cross-posted from: https://pixelfed.crimedad.work/p/crimedad/702253073847662361

I think this was the little reprobate that woke me up at 1am screaming for its mama.

#deer #fawn #nature #lawn #green #wildlife

@[email protected]

Here are some guidelines and techniques for training and pruning trees from Oregon State University's extension office.

How do you all manage your trees? Do you follow one of the methods listed here, or do you have another technique you'd like to share so others can try it out?

Here is a quick article on high impact plants for supporting pollinators from Eric Toensmeier, author of Edible Forest Gardens and other books. The list is focused on Eastern and Central North America temperate areas.

Don't feel like reading it? Here is a snapshot of the plants listed and their flowering periods:

Curious about the full list of plants from Edible Forest Gardens mentioned in the article? Check out this link here

Hey all, I've created a catio (cat patio) for my two cats in a window well next to my desk. They absolutely love it, but I would like to make it even better for them by using real grass. Currently, I have a pretty good artificial grass in there that they love to lay in and stays green year 'round, which is fine enough. But I would really love to give them some real grass (or moss) to lay on and maybe even munch on.

So, with that backstory, I would love to find a grass that has the following traits.

1. Comfortable and safe for cats (both internally and externally)
2. Stays relatively short since I can't exactly get a lawn mower
3. Doesn't require a lot of sun

It would also be a bonus if it were okay with more arid climates, because I would prefer to minimize watering as much as possible.

My mind goes to something like Spanish Moss since it stays relatively short and is pretty comfy, but I'm not sure if that's the best option, so I wanted to ask people more experience than me.

Picture of the window well in its current state and one of its occupants for reference below.

And for anyone concerned, the well is closed in with a grate and some chicken wire so they can't slip out. They are not outdoor cats, but we do take them out on harnesses for walks. They are treated for pests like tics and mites as a precaution.

Thanks anyone who answers!

Things are greening up nicely following a few warm rains, and some of our earliest fruits are beginning to set. A little busy this week but I'll be sure to add some shots in a comment a little later.

As an aside, I really appreciate you all sharing what you're up to and enjoy getting to chat with you. I'd like to encourage you to check back in when you've seen some more comments since your last and see if you can provide additional advice or encouragement to others!

I've mentioned it in the weekly thread but these are sitting an inch deep in nutrients and water. They drink it down, and I refill it when they need it. Its a hydroponic method called kratky. I don't have a hose or a lot of room so this might be a good solution for me. Excited to see how it goes!

[Image description: clusters of violets bloom in a section of our front yard]

I would like to eventually begin growing my own food and herbs. Do any of you have good book recommendations for growing food, herbs, or possibly herbal medicine?

I know there are a million options, so a few places to start would be really helpful. I want to start with herbs in a raised planter. I’m in the midwest US, so I’ll bring the herbs into an indoor greenhouse cabinet during the winter.

The larger scale of trying to eat only my own vegetables and maybe chickens/goats would likely be in the distant future.

My indoor growing space is bursting at the seams with mountain mint and some very leggy tomatoes I'm babysitting for a friend while she's on vacation. The weather has been relatively pleasant though, so I've gotten a few more things potted and several more trays going now as well.

• Some grasses, elderberry, and Carolina allspice in pots with some hibiscus cuttings in the box

• Chokeberries, more elderberries, a few types of raspberries, and a few lowbush blueberries I've managed to keep alive after transplanting

• Even more chokeberries, and a whole other type of raspberry (these ones are red)

• Another round of brassicas started

• My worksite supervisor taking a break under a second type of mountain mint I'm growing this year

What's growing on with you all?

cross-posted from: https://pixelfed.crimedad.work/p/crimedad/692861243492956253

Everything is so green all of a sudden.

#backyard #lush #lawn #springtime

@[email protected]

[Image description: fallen white cherry petals adorn a moss covered stone]

Potting continues here; there are almost eighty elderberries hanging out in our front yard right now in addition to the others (happy to share what the others are if anyone is actually curious). Overnight temperatures are still a little low for some of the transplants potted up this past week and I am running out of shelf space under lights indoors.

Our gardens up front are waking up and they always fill me with joy:

What's growing on with you all?

