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.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Gotta LOVE those very early spring veggies! They are the only thing that gets me out of my Winter Doldrums! Pansies, too!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Good to hear from you! Hope all is well. Tell your Folks, ‘Hi!’ from me. :)

Weeds = Me, too. I have put myself on a STRICT ‘weeding schedule’ which I really only have to use in wet seasons.

I have started in the back rows of the garden where the sun doesn’t hit until 10am, and working my way towards the house. The beds themselves are OK - well mulched with straw, but there is some Timothy grass growing out of the straw it’s been so wet. And mushrooms, Fer Pete’s Sake!

The weeds are in any tiny crack between the roofing shingles Mom & I laid down for a good grip between the rows and weed suppression. Everything pulls out easily, though. I should be able to have that task done by early next week.

Then I can start all over again, LOL!

Weed. Water. Wait. :)

Broccoli crop was good - waiting on the side shoots, now. Have some Jalapenos already and one green Bell Pepper. Small Zukes on green and yellow plants and the cucumbers are REALLY loving all the wet - blooming like crazy-mad and lots of baby cukes on the vine. I had 6 plants growing up my hog panel A-Frame, but Mr. Raccoon ran off with one entire plant. Jerk.

[Pollard]

Automation Gibberish - Playing with Timers

My automation controllers have Timers which are count down timers that can be created to use within the logic of Scheduled Tasks or Conditional Tasks. I hadn’t really figured out how they work or how to use them until this morning.

The various sensors aren’t monitored continuously as that would take too much compute power, especially for remote devices like another control module. Those get polled every 3 seconds.

So, if I want to monitor wind speed, it’s a spot check every 3 seconds but even then, I have to set up a Conditional Task if I want to do something like close the tunnel in high winds.

The problem here on land in hill country is that I can’t just shut down the tunnel every time the wind hits 30 mph and then open it anytime it hits below 20 mph (or whatever readings I decide on) It could spend all day opening and closing repeatedly. We don’t have steady winds like on coastal or flat lands or out on a large body of water.

Solution — Timers

IF wind >30 — set Timer 1 to 10 seconds
When Timer 1 expires IF wind >30 — close tunnel

That either means the wind was 30 mph or more for 10 seconds or 30 mph or more on two occasions 10 seconds apart BUT 30 mph or more 10 seconds apart is very possible and not necessarily cause to close the tunnel.

Solution — stack Timers

IF wind >30 — set Timer 1 to 10 seconds
When Timer 1 expires IF wind >30 — set Timer 2 to 10 seconds
When Timer 2 expires IF wind >30 — close tunnel

That means the wind was over 30 mph for 20 seconds or was over 30 mph three times, 10 seconds apart. I could stack another timer in there for over 30 mph for 30 seconds or four times, 10 seconds apart.

Somewhere in there is cause to close the tunnel but I’ll have to think about what wind speed to really use and how many times to check it and how long apart I want the checks to be.

Standing outside, it’s pretty easy for us humans to make decisions based on observations like dang, it’s windy, I better close the tunnel. Converting “dang it’s windy” into numbers to tell a computer what to do is another thing.

Wind speed + temperature + wind direction = decision to close tunnel or not and how much to close it and which side and/or end to close

I need to add in, “dang it’s hot”, I better not close it all the way.
And also add in - the wind is coming from that direction so I’ll just close this side and that end.

One thing that will help smooth out the wind, so to speak, is Deadband. I can set a deadband of 2 which means 35 becomes 33 to 37 and the same thing can and should be done for temp. If it’s 92 degrees out and I use 92 as a trigger, a little wind could cool the sensor down by 1 degree and then the little wind stops and it’s back at 92, all within a few seconds and could happen repeatedly. Deadband of 2 makes it 90 to 94.

Closing it down at night when it gets cold and opening it in the morning before it gets too hot is easy. Reacting to multiple weather conditions, not so much.

I’m allowed up to 50 Scheduled Tasks and 50 Conditional Tasks per X-4xx series module(newer ones). My big module is the older X-3xx series and is dumb. I’ll have two of the 4xx series so 100 of each task type. The X-4xx modules can read from and control the X-3xx series. Should be plenty to do all the conditional stuff I need and probably too many to keep track of LOL.

I’ll have to make up a checklist of conditions to do things and then create all those as Tasks. Then when I’m out there, decide whether I need to change something. “Dang it’s windy but the tunnel hasn’t closed yet” — guess I better change it to 24 mph. I’m sure I’ll have to change a lot from my original guess work. My watering schedule for direct sown seeds has changed three times and that’s just a schedule, not conditional logic of If This, Then That.

Dang I better get out there and do stuff while it’s cool.

[Pollard]

Turnips are not picky at all. 50 degrees, 104 degrees, I’m sprouting in 5 days or less. 75 to 95, I’ll see ya tomorrow.

[Bon of Babble]

Thank you for the kind words. Nice to find respite here, isn't it?

Some of these threads lately have gotten downright contentious if not nasty.

I've always found solace and peace in gardening.

I have an overabundance of lemons at the moment and made lemon curd yesterday - I am experimenting with different ideas to give as Christmas gifts this years.

