The Victory Garden Thread - September, 2026

September 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]

Ern, thanks! I'd love too, but but No, I can't really claim credit other than bringing them all together.

The poke a hole in the blunt end was from Jacques Pepin and that probably was not his originally. I think I read about steaming from an All Recipes "Best Method for hard boiling eggs" and the Shake in a Jar with some water to loosen the shells was some YouTube life hack short video.

I use a push pin to poke the holes and can usually do it right in the egg carton while the water is heating. 13 Min Steam hard boiling (remember that timer!!) with 2 or 3 cups of water is a lot faster than having to boil 5 quarts or more of water. It gets the entire process done in maybe 25 min.

[Liz]

No-Bake Pistachio Cream Bars

Ing Crust: 2 c graham crumbs, 1/2 c melted butter, 1/4 c sugar. Cream Cheese Layer 8 oz bar cr/cheese,
1 c conf, 16 oz tub Cool Whip, divided. Pistachio Layer 2 small boxes dry Pistachio instant pudding, 3 c whole milk. Heath Bits, chp pistachios garnish.

Method Press combined grah/crumbs, melted butter, sugar into greased 9×13" pan bottom. Chill 1 or more hours. Elec/mixer cream cheese til creamy. Add conf; beat smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 c Cool Whip. Spread over crust. Whisk pudding mix and milk 2 min (thickens). Spread over cream cheese. Spread top w/ rest Cool Whip. Sprinkle w/ Heath Bits, chp pistachios. Chill 2 or more hours before serving.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

The link is to a video about a bought steamer. I steam my eggs in an old Revere wear steamer top that sits on top of a 5 quart Revere ware pot. (Its about 40 years old at this point.)

Your Guide to Perfect Steamed Eggs

This is peeling one egg. I do 3 or 4 in a 1 quart jar, I shake about 4 times, pull the eggs out and finish peeling under the cold water. Peeling eggs in a Mason Jar

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Paul. If you have tomato flowers and go out early before it gets hot (maybe 82F +)you can shake them around and maybe they will set blossoms. Once it gets to hot and humid the channels in the flower get sticky and the pollen's genetic material cant reach into the base and where the tomato would develop.

The other problem is that tomatos that develop and are green are unable to produce Lutein at temperatures above 87F and will not ripen, just hang there on the vine subject to things like sun scald and insect attack. Can't help you with that!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

My daughter is delighted because I have a parsley plant with 9 developing caterpillars. (I HAD a parsley plant. It will come back after the tennants leave.) Most of them are in pre-pupa phase.

Caterpillar Color Variation

Some monarch butterflies are busy destroying some milkweed that is in my side yard too.

[numberonepal]

You’re ADORABLE! I would hire you in a minute for garden chores! :)

Thanky kindly ma'am. I'm a whiz with a shovel.

[Liz]

Blueberry White Chocolate Bread Pudding / Amaretto Cream Sauce
Decadent dessert w/ blueberries, white chocolate, and delicious Amaretto Cream Sauce.

Ing: 1/4 c amaretto 1 tbl cornstarch 4 1/2 c h/cream, divided 1/4 c sugar 4 lge eggs 1 c ea milk/brown sugar 1/4 c melted butter 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp cinnamon pinch nutmeg 1/4 tsp k/salt 6 c cubed day old French bread 8 oz chp white chocolate, 1 c fresh blueberries 1/3 c dried blueberries 1/4 c sliced almonds

Method: whisk eggs, 3 c h/cream, milk, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt. Fold in bread cubes set 30 min at room temp. Stir occasionally.

Cream Sauce: whisk amaretto/cornstarch. Heat 1 1/2 c h/cream on med-high. Cook 5 min til hot. Whisk in amaretto mixture; bring to boil; simmer 2 min til thickened. Offheat whisk in sugar. Set aside.

Heat oven to 350 deg; butter 9x13" b/dish. Mix white chocolate, and all blueberries into bread mixture. Pour into b/dish; sprinkle w/ almonds. Bake 1 hour til set. Cool 20 min; serve w/ Amaretto Cream.

Chef Note: Amaretto Cream can be made a day or 2 in advance and refrigerated.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thanks for feeding the Butterflies, Pete! I have seen more than normal amounts of Monarchs and Yellow Swallowtails this season, which gives me hope for the future!

We have a TON of Milkweed all around the Manse - and I have a lot in my garden, too. I always let it grow wherever it wants. :)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Its hard for either Parsley or Dill to make it to maturity around here. The youngest daughter still lives and works from home and she loves to look for the caterpillars. (I can buy parsley if I really need it!)

(Joy! I can hear thunder nearby. Might be rain tonight!)

[MayflowerMadam]

That looks delicious!!

[Liz]

A glorious bread pudding........... using stale bread.

[Qiviut]

Beautiful day - lower humidity & temps. I got all the mowing done & mom helped with the trimming. We finished right at sunset. The 3 ‘Muskedeers’ were in the yard. I think one of them nipped the tops off of one of my lantana plants ... stinkers.

One person coming tomorrow - the other has developed bronchitis - bummer.

Cousin got in touch - her daughter is going out of town tonight (fiance is the ‘friendly farmer’) & has left her with 8 tomatoes & a “grocery bag” of green beans - did I want any of it? I sure do! Friendly farmer told me he’d given all the green beans away & now I know where they went, but as luck would have it, I’ll get some anyway :-) The cousin has already washed & cut the green beans up - ready to cook or blanch/freeze.

