Posted on 08/13/2022 6:58:22 AM PDT 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.
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!
Thanks!
I tell my relatives in Pennsylvania and Florida - who have been hit with hard rains - to tip the country our direction.
They’re sick of all the water...and we can’t find any.
I am really surprised this year that I haven’t gotten a lot of bees - I have a large area in the back of my property that is dedicated to bees and butterflies - in past years, I’ve told my family not to go back there b/c of the amount of bees (I’m trying to do my part to save them!).
This year...few to no bees, even though the bee garden is in full bloom. Very odd.
Plenty of butterflies, both monarchs, swallowtails and sulphurs, and some humming birds too, have no idea why there are so few bees.
I saw those bee houses at my local gardening store and was thinking of putting in one or two.
It's amazing what water can do over time. I think some of the most fascinating spots are UNDERWATER, though:
"The Incredible 'Underwater Waterfall' of Mauritius. When viewed from above, the runoff of sand and silt deposits creates the incredibly spectacular impression of an 'underwater waterfall'. Satellite views (such as this Google Map screenshot) are equally dramatic, showing an underwater vortex seemingly appearing off the coast of this tropical paradise."
"Unless you have a carrot or a scoop of sweet oats, we have nothing further to discuss. Good Day, Madam! I said, GOOD DAY!"
Diana’s Summer Salsa
4 cups tomatoes, seeded and chopped small
1 small green and 1 small red pepper chopped small
1 small sweet onion finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 small Jalapeno pepper, seeded and membrane removed, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground Cumin
1/2 tsp. ground Chipotle (can sub Smoked Paprika)
2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Mix together and enjoy with chips or on anything you like! Add some drops of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or if you want it spicier, or add a second Jalapeno. Store remainder, covered, in the fridge. Eat within a few days for best flavor/consistency. If it gets ‘wet’ just drain it and add back some EVOO.
Add chopped, fresh Cilantro if desired - I didn’t have any on hand.
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/calculator-planting-dates-fall-harvest-crops.html
The link actually goes to an xslx spreadsheet file. Plug in your first frost date here.
and the dates will change below
Like so
Too late for me for a lot of things unless I use row covering or build hoop houses or both but still time for greens and leaf lettuce. According to the xlsx text, add 2-3 weeks for hoophouse or 4-5 weeks for hoophouse plus row covers.
As has been said, here in the Ctrl MO Ozarks, we can get a frost in Sept or we might not get a frost until next year so planning calculators are a best guess.
Of course different varieties can vary in days to harvest. Baker Creek has 65 day cabbage to 120 day cabbage. I've got some 70 day Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage seeds here and 70 days from today is Oct 23 so I could probably get away with it.
Date calculator. Set a date and add or subtract days to get a calculated date. https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadded.html
I have that printed out and ready to go! After I deal with the tomatoes, peppers, (more) green beans, (peaches are all put up), grapes, pears and apples - if I’m still alive - I will plant some fall things, LOL!
I always do lettuces and spinach and will continue to grow them in my (unheated) greenhouse well into the fall.
Click the image and it will open a full size version in a new tab/window.
We have not seen as many honey bees around either.
His look screams “aloof”. Actually “nobly aloof”. I would spoil him rotten. Thanks for the pic.
So here is what I am thinking for my remaing plantings:
Beets: Boro beets take 50 days so they might still be possible to grow. (presoak seed water and fish fertilizer then plant planting.) They might even do better than spring plantings, start in heat, finish in cool. The limiting factor is the declining daily sunlight. If no beets, then beet greens! Boro is a good beet variety. (Will plant tomorrow!)
(https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/beets/round-beets/boro-f1-beet-seed-3300.html)
Lettuce. Started in jiffy pots, need to pull up last determinate tomatoes to plant! (You could presoak some early ones like red oak leaf and try.
If started tonight, Bossa nova zucchini is 45 days. (Hopefully) Probably only a few zukes and you would need to hand pollinate! I recently put in tomatoes, Burpee long store transplants. Total crap shoot and I knew it. Still who knows! (Graft the suckers to another older tomato?? might work. As you point out, addition of some frost protective garden fabric would help extend the season, especially for kohl crops which handle cold well anyway.
