WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 52 DECEMBER 27, 2013

Free Republic | Dec. 27, 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.

[JRandomFreeper]

Suckers are extra leaves that sprout where they aren't wanted. I didn't have any problem with them.

/johnny

[Marcella]

“I do top my tobacco (except those for seed) and harvest as leaves become ripe instead of harvesting the entire plant like commercial growers do. I didn’t have any problem with suckers with this particular strain.”

Johnny, you don’t explain well enough to me about tobacco - remember I don’t know how to grow tobacco - you did not tell me anything about topping the plants. When do I top them and what exactly is “topping” to you - is that cutting off 1/2 inch or one foot or what? When you harvest the leaves how far down the plant do you cut for that? All the way to the ground - or do you jerk up the whole plant?

Write a book with detail, okay?

[rightly_dividing]

I just bought 2 packets of seeds.

[ApplegateRanch]

There may be a few others I should plant as seeds but I don't know what those are if there are some.

Dill is easy, and it only takes a few plants..half dozen or less, as a tall rear border in a flower bed to give plenty for a year's worth of pickles, plus seeds & dried "weed". In fact, if not careful, it can pull a catnip, and easily get out of hand, coming up from self-seeding. Same can be said for cilantro/coriander. Cilantro is the greenery; coriander is the seeds.

You should be able to grow cumin where you are, too. My only experience with it is using a lot of it from the store to cook with.

Oregano (both Mexican & 'real' European), rosemary and thyme are also fairly easy to grow as decorative plants. They are perennials that are easy to control. Just snip a bit now & then for either fresh use, or to dry.

[Marcella]

“But you don’t like/use garlic.”

It makes me sick for three days of chills and nausea and that starts within an hour after I eat it. I can’t eat garlic toast due to that and I surely would like to eat it.

[Marcella]

Just copied the list you plant.

[JRandomFreeper]

I top them when they send up a central stalk that is going to make flowers. I cut the top of the stalk off just above the last real leaf. At that point, the real leaves will be over a foot long and the plant will be 3 or 4 ft tall. You'll understand when you see them.

I break off the bottom 3 or 4 leaves and discard them. I've already done that to the rebel plant I have here in the house. When the leaves start to change color, that's when I harvest them. I cut the leaf off leaving about an inch of stem on the leaf because of the way I hang them with hooks.

Harvest generally goes from the bottom to the top as the leaves ripen.

I'll provide photographs as I do that stuff next year, so you can follow along.

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

Did I include cilantro? ;)

/johnny

[rightly_dividing]

Not mine, but the video is ready now, for your consideration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL4euILCNYM

[Marcella]

“You are not nuts for pipe smoking.”

I studied on Amazon using customer comments to find out about pipes. ALL PIPES ARE NOT EQUAL. I didn’t know about the materials pipes are made of - that some get hot and some plug up too fast, and some are too heavy, and some are hard to clean, etc., etc. After finding out all that, I found a pipe that is about $27 that works well in all those categories. I need to start a line of pipes for women - there was not one single PINK pipe on there. I have a PINK Ruger 22LR rifle, why not have a PINK pipe?

[Marcella]

“There’s a reason I had a 4.0 in baking. ;)”

You are perfection in baking.

[Marcella]

“Hornworms start as eggs from a moth that gets laid in the soil near the plant. All you have to do is pick over the plants and look for holes in the leaves and squish the little worm with your finger.”

OK, if I put row cover over the soil in a planter so a moth can't get to the soil, maybe I could keep away the moths especially since the grow bag would be on the deck and not on the ground.

You silly boy, you know right now for damn sure I am not squishing a worm with my finger. You knew when you wrote that, I wasn't going to do that. I am a lady but you are a throwback to a cave man as you proved by living like a mountain man (read that as cave man), for two years in an 8x12 shack, and you know that, too. I'm so glad you didn't die when you fell off that mountain as I wouldn't have met you. Sometimes there is a person who is totally original with special gifts and you are one of those people.

[JRandomFreeper]

By the end of summer, after I got my eye into noticing them, I was mashing little bitty ones that were no bigger around than a canvas sewing needle. Even you could mash one of those.

I'm not a caveman, I'm a suave, sophisticated surbanite (now) that happens to have some.... unique skillsets. I've even been to broadway plays and operas way back when. ;)

/johnny

[Marcella]

“Did I include cilantro? ;)”

Yes, TWICE. That one is high on my list to have, too.

[Marcella]

“I’ve even been to broadway plays and operas way back when. ;)”

Of course you have - so did the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

[Marcella]

Great - if you have an overhead trellis, yours should look like that picture on Bountiful Gardens. I can guarantee they are long as mine was 24 inches when I took it off the vine when it was going to freeze that night. It is a beautiful plant to watch grow as it grows noticeably from one day to the next and the blossoms are quite large.

[JRandomFreeper]

Quasimodo was misunderstood. He was a good guy.

/johnny

[Marcella]

“Quasimodo was misunderstood. He was a good guy.”

He was so far from the norm to see, people couldn’t get past the visual.

[Nepeta]

SO, THESE IN THE BOTTLES WOULD NOT BE AS GOOD AS LIVE PLANTS - RIGHT? ARE THERE SOME YOU WOULD PLANT THE SEEDS RATHER THAN BUY THE PLANTS

Fresh and dry both have their place.

Generally, you should avoid ground spices since the greater exposed surface area will lead to a faster loss of volatiles. Generally, you should store seasonings in a cool, dark place, tightly sealed in glass or metal tins. (I would not bother transferring inexpensive seasonings from plastic, however. If you buy seasonings in a plastic bag, which is usually how they are packaged in Asian markets, you should put them into a clean glass jar.

I ignore 'best by' dates on seasonings. In the 1970s, I worked at R T French and acquired lots of seasonings after quality control was done testing pre-purchase samples. I still have some of that material.

If you are going to bake with ginger, ground ginger should be used. But if you are going to make a dish with veggies or meat, sliced, diced fresh ginger is much, much better.

Some plants are a pain to grow from seeds, or cannot be grown at all from seeds, like French tarragon (which is what you want, not Russian tarragon). You can make a feast out of fresh bread with cheese (mozarella, colby, Havarti, many others) melted over it and sprinkled with tarragon.

[Nepeta]

You silly boy, you know right now for damn sure I am not squishing a worm with my finger.

It's a VARMINT, preying on your food!

Does that inspire an attitude?