23 minutes ago, Giddyunc said:

Burning the flag is protected free speech, as it should be. We should fight vigorously to defend the right to engage in that act. That doesn't mean, however, that it should be celebrated. 

Take hate speech...we, for the most part, collectively reject when it's used. However, we should vigorously fight to defend it. Flag burning is defended, but not collectively rejected. Why? In my opinion, there's a sizeable part of the American society that hates this country (side note: they tend to cluster in one of the two main political parties).

Why do you think that the GOP hates America?

Ah hell... and it was going so well in here...

That's it. I'm out.

So... vermicomposting update.   It gets a little warm some days outside for the worms... they can die when the temps exceed 95 degrees.  So, there's a few ways to combat this... bring the box inside - that's a giant "NO!" from the wife.  So, we immediately move to another option.  There's a few ways to keep the bin cooler.  One thing that is interesting is that the bedding for the worms is basically a great insulator for the most part... keep it light and airy as best you can... air is a wonderful insulator.  So, I put a couple cardboard panels across the top of the bedding - slightly off the top of the bedding, to provide an insulating layer of air above the bedding.  But, what if that's not enough to protect them?   

Two great options: 
Option 1 - Frozen bottles of water.   I keep a pair of water bottles in the freezer, so that I can bury them slightly into the bedding... the worms can then move away (too cold is bad also) but be close enough to find the 'sweet spot' for them.  (They are most active in the 50-80 degree range.)   So, as the bin warms up, the ice melts inside the bottle and keeps it cool.   Please note: I am not adding ice cubes to the bin.  That would mean excess moisture and lead to even more problems.   

Option 2 - Frozen food.   Yup.  I also freeze the food I give them (I feed every other day right now, or less frequently if the food I gave them before isn't gone or almost).  The frozen chunks of food work just like the frozen bottle, but don't need to be removed, rinsed and then refrozen to use again.  

 

I'll give a few methods to keep it warm in the winter later... 

4 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Mint is worse than chives.  I did a similar thing.   I thought I got it all a few years ago.  But... I found some this summer.. 50 feet from where I had first placed it!

Catnip is in the mint family.  Same result. 

To the green thumbs out there. Any tips on reviving basil plants? The leaves have started drooping on my dad's basil plants. Not sure if it's just that basil doesn't like the heat, or what not, but what might we do to bring them back to life?

 

8 minutes ago, Mrkingofspades said:

To the green thumbs out there. Any tips on reviving basil plants? The leaves have started drooping on my dad's basil plants. Not sure if it's just that basil doesn't like the heat, or what not, but what might we do to bring them back to life?

A little shade and some water should perk it back up.   You got pics of the wilted plants?

 

Unless, it has flowered.   If it as flowered, it's ending its life cycle having completed its mission.   You can pinch off the stems of the flowers.   Cut the height back to about half... 4-6 inches, and with some water it should bounce back nicely.   If not, cheat the system.   Go to the produce section of the local grocery store, find the fresh basil... they will likely have some complete with roots, etc.  I'd suggest just buying some of those, separate them and plant them to replace your plant.   

You ever driving, have to take a crap real bad, then hit a giant pothole?! 
 

The worst! 

12 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

A little shade and some water should perk it back up.   You got pics of the wilted plants?

4 minutes ago, Mrkingofspades said:

Yup.  Went to seed.  Ok, trim the stems back to about half their height and give a nice bit of water, place the container in the shade for a day or so, if you can.  

 

Snip the stem just above a leaf node.

16 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

You ever driving, have to take a crap real bad, then hit a giant pothole?! 
 

The worst! 

Not as bad as driving, having to take a crap real bad, pulling into somewhere other then home to drop a deuce,  getting to the restroom and it being either out of service,  occupied, or looking like bobeph just did his business on the floor, then having to run back to the car,  arse cheeks clinched while in full prayer mode. 

5 minutes ago, What The F said:

Not as bad as driving, having to take a crap real bad, pulling into somewhere other then home to drop a deuce,  getting to the restroom and it being either out of service,  occupied, or looking like bobeph just did his business on the floor, then having to run back to the car,  arse cheeks clinched while in full prayer mode. 

That’s bad... 

I was at a bachelor party a few years ago and we were all at the beach. I walked back to the air bnb to deuce and for the life of me could not get the lock box open with the key in it.  Eventually I just went behind a bush. Luckily there were the perfect arse wiping leaves next to me. Of course after I went, I got the lock box open. 
 

Texted all my buddies the next day at the airport and told them the story. 

@Mrkingofspades

The plant will bounce back, but the flavor won't be as good, likely a little bitter.  If you can get new plants from the produce section that will be better.  Still plenty of growing season left.  And keep it trimmed so that it doesn't get to flower.  Flowering is when a plant is no longer storing energy in leaves, but putting that into the flowers and seeds.  In the case of tomatoes, that's good.  In terms of herbs, that's bad.

