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Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / June 2007Environment
Grow more plants and help clean up the air! Another thing you could do is leave your car at home and take the bus. A new Yahoo group has been formed for people who use Capital Metro busses in Austin Texas called http://groups.yahoo.com/group/busridersaustin/ It is meant for discussion, meeting and advocacy of issues important to Austinites who rely on public transit. I did search around before I started it but didn't find anything like this group. > Grow more plants and help clean up the air! Plants normally grown in the garden don't clean up the air. They produce an insignificant amount of oxygen. Would be interested in the effect of substantial amount of carbon monoxide on such plants. > Another thing you could do is leave your car at home and take the bus. No bus goes through west of Wimberley. > A new Yahoo group has been formed for people who use Capital Metro busses > in Austin Texas called http://groups.yahoo.com/group/busridersaustin/ [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I did search around before I started it but didn't find anything like this > group. Okay, I'll use that as a platform. I have an older VW, runs great 33 average mpg. VW's high beam indicator in dash failed, not light bulb. Found to be internal to the dash electronics. Failed state safety inspection as a result. Took me a few months to find a replacement. In the meantime, I had to drive a 2001 Dodge V6 truck that get about 1/2 the mpg as result, worse in city driving. Did I say that 290 West between Loop 1 and William Cannon is using half of the gasoline consumed by all the cars in Austin? Don't believe, just go there at anytime during normal commuter traffic times afternoon/evening. Last time I go to Austin for part of my VW. "Funny" thing about it is that I can obviously see the difference between my normal headlights and high beams. Its very obvious. I don't use well lit roads which aids to that observation. Oncoming traffic is quick to note my high beams by using theirs as well. At least I was "safe" not driving the VW, I guess... and making much more CO/CO2 in the meantime driving the truck. I wouldn't use and depend on a timely schedule a bus that's managed by any governmental organization or a subcontractor to same. Timeliness of personal transport don't rhyme with any governmental organization. Privatized rail makes more sense, but that requires something like some substantial walking if not driving at all and parking for all those CO producers if driving to a parking area. What does make a whole lotta sense is to be employed within some reasonable distance from the home where a CO producing automobile or bus is not required. Same for shopping. Naw, that makes too much sense. Let's keep dribbling slow solutions at a big problem. Keep doing things the same old way with slow, slow changes along the way. Not ready for it. Your job, your home, your way of life would be drastically changed? Guess what, the alternative later down the road will do alot more to change that. Yep, ride the bus... What a crock. Dave > > Grow more plants and help clean up the air! > [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > personal transport don't rhyme with any governmental organization. > Privatized rail makes more sense, sorry Dave, not where I come from. Here in New Zealand privatisation of the rail network & rail operations was a near disaster. A series of owners, both rapacious merchant finance type asset strippers and US rail operators drove down the condition of both our rail network and rolling stock. The govt actually bought back the rail and has invested significant money in it and will continue to do so through electrification and double tracking, $600 million NZ over the next few years. New rolling stock for city public transport is also highly central govt/local govt funded. Rail as a feasible, and successful, solution to road congestion and human enduced climactic change is heavily dependent on government intervention. rob >> > Grow more plants and help clean up the air! >> [quoted text clipped - 66 lines] > > rob Yup, you're right. Any organization or persons that own rail are bound to abuse it. History of privately owned, and lately, share owned (corporations) industries in the states has similar history. There's no solution. Let's all die in desperation, destitution, and denial. Leave that legacy to our children and grandchildren. What a crock. Dave > >> > Grow more plants and help clean up the air! > >> [quoted text clipped - 73 lines] > that legacy to our children and grandchildren. What a crock. > Dave Not sure what you are on about Dave. Does the crock bit relate to what you wrote first or third? Anyhow, not sure whether you are venting some frustration over your rail network failure, the network failures we have experienced or whether you are trying to win an argument somewhere. Can't really say. All I can say is that rail is looking a lot healthier, whilst no means rosy cheeked yet, than it was some years ago. A whole lot of govt investment has doe it good. rob >Grow more plants and help clean up the air! >Another thing you could do is leave your car at home and take the bus. