Weekly Garden Thread - November 5-11, 2022 [Fall Gardening Chores Edition]

November 5, 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.

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[Ellendra]

Testing dry leaves as chicken bedding this year. A neighbor gave us 5 bags of leaves for the garden, but dad didn’t like how last year’s leaves took so long to break down, so he doesn’t want to till any more in. I emptied one bag of leaves into the chicken run so they could get used to the material. They seem happy, and I’ve noticed they aren’t digging holes like they usually do, so that’s a win!

Still trying to get stuff harvested from the farm. Just have the beefy beans left to do. I got some harvested, but not enough. I’m going to try using a mower with a bagger attachment. I saw a blog where someone mentioned using one to harvest dwarf grain, so I figure it’s worth a shot. Borrowing a little push-mower for the test. If it works I’ll invest in a riding mower for that job. I need a better way to harvest these beans!

[Qiviut]

The better part of my week has been “Adventures with Plumbing”.

Wednesday – leak discovered between house & barn. No shutoff …. water to the house had to be shut off to stop the leak. I hauled 5 gallon buckets of water to the back deck for toilet flushing. Dishes washed, coffee pots filled for the morning, some extra containers filled & the water was off until we could get an emergency repair done Thursday.

Thursday …. bright and early started digging near the top of the wet spot. This is on a slight hill, so the water would be seeping down hill. It took a while to get down about 18”- 2 feet … and there was the pipe. Dad thought he had a T-joint in that spot & shortly after finding the pipe, there were clamps visible & after maybe 45 minutes to an hour of digging, there was the T-joint. We cut the pump back on & a fine spray of water was shooting out of the T-joint – source of leak discovered..

Then came the REAL digging. I had to dig back up hill until we had enough pipe exposed that I could pull it up to work on it …. that was probably about 2 feet. We made a quick trip to the hardware store to see if we could find a pipe cutter instead of trying to cut the pipe with a hacksaw (which would have been a nightmare, because that's how it's always been done before). Voila – my new favorite tool – a ratchet pipe cutter! Works like a charm – got the pipe cut off in no time.

We got a valve on the end of the pipe (emergency repair, not the final one) & all was grand – right? Wrong ….. the darn valve was leaking. Dad kept saying I didn't have the clamps tight enough. Well, they were as tight as I could get them.(he is mobility disabled & could not get out of his golf cart to help me). I got to looking at the setup. Hmmm …. there should be NO threads showing on the piece that joined the valve & pipe – at least 2 threads were showing & that is where it was leaking. So I pulled it all apart & dad re-did the tape/screwing that piece into the valve. He used two adjustable pliers this time (he'd just hand screwed it before) & got it ALL the way in – no threads showing. Back in the pipe & clamp time. I adjusted slightly the location of the first clamp, got the second one on, tightened with both hands on the screw driver, then used a drill to get maybe another 1/8th inch …. cut on the water …. not a single drip! Success!!

The end ? …. nope! Permanent fix yet to go. Dad kept insisting there was another T-joint that went to a shed. The first T-joint that was leaking went off toward the neighbor's and there is nothing there – no hydrant, no nothing (found out later that pipe was capped). I needed to dig out the pipe below the T-joint so we could connect our new valve back to the pipe – the T-joint could be cut out. So I was digging a good part of yesterday afternoon. The first problem was a tangle of roots at least ¾ to 1 inch in diameter right across where the trench needed to go. I ended up with my Pulaski and chopping out the worst of it. I am happy to report that after being out of trail maintenance for 6 years or so, I am still accurate with a full swing of the Pulaski, hitting the same spot to cut those roots. More digging …. smaller roots, rocks …. frustrating. I was seeing clamps, but no T-joint to the shed. Another 8” to a foot and there was the 2nd T-joint going off the other way. This was about dinner time and a couple of ibuprofen later - rough day.

The brother came up this morning & the permanent repair has been made. We'll leave the hole open for a couple of days & make sure there are no leaks. The plan is to put a valve box over the valve … still a little worried about the other T-joint since it's at least 30 years old! I also have some sand-like stuff to dump in over the pipe/joint so digging it out again if we have to won't be so hard.

Those pine needles have just fallen – really coming down in a good breeze – will probably be raking pine needles for next year's mulch tomorrow.

Garden? What garden? LOL … I did manage to get another roll of fence wire, but that's it.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You win, LOL! I’ll quit complaining about having to stain the deck this past week. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

What a cutie! Some type of Spaniel? Does s/he have a name?

[spankalib]

Looks like border collie! My fave.

[Qiviut]

What was it ... 213 (or 231) spindles?? You are a better woman than I am! :-)

[freemama]

The wind-whipped rain here is really something today! No gardening happening. Hope our RonJohn and Michels signs stay put in the front yard.

