The Garden Thread - August, 2025

August 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]

Do the seeds not overwinter?

I get morning glories growing every year after just planting them ONE year.

[FamiliarFace]

Augie, you have a beautiful wife, and some handsome doggies! That is the sweetest candid photo I’ve ever seen!

[Pollard]

Just looking at Menard’s weekly ad and they also have aluminum leaf guards which look to be better than the vinyl and are made by the same company as the gutter they sell and it’s in stock at the local store. Screws to the front and back of the gutter and strengthens it. Black to help prevent/melt ice. Screws included.

20 foot for $11(normally $27) - https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/gutters-accessories/gutter-accessories/spectra-metals-armour-shield-gutter-cover-5-pieces-per-box/ashield4/p-1494310841625-c-5812.htm

It’s about time for a Menard’s trip. Rest of the gutter stuff will come later but I might as well get the leaf guard while it’s on sale. Sale would save $60 and sale ends on the 17th.

[Qiviut]

I slept straight through without waking up - that’s unusual.

I found an online site that has Proven Winner Rose of Sharon bushes. I see two colors that would work - mom gets to pick. They are in the ‘Chiffon’ series so double bloom. They come quart size, but that would be good for me as far as planting and they grow a foot a year. The ones at the garden center are 3 gallon & so is the lilac ... oof! It will probably take me half a day to dig a hole for the lilac, if I don’t hit rock.

“Simple” day as far as outside work. Get tree #3 down & MOW before the rain tomorrow. Based on the 60% & the way the showers are described, we should be seeing some rain.

We haven’t made it to the orchard yet for peaches - we were too late yesterday after picking up dirt & going to Lowe’s, plus I didn’t want to go with the trailer. I have 2 peach chutney recipes I would like to try, the peach upside-down Bundt cake & at least one pan of Cobbler:-) Maybe Thursday ....

[Pollard]

imho, crossing four grandparents of the same plant variety or same species of animal can happen naturally and man has done it purposefully. The end result though is that they’ll never create offspring that are the same so you have to keep doing the four way cross forever like they’ve been doing for decades with the Cornish Cross chicken. Seeing a chicken that can’t walk after a certain age is kinda gross too and is a species that could never survive on it’s own. Nature kills things like that.

Before the Cornish Cross, the Delaware chicken was on it’s way to being the official table bird and is a breed that can survive generation after generation. They quit improving the breed once the CC came out so they’re now bred as just another heavy dual purpose breed.

That’s all just breeding which is different than what scientists do with inserting a gene from an unrelated variety or species. Doesn’t mean it instantly becomes poison but it’s different and not something that happens in nature.

The bigger problem is dumping a gazillion gallons of Round Up on the ground year after year while we’re still discovering what all the microscopic life forms and micro-nutrients in the soil do.

[Pollard]

seeds?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Morning Glory seed is designed to be tough as nails, and their seeds can withstand winter and cold temps - in fact they NEED that to actually allow them to break open come spring and start to grow. Morning Glories are related to Bindweed - the bane of my existence. 'Convolvulus arvensis.' (https://www.thespruce.com/controlling-and-preventing-bindweed-2540090)

I seriously don't think this is anything for you to worry about. But please let us know if you find a random soybean plant in one of your garden beds! As I said, I have never seen a stray soybean in my yard or gardens - and I have ACRES of them all around me, in different spots every year as Farmer Dan does a great job of contour planting and crop rotation. I also know he's not using 'heirloom' seed for any of it - those crops are going straight to his dairy cows; they're hungry and he needs the best production he can get. I'm sure the corn, wheat, soybean and alfalfa he grows are GMO for production and disease resistance. I am here all the time during the growing season. I see maybe ONE sprayer used each season and that is on the wheat, which is the smallest crop he grows.