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >I did search around before I started it but didn't find anything like this >group. We don't have transportation up in Round Rock other than by car. Yes, I have a huge Expedition. No, I wasn't thinking about the environment when I bought it. If I sell it to buy a VW or Mini Cooper, someone else will still be driving the Expedition. I'll drive it till it drops then buy another one. My next, hopefully, will be more advanced MPG Hybrid. >>Grow more plants and help clean up the air! >>Another thing you could do is leave your car at home and take the bus. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > drops then buy another one. My next, hopefully, will be more > advanced MPG Hybrid. Current VWs are not so good with mpg, and even worse with dependability. Warranty has gone downhill as well. Females are (all) resource hogs by nature. They can't help it. No apology expected for such behavior. Dave >> We don't have transportation up in Round Rock other than by car. Yes, >> I have a huge Expedition. No, I wasn't thinking about the environment [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >nature. They can't help it. No apology expected for such behavior. >Dave Huh? I haven't a clue what you are talking about. Can you be a bit less cryptic please? I give far more back to the land, air and people then I've ever taken. Broad strokes, my friend, are ridiculous. I have no apology, so no worries. >>Current VWs are not so good with mpg, and even worse with dependability. >>Warranty has gone downhill as well. Females are (all) resource hogs by >>nature. They can't help it. No apology expected for such behavior. >>Dave > > Huh? I haven't a clue what you are talking about. I gave up trying to understand him on the first post. -sw >>>Current VWs are not so good with mpg, and even worse with dependability. >>>Warranty has gone downhill as well. Females are (all) resource hogs by [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >-sw Ya never know who is on the other end of this monitor. Oh well. I must be a resource hog! >>>>Current VWs are not so good with mpg, and even worse with dependability. >>>>Warranty has gone downhill as well. Females are (all) resource hogs by [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Ya never know who is on the other end of this monitor. Oh well. I > must be a resource hog! I'm not the one riding all over Travis and surrounding counties in a gas hog to save a few dollars on some plant, or to maybe find one you think is cute. Not spotlighting you in particular. Its just one symptom in many in the big picture of resource management that's not managed. Dave >I'm not the one riding all over Travis and surrounding counties in a gas hog >to save a few dollars on some plant, or to maybe find one you think is cute. >Not spotlighting you in particular. Its just one symptom in many in the big >picture of resource management that's not managed. >Dave Driving all over town to find a cute plant? What arey you talking about? I didn't buy any plants this year. I grow from divisions, swaps, and seeds. I fill my truck up about one time a month, which is far less gas many other people use. My truck is ten years old and just turned 62.000 miles, most of which was long distance to New York, Wisconsin and The Grand Canyon. If you want to be managed, by all means move to Cuba. You will be completely managed. > If you want to be managed, by all means move to Cuba. You will be > completely managed. Please don't feed the trolls. :)  SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com >> If you want to be managed, by all means move to Cuba. You will be >> completely managed. > >Please don't feed the trolls. :) Sorry, momentary lapse into childhood! :) > >I'm not the one riding all over Travis and surrounding counties in a gas hog > >to save a few dollars on some plant, or to maybe find one you think is cute. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > If you want to be managed, by all means move to Cuba. You will be > completely managed. Want some birdhouse gourd seeds? I still have excess... SignaturePeace, Om Remove _ to validate e-mails. "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson >Want some birdhouse gourd seeds? > >I still have excess... My husband wants to know what I plan on doing with the 30 gourds I have been hauling for a few years now! All dried, waiting for holes and paint. I mean, we have the Martins all over. To be honest, I don't have ONE more spot anywhere on this half acre to put another thing. I think I really have to take things out, divide, pot them up and sell them back to the garden centers in spring. I made 20 or so