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Weekly Garden Thread - February 12-18, 2022 [Greenhouse Envy Edition]
February 12, 2022 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memorium

Posted on 02/12/2022 6:57:19 AM PST by 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!


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Gardening; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: food; garden; gardening; hobbies
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission
Cleaned it up a little and made links clickable. I may tackle that other, longer one linked just below sometime. It's big. Maybe I'll put them both together and put on my profile page.

This Is The Link Back Resource Area For New Gardeners And Old Gardeners Looking For New Ideas! Books, Magazines, Gardening Seeds, Supplies And Equipment, And Interesting Gardening Links! (Info Has Been Compiled From Previous Weekly Threads!)

https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3973069/posts?page=113#113

SELECT SOURCES OF GARDENING SUPPLIES (Search will locate many more!)

SEEDS, FRUIT TREES, GARDENING SUPPLIES, AND EQUIPMENT

SEED SAVER EXCHANGE LINKS

http://www.seedsavers.org (Founders/supporter links below!)
https://awhaley.com
https://amygoldmanfowler.com/
88 posted on 6/6/2021, 7:17:43 PM by Diana in Wisconsin

Canning / Preserving Supplies
Posted by Honeysuckle Tn in another thread!
https://www.allamericancanner.com/"
Harvest Guard https://canninglids.com/
Tattler https://reusablecanninglids.com/

Gardener / Farming Prepper links:

Freeper Pollard has a list of Prepper links on Water and Food at his home page:

https://freerepublic.com/~pollard/

Ag/Prepper Database has an extensive list of farming/gardening/agricultural subjects at the link below! (Click on link to see what is available!!)

To: Diana in Wisconsin Ag/Prepper Database Crossover Ping from Pollard:

719mb of mostly pdf files on ‘Agriculture’ geared towards edibles, from nut trees to veggies to mushrooms with lots of supporting info on soils, pests, seed saving etc. There are 22 folders within the Agriculture folder with 21 of them having material sorted by subject and then there’s 1 Misc folder. When you’re in any folder, you can click the button at the top right to Download all files which will create a zip file for you. On individual items, click the three dots to the right of it and click download. I’m pretty sure I got rid of all copyrighted material, magic mushroom and marijuana stuff. I downloaded this as a torrent years ago and had never gone through it all until today but I didn’t open every single file. Just the big ones, apt to be a book and anything with obvious titles. This stuff’s not going anywhere soon so take your time and peruse the content and download what’s useful to you.

102 posted on 7/11/2021, 6:21:01 PM by Pollard

GREENHOUSE POLYCARBONATE PANELS

PLANS AND INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT POLLARD AG PREP DATA BASE ABOVE!
https://permasteader.com/cloud/index.php/s/cctrRrEp2QzoePC
To: TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig
“buy the polycarbonate panels”
I bought the much cheaper “clear” ( but you can’t see clearly through it) 4 year greenhouse film. Has lasted 8 years and still doing fine. Ha! Still have the link:
https://www.growerssolution.com/PROD/4-year-6-mil-clear-greenhouse-film/G4Y6MGF
If making one for occupation T recommend getting clear vinyl for some clear windows. The vinyl will have to be replaced every year so don’t overdo it’s use..

BOOKS (movies) AND LINKS TO BOOKS Mentioned on the thread

7 Books Aimed at Helping Hobby Farmers

https://www.hobbyfarms.com/books-hobby-farms-farming/

I own ‘The Woman Hobby Farmer’ and ‘The Lean Farm’ both of which I’ve found helpful.
107 posted on 6/21/2021, 9:45:28 AM by Diana in Wisconsin

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3941037/posts?q=1&;page=251
I have this book. It’s for people gardening in limited space with limited resources. It does teach you a lot about growing vegetables and composting organically. (Good to know but I think If you have space and fertilizer, use it you will get larger vegetables and yields.)
“How to grow more vegetables in less space than you ever imagined” John Jeavons
https://www.amazon.com/How-Grow-More-Vegetables-Ninth-dp-0399579184/dp/0399579184/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

I have not read this but am aware of some of his arguments for using space if you have it.

