The Garden Thread - June, 2024

June 1, 2024 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a 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 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/removed from our New & Improved Ping List.

NOTE: This is a once a MONTH Ping List, but we DO post to the thread all throughout the month. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time!

[metmom]

I’ve seen the long radishes.

I tried turning my family on to radishes, but they aren’t interested.

I can’t eat them now so there’s no point in growing them.

[Pollard]

We grew the standard red ones one year and everyone liked them immature more than full grown. The little ones are sweet, not hot. I don’t mind them either way.

Luckily, I don’t have any foods I can’t eat, yet. The major exception being mammalian meat when/if I get bit by a Lonestar tick because I have the Alpha-Gal allergy. I have it mild and figured out I can desensitize myself by eating a little beef to start with and increasing that amount over time. I use beef jerky or deli sliced roast beef to start and within a month, I can eat half a NY Strip which is my normal serving. Gone are the days of a full ribeye. Recently bought a Tri Tip for the first and last time ever.

I’m always thinking about things I might be able to grow and sell some day and thought the long red radish would be great for restaurants due to ease and speed of cutting slices.

I escaped rarseeds.com at less than $10 so I did good. Just got three types of lettuce, Romaine/Iceberg with description and/or reviews claiming heat tolerance. I WILL have lettuce crunch in my salads this year while getting ripe tomatoes. Leaf lettuce alone just doesn’t cut it.

[MomwithHope]

Have a couple of pics. I suspect we have all been too busy to post much. I've been using these plant containers with the bottom cut out for all the broccoli for a few years. We don't have much critter damage but last year a lone deer came up close to the house and feasted on a few broccoli plants. I quickly got a roll of 1" mesh and made some circular cages. That worked. This year I started out Wil everything set up right. These are the lieutenant plants. The biggest. Have 4 of those and 4 of a variety called Taho. Have not tried it before. Also our Mason bee houses are both full already. I found a source online for tubes, 100 for like 11.00. I used a piece of drain tile scrap I had in the barn and a cottage cheese container lid for the back, sewn on with army thread and then gorilla taped. These tubes are a couple inches longer. We see the bees in the garden all the time. Everything is growing great this year and we have had a couple of salads already. Also harvesting lots of green onions. I clean, chop and freeze in meal size bags for a skillet dish or soup. I have 15 bags put up already. The last ditch effort on shishito pepper seeds and costa rican red pepper seeds has paid off. I sewed then in a pot on the patio in regular soil and darned if they all didn't grow. Squeezed them into the garden, its a very deep bed. Happy gardening everyone.

[Qiviut]

Why am I busting my you-know-what cutting grass? I should just let it grow & the neighboring farmers will take care of it!

[Pollard]

I’ve taken to clipping it to 4-6 inches once it’s a foot tall. A few times a year basically. I mow the yard, anywhere I might walk, regular lawn style but further out, not so much. Toss some wildflower seeds out there and call it a wildflower garden.

[metmom]

Good to desensitize yourself.

I’m glad it was successful.

I was at the farmer’s market in Concord Sat and someone was selling ostrich. I’ve had it before and you would NOT know it wasn’t beef but it is also OK for people with red meat allergies as it contains no alpha gal.

WHICH MEATS ARE ALPHA GAL SAFE?
https://www.americanostrichfarms.com/blogs/news/which-meats-are-alpha-gal-safe

[Liz]

Broccoli Cheddar Soup / Panera clone
The popular restaurant soup, using multiple garden vegs. Hearty, creamy incredible flavor.

Ing--- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter , divided 1 small sweet onion , diced small 1/4 cup flour 2 cups whole milk 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 1 & 1/2 cups coarse-chp broccoli florets 1 cup carrot matchsticks 1 stalk celery , thinly sliced (1/2 cup) 10 oz sharp shredded cheddar (2 & 1/2 cups) 3/4 tsp k/salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp ground mustard pinch cayenne

Steps--melt 1 tbl butter; add onion, stir/saute til translucent, 3-4 min. Reset heat to med-low; melt remaining 4 tbl butter. Add flour; whisk/combine. Gradually add milk, whisking til no lumps or flour remain, then whisk in broth. BTB, reduce heat to a gentle bubble, whisking occasionally 5 min.

Add broccoli, carrot, and celery; gently simmer tender, about 10-15 min. Reduce heat to low; stir in cheese til melted, a minute. Stir in s/p, ground mustard, cayenne. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.

[metmom]

I use tomato cages and chicken wire for essentially the same plant protection from critters.

It does work. They can get to the tops of the plants, but not further in.

[metmom]

I seem to recall that you also in the past suggested using milk that had gone bad.

The plants don’t care and at least it isn’t wasted.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I have Broccoli Envy! WOW! I’m growing ‘Lieutenant’ too, of course. Mine are dwarfs compared to yours, but we’ve had nothing but RAIN all Spring so far. :(

Love how you love those hard-working bees! Mason bees, Right?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Just take down the fence, put up a sign that says ‘Free Hay’ and you’ll be golden, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’ve made that. It is SO good! I also charge everyone $5 a cup, LOL! :)

[MomwithHope]

Yes mason bees. The first two houses filled up so fast and my cukes and zucchini have not even put out blossoms yet.
They are no work at all.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Whenever we’re at the end of a gallon jug of milk (which is weekly!) I fill it up with water and use it to water my indoor Geraniums and pretty much anything else on hand that flowers. Works like a charm and things look good all winter.

Beau teases me. I always keep a pan of water on the porch for any passing dog that needs a drink. It gets gross by mid-day, so I pour leftovers onto my garden pots around the porch or on the Clematis or Hosta, etc. He says I should patent that and market it as ‘Dog Spit Water’ since my plants always look so nice, LOL!

[Liz]

Glad to get your recipe review. Now I know its good.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’m going to talk to Beau about those bee houses. If I can buy the tubes, I’m sure we can find plans on-line for the house part. He always has scrap wood around to use...and every screw, nail and bolt known to Mankind!

And an extra Porta-Potty. And the door to a submarine! And I haven’t even looked in the barn in a while, LOL! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I love making the restaurant knock-off recipes. We rarely go out to eat.

Copy-Kat Cheddar Bay Biscuits from Red Lobster are really good, too. Once Dad became a relative shut-in, I’d make them for him. One of our last meals out together was to Red Lobster - he loved that place. (And he always picked up the tab!)

https://copykat.com/red-lobster-cheddar-bay-biscuits/

[Qiviut]

That’s what my brother suggested for the strip next to the road & the bank - wildflowers :-)

Mom just bought a Zero Turn for the place to make mowing ‘easier’ on me so letting the grass grow is not an option. The post about letting it grow for round bales was tongue-in-cheek.

[MomwithHope]

Doesn’t have to be made of wood. You can use anything that will give shelter. I like the drain tile it does give a bit of insulation. Here is a link to the tubes I bought.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSZ9WM68?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Hang under a roof edge where it will not get rained on. Bring into your barn with the first freeze and keep it in there for the winter. You can take it out in March. Important factoid, make a bag of organza. It will keep mites from bothering the larva. And in the spring if you are late hanging them up, any bees in the bag are just moving slow because of the cold. They will be fine. We never bought any larva or made a special mud pit.

[MomwithHope]

Just made this comparison shot. This is why Mason bees are 80% better pollinators than honey bees. Honey bees on the left, delicately pick pollen and stuff it on their leg sacks. Mason bees on the right do belly flops in the middle of the flower and roll around. As they go from flower to flower they do a great job.