All summer, I begged for rain and got little or nothing. Now, when I don't need it badly because it is cooler, and the farmers don't need it because they would like their corn and beans to dry, Mother Nature has decided to bless us with rain every few days. We started getting some yesterday and today there is more and tomorrow it will still fall with predictions of 2 to 4 inches by the time it is over. This isn't allowing us to have our basement walls dug out and straightened, either. How's your rainfall doing?
The other thing I wanted to ask is, do you collect and store pollen for future use? I have found this year that I certainly should have collect last year. I've had no useable pollen. The heat took it all earlier and now, the bees are flying rampant over and into the brugs. There isn't a grain of pollen to be found anyplace. I wonder how many crosses have been made out there, tho. LOL! Bet in a couple of weeks I'll see dozens of pods growing. Too bad I can't train my bees.
Those ARE long tendrils, Shirley! Looks very spidery.
We got a bit of rain the night before last...probably less than 1/4". This is our drought season, but likely to end very soon. It's now a race to see how many tomatoes we can get to ripen before the rains come & ruin the plants (late blight sets in when it gets wet here).
I haven't tried collecting/saving pollen. Do you store it in the refrigerator? How long will it remain viable?
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
This message has been edited by Celtguy on Sep 10, 2006 1:17 PM This message has been edited by Celtguy on Sep 10, 2006 1:16 PM
I've been told by Kyle Courtney that pollen will be viable for two years, stored in the fridge. The ABADS seed banker stores the pollen in the freezer, I think for the same amount of time before disposing of it. Pollen does have to be dried for a couple of days in a dark, dry place, before putting in containers to go into the freezer or fridge.
We generally get an early blight on our tomatoes from too much water, so I have started using the red plastic mulch under them and that has saved me tomatoes for the last three years. I think they say the fruit will ripen quicker with that mulch under the plants, but I'm not so sure about that.
I am glad someone still has tomatoes - mine "fried" so to speak. And the rain that was predicted for today went somewhere else - perhaps to you, Shirley. I would take quite a bit at this time before I "complained" as we are still so terribly dry. I received a little over an inch last week-end, but it dries out quickly when the temps go back into the 90's. I do have brug buds though that I am watching with anticipation - would like to see one good flush this year - then I will regroup and start over next year!!!!
Carrie, I wish you had this rain. LOL! I think for many of us, this was just a bum year. Hopefully things will be better next summer. Now, the fight is on the get everything done before frost. Generally, we don't get a killing frost right away, but sure as I don't get all the cuttings taken, this year it would surprise me. I hope you get some rain again soon.
August and September are our monsoon season, I think we are below average, but I'm not having to water my lawn. I do water by hand the plants in the back if we don't get a hard rain. Today we are getting a lot of rain. I didn't think we were going to get any rain today but while Linda was over visiting and we were sitting outside, it started to pour and hasn't stopped.
Michele
Jacksonville, Fl
Zone 9a
Nature, in order to be commanded must be obeyed. Sir Francis Bacon
Shirley... I am in the same boat as you with the rain. No rain all summer and for the past 3 days we have been flooded. I am having to take newly rooted cuttings out of their pots and add dry soil so they don't rot. It's always something!
I collected most of my pollen last winter and stored it in the freezer. I am just now begining to see pollen again on the blooms so will now begin taping the bottom of the blooms so I can get it before the bees do or contaminate it. If you figure out how to train them bees.... let me know....LOL... No crosses have took all summer. I just tried again a few days ago and so far the bloom is holding so maybe this time.
Your beautiful Day Dreams has a big flush that will be opening tonight or tomorrow. Of course now I have the rain to ruin them this time. I guess I am destined to see this one in action during the winter in the greenhouse!
We still need rain!! We get a sprinkle yesterday morning and another one late evening but that was it. I'm so sick of seeing all my plants so stressed and wilted.
Our rainfall has been about perfect the last 3 weeks, I have only had to water the Brugs in the 1/2 barrels. It is the lessening sunlight/strenght and the falling temperatures I am racing here.
