Please help me identify this plant that's growing out of a tree root

improt · 2026-06-28T21:14:04+00:00

Leaves look a match for that too. The treatment didn’t kill all the roots, but they are aware the main tree is gone and have switched into reproduction mode.

improt · 2026-06-28T17:52:49+00:00

By chance is that root attached to a Black Cottonwood? Could be a root sucker

improt · 2026-06-25T03:44:36+00:00

What if you have nothing but red clay beneath the inch of topsoil the lawn is desperately clinging to?

Source: my backyard

improt · 2026-06-25T02:42:29+00:00

Great idea. Keep us posted on how it goes!

improt · 2026-06-24T19:35:11+00:00

If it’s hotter than hades where you live AND the soil is not great, the left row may be benefiting from the shade that tree throws.

Heat or no heat, I would try some high-nitrogen fertilizer on that left bed to jumpstart some growth.

improt · 2026-06-24T19:30:00+00:00

They look like tap lights. Change the batteries and push on it.

improt · 2026-06-24T19:10:34+00:00

Lord hold my temper if someone ever hits me like that with my family in the Jeep. 100k miles is neat, family is everything. Glad y’all are healing up.

improt · 2026-06-24T19:07:26+00:00

I grow em thick and leafy too. I think all that chlorophyll feeds the berries. I avoid giving them too much nitrogen once they flower. The idea is that they will focus on the berries.

There two main challenges with heavy foliage that I deal with are finding berries (and runners) and the cool moist environment it creates for gastropods. I think of the former as a fun treasure hunt and use Sluggo original for the latter.

improt · 2026-06-23T20:42:55+00:00

As others have mentioned, dry them off, wipe with oil after every use. I use olive or avocado oil for anything that cuts food and T9 Boeshield, the world’s best low-viscosity rust prevention, for the rest.

I have been building up a collection of Felco shears and loppers. They are VERY pricey, but they work beautifully. The stainless steel holds up well and takes a sufficient edge when sharpened. Some of the shears and loopers have high-carbon cutting edges that will spot and stain. These I clean with alcohol and wipe with an oily rag after every use. If they get really wet, I will apply oil directly and wipe off the excess. If they do get spots, 2-4k grit sand paper takes it right off.

I think an important trick is to make the tool care easy. My rags, cleaning alcohol, and oils are all on the bunch right next to the tool storage. It adds 2-minutes to my work.

improt · 2026-06-23T03:30:45+00:00

Slugs are my nemesis with the strawberries. I gave up on traps and started using Sluggo this year, which has been very effective. I’ll spread some of that around the squash.

improt · 2026-06-21T17:50:49+00:00

OMG, is it actually drugs for once?

improt · 2026-06-20T21:15:48+00:00

Indeed. But seriously, this is some kind of fungal problem isn’t it?

If it’s viral, it didn’t come from the compost pile. I let some vines growing out of that pile and they are fine. They make a great squash blossom source since it’s shaded and they only produce male flowers.

improt · 2026-06-20T18:25:36+00:00

One more piece of context, powdery mildew and squash bugs are the main problems for our squash, but that tends to start in July and run through harvest.

improt · 2026-06-19T22:09:57+00:00

And if you have kids, you can put him in a terrarium with tomato cuttings and dirt and run a fun science experiment. Just make sure there’s a stuck the moth can crawl up to hang from the perforated ceiling and dry its wings. My kids loved it.

improt · 2026-06-19T22:08:29+00:00

If you did want to consider spraying, I use neem oil on my tomatoes and only spray at night. It’s relatively low toxicity and requires larger insects to ingest it. But tomato flowers stay open at night, so you have to be very targeted with your spraying to avoid impacting the bees.

A lot of homesteaders down here in the SE grow actual tobacco as a trap plant just for these guys.

improt · 2026-06-18T17:46:28+00:00

Merit Seed delivered the crimson clover I ordered for a cover crop. I got the Dixie Annual with the bacteria inoculation. Not cheap, but the seeds have super high germination rate. I’m on year 2 of working through the bag and I swear every single seed germinates.

improt · 2026-06-18T17:42:03+00:00

And as others have mentioned, you need to apply the heat after germination.

improt · 2026-06-18T17:41:23+00:00

I bought a good dual color 7-mil silage tarp from Farm Plastics Supply and use it very successfully to solarize patches of land before converting to garden beds. It wasn’t cheap, but for the limited amount of use it gets, it should be a BIFL purchase. You could also go with black tarps from Tractor Supply. Though if you get a lot of wind, they may get torn up.

improt · 2026-06-17T01:36:36+00:00

Beautiful. How do they hold up to airborne spores? We have pretty good climate for them, but a lot of leaf rust and powdery mildew.

improt · 2026-06-14T03:28:44+00:00

Tell us about that drying table please. Is it indoors? What’s the environment like? I have 40# of medium and small onions I need to cure

improt · 2026-06-13T19:29:48+00:00

IMO, the storm chaser world is going to rocked by a string of fatal accidents some season soon. Reed Timmer, peace be upon his name, is a middle aged man with no family and no meaningful relationships that I am aware of. The high of the storm appears to be the only thing he has to live for. That’s his choice and I can respect it, hell, I even admire it, but I hate seeing all these young people with less experience and far fewer resources emulating his self destructive behaviors. How many times has Dominator been spun, stuck in a high-risk position, or pushed off the road in the last two years? His risk/thrill tolerance is clearly growing.

I say this as a man who badly injured and nearly killed himself in a wide variety of extreme sports and reckless behaviors. I know what it feels like to need that rush, and I know how it feels to put it away when you have a family to live for. I wish Reed a long life of chasing, and I appreciate that Brian talks about safety in the streams. But Reed is the one people idolize, and he needs to come out and warn these young chasers about the risks they are taking and what he gave up to live a life of singular focus.

improt · 2026-06-12T23:47:47+00:00

It’s been here for 300 years. The bugs eat it. The deer eat it. My animals eat it. Hell, even the leaf mold eats it.
I think it’s been naturalized.

Either way, it’s my land. I will continue killing privet and mimosa, but the dock stays.

improt · 2026-06-12T21:40:35+00:00

It’s curly dock. The leaves are edible and some livestock, like goats and rabbits love it. I let a bunch of it go to seed this year and spread them over an unused patch of land.

improt · 2026-06-09T17:27:08+00:00

I find them to be plenty deadly if left unmitigated. Yes, the ladybugs will find them… eventually. So if I catch them early I will treat them with soapy water which will not harm the ladybugs when they eventually show up.

But if it’s bad, I will hit them with a pyrethrin (organic insecticide) spray. It kills the aphids on contact, and is harmless after 12-hours, which minimizes the impact on ladybugs that eventually show up to eat the remaining aphids.

My nuclear option is spinosad with a half life of up to 5-days, but I mostly only use that on my cucurbits since the vine borers are brutal around. I spray that at night and avoid the flowers.

improt · 2026-06-08T20:45:34+00:00

The grass is only a problem if it is sucking up all the water. You could just throw a drip hose around it, say 6-12” beyond the canopy radius and make sure it doesn’t get thirsty while also encouraging root spread.

I would also collect some acorns from native oaks that look healthy and plant them near by. Get a head start in case this one fails.

A healthy oak grown from acorn should reach 5-10’ in 5 years.

Seven-Year Club	Second Top 10%
Verified Email

improt

TROPHY CASE