General suggestions

[~Obsidian~]

I'll be putting any suggestions for the forum in this thread, I hope it's in the right place.

Now off the top of my head, I think we should have a sub-forum, for people to recommend the best places to buy plants/seeds/tools/aids etc. I say sub-forum because you'd need different threads for the UK and the US for example. You can also post good online sites in there too?

I also think you could have a sub-forum dedicated to techniques based upon terms such as transplanting etc. In each thread you could put a general explanation and everybody could contribute their own personal tips for the procedure.
More to come later inshAllah and if you need any help with it just lemme know :cool:

[Riz]

Now off the top of my head, I think we should have a sub-forum, for people to recommend the best places to buy plants/seeds/tools/aids etc. I say sub-forum because you'd need different threads for the UK and the US for example. You can also post good online sites in there too?

Thank you. Great ideas in the coming weeks we shall do this, we are just loading up content to the forum and inshallah get more people registered and more importantly get them growing.

I also think you could have a sub-forum dedicated to techniques based upon terms such as transplanting etc. In each thread you could put a general explanation and everybody could contribute their own personal tips for the procedure.
:cool:That would be very useful, i have many pics and articles i have written offline, just need to sort it all out and upload it which i will in the coming weeks

thank you.. please keep the ideas coming.

[~Obsidian~]

Just a bump for all of those who have recently joined/are thinking of joining, if you think muslimgrower.com is lacking in something or you just have an idea, post it in here!

[~Obsidian~]

Wuhoo nifty smilies!:sun-005:

[~Obsidian~]

I come on ummah and I come on here...it gets confusing! How about changing the forum colours to different shades of green in the spirit of growing?

[Riz]

I come on ummah and I come on here...it gets confusing! How about changing the forum colours to different shades of green in the spirit of growing?

you know something, i was thinking of a more earthy design.. blue is a cold colour eh :)

we are working on it.

[~Obsidian~]

Errr...Riz? What happened to the forum? My eyes are offended! :eek: I hope it doesn't seem like I'm being picky (Coz I'm not trying to be!) but the combination of icky dark green and bright off-white background is making my eyes cross a little :/

[Riz]

just trying out new colours.. :D

ill sort out the colours later on tonight inshallah .. :)

[~Obsidian~]

Cool beans :D

[Riz]

what do you think about these skins for muslimgrower instead of the blue ?

all suggestions welcome

http://vbskins.com/forums/?styleid=220

http://vbskins.com/forums/?styleid=56

http://vbskins.com/forums/index.php?styleid=176

[~Obsidian~]

My vote to the second one

[~Obsidian~]

General loony suggestion, can we change the colour of our names? And as it is, unregistered people get to see everything members do, theres no real perks to signing up apart from the ability to post atm.

And how about forum identity, do you have a logo?

[Sarah]

Riz, what happened to you're banner? It looked better that what you've replaced it with. :p

Plus, I agree with that green being disgusting. It's actually the exact same colour I tried on my forum.

[Riz]

General loony suggestion, can we change the colour of our names? And as it is, unregistered people get to see everything members do, theres no real perks to signing up apart from the ability to post atm.

And how about forum identity, do you have a logo?

you cant change the colour of the names at the moment. Its the same with most forums though you can view but to post you have to register.. I am waiting for the new skin for the forum along with banner etc... I have been busy with work this week and today is the only day i have off :eek:

[Riz]

Riz, what happened to you're banner? It looked better that what you've replaced it with. :p

Plus, I agree with that green being disgusting. It's actually the exact same colour I tried on my forum.
yeah..

i was just trying out new things... maybe something else tonight if my new skin doesnt show in my inbox :)

[Riz]

i have updated the forum software aswell.. the company who host muslimgrower are all based in india and some of them are muslims, the most helpful people i have ever met much kudos to them......

[Sarah]

yeah..

i was just trying out new things... maybe something else tonight if my new skin doesnt show in my inbox :)

Cool, you're getting a skin. Will stop it looking like ummah.com.

[~Obsidian~]

Which skin did you go for in the end?

[Riz]

Which skin did you go for in the end?

