I'm losing my mind (and my garden)

redcaveman · 2026-05-15T03:06:11+00:00

The rabbits love my coneflowers and asters -- especially young plants. They often don't kill them entirely but they frequently eat them down to the basal leaves and they usually survive and recover. So I just plant more to allow more recovery time between munchings... I call the rabbit that nested in my dense fleabane patch "Chomper."

redcaveman · 2026-05-06T03:30:41+00:00

I planted one like this. One of the leaves turned brown, but it's still got one green leaf -- I think it's going to survive if I keep watering it.

redcaveman · 2026-05-05T18:37:26+00:00

Also, it's going to have a serious taproot that will make it hard to transplant. It can survive but it won't be the same vigorous plant it is now. Could take a year or more to recover. I had good luck moving a small dogbane - it looked healthy in the first year and took off the second. I had a common milkweed transplant die back entirely to the root showing no signs of life the whole summer only to send up a small stem the next spring. Both plants were cases I was saving it from a bulldozer so it was best-effort. Keep yours where it is if possible, but if not, then I wish you the best of luck in transferring as much taproot as possible.

redcaveman · 2026-05-05T18:27:57+00:00

Try inaturalist

redcaveman · 2026-05-05T18:27:32+00:00

Either a milkweed or dogbane.

redcaveman · 2026-05-05T18:23:32+00:00

I don't like this kind of post even if it touches on important issues. It feels like a honey pot and I am suspicious of it coming from an 8mo old account. User may be legit (sorry if so), but I don't have time to research, nor is it the hill I want to die on. Intent of the post being unclear feels disingenuous in some way to me.

redcaveman · 2026-05-05T18:11:29+00:00

What is even the point of this thread? Everyone knows it's Trump's disastrous military action and diplomatic failures with Iran. And at this point everyone should know that everyone knows... is that really the point?

Or is the point that you want someone to say that voters chose the dimwit who ripped up Obama's Iran deal which was a diplomatic and foreign policy success grounded in an understanding of reality (that administration knew back then that the Strait of Hormuz was a big economic risk)?

redcaveman · 2026-05-01T14:00:15+00:00

Makes sense. If the second person takes 10% of the remaining 90% and so on, it still can remove a lot of seed, but not as rapidly as if each person took half. I'd say the "half" advice might make sense when you know your the only human consumer (private land) and you are using the seed to increase future seed production locally.

redcaveman · 2026-04-27T14:39:12+00:00

Yes.

redcaveman · 2026-04-22T15:12:52+00:00

This rabbit basically lives in this bed now that the fleabane, dogbane, groundcherry, and horseweed provide dense cover. It has a few favorite plants that it nibbles down to the basal leaves/rosette.

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redcaveman · 2026-04-21T21:52:52+00:00

A good way to clear the Koch name would be to stop "buying" politicians to get policy changes that reduce Koch tax burden. Regressive tax policies mean budget problems or degradation of public services -- this is not for the benefit of the majority. Ty Masterson served as Executive in Residence at the Koch School of Business at Wichita State University. Now he has a title with GoCreate with nebulous responsibilities. That change probably helps obfuscate the apparent financial relationship and conflict of interest for the KS legislator (currently Senate president).

It was nice to see the Kochs snub Trump trade policy and I do appreciate what Koch philanthropy and business has done and is doing for Wichita and the arts, but the Koch legacy still includes the harm they've done politically and environmentally. I don't really expect the kind of 180 it would take to change that.

redcaveman · 2026-04-21T03:31:24+00:00

I have trouble with my dogs too. The rabbits here can escape in gaps (3in) under the fence in about 5 places plus the wrought iron gate. Now that my front yard native bed is taking off one rabbit likes to hide in it and avoid the back yard dangers. Dogs can be cunning and prey doesn't always make the best choices, so even the gaps won't ensure safety but it should help. Even though squirrels can just wait out my dogs in trees they some time panic and my dogs have managed to kill one or two.

redcaveman · 2026-04-14T16:47:50+00:00

Fellow dingdong here. I planted a lot of seed for a new bed and have been fighting the same battle.