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

@Mrkingofspades

The plant will bounce back, but the flavor won't be as good, likely a little bitter.  If you can get new plants from the produce section that will be better.  Still plenty of growing season left.  And keep it trimmed so that it doesn't get to flower.  Flowering is when a plant is no longer storing energy in leaves, but putting that into the flowers and seeds.  In the case of tomatoes, that's good.  In terms of herbs, that's bad.

Thanks for the help. I'll have to let my dad know how to take care of the basil plants. He mentioned his squash as well; was wondering if you knew anything about squash at all. Have a few pics, seems like the leaves have been going brown. He said the same thing was happening to his melon farm as well. 

 

This is our first attempt at making these gardens, so it will be a lot of trial and error. The tomatoes are the things giving us the least trouble, but those seem fairly easy to maintain.

@Mrkingofspades

That looks like it might be due to insect damage.  Squash bugs can lead to yellowing and browning leaves.  They hang out under the leaves, so you need to check the undersides.  Google squash bugs to see the eggs, larvae and adults.  They can be picked off by hand.  There's no real solution besides that.  It doesn't look like a watering issue or cucumber beetles.  They usually put holes in the leaves more than turn them brown.  Squash vine borer is also a potential problem, but that doesn't seem to fit here either.  They bore into the vine right around where it meets the ground and kills the whole plant from there.

16 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Compost starter is primarily for the compost piles.  It puts free nitrogen and some of the necessary microbes straight into the mix and that starts the heating up process.   If you are doing vermicomposting (worms), then you don't want the starter.   The worms operate best at 50-80 degrees F.   "Hot composting" in a compost pile is around 130-160 degrees Fahrenheit.  That will kill the worms.  

 

Sourcing the worms is easy.  There's a bunch of places online that you can get them.  I got mine from https://unclejimswormfarm.com/.  He's in PA, so it was fast delivery.  I ordered them on Tuesday, they were shipped on Wednesday, I think, and arrived on Friday.   

If going with the worms, it's very 'inexpensive'.  A Rubbermaid/Tupperware bin, etc. Shredded newspaper, broken down cardboard, shredded leaves, etc.  then you put in food scraps for the worms to eat.  They don't actually eat the food though.  They eat the fungi and microbes that feed on the food more than the food itself.  Which is why they do best with smaller chunks... more surface area, so it breaks down faster and is ready for the worms faster.  I've got a lot to learn about it, but I've been researching this stuff for about 10 years before really taking the plunge.  

 

If you go with a compost pile, you can slow compost, or you can 3 bin compost... that's a little faster.  There you start in one bin, feed "browns" (carbons) and then feed some "greens" (nitrogen), in roughly a 3:1 ratio, if possible.    If you go heavier to the Green, it will stink, if you go heavier to the brown, it will be slower and colder.    Then, after a little while - a couple weeks, you then move it from the first pile, to the center section... which mixes things and heats it up again.  And then fill fresh stuff into the first bin.  And then a couple more weeks, you move the stuff in the middle bin to the last bin, first bin to middle and fill the first... etc.   This whole process can take 8-12 weeks, depending on the amount, outside temp (summer is faster than winter, obviously), etc.  The tumbler does the same thing as the multi-bin, but it does it faster, because you can turn it daily... keeping the mixture homogenized.   But, it produces less at a time.  (Check moisture to make sure it doesn't dry out.  As it heats up, it can dry out.  But adding cold liquid slows it down... so, its tricky... warm water is best.)  

Thanks

1. I was a Quarterback all through Pee Wee ( we called our program Pop Warner back then ) and High School. When I was a Freshman, the Varsity starter and the 2 guys in the pipeline all got hurt in quick succession and I ended up starting for all 4 years. Those Varsity guys were BIG. I had a cannon and we had some real talent Receiving but the coaches made me focus on the nuances of QB, such as making the OL blocking calls at the line, blitz pickup, hot reads and recognizing secondary schemes. A lot to put on a 15 year old but I was young and indestructible. A guy named Carl Boulyard, a most excellent Head Coach, really helped me get a handle on the intricacies of football 101 but in pre-internet days, I went searching for more input. My local TV market had the Eagles and Jaworski was the guy I studied. That guy was a warrior and I devoured everything Jaworski and everything Eagles, not a choice at the time, more like a lack of options... It didn't hurt that they had one of the most dominant Defenses to ever hit the field... thus my Fandom was born.

2. Trying to find more info on my Eagles sent me to places like Scouts Notebook, Crossing Broad and a lot of other websites long forgotten. It was probably around 2003 that I found Tommy Lawlor and followed him to the EMB as GoEagles99, registered and stayed in the shadows reading. It was probably a full year before I tentatively began posting, feeling as if I had something to contribute. I still don't post much. Some guys seem to just type and type, post after post, verbal diarrhea the order of the day. Not my style. I read just about everything, skip some topics and have a few True Idiots on Ignore. I do log in almost daily, duration of stay dictated by who's online and what they're discussing. 

3. My time spent here is growing shorter by leaps and bounds. While I'm grateful I was able to contribute to keep this community alive, the takeaway is that the level of discourse has hit an All-Time low. Opinions are disrespected, name calling is commonplace and arrogance is rampant. I still drill down for nuggets and find them ( some long-time posters refuse to buy in to the peripheral garbage) and supply them when I can but I can see a time when I really won't care to subject myself to the divisive rhetoric anymore. Time will tell. We need Football.      

