WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD JAN 19, 2019

freerepublic | JAN 19, 2019 | 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. 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.

[greeneyes]

Greetings from Missouri. Wind Chill is really bad today. Fingers got numbingly cold if just a few minutes when I took out the trash.

Lots of Rain last night and this AM Snow-but not very deep. Yesterday I looked at the Garlic, Wheat, and Rye-no frost damage apparent.

Six tomatoes on Cherry tomato plant. A few blooms left on lemon Tree. Not seeing any nubs of fruit yet. We traveled to nearby town yesterday, and ordered a fireplace insert - hubby's latest wish list.

I was intrigued by the Green Egg BBQ setup. Seemed really nice to have an all in one grill, smoke or bake outdoor appliance. We have been looking at various types of wood fired ovens and outdoor kitchen designs. Does anyone have any experience with the green egg?

Had a bowl of old fashioned popcorn made in a cast iron skillet for lunch in honor of Nat'l Popcorn Day. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend.

Prayers up for all. God Bless.

[greeneyes]

Pinging the list.

[Mears]

“Greetings from Missouri. Wind Chill is really bad today. Fingers got numbingly cold if just a few minutes when I took out the trash. “

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How’s it looking in your area for the game tomorrow?

(Sorry to interrupt the geradening thread-—I am a Pats fan.):-)

.

[greeneyes]

It’s ok to ask, but maybe someone else knows. We live in the boondocks. I think the game is in KC isn’t it? That’s on the other side of the state, and I’ve head nothing on local news about it.

[Ellendra]

This is a dangerous time of year. Deep snows, numbing cold, harsh winds . . . .

. . . and worse, I’m filling out seed orders for the year!

My wallet is already feeling the pain.

[greeneyes]

LOL. We haven’t ordered yet, but hubby has 2 handwritten pages already. No way we have room for all of that.

Then today he saw the really big Baker’s Creek Catalog at Country Mart, and so he bought it. No telling how many pages he’ll get from that.

[Califreak]

Here is an article from Consumer Reports with many comments following:

https://www.consumerreports.org/grilling/big-green-egg-grill-review/

Is the Big Green Egg Grill Worth It?

[Mears]

Yes,it is in Kansas City———I’ll check the weather-—I keep forgetting what a large state you are in.

Thanks——and happy gardening.

.

[yesthatjallen]

Hi.

What is the best way to amend garden soil?

Peat moss?

[greeneyes]

head=heard

[greeneyes]

Manure, if you want just one ingredient.

I add kitchen compost, turn under the winter rye and vetch, and add a bag of organic humus from Walmart. The humus is cheap and has manure in it.

[greeneyes]

I love smoked chicken, and the place we used to buy it burned down. I think the sales lady said that it had a lifetime warranty, but I’ll have to double check that.

We have a limited area for an outdoor kitchen, so it would be nice to have a unit that combines smoker, grill, and oven instead of taking up all the space with several different devices.

Thanks for the link.

[taterjay]

It is not going to be as cold as was originally forecast. It will be about freezing in the afternoon but the game begins at 540. The low will be about 20 so a game in the 20s. Clear, nice day but cool. But, of course, we are planning on KC heating it up.

[yesthatjallen]

Thank you.

[Liz]

CANDIED POPCORN / save this for Easter / Ree's recipe

CARAMEL In popcorn pot, cook/melt/bubble cup butter, 2 c br/sugar, tsp salt, 1/2 c corn syrup on med 5-6 min. Offheat, add combined 2 tsp vanilla/tsp b/soda; stir well. Immediately pour onto 12-14 cups popcorn and cup roasted salted peanuts which are spread on parchmented sheet pan. Stir well w/ heatproof spatula. Bake 250 deg 50-60 min; stir every 20 min.

FINAL Remove to counter; immediately sprinkle w/ M&M's. Drizzle w/ melted white/choc. While chocolate is soft, sprinkle with pastel Easter sprinkles.

NOTE: might add mini marshmallows in the shape of pastel Easter bunnies.

[Mears]

Not bad weather then-——thanks for the info——cold,clear and not too windy should be great for both teams.

Should be a VERY good game.

.

[bgill]

Depends on your soil type. What’s the pH?

[Black Agnes]

I got a bunch of meyer lemons, cara cara navel oranges and calamondins over Christmas holidays. My trees outdid themselves.

I made various marmalades with them for gifts. Basic Meyer Lemon marmalade, ginger lemon marmalade, blueberry lemon preserves, and vanilla bourbon cara cara orange marmalade. I’ve got to slice up the calamondins this evening to cook up Monday. I’ll probably cook some with vanilla and bourbon and some with pineapple and maybe some plain too.

Going to start my broccoli and cauliflowers and cabbages this evening when I’m done with supper. Also some vidalia type onions to set out. Still trying to get my shallots and garlic planted. Either death in the family or crazy work or sick family. bah.

[Augie]

The weather has turned cold here in Central Missouri. We enjoyed mild temps most of the week, which melted more than half of the snow that we got last weekend. Hopefully the blizzard that is forecast for tonight and tomorrow will miss us.

I don’t have a Green Egg cooker, but I know several guys that do and they are all very pleased with them. One downside I see to them is the weight. They are extremely heavy, and really need a semi-permanent place to live. All of my friends that have them have some sort of BBQ shack/gazebo/porch where they set up their cookers so it’s not necessary to move them around, and they can use them in wet weather.

[greeneyes]

If we get one, we will get the kitchen island on wheels that comes with it just so that we can maybe move it a few inches to sweep under it or something. Glad to hear they work well-awfully pricey, but the wood fired ovens are about 500 bucks or more.

A long time desire is to build a roof over the bbq/kitchen patio, but till then we will get a cover to put over it. Do you know if the lid can be lifted off completely, or is it hinged to the egg?

We had about 95% of snow melted on Friday. Green house is holding at around 65 degrees. It has been 75 -100 degrees this week, depending on the Sun. We have had way less sunshine and more cloudy days than usual here.