Posted on 05/13/2016 3:14:54 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.
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I’m going to make more dills but also want to make bread and butter pickles. Nothing better in tater salad or tuna fish salad, etc. (the Ball Kosher dill mix is just awesome but retailers have quite carrying it so I have to order it online - but that makes pickles more $$$ - so I stick with kosher dills from scratch)
I planted a couple fig trees a few weeks back. They seem quite happy and each have a couple tiny figs. Been having as serious hankering for some fig preserves. You know, made with the whole fig and not mashed up as in jellies. There are quite a lot of fig trees here in my ‘hood. I’ll barter with some of my neighbors for some maters.
Fig preserves on a toasted, buttered biscuit is a bit of heaven in yo mouf.
I do the same for dills, but they are never as crisp as I would like. Ever try pickled zukes? I made some zuke spears that used a lot of the same ingredients as sweet and sour, only a little more spicy heat, and they were crisper than cukes.
I built an insulated coop and our ducks and chickens cohabitate just fine.
Fold-up roosts (For the weekly cleaning.)are for the chickens and the ducks sleep in the bedding on the floor.
I have 10 nesting boxes on two levels. The ducks will get into the lower level ones to lay, as well as on the floor.
Ducks will bury their eggs in the shavings, so you need to feel for them. They sometime release in the water, or they just fall out on the ground.
We mostly have Indian Runners, but some Kahki Campbells, a Rouon that just appeared and a Cayaugha that ia another story!
We just added a bog filter to clean the pond water. UV filters are no match for ducks!
Could be the cool, damp nights we've been having lately.
Cukes don't like to be cold.
Ducks are ground-nesters. They will lay eggs anywhere and everywhere. They do prefer a bit of seclusion if it’s available. We had some ducks for a few years and Mrs. Augie was constantly finding eggs in her flower beds. Every now and then we’d find one laying in the middle of the gravel driveway.
As far as shelter goes, they don’t need much. A little duck hut they can get in to sleep when the weather is cold is plenty. We used a Rubbermaid bicycle shed. Most of the time they would just plop down wherever, tuck their heads under a wing and take a siesta.
We intend to get some new ones after the pond is finished. They’re very social critters and quite entertaining to have around.
THANK YOU FOR THE SEED TAPE HINTS.
I LIKE THE IDEA. :)
Thank you for the seed tape hints.
I appreciate the information. :)
Skin So Soft is great for sand fleas, too. My mom used to get bitten a lot when we went to the beach - a little Skin So Soft around her ankles and no problem.
I have a huge problem with some kind of weedy grass that’s growing around the roses. I need to dig it out and was thinking of putting mulch down again. I’ve read reviews of Scott’s, Preen Mulch with Weed Killer (more expensive) and rubber - much more expensive. Quite a few of the reviews weren’t great (everything from color fading to limited weed control to mold, etc. in the mulch, except for the rubber, which will be fairly costly. A local store has Magic Mountain mulch on sale and last day is today - 4/$12 (normally $4.99/bag).
I’d appreciate any advice anyone has to offer on mulch. I also need some around the Rhodies as the horsetails (weeds) are difficult keep under control.
Thanks in advance!
Best,
SC
Thanks for your helpful hints. I especially like that there are non-chemical alternatives. Garden is growing well. Waiting to see if tomato seeds will sprout. Lilies will be blooming soon.
Sorry - it should be Mountain Magic Mulch (not magic mountain)
The only mulch I have had experience with is Straw, Wood Chips, and Newspaper. I use it mainly to help retain moisture in the raised beds, which otherwise dry out pretty fast.
I rarely have weeds in those beds, which are made up of equal parts compost, peat, and vermiculite or perilite. I have had some weeds spring up in a regular flower bed of roses and the daffodils. It has a heavy component of our regular clay soil, and not many amendments.
For those, I just pull out the weeds before they form seeds, since using weed killer might also harm the flowers. I don’t mulch them, because they get a lot of run off from the patio when it rains, and I figured the mulch would just lead to mold.
Sand fleas. I do remember encountering them in Florida when we vacationed there a couple of times. We didn’t know about Skin so Soft then. Good to know in case we go back.
NEVER seen one around?!! ?? My goodness - my mind is blown! LOL. We live 1/10 of a mile off of a very busy parkway and we are swarmed by deer. Just this morning I watched a young deer stroll around the street, wandering in and out of yards. Likely looking for scent of the family unit, but pretty casual about the whole thing. We don’t have roaming dogs locally, though with so many deer I doubt it would have a big impact.
That’s interesting. Occasionally a deer runs across the highway about 20 miles outside of town around the state park, but never seen one close to town or where we live.
I’m thinking that we have so many people here who hunt deer that they are probably fearful of people, and so stick to the more wooded and uninhabited areas?
My Thai wife gets the dried peppers and usually toasts or dry stir-fries them a bit. Occasionally she will make some up with a bit of oil. Then it’s into the blender or sometimes into the mortar.
Do NOT breathe the fumes!
We have about a pound and a half of dried Thai peppers on hand. Should last us awhile.
No, never tried pickled zukes. Sounds tasty, though.
Last year I brined some of my cukes (whole) before pickling (using a technique from my Korean recipes). The dills turned out super crunchy. I brined enough cukes for four quarts (5 lbs I suppose) with about 1/2 cup, or so, of sea salt in enough water to cover for about 2 or 3 hours. Drain, rinse, and proceed with usual Kosher dill recipe (I like to add a tad of prepared Kosher horse radish to the jars before the water bath - and maybe a red-ripe shishito pepper).
Reserve some cukes this year and give this a shot. It won’t hurt to add a tad of Ball pickle crisper.
Thanks. The recipe I use calls for brining, so I do that. I also use pickle crisp granules per directions on the package. They are ok, but no where near as crisp as Clausan Kosher Dills.
Hubby says they are fine, I guess I’m just too picky, but I will say that zukes hold up better than cukes. Try them sometime.
No Deer??? Give me your address and I’ll send you 2 or 3… Freight collect of course
LOL. No thanks. Plenty of other critters nibbling on the garden - we don’t need any more.
“Do NOT breathe the fumes!”
NSS!
Try planting some of the seeds. I got some great peppers that way. I just tossed some seeds in amongst some flowers. No care at all. Nothing messes with them!
I think I have one of those days off, I’ll try and pop down to see you!
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