Posted on 04/01/2024 6:23:19 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
That looks great! I confess that I’ve never tasted a sunchoke, to my knowledge. I’m game for anything, but what is it similar to?
Will you DIY it or buy it? Lots of ideas in the internet for either choice.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=DIY+Potting+Bench+ideas&atb=v393-1&ia=web
I have two areas that I use for potting. One is outside and is a metal table with drawers that Beau found at surplus - it used to be used in a science lab. It is shiny silver and it gets really HOT, so it’s not really useful in the heat of summer - even though it is on the north side of the greenhouse. Another drawback is that some seasons wasps like to build in the drawers. Yikes!
Otherwise, I use a corner of my greenhouse as a potting area. I have a 1 CF tub with a lid that holds a standard bag of Miracle Grow potting mix at a time, and beside it I have an old ‘school lunch’ tray for whatever I’m potting up. The shelving in there is slotted for water to run through, so the tray gives me a solid surface to work on.
I’m kinda lusting after this bench from Lowe’s:
https://www.lowes.com/n/how-to/potting-bench-perfection
Thanks, Liz!
Further back on the thread we were talking about Sunchokes. (Jerusalem Artichoke) and I asked Liz for some recipes.
They’re a good alternative to potatoes for those that don’t want the carbs. They look like a big sunflower, and you harvest the root to eat.
https://www.jungseed.com/category/s?keyword=jerusalem+artichoke
Dead Nettle, an Overlooked yet Valuable Wild Edible
https://eattheplanet.org/dead-nettle-an-overlooked-yet-valuable-wild-edible/
He makes a 'Stinging Nettle Tea' as a Spring Tonic. I can't touch the stuff. If I even LOOK at a Stinging Nettle, I get blisters! Dead Nettle doesn't have the sting-producing leaves or qualities.
Thanks. I guess I’ve seen those sometimes at the grocery store. I’ll have to give Liz’s recipe a try.
I haven’t decided at all about what to use. I only thought that maybe it’s time to let this one go. So this will be a hunt to figure out what is most useful for me. That potting bench from Lowe’s is very pretty! Almost too pretty, but is there such a thing?
I do my potting out on one of the flatter terraced levels in our yard. It’s underneath a bunch of trees, so gets sun only for about 4 hours. It makes it pleasant to work there. Over the years we’ve been making that a sitting area to view another part of our yard below. I have several sitting/viewing areas, 5 or 6. The one that is the least cared for is a bench just off a deer path that overlooks our “Creek of Tranquility.” Some days it’s nice to just go down there and sit and watch the water meander away.
Mmmmmmm........hard to describe flavor.........an acquired taste.
That’s nice enough to be house furniture! :-)
Today is the last day on the pole shed project. The trash pile that came out of it is being hauled away. The inside is ‘nice’, all graveled & ready to park on. I am probably going to move the slate shingles under roof - will make a spot for them in a back corner. When I bring a load in the utility trailer, I can unload at the house/shop & park the trailer out of the way in the pole shed rather than taking up a spot on the asphalt surface.
Reassessing where to put my raised beds. I think the original spot still works, but I might have to do some terracing & build up one side with stone.
Looks fun! In the photo section, lots of people are wearing jackets still! There’s a reason I don’t live any further north than I do. By Mother’s Day, I don’t want to see jackets until October at best. Doesn’t happen every year, but I need some warmer weather for a few months, preferably 7 or more.
So, what have I accomplished this morning? Well, we just finished moving things in from the greenhouse to the dining room table. Wouldn’t be the first time, won’t be the last that the weather won’t cooperate with me! Today is COLD - it was down to 32 last night and we have another few clear and cold nights coming up like that so - screw it! All of my hard work is NOT going to waste!
We moved in Tomatoes, Peppers, Basil, my two big Rosemary plants, Lemon Thyme and a flat of Marigolds and Cosmos. Zinnia and Sunflowers are just starting to germinate in the grow light rack. Next up is Zukes and Cukes and Winter Squash for Beau to plant and then forget about in favor of fishing and hunting. ;)
Our Beagle, Chief, is on his last legs. We were surprised that he made it through the night. He’s just old. Today he is napping, then wants to go out (I am putting him on the chain so he doesn’t wander under the house to die) and he is not acting like he is in any pain, but he is fading fast. So THAT sucks! I’ll miss that guy! The other Beagle, Dolly, is limping around having hurt her paw or shoulder after a long, LONG run with the puppies earlier this week. She, too, doesn’t require medical care, but she needs to REST - and that is not in her wheelhouse, LOL! (She is SUPPOSED to be RETIRED from hunting, but she won’t listen.)
Other than that, I’ve been cutting bouquets of Daffs and Tulips, so those are cheerful to have in the house! :) Am on the last few rows of the Afghan I’ve been crocheting for The County Fair. Not entirely THRILLED, so I many be pulling it apart and changing the color scheme a bit. I did that with my last Afghan. We ‘artists’ are never entirely happy with our work! ;)
We picked up HALF our order of chicks, yesterday and they are doing just fine in their Chicken Palace. We got 6 Barred Rock and will be getting 6 Buff Orpington when the next batch comes in. ‘Someone’ named ‘Brian’ screwed up my order for chicks from last week...and then, of course, had the whole weekend off, so I’ll have to yell at him come Monday. ;)
They ran $22 for 6 of this breed. They have a lot of ducks this season and some really REALLY fancy birds, but I’m just interested in egg production so I chose reliable, cold-hardy breeds I have had before up here on The Frozen Tundra.
