The Garden Thread - April, 2025

April 1, 2025 | 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.

[Liz]

Just picked.

Dishes in which to use spring garden vegetables:
Artichoke, leek and potato casserole
Garlic chicken and vegetable kebabs
Oven-roasted asparagus and carrots
Spinach strawberry salad
Stir-fries with a variety of fresh vegetables.

[daniel1212]

Perhaps this is the ping to this weeks addition to garden thread, but I seem to absent from the list, which I look for on Saturdays. Thanks,

[metmom]

I’m sure I asked this before, but how cold sensitive are onions and lettuce? I put some onions in and tomorrow night the forecast low is supposed to be 32, although I don’t trust it. It’s not unusual for it to get lower.

I Plan on covering the lettuce for the night, but do the onions need it?

[MomwithHope]

.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Today’s PING (every Saturday of the month since we went to a monthly format) is at Post 430.

I checked my Ping List and you’re on it. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Beautiful veggies! I’ll have all of that in hand in another month, maybe earlier. Yay! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“I plan on covering the lettuce for the night, but do the onions need it?”

Hope I’m not too late!

Are the onion greens UP? I’d cover them if you’re out there covering things, anyway. ;)

Everything I’m reading just talks about an early frost in the FALL, so I’m not sure what to do about spring-planted onions that are still just greens. Covering them overnight certainly won’t hurt.

What’s your Zone? 4? 3? You might have them in the ground too soon if a freeze is still an issue.

If they were mine, I’d cover them somehow. A blanket or towels should help. The point is to keep the cold overnight AIR off of them.

[Paul R.]

Is that “15,000 lumen high bay light” you bought “a while back” an LED light? Even at 1 watt per every 100 Lumens it’d be kicking out 150 watts, and an older unit might not be quite that efficient.

In any event, yeah, 15k Lumens should start lots of seedlings. ;-) That’s kinda what I have in mind with these two (rated) 8000 lumen lights — or, I may try seeing if they’ll further reduce seedling “spindlyness”.

My old heat sink grease is rather dried up, but, it turns out “SuperLube” has a very good deal on a 3 oz. tube of heat sink grease: $11.65 on Amazon. It’s probably not quite good enough for cooling the latest and greatest Intel CPU’s, but, I figure LED’s that survive an hour without heat sink grease for their obviously intended & fairly decent heat sink will last 10 years with “pretty good” heat sink grease. :-) This stuff is silicone base - it should hold up practically forever, and 3 oz. will last me a good while. Then again, almost nothing I’ve seen from China that should use the stuff has it, or has it properly applied...

[SunkenCiv]

:^) I got a couple more seed deliveries this week. :^)

[Liz]

I had you in mind when I posted baskets of a
mouth-watering spring harvest........chuckle.

[daniel1212]

Thanks. My fault, as I was on a previous page of my ping list and thus did not see the latest pings.

[MomwithHope]

Happy Easter to all! And joy to the world today and always. I treasure this group and appreciate all your posts. Promoting gardening - and sharing the ups and downs. Bless you all today and always. MWH

[Redleg Duke]

He is Risen, Indeed!

[Pollard]

I don't buy into that watts equivalent thing but this thing is supposed to be 500 watt equivalent. I go by how bright it is in the real world. I didn't know that high power LED drivers use thermo-grease but I suppose it makes sense. I still haven't gotten away from that seedling “spindlyness” yet. I see pics where people are growing nice squatty plants under not much light and/or lights that aren't up close to the seedlings but all mine are daddy long legs. Maybe I should try this high bay light as a grow light.

Yeah it's LED and I originally bought it last year to light up the high tunnel but not as a grow light. Just to light it up at night as I finish building it and later on just to have light in there without installing a dozen fixtures. Since the peak is 16 foot up, a high bay light was the answer. It was a closeout at homedepot.com and the last one they had. ETI Lighting brand. Funny thing is that even thought it's a discontinued model, they still use a pic of it for their website, etissl.com.

I really wanted a second one since the tunnel is twice as long as wide but never could find the same one. Seems I bought the last one in existence. Someday I'll pick an equivalent model and get another for the tunnel and one or two for the shop/barn. I like the ease of installation for the round ones with single hanging point.

It's China but "good china", not no name fly by night crap for the dollar store. All their stuff has a 5 year warranty and according to about page, they use Samsung LEDs. https://www.etissl.com/about-nvc-international/

Of course that 5 year warranty probably doesn't apply to my closeout purchase from homedepot which now follows the amazon/walmart "marketplace" model which use to be called drop shipper. Regardless, if a company has a 5 year warranty and have managed to stay in business, it must be decent stuff.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I smell a Garden Convert! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I have spinach up, I have tomatoes in the greenhouse (less SIX the @#$%^&! mice chewed off), red peppers in the house still under lights, and I started basils and lettuces and Zinnia this past week (also in the house, germinating).

Picked a lovely bunch of Daffodil this morning - they opened right on time for Easter Morning. :)

It looks like I’ll have TONS of Daffs and Tulips for cutting; so glad I added to the garden beds two Falls ago. Puppies re-arranged some of one bed, but it’s just for cutting for me, not for winning Blue Ribbons. ;)

I eventually forgive them ALL of their naughtiness.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Liz]

Spinach Stuffed Baked Tomatoes / Colorful, healthy bite-size appetizer.

Ing lb tomatoes 6 oz baby spinach 3 green onions chopped 1 tablespoon unsalted butter ⅓ cup light sour cream ½ cup Parmesan cheese 1 dash red cayenne pepper 1 ½ tablespoons panko bread crumbs

Steps Wash/dry tomatoes. Trim tops; scoop out centers. Salt insides; turn upside down; drain 15 min.

Steam spinach 1-2 min, drain well. Squeeze out excess water and rough chop. Sauté onions, butter on med til translucent. Remove from heat and stir in spinach, sour cream, Parm, dash of cayenne pepper. Add one tablespoon Panko, s/p. Stuff tomatoes. Place in a lightly greased baking dish and sprinkle with more breadcrumbs and Parm. Bake 350 deg 20 min til hot and bubbly.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Is there any recipe that can’t be improved upon by adding Panko bread crumbs? ;)