Posted on 09/01/2026 5:40:17 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.
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Thanks Augie. Motor oil I have, getting it dry another matter. It’s getting good air bow under the tarp but moving the trailer impossible. I just hope to stop or slow the rot so not much floor would need to be replaced. I’ll freepmail you a picture.
After the big deluge of rain, it took them 3 weeks to drag the big slab of concrete off of the old bridge and get my short route out of here opened up. It was rough though. Idle speed for a few spots.
Now they’re back and getting ready to pour a new bridge. Don’t know if they’re going to go over top of the original like last time or tear it all out and start from scratch. Hopefully the latter because the thru holes weren’t big enough. I think one had clogged or collapsed long ago. So I get to take the long way out again for who knows how long.
I finally got around to buying a heavy duty 200’ Cat6 Ethernet cable to go from the modem/router in the house to the network switch in the shed and it’s long enough to reach the tunnel in the end.
Now I can see my controllers from here. They have no sensors or relays connected to them but if they did, I could see/activate them. As of now, I can see what their internal voltage is.
That rain washed away all the ticks, yay. Then the moisture birthed about 10 million seed ticks, boo. It also made the grass jump up 2 foot in 2 weeks. I didn’t go out much in the soggy time which was also mid to high 90s. By the time I did, the tunnel was overgrown.
I mowed around it. Then the next day jumped off the tractor, yanked a cattle panel off the end and jumped back on the tractor as fast as I could. Then I mowed inside but had to avoid the drip line that’s still down there. I just mowed it high where those are. Gotta get the push mower in the top end and mow me a path to yank and throw everything out of there. Then I can mow the whole thing short, right down to scalping the ground and lay black poly down on the whole thing.
I still have a yellow cherry mater plant in there so I drive up to it on the tractor and grab maters off of it. I’m a chigger magnet and I’ve had a good year regarding Lone Star ticks. Been able to eat any red meat I want. I could eat steak every night if I wanted — and could afford it.
Next time I make it to Menard’s or Lowes, I’ll be buying some Sevin. I’ve got some Permethrin around here somewhere, couple of bottles. It’s not exactly fresh so I might as well use it up. Between mowing short everywhere and the double treatment, I ought to be able to get out there and get stuff done. It’s about to be cool enough.
Been upgrading some tech in the house. New sound bar. New NAS PC. NAS is Network Attached Server. It’s a file server and in this case, movies, music and TV shows. I was running out of room on the Mini PC that I’d been using. I have one of the last dumb TVs so I made my own version of a smart TV.
A TV series that runs several years takes up a lot of room. Fringe with it’s special effects is huge.
The NAS PC will take 6 ssd drives at 8 TB each for a potential of 48 TB but drive prices are insane so it’s like steak, if I could afford it. It’s basically about $100 per TB. I watched a video of a guy with the same unit and he dropped $2300 worth of drives into it, 4 out of 6 slots. Those youtubers can make some big money. Ribeye kinda money. LOL
New TV box is working nice and the old one has become a web server. I need to resurrect the family tree website while my sister’s still kicking. She put 10+ years into building the tree, who knows how much spent with ancestry.com. Got up over 8,000 verified people in it. She has it all on genealogy software on her computer but the rest of the family should be able to see it.
I have backups of the website but it’s been a few years so I can’t just upload them to a server. Server software has all upgraded several times and it would just be broken immediately. I’ve located all the older software I need and will have to install it on an old laptop and then get the website up and running on it, locally. Then methodically upgrade things. There’s php programming language, database software and the genealogy website software versions that all need to be upgraded somewhat in unison. Then once it’s all current, I can do a new backup which can then be restored to the actual public facing web server.
With this fiber optic internet and the Mini PC having fast LAN/ethernet speeds, I’ve never had a WordPress website run so fast. Click to go to a new page and it’s just there - don’t blink. I also installed NextCloud and synced all my prepper/gardening files up to it. Not as fast as WordPress but still the fastest I’ve ever seen NextCloud go.
