WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 50 DECEMBER 13, 2013

Free Republic | 12/13/2013 | greeneyes

[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.

[TEXOKIE]

RECIPE (sort of) ALERT

Last night we experimented and did try a version of an oriental hot soup. OMG!! It was wonderful!!

Sautéed onion
Sautéed green pepper
Sautéed celery
Sautéed Snow Peas
Bamboo shoots (canned)
Used a can of one of the varieties of Lite Progresso chicken soup

Added
Garlic powder
Cumin
Onion powder
Thyme
Bay leaf
Dried parsley

Ground Cayenne pepper. We decided that since we are not currently fighting a cold to use a mild amount. We have one of those sets of measuring spoons on which “dash” is an amount. It is probably around a 1/16 of a tsp. It was just right for us.

We also put in a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

Splash of lite (lo sodium) soy sauce

Let it simmer for a while, added more chicken.

We plan to do it again soon! Our thanks to all who were involved in bringing this idea to us!

[TEXOKIE]

Well, your pictures show it to be just wonderful!

The stuff I was using was root powder, picked up at our Lowe’s store. Specifically what I used was Miracle Gro FastRoot.

I coated the stump end with the powder and placed it into a cup with some water in the bottom and let it soak for a number of days. I can’t remember how long it took exactly, but in several days there were little rootlets growing. I let them grow for a bit as is in the water, adding from time to time a tiny bit of liquid fertilizer, and the heart of the lettuce or celery (I also did it with that too!) started growing. When it got to where I felt it might have a chance at surviving the transplant, I potted.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4514195_root-cuttings-rooting-powder.html

Thanks for the link for the explanation of Ground Cherries!

[Daffynition]

'round here...there are *others* that like the bird seed. It's a problem...lots gets wasted.

[Silentgypsy]

Yay, you! Thanks for posting!

[Silentgypsy]

That is a great idea!

[rightly_dividing]

My wife’s idea of the perfect vacation is to see a bear in the wild. If she thought she could lure bears into the backyard, she would.

[rightly_dividing]

I hear turkeys in the bottomland across the road from us. Also feral hogs, coyotes, bobcats, sasquatch. LOL

[Daffynition]

Turkeys are so comical to watch....bears...not so much.

[Daffynition]

[Daffynition]

A car in Colorado...bear was after the birdseed left in it....while mom was in the house putting the groceries away.

[ladyjane]

You’re asking for trouble with bears. We had two cubs practically destroy an apple tree. Climbed up in it, tore the bark apart doing it and ate every last apple. Apple tree is still recovering.

It could have been worse. Much worse.

[rightly_dividing]

Fortunately there are no bears around here. But have visited bear country up in the Rockies, and in the south.

[mom3boys]

Thanks for the info on regrowing the lettuce. I think I’ll try it! I love experimenting with plants.

[mom3boys]

It was such a beautiful day yesterday that I spent the entire morning in the backyard. I surveyed the effects of the freeze we had a couple of weeks ago. Much of the eggplant leaves were damaged so I decided to harvest the remaining fruit and pull up the plants. I did leave one I'm going to try to overwinter.

Here is the last of the Black Beauty eggplant for the season:



In the little greenhouse (which I got from Lowe's last year that I have indoors to start my seeds), the pepper plants I started early are doing well. The ancho to the right is the one I'm growing totally indoors until around March. It was already budding, but I topped it so encourage growth on the side. I'm looking forward to seeing how big it gets, and how well it produces.

[trisham]

That sounds great!

[mom3boys]

You’ll love the Baker Creek catalog. Pretty pictures and so informative you’ll want to sit down with a cup of tea and read it like a regular book!

I have to restrain myself from ordering more seeds than I could possibly grow in my small suburban backyard. I fail most of the time though since I find myself having to get another shoebox for my seed collection. I keep my seeds deep in the master bedroom closet. They may take over soon! :-)

[trisham]

It’s also good for deep planters when you don’t really need that much room for the roots of your annual plants. You save on money (much less potting soil is required) and weight.

[trisham]

Bears can be not only destructive, but dangerous.

[trisham]

Beautiful.

[Daffynition]

This elderly man, He Shot Bear to Protect Kids: Defendant and got himself in a heap of trouble. The bear was at his bird feeder.

Cops/DEEP, when they finally came after he called in the problem, didn't even get out of their cop cars.

I'm pretty sure I posted the saga, when it happened at the time.

This is in a state that claims there are *no* cougars in the state ... a good friend of mine has photos of one that was in her yard while they were clearing the land to build their new home. It had a radio collar on. Heh.