[bartock]

you all look like u know what ur talking about. i am not an expert but i plan to start a herb garden . i dont have a lot of space so it ll be in pots . i have tropical weather. what kind of herbs can i plant . i want herbs for cooking as well as for healing.any advice will be good.

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by bartock

you all look like u know what ur talking about. i am not an expert but i plan to start a herb garden . i dont have a lot of space so it ll be in pots . i have tropical weather. what kind of herbs can i plant . i want herbs for cooking as well as for healing.any advice will be good.

___OMG now I have to try & live up to the impression I pretended to give!
___On the herbs, I suggest growing what you already buy & use. Then Google the phrase "growing [basil]" for example; I found many good university extension service articles this way. I have seen herbs in pots advice on some of the television gardening shows from time to time as well.
___Again on the healing herbs, grow what you already use or intend to use. When I kept bonsai I grew a number of varieties of willow in pots; willow bark is a source of salicylic acid which is an analgesic & anti-inflamatory & fever reducer (aspirin).
___Start right in & throw some seeds in a pot!

[Turtle]

___I have authorized myself to assume the postion of bluff warden, & I have made some little progress in cutting a trail through the blackberry brambles in order to reach the large tree trunks where I have cut through the ivy.
___Along the way I have found a couple of native species I plan to propgate & replant the briar patches. I have found Snowberry (a native shrub), some ferns, & at the bottom of the bluff, willow.
___Off I go to cut some more trail; I'm rather obsessed with it now!

[bartock]

Originally Posted by Turtle

___I have authorized myself to assume the postion of bluff warden, & I have made some little progress in cutting a trail through the blackberry brambles in order to reach the large tree trunks where I have cut through the ivy.
___Along the way I have found a couple of native species I plan to propgate & replant the briar patches. I have found Snowberry (a native shrub), some ferns, & at the bottom of the bluff, willow.
___Off I go to cut some more trail; I'm rather obsessed with it now!

thats ur adrenalin talking.ur obsession will be over once the adrenalin is out.i think

[justforfun]

Well, I'm still growing sunflower plants, and I planted a potato which was doing great until my major crop - grasshoppers - decided they LOVED potato plants. Luckily the grasshoppers don't eat my trees - Chinese elms - so I can tolerate them. No peas.

[Turtle]

___Well Bartock, you may have called it; adrenaline is out. I have cut the ivy around the bases of 13 large trees & those I cut 3 weeks ago have wilted & dread ivy leaves litter the ground. I looked up the property on a government site & find the lot is less than 1/2 acre & the slope is a protected zone & no structures allowed.
___I cut a couple hundred feet of trails through the blackberry brambles to reach the trees & I have lost my interest in the last week to do much more.
At least I have a bit of a buffer in the event of brush fires, which is not unlikely given the rail line at the bottom of the slope. I note today it is raining & this is not our typical July weather here.
___My bonsai is still putting on new growth & no flowers yet & it is pretty much all the gardening I have now.

[bartock]

Originally Posted by Turtle

___Well Bartock, you may have called it; adrenaline is out. I have cut the ivy around the bases of 13 large trees & those I cut 3 weeks ago have wilted & dread ivy leaves litter the ground. I looked up the property on a government site & find the lot is less than 1/2 acre & the slope is a protected zone & no structures allowed.
___I cut a couple hundred feet of trails through the blackberry brambles to reach the trees & I have lost my interest in the last week to do much more.
At least I have a bit of a buffer in the event of brush fires, which is not unlikely given the rail line at the bottom of the slope. I note today it is raining & this is not our typical July weather here.
___My bonsai is still putting on new growth & no flowers yet & it is pretty much all the gardening I have now.

wow thats a lot of work.
cool u have bonsai.

[Turtle]

___Now if you like the idea of bonsai, don't be put off by all the mumbo-jumbo tradition this & that. Just a potted tree is all. Find a pot, dig up or plant a seedling & put it in the pot. Voila! Bonsai.
___Like most of my interests Iwent a little overboard early on, but one is plenty to permit you to say "I have bonsai".

[orbsycli]

that is awesome, turtle. i love bonsais.
i live in florida, and there is a ton of farmland here. cows everywhere. and i was exploring what is SORT OF my backyard, which is SORT OF my garden (hey, earth is my garden, ok??) and i stumbled upon a fascinating find.
a psilocybe cubensis mushroom growing on dung.
so i took a picture**see attachment**
and to my surprise, i was surrounded by these little allies.

for anybody who is unfamiliar with these mushrooms, the government has outlawed the posession and ingestion of them because they contain two chemicals that are under schedule 1 drug control; psilocybin and psilo(something. i forgot the name)
so for legal purposes, i have to say i only took a picture.

[Fishteacher73]

I just got my star hibiscus blooming.... fantastic flowers...
Here are some photos of some (not mine though..)

http://www.starhawk.net/archives/000992.html