My laptop crapped out on me a month ago. That’s what kind of spurred this whole tech upgrade. I haven’t looked into it yet but it was an update and my hard drive was running out of space. Well the updater decided to fill the system drive up so much it had no room to make temporary files needed to boot up. That seems like a bit of an oversight by the developers. Luckily my hard drives are partitioned so all my files, documents etc were safe, well sort of. I’ve been getting a warning about that drive for about a year that says it’s failing. It’s a little SSD drive that’s pretty much obsolete. I can get one for $300.
The laptop has a 2nd SSD drive that’s a 2.5” SATA SSD and the new Mini PC takes the same so took it out and stuck it in my laptop and backed up that failing drive. It copied files over for about 12 hours.
Might buy one more SSD drive and shuffle things around so I can get a laptop upgrade and a little more SSD space in the Mini PC. I could double the space in the laptop and toss the failing drive and also go from 1 TB to 1.5 TB for the Mini PC Server for $125. Then I’m done with home tech spending for a while.
My son’s window AC crapped out so I went to walmart but didn’t see them where they’re supposed to be. Figured they moved them out with Summer being over. Wandered by the electronics and saw the sound bars. We used to have a nice one with a subwoofer but it went bad years ago. The TV speakers suck so I grabbed a sound bar for <$100. Headed to checkout and found the AC units in the center of a big aisle. Shit, now I gotta put the sound bar back. But wait, the AC units are on clearance. Savings paid for half the sound bar. Sounds so much better. We’ll be binge watching all kinds of stuff this winter. Diehard is a Christmas movie.
One final piece of tech I’m waiting on is an external DVD/CD drive which is evidently in St Louis making it’s way here. Maybe tomorrow but it’s USPS and one direction of the road is closed so...
I’ve got boxes of CDs and DVDs and I burned most of them. I have no idea what’s on a lot of them. I know an “08 backup” is one. I probably have an 06 backup too.(20 years) Should be some movies burned to Video Disc format which fits on a 700mb CD. Probably some old software. Pics will be interesting to find. I do have some store bought music CDS and DVD movies. Those will be getting transferred to the TV box.
Thanks for catching us up! I figured all the rain had caused lots of headaches for you. :(
The Jeopardy! Question is, 'What is the Carrot?'
The Dutch bred carrots to be orange in honor of King William the III, also known as 'William of Orange.'
Carrots were an unappetizing shade of pale yellow to begin with and now come in many colors, with bright orange being the standard.
Ha-Ha! Made ya LEARN something, today!
I always wondered why their National color was orange. Now, I know!
I love rainbow carrots. An excellent side to most any meal. This, coming from someone who sorta hated my mom’s carrots. (Sorry, Mama!) I think they were just boiled beyond recognition for my tastes. I have now mastered steaming them or roasting them. I learned the technique from my daughter, who is an excellent chef. (Ok, most of my family can handle themselves with ease in the kitchen, so I guess I did a couple of things right!)
Any ‘chef’ tips on roasting carrots? I have roasted them twice and don’t feel like I’m getting the best result. Mine certainly don’t look like the ones in Nagi’s video (LOL). They’re still good to eat, but I’d like to perfect roasting them for when we have company or even to take to potlucks (no one brings carrots).
I saw an article on par boiling them before roasting which is supposed to help them roast more evenly, but I hate to add an extra step. Opinions were split on whether you should roast raw or par boiled. I do know the carrots need to be about the same size.
Also, roasting broccoli has not been very successful; however, the last time I roasted broccoli, once the edges started to brown a little, I covered with foil & put them back in the oven for 5 minutes - they steam & get tender without over roasting. This was a tip I saw & it was the first time my roasted broccoli was something I would serve to others.
On carrots I just try to cut the pieces, like 1/ to 1/2 carrot and split the thicker end so pieces are a similar mass. I just toss in a little olive oil. However my favorite way it to steam then, toss in butter, a little maple syrup and pecan chips.
Thanks. That sounds easy enough ... I need easy for company & potlucks.
