The Victory Garden Thread - May, 2026

May 1, 2026 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The MONTHLY Victory Garden 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 Victory Garden 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.

[TheConservativeParty]

Got it baking in the oven now!
Looks great so far.

😀

[TheConservativeParty]

It’s a great recipe, tastes wonderful.
Thank you!

[Qiviut]

First time I’ve heard of it ... looks like Wisconsin is a hotspot....

“Blastomyces likes to live near water — particularly in or along riverbeds. It’s found in many parts of the world, but it’s most common in parts of North America, especially in areas around the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River. This includes:

Midwestern U.S. states. There are hotspots — where blastomycosis is more common — in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

South Central and Southeast U.S. states.

Southeastern Canada. This includes Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

There have also been cases of blastomycosis in the U.S. Northeast”

[Liz]

Glad you liked it.

[Paul R.]

You are reminding me that we have an oak tree with a big branch over the road on the west side of our property, and said branch has not leafed out anywhere, so apparently it’s died. Most of the tree still seems ok at this point. My Dad used to have a tool to do small borings into a tree: It’d return a long cylinder of the wood, only 1/2”(?) in diameter. It was sort of like ice sampling from the artic or Antarctic, but small diameter. Then he had stuff to fill the hole and prevent disease or insect infection / attack. I was hoping we’d run across it after he passed away, but, we never did. It’d come in handy now, to tell me if the center of the tree is ok. From the outside it looks fine, unlike an even bigger oak on the east end of our property, but if (when!) that one goes down, there’s nothing nearby but smaller trees to get whacked.

Anyway, wifey is back (went to Arkansas* for a friend’s son’s graduation) so I need to get her out there to watch for traffic while I deal with this branch. I also have a couple nice big & bright traffic “cones” I can set up, plus nicely bright flashing red LED’s, to warn traffic approaching. The best bet looks to be to try to get a rope on the and see if it will break off. I have no way to get THAT high with a saw, even my Dad’s old 3-section pole saw. Plus, it’d take over an hour of cutting with that if I could reach that high! The biggest problem is that if the branch comes down, we’ll be shutting down the road until I can get the pieces cut small enough to be movable, off the the road.

I was thinking “this week”, for this project, but, after about noon tomorrow it looks like we’ll be rainy several days, IF the NWS forecast holds up. So far this spring, every high percentage forecast of “days of lots of rain” has been a bust.

I guess I could ask the State (Transportation Dept.) if they’ll take the branch down, but those guys sometimes cause more problems than they correct.

*Incidentally, for anyone who might have reason to travel from far eastern SEMO (say, Cape Girardeau area), Southern Illinois (say, Carbondale area), or Western KY (say, Paducah area), or routes passing through, to around Little Rock, Arkansas, the I-57 extension NW from Little Rock, AR, to Sikeston, MO, is coming along. Some of it is still US 67, but, even so, it cuts a little time and distance off the old route, taking I-55 to West Memphis, and then heading on I-40 to Little Rock. My wife and daughter took the I-57 route on her trip this weekend, and said it was fine, with less truck traffic than I-55. I don’t know if this full connection will be complete while I’m still driving, but, maybe it’ll be close. :-)

Wifey said there was a fair amount of construction on US 67, which may become I-57 in more parts?

[ArcadeQuarters]

After many cold night, I finally got my six tomato plants in the ground:

cherry - from Little Shop of Seeds, sweet
Kellogg’s - new for me!
Pineapple - new for me!
Mortgage Lifter - fairly big with classic flavor
Wyche’s - large and sweet. Liked it last year so growing it again.
Ace 55 - decent size, low acidity.

[Qiviut]

Since it’s over the road & you can’t reach it to cut it down, I’d let the State Transpo guys mess with it. You also have traffic to deal with. I tried pulling a large, VERY dead looking chestnut branch down earlier this year & all I did was break 3 good ratchet straps & a rope. Fortunately, I could barely reach the branch with a pole saw & made 3 cuts to get it down. The last piece bounced & hit my ladder pretty hard, which was scary.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Kellogg’s - is a good producer.

Pineapple - is large and sloppy/juicy and terrific for a BLT.

Mortgage Lifter - a total classic. HUGE tomatoes.

(Dr.) Wyche’s - grew that in the past for Seed Saver’s, but can’t remember much about it.

