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WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 34 AUGUST 23, 2013
Free Republic | 8/23/2013 | greeneyes

Posted on 08/23/2013 1:53:26 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 ... 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.


TOPICS: Gardening
KEYWORDS: agriculture; food; gardening; hobby
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To: Marcella

BTW, if you do get into pressure canning foods. IMHO, there is nothing more boring than sitting on a stool in front of the stove, watching the pressure gauge to make sure it stays right on the exact lbs of pressure..

I’m at a higher elevation than you, so for me it was 13 lbs..my back would hurt from sitting there in a hot kitchen...for hours if you were canning several batches......


201 posted on 08/25/2013 3:48:59 PM PDT by sockmonkey (Of Course I didn't read the article. After all, this is FreeRepublic..)
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To: sockmonkey

“BTW, if you do get into pressure canning foods. IMHO, there is nothing more boring than sitting on a stool in front of the stove, watching the pressure gauge to make sure it stays right on the exact lbs of pressure..”

There is now a weight that allows one to add or take off weights. Each weight is 5 lbs. It is 5 lbs. without adding a weight so if you add one weight, you will get 10 pounds of pressure and the gauge is there to show you it is using 10 or 11 pounds. If you put the remaining weight on there you are at 15 lbs. of pressure. You don’t have to sit and watch it any more if you have those individual weights.


202 posted on 08/25/2013 4:33:43 PM PDT by Marcella (Prepping can save your life today. I am a Christian, not a Muslim.)
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To: Marcella

hmm,
well, I know that on my dial gauge with the 15 lb regulator, that when the regulator would start rocking fast, and getting noisy, then I’d bring down the heat.

Mostly I canned boneless southwestern style chicken in the broth I cooked it in as it was easy to open a jar for tortilla soup, chicken enchiladas, chicken and rice.

So, for me it seems, I’d be having to use the fifteen lb weight set, and then would be processing at fifteen lbs, instead of thirteen..

Lol, if I was really good, I guess I could use that 75 minutesp rocessing time to pray.

Oh, I never did like the taste of home canned beef..like for soup. It always tasted burnt, or overcanned to me. I used to wonder what Campbell’s Soup’s secret was that their beef soups didn’t have that “taste”.


203 posted on 08/25/2013 5:14:04 PM PDT by sockmonkey (Of Course I didn't read the article. After all, this is FreeRepublic..)
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To: greeneyes

How long does it typically take butternut squash to develop, from the time the squash itself forms from the blossom until it’s grown and ripe?


204 posted on 08/25/2013 5:23:47 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: sockmonkey

WOW! That’s a big job! In the long run, if we improve our soil, it will pay off, I believe, even though the up-front might be a little steep. Get it started, and then continue amending it with compost, etc each year.


205 posted on 08/25/2013 9:23:54 PM PDT by TEXOKIE (We must surrender only to our Holy God and never to the evil that has befallen us.)
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To: Marcella

So far, they are living. I found fresh bore-holes on the ones that have developed and are presently doing well several weeks ago. At that time I gave the bore-holes some big squirts of neem oil, and that seems to have controlled them in those plants. I did not discover the problem soon enough for the these others, however, and I’ll just keep tending them to see what happens, as they are yet living.

Several weeks ago, when Darlin decapitated one of the smaller sunflowers, it actually grew another seed head. I’m wondering if it might do it again. It’s pretty late, but what do I know?

The neem really seemed to drive off the squash bugs. The squashes haven’t been producing, but I have not seen any squash bugs on them! It is REALLY nasty stuff!

I’ll be interested in what you find out about how the sun choke tuber flowers thrive in your garden.


206 posted on 08/25/2013 9:33:07 PM PDT by TEXOKIE (We must surrender only to our Holy God and never to the evil that has befallen us.)
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To: sockmonkey

I looked up “lemon boy” online, and sure enough, it looks like a lemon (very pretty)... I’ve never grown (or even eaten that I can remember) a yellow tomato. What do you think of its taste? And “Chinese Granny” has it goin’ on. I’ve used all that stuff with scrambled eggs, except for the chicken broth. I’ll have to try that one too... Thanks!


207 posted on 08/26/2013 3:33:09 AM PDT by mlizzy (If people spent an hour a week in Eucharistic adoration, abortion would be ended. --Mother Teresa)
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To: mlizzy
I looked up “lemon boy” online, and sure enough, it looks like a lemon (very pretty)... I’ve never grown (or even eaten that I can remember) a yellow tomato. What do you think of its taste?

Lol, "lemon boy" tastes like a tomato. Actually, it doesn't have that super great tang like some tomatoes, but it's robust, and it seems that little bugs and birds that like to poke holes in tomatoes ignore it, and it looks pretty in salads.

Mine is over six feet tall. When it got too tall for it's cage, I hung a bungee cord from something, hooked it around one of the branches on the tomato, and it grew right up the bungee cord..and over the top of a horizontal trellis for cucumbers.

208 posted on 08/26/2013 5:00:57 AM PDT by sockmonkey (Of Course I didn't read the article. After all, this is FreeRepublic..)
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To: greeneyes

No rain in Central Missouri. The soil is starting to get quite dry. I watered my orchard trees a bit over the weekend just to be safe. My peach crop has been extremely abundant this year. The trees that I started from seed are performing far better than the high-dollar grafted trees from the nursery. Japanese beetles have been quite a scourge though. Those doggone things chew on everything. And there’s some sort of bug that lays an egg in the peach and they develop a rotten spot that quickly becomes a moldy rotten peach if left on the tree. I despise the thought of spraying chemicals on my food but it may come to that. I can’t stand losing 75% of the crop. 100% in the case of my nectarine tree. It had at least two bushel of fruit on and every single one went bad.


