Posted on 12/14/2012 11:34:17 AM PST 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 ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
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It has been a great Sunny Morning here in Missouri. It's 56 degrees with a low tonight of only 45. Tomorrow will be 61 and low of 40. Woohoo! A Great Gettin' UP Gardening Weekend for sure.
If you didn't tune in last week, you missed a little dust-up flame, and responses unparallelled in my time on the Garden Thread, but apologies were given. Thanks to everyone for their support. I wasn't sure we had that many people left who were still reading the thread.LOL.
Anyhow, my newly planted Spinach and lettuce has begun to sprout. I still have fresh tomatoes to eat. Peppers are growing like gangbusters, and the lemon tree has 24 marble sized lemons on it. I think I might have to pinch off a few of the smaller ones.
Hope you are all doing well. Have a great weekend. God Bless.
Pinging the List. A few ideas were sent to me as noted below.
From Black Agnes:
I found a heat tolerant corn variety at southern exposure seed exchange:
http://www.southernexposure.com/corn-dent-flint-flour-corn-c-3_18_72.html
‘jellicorse twin’.
Just in case you want to try something this coming summer?
http://www.keydesignsolutions.com/cornculture/table1.htm
is a really good resource for the older OP field corn varieties.
From Free Vulcan:
If you wish, when you post the garden thread today, I have a number of old seeds that I’d love to give away. Many are old and don’t know how they’d germinate, but they’ve been in the freezer for a majority of the time. My garden plan is full and I’ll never plant them again, so I’d like for them to go to a good home.
My wish is for someone to take them all to save on postage, but if that turns into several people so be it. If anyone wants they can freepmail me, I will send them a list, and I’ll mail them out to them what they want.
Pinging the List. A few ideas were sent to me as noted below.
From Black Agnes:
I found a heat tolerant corn variety at southern exposure seed exchange:
http://www.southernexposure.com/corn-dent-flint-flour-corn-c-3_18_72.html
‘jellicorse twin’.
Just in case you want to try something this coming summer?
http://www.keydesignsolutions.com/cornculture/table1.htm
is a really good resource for the older OP field corn varieties.
From Free Vulcan:
If you wish, when you post the garden thread today, I have a number of old seeds that I’d love to give away. Many are old and don’t know how they’d germinate, but they’ve been in the freezer for a majority of the time. My garden plan is full and I’ll never plant them again, so I’d like for them to go to a good home.
My wish is for someone to take them all to save on postage, but if that turns into several people so be it. If anyone wants they can freepmail me, I will send them a list, and I’ll mail them out to them what they want.
Sorry about the double post, I only hit the button once.
I am jealous of your fresh tomatos. The only thing we have growing is the 3 ghost pepper seedlings. All my wifes container plants are inside of the back porch, with heavy plastic up to close it in with 2 4ft lights with grow bulbs connected to a timer for 16hrs per day. That kept them going pretty good last year so they had a head start in the spring when they moved back outside.
I hope that you are ready for Christmas :)
Merry Christmas to all, and remember what the occasion is really about, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ
I got my catalog, but haven’t had a chance to look at it. I had ordered some seeds earlier from them on line, and got those, but I love to look at the catalogs rather than the on line catalog which bothers my eyes.
We got the freezing weather Monday night so I was out right before it picking the garden clean. A neighbor stopped by so put her to work and gave her a couple buckets of stuff. Brought in mustard, spinach, lettuce, bell peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes and green beans. Of course, I’m saving seeds. A lot of the green beans had dried so after picking though and saving the largest seeds for next season, I was able to bag up the rest for dinners later. As the tomatoes are ripening, they’re going into the freezer. I’m not going to can them because most are cherries so peeling is out of the question. I’m going to make a green tomato pie today so will see how that goes. May also make a green salsa with some and of course fried green tomatoes.
Does anyone have a green tomato preserves recipe?
Well our tomatoes are winding down, so it won’t be much longer that I get to brag LOL. Merry Christmas to you and yours too.
From Andre Viette - he gives this ‘stand’ formula on his radio show every year & the bough/tree spray is listed below that - good if you are decorating with greens:
Christmas Tree STAND Formula
This formula for your Christmas tree stand helps to prolong your tree and keep it fresh.
