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.

[FamiliarFace]

I’m glad to hear that the baby goat is doing well with the bottle feeding.

Last year, I gave up on real ferns on the front porch. Have two fakes, and they might be a bit skimpy, but they’re ok. The finches built nests in them anyway. After the season was over, I had to clean them out, before bringing inside for the winter.

It is nice to not have to reach up high to water them, and nice not to water them over the winter. I had plenty of other plants to water over the winter. Almost all have fared well enough. It’s the lack of sunshine, even in a south window, that troubles them. One heliotrope has survived, which is nothing short of amazing. The lemon verbena that I dug up last year after harvesting is still carrying on inside. My rosemary has survived but the thyme is fading. I guess it was just enough until the outdoor thyme comes back. I see signs of life out in the herb garden!

I think you’re a day behind me in weather most days. It was very foggy here for hours, and I had to drive through it yesterday. Hubby had cataract surgery on Wednesday and yesterday was his follow up. Things went fine, but mostly because our doctor is so knowledgeable and very skilled. Hubby’s eye surgery a year ago (macular pucker) caused this cataract, which we knew about, but the trauma from it has damaged the ligaments in one area, so putting a lens back in was a challenge. Good thing our ophthalmologist was prepared. Recovery will be a little longer than for the usual cataract surgery, but doc said things look great, and the swelling will go down soon.

He said something that was interesting to me. He told us that the first time an eye has surgery, it’s caught off guard, so usually no real reaction to whatever’s going on. The second time, it remembers, and “puts up its dukes, and fights a bit.” Funny how our bodies handle stress. I love that our doctor can explain things so we understand what’s happening. We feel very blessed to have him as our doctor.

Good luck with your mowers!

[Qiviut]

The fog is so heavy I can’t see any of the mountains, including the ones only half a mile away!

My niece sent me a brief video of the baby goat running & bucking on the kitchen floor - so cute! She’s like a puppy at this stage. Between the goats, Highland cow, mule, dog, cats, 2 Jersey cows, rabbits, chickens & who knows what else, that homestead is quite the menagerie.

Glad your husband did well with his eye surgery. Mom & dad both had cataract surgery & the surgeon was really good. Dad was on tamsulosin which complicates cataract surgery, but the surgeon was prepared for it & handled the situation no problem. I also appreciated the fact that when I took dad for appointments (in his transport chair), the doc always made a point of shaking my hand and saying “thanks for helping out”. Of all my dad’s docs, he was the only one to shake my hand, much less thank me.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Oh, Boy! MOWING season will be upon us before we know it!

I wonder how many more raised beds I can get Beau to build for me before May? LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Why do we have daylight saving time? (Sunday, March 8, 2026)

Daylight saving time was first adopted in the U.S. in 1918 in an effort to conserve fuel during World War I, according to the Congressional Research Service. It was used during World War II for the same reason and to "promote national security and defense," according to the Defense Department.

The annual time change has been in effect consistently since the '60s, but it hasn't been found to be a significant source of decreasing energy consumption. In 1974, the Transportation Department found it had minimal benefits when it came to energy conservation, traffic safety and reducing violent crime, according to the Congressional Research Service.

After daylight saving time's start date was moved up in 2007, the Energy Department found electricity consumption fell by 0.03%. The time shift has also been associated with some negative health effects.

Which states don't do daylight saving time?

Only two states don't observe daylight saving time: Hawaii and Arizona, with the exception of the Navajo Nation in the northeast part of the Grand Canyon State.

The territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also don't change their clocks.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Wisconsin: ALERT DAY Friday - all severe weather hazards possible

PLANNING THE NEXT 24 HOURS: Widespread dense fog will be a factor though mid morning Friday. There will be two rounds of storms on Friday; the first round will move through during the morning hours into the early afternoon. These storms are not expected to be severe however, small hail and gusty winds can't be ruled out with some of these storms.

These storms will eventually move east and southern Wisconsin will dry out, but remain mostly cloudy from the late afternoon into the early evening. Depending on how far north the warm front gets Friday morning will determine how much of southern Wisconsin is impacted by the evening and over storms into Saturday.

Of the towns identified, we are near Mineral Point, WI. To the left, Decorah, IA is where the Seed Savers Farm is located.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I wanted to give everybody an update on the fire recovery process that I am going through. My insurance which is ostensibly through Geico but which they subbed out to American family Ranch and rural, has been very good to me so far.

We shall see how that holds up over the rest of this process.

I am in the process of rebuilding my hoop house, Quonset hut Style Greenhouse which is very lightweight and I just use 6 mm poly plastic and build the ends out of plywood and lumber.

Unfortunately the three spare interior doors I had saved up for use with the deer stand and this new Greenhouse I was going to put up and make into my second Greenhouse all burned up in the fire but when life takes something away from you a lot of times it gives you something also.