Also turnips and spinach!
There's no telling here. We've had some Winters where we never got a hard freeze until January.
Meanwhile, May had June's weather, June had July's and Aug is looking to have Sept's weather.
That could mean Sept will have Oct's weather. Or not.
Whatever I plant for Fall will have to be in nice straight rows to make it easier to cover them. I've got some 11 gauge 200k psi high tensile fence wire that's very stiff. I can make 3-4 foot hoops out of those and get some cheap plastic for row covers. Old sheets or cut up tarps would work too for overnight. Even when we get frosts in Oct/Nov the long spells of cold don't set in until Dec/Jan/Feb.
Going to start some seeds today, probably just greens and lettuce and then it's on to firewood which I'm once again behind on. My wood stove likes very well seasoned wood so I should always have all I need for Winter by the preceding Spring so it has all summer to dry. I'm going to cut trees up near the house where I have a ton of small ones. That and drive the rest of the property and likely find a couple of good sized standing dead trees.
It was a bit less hot than it has been over the past week here in Central Missouri.
I’ve had the summer kitchen in overdrive. I’m up to 70qts processed so far this summer. Had to pull off just a bit over the weekend so Mrs. Augie and I could make a quick run to Ft. Riley to visit #3 Son, DiL, and the grands. Son received notice two weeks ago that he will be off on a six-ish month deployment to a semi-bad place this week. Not really a good thing considering all of the stuff that’s happening out there right now.
After getting home yesterday afternoon I picked ~20lbs of roma tomatoes. Washed em, chopped em up, and tossed em into the fridge. I made spaghetti sauce from the last load so this one will be turned into salsa. When that batch is done I need to run a couple loads of tomato juice that I’ve squeezed out of the recent sauce runs.
I’m finished making cucumber pickles, but Mrs. Augie is still putting up some of the fermented variety. I’ll do another few loads of tomatoes then I need to get back to green beans and run a load or two of okra pickles.
My sweet corn seed arrived from Jung’s on Friday. I had the patch ready so was able to make quick work of getting some seed into the dirt. I expect to see that stuff spiking any time now. Hopefully I’ll get a good stand and not have to replant.
Still need to run peaches and apples but I’m not sure how to fit that work in with everything else that needs to be done.
This summer I tried a variety called ‘Chocolate Cherry’ and have been wholly impressed. In spite of utter neglect (here we pretty much use cherry tomatoes for eating out of hand while we’re working outdoors, so I don’t put forth any effort to maintain them) they have flourished.
There are hundreds of golf ball sized toms on each of the three plants and the fruit is absolutely delicious. It reminds me of a miniature Purple Cherokee, except they are remarkably resistant to splitting after a rainfall.
I like them well enough that I’m going to save back some seed and see if I can skip the ‘buy-it-again’ exercise next spring.
Not if the NOAA is to right (but rarely predicts lower than average temps)
Meanwhile,
The guys over at snowmobilers.com have released their early snow forecast for winter 2022/23. Now, the Farmer’s Almanac, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, and the NOAA don’t usually release their winter forecasts until late August/early September, so take this one with a pinch of salt.
https://snowbrains.com/winter-2022-2023-snow-forecast/
1000 inches of snow and single-digit temps for New England would be AWESOME! (I would wish for below-zero temps, but those temps wouldn’t be practical for heavy snow...)
Thanks. Another type: https://vitegreenhouses.com/HarvestDateCalculator.asp
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/extended-forecast
The Old Farmer's Almanac as you say, won't be releasing winter weather until Aug 30th. https://www.almanac.com/winter-extended-forecast-farmers-almanac
Accuweather shows OMG mid season severe weather for me.
Late frosts
Not much for early snows
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-forecasts/accuweather-us-fall-forecast-2022/1223997
Being in the Ozarks, we'll know the weather when it gets here. For those of us near the I-44 magical weather line. We watch storms slide up I-44 either on the North or South side but never daring to cross.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