Gardening when it Counts. Growing food in hard times.” Steven Soloman. (Founder of Territorial Seeds.)
https://www.amazon.com/Gardening-When-Counts-Growing-Mother/dp/086571553X

________________________________________ “Whizbang Gardening!” Herrick Kimball
https://whizbanggardening.blogspot.com/

I am using some of his ideas.
________________________________________ This looks interesting. I do not have room for a greenhouse. If you do It might be worth getting one!

Four Season Harvest ” Elliot Coleman.

https://www.amazon.com/Four-Season-Harvest-Organic-Vegetables-Garden/dp/1890132276/

Pete from Shawnee Mission

Straw Bail Gardening.
https://www.amazon.com/Straw-Bale-Gardens-Complete-Karsten/dp/1591869072

49 posted on 2/20/2021, 10:54:22 AM by Qiviut

To: Qiviut
"The book I used as a resource was “Straw Bale Gardens Complete” by Joel Karsten."
142 posted on 2/21/2021, 10:12:45 PM by Grammy

To: Grammy
Here’s some more good info, Grammy!

How to Build a Straw Bale Garden” ~ Modern Farmer
https://modernfarmer.com/2013/07/straw-bale-gardening/

I’d like to recommend Carol Deppe’s “The Resilient Gardener”, as well as her book “How to Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties”.
Even if you don’t intend to take up plant-breeding, she has excellent advice about how to save seeds in a way that minimizes inbreeding depression, and how to select for plants that do well in your particular area.
278 posted on 3/13/2021, 2:40:14 PM by Ellendra

Joseph Lofthouse just published the book for you! His methods of landrace breeding break a lot of rules, but the result is an almost lazy way to breed new varieties. Check it out!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578245655/
87 posted on 6/20/2021, 4:27:09 AM by Ellendra


The Orchard: A Memoir’ by Adele Crockett Robertson
“The Orchard is an exquisitely beautiful and poignant memoir of a young woman’s single-handed struggle to save her New England farm in the depths of the Great Depression.

10 posted on 6/26/2021, 9:37:52 AM by Diana in Wisconsin

DISGUISED/CAMOUFLAGED GARDENING AND PERMACULTURE

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secret-garden-of-survival-how-to-grow-a-camouflaged-food-forest-rick-austin/1114910772

and

https://www.thespruce.com/best-vegetables-and-fruits-for-edible-landscape-1403436 and

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/landscaping-with-vegetables.htm

Edible Landscaping” by Rosalind Creasy is an excellent book. ALL of her books are terrific!

https://www.thriftbooks.com/a/rosalind-creasy/226104/

I see that ‘Edible Landscaping’ is out of stock at this site, but you can find it elsewhere on line or at your library.
(I just hate linking to Amazon for anything these days!)
296 posted on 3/17/2021, 11:29:26 AM by Diana in Wisconsin

Diana in Wisconsin:
“52 Weekend Garden Projects” By Nancy Bubel
To: bimboeruption
It's from 1992, but a really great reference with a lot of useful projects for the garden/yard.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3936288/posts?q=1&;page=101
posted on 2/23/2021, 9:40:20 AM by Diana in Wisconsin

The Founding Gardeners” by Andrea Wulf
A friend recommended this to me, and it's in my 'stack-o-stuff' (Miss You, Rush!) to read.
"Andrea Wulf's fine story of how gardening and farming shaped the thinking of Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison … One of Wulf's most luxurious and sharp-witted chapters concerns the matter that would fertilize a new nation: 'Mundane as it seems,' she writes, 'manure was of the greatest concern to all
four of them." San Francisco Chronicle
'Land Girls' is a pretty good series to watch, too.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1449940/
https://www.createcraftlove.com/garden-hose-spring-wreath/

41 posted on 02/12/2022 11:56:19 AM PST by Pollard (PureBlood -- https://youtube.com/watch?v=VXm0fkDituE)
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

Thanks, Pete!


42 posted on 02/12/2022 12:14:09 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Augie

Our kit was about $2K. NOT including gravel we had to buy for a pad, because we have very few level spots of land around here.

Later we needed a replacement piece, so that was another ridiculous price for a piece of PLASTIC. We DROVE to Farm Tec in Iowa to pick it up versus the INSANE price for shipping it a few hundred miles.


43 posted on 02/12/2022 12:19:21 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Pollard

How handy is THAT! Thanks, Johnny’s! :)


44 posted on 02/12/2022 12:20:01 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

A high tunnel where I am will add a month on each end of the season. I wish they had an adjustment for that. You’d think they would considering they sell to market gardeners, a lot of whom have high tunnels. They even sell hybrids especially for high tunnels. Would be real easy to do programmatically. I think I’ll contact them about that.