Lemon chess pie ended up a little ‘overdone’, but still edible. It’s terribly sweet ... too sweet for the company tomorrow (I know her eating habits). I’m going to ‘cheat’ & get a fruit pie at Walmart tomorrow (Mrs. Smith’s or whatever they have now) & time it to come out of the oven for dessert. I try not to buy processed food, but this will be an exception. The rest of the menu is ‘healthy’ & made from scratch.

I don’t know what they’re doing at the Cow Palace, but the wind switched this evening & the usual ‘mellow’ cow smell wasn’t so mellow & pretty stinky. They must be cleaning out some of the pens. I hope the wind is blowing the other way tomorrow. The “joys” of country living LOL ... not-so-good livestock smells & feathers all over the yard when the poultry farm down the road sends their chickens to market & the tractor trailers loaded with chickens pass our place on the way out.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

I was listening to a gardening program on the radio today, and there was a seedman in MO who was paying $4/lb for milkweed seeds or pods, I do not recall which! He said someone came in with 300 Lbs and he paid them $1200! The include the seed in their butterfly mixes I think.

I do not have that many milkweeds and my neighbors sort of hiss at me for letting mine grow. If I had a truck I might run around the county collecting pods to sell.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Qiviut I can remember following a trail of tobacco leaves on a county road when i visited my brother in Kentucky. I sort of liked the smell! At least you do not have a hog operation retention pond nearby! (I hope.)

The lemon chess pie sounds good! (Liz' bread pudding does too!)

[Qiviut]

No hogs - they’re awful!

[Paul R.]

We are getting covered with red snow (chaff / exicarp) from the grain elevators across the road from us processing corn. PITA. At least the wind tonight and tomorrow will put us upwind for a bit, and it’s pulling temperatures and humidity down briefly too. Just in time for the picnic tomorrow. :-)

[Paul R.]

I forgot to mention the cattle operation "uproad" from us sometimes leaves piles of manure on the road when the trucks hauling it off to... wherever... have been loaded sloppily.

It's a double edge sword: IF I notice it quickly enough, I can get out there with a bright orange shirt or jacket, bucket and shovel, and collect a little free manure. If a bunch of traffic has already been by, it's more problematic.

[Qiviut]

When the Cow Palace does a major clean out, they go by our place with the manure spreaders piled high & unload on fields down the road. They do leave manure on the road, but it’s mostly in front of their operation. Last year, before we moved our mailbox, we had a pile right next to it, about half a 5 gallon bucket’s worth. There was also a softball size “splat” on the post itself. Being fresh out of the pens, it was super stinky so I didn’t fool with it.

Rather than getting chickens, since I can easily get farm fresh eggs from the locals around here, I’m considering meat rabbits. My niece did meat rabbits for a while so I know what’s involved. Rabbits would be easier to protect from predators - we regularly have foxes trot across the yard, hear coyotes ‘singing’, & I have trapped possums & raccoons on the place. Rabbit cages are off the ground & small enough to ensure they are ‘tight’ with no gaps for entry. I have an old pole barn that would be a great place to provide shelter for the cages. The big benefit for my gardening would be rabbit manure & it can be added directly without burning the plants.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

At my other farm, for a short time THANKFULLY, we had a hog operation across the road. That was the worst. smell. ever. Ugh!

Today's plans include Junior Farmer Ryan coming over to move a dog kennel for me. Dolly is now on Double Secret Probation and she's going into a doggy condo. She went all the way over to Clay Hill Road, with the puppy following and a neighbor let me know. I was able to drive over there and snatch up Omaha, but Dolly hit the underbrush (she knew she was being naughty!) and was about 5 minutes behind us in getting back to the front porch. Pretty good for a 16 year old dog! Just relax, Old Girl! You don't have to hunt any more! But, that's the end of their freedom, for sure! She was locked in the Puppy Pen in the barn last night, so she couldn't get the jump on me and take off at dawn before I got up. Brat! And Beau wants ANOTHER Beagle? Grrrr!

I need to water everything in pots, and my ferns on the porch, which are still doing amazingly well considering the heat (they don't get direct sun) but they've loved the humidity, for sure! Highs are still tickling the low 80's, but the humidity is gone. For now. No rain until NEXT Sunday. Maybe. ;) Got most of the mowing done yesterday, but will do the garden area when the dew dries later this morning.

Cleaning dog kennels and all those usual chores, then I will WASH MY HANDS and get started on canning Tomato Soup. I saved ALL the Roma-type tomatoes for ME and did not share any.

So much for a DAY OFF on Labor Day!

Beau and Adam FINALLY made it to Moose Camp after a WEEK of trying. Supposedly they are camping at the trailhead of the area they can hunt in. I probably won't hear from him this week, though Adam has a Starlink phone for emergencies. Let's pray there are NO emergencies!

Have A Good Day, Everyone!

[Qiviut]

The last of the food is out of the oven before my friend arrives. I have cleaned myself & the kitchen up & ran the vacuum. Mom set the table. I think we’re ready - yay!

I refused to get my knickers in a knot over food for today. I ended up using the yellow squash friendly farmer gave me last Thursday in the squash casserole mom & I like. I did get the roasted carrots done last night & the zucchini quiche looks great - lotsa squash on the menu Mrs. Smith had an apple pie (with “real apples” ... fancy that) so there’s dessert.

We have a beautiful Greenway about 5 minutes from the house so we’ll probably go for a walk this afternoon- it’s a beautiful day here.