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Last Notes

2026-10-15 10:07:50 GMT

You might remember the sunflower turned habitat in the yard. The aphids took over yellowing areas, and ants farmed them. Well, the seeds grew to maturity, so the plant got it all done. And after the plants end, it fed many more animals. Nature as it should work.
#KatesChickens #gardening
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2026-10-10 06:48:18 GMT

Remember: leaves make great mulch. Collect them on your garden beds if they get in your way. Feel free to mix in some straw or lawn trimmings.
In spring, your beds are half prepared. During winter, animals will have shelter. Win-win.
And the leaves that don't get in your way can just stay on the grass.
#gardening
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2026-09-30 13:19:54 GMT

Robin is turning red! Curious how colorful our supposed Sundheimer chickens are. Yes, there's Sundheimer in all of them but with two brown, two fully white and six different black-and-white coats, none of them are likely pure Sundheimer.
#KatesChickens
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2026-09-30 10:19:23 GMT

I have a million things to do, so I am procrastinating by sorting my seeds.
My friend accidentally created a hybrid in my polytunnel, so they got to name it.
#gardening
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2026-09-30 07:24:54 GMT

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It is one of those appliances that are barely ever worth the investment for that first project but once you have it, you get a lot of use out of them.

2026-09-20 07:15:12 GMT

Yesterday was great food. We still had porcini left from our foraging the day before, so we had those for lunch. For dinner, I breaded some parasol mushrooms with potato mash from our harvest. In between, a quick trip to the hardware store. And then I just quickly wanted to pick the peaches but kept finding more little gems. Can't all days be this calm and delicious?
#gardening #mushrooms
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2026-09-15 07:21:27 GMT

This sunflower had it rough. We had to help it with a rope or it would've fallen. It still bears plenty of seeds.
Anything green is turning yellow, though, and the ants haven taken the plant over to farm aphids. They don't touch the seeds, so we'll see where this goes.
I'm curious to see what happens.
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2026-09-12 12:33:19 GMT

More and more, I see people sharing Google Share links here. I hate it. Now I either have to go to the page myself and search for the e.g. article or I have to accept getting tracked by Google. Can I have the scratchy peep of a 56k-modem back but in exchange, the internet is usable again?

2026-08-26 18:52:25 GMT

Finally got the August seeds into the ground. Two kinds of salads, two kinds of radishes, a leek, and a wild leek. Each got a row in two beds.
That's all I had spoons for. No spoons for filming either. I watered them well. The mulch will have to wait. Spoons...
#gardening #LazyGardening
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2026-08-26 08:22:55 GMT

The trick of entering 0 no matter what phone-system AI asks, only entering customer number and such via keyboard instead of speaking, and answering only yes/no questions with actual words has worked for quite a few of these systems now. I thought you should know :)
#noAI

2026-08-24 15:29:21 GMT

The corn survived the heat wave wave and is forming cobs. Let's hope I actually get some kernels. The bar is low: more out than in.
#gardening
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2026-08-17 12:23:51 GMT

Second potato bed is a total loss. So, two out of three potato beds had more going in than out. Sure, I could've used tap water to save them.
But not everything in the garden fails. Below an apple and a peach, there are many tomatoes, corn, beans, squash. It was definitely a good choice to keep the trees for their shade this year...
Ordered seeds for the winter stuff. Already got green manure here. It'll work out...
#gardening

2026-08-16 07:46:36 GMT

I am too pissed off by the medical system to even translate the rant I just posted. This is all so ridiculous! I have a colonoskopy scheduled for Wednesday, so I would need to do the whole colon cleaning nightmare (believe me, it is a nightmare) on Tuesday. I have MRI images of the colon. And NO ONE wants to look at them... I haven't gotten results despite the „urgent“ note on the file. No one seems to care one bit that the risky procedure could be unnecessary.
1/

2026-08-15 07:06:53 GMT

Yesterday was exhausting, and we had to stop before the knife was finished because the allergic smith got stung by a wasp. But I can finish the rest at home. Here, at least, I can do more than watch. The smith was super nice but a little too sursprised that women did things, too. (I did not correct the assumption... I am nonbinary but sometimes it is easier...) It was hot, the drive there and back too long. I collapsed in the bean bag when I got home.
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2026-08-13 09:57:02 GMT

