Posted on 07/01/2025 5:32:22 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.
You’ve got it MUCH worse than me...but I’m STILL going to complain about MY weather. ;)
Are ANY of us here going to have tomatoes this season? Grrr!
I don’t normally panic about this stuff, but my V-8 recipe really CAN be made from canned goods and everyday grocery store produce - and I’m down to my last dozen jars of, ‘The Good Stuff.’
I’m hoping we’re not entering into, ‘The Seven Lean Years!’
One can only do so much with Cucumbers! ;)
Went out and looked at things last night.
In between rows and elsewhere: Grass is going wild. Would be a really good time to not have anything growing, cut the grass short and cover the whole thing with black plastic. Kind of makes more sense than hanging on for 1 squash, 2 bean, 1 cucumber. I can chop off and then dig up a couple of celery plants and stick them in pots to hold them over for a month or two. Keep gathering goat manure and grab some of my humus/soil pile to amend the area once the grass is dead. Prep it like I should have prepped it instead of parting the grass and trying to grow there.
I’ve got drip to just water the veggies. How was I to know the grass would get watered under the tunnel from all sides? Mid June to mid Sept doesn’t have rain — until it does.
I’m hoping we’re not entering into, ‘The Seven Lean Years!’
**************
I often think of my two grandmothers when it’s gardening season. Granny K had 6 kids, Granny N had 5. They both had gardens and canned so they would have produce for the winter - feeding their families well depended on a successful garden. I’m sure they had years where, for whatever the reason, their garden didn’t do well & I have wondered what they must have been thinking & trying, to salvage what they could. They had meat in the smoke house (both grandads butchered hogs) & chickens/eggs so they would not have starved with little or no garden during a ‘lean’ year. My grannies were some of the hardest working women I’ve ever met - both had different ‘styles’ of cooking, but were excellent cooks.
.
Reminded of two things:
Mom was poorer-than-poor growing up, and Grandpa was not always the best provider. Her Mom was a wonderful gardener and they almost always had something from the garden in the winter. One winter they survived on stewed tomatoes over toast. These days, Mom won’t TOUCH a stewed tomato to save her life, LOL! (Though she steals as many of my fresh tomatoes as she can carry!)
I also had a ‘City Grandma’ so I had the best of both worlds. Got to spend time in the City, go to plays and concerts and movies, learned to ‘dine’ in fancy restaurants, went to museums and art galleries and the ‘big’ Library. Clothes shopping at Gimbels! I was her little Dress-Up Doll.
Yeah, it was grand. All of it. You couldn’t ASK for a better childhood, really.
I certainly favor my Country Grandma over my City Grandma, but it was nice to have two very different options. ;) Still trying to figure out how to Polar Opposites like my parents managed to meet, let alone get married. City Grandma liked to ‘dress’ my Mom, too. She was as gorgeous as any model back in the day. Very ‘Jackie Kennedy.’
And for all of my complaining, I am ridiculously blessed and lucky to be living NOW, versus way back when. :)
The lake @ the cabin we stayed @ is pretty gunky. But, there are much better lakes to the south, esp. “Pounds Hollow”, which has a nice little beach and good water.
As it turned out, we spent most of our time skee-daddling from heavy t’storms. But, they did bring in noticeable relief!
More on the adventures later. We had stuff get blown around, etc., here at home, and I’m trying to take care of the worst of it B4 peak heating this afternoon... the 20 oz. of my Gatorade-lemonade mix I just downed should keep me ok for a bit longer... :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.