Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

The harder question is how do you NOT grow hops.

I grew them for a couple of years for home brew and they are a nice strong vigorous vine that will do quite well on its own without any interference from you mister thank you very much.

Seriously, plant them in decent soil in full sun, give them a place to climb, and stand back. I grew mine on a 6 foot chain link fence and they did fine. Watered them as they looked liek they needed it. Very easy! Really!

In commercial applications, they use these monstorous tall rack things that let the hops grow 20 feet or more in the air, and then they lower them down for harvest. So do give them some space- if they are happy they will grow quickly and take up a whole fence.

HTH.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Nesting: Two broods of 3-5 blue-green eggs with a 12-14 day incubation period. Fledging occurs 14-16 days after hatching. The nest is a mud cup lined with soft grass and reinforced with grass and twigs. The nest is usually placed in a tree, on a ledge, or on a windowsill.” http://www.bird-friends.com/BirdPage.php?name=American+Robin

So they will hatch 12-14 days after the mother began incubating the eggs, and the babies will be fledging (leaving the nest) about 14-16 days after that.

Remember, though, that when they first leave the nest, they will not yet be flying, so you need to be careful of any pets or children that may be in the area.

Baby birds fledge (leave the nest) several days before they start to fly. They hop around on the ground, and they climb on low branches until their wings are strong enough for them to fly. The parent birds continue to feed and care for the fledglings until they are self-sufficient. If you see a baby bird on the ground, and the bird has most of his feathers, leave him alone. Do not think that he needs to be “rescued.”

If you see a baby bird on the ground, and the baby is naked or he has mostly fuzz, he is a nestling and is not ready to fledge. Try to put him back in the nest. Remember, do not worry about your scent being on him. It won’t bother the mother. Birds do not have an acute sense of smell, and the parents will not detect your scent on the baby.

If you can not get the nestling back into his own nest, hang a basket (like an easter basket) on a tree limb as close to the nest as you can reach. Place paper towel in the bottom of the basket, and put some grass and leaves in with the baby bird. The parents find their babies by sound, not by sight or smell, so as long as they can hear the baby, they will come and feed him. Placing it on a high limb will keep cats and other predators from getting it, as they would if you left it on the ground.

If you find a baby bird on the ground, and it seem to have been injured by the fall – or if you find an injured adult bird – contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. You should be able to find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm or here: http://www.wildliferehabber.org/

Licensed wildlife rehabilitators have the specialized training to care for sick, injured and orphaned wild animals, and they have the required state and federal licenses that allow them to keep the wild animals until they are healthy enough to be released.

Do not take the animal to a vet – vets are for pets, and most vets do not have the expertise to care for wild animals; nor do most vets have the proper licenses that would allow them to keep a recuperating wild animal.

Do not attempt to keep a wild bird and care for it yourself. Remember, in the US, all native migratory birds are protected under federal law (Migratory Bird Treaty Act), and it is illegal to keep any protected bird unless you have the required federal permits.

While preparing an injured bird to go to the rehabber, place him in a small box lined with paper towel – not cloth, as the bird’s nails could get caught in the material. Cover the box and place it in a warm, dark, quiet area. Do not allow any animals, children or excitable adults near it. Do not attempt to feed the bird – if you do not know what species it is, you don’t know what to feed it, and an inexperienced person can kill a bird attempting to feed it. Do not attempt to give it any water – it could aspirate and die. Get it to a rehabber as quickly as possible, within 4-6 hours if possible.

Hope some of this information has helped.

GardenersCardiff answers:

You can grow your own crop of them by planting seedlings. Or go to a ‘brew store’ that sells everthing for home brewing. Maybe order online!
Hope this helps!