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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunday Garden Chat: Things Change

Sunday Garden Chat: Things Change

by Anne Laurie|  March 29, 20155:05 am| 150 Comments

This post is in: Garden Chats

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stan of the sawgrass mango_tree_3.26.15

From commentor Stan of the Sawgrass:

This is is our mango tree, blooming, when there are already fairly large mangoes growing from a previous blooming this year.

This is NOT normal. Like most other fruiting trees, there is only one bloom/fruit cycle per year. I’ve noticed over the past few years that the trees are blooming earlier– during the winter, as early as New Year, and then again after a month or two (right now is about the normal time for this tree.)

You might think, “Oh boy! That’s TWICE as many mangoes as before! In yer face, Al Gore!” but the yield on this tree seems to have gone down in the years this has happened– most of the early fruit refuses to set, and falls off soon after the bloom cycle ends.
I haven’t asked any of the commercial growers down here if that’s happening with their trees, but I started to really notice a few years ago, when our (outdoor) New Year’s Eve party almost got ruined by the heavy smell from the big spreading mango tree we were having it under. When I went outside to snap this pic, there was a pretty strong smell from all the other trees in the neighborhood, many in full bloom. This one’s almost done blooming, BTW.

I’ve been told this neighborhood was a mango orchard before it was sold for redevelopment in the 30’s. It would make sense, as everyone here has at least one mango tree in their yard, unless they cut it down. There’s a big property on the corner that has at least seven. And it’s the only neighborhood I know of where kids set up tables by the road offering “Free Mangoes!!” Not last year, though. Or the year before, come to think of it.

***********
In other garden-related news, the NYTimes has bad news about glyphosate:

Thirty years ago, an Environmental Protection Agency committee determined that the popular weed killer Roundup might cause cancer. Six years later, in 1991, the agency reversed itself after re-evaluating the mouse study that had been the basis for the original conclusion.

Now the issue is back again, in an even bigger way. An agency of the World Health Organization has declared that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, “probably” causes cancer in people. One piece of evidence the agency cites is that same mouse study…

The new controversy and the reversal by the E.P.A. decades ago demonstrate how the same data can be interpreted differently and how complicated and politically perilous such a decision can be. But the discrepancy between Monsanto and the health organization can be partly explained by the specific way its agency analyzes the data…

And much as I like the idea of anything that makes Monsanto unhappy, while I have the luxury of dealing with most of the invasives on our plot by pulling up or smothering them, it would be a real problem for my extremely-allergic Spousal Unit if he couldn’t use Roundup on the poison ivy.
***********
In happier news, I’ve successfully ordered most of this year’s tomato garden from my favorite heirloom source, including a half-dozen new-to-me varieties — Black Ethiopian, Bloody Butcher, Dagma’s Perfection, Fruit Punch Cherry, Hartman’s Yellow Gooseberry, Jutland. I swore this year I’d stick to the best-tasting kinds I knew grew well for me, but after this winter, I couldn’t resist the lure of the adjectives. But if I can just resist buying more plants I know I love but that never seem to succeed here (Isis Candy, Pineapple), at least I might have enough room for all the planters & root pouches to get some room and sunlight!

What are your favorite tomato varieties? Have you started your seeds / ordered your plants yet? What’s going on in your gardens — or garden planning — this week?

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150Comments

  1. 1.

    Arclite

    March 29, 2015 at 5:32 am

    Woman, for real? You need to sleep more. It’s 11:30PM out here right now, and I’m about to be headed to bed, there’s no way you should be up already! :)

  2. 2.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    March 29, 2015 at 5:37 am

    @Arclite: AL’s, as I am, a night owl. She also can schedule posts.

    ETA: Oh a gardening post: the wife put flowers in the new window boxes this evening. I mounted them on the wall earlier this week.

  3. 3.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 29, 2015 at 5:42 am

    This is NOT normal.

    I blame Al Gore.

  4. 4.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    March 29, 2015 at 5:43 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: He’s fat.

  5. 5.

    max

    March 29, 2015 at 5:45 am

    What are your favorite tomato varieties? Have you started your seeds / ordered your plants yet? What’s going on in your gardens — or garden planning — this week?

    I’m going to stick to the San Marzano Romanos this year, assuming I have any at all. Although the way the Cherokee purples can back from the compost pile – and kept throwing tomatoes all the time – maybe I should get some of those.

    I’m just keeping the plants I have alive and trucking them in and out of doors due to intermittent freezes. Hopefully that will end soon and I can start putting plants in the ground.

    max
    [‘My rose bush is coming back and my apple tree is still alive so there’s that.’]

  6. 6.

    max

    March 29, 2015 at 5:54 am

    WaPo opinion page, right now:

    George Will
    Clinton memory lane
    Here come new opportunities for scandal.

    He’s giving the game away there.

    max
    [‘O come all ye Christian fabulists – the Clintons are back.’]

  7. 7.

    sm*t cl*de

    March 29, 2015 at 6:08 am

    An agency of the World Health Organization has declared that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, “probably” causes cancer in people.

    “Probably”, as used by the IARC, is a term of art. It does not imply an actual estimate of probability, or have much to do with common meanings of the term. They spell out the definition somewhere — they define “probably” as meaning “included in Schedule 6(a)” i.e. “Shown to cause cancer in some animal species in sufficiently high dosage, and not shown to not cause cancer in humans”.

  8. 8.

    Fred

    March 29, 2015 at 6:11 am

    Roundup is poison. My go to assumption is that anything that is poison and doesn’t kill me quick will give me cancer in the by and by.
    But God knows I’ve ingested, breathed and soaked my skin in so many carcinogens in my life it will be a miracle if I don’t die of cancer.
    A story about my Grandmother: In her eighties she asked her doctor if he thought she would get cancer? He answered that yes she would if something else didn’t kill her first. Everybody does. My Grandmother lived on for many more years and she didn’t get cancer.

  9. 9.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    March 29, 2015 at 6:12 am

    @sm*t cl*de: So you’re saying that I probably shouldn’t drink a cup of it?

  10. 10.

    Amir Khalid

    March 29, 2015 at 6:14 am

    It’s coming down in buckets over here in KL, and I can’t get out of the house. HAY-ULP!!

  11. 11.

    greennotGreen

    March 29, 2015 at 6:25 am

    Anne Laurie: “…plants I know I love but that never seem to succeed here (Isis Candy, Pineapple)…”

    OMG, pineapple tomatoes make the world’s BEST salsa! And I’m going to get to grow some this year because now I have acreage and sunshine! Woohoo!

  12. 12.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    March 29, 2015 at 6:27 am

    @Amir Khalid: We folk in California would be happy to assist you, just send the rain our way. Thanks much.

