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.
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.
I’m back! Next PING for you will be this coming Thursday when I start the October Thread. :)
Beau and I always have deep discussions about DARKNESS and how it creeps up on us so FAST up here in the Fall.
See, he LOVES it when it gets dark so early; he can go raccoon hunting all the earlier in the evenings.
I HATE IT because it just makes me want to hibernate earlier than I should. Also, he used to tease me about doing barn chores at 3pm in the Fall - we had no electricity in the barn, so no lights! The barn is the LAST place I want to be fumbling around in the DARK! We now have lights, but the animals are still on my 3-4pm schedule...and they let me know about it if dinner is 10 seconds LATE, LOL!
Geez they could have fixed that the next day.
Welcome back! Lots of peeps missed you, and your invaluable wisdom about all growing things. Many of the "Hail Mary" seeds I stuck in the ground a couple of weeks ago are coming up, but sadly, not one carrot. That's OK, though, because if luck holds for once, I should have some pole beans, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, and regular bush-style green beans. Jury is out on the tomatoes. For all else, fingers are crossed! :-)
Squirrels can be so destructive. In my old house in the OKC Metro area years ago, one single squirrel killed a whole block. Pretty sure some of thee neighbors would've volunteered to "dispatch" him, had he not zapped himself (and the transformer).
Welcome back! I think I would have gone a bit crazy with my internet out that long!
Just came in from working on mom’s car. I noticed something hanging low from under her front bumper when I looked out the kitchen window. She wanted to go shopping so I went out to see what it was - didn’t want her snagging it on anything & pulling gosh knows what loose.
It was a rubber strip that runs just under the front edge of her bumper. It had ‘tabs’ on it that fit in a groove. From scrape marks, the car must have been run up on something, like those concrete space markers (post office has them), & backing off pulled it loose - it was still attached at both ends. Fortunately, with a flat head screw driver to get the tabs in the right position & a rubber hammer to pound them in, the strip is now tightly back in place. Whew - glad I could do it & not have to take the car to the shop!
Daylight saving time coming & going used to drive my horses & cats nuts for about 2 weeks when the time changed ... I was either early (surprise!) or late (ruh roh). Sunset is now 6:59 here so dark seems to be coming on fast these days. November 1 will be coming up before we know it for REALLY early dark.
Honestly what can’t you do? Congrats on fixing the car. I had a dead battery this morning and was going to go out and get some pears to can. All I had was a trickle charger, A couple of texts later and a neighbor came with one of those handheld jump starters. I am so getting one. Looks like I may have left the lights on auto when I turned off the car Sunday. They were off when I got home but must’ve come on when it got dark. Live and learn.
I have one of those handheld battery starters. It can also be used to charge my phone so it’s great if there’s a power outage. I also took it on a trip & kept my phone plugged in while listening to podcasts I’d downloaded. The only thing to remember is to keep the battery charged up so every 4 months or so, I plug it in. It’s a good thing to have.
Ugh! Totally not looking forward to that. There have been times when I’ve slept 12 straight hours when we get dark so early.
Beau has come to check on me (with a cup of coffee - God Bless him!) to make sure I was still breathing, LOL!
We Leos NEED our SUNSHINE! But the heat and humidity is murder on our manes!
You’ll be happy to know I completed the LAST mowing of the season this week. I don’t mow past October 1st, come hell or high water...and especially if there is a steer grazing on the lawn, ‘planting’ Spaghetti Squash, LOL! If we get a steer for this upcoming cycle it will be mid-to-late October. I think we’re gonna skip a cycle - we have plenty of meat and fish in the freezers.
So, see me next May for perpetual lawn mowing whining. ;)
When our power goes out, the first thing the power repair guys look for is a fried squirrel.
The squirrel population at our farm has drastically increased over the past 10 years. It’s either a lack of hawks around or more likely, me being too generous at the bird feeders. ;)
Heard a great quote the other day, some football coach: ‘We recruit our own problems.’ Meaning that nine times out of ten it’s our OWN actions that give us the most grief in the long run! Very astute.
I, personally, could write a BOOK about THAT! Finally figured out Life at about age 50. And now? I take no prisoners. Except for squirrels; they’re so stinkin’ CUTE! ;)
I must be a real dinosaur about some stuff. I ordered it just awhile ago.
I was glad to be able to get out today we are getting 2 days of rain. I got my pears, only doing about 6 pints but that will be enough. Going to add a lemon slice to the bottom of each jar like my friend does.
Cattle... "I think we’re gonna skip a cycle - we have plenty of meat and fish in the freezers."
Or go small next year or for the milk and let your inner dairymaid blossom! (Maria Antoinette was into dairymaid cosplay, yes?)
Aww! Just like a big dog!
(Welcome back!)
I’m back, too! Not an internet outage for me. We were in Florida visiting family for a wedding for the first 4 days, then went to the Panhandle to get some adult R&R. Returned late last night.
I’m happy to report that the Gulf of America was in outstanding shape, delivering beautiful turquoise water every day, and very few jellyfish or other things to watch out for. Very little seaweed or yucky stuff. Our last day (yesterday) was the most beautiful water I’ve ever seen. Very calm. Perfect temp. We had several days like that, but that last one was the best. It’s a special place where we go. We often talk about going to a different area, but we consistently come back to staying at the same condo. We’ve been doing this for a dozen years.
OMG, we tried a new-to-us restaurant while we were there, a Bavarian place. It was soooo good. My grandparents were both Czech, and the wiener snitzel reminded us of my mom’s pork cutlets to a T. It was excellent!! Now it’s on for trying to find a recipe that mimics Mom’s (and this restaurant’s chef).
I harvested a bunch of cherry tomatoes and shishitos this afternoon. Used some of the tomatoes in a chicken pesto dish that’s a twist on Marry Me Chicken. Made enough so that we can have leftovers in a couple of days.
Our 16-year old kitty is so happy that we’re home. He yelled at us a bit, but is settling back in to the old routine now.
I’m with Pete about the dairy.
Still tomatoes green, another beauty of the Belarussian heart. Heary shape shows great. 
I think this and the sabre and Camparis are the only 3 I will grow next year. Freepmail me about seeds if you are interested.
Years ago we looked into Orange Beach as a winter getaway but could never manage the getaway part. We had it recommended by more than one.
Years ago we looked into Orange Beach as a winter getaway but could never manage the getaway part. We had it recommended by more than one.
Gardening - also still picking a second crop of leaf lettuce and I have a few nice young basil plants to eat fresh. That winter squash I grew from seeds from our veggie stand/store place is a wonderful squash, small and sweet. Called Delicata. I have about 11 from this year.
We’ve heard that too. One year I looked into going there, and the prices were a bit higher than at Okaloosa. Plus for my family, it’s another hour or so drive for them, so I doubt they’d be ready to go further west. Maybe we will try it out on our own sometime though. Thanks for the reminder.
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