Posted on 06/23/2017 3:20:13 PM PDT 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. 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!
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.
I grew up coon hunting and still hunt them occasionally with my Rat Terrier. I have to watch he doesn’t get seriously injured. Nice bear.
I love those dogs. Great picture,
You’re welcome for the advice but I can’t take credit for that. I get ideas from garden boards I visit and use the ones most applicable to what I’m doing.
Your apple tree(s) might be Anna and Dorsett Golden. Both are very early and usually bloom early enough to get frostbitten and not make very many apples. Those varieties were absolutely loaded here this year. They don’t keep very long though so I’ve been canning up a storm this past week.
http://www.food.com/recipe/best-apple-pie-jam-100315
I also just made the ‘apple preserves’ recipe from the Ball Blue Book that uses thinly sliced lemons. I added a tsp of powdered cayenne with the sugar and this is good stuff too :P Wish I’d made this recipe first or i’d have made more than one batch. I’m out of apples now though so that will have to wait till our apples are ready.
Now on to another batch of blueberry syrup, just picked 2 more gallons of berries. Wheee.
Heads-up to those in the midwest: The vegetation on my land is sending up “hard winter” warnings! The last time I saw them do this, it was right before that winter when we had windchills in the -50s.
LOL, yup! I actually enjoy doing taxes, bookkeeping, inventory. That’s right up my alley, being an engineer. I think the part of the job I will enjoy the most is the part most people dread. I just hope I don’t put all my focus into that and ignore what really needs to be done – taking and filling orders! Assuming I get any…
Oh, I think you can take credit because you passed on the information and wrote about it in great detail for me. I’m a novice and really needed all those steps.
I will look up those types of apples and see. That makes sense though, because we did have a late frost last year. And you’re right, they don’t keep very long at all. When I picked my species of Apple to plant, I wanted to balance it out so I planted some long keepers, like Arkansas black. I can’t wait to see how those turn out! They are supposed to taste even better after being in storage.
Cayenne in jam?… I’ll have to try it at least once :-)
I try to learn to garden and have great set-ups because hubby will build great stuff but I have a black thumb.
so he re-did the raised gardens and made one long block. I planted 6 tomato plants and nothing was happening but lots of leaves, no tomatoes.
A guy, 3rd generation gardener, came over and said I needed to get all those leaves off. He said there are leaves that do not bear fruit and some that do. If you have bunches of the ones that do not bear fruit they will use all the sugar needed to make tomatoes.
Well, we cut lots off and especially at the bottom so that air could circulate and 2 weeks later I have BUNCHES of tomatoes. The fuzzy ones are the Fruit branches and the non-fuzzy are the ones to cut. He said to be sure to keep the top ones for shade and sun gathering.
He keeps his bushes low but produces pounds and pounds.
Live and learn.
‘T is a thing of BEAUTY! And you built it yourself, which is even more special. I’m so glad you’re getting into having laying hens. I miss having them SO MUCH, but I have to wait until we have our new Pole Barn and they have a secure home away from predators. We have a LOT of raccoon, hawks and coyote out here in The Wilds of Iowa County - NO ONE is safe, unless they have opposable thumbs. ;)
They ARE a fairly mellow breed - but once they smell a raccoon (or a barn cat, LOL!) ALL bets are off!
FWIW, and not my bid-ness - BUT - Lemon Balm is in the MINT family, so unless you want it to take over your yard and LIFE, plant it in a pot to enjoy it - or at least in a pot that is buried with a few inches ABOVE ground, so it lessens the change of ESCAPE! :)
P.S. Feel better, soon! :)
I had a Rat Terrier back in the day; they are truly something else! ‘Chester the Molester’ was my dog. He used to sleep UNDER the covers at the foot of the bed, and when it was time to get up for work in the morning - he’d groan and fuss.
He was NOT a Morning Person, LOL!
I am the tax and numbers person. Thankfully it comes easy for me.
Amazing the different instincts that dogs have.
Well, have all my tomatoes and peppers planted in buckets. They soil in Az suks on the Mogollon rim. Made a raised garden with turnips, squash and some beans. Planted a row of beans, and the hot sun is drying them out even after watering twice a day.
Zucchini, squash, and cucumbers doing fine despite the cats using most of my garden as a litter box.
Planted some beets in boxes and are doing well.
The weather has been horendous. Way too hot, in the upper 90s. Waiting for the monsoons to start.
It’s supposed to cool off tomorrow.
Arkansas Black is on my list of possible apples for next year. I’m building an orchard of south adapted apple trees.
When you’re ready for chickens, I might have some hatching eggs for you. At least, if I’m right about two of mine being roosters.
Their no-crow collars arrived today. They haven’t started crowing yet, but I wanted to be ready. I can’t stand the thought of getting rid of my sweet little Airheart!
OMG!?!? No-Crow collars? Well, we have no-bark collars for some of our more vocal dogs, so I guess that’s a THING now, LOL!
You certainly have some challenges. Kudos on your perseverance. Here in Michigan it’s almost too humid. We have to be careful not to water too much or we have rotting tomatoes. Wonder if some shade screen over your beds would help. Just to cut down some of the sun and heat.
They sound intriguing, from the description. Since they don’t pollinate themselves I had to plant two other varieties, but that’s OK. I tried to pick three that were unique and different enough. The black, with their purpleish skins and long winter storage, should be My favorite Apple. We will see! So far everything is growing well. But I do need to work on spreading the branches better. This whole gardening thing is pretty exhausting.
I’m finding myself getting very annoyed when people say that if I have extra they will take it. Why don’t they offer to come weed? Or at least harvest what they want? Instead of expecting me to do all the work and bring it to them! They seem to think I’m just skipping around with a basket on my arm finding produce here and there, LOL! I guess I just need a better attitude…
I’ve been hard at it all weekend and now I’m out of gas.
Skips in the pumpkin patch have been reseeded. Skips in the watermelon and cantelope have been reseeded. Sweet corn didn’t make a stand worth squat, so I tilled it up and replanted the whole thing.
Still need to reseed the skips in the cukes and butternut squash but I’ve had all the sun and fun I want for today so that will have to wait.
I’ve got three slabs of baby back ribs in the smoker for supper tonight and now I’m going to hit the shower and then relax for the rest of the day.
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.