Weekly Garden Thread - July 2-8, 2022 [Our Founding Gardeners Edition]

July 2, 2022 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[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]

They are truly works of art! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

FWIW, I have a houseful of guests from Noon today though end of day Monday - then more relatives in town next week. Those ‘City Folk’ sure like spending time on our farm, LOL!

I will be in and out, so if I don’t get to your questions in a timely manner, this is why.

I’ll have two photo updates ASAP - a Garden Tour of my garden and some MAJOR tree take-downs we accomplished earlier this week. To say I am GLAD THAT’S OVER is the understatement of the year! :)

[spankalib]

I was just watching her!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Ah, guests!

Let them know you appreciate their response to your request for folks to come out to help weed your vegetable garden over this busy weekend! :)

Look forward to pictures of your arborist creating next years wood pile!

Have a good weekend!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

For anyone who has not done what you did that here is a really cheap solution to insect protection for about $1!

Walmart Mosquito Net This would fit right over my 24" x 72" raised bed frames.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Alas Duncan; I hear author Teri Ann Williams washing her hands and saying it now! "Out Damned Spot!"

Avoiding soil and wearing masks make a certain amount of sense if you garden in the polluted industrial waste land left behind by the communists in eastern Europe!

Thank goodness most of us here don't have that problem!

https://qz.com/993258/dirt-has-a-microbiome-and-it-may-double-as-an-antidepressant/

Snip...."In 2004, Mary O’Brien, an oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, published a paper with unexpected results: She injected lung cancer patients with a common, harmless soil bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, to see if it could prolong their life. M. vaccae had some success in earlier trials where it was tested for its abilities to fight drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis and boost immune system response. O’Brien thought maybe the bacteria could help her patients’ immune systems beat back the cancer in their lungs. It failed.

Only, it succeeded elsewhere: the bacteria injection “significantly improved patient quality of life,” O’Brien wrote in the paper detailing the findings. Her patients were happier, expressed more vitality, and better cognitive functioning—in short, it reduced the emotional toll of advanced cancer." snip....

"A few years later, Christopher Lowry, a neuroscientist at the University of Bristol, injected M. vaccae into mice and subjected them to a series of stress tests. The ones inoculated with the bacteria showed far less stressed behavior than their untreated counterparts—in fact, they acted as if they were on antidepressants. In a 2007 paper published in the journal Neuroscience, Lowry and his team wrote that the bacteria activated groups of neurons in the mouse brains responsible for producing serotonin—a neurotransmitter that, when impaired, can cause depression. Even more intriguingly, the neurons that lit up were also known to be related to immune response, suggesting an intimate connection between the immune system and emotional health.

The world of biomedical research has already fallen in love with the promising realm of the human gut microbiome. A body of emerging evidence tells us the millions of microbes in our digestive tract influence our immune systems, our smells, our mood, and possibly even our attractiveness to mosquitoes—and to other people. But M. vaccae expands this thinking to the microbiome of the pile of mulch in your backyard.

There’s now pretty good evidence to draw at least an outline of a conclusion: Breathing in, playing in, and digging in dirt may be good for your health. Our modern, sterilized life in sealed-off office buildings and homes are likely not. Researchers have already found clear evidence that childhood exposure to outdoor microbes is linked to a more robust immune system; for example, Bavarian farm children who spent time in family animal stables and drank farm milk had drastically lower rates of asthma and allergies throughout their lives than their neighbors who did not." more at link

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Bon; Great looking plumeria! L. J. what do you think?

[little jeremiah]

Your garden is amazing.

You must be able to plant earlier than SW Oregon.

I should visit this thread more often.