The forum comes in ice blue ( default) not the ideal colour for a grow site :) i have the new version of the software so the skins are still being updated for the new versions..

you will have to wait and see grasshopper !!!:stormy::stormy:

[~Obsidian~]

Its the same with most forums though you can view but to post you have to register..

I'm using ummah as an example here because it's the only other forum I'm a part of, but when you register on ummah you have access to much more such as the member announcements, seeing who is online, access to muslim forum and brothers/sisters forum, which you can't have unless you're registered. Whereas on here you can see everything, and the only difference between being registered and not registered is the ability to post. So why would a person register if they didn't really need to?

[~Obsidian~]

New suggestion..can we have a nut forum? :D Because I wanna make a thread for peanuts, and even though they are technically leghumes I'm a bit confused as to where I should post them, what if people are growing nuts?!

And how about a tree forum?

And an identification forum? As in, somebody could post up a picture (be it pest or plant) and other members can attempt to identify it. There could also be stickys in there on basic leaf shapes/tree shapes/plant shapes/flower shapes/bean/seed shapes so that people can learn to identify general things (such as evergreen from deciduous etc.), and maybe the general outline of the soil test- Identifying clay, sand and loam (the spitting test :eek:).

Trivia forum? Fun facts such as how plants in the desert can have a wide but shallow network of roots for quicker absorption etc. (A place to stick the random fun knowledge!)

[Riz]

I'm using ummah as an example here because it's the only other forum I'm a part of, but when you register on ummah you have access to much more such as the member announcements, seeing who is online, access to muslim forum and brothers/sisters forum, which you can't have unless you're registered. Whereas on here you can see everything, and the only difference between being registered and not registered is the ability to post. So why would a person register if they didn't really need to?

salaam..

I use to participate in a lot of growing discussion forums in the past, and most growing forums had the same setup as muslimgrower, I feel people who are really intrested in growing will register and par take anyhow, But i could lock the veg forum ( most popular) so the guests who surf wont be able to view it unless they register , yet will still be able to surf and view other forums.. eh !?

[Riz]

New suggestion..can we have a nut forum? :D Because I wanna make a thread for peanuts, and even though they are technically leghumes I'm a bit confused as to where I should post them, what if people are growing nuts?!

:) great idea.. I wanted to grow peanuts for a while

And how about a tree forum?
And an identification forum? As in, somebody could post up a picture (be it pest or plant) and other members can attempt to identify it. There could also be stickys in there on basic leaf shapes/tree shapes/plant shapes/flower shapes/bean/seed shapes so that people can learn to identify general things (such as evergreen from deciduous etc.), and maybe the general outline of the soil test- Identifying clay, sand and loam (the spitting test :eek:).

i will work on that aswell.. i have 2 indoor plants which need identifying, ive had them for a while now and have lost the little identity tag that came with it.

[~Obsidian~]

salaam..

I use to participate in a lot of growing discussion forums in the past, and most growing forums had the same setup as muslimgrower, I feel people who are really intrested in growing will register and par take anyhow, But i could lock the veg forum ( most popular) so the guests who surf wont be able to view it unless they register , yet will still be able to surf and view other forums.. eh !?

Umm, if you locked it how would unregistered guests know that it exists? :confused:

I think the members' gallery could be locked, although it does serve to motivate some people.

Maybe when you've established the website (e.g. got all sub-forums up and running and whatnot) you can have an idea of what to lock.

Would it be possible to have the sub-forum link visible, but when you click on it as unregistered you get a message saying you must register to view the contents? (Things like that really annoy me but they do get me to join!)

Oh and, forum still looks the same

[~Obsidian~]

What happened to the pickling forum? Perhaps you should call it the preservation forum, it could contain threads on pickling, canning, making jams and freezing or drying out things.

[Riz]

What happened to the pickling forum? Perhaps you should call it the preservation forum, it could contain threads on pickling, canning, making jams and freezing or drying out things.

yes.

I pickled two 1/2 litre canning jars of chilis a couple of days ago using white vinegar i think its more healthier than achaar, and its so easy to do, will have to wait 3 to 4 weeks before i can try them.. its all air tight and sealed and ill be showing all this with some decent pictures in the new "preservation" forum

coming very soon inshallah

[~Obsidian~]

Awesome!!

