The Garden Thread - February, 2026

February 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.

[Qiviut]

I had things pretty well organized & was doing a good job keeping it that way until I brought a new load from the Old House in November. I still don’t know how I got the very heavy Army table out of a small shed & on the trailer - I could barely get it off the trailer & just inside the shop door. Everything else in the load got “chucked” on that table, the floor, the countertop workspace .... it was actually overwhelming when I looked at the mess. Between Thanksgiving, traveling, holidays & frigid weather, the last couple of ‘warm’ days were the first chance to really get in there & reorganize due to the new table & find a proper place for all the new stuff & some of the old. The shop will continue to be a work-in-progress until there are no more loads from the Old House.

Good luck with your shed! :-)

[Qiviut]

Something different since you’ll have an extra asparagus bed:

Raw Asparagus Salad with Almonds & Ginger-Sesame Vinaigrette
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/asparagus-salad-with-almonds-ginger-sesame-vinaigrette.html

From link:
“Raw asparagus isn’t something you see every day salads, but it’s absolutely worth trying. When thinly sliced, it’s crisp, fresh, and perfect for spring. Cool, crunchy, and full of bright flavor, this raw asparagus salad is just the thing when you want to change up your usual sides.”

[Liz]

Vanilla Poached Pears / Salted Butter Caramel Sauce / simple but decadent
Use ripe not mushy pears and gild this lily w/ Brandy Cream Topping

Ing--Pears: 2 Winter Nelis, Packham, Williams or Beurre Bosc pears 1 vanilla pod bit lemon zest 1/2 c vanilla sugar 1 c water. Caramel: stick best butter 1 c packed br/sugar, pinch sea salt 1 1/4 c cream

Method--Peel/core pears, taking care to leave stems intact. Place pears on plate; sprinkle w/ droplets of lemon juice to prevent browning. Combine sugar, water, lemon zest and scraped vanilla bean in pan; stir on med til sugar dissolves. Lower heat, add the pears and poach gently up to an hour, basting gently every so often. The idea is to very gently poach the fruit in the syrup, and not allow it to boil. The pears will remain intact and the flesh will be perfectly delicious. Allow to cool, refrigerate overnight if you wish. Serves 2, add more pears for more serves.

Caramel Sauce--melt butter, then add sugar. Stir over a low heat without boiling to dissolve sugar. Btb, then simmer, uncovered and without stirring 2-3 min. Remove pan to counter, when bubbles die down, stir in cream and sea salt. Makes 1 1/2 c Caramel Sauce. Keeps well refrigerated 2-3 days. Serve over vanilla poached pears, gently reheated, or serve chilled.

Brandy Cream Topping Combine then chill: 2 tbl ea plain low-fat yogurt,
thawed frozen whipped topping 1/2 tsp ea grated orange peel, brandy extract.

[Donbue]

Sorry for late reply…..life gets in the way sometimes.
I’ve planted both, disease free (supposed) and left overs. No difference, both have black spots. But….on one occasion my potatoes flooded for a couple days! I didn’t like it and this spring plan to create more drainage on the downhill end.
Thank you for the tip!

[tired&retired]

Causes of Black Spots

Physiological Disorders: High moisture content at harvest can lead to internal black spots, often referred to as “black heart.” This occurs when potatoes are exposed to low oxygen levels, causing internal browning.

Bruising: Excess moisture can make potatoes more susceptible to bruising during handling. Bruised areas can develop black spots as the cells are damaged, leading to discoloration.

Fungal Infections: High moisture levels can promote fungal diseases, such as black scurf, caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani. This can lead to black lesions on the skin of the potato.

Black scurf, caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani, appears as small, irregular black lesions on the skin of potatoes. While these lesions are unsightly, they do not affect the potato’s internal quality and can be removed by peeling.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=identify+black+scurf+Rhizoctonia+solani.+This+can+lead+to+black+lesions+on+the+skin+of+the+potato&t=chromentp&ia=images&iax=images

To treat black scurf caused by Rhizoctonia solani, use certified seed tubers free from sclerotia, apply fungicides to seed pieces, and practice crop rotation to reduce soilborne inoculum. Additionally, ensure proper planting depth and avoid overwatering to promote healthy plant growth.

