The Garden Thread - July, 2025

July, 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.

[metmom]

They’ve been around in the open areas of the property. We are heavily wooded, although not too close to the house. The house does get full sun all day, which can be a real plus in the winter.

I’m just concerned about them finding the garden.

[metmom]

Plus i know how much of a nuisance they can be.

Auburn NY used to have a horrendous problem with crows. My kids were at a swim meet there on year and I went out to the car to get something and it looked like a scene right straight out of *The Birds*. Very creepy.

Auburn used to have a yearly crow shoot until the animal *rights* groups whined about it.

The crows eventually moved on and I don’t recall that anyone ever figured out why or where they went.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Great day finding dirt!”

That made me chuckle. We are so amazingly BLESSED with Good Dirt it’s ridiculous! All you need is a skid steer with a scoop and a trip down to our lower pasture - which has been gathering ‘good virgin dirt’ due to erosion since Time Began. ;) (And before Modern Agricultural Practices to STOP erosion were put into place!)

Throw some ‘Ithaca Grow’ into the mix and you’re golden!

Yeah, it’s hilly. And yeah, after you’ve lived here for a while you WILL find one leg shorter than the other due to walking uphill - even when you’re walking downhill - but as far as dirt goes, it seems to be worth it. ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I keep our mattresses stuffed with Wormwood and Spearmint. ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“I’m just concerned about them finding the garden.”

Then I would take Q’s advice. :)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Diana in the Driftless! Cheshire the Cat posted a link to an article you might like! (Thanks Cheshire!)

Major NIH Nutrition Trials on Diet & Health Ignored Results of long-term, randomized, controlled, clinical trials on some 80,000 people never considered in formulating the US Dietary Guidelines. (I guess they did not believe the science!)

Results of long-term, randomized, controlled, clinical trials on some 80,000 people never considered in formulating the US Dietary Guidelines.

SNIP.....

Below is a list of NIH trials, stunning in their scope and ambition, that tested some version of the diet-heart hypothesis, with “disappointing” findings that have largely been ignored. The NIH conducted randomized, controlled clinical trials—the most rigorous type of study—on nearly 80,000 people, most lasting 4-7 years. And if anything, these trials conclude that key aspects of The Diet cannot be shown to prevent chronic diseases of any kind.

Specifically, a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol and/or a diet low in total fat while higher in fruits, vegetables, and grains does not protect against obesity, diabetes, heart disease, or any type of cancer.

These trials, from the 1960s through the 1990s, marked a golden age of NIH nutrition research. Major NIH-Funded Trials on the Dietary Guidelines

(Not a comprehensive list) Total number of people tested: 79,840 Duration of studies: 7 out of 9 studies are >1 year; The largest studies are 4-9 years. ....Snip (gives list of the studies!)

I will keep eating the fruit thank you! I am going to celebrate now by having a pat of butter!

[Qiviut]

It’s 2:30 in the morning & I can’t sleep because I’m so excited about finding what appears to be ‘good dirt’!!

Back at the old home place, I had a dirt pile where I could get dirt for my raised beds. When dad had what became the ‘back field’ cleared for pasture, the bulldozer(s) scraped the tree debris into a brush pile - a lot of top soil got pushed into that pile as well. The top soil on that property is very dark, no clay until you get down a good foot or more. Once the tree debris got burned, the good soil was left. All of my beds were filled with that soil - most of it was dug by hand into a cart pulled by Little Buddy (the John Deere tractor style mower). A couple of times my brother helped me out with the tractor/scoop - a rare ‘treat’. I added compost every year (mostly Leaf Gro until it got too expensive) and that really helped the soil - when it was fresh from the dirt pile, it tended to compact when wet.

The plan for the metal beds against the barn ... there are 4 (I have 3, bro needs to dig up #4, too much for me) and I am going to put down shingles around the edges & between the beds (will be butted up against each other end-to-end) and then surround with landscape timbers on the 3 sides not up against the barn. When the beds got dug up, the bottoms were bent a little & the timbers will hide the bends plus give me something to weed eat/mow against. I am going to put down weed barrier first, then cardboard to smother the grass (cut really, really short) so I don’t have to spray grass killer.

