Weekly Garden Thread Volume 24 June 13, 2014

Free Republic | 6/13/2014 | 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]

Sounds like your garden is going well.

I never even realized that it was Friday 13th. Duh!

[rightly_dividing]

I bet touring the lake by boat would be great.

I have only seen the lake from the dam, and the overlook above the dam.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Big cruisers are becoming more common on Lake the Ozarks. They can throw big wakes and these can be dangerous. There are also lots of jet skis and these buzzing insects are a pain.
Taking a lake tour requires your head on a swivel...

[ApplegateRanch]

Not much progress. Sweet potatoes went in last week, but sudden cool weather all week has them languishing. Lots of weeds bit the big one; then today it shot to 85. These tem swings are abrupt, instead of gradual, so plants...and us...have no time to adapt.

Yesterday I processed 3 of our chicks: 64 days old, and the two in the freezer both weighed in at 7-3/4 pounds, fully dressed. The third was pretty much the same, but went into the roasting pan without being weighed 4, more “the runts”, to go.

Have to replant my carrots; only 4 out of the entire row made it.

We will—or the birds will—get strawberries before next Friday.

[sockmonkey]

Maybe will go home to check my house/garden next Wednesday.

So, basically, you've eloped?

[greeneyes]

How goes it with you and your wife? Found any low fat/carb recipes you like?

[greeneyes]

I didn’t realize they could get that big in just a couple of months time more or less.

[rightly_dividing]

We are sticking good to the no-food diet. No real recipes, other than one than one for Zucchini noodle dinner that was posted on the old thread a few days ago, and we are going to try this weekend.

Steamed veggies are the main course for most meal. I throw brocolli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, baby carrots, or whatever strikes me to, all of the above, or any combination.

Grilled chicken breast marinated different ways for variety, or other very lean meats, always grilled.

Fruit makes up some meals and most snacks, pickles make great snacks too. My lunch today was half a banana, and about a cup of refrigerator pickles we made and forgot about some time ago.

Just eating very light, I would be scared to figure calories! After 6 weeks, the Dr. may adjust what I can have, maybe not.

Loosing weight is mental, once you have it in your mind, the rest is not too hard.

[bgill]

If your summer stayed above 90 degrees, then that’s likely the reason. Tomatoes don’t like the heat so won’t produce. That’s the problem I have every year. Nice beautiful green lush plants but little to no fruit. What varieties are you growing? The only reliable tomato here is Yellow Pear which is way down the list for taste but volunteers all over the place so I’ll take what I can. Even Improved Porters, which were created for the Texas heat, have produced a big fat zero. The other old heirlooms don’t like our summers either. I have 7-8 heirloom varieties this year and there are a few green fruit on a couple but they’ve been well shaded which has helped. Yes, tomatoes need the sun but they need some relief from the heat.

[bgill]

There’s always a debate over whether to sucker or not so it’s up to you whether you want to or not. It’s basically pinching off the lower stems to give the plant a more upward growth on the main stem rather than using energy for the bushiness and to keep them from drooping into the dirt. Also, pinch the new little stems/branches that start between the main stem and the major side stems/branches. That may or may not make sense. IOW, you have the main stem and then branches that come off it. In the “Y” where the branches grow out of the main stem little new branches start to grow. Those are the suckers meaning they suck the nutrients from the plant. The claim is determinates need it done but not heirlooms. I’ve never known anyone to do it but whatever rocks your boat.

[bgill]

California poppies don’t transplant. Seed them where you want them and leave them. They’ll quickly fill out the bed and be a show stopper all summer.

[rightly_dividing]

The temps have been up to 97, but only 95 today.

Something(critter) developed a taste for green tomatos and has robbed all our fruit. My wife says we still have a cluster on one plant, but I didn't see it when I was out there today. Due to the high temps, none of them are flowering or setting fruit now. It is now peak harvest time for tomatos around here, so we missed out completely.

The only thing that is doing well are the peppers both in ground, and in the raised(30"+) containers. Lots of banana peppers, Jalapenos, Cayenne, Chiltepins, and the Ghost peppers are producing well and a bit early, I think.

