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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 705
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 7:41 am Post subject:
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In the box are the plants I ordered for my Garden Of Live Flowers. Sadly the Delphinium belladonna picollo is
no longer available. However, these were the most expensive plants and I had to order three of them while I
only have room for one, so I don't really mind actually. What I did get is the Viola 'Icy but Spicy'. (they don't
look like much now but that is to be expected this time of year) and the Rosa 'Nina Weibull', which instantly
attacked me and drew blood. It's actually larger then I expected considering it only cost €1,90
I don't know how well it will grow on my balcony but with such a low price it's worth trying.
Sticking with the Alice in Wonderland theme there is something else I have been thinking about. I have
a scrap piece of vinyl that has a black and white checkered pattern. (I used some of it for a table which
you can find here) I just measured it and I still have plenty to cover my balcony with it. It would be quite
a hassle though as I will have to clean out my balcony and the only place I can move stuff to is inside.
The big container which I use for the witchgarden is probably too heavy and I doubt it will even fit through
my backdoor (without tipping). I could completely empty it out, but I'd rater not and could just cut the
vinyl a bit shorter. That part is actually not really visible anyway.
Years ago I also got myself a 'Maxi Chess' set, which is just an oversized chess set. The board is printed on
a piece of thin vinyl (same as used for inflatable stuff) that measures 80x80cm. The large (plastic) pieces are
about 10cm in height with the king maxing out at almost 13cm. Not sure what to do with it yet but it does fit
very well with the theme.
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_________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!"
http://phobos.000space.com/
SoundCloud BandCamp MixCloud Stickney Synthyards Captain Collider Twitch YouTube |
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AlanP
Joined: Mar 11, 2014 Posts: 746 Location: New Zealand
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 11:58 am Post subject:
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Think I might start some pepper plants in August. Can't do it now, we're going into winter at the time of writing. |
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 705
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 6:33 pm Post subject:
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I made some photos of the vinyl so I could recreate it to scale in photoshop. That way I can easily move it around
to see what would fit. There is a piece missing that I used for the table but it is in the corner that I would have to
remove anyway and won't be visible. Sadly, the piece is not large enough to cut diagonally,.. or is it ?
It's too small to use at a 45 degree angle, but since it is Alice in Wonderland themed why not go a bit mad and
place it at a different angle This might actually result in the balcony looking skewed. I tried some angles
that are easy to cut. 45 degrees would be cutting a 1x1 square diagonally so I tried 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, 1x5, 1x6, 1x7
and 1x8. It's still too small for 1x2 and 1x3 but 1x4 and up work. 1x6 and up might be a bit difficult to cut though.
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_________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!"
http://phobos.000space.com/
SoundCloud BandCamp MixCloud Stickney Synthyards Captain Collider Twitch YouTube |
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 1:16 pm Post subject:
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PHOBoS wrote: | It looks like the temperature is going to drop again, even below freezing at night, but if we get a bit of sun this
weekend I might be able to clear out my balcony, give it a good scrub and place the vinyl to see how it looks. |
We got some sun today so that's what I did and I am pretty happy with the result.
I have a small greenhouse I want to put up temporary, but the temperature first has to rise again before it's worth sowing anything.
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_________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!"
http://phobos.000space.com/
SoundCloud BandCamp MixCloud Stickney Synthyards Captain Collider Twitch YouTube |
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 8:27 am Post subject:
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I just spotted some buds on the Solanum dulcamara (climbing nightshade). I am really happy to see it survived the winter
Hope it will produce some flowers and berries this year.
I also put up the greenhouse earlier this week as it is already useful to shield some plants from the cold a bit.
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_________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!"
http://phobos.000space.com/
SoundCloud BandCamp MixCloud Stickney Synthyards Captain Collider Twitch YouTube |
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 705
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 11:05 am Post subject:
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Today seemed like a nice day to put some seeds in the ground. I just hope we won't get a long cold period again
but that's always a bit of a gamble. So the following seeds are planted:
- Antirrhinum majus "Circus Clowns" (Snapdragons)
- Phlox drummondii "Twinkle Star"
- Nigella damascena "Miss Jekyll blue" (love-in-a-mist)
- phacelia tanacetifolia (this one invited itself last year and attracted a lot of bees)
I had some Silene nutans (Nottingham catchfly) seeds left so put those in the ground as well.
And another seed mix. Last year I had a butterfly seed mix which did really great, this year I have a bee seed mix.
If we get some warmer weather the bees might actually start appearing again in the next couple of weeks. _________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!"
http://phobos.000space.com/
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:57 am Post subject:
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PHOBoS wrote: | If we get some warmer weather the bees might actually start appearing again in the next couple of weeks. |
well, that didn't take very long. The males are already out (recognizable by their little white 'mustache') and waiting for females.
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_________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!"
http://phobos.000space.com/
SoundCloud BandCamp MixCloud Stickney Synthyards Captain Collider Twitch YouTube |
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klangumsetzer
Joined: Jan 23, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Sweden
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 6:59 am Post subject:
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Interestingly I also encountered two mason bees which were inspecting my reflective jacket yesterday while enjoying the first warm rays in the garden.
