Nature and Gardening

We have a household of two and I just started a 43 gallon capacity rotating composting bin. Our weekly egg consumption is high and there's an additional load of volunteering (baking) where I have to dispose of 2-3 dozen egg shells at a time.

What's the maximum number of shells I can expect to toss in the compost each week? Any ideas on how to dispose of the rest without going right to the trash? We only have recycling and yard debris pickup, no city compost options. Thanks in advance!

Recently, these unidentified plants popped up in my onion pot, and I've been excitedly watching their growth, trying to figure out what they might turn into. Yes I could probably Google them or something, but that'd ruin the fun.

I guess most people would frown and treat any unexpected plants as weeds, but as an apartment dweller, I have to make do with a few pots sitting in my balcony, and when I see new life sprouting, it makes me happy.

So, does anyone else get excited at seeing weeds, or am I the only oddball here? :)

So I wanted a bit of greenery at my desk, and decided to set up a small garden. It's coming along! The plants in order from left to right, top to bottom:

• Sansevieria Trifasciata
• Tradescantia Zebrina
• Mentha Suaveolens
• Hypoestes Phyllostachya
• Hoya Carnosa
• Portulacaria Afra

I had a problem with spider mites, but hopefully by taking cuttings of the mint and dumping the rest of the plant we're all good.

(Second time attempting this post, phones are not great with posting images.)

How close should the pollinator garden be to the vegetable garden? Will seeding white clover in the grass area around the vegetable garden attract pollinators and improve pollination in the veggie garden? have read recommendation to intersperse flowering plants with the veggies to attract beneficial insects. Would it however have the opposite effect of drawing the pollinators to the more plentiful clover flowers in the lawn and away from the veggie garden?

Watched this poor fly fall into temptation

This zine is formatted to print on a single sheet of printer paper to be folded into an 8-page mini-zine: find the file here and instructions for assembling a mini-zine here!

cross-posted from: https://pixelfed.crimedad.work/p/crimedad/606456587991694683

Venus flytrap flowers [OC]

My Venus flytrap has sprouted a long stem with some pretty little flowers at the end. The purpose of the long stem is to help keep pollinators away from the traps.

#venusflytrap #macro #flower #carnivorousplants

@carnivorousplants@lemmy.world

A greenhouse study with barley (Hordettm disticlton L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown on two mineral soils and fertilized with three levels of 7-yr-old compost combined with four different levels of nitrogen (N) showed that boron (B) toxicity was dependent on the amount of N used in combination with compost. At high rates of compost, symptoms of B toxicity characterized by brown spotting and a burning appearance on older leaf tips, were moderate to severe in both crops. Addition of N decreased the severity of these symptoms; at a high rate of 150 ppm applied N, B toxicity was negligible. The B concentrations of the tissues of the two crops increased with increasing rates of compost and decreased with increasing rates of N in the soil. There was a significant interaction between the rates of compost and applied N. At low rates of N, increased applications of compost resulted in greater concentrations of B. Increasing rates of compost decreased the manganese (Mn) concentration of the boot-stage tissue. 'the tissue Mn concentrations ranged from 44 to 185 ppm and were not the cause of toxicity symptoms noted on the leaves. The N/B ratios of 249-520 were associated with severe to medium B toxicity, whereas ratios of greater than 682 were associated with very few to no B toxicity symptoms

Thanks for reminding me to be patient, my chilli plants have started ripening the past week or so. Though I'd share the results with you all.

cross-posted from: https://pixelfed.crimedad.work/p/crimedad/605202914901079994

I guess this trap caught a bug that was a little too big again.

It's the second time that an ulcer has formed on one of this plant's traps after it caught a bug that was a little on the big side. I saw a TikTok video explaining that sometimes the trap will survive and it will just have a hole in the side, but I'm not holding out any hope for that. The last one just died. Fortunately,the rest of the plant seems healthy.

#venusflytrap #carnivorousplant #macro

@carnivorousplants@lemmy.world

Hi everyone, this is not a picture of lovely greenery but is a way to get more green into the world. Some of you may already be aware of this, but many people I know are not.

The search engine Ecosia plants real trees using their ad revenue. The German company posts their revenue every year and has always used at least 80% to reforest places around the world that had been deforested or devastated by natural disasters like wildfires. I think it’s pretty neat to contribute to one of the few organizations trying to do something positive.

The actual search engine uses Bing, which has been carbon neutral for a few years, and pretty much gives the same results as Google or DuckDuckGo.

Obviously that means it collects data and sells it. For me, I don’t really care if someone knows my general searches like “who is the oldest living person.”

I don’t represent the organization and don’t get anything for people knowing about it. I just think it’s cool and want to share. Thanks for listening… err reading.

Abstract: Soil is one of the most important natural resources and medium for plant growth. Anthropogenic interventions such as tillage, irrigation, and fertilizer application can affect the health of the soil. Use of fertilizer nitrogen (N) for crop production influences soil health primarily through changes in organic matter content, microbial life, and acidity in the soil. Soil organic matter (SOM) constitutes the storehouse of soil N. Studies with 15N-labelled fertilizers show that in a cropping season, plants take more N from the soil than from the fertilizer. A large number of long-term field experiments prove that optimum fertilizer N application to crops neither resulted in loss of organic matter nor adversely affected microbial activity in the soil. Fertilizer N, when applied at or below the level at which maximum yields are achieved, resulted in the build-up of SOM and microbial biomass by promoting plant growth and increasing the amount of litter and root biomass added to soil. Only when fertilizer N was applied at rates more than the optimum, increased residual inorganic N accelerated the loss of SOM through its mineralization. Soil microbial life was also adversely affected at very high fertilizers rates. Optimum fertilizer use on agricultural crops reduces soil erosion but repeated application of high fertilizer N doses may lead to soil acidity, a negative soil health trait. Site-specific management strategies based on principles of synchronization of N demand by crops with N supply from all sources including soil and fertilizer could ensure high yields, along with maintenance of soil health. Balanced application of different nutrients and integrated nutrient management based on organic manures and mineral fertilizers also contributed to soil health maintenance and improvement. Thus, fertilizer N, when applied as per the need of the field crops in a balanced proportion with other nutrients and along with organic manures, if available with the farmer, maintains or improves soil health rather than being deleterious.

a pop of orange

My kid was excited and picked 'em up. I wouldn't have touched the snake otherwise! I let them know not to do that next time.

Anyone recognize what kind of snake this is? Like, definitively? Thank you!

EDIT: Most likely a Butler's Garter Snake! Thank you to those who posted answers! Much appreciated! (:

Just harvested our first ever potatoes for breakfast. Frying them up now to have with chicken and duck eggs and local sausage!!😋