Posted on 06/05/2021 5:12:14 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Perfect description!
Very cool
Good Morning. Thanks for the ping. We have had loads of rain this week, some pretty cool nights, and not nearly enough sunshine. Weeds abound.
I got most of the beds weeded yesterday. Garlic finally had some scapes, which I have snipped off. I am thinking that I might just dehydrate them and turn them into powder to use when cooking.
I have way too much lettuce to eat. How does one “preserve” lettuce for later use? Any nifty recipes(I am getting tired of salads).
Hubby is working on the siding on the “grand old money pit shed”. Rain canceled the bobcat to do the grading. Now it’s wait again to let the ground dry out.
He says the “root/storm cellar” is ready for some shelves and storage. So I’ll be shopping for some shelves. Also time to order the cistern.
It’s been “snakeville” around here. Thursday, I pulled a 5-1/2 footer out of a nest box in the chicken coop next door. The following day (yesterday), my SIL pulled at least a 4-footer out (not as thick body as the one I wrangled). Thursday evening, she was walking across the field & a mockingbird alerted her to a snake in the field. She thinks it was smaller than the one she found yesterday. “My” snake will not be back. She released the snake she caught down the road – it will be back in a couple of days. These are Eastern Rat Snakes.
The garden is finally coming around & growing! The tomatoes (Celebrity & cherry tomato) have blooms. I’m not seeing little tomatoes yet – hope they’ll start setting fruit. My two cukes that got sunburned & I thought they’d die, have survived – they’re climbing the trellis & blooming. The peppers plants (2nd batch) are thriving & growing – letting them get some size in peat pots before putting them out in the garden was the way to go. Radishes have been harvested & just planted another row of French Breakfast radishes (our favorite now – we won’t be planting any other variety).
Flowers – Cardinal Climbing vines in pots have climbed over the last week to the top of the trellises. The ones in tub & stock tank are beginning to climb. Hopefully, they’ll start blooming soon – small red trumpet-shaped flowers that hummers like. I planted two beds of zinnias on June 1 & noticed the zinnias starting to peep through as of yesterday (warm temps/rain). The giant sunflowers I germinated in peat pots are in the raised bed now & I also planted some sunflower seeds (autumn colors & a yellow one that’s good for flower arrangements). The tithonia I started in peat pots are also in a raised bed now – as of yesterday, they looked greener & happier so they’re starting to take off a bit.
Hummers are back – not in the numbers we had last year, but enough to be entertaining. The swing on our front porch has a good view of a feeder I’ve hung off a maple tree branch. Between sunset & dusk, the hummers are really coming for their last meal of the day. I sat out until I could barely see the feeder last night, watching them. Also, in the bad news category, I think my “porch bunny” got eaten. It was hanging out in the hostas around the front porch & would occasionally come up the steps & on the porch, exploring ….. this was even when I was in the porch swing! I found a clump of bunny fur (some skin attached) just in front of the hostas on Thursday, so I think something got PB. One of the porch lizards (the broad-headed skink) is missing part of a previously long tail so it’s had a dangerous encounter of some sort as well As long as the snakes stay off the porch …...
Hot, hot, hot this coming week, along with humidity. We got an inch of rain over the last couple of days, so that’s great – didn’t have to water the garden the last 2-3 days. The wet soil has really helped my zinnia & radish seeds germinate quickly. Happy ‘summer’ everyone – I think summer temps are finally here!
Thx.
I have heard two opposing opinions on the scapes.
One is to snip them because it send the energy of the plant into the bulb and gives you a bigger bulb and better harvest.
The other is to let them go because it doesn’t make any difference.
Anyone have any experience with that?
I've got blooming cactus:
Pomegranates setting in (they need very little water):
Another bumper crop of lemons:
: I know they aren't "water-wise" but I can't go without roses. This one is called "George Burns."
And, one last one from my native plant/bee garden, called "Sticky Monkey Flower.":
Is there any way to remove crab grass for good? That stuff just flourishes in my front bed, and the roots are crazy long.
Wash lettuce and pat dry. Stack leaves about 1” thick and roll up in plastic wrap. Spray bundles with Canola oil cooking spray. Take 1 large Leporidae and pry mouth open, insert plastic wrapped lettuce bundles until Leporidae is doubled in size. Nail Leporidae in to 4’ x 4’ x 1/2” thick plywood. Place Leporidae Lettuce boards in Root Cellar. Store up to 6 months.
To use, remove Leporidae from plywood pull lettuce bundles and discard. Strip hide and remove entrails, rinse well and put in bucket of salted cool water. Prepare Dutch Oven with 1/4” of Olive Oil and preheat on medium high. Remove from salt water and pat dry with a towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and lay into heated oil and brown (sear) both sides. Repeat until 4 Leporidae are seared then place all 4 Leporidae back into Dutch Oven with 1 medium 1015 or Vidallia Onio cut into quarters, 6 Carrots- topped and washed and 6 sticks of Celery Stalks- washed. Cover with water to top of Leporidae and bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and cook for about 1 hour.
Serve with choice of Vegetables and Rice Pilaf. Enjoy.
(For fun leave ears and head intact to help get the Dinner conversation rolling. )
Use yoko ono spray. Gets rit of them in 6 shots.
Beetles....and worms of various sizes eating the leaves on my salvia and zinnias. 🐛 Not to mention aphids. Found aphids 2 weeks ago.
Hot out there for a few days, doing twice a day waterings on newly transplanted annuals when it is 90 and windy.
Send rain please
😅
I think clipping the scapes is the best.....anything extra on a plant does slow down the development of the fruit.....also, they taste damn good cooked in some butter, a litte lemon and salt....
I'm having trouble with seeds coming up....have had to replant three times now from different packages....once I get some of them up I can finish my planting and start prettying up the place....
husband built 11 raised beds this year out of pallets....so proud....
“I have way too much lettuce to eat. How does one “preserve” lettuce for later use? Any nifty recipes(I am getting tired of salads).”
Me, too! With our cool, sunny spring I’ve got lettuce and spinach coming out my ears!
How about using some of it up in Smoothies? You could then freeze the Smoothie liquid in ice cube trays for later use, too.
https://gastroplant.com/3-ingredient-lettuce-smoothie/
https://thecookful.com/lettuce-smoothie/
And, tons of other ways (recipes)to use up lettuce, here:
https://thecookful.com/category/head-lettuce-101/
I’ve got some nice Red Romaine right now, so I’m going to whip up some Tuna Salad and fill leaves with that for ‘sandwiches’ later!
One more idea: Taco Salad! So, I always thought Beau didn’t like ‘Mexican Food’ due to the sometimes spicy nature of it. Turns out he doesn’t like Tacos because of the mess they make - so I’ve been making Taco Salad instead and he gobbles it right up. Fajitas, too.
After ten years of looking, I thought I might have found his ‘fatal flaw’ which would be the end of us, because I could eat Mexican food every day of the week and never tire of it. So, I guess we’re stuck with one another, now. ;)
Beautiful, as always! So jealous of your fresh lemons!
I took pictures of my roses for you this morning; will post and ping you later today or this evening. :)
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