Posted on 01/30/2015 12:38:35 PM PST 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.
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My basil needs to be harvested. Have kept the plant going since 2010. I have started some tomato seeds, have more to go.
This variety is Principe Borghese especially suited for sun drying-low on juice with few seeds. Supposed to be good for sauces.
Hope everyone is staying warm and doing well. Have a great weekend. God Bless.
Pinging the list.
Also decided to pick up some cotton seeds. Dunno if it's going to do anything, but I figure I should at least try. The hops seeds have been in the fridge "stratifying" for a couple weeks now. They will stay until about the beginning of April, at which point I'll attempt to germinate them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, at least.
Hey, I’ve just been looking at seeds on ebay and amazon. Getting some of those long asparagus beans that are hard to find around here and I also ordered some yellow radishes from Lithuania of all places. I do like trying a different thing or 2 each year. SO looking forward to this year’s garden. We have been enjoying our home canned stuff all winter and especially the sauerkraut. Love that stuff!
I'm jealous! I need to try making some sauerkraut. Got a good recipe you wouldn't mind sharing?
Thanks for the picture. Snow like that always looks so lovely, but I am glad we are not getting more rain than snow this winter. Just had a couple of weeks of a break in the weather.
I was able to get two of the patios cleaned up and swept clean, and took the row covers off to give the winter garden some great sunshine.
I’m trying to think of some new ways for a Hi-tech scarecrow. The “Billy Bass” I used before just isn’t scary enough, lol. The two songs “take me to the river” and “just a little song I wrote, be happy” didn’t quite cut it for scary. I’ll take that back, the whistling part of Be Happy was pretty scary, haha.
It’s snowing here. :) It’s nice to hear about better weather somewhere!
These warmer days and sunshine sure do make me itch to get started too. It’s still a bit early, but I can always just transplant into pots, if the weather is too cool and bring them in and out this spring.
I really need some fresh tomatoes. I really regret not getting any planted in pots for indoor winter growing.
That's my plan, for the stuff I have sprouting now. My wife is a little concerned though. Lol. She asked what my plans were and I told her I would keep some stuff inside if it were too cold. Her reply: "We're gonna need a bigger place..."
Better ask you first what part of the country do you live?
We used old computer disks, and old aluminum pie pans dangled on strings, which worked for our critters. Also, wrens will drive off the other birds from your berries, and they like insects etc - berries and garden produce not so much.
Western Colorado, high desert/foothills @ the base of the Rockies!
Shred cabbage. Pack it unto the bucket/s 2" at a time and sprinkle salt each layer. When the bucket is filled, place an inside fitting plate on the top of the cabbage. Place a loosely fitting lid on the bucket just to keep dust and dirt out. Place it in your garage, as it will really stinkas it ferments. Each few days skim off the scum as it is fermenting. When the bubbles stop, put it in mason jars and seal.
Nice! I do believe I’m going to give it a go this year!
LOL. We do pretty good in that regard, with a nice size house and full walk out basement. We usually put our plants in front of the back patio doors. They face south west, so get plenty of light.
The laundry room, kitchen, and two bedrooms also have window facing that way too, so more than twenty linear feet if push came to shove.
Yes, of all my feathered friends I’ve been feeding this winter the wrens are my favorite. Some of the birds even say Hi when I’m loading the feeders.
Good climate for kraut! It will take about 8 weeks. I would never use plastic, only a ceramic crock. I usually put up a #8 and a #6 crock(s) in mid October. Kraut is usually done by Christmas. Make sure crocks are really clean and you have a good spot in the garage, not on the floor. I always get or grow the big flat head dutch cabbage. I take off the nicest looking outer leaves and set them aside. Shred the rest fine. Best to invest in a kraut shredder. It needs to be cut fine. Start layering in and about every 4” sprinkle liberally but not heavy with kosher salt. After I get the first layer down I nest in the saved whole leaves. You don’t have to do this part but the soured whole leaves are just the best for stuffed cabbage. I fill up the leaves with shredded cabbage and keep going til the crock is full. It takes 5 or six of those really big dutch heads to fill up the 2 crocks I have. When the crock is full I add a quart of water with 1 cup of kombucha. This will kick start the fermentation and when I do this I have almost no scum and I don’t lose any kraut to rot. Weigh down with a plate or I like to use a wood circle cut out to fit my crocks. I use a couple or 3 patio pavers in a clean plastic bag to weight down the wood. I lightly wrap the top of the crock in plastic wrap just to keep any dirt out. I start checking after 6 weeks to see how close it is getting. If you get scum you do need to skim it off. The cabbage will all be translucent when it is done. About the only way you can s crew up making kraut is to use too much salt or make it when it’s too warm. I have a nice picture I’ll post of this years.
Started Australian Brown onion seeds last week- first time trying to grow from seed.
Should go in the garden in April.
Haven’t been happy growing from sets.
Plus it gives me ‘gardening’ to do in February LOL!
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