Ingredients:
1 gallon hot tap water
1 cup light Karo syrup
2 oz. Clorox
1/2 tsp. Epsom Salts
Directions:
1.Mix together well
2.Put tree in tree stand
3.Fill well of tree stand with the above mixture
4.Keep tree stand filled - 4 days of watering with this mixture will help keep the tree fresh but the tree will continue to take fluid up to 10 days or more so be sure to check the water level often and keep the tree stand full of fresh water while the tree is in the house.
Do not place the tree near a fireplace, radiator, wood stove, or other heat source that might dehydrate or ignite the tree. Be sure the tree lights do not have worn insulation or broken wiring.
Bough and Christmas Tree SPRAY
Be sure to protect your holiday greens and Christmas tree from drying out. Spray your boughs and Christmas tree with this unique formula to help fireproof and reduce needle drop through the holiday season. Tree and greens should be fresh and not dried out.
Ingredients:
14 oz. borax (20 Mule Team)
6 oz. Boric acid (from drugstore)
1/2 tsp. low sudsing detergent (granular)
1 gallon hot tap water
Directions:
1.Mix together well
2.Prop tree or greens upright outdoors
3.Using a good pressure sprayer, cover tree or greens completely
4.Let tree or greens dry fully before bringing indoors
Do not place the tree or greens near a fireplace, radiator, wood stove, or other heat source that might dehydrate or ignite the tree. Be sure the tree lights do not have worn insulation or broken wiring.
Pre-mixed sprays such as Bonide Wilt Stop can be found in your full service garden center.
Link to website: http://www.viette.com/v.php?pg=753
Broccoli and cauliflower are starting to make heads. Onions and garlic are growing like crazy this year. My lettuce seed did not come up this year. Turnips are doing OK for now, but we need rain here in central Texas.
Our freezer is on the fritz. It’s the second time. Last time the repair man came and couldn’t find anything wrong with it.
It’s got a panel on it, and I hate electronic stuff on things like that. I just wanted a simple freezer. Plug it in, open the door, turn the dial. I got the simplest one I could find at the time.
So I have just decided to make do with my side by side freezer, and can or dehydrate the rest.
Thanks so much for those tips and recipes.
The less bells and whistles, the less that can go wrong.
(knock on wood)
I am having trouble with lettuce and spinach seeds this year. Planted a bunch, and almost none sprouted. Sadly, I dropped the container of seeds I had collected from on of the stalks I let go to seed last summer and saved to plant next year.
It got so lost in the carpet, I never could even find them. They were about the same color, and the carpet is berber with lots of varying heights and patterns. Sigh.
Exactly. I also liked the simple microwaves, just put the food in and twist the knob. Now, just about the time I figure out how to use the new one, it is old enough to go on the fritz, and I have to start all over with a new one.
I have a small, simple, low watt Walmart special that is still going after at least 15 years. The new big ones only last about 2 or 3 years.
The sudden drop in temperature this past week motivated me to clean out part of the hoophouse and give it a rest for next years planting. We still have cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, kale, and catnip in there though.
Everything in the greenhhouse was nipped rather heavily despite being covered and having heat lamps set up. The pepper will be trimmed back, but most should survive through the winter.
Carpet, seeds ......
reminded me of “back in the day” when I drove a Ford Pinto hatchback. The rear seat folded down and I could carry two bales of hay and/or bags of horse feed for my critters. One fine spring day (meaning the grass had come out so I had not had to haul hay for a couple of weeks) I had occasion to open the hatchback and surprise! surprise! ... growing in the carpet was a fairly nice crop of grass, sprouted from the seeds that had fallen off the bales of hay! Turns out the window had a leak and the carpet was fairly wet ... since the weather was warm, the Pinto was a perfect little hot house for growing things. It was pretty funny ... until I had to clean it up. :-)
Be sure to cut at least a inch off the stand end of your Christmas tree before putting in the stand so it can take up those nutrients.
LOL. The pinto hatchback. I had one of those. Orange and white. LOL. What memories.
Thanks for the pictures. That all looks yummy.
I bought my microwave in ‘79. It’s the turn the minute button and put the start button. Simple and sweet. One year I had to cook a 20 lb turkey in it and we talked for years about how juicy and good that bird was. I’m dreading the day it dies.
I am needing to buy a new deep fryer. I have my grandmother’s and it’s probably 60 years old. It works fine but the cord is melting, yikes. Two Christmases ago, I broke down and bought a new crock pot just to have one that the pot can come out of. But I have two old ones that work fine so the new one is still in it’s box. I have a hand mixer also still in the box that I got for a wedding present. I won’t give away my age but our kids are grown. Pathetic, huh, lol.
