The Garden Thread - January, 2026

January 1, 2026 | 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]

Creamy Tomato Bisque
Fast luxurious alternative to canned soup, robust taste of whole tomatoes, hint of peppery heat.

Ing--2 tbl salted butter 1 yellow onion, thin-sliced 2 minced gar/cl 1 tbl dried oregano 28 oz can Hunt’s whole peeled tomatoes (garlic/crushed red pepper type w/ liquid) 1 tbl sugar, 1 c water, or vegetable broth, 1/2 c h/cream Optional Toppings shredded Parm cracked black pepper fresh basil

Method Saute 5-7 min, melted butter, onions stirring til tender and translucent. Add minced garlic, dried oregano. Stir 30 sec, garlic is fragrant. Pour in canned tomatoes w/ juices, sugar and water, then stir/combine. Increase heat, bring to a simmer 10 min. Puree w/ immersion blender. Add h/cream; stir/combine. Serve warm, topped w/ cracked pepper, shredded Parm and/or basil.

[daniel1212]

Where I live there is even less room. You pack it higher and higher. Pics maybe later. Snow totals:
https://www.weather.gov/source/crh/snowmap.html?sid=aly

[MomwithHope]

“Boston proper is a nightmare to navigate as it is! Where do they go with 20” of snow in those narrow streets? Yikes!”

They probably dump it in the water like in Chicago.

[Pollard]

Let me know if I’m getting this right.

Typically, a PCB has electronic components soldered to one side with wire nubs sticking out the back side where the soldering is actually done.

The goal is better heat dissipation via better contact between it and any heat sink.

Since the PCB board has electricity flowing throughout out it, whatever used as a compound must have zero potential for conductivity.

Correct?

https://www.menards.com/main/lighting-ceiling-fans/indoor-lighting/shop-lights/volt-king-12500-lumen-44-led-shop-light/fc-sl02/p-1642874364440883-c-1472133557086.htm

Specs say -13 to +104 degree operating temperature. -13 is pretty good.

---

Called in(texted) to work today. I did finally make it out of here at 2:30 yesterday but it was a dicey 1 mile trip to the main road and not something I would do at 4am with the temp being -17.7 at the AG research station 10 miles away with wind chill -19. (break down/slide off road/get stuck - 1/2 mile to nearest neighbor - flashlight quits at 1/4 mile - pitch black - lost -freeze to death)

Went out to grab an armload of more seasoned wood than what I had in here to get a hot fire going but didn’t think to look at the thermometer. The AG center is in a big valley and gets colder than here. The other published temp is a small airport 20 miles in the other direction and is always warmer than here and they’re at -4 degrees with wind chill -18. I’m usually about half way between AG center and airport.

I drove in the tire tracks of a truck with 4x4 yesterday. Those tracks and ridges left are probably solid today and they haven’t plowed the gravel roads here yet. I imagine they’ll do it today; and not have to pay OT. No school today which is always the case when it gets this cold.

Went out the long way and came back in the short way which was worse because those tracks were from a vehicle narrower than mine and if I got a little off center, it would try and drag me off in that direction. Had the rear tires spinning coming up the big hill that ends at my place. Took a 7 point turn to get it facing out once I got in here.

---

I’m staying right where I’m at and will just keep feeding this wood stove. Made a pound of very evenly cooked bacon on it yesterday morning and then cooked an egg in the bacon grease. Square skillet was pre-seasoned and got more added to it.

My 12” round skillet has a rust spot about 4 inches in diameter. It barely fit in the door of the stove so I burned off all the seasoning and flaky rust. Once it got hot, it expanded and I couldn’t get it back out. Panic moment. Left it hanging almost half way out for a minute and it cooled and contracted enough to pull it out. Gonna take the torch to that spot to burn off the orange/rust color so it won’t come back. Then I can start seasoning it from scratch.

My 10” round skillet has no rust but the seasoning has peeled off in a couple of small areas on the inner sidewall. Gonna clean it up and decide whether to burn it all off or try and keep seasoning. It was nice enough to cook an egg in with no added butter/oil at one time.

I don’t have much of anything for soup/stew ingredients, else I would do that today. I do have flour, salt, yeast and water. If they plow the road, I’ll head to town and do a little grocery shopping. They have stew beef for $6.49 and chicken thighs for $1.88. Got a tab open to Chef Gruel recipe for Braised Thighs with Umami Pan Sauce.

[Pollard]

Nice link. I knew they’d have that info but have never been able to find it.

[Pollard]

[MomwithHope]

cute picture!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Oh, My! Life is going to stop for a while, for sure!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I can my own Tomato Soup in years when I an LUCKY to have more tomatoes than normal. Nothing better!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/233505/canned-tomato-soup/

You can also make it with home-canned tomatoes, or store bought. Still very good.

https://momwithaprep.com/old-fashioned-homemade-tomato-soup-with-canned-tomatoes/#

[Qiviut]

That’s funny!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Diversion from Winter Weather!