209 posted on 08/26/2013 6:31:17 AM PDT by Augie
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To: greeneyes; TEXOKIE; sockmonkey; ApplegateRanch; All
I sent an email to Burpee asking when their Deck Corn hybrid would be available. This corn will grow in a pot on a deck which is why they named it that.

The seed will be available in December. I was checking their website every day to be sure I could get some so decided to write them. They sold out of that last year.

I have the same problem with Sunflower tubers. Can't get any now. I've found only one place to get the white variety that look like regular Russet potatoes, not the knobby smaller kind. I need to send that place an email asking about them.

After planting all the seed I did under the grow lamp, I remembered this morning I forgot to put the giant Zinnia seed in cups under that light so did that this morning.

That grow lamp on that stand is the best thing I have done to get seeds started without critters eating them. I just flipped the switch when I got up today instead of having to go outside and move the cups into the sun and then worry they would get eaten, then move them out of the sun when it got too hot and cover them up again so they wouldn't get eaten.

210 posted on 08/26/2013 8:02:48 AM PDT by Marcella (Prepping can save your life today. I am a Christian, not a Muslim.)
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To: Marcella

I’m sorry to hear that about the tuber flowers. I’d been looking with no success also.

I had not realized there was such a thing as the Deck Corn hybrid. I hope you are able to procure some for yourself.

I appreciate the report on the grow lamp. It sounds like a good solution for that phase of growing the seeds.


211 posted on 08/26/2013 8:31:07 AM PDT by TEXOKIE (We must surrender only to our Holy God and never to the evil that has befallen us.)
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To: TEXOKIE

“I’m sorry to hear that about the tuber flowers.”

I sent that company an email this morning. I’ll let you know what response I get.


212 posted on 08/26/2013 9:59:48 AM PDT by Marcella (Prepping can save your life today. I am a Christian, not a Muslim.)
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To: Marcella

Hi Marcella

I sure enjoy reading about your gardening adventures. Thx for sharing.


213 posted on 08/26/2013 10:30:19 AM PDT by murrie (Mark Levin: Prosecuting stupidity nightly.)
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To: greeneyes

Hi all. Greetings from Tennessee. Happy gardening to all. Been so busy-missed the last few weeks of this gardening thread. Been harvesting and canning tomatoes. This is the most tomatoes we have had in years. I think it is due to the addition of donkey poo to our soil over the winter, lots of rain and choosing a hybrid variety to grow. I actually have tomatoes to can this year unlike the past 5 years of frustration. It is warming up and drying out now.

Quick question for those who grow romas. Do any of you prune your plants? The reason I ask is that my Roma’s have just turned out small. I thought they were supposed to get bigger than a cherry sized tomato.

Had to pull up the squash and cantaloupes. Had the fungus amongus. Was able to get pickles and relish put up and quite a few melons before the fungus set in.

Am going to plant a bumper crop of bush green beans next weekend. Hope they do ok. We have a bunny in our yard that is going to have to go. We are thinking of using the witness relocation program ( haveaheart trap) to deal with it. Wish us luck. Neighbors are too close to use my pistol gosh darn it.

Happy gardening everyone.


214 posted on 08/26/2013 10:44:28 AM PDT by murrie (Mark Levin: Prosecuting stupidity nightly.)
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To: Marcella

Mr Stevia is on his way. I am such a dufus. I was being lazy so just had the UPS store pack it, then forgot I was going to ship it priority..D’oh, I guess it will be arriving UPS.


215 posted on 08/26/2013 11:35:15 AM PDT by sockmonkey (Of Course I didn't read the article. After all, this is FreeRepublic..)
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To: greeneyes

Today's picks...as well as a half dozen eggs.

Yes, that is a RADISH; not a beet: German Giant. Still good to eat at this stage, unlike a "normal" salad radish in stores. It is about 5-6 weeks old.

Cook in stir frys; slice thin & marinate; put in salads; eat like an apple. Last week I slivered one into our egg foo yung, with great results. I also used them in a Thai yellow (massaman) venison curry.

216 posted on 08/26/2013 2:06:01 PM PDT by ApplegateRanch (Love me, love my guns!©)
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To: Augie
I sounds like you have some property. You might consider some chickens or ducks. Mine have kept most pests at bay on my place.
I thought I was going to have a small peach crop this year, but the squirrels got them all.

Forums.gardenweb

217 posted on 08/26/2013 2:19:13 PM PDT by Sarajevo (Don't think for a minute that this excuse for a President has America's best interest in mind.)
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To: Marcella; All
I sent an email to Burpee ~

I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but whenever I ordered from Burpee, I ended up with excess spam in my email for about 6 months. I've seen the same with Gurneys. IMO- they sell email addresses on the side.

Growing things is one thing, but "Viagra from Canada" ads can get annoying after awhile............

218 posted on 08/26/2013 2:27:49 PM PDT by Sarajevo (Don't think for a minute that this excuse for a President has America's best interest in mind.)
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To: Sarajevo
I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but whenever I ordered from Burpee, I ended up with excess spam in my email for about 6 months.

That hasn't happened to me from Burpee..unless my spam blocker just gets rid of it before it hits my inbox...

I did get one of those "Dear Friend" letters from a high ranking foreign minister's widow the other day wanting me to help her move his assets.

219 posted on 08/26/2013 2:58:18 PM PDT by sockmonkey (Of Course I didn't read the article. After all, this is FreeRepublic..)
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To: Sarajevo

I live on 10 acres out in the country. Surrounded by woods, crop fields and pastures. Right now have 20 or so chickens, the dang fox has picked off half my flock since spring. Otter came up from the creek and killed all my ducks summer before last. I’ve got two dogs but they’re not much account for keeping the varmints at bay.


220 posted on 08/26/2013 3:05:33 PM PDT by Augie
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