Pollard - Yes, the chemicals used in food production are a huge problem. No doubt about that. But - there are a LOT of humans and animals to feed around the globe - not sure we can ever go back to the way food was produced for the masses, even a short 50 years ago. Unless, of course, we could convince everyone to garden like we were at war. And even then, where are we in a cr@ppy growing season like the one some of us are having? I guess I'll always have kale to eat, LOL! Kale never fails; wet, cold, hot, dry.

[Paul R.]

On the bright side, ticks need moisture to survive and having two hot very dry summers in a row SHOULD theoretically, help knock the tick population down.

...As opposed to us, until about 2 weeks ago, having a very wet summer -- and we just got ~0.7" in the wee hours this a.m. We needed it though and the good news is I won't have to water the garden today. There's a good chance of rain tomorrow, with Paducah NWS saying projected POPS for the region are likely underdone. We pay for it with ridiculous humidity...

As I sometimes say to my wife, "It's Cebu-like!"

Often followed by: "I'll crank up the AC!" ($$$$)

I may have to re-spray the weeds along (and recently more than beginning to lean in to) the trail into the woods, as I'd "hit" them w/ 2-4D yesterday evening, just B4 I left.

The other bad news is, I was out of town, so, no rainwater got collected.* And, I came back to the cat's dry food bowls full of water, and 2 noisily complaining cats! The chickens are happy now, though - they got the soggy cat food.

*Now that I know how much better rainwater is, than our hard well water, for some of my gardening activities, I really need to add to and modify my rainwater collection setup so it's a covered (to keep leaves out) "passive" collection setup.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“They are in the ‘Chiffon’ series so double bloom.”

Excellent choice - I’ve sold dozens and dozens of those through the years. Now I want one, LOL!

We had more rain overnight - looking at 5” over the last three days. UNCLE!

I did get the green beans picked, so today I will be cleaning, blanching and freezing them after a grocery run to The Pig (10% Senior Discount on Tuesdays!) and a stop at Walmart because I saw last week that they had Mums and I want to re-do my two matching planters by the front walk. The kale I used as a THRILLER is going to the hens. I have one long planter that is currently empty and I want to fill that with leaf lettuce for some Fall salads. Pretty much ANY spent container around here is going to be seeded with lettuce or spinach. ;)

SO looking forward to cooler temps!

[Paul R.]

You, Diana, and my Dad (Forestry Prof and professional forestry consultant) would agree a lot, there. Masters Degree in Forest Management, and PHD in Forest Genetics (with an emphasis on Walnut Tree improvement).

Or was it the other way around — earlier this a.m. my daughter lowered the hatchback of our Subie Outback JUST as I was rushing (wifey needed the car) to grab something out of the back of the car. The car is fine. Me, I seem to have a slight concussion, and my glasses are still not fitting quite right. :-(

Dad DID bemoan loss of species of any kind. (Loss of genetic material to create hybrids, loss of genetic material for research, etc.)

[Paul R.]

“Air you can wear.” Or “cut it with a knife”! :-(

[Diana in Wisconsin]

OMG! Do NOT take a nap! If you feel nauseous get to the ER!

[Paul R.]

Then you just have to get to the project! Which sometimes I’m bad about, I admit. And getting worse as I slow down. Then wifey complains “what’s all this **** junk (”stuff”) for??!!”

“It’s not junk, love!!”

But, yeah, catching good sales at Menards can save a lot. :-)

[Paul R.]

Heck, Bonnies" evidently messed up and sold "Golden Jubilee" plants that don't produce "Golden Jubilee" tomatoes! (I found out I was not the only person to complain to our Menards store.)

Might be a labelling problem, might be a "genetic fallback", I was told. I wish Dad was still around to ask him about the odds of the latter.

The bigger problem is dumping a gazillion gallons of Round Up on the ground year after year while we’re still discovering what all the microscopic life forms and micro-nutrients in the soil do.

Probably true, but I still use it (Roundup) selectively, and with due care in handling (pretty much like I learned about most any potentially harmful mild chemical, in Chemistry Class.). I do try to get as much as possible on the target plants and not the ground, though.

[Paul R.]