brugmansia's, all getting huge, in addition to the ones I have. Then there are the vitex I potted up as seedlings with nowhere to plant them. I made the huge, enormous, gigantic mistake of planting a sumac. That thing would hold California together in the big one! So, you are sweet to offer, but I haven't a place to plant them. >>Want some birdhouse gourd seeds? >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > So, you are sweet to offer, but I haven't a place to plant them. Speaking of vitex - I have a big one right behind a medium large mimosa that catch the sun at the end of the day. When flowering, like now, the colors glow brilliantly and compliment each other quite well. It was dumb luck on my part planting them in that location but I was running out of room elsewhere - a theme becoming more common on this group :-( >Speaking of vitex - I have a big one right behind a medium large mimosa >that catch the sun at the end of the day. When flowering, like now, the >colors glow brilliantly and compliment each other quite well. It was >dumb luck on my part planting them in that location but I was running >out of room elsewhere - a theme becoming more common on this group :-( I have a mimosa in a pot for two years now with nowhere to plant it. I think I've come up with an answer. When I first moved to Texas I thought those purple foliaged, non-fruiting plum trees would do well. I miss my red maples, what can I say. So, anyhoo, I happen to have that planted next to the vitex. My husband asked if I'd want to cut that tree down since it is pretty mangy by mid-summer. I think I'll do that. Cut it down and plant the mimosa there. Thanks for the idea! One less pot to water, only 40 to go! On another note, we had to replace two lights in the pool and the guy who came laughed because he too is a gardener. He said he felt like he was in South America. He's pretty close, as most of what I grow is marginally South American. night to all, Victoria > Speaking of vitex - I have a big one right behind a medium large mimosa > that catch the sun at the end of the day. When flowering, like now, the > colors glow brilliantly and compliment each other quite well. It was > dumb luck on my part planting them in that location but I was running > out of room elsewhere - a theme becoming more common on this group :-( I was not familiar with Vitex so just googled it. Hardy and a butterfly attractor? :-) I've been planting Lantana next to Pentas and that combo seems to attract more flying flowers, but the Pentas need more water than Lantanas. I may have to consider some Vitex out front. How big do they get? SignaturePeace, Om Remove _ to validate e-mails. "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson >> Speaking of vitex - I have a big one right behind a medium large mimosa >> that catch the sun at the end of the day. When flowering, like now, the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >I may have to consider some Vitex out front. How big do they get? I have two, white and 'Carolina Blue' and they are both upwards of fifteen feet. They can get twenty five feet, easily, in ten years. They are very large shrubs. Hummingbirds also love them. > >> Speaking of vitex - I have a big one right behind a medium large mimosa > >> that catch the sun at the end of the day. When flowering, like now, the [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > fifteen feet. They can get twenty five feet, easily, in ten years. > They are very large shrubs. Hummingbirds also love them. Hm. I have little enough open sun as it is. Those would have to be relegated to the front of the driveway, or maybe the southeast corner of the house. Will they do well in partial sun? SignaturePeace, Om Remove _ to validate e-mails. "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson >Hm. >I have little enough open sun as it is. >Those would have to be relegated to the front of the driveway, or maybe >the southeast corner of the house. > >Will they do well in partial sun? They will be more sparse, but yes they do flower in some shade. One which came up from seed is now 8 feet tall and it is flowering under the Paulownia. It's in the ground, not a container. I've seen people flank their driveway with these and they just keep them pruned neatly. They do need shaping every year and tend to have a lot of waterspout growth. You do know what that is, right? If not, I can explain it. > >Hm. > >I have little enough open sun as it is. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > They do need shaping every year and tend to have a lot of waterspout > growth. You do know what that is, right? If not, I can explain it. Could not find a definition on google, but I presume that is excessive top branching? I'm always up for an education. SignaturePeace, Om Remove _ to validate e-mails. "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson >> >Hm. >> >I have little enough open sun as it is. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >I'm always up for an education. The term "waterspout" when used to describe a type of growth on a plant, tree or shrub is describing a branch growing up in the center of the branch and usually is found in the center of the plant. These shoots which grow upward on branches need to be removed, usually. They are mostly never going to flower and it puts a strain on the plant with added weight. Was that a good description? >>>>Hm. >>>>I have little enough open sun as it is. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > are mostly never going to flower and it puts a strain on the plant > with added weight. Was that a good description? If I may, I think the term is "watersprout". DT (At least it's googlable. ;-) ) >If I may, I think the term is "watersprout". > >DT >(At least it's googlable. ;-) ) Eh, I'm on brain drain! You're correct. Thanks for the notation. Victoria > >Want some birdhouse gourd seeds? > > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > thing. I think I really have to take things out, divide, pot them up > and sell them back to the garden centers in spring. Once you cut the holes, you can harvest the seeds. Just shake them out. :-) I cut the holes with a dremel tool. Paint is useless. The natural coating on the gourd has caused mine to peel off in short order if I tried it! I just clean the outside well and coated with a bit of flat varnish. They seem to last for about 6 years. Don't forget the drain holes in the bottom! I cut three 1/2" holes in the bottom too. Otherwise in a rain, the nest will fill with water and the babies will drown. I get house wrens nesting in the few that I've actually made over the past few years but it's about time to replace them. I should have planted some sooner but with the long growing season, I should get a few gourds. I've only got about 6 houses up and 3 of them are usually used each year. House wrens are death on garden bugs when they are feeding a brood. Average number of kidlets is usually 5. > I made 20 or so brugmansia's, all getting huge, Vines or bushes? > in addition to the > ones I have. Then there are the vitex I potted up as seedlings with > nowhere to plant them. I made the huge, enormous, gigantic mistake of > planting a sumac. That thing would hold California together in the > big one! Try taking the Vitex to a nursery and do some horse trading? I used to do that with Lemon Balm. I could probably do it with catnip, but I end up using too much of it. We have several cats and I give a lot away to other cat owners since mine is grown with no pesticides. I've never had pests eat the catmint anyway... I want to start a collection of Daturas. They are hardy and a low water consumer and OH so pretty! Lowe's is getting a greater variety of colors of Lantana. I just put 3 more in front last week. More saturated colors than I've seen in the past. Ever planted a Mexican Oregano? BEAUTIFUL perennial! blooms pale trumpet shaped purple blossoms all summer long and the leaves are useful for cooking and to me, taste similar to marjoram. I started with a 4" plant about 6 or 7 years ago and it's now 3 ft. tall. It is also a low water consumer along with Rosemary, creeping Thyme and Dittany Of Crete. > So, you are sweet to offer, but I haven't a place to plant them. Okay. :-) Its' often fun to do plant and seed trading. SignaturePeace, Om Remove _ to validate e-mails. "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson >Vines or bushes? Brugmansia is not a vine, it is a small tree. In the high mountains of Peru they get 20 feet tall or more, loaded with tons of beautiful trumpets facing downward. What vine are you talking about? >Try taking the Vitex to a nursery and do some horse trading? >I used to do that with Lemon Balm. I could probably do it with catnip, >but I end up using too much of it. We have several cats and I give a lot >away to other cat owners since mine is grown with no pesticides. Yes, I do sell to The Natural Gardener, The Great Outdoors, and Barton Springs. >I want to start a collection of Daturas. I used to collect them. I have D.metel, D.inoxia, D.wrightii out in the garden now. They need a bit more water than I'd like them to need, but will wilt during heat of the day and plump up at night. They wilt on purpose. All nightshades have this ability. They also re-seed readily. I have planted Mexican oregano. I don't have enough sun any more. > >Vines or bushes? > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > What vine are you talking about? I may simply be mistaken. I saw a picture once (I think Nick posted it) of a lovely vine on a trellis that looked a lot like Datura. At that time, I'd never heard of Brugmansias. That was what he told me it was! :-) I've grown Moon Vines, but those are related to (and look like) morning glories except a lot bigger! Those attracted a lot of hummingbird moths at night. Big white nocturnal flowers. > >Try taking the Vitex to a nursery and do some horse trading? > >I used to do that with Lemon Balm. I could probably do