Posted on 10/11/2013 12:29:02 PM PDT by 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.
The walnut and butter nut trees are heavily laden this year and beginning to drop to the ground. The persimmon tree (native to USA)is also heavily laden, and beginning to drop ripe fruit.
Sugar Baby watermelons still trying to mature. Peppers and tomatoes winding down. I got my garlic-finally- will be trying to get it in the ground on Sunday.
It is also time to sow some rye. Now back to persimmons. These and the nut trees are just God's gift. They were on the property when we bought the land, and we have done nothing to encourage them.
For those who are not familiar with the persimmon, it is very good nutrition. Persimmons leaves may be picked and dried for tea. It tastes a bit like sassafras, and is high in vitamin C.
The seeds may be cleaned, roasted, and ground for a coffee substitute. The persimmon itself is about 1"-1 1/2" in diameter. It has 3-5 fairly large seeds. When ripe it feels like you are holding a little bag of jelly, and the skin is extremely thin.
Persimmons are a good source of Vitamins A,B,B6, Potassium,manganese, and also protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, copper, papain, and bromelaine enzymes.
I have collected a bunch of candy, cake, breads,soup, marmalade and jam recipes. We are eating a few ripe persimmons every day. I am going to try a recipe for Persimmon Cream Candy later this week. It only requires a small amount of persimmon pulp, and we don't have many this week, so it seems a good place to start.
P.S. I'm heading out for another trip-maintanence and cleanup of property about 250 miles from here-so I'll be without any computer access for a couple of days beginning tommorrow morning. I'll probably have withdrawal pains.LOL
Hope Ya'll are doing well. Have a great weekend. God Bless.
I adore persimmons! Prayers up for a safe trip.
Thanks for the prayers. How do you use persimmons, or do you just eat them as they ripen?
Everthing is on track here. We're supposed to get some rain this weekend. I pray we do. I still need my rain barrel filled.
/johnny
Actually, I bought them in the supermarket when I lived in the desert. The produce in those markets was glorious, and we also had wonderful roadside stands with good selections of nuts, fruits and veggies. I just ate the persimmons. My favorite things to grow were cantaloupes and tomatoes. I just ate and shared those, too. (Am a simple organism lol!)
Prayers up for rain, and will throw in a rain dance free of charge (need the exercise anyway lol!). All we have left are bell peppers, basil, rosemary and marigolds.
Ha Ha. I’ll catch up on all that interesting stuff when I get back.LOL
Were those the American Native wild persimmon, or perhaps the larger Japanese or Chinese version?
When do I put in my German Red and White Garlic for next spring/early summer
I apologize for my ignorance—I dunno.
It depends on where you live. I grow garlic during the winter, so I plant it in September or October. It gets established a bit before the cold weather hits. I cover it and let it go till spring, when it finishes growing, and harvest it in May or June.
I don’t mess with planting garlic in the spring, because I have a small area, and not enough room for all the other stuff I want to plant. Anything I can plant in fall and grow till spring/summer gets shifted to fall planting.
I know there are several who do grow lots of garlic, so maybe they’ll be able to answer with additional options.
If they were larger than a ping pong ball, they were probably a cultivated product, since the wild persimmons are small, and the thin skins don’t lend well to marketing.
When do I put in my German Red and White Garlic for next spring/early summer
I think you answered my question,Put it in late fall.(it grows over winter,i guess)I call that establishing it self vs growing.
Thanks no other replies needed
Yep, definitely larger than a ping pong ball. We have wild strawberries and blueberries here which are pretty to look at but they don’t taste good (mealy texture, not sweet).
Ok. Glad to help.
I’m looking for a cayenne pepper sauce recipe that uses fermentation? Anybody have one?
That’s interesting. My grandpa always collected wild blackberries and wild grapes for jelly. It tasted great as jelly.
We also have some wild blackberries, and they taste really good, but last year the drought killed all except the ones we got in early spring, and there was just undersized very dry ones this year.
Hoping for better next year. Hubby was into a phase of wild foraging a long time ago, and went around collecting all kinds of stuff. This included wild strawberries. They were very small, but tasted good. Maybe our Missouri soil is better than I thought.LOL
I do not have one. I don’t do fermented stuff, but maybe someone else does.
I am also interested in Fall garlic planting
I have German hard neck and Italian soft neck garlic I want to plant. I’m in Connecticut and I want to get it in this weekend.
At the Organic gardening web site, they’re telling me I need to soak the cloves over night in a seaweed fertilizer mixture. I can’t find any seaweed fertilizer in my area. Am I doomed to failure if I skip this step?
Not from my perspective. Here in Missouri I have never soaked the garlic in anything. I just stick it in the ground and more or less forget about it till frost, at which time I cover it up with row covers, so that the sun and rain can penetrate.
Eventually I have to throw some straw on the row cover and I also line the back of the area with some Milk Jugs of water. They absorb heat during the day and give it off at night. Also the process of freezing the water releases heat.
I use those cheap white wire fences from Walmart for the front and part of the sides so that when I toss on the straw it remains off the plants. It works for Mo. weather.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.