The plumerias make me happy and sad. :-D

[Ellendra]

According to Jackie Clay, boil the brine by itself. Pack the raw cucumbers into hot jars, and pour the hot brine over top. she also skips the boiling water bath, letting the heat from the brine do the rest. More info here: https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/JackieClay/2012/09/16/q-and-a-amish-cole-slaw-insects-and-weather-and-pickle-crisp/

Personally that would make me nervous, but I don’t eat pickles anyway. The pickle-eaters in my family prefer relish, and the texture for relish isn’t quite as crucial.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Then you know what I mean. So ambitious and making her dreams come true. :)

[Pollard]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coghlans-Mosquito-Net/21863736

Size: 32” x 78” x 59” - $11.53

In feet: 2.66’ x 6.5’ x 5’ = 86.45 sq ft for $12

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https://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/row-covers-and-accessories/frost-protection/agribon/agribon%2B-ag-19-10-x-50-row-cover-9065.html

10’ x 50’ = 500 sq ft for $24

85% light transmission

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Agfabric seems to be a popular insect netting. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=agfabric+insect+netting

4’ x 100’ for $38 - https://www.ebay.com/itm/334482763796?hash=item4de0b9f014:g:J80AAOSweWlitCS9

Assortment of sizes - https://www.amazon.com/Agfabric-Netting-Protect-Flowers-Squirrels/dp/B016UCBZBO?th=1

Website - https://www.agfabric.com

They also make various sized bags including some big enough to go over fruit trees.

Ebay - agfabric insect netting - lowest to highest price - https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=agfabric+insect+netting+&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=15

[Colonialman]

Orange Oil also works 2 oz per gallon water in sprayer for fruit trees and veggies. Spray early in morning to not burn plants. Organic.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Correction to post 45; intended to say $11, not $1 for the mosquito netting. (About $12 actually.)

See Pollards subsequent post for a number of Reemay and Agribon fabrics. Some sources are also listed in the Gardening info in his Prepper links. Pollard's prepper links

These are great products for protecting young plants from insects or cold or hail! Larger sizes are available for small vegtable or truck gardens. I used some of these in making the row covers shown at:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4059165/posts?q=1&;page=101 I think post 107.

The idea for the Mosquito netting was from someone else (I do not recall who....) What I found attractive was being able to put it up without a lot of fabrication or alteration, just pound in posts at the corners and tie up the netting. It should be able to accommodate 4 or 5 fully grown brussel sprout plants, which would equal pretty much my annual eating tolerance for this particular crucifer!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Ah L.J., thanks! There are a of great gardens on this thread!

I understand about the plumeria. Beautiful to look at, but something mostly in the past.

[little jeremiah]

No way could I grow it at my place... And the wild ginger white and yellow (off the beaten track), and the stephanotis (my house), and false pikaki (up the old Nuuanu road) , and I knew where all the good plumerias were to pick. Mostly graveyards, no one cared. In the old days, many people would let others pick plumerias in their yards, of one asked nicely. Or even help!

So many years ago.

[little jeremiah]

I’ve read one can use grape leaves in pickles too. I made them using directions from one of DH Polish relatives.

Wash picked, cut off blossom end. Pack in clean pint jars, add cold water and some salt (will have to look amount, memory which may lie says 3 t??), head of dill if handy, clove of garlic if one likes (I do not), cukes should be covered, put lid, shake. Store in dark place and shake every now and then. Put an old towel underneath them and sometimes bubbles up. Done when they’re done.

Best pickles I ever ate. In Poland, at least in “those days”, every household make a crock of sauerkraut and crock of pickles. Even city dwellers would have garden space somewhere.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Good tip! Thanks! :)

[hardspunned]

That’s similar to the recipe I use, although I’ve never sealed them in jars. I planning on doing some experimenting and will try your method next week. Thanks.

[little jeremiah]

I didn’t seal them per se, as in regular canning. I normally do water batch canning of fruit and jam, have done applesauce and chutneys. Don’t do pressure canning. But the pickles I just put in the jars, screwed the two piece lids on normally, put in closet. Voila! Hoping to get plenty of cukes this year to try again.

[Diana in Wisconsin]