Weekly Garden Thread - October 16-22, 2021

October 16, 2021 | Diana in Wisconsin/Greeneyes

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[daniel1212]

Thanks for the ping. We have been blessed with warmer than usual dry weather the last 2 weeks, which I think is the longest we have gone without rain and frequent overcast skies since June, and thus we still see growth and steady harvest or tomatoes, while the squash is still waiting to be plucked, praise God. .

The mongrel flower garden is also doing good overall, though wee know not the names of most of the flowers.

[Bon of Babble]

I am in the process of switching over my garden from summer to fall/winter for the upcoming holidays.

It's cyclamen season again - hope I didn't plant them too early, they'll last until June.

Had a fight (again) with white flies on my hibiscus (paid a whole dollar for it on the 'dead table' at the local nursery). Fought the flies with worm castings and a product called "All Seasons Horticultural Oil." It seems to have worked:

And finally, Happy Gardening:

[NTHockey]

Any recommendations on a chain saw? Looking for a cordless, 14” is big enough. Skil and Kobalt look good.

[FamiliarFace]

That’s me for sure! I can’t seem to pull off the flannel right.

It’s very crisp outside this morning. I like Fall, but I am a Summer girl for sure. Actually I like all of the seasons, but my favorite is still Summer.

[bert]

I will strongly suggest EGO. I just bought one to go with the EGO 56 volt lawnmower, weed eater and two leaf blowers.

EGO came from nowhere as a founder of the battery yard tools. Ican testify that my experience is that the quality is high.

One of the truly great events in my life is not having to deal with #$%^*# two cycle gasoline engines any more

They all use the same 56 volt batteries and I have two.

I bought the ego chainsaw on line via Amazon but can look at them at Lowes

[FamiliarFace]

I need to give the horticultural oil a try. The whiteflies have been pesky this year.

I’ve had a small harvest of Rutgers tomatoes this season, but each one has been spectacular! I will definitely look for that variety next year.

I also need to harvest my lemon verbena leaves to make a lemon verbena liqueur. I did that for the first time last year, and it was soooo good. I used Grey Goose vodka as the base. I’m not much of a vodka drinker, but adding this liqueur to tea makes an excellent Arnold Palmer with a twist.

My teeny tiny shallots that I planted in June because I had forgotten about them are still pretty small. There are maybe two that are the size of small ones at the grocery. The others are still quite small, about the size of a cherry. So I’m leaving them where they are in the hopes that by November I can have something.

If they are still too small to harvest, should I leave them outside and try again next year? Or do I bring them in and over winter with grow lights? Looking for advice.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Tuna covered with pickled Lemon Starburst peppers. Not only does it give a nice burst of sweetness and heat to a sandwich, it also works as an excellent laxative :-)

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Tuna covered with pickled Lemon Starburst peppers. Not only does it give a nice burst of sweetness and heat to a sandwich, it also works as an excellent laxative :-)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

TO CLIP THE RECIPE CLICK ON THE PHOTO AND RETURN TO THE OCTOBER 9-15 WEEKLY GARDEN THEAD!
(CREAM & SUGAR WITH THAT CUP OF COFFEE PLEASE! )

CLICK ON PICTURE BELOW TO LINK TO RESOURCE AREA. BOOKS, MAGAZINES, GARDENING SEEDS, SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT, AND INTERESTING GARDENING LINKS HARVESTED FROM PREVIOUS GARDENING THREADS!"

(The resource area is posted at the end of the the July 3-6 Gardening Thread beginning after post 112!)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Your yard is so CUTE! :)

[blueunicorn6]

Looks like the laxative already worked.

I humbly apologize for my comment, but I couldn’t help myself.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I’m a Spring and Fall girl - and I DO like winter sports as we snowshoe and ride our snowmobiles when we get a good pack of snow.

Summer = Nothing But Work to me, and I HATE our summer humidity.

I’m outside all winter and inside in the A/C as much of the summer as I can be, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

LOL! You’re nuts! ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thanks, Pete!

[FamiliarFace]

I think I’m outside as much as I can be each season. Humidity here in the summer isn’t terrible. Because I’m a Native Floridian, I’m not very keen on single digit temps, unless there’s snow to make it pretty to look at and play in. I do love the change of seasons, so I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to move back to Florida permanently. Plus, I can’t see us being snowbirds. So, for the time being, we are Midwesterners, as we have been for the last 30+ years, and it doesn’t look like that will be changing any time soon.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

So, I finally got my pantry under the stairs and off the Dining Room organized! I moved bulky equipment that I only use once a year or so to another closet, which freed up a TON of room in there. Then I filled it up with supplies and all of the canned goods I put up the entire month of September and a little into October. Still haven't processed pumpkins, yet. I'm happy with the results.

Homemade Amaretto and Dilly Beans will get us through the winter, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Once you’re here, it’s hard to leave the Midwest. I’ve traveled a LOT, lived in ‘72 degrees and sunny’ all year long southern California for a few years, but I always come home to Wisconsin. I’ll be leaving ‘Feet First’ when the time comes, LOL! :)