Weekly Garden Thread - October 19-25, 2019

October 19, 2019 | Diana in Wisconsin/Greeneyes

[Diana in Wisconsin]

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.

If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.

This thread is non-political respite, 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! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.

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 to Gardeners are welcomed any time!

[Liz]

LO-CARB CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Make a crust or not---use crumbled lo-carb chocolate cookies mixed w/ butter.

TOPPING Micro or on stove top melt 2 tbls Butter 4 tb plain Cocoa 3tb Splenda. Drizzle over cake after it comes out of oven.

METHOD Mix cream cheese, splenda, vanilla, and eggs together. Set aside.
Mix cream and pudding together, then add to cream cheese mixture. Elec/mix on high; completely blend.
Bake in sprayed pan 350 deg 35-40 min. Set on counter; drizzle w/ Topping. Chill.

SERVE cold w/ dollop Chantilly whipped cream, chocolate shavings garnish.

ING 16 oz Cream Cheese, 1/2 c heavy cream pkg Sugar Free Chocolate Instant Pudding mix
1/2 cup Splenda (reserve 3 tb for sauce), tsp Vanilla 2 Eggs

[campaignPete R-CT]

Walked the 2 acre woods that sits behind my yard and neighbors’ yards. Cut bittersweet vines & wild grape that was smothering trees.

Hard to identify trees that have no leaves below 15 feet. I’m not spraying stubborn sumac trees. Side of a ledge seems like a good spot for them. But the Chinese sumac needs to be exterminated. Never dealt with it.

[tubebender]

Saw these watermelons at a nearby Farmers Market last Thursday. I need a cart of some kind to haul them to my vehicle two blocks away...

[greeneyes]

Will those melons last long enough to eat them all, or is the plant to do melon balls and freeze them?

Hubby bought a melon the other day, and we just couldn’t eat it fast enough to use it up. We both have issues where we have to eat very small meals.

[tubebender]

Location of next years Garlic crop. I applied some old steer manure and some old 16-16-16 fertilizer to day and hope to spade it tomorrow and start planting 3 rows of German Red and 3 rows of Chinese Early Pink soon...

\\

[greeneyes]

Potatoes and Garlic are my 2 favorite crops. I wish potatoes could be planted in the fall. LOL

I planted them on 4/01 almost every year. For some reason it makes me laugh—planting on April Fools Day. LOL

[greeneyes]

My little patches are no where as big as yours. However I am planting 2.5 beds this year instead of one—that’s if the other Siberian Garlic gets here - supposed to here end of Oct.

[tubebender]

I’m starting to lose my near term memory and have to rely on Lady Bender for help but I think I plant potatoes in May

[greeneyes]

Sorry to hear that about your memory. Are you on oxygen at all? I was having really extreme near term memory loss.

During a holiday a few years back, I told my daughter a story —3 times in the space of 5 minutes. During the 3rd time, my daughter looked at me very strangely, and said Mom, you’ve told me that already - this is the 3rd time.

I had absolutely zero recollection of it—even after she told me. It turns out that I was desaturating at night while sleeping. I now use oxygen when sleeping and it saved my brain—nearly as good as ever.

When my Dad got older, he had a lot of health issues and eventually had to have oxygen at night or he desaturated too.

[tubebender]

I passed this on to my wife.

I use a C-Pap machine to sleep

[greeneyes]

OK—do you also have oxygen? I have a cpap. It really helped me too. However, I noticed symptoms returning, and asked my doctor to do a follow up test.

CPap alone was no longer therapeutic. So we had to add the oxygen to keep oxygen at acceptable levels.

Have you ever tried that So Clean Machine they advertise on tv? It really does a good job mask and every thing just reeks of clean. I got the portable one so I could clean it if the electricity goes off.

[tubebender]

I have been thinking about getting the so clean machine but no extra oxygen. I actually sleep very well once I get to sleep. How often do you get a new mask?

[greeneyes]

I have the nasal pillows that’s every 2 weeks. Head gear is every 3 months, IIRC.

If you don’t have oxygen, I’d advise you to talk to your doctor about the memory and have them retest effectiveness of CPap with out and then with oxygen.

My CPap after a few years was just not as effective & not therapeutic where as before it was all I needed, but things progress along a decline line sometimes.

Get that clean machine—it smells so clean I love it.

[Califreak]

Hi Diana!

Anybody have a foolproof method to kill crabgrass over fall and winter?

I weedeatered and tried to smother it. Nope. Can’t burn it can’t nuke it from orbit...

I picked up some weedkiller with special crabgrass mojo that I found on clearance at the walmart last week. If this stuff will get rid of my crabgrass I’m willing to sacrifice the non productive asparagus and replant chives but I don’t want to lose the grapevine that is finally producing.

Normally after I mulch and just water right where the plant is it doesn’t get too bad but I put soaker hoses down so I wouldn’t have to stand there hand-watering like a schmuck and now there is lush crabgrass on every inch of the one bed.

Man I hate that stuff.

[JubJub]

Was that in the Lowell area?

[MomwithHope]

Maybe use a rolling suitcase?

[MomwithHope]

Hi, if you are asking about the goats/cheese yes the Lowell area.

[Ellendra]

Sometimes if you ask at the meat counter, they’ll have bones that they can package up for you.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That was wonderful!

I have a few precious handmade items from both of my Grandmas, too.

My Mom sewed all of our clothes when I was growing up, but she always let us have a say in the patterns and colors, and of course, she taught us to sew and we made things for the fair through 4-H, etc. I remember the Smock Top craze, and of course making your bell-bottom jeans even WIDER with fabric added at the bottom seams, and as teens we embroidered all over our jeans.

But, I’ve never gotten as good as Mom. I can sew simple things and I’m good at straight lines, LOL! It’s truly a lost art.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You’re giving me FLASHBACKS to my days at Jung’s, working in the Grass Seed Aisle, LOL!

I loved it when a customer would bring in a handful of ‘something’ growing in their lawn and we could play, ‘Weed CSI!’

If it’s just contained to your one bed, I would nuke it. Put a bucket over the grapevine that you don’t want to kill, of course, and see if you can protect the asparagus too - or move that.

Crabgrass germinates really early in Spring, or for you, any time the soil temp is 55 degrees or above, so I can see why it’s possibly a year-round problem for you.

If it was in your lawn, I’d have a whole ‘nother maintenance routine for you.

My problem with grass is that I use straw from the neighbor and a lot of time that has Timothy grass and sometimes Alfalfa seed in it. Luckily, that’s easy to spot and pull - it usually stays in a clump. But, still a PITA.