Monday, October 6, 2008

Vinca poop

I was recently clipping my hedge for what I hope to be the last time this year! I talked about that long Hedge a while back and some of you suggested letting it grow as it would not get too tall. (click on the underlined to read about the hedge) I tried that theory and the hedge got taller then the retaining brick wall so it has to be clipped to look correct. I was hoping this experiment would turn out to be in my favor but no such luck. One thing for sure, with the drought, the hedge did not grow so quickly thus, me only having to clip it twice this year! My Back and Arms thank you Mr. Drought!

I was knee deep in clipping the hedge when my eye was drawn to something on the wall in front of the Perwinkle (Vinca). Lets move in for a closer look shall we?

Hum, now just what kind of critter let this poop on the wall? It resembles the bat poop we would find below the attic vents when we had bats living in our vents. The replacement of the vents and no more bats. We miss our bats but we will talk more about bats closer to Halloween time...


Have lots of creepy crawlies been gathering at the Vinca each night for parties? Have the Moles and Voles been planning their interstate projects on the wall? Just what could this poop be from? Ah, ha! I found the source of the poop! It is Vinca Poop! Yep, the seed pods of the Vinca are opening up and releasing seeds below. I had always wondered how those things reseed themselves and this is the first time I have ever noticed the pods or the seeds on the wall. I must pay closer attention to such fun things.

I have put a circle around a green pod so you can identify it while on the plant. This pod will dry out and then open up to release the seeds.

I decided to try my luck at saving some to scatter about in the butterfly garden. So I stopped working on the hedge and got a paint brush and swept the seeds off the wall and into a container. I held the container up to the seed but could not do that for taking these pictures. The Saint was not home to help the photographer.













I collected quite an amount of seeds and plan to continue to sweep them up as I see them on the wall.

Look at the hedge clippings in the container. It was next to impossible to not get them in the seeds. I will pluck out the debris when I have time to sit and do nothing else.


The seeds are super tiny about the size of an ant! See the blurry one on the tip of my finger? It is blurry because if I backed off to far, you could not see it at all. This close and it is blurry. Oh well, you can see how tiny the seeds are with this blurry picture.

Here is the planter that I took the seeds from. As you can see the planter is full of Vinca in colors of White, Pink and Purple. The purple were the only slips that I planted this spring. The White and Pink are self seeders. Notice how they have jumped the wall and are in the other planter to the right.
I will talk more about this planter another time but just wanted to share this great discovery of VINCA POOP, In the Garden...

28 comments:

  1. Who knew they pooped! I might have thought they were droppings from a caterpillar myself! Now you have seeds for next year's planting! Free, too! Yippee!

    Gail

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  2. That's a lot of Vinca and a lot of Vinca poop! I hope you have success with seeding your butterfly garden.

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  3. How neat! The vinca in the right place at the right time, or is it the wall...might be the hedges! More than likely it's the clipper!

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  4. At first I thought you may be talking about frog poop. They are messy, so are the little lizards. Glad you found out who pooped where. A lot of seeds for next yr. Wow, more freebies.
    Great pics too.

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  5. Hi Skeeter, how funny you are, I thought for sure it was a critter of some kind. The close ups look so much larger that those tiny seeds really are. Good job on showing us the how!
    Frances
    http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/

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  6. Thanks for sharing, I've never noticed the seed pods on them either. They must blend in quite a bit. I know that once I plant some they continue to reseed in that area forevermore. They are quite adaptable to shade or sun so they stay.

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  7. LOL, I'll bet that did startle you at first. To think there was that much rodent activity going on;) Glad it turned out not to be four legged critters.
    Marnie

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  8. LOL, who would have thought I'd be reading about "poop" first thing on a Monday morning:) Glad these were vinca seeds and not some critter droppings. I had no idea that vinca were such prolific self-seeders. You'll be able to fill up another flowerbed with all these seeds!

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  9. LOL, It sure does look like poop. You have a ton of it too! Pretty cool you got a bunch of free seeds for the butterfly garden. There are some seed sifters you might find to buy or make that will make short work of the debris in the seeds. I don't have one but would like one. Glad you got the hedge done! There are good sides to Mr. Drought afterall.

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  10. Not starting out a good morning for me. I had responded to each of your comments then accidently hit a wrong key and lost it all... arggg... So here I go again...

    Gail, I knew it was not caterpillar poop as the foliage was still in tact. Yep, more seeds to scatter...

    Cindy, They seed so easily that I am sure the butterfly garden will be all lit up next year with Vinca...

    Dawn, it was the clipper being at the right place at the right time. The clipper would have liked to be elsewhere that day though. lol...

    Lola, Yep those frogs and lizards do make a mess! I found a mess on a rocking chair this morning on the porch from a frog. His entire body print is on the chair! lol... Free is good...

    Frances, the seeds are really tiny. I have fun with the zoom lens but I must be standing far away to get a clear shot. The finger “seed shot” is blurry because my arms were not long enough.. lol...