Right before the fire my son’s boss gifted me an 8x8 steel framed wooden sided metal roofed shed that needed a lot of work but it also had two man size doors on it. He’s also the one that gave me the chicken coop which is almost completely installed.

The metal frame shed has now gifted me a spare door since I pulled the door off of it and re-skinned it with new wood siding on two sides, the four side is completely open but I’m thinking about building a large double set of doors that open barn style like on the back of an old suburban

The door I took off of it is now going to be the door I put on the end of my Greenhouse I also upgraded the location of the new Greenhouse by putting down a yard of gravel to both level the ground out and make it more comfortable to stand on than the old one where I was just standing on dirt which was uneven and usually made my feet hurt by the end of my chores.

But of all the things that have occurred with this fire recovery what I’m going to tell you next has really restored or uplifted my faith in humanity.

While I was shocked and very disappointed when I got zero phone calls from any of the people I work with including the leader of our organization which is purported to be family and Community oriented and for a brief period of time I was very bitter because I have given a lot more than I got back when I needed it.

But when I was digging through the fire Rubble that was once my tool shed I found the head of the hammer I used in 1980 when I was freshly turned 13, to help my dad build the addition on his house. I distinctly remember we were standing on the roof skinning it with plywood on May 18th 1980 watching the eruption cloud of Mount St Helens which was about 180 miles away from us. I was so happy to see the head and shank were intact and only the rubber handle was missing and it began my search for a replacement handle

I should not have been shocked that my search online and in person at hardware stores turned up zero replacement rubber grips for hammers. I ended up emailing stiletto and Martinez Hammer companies asking about their replacement grips and whether it would fit my hammer. I gave them both the dimensions of the hammer but when I messaged Martinez tools I specifically told the story of why I wanted to replace the grip on it and how important it was to me to be able to use this hammer again.

Their operations manager emailed me first thing in the morning probably 5:00 a.m. Pacific time where they’re located and told me he was sending me a replacement grip and a few other items in a box and that he hoped that it would fit my hammer

I had zero experience with martinez tools prior to this and if it wasn’t for searching for the hammer grip I probably never would have heard of them because they’re a very high-end carpentry and construction tool manufacturer that specifically targets professional, everyday, Builders and framers.

Five or six days after he emailed me a package arrived and when I opened it there were numerous tools from Martinez in the Box a framing hammer a finish hammer a micro Square and a regular size Square that had a magnetic attachment to it that included a level. We’re also some stickers in there but I was shocked when I looked up the value of those items.

This stuff is made out of titanium and high grade aluminum except for the heads of the Hammers of course they’re extremely high-end and the value of everything in there not even counting the replacement grip which is now on my old hammer was over $1,000.

Of course I sent a picture of myself with the tools and the old Hammer with the new grip on it along with a profuse and exuberant thank you to him and the company.

I’ve already put them to use and rebuilding the greenhouse and refurbishing this 8x8 steel framed shed. His reply to my thank you was if I needed anything else, he would reach out to his contacts in the tool world and see what strings he could pull to help me out!

I told him that I just couldn’t take advantage of him like that and that he’s already done more than I ever dreamed.

That level of customer and community service from a for profit company is amazing these days and it helped remove some of the short-lived bitterness I was dealing with.

We’re just getting ready to get some rain this weekend and I ordered 4 lb of Wildflower seed, a mix that is good for spring planting as well as fall planting and I’m going to be outside in a little bit spreading the seeds and dragging some cattle panel over them so hopefully in a few weeks we’re going to see some wildflowers blooming up around all this fresh green wild grass sets popping up after the fire

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“...but when life takes something away from you a lot of times it gives you something also.”

LOVING the Positive Mental Attitude, my FRiend! You are making lemonade from a semi-load of lemons! *HUG*

LOVED the hammer story. That was amazingly generous of them and they now have a customer for life in you, and anyone else that reads this. :) (18 years of Retail Management - you WANT happy Customers!)

I was living south of San Diego, working for a hobby ceramics company when Mount St. Helens blew. Two of our guys that made our glazes jumped in the truck and went to her and grabbed up barrels and barrels of her ash to use for glaze. OMG! It ended up being the most gorgeous shade of blue you could ever imagine, with little sparkles in it. I had a ceramic piece colored with that glaze...but it got lost somewhere along the way in my travels. :(

So glad you’re making progress. And I’m VERY disappointed in your employer and co-workers! I’ll just say it: ‘Jerks!’

[Diana in Wisconsin]

In my not-so-humble opinion, whoever invented these ‘Sheet Pan Suppers’ deserves the Nobel Prize. In WHAT, I do not know. Nobel Prize in Home Economics? There should be that category! Anyhow...

Supper tonight is on a Sheet Pan!

