Posted on 05/01/2026 6:24:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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I love it! Genius idea on how to reuse old caddies.
Eggshells. Wash the shells and let them dry. (If you are not already doing this.) Put them in a 5 gallon bucket, add 5% white vinegar, 2 cup for every 1 cup of shells. It will foam. let it sit for a day. The acetic acid will be neutralized, and you can pour off and save the liquid and spray it on the tomatoes later to prevent blossom end rot. Dry the egg shells in the sun. The CO2 will be gone and the shells will be Calcium and some phosphorous. and the raccoons should leave it alone when you work it into the soil.
Yes, it’s been a few years, but at one point I’d shot two of the squirrels that were damaging the garden. I butchered them and Wifey fried them up (seems like it was a Filipino recipe, minimal marinade if any) and they were great eating. We had them a few times when I was a kid - ditto, but I don’t know (or recall) the recipe / prep. :-)
Buckshot... The squirrels should claim “not fair”! Dad used .22’s, here, I use a .22 1000+ fps pellet rifle. That latter with a modified hollow point type round will kill a 20+ lb. raccoon with a good shot, so it’s certainly plenty for a squirrel. My .22 rifle is more accurate out past 60 ft. or so, of course. The “pioneers” were probably using muskets, I suppose, and “barked” the squirrels. With manual iron sights. Some pretty goods shooting there!
Ah, you are puncturing from the inside with a longish screwdriver, and plenty of support for the container. Now I “get it”. :-)
I also understand your “stab like a Serb” description: Good force would be needed due to the non-sharp tip. !!!
I’d need a really long screwdriver for my 8+ inch tall 2 liter soda bottle pots.
(Confession: We generate a lot more used green 2 L soda bottles...)
Agreed - last year, among others, I rescued 3 large hanging pots of impatiens for $1 ea. at Menards. My only regret is only having space to keep one going over the winter, indoors, which it did well, and it is back outdoors blooming away, now.
I’ve divided the two-in-one “rescue project (wilted)” Ichiban eggplants, put them in bigger pots, and they are doing well. :-)
For us "normal" (or time constrained) types, it may be cheaper to just use some bonemeal (fall clearance @ Wal-Mart, baby!) until more eggshells can "cure" / compost outdoors properly...
2 cup for every 1 cup of shells.
I assumed that's crushed eggshells.
I got to thinking about that story of Squanto teaching the Pilgrims to use fish as fertilizer. Same problem, it would seem, but, then it dawned on me: Lots of kids: Maybe don't even bury all the fish (etc.) Set 10 y/o Billy out there by the field / garden @ dusk with a musket. Tomorrow's dinner meat entree will be showing up shortly, quite likely.
Wow(!), and so far, so good: My “rescue” attempt of that strongest Better Boy tomato plant that the raccoon or opossum (I’m still not sure which) broke in half is doing better than I could have expected. The top half shows no sign of wilt, so, the graft to it’s own bottom half must have begun “taking” very quickly. The flowers are all still staying on, too. :-)
Notes for anyone interested:
I used a deep “V” type graft. The plant is about 12” tall, and the stem @ the graft is ~ 5/16” diameter.
The top half of the plant had some “lean” to it, so, as noted previously, I supported the top with a sort of makeshift splint, consisting of a straight 6” twig (oak, I believe) taped at either end with, first, “easy removal” masking tape (2-1/2 times around the twig and plant stem) and then 2-1/2 turns of electrical tape (just in case water resistance is needed.) (I am not 100% sure the electrical tape’s adhesive might not have some sort of toxic to tomato plants component in it: The masking tape I’ve used before when a tomato plant stem or branch was bent - but I’ve never tried tomato grafting before!
Then I wrapped the area about 1” to either side of the graft (but short of the ends of the twig) with generic (Aldi, I think) Saran Wrap (about 4 times around, IIRC.) (I probably overdid my “splint!)