  13. 13.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 6:29 am

    I started just tomato seeds so far: Hillbilly Potato Leaf, Pineapple, and a heirloom yellow Beefsteak of some sort. They’re on a heat mat, but I think my house is too chilly for the mat to keep the temperature at germination right now. Flower seeds going into the other starter kit today.

  14. 14.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 6:33 am

    @greennotGreen: I love them, I love all the old color-y heirlooms, but they can be challenging in less than perfect tomato growing conditions. Last year was too cool and rainy, even professional farmers had trouble with tomatoes in my area.

  15. 15.

    NotMax

    March 29, 2015 at 6:36 am

    it would be a real problem for my extremely-allergic Spousal Unit if he couldn’t use Roundup on the poison ivy.

    Something stumbled across as a happy byproduct of cleaning a stainless steel commercial deep fat fryer that kills poison ivy deader than dead:

    Get some lye at the hardware store (if you can’t find it, use Dran-O) and dissolve it in hot, hot water. Wear protective gloves and eyewear and don’t get it on bare skin! How much to use depends on how much water you plan to employ. Follow recommendations on the container. Regardless, the mixture must be very, very hot.

    Once dissolved, carefully (avoid splashing!) pour it over the poison ivy. Any poison ivy I’ve treated this way has never grown back.

  16. 16.

    raven

    March 29, 2015 at 6:38 am

    The trees and flowers are in full bloom, the pine pollen has hit and it’s 28 degrees out this morning!

  17. 17.

    max

    March 29, 2015 at 6:41 am

    @NotMax: Once dissolved, carefully (avoid splashing!) pour it over the poison ivy. Any poison ivy I’ve treated this way has never grown back.

    Will *anything* grow back after that treatment?

    max
    [‘Roundup sucks.’]

  18. 18.

    NotMax

    March 29, 2015 at 6:41 am

    @Fred

    Everyone – everyone – gets cancer of some sort multiple times throughout their life. In the majority of instances, the body’s defenses are sufficient to deal with it early and effectively. It’s the cases and types which are pernicious and tenacious enough that call for outside intervention.

  19. 19.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 29, 2015 at 6:41 am

    @NotMax: Yeah, lye kills everything.

  20. 20.

    Tommy

    March 29, 2015 at 6:41 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I wish I could send you some rain/love.So much rain here. The last few days it just rained all day, every day. I know you out in the West would give anything for this.

  21. 21.

    sm*t cl*de

    March 29, 2015 at 6:43 am

    @sm*t cl*de: So you’re saying that I probably shouldn’t drink a cup of it?

    Well I certainly wouldn’t; and I drink Akvavit and Gammel Dansk and Vana Tallinn.

  22. 22.

    NotMax

    March 29, 2015 at 6:44 am

    @max

    Surprisingly, perhaps, yes. Rain dilutes it and allows it to penetrate and filter down deep enough from the surface that bare spots do disappear.

  23. 23.

    Jerzy Russian

    March 29, 2015 at 6:46 am

    @raven: Is that flowering tree a crape myrtle? If so, it seems a bit early for the blooms, as ours here in San Diego won’t bloom until late May.

  24. 24.

    raven

    March 29, 2015 at 6:52 am

    @Jerzy Russian: No, I think it’s a ret tip.

  25. 25.

    Aleta

    March 29, 2015 at 6:54 am

    Those root pouches look like just the ticket. Container tomatoes might be the answer to my dreams.

  26. 26.

    jurassicpork

    March 29, 2015 at 7:03 am

    There was a death in our family the day before yesterday and we desperately need assistance. Details are here, if you wish to help or at least pass the word. Thank you all in advance.

  27. 27.

    ThresherK

    March 29, 2015 at 7:03 am

    The fun state park trail near me would be in mud season, but it’s been so cold and snowy that there’s a layer of nicely tracked and packed snow on it for hoofing. I don’t even need snowshoes. Plus the snowpack has smoothly covered over stumps, roots and rocks which does my ankles and calves plenty of good.

    I shold be tootling around on my motorcycle. Then again, I should not be celebrating a day with 44F high temps and a steady a 10mph breeze as “springlike” when it’s pretty much April.

  28. 28.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 7:06 am

    @NotMax: Oh, that’s good news. I always have lye around to make soap with and I have been fighting a patch of poison ivy for a couple of years.

  29. 29.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 29, 2015 at 7:06 am

    @raven: Looks like a “red bud” to me.

  30. 30.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 7:09 am

    @ThresherK: How about it! I’m excited that it will get out of the thirties today. This time yesterday it was 12 degrees out, crazy for the end of March.

  31. 31.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 7:10 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: yep, that’s a redbud. They grow wild here, I have 3 of them. They are gorgeous in bloom.

  32. 32.

    Tommy

    March 29, 2015 at 7:11 am

    I am looking to do a lot of shit in my yard this year. I bet I will post a few fails here. I hope the wildflowers work. I just want the wildflowers to work. In my little town the high school, heck the college just down the street from me lets things just things grow. Well nature. Hope I will find my way to do this.

  33. 33.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 7:14 am

    @sm*t cl*de:

    Are you quoting from somewhere?

    I don’t yet have the (upcoming) IARC monograph but as conveyed in The Lancet: Oncology, here are the IARC’s conclusions re glyphosate:

    There was limited evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of glyphosate. Case-control studies of occupational exposure in the USA, Canada, and Sweden reported increased risks for non-Hodgkin lymphoma that persisted after adjustment for other pesticides.

    Where “limited” is contrasted with “inadequate” and “sufficient.”

    Re classification:

    The 2A classification of diazinon was based on limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and experimental animals, and strong mechanistic evidence; for malathion and glyphosate, the mechanistic evidence provided independent support of the 2A classification based on evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and experimental animals.

    And:

    Glyphosate has been detected in the blood and urine of agricultural workers, indicating absorption. Soil microbes degrade glyphosate to aminomethylphosphoric acid (AMPA). Blood AMPA detection after poisonings suggests intestinal microbial metabolism in humans. Glyphosate and glyphosate formulations induced DNA and chromosomal damage in mammals, and in human and animal cells in vitro. One study reported increases in blood markers of chromosomal damage (micronuclei) in residents of several communities after spraying of glyphosate formulations. Bacterial mutagenesis tests were negative. Glyphosate, glyphosate formulations, and AMPA induced oxidative stress in rodents and in vitro. The Working Group classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A).

    [I took out the footnotes and additional comments about evidence from animal studies.]

  34. 34.

    Anne Laurie

    March 29, 2015 at 7:19 am

    @Aleta:

    Those root pouches look like just the ticket. Container tomatoes might be the answer to my dreams.

