Through the course of having a blog I’ve had some wild and wacky search results lead people to my website. Some make me laugh out loud, some frighten the crap out of me.
This post, I’ve decided to address some concerns people have had that have caused them to come to my website.
I thought this would be a little fun, and rather then be entirely tongue-in-cheek, maybe a little helpful too.
· Can you keep chickens in Burnaby? – To tell you the truth, I’m not sure. The best thing to do would be to phone up city hall and ask, rather then searching for it online. You’ll probably get an answer a lot quicker.
· everytime i leave garbage out, something gets in it – In all seriousness, I’d suggest a lid for your garbage can with clasps, or taking it out first thing in the morning on garbage day. Instead of leaving out discarded meat bits (bones, fat, etc.) you can also freeze it, and then take it out the day before. I live in an area with coyotes, raccoons, skunks, deer, and even the occasional bear, and even I don’t have problems with this. Not rocket science, people.
· do i need to fertilize my blackcurrent plants that are potted – Yes! I use fishbone meal myself (my most favourite of all the soil amendments and fertilizers), but regular bone meal will work as well. When repotting add a small handful to the bottom of your hole, mix it around a bit in the soil. To add some later in the season, dig about a 1″ trench in a circle around the base put some in, and then cover back up. Digging the trench will keep nosey dogs, cats, and other critters away since they like the smell of it.
· very bad blister beetle bites – Uh, ew? I’d suggest seeing a doctor rather then searching online. That could get infected.
· rhodes family heirloom tomato – I get this one a lot. It’s my first year growing this myself, and I know there isn’t much info on the internet about this particular tomato. I’ll be updating with pictures and info as the season progresses, so never fear oh ‘Rhodes Family Heirloom’ tomato searchers!
· leveling small backyard sodding lawn & laying down sod in an overgrown yard – Sorry to anybody coming to this blog looking for information to put grass IN to your lawn. I’m doing everything I can to take as much of mine out as possible because I hate it. As for levelling your lawn, I suggest getting a contractor. That’d be a huge pain in the ass to do by hand. If you have an overgrown lawn, I suggest a weed whacker, a lawnmower, and about 8 hours.
· average last frost in Nelson, BC – This year it was May 4th, and it’s usually around the beginning of May, but local lore suggests when the top of Elephant Mountain is clear of snow, it’s safe to plant your warm season veggies. Spinach, lettuce, carrots, and other cool climate crops can be planted here in the end of April as long as we’re still not getting freaky snowfalls.
· A very bad, dying garden(The garden needs to be taken care of) in a vegetable garden – Aw, I’m sorry to hear your garden is apparently having such a bad go. Although you’ll have to be more specific in a search to get some real help.
· how to dig up sod – Alright, somebody looking to dig up rather then plant sod and they found my blog! I used an edger and a spade. Seriously. I lifted up all the sod and dumped it. No I didn’t double dig it in, that was too big a pain in the ass. Plus in my experience that just lets the roots continue to grow, and then you’re pulling out tons of grass in your bed, but you can’t get rid of it all because it’s 2ft down and your plants are already growing on top of it. I then added a ton (in the figurative sense, although it was a lot – about 90kg) of mushroom manure, sea soil, and some fishbone meal to get it ready for planting. a 12x18ft plot took me about a month, and I’d say, about 50 hours. Yes, I did it all by myself, so if you have somebody to help, it’ll make it go MUCH faster.
· meaning of populuxe – It’s the name of an architectural style, also commonly called Googie, that is that quintessential 1950′s retro-future look. Big swooping lines, very “space-agey”, think the buildings in The Jetsons. It’s my favourite architectural style, that’s why my blog is named that. Also, it’s just a fun word to say. Go ahead, say it out loud.
· black beetles 1/2 inch found in ny – They’re probably just ground beetles, don’t worry about it.
· hellmann’s eat local* – I’m getting this one quite a bit since I posted a blog post about it. I’m glad to see people are as questioning of this current campaign as I am. You can read my thoughts here
* and variations thereof
· bramki tomato – I’ve been getting this one quite a bit too, much like the Rhodes family heirloom tomato. There’s little information, but hopefully if mine produces (it got burnt really badly by the sun) I’ll be able to post more information in a month or two.
· I planted bare root echinacea plants weeks ago and nothing has happened – Depending upon temperatures this can take a while. Bare root echinaceas require a really healthy amount of water to really get going, and putting some fishbone or bone meal in the hole with them helps quite a bit. I suggest digging down a bit. If you see any new shoots or roots, just wait. If not, it might have died (usually due to lack of water).
Alright, that’s it for now. When I have a good selection of more search terms I’ll post them and hopefully be able to answer a few more questions.
