviving. I started with 12 peat plugs of each.

And one onion that is sending out two stalks. I'm planning on letting the onion go to seed for next year, to multiply the onion crop.

I also have a couple bags of potatoes in the kitchen that have started to sprout. I've got no where with loose enough dirt to plant them, so they're prolly gonna die anyhow. Pity. I like taters, and they're easy to grow if you have some means of breaking up and loosening some dirt.

I'll post some pics if the tobacco ever straightens up like a tobacco plant. So far, they've been growing more like vines than plants, and that ain't normal going by the tobacco plants of my youth.

This year still might turn out to be a wash.

What I've learned so far:

1) Ignore the peat plugs, Not worth the effort.

2) Start tobacco in 3" pots.

3) put them out into the wide world earlier. Thunderstorms don't mean crap. The tobacco will survive them. I'd say 4 to 6 inches tall is big enough for them to survive out in the world. If you start the  plants indoors in March, that 4 to 6 inches comes around the beginning of May here, right after the last frost is done. Waiting to July won't help. At all.

4) Tobacco loves it some nitrogen.


5) Onions seem to be able to clone.

6) A gardener I ain't.

.

[Brotherman]

It's been 3 months and some days since an update.

Since then. I've transplanted the tobacco into bigger and bigger pots from the initial peat plugs. This weekend, I commenced to transplanting them iinto the yard, as several have outgrown the coffee cans I had them in.

2 or 3  months ago, I transplanted one into each of two planters, The one died, and the other is surviving, but is not doing much towards leaf production. We had a lowly onion trying to sprout itself in the kitchen, so I planted that into the planter with the surviving tobacco plant. Since I did that, the bugs have stopped eating the tobacco. I don't know if it's due to the onion, or if the tobacco increased it's nicotine content in the leaves. I've read some that tobacco increases it's nicotine content in response to getting bug eaten - nicotine is a natural insecticide. Either way, bugs leave it be now, but it still hasn't caught up with the plants I just popped into the yard and out of the coffee cans, and it is the one plant that has been out in the Big World the longest..

Friday, I popped 5 of the Midewiwin tobacco into the upper yard, and Saturday I added two more, for a total of 7 Midewiwin plants out in the big world. This evening I popped 6 of the "thousand year old tobacco" into the mid yard, so I've got a total  of 13 plants out at the moment.

I still have 9 Midewiwim plants in 3" pots that I'm planning to put into coffee cans tomorrow. Just 1 of the thousand year old tobacco left in 3" pots. In coffee cans, I still have 5 Midewiwin, and 4 "thousand year old" plants.

So that is a total of 21 Midewiwin and 11 Thousand year old plants still surviving. I started with 12 peat plugs of each.

And one onion that is sending out two stalks. I'm planning on letting the onion go to seed for next year, to multiply the onion crop.

I also have a couple bags of potatoes in the kitchen that have started to sprout. I've got no where with loose enough dirt to plant them, so they're prolly gonna die anyhow. Pity. I like taters, and they're easy to grow if you have some means of breaking up and loosening some dirt.

I'll post some pics if the tobacco ever straightens up like a tobacco plant. So far, they've been growing more like vines than plants, and that ain't normal going by the tobacco plants of my youth.

This year still might turn out to be a wash.

What I've learned so far:

1) Ignore the peat plugs, Not worth the effort.

2) Start tobacco in 3" pots.

3) put them out into the wide world earlier. Thunderstorms don't mean crap. The tobacco will survive them. I'd say 4 to 6 inches tall is big enough for them to survive out in the world. If you start the  plants indoors in March, that 4 to 6 inches comes around the beginning of May here, right after the last frost is done. Waiting to July won't help. At all.

4) Tobacco loves it some nitrogen.


5) Onions seem to be able to clone.

6) A gardener I ain't.

.

I just asked God to give you some divine sunshine so you can start pluming smoke sooner then later.

[Ninurta]

This is one of the plants that decided to stand up today. It's a little leaf-wilted due to the heat.




.

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

It Takes All Kinds Of Critters To Make Farmer Vincent's Fritters