Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 32) September 10

Free Republic | 09-10-2010 | Red_Devil 232

[Red_Devil 232]

Good morning gardeners. This is the first year that I will have a fall garden. I have decided to try few broccoli and cabbage plants. I decided to visit our local County Co-Op a couple of days ago and they had starts of both and I bought a nine-pack cell of each. I hope they do well because we are still having 90 degree days with overnights in the mid to high 60’s. They also had starts for various types of tomato plants which kind of surprised me.

If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.

[Duchess47]

Mine is quite small, 6X8. I have two metal barrels on the west side with a shelf on top of them. The barrels are painted black and full of water to help retain heat in the winter. Right now I have five large tomato plants in five gallon pots or buckets on the shelf. There are two on the floor between the barrels.

I have a metal shelving unit against the back wall, currently holding supplies. It will hold seedlings later.

On the east wall I have a baker’s rack cut in half (I shop a lot at thrift stores)so that the two pieces provide two shelves each for 7’ of the 8’ wall. Right now it’s full of pepper plants in 5 gallon buckets or pots. The last foot is my lemon tree.

I laid landscaping material on the dirt floor and then pea gravel over the top of that. I don’t know what the most effective use of space would be for your area and the size of your greenhouse, but this works pretty good for me. Like I said, I’m a newby to greenhouses.

I do have a portable heater that has temperature controls and it sets on the floor by the barrel closest to the door. I haven’t turned it on yet this year but it did keep me above freezing last winter.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Bump for tomorrow night. I’ll help you, I promise. :)

[tubebender]

That’s what fresh grass clippings will do for a compost pile. I put the top layers on Wed and it was 140 yesterday, 151 today...

[mplsconservative]

Hi Red. This is a recipe my mother gave me for Broccoli Soup. It freezes very well and works with cauliflower and asparagus too. Heck it works with most any combo of fresh vegetables you have on hand. I’ve added a mix of the above plus fresh green beans, red peppers and carrots and peas. Maybe I should call it kitchen sink soup. :)

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 head of broccoli broken into florets
2 quarts of chicken stock
1/4 onion diced
1/3 C. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper (black is fine)
1 C. heavy cream
1/4 C. melted butter
2 C. shredded sharp cheddar (Velveeta cubed works fine too)

Heat chicken stock, broccoli and onions in large pot to boiling. Lower heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes. In small bowl, blend cornstarch, salt and pepper and heavy cream until lumps dissolve. Add to soup with butter, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Add cheese and stir until melted and incorporated.

I hope you can try it out. It is THAT good. Slurp!

[tubebender]

Some Fuu Fuu photos of the current Mrs Bender's 2/3 of MY garden. The first is a unknown Dahlia from our Church gardens...

Some everlasting Statice flowers...

[rightly_dividing]

I do not have a set formula for the soapy water. I use DAWN liquid dish soap. I would guess it at about a quarter teaspoon in a hand held sprayer bottle. That still may be too much, but I always wash it off my plants after a few minutes so as not to leave a soap film on the leaves. It works well for white flies on Hibiscus, and on large grasshopper looking critters. And on some other leaf eaters that I cannot name or describe.

[rightly_dividing]

Your place is so beautiful!

[Patriotic1]

Nice! Do you ‘mound’ up? I’ve read several different things about it. I did, a little, and probably too late. Not sure if it increases the yield or not.

[tubebender]

Yes, The rows are 30 to 34 inches apart and I hill at least 2 times, 3 unless the top growth is vigorous. The hills are a foot apart and the rows are 12 feet long. You Do Not want the spuds exposed to sunlight to avoid greening and that goes for drying them after digging also. Don't store them in buckets as you want air circulation around them. I purchased some cheap laundry baskets from K-Mart...

[tubebender]

Thanks. We have been gardening collectively for 120 years, 31 years together on this property. Tons of compost and old potting soil for our beds, but old age has really slowed us down and more and more space is devoted to annual flowers and additional perennials...

[afraidfortherepublic]

VERY impressive.

[tubebender]

I see I switched a couple of photos and captions in #108. The Red Gold were out of 9 hills and the smaller group of YG were out of 6. Our crazy weather favored our potatoes over the corn crop. If I had the stamina I would start double digging the beds again as it has been several years since we did that...

[afraidfortherepublic]

Just have time for one, or two pics this AM. My husband is making me go to WORK, instead of working in the garden. No rest for the wicked, I guess.

A recent melon. Mmmm-mmmm-mmmm!

Sugar Baby watermelon -- my first. I will definitely plant this again and fits its name perfectly.

Half of a Sugar Baby

More tonight...

[wita]

Congratulations on your fall garden.

Guess I better start wearing my glasses. I thought he said full garden, and thought it was awfully late to start one. That should have been a clue. Then I thought of the yellow leaves on the trees, and the fifty and forty degree nights in my area, and the fact my tomatoes have stopped blooming. clue number two, and I’m a day late to the thread.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Thanks....that’s about what I was dreaming up. I’m considering putting two North South running hanging vine type rows in the middle of the greenhouse for beans and such.

Then using the rest as you have described.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Thanks...I got the basics down, like barrels of water for heat sinks etc....just looking for some insider knowledge as to what did not work and had to be changed after the first couple of years.

I live in the Seattle area in case that makes a difference to your advice.

[Red_Devil 232]

Every time you post the beautiful pictures of your gardens I am truly amazed at the wonderful work you and your wife do. You must get great satisfaction just sitting back in your office by the shed and looking out at what you have done.

[Red_Devil 232]

Those are some great looking melons! I do like the Sugar Baby watermelons. Nice and small, sweet and just enough for two people if you don’t have to share with a couple of wide eyed drooling dogs!

[Red_Devil 232]

LOL! I do that all the time (misread) and wonder why would anyone do that!

[afraidfortherepublic]

Yes, and the flesh is firm and crisp, unlike some larger melons that get “mealy”. My dog likes to slurp up the juices left behind in the dish, and he carefully picks around the seeds. LOL