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]

Mom; Costoluto....Beautifully red, but like they say, not a pretty uniformly shaped tomato!

Which one tastes the best?

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Fifty Inch Rack.

Humm. How do you get close enough to measure them? :)

Wisconsin seasonal changes...Golf to Hunting to Football to Ice fishing!

[MomwithHope]

Sabres hands down plus they have solid flesh and very few seeds or liquid. I had one once with 4 seeds but this year only 2 or 2 or 3. Great for sauce. Or dehydrating. The genovese has a flavor almost as good. I would pick that for an eating tomato.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Sabres...had not heard of them! Brave Search returned:

"Sabre Ukrainian (also called Sabelka or Ukrainian Sabre) is a rare, elongated paste/plum tomato from Ukraine whose name means "little sword," referring to its sword-like shape. An indeterminate, mid-season variety with regular leaves, producing firm-fleshed, low-seed red fruits typically 3–7 oz each, with a sweet, smooth flavor.

A cooking variety — excellent for sauces, canning, pastes, and sun-dried tomatoes. Sensitive like other "horned" paste types to blossom end rot.

Availability: A rare seed that reached the US around 2008 (via Amish Land/Amishland Heirloom Seeds and other rare-seed sources)"

Interesting!

[Qiviut]

The table is VERY sturdy - underneath, the connections are bolted together. Big bolts, too - it’s an old piece, real solid wood. Furniture is not constructed like this table any more. The black finish reminds me of my grandmother’s furniture (mid-late 1800’s) that had a “black” finish*. The table is going in a future sunroom/porch & until I see it there, I don’t know if I’ll redo the color or not.

*The furniture likely didn’t start out black, but with the way furniture was finished back then plus decades of grime, accumulated polish, etc., it looked black.

[MomwithHope]

I just save my seed.

[Qiviut]

Wheels came off the GB wagon - oof! :-(

[Qiviut]

Mom grew up on a dairy farm. Her mom made butter & cottage cheese with the fresh milk & occasionally a cottage cheese pie. Mom said the pie was very simple & she liked it. I found a recipe for an Old Fashioned Cottage Cheese Pie & made it this afternoon. It has a light lemon flavor & is not overly sweet. I used a Pillsbury crust, the kind that you just unroll & put in the pie pan. The pie cut like a dream. I’ll be making it again.

https://www.cleverlysimple.com/cottage-cheese-pie/

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

The table! Have fun on the color! It looks like a bit of a project to strip and refinish!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Where did you originally get your Ukranian Sabre tomato seed?

[MomwithHope]

from the Amish website in your earlier post. Yes, way back when. I did find a source of sabelka which is very close. I ordered some this year to see the difference but I started them too early and they just did not make it. You get like 5 seeds. I’ll look for the link.
https://bountyhunterseeds.com/product/sabelka-tomato/

Probably won’t order again. check your freepmail

[MomwithHope]

Hi, I had to go back to the August thread to find your post.

"Ok, so tonight I tried my hand at homemade agnolotti. For a first effort, it was pretty good. I got the filling just about right (corn with ricotta) and I nailed the butter sauce to bathe the pasta in (butter, corn kernels set aside from the filling, chopped jalapeño) topped with grated pecorino and a sprinkle of d’espellete pepper (from the Basque region of France). I haven’t made homemade pasta in forever, so it was decent, but I have a little bit of refining I need to do. B+, which I can live with for my first try."


I have some pics. Yesterday afternoon was pelmeni day. She wound up making exactly 100 (unplanned quantity) and they are bagged and in the freezer. The filling went through the meat grinder a few days earlier. Equal pork and beef mix, 1 egg and some canned chicken broth so the filling was more moist. That pays off in the eating. Dough flour egg salt and water. Rolled very thin. Cut to a ping canning jar ring or similar size. You can see the ratio of filling to meat is high. Fold in half like a pierogi (no pic) Then take the end and pinch them together to make a circle. Small size is important. Her technique is amazing to watch. Freeze on cookie sheets then pack into quart freezer bags. She made some of these for me this past winter. 4 or 5 in a bowl is perfect for me. Take the frozen ones and drop into boiling water. 5 minutes. Drain and put in a small bowl. add a bit of butter and sour cream, salt and pepper. The small size means a whole one will fit in your mouth and when you eat, that broth escapes, yummy experience!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yes, Sabre was the one I was thinking of. That was a good performer year before last. I just LOVE the flavor of the CG. Perfect, IMHO.

I was able to unload two boxes of tomatoes yesterday when Brennan and his future FIL came out to set up some field cameras for the upcoming deer bow season. Brennan is a good little cook, so he made tomato soup.

