I have not done a rooting from my snowball bush but may try since you mentioned it. You want to take a cutting with a clean knife or shears (you don’t want to introduce bacteria on the cutting) from one of the flexible softwood stems. Leave about two or three leaves on the stem. I would recommend getting some sterilised potting soil and use it for the rooting. Place the potting soil in the container (I save my old nursery pots for this) and thoroughly soak the potting soil until you are sure it is completely soaked. If you have rooting hormone, then dip the cutting into water, gently shake off the excess water and dip the cutting into the rooting hormone, and then poke a hole in the potting soil with a pencil. Place the cutting into the hole and push the soil around the cutting. You want to keep the potting soil moist but not overly saturated with water. Don’t let the potting soil dry out.
If you need to take a cutting away from home where you can not immediately take care of the cutting, then you can wrap the cutting in wet paper towels or place the cutting in a jar of water for transport. Good luck on your rooting.
I have no problem with getting rid of mice as they can carry diseases and their droppings can cause respiratory problems including death. First, store your sweet potatoes in a place that stays at least 50F. Place them in wooden boxes with a lid to keep the mice out. The best way to eliminate mice in the home is with traps. I know some don’t like to kill animals, even mice. In that case you would use a no-kill trap and release back outdoors but they will just come right back in. Mice like to live in your house. I use the spring loaded traps baited with peanut butter and you need to set several traps because mice have learn to avoid being poison by passing up one food source and only eating small amounts from one source. I don’t use poison because for one, the mice can die in your house causing more problems. Remember that mice, like any mammal can carry rabies so don’t handle live wild mice with your hands. If you are ever bitten by a mouse, you will need to seek rabies treatment. I am a person that loves animals, however, in the case of mice, the risk to our health is too great to not eliminate them from our homes.
The sweet potatoes in the corn was a one-time thing. I don’t really see a way to plant sweet potatoes in a corn row but you could always try.
Hi there, I like your info on sweet taters. I have a couple questions though…
Every year I plant sweet potatoes I get a great yield and it’s always more than we can eat. But, mice and other rodents have a tendency to also enjoy my sweet potatoes and often chew huge holes in them.. Do you know anyway to potentially stop these varmints? Organically and ethically of course.
Also, you had said some of your sweet potatoes ended up growing in your corn rows. Have you ever intentionally planted sweet potatoes in the corn rows? I know people will plant beans and squash in the corn patch. Wonder if sweet potatoes would work?
Thanks and I like your site!
Yes, they are common and I think tend to be the variety sold at a lot of garden shops. They are easy to root so if you know someone that has one, they can take a branch down to the ground, weigh it down, and place soil over the branch. It will take root and then you can cut if from the main and plant it.
As for taste, very yummy!
I did a google search for ‘grasshopper house’ wondering if there would be a pic of these on the web. My Grandmother taught me to make these back in the 1970’s. I miss her and those simpler times very much.
Yes, I remember making the shooters as well. You use a grasshopper weed as the “gun” and you pull another grasshopper weed through it and the head pops off and goes flying towards your target.
This is the only place Ifound on internet that had this! My boyfriend, brother, his girlfriend and I were sitting outside yesterday waiting for a storm to come through and we were shooting these grasshopper weedsat each other. M and my brother showed them how to do it and told them our Papa showed us how to. Then I remembered using the same weeds for grasshopper houses that he taught us how to do, also, but I could not think of how to make it. I remembered how to place it on my fingers and start it, but that’snall I remembered. My boyfriend asked me what shaped it was, but i was thinkin square not trapezoid. Anyway, I just knew I had to look it up. I do’t have kids yet, but when I do I want to show them. Thank you so much for this, and thanks for the flower background also. I have a morning glory tattoo on my thigh for my Papa because he is the reason they are my favorite flower so I thought that was ironic in a very good way. I miss him so much and he died when I was in the 7th grade, so this is bitter/sweet for me and I love it. No matter how many years and how many tears I love every thought that reminds me of him.
Yes, a lot of hard work. Carrying those stones from the property was very hard work. Digging the beds and mixing in the compost and topsoil is hard work too. However, all that hard work pays off in beautiful flowers that I get to enjoy.
Very nice. They always make a big deal here over the Rocky Ford cantaloupe crop. Supposedly, the hot days, cool nights, and elevation make them especially sweet.
It’s possible that the plant crossed with one of the other peppers you have. I know you never plant bell (green peppers and Jalapeno) next to each other as they can cross.
Sleep on your side in the fetal position, and try not to exert your back until it has healed. When you sit, putting your feet on a low stool will take some strain off the lower back.
A cross between Concords and white grapes. Bust ‘em out, K., I’ll bet they are both tangy and sweet. Are they seedless? To gain all the benefits of the fiber and the antioxidants it is important to chew the skin thoroughly.
In this part of the world, they recommend dividing them just about right now. We have some that have been have been here forever - we just keep moving them around and dividing them up. I love them. Thanks for the reminder. I might just get out there this weekend and work on a patch or two.
Hardwoods are deciduous trees such as oaks, maples, elms, etc.
Double ground means that the mulch is ground twice making it a finer mulch. It usually only last one season and has to be reapplied in the spring.
Hi secret corners
Thank you for the mulch advise. We were buying large quantities and some one from the area was stealing it I think. Which happens to be very annoying. So, that is why I want smaller quantities so it will be easily stored or used fairly quickly.
Do you know what constitutes as hard wood. I hope some of our trees are made from hard wood too.
I will try to find a good quality mulcher because if yours is double mulched that means that likely we will have to mulch it twice, I am guessing.
Thanks for the info.
I was talking to a woman tonight at Lowe’s Home Improvement about growing figs. She was from the north and I explained to her that they would freeze back to the ground each year in the north and is why she never saw them growing up north.
I love figs! They taste so good and they are easy to grow if watered adequately. I don’t know the variety names of those I have, but they are growing very well here in coastal Texas.
Yes, they are a pretty addition to a garden. In warmer climates they can be planted directly into the ground; in colder climates they have to winter over inside.