Not much else on the gardening schedule for this week, other than I have GOT to get on the mower - which also requires me to pick up eleventy-thousand branches and stick that have fallen in our last few rounds of windy/rainy weather. Oh, well. I’ve got nothing ELSE to do around here! ;)
Beau is picking up some dog houses from a fiend who no longer needs them, so the current batch of puppies will be getting the rude awakening to ‘life on the chain’ in a few short weeks. They are coming along - finally - and treed my cat this morning and actually stayed with it. They also went to hunt for the first time by themselves this morning. ‘Daddy’ is so proud! (Boyd, the cat, is fine. Not his first batch of puppies he’s helped raise/train. Not his first time up that tree. Not his first Rodeo.)
That’s all the news from ‘Abandon All Hope’ Farm for today!
P.S. Pollard? I know how you love your gizmos, but I have a sure-fire way to know if it’s too cold for tender annuals in my unheated greenhouse. When you wake up in the morning and the dog water dish on the porch is frozen over - it’s too d@mn cold! :)
I’m going to say that Sunchokes taste like Water Chestnuts - without the crunch.
They’re pretty bland on their own. They are certainly TASTY boiled and then mashed with butter and S&P, though!
You could put some hot sauce in the soup to amp up the bland taste.
Ok, thank you! Amazing what butter, salt, and pepper can do for just about anything! Or cheese! ;)
Yep, I've always been told that those "cute little chipmunks" are every bit as destructive as a gopher infestation. Maybe ask around at your local farm & garden center to see if there's an owl/hawk attractant you can buy? Good luck, and post an update on how it goes!
Sorry to hear about your Chief. I hope when he crosses the Rainbow bridge that it’s not too hard. We still miss our Sammie girl, and it’s been 10 years. She was part Beagle and part black Lab. We love getting “visits” from her through other doggies. We recognize her instantly in their eyes.
The daffodils and tulips here have faded. What was still hanging on was blasted by a fierce storm a couple of nights ago. The good news is that the bachelor buttons and the lilacs have taken over the show for a while. Then will be the peony show after that!
Keep up the good work with the plants in the dining room. I did that with our DR table one winter, for the whole winter, and have been ordered to never do that again. Now I overwinter fewer plants. Makes things more peaceful around here, fewer complaints. He knows I can’t stop altogether, but no more DR table out of commission for months on end.
We have two barred owls and a couple of red-shouldered hawks that live here year round. Those chipmunks must procreate like bunny rabbits do!
I’ll see what I can find to attract them, though. I’ve never thought of doing that.
Absolutely gorgeous day today- not a cloud in the sky for most of the afternoon. Got the last little patch of mowing done & the place looks like a park.
I walked around & took some pics & put them on postimage, if you’re interested. Also, there are a couple of tree pics, neighbor’s farm, & a couple of morning pics.
https://postimg.cc/gallery/YSghTkw
I got my anemometer put up yesterday — and now there’s no wind. So windless that NWS isn’t even giving a wind direction. Just calm. Yesterday was calm with a few 2 mph gusts. LOL
Made a trip to Menard’s yesterday, spent most of my bonus and got — not a lot.
Four 21’ pieces of chain link fence top rail because that’s what I could transport easy without hauling my 20’ trailer. Four of them sit nicely on the right side view mirror and strapped to the side of the bed. At $30 a pop, I didn’t want to get all I need. That would have eaten up the whole bonus and then some. My $200 frame will be a $1,000 frame soon.
Got six 5/4” x 6” x 12’ deck boards to run down the top of the of the frame legs where the top plastic will attach.
Bought a new sump pump that’s higher gpm than the existing one. Gonna use it as a transfer pump for filling other tanks from the trailer tank. It’s 55 gpm with 1 1/2” outlet and actual transfer pumps in the same $100 price range are 15 gpm with 3/4” water hose outlet.
Got a deep cycle marine battery. Need more and/or some golf cart batteries. I want to get our solar panels set back up for the house. Also need battery backup for the tunnel. This one’s going in the house for now to run the 12 volt LED lighting, TV and modem/router when we lose electric. Had to light candles and use flashlights when it went out a few weeks ago. Luckily it was close to bed time otherwise boredom would have set in.
Cooled off here too. Not quite see your breath cold. Another sign. It was close to 90 a few days this week. Freeze warning this morning and tomorrow morning but I doubt we’ll get an actual freeze. Light touch of frost tomorrow maybe. My one mater plant is already in the ground so it’s just gonna have to tough it out. Hopefully the young bok choy won’t think it’s winter coming on and bolt. When they’re mature, they can bolt from the heat. Weird stuff.
Sucks about the old doggies. Our old half pit we had for 10+ years went a few years ago. Got where she couldn’t get up.
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