Growing plants

SerephelSerephel
edited April 2010 in General
Orange Belt, I am not good at taking care of things. I am fairly good at taking care of myself, I mean, I haven't died yet. So that counts for something.

As a guy with his own living space, I have been debating getting a small kitten to love and cherish, and to entertain guests with its adorableness. But, it is a big responsibility, and it was one I decided to test on something smaller.

I tried growing plants.

I have failed twice.

The first plant was some generic frilly thing, I have no idea what. I kept it on my desk at work and watered it daily. It slowly wilted away, because I think it was unable to get sunlight; it was on my desk and away from the window. As a responsbile American, I abandoned it in the garden outside my apartment, and some nice elderly Chinese guy saved it. I felt kind of weird doing it, I actually was intending to take care of it and water it and stuff, but it's gone now.

Next I tried growing a cactus. I have two long cacti on my desk right now. Cacti don't need a lot. Many don't need much sunlight, and these don't.

But, I overwatered it, and one of them is brown and wilted. It has a loose grip on the soil, and when I poked it, water came spilling out from the bottom. The other is okay, but for how long, I do not know.

So, am I simply unexperienced and lacking a green thumb, or am I sorely incapable of caring for another living thing? If it's the latter, it seems like something I should work on...
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Comments

  • mariomario
    edited June 2008
    A plant will generally do well if you stick to its specific requirements. Try researching the optimal care and management methods for whatever plant you have in mind, and pick something with relatively low maintenance to start with. It sounds like you have a generally good idea of what your cacti need, but don't feel bad if one or two plants die on you; you can't always grab the pick of the litter (or whatever), and sometimes you just get a bad plant at end of life. Persevere!

    Also, get a cat. Cats are awesome.
  • illithid235illithid235
    edited June 2008
    I second that. I got a cat about six months ago (obviously you know this already, Ryan, but for the benefit of others) and she's been pretty easy to take care of. Just keep her litter box clean, feed and water her, and if she's acting funny, take her to the vet. And of course give lots of love and affection. It's not hard with something so furry and cuddly. I think you'd do fine.
  • brucebruce
    edited June 2008
    Get a ferret.
  • mariomario
    edited June 2008
    Illegal, at least in a few states. I know this because I wanted a ferret.
  • X'o'LoreX'o'Lore
    edited June 2008
    Illegal? I didn't know that.

    Also, it is my opinion that plants and fish are a couple of the hardest things to care for. A cat would probably be easier. I'm not going to tell you to get a cat. I think I've already talked about what I think of cats. I'm not really a pet person though, so my opinion on that matter should not be considered with much weight.
  • brucebruce
    edited June 2008
    They're illegal in CA yes :(

    Even though the Governator was saved by one in Kindergarten Cop.
  • illithid235illithid235
    edited June 2008
    I agree with X'o'lore. I never worried about taking care of my cat but plants intimidate me.
  • SilverwardSilverward
    edited June 2008
    You could get a marmot. Unless those are illegal as well.
  • Mish42Mish42
    edited June 2008
    Get a kitty!! Or a puppy, that will ALWAYS stay a puppy and never turn into a dog. I was with someone once who said that whenever he mentioned that someone's dog had puppies, every girl within earshot said "AWWWWWWW!!!", and then some guys.

    We figured it's an awesome pickup line.

    Guy: "I just got a kitten!"
    Girl: "Awww let me walk inside of your apartment and see it!"
    Guy: "Okay!"

    Kittens are way cooler than puppies though. This is coming from someone likely to become a crazy cat lady.
  • X'o'LoreX'o'Lore
    edited June 2008
    There are 3 little kittens that have been bumbling about my place for a short while now. It seems the dog has decided that they are not, in fact, chew toys this year. Their odds of survival have increased dramatically as a result.
  • hlavcohlavco
    edited June 2008
    My dad got two cacti about ten years ago. They were probably about three inches tall. Nowadays they site outside on a rock, and stay in our basement in the winter time. They're probably over two feet tall now and one of them started growing an arm. My little brother was hospitalized after he ran into one.
  • BehemothBehemoth
    edited June 2008
    Just remember, if you get a kitten, you'll be leaving him all alone for 8 hours every day, locked in your apartment. Get 2 or leave your balcony door open so he can go in and out. Animals, just like people, can develop mental disorders from all the solitude.
  • SerephelSerephel
    edited June 2008
    See, that's why I'm hesitant about the kitty. I work full time and live by myself, so he'd need some companionship. And, I'm afraid to let him outside, because there are a lot of mean and nasty strays around here.

