WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 36 SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Free Republic | 9/6/2013 | 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.

[rightly_dividing]

Thanks. We have not had it easy, but we are both strong and enjoy our time together and thank the Lord for our blessings.

[ApplegateRanch]

Yeah; those pics came from Google. I’ve looked at images, then gone to site after site. If nothing else, I’ll take one to the county Weed & Pest Control office next week.

I don’t have DE, but I DO have a great duster if I can get some. Small town; 50+ miles one way to decent shopping; or order online.

Not Japanese beetles; I’m familiar with them from other areas we’ve lived. Thankfully, we don’t have them here yet. These are very drab & non-metallic.

Thanks for the replies.

[Black Agnes]

We get the DE (food grade) locally at the coop for ~$14/3lb.

Jungs also sells it for about that. They’ve got a deal on now for fall shipped strawberry plants on sale. Pretty good sale too, under ‘web specials’. Other stuff there too. I’m thinking of ordering 25 more Mara des Bois for the front bed.

Fedco sells 50lb bags of it but you have to pay shipping. Even with shipping to the SE it works out cheaper per pound than the Jungs or the coop. We’re considering a purchase sometime after the first of the year, but we have chickens, cats, outside dog and the garden so we’ll easily use that over the course of a year or two.

YMMV.

[Black Agnes]

Have you thought about growing the dwarf indeterminate tomatoes they’ve developed over the past 4 or 5 years?

Those do great in containers but they make continually and not just once and then kinda enh the rest of the summer.

Here’s a link to some of them:

http://heritagetomatoseed.com/category/heirloom-and-op-tomato-seeds/dwarf-tomato-project/

Other places carry other varieties of them too. Sandhill Preservation had some last year, didn’t think to look for them this year.

http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/catalog/tomato.html

I see a few on there. The ‘Tricot Czech’ one isn’t an indeterminate one though, but the Perth Pride one is.

http://www.tomatogrowers.com/SUMMERTIME-GREEN/productinfo/0211/

http://www.southernexposure.com/rosella-purple-tomato-016-g-p-1662.html

If you search for ‘dwarf tomato project’ you may find others.

A pepper I’ve had good luck with in containers (and in the garden too) is ‘Albino Bullnose’. I got mine from Baker Creek. It got about 24” tall by early Nov and was loaded with bell peppers. These are the smaller 1980’s size bell peppers, not the ginormous ones you get at the grocery store. For stuffing they’re perfect. Ditto cutting up for salads, tacos, pizza, etc. They start off sort of a cream color and progress through orange to a dark orange/red color. So they’re pretty too.

http://www.rareseeds.com/albino-bullnose-pepper/?OrderItemId=628529

[rightly_dividing]

Thanks for all that info. Now I have something to do tonight other than watch a race. Around here, patio tomatos are a big seller for containers, but I have not tried them.

[Black Agnes]

They also have squash/zucchini for containers (larger containers)

https://www.totallytomato.com/dp.asp?pID=03513&c=32&p=Buckingham+Hybrid+Zucchini

and some cute things like this:

http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/peas/pea-peas-in-a-pot-prod002732.html?catId=2032&trail=

And, since it’s going to be cooler weather in your ‘hood soon, this:

https://www.superseeds.com/products.php?cat=143

In particular this:

https://www.superseeds.com/details.php?id=82504

[sockmonkey]

I sure wish I had little elves that would keep the dishes done. The dishwasher died, and I hate to think of replacing it.

It's not fun being my own elf. I've never had a dishwasher, but I do have a utility sink outside, and it holds a lot of dishes..
I like to wash my dishes outside..Much more fun than being cooped up in the house.

[greeneyes]

Well, I don’t have a utility sink outside, but it sounds like a nice thing to have.

[sockmonkey]

Well, I don’t have a utility sink outside, but it sounds like a nice thing to have.

Well, the idea of it originally was to wash the dirt off vegetables before carrying them in the house.

Sadly, I have always had more dirty dishes, than dirty vegetables despite what I had envisioned when I first got it.

[Just mythoughts]

Thanks for the thread/ping.

I am almost to the end of salsa making, that is if my hands hold up. I am at 80 pints and counting. Fall beans starting to bloom and cucumber plants are starting to show their demise. They produced very well and I wish them a pleasant end.

The snow peas up about 10 inches, are struggling to survive this 90 + September heat wave, and of course I am having to water them. I am using a soaker hose... because it does not take much to dry out that particular raised bed.

I could not do all this canning if I did not have a dishwasher. My Kenmore passed on a few years back and I ended up with a cheap replacement. No power to speak of and it has this screen mesh in the bottom, about 18” in diameter that prevents any food particles from getting flush out.

So IF I do not clean all particles larger than a period off the dishes, that food gets impounded and dried onto the dishes. (Note: I did not select this dishwasher ... it was the only ‘white’ dishwasher available for pick up that day for the amount of money willing to be spent.)

Guess what I am trying to say, when/if you decide to replace yours, make sure the machine will do what some claim it is suppose to do. They just do not make them like they use to, and cheap is just that cheap.

[greeneyes]

LOL. That would be my problem too I am sure.

[greeneyes]

Yeh, well my old one was a Kenmore, and it wasn’t that great either. In fact I hear that due to the changes in dish detergent, lots of dishes are unclean looking.

[Just mythoughts]

Yeh, well my old one was a Kenmore, and it wasn’t that great either. In fact I hear that due to the changes in dish detergent, lots of dishes are unclean looking.

My old Kenmore must have been made on Tuesday - Thursday. It worked really well, had great power and sufficient drainage that I did not have to pre-wash, just scraped off the big food particles. This 'new' one has no power, but lots of buttons that I have no need to use.

Yes, the government we hired fixed dish detergent. s/

[greeneyes]

There is something you buy at a hardwear store to help with that detergent problem, trouble is, I can’t remember what it is.

[Just mythoughts]

There is something you buy at a hardwear store to help with that detergent problem, trouble is, I can’t remember what it is.

It is TSP, and I found it in the paint section at Lowe's. I add it especially when I wash the canning jars. I just do not have the time to sterilize my jars manually. Especially when I am spending so much time peeling and chopping tomatoes.

[mlizzy]

It seems that the growing season has really flown by this year.

Seems the older I get, the faster time flies in general, but I sure do know what you mean... :)

We moved this week (Sept. 1 and 2), and since parting with our Brandywine Pinks was going to be too much a sorrow, I dug one of them up and we moved it, and lo and behold (the transplant was on the 2nd), it looks like it's now going to make it. It even has great looking new growth at top center-ish and top-right. So thank you for the information that tomatoes can at times endure a transplant. Who woulda thunk it? (We're also growing lettuce --an heirloom romaine-- out of mushroom compost as you suggested --and tested!) Love these garden threads...♥ Thanks for taking the time to produce them.

[rightly_dividing]

The TSP(Tri Sodium Phosphate) will restore your dishwasher soap, and your laundry soap. It’s about $10 for a 4.5lb box. You only need a teaspoon full in a washer.

[sockmonkey]

<****There is something you buy at a hardwear store to help with that detergent problem,****

Yes, it’s TSP trisodium phosphate. Be sure to buy the one that does NOT say substitute for Trisodium Phosphate in small print under the big TSP on the package.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2740228/posts

[rightly_dividing]

I may be wrong on the price and size of the TSP. It is usually $10, but may have been a smaller box. Not sure.

[rightly_dividing]

I forgot that detail. Only get the real deal.