Weekly Garden Thread - October 31-November 6, 2020

October 31, 2020 | 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. 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!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Prayers up for you! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Blooming depends upon light and nutrition.

I feed my Christmas Cactus all year long with my milk concoction; when we finish a gallon of milk, I don’t rinse it out, but add back a gallon of water. The calcium in the leftover milk is just enough to keep my cactus (and over-wintered Geraniums) happy and blooming.

If you want your cactus to bloom, you need to deprive it of light, or move it to a spot that gets less light, after spending the summer in a sunny window, or outside in dappled shade.

Though, mine sits in a south-facing window all year - BUT that sunlight moves up or down depending upon the time of year, so that change must be enough to trigger mine.

https://www.essentialhomeandgarden.com/christmas-cactus-bloom/

[Diana in Wisconsin]

It’s a conspiracy, I tells ya!

I’m giving Beau his choice of ‘scary’ movies to watch with me, tonight.

‘Signs’
‘I Am Legend’
‘Alien’

I don’t care which he chooses - I love them all. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Praying for your WIFE, too! :)

[greeneyes]

Garlic is up about 2 inches. Got some straw to put on the bed probably Monday.

Today, I’ve been working on getting another garden bed ready for garlic-finally got the shipment of Siberian Garlic delivered.

I find that I have to rest about every ten minutes-didn’t used to be that way. Takes a lot longer to get stuff done. We have to go to St. Louis tomorrow for hubby’s MRI, so it may be Monday before I get around to planting the garlic too.

Since we finally got a frost, I think it may be safe to sow some winter wheat. And finish up the rest of the beds. I dug up a bedraggled pepper plant to bring in and it’s looking perky now. Bay leaf is in the green house. Lemon trees are inside the basement next to the patio doors and under the new grow light.

Still have a tumeric in a pot that I need to harvest. Will plant some in a pot for next spring and I think maybe freeze some and dry the rest.

[TheConservativeParty]

Greetings! We are building a small greenhouse! Need a place to grow my own plants for my yard. I ordered lots of flower seeds. Lots. Only peppers so far for veggies.

Thanks for the new thread!

[TheConservativeParty]

Yes, Welcome to The Great Pumpkin!

[TheConservativeParty]

So sorry for your loss. May God cover you in His protection always. Amen.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yay! So happy for you! Exciting!

I’m loving my (unheated) greenhouse. Still have salad greens and cherry tomatoes going strong, despite our colder-than-normal October. ;)

[daniel1212]

*APPLAUSE* Well done!

Not quite: hate to lost the full harvest. If I was more in tune with the Lord (and treated the garden more as being His), whom i see in hindsight had me notice the the Scripture "When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven," (Mark 8:19-20) then despite the rain I should have acted according to the principle, "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." (John 6:12)

But I went on to another project, and the forecast earlier in the week was enough on the edge that I though we might squeak by. However, that changed, heavy rain came and then snow, and seeing that I covered the plants with tarp and gathered what I saw which seem to have survived. And if not for this cold wave we could have gotten at least two more weeks. So it is with NE weather. Usually the first frost occurs in late Oct. or early Nov., so nothing out of the ordinary.

https://whdh.com/weather-blog/snow-tapers-to-a-clear-and-cold-night-bright-and-chilly-halloween/

[daniel1212]

I was also hoping for more frost free days but yesterday here on the coast south of Boston, we got a coating of snow so today I picked a couple of red tomatoes from my 4x4' garden and brought them in for food. The end of the season for me. -Tom

But when it's in the law 60's next Thurs and Friday (thank God) then you will wish you could pick more!

[Capt. Tom]

But when it's in the low 60's next Thurs and Friday (thank God) then you will wish you could pick more!

It will be interesting to see if any of my green tomatoes on the plant mature then. -Tom

[daniel1212]

It will be interesting to see if any of my green tomatoes on the plant mature then. -Tom

At about 25 degrees last night here, and much the same tonight, it would be very surprising if some of the one's that endured such can ripen. Freezing burst water cells.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

If we can get through Monday, we're in for a nice stretch of weather this week. We'll pay for it later, of course. Very windy, today - the hunting dogs aren't even barking to get out of their kennels for exercise; they're all hunkered down. The only thing pressing is to water my houseplants. I think I'll grab my crochet, a stack of movies and hunker down for the day, too!

[Liz]

Green tomatoes set on brown paper in a dark place will ripen nicely ....... a taste of summer all winter.

[Capt. Tom]

Green tomatoes set on brown paper in a dark place will ripen nicely ....... a taste of summer all winter.

I'll give it a try ,thanks. -Tom

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Thanks to all for the prayers.

The wife took the heads off of the few sunflowers I planted.

Birds n squirrels got most of the seeds which is fine.

I planted them so my elderly next door neighbor would have some sunflowers to look at (with her 1 eye) from her porch.....put them right against the fence facing the sun and her house.

[Ellendra]

Still picking beans and baking squash. The squash baking has slowed down a bit, most of the ones that were damaged have been dealt with already. The ones that weren’t damaged should keep for a while.

I got a 4x30 bed of garlic and winter wheat planted. I’m hoping the wheat helps control the weeds. My previous garlic patch got so overgrown with thistles, nettles, and wild parsnip, that it’s hazardous to even walk through! I planted the wheat pretty densely. We’ll see what happens.

Field peas worked really well as a cover crop! They didn’t taste like the peas we’re used to, but they grew fast and strangled any weed that tried to challenge them! Hopefully that means next year’s garden will be a little easier. I don’t have the equipment to actually harvest the field peas, but I did grab a few ripe pods from around the edge.

Time to plan next year’s garden.

[Liz]

I picked several dozen green tomatoes right off the vine
set them on cut open brown paper bags on the cellar floor
away from the light.

When they turned red, they went right into the salad.

[Capt. Tom]

I picked several dozen green tomatoes right off the vine set them on cut open brown paper bags on the cellar floor away from the light.

I'll give that a try. -Tom