No nausea, and my head is a lot clearer now than it was even 30 minutes ago. But when it happened, it definitely stunned me briefly, and I sort of bounced off, stumbled, and fell to the side. I was able to get back up (and stay up) in under 5 seconds, says daughter-san (who was pretty horrified when I went down!) My right cheekbone is slightly swollen, less than I’d expect. My glasses absorbed some of the impact? :-)

I’ve had worse face-plants, but not for quite a few years!

[Paul R.]

Thanks, BTW!

[FamiliarFace]

If I knew how to send live plants in the mail, I could dig up some of my Rose of Sharons that are popping up all over the place near where the mature trees are, and ship them to you. One problem would be that I won’t know for another year or so what colors they will be. One is white with pink inside, and the other is a lovely shade of lavender. A neighbor has one with double pinks, which is beautiful. I’m sure it’s much better to go with the Proven Winners.

[Pollard]

It’s about time for a Menard’s trip.

But not today. Been hearing a noise from the right front wheel/axle area. They just did some paving on the road out of here and for a few days, it was uneven when they only had one side done and I noticed it would grab the truck and steer it and uneven pavement never did that before.

Jacked it up and I can move the top of the tire in and out over 1 inch. Yikes. Wheel bearing's shot and on this truck, that means a new hub assembly. O'reilly wants $150 for their store brand or $200 for some better brand that I've never heard of.

I can get one shipped from rockauto way cheaper or get a good brand name a little cheaper. Moog for $75, Timken for $125 or Genuine GM for $150. Won't be here until Thursday at the earliest.

Top of my To Do list is "check noise on truck". That snowballed.

Now I'm going to go do a complete front end inspection to see if I need anything else right now. Grab my pry bars to check for play in everything.

I knew the front end needed a lot done but didn't plan to start now. Needs to be good for Winter though. Another noise I hear and feel is that I have a u-joint going bad and/or possibly the rear end needs some things like pinion bearing. The whole rear chunk and rear axle assembly probably needs a rebuild. Better jack up the back and yank on those tires too and stick a 2x4 under to see if I can jiggle it up and down. Time to start chipping away at the suspension and drive train.

Wellhell, shipping for 4 packages of those gutter leaf guards is only $7.50 and I still get the sale price. Gas to drive there and back would be that much, never mind the $60 savings of the sale price. I'll just do that and get the top fence rail when the truck is right. If that takes 2-4 weeks, so be it. I can dump a bunch of money into it on the 22nd.

I've commuted in the car for that long with the electrical issue before and it seems like it started to fix itself towards the end. Charge light was only coming on 30 seconds a few times on the trip. Just started it and it fired right up and no charge light. Hadn't started it in a month or more. Still need to put on that new control arm I bought for it so I'll do that today or tomorrow.

I knew I would be in mechanic mode soon and I guess that starts today. Welding mode and soldering is along the same line so, here we go. Meanwhile, I'm gonna go mow for half an hour while it's cool. Need to mow around the shop and shed and move the mechanic operation down there. Been working on stuff up by the house but that needs to stop anyway.

Patching the old compressor might be the first chore so I can have that up here and bring the new noisemaker down to the shed. If I'm welding, I might as well narrow those tractor rims and put the new tires on. Will kill time for that new impact gun to show up today so I can use it on the car and truck. My air hose leaks like a sieve. Need to grab one from the local parts or hardware store next time I'm in town.

[metmom]

I doubt anyone deliberately grew any GMO soybeans in my plot of land.

[Augie]

Redbud makes very good firewood, if you have a use for it.

I’ve got a big one along the walkway to the front porch of our house that died earlier this summer. Tree guy is supposed to show up this afternoon to give me a bid for taking it down. I generally take care of dead trees myself, but this one will require a boom truck with a grapple to remove it without destroying the railing that separates the walkway from the patio space below so for this one I’ll get my wallet out and let the pros take care of it.

I got rid of my wood-fired boiler a couple years ago so after it comes down I guess I’ll just chuck the remains in the sippy hole and let the termites have it.