Online information seemed very split about whether to “bag” the plant (to keep humidity in) with a transparent bag or opaque. I split the differenced for these past 2+ days by using a simple white Wal Mart bag — fairly opaque but lets SOME light through. The plant was kept indoors in a normal lighting environment — I suspect a clear bag would have been fine. The bottom (was the open top end) of the bag was rubber banded to the pot*: One of my 8-1-2” tall 2 liter “soda bottle pots”.
*This to maximize humidity.
I have now switched to a clear bag, loose at the bottom. I will monitor closely for wilt, but, so far, so good. The plant can easily “push” the bag upwards if it likes, and, the lighting is presently at about a normal indoor room level.
If the plant looks good in a few more days, I’ll likely remove the bag entirely, and water from the top. I’m guessing it may be able to go back outside in 5-7 days*, and into a large (3-gallon?) pot, depending on the weather at that point.
The pot is sitting in a used (and cleaned) margarine container with about 1” of water treated with liquid rooting compound in the margarine container. This may have been overdoing the moisture, but, I wanted to be SURE the plant had plenty of water. The rooting compound “should” minimize rot and other pathogens.
The translucent (green) “soda bottle pot” allows me to view the root development: It looks very good, and has developed throughout the bottom 2/3 of the pot. (This plant was from a 6-pack and was transplanted ~ 7” deep in the pot.) Basically, if the plant looks good that the roots are “up” to the surface of the soil in the pot, I figure she’s ready to go. :-)
I did not see info. online about grafting tomato plants this large. So, I’m relieved this is working!
I may wish to try other grafting in the future for purposes of taste. Can I graft a Golden Jubilee onto a Heatwave II and get good taste with heat resistance, plus added vigor?
2L pop bottles I would think the plastic would be thicker. Might be harder. I’ve been doing this so long and I just kept saving the cottage cheese containers. So I have a lot. They also hold just the right amount of dirt for the time I need to use them.
Very old friends boiled their eggshells and when dry crushed them into a powder and fed them back to the chickens. Their eggs had very strong shells as a result.
Great info Pete!
PEANUT BUTTER PIE / made in blender
Ing graham cracker pie shell 8 oz pkg. cr/cheese 8 oz tub Cool Whip 3 oz box instant
vanilla pudding 3/4 c p/butter 1/2 c conf 3/4 c milk 12 oz jar Smucker's Hot Fudge topping
Method On bottom of prepared pie crust spread HALF the fudge topping to make a thin layer. Mix cream cheese with blender (to soften and smooth). then add Cool Whip. Beat 2 min then add dry pudding mix, p/butter, conf. Slowly pour in milk. Then pour into pie crust. Freeze 15-20 min. Once frozen drizzle reserved fudge topping on top. Serve garnished w/ chp p/butter cups, chp peanuts, etc.
I have 7 seedling shishito pepper plants from the seeds I saved last year. (Planted 21, got 7, so not a great rate, but this was my first effort in that regard.)
If they don’t like humidity, it may be a good thing that I have 7 plants to work with. They might not produce very well.
I have decided that I will sow zinnia seeds this week in one bed, where I’m certain it will get full sun. That bed has native Dame’s rockets all over right now. So I will sow cut and come again over there. I hope my plan works.
I’ve been working on the meditation garden waterfall feature lately. It had developed algae all over the rocks and around it. So I’ve been working bit by bit to scrub off the algae. That’s not very easy, but doing it every couple of days is helping it look better.
I also added copper disks to see if that will improve the quality of the water. It does already look a lot clearer. I added 2 disks to the reservoir, and then placed 3 others in between the stones. Hopefully this will help out the situation some.
I have one disk in another bird bath, and there it seems to keep the water clear for a long time.
Today is our first dry day in several. It will warm into the low 70’s in a few hours. 67 now and mostly sunny, with a bit of a breeze still. Delightful working weather!
Diana’s Chore List for the Week (or so!):
Saturday 5-9-26
Mow - DONE!
Make shredded newspaper for compost bins - DONE!