You could get the high tunnel start dates by picking a frost free date that’s a month earlier I suppose.

They’ve got a bunch of calculators including another one for Fall planting dates, succession dates etc. Some of them are to be used with Windows Excel.

https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/online-tools-calculators.html

Quite a lot of growing info between Johnny’s and BoostrapFarmer.com


45 posted on 02/12/2022 12:47:27 PM PST by Pollard (PureBlood -- https://youtube.com/watch?v=VXm0fkDituE)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Thanks for checking with him about the fenceposts.

The house I plan to build is earth-sheltered, and includes a built-in greenhouse that’s bigger than the living area. I’ve been wanting to live in my own tropical greenhouse since I was a kid :)


46 posted on 02/12/2022 1:40:28 PM PST by Ellendra (A single lie on our side does more damage than a thousand lies on their side.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
Welcome from N. Georgia where we have 67 degrees weather! Our daffodils are beginning to bloom, Irises and daylilies are peaking through the soil, and the Camellias are full of blooms. I have forsythia budding out. Love this time of year!
47 posted on 02/12/2022 2:05:26 PM PST by hoe_cake
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To: Pollard

Oak/Hickory heavy here. Not complaining, have a mill nearby.

Cedar/Spruce are manageable if you ‘drown’ them. Cedar and Spruce can be soaked in water and bent to ones liking.

Oak/hickory can as well. Just takes longer.

Hope that helps.


48 posted on 02/12/2022 2:19:37 PM PST by waterhill (Resist)
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To: Ellendra

Sounds wonderful!


49 posted on 02/12/2022 2:33:33 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Greetings from our 15 degree day in Wisconsin.🥶

Today I started 3 varieties of pansies, 3 different snapdragons, Big Blue Salvia (they need to get big before they flower), and a few leftover Rudbeckia seeds from last year.

They are started in my Park Seed 2 flat (80 plugs total) BioDome.

When the seedlings are big enough, I will seed another 80 plugs with various other seeds.

The new hobby sized greenhouse still needs benches and a milk house heater.
Will heat it in April, or when my sunroom is too crowded with plants.😅


50 posted on 02/12/2022 3:59:42 PM PST by TheConservativeParty (MAGA FOREVER 🇺🇸)
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To: LibWhacker

Hmmph; what a wussie! Been there; took my rod, and my fish, with me.


51 posted on 02/12/2022 4:18:13 PM PST by ApplegateRanch (Hey, hey, ho, ho Fidel Trudeau Has got to go!)
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To: Pollard; Diana in Wisconsin

Pollard; Thank you! It is a substantial file with a lot of formatting. My HTML is basic so I appreciate your work and effort!

If Diana has no problem with it I have no problem with posting the “Gardening Directory” it to your profile page.

If you do, would it be OK to point the weekly link for the “Gardening Directory” to that page? (Since it already points to your Prepper links it seems more efficient to have them all in one location.)

I have intended reviewing last years threads to update and incorporate any additional new information but listeria or covid or something! If you want and I can get back my energy and focus I will still do that. Let me know!


52 posted on 02/12/2022 6:49:16 PM PST by Pete from Shawnee Mission ( )
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To: Ellendra

No. 4 Son found this a few years ago: https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/visit-a-nebraska-greenhouse-that-grows-lemons-and-oranges/


53 posted on 02/12/2022 8:05:11 PM PST by Western Phil
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

Credit where credit is due always. Between Diana, metmom and I, a lot of stuff has been cross posted between the weekly garden threads and the occasional prepping threads which I hope to do more regularly. They kind of go hand in hand. Diana knows way more about growing than me and metmom I knows more about prepping and I think practices it more then I do. Their info trumps mine 90% or more of the time.

I also plan to organize my cloud/database and create a more organized set of links on my profile page to individual groups of folders & sub-folders of files based on subject.

My profile page will fully utilize html except for html tables. I hate them. They’re tedious and don’t work well on small devices like cell phones and small tablets.

The only thing we have here on FR for permanent, organized content is profiles.

It is what it is. A news aggregation forum in the style of a social network where stuff gets pushed down by new stuff.

