60+ year old thread.

@Oldie2007
Lots of ways to skin a cat. Many years ago, my mother was into growing African Violets. It was a hobby, and she had lots of blue ribbons for her efforts. She had my father make up some large metal trays with 2" lips to hold water. Screens on top allowed her to use bathroom dixie cups with yarn wicks to hang into the water. A dozen trays at counter height in the basement, Grow Lux lights, and plastic sheeting for humidity control. She got extremely angry at me for suggesting she grow pot!

 

Wife has wonderful orchids in the sunroom. Personally, I torture vegetables in the Texas heat for fun! Some years, we get to eat some!~

And I should have said in the first place, it's amazing what our parents did with stuff!

 

My dad used to breed his own African violets. Same thing. He had the grow lights, trays, all that stuff. Then they moved and I don't know what happened to all his plants. Don't think he did it for anything other than enjoyment. Wish I had some pics of them. They were beautiful.

 

Evening all:
Sue!!!!

I remember my grandmother having a room full of African violets and Christmas Cactus's, and her watering them. If I remember correct, she would cut off a leaf and stem, place it in a glass of water until it produced roots, then plant it in a pot and grow a new plant, geez, that was over 64 yrs. ago!

 

Evening Carl. Yup, cutting a leaf and putting it in vermiculite to root - Now that you mention it, I do remember him doing that.

 

Had to google vermiculite...new brain wrinkle.

 

Yep, that's what my mother did too. She'd root them in a dixie cup, and grow show plants from them. She'd use popsicle sticks in the soil to coax the plant's leaves to grow in a perfect circle pattern. They'd get to be the size of a large beachball, perfectly shaped. The sad part of it all was that neither she nor her friends would invite others to their homes to admire the plants because of the risk of cross contamination with mites and such. The only time anyone saw other members plants was during a flower show. Crazy hobby, but not near as crazy as some Tacoma lovers!

 

I think my sister is still tending African Violet's that came from the kitchen window of my grandparents farmhouse in Indiana (40 years ago now). She also has a shamrock from that house that was in the dining room window. Amazing the lifetimes and travel of hand-me-down plants. My dad took starts of grandpas stand of rubarb down to southern Missouri - and though we are long gone from the neighborhood, driving down the street there......there are survivors in gardens up and down the block!

 

Who'da thunk the common thread between Tacoma owners would have been African Violets?

 

Good morning, All!

I can't wait for Ken's time to be up - sure hope he comes back here!!

I spent yesterday working on pulling an old sink and small water heater out of the stable. Had a water pipe burst last fall and need to fix that - make the swap to Pex - and put in an old sink base and plastic wash sink we have.

Then I pulled this old chipper shredder out that my father-in-law bought years ago. Hasn't run for a long time. Checked the oil, put in some gas, added a quick squirt of starter fluid, choke on and pull....started right up. I was able to find a manual on line for both the chipper and the engine. Ordered a new air filter and drive belt. I'll change the oil, as well. Found a hitch to pull it behind the ATV but it's missing a piece. I found a new one on Amazon so I'll be in business clearing the brush next week. Hopefully I'll get the brush cutter started after I put on the new parts - today's project - or I'll have to cut it all with a chain saw.

Life is good! Stay safe out there!

 

TY

We need to vote to have Ken cut the lawn the next two cuts and restock the fridge.

Mark: What brans of brush cutter do you have? We have an ECHO line trimmer and have a brush cutting blade. A couple of years ago my son found an ECHO line trimmer on the side of the road. I fixed it up and now we have a dedicated brush trimmer. It works well for brush and small saplings up to about an inch and a half in diameter.

As part of the backyard project last summer we transplanted some Iris, from my Dad's garden, to a better spot with more sun. So far they look like the transplant went well.

 

Good Morning All

Very cool little piece of equipment Mark. Hope it all comes together for you. Definitely save some back pain.
&

YW Tom.

 

Mine is an Echo, too. It has a line attachment, but in the world of my father in law, it was easier to have a weed eater and a brush cutter instead of swapping the heads on this one.

The purge bulb was dried out and cracked so I ordered a new one, along with a tune-up kit and new 80 tooth and 22 tooth blades. Hopefully, I'll get it running!!

