Posted on 09/16/2016 3:59:51 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.
Enjoying the deck corn and cherry tomatoes, basil is growing like a weed. All else is done for. Keeping an eye out for bargains in the garden department.
Reading through the Healing Spices book for any interesting plants to add to my list of things to try to grow. Hope all is well with everyone.
Prayers up for all. Have a great weekend, and God Bless.
Put up the bean seeds, spaded the compost into the garden. Tomorrow is for planting the winter crops: Peas, carrots, purple top turnips and kohlrabi.
The peas won’t produce until next spring, but they will have a GREAT start, providing we don’t have too cold a winter. If it goes below 20* F, I might have a problem, otherwise Woo-Hoo!
Pinging the List. Also, I will be out of town, and may not be able to get to a computer to post next Friday. So if you don’t get a ping - not to worry maybe just post on this thread till I get back the following week.
Unless someone else wants to post a new thread which is ok too.
Ping list is on my profile page.
I have a lawn care question. I live in the central San Joaquin valley of California. Zone is 9b. My yard is Bermuda grass.
I would like to find something that is effective at killing clover in Bermuda grass. I’ve controlled it using Scott’s Weed-b-gone and Weed-&-Feed, which are both 24D... but they’re not particularly effective. They just slow it down.
I’ve heard of other products that are supposed to do better, but I’ve never been able to find the brand names and where I can purchase.
Any helpful advice would be appreciated.
Have a good trip.
We will see you when you return to us.
My Better Boy finally, FINALLY is producing a few good tomatoes now that the heat has died down - but the weight has broken two branches - the branches are still connected and alive so I hope the tomatoes ripen.
Didn’t have a structure for it to climb. It appears more rigid and prone to breakage than the Big Beef and the Bush Early Girl.
I have had some luck with lettuce, carrots, etc. in the winter by covering with a row cover, and then straw. We often have mild days during the winter, so then I would roll up the row cover straw and all, and let the full sunshine in.
I’m likely going to just plant winter rye, vetch and/or clover cover crop this year.
I hope that someone here can help you. We don’t do anything with our yard, except mow it. Dandelions are pretty and a good source of vitamin C. Clover is great fertilizer and doesn’t ever get too tall.
With respect to our yard - it has to make do with mother nature. If we plant it and it doesn’t survive, we just plant something else. Our vacant lot has oodles of wildflowers, and we just let that go till the bloom period is over. Many of those plants are edible or medicinal, though we don’t at this point take advantage of that.
One of my main reasons for gardening is to raise food that I know has not been exposed to pesticides, or at least if an organic compound is used, I know what it is and how much.
Because of that, my knowledge with respect to what you ask is practically nil. I am sorry that I don’t know more to help you.
Thanks.
The tomatoes should ripen regardless of the vine. I had some that the wind blew into 180 degree angle. Even though that vine dried up, the tomatoes matured.
Maters ended early. I sold my last flat of heirlooms several weeks ago to one of the business partners of Watershed Atlanta.
https://watershedrestaurant.com/menu/lunch/
The dang pickle worms decided they’d invade my late season zucchini as pulled up my earlier spring cukes cuz I canned 30+ quarts of pickles.
Alabama Red Okra is still going strong.
My Korean green chilies are just a site to behold.
Quite good blistered with a burger or sliced into a pot of beans.
This recipe is great. I have two gallons of brined peppers in my basement frig.
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/gochu-jangajji
Going to start some fall romaine now that it is cooler. Also put in an order for 4 flat dutch cabbage heads for kraut at the local farmstand. I usually do 6 - it makes up a #6 and a #8 crock but I still have 5 or 6 quarts left in the pantry. I usually do 18 or 19 quarts a year and we eat it all (3 people) but because of my knee problems which started in February I did not cook as much. My zucchini are still going strong. Have given quite a few to my neighbor with 7 kids and she gave us back some peach zucchini muffins that were really good.