Yes, feel free to message with any additions.

I’m not 100% sure what to do with anyone’s nuggets of wisdom, Dinana, metmom or even myself but will figure something out.


54 posted on 02/12/2022 8:23:57 PM PST by Pollard (PureBlood -- https://youtube.com/watch?v=VXm0fkDituE)
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission; Pollard

Whatever cross-links you guys want is fine with me! :)


55 posted on 02/13/2022 6:49:51 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Pollard

Thanks for that Johnny’s link. Fan-tastic data, there!

I printed off the seed starting list for my zone (4-5) just to compare it to when I normally start things around here for spring planting. I was starting things about a week ahead of their suggestions, but I have the greenhouse to finish them and harden them off before planting out.

I was working on the comparisons and Beau said, ‘What are you doing?’ and I said, ‘Trying to see if I still know what I’m doing!’ LOL!


56 posted on 02/13/2022 6:54:47 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: All; metmom; Pete from Shawnee Mission; Pollard; Tilted Irish Kilt

57 posted on 02/13/2022 7:49:26 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin; Pete from Shawnee Mission
There's a lot of quotes from you that end with (78 posted on 6/28/2021, 2:55:52 PM by Diana in Wisconsin) etc and I'm leaving them. This will be going on my profile page along with my prepping info, if you don't mind. It's for everyone. Just wanting to get it all in one place and formatted, organized, clickable etc. I'll continue to add nuggets of wisdom from various people. Links to informative posts. Links to various websites, books, videos and video channels etc.

Going all out with the html including a Table of Contents of nested html lists at the top with clickable links that jump further down the page to sections/subjects. A profile page is really the only place on FR to keep permanent, organized info. (FR needs a wiki) Everything gets buried due to the chronological nature of it.

My cloudware is great for pdf files as it's got a built in viewer but it sucks for html because it shows you the html code instead of the rendered version that a browser would show. It's for security reasons I guess. Over time, I'll probably convert the few html files to pdf.

I'm also going to organize my cloud stuff and will have links on my profile page to the various folders and subfolders by subject. Doesn't need much organizing. I'm an info-freak. My PC folders, browser bookmarks, notekeeping app and cloud are almost organized with the same subjects, folders, subfolders - almost. Just started using a new notekeeping app called Joplin that syncs with the cloudware. Once I get a new cell phone, I'll be able to install Joplin and take notes or check my notes while out and about, in the garden, in the shop etc.

Something like this

Those links for covid stuff jump down the page. I'll probably be getting rid of the covid stuff. It's pretty much over with. It was over for me in late Spring 2020 until we got covid a couple of months ago. Was no big deal but I did use the FLCCC protocol which I think helped. Wife got monoclonal and did the vitamins and Doxycycline part of the protocol and adult teen kids didn't get it or it was nothing to them.

But since tptb decided to wreck the world economy and supply chain, prepping and gardening have gained popularity. Good to have a repository of info for people here. Working on this post by Pete right now; https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3973069/posts?page=113#113 - Came back to FR to use the editor to make the links work. Easier then hand coding. I use the browser addon from here; http://cynwoody.appspot.com/fr_posting_form_enhancer.html that adds a bunch of formatting buttons to the FR posting form including one to make links.

58 posted on 02/13/2022 8:03:35 AM PST by Pollard (PureBlood -- https://youtube.com/watch?v=VXm0fkDituE)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin; Pete from Shawnee Mission
Here we go. Not complete but a good start. It's 98% Pete's post #113 plus I added a few links. I'll be adding nested list items as subsections of Gardening so one will be able to click, "Seed Saving" for instance and jump right to it. Will look like the Prepper list with indented sub-items. Also will be adding in links to my cloud, probably at the top of each subsection. For instance, I have a folder called Seeds which is half Seed Saving info so I'll add a direct link to that folder. All links open in a new tab/window.

Click on Gardening here https://freerepublic.com/~pollard/index

My profile page is up to 434 lines of html

59 posted on 02/13/2022 9:30:19 AM PST by Pollard (PureBlood -- https://youtube.com/watch?v=VXm0fkDituE)
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To: Pollard

Pollard, Thanks! It looks good. When I do the “lookback” link I’ll use that for the Garden Directory/Prepper Link!


60 posted on 02/13/2022 10:54:31 AM PST by Pete from Shawnee Mission
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