Hopefully, I'll have a lot of figs, which are setting on now and will be ripe in August. Made walnut fig jam two years ago and everyone loved it.

I have a lot of peppers setting on too - these are banana peppers which I'll fry up with thin sliced beef for sandwiches - hoping to get a lot of jalapenos for jalapeno relish:

[Bon of Babble]

Thanks for the kind words.

I noticed plumerias have gotten very very expensive in the gardening centers - saw $29.99 for 12" size plumerias yesterday in Lowe's. Mine are all from cuttings. But you have to be very patient, they are slow growing and not all of them bloom each year.

Waiting for these to bloom (they've got buds on them). Unfortunately, I think I may have lost the purple one this year - the drainage holes were blocked and I didn't see it until it was too late. My son drained out the water but the plumeria hasn't come back. It is at least 20 years old grown from a 6" cutting that I paid $40 for.

[Qiviut]

I would guess Big Boy would be one of them. He’s likely getting plants from some place like Lowe’s & their plant offering is pretty ‘standard’ for whatever area the store is in. He is in hardiness zone 8b.

He’s ‘honest’ & also a man of few words. I usually get one word answers to text messages.

[Pollard]

Been looking at the Hoss seeder. Love the old school look and durable build. (Amish made handles too)

$400

Pretty good review here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7czsne_nSk

[MomwithHope]

Your own lemons - wow. When I say your spirit, given what happened around your house with the fires and ash and people who go past your house have to be cheered up by your flowers and decorations. I scored a good sized dellphinium and pink monarda this morning for 4.99 each. Both look pretty good.

[DollyCali]

Good morning Diana and everyone else.

I get to hang out here for a bit. Originally scheduled to go to my granddaughters today, but my son is in a lot of pain with his back and legs.

Yesterday with a hand mower he mowed almost 2 acres of land. Here it was very hot, and he has bad knees and the back to begin with. Could he pace himself? Of course, not

so instead of sucking up my granddaughters Wi-Fi I’m out here on the deck and will check out the posts and chat for a while.

[DollyCali]

Very interested in the responses that you will get. Dear have eaten all of my Porch Chaka that was on a border of raised planters and surprisingly a good portion of the marigolds

I do have a quantity of crack corn that I bought for the squirrels to keep them away from my birdfeeders. But the squirrels are still in the big birdfeeders. So I’m thinking of putting it out in a large container for them periodically so they have an alternate meal selection, but I don’t even know if they eat cracked corn.

[DollyCali]

Hi Bert!! (Waving)

Thank you for the recommendation and good ideas regarding squash. I’ve never grown it before but wanted to start some in the two beds that I have. I’m in North Carolina so our growing season is long and I got a late start due to about a month travel in April.

[DollyCali]

Thanks for Sharing this salsa recipe Qiviut. I

absolutely love salsa and use it in many many ways other than just Mexican.

I am going to save this recipe and give it a try. Everyone else is getting hundreds of tomatoes like your brother . I started my plans from seed and they are now 2 inches tall.

Sigh

[DollyCali]

Hi there Duke! Good to see your post and what you’re up to!

[DollyCali]

I love DoorvCounty. Would l Love to return. My August plans up north and west are very, very incomplete

a swing up there might be nice on the way to Oklahoma. I’d also like to stop in Davenport Iowa. This is where I lived as a young child while my dad was in chiropractic college, I’d love to see where he went to school at Palmer.

[DollyCali]

Thanks for that information!

I love charts

[DollyCali]

All I seriously apologize for all the errors in my posts to you. I just reread them. I’m using dictation and man oh man what it does to words and meaning

Like in one post portulaca

Later

[Pollard]

All kinds of things to plant in July. For me, lettuce, Asian greens, Bok Choy, collards, carrots and onions. Just ordered some small turnips, Chinese cabbage and Chinese broccoli. Hoping the Chinese versions will grow here where the standard types won't due to soil acidity. I'm trying alternatives of everything before I start liming, every three years, forever. Average soil in China must be more acidic than the average soil in the US because the Chinese versions of veggies do better for me than the standard American varieties.

I need to remember this part

If planting in an unheated hoophouse or low tunnel, you can plant 2–3 weeks later than the date recommended.

Technically, it would be better to just plug in an adjusted first frost date of 2-3 weeks later than actual - make it Oct 18 or something. Like this:

Now I'm not late except for starting collards in trays 4 weeks before TS date of 7/22.

If anyone wants me to plug in their first frost date and take a screenshot or the results, lemme know.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You are always welcome, Dolly. Love all of your pro-Trump posts!

One of my favorite things to do, too, is to be at the picnic table with a cold beverage, a stack of gardening magazines or books, a cat or dog or two coming and going just to see what I’m up to and my little laptop open to FR.

Life Is Good! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Between your figs and lemons, you’re going to win the, ‘Eating from the Land, Your Hand or Your Pantry’ this season!

I had some Plumeria-scented lotion that I bought in HI. I really wish I could find it again. For a land-locked Country Bumpkin Yankee Gal, I LOVE anything ‘tropical.’

Slice me up a fresh pineapple and I will follow you anywhere. :)