    ‘Grow bags’ are available at a lot of gardening sites, but A.M. Leonard’s are by far the cheapest & the sturdiest I’ve seen in the five or six years I’ve been using them.

    And, yes, any kind of tomato will grow in a container, as long as you remember that the plant will need extra fertilizer & that containers dry out faster than the ground. The bigger your container, the better your plant will grow, and the better your plant grows, the more support it will need. (Laurel’s recommends 20-gallon bags but I mostly use 10g & 15g models, because there’s only a narrow strip of asphalt that gets enough sun on our plot.)

  35. 35.

    ThresherK

    March 29, 2015 at 7:20 am

    @satby: Heehee.

    Gotta change some spark plugs and a valve cover gasket. Indoors!!!

    At least I picked the right year to move. Previous house had a detached garage, and I commonly saw frost and my breath in it. Current garage is surrounded on three sides, with the condo on top.

  36. 36.

    sm*t cl*de

    March 29, 2015 at 7:26 am

    @sm*t cl*de:
    Are you quoting from somewhere?

    http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/MonographVolume112.pdf
    “Group 2A means that the agent is probably carcinogenic to humans . This category is used when there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals.”

  37. 37.

    Raven

    March 29, 2015 at 7:33 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I was struggling to remember and the bride was in the rack. You are, of course, correct.

  38. 38.

    max

    March 29, 2015 at 7:42 am

    @NotMax: Surprisingly, perhaps, yes. Rain dilutes it and allows it to penetrate and filter down deep enough from the surface that bare spots do disappear.

    Well, I figured it was biodegradable – I was more thinking about what it would do to soil bacteria.

    I had been burning brush in the one spot – I moved the spot – the fire pretty much sterilized the soil. Weeds aren’t even taking root there.

    max
    [‘On the other hand, lye likely beats roundup for soil recovery.’]

  39. 39.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 7:45 am

    @Raven: And it’s beautiful and I’m jealous. Mine doesn’t even have buds yet.

  40. 40.

    Aleta

    March 29, 2015 at 7:47 am

    @Anne Laurie: much appreciated tips. Been wanting to thank you in general, your posts act like the sun rising, bird calls at night.

  41. 41.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    March 29, 2015 at 7:49 am

    @Tommy: I posted links to pics from my hike on Thursday in the previous thread.

  42. 42.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 7:49 am

    @max: lye is extremely alkaline, as are ashes. If you counteract the alkaline with some acid and some organic matter (which is also acidic), the soil will recover.
    Even if you do nothing, that bare spot will fill in on its own at some point, but it will fill in with some of the strongest weeds first.

  43. 43.

    Zinsky

    March 29, 2015 at 7:55 am

    I’m sure Monsanto will do the right thing and immediately curtail the production of Roundup and set up a multi-billion dollar fund to compensate the victims and their families. I’m also sure that their senior executives and Board members will forego their lavish compensation, bonus and equity awards and donate that money for victim relief.

  44. 44.

    max

    March 29, 2015 at 8:02 am

    @satby: lye is extremely alkaline, as are ashes. If you counteract the alkaline with some acid and some organic matter (which is also acidic), the soil will recover.

    That’s what I’m talking about – you need to work in a bunch of compost and maybe some peat moss.

    Even if you do nothing, that bare spot will fill in on its own at some point, but it will fill in with some of the strongest weeds first.

    Sure. Eventually. You’d need to do some recovery work to get it back sooner than a year or two or three.

    max
    [‘But if it gets rids of the poison ivy… you could replace it with some other weedy ivy to take over and push out the PI.’]

  45. 45.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 8:11 am

    @sm*t cl*de:

    OK, so we conclude the same thing — thanks.

    I was curious because your prior statement (“Shown to cause cancer in some animal species in sufficiently high dosage, and not shown to not cause cancer in humans”) seemed distinct (perhaps because there was no context).

  46. 46.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 8:14 am

    @Zinsky:

    I’m sure Monsanto will do the right thing

    Needless to say.

  47. 47.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 29, 2015 at 8:20 am

    Been a busy week for me. My chickens (27) came a day early on Monday. Lost one that night (it was looking sickly from the git-go) and then Tuesday night I lost 3 more when a line of thunderstorms came thru with lightning strikes on my land and they were suffocated in the resulting stampedes. Since then, all is good and they look healthy and strong and eating up a storm. Finally got the coop 100% predator proofed on Friday without any massacres, so I am starting to feel good about them.

    My Jeffco buddy has decided to give raising pigs a try on their new 40 acre homestead (we are in line for half a pig). He is starting with 6 gilts and one boar and intends to pasture them on the 25-30 clear acres they have. But it isn’t fenced yet and they showed up Friday so I spent my Saturday afternoon helping him fence in the acre+ barn yard to keep them in until he can get the pasture done. We didn’t do too bad for a half dozen numb nuts who had never put in pig proof fencing before. Time will tell how pig proof it is.

    My onions came this week, and I have Waltham and Romanesco broccoli, kohlrabi and cabbage plants I started from seed and ready to go in, but with all the rain I haven’t been able to plant them in the garden. Sun for the next 3 days should help. I should be able to get my lettuce and spinach in too.

    The tomatoes I started were German Lunchbox, Tommy Toe, Black Cherry, and some Mallorquin (from my wife’s native island) for small snackers, Amish Paste and Orange Icicles for paste tomatoes, Ozark Pink, Granny Cantrell, Green Zebra, and Paul Robeson for beefsteak types, and all are growing quite well and ready for planting. Last frost around here is usually 4/15 but the past few years have been a week or 2 later so we’ll see.

    For sweet peppers I started Italian Sweet Pepper mix from Renee’s, Ozark Giant, and a Hungarian type called Paradiscum Alaku Sarga Szentes (say that 3 times real fast) mostly because they are really beautiful. For hot peppers I have Craig’s Grande Jalapeno, Estaceno Chile, Golden Cayenne, and Pasillo Bajio (a Caribbean type). They all look healthy but somewhat stunted.

    The last thing I started was eggplants, the Fingers Mix from Baker Creek and Listada de Gandia. Only a 50% success rate with them so I’ll be hitting the MFA and Orschelns to fill in.

    I got most of my seed from Baker Creek and a few favorites from Renee’s. The Mallorquins my wife brought back from the island after last Falls trip. I hope they do well, she speaks so fondly of them.

  48. 48.

    Mustang Bobby

    March 29, 2015 at 8:35 am

    The orchids were looking a little thirsty this week so I sprayed them down well when I was hosing off the patio on Thursday. So of course on Friday evening we got a hard and steady rain. I’m not expecting any new blooms for a couple of months, but they could surprise me.

  49. 49.