Fungicide soil application effi ciency for the control of black scurf (Rhizoctonia solani) on three potato cultivars
By Journal of Applied Horticulture

https://www.academia.edu/41797462/Fungicide_soil_application_effi_ciency_for_the_control_of_black_scurf_Rhizoctonia_solani_on_three_potato_cultivars

or

Excellent article from Cornell University

https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/rhizoctonia-canker-and-black-scurf-of-potato/

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Raw is fine with me; I’ll eat an Asparagus spear straight out of the garden. :)

‘Once Upon A Chef’ has some good recipes!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Perfect plant for you! According to my bratty sister, I'm named after the 'Diana' Monkey...but I think she's a real looker!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’m just going to throw this out there. Maybe focus March’s thread on Victory Gardens. Promoting them, pictures, links for people, maybe a March thread title dedicated to them. I think it would be a great year (250) and the fact we are yearning for clean food that we could all contribute to a great resource thread for newbies. Even historical reminders of why we had them. I have to believe a lot of people would like to do this but don’t know where to start.

^LOVE THIS^

[MomwithHope]

Ok Boss of the threads. My further thought is to have links or even just sites geared towards peoples gardening conditions. Like - apartment patio container gardening. Backyard small garden. Educate people who want to do something but don’t know how to start. According to their space, talk about southern exposure, zones. Help for total newbies, even mechanical help, Pollard, Augie, Pete, and others I can’t think of right now. This thread could be a real positive thing for people who want to grow some clean food.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

In Wisconsin, if you can't build a decent Old Fashioned by the time you're ten years old - your folks are raising you wrong, LOL!

(The best part is snitching the Maraschino Cherries!)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Gardening in small spaces would be a good idea, too. Windowsill herbs, growing in patio pots, growing vertically, Square Foot gardens, etc.

[FamiliarFace]

I like these topics y’all have suggested. I am not technically allowed to garden by my HOA rules, but nobody seems to care too much if it’s kept out of view and in containers. I am learning to adapt to it, and I bet there are plenty more who don’t have much space to work with.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

:) Good morning!

Humm. Sort of reinforce the Illinois view that Wisconsin is a place to go and drink and have fun!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

We gladly take ‘Flatlander’ dollars! :)

[Albion Wilde]

Loud LOLs!!!

[MomwithHope]

Diana can we starts ending you links through Freepmail so you can organize?

[Qiviut]

My aunt lived in a 50+ neighborhood with an HOA. She grew up on a farm with a vegetable garden & her first home was not HOA so she & my uncle had a big garden & he propagated boxwoods. When she moved to the HOA neighborhood, of course she had to have a garden! She had squash, cukes, peppers & gosh knows what else growing next to the back of her house interspersed with the landscape bushes. I do not know how she got away with growing tomatoes in the front bushes next to her stoop, but she did. A neighbor living behind her was Vietnamese and had a patio with a short wall around it & she grew all sorts of veggies & herbs in that location. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, although you may have to use some ‘camouflage’! :-)

[FamiliarFace]

That is what I do! Camouflage! I figure as long as I plant my shishitos around the existing flower beds, very few will notice, especially from the street. Vegetables like tomatoes in pots seem to be very accepted around here. So many people do that.

It will be interesting in the summer to see how much sunlight the areas in the meditation garden will get, now that the old hickory tree has been taken down. If there’s enough, I’m sure I will tuck a few goodies in over there, too.

This past summer, having potatoes, shishitos, and cherry tomatoes, plus my herb garden and flower beds are about all I can keep up with. I’d love to have more if I can figure them out. Other than then, between our farmers market and the orchard market, I can get my hands on great fresh produce, which is how I like it!

[Augie]

Mostly warm and dry this past week here in Central Missouri. It was nice enough on Saturday that we were able to have some friends over for a bonfire to celebrate Mrs. Augie's birthday.

I've been thinking for a while that it would be nice to have a set of cold frames to fit the raised beds that I built last year, so I made a quick sketch, scratched out a materials list, and hit the Lowe's store Saturday morning. I got all of the straight pieces cut to length yesterday. I'll start gluing it all together after work today.

Howard continues to improve his civilized behavior. He's still too mouthy to be granted unrestricted access in the house, but so far the baby gates are working to keep him out of the kitchen. We got a good laugh out of him yesterday. Miss Booger was laying in my spot on the couch and Howard wanted it. Booger, being the Queen that she is, was having nothing to do with getting up for him, so he just crawled up there and laid down on top of her. She was NOT pleased. lol

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Of course!