The Victory Garden Thread - March, 2026

March 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.

[SunkenCiv]

I know how the Sun feels, I think biorhythms have minima and maxima also.

Maunder Minimum keyword’s got related stuff.

[metmom]

You can try organic to avoid the ones with the sprout inhibitor sprayed on them.

However, if they are starting to sprout in the stores, then I’ve heard that they’re OK to use for seed potatoes.

I have two problems. I never got as much prepped for spring planting as I had hoped to last fall.

And the garden is currently buried under a couple feet of snow.

We have a great warm up occurring for the next 10 days, but that’s a LOT of snow to melt. On the bright side, the garlic and asparagus were well insulated from the cold. I didn’t have to use straw for that.

[Pollard]

Ok then, this is driving me crazy. I say when life gives you rain, go buy some gutters. I’m heading to Menard’s to grab a couple of 16’ HD gutters. With 1-1/2” more rain coming, that would fill both tanks. Will take all of 10 minutes to put them up.

I’d already looked at both Lowes and Menard’s and Menard’s actually has HD gutter that’s thicker than anything readily available from Lowe’s.

I’ll need two more 16’ gutters plus some parts and pieces but not until I get two more IBC tanks for the other side of the tunnel. I’ll forego the parts and pieces for now and just screw the gutter sections up in place with one end of each right over the openings in the tanks. My wiggle wire track was screwed to the top of 2x6s so gutter would fit up underneath. I left plenty of poly on the sides to hang into the gutter.

[Pollard]

I’ve heard about that sprout inhibitor but have hardly ever had regular store bought potatoes out here not sprout on me if I don’t use them quick enough. Before we moved out here, our potatoes always came out of a can or were french fries so I don’t know about FL.

Heading to Menard’s and will stop at the two feed stores I’ll be going by and see what they have for taters, if anything.

[Paul R.]

How can it be March already? Granted, winter was not much fun - especially when it came to our heating bills!

It looks like some potentially severe weather will take over for the next few days: These temperatures in the mid-70’s do have their costs. We need the rain, though.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Cutting up your seed potatoes is called ‘chitting.’ I don’t know why, LOL1

And leaving the cut side to dry and kind of scab over is a must, or your chitted potatoes could rot before they root.

https://www.ruralsprout.com/chitting-potatoes/

[FamiliarFace]

I had some baby potatoes start sprouting around Christmas, so I stuck them in egg cartons and out in the garage. They all have long 1-1/2” sprouts on them, but the potato itself is a little soft, though not mushy. Will these turn into anything or will they just keep getting softer and do nothing? I had relatively good fortune with soil inside grow bags last season, but good organic mix is a tad expensive and I don’t want to waste it. However, nothing ventured, nothing gained. We might have a bit of a warm up next week, and maybe I can get a head start on one cycle of potatoes? Just thinking out loud, but any suggestions are welcome.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’d give it a go. Plant them whole with the long sprouts on them and see what happens. I’ll be they root.

[Liz]

Pioneer Women's Pasta Primavera / Famed Le Cirque dish
The key is to not overcook the vegetables.

Ing 4 Tbl butter, divided 2 Tbl olive oil 1/2 onion, finely diced 3-4 minced gar/cl 1 1/2 c cup bite-sized broccoli 2 med carrots, sliced diagonally 1 sliced red bell pepper, 1 lb fave pasta (penne is good) 1 medium yellow squash, sliced diagonally (optional) 2 medium zucchini, sliced diagonally 8-oz container white button or baby porcini mushrooms, rough-sliced. Sauce: 1/4 to 1/2 c dry white wine optio (or use broth) 1/2 c chicken broth, plus more as needed 1 c h/cream 1 c halfnhalf, plus more as needed 1/2 c Parm, plus more for serving K/s/p 5-6 fresh basil leaves

Method--heat 2 tbl ea butter/olive oil on med-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until they start to turn translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Throw in the broccoli. Stir, and add in the carrots. Stir for only 1 minute tops. Transfer to plate. Add red pepper to skillet. Stir/cook 1-2 min, then transfer to plate. Now add 1 tbl butter to the skillet. Cook squash for less than 1 minute, then transfer to the plate. Cook the mushrooms for 1-2 min, adding salt to taste, then transfer to plate. Sauce: Pour ¼-1/2 c dry white wine to skillet. Add ½ c broth and 1 tbl butter, stirring to scrape bits on skillet bottom. Cook til it starts to thicken, 1-2 min. Add h/cream, halfnhalf, Parm, s/p, to taste. Add 5-6 chiffonaded fresh basil leaves; stir. Add veggies and mushrooms then cooked penne pasta, and stir.

CHEF TIPS: If sauce seems thick, or there's not enough, add a good splash of broth and a bit more halfnhalf. Top w/ Parm. s/p and basil, to taste.

[MomwithHope]

Looks like a good channel I subscribed. Thanks.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Plan a Vegetable Garden for the New Year

Use a garden layout planner, with your family’s food preferences, to choose what to plant.

How do you plan a vegetable garden that produces enough to feed your family? Consider your needs and preferences, then use a garden layout planner or garden planning app.

