The House Plants Thread

Dandain · Jun 15, 2017

If you have sun, space, water, and soil, you can grow anything you can tend in your climate. Raised beds are a really good way to approach food growing, especially if you've never done it. Flowerbeds can be done super organized, or more in the style that you see with many of my pictures in this thread of dense chaos. Just pick weeds, glance at every plant for a moment each day to try and catch any browning or bug infestation, and keep the size of the footprint of any given plant how you want it to be.

Raspberry hedges are an option for fruit that doesn't require the space or size of a fruit tree. Why own land and grow nothing is really my question. Having a yard is an amazing perk. Its too bad they are so underutilized for what they are.

Lanx · Jun 15, 2017

house i'm bidding on has a slopped backyard, like this (theres a bit more flat space, but yea)

can i still do these raised gardens? or is there a better idea?

Dandain · Jun 15, 2017

Terrace farming is old school. Its like planting boxes using the hill as one side.

AngryGerbil · Jun 15, 2017

Lanx said:
Total garden noob, i've never planted shit besides 4th grade water potato. getting a house front and backyard, too many projects to do, but i figure a compost bin is the easiest one? (not to mention cool and hippie/green cred, i guess)

but like what can i use it for? i cook enough that i'll have waste, if you visit the coffee thread, i got lbs of coffee grinds (btw you can use coffee grinds to fend off ants, haven't had ants for more than a day if i see them invade the window sill i throw a trench line of coffee grinds and they don't come back)

do you guys do this? can i use this stuff for lawn or is it just for garden, and for garden would it just be for pretty flowers or like a veggie garden i can eat shit with?

You should know I have never composted before, but I have watched a ton of YouTube on it. So for what it's worth I hear that the idea of 'kitchen scrap' composting is not always ideal.

I think the idea is that a good compost doesn't need any kitchen scraps. You can survive on just greens and browns from the garden itself. But that if you do want to add kitchen scraps, that's okay, so long as the compost heap itself is large enough to accommodate them. That is, tiny compost bins do best with just garden waste, while larger piles can handle some kitchen waste. Or rather, that the % of kitchen waste must be relatively low in comparison to yard waste regardless of the size of the pile.

But again, I am also somewhat of a noob. I'm maybe two years ahead of you and I am entirely self taught through books and the internet. I am just remembering what I think is a certain consensus that I've picked up on.

For instance, we have a world famous botanical garden here. They ship their garden waste to a station a few miles west of here, who then composts it at sells it to the public. That is what I use in my pots and it is what pretty much every gardener I know of uses around here. It's the gold standard (black loamy fluffy gold) and it has no kitchen scrap stuff in it at all. It is just green and brown garden waste.

It seems that kitchen scraps are more of an option rather than a necessity.

I think the main ideas are that you first have to reach a critical mass so that it is thick enough to insulate the bacteria and allow composting to happen. You have to have the proper ratio of green to brown. You have to layer these in alternating layers. You have to periodically stir these layers. And you have to periodically water them. I think that is the main consensus I have found.

But then, I've never tried it. If you do, let us know what you do and what you learn and what works and doesn't work.

AngryGerbil · Jun 15, 2017

Lanx said:
house i'm bidding on has a slopped backyard, like this (theres a bit more flat space, but yea)

can i still do these raised gardens? or is there a better idea?

How many hours of sun does your patch get and can a simple tree trimming open up some space? Or is that not needed? Which direction is that slope facing?

edko · Jun 15, 2017

My wife wants us to start some passion fruit plants. I looked them up. I am going to be doing a lot of friggin' work.

I'll try to update on the project when I get started (maybe she will forget....yeah).

edko · Jun 15, 2017

AngryGerbil said:
You should know I have never composted before, but I have watched a ton of YouTube on it. So for what it's worth I hear that the idea of 'kitchen scrap' composting is not always ideal.

I think the idea is that a good compost doesn't need any kitchen scraps. You can survive on just greens and browns from the garden itself. But that if you do want to add kitchen scraps, that's okay, so long as the compost heap itself is large enough to accommodate them. That is, tiny compost bins do best with just garden waste, while larger piles can handle some kitchen waste. Or rather, that the % of kitchen waste must be relatively low in comparison to yard waste regardless of the size of the pile.

