NFS, Bamboo, 1964, Gerbils, Amoebae & HP Calculators

[m_f_h]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

No, a small one.

It will have to stuggle to consume all CO2 produced for your database...

We've attached a picture of the bush and our other plants.

very nice! finally some green on this grey mathematical playground.
but... see ? SEE ?? "outher" !?! even to you it happens !
Better cooling of the database is required...

Picture 1 Item 1: The new, unidentified bush.
Picture 1 Item 2: A sad Calla Lily. It has resisted all efforts to keep it from dying. We are close to pulling the plug.
Picture 1 Item 3: It wasn't a weed so we planted it. With our luck it is probably Poison Sumac.
Picture 2: Any plant in this picture can be considered "death resistant". They have survived two years of neglect and abuse. We hope the weird tall grass eventually takes over, to make the yard look less cluttered.

Very lovely!! Yet, they're not placed in front of an a/c or other exhaust air outlet...

[m_f_h]

its getting worse and worse.... now even "fiddling around" isn't mentioned any more

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

Unfortunately, bamboo is prohibited from being planted up front. We are still looking onto planting bamboo in the back yard. We found a neighbor down the street with a bamboo forest but we haven't had the opportunity to approach them yet to find out what kind it is. (Paul: Can you just splice a piece off of a bamboo and transplant it?)

Yes, it's the standard way of propagating bamboos. You can grow them from seed, but as many bamboos don't flower very often (some haven't been known to flower in several centuries) that's a rather hit and miss method.

The technique is simple enough to describe but, depending on species and maturity of the main plant, may be hard physical work and require spades, axes, wheelbarrows and two or more people. A little bamboo with short thin culms should be easy. A 5m tall one with culms 2cm across wil be very hard work. Remember that the rhizomes underground are at least as thick as the culms and about as hard to cut though.

First choose the main plant and see if you can find a nice group of stems that could be removed without damaging the appearance of what's left. If the stems are more than a metre or so tall, get some lengths of string and tie those stems together at various points along them. The idea is to stop everything whipping around and getting in the way.

Then dig a trench around the outside of the clump you want to remove, and about 15-30cm away from it. You'll need to go down to a little below the rhizome level. When you can see the rhizome and roots of the bit you're about to remove, chop through the rhizomes attaching it to the main plant. From personal experience, this is not likely to be easy and it's where the loppers, axe, chainsaw, etc will be required depending on the thickness and toughness of the rhizomes.

Once you've separated the new plant ("division" is the technical term") lift it out with as much earth attached as you can and work out how to transport it. Little ones will fit in a bucket, larger ones in a wheel barrow, very large ones can be a real bugger to shift.

Assuming you've got it to where it will be planted, dig a hole somewhat bigger than the new plant's root and rhizome ball. Add some slow-release food (such as blood&bonemeal or farmyard manure if you can get it) and water in well. Then place the bamboo in its hole such that its stems begin at the new groundlevel (so you may need to add some earth back again) and backfill with the earth from the hole. Stomp the soil down so that it's firm. Water very well, the idea being to make the rootball very soggy. You may also want to put a stake in and tie the stems to it, especially if high winds are predicted. That's only a temporary measure until the plant digs itself in well and isn't often needed.

After that, untie the string and water the plant every few days for two or three weeks. It should settle in nicely.

It's a pity you live so far away. I've two divisions of Pseudosasa japonica sitting in buckets on my front yard right now. One is spoken for but I'm still trying to rehome the other. Anyone around the Cambridge district is welcome to contact me. Anyone further afield can contact me too, but they would be responsible for transportation.


Paul

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

Picture 1 Item 3: It wasn't a weed so we planted it. With our luck it is probably Poison Sumac.

Looks very much like a basil plant to me. You could check that by smelling the leaves and nibbling a small portion. Should be immediately obvious if it is basil.

No real idea what the bush may be.

Paul

[Xyzzy]

Thanks for the step by step instructions for planting the bamboo. The neighbor in question has a house that stands out from all the rest because it is surrounded by exotic plants like bamboo, weird looking short palm trees and all sorts of odd plants and trees. We have a feeling they will be easy to approach since only an enthusiast would go to that much trouble. Either that, or it is someone who told the landscape company, "I want one of each, please!".

WRT item 3, We're not sure eating an unknown plant is a prudent idea. We have no idea what a basil smells like although a web search indicates it is some sort of herb.

We could feed a bit to the gerbils. You know, like having a bird in a coal mine kind of deal?

[m_f_h]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

WRT item 3, We're not sure eating an unknown plant is a prudent idea. We have no idea what a basil smells like although a web search indicates it is some sort of herb.

His Highness seems more into decorative plants than into eatable ones...

Basil, roughly speaking, is the smell of the average tomato sauce minus the smell of the tomatoes.
(However, it was new to me that its name probably derives from the latin word for "dragon".)

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

WRT item 3, We're not sure eating an unknown plant is a prudent idea. We have no idea what a basil smells like although a web search indicates it is some sort of herb.

I'll be very very surprised if you haven't eaten basil --- it's very commonly used in all sorts of cuisine but especially Italian Unless, that is, you dine only on McDonalds' products.

In British supermarkets it's easy to buy fresh basil, either as leaves or, more commonly, as young seedling plants as it keeps fresher that way.

Anyway, try bruising a leave and smelling it. If it is basil, you'll probably recognize it.


Paul

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

We could feed a bit to the gerbils. You know, like having a bird in a coal mine kind of deal?

Well you could, but bear in mind that the body mass of a gerbil is many times less than that of a human. Consequently, nibbling a small portion of one leaf is a much higher proportional dose for a gerbil than it would be for you.

Oh well. It may not be a basil, and you probably ought to find out what the real stuff smells and tastes like anyway.


Paul

[paulunderwood]

Also gerbils have different diets to humans. You wouldn't feed a cow with a beef burger, would you? Or a pig to a chicken (even after "heat treatment")? But I'd guess basil would be okay for a gerbil -- if it is basil...

[Xyzzy]

Well you could, but bear in mind that the body mass of a gerbil is many times less than that of a human. Consequently, nibbling a small portion of one leaf is a much higher proportional dose for a gerbil than it would be for you.

That is the idea. We remember from our childhood, when we worked in the coal mines, that we kept a caged canary with us. If the bird passed out, it meant the oxygen level was too low and it was time to get out of there. The bird showed the reaction to the danger long before we did.

http://www.petcaretips.net/canary-coal-mine.html

We did bruise a leaf and it did smell kind of familiar. There is an old lady who lives across the street who told us it was basil as well, but then again, she thinks it is still 1964. She has a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL sitting out back, in near mint condition. We keep offering her $5000 for it but she thinks we are being silly since thats more than she paid for it, and it is used. We're going to offer her less next time we talk.

The Calla Lily is looking much worse. We figure it is knocking on Heaven's door. There isn't anything modern science can do to save it now, so we have put it in God's hands. If it dies, then it was meant to be.

If the Calla Lily was human, it would have moved to Florida last week.

[Xyzzy]

Also gerbils have different diets to humans.

The gerbils eat a very varied diet. So far, we know they like:

• Sunflower seeds
• Grapes
• Green beans
• Sunflower seeds
• Chicken nuggets
• Meal worms
• Sunflower seeds
• Bird seed mix
• Generic laboratory mouse "blocks"
• Sunflower seeds
• Timothy hay
• Bananas
• Sunflower seeds
• Human fingers
• Almonds
• Sunflower seeds
• Ground beef
• Snap peas
• Sunflower seeds