The Victory Garden Thread - July, 2026

July 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.

[Liz]

Glazed Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake / Streusel Topping
Velvety, melt-in-your-mouth cake, cinnamon ripple, crumbly, buttery streusel.

Ing ½ c unsalted butter, 8 oz cream cheese, 1 c packed light br/sugar, ½ c sugar 2 lge eggs 1 ½ tsp vanilla 2 ½ c flour 2 tsp b/powder 1 tsp cornstarch ¾ tsp salt ½ cup buttermilk. Cinnamon Swirl ¼ cup (sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Streusel 1 ⅓ c flour 1 cup + 2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed 3 Tbl sugar 4 ½ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp salt 10 melted unsalted butter. Glaze ½ c conf, 2-3 tsp milk

Method: electric mixer cream butter/cream cheese. Beat in sugars light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating til combined. Scrape down bowl w/ spatula. Stir in vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk flour, b/powder, cornstarch and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to wet ing, alternating with 1/2 c buttermilk, until flour mixture and buttermilk are all combined.

FINAL: Spread 1/2 batter into lightly greased/floured 13×9" baking pan (batter will be thick). Sprinkle w/ Cinnamon Ripple evenly. Dollop w/ rest batter, use knife to spread evenly. Could also just swirl in cinnamon/sugar w/ knife. Set aside and prepare streusel. Streusel Micro-melt butter in 10 sec increments (stirring between) (do not heat). Pour into fork-stirred flour, sugars, cinnamon, salt. Toss together til crumbly. Sprinkle streusel evenly over batter. Bake 350 deg 40-50 min (pick in center comes clean or with a few moist crumbs). Cool before cutting and serving. Glaze: whisk 1/2 c conf/2-3 tsp milk. Drizzle over cooled coffee cake. Serve.

[Paul R.]

Bless You!!!

God’s graces to your extended family, too. :-)

[FamiliarFace]

This is so wonderful! Your cousin and hubby will so appreciate your meal!

[Paul R.]

Speaking of moving things...

I (a couple days ago) FINALLY got that damaged old USGS marker (post) out from laying in the bottom of our ditch — USGS gave me permission to dispose of it as I wish. I worked it up to the road shoulder and then got one end into our smaller (but quite strong) metal cart, then “levered” it further in. That allowed me, in a minute of no traffic, to trundle it down the road to the end of our (sort of loop) driveway that we use less. Yeah, I was wearing my brightest orange (for work roadside) t-shirt!

Then yesterday after the big t-storms missed us, wifey helped me “lever” the post (sort of an elongated solid concreter block, possible reinforced) into our garden cart with the big wheels, so I could actually further move the thing without immediately getting bogged down in ruts up to the axle. I dunno how much this chunk of concrete post weighs, but standard concrete weighs approximately 150 pounds per cubic foot, and this thing is bigger than 1 cu. ft. for sure.)

The USGS post will become, in effect, a new fencepost at the gate at the rear of our property. The plaque was broken off by the last vehicle that hit the post, and apparently said plaque got washed away in one of our “gully-washers”, so there’s no problem of an incorrect location reference being found by somebody on this post, down the line.

With slightly cooler mornings and evenings the next couple days, I’ll go out and dig that hole. There will be tree roots to deal with, I’m sure, but nothing insurmountable. :-)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Skillet Tortellini with Spinach

20 oz fresh or frozen cheese tortellini

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

3 cups fresh spinach chopped

1 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp olive oil divided

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the tortellini and cook according to the package instructions. Drain and add back into the pot. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover with a lid and let cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes to let the spinach wilt down. (Diana adds: Top with a little more Parmesan for presentation. Could also add any chopped fresh herbs that you like.)

Recipe from Julie Pacheco

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I made a Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake the other morning - but it was a CHEATER from:

Tastes as good as home made if you're short on time - or being lazy. ;) All of their mixes are quite good.

[Liz]

Clever.....very clever.

[FamiliarFace]

That particular cheater mix is sooo good! My family LOVES IT! We made it as a side for breakfast at the beach one year, because we didn’t have many eggs, but did have ham and fruit. Everyone gobbled it up! It’s been a staple in the pantry since that beach trip a few years ago. They still talk about it! ❤️

As an aside, yesterday I picked my first two shishitos of the season, and chopped them up to go into an omelet with diced ham, sliced mushrooms, onions, and shredded Mexican cheese blend. Man! We’ve missed having shishitos! That was a great omelet!