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I am not denying the suffering in Gaza. I don't hesitate to call it genozide. That does not change the fact that there are many accounts on here from Gaza that abuse exactly that suffering to get donations in scammy ways.
As your link says: the humanitarian organizations have rudimentary internet connectivity and can maintain some communication. The infrastructure is limited, especially for the general population.
@npub13pt…fuyd @npub1ls0…fq2s

2026-08-13 09:49:55 GMT

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Lovely, and now you've turned this into a political issue. It's great how I can be called an antisemitic for speaking out for Palestinians while now also getting called anti-Palestinian.
I am not against Palestine. I'm just against getting scammed. If it is real people from Gaza scamming me, that makes nothing better...
You seem to have missed the whole point of this post...
@npub13pt…fuyd @npub1ls0…fq2s

2026-08-13 08:53:18 GMT

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Gaza has barely any infrastructure left. There are few people with any internet connection at all... so it's just so unlikely those make it to the fediverse...
And yes, the stories don't add up for any of those scammers but I keep seeing their support requests getting boosted by well-meaning people in my feed, so the ability to see that seems to not be universal..

2026-08-13 08:30:31 GMT

I'm really sorry for the real farms and projects in Uganda and such, for the real people suffering in war zones. Unfortunately, it's almost all scammers. It's especially hard with the projects in Africa because there are actual real projects worthy of support. But they all go by the same schemes here... it's annoying and disgusting.
As to the people from Gaza: well, their stories just don't add up at all, so that's much easier to dismiss...
Despicable to use the suffering of others like this.

2026-08-09 07:37:56 GMT

The best thing about trying (and failing) to buy a couch: the partner had spotted a beaver dam on the way there with a shitty little parking spot across where idiots dumped a lot of trash bags. But the flooded woodlands were amazing when we stopped there for a stroll on the way home. We couldn't even see the end of it. Team Beaver!
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2026-08-08 07:03:55 GMT

The first bed edges have been burnt for durability. The tomatoes are finally off the ground, albeit temporarily.
In the polytunnel, the first cocktail tomatoes are turning red.
The mullein at the constructed wetlands is florishing in fun shapes.
And with a freshly maintained scythe, the high grass has been cut in parts. We'll dry the cuttings, and keep it as bedding for the chicken gang.
We really did use the break in the heat.
#gardening #LazyGardening
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2026-08-05 18:48:01 GMT

Home-grown potato puree with a very small golden beet and a lot of chard from our garden. Of course, we ate the beet leaves, too.
#gardening #cooking
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2026-08-03 09:16:50 GMT

We harvested the potatoes that died during the first heat wave. They won't get better from here. But considering it was 2.5 kilos of potatoes forgotten in the back of a cupboard, planted too early in April, and then forgotten, this isn't bad.
I also harvested the first red tomato, an Oxheart from the polytunnel. I really should tie up the ones outside... But someone has to deal with the bed edges...
#gardening #LazyGardening
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2026-06-03 07:19:53 GMT

I planted carrots yesterday, and now it's raining, and I'm happy about it.
Water the soil, spread seeds, board on top. Check regularly. When the seeds sproud, the boards come off.
PS: Wow, the soil looks bad where the excavator had to come through.
#gardening
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2026-05-26 13:12:49 GMT

For summer, we are working hard at more shade for the chickens, or rather, letting nature work. The hops is enjoying the sunshine and needs retying twice a day.
And isn't the clover just pretty?
#gardening
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2026-05-23 06:54:08 GMT

Robin, our chick with one dysfunctional leg, got out of the coop on her own today. Okay, it was more falling than jumping or walking but she did it. Yesterday, she didn't dare yet even though she is absolutely capable of greater heights. When she jumps off my arm, she flies down without issues. It'll be a while before she can get in alone but at this point, we throw all of them into the coop at night anyway.
#KatesChickens

2026-05-19 11:20:36 GMT

My tomatoes really need to move outside. They are running out of soil. The good thing about soil blocks is that the roots don't grow in circles. Instead, they stop when they hit air, and more thicker roots grow. When they hit soil, they are all ready to grow out.
#gardening
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2026-05-18 20:03:17 GMT

