Weekly Garden Thread - November 12-18, 2022 [Gift Ideas For Gardeners Thread]

November 12, 2022 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Bon of Babble]

Hello to all!

We actually got some (significant) rain here for the first time in almost a year. Praying every day for more and need to get my rain barrel under the spout so it fills up. I think my brother has filled up nine so I need to catch up. In a dry area like mine, any water is like manna from heaven!

Picking the last of my roses. This is "Perfume Delight," my best performing rose, it is over 30 years old:

Still getting a few hibiscus:

And, the usual animal drama, they both want to sit on my lap - and yes, those are my toes.

On my way to the nursery now, 10% off of everything today.

Happy Gardening!

[Bon of Babble]

This is the first year I didn’t grow any hot peppers - my brother too. He used to grow the hottest ones he could find, I grow habaneros, which are pretty hot.

They grow well here and last year, I couldn’t give them away. My family finds them far too hot for consumption - my brother said the same about his. He canned a few for my son - who is afraid to open the jar, he put it on a shelf to admire the beautiful color of the peppers.

I may try to grow habaneros again next year - I just need to find someone that loves them that I can give them to.

[MomwithHope]

I wonder what they would be like if you cleaned them out completely, no seeds or membranes. I have to do that to my giant jalapenos which I mostly eat stuffed. If you cleaned habaneros they might make a good pepper jelly.

[LibWhacker]

Gators and crocs can gallop.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

They are galloping because they are hungry and want to catch and eat things like golfers and gardeners.

Remember your M1911 and where necessary, fence your Garden.

[Qiviut]

He canned a few for my son - who is afraid to open the jar, ...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

I’ll have to tell you my most “infamous” hot pepper story ... it’s a doozy.

There were plenty of green jalapenos one year and I hated to waste them, so I found a recipe for candied jalapenos aka “Cowboy Candy” (CC). It was SO easy! Just slice the jalapenos (leaving seeds/membrane of course), cook them in a brine, fill the jars with jalapeno slices and brine, then can in a hot water bath. I was thrilled - easy peasy! What a great way to use up an overabundance of jalapenos!

There are several relatives who LOVE hot ‘anything’ - jalapenos fall into that category. My brother got a jar of CC. He actually texted me to tell me he was eating them at that very moment and they were DELICIOUS! My SIL got in touch with me later to tell me my brother ended up on the couch with such severe chest pains (heartburn) they both thought it was possible he was having a heart attack. He had broken out in a sweat and was moaning & groaning for at least 30 minutes. She ended up giving him all sorts of stuff (including some of her own meds - she has bad heartburn) & if that had not worked, they would have gone to the ER! She said he was in agony. The meds finally helped - ER trip averted. When I talked to him later, he had eaten half a jar in one sitting ...not a good idea!

Then there was my niece’s hubby. I gave them a jar, too. He took my brother aside a couple of months later, when my brother/SIL were visiting, and asked him to please tell me “NO MORE CC”!! Evidently, he made a similar mistake ... they were so good, he ate too many. He told my brother (and I’m quoting here, so his description, not mine) “I felt like I was shooting FIRE out my butt! I think they gave me hemorrhoids!!”

I tried not to laugh ... I really didn’t mean to cause anyone any pain, but that description just gets me going every time.

Here’s the recipe so you can see it looks fairly benign, but you are warned as to what the repercussions could be:

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/canning/candied-jalapenos-cowboy-candy/

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Bon o’ Babble somewhere in summertime! Nice pictures!

[Bon of Babble]

Great story - my brother also eat anything hot. He even brought a jar of his own hot peppers on our cruise last year!

Got the recipe and I’ll put in some jalapeños when it’s time next year.

[Qiviut]

👍

[Qiviut]

THIS morning is the hot cup of coffee & “crisp” autumn morning. Flannel shirt weather, too. Feels good from yesterday’s weather that meant turning on the AC & drinks with ice in them.