it with catnip, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Yes, I do sell to The Natural Gardener, The Great Outdoors, and Barton > Springs. Cool. As easy as plant propagation is, I'm surprised that more of us don't try to make money off of it. I need to make a better effort at Air Layering some of my perennial herbs. My succulents have been my biggest success. I need to cut buds and pot a bunch of San Pedro one of these days. > >I want to start a collection of Daturas. > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > wilt on purpose. All nightshades have this ability. They also > re-seed readily. The white wild ones (aka Jimson weed) used to grow wild in the Mojave foothills in California where we lived when I was growing up. We were warned to never try to ingest them. <G> It was pretty dry and they did fine. They are built for low water conditions. It's one of the main reasons that I've considered them for landscaping. Those, Lantana and Wandering Jew. > I have planted Mexican oregano. I don't have enough sun any more. Bummer. The West side of my house gets no shade. The herbs are along side the driveway there and the bed is about 15 ft. long and maybe 1 inches wide. The Mexican Oregano (now a small bush) is right at the corner of the house. I need to take current photos of it. Prune the trees girl! ;-) You could probably consult with a tree surgeon and see what they have to say. SignaturePeace, Om Remove _ to validate e-mails. "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson > > >Vines or bushes? > > [quoted text clipped - 59 lines] > side the driveway there and the bed is about 15 ft. long and maybe 1 > inches wide. Sorry to answer my own post... That should have read "18 inches wide"! > The Mexican Oregano (now a small bush) is right at the > corner of the house. I need to take current photos of it. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > You could probably consult with a tree surgeon and see what they have to > say. SignaturePeace, Om Remove _ to validate e-mails. "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson >I may simply be mistaken. >I saw a picture once (I think Nick posted it) of a lovely vine on a >trellis that looked a lot like Datura. At that time, I'd never heard of >Brugmansias. Datura and Brugmansia are not the same thing. They changed the taxonomy about ten years or more ago. Based on flower parts and that they are both in the solanace family, they are alike, but different plants altogether. >That was what he told me it was! :-) > >I've grown Moon Vines, but those are related to (and look like) morning >glories except a lot bigger! Those attracted a lot of hummingbird moths >at night. These are nothing like Ipomoea alba aka moonflower. >As easy as plant propagation is, I'm surprised that more of us don't try >to make money off of it. It's a lot easier with a greenhouse, which I have. >The white wild ones (aka Jimson weed) used to grow wild in the Mojave >foothills in California where we lived when I was growing up. We were >warned to never try to ingest them. <G> If you are talking about Datura stramonium, you are right. They are much more drought tolerant and don't wilt as much in heat. Of all the Datura's, D.stramonium is my least favorite. The flowers are very small. The ones I have, D. wrightii has flowers 8" across, I have 'Double White Purity' and 'Cornucopia' which are also doubles, but purple. I can't get enough of them. >You could probably consult with a tree surgeon and see what they have to >say. Eh, this isn't the last house we'll live in. When my mother moves down from New York (she lives ON the water ON Long Island, so it's going to take a crowbar to get her down here) she'll buy a house outright cash, so we'll most likely take that house when she isn't with us any more. Then again, we may sell it all and buy our RV Motorcoach and travel full time. We'll see what my health has to say when that time comes. || A new Yahoo group has been formed for people who use Capital || Metro busses in Austin Texas That will likely be a large group... NOT! Signature-- The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not. -- Mark Twain "Since early 2005, more than 150 million personal records have been exposed in dozens of incidents, according to information compiled by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. " - Companies that collect this data must be held accountable for its security. > || A new Yahoo group has been formed for people who use Capital > || Metro busses in Austin Texas > > That will likely be a large group... NOT! Remember, Lee Walker says "Empty buses are a myth". SignatureGary Brady Austin, TX >> || A new Yahoo group has been formed for people who use Capital >> || Metro busses in Austin Texas >> >> That will likely be a large group... NOT! > > Remember, Lee Walker says "Empty buses are a myth". It is a myth - I've never seen a bus on the road without a driver ;-) |
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