The garden is weirdly neat. I mowed, yes, during no-mow May. We want to try only mowing the paths and the area where the table and chairs go. So, most of the lawn stays wild. As my source of straw is no longer available, I mulched with grass clippings. But no worries, there's enough meadow left.
#gardening
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2026-05-06 14:39:45 GMT

Everything in the polytunnel is yelling to be planted outside but with 3 degrees C on the forecast for Thursday, they'll have to make do for a few more days.
The beds along the edges are getting mulched now. I just don't want to go into the rain. It's ugly out... I mean, of course, it is finally raining.
#gardening
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2026-05-06 07:28:12 GMT

Those of you with chickens, how to you feed them? Do you groe any of their food? Do you buy ready-made food? Do you mix ingredients yourself? Do you compost in the coop area? How? How often do you feed?
We still have half a bag of dry chick feed because its what the old hen is used to but we want proper food for them. Just like with the dog, I want real food for them, not dry kibble.
#chickens #backyardChickens

2026-05-04 19:50:45 GMT

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If containers or grow bags don't offer a solution, you could try straw instead of hilling. The mulch keeps things nice and temperate below, makes hilling unnecessary, and adds nutrients slowly into the soil. Also, harvesting is a lot easier.

2026-05-01 09:48:14 GMT

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Looking so good!

2026-04-29 14:58:58 GMT

Chick party in the polytunnel.
#KatesChickens
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2026-04-24 18:41:29 GMT

Ten chicks have hatched. One has an injured foot, another one was bleeding early on. All seem well. Three eggs are still in the incubator but it's been a while, so they probably won't hatch.
Damn, they are cute.
#KatesChickens

2026-04-12 14:42:34 GMT

DNFed yet another book. I really don't need descriptive sex scenes in general but kinky god sex is quite another level. Some of this stuff was plain gross.
American Gods had a really intriguing setup but it isn't worth this.

2026-04-03 09:01:56 GMT

There is life in the soil blocks! About half of the varieties I planted already showed themselves. Time to finish up the polytunnel, and the garden beds. Time will fly now.
#gardening

2026-03-27 20:06:36 GMT

A successful garden day despite mixed weather: I prepared new beds along the fence and planted them with carrots, spinach, salsify, and some peas. Everything that should be in soil by now is in soil blocks or in the ground, aaaand I finished laying the floors.
No worries, that shelf won't stay like that. Tomorrow, we're getting the proper anchors for the polytunnel, and then most of the trays are moving out there.
#gardening #KateGrowsRoots
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2026-03-22 09:06:02 GMT

Okay, who wants to take care of the subtitles for the podcast for me, so I can upload the February episode of the podcast but go play in the garden instead? Nobody? Nobody? Well, okay then...
#LazyGardening

2026-03-09 16:41:05 GMT

This wasn't the plan but the potatoes that sprouted in the back of a kitchen cupboard are in (or rather on) soil. The poly tunnel is exactly as unfinished as yesterday.
#gardening
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2026-02-27 21:31:26 GMT

It really makes no sense that I get just about three days to prune and fell before the annual bird-protection period starts. We had an extreme winter. Three days of good enough conditions, really...
#gardening

2026-02-26 14:53:28 GMT

Need help with your garden? I have two spots for garden consultations open at the moment. You tell me about your garden, and I help you with planning, keep an eye on your tasks, and am at your side with lots of knowledge.
More info: https://rootsandcalluses.com/garden-coach
#GardenCoach #LazyGardening #gardening

2026-02-08 09:34:45 GMT

February, also known as the month where you need to keep gardeners from starting a million seeds.
(hello Southern hemisphere friends, I know you exist and that your season is ending)
#gardening

2026-01-25 12:10:41 GMT

A few impressions of winter in the garden. We are still stuck in a cold spell. It is getting less extreme now but we will remain below zero for a while. According to the locals, this is very unusual for the area we live in.
Despite the consistent cold, there are first signs of spring on the horizon.
#gardening #winter
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2026-01-06 10:32:28 GMT

There isn't much to do for the garden at this time of year but snow has advantages: Very easy to see where paths will need to be.
The plan is taking shape.
#gardening
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2025-12-15 08:28:01 GMT

I was online very little over the last few days but at least the German fediverse seems to have split into more and more fighting groups yet again. Stop letting them divide you. We are all humans, all together. Let's focus our energy on defending our lives, our democracy, instead of figuring out how many small camps we can split into. Reminder: splitting us up helps only the uber rich! We are stronger together!