The dirt I found is ‘river bottom’ so no clay & supposedly it drains well. It seems to be fairly fine, not screened, but not full of trash. It’s light/medium brown where dried & much darker when I dug through the top layer a bit. I think it’s going to be better than my dirt pile dirt at the old place! The garden center where it’s located is really nice - the lady I talked to there told me that folks from my town area come there for plants because there is “nothing” in my area. There IS a small market with quite a few flowers & local produce just down the road from the house, but nothing like a garden center. The Farm Bureau & Walmart have plants, but again, not the variety that a garden center would have.

Big downpour shortly after I got home yesterday and 60% chance of rain again today so work outside might be limited. The humidity has been horrible (and those stinkin’ gnats), unusually high for the mountains. Back in the good old days, before AC, the folks who could afford it would go to the mountains for the summer to avoid the low land heat/humidity.They would not have gotten much relief here this summer .... whew! The truck/trailer are going to get a workout (me too!) because I have to haul/shovel the raised bed dirt (probably 2 loads), mulch (at least 2 loads if I’m lucky, probably 3) and a load of gravel. I recently bought 2 dressy tops with short sleeves & I have to say, with all the shoveling and a tan (I have managed to avoid a ‘farmer’s tan’), my arms are looking pretty muscular, almost as good as the ‘barn biceps’ I had when I had 5 horses & was cleaning stalls, shoveling bedding & carrying hay bales :-)

[Liz]

Tuscan Melon Salad / bright, vibrant, unique and so flavorful.
A refreshing combo of thin-sliced in-season sweet cantaloupe, crisp green leaf lettuce, salty pecorino cheese, and crunchy pistachios. Healthy Italian summer salad is inspired by a Tuscany farm.

Start: thin-slice trimmed, seeded melon into half-moon slivers. Carefully roll up. Now whisk ol/oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, s/p. Plate lettuce; toss lightly in dressing.

Divide lettuce onto four small salad plates. Carefully arrange melon on top. Add Pecorino, pistachios; s/p top. Enjoy immediately. Buon appetito.

Variations: Make it a Melon Prosciutto Salad. Use Zesty Italian Dressing or Red Wine Vinaigrette. Add a drizzle of Balsamic Glaze on top w/ melon cubes. Use pine nuts, almonds, or pecans. Herbaceous: Add fresh mint or basil on top.

[MomwithHope]

Still have it in my library -

[Pollard]

The finer and less dense it is, the easier it gets washed away with rain. Silt, loam and humus is what ends up at the bottom lands. The top 1 inch of everyone else's property uphill from there.

Add some manure for nitrogen and worms and microbes will pull it together with their soil glues and give it that crumbly texture.

My soil is classified as "clayey loam", very fine but a bit heavy. Doesn't take much humus to lighten it up into dark crumbly stuff. I've got a big pile of humus along with leaves, sticks and chunks of logs piled up. Probably nothing left that looks like leaves though.

To make grass grow in the ex-forest, I would just scrape the humus off the top soil to expose the seed bank. Did that with a riding mower with grader blade after clearing trees in an area so that's what my pile is. Same as your old pile but with less soil content.

Mix a good amount with the top soil and get the best potatoes ever. Big and smooth skinned. I harvested potatoes one year by grabbing the stalk and pulling. Most of them came up with roots and tubers all intact. Add in manure and everything else grows well in it -- if it doesn't mind the acidity here.

I've yet to add lime because acidic soil seems to prevent a lot of soil borne issues. Need to fix my tractor radiator and put the dirt bucket on it to scoop up some of my pile and bring it to the tunnel and also make up some beds outside the tunnel.

Would be interesting to mix 25% humus with 75% virgin top soil and send it in for a soil test. Even if I run out here, I have a never ending supply all around me. There's an old book called Ten Acres Enough where the author would go into the woods and gather that stuff to make soil for his berry crops.

https://archive.org/details/tenacresenough00morr/

Back in the good old days, before AC, the folks who could afford it would go to the mountains for the summer to avoid the low land heat/humidity.

