WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 28 JULY 10, 2015

freerepublic | July 10,2015 | greeneyes

[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.

[Augie]

This wet weather is really starting to get on my nerves. Through sheer determination, I've managed to make some gains in the garden in spite of it.

Cleaned the weeds out of two panels of cukes and dressed the vines properly on the fence. Got straw down around all the cukes and one row of tomatoes. I've had to spray the cursed japanese beetles a couple times in the last ten days.

I've got summer squash overflowing, eggplants are decent, cabbages ready to harvest, sweet corn in full tassle, grean beans started to bloom a week ago, butternut squash doing well, garlic should be about ready to harvest, potatoes starting to rot in the ground, tomatoes languishing. Could be worse I guess.

[greeneyes]

I like to do stuff like that - green onions, spinach whatever. Makes it easy to do a quick soup or stir fry.

Well, if you consider that what you actually have is “organic” green onions, the savings is a bit more and usually the taste is even better when it’s home grown, put up quickly, and has more nutrients to boot.

[greeneyes]

I have a shade tree over half of one of my sq ft beds, and I find that I can get lettuce and fruit set during our sweltering days in that shaded patch.

I read once, that the light out doors even in the shade is so much more than indoor light, that most shade doesn’t hinder too much, especially if you have some little dappling of sunshine coming through now and then, or situated so that you get the morning sun.

[greeneyes]

Ha Ha. Probably a coon. Our larger trap got totally destroyed, and we suspect it was a very large coon. We have caught some small ones before. Had it setting out by the grape vines. Darn coon gets them every year.

[greeneyes]

Chili sounds so good. LOL Haven’t had any since I went low carb. I love a good pot of Chili and pinto beans. Great to hear about the tomatoes.

I guess if I was only going to plant one thing - it would be tomatoes. LOL

[MomwithHope]

True they do taste better than store bought. I also like to take my fresh basil, fine chop it and fill up a quart ziploc freezer bag, loosely full. I add olive oil about 1/3 cup. Close up bag and squish everything good so all the basil is oil coated. Then open the bag a bit, press the air out and seal and freeze flat. If I make pizza or pasta and want some “fresh basil” I just open the bag, break off what I want and seal up again. Works great.

[greeneyes]

Mom has a good point about the clay. We have that in Missouri too. One reason that I did raised beds, and built up gradually to around a foot of good soil, adding my compost, digging in cover crops, and additions to the original Mel’s mix.

The roots on peppers are not exactly shallow either. Clay soil and nutrient deficiency can be hand in hand problems.

[left that other site]

The humidity in the air would probably help the water shortage if it could be extracted.

[Psalm 73]

Thanks for the PING.

Konnecticut - strawberries are done but rapberries are crankin'.
We've got bush beans galore and pulled the first cukes off yesterday, and squash should start coming off this weekend.

Eggplants doing very poorly and tomatoes are way behind - radishes were disappointing also.
We did just pull a great garlic crop, and spinach and lettuces are doing good.

What did I miss?
Oh, snap peas are just getting started, asparagus has to wait until next season for harvest, and peppers are late also.

But, we finally got CHICKENS! I mean, we didn't grow 'em, we bought them - but they are happy birds and giving eggs in return.
Thank you Jesus!

[greeneyes]

Yes, it does. In a normal summer, July, we get about 10 gallons a day that we use to water various plants. We are still getting the water from the air conditioner, but really have nothing that needs it, as we have had almost daily rains for over a month.

Here’s a link to a report Black Agnes sent me regarding rain in the Midwest, estimates 6 times the amount that is usual.

http://www.agweb.com/article/soybeans-with-wet-feet-spur-rebound-from-lowest-price-in-5-years-blmg/

[greeneyes]

Life is good for sure. Mostly good news for your harvest, and then there’s the chickens. Ahhhh. The lovely egg what a great protein source, and those chickens are such a help with insects and providing great manure/compost.

[who knows what evil?]

Hot peppers crave bone meal...have they had any?

[greeneyes]

Sounds really good. I do freeze some of my herbs, and also dry them. Punch holes in paper plates and put the herbs on them and tape a plate with air holes on top.

Put on top of the refrigerator to dry out. Then crumble them and store in spice jars.

[greeneyes]

I know what you mean. I’m wondering if I’ll get any potatoes this year too. Mainly worried about the Dakota Pearls, as the catalog I got them from originally stopped carrying them.

The others are nothing special and the seed potatoes can easily be replaced. Tomatoes are pretty icky here too. Exception being the one bed of volunteers.

[Hardens Hollow]

great method to dry herbs - thanks. I always worry about dust and stuff getting on them.

[tubebender]

Something is happening to our corn patch. It seems to be committing suicide by rushing to maturity before the stalks are ready…

Picked another gallon & a half of strawberries but the plants are looking tired ~~~

This is a off year for our Blueberries and they have only produced 2 quarts plus a blueberry pie ~~~

Tomatoes are all plant and no fruit, Potatoes are all tops and no bottoms but the Cukes and Punkuns are looking strong

[Daffynition]

Our corn is most strange this year.....some stalks are very short [half of what I imagine normal to be] and producing tassels. I found one stalk snapped off about 6” from the ground .... I suspect a deer walking through. Kills me that a deer would do damage, in advance of what we anticipate the ‘coons to do. Something is nibbling the peas...[I don’t really care...we have jerjillions of them.]

[left that other site]

Too bad we can’t divert some of that to California!

[Marcella]

We went to Johnny's yesterday, Thursday. He is moving okay, preparing his food and eating and changing some things at his house. I suppose when you are at home the major part of your time, you start shifting furniture, getting rid of some and getting new stuff. Johnny is never still, always has a goal, and don't get in his way. He has the most determination I have ever seen in a person and that is why he is still with us.

He had two MRIs this week and waiting on results of those before starting more chemo.

He had a request for us to bring him some Jack Daniel Black Label No. 7. Bob got the biggest jug of Jack Daniel I have ever seen (1 and 3/4 liter). It was so heavy it took both hands for me to carry it into the house. I'm sure he only uses it for cooking - sure, for cooking. :o)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Nice looking garden! And a cold frame too! A picture for a calendar! It reminds me of the gardening shed where I grew up.

The rain! Its like I live in Maine or the Olympic rain forest or something rather than along the Kansas/Missouri border. Its July, my lawn should have gone dormant and I should not have to mow! It was June and I was actually turning on the heat.

My garden is small and wet. Volunteer turnips. (Not really a favorite.) I have some tomatoes I’m growing in These big landscape fabric pots. I make cages out of fencing. I put them up on top of a tree stump. Its worked well. I really have not had problems with fungus or blacks spot. The plants are up off the ground and the lower leaves do not get splashed with mud and dirt. I have about 50 to 60 green tomatoes on 2 plants. I did not prune the suckers. If you do prune,you get tomatoes faster, if not, you get more tomatoes in the long run.

I was encouraged by the volunteer turnips to scratch some lines in the mud and plant some onions and beets. I really should not be planting beets in July, but the seeds were 2 years old and the weather is strange this year. They germinated; we will see. Still. Your garden looks great. I am envious! (Wish I lived out in the country.)