It was 47F early this morning and my larger leaves are yellowing and falling fast. It's getting to the point I need the step ladder to reach them .
I am starting to get blooms again just today, with lots of buds ( small) in the offing so will keep an eye on the blooms for pollen.
Here it is grasshoppers I am seeing lots of but thus far they are not bothering the Brugs.
I just came in from checking for pollen and found just a tiny bit in a new bloom on Mtn. Magic. I put it on Northern Peaks just to see if it would take in all of this humidity. Harlot is loaded with probably a hundred or more blooms on her and no pollen at all. I checked Maya, the new girls, and some other pinks in the yard and no pollen. By the way, have I said lately that I'm sick of pink? Absolutely everything but two seedlings, Axel Rose, and Maya is PINK!!
You have probably mentioned that as many times as I have mentioned how much I like pink--LOL. But I do agree that a variety of colors makes it much more interesting. My CG is so heavily loaded with buds, he fell over last night - I have him propped up with a bench - I really do not want anything to happen to this flush.
I will probably end up like Shirley and Bren on the rainfall - either feast or famime. We don't normally get our first frost until after Thanksgiving, so I still have time to get rain before it gets too cool.
Rainfall adding up... if pictures speak louder than words... then I present to you, my feet... lol! By the way, the high temp was 91 and it didn't rain today, these were taken shortly after midnight.
When it rains the water is deeper for atleast that day, but it hasn't been drier than this in about a month!
Pollen, not so much on the Brugs... I took some out of the fridge last night and painted away... we'll see what happens.
Lynne
USDA Zone 9b
Heat Zone 10
Bradenton, Florida
We've had plenty of rain all summer. I wish I could have shared it with some of you that were dry.
The slugs loved it and multiplied in abundance. Yesterday when bringing my Hibiscus in I found slugs covering the bottom of the pots. They were everywhere.
Summer is over here. We had our first frost warning last night.
The last two days have been spent digging Brugs up and bringing them into the GH. My other potted plants are all inside now too.
I haven't got a lick of pollen this year either.
It's hard to believe that your summer is over, Terry. It's way too soon. I know I'll soon be in your shoes and the rush will be on to get everything put away. I may start with some of the tropical now, so they don't shock as badly coming in. The brugs have to wait. I hate fall because there is so much work. I can't imagine having to clear off my flower beds again. Seems like they just got started.
Look at those muddy feetsies LOL, Shirley I love those long tendrils, does this one have a name? it's a beauty.
We got rain today, long and slow, right after we planted some fall greens in the garden, so the seeds should sprout nicely now. We desperately needed some rain, and I"m so pleasedhttp://www.network54.com/Realm/Bobky/yes2.gif
This is a rain report from Copper Canyon, Texas ===== 1.58 inches of rain fell here today and tonight - the most at one time since last March. I will not have to water tomorrow - so, Shirley, I am going to celebrate your birthday by doing something nice for myself.
In fact, I may even do a little shopping - woohoo- it's been awhile!!
Carrie, I'm really happy for you that you finally got GOOD rainfall. I hope you enjoy your freedom tomorrow! We're really very dry here & it's time for our rainy season to begin...but I can't remember a year when I've been more reluctant to give up our summer sun. We have months of dreary rain, dark & dampness lying ahead of us.
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
That is why I could not live in Seattle, Patrick. I need the sunshine often or I go into depression. Guess with all the heat and drought, I am probably exactly where I need to be. It does feel good this morning to look out and see everything almost standing at attention - they loved the rain.
I understand how you feel Patrick.
It's such a very long cold winter up here that I really hate to give summer up this year.
Especially since due to all the rain we had in June and then the abnormal heat wave the Brugs were set way back and produced very few blooms.
Of course now that it's time to dig them up they are starting to get full of buds.
I need one more month of summer but I'm not going to get it.
Terry, my heart breaks for you. I don't mind the hard work and the set-backs as long as I see results in the end. You really deserve to see them bloom. Sometimes MN just isn't fair.