But again, I am also somewhat of a noob. I'm maybe two years ahead of you and I am entirely self taught through books and the internet. I am just remembering what I think is a certain consensus that I've picked up on.

For instance, we have a world famous botanical garden here. They ship their garden waste to a station a few miles west of here, who then composts it at sells it to the public. That is what I use in my pots and it is what pretty much every gardener I know of uses around here. It's the gold standard (black loamy fluffy gold) and it has no kitchen scrap stuff in it at all. It is just green and brown garden waste.

It seems that kitchen scraps are more of an option rather than a necessity.

I think the main ideas are that you first have to reach a critical mass so that it is thick enough to insulate the bacteria and allow composting to happen. You have to have the proper ratio of green to brown. You have to layer these in alternating layers. You have to periodically stir these layers. And you have to periodically water them. I think that is the main consensus I have found.

But then, I've never tried it. If you do, let us know what you do and what you learn and what works and doesn't work.

When we used to grow a 1/2 acre garden in MD we composted cuttings and leaves only. Scraps bring critters. It's labor intensive but $$$ saving.

AngryGerbil · Jun 15, 2017

Awesome. I'd love to try it someday just to have the skill.

Also good to know I'm not smoking crack on YouTube.

Voyce · Jun 15, 2017

Ha funny I see this thread out of nowhere, I just got a Venus Fly Trap last week, not a big one or anything, but it caught its first carpenter ant a couple days ago.

AngryGerbil · Jun 15, 2017

Voyce said:
Ha funny I see this thread out of nowhere, I just got a Venus Fly Trap last week, not a big one or anything, but it caught its first carpenter ant a couple days ago.

I think I managed to kill mine in less than 3 weeks. Finicky plants that don't follow the normal rules. Cool as hell though. Carnivorous plants are fascinating.

Talking Plants: I am frightened and astounded at my results [about Drosera]

"But I will & must finish my Drosera M.S. which will take me a week, for at this present moment I care more about Drosera than the origin of all the species in the world. But I will not publish on Drosera till next year, for I am frightened & astounded at my results." -Charles Darwin

Drosera is also known as Sundew:

Voyce · Jun 15, 2017

They are something, the guy I purchased it from sent a page of information, *paraphrasing*

pour distilled water into a bowl, take the supplied moss and soak it, than wrap it around the white bulb and roots of the plant, keep it in the provided plastic pot with gaps/holes (looks like a mini laundry basket), and place that in the bowl of distilled water reaching about 1/4 of the way up (to the plants root system). Place near a window with lots of sunlight, don't let it catch anything for a few days. Don't purposely trigger the traps, as it expends a lot of energy, weakening the plant. Make sure to add distilled water as needed, reaching just up to the root system.

I've had them as a kid, and they usually die fairly quick, I'm hoping I can keep this guy alive, and healthy.

Top 10 Fascinating Carnivorous Plants

I also bought these for my mom for mother's day:

Lanx · Jun 15, 2017

Dandain said:
Terrace farming is old school. Its like planting boxes using the hill as one side.

is this cuz i'm asian?

popsicledeath · Jun 15, 2017

For me, composting kitchen scraps is just a means of lessening waste. Or maybe just feeling better about waste. Grew up with pretty casual composting and never had many issues with critters if you leave out meat products and stuff like corn cobs that stay tangible longer.

These days they have fancy enclosed barrels so why not do at least one compost batch that includes food scraps? And the plastic bin in the kitchen seals and doesn't smell until a few weeks. Also have a bag for nonsoiled paper products or dried goods and the like.

First year in new house so just getting started,but I just made a big wooden 4x4 foot box with holes drilled around for air. Pretty basic, but is working and moveable which was important for me as I'm still learning about the property and sun etc. Also have leaves in plastic bags, which I think is a British technique I read about. More leaves piled, waiting for my lazy ass, including a pile decaying nicely on the front drive because I never got them bagged up or moved to the back. Now adding grass and plant clippings to all since it's that time of year.

Efforts are pretty hodgepodge being first spring in house, but gotta at least start somewhere and making/maintain your own soil can be huge savings. This year I had to buy a lot for setup, soil and conditioner billing the biggest costs, but still able to save money using fruit cups and egg cartons for seedlings and found some buckets on the property I have a tomato and two pepper plants growing out the bottom of very happily.