2025-11-16 10:57:53 GMT

This week, a friend visited, and we slept at the house. My friend slept in the kitchen, and I slept upstairs between the wallpaper explosion on a small sleep sofa. Thursday, another friend joined us, and we finally started attacking the spruce trees. 14 are felled and the deadwood hedge started. A few more like this, and we will switch to ground-level felling. But the front edge needs some visual protection.
#KateGrowsRoots #Gardening
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2025-11-14 14:43:31 GMT

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There seem to be quite a few things weird with Peertube right now. I'll write some bug reports when I have a brain again next week.

2025-11-14 14:24:04 GMT

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I haven't moved instance either. Nothing.
Today, I triggered three notification pushes becaues I updates subtitels but over the last days almost all my videos were pushed at some point. And I didn't touch my laptop.

2025-11-14 14:15:18 GMT

Peertube keeps putting out notifications for my videos. It definitely triggers when the videos supposedly changed. I just added the missing subtitles for a few of the oldest videos. Now there are notifcations getting pushed to the fediverse again. Anyone know how to turn of notifications on changing videos? New ones, yes, but not changing ones.
And I still don't know what triggered it over the last few days, for all of my videos because I did nothing then.
@npub17gp…7p4g [@FediTips](https://social.growyourown.services/@FediTips )
#Peertube

2025-11-05 20:21:24 GMT

What do you do in the garden this time of year? Mulching, of course. Most things, right now, are best left alone. Dare leave the leaves on the lawn. Dare leave the plant remains and flower heads alone. Dare leave the lawn uncut. Take the leaves from your paths or your neighbor's monoculture lawn to add a thick layer on top of your beds. This prepares them for spring and provides a home to wildlife.
#Gardening #GardenCoach #KatesGardens
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2025-10-30 08:30:53 GMT

No one hear picks up trash but dare a single leaf fall to the ground, and they come out of their holes with rakes, brooms, leaf blowers, even hands. Then, the leaves get stuffed into plastic bags. The trees above them are shaking with laughter and raining down fresh mulch.
#gardening #autumn

2025-10-29 13:49:11 GMT

Germany just raised minimum wage. The only news coverage is on how expensive this is for the producers. I don't care.
What I care about is that even this half-assed raise might mean that a parent gets to eat a full meal instead of going hungry for their children, that someone can build an emergency fun, or that someone can move out because they are no longer as financially dependent.
If these were the stories we shared, people might think differently about raising minimum wage.

2025-10-28 14:08:37 GMT

Just selected the heritage tomatoes I'll help save next year. I'm excited to grow my first tomatoes in the new garden. I'll grow one variety and record all kinds of data on them. I also signed up for the "standard" which is a kind of control tomato variety that let's the team understand what kind of year it was.
#gardening #KateGrowsRoots

2025-10-18 11:22:23 GMT

As I did not post a photo yesterday, here is yesterday in two photos instead. I poured candles, baked bread, forgot a bread in the oven, and also continued digging that trench I have been working on.
#KateGrowsRoots #gardening #sourdough #candles
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2025-10-17 09:01:59 GMT

New episode out! It's time to catch up a bit, so it's a whirlwind through the summer months with time in the kitchen but also on the water. As a bonus, there are many animals in this one.
Watch: https://video.katehildenbrand.com/w/8kgNDDtCCt8ZrhDa9Mr4zs
Read: https://rootsandcalluses.com/blog/157-summer-in-limbo
Donate: https://rootsandcalluses.com/support
#rootsandcalluses #gardening #kayak

2025-10-08 17:53:27 GMT

It was a rainy today but I still spent some time in the garden. I started another bed, though I did not get too far because the rain picked up. So, I fled inside and chatted with the current owner of the house that will soon be ours. The green manure on the second bed has sprouted. An animal has reestablished exits from under the bed.
No life on the spinach and beans yet. Many small bushes are waiting to move into the garden.
#KateGrowsRoots #Gardening
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2025-10-06 18:17:51 GMT