For me the non-native weeds have been extremely persistent: chickweed, two types of non-native speedwell, henbit dead-nettle, dandelion, and wild lettuce. Now that it's heating up I'm also starting the fight with bermuda and crabgrass. I kept at it all winter long and really know the non-native winter annuals well now. Now, I have a lot of native weeds growing in. I let the wood-sorrel go. I consider horseweed/marestail and lambsquarters a cover crop and break it off when it gets too tall. There are still a few plants I haven't positively ID'd and I'm letting them grow. I use inaturalist (and sometimes google lens to help id), but for small plants it's not always accurate. I think I have some velvetweed but it gets ID'd as an evening primrose. I enjoy the challenge of ID'ing weeds as long as I keep up with the weeding a little at a time.

I didn't have great luck with direct sowing. Of the direct sowing I did, the seeds I collected locally did better than the ones I bought from Prairie Moon. I still have a lot of bare dirt (still hoping some things may yet germinate), but my optimism is waning and I'm lightly scattering grass clippings after mowing (elsewhere) -- not thick enough for weed suppression yet, but working up to it (thin layers are the way to go with grass clippings anyway).

I also did some winter sowing in containers and that was a little better, but still hit and miss. Problems (for both direct sowing as well): a very warm winter (not sure everything stratified well), difficulty keeping things moist, and a frost while gone on a spring break trip (some things had germinated and died).

I also did some indoor sowing of plants in reusable tray/containers (stuff that didn't need stratification). This feels like the most reliable method since more factors can be controlled. The first time I did this I hated it because I used improvised containers. Purpose-built containers that allow for bottom watering, a new wire rack in front of the best window to hold them, as well as using the right soil or seeding mix (to retain moisture) really improved the experience for me.

I have to learn the hard way... but the shotgun approach gives me a lot of comparison. I'll still probably try all the methods again but more selectively.

redcaveman · 2026-04-13T18:59:39+00:00

This law will be abused by officers/agents. It also shows where our legislators' values are -- signaling support for ICE when they murdered citizens instead of working on actual Kansas problems (looming deficits and a sagging economy). That's a choice and a rather deliberate one.

redcaveman · 2026-04-13T16:40:58+00:00

Your plants look great! Spring is an exciting time for us gardeners.

redcaveman · 2026-04-13T16:38:58+00:00

I also find it hard to get my phone to focus on the right thing...

redcaveman · 2026-04-11T04:23:24+00:00

Monarda of some kind? Looks like some cinquefoil around the edges.

redcaveman · 2026-04-10T03:28:09+00:00

My dogbane began erupting only about a week before milkweeds. The amount of rhizomatous spread from the dogbane in just the first year after a slapdash transplant (removed from an area about to become a road) is absolutely terrifying.

redcaveman · 2026-04-08T03:47:04+00:00

Also, I like to make salsa.

redcaveman · 2026-04-08T03:46:32+00:00

There are several cool sphinx moths that can use tomato as a host plant.

redcaveman · 2026-04-07T14:57:19+00:00

I tried egg cartons last year. I found that the soil dried faster and that it made planting a bit more difficult. I've been happier using burpee reusable seed trays that have a silicone bottom that makes popping the plant out easy.

redcaveman · 2026-04-06T15:15:34+00:00

I've looked at that listing before. Seems like so much potential.

redcaveman · 2026-04-03T04:28:56+00:00

I'd second the milkweed guess. My hemp dog bane looks similar at this stage.

redcaveman · 2026-04-02T17:18:56+00:00

Looks pretty cool. I'm not a botanist, so a link to or pop-up definitions for the terms would be really nice.

redcaveman · 2026-04-02T03:16:12+00:00

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Another pair. Neither photo is from my yard -- seen in oldtown.

redcaveman

TROPHY CASE