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Have family coming in on Friday for the holiday - SO glad we aren't getting the heatwave I keep hearing about in the mid-west, it must be miserable.
Posted on 07/01/2026 5:19:22 AM PDT by 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.
Thanks for those pics of the flowers. That was a good way to start the day: In quiet contemplation of bulbs, blossoms and bouquets.
The Victory Garden Thread - July, 2026. Everything looks good, we’re pretty lush here in KS now.
Those are my favorite tomato hands down, I dice them for salads, cutting them about 1/8 - 3/16ths thick including that last slice. There's no other tomato I know of that is so hearty and meaty.
My grandmother had hollyhocks which is one reason I want to grow them. I tried growing them several years ago at our Old House with no luck. I’ve moved and have new raised beds with better soil. The beds are up against a red barn wall so hollyhocks growing in front of that wall would be beautiful & maybe would provide them with some wind protection since they are tall. I will try next spring - too late this year & in a major heat wave as well.
Great gardening suggestions there.
I am asking for help in finding a SMALL pocket or purse sized paperback BOOK that describes growing herbs indoors from containers.
My oldest sister (73 y/o Birthday Girl) had a late June birthday. I could not find such a book online before her B/D, but would still like to get one for her. Any suggestions on something I could order online, Amazon or Ebay?
Not a Kindle, a “BOOK-book” she can hold and study at leisure w/o messing with a Tablet.
Something with a lot of photos or realistic illustrations.
Not meant for children, a serious book on growing advice.
She lives back in my Hometown of Detroit Michigan in the nice redeveloped area near Belle Isle Park.
She is one of the better cooks in the family, having learnt a lot from our Mother. Basil, Sage, Tarragon, Pumpkin Spices, Cayenne, Cray-Zee Coffees, World of Garlics, etc.
I buy books that are gently used at this site:
https://www.thriftbooks.com/browse/?b.search=Gardening#b.s=mostPopular-desc&b.p=1&b.pp=50&b.oos&b.tile
Hay Hey you just made my day! Happy 250th coming up. Love the pictures. You can grow things there that I can’t too. Hibiscus is an indoor plant and so is jasmine and they look way measly compared to yours. And always nice to see the 4 legged. Doggie gives a funny side eye.
Thanks, I’ll take a look.
Looks like most of their books show the measurements.
Red Cedar mulch around Plum and Fig trees... I have had a few Japanese Beetles, but not as many as previous years! I was going to spray the Plum trees with a solution containing Cedar oil and Neem but its a bit late in the day and I do not want to burn the leaves! Tomorrow I will try to remember to do that! When I do that I will use a teaspoon Cedar with a teaspoon of neem oil per gallon of water with a tablespoon of Dr Bronners SalSuds as surfractant. (I think that watering the mulch occasionally keeps the scent active and that may help repel the obscene little xxxxxs!"
I recieved A Squash Vine Borer trap But I have not set it out. I think I will wait until I see a few of the (IIRC) Clearwing Moths before I do this. I used a Japanese Beetle trap once and all the beetles in the neighborhood descended on my yard and of course dumped their eggs in the lawn. ! Ideally a good place to hang the Japanese Beetle lure would be over someplace like Augie's pond full of perch (and ducks!) (Chickens have problems swallowing the beetles apparently...ducks do not!)
Note for all... I think Wayfair has an ongoing sale of Chicken Coops! (Martha Steward, famous Poultry Expert would probably approve!)
Thanks! Ovid wrote something about his hometown, how it had fertile soil, good water. The modern version of the town is still there.
So who was this I that you read, this trifler in tender human passions you want to know who I was, posterity? Then listen. Sulmona is my homeland where ice cold mountain streams make lush pastures just 90 miles from Rome. I was born here to an ancient family. It's no great place but the streams make health-giving land where the grass grows green and fertile soil. The acres are rich in corn and fruit from the vineyards and silvery olive groves. It's just a little town whose walls enclose no great domain of ground, a place where one day some traveler may rest or some tourists take time to look around, I'm reminded that a poet came from here say oh little town, oh small estate, however unimportant you appear, because of him I'll call you truly great...
The Muse of poetry seduced me; my father kept asking, "Why study such useless stuff?" I put on the striped toga, dressed for a life of privilege, and started on the ladder to a government job. But that way lay a burden I could not bear.
The stress of ambition left me cold, but the Muse, the creative spirit, urged me on.
Poetry then was a performance art, recited to music in the private houses of the rich. The emperor himself had shed tears at Virgil's Roman epic, The Aeneid. I was 16 when he first recited in public.
The poets of those days were like gods to me. Horace held a spellbound audience with his verses. I saw Virgil, but I was next...
Now, since the sea's great surges sweep me on, all canvas spread, hear me!
In all creation nothing endures, all is an endless flux.
Each wandering shape a pilgrim passing by, and time itself, glides on in ceaseless flow.
A rolling stream, and streams can never stay, nor lightfoot hours,
as wave is driven by wave, and each pursued, pursues the wave ahead.
So time flies on and follows. Flies and follows always, forever new.
What was before is left behind. What never was is now...Ovid, "The Doctrines of Pythagoras," The Metamorphosis
Ovid - The Poet and the Emperor (BBC)
Perfect! Glad you’re taking advantage of that where you live. So many people don’t!
Tomatoes are my thing, too. I have 23 plants in the ground (lost one to a raccoon who dug it up and ran off with it for some reason) and 3 cherry-types in pots.
I can Salsa, V-8 Juice and Tomato Soup, as well as what we eat fresh and give away to friends and family. I do some dehydrating and some pasta sauces, too. But my three faves are the first ones listed. :)
Ping to Paul R. for post #5. Talking unique squashes!
Re: Malabar spinach. I tried it once, without very much success. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try. :) I’m in Zone 5a, so there’s little hope it would over-winter up here on the Frozen Tundra. ;)
I want a stand of Hollyhocks against our white barn that I can see from the front porch.
Getting someone to move his Boy Junk out from where I want to plant is the problem, though. ;) He just bought a new garage door for the barn, so there’s HOPE that it will look so nice he’ll clean up that spot some. Every time I go to the barn for something I’ve started grabbing a 2x4 or piece of pipe and taking it to the OTHER side of the barn where I don’t have to SEE it. He’s not on to me...yet, LOL!
I knew you would have your front walkway all done up for the 4th! Love it! :)
And whenever you post your Plumeria, I have to dig out my bottle of lotion in that scent! :)
Thanks, Pete!
The Cook’s Herb Garden: Grow, Harvest, Cook
This is a hardcover but is still only 6x9 inches.
Once you’re at the link, page down and there will be a bunch of other herb-related books to look at, too.
Thanks, Diana.
I’ll check it out.
This pic didn't come through:
Have family coming in on Friday for the holiday - SO glad we aren't getting the heatwave I keep hearing about in the mid-west, it must be miserable.
This is the only "hot biscus" Cajun variety that survived, lost all the other ones:
I also see varieties of plumerias in Hawaii that I've never seen in So Cal.
Guess I should be happy with what I can grow - and not envious of what I cannot grow - tulips, hollyhocks, hyacinths, lilacs and peonies.
Awesome, love the fierce look.
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