The fast ground cover mix is quickly covering the first bed. I have to see a doctor tomorrow but I will be back in the garden on Wednesday. Maybe the other beds will also have sprouted by then.
#KateGrowsRoots #gardening
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2025-10-02 07:36:42 GMT

Played with apples yesterday to see where the bed outlines will go. Yellow apples make surprisingly nice bed outlines--well, temporarily. By now, I know where things will go, and what will need to be taken out.
Speaking of: Forsythia can go. They are ecologically rather useless without pollen and fruit. I rescued a slow and a pear from the bushes overgrowing them and trimmed the pear to get rid of dead and dying leaves. More work will follow.
#gardening #Homesteading
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2025-09-16 17:57:40 GMT

The new episode is online! Let's travel back in time to end of June when I left the first garden, harvested currants and garlic, and then spent hours sorting garlic.
Watch: https://video.katehildenbrand.com/w/cHQBvQdwHRDwnsqr4NDD27
Read: https://rootsandcalluses.com/blog/156-goodbye-first-garden
Donate: https://rootsandcalluses.com/support
#Gardening #Homesteading

2025-09-16 07:21:57 GMT

Moneyterm can't read CSV files and that's the only thing I get from my bank. So, unfortunately, no moneyterm for me. I'll have to continue my search for a working budget tool. Suggestions?
(preferably free, self-hosted)

2025-09-16 06:41:24 GMT

Barely sat down at my desk, and the first coffee is already empty. Yesterday sits deep in my bones. Social interaction, long car drive, city chaos. i'd planned two more errands for the city but had to push those off. It was too much. It took an hour from when I saw the university building to when I dropped off the letters. I was stress-sweating.
Good morning, my lovely people. I think I've answered you all. If I've missed you, let me know, please.

2025-09-10 13:18:10 GMT

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One person told me that it's fine for me "as a woman" to drive an electric car but "men" need "real cars" and such nonsense.
I get unrequested monologues on the child labor that made my battery, on the plastic pollution from my tires, and entire tirades on the pollutants in the production of the car. That's what you get with an "e" on the car.
From another corner come complaints that I'm half-assing and should switch to a bicylcle or public transport. Sigh.
Conclusion: it work!
8/8

2025-09-10 13:16:27 GMT

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But all in all, I'm content with the choice of switching to an electric car. It was expensive. It'll take a long time to pay off the car but we are dependent on a car because of where we live, so we decided to spend more on electric mobility. Some of the cost will be mitigated when we get the wall box but it's definitely a privilege to choose electric.
The most curious to me was the reactions to the car:
7/x

2025-09-10 13:15:02 GMT

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Data privacy, too, is probably not a priority for Opel. I'm always in privacy mode but I don't know what that does or how helpful it is.
The bluetooth connection is unreliable.
The mechanism that is supposed to unlock the car when the key is nearby work 8/10 times.
The second (smaller) battery might be defective and trigger the economy mode too often.
6/x

2025-09-10 13:01:50 GMT

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The Opel Astra Sports Tourer in the electric version looks sporty. We chose it despite of this because of the large trunk. We accepted the sporty look rather than wanted it. It brings me real joy, however, to see the looks on faces when this little hippie gets out of the car.
There are problems with the "safety systems" of the car. The auto high-beam assist is a flickering mess that I struggled to deactivate for a while.
The manual is bad.
5/x

2025-09-10 12:59:58 GMT

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The car drives like a car. It accelerates fine and I don't notice it's an electric.
Driving slowly is a lot quieter. That's something to keep in mind especially on parking lots where people don't hear you and might, e.g., walk backward into traffic without looking. But that's not a car problem...
Most criticism is about the specific car we chose
4/x

2025-09-10 12:58:50 GMT

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I am really looking forward to the wallbox, though. I think it'll make things cheaper and more comfortable. Slow-charging is better fo the battery. Charging with sun energy from the roof is an added bonus.
But it works without. At least here, in the rural areas of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a real desert of chargers on maps, there are enough charging options.
3/x

2025-09-10 12:57:22 GMT

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The range is no problem. The first long-distance travel isn't until December but the shorter distances up to a hundred kilometers all worked without problems. Sure, you think about charging beforehand, to figure out where and when to fit in the charging. Most of the time, there's a charger at the destination. If not, a break on the way solves the problem. Most of the time, I fast-charge while grocery shopping or slow-charge near our home.
2/x