Shirley, my feet are slowly drying from the walk around the yard this morning, but it rained last night so the swamp is actually deeper than it was when I took the pictures.
I think the worst part is the mosquitoes, but the frogs have started laying eggs in the yard, so hopefully the tadpoles will eat the mosquito larvae.
Patrick, how do you feel about mushrooms? I bet there are a ton up there and fall/early winter would be perfect for finding them. There are probably some choice edibles growing somewhere near you. I just checked the book, you should have Chicken mushrooms, we found a couple of them in New York. They're great when fresh, lightly fried with a little butter, they have delicate texture, and they taste, well, like chicken. Oh, and Shaggy Manes make an excellent mushroom soup. Always have any wild picked mushrooms checked by a professional before you eat them though, wouldn't want to make a mistake with them. If you can't tell, I miss mushroom hunting, we haven't found any down here that we could positively identify as edible. Plenty of deadly ones though, and even if we can't eat them, they're still beautiful.
Terry, we're hoping for lots of greenhouse blooms for you.
Lynne
USDA Zone 9b
Heat Zone 10
Bradenton, Florida
Lynne, we do have a lot of mushrooms here...more kinds than I'm even aware of. The only ones I've ever eaten were morels, which I did like. After the first fall rains seems to be a prime time to hunt them & places where there have been fires are good sites. 2 years ago I took visitors from Australia on a drive thru the Cascade Mtns. and we stopped at a national park & hiked up a long trail to see a great waterfall. We ran into 3 European men who had a grocery store shopping basket filled with a variety of 'shrooms...I have no idea whether they were all edible.
I dug around and found these pics from that trip; particularly wanted to share the pic of the little fungi "village"...looks like something built by fairies, doesn't it? They were growing amongst some surface roots at the base of tree, right along the trail.
takes a lot of rain to grow moss & ferns on tree trunks!
yours truly
a friendly "local"
the waterfall we went to see
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
Great pictures. I love the mushroom picture. We have a lot of toadstools, I call them, growing now. I found a stinkhorn the other day. Unusual to look at but no fun to be around , thus the name, I guess.
We've got a few showers& at least its not as HOT now.Knightti& Cypress Gardens are ready to bloom again& one of the pink seedlings has a nice tall trunk ready to share its 1st flush.I'm banging my head with a nutrition problem(but am just guessing its a nutrition problem cause can't see a bug.........)3 sets of seeds I've sowed have just sprouted this week.1 butterfly x Creamsickle & 1 KBS x Supernova.I've also been danceing in the yard.My orchid cacti has got BUDS forming.I've waited for 3 years. For me..........I'M MN in my own yard in my role..lol I'm definately gonna utileize my 2 soaker hoses next year that are collecting cobwebs on my garden shed's floor.I hope my brugs do much better next year.
Joy, both of your brug crosses sound great...I'll be especially interested in seeing what develops with the KBS x Supernova...sounds like great potential.
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
They are from the BGI seed bank.KBSxSupernova is a cross by Gary Morales.ButterflyXCreamsickle is a cross by Brenda morales.KBS has been growing great.I hope more of the seeds sprout.
I'm enjoying the cooler temps.Knightti is blooming.This time there is a slight sceant.If I shove my nose in it..........and 2 of my canna seedlings are fixing to bloom.Will be bloom 4&5.2&3 took after parent(someone said is a robert kent canna?)I wouldn't mind some rain though.......I feel like my garden hose spends alot of time with me.
Patrick, those pictures are beautiful. They remind both of us of the mountains in NY. The ones of you, the tree, and the waterfall look very similar to the area we walked through on several occasions. I love the little shroom village and that tree with moss and ferns, and your little chipmunk friend is adorable too.
The guys you ran into with the basket of mushrooms, I kinda wonder if any of the shrooms had blue finger prints on them, from bruising after being handled, lol.
Lynne
USDA Zone 9b
Heat Zone 10
Bradenton, Florida
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