Weekly Garden Thread - November 13-19, 2021

November 13, 2021 | Diana in Wisconsin/Greeneyes

[Diana in Wisconsin]

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.

If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.

This thread is a non-political respite. 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! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.

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 to Gardeners are welcomed any time!

[nascarnation]

I’ve got a Deere 345 which I bought thinking it was the Lexus of mowers. It’s more like the BMW of mowers, breaks down frequently and the parts are priced like they’re gold plated.

My neighbor got a Ferris ZTR which has 4 wheel coil-over suspension and it rides beautifully. I think that’s my next one.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Me, on the other hand, am not ready for that!”

We’re getting out first snow, tonight. 3” by morning, they’re saying.

Beau is out hunting in this - OF COURSE, LOL!

You’re lucky to have an experienced person cleaning up your garden. After Mom ‘helped me’ clean out garden beds last weekend and pulled up two of my best Lilies, I had to tell her, “Mom! You’re NOT helping!”

It’s like raising a Toddler all over again! I DO love my Mom - but she can be overzealous when ‘getting things done’ around here. ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“The younger guys are great for carrying the lumber, PVC and Quikrete out to the car.”

And always, ALWAYS be sweet and ‘flirty’ with any Old Geezers you see sporting a military jacket or ball cap.

All of them were TOTAL HOTTIES back in the day and we should ALL remember those days with fondness...because they don’t last for long, LOL! :)

[Qiviut]

... the parts are priced like they’re gold plated.

++++++++++++++++

My service guy just shakes his head every time he has to pick up parts for me. Mower deck belt was $100 on the 920.

The mowers are my dad’s - I just do the mowing & get them serviced. He’s old (98) & old-fashioned & thinks JDs are “the best” (they also gave him a nice hat LOL!). If I had to buy one with my $$, it wouldn’t be a JD - couldn’t afford it.

[tubebender]

It’s getting more and more difficult for me to get motivated and get out into the big garden. Lady Bender continues to bring in a few tomatoes from the “green house” out there...

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thanks for checking in! You’ve been in my prayers! :)

[gloryblaze]

Wowswers. If you are mowing 10 acres, you are above my pay grade for advice. It does look like some nice, clear sailing there, though, which is my issue. I have so many obstacles (steep banks, trees, buildings, grain augers and bins, culverts, etc., etc.) that I need to use a push, too, and endless time with a string trimmer. I do the trim first, so I can make hay once I get on the rider.

Your equipment 'stable' is impressive. I need to either fish or cut bait: spring for zero(s) or get someone with big guns to help out. Either way, it is going to be costly. Some sections here need to be done twice a week because they get high nitrogen run-off from the cattle pasture up the hill, even though there are no more cattle - but that is another story....

Good luck with your leaves. I still have lots to fall and be cleared, but they're all under snow, as of last night, so I can ignore them for the time being.

[Qiviut]

I have some “tricky” spots, but there is a lot of room to just ‘let ‘er run’! The only thing is if you hit ruts ... we had some trees taken down & the guys dumped the chips ‘on us’. The big chip dump truck got stuck in the field & there are some ruts - you hit them at speed & you feel like you’re losing your kidneys! Some young cousins also got a 4-wheeler out there last Thanksgiving when it was waaay too wet - they loved almost getting stuck & spraying mud everywhere, but I have their ruts to contend with as well.

Look around for a non $$JD$$ zero turn. My brother’s is yellow - not sure of the brand, but it does great for him. It cut his mowing time in half when he went from ‘tractor’ to zero turn. Being able to make short turns (just whip around to go back the way you came) instead of fighting a steering wheel saves a lot of time/wear & tear on the driver. The added bonus is they’re fun to drive, once you get used to them. When I got my first one, I would take it out in the fields first & warm up on the steering before mowing in tighter areas, like the yard.