    Karla

    March 29, 2015 at 9:06 am

    I had good luck with Bloody Butcher tomatoes a few years ago. Their average size was smaller than is said to be typical for them, but the yield was good. I should try those again.

  50. 50.

    JPL

    March 29, 2015 at 9:06 am

    Stans story reminded me of the year I said goodbye to the forsythia. Forsythia is the type of plant that is beautiful when it blooms but straggly , the rest of the year. IMO My plants started blooming one year in December and then a few blooms on and off for months. By the spring there were only a few flowers on each plant. I dug them out and replaced them with knock out roses. The roses seem to do better where I live.
    Thanks Al

  51. 51.

    JPL

    March 29, 2015 at 9:10 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Green Zebra tomatoes are wonderful. The farmer that I purchase meat, eggs and some vegies from, raises Turkeys. He had them on a lower pasture, and a strong storm came through. He quickly put on his boots got in his truck and moved them to higher ground. The stampede and standing on each other is what tends to kill them.
    good luck with your chickens

  52. 52.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 9:19 am

    So two days of hard overnight freeze hasn’t done the daffodil flower buds any favors… but the later daffs are barely peeping out of the ground, so I hope I get some late flowers. Dammit, I wait all winter for those first glimpses of spring!
    The poor robins at the feeder look shellshocked.

  53. 53.

    Josie

    March 29, 2015 at 9:20 am

    For several years, I have experimented with tomato varieties from Baker Creek to find some that can survive the blastfurnace south Texas summers. I have finally hit on a few. The cherry tomatoes are Chadwick, Yellow Pear and Placero (Cuban), and the regular sized ones are Baswarya (Irag), Roma and Arkansas Traveler. This year the new one I am trying is Cherokee Purple. We plant Caspar eggplant – easy to grow and very mild in taste. We had good luck with Thai red peppers last year and will grow those again. Okra Lee is really tasty and is compact – good for our small raised beds. I ordered Rattlesnake pole beans just because I liked the name. We shall see how they do.

  54. 54.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 29, 2015 at 9:22 am

    @JPL:

    Green Zebra tomatoes are wonderful.

    Good, I try something new every year looking for a new favorite and this year I have several. If they do well in GA they should do well here too.

  55. 55.

    max

    March 29, 2015 at 9:22 am

    @Josie: This year the new one I am trying is Cherokee Purple. We plant Caspar eggplant – easy to grow and very mild in taste.

    The purples are really great tasting – one thing though, the bugs go after them something fierce.

    max
    [‘It is, to use the technical scale, colder than fuck outside.’]

  56. 56.

    jeffreyw

    March 29, 2015 at 9:23 am

    We will go with whatever the big box stores have out. I think containers only this year: A few tomatoes, a selection of herbs and peppers. I like jalapenos and habs, had good luck with cayennes, annaheims, and serranos. I may search the farmer’s market for poblanos.
    Mrs J asked help in IDing this little blue flower, she remembers planting the bulbs but the name escapes her.

  57. 57.

    raven

    March 29, 2015 at 9:37 am

    @jeffreyw: Scilla

  58. 58.

    WereBear

    March 29, 2015 at 9:40 am

    I’m trying out a library app called OverDrive. Download the free app, locate your library, and enter your library card number. Viola!

    I borrowed The Price of Salt, a rare Patricia Highsmith that just got reissued after it fell out of print.

    I think this app will let me borrow eBooks from the library without being hunted down like Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke. When the book is due, it vanishes from the app. No fines, no harassment by angry head librarian, no angst.

  59. 59.

    Scout211

    March 29, 2015 at 9:41 am

    @jeffreyw:

    Be careful buying from big box stores.

    I used to get my tomatoes and other veggie starts at big box stores but the tomatoes that we bought developed early blight, almost every time.

    Now I only buy starts from local nurseries and so far have not had that problem.

  60. 60.

    Scout211

    March 29, 2015 at 9:46 am

    All my tomatoes are in my raised beds and blooming already. Also, the peppers (jalapeño, sweet bell and banana). Today I am planting the melons and squash (that I started from seeds) into the beds.

    Not only do we have a drought out here but the weather is way, way too warm for this time of year. Good for the veggies but bad for California.

  61. 61.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 9:49 am

    @jeffreyw:

    Star hyacinth (species of Scilla).

    Maybe.

  62. 62.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 9:51 am

    @jeffreyw: Looks like squill, blue squill. I planted them too.From Colorblends, a great source for bulbs.

  63. 63.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 9:53 am

    @Cervantes: We may be talking about the same thing, as squill is also in the Scilla family.

  64. 64.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 9:54 am

    @satby:

    Yes, same family, but you would know better than I about the precise species.

  65. 65.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 9:57 am

    @Cervantes: LOL, not necessarily!

  66. 66.

    Felonius Monk

    March 29, 2015 at 10:00 am

    The Nihilist Gardener says: “Why plant anything? It’s just going to die eventually.”

    As for the Roundup problem, Cole posted a recipe last year for a home brew weed killer made with common household stuff that was fairly non-toxic to pets and humans, but super-death to weeds. Anyone remember the recipe? The long, cold winter has destroyed too many of my brain cells to recall the ingredients.

  67. 67.

    Mary G

    March 29, 2015 at 10:04 am

    I have struggled with whether I should keep gardening in the face of our drought. I compromised with myself and am growing mostly edibles in the raised beds that have drip irrigation. I mulched them really thickly and so far, even though it’s been ungodly hot, they are doing well on two minutes three days a week of water. I picked five or six tomatoes Thursday. We have traditionally not even put plants in until April, because it has always been too cold at night for them to set fruit. (I know, not cold like so many of you have been suffering!) Meanwhile, more than half the houses on my block still have green grass lawns.

    The succulents are doing well and hope to send some pictures to AL soon.

  68. 68.

    JPL

    March 29, 2015 at 10:05 am

    @Felonius Monk: I have a fairly large flagstone patio and boiling water kills the weeds between the stones.
    Like you, maybe someone will reprint the recipe John provided.

  69. 69.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 10:05 am

    @Felonius Monk:

    Here.

    Then again, why bother? The weeds are just going to die eventually.

  70. 70.

    WereBear

    March 29, 2015 at 10:05 am

    @Mary G: Meanwhile, more than half the houses on my block still have green grass lawns.

    It is bizarre how much people cling to this landscape style which became popular in a land with abundant rainfall even when they live in a desert.

  71. 71.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 10:07 am

    @WereBear:

    Ignorance, or stupidity, or selfishness … all too common to be bizarre.

  72. 72.

