Sand under a microscope
Belgian Malinois
Hey, were you looking for the dog?
Posted on 12/18/2021 6:42:24 AM PST by 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.
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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.
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Lovely! Thanks!
Thanks, Pete!
No Roundup ... it’s a veggie bed, so I’m really careful what I use. Since it’s a raised bed, it’s relatively “easy” to pull up as opposed to being in turf. We’ll see how it goes this spring ... how much returns.
My Ex is Swedish, so we always made Glogg at Christmastime. It’s fun to light it on fire, LOL!
Sweet, warm, and spicy, glögg (pronounced “glue-gh”) is Sweden’s seasonal gift to chilly souls around the globe. Often enjoyed as a Christmas holiday drink, glögg means “glowing ember” and this mulled wine carries the classic connotations and merry musings of its Old Norse origins. Promising good cheer in a steamy cup, this punch charms with high-octane aromas, super spice, and the warm glow of good wine.
https://www.thespruceeats.com/traditional-glogg-recipe-3510987
I also made Swedish Meatballs for supper last night!
Thanks for the advice, you don’t say anything about letting them dry up and go dormant. I thought that was necessary.
I am tempted to keep one of them has 3 tiny side bulbs on it. I open the boxes before I decide on one. I got some nice ones many years ago on Easy to Grow bulbs.com. One was a particularly nice double. It did not rebloom so I gave it to a friend and - you guessed it - it bloomed for her. I am getting pretty cheap in my old age so I will try and keep them. Nice on the orchid. Phals are so easy to grow. My favorites are miltonias and I did get some to rebloom for me for years. I am sure you know if you cut a bloom spike halfway down just above a joint it will regrow and bloom again. Happens every time. Just wait til your last flower falls off. Whenever I see someone buying one at the grocery store I tell them about it.
Doing winter equipment maintenance.
Can’t believe the price increases and shortages. An oil filter went from $9.95 to $27.95, even on Amazon. The shelves were empty at Walmart for oil and filters. I’m trying to purchase a few extra to make it through the tough period.
I’ve never done the ‘dormant’ thing, but it works for Geraniums; I do know that! Based on what I know about their life-cycle, I would think dormancy would set them back, but that’s how we get new bulbs when we grow them, right?
I went to look and it all seems to be a bit confusing/conflicting, as far as sending it into a true dormancy, which some places are saying it does NOT need:
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/make-amaryllis-dormant-103672.html
http://www.amaryllisbulb.net/Amaryllis_Dormancy.html
Our best bet would be to move to Hawaii where they bloom in the ditches all year long like our Midwest orange ditch lilies, LOL!
Thanks for the orchid tip! I will try that if/when this one blooms for me again!
Belgian Malinois
Hey, were you looking for the dog?
Last minute Christmas Gifts from your Kitchen. You still have a week....or just make something for yourself. :)
https://gardentherapy.ca/last-minute-diy-christmas-gifts/
Crazy weather here in Central Missouri over the past week. Unseasonably warm temps and a pair of squalls that rolled in from the prairie bringing with them destruction and death. We were lucky here, prayers for those less fortunate.
No gardening this week. I’ve got a couple minor winterizing projects to knock out this weekend before I can get back to work on Mr. Clarence. With any luck I’ll have his hydraulic lift mechanism reassembled and bolted back on by Monday.
I’ve decided to quit thinking about a greenhouse and get busy building a greenhouse. I’m going to do it as a three-sided addition on the south side of my potting shed. I just need to figure out what sort of material I want to use and then go collect it and get to work.
I’ll check out those links thanks! Maybe I’ll try that if I can stand having them around. I always thought they needed that resting period. So they grow in the ditches in Hawaii huh? Cool. We went to Puerto Rico in 1978 for our honeymoon. Spent very little time in the city, explores most of the island. In the rainforest it was amazing, what we call houseplants here are growing all over like groundcover.
Go, Augie! :)
Love the ‘sand’ picture. I seem to remember that from somewhere - maybe high school? The leaping dog is incredible - but that poor last dog has terrible, TERRIBLE owners who do not pay enough attention to him or meet his needs. :(
(I say that as the owner of 14 dogs who have their every whim pretty much catered to, LOL! 13 in the kennels, ONE in the house.)
Hello from Buford Georgia where my crew and I battled incoming rain to get a yard ready for sell. We made it in 3 hours or less! And then the bottom fell out of the sky. It’s a warm day today, with temps near 60+.
MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Thank you Liz! And to you and yours!
Augie; Check out Pollard’s home page & SHTF index for some ideas on Greenhouses!
Recipe follows-----homemade apricot jam makes a great gift.
A GREAT TECHNIQUE TO MAKE GIFTS OF HOMEMADE JAM IN A JIF.
APRICOT JAM
ING 1kg apricots, lemon, juice and zest,1/2 cup water, 1kg sugar
STEPS Sterilising jars ensures safety when storing at room temperature in your pantry.
Sterilizing instructions below.
Halve apricots and deseed. Keep seeds, we’re cooking with them too, they add extra pectin which helps your jam set. Place a few small saucers in the freezer, for testing the setting point later on.
Place a heavy base wide pan on a medium heat. Add apricots, seeds, water, lemon juice and zest. Mix well and cook gently for 15 minutes to soften apricots. Add sugar and mix to combine. Dissolve sugar completely. Increase heat slightly to create a boil, reduce heat to medium. Cook for around 30 - 45 minutes until jam is set. Stir occasionally so jam doesn’t catch on bottom of pan and boil.
Ensure your jars are still hot from sterilising - I keep them in the oven on 100 until I need them. Carefully pour jam into jars, wipe rims, firmly secure lid and turn upside down to cool, set and seal. Turning your jar upside down reacts with the pressure of the lid, the heat of the jar and the heat of the jam to create a heat seal. This adds to safely storing your jam at room temperature. You’ll be able to tell if a proper seal has been created by lightly twisting the lid, it shouldn’t move. If you look at the lid it will dip in the middle slightly.
How to sterilise your jars and lids. Wash jars and lids really well in hot soapy water. Rinse them and place on clean tea towel. Place jars in cold oven. Turn oven on and set to 100 deg. Once oven is at 100 degrees C - time your jars for 10 minutes. I keep my jars in the oven until I’m ready to fill with hot jam. This is so the glass jar and jam are at a similar temperature and saves glass breakages. Place lids in a pot, fill with water. Boil lids on a rolling boil for 15 minutes. Place on a clean tea towel to air dry.
How to tell if your jam is set. As you begin to cook your jam, your bubbles will be short and sharp then changes to slower longer pops, there’ll also be less of them.
Remove a saucer from the freezer and spoon 1/2 teaspoon of jam onto cold saucer. Push your finger through jam. If jam runs back together - it needs more time. If jam stays separate - jam is done, take off heat immediately.
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