I still laugh at my brother - when he got his first one, it was delivered & sitting in the driveway when he got home from work. His wife & (grown) daughter were outside & the daughter got video .... he jumped out of his truck, still in his coat from work, jumped on the zero & took off .... right over my SIL’s flower pots ... very embarrassing. I saw him later that evening, out in the field, working on getting used to steering, going around trees, etc (he had the mower running, so he actually did some cutting for me). You need some space when you’re first dialing in the steering :-)

[gloryblaze]

I have the inverse of ruts, namely mole mounds to rake down before I mow, although there are sometimes people who can't see the edge of the driveway here, and the beginning of the lawn (you know, where it's green), with their vehicles, so it happens. I gave in on the moles and got a pest control fellow out. He set twenty traps, checked in a week and re-set them for week two. Total kill: 7, and no damage afterwards. I'll be calling him in the spring when the new arrivals move toward the surface and declare war.

Re mowers, I have to do some thinking. Winter would be a good time to get a deal, I suppose, when people are thinking "snowmobile" not "mower." I'm not concerned about mastering the machine; we have a skid steer that operates the same way as a zero. The JD parts are wallet busters, for sure, but the local dealer always has them in stock, which means a lot. I actually do like to mow, but not always behind schedule and to the neglect of other things.

Oh, well, there are worse problems!

[Pollard]

Scientists Are Attempting to Grow Covid Vaccine-Filled Spinach, Lettuce, Edible Plants To Replace Covid Injections

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/4012679/posts

[Ellendra]

I have to put the dehydrator in the garage in order to dry garlic.

Garlic scapes dry well, too.

[Qiviut]

My brother’s yellow zero turn is a “Hustler”. He had it up here bagging leaves for me this afternoon. The bins are super small - they must think people have yards the size of postage stamps! I’m thinking he paid $2-3K for it.

On the leaf front - all the maples are bare with the exception of one, so I can rake that when the rest of the leaves fall. All the leaves are picked up under the other bare maples, so that should be it for this leaf season. My compost bin is full to the top & that is after watering it down some to get all the leaves to fit.

The bro has ordered one of those long bags that he can pull behind the mower, will attach where his ‘bins’ are currently. The thing is huge, so he should be able to get a lot of leaves in there. He said if he had to use his tiny bins, he wouldn’t finish by Thanksgiving. The “bag” arrives Tuesday & I’m sure he’ll be checking it out as soon as he can. I can’t wait to see it & if I think I could rig one for one of my mowers.

I don’t know exactly what he got, but from the description, it will be something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Lawn-Tractor-Leaf-Bag/dp/B008R3U3DQ/ref=sr_1_10

[Augie]

What a nutter of a weekend we had here in Central Missouri. I played hookie from work on Friday with the intention of going fishing, but the wind was howling like a banshee so fishing was punted.

I took advantage of the time and did some clean-up in the garden. Took down the cucumber fence and tomato teepee fence and got that stuff out of the way so I could till up a patch to plant garlic. Planted ~150 cloves. Still need to top the rows with compost.

Once I finished up out there I got our hunting gear ready for Saturday, which was the opener for whitetail deer season here. Had that pretty much wrapped up and the phone rang. It was Pops' buddy Zane calling to let me know that Pops had another heart spell while they were out putzing and that he was now sitting in the ER at one of the local hospitals. So I collected my nephew and off we went to check on Pops. They ran a bunch of tests and decided to keep him over night for more tests on Saturday. He was stable and not in eminent danger so we headed out. Got home around 10:30pm.

Got up Saturday morning and hit the woods. Popped a nice buck around 7:30am. He folded up in a zero-drag spot, which almost never happens. Usually they stop a good long ways on the wrong side of the creek. I picked him up with the tractor and brought him up to the barn for butchering. Got him hung up, gutted and caped, so I called to check Pops. All good there, nephew lined up to go check him around lunch time, so I proceeded to butchering.

Half an hour later my phone rings again. It's my buddy Nick. He's got a buck all the way down in the bottom of the holler at his hunting spot and needs help getting it out. Two old fat men have no business dragging a 200lb deer up a steep hill for 300 yards, so I hooked up the gooseneck trailer, loaded the little Massey tractor, and we headed out. 30 miles later, got there, unloaded tractor, and bailed off into the woods to fetch the deer. 50 yard uphill drag to a spot where we could get him under the fence, then into the loader bucket, back to the truck, load tractor and deer onto the trailer, and off we go back to my place.