I still have Granny’s mixer on a stand with the automatic turntable. I had a hand mixer that I bought 46 years ago, but someone borrowed it and didn’t bring it back.
Now I am not sure who it was, but no one I’ve asked has owned up to it. LOL.
Mine was bright yellow with a black vinyl roof ... my mom borrowed it once because she was going to see a friend and thought it looked “sporty” ... (still shaking head & laughing)!
Thanks for hosting this thread, greeneyes!
LOL.
LOL! I can’t imagine trying to clean that up!
You are welcome, and thanks for participating.
My Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog came a couple of weeks ago and I got online right away and put in my order . It came yesterday .... I can’t wait to plant my pink bananas lol
Sure hoping at least one of the seeds sprouts for me .
I have to rave about the Seminole Pumpkin I ordered from them last year . I did not get it into the ground until very late in the season so I was not expecting much to come of it as most things just don’t survive our summer heat and rain . This thing survived triple digit temps and a massive caterpillar invasion . I harvested two pumpkins two months ago roughly three pounds each one of which has been sitting on my kitchen counter all this time and is still in perfect condition .That’s a big deal here because normally we have refrigerate our bread to keep it from spoiling.
As soon as the weather started to cool just a bit the vine went nuts (it’s huge )and now it has 15 pumpkins on it all in the 2 1/2 to 3 lb range .
I believe I will be ordering some seed this weekend. I expect heavy pressure on seed houses this year and want an early order to get the varieties I want.
Anyone ordered yet? If so, what are you getting this year that’s new?
Over Thanksgiving, I went down to Baker Creek’s outfit in MO. Interesting but I missed Jere Gettle. His mother said he and his family were in Thailand collecting seed.
That pumpkin sounds very tenacious.
I did order some new stuff from them and have received it.
Mennonite Sorghum, Little Finger Carrots, Little Gem Lettuce, Ozark Giant Pepper, and Patio Red Marconi.
I grew the Mennonite Sorgum last year. I grew it to experiment with grain for the table and scratch for the chickens. Frankly, I feel a grain variety I bought from J.L. Hudson three or four years back was a better variety for my purposes. The Mennonite seed head is quite a bit smaller and the grains are also small in comparison. The great advantage was in the sweet sap in the stalks which I made into silage I’m feeding now. Hudon hasn’t carried this variety of seed for the last two years but, if you wish, FReepmail me and I can get you some.
Got the garlic, french shallots, potato onions, and topset onions planted today. Have waited and waited to find that that point where it’s not too warm or the ground frozen. Hoping it stays cold enough so they don’t sprout.
Done that every year of the 25 we’ve had it. Now, it’s 2 feet shorter, but the aluminum is very healthy. ;-)
Hi Folks!
My aloes are doing well in this cool December weather, but my plumeria(frangipani) have gone into dormancy.
I have GOT to get some culinary herbs going!
We had one for a few years but it just didn’t have the same smell as a fir tree so we sold it to the scrap metal guy for more then we paid for it...
Thanks. I just bought it to experiment LOL. Based on the space I have, I will have enough, but I’ll keep it in mind, just in case.
Keep your fingers crossed for cold weather????LOL.
Ditto on the herbs. It is so great to be able to walk to the window or out on the patio to get fresh herbs such as basil, rosemary, parsley, etc. to use when I am cooking. When I order seeds, I’ll be getting some more variety.
All seed ordered; all in house or en route. More tomatoes and peppers, as usual. Many internet seed sources running out of certain varieties already...I have already been burned on a couple of items that ran out in late November. Geez...
Crumbled into a salad fresh off the shrub....Like dining in some fancy gourmet restaurant!
Felt like winter arrived this week. Had to put on a sweatshirt yesterday. Doesn't look like we'll see 80 degrees this week.
Got a few cauliflower so far.
My broccoli never seems to get much bigger than snack size, but if I hold the camera really close... 
Trying several varieties of tomato this year. Of course, I put them right next to each other so I think I'm seeing traits cross varieties (that or I mixed up the labels). The Amelias are the only ones that are producing a lot of decent sized tomatoes. 
And then of course, there are bananas. Everywhere. 
Good Morning Eveyone..It’s cool this a.m. in central Texas. It’s that time of year, when I trim my trees and remove little ones coming up, where they don’t belong.
I just received 2 copies.
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