Weekly Garden Thread - August 6-12, 2022 [All The Onions Edition]

August 6, 2022 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[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.

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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!

[metmom]

I read somewhere that peppers like warm temperatures but cool roots and so do well with other stuff shading the ground.

This year has been fantastic for my peppers. They plants are the biggest I have ever seen them get, and they are surrounded by parsley, celery, onions, etc. Definitely shaded roots.

[Pollard]

You shall eat bugs, cultured meat, glyphosate laced grains, gene edited veggies grown in multi-story buildings, own nothing and be happy.

[metmom]

One has to wonder how they intend to make all those people who live like that like it enough to be happy.

What kind of drug would they be using?

[MomwithHope]

LOL. A stuffed jalapeño cleaned out of every seed and membrane is hot enough for me.

[MomwithHope]

I believe that too about the roots.

[who knows what evil?]

I have hundreds of jalapenos this year...yellow, green, red, orange and pumpkin spice...wife purchased ingredients for stuffing this afternoon, she will be busy tomorrow. Then it will be stir-fry loaded with sugar rush peppers...carolina reaper plants nearly six feet tall, death spiral pepper plants close behind. Can you survive reaper poppers? Hmmm... :-)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Wild Leek/Ramp

Father grew Egyptian walking onions for several years. I don't know why he stopped, but after a certain point he had to focus on work rather than gardening. I am trying to recall how they tasted but that was almost 60 years ago. I do distinctly recall the bulblets growing at the tips of the onion and they needed a fair amount of room. (I think they had a strong onion taste.)

[MomwithHope]

I wouldn’t dare try anything hot. Tummy could not handle it. Diana we didn’t mean to hijack the onion thread.

[MomwithHope]

They do have a stronger taste, unless you dig up some young skinny ones. They big ones we would toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and put on the grill. Just the white parts. It’s a good way to clean out the big ones. I once sent a package to JRandomFreeper (RIP). We had the sane patch going for over 20 years then last year I dug up most of them, kept some bulblets. Unfortunately they got weedwhacked the next season, so I don’t have them anymore. It was always nice in the spring seeing the greens growing up even in the snow.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

So...which onion is best eat before a date?? Should you eat garlic when you date an Italian girl? (Neither an issue for me any more!)

So, in the upper 90s. (High 98.) Mornings I usually water when its cooler. Daughter was here so I did not go out until this afternoon which turned out just as well. Had reflective tape on the my Aronia hedge to try and deter the birds, but not, apparently, some robins who were starting to whoop it up and party on my ripe berries. I chased them away, got a bucket, listened to the b-ball game on the radio and picked. (Royals won.)

So in one inning I was able to get about 1 gallon from 7 - 3rd year plants. (Two others are shaded and do not have much fruit.)

According to this, its $30 for 12 oz of juice,

https://foragerchef.com/simple-chokeberry-aronia-preserves/

I have been neglecting them, no fertilizer, not watering, and they have survived pretty well. Viking Aronia is a good upland plant and works well here on my hill top. I will give them more care next year and see if I can up the yield. I think that I will use what I have to make some jam, which does not look difficult to make.

Garden update; Tomatoes still producing, but have started removing determinate varieties Picus, Celebrity. And Early doll. Canned tomatoes. 16 qts.

Planted Heirloom Thorburn's terracota seedlings 3 week ago. Plants are 24' high and putting out flowers and setting fruit. Shishito peppers producing; Blot and Mosquitero have fruit. Cucumbers melting away...Russian pickling from Seed Savers doing better than the Japanese variety from Baker creek. Summer squash/zucchini are affected by heat and multiple insects. Will keep them going as long as possible. Some leeks I planted are growing, Need to plant other retained seedlings now that I have room. Probably plant them in front of the peppers and maybe put some lettuce under the peppers. (Suggestion that they like cool roots makes sense!)

