xylem

joined 1 year ago
[–] xylem@beehaw.org 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Some luffa pics -

Sheets drying

Four gourds

Luffa growing on the fence - I had to add some extra support here, the weight of the gourds was pulling the fence down!

~aesthetic~

[–] xylem@beehaw.org 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I recently harvested and processed my luffa! Four good gourds, plus a few smaller ones that'll just be compost. All but one were very green still, so I roasted them in the oven at 250F for an hour to make the skins workable, squeezed out the pulp and seeds, cut them into a flat sheet, and then soaked in a bleach solution overnight to kill any mold/bacteria before leaving them to dry. I'm excited to make some sponges!

I'll be definitely be planting more next year, the super long vines are very fun, especially the one that grew along the top of my garden fence this year.

[–] xylem@beehaw.org 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
  • Clickspring - gently narrated master craftsmanship, in this case watchmaking. His Antikythera Mechanism series is particularly awesome
  • Adventurous Way - previously RVing content, now building a house in Vermont
[–] xylem@beehaw.org 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Harvested my sunflower heads this week! I probably waited a bit too long since they had worms and a bit of mold, but lesson learned for next time. I took all the seeds out, sorted out the bad ones, and I'm going to let them dry for a while longer in mesh bags before roasting and shelling or whatever.

Any advice on processing sunflowers?

[–] xylem@beehaw.org 3 points 1 month ago

I was in NM for work and didn't get to explore too much, but I definitely got some great night skies! Desert ecologies are always interesting to visit as someone from the northeast, I especially liked seeing a bit of the riparian ecosystem around the Rio Grande.

I'm definitely doubling the number of sunflowers I plant next year! Might try some of the varieties that have multiple blooms as well, as fun as the mammoth ones are.

[–] xylem@beehaw.org 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

First time here as well! Currently away on a trip and hoping that when I get back the sunflowers will be ready and the birds will have left some for me.

I was just visiting New Mexico, and I enjoyed seeing all the wild sunflowers growing everywhere in the desert.

[–] xylem@beehaw.org 2 points 1 month ago

This is great! And thanks for the link to stuff about Lenia - that was new to me and looks freaking awesome. Next programming side project for sure.

I've also been meaning to properly get into using Shadertoy, and I think this was a great introduction through an interesting use case.

[–] xylem@beehaw.org 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

My experimental Loofa plants are starting to produce! They were strange - sent out female flowers way early in the season, then a run of only males, and now finally I'm getting a mix.

I'd like to try making some biodegradable sponges out of them.

[–] xylem@beehaw.org 4 points 2 months ago

Physical anti-tamper, while important for this type of device, wouldn't have helped for this particular attack. It's an electromagnetic side channel, so they don't even have to be touching the the thing to collect data.

[–] xylem@beehaw.org 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thinking about propagating some wild black raspberry I have in my yard - when would you recommend cutting canes, and should I root them before planting out? I've seen people store dormant canes over winter and plant out in the spring, what are the advantages/disadvantages there?

[–] xylem@beehaw.org 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's been cool and wet enough recently (thank goodness) that some self-seeded lettuce and arugula from the plants that bolted at the end of spring have sprouted - I had been missing the fresh greens!

I've also been enjoying seeing the joe-pye weed, goldenrod, and all the other summer wildflowers in full bloom!

[–] xylem@beehaw.org 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

What other squash varieties are you growing? I have the pumpkins and butternut this year but I'm interested in trying some more next year.

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