The young hens have started laying (my SIL said ‘sometime in November’) ... found two eggs in the coop this morning - exciting! One egg was in the nest, the other on the floor .... they are that gorgeous blue-green color (Ameraucanas). Once they’re laying consistently (she has 9 hens), I’m going to see if I can set up a regular purchase of a dozen/week ... she gives me eggs occasionally, but I’d like a weekly setup & paying for them will help with the feed expense. These hens have a lot of personality - pretty fun birds. They’re mad at me because I don’t let them out when I’m chix sitting like their chix mom does - I did give them some scratch which (temporarily) stopped the grumbling.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yet ANOTHER reason I will never leave The Frozen Tundra, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Here Are the Best Gardening Books for All Types of Gardeners:

https://www.thespruce.com/best-gardening-books-4159206

[Diana in Wisconsin]

https://www.thespruce.com/best-gardening-books-4159206

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Uh Huh! Wolves and Bear and Coyote...some of the more cuddly inhabitants of your "Tundra" State!

Nuisance Wildlife Just minor annoyances!

( Deer fly, black fly, mosquitos...)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Some Winter Garden pics. (It was 17 degrees Fahrenheit last night.)

Yes I know....brussel sprouts and cabbage and turnips are barely worth it monetarily, but its good to practice for some time when you might really do need to do something like this.

Started last week by watering growing plant beds well, also watering with Fish emulsion and kelp fertilizer, putting down straw. After watering I also sprinkled some Dr Garden (?) organic fertilizer around the plants because plants need more nitrogen to continue growing in winter. (Will water that in at a later time.) I put down some pipe heating cables around them, covered them in the protected low tunnels. I put a second layer cover over the low tunnel, either a cheap waterproof 4 x 10 white plastic drop cloth or a tarp. ( I need to remove the light blocking tarps every morning to allow sunlight to get to the plants.) (YES!..TACKY... looks like a homeless encampment! Winter bivouac or camping is a muddy messy thing.)

pictures taken after the tarps were removed to allow sunlight during the day. (42F expected this after noon.)

I do not expect much growth in these conditions. I am hoping that the temperatures get back into the 30s at night and 40s during the day so that they get enough sunlight to grow. One of the biggest problems with winter gardening is water, plants dry out and die. Once I get to some warmer temperatures I will drag out and reconnect a hose, pull off the low tunnels and do some heavy watering. If I can get 3 weeks of normal late fall temperatures in the next month the head and Chinese cabbage should be big enough to pick (Although still small.) Note that I also have leeks that are growing that are unprotected except for some straw mulch. Some of them are ready to dig up. (Giant Mussleburg and Blu d Solaise)

I was going to get a tray to put under Herb pots that I brought inside for the winter. I found a clear plastic storage box at Walmart for $9 that works just as well. (Thai basil, rosemary, thyme)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Way to keep the season going, Dude!

Even though I’ve been covering them at night, my three outside pots (too heavy to move; poor planning on my part) I think by today the lettuces and spinach will be toast, so I’m going to harvest what I can this afternoon if they thaw out! We had frozen spinach in our wraps at lunch - it worked, LOL!

In the greenhouse, under cover, lettuces and arugula are holding their own.

It’s hard to let things go, but with these sub-freezing temps since Thursday (when it was 70!!) there’s not much more I can do but eat up what we can and start hibernating, ourselves. :)

[FamiliarFace]

We have had luck with having bluebirds stay year round here for the last several years. We have 4 houses for them to choose from and they usually pick one each year to have a brood or two. Once the second brood fledges they disappear into the woods for a month or so. I can hear them nearby calling each other all summer. Then when it starts getting chilly they show back up for dried mealworms. I think we are on the edge of their year round territory, and I’m glad to have them.

With winter upon us, we saw a bunch of activity at the feeders. We have every different type so there’s a lot of variety for birds to choose from. Yesterday I got to watch, not one, but two Fox Sparrows scratching at the ground underneath the feeders. I’ve only seen a Fox Sparrow a few times in the 9 years we’ve been here, and yesterday it was fun to see two of them! That always makes me happy, when it’s a bird I don’t get to see often.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

We’ll do some ‘Birding Threads’ this winter when some of us are snowbound, and those in other states are ‘taking care of OUR birds’ in warmer climates for the winter. ;)

[FamiliarFace]

Sounds good!

[MomwithHope]

We saw our first black and white warbler here this year. Yes it’s exciting to see a new bird.