Hi Joel in Wintery MD,
Haha. Sounds like you've got the growin' itch. The spice shelf can be
fun, too, when you're in this condition. Just steer clear of small
children. Although they sometimes plant themselves into the dirt, YOU are
not supposed to do so. (My dad always tells other people that if they
stand still too long, I'll compost them.)
Jan, in cool, wet Washington
Me too.
> When I joined my family for a rare foray into a grocery store this
> weekend , I found a
> Portabella mushroom that still had significant mycelium attached to the
> base of the mushroom... I purchased this mushroom have planted it in a
pot of
Interesting idea. Please keep us posted.
> I have also planted a taro root in a pot... has anyone ever grown taro ?
A friend told me it's too yucky to bother with. I think it requires about
6 months' growth.
Joel, I have two chayote squash vines growing in my greenhouse. (They may
be called alligator pears or mirlitons in your part of the country). Each
squash has one seed, and the way to tell they're ready to sprout is to look
at the "seam" at the broad end. If it's still tight (like a chastized
Kermit's mouth), it's not ready. When the "lips" part, it's ready to
germinate. Plant it at a 45 degree angle, broad end down and narrow end
above soil surface.
I discovered them in an Oriental grocery the other day, already sprouted.
I don't know whether they eat them that way or whether they just had some
old unsold squash. Margaret
Hello,
When renovating our old barn we eliminated access to shelter for a small
number of
bats... we promptly hung a bat house purchased from Bat Conservation
International on the side of the barn. This was 3 years ago and no bats
have ever inhabited our bat house. We have been meaning to move the bat
house to a warmer south facing location... BCI strongly
recommends that only warm southern exposures are condusive to bat
inhabitation... I look forward to hearing about any success stories with
bat houses... we have lots of bats in our area... we see them every night
in the summer... some live in our neighbors barn...
Has anyone had any success with hanging mason or orchard bee "houses"
(blocks of wood with many drilled holes) ?
In an effort to have more success growing tree fruit... I am developing
an integrated strategy that includes specific measures to attract
beneficials... we have 5 hives of
honeybees so pollination is not a concern but I am planning to hang suet
in every tree to attract wood peckers to scour the trees for overwintering
pests... I think I will also set up a bird bath...
I am planning to plant out carrot roots under each tree this
spring (carrots are biennials and bloom the second year) to provide ample
umbelliferae blooms
to attract hover flies and parisitic wasps
When I joined my family for a rare foray into a grocery store this
weekend , I found a
Portabella mushroom that still had significant mycelium attached to the
base of the mushroom... I purchased this mushroom have planted it in a pot of
compost and shredded corncobs that I first sterilized in the oven...
I look forward to seeing what happens... I expect that the mushroom will
rot but the attached hyphae may colonize the organic substrate in my pot
or the mushroom may drop viable spores before it rots... anyone one
reading this with mushroom cultivation experience ??
I have also planted a taro root in a pot... has anyone ever grown taro ?
I am finding new attraction to visiting grocery stores because as I peruse
the veggies aisles I am finding myself wanting to propagate everything...
nuts are suddenly dormant seeds, potatoes and other tubers are dormant
stems that can be awakened... fruits are swollen ovaries surrounding
viable seeds... If anyone has any interesting experiences propagating
supermarket produce... let me know...
Joel in wintery MD (it was 10 degrees in our greenhouse 2 night ago but
spinach, celery, cabbage, cawliflower, beets, parsley... under remay
are doing well)
> Has anyone had any success with hanging mason or orchard bee "houses"
> (blocks of wood with many drilled holes) ?
We're going to try them this year. I'm hanging one in each tree. I
figure all we have to lose is a couple sections of scrap lumber and a
few minutes time. We saw virtually no bees on our property last year
and I understand it was the same all over the county. So even
partial success will be an improvement.
Sounds like you have a good plan, Joel, I wish you great success with
it!