:natur014:

But the slogan is a little long, maybe it should just be 'share the inspiration' ?

[Kirsten]

Wow this is super pretty!

[Sarah]

Nice skin Riz

[Kirsten]

What happened to the pickling forum? Perhaps you should call it the preservation forum, it could contain threads on pickling, canning, making jams and freezing or drying out things.

Or even just cooking and eating, for recipes and stuff :)

[~Obsidian~]

Or even just cooking and eating, for recipes and stuff :)

Ah..D'oh! :D That should be another sub-forum though I think. I could see that getting rather crowded with recipes:p

[~Obsidian~]

One requests at the very least a thread on building raised flower beds. :o

[Riz]

One requests at the very least a thread on building raised flower beds. :o


good idea.. and how to build a raised veggie bed :)

its all in the pipeline

[~Obsidian~]

The pipeline is clogged! :D I kid...I was going to make one myself but I haven't the foggiest so I was wondering if anybody else had experience :o

Might start one anyway:natur014:

[Riz]

well you see..

The growing season is slowly coming to an end for us in the uk, apart from the potatoes which you can still plant now for a mid november harvest... So the plan was too to start the veggie bed and the flower bed sometime in march, with pics from start to finish and thats the time i was going to start that particular thread. So we need something to keep everyone at muslimgrower intrested in growing through the autumn and winter.. when there is not much growing in the way of vegetables,
so any suggestions will be welcome

ps: i might be growing something indoors over autumn and winter..

there is the preservation forum, i mislaid the pics i taken of the chili pickling process but its been started.. ( ill find the pics later)

[~Obsidian~]

Okey dokey :) one shall instead focus on garden design and whatnot to while away the autumn/winter hours *twiddles thumbs* I'm going to look into it anyway as I would love to get a head-start on the summer growing (remember I planted my toms really early :p)

Quick question, what kind of plastic do they use to cover greenhouses? Because I'd like to build a shelter over a couple of beds inshAllah (or at least think about it) so I can protect early seedlings

[Riz]

Please feel free to start a thread of your choice at anytime or even an article that you have found intresting, just link the source. We can discuss any aspect of gardening :)

a cold frame eh ! :) good idea

just the regular plastic sheeting form B&Q will suffice

[~Obsidian~]

Oooh I just noticed you changed the slogan!

[Riz]

Oooh I just noticed you changed the slogan!

i know nothing gets past you :)

[~Obsidian~]

i know nothing gets past you :)

*scratches head*

[Riz]

A tree forum would be a good idea i feel.. i for one love trees, the older the better, i love oak trees and sickamore trees.. and a few more i dont know the names of :)

[~Obsidian~]

Good idea. We should list the trees that we would like to see in the forum, and in our spare time we could pick one from the list and do some research (would need to let the others know of our chosen topics though, so we don't get any doubles)

[Riz]

Good idea. )

I think it was your idea :)

[~Obsidian~]

Does muslimgrower have a logo? Is that the logo up there?

[Riz]

i guess it is, why do you ask ?

[~Obsidian~]

:D

Just wondering

[~Obsidian~]

Your idea of people evaluating the tomatoes for their suitability to grow in British weather (cor that was a mouthful!) got me thinking: You could dedicate a thread to that, but also, is there a way for people to put on their profiles what plants they have grown? Gives an indication of who to ask for advice.

[Riz]

Your idea of people evaluating the tomatoes for their suitability to grow in British weather (cor that was a mouthful!) got me thinking: You could dedicate a thread to that, but also, is there a way for people to put on their profiles what plants they have grown? Gives an indication of who to ask for advice.

another great idea :)

ill work out how to do that. We need people to post on a regular basis to make things really work inshallah... We are hoping to get people inspired in the off-season to grow for the coming season so we hope we get more people joining in and growing with the rest of so we can make this a vibrant place to discuss all aspects of growing with other musilms and of course non muslims.

