Weekly Garden Thread - Feb 26-March 4, 2022 [Grow a Tea Garden Edition]

February 26, 2022 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memorium

[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 a 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]

I ordered some of the Salanove-brands to grow in my unheated greenhouse last year. Of course, it stayed so WARM here this fall that I ended up having problems with mice eating whatever I had growing, so that didn’t work as planned.

Does anything? LOL!

I will try them again this spring. Yes, the price was a little more, but they looked really ‘beefy’ for lettuces, had good cold & heat resistance and Johnny’s does a GREAT job of up-selling* me. ;)

*”We’re selling the SIZZLE, Baby! NOT the steak!”

[Pollard]

Well with all the charts, calculators and articles, johnny’s stuff is value added.

Winter Harvest Planting Chart https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/methods-tools-supplies/winter-growing-season-extension/winter-harvest-planting-chart.html

Overwintering Planting Chart https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/methods-tools-supplies/winter-growing-season-extension/overwintering-planting-chart.html

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Try this. If she doesn't kill you, she still loves you!

Or, ask her to read this:

7 Ways to Overcome Your Fear of the Unknown And Get More Out of Life

The Bottom Line

To live your dreams and embrace life, you have to be fearless and willing to step into the unknown. There is no other way to live your life to its fullest potential. Listening to your fear of the unknown will only result in a life where you live in discomfort and dissatisfaction with life.

The 7 strategies are tools that you can use to help you overcome your fear of the unknown and become the courageous person you were born to be. Go live your life to the fullest. Embrace change, ride the wave of fear and experience life to the fullest. You will not regret it – that is a promise!

https://www.lifehack.org/347868/why-fear-the-unknown

Also, remind her that you won't be being shot at on a REGULAR basis at your new job! ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That would be good in Tea or Coffee! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Lots of news from your corner of the world! Great news on the lambs! Sorry about the chickens. Are you sure you got the story straight? LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I don’t remember if you have raspberries or not, but raspberry leaf makes a nice tea, too.

Some problems if you’re planning on getting pregnant, though! ;) Supposedly it helps with menstrual cramps.

Thank gawd THOSE two ships have sailed, LOL!

[Augie]

Orchard crops are a crap shoot when you live in a place where half of your weather comes from the GoM, and the other half comes from the North Pole.

I should probably spend some time pruning my trees today. I’d hate for them to be looking scraggly when their buds get frozen.

There’s still frost in the ground here. The soil isn’t going to be workable until the freeze/thaw cycles have ended. I just need it to thaw a little bit so I can dig the footers for the green-to (green-to - I just made that up. I am SO clever. lol) addition to the potting shed.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yes! Johnny’s IS a great resource!

[MomwithHope]

LOL also. Yes we have scads of wild black raspberries. When we’ve had a good rainy season they are great to pick and many near the house and barn. Thanks. We also have 3 big red raspberry plantings we put in last year. They were big bushes to begin with it and we had lots of fruit the first year.

[Liz]

Your gorgeous tea pic inspired me.

[MomwithHope]

Thanks again Pete, I’ve been reading more about it. For now it being winter I’ll be picking up a box of Celestial Seasonings blueberry tea at the store tomorrow.

[Qiviut]

Oh, I’m sending that to my SIL! Funny/not funny.

One of the hens was not a “high” roosting bird. Four of them were not on the roosting pole, but actually in the rafters, waaaay up there, in the Chicken Palace. The old shed previously had a flat/slanted top that rotted out, so when repaired, a regular pointed metal roof was put on with rafters & that is where 4 of the 5 would go.

So “low” hen was in a corner (3 walls are wood about 4 feet up, then wire - back wall, with nesting boxes, is solid wood all the way up) for a long time. She finally moved to the roosting pole - big step forward. Maybe she was afraid of heights? LOL. Anyway, when I would go to shut the coop doors at night & collect the last eggs for the day, I would spend time with this low hen. I stroked her feathers & talked to her - we were sort of ‘buddies’. She would do her little chicken purr/growl when I messed with her. I always enjoyed seeing her. The last 2-3 months or so, she finally was getting up in the rafters & I was glad to see it - much safer at night. Unfortunately, she is not the hen who survived. That stinkin’ fox was raiding during the day when the hens were in the run, not up in the rafters.

[Augie]

My time worked out better than expected yesterday.

I picked up the poly panels, brought those home and unloaded them, then went to Lowe’s and bought the framing lumber and brought it home.

Parked the trailer next to the garden and tarped it down. If the ground thaws a bit today I might be able to dig in the footers and get started on the framing.

I needed another project like I need another hole in my head, but this one will pay off for years to come so it is Job One until it’s finished.

