Posted on 09/16/2016 3:59:51 PM PDT by greeneyes
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. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no telling where it will go and... that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! NOTE: This is a once a week ping list. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest are welcomed, so feel free to post them at any time.
I always plant garlic in the fall. Chives are good almost anytime. Lettuce, endive, and spinach are good too.
It’s amazing how fast the time goes by. I miss my doggie, but I don’t miss waking up early to let her out. The puppies sound cute.
Gonna see if we can find a small something for it to climb for the garden.
Sorry for the HUGE linky.. lotsa results. I’m primarily a landscape gardener except for a pot of basil, parsley, rosemary and tomatoes. NO thyme, NO sage. Not much time either lol.
We also have a Beagles as a house dog. Chief. He’s a real sweetheart, going on 3 years old, and spoiled rotten...thanks to me. ;)
But, I miss my Basset Hound so much I could cry every day. He’ll be gone for a whole year come October. I’ve had a lot of dogs through the years, but you NEVER forget your One True Dog Love, and he was it.
*HEART*
One time a horse that I was riding stumbled and feel and I thought she was going to fall all the way down and roll on me. So I kicked my feet out of the stirrups to jump off-just as she caught her balance and stood up-I shot up like a rocket and came down head first.
Naturally, I threw my arm up and broke my fall with the arm, turning a somersault. Broke my wrist and chipped the ulna at a dislocated elbow. Had to wear a cast. Elbow joint froze up and forearm was so weak that I couldn’t hold a half cup of coffee.
Went to one of the Baseball Cardinals doctors that I had heard would give you at home exercises-a friend at work told me about him.
Anyway to strengthen the forearms, he had me use a 1-lb weight. Once every hour, I was to hold my arm out horizontal to the floor palms facing floor(shoulder height) while holding the weight. Flex the wrist down and up 25 times. Then turn the palm up and flex the wrist up and down while holding the weight.
The elbow therapy was most unpleasant, but also effective.
You are absolutely correct.
Thanks Greeneyes, I love garlic and am eating some sauteed endive right now as a side to a sausage, mushroom & spinach quiche!...
Ask my sister or her husband who grow grapes just south of Fresno or do you want me to ask them…
Sounds tasty.
Hey I’ll try that exercise. Thanks!
You are welcome. Hope it helps. IIRC, I eventually built up to 50 times.
Pickles are done. Broccoli and leeks doing fine. Tomatoes and string beans winding down. Big surprise - I have a volunteer pumpkin vine from last 2 years. No attention, no watering and I found a new fruit the size of a honeydew - yellow with green stripes. Doesn’t look ripe enough to pick. Last 2 years, only got small (size of a baseball) pumpkins.
Weather has been cool this week - in the 70s, but still no rain.
I’m just going to use a 16oz. can of something.
I just finished making a jar of Haw jelly. I had never tried it before, and I have two big Hawthorns within 50 feet of where I am sitting.
Pretty good stuff! I slightly scorched the sugar, and will be using less of both sugar and lemon juice in the next test batch, but I cannot believe that I was missing out on this stuff. It’s REALLY good!
No pickles this year. No time, and I wasn’t going to buy cukes. Got 340 lbs of tomatoes stewed and canned, though. Canned some beans but forgot to acidify the brine. A dozen quarts wasted, including 5 jars that blew up! (OOPS!) Oh well, there are 40 odd pounds of IQF beans in the freezer.
Made Strawple, Bluple and Rasple jams, and did 15 pints of wild blueberries. A dozen 2 qts of crabapples.
Wow, I just realized how busy I’ve been. I couldn’t have done it without mom and my brother, though. Especially the tomatoes. I LOOKED like a tomato at the end of the 2 LOOOOOOOOOONG days doing them up.
I had a volunteer pumpkin once, but it was so bitter I had to toss the soup out. Not even a pig would touch it.
We’re due for rain this evening, then it’s supposed to clear up by Monday. That’s fine with me, as I work the weekend.
I am new to this topic on FR and looking for general advice and criticism on a garden expansion.
I’ve grown tomatoes and squash for several years, with moderate success most years. I’ve also had strawberries and blueberries for a decade with amazing success, although the strawberries dropped off the last two years. I’m thinking of branching out a lot. My main goal is to have something to harvest in Maryland, on the zone 6/7 boundary with plenty of rain in the spring and fall, as much of the year as possible, using minimal but not necessarily zero chemicals.
My plan . . .
1. Prepare the soil starting next month.
2. Plant at the appropriate time over the next eight or so months, for harvest in the month indicated (obviously with the harvest delayed a few years for some plants):
- Galletta strawberry - late May - early June
- Ovation strawberry - mid June (yields on both strawberry varieties the last two years have been down. Any suggestions on treating the soil, when to water, or something else to do?)
- Montmorency or North Star Cherries mid June - mid July (suggestions?)
- Blueberries late June - early August (high and low varieties, already thriving)
- Honey crisp Apples - early September
- Empire Apples - late September - early October
- Pink Lady Apples - late October - early November
- Spinach - early June
- Beets - late June - July
- Squash - June - August
- Tomatoes - late July - Sept
- Pumpkins - October
- Spinach - October
- Beets - October
Is there anything on my list that is particularly hard to grow or prone to pests? Any suggestions on what else I ought to plan or weigh in my plans?
Correct... when tomatoes get even a blush of red, they can be picked and ripen inside. Reduces the time for bug attacks too...
Good news, found a tomato frame at the store. Thought it was 2, then 1, then found out it was indeed 2.
Best part: They were $1 each on close-out.
I’m hoping I can find 1, possibly 2 more like that. They’re painted so with care they should last a decent amount of time.
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