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.

[neefer]

Good morning Red. We ate the last of the figs two weeks ago. Been cleaning and painting the back of the garage in preparation to store both trees through winter.

Cherry tomatoes have taken over the very back of the yard. They're sprawling on the grass and get crushed under foot when I try to pick. Found a wonderful heirloom tomato book at the botanical garden library with LOTS of cherry/currant tomato recipes.

Here's a pic of my Black Pearl Pepper that won third place at the county fair back in August. Been collecting the seeds for a large exchange this fall.

[Red_Devil 232]

I have not tried collards or any other type of cole crop before. What part of MS are you in.

[Red_Devil 232]

Beautiful plant! Is it an ornamental pepper?

[Black Agnes]

Hmmm, don’t know about the soup. You can freeze broccoli though. Your wife sounds like me prior to age 25 or so. Only green I ate was sour apple now&later’s.

I make a mean jalapeno garlic ranch dressing though. The lettuce is just a carrier for that anyways.

[hoosiermama]

Finally a few drops of rain this AM ... am praying for more. ground is dry and cracked.

[Red_Devil 232]

Share the recipe?

[neefer]

When pods turn brown and become dry seeds are mature. Make sure they're 100% dried before storing and stay dry until ready to plant. Here's a good article about seed saving.

[neefer]

Thanks. Yes it's ornamental. The pods are too hot to eat. I tried! lol

[metmom]

Thanks. Tomorrow is supposed to be fry and sunny and warm. I’ll venture out in the garden then. I think that some of the bean seeds are ready to harvest.

[metmom]

DUH... DRY, not fry.

Spell check don’t catch it if it’s spelled right, and proofreading is best done BEFORE hitting the *post* button.

[pitviper68]

Ping me please

[Red_Devil 232]

YOU HAVE BEAN

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YOU HAVE BEAN

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The Weekly Gardening Ping Listspace

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[Red_Devil 232]

About a month ago “fry” would have been very appropriate! LOL

[greeneyes]

Good morning Red. Good news on your fall garden. We had a slow steady rain all day yesterday. It is not raining right now but it is supposed to continue today. We are expecting 8 inches total. Raised bed #2 is looking like a jungle. I have tassels and silks on the corn planted mid-summer. Many of the stalks are still sort of purple, so I may not get much harvest. Cuke is climbing the fence and blooming as well as some beans.

There are several watermelons and cantaloupes as well as 3 tomato plants surrounded by basil growing well. Bush beans planted after the corn in bed #1 are about a foot high. The watermelon in bed #1 should be almost ripe. Good thing because the vines are dying. Squash bugs finished off the zucchini plant.

It is time to plant spinach and lettuce. I will probably plant them in bed #1. Hubby's #1 garden is about ready to close down for the season. Carrots and zucchini did not do well for either of us. Hubby finally got 1 ripe watermelon (all the others bit the dust due to BER).

I have to leave soon for an appointment, so I'll catch you all later. Have a great weekend. God Bless.

[Red_Devil 232]

One of my figs did very well for me this year. We were getting about 5 or so nice golf ball sized golden brown figs about every other day or so. Very tasty and juicy. It is still producing a few. I can't wait until I start getting a bunch of figs all at once so I can make some jam and can whole.

My wife and I shared and ate our meager crop fresh this year.

[Red_Devil 232]

My watermelons did not do well this year they got BER but I had two melons that were still looking good up until yesterday. Walked out the door and the smallest one was laying in the middle of the front lawn with Cashmere laying there protecting her find! Drats!. It weighed about 3-4 lbs and was a good six inches in dia. and about eight inches long. The other melon was quite a bit bigger and Cashmere, and I assume Aladden also, had eaten half of it! I had left the rabbit fence open and they took advantaqge of it! Teaches me!

[Drill Thrawl]

Yes you can. My wife makes Broccoli-Cheese and Potato-Leek soup by the gallon. We freeze it by the quart. Mmmm mmmm good!

[rightly_dividing]

We’re about 40 mi north of Houston. I didn’t really expect any rain, but the outer bands got us. As I watched online, we had some of the very dark, rainiest parts come right over us.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I’m cooking collards right now. I had used too much salt pork (I didn’t realize it was so tongue-curlingly salty) and now I have to put some cut-up potatoes into it to try to absorb some of that salt.

This Fall for the first time I’m trying to get some shallots started from seeds. Planted them over a week ago and tried to keep them reasonably and moderately moist, but nothing’s come up. Does anybody know how long it usually takes for shallots-from-true-seed to germinate?

Varieties “Ambition” and “Prisma”.

[Arrowhead1952]

I noticed one thread that ditter posted on and was worried the Houston area wasn’t going to get any rain. Well, we probably got somewhere between 10 or 12 inches. Both my gages ran over.

I live about 15 miles as the crow flies from Mansfield Dam and that reporting station got over 12 inches. Georgetown got over 14 inches. Lots of areas got between 10 and 11 inches.