Made it back home, got Nick's deer hung and caped, and called it a day. With one tag filled I decided to sleep in yesterday morning. Got up around 7:00am and went back to butchering. Nick showed up a little later to start working on his deer. We're picking away at the project and my phone rings. Oh crap, what is it this time? It's Mrs. Augie. She had gone to check Pops after her morning hunt. Two blocks from the hospital a lady backed out of her driveway and plowed into the side of Mrs. Augie's RAV4. Wiped out both passenger side doors and punched the right rear wheel hard enough to break it and flatten the tire. RAV was taken to the tow shop impound yard. #1 Daughter was over doing something with the horses, so she went in town to fetch Mom.

Nick and I finished butchering the deers and took some of the boned-out meat to the locker plant to have slim-jims made. Got back from that errand and ran all of our burger meat through the grinder. Cleaned up most of the mess and called it a day.

That's too much excitement for one weekend.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That was a great read! Sorry for the problems, though! And you’re right - TOO much excitement! ;)

We’re in Bow Season right now, and so far the young men we let hunt here have gotten a 4 point buck; small rack, BIG body. His first deer ever! Then, we have a 6 pointer running around here with an arrow sticking out of him. It must’ve hit a rib bone and got stuck.

The deer seems fine, other than that. He’s been sighted twice, and seems to be sticking around on our property, so the guys will continue to hunt for that one.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Augie]

I’ve never understood the horn-hunter mentality.

You can’t eat the antlers. I like to see the scale go past 200lbs.

I’d much rather work up one 200+ deer than two or three slicks to hit the same weight.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Well, don’t come to my house because there are trophy racks and stuffed critter mounts ALL OVER the walls, LOL!

But, Beau never wastes a thing when it comes to butchering. My contribution is one 6-point buck; my first and last.

I don’t have the patience it takes; I’m better at helping with the butchering, the clean up and the camp cooking. :)

[Liz]

Sweet potatoes get an impressive treatment. The hasselback slicing technique is easy;
it allows the flavors of bacon, butter, maple syrup and fresh thyme to infuse the sweet potato.

Maple-Bacon Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients 4 medium sweet potatoes (orange-fleshed), about 2 lb total 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons real maple syrup 1/3 cup cooked crumbled bacon 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

Steps----Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish. Poke each sweet potato several times with fork. Place on microwavable plate. Micro on High 5 min. Cool 5 min. Using serrated knife, cut sweet potatoes crosswise into 1/8-inch slices, leaving bottom 1/4 to 1/2 inch intact. Place sweet potatoes in baking dish. Brush potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Sprinkle with salt. Bake 50 to 65 min til completely tender. Brush with remaining tablespoon melted butter. Brush sweet potatoes with maple syrup. Top with bacon and thyme.

Tip---To cut sweet potatoes Hasselback-style, place a wooden spoon lengthwise against sweet potato. Hold one side of sweet potato and make thin cuts in one half potato, leaving bottom 1/4 to 1/2 inch intact. Turn, repeat cuts.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Don’t think that we did not notice the placement of that shot on the picture of your buck! Good shot! (And sorry about your wife’s Car!)

A lot of garlic, but you have something to use it with!

---

(Recipe a lady who fishes, hunts, and occasionally swears.

Warning given!)

I have the garlic but no venison. Let us know how this tastes!

https://shelbykilibarda.com/garlic-butter-venison/

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 pound venison steak cubed into 1-inch pieces
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp garlic minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp parsley chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Marinade

1 cup soy sauce
salt & pepper

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, cubed venison, salt, and pepper. Let venison marinate for 15 minutes.
Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted, add the venison, garlic, red pepper flakes, parsley, the leftover marinade, and salt and pepper to taste. Brown each side of the venison for 1 minute. Be careful not to overcook!
Remove from heat and enjoy! Serve with your favorite side. We enjoyed it with potatoes and asparagus.

P.S. I cook most of my recipes at night, so it is too dark to take pictures.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That sounds pretty much perfect!

No Venison in my freezer yet, but there is some Elk in there, so I’ll pull that out and give this a whirl.

I, too, do my best work in the dark. *SNORT*