WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 25 JUNE 21, 2013

Free Republic | June 21, 2013 | greeneyes

[greeneyes]

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly 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.

This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. 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 Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!

NOTE: This is a once a week ping list. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest are welcomed, so feel free to post them at any time.

[afraidfortherepublic]

And from "Life on a Balcony"...

[Silentgypsy]

I wonder what they taste like. I’m addicted to sweet onions. We planted Texas sweets this year.

[greeneyes]

Yep, granny had a refrigerator that she purchased in 1968 and it lasted till about 2010.

[greeneyes]

Yep, it is delicious. One of my all time favorites. I had a friend in school that ate pinto beans and cornbread almost every night for dinner.

She would ask her mom if I could stay for supper, and her mom would say, we are just having beans. I would beam from ear to ear, and say Oh that’s ok - they are my favorite supper.

Then she would get such a kick out of it, that she would laugh and say well ok then. They always had either mashed potatoes or fried potatoes too.

[Silentgypsy]

Please don’t forget to make zucchini lasagna.

[murrie]

Hi greeneyes. Thx for the ping. I post pics of roses just to aggravate JRandomFreeper. Lol. :)

[Silentgypsy]

You can do soooooo many things with beans, and they are so filling! Lotsa fiber, too. I worked out in a gym with significant bodybuilder membership who ate lots of rice and beans, and they won contests!

[Marcella]

I read they are more of the hot variety but maybe I read they are not as hot in certain stages but I may be wrong about that part. So, they are not sweet.

The thing is, once planted you know you have them forever. That is better than no onion at all. If one had the sunflower tuber potato that is sweet and can be eaten raw or cooked and had those onions to be eaten raw or cooked, those two items would keep you alive and you don’t have to do anything for them to continue to be there.

That is guaranteed food without doing anything.

[greeneyes]

Well keep up the good work, because I love to see them.

[greeneyes]

Yep, and that fiber and potassium help keep blood pressure and blood sugar in good shape.

[greeneyes]

See, I like that too. Perennials and wild foods not much effort, and you have lots of food.

We have our natives: Blackberries, persimmons, walnuts, acorns, polk salad, passion flower, butternuts, dandelions, and a bunch of other stuff, chicory, etc. We even have Yucca, but we didn’t plant it and it comes back every year, and seems to be propagating the area.

[Marcella]

I found this one place for the Jerusalem Artichoke Fuseau and the link is below. They ship in March so do not have any now. This may be the only place I can find them as this is a specialty seed place. If you enlarge the picture of the White Fuseau, you will see how big they are. I will call this place later in the year if I don't find a better place and I really doubt it. If you are interested in these “potatoes” that will always be there, save this link and check their website later and keep checking.

White Fuseau

http://www.landrethseeds.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5572

[murrie]

Oh wow. Cornbread and milk. My fathers favorite. I have so many memories of watching him scoop it out of a large mug of buttermilk or regular milk ( he didn’t care which). It’s been 9 years since he passed. I still miss him.

[greeneyes]

Thanks.

[Silentgypsy]

Understood. Hot onions are better than no onions! I wish I could make cheese without getting a cow. They’re awfully big and I don’t trust myself to pick up on bovine unwellness before an emergent situation develops. Oh, well, there’s always bartering....

[Silentgypsy]

OOOOOOOH! Persimmons!

[handmade]

The walking onions are what we call winter onions. they are sweet until they get more mature-when they get the bulb on or towards the top of the stalk. At t hat point they are strong/hot. However, they will die down, flop over, and that is w hen they “plant” the next generation of onions.

Then two things happen- the bulblets start a new plant, and the original will resprout and in the later summer/fall you have fresh tender not hot green onions. They do not get large bulbs, but they are dependable and they are very good. Mine came from what I call up home, where my gr grandfather homesteaded in 1879. Because they do have the bulblets and regrow also, I always have onions for salads or cooking. I freeze some, have dried them also.

[Marcella]

You can make your own cheese simply, using the very best recipe book to have if TSHTF. It's “Eating Off The Grid”, storing and cooking foods without electricity, by Denise Hansen,MS,RD.

Everything in that book is made with nothing that goes in the fridge. I had email with Denise Hanson and she knows her business - Master of Science, Registered Dietitian, Brigham Young University, Utah, the best dietary university in the country. You can buy this great book at:

http://www.rainydayfoods.com/shop/index.php/eating-off-the-grid-cookbook.html

You will know how fine it is when you read the material before the recipes start. Since with no power, cooked food can't be kept long, her recipes take that into consideration.

Anyway, she makes her own cheese. “Easy Cheese” is on page 37. “Pepper Cheese” is on page 38. You use “Easy Cheese” to make “Pepper Cheese” and it stores for a month without refrigeration. Amazing.

I flat out encourage everyone to have this particular recipe book. It's the only one I need when there is no power and I've got most every other recipe book for when TSHTF and they just stay on the shelf, mostly useless recipes without power. What is that one - “Cooking with Home Storage” - I have that. Have to have power and fridge, etc.,for those recipes - useless cook book.

[Marcella]

‘they are sweet until they get more mature-’

Thanks for that information - I thought I read something about a sweet time with that onion.

I'm glad someone has them to give us dependable information. I surely am going to get some and they are cheap. Thanks so much for posting.

[Ellendra]

On Sunday I managed to escape to my farm for a few hours. (Yes, I'm calling it a “farm” now, not just “land”.) I was amazed that the corn was almost 4 inches tall already, it was only a week old! Granted, some of them needed help finding which hole to grow out of through the landscaping fabric. But still, I love it when seeds are eager to grow like that!

That kind of got me thinking about the varieties I've tested over the years. If anyone’s wondering what to look for when choosing plants for the survival garden, the first thing I'd suggest looking for is vigor! I've tried too many varieties that made great promises in the catalog, but limped pathetically through the growing season like they were crippled. I realize there are things that can be done with the soil and with watering to improve a plant's health, but the plant has got to do SOME of the work itself! I demand resilience in my garden. I want a vegetable that's as determined as I am.

Unfortunately, my opalka tomatoes aren't looking like they're going to make the cut. I had to replant 3 times before I got some that would sprout. And now that they did, they seem to be staying kind of wimpy, not like the other tomato that I started from seed. It's going gangbusters.

Can anyone recommend a good, open-pollinated or heirloom, indeterminate paste-type tomato that actually has a strong will to live? I need recommendations for next year.

On another note, my potatoes are finally sprouting! apparently it just took a while for them to realize they weren't in the crisper anymore. Now they're determined to make up for lost time :) And my strawberries are ripening, but the rabbits are getting most of them before I have a chance. Phooey, I was looking forward to being buried in berries again, like the previous 3 years.