The Best Kale Varieties to Grow in an Organic Kitchen Garden

Link to Kale Puns!

Scientists discover lung cancer's 'bodyguard system'—and how to disarm it (Kaempferol)

"The researchers also tested kaempferol, a natural compound found in vegetables like kale and broccoli. In laboratory models with drug-resistant human lung tumors, daily treatment with kaempferol significantly shrank tumors over 24 days. Crucially, the treatment targeted only the cancer cells carrying EGFR mutations while having no detectable effect on tumors with normal EGFR. "

[Augie]

It's a bit warmer here in the Middle of Misery than it was a couple days ago, but it's still too cold for me to want to do much of anything outdoors. The sun is shining today which makes it a little more tolerable than it would be if the sky was overcast.

I'm really happy that I don't have a bunch of momma cows that are ready to have babies.

Howard doesn't mind that it's cold outside. He loves to play in the snow but he loves it more that he can come back indoors where there's a bowl full of groceries and a warm soft chair to lounge on.

Follow-up visit with the spine doc last week was anti-climactic. At this point she's not worried about the hemangiomas, which there are actually three of, not just the two that were mentioned in the radiology report. They did a set of t-spine xrays which showed quite a bit of arthritis in there - that's what has her attention at this point. They're going to do a MRI on my cervical spine next week to see if anything shows up on that. Doc is talking about the possibility of nerve ablation treatments and some other stuff that doesn't sound like a lot of fun but for now it's more hurry up and wait and worry.

[Pollard]

I’m getting ready to head to town and get some groceries. Three more days off and frigid temps. Might as well make some food and learn a dish or two. Thighs for <2 bucks are cheap enough to experiment on and you can’t really kill them. Not the meat at least. Getting sick of air fryer chicken.

On that note, I had a chicken dish once that was really good. A buddy’s girlfriend cooked it at my place when they came to visit one time. She was hispanic from either Ctrl or South America. The dish had no tomato but did have veggies of some sort, onions I’m sure. This was 30 years ago.

It was braised I think, saucy, savory and for the life of me, I can’t remember the name of it. I know I looked it up once upon a time and it’s not an uncommon dish.

Anyone got a clue what it might have been?

[FamiliarFace]

We got a foot of snow, not terrible, but a bit of a mess for two neighbors who tried to venture out yesterday before the snow plows came. Our street is very deceiving. It’s a slight incline to get up the road. We walk it enough to know, but in normal weather, it just appears level. It’s not. So tires spun and people got stuck. With below zero temps, and even worse wind chills, it was not a good situation. However, they did have plenty of help.

Later the snow plows came, and our culdesac is pretty tight, so they always pile up the snow in someone’s driveway. Usually it is ours. This time it was our next door neighbor. This morning, hubby went out with his snowblower to work it from one angle. The neighbor called the city, who finally showed up with a bucket loader, and moved it to where it should be out of everyone’s way. I never understand why they block us in, but I guess visibility isn’t very good sometimes.

Yesterday I made a vegetable lasagne from scratch. It’s a bit of prep with all the chopping, but it sure is tasty and holds together well. Since there are only two of us, I offered a third of it to another neighbor who lives on the next street over. She is low key about it, but she doesn’t eat meat, though her husband does. We seem to do things for each other frequently, so this was my turn. A week ago she made some orange cranberry muffins, but was out of cranberries, and I still had some in my fridge. She is probably 12 or so years older than me, and it’s a good friendship.

Here’s the recipe if anyone wants to try it. I use a little bit less of the sugar, and added about a cup of red wine once it was settling in.
https://therecipecritic.com/vegetarian-lasagna/

[Liz]

Escabeche de Pollo is a South American dish with onions and spices.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Howard gets more handsome by the week! He looks so healthy and ‘cared for’ now - Lucky Dog!

Arthritis, Huh? At least you’re getting some answers. Keeping you in my prayers for some relief...mentally and physically!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Is that Sarah Jessica Parker? LOL!

[dfwgator]

Is that Sarah Jessica Parker? LOL!

---

A horse walks into a bar (Language)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUjVaaT60qY

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Kale-a-Paloosa! I just ordered seed for 'Prizm' Kale. I haven't grown that out in a few years, just been buying the garden-hogging variety at the Walmart Garden Center.

We are going lean and mean in the garden beds this year!

https://all-americaselections.org/product/kale-prizm/

Dreaming of growing the popular superfood kale but think you don’t have room? Look no further than our newest 2016 AAS Winner Kale Prizm F1. When grown, Prizm produces attractive short, tight ruffle-edged leaves that are content to be grown in containers as well as in-ground beds. Their easy-to-maintain, almost stemless stalks are quick to re-leaf so harvest early and often for a continual supply throughout the season. The excellent tasting, almost nutty-flavored leaves are tender enough to enjoy in fresh salads but also hold up well when cooked. Prizm is a foodie gardener’s dream come true!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Chicken Poblano?

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN POBLANO CHICKEN 🌿🔥 — So CREAMY & So EASY, It’ll Be Your New Favorite!