I checked the small insect house we have on the backside of the garage and rightly so many of the walled in bamboo tubes had been opened.
Also it seems that so far all plants survived the winter, the deer and the pheasant.
I have not yet started with planting seeds because every year I start too early and then many of the young plants freeze in May... _________________ Make a joyful noise!
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 11:01 am Post subject:
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Maybe the international bee sign went up
I do feel a bit bad for them as the temperature will be dropping and they don't really have a long lifespan. I also haven't seen
much flowers around yet for the females to collect pollen from but I haven't seen any emerge yet anyway.
I know what you mean about starting too early, I have lost some plants that way in the past. It's too bad the growing season
is rather short and I don't get much sun on my balcony to begin with, so I have to start as early as possible. I did notice last
year with the morning glories they do much better when sown later when there is already a lot of sun. Otherwise they just stay
small and actually do worse than seeds planted later. But for the pepper seeds it helps to start early indoors (if they sprout )
speaking of seeds, I put some Datura metel (with double purple flowers) seeds in the ground yesterday. I had no luck with
them last year so I presoaked them to see if that helps. _________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!"
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 705
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:13 am Post subject:
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Although the weather doesn't really show it yet, Spring is here!
In case there was any doubt the Solanum dulcamar is very alive.
I am already expecting that I will have to cut it back at some point.
The Tiger Lily has breached the surface and the Rose is also starting to show signs of life.
Lupine is also waking up and the first seeds to sprout outside are from the Phacelia tanacetifolia.
By the looks of it I might have a 100% germination rate with those.
I also saw a couple of bees outside but I think those were all males.
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_________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!"
http://phobos.000space.com/
SoundCloud BandCamp MixCloud Stickney Synthyards Captain Collider Twitch YouTube |
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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robsol
Stream Operator
Joined: Apr 24, 2009 Posts: 2492 Location: Bristol UK
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 9:57 am Post subject:
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If you disturb it a few times, it will go somewhere else.
They eat new shoots and do make a mess. I would chase it away, personally.
Once they get established they are hard to get rid of, and will stay nearby if chased. _________________ Muied Lumens Sub Forum
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 705
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 12:17 pm Post subject:
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I heard a familiar sound this morning and low and behold the pigeon was back. It didn't look very amused though
and was cramped in a small corner that didn't have pencils sticking out. It flew off again when I went outside and I
added some more pencils leaving no more empty space to sit. But when I returned from work I could already hear it
This time it was just balancing on the edge of the basket. i think it didn't accept yet that its nesting spot had become
useless. If it does decide to return again I can temporarily hang something above it so it has no room left to sit.
Hanging stuff to that wall will be easier from now on because today I mounted a metal wire grid to it (is there a name
for something like that ?). This is also useful for ivy or maybe even a morning glory but it wouldn't get much sun
there, I might give it a try though.
I also put the violets in the pot with the roses. they should be good companion plants. I'll probably put the daisies in
the pot with the lily but I will wait untill it has grown a bit taller.
just for reference here's how the violets looked when I had just received them.
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_________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!"
http://phobos.000space.com/
SoundCloud BandCamp MixCloud Stickney Synthyards Captain Collider Twitch YouTube |
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PHOBoS
Joined: Jan 14, 2010 Posts: 5591 Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 705
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 12:42 pm Post subject:
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While putting everything back on my balcony I spotted a bee crawling very slowly on the ground. I didn't know if it was dying
or just exhausted so I filled a small saucer with some sugar water to see if that would do it any good. The poor fellow dropped
in it on its back but after I carefully placed it on the edge of the saucer it seem to enjoy the sugary treat very much. (which was
a great opportunity for me to make some photos) It didn't really make it become much more active though so I put it inside
a propagator with a daisy and the sugar water and placed it inside under a lamp for some extra warmth. I also added some
wet tissue paper so it had some moisture to get rid of the sticky sugar stuff. I think it actually used it for this purpose too .
It took some time but it has become much more active again and is even buzzing around a bit. It's probably ready to go again
but it's cold and dark outside now. I think I'll put it in my kitchen first where it is also darker and colder so the transition
isn't too harsh.
There should be some sunny weather and warmer temperatures this weekend and I am expecting more bees. So I will
probably place a couple of saucers with sugar water outside.
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exhausted mason bee enjoying a sugary treat (hires) |
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_________________ "My perf, it's full of holes!"
http://phobos.000space.com/
SoundCloud BandCamp MixCloud Stickney Synthyards Captain Collider Twitch YouTube |
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AlanP
Joined: Mar 11, 2014 Posts: 746 Location: New Zealand
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 10:38 pm Post subject:
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Aw, you big softy that's so kind of you!
My sister would have screamed at the top of her lungs and refused to have gone back out there until someone else moved the bee to another postcode entirely. |
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