    Germy Shoemangler

    March 29, 2015 at 10:08 am

    @Scout211: We’ve had bad experiences with the big box stores. The stuff they sell is not as good as the small local places. And the times we’ve needed help, the folks who work there (and resent their bosses for the low pay and poor treatment) will either scatter or not really know anything, because their bosses couldn’t bother to train or educate them. The turnover is quick. Each time we’d go, we’d see a whole different batch of employees.

    Different subject: last nights SNL cold open. Dwayne Johnson played an angry hulk version of Obama, after he’d been angered by Boehner, Cruz and Cotton. Michelle turns into the she-hulk after being angered by the incompetent secret service:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5GN90UiImo

  73. 73.

    Gin & Tonic

    March 29, 2015 at 10:09 am

    @max: you could replace it with some other weedy ivy to take over and push out the PI

    In my experience, poison ivy will crowd out or grow over any other competitor. I am, unfortunately, very sensitive, so I know exactly where it is on my property, and have been trying to eradicate all traces for years now.

  74. 74.

    Germy Shoemangler

    March 29, 2015 at 10:12 am

    @JPL: Forsythia. One year we had a dry, dry winter, and in the spring we had more flowers than I’d ever seen on them. They don’t like a lot of water. After wet winters, they’d barely flower. I never knew this.

    They like drainage. We can’t control how much moisture ceiling cat delivers, but we can plant them on raised mounds of soil.

  75. 75.

    Stella B

    March 29, 2015 at 10:12 am

    I have Carbon and Striped Roman ready to go into the ground and will augment with a couple of additional varieties from the nursery. I tried twice to start peppers and eggplants and failed despite using bottom heat for the second round, so I will be stuck with whatever the nursery offers. The basil is too small to go out yet.

    Roundup has been off patent since 2000 and glyphosate is made by a variety of manufacturers. The European meta analysis is questionable. Without generic glyphosate, I would have nothing to fight Bermuda (aka “Devil”) grass. Burn Out II (citric acid and clove oil) works well on everything else, but that stuff is mostly easy to remove mechanically anyway. I can pull Bermuda until my hands bleed, but that just stimulates it. Somewhere I saw a study of glyphosate as a novel chemotherapy agent which mentioned its low toxicity to humans.

  76. 76.

    jeffreyw

    March 29, 2015 at 10:18 am

    @raven: Yay, thanks!

  77. 77.

    jeffreyw

    March 29, 2015 at 10:22 am

    @Cervantes: Well, pooh. I thought Raven nailed it but the blue star hyacinth is damn close, too.

  78. 78.

    Mary G

    March 29, 2015 at 10:24 am

    @WereBear: I agree about Overdrive; I’ve used it for a couple of years now and love not having to keep track of physical books. Now they have me hooked on audiobooks. Sometimes you have to wait a while to get the popular titles, but it’s worth it.

  79. 79.

    jeffreyw

    March 29, 2015 at 10:24 am

    @satby: Well… hell

  80. 80.

    Germy Shoemangler

    March 29, 2015 at 10:27 am

    @Stella B: My neighbor swears by simple table salt. Mix a bunch with some water, pour it on the unwanted weeds, they shrivel and die.

  81. 81.

    BD of MN

    March 29, 2015 at 10:28 am

    My favorite tomato from last year was Tigerella. Big, meaty tomatoes that are yellow and orange, very tasty. The place I buy my plants from has a tasting event every fall and they have been consistently highly rated.

  82. 82.

    Stella B

    March 29, 2015 at 10:30 am

    @Mary G: The only complaint that I have about Overdrive is that my reserved books always seem to become available in clumps. My library, however, has a rapidly growing collection of ebooks and has been quite quick to get books that I request. I requested “The Crucible of Command” and they bought it right away. I recommend both Overdrive and the book highly.

  83. 83.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 10:31 am

    @Stella B:

    The European meta analysis is questionable.

    Sure — but how, specifically?

    Somewhere I saw a study of glyphosate as a novel chemotherapy agent which mentioned its low toxicity to humans.

    That’s probably the 2013 paper by Li, Lambrechts, et al., from which:

    These findings suggest that glyphosate and AMPA can differentially affect cancer cell growth but not normal cell growth at concentrations up to 50 mM. However, at a higher concentration of 100 mM, AMPA decreased cell viability of the two normal cell lines, suggesting that potential adverse side effects may arise when the doses are too high.

    So, even within this paper, there is an important caveat.

    On the other hand, you may be thinking of some other study, in which case can you please cite it? (Thanks.)

  84. 84.

    Stella B

    March 29, 2015 at 10:31 am

    @Germy Shoemangler: table salt isn’t something that you want to introduce to your soil though. Glyphosate has the advantage of breaking down and disappearing.

  85. 85.

    WereBear

    March 29, 2015 at 10:37 am

    @Stella B: I just found “The Crucible of Command” on my OverDrive app. It looks awesome, thanks!

  86. 86.

    Stella B

    March 29, 2015 at 10:38 am

    @Cervantes:
    http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-carcinogenicity-classification-of-five-pesticides-by-the-international-agency-for-research-on-cancer-iarc/

    Anything will be toxic in excess quantity, including table salt.

  87. 87.

    Scout211

    March 29, 2015 at 10:39 am

    @Felonius Monk:

    1 gallon white vinegar
    2 cups Epsom salts
    1/4 cup Dawn liquid

    I tried using it this year for the weeds that invade our long gravel driveway and gravel side roads to our well and my garden.

    I think it must work better for smaller areas because it didn’t work for my needs. You have to spray it on really thick and it does kill some of the weeds, but not all. And many of the weeds that I thought had died, came back to life.

    I had to go back to Roundup for the gravel roads when 3 applications of the organic mix did not kill all the weeds. Sigh.

  88. 88.

    Violet

    March 29, 2015 at 10:43 am

    My apple tree did the two blossomings/two fruits in one year thing this past year. Had a cold snap somewhere in the fall then it got warm. Tree bloomed and set fruit. Fruit didn’t stick that long but I knew it wasn’t normal.

  89. 89.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 10:44 am

    @Stella B:

    Anything will be toxic in excess quantity, including table salt.

    Sure, but that’s practically a tautology. When I re-word it thus — nothing is toxic if you do not consume it in excess — this is also true and equally useful.

    And the comments from experts are fine; in the same vein, I linked to Monsanto’s comments above as well.

    Meanwhile, you mentioned seeing somewhere “a study of glyphosate as a novel chemotherapy agent which mentioned its low toxicity to humans.” Any chance of a cite? (Thanks.)

  90. 90.

    Stella B

    March 29, 2015 at 10:50 am

    @Cervantes: No, I looked for it again and was unable to find it. However, glyphosate, used carefully on difficult perennial weeds has a reasonable toxicity profile.

  91. 91.

    satby

    March 29, 2015 at 10:51 am

    @jeffreyw: all in the family

  92. 92.