Have fun! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

More rain and wild weather for us in SW Wisconsin:

Tracking another round of ALERT DAY severe thunderstorms Monday night

PLANNING THE NEXT 24 HOURS:

After a few morning showers and storms that are not expected to pose a widespread severe weather risk, another round of severe thunderstorms are possible later tonight. Strong winds will be the greatest threat however, an isolated spin up tornadoes can not be ruled out as they approach southern Wisconsin from Iowa. Like last night’s line of thunderstorms, some weakening is expected with the line of thunderstorms tonight. If that trend occurs, it may reduce the overall severe risk overnight.

EXTENDED FORECAST:

That line of storms will end during the early morning hours on Tuesday. A few more showers and a few storms will continue through the rest of Tuesday, but the severe weather threat will end, with drier, breezy and cooler conditions taking over by Wednesday. The rest of the week looks pleasantly cool, with small chances of rain returning by the weekend.

Good! Maybe I can get the rest of the lawn mowed, LOL!

[Liz]

Italian Dinner Rolls / makes a lot
Dough can be used for deep dish pizza as well.

Ing 3 1/2-4 c flour 2 pkg instant blend dry yeast 2 tbl honey 2 tsp gar/powder 1 tsp Italian seasoning 1 c milk 1/2 c water 2 tbl butter 1 egg 1/2 c Parm. Topping 2 tbl melted butter, 1/4 c Parm

Method: In lge mixer bowl, combine 1 1/2 c flour, yeast, honey, gar/powder, Italian seasoning; mix well. Warm milk, water, butter (120-130 deg); butter doesn't melt. Add to flour mixture. Add egg. Blend at low speed til moistened. Then beat 3 min at med speed. By hand, gradually stir in 1/2 c Parm; add rest flour to make a firm dough. Knead on well-floured surface til smooth and elastic 3-5 min. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top.

Final: Cover, let rise in warm oven 15 min. Punch dough and divide into 16 pieces to form rolls. Dip tops into melted butter then in Parm. Place in well-greased 9x13" pan or two 8" round pans. Cover/let rise in warm oven about 10 min. Bake golden brown 375 deg 20-25 min. Makes 16 rolls.

[Bob434]

:) It is really delicious- Not sure what my mom put in it but i THINK it mighta had worchestireshire sauce- I’d have to find the recipe though- it is a dark sauce- but most any sweet onion sauce would be delicious no matter how it’s cooked practically- and work with so many things- That recipe you posted looks great too! Might have to make BOTH from here on out

[spankalib]

Amazing how a radiator can not leak as long as too much pressure doesn’t build up. A hole is a hole, or so one would think. At least I know when/if I need a radiator,

I had a heater core leak in a '71 Camaro, couldn't contort enough to fix/replace it myself, and I couldn't afford the old man mechanic. So he told me how he used mustard to stop leaks in an old farm tractor.

So I walked a ways up the road to a 7-11, and bought 2 small bottles (thinking that one didn't look like enough), and

Voila! It worked. I am not lying, kidding, or pranking you. I promise that this is true - unbelievable, yes - but I was desperate at the time, & I trusted the old man, and well...it worked!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

It was a really good sauce. Trying to think of other ways to use it, because for only using two onions, it made a lot of sauce!

[MomwithHope]

I have frozen small containers of the shishito pepper sauce with success. and it has cream and butter in it. I also canned half pints of pickled vidalia onions. Still have a few left, great on a brat.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Oh, good! I’ll look in my canning books for onion recipes. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Going to ‘The Pig’ tomorrow to stock up on Vidalias. :)

[Bob434]

If anyone wants to try the darker onion sauce, it’s really excellent on ribs, chicken etc

1/4c Vinegar
1/2c Water
1tbs Dry Mustard
2tbsp Sugar
1/2tsp Pepper
1tsp Cayenne pepper
1 Sliced onion (or two if you want more onion)
2tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4c Brown Sugar
1/4c Catsup
1/4c Butter

Mix all but Worcestershire and catsup
Simmer 15 minutes then add catsup and Worcestershire sauce
Remove from heat
Add extra onion
A little corn starch to thicken sauce

Then when everything is mixed in, extra onion added, etc-

Cook for another hour- medium heat-

If you find you like the taste- make enough to can for winter months

[Bob434]

Someone can bottle and sell this stuff- would be excellent in a hotdog shop as the specialty sauce- make a fortune!

[Bob434]

meant ot say- for the hotdog shop- suggest customers combine with a little mayo and celery salt

[MomwithHope]

Went to Carbondale my first 2 years of college.