Cut Pine Tips and start that Pine Syrup - The ‘Mugolio is Macerating! - DONE!
Re-Pot Miss Peach (Christmas Cactus)
Rake/Prune Winter Burn on Juniper
Find (!) and put out the Rain Gauge - Can’t find it! FORGOT to buy one! Will have to wait until next week. 1” of rain predicted here for Tuesday.
Water Houseplants - They all got a good cleaning last week. - DONE!
Plant Beets, Lettuces and Spinach starts outside - DONE!
Plant out Broccoli (end of week) Still waiting on them to get bigger.
Cut Dead Stems off of Tulips and Daffs
Cut a Bouquet of Lilacs - Almost all are in bloom! - DONE!
Cut some Lily of the Valley - DONE!
Fertilize Strawberry Bed - DONE!
Re-Fill milk jugs from rain barrel - DONE (three times, now!)
Weed! There are a few MONSTERS that need digging out! - Dug out a few. Lost my ambition, LOL!
Pot up a few planters - DONE! (4 done) I probably will NOT do the porch pots due to PUPPY Midnight and rumor STILL has it that porch rehad starts this month! Hope Springs Eternal! (Foster Son is coming down to light a fire under ‘Dear Old Dad’ and help him with the project).
Fertilize remaining roses - will do after Tuesdays rain so I don’t waste product; it’s expensive!
Baked Ziti / an Italian family recipe
Italian sausage, fire-roasted tomatoes, ziti, and lots of Italian cheeses.
Ing 2 lb hot Italian sausage, removed from casings 2-14.5 oz cans Hunt’s Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic, 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes 1 lb ziti 16 oz tub whole ricotta cheese 1 lge egg, beaten ks/p 3/4 c fresh grated Parm, (divided) 12 oz fresh shredded mozzarella, divided 4 oz fresh shredded provolone, divided Fresh flat leaf Italian parsley garnish
Method Cook sausage thru over med-high, breaking it apart. Drain off most fat and return sausage to pan. Add diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes. Stir/combine; simmer 15-20 min. Cheese Ing Combine ricotta, beaten egg, ks/p. Stir, but don’t overmix. To keep pasta creamy, do not break up all the ricotta mixture. Then add 1/2 c Parm, half the mozzarella (6 oz) and half the provolone (2 oz). Stir to combine. Add the cheese mixture to the pot of cooked drained ziti. Mix lightly.
Assembly Ladle 1 c sauce into large b/dish. Then half the pasta mixture. Smooth it out and press it down into baker. Add a few ladles of sauce over. Add remaining pasta. Smooth out. Remaining sauce over top, spread evenly. Sprinkle rest cheeses over top. Cover/bake 375 deg 20 min. Remove cover; broil til just lightly brown and bubbly 2-3 min. Serve garnished with fresh grated Parm and Italian flat leaf parsley.
Yes, copper works like a charm in birdbaths. I bought a leftover piece of heavy copper wire at the hardware store, about 14”, bent it into crude circle and put it at the bottom of the birdbath with a layer of rocks on top. Not a speck of algae!
Thanks! I wish I had thought of this when we first built our bubble rock/waterfall/water feature in our meditation garden. The last week or so, we started to notice the algae smell. That was gone today when we were out there. Thank goodness. Nobody needs to be contemplative around funky smells. It’s not conducive to what you’re trying to do!
That looks great, Liz! Thank you!
A true comfort food——baked ziti.
Exciting news! Emma Jolene (Treeing Walker Coon Hound) WON the 'Bench Show' at a United Kennel Club event yesterday evening. Friend Hallie 'showed' her for us. Not bad for a 9 year old female who is a little 'dinged up' here and there at this point in her long career! She is also a Nite Champion, which is getting up there in the Hunting Dog World. Good Girl, Emma! Woof!
Today we are heading to Milwaukee to take Mom to a Brewer's Game for Mother's Day. Playing the Yankees. Mom will be calling and evaluating EVERY pitch and hit. ;) Should be a lot of fun!
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