[~Obsidian~]

It's not a suggestion, I'm just wondering where everyone's gone :( this hyperactive member is getting lonely :( *listens to the echo of her post in the silent forum*

[Riz]

It's not a suggestion, I'm just wondering where everyone's gone :( this hyperactive member is getting lonely :( *listens to the echo of her post in the silent forum*

You know something ummah.com has 38,000 registered members. Maybe 90% Muslims on it and only a handful of Muslims are growing or gardening it could be the "age factor" as well but I have not met many Muslims online that like growing I have been on several growing discussion forums in the past and failed to find any Muslims. A lot of my friends appreciate flowers and all the pretty colours but it ends there. I don’t know many people (Muslims) in between the ages of 18 to 30 that grow vegetables or flowers.

What do you think?

[Kirsten]

It's not a suggestion, I'm just wondering where everyone's gone :( this hyperactive member is getting lonely :( *listens to the echo of her post in the silent forum*

I'm here! I check this forum at least 10 times a day :) Though occasionally I have to do some work too...

[Te'oma]

A tree forum would be a good idea i feel.. i for one love trees, the older the better, i love oak trees and sickamore trees.. and a few more i dont know the names of :)

A tree forum? nawww that would be too much like work :p

[Riz]

A tree forum? nawww that would be too much like work :p


aww come on, so youre not a tree hugger :)

[~Obsidian~]

You know something ummah.com has 38,000 registered members. Maybe 90% Muslims on it and only a handful of Muslims are growing or gardening it could be the "age factor" as well but I have not met many Muslims online that like growing I have been on several growing discussion forums in the past and failed to find any Muslims. A lot of my friends appreciate flowers and all the pretty colours but it ends there. I don’t know many people (Muslims) in between the ages of 18 to 30 that grow vegetables or flowers.

What do you think?
I think there are alot of misconceptions about growing (that it's hard) or negative publicity (tis uncool/only for old people). Also some people are just too lazy to discover what it's like, and some people think such things are beneath them (although thats a rarity). Ah well, rising food prices and such might bring 'em here eventually, and if it does they'll wish they had prior experience. So to sum up...:confused:
I'm here! I check this forum at least 10 times a day :) Though occasionally I have to do some work too...
Yeah I know you are :) I suppose I'm just used to the ummah forum where theres like a hundred new posts all the time. I need to get back to uni, too much time on my hands right now I'm afraid!
A tree forum? nawww that would be too much like work
Then either ignore it like the plague, or step in and give us some help, cuz we still want to learn! Which reminds me..is there a disease or something that could cause limbs to fall off the tree? It was a sycamore branch that fell :eek:

[Te'oma]

Then either ignore it like the plague, or step in and give us some help, cuz we still want to learn! Which reminds me..is there a disease or something that could cause limbs to fall off the tree? It was a sycamore branch that fell :eek:

Is it a mature tree? If it is, they grow in cycles ie they produce a lot of foliage for a few years and then they realize that they are out of balance with more top then root. This starts a die back of the top until the roots catch up again.
I am assuming that there is grass all around the tree. What you can do to help it out is what is called deep root fertilization. Basically, you go around the drip line of the tree with a piece of 1" steel pipe about 60cm long and drive it into the soil about 45 cm deep. Pull it out and fill the hole with a decent fertilizer.
Usually when people fertilize, the grass steals most of the nutrients. This gets the fertilizer down below the grass and in the root zone of the tree.

[Te'oma]

aww come on, so youre not a tree hugger :)

Most of my job is cutting them down or at least pruning them

[~Obsidian~]

Is it a mature tree? If it is, they grow in cycles ie they produce a lot of foliage for a few years and then they realize that they are out of balance with more top then root. This starts a die back of the top until the roots catch up again.
I am assuming that there is grass all around the tree. What you can do to help it out is what is called deep root fertilization. Basically, you go around the drip line of the tree with a piece of 1" steel pipe about 60cm long and drive it into the soil about 45 cm deep. Pull it out and fill the hole with a decent fertilizer.
Usually when people fertilize, the grass steals most of the nutrients. This gets the fertilizer down below the grass and in the root zone of the tree.