There are still plenty for me to use, so I’ll make one more batch of V-8, since I have all the extra veggies needed on hand. Beau will take a box of tomatoes back to Bear Camp this week, too.

What am I going to do with only 3 dogs to care for? LOL! Actually, I’ll feel like I’ve been released from prison! He’s going to take Omaha up with him, too. He’s old enough to learn about life as a Bear Dog, now. ;) I won’t see him for a full month, so he will be a Grown Up Dog when he comes back. The last two, Midnight and Grover, are doing well and have already treed a few bears.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Fifty Inch Rack. Humm. How do you get close enough to measure them? :)”

Well, first you have a very GOOD (read: Expensive!) pair of binoculars with a range finder feature on you. The biggest one they saw that looked eligible for the ‘Fifty Inch Rack Club’ was over a mile away. A 400 yard shot is optimum for Moose.

And, usually by the time you get closer, they’ve heard (herd, LOL!) you and amble off.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yeah. It was ugly with a Capital UGH! I didn’t even watch the end; went to do dinner prep.

We have a lot of young players this year that don’t know what they’re doing...yet! Hopefully. It might be a very l-o-n-g season, but I’ve lived through worse, LOL!

This love affair with the Packers has been going on since I was a toddler at my first game in Brown County Stadium. It’s now used for Brewers Baseball and has a number of commercial ownerships. I think American Family owns it now. Miller Beer owned it previously.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I'm glad you 'test baked' the Cottage Cheese pie! I came across a recipe for that a while back and while it looked interesting, I haven't tried it.

I baked an Apple Pie with a French Crumble topping for Beau's return. He'll take what's left of it up to camp, tomorrow. I used Honey Crisp apples and also tried the 'not peeling them but slicing them super-thin' method and that worked just fine. The peels pretty much disappear!

My entire Apple Crop this year was ONE apple, LOL! 'Liberty' which I always recommend. Sprayless and a real good producer on good years.

Meant to tell ya that I bought a larger Lodge cast iron skillet to go with that little 8" one I've been loving so much. 12" $25 at Walmart. I love the handles and it makes getting it in and out of the oven much easier.

Mom was wanting one too, so she said to get one for her upcoming birthday. Now I'm thinking of fun things to include IN the pan when I wrap it up for her.

ANY IDEAS?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"Agnolotti."

That is impressive! Isn't it funny how each culture has their take on basically, Ravioli?

I'm also reminded of the Pasty that are so popular around here. We have them when we go to the County Fair, but they do also sell locally made at Walmart. Frozen. Now I want one, LOL!

For those that may not know what I'm talking about: 'A pasty is a hand-held meat pie typically filled with ingredients like beef, potatoes, and vegetables, all enclosed in a pastry crust. It originated in Cornwall, England, and was designed for miners to easily carry and eat while working.'

[MomwithHope]

Nicer looking than a hunk of fat. A little pricey but its a gift.
https://shopcreamerycreek.com/products/pure-beef-tallow-seasoning-and-cooking-stick?variant=52584785969376&country=US&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&campaign=23533836893&campaign_name={campaignname}&adgroup=&adgroup_name={adgroupname}&keyword=&matchtype=&device=c&network=x&searchterm={searchterm}&creative=&placement=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23538575899&gbraid=0AAAAABQ1QVYm1kmrMhK7GPWVcLU6tQhZa&gclid=CjwKCAjwtp7VBhBjEiwAJfpV-2BJgVZuS3EPWbCI6nQ6iSKCOVw0kFPH4mnNvjGL1B1izHeYRTjguhoCOsEQAvD_BwE

THis looks good also -
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cast-Iron-Cleaner-Scrubber-Pan-Scraper-Upgraded-Chain-Mail-Cleaning-Kit-Metal-Chainmail-Scrubbing-Sponge-Scrub-Brush-Clean-Pan-Skillet-Grill-Dutch-Ov/19621673546?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=103060327&adid=2222222222719621673546_103060327_199537007407_23773789836&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=806390230069&wl4=pla-2479203571323&wl5=9017451&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=5714191801&wl11=online&wl12=19621673546_103060327&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23773789836&gbraid=0AAAABDAnf959X1-EGs5P1p03Q1DSg11b9&gclid=CjwKCAjwtp7VBhBjEiwAJfpV-x-qH-1ptkCNAvK4Rjqq7FMpNQaq3ec3Mu15Mi3b8Z8ONVfTH4kXChoCARkQAvD_BwE

[MomwithHope]

Fits great with my aim small cook small program which is also very very low carb high carnivore. Pasties, no thanks, I had one once that was enough.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thanks! Great ideas! :)