Started fall cabbages and brussel sprouts (90 days maturity) 2 weeks ago using peat pellets. Sprouted..Moved them to 4x4 pots and began mild fertilizing solution. (Orchid fertilizer first 1/4 dilution. 2 days ago with Fish emulsion at low dilution. Moved inside this evening due to the heat. I will set them out in 2 weeks. I am taking a chance that these will not have enough season to mature, but KS will sometimes have a late summer and i have coverings for moderate frost. I started lettuce in pellets yesterday...45-55 day maturity. Again, I have row covers so we will see if the season extends long enough. (Who knows if the early planting or late planting will succeed?)

[Pollard]

What do the pumpkin spice jalapenos taste like? I’m growing some but have never had them.

[who knows what evil?]

They are just being 'cute' with the pumpkin coloring...they taste like jalapenos. Check them out here.

[Pollard]

Ok, I probably won’t like them then as I don’t like the taste of jalapenos. I’m fine with heat and jalapenos aren’t that hot anyway, just don’t like that particular pepper’s taste.

[who knows what evil?]

Most are familiar with jalapeno poppers...I thought of doing same with death spiral peppers...I could call them ‘death poppers’...considering the heat, that is probably a good name. :-)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You’ve been busy! I’m just starting to crank up. We had our first BLTs yesterday - and will have one for lunch every day between now and frost!

Beau said, ‘How can something so SIMPLE be The Best Thing In The World?’ ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Garden Tour, August 7, 2022:

Peaches! Our tree was loaded this season. It took her four years to get with the program, but it was worth the wait. ❤ 'Contender' semi-dwarf peach from Jung's. There are still peaches on the tree that I couldn't reach - need a 'spotter' for the ladder - Safety First! 😉

Garden Bounty. Cherry-type tomatoes, Golden Oyster Mushrooms that Beau found when hunting and all the beans.

What's growing in the compost bin this season? Potatoes and 'One Too Many' pumpkins.

Our four apple trees are loaded this season. Finally getting 'Honeycrisp' after a number of years. We have 2 Honeycrisp, a Liberty and a Haralson.

'Prism' Kale and a volunteer sunflower.

Had a nice crop of 6 large Broccoli heads. With our weird weather, these were planted in April and harvested in August! 'Lieutenant' from Bonnie was the variety.

'Casa Blanca' Lilies. I started with just one, and now there are six!

'Clapp's Favorite' pears. Two trees, loaded this season.

Bean blossoms. Had to replant a number of times due to squirrels and chippies digging them up. Some are now producing and others are still in bloom, so it will be a LONG bean season for me this year. Dilly Beans! Yay!

My view to the West, after the alfalfa was chopped and made into silage for hungry dairy cows.

Conspicuously absent? Tomatoes. My plants are all blighted this season, and production is rather spotty. I planted only 24 plants this season, versus 36 last year. I'm well stocked on many tomato products from last year, but want to can Salsa. We'll have enough for fresh eating, too. Peppers are in the same category, but those Shishito are doing well, as are Jalapeno. I will have PLENTY of fruit to keep me canning this season. Baking a Peach Pie, today. Our Grape crop is also HUGE, so we'll have Grape Juice to drink all winter. I was feeling kind of depressed, but it's nice that this year it's FRUIT to put up. Next year will be a Big Tomato season. Crop diversity is your friend! :)

[jmacusa]

Howdy folks. Hate to spoil the party but in talking things gardening and all just about half an hour ago I was turning off my back yard grill, putting things away when a few feet away from the pinic table a skunk, looked like a young one, maybe three or four pounds came staggering out of the bushes.

Clearly something was wrong with this thing. It could hardly walk straight, kept falling over.

Looked sick. Rabies? Didn't want to have to do what I did, that was bashed it over the end a few times with a shovel until it was dead. I dug about a three foot hole and tossed it in. Should I have called the cops or just forget about it? Just curious. Thanks for any input.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

MWH; Well If I were out in the country I would think about growing Walking onions. Herself is resistant to any move.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

I am surprised you were not sprayed. I don’t see a problem with it unless something tries to dig it up.

Call your local animal control and see what they want to do. They would also know if there are other cases in the neighborhood and might want to test.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Diana! Great garden, great looking house! You lost the tomatoes this year, but everything else looks great! (Like they are ready to go to the county fair for judging!)

Also, a nice view from your house! (Do you know your neighbors with the silos?)

(Time for bed! Good night!)