Posted on 04/27/2012 8:13:43 AM PDT by JustaDumbBlonde
Good morning everyone! I'm looking forward to hearing your gardening challenges and successes today. Please check in and let us know how it's going.
This morning I've put together a little pictorial of how Mark and I cut a honey bee hive out of a wall or similar place. This is a medium-sized cutout that we did back in March. The hive was located in an old shed that the owner wanted to tear down, but they were trying to reclaim windows and the old boards and the bees weren't having any of that. So, the owner got her building back and Mark got a beautiful and productive hive of bees! Talk about win-win!
I hope that you found that interesting and informative. Inviting your questions and/or comments.
Have a great week!
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
Fried chicken - especially the wings - with honey is pure Heaven on Earth. We have Popeye’s here where you can get ‘magic sprinkle’ packets of hot spice and honey packets to sprinkle and dribble over their spicy fried chicken.
mmmmmmmmmm
Take a deep breath ... we can deal with this!! Tell me ... have you continuously been overwatering, or is this a one-time occurrence, or what?
Good going on the taters. For some reason I think you’re safe from frost at this point ... but what do I know? It would be good to get an early start though, huh? Thank goodness for the rain. A slow soaker is the best kind!
Best wishes on the berries! Down here they turn the sprinklers on if they anticipate a freeze. The ice protects the plants. Doubt it would help blossoms or fruit though.
Anybody that pours honey or gravy over fried chicken is full blooded Southern!
Nice photo! My new camera tends to wash out the vivid colors that my old A540 Canon captured...
Next 3 nights it’s back to lows of 33-35, with a slight chance of snow again. 4,200’ elevation, so you never know.
Thanks TB. That picture was taken with a Canon (SX150) on the foliage setting. I like being able to use standard AA batteries, although it eats them pretty fast.
we can deal with this!!
Oh! I do hope so!
We’re in a two year drought. The ground is really dry.
The trees are planted 25ft apart on a very slight slope.
Tree one is in ground with baseball sized rock and dirt.
Tree two is in ground with some rock and mostly dirt.
Tree three is in all dirt, no rock.
They came from the tree farm in burlap & baskets. Our tractor dug good holes, and I added loose sandy soil from an old flood plain.
Through the winter I watered every two weeks.
Tree one budded slightly, but never leafed out.
Tree two flowered and leafed very slowly.
Tree three flowered and leafed early and fast.
I began to think tree one was in trouble because of the all the rocks, so I began watering about once a week, maybe a month ago.
Tree one does nothing.
Trees 2 & 3 are wilting.
Learning to live with this soil is really tough. It’ll look bone dry on the surface, but hold the water deep, or I can water like crazy and it never breaks the surface.
About two weeks ago I applied a liquid all-purpose fertilizer...not
strong and with lots of water. I’ve used it on my raised garden, young fruit trees, etc. It hasn’t harmed anything else.
Tree one really looks like it’s dying. It’s green under the bark and larger branches, but looks dry.
Two and three trunks are deep green,and aside from all the leafs wilting,look like they can recover.
I think they sank during the winter, so I’ve carefully pulled dirt away, and removed the bowls so the ground is almost level, and loosend the dirt well away from the roots.
Finally, I did a very, very light watering just on the surface.
We’re having daily high winds. One day super windy and 101, and the next few days high winds in the 80’s.
I’m not even sure the high heat hasn’t hurt the young leaves.
As you see, there are several factors...
My sincere thanks for your help!
Thanks, it’s all good. Take care of your wrist.
Maybe I just need to learn to use the new Fuji 4500 but I don’t have enough brain cells left to memorize settings. I bought it because it has a wider lens and longer zoom.
I talked to my dad this morning and asked him of all the food his mom cooked, what were his favorites? He had two right off the top of his head: maccaroni & cheese (the ‘real’ stuff, no out-of-the-box back in those days!) and salsify. So what in the heck (you might be asking at this moment) is salsify?
Salsify is a carrot-like root vegetable with a mild oyster taste. Here’s the Wikipedia description:
“Tragopogon, also known as salsify or goatsbeard, is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family Asteraceae that has over 140 species, including the vegetable known as salsify, as well as a number of common wild flowers, some of which are usually regarded as weeds. The vegetable called salsify is usually the root of purple salsify, Tragopogon porrifolius; the root is described as having the taste of oysters (hence the alternative common name “oyster plant” for some species in this genus), but more insipid with a touch of sweetness. The young shoots of purple salsify can also be eaten, as well as young leaves.”
I remember eating my granny’s salsify side dish and I loved the stuff, but then again, I am also very partial to oysters so it stands to reason I would like salsify. It was made very similarly to maccaroni & cheese, but without the cheese, if that makes any sense. I do remember that she used crushed saltine crackers rather than bread crumbs for her casserole toppings.
In researching some vintage recipes, I found one that sounds like what she used to make if you substitute the crushed saltines for the bread crumbs. It is found in Vaughan’s Vegetable Cook Book (1919) and it is called ‘Escalloped Salsify’:
Instructions
“Cook salsify in salted water until tender, alternate it in a baking dish with bread crumbs seasoned with pepper and salt, and dot with butter. Moisten it with cream or milk and a little melted butter, cover the top with bread crumbs dotted with butter, and bake a light brown.”
Now comes the challenge ...... to find some salsify seeds and see if I can get it to grow in MY garden. Just curious .... anyone else familiar with ‘salsify’? Most folks have never heard of it.
Wow, what more can I say? That bee thing is amazing!
Yeah, that was what it was like here in San Antonio. With 95+ days this week the summer outlook is bleak, to say the least.
On the bright side of things, husky cherry tomato plants are full of promising husky clusters. Thanks JDB for recomending the variety!
Started picking both baby cucino and soyu long cucumbers plus space masters have started to grow. Got a dozen tomato plants in ground and pots. Got three volunteers. This afternoon will transplant six Kellog's Breakfast Tomatoes. That should be interesting. Green and yellow tomatoes are definitely not recommended for our area. But, hope springs eternal!
Thai, cayenne and jalapeno peppers are hanging on. Hot weather is good for them. Sweet peppers -- Chinese Giant, Camelot and Big Early -- have little peppers growing. Two of my H.E.B. mystery peppers survived the winter and have little peppers growing. Will be interesting to see what the plants produce.
I see it all the time in the seed catalogs, but I don’t like oysters so I never bothered. I think it’s more popular over in Europe, the Brits on one of the gardening forums I frequent talk about it a lot.
You're very welcome. Very hardy plants that produce tons of tomatoes. You can't hardly beat a husky cherry red. My next favorites are chocolate cherry and Sweet 100.
As a general rule, frequent watering encourages shallow roots, while deep and periodic watering promotes deeper root structure.
Hope this helps! Good luck.
I just came across your Weekly Gardening Thread and would like to be added to your ping list. I live in Central CA and grow citrus, roses, camellias, and bougainvilleas mostly...along with other ornamentals in my small garden. I have pretty much given up growing any edibles (other than citrus and a bit of mint). I lack the space and dedication to keep up with the feeding and insect control required. Indoors, my passion is African Violets.
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