    Racquel, They are great seeders and keep coming back year after year and fuller and fuller in the planters. They are my favorite flower in the yard with their carefree minds! I did not know they would make it in shade but think I will try that next year for some color in an empty planter by the street. It is mostly shade and the deer and rabbit eat everything else I put up there. They dont seem to bother the vinca...

    Roses & Lilacs, I was ever so glad it was not a 4 legged rodent. Then I would have had to tackle yet another task! Never ending battle living in the woods.

    Rose, I hope you had already had your coffee and cereal before reading this one today. Not for the weak stomachs. lol They are great seeders and dont require much of anything. A "Must" in my yard each year...

    Tina, I make a sifter to sift out the meal worms from the sawdust, I bet that would work for me too! Ah, you just spurred that neuron in my brain... lol... I bet when you first saw the pic you were thinking, Fertilizer! lol... Yep, the drought did keep the hedge from being my arm and back pains but sure would have been nice to stretch out on the sofa on the boat after the clippings. No water, not much hedge growth. But also, no water in the lake. argggg...

    Wow, there is a flock of crow’s cackling up a storm in the woods. I heard the hawk so think they are harassing him... Or maybe they are harassing the fake crows in my Fall Display… tee hee…

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  11. Well now that is the best poop anyone could find!!!

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  12. Hahaha! This post is hilarious! Now I know some plants poop! You have lots of seeds!

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  13. Jean, I have heard that Cricket Crap is good too! lol...

    Gisele Schoene, I have lots of seeds and collecting more since this was written! Glad I got a giggle out of you... lol

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  14. That's quite an interesting way of looking at seeds! We have enough poop around here with the diapers that I'd rather not look at more of it in seeds! ;)

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  15. Dave, that is funny. I am sure you do see your share of poop. lol One day the girls will Big Girls and that poop will all be "behind" you. No pun intended.. tee hee..

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  16. Skeeter, this is too funny. Thanks for brightening my rainy day.

    Deb.

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  17. Skeeter, Isn't cricket crap used for something in particular? Can't remember off hand.

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  18. Never a boring moment with you, Skeeter! I've noticed a shift in some blogs lately from insect porn to bathroom humor. Wonder what that's all about? Think it could have something to do with political ad/financial crisis overload? Hey guys, we're fed up, and now look at what you've made us do!

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  19. Wow, you had me going there for awhile!
    Brenda

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  20. Aunt Debbi, glad I could brighten your day. Now brighten mine by sending me some of that rain... lol...

    Lola, I think it is used as fertilizer and also for raising worm beds. My neighbor just gave a load of horse poop to a guy that had gotten Cricket Crap from a cricket farm. He is going to raise worms...

    Walk2Write, Yep at this time in our country, we all need a bit of humor that is for sure... lol. I refuse to look at our accounts for fear I will cry so a laugh at Vinca Poop is the way to go for me today!

    Brenda, Sorry if you were expecting a strange critter or something other then the Vinca poo... lol... Thanks for popping in for a laugh. I come from a long line of story tellers... tee hee...

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  21. What'd it smell like?? ;~)

    Loved this poopy post!

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  22. that is one kind of poo i would not mind. great little harvest of those seeds for next year.

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  23. TC, I had a can of air freshener with me so I did not get a whiff.. tee hee...

    Marmee, Yep, good poo to have in the yard unlike the cats next door! arggg...
    Plenty of seeds to scatter about next spring....

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  24. Just a quick question. Does Echanacae have seeds in that little pod?

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  25. Are you talking about coneflowers Lola? This is echinacea. They do have seeds in the seed head that should be ripe now.

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  26. Skeeter, I love this article. Even 2 yrs later, it helped me. My vincas land on the ground once they've dropped and make it impossible to collect. So, to catch the seeds for next year, I have found that if I pluck the seed pods when they turn yellow, when you can see the black "poop" through the pods but before they open, I can still collect the seeds. I put them in an envelope where I can either split them open to get the seeds, or just wait for them to dry and open themselves. This works really well for me. You just can't get them too early or the seeds don't finish developing. 1st they are a smooth green. 2nd they get a bit bumpy b/c the seeds are formimg, but they are still green. 3rd the seeds start to get dark and you can barely start to see the seeds inside (they can be picked here). Next, they start to turn yellow and the seeds are quite noticible (this is when I pick them). Finally, they turn a papery brown, open, and the seeds then drop. Just thought this might help some of your readers.

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  27. Hi Anonymous, Thanks so much for your tip on collecting vinca seeds. It will indeed be a big help. Skeeter is out of the net right now but I'll let her know how to collect them without picking them off from the ground. I wonder if it will work for 4 o'clocks? I hate picking those up from the ground. In fact, I need to sort them today. You have a fabulous day and again thanks for your great tip and comment.

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  28. Mine just pooped today...so happy :) I had empty pots that needed new plants so now I don't have to worry about getting new ones as my vinca seeds will go in there.

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