    Iowa Old Lady

    March 29, 2015 at 10:52 am

    @WereBear: I’ve been using Overdrive for a while now. I transfer the audio book from my home computer to my Ipod and plug the Ipod in in the car.

  93. 93.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 10:53 am

    @Stella B:

    Thanks for looking for it again.

  94. 94.

    Violet

    March 29, 2015 at 10:54 am

    I have a whole bunch of tomatoes in. Can’t remember most of them, although I think I have a Celebrity. I picked up a First Lady because I hadn’t seen it before. I overbought on tomatoes as usual. Need to feed the heck out of them now because I got them in late and they won’t produce if they’re not big enough in a month or two.

  95. 95.

    WereBear

    March 29, 2015 at 11:01 am

    @Violet: Ever tried that tomato planting trick where you put the plant on its side and plant an extra six inches of the stalk underground?

    Gives it a bigger root system. The rest of the plant catches up.

  96. 96.

    mai naem mobile

    March 29, 2015 at 11:06 am

    What part of the country does Stan of the Sawgrass live? Floriduh? or Hawaii? I don’t think I’ve ever bought American mangoes and i buy plenty. It seems like they’re either from Mexico, Chile or Peru.
    I’ve definitely had better luck buying small nursery plants than big box. We also have the Desert Botanical Garden here in Phx. They have 2 plant sales a year. I’ve had great luck with their stuff.

  97. 97.

    Violet

    March 29, 2015 at 11:10 am

    @WereBear: Yeah, I trench them when I plant them so I bury most of the plant when they go in. It helps but if you get them in late there’s not much you can do.

    I just got them in late for my area. I like to get them out by mid to late February and I didn’t get them in until early March. Between family commitments and weather I kept holding off. I kind of felt bad putting them out on a 70 degree day only to have it plummet close to freezing the next day. So I waited so they might have a chance at a day or two of slightly warmer weather.

    We have to get them in early so we’ll have a chance at getting tomatoes. By mid-June they’re done. Gets too hot and the fruit won’t set. Then it’s just time to wait for fall tomato season.

  98. 98.

    schrodinger's cat

    March 29, 2015 at 11:13 am

    If you have green mangoes, you can make a refreshing drink, that’s better than lemonade, punhe‘.

  99. 99.

    JPL

    March 29, 2015 at 11:22 am

    Holy Crap… Pence is trying to defend the law on ABC news. We are the ones who are intolerant. Several times he tried to say it was the Clinton law and George wouldn’t let him get away with it. Several times he asked if businesses could discriminate against lgbt’s and he would not answer. Pence can say goodbye to any higher aspirations except for maybe a traveling preacher.

  100. 100.

    WereBear

    March 29, 2015 at 11:24 am

    @JPL: He made his bed. And put the itching powder in it.

  101. 101.

    PurpleGirl

    March 29, 2015 at 11:25 am

    @WereBear: I have an acquaintance in Henderson (NV) and shortly after she and her (late) husband bought their house and they saw what the water bills were like at the newest rate… they had the green lawn taken out and had the space xeriscaped. They weren’t interested in doing too much gardening, so the xeriscaping was a good choice. They saved on water usage, the bill wasn’t going to kill them, there were fewer gardening chores and the land around their house at least looked natural to region.

  102. 102.

    Germy Shoemangler

    March 29, 2015 at 11:25 am

    @JPL: George wouldn’t let him get away with it? I’d have thought George would just smile and nod.

  103. 103.

    Suzanne

    March 29, 2015 at 11:27 am

    @WereBear: Even in the desert, some municipalities encourage the growth of lawns, because it reduces urban heat island effect, and in turn reduces demand for energy-intensive HVAC. Other municipalities discourage lawns due to water use. Phoenix encouraged lawns for many years while Tucson did not, but Phoenix is larger and the heat island effect is greater.

  104. 104.

    Baud

    March 29, 2015 at 11:28 am

    @JPL:

    George wouldn’t let him get away with it.

    How rare and refreshing.

  105. 105.

    WereBear

    March 29, 2015 at 11:28 am

    @PurpleGirl: I find the American lawn obsession to be sheer insanity.

  106. 106.

    schrodinger's cat

    March 29, 2015 at 11:30 am

    Thread needs more mango.

  107. 107.

    WereBear

    March 29, 2015 at 11:30 am

    @Suzanne: I guess that is a good reason, but probably not in the way I remember from Long Island, where people would mark flags on their lawn because they had just sprayed it with poison.

    Such attempts to force a monoculture are wasteful of resources, at the least.

  108. 108.

    JPL

    March 29, 2015 at 11:31 am

    @Germy Shoemangler: He picked the wrong station to go on because George worked for Clinton and he knew what the federal law stated.

  109. 109.

    Germy Shoemangler

    March 29, 2015 at 11:33 am

    @JPL: But I’ve seen Jon Karl say stuff that was somewhat untrue about Hillary, and George just smiled. Must be a rule against contradicting co-employees.

  110. 110.

    Suzanne

    March 29, 2015 at 11:37 am

    @WereBear: I agree. We bought a foreclosure five years ago, and it had been built in the late 80’s when lawns were popular, so we have grass front and back. I would happily rip it out of the front if not for the need to take the whole irrigation/sprinkler system out with it. But only my next-door neighbor and we have lawns on the street, and all the neighbor kids play here, so I want to accommodate them. Rocks suck to play on.

    The bummer about xeriscape is that people never do enough trees. Xeriscape needs lots of tree cover to not be fiery hot. And if they use white gravel, the glare is ridiculous.

  111. 111.

    Germy Shoemangler

    March 29, 2015 at 11:38 am

    @WereBear: A nice green ground cover. Doesn’t need mowing. Doesn’t require excessive watering.

    We replaced our lawn with perennials, with ground cover, and made some stone paths. The day I got rid of the lawn mower was great day for me.

  112. 112.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 11:38 am

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    There you are.

    You asked for this yesterday. It’s a simple version to begin with. You can complicate things later.

    Do watch out for that fermentation pressure. It can quite easily break glass if not dealt with carefully.

  113. 113.

    schrodinger's cat

    March 29, 2015 at 11:40 am

    @Cervantes: Thanks!

  114. 114.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 11:40 am

    @Suzanne:

    Even in the desert, some municipalities encourage the growth of lawns, because it reduces urban heat island effect

    Call me simple-minded, but I can think of a better way to reduce “urban heat island effect” in a desert.

  115. 115.

    JPL

    March 29, 2015 at 11:41 am

    @Germy Shoemangler: You should send Anne pictures so that the rest of us can get some ideas. I have almost an acre but a small lawn. A large section is trees.

