Comments on: New Year Portfolio Analysis ( Garden Division) http://leslieland.com/blog/new-year-portfolio-analysis-garden-division/ Cooking • Gardening • Home Style Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:59:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: leslie http://leslieland.com/blog/new-year-portfolio-analysis-garden-division/#comment-17150 leslie Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:25:22 +0000 http://leslieland.com/blog/new-year-portfolio-analysis-garden-division/#comment-17150 Wow, Minnie - never thought I'd find anything good to say about lily OR asparagus beetles, but compared to the death-dealing spiders they don't sound quite as bad. Interesting tip about the rubber gloves - I've always hated 'em even for dishwashing exactly because I can never feel anything; the loose rubber slips every which way (They don't seem to be marketed in kid size which is actually what I need). Cotton liners could be the answer, although it's hard for me to believe anything's as useful as the nitriles. As for the gloriosa, I don't grow them because they're one more thing to dig up and store ( not reliably hardy north of US zone 9 - some say 8). But it seems like where you are you might be able to just leave them in the ground. Full sun or very light shade, plenty of organic matter and some cow manure or similar when they start growth in spring which I guess would be fall. Good drainage is, well, good, especially in winter but they don’t need as sharp drainage as things like daffodils and tulips. Tubers slowly multiply, so you can divide them every few years; but they bloom better when semi-congested so don't get carried away. Wow, Minnie - never thought I’d find anything good to say about lily OR asparagus beetles, but compared to the death-dealing spiders they don’t sound quite as bad.

Interesting tip about the rubber gloves - I’ve always hated ‘em even for dishwashing exactly because I can never feel anything; the loose rubber slips every which way (They don’t seem to be marketed in kid size which is actually what I need). Cotton liners could be the answer, although it’s hard for me to believe anything’s as useful as the nitriles.

As for the gloriosa, I don’t grow them because they’re one more thing to dig up and store ( not reliably hardy north of US zone 9 - some say 8). But it seems like where you are you might be able to just leave them in the ground. Full sun or very light shade, plenty of organic matter and some cow manure or similar when they start growth in spring which I guess would be fall. Good drainage is, well, good, especially in winter but they don’t need as sharp drainage as things like daffodils and tulips. Tubers slowly multiply, so you can divide them every few years; but they bloom better when semi-congested so don’t get carried away.

]]> By: minnie http://leslieland.com/blog/new-year-portfolio-analysis-garden-division/#comment-17004 minnie Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:52:51 +0000 http://leslieland.com/blog/new-year-portfolio-analysis-garden-division/#comment-17004 lily beetles, and elsewhere, asparagus beetles? These may be the only two predators we do NOT have in Australia (West of Sydney, base of the blue mountains, Kurrajong to be exact). One of the killers we have everywhere is the funnel web spider- instant death- and that fear has introduced me to garden gloves (see elsewhere in your blog) which I have gone through like an emetic. Those lined green ones are good indeed, and at least one pair of stronger goatskin or tougher (do you know Elke?) for pruning, But, hey , Leslie, for every day, have you tried regular rubber gloves worn over plain Chinese cotton ones as liners? They get wet with sweat after a while but easy to change and dry fast. Really good for fine weeding or planting as the fingers have full movement. They look so funny, pink or yellow hands, on this tough old land. My gardener helper (buddhist/artist/teacher) used them first and I innerly made such fun of them, soooo silly, and now am a total convert. I buy packets of the white liners at the Chinese or Vietnamese suburbs for pennies. And the colourful rubber ones at market stalls. Your orchid, benevolent neglect. My rule also. If and when they decide to come back , what a treat, otherwise ,no care. This year I did re pot them all with proper mixture, lugging it from the cleapest Franklin store , and expect to be gloriously surprised next year. Speaking of glorious, how about the gloriousa lily? What a knock out! Someone brought me one years back and it was fantastic, and then I forgot about it, til one of those catalogues joggedmy memory, and my pocket book! But its worth every penny. Will it return next year? any special instructions?? will buy another anyway, too spectacular and pretty easy to jump up out of that pot! lily beetles, and elsewhere, asparagus beetles? These may be the only two predators we do NOT have in Australia (West of Sydney, base of the blue mountains, Kurrajong to be exact). One of the killers we have everywhere is the funnel web spider- instant death- and that fear has introduced me to garden gloves (see elsewhere in your blog) which I have gone through like an emetic. Those lined green ones are good indeed, and at least one pair of stronger goatskin or tougher (do you know Elke?) for pruning, But, hey , Leslie, for every day, have you tried regular rubber gloves worn over plain Chinese cotton ones as liners? They get wet with sweat after a while but easy to change and dry fast. Really good for fine weeding or planting as the fingers have full movement. They look so funny, pink or yellow hands, on this tough old land. My gardener helper (buddhist/artist/teacher) used them first and I innerly made such fun of them, soooo silly, and now am a total convert. I buy packets of the white liners at the Chinese or Vietnamese suburbs for pennies. And the colourful rubber ones at market stalls.
Your orchid, benevolent neglect. My rule also. If and when they decide to come back , what a treat, otherwise ,no care. This year I did re pot them all with proper mixture, lugging it from the cleapest Franklin store , and expect to be gloriously surprised next year. Speaking of glorious, how about the gloriousa lily? What a knock out! Someone brought me one years back and it was fantastic, and then I forgot about it, til one of those catalogues joggedmy memory, and my pocket book! But its worth every penny. Will it return next year? any special instructions??
will buy another anyway, too spectacular and pretty easy to jump up out of that pot!

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