To me gardening is becoming a way to channel my cheapness in a way that isn't petty. The cheaper you can do it the more impressed people seem, which is the opposite reaction than when I cheap out on gifts or family vacations.

Mr_Bungle · Jun 15, 2017

edko said:
My wife wants us to start some passion fruit plants. I looked them up. I am going to be doing a lot of friggin' work.

I'll try to update on the project when I get started (maybe she will forget....yeah).

Passion Flower Vines are actually really fun to grow, I have had one for 2 years and it has bloomed profusely. It is definitely worth the effort.

AngryGerbil · Jun 15, 2017

Voyce said:
They are something, the guy I purchased it from sent a page of information, *paraphrasing*

pour distilled water into a bowl, take the supplied moss and soak it, than wrap it around the white bulb and roots of the plant, keep it in the provided plastic pot with gaps/holes (looks like a mini laundry basket), and place that in the bowl of distilled water reaching about 1/4 of the way up (to the plants root system). Place near a window with lots of sunlight, don't let it catch anything for a few days. Don't purposely trigger the traps, as it expends a lot of energy, weakening the plant. Make sure to add distilled water as needed, reaching just up to the root system.

I've had them as a kid, and they usually die fairly quick, I'm hoping I can keep this guy alive, and healthy.

Top 10 Fascinating Carnivorous Plants

I also bought these for my mom for mother's day:

That was what I thought I was doing to mine, but it died anyway.

My primary assumption is that my girlfriend's sister came over, 21 and all bouncy and flippant and vapid, and triggered every hair on every leaf of it on Easter last year. I also think it was just simply too cold for the plant, in it's position in my kitchen, in general. I think it prefers a bit more warmth and that was just not possible at that time. It's worth noting that flies themselves don't really appear in the cool spring months. They come later. Like now. In the heat. That's what Venus wants. It is native to the Carolinas. It wants hot wet, fresh-water, damp, fly-ridden, humidity. I was simply unable to create such an environment for it at that time.

AngryGerbil · Jun 15, 2017

popsicledeath said:
To me gardening is becoming a way to channel my cheapness in a way that isn't petty. The cheaper you can do it the more impressed people seem, which is the opposite reaction than when I cheap out on gifts or family vacations.

I love this.

You know what I think? It is a way to create wealth, using science, with both intelligence and work. Objective to the core. That makes it beautiful to me.

We need a Marvel Superhero for Farmers.

AngryGerbil · Jun 15, 2017

Captain America

Goatface · Jun 15, 2017

maybe someone here can help me, as my google skills are failing me
are there any plants like Wandering Jew/Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida) that is easily grown from seed?
don't want to start from cuttings

Mr_Bungle · Jun 15, 2017

Goatface said:
maybe someone here can help me, as my google skills are failing me
are there any plants like Wandering Jew/Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida) that is easily grown from seed?
don't want to start from cuttings

You could try Dichondra repens.

there is a cultivar called Emerald Falls that is really good for hanging baskets

Dichondra Seed - Dichondra Repens Ground Cover Seeds

seeds for the cascading variety can be found here.

Seeds for Hanging Basket Plants

Serpens · Jun 15, 2017

Just started composting myself. There's a TED talk on composting that recommends the way the Dutch do it, which is exclusively dead leaves (brown) and coffee grounds (green). All other kitchen waste is verboten. I'm trying that method.

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The House Plants Thread

Dandain

Trakanon Raider

Lanx

Dandain

Trakanon Raider

AngryGerbil

Poet Warrior

AngryGerbil

Poet Warrior

edko

Ahn'Qiraj Raider

edko

Ahn'Qiraj Raider

AngryGerbil

Poet Warrior

Voyce

Shit Lord Supreme

AngryGerbil

Poet Warrior

Voyce

Shit Lord Supreme

Lanx

popsicledeath

Potato del Grande

Mr_Bungle

Recusant

AngryGerbil

Poet Warrior

AngryGerbil

Poet Warrior

AngryGerbil

Poet Warrior

Goatface

Avatar of War Slayer

Mr_Bungle

Recusant

Serpens