I have learned that steaming carrots for a few minutes in the microwave or parboiling helps the carrots roast more evenly. I do the same as you do with broccoli (by covering it with foil) when roasting, though I tend to steam broccoli until just tender MOST of the time lately.
Not sure it it’s been the hot weather or what, but with the MASSIVE amount of tomatoes through here, I have yet to have had ONE Fruit Fly! It’s a Christmas Miracle, LOL!
But...there’s always tomorrow for them to show up. No hard freeze quite yet. Here are some ideas for homemade ‘cures’ to trap those little suckers. I have used the ‘Apple Cider Vinegar and Dish Soap’ method to great success.
https://www.marthastewart.com/diy-fruit-fly-traps-7564003
The 3-Ingredient Farm Suppers Nobody Makes Anymore
https://intelligentfly.news/3-ingredient-farm-suppers/
“Potatoes. Milk. Eggs. Corn. Bread that was starting to go stale. Tomatoes that needed using before the frost got them.
Nothing glamorous. Nothing photographed on a marble countertop.
But people ate pretty damn good.”
Diana here: Very informative and full of ideas, basically about eating locally, and from your own garden, which is my ‘thing.’ Videos, as well. Don’t skip Lisa Bass, ‘Farmhouse on Boone.’ I have her ‘Simple Farmhouse Life’ book and it is amazing and full of Post-Its for her homemaking/homesteading ideas I want to try (and have tried!)
That’s a wonderful article - reminds me of how my 2 grandmothers cooked.
At the yard sale, a lady came by right at the end - lovely person & we talked for probably 30 minutes while her daughter shopped. She was one of 9 children & grew up extremely poor ... no water in the house, outside toilet, took baths in a metal tub. Her mom often ran out of bread before the week was over. The kids then took a pancake with apple butter rolled up in it for lunch. The only meat they ate was chicken - no meat during the week, mainly rice & beans. The road she grew up on was right across the main road from the road where dad grew up. His family was not quite as poverty stricken, but some things were the same or similar. It was an interesting conversation.
Fried potatoes & onions, one of my favorites. Potatoes & gravy or biscuits & gravy - simple & delicious. Eggs were for Sunday dinner only because they were sold in town during the week. Cottage cheese pie - more substantial than water pie, but made from what was on hand. Granny made something similar to tomato gravy - delicious over boiled potatoes. And on it goes .... how folks (like my parents) grew up on farms, survived the Depression years, and went on with hard work and determination, like their farm parents, to make a good life for themselves and their kids.
One thing the lady and I discussed: how kids back in her day & dad’s had “imagination” when they played - very different from kids today who wear out their thumbs at an early age.
From the past: tomato gravy.
From link:
“Like so many beloved Southern recipes, tomato gravy reflects the resourcefulness of generations of home cooks. During the summer months, home gardens often produced more tomatoes than families knew what to do with. Combined with bacon drippings, flour, and water, those tomatoes became a rich, comforting gravy that could stretch a meal and feed a hungry family.”
I’ve never heard of Tomato Gravy. I’ll have to ask Beau if he’s had it, having lived in Alabama for a few years. Looks like a great way to use up extra tomatoes.
All I have available to me right now are the Chef’s Orange, as they’re the last to ripen...and the BEST for BLTs...so mine would be a ‘Golden’ Tomato Gravy. ;)
Rainy morning, but clearing later. I think I'll do my in-town chores later today. Friday and Saturday look rough for predicted thunderstorms; I'll plan to lose power, as usual. *Rolleyes* Got some mowing done yesterday and other outside chores, so today I'll tackle a few inside chores - which also never seem to end. BUT - counting my blessings that I even HAVE a home to care for! :)
A lesson I learned years ago (probably from one of my Grandmas) is that instead of saying, 'I HAVE to' when you have a chore to tackle, you shift your mindset to, 'I GET to' and, well, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, LOL!
'I GET to clean the cat box...'
'I GET to hang freshly laundered sheets on the laundry line...'
'I GET to start my Fall lettuces in the greenhouse...'
