I just let them freeze, unless it gets REALLY cold, like low single digits. Then I toss them in the greenhouse.
And they are plastic pots, not clay, so they dont break.

Carolyn

Does two sisters count? I like to plant yam vines up my outdoor trees.  The tree roots make it hard to harvest the yams, but it sure is pretty!

I don't know about southern locales, but up here in the north where the ground freezes, tree roots go into a resting phase in the winter. Unlike the tree inself, which may go totally dormant, during the winter the roots remain ready to grow, and regardless of air temps, will grow if the soil temps are warm enough. Snow cover helps insulate the roots to protect them from freezing.

Carolyn

Whoa! That is one big lizard!
I had a Nile Monitor, which is very similar to a goanna. Fast and mean. Her name was Godzilla and she lived up to it. Got loose one day and had my cat pinned on top of the fridge when I got home. Her only claim to fame was that she didn't bite me TOO often...

Love the cassowaries, too, but yeah, I would NOT want one in my garden.  I am guessing they would rather fight than leave!

Carolyn

Hi Ellie!
That is my granddaughter's name, also!

I am in the US, so I like to hit any African or Asian markets that I can find.
Uwajimaya is a favorite for "in person" shopping.

There are some mail order places in Florida that I like, and the local grocery stores are now carrying jackfruit on a regular basis!

Are you growing anything yourself, or just shopping?

Cheers,
Carolyn

Wonderful to see non-lethal Aussie snakes!!!

Brian,
I have put a couple of little garter snakes in my greenhouse, but they always disappear.  I think they open the door at night...  hope your quail are all doing well!

Jaboticaba45,
Both Brian and I have tiny quail in our greenhouses.  They are AWESOME for insect cleanup!  Every time I move a pot they come running to eat the bugs.  They are especially fond of little beetles and centipedes.
Mine are Chinese Painted Quail, also called King Quail. They "laugh" a lot, which always makes me smile.

I have been very happy with the anoles.  They are total murder on ants.  They eat the spiders too, which doesn't thrill me, but I guess it is survival of the fastest! The anoles WERE getting a bit hungry after they cleaned up the ant population (I could see their ribs...), so I captured them one day and tossed them in a plastic tub with a bunch of crickets.  One of them managed to shove three crickets in his mouth at once!  So I figure I will just catch them every so often and feed them.  I tried turning crickets loose in the greenhouse, but the quail gobbled them up before the anoles found them.  The anoles like to be way up high and the crickets stay on the ground.

The only issue I have had with wildlife in the greenhouse is that I think I may have a jaguar problem.  A couple of people have gone missing out there...

Cheers!
Carolyn

In Idaho, we have a big problem with nutrient runoff into the river, both synthetic phosphorus and organic nitrogen.   It doesn't seem to matter if it is organic or not, it is all chemicals. 

By practicing correct nutrient management techniques, conservation drainage practices (which I suspect may be difficult, up to impossible in Florida due to high water tables and porous soils), ground covers and conservation tillage, the problem can be solved, whether we use organic or synthetically sourced products.

Personally, my problem with organics is that it is hard to tell what is actually being put into the soil and what the plants are able to use. 

I ran a fertilizer test in my greenhouse, and sent many potting soil samples off for lab analysis and was heartened to find that my synthetic fertilizers were not adversely affecting the microorganisms I was trying to encourage.  On the flip side, my organically fertilized plants were not getting enough of key nutrients. Of course, this was all in pots...

No matter what the source of the nutrients, as long as the results are good, the environment is protected,  sound science is used and results are verifiable, it seems like a "win" all around to me!

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!
Carolyn

Yep, I agree that it is sesame.

Lebmung, I think you are probably tilting at windmills.
If your soil is heavy and waterlogged in the fall, the plants are saying they need less water at that time of year.

Carolyn

It looks like black knot disease.  Like most fungal diseases, there is no cure, just mitigation.
A lot of trees can tolerate it with no harm, but I would not buy any tree that is already infected.
You may want to point it out to the nursery manager at Lowes. They should also notify the producer...

Cheers, Carolyn

So the trick is you have to check the WHOLE stone, so I wouldn't be able to guess, from a single angle, whether your seed is male or female.  I have found that sometimes you can scrape the stone to make the eyes easier to see.
Each eye has a darker center, a slightly paler edge, and then a fine line, which is where you would place a knife blade to pry the eye out.  The eyes are NOT perfectly round.  They may be roundish, or more oblong.   

Also, if you planted some in soil, and they have NOT germinated yet, just dig them up, scrape them off with a sharp pocket knife, then pry the lids off the eyes.  Then you will know for sure if they are make or female, and which eyes are "good". I planted some on July 12 of this year, and the trees are over a foot tall.  Will post shortly.

Hope this helps!

In this picture, you can three eyes. One on each point of the stone.


Here is another angle, where you can see two eyes.  You can also see the knife marks where I have cleaned the stone to find the eyes.


Another angle.


The last angle, where I discovered that this stone actually has FOUR eyes.  The fourth eye was very hard to see with my eyes, but it showed up on the photo. The eye on the left is more oblong, the eye on the right is more round, and the eyes are almost touching each other.