Winter and spring are exciting for gardeners: We receive seed catalogs, look at beautiful photos, and imagine that bounty filling our kitchens. But with all the choices available, how can we plan a vegetable garden that ensures enough bounty for our needs? When planning gardens, take several things into account: Climates, your family’s needs, preferences, and space.

Consider your goals: Do you want a productive hobby, a healthier diet, and a family project? Or do you aim for self-sufficiency?

Record your family’s preferences, so you don’t waste time and space on food they won’t eat.

Measure your gardening space, including in-ground areas plus opportunities for container gardens.

Compare costs at the store. Is this crop cheaper to purchase vs. the time it takes to grow?

Choose fun and colorful varieties to keep your garden exciting!

Learning to plan a vegetable garden comes with some trial-and-error. After that first year or two, you may find that you overplanted zucchini and gave away more than you ate. Or you chose cabbage and Brussels sprouts before learning that your family hates brassicas. After those experiences, you may wonder if gardening is actually worth it financially. Taking a few factors into account, before ordering seeds, can reduce frustration and disappointment for 2026.

First, consider your goals. Perhaps you want to spend less money at the grocery store. Or you want to educate your children about where your food comes from, choosing exciting varieties that they can help start, cultivate, and cook. Adding more nutrition and variety to your diet can mean choosing some more colorful crops to grow. Those goals make garden planning much easier; if you aim for more self-sufficiency, you will need more gardening space and plans for staple crops as well as colorful, nutritious vegetables. Sit down with those who will help with the garden, seed catalogs in hand, and talk about what you want to accomplish. This may be one of the most exciting times as you plan a vegetable garden.

Much more great info at the link:

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/garden-planning/plan-vegetable-garden-zw0z2312zols/

Diana here: For me, I grow mostly tomatoes and then bell peppers, green beans (pole) drying beans, cucumbers, kale, a few Jalapenos, 6-12 broccoli plants and herbs. Salad greens spring and fall and into the winter in the (unheated) greenhouse. Those are the things we eat the most. I make Salsa and V-8 Juice, and then also usually have a lot of apples, pears, cherries and sometimes peaches to deal with. We have a strawberry bed, rhubarb and asparagus - which is being expanded this year as we both LOVE the stuff!

Grapes for putting up grape juice. ‘King of the North.’ And don’t forget flowers - Food for the Soul!

I am NOT growing zucchini this year - what a HUGE waste of space for something I can buy dirt-cheap all summer. And 4 cucumber plants - tops! I don’t grow onions (I am tucking in some Candy Apple onions this season), carrots or potatoes (once in a while) because Wisconsin is lousy with them and they are very cheap for me to buy.

Beau likes to grow the winter squashes in his lower garden. He can plant them in spring (I start the plants for him) and forget about them while he’s off hunting all summer into fall. He continually tries to grow sweet corn, but that never seems to work out, LOL!

[Pollard]

Went to Menard's and got gutter. This creek was just a gentle 1 inch flowing across the concrete bridge when I left. Coming back, I knew what I'd find based on the rain I drove in plus all the water flowing in the roadside gullies when I got close to home. Could have turned around to take the long way in but figured I'd see what was up with this first creek.

AG research center nearby says we got 1.4 inches today. It was sprinkling when I left and that was the first rain of the day so most of that 1.4" was just while I was gone, less than two hours.

Guess I should have gone to Menard's a few hours earlier. That's ok, gutter is up and we have more rain coming tonight and Fri.

The tunnel is no longer dry as a bone due to having so much rain in a short time. The whole property was evidently a sheet of flowing water.

[metmom]

I just organized by canned goods in the basement the other day. I won’t need to grow tomatoes for years but probably will anyways.

[MomwithHope]

“I won’t need to grow tomatoes for years but probably will anyways.”

I know exactly what you mean. LOL It IS an addiction but I have been successful in tapering off.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Well, they ARE good to eat fresh, too. And we love to dehydrate the ‘Juliet’ tomatoes for snacking or to add to salads or grilled pizza.

https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/tomatoes/paste-tomatoes/juliet-f1-tomato-seed-707.html

Thanks for the reminder to clean out my pantry/stash and take stock. I have room for 23 tomato plants in the garden this season - I may not need them all...but I’ll plant them all and share! ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Pasta Primavera! What a great way to use summer veggies. Love it! :)

I would probably cheat, stir-fry the veggies, then top with a jar of ‘Newman’s Own’ Alfredo Sauce, but also ALL the cheese and the fresh Basil. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

WOW! Only ONE inch of rain will flood your place? That’s scary!

We live on a HUGE hill and Beau says if WE ever have standing water in the yard, it IS The Great Flood all over again, LOL!

Friday is supposed to be stormy around here. They are predicting wind, rain, hail, frogs, flying pigs and their usual panic predictions.

We shall see...

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Liz]

Your Pasta Primavera cheat recipe is better:
“stir-fry the veggies, then top w/ ‘Newman’s Own’
Alfredo Sauce, but use ALL the cheese and the fresh Basil.”

[AppyPappy]

We have a major hydroponic operation near us. My wife volunteers at Social Services where that company dumps off produce every week as part of a Feeding Appalachia project. You never know what you will get but you get lots of it. This month it is lettuce but it is always peppers and cucumbers. I love this because we can only grow tomatoes due to the deer.

We are replacing our gutters and finally getting a rain barrel.