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.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Tell us about a favorite Gardening or Homesteading memory from your childhood.

[Liz]

Broccoli stems are an incomparable treat; do not discard....
but....you have to trim away the hard green outer layers,
and just cook the tender inner light green stem parts.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Calla Lilies: If there is a center ‘stalk’ among the leaves of the plant and it has either withered or has been cut off, than yes, those lilies have already bloomed. More than likely they HAVE bloomed because that’s the way they’d sell them initially - in bloom.

Here’s how to care for them post-bloom:

https://www.almanac.com/plant/calla-lily

I’ve never grown them, myself. I don’t grow anything that I have to pamper overwinter or even dig up before frost in Zone 5a. If I grow Dahlia or Gladiolus, I don’t even bother digging them up - I just buy new roots/corms the next year I want to plant. ;)

[Paul R.]

Oh, great, I bought a seedless watermelon, too!

Was yours the bigger, lighter green, or a smaller, darker green melon? Our WW had 2 distinct types from 2 different sources. Same SKU, I think, same WW produce number for sure, but different labels / growers.

They had peaches from a local orchard, too. Pricey, at $2 / lb, but NOT hard as a rock, and fantastic after 2 more days to ripen.

I told wifey I bought the peaches because a girl who was in the Youth Conservation Corps with me was a daughter of the then orchard owner. (It’s still the same family ownership.) Talk about “clouding up”! But I explained that actually, I never tried to date the girl. She was quite cute and I was too shy back then. (Prolly’ was a big mistake, she didn’t seem to have a boyfriend...)

[Red Badger]

A stray dog in our neighborhood jumped our chain link fence and killed and ate one of our Rhode Island Reds, looked just like that pic.

I didn’t see it, but neighbors said it looked like a pit bull..................

[AFB-XYZ]

Mustn’t let the parrot see this one — it’ll give him ideas. He already raids the scrambled egg crumbs that fall off the edge of the plate. Heh. :-)

[AFB-XYZ]

Mustn’t let the parrot see this one — it’ll give him ideas. He already raids the scrambled egg crumbs that fall off the edge of the plate. Heh. :-)

[Paul R.]

Bummer!!!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

So sorry to hear that!

I wish I could free-range our chickens, but we have too many predators around to do so. They have a large luxury coop that Beau built for them INSIDE of the barn, so they’re quite safe.

So far, anyways!

[MomwithHope]

potato peeler works good on the broccoli stems

[Red Badger]

We had raccoons kill a couple. We bought some live traps from Tractor Supply and caught 11 raccoons, two possums and three cats. I took the possums and raccoons out on the base and let them loose miles from here. The cats I just let go....................

[MomwithHope]

no stems no seeds that you don’t need....

[MomwithHope]

No chickens here and the mesh is strong mostly to keep out deer or groundhogs. Even so we have a good friend now who had gotten 8 groundhogs this year in a network of holes just maybe 40 feet from the house where the hill drops off. His traps lay across the hole and snap -

[Qiviut]

My brother & SIL moved to the country & remodeked/added on to a beautiful old farmhouse. My SIL’S Collie is having a blast because there are lots of rabbits & as soon as she goes out, she’s chasing bunnies.

So last night, as my bro & SIL returned from their evening walk with the dog, she saw a bunny & took chase. She disappeared around the pole barn & when she reappeared around the other side, she was in hot pursuit of a BEAR! The bear scrambled over a woven wire fence like it was nothing & that stopped the chase. My brother said the dog was so close on the bear’s tail, he was afraid it would turn around & swat her. The pole barn is about 25 yards from the house so it’s a bit concerning it was that close. It was a small, young bear. There are a good number of bears in the area including a large one that frequently shows up on trail camera near the pond.

Bunnies are going to be “boring” after chasing Big Game LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’ll pass that on to Beau - they’ve treed two black bears so far this training season.

He might want to recruit that Collie, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Our forecast calls for nothing but HOT for the weeks to come with no chance of rain until NEXT Friday - and then, only 40% - highs in the high 80’s to low 90’s. Humidity is a given.

So, I’m going out to water this morning and will fertilize tomatoes again mid-week. They are looking fan-tastic! So pleased that they’ve survived this mixed bag of weather so far this season.

Then, inside stuff in the heat of the day. If I’m motivated enough, I just might start canning that Blueberry Pie Filling that needs to be done...but don’t hold me to it, LOL!

Have a produce productive day, Everyone! :)

[Liz]

Sheetpan Baked Italian Eggplant
Layers of tomato sauce, sun-drieds, garlic, red pepper, baked w/ Mozzarella and Parm.

Ing Eggplant 4 med-lge cut vertically, 0.5-0.8 cm slices 2 tsp salt 9 tbl ol/oil. Tomato sauce 1 lge minced onion 2 tbl ol/oil 4 diced gar/cl ⅓ c sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chp 2-14 oz cans diced tomatoes 1.5 tsp salt ½ tsp red pepper (chili flakes). 1 c ea grated Mozz/Parm. ¼ c basil leaves

Method: Arrange single layer eggplant on sheetpan, salt evenly, then rest slices on top; salt. (Salt tenderizes, lessens oil absorption). Set aside 10-15 min.

Tomato Sauce Heat 1-2 tbl ol/oil. Saute/soften minced onion 3-4 min, then add garlic, sun-dried, chili flakes tsp salt. Stir thru a min; add 2 cans chp tomatoes. Stir/cook 15-20 min on med uncovered; stir frequently to thicken and intensify flavors. Can immersion blender partially puree sauce.

EGGPLANT Heat pans really hot on med-high, add 1.5-2 tbl ol/oil. Cook 2-3 slices eggplant 2-3 min golden brown; a bit shorter on the 2nd side. If more oil is needed, drizzle a bit around sides and swirl. Continue to cook rest eggplant.

FINAL Spread 1/4 Sauce on sheet pan. Top with 1/2 eggplant, some slices may overlap. Spread rest sauce over, then add rest eggplant; finish w/ Sauce, cheeses on top. Bake golden brown on middle shelf, 400 deg 15-20 min, cheese is completely melted. Remove to counter; cool down before slicing. Serve w/ basil leaves garnish.

CHEF'S NOTE: Tastes even better after it sits 1/2 hour or so. Serve barely warm or even cold.

[Menes]

Hmmmm….🤤

Can’t wait to try it out.

Thanks a bunch, Liz! 😀

[Liz]

You’ll just love it.

[Blurb2350]

The stems are the best part! When I buy frozen broccoli, I choose “cuts” over “florets” — more stems and usually a few pennies cheaper.