The Victory Garden Thread - August, 2026

August 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.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

A good way to grow squash and melons and something I wish I had room to do here. Maybe if I ever can ever relocate to the country.

(Country = outside a small town with police, doctors, and stores, but still close enough to see the lights a few miles up the road. Mrs. Pete is not and does not have any desire to be "country.")

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Anyway, I hope you have enough time to get some watermelons from your plantings. Not sure how to deal with the racoons.

[MomwithHope]

.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I bought a trap this time.....previous times I borrowed one. Then it’s 22 Magnum, suppressed, to make them go nighty nite

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

That’s what I have! 10 min from town....pitch black at night and I can even see the Milky Way Galaxy 7 months out of the Year from my back porch.

There’s a house a stone throw for me with 12 acres, it’s on the market:-)

[Liz]

CARAMEL APPLE CREAM PIE

Ing: baked 9" Pastry shell 1/4 c butter 1/2 c Packed brown sugar 4 med Tart apples, peeled--in 1/2" chunks 1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice 1-2 tbl flour 1/2 c Caramel ice cream topping 8oz bar Cream cheese, softened 1/4 c Sugar 1 Egg 1 tbl Lemon juice 1 tsp Vanilla Whipped cream topping

Method: Bake pastry shell but do not prick. Cool. On med heat, melt butter, brown sugar. Stir in
apples, pumpkin pie spice. Simmer/stir 12-15 min til tender. Stir in flour. Cook/stir a min. Hold.

ASSEMBLY: Drizzle caramel topping over pastry shell. Spoon in apple mixture; set aside. In bowl, beat smooth combined cream cheese, sugar, egg, lemon juice and vanilla. Pour over apples. Bake 350 deg 35-45 min (knife inserted into cream cheese layer comes clean). Cool on rack. Chill completely. Serve: top with whipped cream, caramel drizzle, sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.

[FamiliarFace]

*** Maybe if I ever can ever relocate to the country.***

*** (Country = outside a small town with police, doctors, and stores, but still close enough to see the lights a few miles up the road. Mrs. Pete is not and does not have any desire to be “country.”)***

You should move near me, Pete. You’ve described my town. I’m a mile from the town center. We have great restaurants on the Square, where the county courthouse is. Lawyers there, but doctors another mile away. It’s a beautiful little town, with a one screen theater where $5 gets you in and another $5 buys a drink, some popcorn, and a bag of candy. The restaurants aren’t shabby at all, and we try not to have too many “chain” restaurants, because we like American ingenuity here. For those who want *bigger* things, there’s a Starbucks, McDonald’s, Jimmy John’s, Culver’s, Subway, and Taco Bell. For other bigger shopping, you’d have to go to one of three towns that are all nearly equidistant, 20 minutes away to each.

I like to say that we are the suburbs to the suburbs of Indianapolis. Cutest small town with good things to offer. It’s the right combination of “country” (ie. rural) and city. The big city is a 35-40 minute drive away if you’re looking for the “finer” things.

I drive to those parts when I want or need to, but my everyday life is a lot more relaxed. These days, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. God was so good to bring us here. ❤️

[FamiliarFace]

I’ll fight you for Pete and his wife! 😎😉

I’d love to have them as neighbors!

Truth be told, I’d love have most of the Garden thread FReepers as neighbors!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The Dog Days of Summer run from July 3 to August 11 each year. Far more than a modern saying, the phrase comes from ancient skywatchers who noticed that the brightest star, Sirius, rose with the Sun during this period. For centuries, this hot part of summer has carried both astronomical meaning and layers of folklore.

The term 'Dog Days' has been used for millennia to describe the hottest, most sweltering weeks of the Northern Hemisphere summer. Ancient peoples linked it with both astronomy and folklore, often viewing it as a time of drought, disease, or unrest.

This period of intense heat coincides with the heliacal rising of Sirius, the Dog Star, part of the constellation Canis Major. Ancient civilizations noticed the star appeared in the eastern sky just before dawn during midsummer.