Probably explains why my parents loved going to the White Mountains in NH every chance they got. That and the views were quite different than the coastal MA town we lived in. They even honeymooned up there in a tent. I've got the old White Mountains brochure they saved from their honeymoon. That and a few pics of them. Funny - no wedding pics but a few honeymoon pics of them in the mountains. Reverence

[Pollard]

Looked at the Lowes ad and now I’m afraid to leave the house for fear of coming home broke. LOL

The sale prices on everything I’m looking at are good through Aug 2 or 6 so it can wait.

Tractor Supply has an air compressor on sale and I need one bad. The one I have has not been the same since the pressure shut off got stuck and it ran 36 hours straight. Pressure relief valve did it’s thing and released but that’s still a long time. Warped the reed valves and maybe cooked the rings. Takes forever to build up pressure and that was before it developed a hole in the bottom from rusty tank. Now it never builds up enough pressure to shut off. It’s junk and TS has one on sale so ... wants vs needs. Lowes has a bunch of stuff I want but I need to be able to pump up a tire.

Lowes has half a dozen pancake compressors and a weird wall mount toy compressor on sale but that’s it. I haven’t been to this new TS yet either and it’s a nice drive, flat straight 60 mph rural state hwy. Will give me a chance to stop by the landfill to see what their fees are.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

They can have my butter...from my cold, dead hands! LOL!

News Flash: We’re all gonna die, no matter what we eat or drink or how we live! Even those 75 year olds, still running marathons; I’ve seen it on TV so it must be true. ;)

I tell Beau my future plans are to screw off until I’m 70, then suffer a mild, ‘heart episode’ and THEN get serious and start running marathons. So, I have 5 more years to live A Good Life, then it’s going to be nothing but work, work, work! ;)

There are a few things the Army beat out of me: I no longer run for pleasure. I no longer like to go ‘camping,’ and I no longer get up at 4am to start my day - unless it’s to pee and then back to sleep until 8am. ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You two ladies need to be introduced. ‘Rides’ is a horsewoman/rider/marathon trail racer from way back. :)

Those beds are sounding great. Can’t wait to see the finished product. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That salad looks really refreshing. It’s hard to find a good melon these days - they’re all so bland tasting. :(

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That is the cutest thing ever!

I have a recent picture of him for you. When I do the next, ‘Photo Dump’ I’ll ping ya. :)

[MomwithHope]

I hope you enter a pic of him in the fair you would win a ribbon for sure.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

An Air Compressor is really a necessity for farm equipment and vehicles when you’re not near a Kwik Trip with free air!

I brought my a/c with me, and it, along with ALL MY GOOD TOOLS, have ended up in the hands of ‘you know who!’

But, ‘Steal MY tools, fix MY Stuff’ works for me!

[MomwithHope]

In a funny hat he would be a big hit.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

It’s been Real. It’s been Fun. But it hasn’t been Real Fun!

One more day of dry - two in a row! So, today the mowing needs to get done - it’s been less than a week now between mowing because with all this rain the grass is VERY happy!

70% chance of rain Wednesday, then rain Thursday, Saturday, Monday...Blah, Blah, Blah.

I actually had to water/fertilize everything in pots, yesterday. Nighttime temps still in the high 50’s and low 60’s which benefits no one.

I guess I should Count My Blessings - we’re getting rained on when other parts of the USA and Canada are on fire. :(

I’ve gathered supplies and now have enough cucumbers to make much needed Pickle Relish. The next round of cukes will be going into Bread and Butter Pickles.

Yesterday I got a FREE Food Box from our Thrift store - it’s attached to the Food Pantry and when they have extra, they pretty much THRUST IT into your hands as you walk out the door, LOL! It contained a bag of apples (for Ithaca) a bag of onions, (going to make French Onion Soup as well as dice and freeze) two nice cukes and two zukes that are going to be ‘stuffed’ for supper. They’re not too overgrown, but bigger than when I normally pick them.

I’ll be sharing my favorite Zuke Recipes as my harvest starts coming in.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Zucchini Boats.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/zucchini-boats/