[Albion Wilde]

[Diana in Wisconsin]

233! Ugh! But, it’s done now and looks wonderful.

Putting together plans to decorate it, and I want to have a ‘Christmas in July’ party next summer. I figure that the kids (Grand Nieces & Nephews) can destroy landscaping versus our house.

And whoever wants to stay over can camp - which a lot of the family likes to do. The Army kind of ruined, ‘camping’ for me. ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

With our warm fall, I saw a blooming dandelion the other day!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thanks, Pete!

[Qiviut]

I never was much into camping of any sort, but the party sounds great!

My jalapenos are refusing to turn red. I’m disappointed & a bit angry about this - ruining my Jalapeno Pepper Jelly plans. I’ve got at least 2 relatives who expect jelly for Christmas.

The recalcitrant jalapenos became jalapeno poppers tonight - so good! There are still more on the plants & all next week will be good weather, so maybe some of those on the plants will turn - fingers crossed.

[Albion Wilde]

With our warm fall, I saw a blooming dandelion the other day!

That naughty little yellow thing! Hope you beheaded it before its hair turned white.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

“The plan is to put a valve box over the valve “

This is a good idea! Hopefully you will be able to reach down to shut it off!

(You have a plug on a low spot out at the end to drain down the system for winter prep?)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Maybe bring them in, put them in a bowl with ripening bananas? (Tomatos too!)

[Liz]

ASIAN LETTUCE WRAPS / good for leftover turkey

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the turkey until it’s heated, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger to the skillet. Stir and cook 30 seconds, til aromatic. Mix in rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin, chili garlic sauce, green onion. Stir well and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Assemble Lettuce Wraps – Break leaves off the butter lettuce. Wash the leaves and dry them well. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the mixture into your lettuce cup, and top with peanuts and some fresh green onion.

HOW TO SERVE
Lettuce wraps are so fun because you get to assemble them just how you like, with a variety of toppings! It’s a good excuse to play with your food. Once you’ve scooped your filling and toppings onto your lettuce cup, wrap ’em up and enjoy!

You can serve your lettuce wraps as an appetizer or depending on the toppings – a full meal!

BUTTER LETTUCE

The butter lettuce is important because it has the perfect shape, flexibility and texture to allow you to serve your lettuce wraps with ease, while other types of lettuce can break and fall apart, leaving a mess.

Asian wraps typically use iceberg lettuce because it gives the dish a nice crispness, but in my opinion, I think it is hard to roll! Which is why I prefer using the butter lettuce.

WHAT to ADD
The possibilities for toppings on your Asian lettuce wraps are endless! You can truly throw whatever you’d like on these, but some classic options would be:

Water Chestnuts
Cabbage
Chickpeas
Sweet Chili Sauce
Sticky Rice or Coconut Rice
Bean Sprouts
Cheese
Cucumbers
Peanut Butter Sauce
Bell Peppers
Sweet Potato
Rice Noodles
Shredded Carrot
Hot Sauce

HOW TO STORE LEFTOVERS
Store leftover filling in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

[Liz]

[TheConservativeParty]

Howdy! Nice weather, eh? I hope the wind is gone tomorrow.

Hey, was wondering if you have ever tried growing “Raspberry Shortcake” raspberry bushes? Heard about them on YT channel The Impatient Gardener. She lives in Michigan. She gets these raspberry plants from Jungs.

They are thornless and not huge bushes. Can even be grown in containers, but I would plant in the ground. Jungs has them $16.25 a plant/when you buy 3 or more. I will try 3.

[Qiviut]

We don’t drain anything here at the house/barn. The hydrants are all the “frost free” type. The pipes are buried far enough down they don’t freeze.

The lake cabin is a different story - no heat, so there’s nothing to keep on a low setting to avoid freezing interior pipes, etc.. We do cut the water off there & have a way to drain the pipes & hot water tank, put antifreeze in toilet bowls/tanks & sink/shower drains, etc. We went two Sundays ago to winterize the cabin & the boat.

As for the valve boxes, we had 3 that needed putting in - my dad paid some handyman $200 to do it ... he did such a crummy job that I went back & redid all of them. I’m pretty good at setting stone, so getting the boxes set, leveled up, etc. was fairly easy. We also have a tool (notch in a 2x4 with a 1x1 ‘handle’) for turning the valve(s) from a standing position ... makes it real easy ... as long as you can get the tops off the valve boxes.

I CAN now get on the ground & back up with The Knee. I was on the ground digging out around pipe with a little hand trowel a good part of the time yesterday, so I had lots of down/up practice - it wasn’t too bad.

[Liz]

Here’s a really fast drinks accompaniment for a holiday crowd.

Brush pita bread tops with butter and sprinkle sesame seeds.

Heat then quarter. Serve with feta cheese cubes and dishes of asst olives