Theres no grass around it (none that I can see anyway). And it's not my tree at all, it leans over the back wall and about a year ago two huge limbs dropped off. It's totally saturated with ivy, too so it ends up looking evergreen. We burned one of the limbs and the smoke was disgustingly thick and slightly off colour

[Te'oma]

Theres no grass around it (none that I can see anyway). And it's not my tree at all, it leans over the back wall and about a year ago two huge limbs dropped off. It's totally saturated with ivy, too so it ends up looking evergreen. We burned one of the limbs and the smoke was disgustingly thick and slightly off colour

what kind of ivy is it? Some of them are parasitic and could be feeding off of the tree. You need to have an arborist take a close look at it or perhaps give me some pix of the ivy and the tree itself.

[Riz]

Most of my job is cutting them down or at least pruning them


Hehe really i didnt know !!

are you familiar with dating trees aswell ? by taking a look at the tree rings. i find that intresting. I love trees the older the better.. oak trees are my favourite along with the sycamore tree..

here is a pic i have had for a while its a juniper tree in pakistan..( not my pic)

[~Obsidian~]

What I find confusing about dating trees is that I always thought you had to cut them down to find that out? How else do they do it? Apart from carbon-dating

[Riz]

What I find confusing about dating trees is that I always thought you had to cut them down to find that out? How else do they do it? Apart from carbon-dating

i think they drill a hole in the middle of the trunk and take the core out and read it !!!

i could be wrong though :)

you see you were right about a "tree forum"

now we have a resident expert to ask....:scene1:

[~Obsidian~]

Yeah, I hope it doesn't seem too much like work for him though:sunny:

[Riz]

it will be like a busman`s holiday for him...

[Te'oma]

The best way to date a tree is to do a core sample. You use a special drill that removes a small cylinder of wood. You can then count the rings in the core sample. You then replace the core and the tree will heal around it

[~Obsidian~]

The best way to date a tree is to do a core sample. You use a special drill that removes a small cylinder of wood. You can then count the rings in the core sample. You then replace the core and the tree will heal around it

Now THAT is nifty

[Te'oma]

Now THAT is nifty

We do that all the time to evaluate the condition of trees too. You can't tell how extensive cavities are in some trees without doing this. Some trees like maples can be massive and yet they only have a thin shell of healthy wood with a large rotten core. Those are the ones that blow over

[Riz]

We do that all the time to evaluate the condition of trees too. You can't tell how extensive cavities are in some trees without doing this. Some trees like maples can be massive and yet they only have a thin shell of healthy wood with a large rotten core. Those are the ones that blow over

i was listening to a evangelical preacher on the net 2 weeks ago and he said the earth was less than 5000 years old and he further went on to say thats the reason why you dont get trees older than 4,500 years old ?

ps.. i listen to allsorts :)

[Te'oma]

i was listening to a evangelical preacher on the net 2 weeks ago and he said the earth was less than 5000 years old and he further went on to say thats the reason why you dont get trees older than 4,500 years old ?

ps.. i listen to allsorts :)

ummm yeah...ok

[Riz]

:tree-huggin:

i love this smilie

[~Obsidian~]

Lol! I miss my sunny smilie:016: this isn't as bold or bright!!
:040: This one is hilarious! Oh and it doesn't look like your campfire one is working?

[Riz]

^ yeah

ill sort that out :)

i just had some great chicken roast the chutney was spicy.. ( my own chilis)

[Te'oma]

My all time fave smiley is this one
http://bestsmileys.com/lol/4.gif
but you will see me using this one a lot too :p

[~Obsidian~]

MEOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Gardeners!

I'm just mekkin some noise :o

General suggestion...more members :eek: :D so get signing up!!

[~Obsidian~]

:eek: I love this emoticon!! It's...me!!

:twister2:

[Riz]

:twister2: :swayingpine:



whoaa its a twister.!!

[~Obsidian~]

I just bought this tree plant thingy..dunno what its called atm (I'll take a look later) although it looks like a light green conifer? It's awesome anywhoo, I'mma plant it outside! :D

[~Obsidian~]

About the groups....we could make groups such as UK growers and US growers and such (we could generalise them more, we need input before they are created).

Not to divide the masses of course, just to distinguish who can give you more detailed info relevant to your area.

