Radogast's Non-420 Garden Creation Thread

[Radogast]

After several days with fever, sore throat and runny nose, I finally resumed project activity.


Here is my start on a dam and drain: a project intended to reduce erosion on the front yard slope by catching the water before it runs off onto the sidewalk. I included a drain as a spillway for times when the water gets too deep. If you look at the bottom of the photos you can see how much soil I lost over the last 6 weeks (since I last cleaned the sidewalk.)


Step 1: Dig a trench

Step 2: Lay in a 10' section of 4" plastic drain

Step 3: Build an earthen dam to capture most runoff

The fill dirt in the trench is all shovelled off the sidewalk - deposited before I started digging.


Steps 4-6 (future): Make the dam stronger, longer, and prettier. Possibly even a nice low wall ... with shrubbery

 

[Tead]

I kind of wish they hadn't done the walls so recently (sometime in the last 20 years .) It appears they replaced the plaster of plaster and lath about 1" from the moldings with sheetrock over lath. It doesn't seem worth it to tear up good walls just to add wiring and outlets that should have been done when they replaced walls.

Ya know... I actually see quite a bit of lathe and plaster walls. I have 1 house with some in place, but mostly it's been replaced. Mostly, I'm happy it's gone. It's just so evil to work with and I do a lot of various kinds of wall work.
I get the historic aspect of them and I see how incredibly durable they are, but it's just not worth it in my book.

 

[Radogast]

Ya know... I actually see quite a bit of lathe and plaster walls. I have 1 house with some in place, but mostly it's been replaced. Mostly, I'm happy it's gone. It's just so evil to work with and I do a lot of various kinds of wall work.
I get the historic aspect of them and I see how incredibly durable they are, but it's just not worth it in my book.

Agreed.

I'm not about 'preserving' the plaster and lath, just not into knocking holes in walls when I have a solid 6 months of things to do without making more work for myself. Plus the wall won't cost me anything if I leave it alone

I do appreciate the added quiet and insulation of thick old walls.

 

[Tead]

I do appreciate the added quiet and insulation of thick old walls.

It's funny you say that. In our shotgun double (a.k.a. duplex) world, one often sees the interior wall that separates the units still lathe and plaster for soundproofing reasons. In our personal shotgun double, we have old coal burning fireplaces hiding inside walls that are lathe and plaster on one side and drywall on the other half.
It can be strange and so very interesting to discover the history of one's own abode.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

This is an enjoyable progression. I really love that marble table and columns. It just fits there!

You are working hard, and so happy to read you are feeling better....both of you.

You should receive a box on Monday, Tuesday at the latest.

You can send the marble table to me when you have time.

I have a big slab of marble that I used to use as a seat on top of two log ends when we would have campfires out back. How do they polish those slabs? Anybody know?

 

[Radogast]

This is an enjoyable progression. I really love that marble table and columns. It just fits there!

You are working hard, and so happy to read you are feeling better....both of you.

You should receive a box on Monday, Tuesday at the latest.

You can send the marble table to me when you have time.

I have a big slab of marble that I used to use as a seat on top of two log ends when we would have campfires out back. How do they polish those slabs? Anybody know?

First - Clean with water and hydrogen peroxide
Polish wet (using wet/dry sandpaper with finer and finer grits.)

If it has stains, use a poultice paste under plastic wrap for at least 3 hours (store bought or a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, baking soda paste).
When you are happy, go buy a marble top sealer to keep the finish the way you like it.

 

[Radogast]

This is an enjoyable progression. I really love that marble table and columns. It just fits there!

You are working hard, and so happy to read you are feeling better....both of you.

You should receive a box on Monday, Tuesday at the latest.

You can send the marble table to me when you have time.

I have a big slab of marble that I used to use as a seat on top of two log ends when we would have campfires out back. How do they polish those slabs? Anybody know?

The wife has claimed the Marbletop table for the bathroom

 

[SweetSue]

Sweet. The woman has taste. My dream bathroom includes a slate slab with fossiliferous materials embedded in it. And a green glass wash basin.

 

[Radogast]

To go a bit more off-topic on an off-topic thread; Saturday, the family had a rare opportunity to 'going out of business sale' for a high end custom costume shop. While there were about 100 mass produced high end costumes of the Naughty Nurse and Darth Vader variety, the other 700+ plus costumes were hand made or retailored and hand decorated with fine materials suitable for stage or screen. After creating mostly commisioned custom costumes for decades, it seems the seamstress has taken a job with Disney Studios based in California - everything was to be auctioned, including the clothing racks and makeup.

It was a long auction, but the family had a great time


The boy came home with a few hats, including a policeman's hat, and some Hawaiian shirts,

The wife came home with a few dresses, feather boas and carnival masks.

Radogast came home with a gray tuxedo with tails, a brocade vest and a jackalope hat.

The girl struck gold, coming home with dozens of dresses and hats, mostly vintaged 1930-1980, a few cat suits, and a tote full of stage make-up - enough to wear a new glamour gown to school every week until she graduates. Given her current fashion reputation, I'm sure she'll be wearing many of these to school


Radogast trying on his new tux

age restrictions prohibit pictures of the girl in her new attire, so here is a sample beaded gown modelled by Vanessa (she's always voguing.)

 

[SweetSue]

What a fabulous score. Vanessa's looking fine in that outfit.

 

[Radogast]

This week in the garden was about winter prep..

Thursday, I winterized by storing wind chimes, shepherd's hooks, small decorations, the good chairs, and the fountain in the basement.