  116. 116.

    schrodinger's cat

    March 29, 2015 at 11:43 am

    There is rice varietal grown in western India, that has the bouquet of ripe mangoes. Its called Ambe Mohar (literal translation mango bloom). Its usually aged for years before it is sold.
    I have never seen it in the Indian grocery stores in the US.

  117. 117.

    Baud

    March 29, 2015 at 11:46 am

    @Cervantes:

    You are simple minded.

  118. 118.

    Bubblegum Tate

    March 29, 2015 at 11:47 am

    @max:

    I’m going to stick to the San Marzano Romanos this year,

    Ditto. Grew some last year, and they came out good, not great. Am attempting to correct things this year (biggest problem was I was not diligent enough with the pruning and let the plants get way too big and have way too many suckers), although I also mixed in a few plants of regular old Romas in one bed. Just yesterday finished building/installing another planter bed. Today I set up the drip irrigation, then I arrange for bulk soil/mulch delivery, and that whole bed will be filled with San Marzanos for the spring/summer. Can’t wait.

  119. 119.

    schrodinger's cat

    March 29, 2015 at 11:50 am

    @Bubblegum Tate: Last year, my San Marzanos rotated on the vine. I had better luck with the cherry tomatoes.

  120. 120.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 11:55 am

    @Baud:

    I just knew it!

  121. 121.

    Jay C

    March 29, 2015 at 11:56 am

    @JPL: @Germy Shoemangler:

    That IS surprising. Not, I mean, that Gov. Pence would try to weasel out of “discrimination” accusations over the Indiana RFRA, I just thought he would be, well, less overtly weaselly about it, and at least attempt to be seen as some sort of conciliatory about it, but I guess not.* Also, I am surprised (shocked, really) that George Smarmyopolous Stephanopolous would actually call Pence (a Republican!!) out on anything: will wonders never cease..?

    *most blogs I’ve read (OK, admittedly mainly lefty) have tended to describe Mike Pence as being “not very smart”. I’ve always thought that that was just a blogosphere canard, the sort usually leveled at oppo politicians: this time, I think it may be right?

  122. 122.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 11:57 am

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    If you’re looking for it, you might try this.

  123. 123.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    @Jay C:

    this time, I think it may be right?

    From 2005 to 2007, Pence was the head of the “Republican Study Committee.”

    Even now when I think of it I cannot help laughing.

  124. 124.

    Baud

    March 29, 2015 at 12:09 pm

    Sunday Garden Chat: Things Change

    Front Page Posts Do Not.

  125. 125.

    WaterGirl

    March 29, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    @WereBear:

    Ever tried that tomato planting trick where you put the plant on its side and plant an extra six inches of the stalk underground?

    I do plant the extra inches of the stalk underground, but I don’t know what you mean when you say “you put the plant on it’s side”.

  126. 126.

    Bubblegum Tate

    March 29, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Also just remembered mine got blossom end rot last year, so this year, I’m making sure the soil’s got plenty of calcium. Last year was my first attempt at growing tomatoes. I think I made some good mistakes and learned some good lessons. And dammit, I wanna make these San Marzanos work!

  127. 127.

    Baud

    March 29, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    This is excellent.

    Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, said her chances of running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 are “very high.”Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” the 2010 California gubernatorial candidate said she is “90 percent” likely to enter the race, with an announcement coming in late April or early May

  128. 128.

    JPL

    March 29, 2015 at 12:25 pm

    @Baud: Refresh my memory, I didn’t think that Hewlett Packard performed well under her leadership.

  129. 129.

    Suzanne

    March 29, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    @Cervantes: There’s plenty of good ways to reduce urban heat island effect in a desert: use white or light-colored surfaces, shade dark surfaces like streets, capture rainwater in vegetated swales, use evaporative cooling, etc.

    But increasing the amount of vegetation near buildings, which is what lawns are for, is a really effective way to do it. Running an air conditioner burns a shit-ton of energy and creates a lot of heat that needs to go somewhere. But if you can reduce the temperature around the house by five degrees, the AC demand is significantly reduced. So when water was cheaper than power, lawns were popular. It’s not mysterious.

  130. 130.

    Mnemosyne

    March 29, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    @WereBear:

    Coastal Southern California isn’t a true desert like Arizona is (we’re considered semi-arid or Mediterranean) and there are a lot of beautiful native grasses, but they’re not the kind that make for an East Coast or Midwestern-style lawn.

    Most of the local municipalities have switched over to using recycled water to keep the “lawn” grass growing in local parks. They have to put up signs warning people not to drink it since it’s not sanitized to human consumption standards.

  131. 131.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    March 29, 2015 at 12:35 pm

    @WereBear: It’s dicksizing by proxy.

    Seriously. When the lawn care companies knock on the door and can’t get any interest out of me, they always ask for my husband. The confusion on their faces when their not-so-subtle appeal to his masculinity fails is always a joy.

    (We don’t really have any topsoil to speak of, and lawn grasses don’t have the root systems to thrive in ultisols.)

  132. 132.

    rikyrah

    March 29, 2015 at 12:35 pm

    It’s Sunday, and my Chicago and Suburban Cook County folks…

    YOU CAN VOTE TODAY!!!

    For information about Chicago voting:

    http://www.chicagoelections.com/en/early-voting.html

    For information about Suburban Cook County voting:

    http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/elections/earlyvoting/Pages/EarlyVotingLocations.aspx

  133. 133.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 12:42 pm

    @Suzanne:

    That’s an interesting list of “ways to reduce urban heat island effect in a desert.”

  134. 134.

    Germy Shoemangler

    March 29, 2015 at 12:46 pm

    @JPL: Just read this:

    Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who is expected to announce a campaign for president, said over the weekend that she could improve the economy by cutting federal worker pay because they were “watching porn all day long.”

  135. 135.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 12:49 pm

    @Germy Shoemangler:

    Not exactly:

    “Washington DC has become a vast, unaccountable bureaucracy. It’s been growing for 40 years, we have no idea how our money is spent,” said Fiorina. “How many inspector general reports do we need to read that say, you know, you can watch porn all day long and get paid exactly the same way as someone who is trying to do their job?”

  136. 136.

    jonas

    March 29, 2015 at 1:16 pm

    @sm*t cl*de: You have to read that crappily written article like four times to get the takeaway, but, yeah, your summary is pretty spot on. Of all the chemicals — from paints to cosmetics and solvents to disinfectants — that we all have in our homes and use everyday, glysophate is probably the one we should be worried about the least.

  137. 137.

    jonas

    March 29, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    @Cervantes:

    Washington DC has become a vast, unaccountable bureaucracy. It’s been growing for 40 years, we have no idea how our money is spent

    Maybe Ms. Fiorina could start, I don’t know, with something like this?