2025-09-10 12:55:58 GMT

I've had the electric car for a few months now, so here's a thread with my summarized experience:
First, let's talk charging:
I can slow-charge within walking distance, fast-charge in the next town. We don't yet have a wall box.
There is absolutely confusing charging station chaos with unpredictable pricing in Germany. But I use the same charging card everywhere and pay 59 ct/kWh without stress.
1/x

2025-09-09 15:05:59 GMT

The mint is alive! I completely neglected to containers with mint in the far-away garden. All dead. Well, placed them outside with the rest anyway. A few weeks later, both pots now have fresh tiny mini mint. The plants just won't die. One of them has completely died back multiple times now but there has always been enough live underground to resprout and try again.
#Gardening

2025-08-30 08:44:21 GMT

On what's soon our land, there's a dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) growing next to the garden beds for cultivation. People keep telling me to chop it down because it will take the water from the garden and get oh-so big. After some research, the current plan is to keep the tree. Do any of you know Metasequoia well enough to tell me if that is a bad plan?
And does anyone know if the deciduous needles (what a concept!) compost like leaves or needles pH-wise?
#trees #gardening

2025-08-28 12:12:06 GMT

My lettuce seeds are starting to be ready for saving. I'd never had a chance to let lettuce go to seed before. Fascinatedly, I observed the entire life cycle. We've now reached "blow ball" stage, and I can pull the seeds off to save them.
This year, saving seeds seems to be the main purpose of gardening. Without grow space, it's more than I'd hoped for. Lettuce seeds, salad seeds, marigold seeds, three kinds of bean seeds, spinach seeds, and corn salad seeds. It's something.
#Gardening

2025-08-23 06:50:40 GMT

What resources can you recommend on taking care of fruit trees and trees in general? The focus should not be maximum harvest but maximum tree health. Once I'm done with all my theory here, I get to switch to application: the new garden is waiting fo rme.
Thanks :)
#gardening

2025-08-21 14:17:57 GMT

I am on page 42 of my master thesis. The nerd in me is very happy about this random fact.
(It'll be interesting to see how this mere PDF export from .md to .pdf will be affected by final formatting.)
#KatesMasterThesis

2025-08-15 13:30:03 GMT

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How much lemon do you add to your jams? I do have a plentiful amount of lemon juice as I use it in our drink sirups.
I'm totally fine cooking it for a while.

2025-08-15 13:08:36 GMT

Do you think Mirabelle plums are suitable for jam/jelly without adding pectin? When I complained about not having a source of pectin, some of you insisted I could learn how to do without instead. Do you think that's worth trying with Mirabelle plums?
#Gardening #homesteading #canning

2025-08-05 10:08:56 GMT

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They definitely don't have everything. I checked my own books, and they have 2 books that are outdated (I published a new version), two of my children's books, but neither the third book in the series, nor the new version, nor any of the books I published in the last few years. But then again, I'm a tiny author, self-published, and all that. They might be a lot better to use with popular authors.

2025-08-04 19:46:21 GMT

„Could you please continue the petty bickering. I find it quite intriguing.“
Mr. Data

2025-07-31 15:46:17 GMT

I didn't enjoy using HortusFox. Are there other recommendations for self-hosted plant management?
#gardening

2025-07-31 08:22:39 GMT

Received my first donation in months yesterday. It's amazing how excited I can get about 5 bucks. The validation I get from even such a small donation, because someone thinks my work is worth supporting with real money brings the necessary push to keep trying.

2025-07-28 15:20:15 GMT

I got three blueberry plants last year. They were tiny then but are putting on good size and even produced some fruit this year. Some of them dried out during the heat waves, so I collected the dried fruit. Now, I've placed one berry each into pots to see if they'll sprout. I didn't remove the seeds from the fruit or anything, just planted them whole.
The hazelnut and willow also got to move from the water they rooted in to their own pots.
Cultivation is such fun!
#gardening

2025-07-13 09:09:09 GMT

When I saved the chive seeds from the blossoms, I was sure some would be left, so I added all the blossoms to a planter. I completely forgot about them until I found the thin green poking through. I guess there were more than a few.
#gardening #homesteading
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