2 minutes ago, Doc S. said:

3. My time spent here is growing shorter by leaps and bounds. While I'm grateful I was able to contribute to keep this community alive, the takeaway is that the level of discourse has hit an All-Time low. Opinions are disrespected, name calling is commonplace and arrogance is rampant. I still drill down for nuggets and find them ( some long-time posters refuse to buy in to the peripheral garbage) and supply them when I can but I can see a time when I really won't care to subject myself to the divisive rhetoric anymore. Time will tell. We need Football.      

Agreed.   Don't worry, I'll keep the vermicomposting and zucchini updates rolling.  

 

I did have a few extra zucchini that I decided to pass along to my dad, who then passed some to my sister.  I figured, I can spare some.   Looks like I'll need to pull a plant soon and replace it.  It's just not producing.  Might be a squash vine borer.  I'll be investigating this evening.

13 hours ago, Giddyunc said:

Well, I, as well as Martin Luther King, disagree with you

There are always extremists.  There is some racism in black communities too.  Asking white supporters to march at the back of the group wasn’t segregation, it was messaging.  As to the demands, ask for the stars and meet in the middle.

 

5 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Agreed.   Don't worry, I'll keep the vermicomposting and zucchini updates rolling.  

 

I did have a few extra zucchini that I decided to pass along to my dad, who then passed some to my sister.  I figured, I can spare some.   Looks like I'll need to pull a plant soon and replace it.  It's just not producing.  Might be a squash vine borer.  I'll be investigating this evening.

Interesting stuff, no doubt.

 

Beats discussing why the GOP ....BLM...Covid... etc.....Ad Nauseum

I have a 12" tomato plant, installed the same time and place as the rest of my garden. It is still 12" tall while the rest of my tomato plants exploded. It is still green, looks healthy, has strong branches and leaf structure, just won't grow. I think it's in a tomato Cryo-stasis, biding its time and will sneak up on me overnight or something. I don't trust it...keep giving it the hairy eyeball...

13 hours ago, Giddyunc said:

Burning the flag is protected free speech, as it should be. We should fight vigorously to defend the right to engage in that act. That doesn't mean, however, that it should be celebrated. 

Take hate speech...we, for the most part, collectively reject when it's used. However, we should vigorously fight to defend it. Flag burning is defended, but not collectively rejected. Why? In my opinion, there's a sizeable part of the American society that hates this country (side note: they tend to cluster in one of the two main political parties).

I don’t think flag burning is not collectively reject.  I have said many times, while I will defend your Constitutional right to free speech, I will also exercise my Constitutional right to speak out against what you are saying or against how you are speaking. If someone burned a flag in protest in front of me, I would speak up.

I believe burning is still a preferred way of retiring a soiled or worn flag. I was taught in Scouts to fold it properly, place on a large fire, salute it, make sure it burns completely, take a moment of silence afterwards and bury the ashes. I have retired flags that way.  

This is why I hate things like napkins, paper plates, drink toothpicks etc. with the American flag on them. That is serious disrespect.  I hate during campaign season the flyers and sometimes even the tablets have American flags on them.  Those will become trash and are improper displays of the American flag.  I burn those in my fire pit.  Funny thing is, that is most prevalent with politicians that are trying to impress us with how conservative they are  

I don’t say anything to my neighbors that don’t retire their flags at sunset because they are not properly illuminated but I have been known to contact businesses that fly them all night and think because the parking lot is lit, that is proper illumination. 

BTW, a lot of chapters of the VFW will take flags for proper disposal. Some Scout troops will as well. 

So while the reporter’s timing was awful and Brees could have prefaced his statement better, I agree with his initial feelings about that method of protest.  I won’t boo or heckle but you won’t see me kneeling either and you will continue to hear me say, pick a better way to convey the message.

13 hours ago, ManuManu said:

Bwah!

This is going to make HE smile.

7 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

This is going to make HE smile.

No Id like him to be able to hit the lake. 

1 minute ago, HazletonEagle said:

No Id like him to be able to hit the lake. 

I'm just glad he made the attempt.

12 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

A little shade and some water should perk it back up.   You got pics of the wilted plants?

 

Unless, it has flowered.   If it as flowered, it's ending its life cycle having completed its mission.   You can pinch off the stems of the flowers.   Cut the height back to about half... 4-6 inches, and with some water it should bounce back nicely.   If not, cheat the system.   Go to the produce section of the local grocery store, find the fresh basil... they will likely have some complete with roots, etc.  I'd suggest just buying some of those, separate them and plant them to replace your plant.   

Absolutely do not let your herbs flower.  As soon as flowers show up, cut them back.   Been fighting the flowers on my Cilantro the last couple of weeks.  Your suggestion on cutting it back is absolutely correct.  At the end of the season, I let them flower because some self seed for the next year. Worked in my planters.  I expect it will work in the herb garden.