    But no, it’s easier to blame some guy at the Dept. of Agriculture who got caught downloading porn this one time.

  138. 138.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 1:28 pm

    @jonas:

    I could not care less what futile thing she starts with or does next.

    The assertion was that she:

    said over the weekend that she could improve the economy by cutting federal worker pay because they were “watching porn all day long.”

    Point is, that’s not what she said.

    Criticize her by all means — well, not by all means: do it accurately.

  139. 139.

    Germy Shoemangler

    March 29, 2015 at 1:47 pm

    @Cervantes: I was quoting the lead paragraph of RawStory.

    They have a tendency towards click bait at times.

    My mistake for quoting them.

  140. 140.

    Cervantes

    March 29, 2015 at 1:52 pm

    @Germy Shoemangler:

    Doveryai, no proveryai!

  141. 141.

    PurpleGirl

    March 29, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    @JPL: No, it didn’t perform well under her “leadership”. She was forced out with a very golden parachute. She has managed to fail upwards for decades.

  142. 142.

    sm*t cl*de

    March 29, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    @Cervantes:

    OK, so we conclude the same thing — thanks.

    My point (to the extent that I had one) was that the IARS’ terminology is unfortunate. They use “probably” and “possibly cause cancer” to label steps or levels along their scale of “concern”. The words invite the casual reader (or the headline writer) to interpret them in the usual sense, as “known degrees of risk”.

  143. 143.

    Snarkworth

    March 29, 2015 at 3:50 pm

    I’ve started little seedlings of Burpee’s July 4 tomato. I’ve planted them for years, hoping against hope that I can get ripe tomatoes by July 4. I want them early so I can use them in a salad with my own lettuce. The problem is, by July, the lettuce is on its last legs, and the tomatoes aren’t quite ready.

  144. 144.

    Tree With Water

    March 29, 2015 at 4:09 pm

    Yesterday I had an irrigation system installed to water all my 261 drought tolerant little newbies-in-the-redwoods. It’s the first garden I’ve ever called my own, and I’m digging it. What’s nice, too, is that my house is on a gateway lot leading into my neighborhood, and my neighbors are also digging it.

  145. 145.

    Joel Hanes

    March 29, 2015 at 5:21 pm

    @JPL:

    Refresh my memory, I didn’t think that Hewlett Packard performed well under [Carly Fiorina’s] leadership.

    Carly Fiorina may be the most hated woman in Silicon Valley.

    Hewlett Packard was an iconic early Silicon Valley success, with a distinctive worker-centered corporate culture devised by the founders. Many Hewlett-Packard employees felt fierce loyalty to the company, and could barely contemplate the prospect of working somewhere else.

    Engineers all over the world loved HP’s distinctive, high-quality lab instruments. They made the best pocket calculators in the world; a couple of the old models are treasured and still in daily use because the RPN notation is more keystroke-efficient, because they were incredibly reliable, and because of the physical beauty of the design. HP’s early laser printers set the standard for the entire industry, and again, many an old HP LaserJet is still in service because of the superb engineering. (I’m sitting next to a perfectly-working sixteen-year-old HP 2100 as I write this, a printer so old that it has a parallel port but no ethernet). The superior quality and design of HP products commanded a high gross margin, and the company thrived without being evil — it was a good place to work that treated its customers with respect.

    Ms. Fiorina was instrumental in destroying or undoing almost all I’ve written above. Under her “leadership”, the company shifted emphasis to competing with Dell in the low-margin Wintel computer business, became less profitable, became more evil, and discarded much that made it distinctive. The stock lost half its value, but Fiorina raked in big bonuses not tied to performance. As part of an internal political struggle (in which the heir of one of the founders tried vainly to prevent the catastrophic decisions being made), the company spied on its own employees and board members. Essential employees left in disgust or were let go. After years of acrimony and decline, the Board gave Fiorina a final $20-million to just go away and stop wrecking things, but it was too late.

    Today’s HP bears little relationship to the famous and respected company of the 1980s and 90s.
    Their consumer computer products are cheaply-made, underpowered, and stuffed with shovelware,
    They no longer make engineering instruments.
    Apple has purchased the shady former-HP campus, and is erecting their new “spaceship” world headquarters on the site.

    Fiorina is a perennial in lists of worst-performing CEOs of all time.
    In typical Republican fashion, she has failed upwards, becoming a sought-after spokesperson for ruthless capitalism and the interests of the 0.01% over the interests of all others.
    Also in typical Republican fashion, she remains deluded about the degree to which the rest of the world loathes her.
    She will never hold elective office in California.

  146. 146.

    Steeplejack

    March 29, 2015 at 5:27 pm

    @Suzanne:

    My mother’s lot in north Las Vegas (Summerlin) is xeriscaped and backs up to a golf course, which is irrigated with graywater. Brother’s whole subdivision in Henderson is xeriscaped.

  147. 147.

    Joel Hanes

    March 29, 2015 at 5:30 pm

    @jonas:

    Your household is one thing. You might use a quart of Roundup a year, and you’re probably careful about where it goes. You probably don’t have a stream running through your yard; if you do, the Roundup you use probably doesn’t end up in that streamwater to any great extent.

    But in Iowa and Illinois, with millions of acres of “Roundup-Ready” crops, high doses of glycophosphate are sprayed over those millions of acres, with less care and precision than you use in your yard. Today, relatively high levels of glycophosphate are found in many surface waters, due to inadequately-careful application or runoff. Affected waters include municipal water supplies. And some of the farmers tend to accumulate outsized exposure to the stuff.
    That’s what this is about — not your 1-quart domestic use, but the large-scale poisoning of much of an ecological province.

    The sub-text is Monsanto’s predatory business model, of which more some other time.

  148. 148.

    Daniel'sBob

    March 29, 2015 at 5:56 pm

    @Snarkworth: Solution: Fall planted lettuce and late tomatoes

  149. 149.

    chris

    March 29, 2015 at 6:28 pm

    Late as always but thanks all for the lye tip. I’ll try it this year.

    There is another thing you can do with poison ivy and annoying weeds in general; burn them with a propane torch. I do sidewalks with a plumber’s torch taped to a broom handle so I don’t have to bend down. Probably not a good idea in the drier parts of the country.

    Vinegar works but requires multiple applications. (So does Roundup btw.) Agricultural vinegar is available, is about 4 times as acid as the stuff in your kitchen and works much better and for longer.

  150. 150.

    Daniel'sBob

    March 29, 2015 at 6:36 pm

    @chris: Wouldn’t recommend burning poison ivy. The irritant in the plant will volatilize and be part of the smoke from burning. Not something you’d want in your lungs.

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