The Greeks believed its brilliance intensified the summer sun, and its name, “Sirius” (σείριος), even means “scorching.” For the Egyptians, Sirius—called Sothis—signaled the annual flooding of the Nile, a critical event for agriculture and survival. While the star has no actual effect on Earth’s temperature, the lore surrounding Sirius has endured for thousands of years.

[Qiviut]

Today, we have an appointment at 2:00 so I got up early to work on a project outdoors before it got too hot and found out it’s raining. Quite a nice little shower, actually - coming down easy so nothing is washing away. I’ll have to try again tomorrow morning.

So that changes ‘the plan’ for this morning. I have zucchini squash I need to grate & freeze plus there’s an apple cake recipe (Nagi) I have been wanting to try. Last week I made 2 loaves of zucchini bread, Sunday the zucchini quiche & Monday a yellow squash casserole. I got flour, brown sugar, cinnamon & eggs to refresh my supplies yesterday so I’m good to go with more baking.

Easiest Ever MOIST Apple Cake
https://www.recipetineats.com/easy-apple-cake-recipe/

Nagi has an orange cake that looks really interesting, too. I’m adding it to my ‘to try’ list. Two oranges are boiled, then the whole orange is chopped up & ‘blitzed’ & goes in the batter.

Whole Orange Cake – rind and all!
https://www.recipetineats.com/flourless-orange-cake/

[MomwithHope]

.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Sounds like a great way to spend the morning. I’ll bet both of those recipes are great. I am baking two loaves of Beer Bread to send up to Bear Camp - but I don’t have to do that until the end of the week. Also need to make the Cowboy Beans for the Family Reunion on the 13th.

They keep promising me rain, but it’s not showing up! Even this morning we’re supposed to have some, then more in the late afternoon. I watered and fertilized everything that’s in a pot yesterday; the rest of the well-mulched beds are still moist enough underneath, but more rain is always welcome. I’m giving the grass and the lawn weeds a break and not mowing until it rains again. The lack of rain and high heat has really set it back. And you know what? I can LIVE with that, LOL!

Goof Off Day with two friends from Jung’s. Lunch at Laurie’s which will be good - she’s a great cook, and I haven’t seen Nedra, who lives fairly close to me, in for-ever. Last fall, I think? I’m bringing them both eggs and assorted cherry tomatoes. Lots of catching up to do and we’re planning a big Jung’s Reunion out here, hopefully in October. If everyone meets me at the local Winery (Botham Vineyards) I’ll lead the caravan back to my farm.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Are Opossums Good for Your Yard? A Wildlife Expert Weighs In

This weird-looking critter with the wicked hiss probably seems scary when you catch it scurrying through your yard at night. But before you jump to conclusions about opossums based on first impressions, you might want to check out what a wildlife expert has to say about them.

According to Peter Gros, co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, opossums—the only marsupial native to North America—have been helping keep ecosystems in balance for thousands of years.

“If you spend enough time outdoors, you start to realize that most misunderstood animals are also some of our most valuable neighbors,” Peter says. “Opossums may surprise people when they show up in the backyard, but from a wildlife expert’s perspective, I see one of nature’s hardest-working cleanup crews clocking in for the night shift.”

Opossums typically have extremely short lifespans of just 1 to 2 years because of predators like dogs and humans. They are also known for “playing possum,” or pretending to be dead, when threatened. (Strangely enough, this is an involuntary act, during which they are actually unconscious!) In other words, you’re a much bigger danger to them than they are to you.

Ahead, we’ll explore the ways opossums can be a natural benefit to your garden and answer other questions you may have about this fascinating animal.