Three Bone-In Pork Chops (2 for Beau, 1 for me - from the hog next farm over)
Chopped Sweet Onion (1) (Red onion is good, too)
Chopped Potatoes, skins on but scrubbed (4)
Sweet Potato, peeled and chunked (1 large)
Frozen Green Beans (1 quart bag, from the garden - don’t thaw, or a 12oz. bag from the store)

Chop your veggies (keep the potatoes and sweet potatoes a uniform size for even baking) and put them in a bowl with the frozen green beans and the onions. Drizzle with EVOO and toss. Spread veggies on a sheet pan that is lined with parchment paper. Season with Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder. Put the Chops on top. Season with salt, pepper and English Prime Rib Rub (from ‘The Spice House’ out of Milwaukee, WI) or whatever seasonings you like/have on hand.

https://www.thespicehouse.com/products/english-prime-rib-rub

Set oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Flip the chops and stir the veggies around a bit - if the taters are not fork tender, another 10-15 minutes should do it.

Plate and serve. I’m not even making a salad to go with; so. many. veggies! I will serve Sourdough Bread on the side and cold, cold glasses of Wisconsin Fresh Dairy milk. Mooo!

Leftover veggies will be pan-fried to go along with Sunny Side Up (home grown) eggs in the morning. Or they can be chopped smaller and used for filling in a Quiche or in Scrambled Eggs or to fill a cheesy Omelette.

Life On The Farm Is Good! :)

FORTY TWO Sheet Pan Recipes Right Here! OMG! Lemony Chicken Asparagus? HELLO!

https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/sheet-pan-supper-recipes/

[Liz]

Spectacular meal.

[MomwithHope]

I bookmarked that to look at later. Although I cook so small now its more like an 8X8 metal pan.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Rodent protection for new plants....consider wire baskets from the Dollar store

Essentials Wire Waste Basket

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Oklahoma's Onion Burger (And a discussion of where the Hamburger was created!!)

A discussion

A foil-wrapped burger and frosty cup of house-made root beer reveal exactly why people still line up for this Depression-era classic.

Snip...."What I found was a bit more burger history: Oklahoma claims to be the birthplace of the hamburger itself—served on a bun, that is. (As opposed to just the standalone meat patty or the 1885 creation of 15-year old Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, Wisconsin, who was selling meatballs at a county fair and took to smushing his wares into patties to be served between bread slices for easier eating.) No, this is the classic bun-burger-bun hamburger as we’ve come to know it.

The year was 1891, when Oscar “Weber Bilby” grilled beef burgers on a pig-iron grill for a 4th of July barbecue in Tulsa and served them on dedicated bread rolls. They were a big hit, and he continued to make his burgers for picnics and the like. The Bilby family eventually opened a hamburger stand in 1933 and grilled those burgers on that original grill from the Independence Day picnic.

Lo and behold, Weber’s Superior Root Beer Drive-in is still in operation, though it’s moved across the parking lot from its previous location. Weber’s is not 10 minutes east off of the historic Route 66 where it passes through Tulsa, the capital of the famed highway. Oscar’s grandson Rick Bilby and his wife, Jennifer, managed the joint for more than 45 years, retiring in 2022 and leaving their daughter, Michelle, and her husband, Bryan Merrell, at the helm. Jennifer can’t remember exactly when she started working for her parents, but she said, “I started *getting paid* to work here when I was like ” snip...."Making the Onion Burger If there was anything good about the not-so-great Great Depression, it was the mettle of those who lived through it, and part of that was the ability to find substitutes and stretch ingredients. (See the Depression Cake my grandmother used to make without eggs.) Burgers filled out with cheap and abundant onions quickly became a thing.

Bryan started with a heaping pile of sliced onion on the grill, enough to fully cover a wide smashburger patty. He gave them a squirt of water to quickly steam them a bit, then added beef tallow to let them brown a bit. Meanwhile, he laid out a prepped third-pound beef patty with parchment paper on it, which prevented the meat from sticking to the round cast-iron press he used to smash the patty on the grill. He sprinkled this with his secret seasoning blend (salt and pepper at a minimum). He caught me eyeing the motley collection of spice bottles above the prep station as I tried to guess what his recipe might be. Red herrings. “Those are up there just to throw people off,” he laughed."

[Pollard]

I should start making and selling 1/4” hardware cloth 1020 tray covers.

[metmom]

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking of.

Not a bad price.

[metmom]

Mr. mm made something like that.

He took hardware cloth and cut them to the size of the dishpans I got from Wal-Mart and bent the edges over.

They just sit right on top of the dishpan and are actually snug enough to stay on without being fastened on.

We’re in for quite the warm few days, at which point, those seedlings will sit outside overnight, completely protected by the screen overs. I’ll only bring them in if it is forecast to go below 35 at night. It’s not unusual for the temps here to get lower than the forecast so anything below upper 30’s is potential freeze damage.