I got my shishito pepper seeds in the mail from ebay. Between them and the an Marzano tomatoes I guess I am starting plants indoors this spring. Also got a few bags of tulips to force. Stuck them in the large size coffee cans and punched some holes with a screwdriver in the tops and they will be fine in the garage this winter.
We only grew about half of what we normally do but at least we had a garden. My knee replacement is working fine and I should be in great shape for next year.
Ticking off milestones as far as physical progress. This morning in 2 hours time at a steady pace I moved 4 very full cartloads of split firewood behind the atv and stacked them. Even before my knee surgery I could only do 2 in one day. So I know I am getting stronger. Getting your stamina back is the hardest. It's move it or lose it. Blessings to all my gardening friends!
Thanks for the links. I’m thinking of trying to pickle some peppers and onions next year, if we get a decent crop. Hubby can’t take the heat though, so I’ll be sticking with the milder varieties.
One green one fell off the Big Beef - I packed him for a week with several bananas and ripening tomatoes in a thick paper grocery sack hoping the ethylene gas would do it - he just was not mature enough yet. He got tossed to the animals down by the trees. Hopefully he made a nice meal for one of them - either raccoons or the possum I saw back there (almost white).
I also have a couple of basil plants growing like weeds, they started out as little 4” peat pots but must be 2 feet each now! My Thai basil didn’t do so well but the citronellas for fragrance and mosquitoes are doing great too.
Does anybody have any good recommendations for Fall planting on a small sunny East facing deck in South Carolina, zone 8b please? Flowers, herbs or veggies, anything easy to grow...
Glad to hear about your progress. Next week, I start a strength training program. My daughter is going to be my coach - she has an Olympic free weights and other stuff set up in her basement.
I am going to take it slow though, as I don’t want to risk an injury.
Thanks for the feedback. I do like to keep my yard looking nice. Dandelion has got to be the easiest weed in the world to control. Weed-b-gone obliterates it.
Clover is not particularly ugly in a homogeneous lawn, but I’m hoping to find something that is as effective against clover as weed-b-gone (24D) is against Dandelion.
The weeds I hate the most are Goathead (Roundup & 24D are very effective against it), Hairy Fleabane (Roundup and 24D hardly dent it) and Nutsedge (Sedgehammer is very effective).
When I bought my house 4 years ago it had been empty for a few years and the yard was a disaster. The first two years I used LOTS of Roundup and 24D to kill the copious amount of weeds. Now I use next to nothing because it’s nearly homogeneous Bermuda. But the clover is still there and I would like to get rid of it.
I have wrapped some in paper for way longer than a week. While some don’t ripen, most eventually do and taste better than supermarket tasteless, balls of mush.
I got a hand gripper exerciser in the mail today. Need to strengthen my forearms. Target practice has been a bit weak. Good luck with your program. Great that you have your daughter to help you.
Is it Friday again, ALREADY? WHERE has this week gone? ;)
Tomorrow we’re to have dry weather, so I’m going to go down to the ‘lower garden’ (no easy task - Beau took the 4 wheeler up north for Bear Camp) to harvest Honeynut (a small version of Butternut) and Spaghetti Squash that should be ready by now.
I screwed up and picked the popcorn too early...and then it got moldy. Grrr! Geeze! How long have I been at this game, anyways? Well, just shows you that even we ‘perfeshunal’ gardeners can jump the gun. *Rolleyes*
Next task is to see what else I can harvest from the garden. I know I have a TON of Basil, so Pesto it is. I also know I have four HUGE red cabbages that need dealing with - I’m thinking of making those grilled cabbage steaks...anyone ever tried them? Some will be chopped and frozen for winter stews and soups, of course.
The seven puppies that I’m currently raising (8 weeks old, today) will be MORE than happy to ‘help’ me with all of those gardening chores tomorrow...so we’ll see what ACTUALLY gets accomplished.
A. They’re so friggin’ ADORABLE that all I want to do is play with and cuddle them, and then...
B. They’re still so underfoot that doing anything is going to be a chore in itself...until their ADHD kicks in and they go off to chase a butterfly or their own tails. :)
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