We're halfway through potting up all the plants we've overwintered, but are looking at temps below freezing for the next two nights. Today will be about getting covers ready for everything and setting up ambient warmth for several of our plants that are currently flowering. On my way home from a doctor's appointment, I stopped to pick up a cutting of a curly willow (Salix matsudana) from a woman in town whose tree was damaged in a recent snow storm.

This one cutting was turned into a dozen after I got home. I've planted out three or four and the remaining sections were loosely bundled and placed into our five gallon bucket with several other varieties of willow we're rooting in water.

What's growing on with you all?

[Image description: clusters of white cherry blossoms bloom along a branch]

[Image description: bundles of flower buds prepare to bloom]

[Image description: a Nan King cherry shows off its flowers and buds in several stages of development on a warm spring morning]

Here's a little inspiration for folks with small plots and big dreams - Bulgarian homestead on 500m² / ⅛ acre

I'm sorry for missing last week, I was so in the thick of storm cleanup I genuinely forgot how days work. As an apology, here's a picture of one of our cherries ready to pop for spring:

What's growing on with you all?

Last autumn I stored several acorns in a 5-inch pot that was filled with potting soil and covered. I took the cover off 2 days ago to discover 7 saplings between 3 and 7 inches long. They are too big for the pot I was storing them in. Are they safe to transplant at this stage? What size pot should I transplant them in? How do I safely move them without damaging them?

(Description: Image of Osmia bicornis (I think) chilling on a leaf and cleaning itself.)

picture of garden beds with plants or seeds, St Andrew’s Cross bush, a tree branch, and a berm

Nitrogen-Fixing Food Crops

1. "Iron and Clay" cowpea (ran out, so went back and scattered them out well)
2. Snap Pole Bean Rattlesnake 🫘
3. Snap Bush Bean Mountaineer White Half-Runner 🫛

Nitrogen-Fixing Cover Crops

1. Crimson Clover
2. Red Clover
3. Alfalfa
4. White clover

Cover Crop

Buckwheat. (couldn't get drought-tolerant. sold out)

Crops

1. Anasazi sweet corn (almost out. definitely need to save some of these seeds and the cowpeas)
2. sunflower (edible, not ornamental or bird seed)
3. Flat parsley - ran out, time for regular, curly parsley.
4. Red Ruby 🥬
5. Detroit Dark beet
6. Early Scarlet radish - I am not sure if I will like this, but I missed the daikon radishes so.
7. Southern curly mustard - doing well and always resembles a tastey dinner, happily soaking up the ☀️ from a pot.
8. Leek
9. Red Russian kale 🥬
10. Swiss Chard - like beet seed because they are in the same family, who are all drought tolerant. I got a clump of seeds the other day!

Crop for cat

Cat grass

It took a few hours to cut the grass in today’s garden bed. It was a bit daunting and a bit tedious sometimes, and sometimes, I just wanted it to be over with; but other times, I was lazily lying on my mat and trimming the grass.

I started with cat grass on the edge of the bed since it’s on the edge of the garden plot, so if the neighbor cat comes back over, they might figure out that there’s a snack there for them. I had some buckwheat, today. I’m growing that as cover and maybe some food/seed.

I found a little more grass as I was dropping the initial type(s) of seed. Of course, this grass-cutting might be unnecessary, and a controlled burn might be easier. Like, if there's enough room for a fire, just piling up limbs or sticks that I'm trying to get rid of and burning them on a permitted day with a water hose nearby might make a great garden bed.

Didn't put any food crops with cat grass but did put cover crops. I hope the cats don't poop on my food crops! But if they do, I will clean it out, and I could let those crops go to seed? Some animal has dug some more in my plot and a bed. Previously, they had dug in the mulch near a garlic plant.🧄

With the big seeds, I can space them out by hand.

Stare-at-sky break, some stretches. No, I am not praying.

Not much drought.

I just go by one of those seed schedules that I see in seed stores or seed swaps. Didn't do that until last autumn.

When I walk by my food, grown full of nutrients, it's easy to harvest them

St Andrew's Cross volunteer who gets yellow cross flowers, provides seeds for birds & pollen for bees and butterflies, and might nurse the crops with shelter and shade during the scorching summers.