Wife's flowers are all in peak bloom. The 4 Sunset Lantannas are blooming like crazy. They have a beautiful lily growing and blooming very nicely in them. A very good year for the flowers. We got 2 1/2" of rain in 3 days in the last week, so everything around here is happy.Note utility pole for scale. Lily is just to the right of the pole. Another lily on the right side. It was not yet blooming when I took this picture.

Our first and so far, only harvest this year.

[Silentgypsy]

Congrats on your ‘maters and cream of radish soup!

[Arrowhead1952]

We had a severe storm here yesterday evening. I finally finished cleaning my yard and the neighbor’s yard (she passed away about a year ago) about 4 this afternoon. I have two piles of limbs about three feet wide, three feet tall and about 20 feet long.

We had a message from the reverse 9/11 system that said they will have the green recycling center open from 10AM to 4PM Sat. and Sun. this weekend for people to dispose of fallen limbs and trees.

There is a lot of damage in our neighborhood. One of our friends lost two big limbs from their trees. They are out of town and we are watching their house. Another neighbor lost a fence when a tree on her neighbor’s yard fell over and the roots pulled up the posts.

Just down the road, a house had its roof pulled off and deposited it into the neighboring street and ditches. It is one of the several million dollar homes in our area.

We had two inches of needed rain. It fell in a very short time, so most is probably runoff which should help the lakes. Some areas around Johnson City had over five inches and all that runoff will end up in Lake Travis.

I need to go pick beans this afternoon. I noticed there are a lot of them that have to be pulled. Also some Roma tomatoes. That will be the first of those that I pick this year. All the stalks are loaded.

I had something kill one squash plant this week. I’ve never seen that before. It got a rot just about two inches above the ground and the stem just disintegrated like a gummy type of rot.

[bgill]

My rain guage showed 7” this morning but a neighbor’s showed 3.5”. All I know is it rained so much last night the roof leaked. The cable, phone and internet went out and the lights flickered.

I’ve half-a**ed two rows of weeds the last couple days (skipped today due to the mud) and pulled out all the squash - AGAIN. Every year it’s the same with the squash. Every year I swear it’s the last time I ever plant it. This year is it. No more squash. Ever. I’d planted nastursiums with the squash but very few came up and those are itty bitty so are obviously the wrong time of the year to head off svb which was their purpose. There are volunteer tomatoes popping up in that row so that’s fine.

Need to get some N to the green beans. Should have rotated them this year but they’re easy to pick where they are and offer shade to other plants. Next year they must be rotated.

The birds or squirrels are eating the handful of blackberries but I didn’t expect to get anything this first year anyway. When they’re larger next year, they may need netting.

[trisham]

Hello from Massachusetts! We've had low temps in the mid-fifties this week. Today we had heavy rain off and on. Here's a pic of one of our rhododendrons on 6/8/14:

[Red_Devil 232]

Hew is a short video that shows “pinching suckers”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxj_O72SgZU

[trisham]

This is Lemon Boy on the left, jalapenos, and Purple Giants, with San Marzanos on the right. Radishes and mini carrots are sprinkled in between as ground cover, all as of 6/8/14:

[greeneyes]

Most of the veggies I like are not on the low carb list. I like them raw or stir fried with lots of spices. If I steamed them, I’d probably just steam to the crisp stage.

I have heard of using spaghetti squash instead of noodles, but have not ever tried zukes before for noodles. I really loved the zuke pickles I made last year.

It takes about 3 weeks for me to lose a pound. If I eat more than 1400 calories, I gain weight. I think my metablolism is off.LOL

[greeneyes]

Pretty flowers. My plan for the really hot weather was to plant some tomatoes in pots, and bring them indoors long enough to set fruit. Then put them back out in the shade.

Either that or getting some of that spray that is supposed to help them set fruit when it’s hot. So far, heat has not been the problem this year.

The year of our long hot summer, I shaded the tomatoes, and we didn’t get much at the regular time, but got a decent crop in the fall.