Posted on 09/07/2019 5:27:20 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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.
If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.
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! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.
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 to Gardeners are welcomed any time!
Getting some nice bonus broccoli off the new plants that grew up along the stalks of the old plants. Picked our last 2 tomatoes and pulled up the rest of the stakes. Waiting it seems like forever for the seed heads to mature on the red and white romaine. Still have swiss chard to pick, a few peppers, and the brussel sprouts have a way to go. Already lining up my cold weather indoor craft projects.
*SQUEAL* on the cold weather indoor craft projects; my Yarn Stash needs some culling.
Garden tasks for me this weekend and into next week, weather permitting, and not in any particular order:
Prune off Lilac suckers (been making me crazy all season!)
Cut a bouquet of Gladiolus (Food for the Soul!)
Dig Potatoes (just a few for the week)
Clean out the greenhouse (Puppies got in there - shredded a few things)
Dry more tomatoes in dehydrator
More Mowing, but that’s coming to an end - FINALLY!
Grind/Shred more Zucchini for freezer
Pick remaining Cucumbers, pull vines
Make Tomato Jelly
Make double-batch of Zucchini Muffins to freeze
Clean out Canned Goods Pantry, rotate remaining food from last season, organize and stash 2019 canned goods
I’m a list maker too just for spring and fall. Right now I’m trying to decide whether to use my big #6 crock for kraut or a smaller one. Will put that up next month.
A headstone in my hometown cemetery reads,
“Been here and gone.
Had a good time.”
Most of our work is from the orchard, can't keep up with the bounty of fruit. Giving pounds and pounds of food to our local mission, yellow plums, red Bartlett pears, red plums, got 5 lbs of prunes from our 3 year old prune tree, just about to harvest my liberty apples and throwing a 5 gallon bucket or two per day full of old time apples over the fence for the deer.
I learned from my Master Gardener class that keeping the orchard free from dropped fruit and leaves in the fall will help with pest control the next year.
Impressive work! I know when all of our fruit trees are mature and producing, I’ll have my hands full, too!
Note to self: Unless we lose one, don’t plant any more fruit trees, LOL!
That looks uncanny to me.
It's harvest time here also, thanks and glory be to God.
" alt="" border="0">
Different varieties, with the Early Girls turning out best for the large toms, and SupperSweet100's for the cherry.
Lots of yellow flowers and with bees working, but with day temps in 60's to low 780's and night in 50's and even cooler weather coming, I may clip the flowers in order to tell the plant to focus on the ones growing. Sorry bees.
Some of my older trees, more than 25 years old, are too big to keep up with a spraying program and the quantity of fruit is tooooo much. I am going to cut two more of the older apple trees down and maybe replace with scab resistant varieties. I am like you, no more fruit trees, we have 14 trees, apples, plums, pears, prune and a 1 year old fig.
I was told I did not thin enough, that is something I am going to work on next year, as soon as the blooms come on, I will be out there to trim, trim, trim. You can thin fruit for about 6 weeks after the bloom, then it is useless to do, it does not help make the staying fruit bigger after the 6 week window. The goal with pears and apples, don’t have to thin plums, is to have one fruit every 4 to 6 inches, no more than that, it cuts down on pests also.
davidliebovitz.com
PRUNE STUFFED PRUNES
Hardest-sell on the planet, telling Paris newcomers to try Pruneaux d’Agen fourrés---prunes stuffed with prunes. Despite their reputation, prunes are a great delicacy in France; one taste of just a regular pruneau d’Agen (especially mi-cuit, (“partially dried”); you’ll go gaga after your first bite. The pit is yanked out, then refilled to the point of nearly bursting with smooth prune puree w/ a touch of Armagnac. Maybe dialed-up with almond cream or chocolate or orange zest.
A tin of Pruneaux d’Agen fourrés is a gift par excellence--one of those Only-in-France (or Europe) items. A visit to a candy store rekindled my love of them--when my system has recovered from fresh cherry season, I’ll go get a tin for myself. If you need a little more prodding, try them with a glass of Armagnac (as in the pic).
Easy enough to do yourself. There is a basic Prune Cream recipe here (use a translate program to translate the page into English). You can either keep the cream in jars like jam or use a piping bag to make your own stuffed prunes for way cheaper than buying them in France.
Mmmmmmmm....thank you. A keeper.
Thanks for the tips! Our trees are between 3 and 5 years old, so not a whole lot of fruit on the apples, yet.
No fruit yet on the plum, cherry, peach & pear trees.
Nice Raspberry picking these days! :)
I LOVE this thread. I look forward to it every Saturday. (And this week I’m also looking forward to the pear tart recipe promised last week.) Blessings to all from a very hot and dry SC. The fire ants are moving into all my raised beds. This morning one was carriying off a radish seed before I could get the soil over the row I’d just planted.
Picked 5 lbs cherry tomatoes this morning. Picked 7 lbs 2 days ago. Might have 10-15 lbs to go.
Made sauce and 20 packages of cherry tomatoes cut in half. I fry them with onions, bacon or whatever and a couple slices of cheese (protein) for lunch.
We have two apple trees we inherited with we bought our home two years ago. They looked as if they were not pruned in a very long time, so we had that professionally done last year. This summer we have lots of apples! Last week I froze bags of apple slices to be made into pie and some applesauce. Gonna get hubby on a ladder tomorrow to pick some more for more applesauce!
The tomatoes are not ripening fast enough for my liking, but highs in the ‘70’s this week should help. I am patiently waiting for the Romas to come in so I can make some sauces.
Japanese eggplant is producing well as are the bush beans. Green peppers look to be almost finished.
This week I will be switching the flower planters to fall plants. Time to turn over that new leaf!
While we're waiting, we'll quaff a pear champagne cocktail.
Just add some Poire William eau de vie to a glass of champagne.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.