[Qiviut]

I am dodging carbs and sugars in my effort to lose more weight (down 70lbs and want to drop another 15-25) so scotch is not an option.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Good for you!!! I’m very low carb as in <20/day (definitely no sugar, grains, vegetable seed oils) & down 65 lbs. Actually, Scotch & other “hard” liquors have no carbs .... you “can” drink them. Of course, the alcohol isn’t that good for you, but if it gets too bad, a scotch now & again (or another hard luquor) isn’t going to make or break your low carb lifestyle.

I hope once you move, your wife will find some peace.

[Qiviut]

Oh boy .... sent this pic to my SIL. She said the fox actually came in the YARD yesterday while she was on the screened porch with some company! That is BOLD!! The fox knows there are more chickens to be had ... the small coop, where the two hens (massacre survivor & the retired old hen) are residing is just inside the line between what is ‘yard’ & what is not. My guess is that fox is pregnant .... and very hungry!

The old hunting dog usually goes nuts around the barn’s old ground hog holes that the mama foxes use to den, if there are actually kits in them. So far, he sniffs and moves on .... no kits yet.

[Qiviut]

For those of us who love caramel syrup, but do not do “sugar”, here is a link to a low carb recipe (1.42g/serving which is 2 tablespoons):

https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/the-best-low-carb-caramel-sauce/

The author of this recipe, Carolyn Ketchum (All Day I Dream About Food website), is probably the premier low-carb baking master chef. All of her stuff turns out well.

[Ellendra]

Thank you.

I’m doing an ultra-low-carb diet too. Giving it a 2-week test to see if it will actually work for me. My metabolism is weird, so I don’t always get the results the books say I should. But this week I went a little too far and actually had to add carbs back in after I started seeing early warning signs of ketoacidosis. It’s a balancing act, that’s for sure.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Stones and rocks! Imagine that!

Rocky hillside Good sources of minerals! A place to search for water.

Dead trees. Oak wilt disease? Maybe the water table dropped? That disease that is spread by magnolias? (I assume mostly oaks?)

[Qiviut]

The great thing about low carb is that you can adjust it to what works for you .... everyone is different. The big thing is that you should feel GOOD doing it!!

Low carb for me is 0 to 20 or less, which is pretty extreme. I’m all but carnivore, so eating that low is not hard. I have a LOT of food allergies (31 out of 33 tested!) & chronic hives, plus I’m pretty sensitive to carbs, so that is what works for me. I didn’t start that low - started with a keto diet/recipes (love casseroles) & gradually worked down to very simple meals, just meat, maybe broccoli or cabbage or squash as a side, an egg, etc. Unfortunately, as much as I love them, I am reactive to nightshades - ignored it for years, ate them anyway, & now that I’m off of them, I realize the price I was paying. I finally started knocking out one by one all the veggies & kept feeling better & better doing that.

So that being said, in the last 3 months or so, I decided to add back a little bit of carb ... my body can now handle it without going nuts & shooting off a load of insulin. What appears to work very well is to add something that is considered “ancestral” & “natural” - if you were a hunter/gatherer, it is something you would eat. Two things that meet those criteria are berries (a few/handful - blueberries are good) and honey. Honey you say?? Isn’t that sugar? Real, raw honey, not heat treated, the darker the better and honey like this is not pourable is what we’re talking about .... it’s something produced by bees, so not artificial at all. Honey is a prized treat for hunter/gatherers. I will have a teaspoon with a meal or as a treat. I have no “reaction” (blood sugar going up/crashing back, etc.). I feel good adding that in to my diet. That is something you could try. Also, some squash (not butternut!) works for some very low carb folks if they need a bit more carb .

If you are not reactive to plants, you could add in a few more carby vegetables. A lot of people find some sweet potato works for them.

A question for you ... do you really mean ‘ketoacidosis’? This is an issue with Type 1 diabetics (you may be, I don’t know), but is not the same as dietary ketosis.

Here’s a link to explain the difference:

https://www.vaxxenlabs.com/ketosis-ketoacidosis-benefits-side-effects/

Many folks try hard to stay in dietary ketosis, but some thoughts that I’m seeing more recently are that while there are health benefits to being in ketosis, being in a constant state of ketosis is maybe not such a good thing. If you’re really low carb all the time, adding a little selected carb is likely a good thing to do ... again, you should be feeling good doing that.

[Pollard]

Orchard crops are a crap shoot when you live in a place where half of your weather comes from the GoM, and the other half comes from the North Pole.

Are you in the Ozarks too? Cold dry Canadian air mass meets warm wet Gulf air and they battle it out to see who'll win. Don't like the weather? Wait a minute.