Just a thought

[Riz]

that's a great idea..

not enough people registered at the moment to really make that idea viable.. but great idea non the less... inshallah next year in march we shall do banner advertising on Muslim forums so people are aware of a website called muslimgrower.

[~Obsidian~]

Yeha for some reason my ideas are for when we have more members inshaAllah.

:freezing:

[Kasim]

I dont know if this has been mentioned before but I think we should have a non muslimgrower sub forum or something like that just to ease off the whole gardening thing. To be honest if i have to spend one day on this forum, i would be dreaming about jumanji jungle or something (pardon my humour) lol if you lot catch my drift. Thanks

[~Obsidian~]

A place to put all the random spammy-spam? I had a thought like that but I dunno. Up to Riz

[Kasim]

Well spammers cant get in because of the verification thing but a section for non gardening thing like islamic stuff or anything. Even in future if you get a lot of members and if people wish to stick to this forum, then let them have a wide broad range of things to surf. Obviously the main genre is and will be gardening.
Come to think of it, its been a month i never been in my garden.

[Riz]

Well spammers cant get in because of the verification thing but a section for non gardening thing like islamic stuff or anything. Even in future if you get a lot of members and if people wish to stick to this forum, then let them have a wide broad range of things to surf. Obviously the main genre is and will be gardening.
Come to think of it, its been a month i never been in my garden.

salaam kasim.

Nice to see you again :)

The spammers are now using humans instead of BOTS to fill out on line registrations that's why they can get through the verification...

yeah some good ideas. we are working on some changes...

[~Obsidian~]

Well spammers cant get in because of the verification thing but a section for non gardening thing like islamic stuff or anything. Even in future if you get a lot of members and if people wish to stick to this forum, then let them have a wide broad range of things to surf. Obviously the main genre is and will be gardening.
Come to think of it, its been a month i never been in my garden.

Lol I didn't mean that kinda spam :o

[Riz]

I dont know if this has been mentioned before but I think we should have a non muslimgrower sub forum or something like that just to ease off the whole gardening thing. To be honest if i have to spend one day on this forum, i would be dreaming about jumanji jungle or something (pardon my humour) lol if you lot catch my drift. Thanks

sorry kasim i missed this post...

you mean like a "green room" were you can chat about random stuff !?

[Kasim]

sorry kasim i missed this post...

you mean like a "green room" were you can chat about random stuff !?

Well random as you can say but im quite amazed at the human spam thing. Do they have an organization for that? Thats one hell of a time waste too

[Te'oma]

that's a great idea..

not enough people registered at the moment to really make that idea viable.. but great idea non the less... inshallah next year in march we shall do banner advertising on Muslim forums so people are aware of a website called muslimgrower.

might I suggest doing that in January or Febuary to give a headstart to the growing season.

[Riz]

might I suggest doing that in January or Febuary to give a headstart to the growing season.

salaam..

yes the early the better, give people a chance to get everything :)

Will also have an event in march and we will be giving away free seeds for tomatoes/chilis/herbs, delivered anywhere for free :)
Its all thanks to a English website which sells seeds online and have offered to give our users free seeds :) more details to come on a later date inshallah :)

[~Obsidian~]

Nifty new banner Riz!

[Riz]

thanks glad you like it :)

[~Obsidian~]

You changed the other page...

I don't think you need it at all!

(If you do plan to keep it, at least indicate that you need to click on the logo!)

[Riz]

yeah..

don't know what happened there lol..

ill look into it....

[Riz]

the splash page is now gone for good. so now www.muslimgrower.com brings you straight to the discussion forum.. :)

[~Obsidian~]

Wuhoo!

[~Obsidian~]

Banner is up, banner is up, banner is up on ummah! :D

[Foz]

just saw it :GreenThumbs:

[~Obsidian~]

Hows about a subforum in 'The Garden Shed' or a new forum, dedicated to videos? I know you've posted some good videos on how to germinate things but I can't find them, so the new forum would be for ease of reference?

[edibles]

riz when im logged in the time is fine and has moved forward 1hr like it should, but before i log in it is 1hr behind

[aamirc]

probably your date settings for your account are set different to the websites settings

[edibles]

no it sorted itself out, i think it was because the clocks forward 1hr