I also rolled the garden cart half full of Doc Bud soil down the bulkhead steps into the basement. I almost lost that load, the force of gravity was strong in that one

I did a general straightening out of the garage and made a second failed attempt at starting the snowblower. The spark plug was squeeky clean, so it looks like I'll be checking fuel lines and probably disassembling the carburetor.

I left the porch furniture in place for now. There are a few more sitting on the front porch days (including today) with temps in the high 70s and above.


Friday, a new internet company ran conduit under the back yard to the house. I harvested three dozen ripe tomatos and uprooted the plant to make room for where the conduit comes up. The company truck parked on top of an 8" fruit tree in the alley that my neighbor from the Sonora Desert of Mexico identified in Spanish but not English. I think it will survive. Other than that, they didn't disturb the garden.

 

[SweetSue]

Sittin' on the porch days. How sweet.

 

[Radogast]

Neighborhood plant hunt

I took a stroll around 2 blocks in the neighborhood this afternoon - looking for potential plants to propogate. It was slim pickings.

I took 2 cutting for immediate rooting and placed them in the cloner.

I harvested seeds from these 2 plants. These are possibly sterile or unstable hybrids, but ...
I'll leave the seeds in the garage to cold stratify, then put them under 11 hr/day lights in 2-3 months.

I also picked up half a dozen white wire pot stands for $2 at auction last night. I'm hoping to get pots populated over the winter



p.s. I also said "Hi" to at least 5 neighbors and saw this cute Queen Anne style house I hadn't seen before

 

[Radogast]

I planted seeds today


Today, I planted some seeds for my basement winter garden.

The cuttings in the cloner are alive. No plantable roots yet.

I have a few ladybugs that I have tried feeding honey in a bottle cap. They have ignored the honey.

Looking at the newly erected tongue depressor plant labels, I placed a drop of homey on the tip of a wooden tongue depressor. Within minutes a ladybug discovered the honey.

Success on one stick translated into success on other sticks and the rim of one pot.

Ladybugs following honey up and down a stick seems to mimic their normal feeding.

 

[SweetSue]

Well, what a delight to find at 1:30 in the morning. Rad, you have the neatest way of looking at the world through the eyes of a delighted child. Everything's an adventure.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

I love the honey trick! It's a whole lot less bothersome than those rehydrated raisins that mold up in a couple days. Although the lady bugs were seemingly enjoying them, I was not. LOL

Going to get the honey going.

 

[Gaffle]

I love Russian Sage. We have this growing in front of our living room window. We have no cable so TV watching is at a minimum and in the summer time this plant supplements any tv with bees and such. For the first time this summer we had hummingbirds visit this plant twice. Already bought a new hummingbird feeder to hang off of a shepherds hook right in the middle of the RS. Have to prop this lanky plant up. Ours gets tall since its been around for a few seasons and rain will cause this to just lay down. One of my personal favs for sure. I just had a thought today about moving in the future and I will HAVE to have some RS come with.

 

[Radogast]

I love Russian Sage. We have this growing in front of our living room window. We have no cable so TV watching is at a minimum and in the summer time this plant supplements any tv with bees and such. For the first time this summer we had hummingbirds visit this plant twice. Already bought a new hummingbird feeder to hang off of a shepherds hook right in the middle of the RS. Have to prop this lanky plant up. Ours gets tall since its been around for a few seasons and rain will cause this to just lay down. One of my personal favs for sure. I just had a thought today about moving in the future and I will HAVE to have some RS come with.

Hi there Gaffle.

Thanks for the identification and remarks about your Russian Sage.

The clone of this put on roots about 10 days ago. I prepared a pot and went back to the bucket cloner to get the clone, and I had crushed the roots in the bucket lid and broken most of them off.

4 days ago, I had one 3 inch skinny root and I decided to plant it. I lay the clone on my tray while I picked up the pot, and when I picked it up to plant it, I had broken the root off again.

I'm going to be REAL careful next time I try to plant it.

 

[Gaffle]

I had no idea how fragile it is. Its a great perennial, no spreading, just stays where you put it. The constant flow of flowers are a nice touch. These plants are a pollinator magnet, all kinds of friendly insects visit.

Our landscaping is mostly perennials now, took years to get it right. I will have to sell my house in the summer when curb appeal is high because in the fall, once all is cut down, our beds are bare naked. Looks like we have no landscaping at all right now.

 

[Radogast]

I had no idea how fragile it is. Its a great perennial, no spreading, just stays where you put it. The constant flow of flowers are a nice touch. These plants are a pollinator magnet, all kinds of friendly insects visit.

Our landscaping is mostly perennials now, took years to get it right. I will have to sell my house in the summer when curb appeal is high because in the fall, once all is cut down, our beds are bare naked. Looks like we have no landscaping at all right now.

I don't thnk they are fragile so much as I have been very clumsy. I see two new roots starting, so that little clone will be rooted soon.


Congratulations on perennial landscaping, it's a dream of mine to be mostly perennial - but I also want some vegetables so I can't be a purist

I have Cilantro, Chamomile, and possibly German Winter Thyme seeds starting to grow in the basement. I'll be putting in a stall in one of the rooms so that I can heat them on the cheap and grow herbs through the winter. I did the lumber calculations (for this and the exercise room) this afternoon. Shifting the electricals looks easy, so prepping and painting the brick walls should be the hardest part. Not a bad project for Thansgiving week