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Weekly Garden Thread - April 9-15, 2022 [Lettuces & Salad Greens Edition]
April 9, 2022 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memorium

Posted on 04/09/2022 6:15:09 AM PDT 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: Liz

https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/lettuce/lollo-rossa-lettuce


101 posted on 04/12/2022 6:36:44 AM PDT by Pollard (PureBlood -- https://youtube.com/watch?v=VXm0fkDituE)
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission; metmom
While I was out back, I found two half full 50lb feed bags with chicken manure and probably mixed with our silt soil. I dug it up from the original coop spot after I moved it. The sun ate through the feed bags so it's been rained/snowed on but is nice fine crumbly blackness. I just have no idea how strong it will be. Might be neutral by now. It's 4-5 years old. I'm going to transplant something into it and also try starting a few seeds of some sort into it and see what happens.

Three Komatsuna seeds sowed a few days ago just popped up over night. It was crusty loamy-silt/manure mix from the ground where the chicken coop was 4-5 years ago. Now it's dark and fluffy. Will be interesting to see how the seedlings do. I've got half a dozen Shisito seedlings and am going to pot one up to this loamy-silt/manure mix and see what that does. I'll wait a few days to see how the komatsuna goes first. Wish I had some NPK test kits.

102 posted on 04/12/2022 7:26:24 AM PDT by Pollard (PureBlood -- https://youtube.com/watch?v=VXm0fkDituE)
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To: Augie; Diana in Wisconsin; Pollard; ApplegateRanch; All
Thanks Ag R!

Beginning in June 2023, farmers won’t be able to buy any over-the-counter antibiotics for their animals...

If you have poultry or livestock and use OTC antibiotics.....

(Or if you are someone who buys their antibiotics from a veternary source... (NWO type stuff. They will come for the gardeners later!))

103 posted on 04/12/2022 9:03:35 AM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

When I got covid, I already had doxycycline at the ready. Got it at the feed store as Fish-Doxy. I also got my ivermectin from the feed store.


104 posted on 04/12/2022 9:16:21 AM PDT by Pollard (PureBlood -- https://youtube.com/watch?v=VXm0fkDituE)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Saw this website and thought of you, with Weber coming back from the spa and all. Or anyone with a lot of beef on their hands.

https://selfsufficientprojects.com/making-machaca-mexican-pemmican-shelf-stable-meat/?fbclid=IwAR3foNWBh3cQxJ46k8o7J0FLxkRryMSiOa6bsCAXnQEmhKU8q5DdwkGtcOo


105 posted on 04/12/2022 11:02:45 AM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Loved your puppy picture. So which one did you break? I’ll guess the one on the right. Looks like he/she has your number.


106 posted on 04/12/2022 11:04:21 AM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: All
Here's my hack for the day. Since I have no greenhouse I use caddys to move plants in and out until it is warm enough to plant. I have 4 caddys now but can see I need a few more. They are also easy to just carry to the garden and plant out of. I just cut the sides out of a detergent jug, will work fine. I'll do a better job on the next one. 0-02-01-ebcb0fa5dd862e8913df2aa151c3010b7de94b438e4d80cae29dd84ef094e0d6-d62c5a9d9c6a496d
107 posted on 04/12/2022 11:16:09 AM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

I picked up 2 big plastic bins of sticks from the yard but I used one of those pistol grip grabbers so I did not have to bend over. I dislike raking so this worked out good. Also my jiffy pellets broccoli already up and ready for some garden soil so I did that. We have bought so many starter plants over the years and I saved them all.


108 posted on 04/12/2022 11:20:07 AM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

“They will come for the gardeners later!”

Good luck with that. We have plenty of TOOLS at our disposal and the compost pile would benefit greatly from ‘whatever’ happened to go through the wood chipper. ;)


109 posted on 04/12/2022 4:13:58 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: MomwithHope
Actually, I 'broke' Beau's Beagle, 'Chief.' When I moved here six years ago, Chief lived in the barn like any other hunting dog, though he was free to roam.

I had lost both my Lab and my Basset Hound in the three previous years, so I was 'dogless. :(

Little by little Chief ended up on the porch, then in the house, and has become progressively more spoiled as the years have passed. Beau claims I 'broke him' because he's not much of a hunter anymore. But in my defense, the guy IS going on 9 years, so he was bound to slow down a little - as have we ALL! ;)


110 posted on 04/12/2022 4:31:41 PM PDT 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

What a nice picture, handsome looking dog. Thanks for sharing.


111 posted on 04/12/2022 4:53:24 PM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: MomwithHope

Thanks for the jerky link. I bookmarked it. We make a lot of jerky, but usually out of hamburger...beef or bear.

Our ‘adopted’ daughter, Amanda, took some hamburger, steaks and roasts off our hands today, and I loaded her up with freezer jams and jellies, too.

Beau’s Foster Son will be here on Saturday to do some touch-up painting on the house and share in, ‘The Bounty that was Weber.’ Such an unselfish steer. He just gives and gives and gives! ;)

One of my BFFs is buying 1/4 of Weber from us, but she’ll pick it up at the butcher and Mom & Sis want some too, but I’m pretty sure we’ll still have a good 1/2 of Weber for ourselves. For my Sister’s share, I’m making up stickers to put on the packages that say, ‘All Gave Some, Some Gave All.’ LOL! She REFUSED to even MEET Weber over the 15 months we had him.

We’ve made good headway on cleaning out the freezers and Beau is dropping off a bunch of hides and skulls that have been in ‘his’ freezer to a local guy who will clean the skulls and tan the hides.