    I could get two. That is twice as good as one.

    Actually, now that I think about it, I've never seen a single pet store here. Lots of people have dogs, so they must get them from somewhere...
  • mariomario
    edited June 2008
    The supermarket.

    ZING!
  • AgentcelAgentcel
    edited June 2008
    No, the ones at the super market are for eating.

    ZING!
  • ReallyCleanSocksReallyCleanSocks
    edited June 2008
    Kittens = Sex Magnet.

    Also, I'm growing enigma berries in Pokemon. Does that count?
  • NoLongerNoLonger
    edited June 2008
    Enigma berries!?!
  • ReallyCleanSocksReallyCleanSocks
    edited June 2008
    NoLonger wrote: »
    Enigma berries!?!

    I have absurdly uber stuff. Case and point, I own a level 100 Arceus thanks to a used game I purchased for my girlfriend. I got that berry from a recent Darkrai promotion. It was the item he was holding.
  • NoLongerNoLonger
    edited June 2008
    Damn cool man, damn cool.
  • ReallyCleanSocksReallyCleanSocks
    edited June 2008
    I also have Deoxys for reasons beyond my comprehension, and a level 100 Arbok.
  • hlavcohlavco
    edited June 2008
    I spent hours trying to catch a pikachu holding a Light Ball, and caught a shiny happiny in the process.
  • Mish42Mish42
    edited June 2008
    I tried to stay away from all things related to Pokemon while it was a huge craze way back when, and managed to stay away until Silver and Gold were the popular games. It started becoming less popular from then on, so I didn't get too hooked-- but MAN those games were fun. I'm tempted to go out and buy the rest of the games every now and then, but then I use my reasoning powers that I use when deciding whether to get any addictive game: I do not need to obsess over a video game, because if I can, I will.

    This is why I've stayed away from a bunch of online games too. I stayed away from the Sims for a few years, but I just recently got the Sims 2 and have been moderately addicted to it ever since. Luckily I could pry myself away though... stupid addicting games filled with joy and pleasure and good things and frustration, you take my life away!
  • NoLongerNoLonger
    edited June 2008
    In order to take your life away may I introduce to you MapleStory?
  • Mish42Mish42
    edited June 2008
    I just signed up... I'm going to regret this, aren't I?
  • NoLongerNoLonger
    edited June 2008
    Maybe, the beginning is boring later on it gets really fun (personally), but it's not really hard to quit. I've been playing since it just barely got out of beta (three years?) and I'm still a relatively low level, meaning I don't really play much. Oh and make sure you don' screw up your stats a lot, you might want to look up an AP build.
  • mariomario
    edited June 2008
    You will regret it. Maple Story is a timesink with which many of us have intimate experience.

    Pokémon rules. I'm getting one of these as soon as possible.
  • NoLongerNoLonger
    edited June 2008
    Aww, it's not so bad, I find it great, plus it's been getting really cool lately, though the latest patch is glitchy as hell, and the channels have been crashing, and they've been preforming server maintenance non-stop the past few days, but the glitches are slowly fading away.
  • illithid235illithid235
    edited June 2008
    A game where you have to look up how to make your character to succeed? That sounds like poor game design to me.
  • NoLongerNoLonger
    edited June 2008
    No you don't, but it's not hard to screw up.
  • hlavcohlavco
    edited June 2008
    mario wrote: »
    You will regret it. Maple Story is a timesink with which many of us have intimate experience.

    Pokémon rules. I'm getting one of these as soon as possible.

    I don't really like hypno, but the other ones are awesome. I hope they release ones with some of the... better... pokemon on them.

    Right now the only piece of pokemon-related clothing I wear is that Penny Arcade "It's super effective!" shirt.

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