Sandy
Yes, I actually have a hilarious mushroom growing experience from my
rebellious youth, but I apologize, am not comfortable enough to share with a
group of people I don't completely know.
However, I can tell you that you should try to transfer some of that
mycelium into a totally sterile environment (gel in a petrie dish?) to see
if you can get those spores actively growing. Then, when they spread, and
start to look like something that you would find in the back of the fridge,
transfer them to a mixture of sterilized fresh horse apples and chopped
straw. (Sterilizing this mess can be quite an adventure. Styrofoam cooler
rigged over a steam humidifier for three days-imagine this smell in the
suburbs!!!!!!!) The fresh steamed horse poop is the key. Even spent
mushroom compost is still hot as you-know-where.
There are some websites with info on this matter. Don't remember the
addresses, but the info IS definitely out there. Good Luck!
Katya (who is quite amused with her memories of youthful anarchy)
Sandy:
Could you give the dimensions (diameter, depth, spacing) of the holes, and
any other pertinent info for making and using these bee houses? This souds
like a nice project for my handicapped brother who likes both woodworking
and bees.
-----------------------------------------------
Colette Tremblay
Recherches en sciences de la vie et de la sante
Pavillon Charles-Eugene-Marchand
Universite Laval Quebec QC
Canada G1K 7P4
Tel: (418) 656-2131 ext. 2893
Fax: (418) 656-7176
Email: coltremb@rsvs.ulaval.ca
I see that someone else posted general instructions before I saw your
message. They sound about right. I believe, though I'm not certain,
that the holes should be about 1/4 inch in diameter. Spacing does
not appear to be a critical issue and the length of the 4x4 is up to
you. Simple, no?
I think your idea sounds terrific. Perhaps he could make a business
of it, even. With the varroa infestation killing off more bees every
year, I'll bet there's quite a market for bee houses, expecially if
he could make them attractive looking. (Mine will undoubtedly have
the same "Don't know what I'm doing" look that most of my projects
have!)
At any rate, the startup cost is minimal and just the doing sounds
enjoyable. I'd love to hear how it works out for him!
Sandy
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Hi again,
I forgot to give the dimensions of a bee house per Mr. Griffin:
He recommends a 4 x 6 mill end of pine, fir or hemlock. Drill holes 3 =
1/2 inch deep and 5/16 inch wide. The width is important because if the =
hole is narrow only male bees develop. Naturally, you want to encourage =
females. Don't drill all the way through the block because that would =
allow predators to enter from behind. Drill holes on 3/4 inch centers. =
You can attach a shake or other board at an angle for a roof. That is =
pretty much how mine look. The bee houses supposedly do better on the =
south side of a structure up about 6 - 8 feet. I have one on the east =
side and one on the south side. They were both pretty active this past =
year.
Mr. Griffin also sells bee houses, a starter set of hibernating bees and =
audio cassettes. Most people have mason bees naturally if they only =
encourage them a little. I think Mason Bees will become important =
commercially as the honey bee population continues to decline.
Mindy
----------
From: Colette Tremblay[SMTP:coltremb@RSVS.ULAVAL.CA]
Sent: Monday, January 20, 1997 12:28 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list OGL
Subject: Re: bats, portabella mushrooms and other thoughts...
Sandy:
Could you give the dimensions (diameter, depth, spacing) of the holes, =
and
any other pertinent info for making and using these bee houses? This =
souds
like a nice project for my handicapped brother who likes both =
woodworking
and bees.
-----------------------------------------------
Colette Tremblay
Recherches en sciences de la vie et de la sante
Pavillon Charles-Eugene-Marchand
Universite Laval Quebec QC
Canada G1K 7P4
Tel: (418) 656-2131 ext. 2893
Fax: (418) 656-7176
Email: coltremb@rsvs.ulaval.ca
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Oh Katya! Don't be all coy on us - we're all friends here surely!!
You've made us WILDLY curious as to what you got up to "back then"!!!
Tony & Moira Ryan, in far away New Zealand