If you’re squeamish, you probably NEVER want to look in that freezer, LOL! (I never do!) There was a dead cat in there when I first moved here. I was looking around for something to defrost for dinner. It was a cat that Beau really loved and it died in the winter and he was saving it for a proper spring burial. *Rolleyes*

Our ‘lifestyle’ is NOT for everyone, obviously! :)


112 posted on 04/12/2022 5:57:52 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: MomwithHope

LOVE your ‘Transplant Transport’ jug! Very smart!

Glad you’re liking the Jiffy pellets. I love them! Never thought I would, but they make seed starting an absolute breeze! I transplanted my tomatoes to 4” pots the other day. Peppers are still lagging behind, but today I FINALLY saw some sprouting on the second batch I started. I had all fresh seed, so I don’t know what the heck was up with the poor germination. Grrrr!

Weather here is rainy tonight and tomorrow, then back to 40’s for highs, so it’s still a lot of work opening and closing the greenhouse 2x a day. Just stabilize, would ya Mother Nature? Yeesh!

Plus, we’re still in drought conditions here, AND in a Solar Minimum, so this is going to be a very interesting growing season. And by ‘interesting’ I mean a total PITA! ;)


113 posted on 04/12/2022 6:03:54 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Pollard

I understand the issue of antibiotic resistance, but they should begin by not putting antibiotics in cattle feed.

I had 2 different sources of ivermectin, Walmart and Jeffers. I think it was also available at Valley vet here in KS. I have not used any Antibiotics, but I should probably get some just to have on hand.


114 posted on 04/12/2022 7:00:57 PM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Yes the pellets are great, our peppers are lagging too and all fresh seed.


115 posted on 04/13/2022 6:42:05 AM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: MomwithHope

I know someone who put their cat in the freezer too. So when our dog was declining, I dug a hole in advance with a post hole digger. Saved the fill dirt in 2 covered 10 gallon buckets. He was a little guy. Covered the hole with a board and it stayed that way for 2 winters until the next July.


116 posted on 04/13/2022 6:46:37 AM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: All

117 posted on 04/13/2022 8:06:11 AM PDT 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

This is taking forever.

This starting from seed is new to me. Tried maters once before but it was just in front of a window so they got real leggy and didn't turn out to be very healthy and half died before planting out time. They also had no heat mats so they got colder than they should have. Didn't turn out too well so I ended up buying 2 one gal tomato plants that already had maters on them. Talk about gardening with zero patience needed.

I'm not really behind according to Johnny's seed starting calculator aside from reseeding some due losing some to a rabbit and a few to a man-made drought when I didn't check on seedlings for 2-3 days. I just never really put much thought into that 6-8 weeks between seeding and planting out for some things. Maters and peppers seeded a month ago and don't go out for another month.

I'm running out of room.

All the maters and peppers have been potted up and take up more room now. I reseeded half the 72 cell tray with things I lost and they just started germinating but both grow lights have up-potted plants under them.

Gonna have to steal a shop light and use it over the up-potted plants and then use one or both of the 2 foot grow lights on the 72 cell tray. I'll make a little stand for the light(s) so I can move the whole thing to maintain temperature. I've got a piece of styrofoam under the tray so a hard surface won't suck the heat out of the seedlings.

This is a lot of work

Mostly because of it being my first time, not being fully ready and wanting avoid spending a bunch more money. Been making pots & labels. Just made my third batch of potting mix because I'm all out of store bought. I still have some peat left and have been scraping up leaf mold/humus from a low spot I've been raking leaves into for 10 years, grinding charcoal into biochar with an old meat grinder, adding very aged manures, screening stuff. Been rearranging stuff and now have to rearrange more things to add a light. Had to build a fence and then wrap in chicken wire to exclude rabbits. I'll need to till, lay cardboard down with some old compost/manure on top to plant maters and peppers. Then there's still supports for pole beans, cucumbers and maters.

Then there's a bigger area with better soil that I haven't even prepped yet and need to move some electric fence to. That might not get done in time for potatoes which is what I usually grow there. After having fed hay to the goats there, I really need to till it and put down clear poly and leave it until late Summer. Then I get to start all over with hardy crops again but in larger quantities. If I want taters, that means cutting up a plastic drum into three pieces to grow taters in and finding something to add into them for cover.

This is gonna get expensive.

There's the high tunnel frame that will cost several hundred dollars to close in. After having watched Charles Dowding with his glass greenhouse and conservatory, I really want to build a lean to style greenhouse on the South wall of the house. Been wanting to for a while. Looked at garden windows because I have four South facing windows. Those things are pricey @ $2k. Root cellar. Can't forget that. Mostly gravel for soil in my one little North facing elevation. Tried the dirt scoop and grader blade on the tractor but it wouldn't do anything. Even tried a pick but it just hits a rock and stops. Gonna have to get a backhoe in there, concrete for walls, roof and wood for forms, something for a door.

Another year or two, bunch of work, several thousand dollars and I'll be set up to grow some stuff. Maybe even do the farmer's market. Oh wait. That means a wash and pack station and walk in cooler.

118 posted on 04/13/2022 12:23:48 PM PDT by Pollard (PureBlood -- https://youtube.com/watch?v=VXm0fkDituE)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin; Pete from Shawnee Mission
Grilled Steak Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette - Damn Delicious

Grill the steak with the vegetables. Layer on salad greens.
Add Bleu cheese dressing.....et voila......Steak Salad.

119 posted on 04/13/2022 3:36:02 PM PDT by Liz ("Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
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To: Pollard

Oh, Jaysus! How old are you? Don’t even THINK of doing the Farmers Market unless you’re still in your 30’s, LOL!

Slow and steady wins the race. One. Project. At. A. Time.

You’ll get there.


120 posted on 04/13/2022 4:22:53 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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