More at link: https://www.countryliving.com/gardening/outdoors/a73274929/are-opossums-good-for-your-yard/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

Diana here: I have Opossums around here, more in the winter months. They scruff around under the bird feeders and I usually throw them a few sliced apples. Times are tough around here in the winter months. I have never seen any babies, just adults. We had an assortment of three very distinctive ones this past winter - it was easy to tell them apart.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

https://www.countryliving.com/gardening/outdoors/a73274929/are-opossums-good-for-your-yard/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

[Paul R.]

BTW, no luck here on the Garden Soil, etc., at WalMart. The one item that appeared to be on clearance, 1 cf. bags of potting soil, had a sign in front of the pallet / stack that read $2.48, but the bags rang up at $8.48. I prolly could have forced them to honor the price — the correct item was shown on the $2.48 sign, but I needed to get back home, and “resolving” this sort of thing sometimes takes way too long @ this Wal Mart.

Maybe I’ll run by again this weekend...

Scattered other “summer stuff” was on clearance, but not a lot, and very little in the Garden Center. I guess it is a little too early for a location this far south. :-(

[Qiviut]

Re: bread

There’s a Dilly Casserole Bread I have wanted to try for a long time ... never did it & forgot about it until this week. It’s attributed to Leona Schnuelle from Crab Orchard, Nebraska. She won the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest with this bread way back in 1960. From the comments, it’s a well-known & beloved recipe. The recipe calls for dill seeds & I couldn’t find them at Walmart yesterday. We’ll be in Big Town tomorrow with more grocery options & I’ll look there.

You can substitute dill weed for dill seed: the ratio is 3 to 1 weed to seed (ex. 1 tsp dill seed to 3 tsp dill weed). The substitution changes the flavor profile somewhat so I really want to find the seeds.

Future plans call for making several soups & taking a quart or two of each to some folks who are very ill. The soups can be frozen & then thawed/used when needed. They’ll be unfrozen when delivered & a freshly baked loaf of Dilly Bread would be great to go with a bowl of soup.

Dilly Casserole Bread
https://creative-culinary.com/dilly-casserole-bread-recipe/

[Qiviut]

I have learned to take pictures with my phone of ‘sale’ items at Walmart. When they ring up at a higher price, I show the picture to the cashier or the person supervising the self-check lanes. A couple of times, they just ring it up based on my phone pic.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I like the idea of using the spring form pan! Never saw that before.

I’ve made the Betty Crocker version of that bread for ages. It was always a hit. I don’t like Dill all that much, aside from in Pickles, so I used a mix of dried herbs, or fresh from the garden instead, depending upon the time of year. Rosemary Bread - especially a Focaccia - just makes my day!

I need a larger round casserole dish than the two I currently have on hand. How do I NOT have a 2-quart casserole? LOL! I keep looking at Trift stores and I am sure I will find one one day. Not sure what happened to mine, but it was the perfect size.

Cheese Casserole Bread (Betty Crocker, 1986)

https://recipelink.com/recipes/cheese-casserole-bread-betty-crocker-1986-016777

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That’s too bad. My Walmart had PALLETS of the stuff they were trying to clearance.

As a Retail Manager of 18 years (Post Army Life), it AMAZES ME that a Walmart store wouldn’t have better control of their inventory!

I mean, my previous operation had $2 million in sales each year, which is just a drop in the bucket as to what my local Walmart sells - probably MONTHLY, if not WEEKLY!

I knew every d@mn item/product that came into - and went out of - my store as a sale. I always had ENOUGH to keep customers supplied but never so much EXTRA that I had to discount it later in ANY season. The exception being fresh-cut Wisconsin Christmas Trees. ‘Corporate’ would send any of the trees that weren’t selling in our other stores to MY store to move them. And we did. :)

Walmart needs me on their team because OBVIOUSLY they’re not making a go of it, LOL!

Well, maybe not...because neither of us would get cheaper potting mixes at the end of the season if I were runnig that show. ;)

P.S. PLEASE! I do NOT want to go back to work. Ever. Ever! EVER! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That pie will be so PERFECT for Apple/Pumpkin Spice Season. :)