Weekly Gardening Thread – 2011 (Vol. 26) July 08

Free Republic | 7-08-2011 | Red_Devil 232

[Red_Devil 232]

Good morning gardeners. I have been planting 2 zucchini plants every year I have had a garden and this year is the first year they have produced more than my wife and I can use. I think their production is due to the four-foot spacing between plants I gave them. I may be able to participate in the annual “leave a zucchini on your neighbor’s porch day” this year. It is on August 8th.

I should be getting some ripe tomatoes soon; a few are developing a slight blush. Some netting will have to put up to protect them from the birds; I can’t afford to lose any this year. The jalapeno, pimento and bell pepper plants are doing great. There are some nice large pimentos and I am just waiting for them to turn red.

I hope all your gardens are flourishing.

[who knows what evil?]

Personally; I can never get enough zucchini bread...

[Jed Eckert]

Good morning from east central Florida. Looks like our drought conditions are easing up as rain continues. More rain forecast for the weekend.

Zucchini and Yellow Crookneck were a disaster for me this year. Pickleworms and squash vine borers ruined about 90% of the fruit. It's all about timing down here and I guess I planted those a bit late.

The big winners for us this year are Eggplant (Ping Tung), Asian Yard Long Beans, Sweet Red Pepper(Marconi), Tomatoes (Homestead and Tess's Land Race currant) and Armenian Cucumber.

Here are some of the yard long beans. They handled the drought and heat really well and the usual pests left them alone. Yields are very high and still producing but the plants are huge and need a sturdy trellis to climb.


Sweet Red Pepper(Marconi)also doing well. These were picked before they were fully red but we had to have some for stir fry and some omelets. Just couldn't wait. :)

[momtothree]

I wish I lived near you because I would take some of your extra zuchini. I love it steamed with onion and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning. My neighbor boils it first till relatively soft and then adds tomato sauce with a lot of garlic and spices. She serves it on top of mashed potatoes. I have a recipe at home if you would like it (I am at the beach for two days and don’t have my recipe books). It is a casserole that uses squash, onion, grated carrot, sour cream, a cream of something soup and stuffing mix. You add cheese as well. It is more of a “Fall or Winter” casserole (it does stick to your ribs and fills you) but very good.

[Arrowhead1952]

I know many people feel for Texas during the drought, but it’s not the first and won’t be the last. I just hate the 100+ temps every day.

[tubebender]

Sorry to hear of the suffering for the lack of rain with y'all. Most of California does not receive much summer showers so we are set up to turn on the tap and pay through dearly for the convenience.All of our garden and most of the landscaping is done with extensive drip systems.

Lady Bender needed a few new potatoes for her Famous Potato Salad so we did a little grouping in the Red Gold patch and came up with these yesterday. The were planted on May 12th with tubers from last years crop....

Total from 3 hills was 28 spuds not counting a few babies...

This is a volunteer that is growing under the fence and into a compost bin...

[catfish1957]

Wow...Potatoes growing as volunteers. How cool is that. Tough in dry Texas to even get a spud to sprout. :)

[catfish1957]

Looks like you might be a tad older than me. But I can stay with a fact, that I have never seen it this dry before. (in SE Texas)

[Red_Devil 232]

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[rightly_dividing]

you will probably find a sack of zucchini laying on the front seat when you return.

We went to my wife's BFF's family get together about two weeks ago, and besides all the good times, everyone there went home with cukes and zukes from one of the family memebers.

[Red_Devil 232]

I hate it when one of my zukes gets that big. They are good at hiding and I will miss picking one or two at that size they are only good for the compost pile.

[Red_Devil 232]

Oh yes! The recipe would be most welcome!

[Dacula]

I enjoy listing to gardening shows on the radio, especially on Saturdays.

In the Atlanta area, I can listen from 6 AM to noon. Lately I have been listening via the web. I catch Cisco and various others. I have even found one in Australia. Does anyone have a favorite that they could share?

[Red_Devil 232]

I just got in from the garden just a couple of zukes were ready to pick. I also put up some bird netting all around my surviving tomato plants. That stuff (netting) is a big pain for one person to handle and work with - hard to see it and cut it in the right places. I had trapped a bumble bee inside the netting with the tomato plants. He flew around inspecting the net and finally found his way out at a gap I had left.

[afraidfortherepublic]

ey are good at hiding and I will miss picking one or two at that size they are only good for the compost pile.

Wrong! Grate it and freeze it in 1 cup baggies. Use it for zucchini bread in the winter. M-m-m-m

[Arrowhead1952]

If the 1957 indicates your birth year, that was the year Texas started coming out of the 56 - 58 drought. I remember the crops in the field and the corn stalks were only about 3 - 4 feet tall and nothing but nubbins instead of ears. Most stock tanks went totally dry.

[txhurl]

Did you SEE the wave that just came off Africa? It’s already bigger than Texas!

[stefanbatory]

built one clay pot reservoir for my tomato plants the other day...only 9 more to build now. I even dug a hole and planted it next to a tomato plant. There’s not much room in a 5 gallon bucket for one of those and a tomato plant at the same time. Good thing I planted the tomatoes at the edge of their buckets...

[afraidfortherepublic]

The produce from the Bender Estate could have saved the land of Erin all on its own. Those pictures are just beautiful.

[Free Vulcan]

I’m stumped. It’s not a lupine, lobelia, or vervain. Closest I could come to was a hedge nettle. Even looked in Michigan plant databases.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Pictures, please.