Posted on 05/25/2018 7:09:34 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 wont be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isnt asked.
It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - 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 any time-and don't have to be about gardening.
Is that the Cento brand of tomatoes? I love those! The ones that say certified are the new version of the DOP. DOP stands for some Italian phrase that means its authentic, raised in the region In the shadow of mount Vesuvius that gives it its distinctive flavor. You probably already know that.
My brother was from Italy, Trieste. Anyway when we would go have pizza there it was a totally unique experience. Nothing like American pizza. Just a simple delicious crust with a wonderful sauce and fresh mozzarella and maybe a few other simple toppings. It was that incredible crust and sauce that made it so good. I finally figured out it was the hand crushed DOP San Marzano tomatoes that did it. Such a simple sauce but such incredible flavor! You cant re-create it without those tomatoes.
So I was excited when I found I could grow some myself. But of course the flavors of the same. Thats why I dont get the DOP designation :-) but I still like the tomatoes and I will continue to grow them.
Dont worry about the number of posts! Who doesnt like to get pings?
Oh, unless theres somebody yelling at me or correcting me or being snarky. Theres quite a few people like that around here. Luckily none on the gardening thread :-)
I discovered using branches for my peas when I first moved here. The locals have lots of great ideas. So when I got this lovely little Determinate tomato plants, I figured I didnt need fancy tomato cages or anything. Luckily, because I have a habit of planting every little seedling that thrives. I hate to throw them away.
Thats a good idea I might try that also. It would save on having to do a lot of stirring and watching.
Hubby needs to get rewarded this weekend, he just helped me plant about 30 San Marzano tomatoes. I should say that I helped him. My tomatoes were getting so big that they needed to either get planted or thrown out soon. Since my arms are in such bad shape, he dug all the holes, oh, first to put down this weed cloth that we had never tried before, I handed him a tomato and then he planted it. I went and got stakes, some from the forest some from The smokehouse from last year, store-bought ones. Then I handed him one of those and he put them in then. the only thing left is for me to get my little Velcro tape and tie up the tomatoes.
Im on my second ice bag now. Im just hoping and praying that the inflammation subsides and I dont have a bad day tomorrow. Felt good to get that chore done though
Took advantage of tolerable weather outside and did cleanup. Deadheaded where necessary and severely pruned back the rose bush. There were no new blooms forming so it was a great time to do it. Pansies are starting to fade, which is normal for this time of the year. Transplanted purchased basil plants into a bigger pot. Cleaned up as much dried leaves as I could. Where on earth are they coming from? lol Noticed there are a few tiny green tomatoes forming. Hoping they will be ready for July 4th. Watered well. Coleus are starting to flower and so are the dianthus and snap dragons.
Thank you to all the wonderful veterans out there.
I think yall do just fine on the “livin’ right” front. I see you praying and echoing prayers of others. You are a blessing ;)
Ain't that messed up? I made lots of extra spending $$$ in my young fit years by working extra odd jobs. Not sure why teens and young adults aren't willing. Hubby has offered good pay for 1) someone to come help with household chores the doc told me not to do 2) someone to come over occasionally and help me with the heavy lifting parts of gardening. 3) a reliable lawn mowing person who is willing to use a push mower or weedeater. There's some lawn mowing people in our small town but they want to do it all with their nice riding ZTRs, those won't access most of our property because it's on the side of a steep hill. I'm not understanding these able young people. We've tried ladies who advertise as maids, paid $25/ hr. One did practically no work and the other decided the drive was too far. We are rural but we gave both ladies extra money for fuel too. We offered the good worker the full $25/hr for her drive time and then a higher wage overall but no dice. She said her boyfriend didn't like her driving out into the country. Sheesh.
Makes you think we are scary freeks out here :(
Now that I think of it, that's how I actually learned how to compost correctly. Initially, that first planting, I just thought I buried kitchen scraps in the garden. ROFL
I cringe to say - my oldest set of grandkids are the same way. In trying to get one of my old homes ready to sell we need the detached 2 car garage painted. I offered the kids ages 14, 17 and 20 $600 to paint it on spring break. No takers. Shoot all 3 could do it in a couple hours and have $200. Even if only one took a day they'd have the whole $600.
Irony here tho - that offer was to kids of city suburbia. Youngest daughter's kids live on a farm. The 6 and 10 year old farm kids are mad I don't let them do it. LOL - they aren't tall enough and Lord knows how they'd be on a ladder. I'd have 3 gallons of paint on the driveway and sidewalk! But they'd paint it.
Me too! With the real butter!
Hubby is from Maine. He wants real maple syrup on the bread. I bake bread twice a week in cold weather. Don't bake in warm weather cause I don't want to add more heat to the house. But we joke about our regional preference. Sorghum molasses to me is what his maple syrup is to him.
I'm with you! I've been on ice the past 4 hours. I got a lot done today with my tomatoes, peppers and squash. Everything around here is looking good despite that I've not had time or stamina to take care of it. We've been snacking off our tomatoes for a couple of weeks now. We have peppers almost year round because I overwinter them in pots in the sunroom. Today is the first day I've spent the whole day working out in this heat tho and my back and joints are definitely loving the ice packs.
ONE MORE MUSHROOM PHOTO AND YOU AND I ARE DONE... FINISHED.... KAPUT.... IT’S OVER...
I haven’t listened to the radio in years. I’m not sure that we even have a local station, it might have been taken over and just run out of some big city type thing.
I should check it out. I know that the next town over still has their station - had it on when there was a recent storm. Oldest daughter still has a house there, but she’s living in Montana, so I wanted to be able to tell her if the storm was bad.
Well, my doc has me on such low carbs right now that I don’t eat grains. But I used to bake bread every week in the winter. Hubby planted my sorghum for me this year. I wanted to see if I could grow it and make a bit of syrup just to practice.
The garden spot is going to be *mostly* vine crops, muskmelon (old varieties, short-season) and watermelon. :^)
Surprisingly, we’ve had few Morels this season, but finding this new stash is making all the difference!
I guess it WAS worth putting up with nearly a full month of RAIN last month. :)
Are the leaves getting brown spots as well, or are they just yellowing? Yellowing could be from over-watering.
If they’re also having brown spotting on the leaves, you’ve probably got early blight. Late blight will show large, dark ‘bruises’ on the fruits.
Either way, my prognosis is not a happy one...
LOL! You know you wuvs me! :)
Jelly uses the pectin. And yes it is the Cento brand. I’m going to keep buying them at that price. Don’t tell too many people.
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