Posted on 09/01/2024 6:06:00 AM PDT by 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!
My tomatoes are done.
I have enough for one more small batch of stewed tomatoes.
I did manage to find one patch of flowers in the yard (from a Crepe Myrtle tree):
This one doesn't seem to mind the heat:
And, I attended a succulent and cactus show recently that featured "hard-to-find" plants. Think I'll pass on this one!
I've already put out the fall decor because I'm so anxious for the cooler weather.
I'm hoping next month my yards and gardens will start to recover, even the native plants are stressed.
Happy Gardening to All!!
Same here. Half my seed collection is things I don't even buy to eat. I've never bought Bok Choy but I have nearly a dozen types of bok choy seeds. Finally tried it after rowing some. Part of me would like to start a nursery and sell plants.
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Good luck!
Hope the weather holds out long enough.
I used to plant some of my pepper plants in pots and move them indoors when the chilly freezums threatened.
Not this year though.
Jalapeño plants can be small enough to do this well enough.
Favorite part of gardening: The Results!!
Warm figs off of my fig tree. Sweet grapefruit. Juicy oranges in January. Spectacular bulbs like amarylis and daffodils in the spring.
Maybe you can post a few photos? Sounds wonderful.
I love to grow veggies and fruits. Probably due to the fact that I like to cook and eat good food and I know where it came from. Good dirt with some aged manure tilled in, not too much water, and some fertilizer twice a month.
Second round of blossoms...already have LOADS of peppers. The plants really loaded with ‘blossom seconds’ are my aleppo peppers and unusual ‘farmer’s market’ jalapenos that grow out fully corked.
I am loving reading all these responses. This will be a good thread.
For me - yes there is the enjoyment part of watching everything grow. Feeling close to God especially when I am in the garden. Feeling close to my Dad who was a great gardener and I learned so much from.
Number 1 is I am still learning in my old age. After 40 years gardening here and 11 at the old house, there is always something to learn, something to improve on. Learning from successes and failures. Getting the most out of our soil and space. New discoveries. Like just one this year is our orange tomato. Big and orange. We are pretty sure it is a cross between Mountain Fresh and golden jubilee. Big and fleshy like the Mountain Fresh but a deep orange color. It is low acid too. A big part of this is the gardening thread. Thank you Diana for keeping it going post Greeneyes RIP. I am always telling hubby something new I learned from my gardening peeps. There is great support here. 2024 has been a very good year, better than last so we are hoping next year even better.
And last but not least, these last two seasons hubby and I have worked together more than ever. Mostly started because we are both aging and now we enjoy working together in the garden. It’s no longer his job or my job it’s our joy.
Love you my gardening peeps.
I have been working on learning how to save seeds.
I think the day is coming that those who are trying to control the food supply will succeed.
Seeds were restricted during the early days of the pandemic in some states. So I buy heirloom or open pollinated varieties instead of hybrids.
However, I am still putting together a seed list for next year.
Hi I was just thinking about you the other day. Nice to hear from you.
I've been traveling a bit lately and will be leaving again on Thursday to visit a relative who is fighting cancer - not looking good, unfortunately, so it might be a sad trip.
She's taken over the dog bed!! (and is NOT afraid of the dog).
Harvesting/eating. Second favorite part is digging. It’s fun exercise. Worst part: pulling weeds.
Gotta pull out the little Stihl 2 stroke tiller and clean it up and drop it off at the Stihl dealer so they can get it running for me.
Looks like this. Never had much luck messing with little two stroke engines so I'll let the pros do it. 
Ought to work well for prepping beds in the tunnel. I'm generally going with no-till so it will mostly be for mixing in compost/amendments to the top couple of inches.
Brought a bunch more corrugated cardboard home from work to keep the weeds/grass from re-sprouting as I move my black plastic to new spots. The old rubber truck bed mat works really good for killing out the old grass but I only have one - 5x8 or so.
Just started a 32 cell tray of Asian greens and choy. Eight each of Tatsoi, Chijisimai, purple choy and winter choy. Got a couple other choy types and then lettuces, collard, mustard, cabbages and last but not least, onions to overwinter.
Should have started seeds 1-2 weeks ago but 2 weeks ago, got covid and last weekend I muddled through getting the plastic on and that did me in. Finally over covid fully now.
With any luck, I'll have something looking like this in a 2-3 months.
Bottom watering done on first tray. Doing #2 now and I only have 2 humidity domes so those seeds will have to sprout before I can do more trays. Then it's off to work on the tunnel. Get some wrinkles out, put all my cattle panels around it and start setting up for 12vdc solar panel, battery to run things. Clean out the shed and bring the industrial PC down and set it up in the shed.
Terrible year for peppers for us. The jalapenos have been blossoming all along, and we finally have one (ONE!) pepper developing on one of the three surviving plants. A few bell peppers and poblanos are on again now that the weather is cooling a bit.
Last year we had nine jalapeno plants that produced several pounds of peppers. Don’t know what happened this year. Not many bees around, but even trying to hand-pollinate didn’t work.
Weird. My wife keeps referring to our plants as the ‘pepper forest’. Insane production levels of Urfa Biber, Habaneros, Chile de Agua, Jalapeno, Scotch Bonnet, Venezuelan Tiger and Mulato Islanos...
I still have about a quart of dried chile de arbol and a couple of jars of pickled serranos from last year, so all we tried this year were four jalapeno plants, three bell peppers, and a poblano. A desert wood rat (pack rat) ate the poblano and three of the jalapenos before I trapped it, but only one of the jalapenos failed to regrow.
Never grew any of the really hot varieties, serranos are about it for us. We would have put in a couple of Cajun Belles, but nobody seemed to have them last spring.
I love your Scarecrows! You put out the cutest seasonal decor. :)
My Mom has one of those big cement Goose figurines that she dresses in a different costume each month. Her neighbors love it.
“Seeds were restricted during the early days of the pandemic in some states.”
That brings back lots of BAD feelings about Mother Government and my Fellow Wo/man! That evil witch Governor in MI was front and center on that one!
Also the canning supply shortages were nuts. I scrapped by, but I have been donating the less dependable brands I had to buy back then to St. Vincent’s. People can use them for storage or crafting. The seals were horrible on the off-brands and I had some jars actually break while canning. (No problems with Kerr or Ball, though.)
Those stupid years sure woke a lot of people up. Hoping many more are better prepared for the next curve ball Mother Government lobs at us!
*Steps Off Soap Box* ;)
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