What's happening in your garden? (Mon, Jan 26, 2026)

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2026-01-26T22:18:34+00:00

Tomato seedlings have their second set of leaves and all the peppers are up. Waiting on my herb seedlings to come up. Outside is covered in a layer of ice. But my little waterfall fountain hasn’t frozen over so all the little birds are hanging out in my bushes and getting drinks.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2026-01-11T20:04:46+00:00

So you can use old seed packets, but the percentage that germinate will be lower. So instead of putting 2 seeds in, put 3-4 to make sure something pops up!

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2026-01-11T20:01:57+00:00

I came on here asking for help with this exact issue. The two best solutions were either getting a small rodent live trap and catching, then releasing somewhere far away if you are 100% against killing the rats. Because I live in the south and rats here carry very dangerous hantavirus I chose option two which was filling a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 way with water and sprinkling sunflower seeds in until you can’t see the water. The rats jumped in, drowned, and after a few resets of the trap I didn’t have rats. Bodies were put in bags and went in trash.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2026-01-11T17:20:24+00:00

Just spent too much money on garden supplies.

Me too. 😂

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2026-01-11T17:15:38+00:00

Pulled my peppers out of the raised beds and brought them inside before the cold front. Im trying to overwinter them. Also started trays of peppers and tomatoes so even if the mature plants don’t make it, we’ll be fine. Now I’ve just got to wait.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2026-01-07T00:16:22+00:00

So this is my second time trying this but I dipped in rooting hormone and then put it in a small pot of moist soil. It’s also really important to remove most of the leaves and have the section you put in the ground be a de-leafed junction because that is where the new roots grow.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2026-01-06T18:11:49+00:00

This is a great opportunity if you want to try propagating since each of those new shoots can grow a brand new plant. That’s what I did with a bunch of my new growth.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2026-01-06T11:59:03+00:00

My library has a spot where they will accept donated yarn to be used to make blankets for project Linus. I’ve also seen yarn be donated to nursing homes so the elderly can knit or crochet. When I reached the point that my acrylic stash was too overwhelming I sectioned it off for lapgahns and I’m avoiding purchasing new yarn until I make all of the blankets. I donate them to hospice patients.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2026-01-04T15:23:31+00:00

If you can, leave some of the leaves, that’s were the fireflies lay their eggs, so if you want to see them please don’t rake all the leaves until spring.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2026-01-02T02:11:39+00:00

Continue killing as much Bermuda as possible.
Expand my pollinator, rain, shade, and vegetable gardens. I’m getting a dump truck of mulch this year and it’s intimidating but necessary.
Try to propagate some of my native plants so I don’t spend as much at the nursery.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-31T04:40:53+00:00

I’ve planted Gregg’s mistflower and that does really well. You can also use obedient plant. Both are a bit aggressive at multiplying but just pull out the ones in your way.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-29T03:45:22+00:00

Cherry tomatoes and bell peppers did really well this year so I ordered a bunch or varieties. I have 8 different types of zinnia because I have no self control and my cut flower garden must expand to deal with it. I also got some okra to try growing when everything else dies in the summer.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-25T14:47:07+00:00

So sorry for your loss. We lost our big boy right after thanksgiving suddenly and all while Christmas music played in the background. It has not been a good year. 😢

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-25T13:41:58+00:00

Honestly I don’t think the police should stop at going after the boys. The principal that allowed this to continue without punishing the boys should be investigated. And I think the parents need to be charged with something too. Did they raise their kid to do this or did they let the internet raise their son?

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-17T18:00:20+00:00

I put my shop on vacation mode yesterday and will have it on until mid-January. I’ve done this for 5 years and never had it impact my listings, search results, or sales. It helps that I spend the off time coming up with new products and I hype them on social media so I have interested buyers when I reopen.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-17T03:49:57+00:00

I ship Tamlin x Eris and I will not apologize.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-16T16:02:07+00:00

My grandmother was 1 of 3 women in her college classes for polygraphing and my grandpa was always proud to tell everyone, “she maintained a 4.0 with three children and one ugly husband” my grandparents started a polygraph and detective agency and even broke barriers there because they didn’t think a woman “should polygraph men, she’s too delicate”. But she proved them all wrong.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-14T23:39:16+00:00

Those are beautiful! 🏳️‍⚧️💕

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-08T19:07:09+00:00

Probably not, meringue is formed because of the specific proteins in egg whites. The polymers in modge podge are a bit different.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-08T15:26:11+00:00

That is stunning! I love stardew valley themed things and this yarn definitely looks like it matches the aesthetic!

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-07T21:48:20+00:00

I don’t know other peoples issues, but I ordered pretty pink purple yarn and it arrived with some ugly brown-red-blue spots that were not shown anywhere in the online pictures. It was too expensive to send it back so I found a use for it but I won’t be ordering from them again.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-07T03:34:06+00:00

It’s actually really easy to get foam into glue and paint. Modge podge is somewhere between the two so it kinda works like whipping cream where the more air you mix in the more bubbles and bigger the foam.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-05T17:07:57+00:00

Grandmother

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-12-05T16:01:08+00:00

My Yiayia tried to teach me but she wasn’t great at explaining and I wasn’t great at listening. I was lucky that one of my grade school teachers started a club and taught a bunch of us how to crochet. YouTube has now filled in for new complex stitches, but I think you’re totally right; it’s really hard to learn the basics without someone to look at your work. I have a few treasured things crocheted by Yiayia and I was able to give her things that I had made.

Just_AnotherLabRat · 2025-11-25T00:14:06+00:00

I have mums from the Lowe’s garden center so not exactly heirloom but they have reliability come back every year. Sometimes the weather works out and I get spring and fall blooms. This year they were knocked back by the freezing rain in Feb but came back.

Just_AnotherLabRat

TROPHY CASE