[Qiviut]

Adventures in cooking last night ....

Of course, we would get a severe T-storm warning & when the storm arrived, there was lots of lightning. The lights went out, then back on. I was in the midst of ‘chopping’ veggies & really didn’t need the lights out. Fortunately, that was the only episode.

You know how it goes .... a recipe looks pretty simple & you think you can throw it together in short order ... LOL! It never works out that way for me. There was lots of chopping (fine dice) for 2 of the salads plus I chopped the pre-packaged slaw a bit finer & I actually started getting a blister on one finger. The other ‘setback’ was that I bought fresh green beans & they came in a bag (about 2 lbs) & I only needed 8 oz. I blanched the 8 ounces, then while I still had a big pot full of water, I blanched the rest of the beans & froze them for future use.

This morning, all is well. The food is all done. The cinnamon apples & BBQ are in crock pots warming up & the salads will come out of the fridge an hour or so ahead of time. The kitchen floor is vacuumed & mopped & all the cooking dishes/pots/pans etc. are washed & put away. It’s 10:30 & just heard from our company their ETA is 12:00. I’ll have time to wind down & relax for about an hour.

The 2nd hummer feeders is cleaned up & new flowers installed. On the first feeder, the flowers popped right in. On this 2nd one (looks like the first, same company, but bought at a different time) I had to work to get the flowers all the way in. The hummer feeder is front and center to the big window over the sink, so while I was washing up dishes, I could see the feeder. It was very busy this morning with several ‘fights’ and twice 2 hummers were on at the same time - opposite each other so I don’t think they were seeing the other bird.

It’s going to be a long day (I was up at 6), but I do know the woman of the couple and like her a lot, so I’m looking forward to seeing her.

[Paul R.]

Very unusual: A modest line of t-storms more or less north of Cairo, IL, running along the Ohio River, and not moving, although it is “extending” NE slowly. T-Storms and groups of t-storms being stationary is not all that unusual, but I can’t recall seeing a line like this behave like this.

[Paul R.]

And having said that, the t-storm line breaks up a bit, but seems to be expanding toward Evansville, IN. So. Indiana certainly doesn’t need any more rain...

[FamiliarFace]

Central Indiana doesn’t need more either. At least for a few days. My plants are behind in production, I think.

[MomwithHope]

I have started picking shishitos 6 so far. Had the first in scrambled eggs and am now having a small pizza I doctored up with chopped capicola (mine), onions and extra cheese. I put the pizza in the oven and remembered the peppers, picked 4 chopped them and sprinkled on the cooked pizza raw. Great!

[Qiviut]

Lunch went well. The macaroni salad was a ‘hit’ with folks having seconds & the recipe requested.

Here’s the link to the macaroni salad - definitely a keeper:

https://www.thekitchn.com/macaroni-salad-recipe-23027437

The 3-bean salad recipe was a flop - no flavor. I have an old Silver Palate recipe I like better & I also found an Asian green bean salad I’m going to trial this week ... we have company again on the 14th.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Surprised on the Three Bean Salad. Not much you can do to screw that up. Canned and rinsed beans, sugar, vinegar and oil. S&P to taste.

(Not that YOU would screw it up!)

[Qiviut]

I was so irritated I deleted the recipe for the 3-bean salad I used & now I can’t find that particular one. It used some honey instead of sugar so it wasn’t very sweet. The Silver Palate recipe uses red wine vinegar rather than apple cider vinegar & I think that adds flavor. I also didn’t like the green beans - blanched fresh beans for 3 minutes & just too ‘raw’ - needed to be slightly softer.

So I am going to take the ‘blah’ salad & rinse it with warm water to get the dressing off. I am going to cook the green beans a little more & then put a new dressing on the salad & see how that works so at least I don’t waste anything.

[MomwithHope]

My kind of cook!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I would’ve just fed it to the chickens, LOL!

[MomwithHope]

Well that turns it into fertilizer too. If it was just a dressing issue I would rinse it off too. Otherwise compost bin.

[Qiviut]

I don’t have chickens :-) The beans themselves are fine - just washing the dressing off should give me a “do over” opportunity. I’ll report back 👍 or 👎.