It's a fine line, depending upon the chore, but it works for me more often than not. ;)
It’s mostly just been work and rest from work and stay out of the 100+ feels like temps and biting bugs.
Got a good chunk of house decluttering done. Looks like the external DVD/CD drive will be here Friday. That’s usually the case due to when I order stuff, usually also Friday.
That’ll be another 6 sq ft of floor space. Some of those boxes were packed 15 years ago in FL and haven’t been opened since.
Got rid of four boxes of books. Dropped them off in front of the books store one Sunday. I still have a 3’ wide x 6’ tall bookshelf unit with 5 shelves full of the keepers.
Work empties the dumpster Mon, Wed and Fri and they know employees and sometimes people that live in the little city put things in there but they’re ok with it.
I’ve been making use of it and no longer have to worry about putting makeshift sides on my car trailer to make a dump run. Been chiseling away at the 15 year pile.
Then there’s the tote full of cords, AC adapters, other cables, computer parts. That and half a dozen old laptops. Clean the tote out enough to fit the laptops in there and that’ll work.
Don’t know about everyone else but I’m ready for some cooler weather. Next week will be better 60/80. Only found two small wasp nests up under the house when running that network cable yesterday. It’s laying on the ground for now but can be direct buried.
Sometime when things aren’t so dry, I’ll have to scrape a little trench to bury it in. I don’t really have an attachment for that so I’ll have to make something. Probably pull the blade off the grader and attach something narrower, like 3” instead of 3’ and closer to the tractor than the blade, which I also want to move closer to the tractor. Plenty of room to move it up a foot and still spin it around. Not sure why they stuck it so far out there. Front tires go up and inch and the blade goes down an inch. Hard to level things out like that. Made in India.
I love de-cluttering. But it is an ongoing trial, living with a Pack Rat Farmer/Hunter. ;)
We’re both ‘stackers’ but I keep my stacks contained in pretty baskets versus just stacked anywhere. I give him baskets to neaten things up, but then they’re filled to overflowing, which isn’t the point!
Thinking about when to plant the mostly native & perennial seeds I was given recently. When I queried, this is what I got. I don’t want the seeds to germinate before winter because they will be killed.
AI generated:
The best time to plant wildflower seeds depends on your climate zone and whether you are growing annuals, biennials, or perennials. For most regions, late fall (September–November) is optimal for perennial and native mixes to allow for natural cold stratification, while early spring (after the last frost) is best for annuals and in zones with harsh winters.
Fall Planting: Ideal for perennials and natives in most zones (especially Zones 6–9). Seeds undergo natural stratification over winter and germinate in spring. Plant after 2–3 killing frosts or when soil drops below 50°F to prevent premature germination.
Your risk of frost really begins around October 6, and by October 30 you’re almost certain to have received at least one frost event.
*****************
For our specific area:
The charts on this page show the probabilities of receiving a certain temperature on a certain day. Some examples that might help:
You have a small 20% chance of getting 32° by October 11.
There is a 50% chance of being hit by a 32° frost starting around October 22
You have a 80% chance of seeing 32° by October 30
*****************
I’m thinking late October, very early November is when I’ll plant them assuming the info above holds true.
I’ve always said the only way to really clean house is to move to another house.
I have a lot of mixed baskets which in my case is often a small cardboard box that was handy at the time. Usually happens when I’m cleaning up. Grab a box, toss unrelated items in it from 3-4 little projects, set the box somewhere. Things get tossed or stacked on top. Find it years later.
Cleaning those piles up is like Christmas. All sorts of goodies. Surprise, you have a new socket, that you lost 8 years ago.
Feels like 100.1 F at 11am. Humid out there.
Is it me or is FR a bit sluggish?
I’ve been collecting PTO and am up to 23.56 hours. 10 more weeks and I’ll hit 40. I doubt I’ll take it that way though. Probably a day or two at a time. Mondays suck. Estate auctions are on Saturdays.
Any day with the right weather for working outdoors is fair game. Usually my choice. They like a week’s notice but the weather here can’t be predicted that far out so they get a couple of days from me, maybe.
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