 

Good Morning Porch! Think I am going to have the AC on the Taco checked/serviced this AM. Last week, it stopped being instantly ice cold, and took a few minutes. I've never seen a service on the records, so not surprising after all this time. Going to give a little local oil change service place a chance, after my last round with the old dealer. Then, maybe empty the greenhouse and get it ready for new plants. Have a good one!

 

Good morning folks!!

I did get the brush cutter working yesterday after replacing the purge bulb, air and fuel filters and popping in a new spark plug. Works great. I also oiled up the chain and lubed the axles of the field mower. Now I just need the parts for the chipper to come in and I'm ready to go at the tree line I need to clear.

Not sure what I'll do today - have to make a run to the Wine and Spirits store to pick up a special order gin I ordered and some wine for Lynn. We'll see what I feel like doing today.

Be safe out there!!

 

Need to be at the cardiologist at 8:00 am this morning. Next up on Friday is my yearly physical exam with my GP.

Thawed out a chicken yesterday and soaked it in a liquid brine last night. Trimmed it up and seasoned it with a dry rub this morning. The rub should dry it out enough for a trip in the smoker this afternoon.

We might have some thunderstorms or so Alexa tells me. LOL

Measured up the shed ramp I need to replace. Even with some high priced aluminum anti slip treads the cost is a little over $300. A 2"X6"X8' Pressure treated board is almost $12.00 and I need 11 of them. Going with a 2" aluminum L bracket for a sill plate to protect the edge of the shed at the door opening. This will be next weekends project. Going to build the ramp frame in the garage and install the decking once the frame is in place. I plan on reusing the existing garden block foundation. The exposed blocks look OK but until I take off the old ramp I will not know the conditions of the covered over blocks.

 

Good Morning Porchies!

Glad I take a "suburban" approach to city life (Everything is just a suburb)! Seems the Lockhart Lube didn't really do the AC evac. The guy there recommended a place in Seguin. Only 25 minutes away, so off I went.
That went well, and the place is only 3 "blocks" on 123BYP away from Green Gate Nursery. So, off I went.
And picked up the 3 plants we have been searching for for a month! Grab a burger, and I see it's later than I thought, so might as well run the errands for tomorrow. Lowe's San Marcos is only 20 minutes up 123. So, off I went.
Hey, got all my tomatoes, and MOST of the peppers I wanted, and some hardware and soil. Good score. But, Kyle Lowe's is only 15 minutes up 35; I guess I will see if they have the other peppers, because the two stores often don't have the same stuff. So, off I went.
Alright! I have everything I want except an Orange Bell pepper. Even scored my Purple one! So, home is only 20 minutes away, and the afternoon is gone! So, off I went!

Today! I really get in the greenhouse!

 

Good morning all,

Kurt, nice job on the planter. May I suggest one little add, maybe build an awning over the electric box so the two plastic tubes that are directly over that box cannot leak over the box. Yes, I know it is an outside box but it still would not stand up to a direct push of water if one of those tubes break/leak. That is just my over build personality. Looks great can't wait to see it in action.

We on the other hand have a bigger issue, the septic is NOT backing up due to ice but grease blockage. Called a local that is known for septic systems in the area, he went through the whole system from the clean-out to drain filed caps. Looks like there is blockage in the distribution box but worse a lot of grease in the actual drain field. We bought this home back in 2011 from a Korean couple that built it for Buddhist Monks to stay in as they travel in the US, it has been blessed by a monk and the caricatures of the blessing are on the center beam in the house. When we bought it we had to remove the garbage disposal and the whole house smelled of kimchi (spl?) not to mention the stove had tin foil taped on the back splash and was a greasy mess, plus the septic tank had never been pumped in seven years so we think there was a ticking time bomb already in play. No, the home inspection did not catch it. I still think that whole thing here in CO is a scam - another time...

So I am headed down to the county building permit department to get a copy of the septic system so I can rent a powered snake and find the distribution box to clean out the box and all lines to get a few more years before having to replace the whole drain field. The expense if we have to rebuild the filed is removing all the soil with waste under the field and rebuilding it back up. I think I have another option, there is a large area to the north of the current field that can be used so the expense would only be to get a new one approved and excavated - I can do most of all of that work, it would be the removal option that would require state approved contractor.

Have a great day everyone

 

Dadgum Rob ,Thought you would be in 70 + Thread

 

There is a weather proof in use cover on the weather proof box - it's clear, might not be obvious. It's been hosed many time for the ground plants and during pond clean out! Thanks for the concern!