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Weekly Garden Thread - January 21-27, 2023 [Seed Shortages: Opinions & Articles As To Why]
Various Publications | January 21, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

Posted on 01/21/2023 8:00:22 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.

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!


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Gardening; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: food; gardening; health; hobbies
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

I’m all for digging up lawns!


101 posted on 01/25/2023 8:09:10 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: All

102 posted on 01/25/2023 8:10:49 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

Thanks!

I’ve actually been collecting wheat varieties for a couple years. If I decide to plant any this year, it will probably be Kamut. It’s common enough that it’s easy to find seeds for, so I can practice growing it without dipping into the harder-to-find varieties.

It’s also the first spring wheat I tried to grow. The plants themselves grew great, I just had them too far apart and couldn’t keep the weeds down. This time I’ll plant closer together, and in a 3-foot band so I can reach without stepping on them.

The other trait I like about Kamut is that it’s tall enough I can harvest from a standing position. The seeds themselves are also 2-3 times the size of most wheats.

Eventually what I’d really like is to get a few patches of perennial grains going. I managed to score several varieties from Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance before they shut down their store. But for now, other things take priority.


103 posted on 01/25/2023 8:36:30 AM PST by Ellendra (A single lie on our side does more damage than a thousand lies on their side.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Howdy!

I found a nice online seed catalog last night.

I already have too many seeds for this year but will order after this growing year is over.

See if you like it, they have a lot of varieties per category. Pretty amazing for a retail-oriented seed catalog.

SwallowtailGardenSeeds.com

🌸🌼🌻🌺


104 posted on 01/25/2023 10:28:26 AM PST by TheConservativeParty (Comfy with Frens 🐸 )
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To: Sacajaweau

Re: Black Krim Tomatoes

I was recently gifted a seed packet of Black Krim. Looking forward to growing it and tasting the mature fruit.

At what color stage do you pick these tomatoes? Is the inside red when the outside is still dark red with green tones?

Was reading up on it last night and it gets great reviews for flavor.

Does the plant get huge or can I grow it in 20” pots with supports for the plant?

Thanks for any tips on this variety.

πŸ…πŸ…πŸ…


105 posted on 01/25/2023 11:24:06 AM PST by TheConservativeParty (Comfy with Frens 🐸 )
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To: TheConservativeParty

I will check it out! :)


106 posted on 01/25/2023 11:31:18 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: TheConservativeParty
First plants are 6-8 ft. high and tomatoes are pretty heavy. I staked them with 6 ft. wood stakes and added 8 ft. stakes...those green metal stakes.

Two important things....don't over water and use a fertilizer with calcium. I'll go back and find which one. They need that calcium to prevent bottom end rot.

I learned to pick so I could get the best use...but picking at peak...(you'll know)... is of course the best time. Going toward the end of the season, I picked them early and put in a cardboard box with newspaper. I had tomatoes all the way to December.

You can pick early to avoid the splitting, too....which is just caused by too much water.

It's really a tomato plant to experiment with....and worth it.

107 posted on 01/25/2023 11:39:01 AM PST by Sacajaweau ( )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

I have so many seeds. I have to admit, I have not encountered any seed shortages, but maybe others have special favorite seeds they cannot find this year. Probably vegetable seeds?

I have decided not to grow sweet corn because local friends said the critters will eat it unless you electric fence the area.

Also had my cousin say she tried raspberries for 3 years but the japanese beetles stripped the leaves into lace.

Have decided to buy sweet corn from the farm stand in Brooklyn.

Raspberries...my mom says Sam’s sells good frozen berries.

I guess I could put bug screening around raspberry plants but sounds like a pain.
πŸ˜…


108 posted on 01/25/2023 11:41:46 AM PST by TheConservativeParty (Comfy with Frens 🐸 )
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To: TheConservativeParty

JBs don’t bother my raspberries because I do a late crop and most of them are dead and gone by then.

They DO chew on the leaves of my grapes, but it so much fun to blast them with the hose!

This is the year I am making decisions on the roses; they can really do a number on them if I don’t keep up with the spraying and giving them the liquid insecticide/fertilizer mix.

They do chew on my pole beans a little bit, too. They’re general all-around jerks!


109 posted on 01/25/2023 11:58:11 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: TheConservativeParty

I practically od’d on my tomatoes. I grew Black Cherry, too. Another tomato with awesome taste.


110 posted on 01/25/2023 12:11:08 PM PST by Sacajaweau ( )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin; All

I bought a half hog this fall - pasture raised on a regenerative farm. I got the liver from my half & my SIL’s liver from her half hog, which she did not want. To supplement, I bought a pork “box” in December, emphasis on ground pork (I mix with venison so it goes fast - needed more). Along with the box, my niece gave me more liver and aksi fat for rendering into lard - no charge.

So tonight, I fried up my first piece of hog liver. It’s milder than beef liver, but it does have the distinctive liver flavor. Since I didn’t get it at the grocery store, it was a whole “lobe” rather than flat pieces. After frying up some onions in butter, I seared off the liver lobe, then cut it into pieces off the end (not big flat pieces) and fried also in butter. It wasn’t rare, but barely done. Oh my - talk about good (if you like liver) - SO tender, really delicious. I will never buy grocery store liver again. In the past, I bought some grass fed beef liver from a regenerative farm up the road and that was also really good.


111 posted on 01/25/2023 3:23:47 PM PST by Qiviut (I'm not out of control, I'm just not in their control. $hot $hills: Sod Off)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin; All

I saw a post on GETTR from Mike Adams (Health Ranger). He has a certified lab and his post said:

@HealthRanger

LAB ANNOUNCEMENT: Based on widespread accusations that the chicken feed at Tractor Supply has been altered to cause hens to stop laying eggs, we are now in the process of acquiring these feed samples from Tractor Supply, and we will test them in our food science lab. The tests will include heavy metals, aflatoxins, glyphosate, e.coli, salmonella, yeast and mold. We will share these tests publicly.

For the record, we are not accusing Tractor Supply of anything nefarious. But we are going to subject their chicken feed to rigorous scientific testing and find out what that shows, if anything. - Mike Adams, NaturalNews.com and food science lab director

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

I was looking for more detail & found this article (Gateway Pundit, so there’s a bit of ‘sensationalism’; however, after the last 2.5 years, when every “conspiracy theory” has proven true, I would not be surprised if something WAS going on with chicken feed):

Tractor Supply Chicken Feed Reportedly Causing Egglaying to Stop, Board has Ties to WEF, Jeffrey Epstein
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/tractor-supply-chicken-feed-reportedly-causing-egglaying-stop-board-ties-wef-jeffrey-epstein/

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

The Tractor Supply feed is what my SIL feeds her hens (the source of the majority of my eggs).


112 posted on 01/25/2023 5:06:07 PM PST by Qiviut (I'm not out of control, I'm just not in their control. $hot $hills: Sod Off)
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To: Qiviut; Ellendra

Ping to Post #112.


113 posted on 01/25/2023 6:12:27 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Sacajaweau

I bet my tomatoes last year needed calcium. They had beautiful fruit at first, but the majority of them had rot issues later on in the season.


114 posted on 01/25/2023 6:14:28 PM PST by TheConservativeParty (Comfy with Frens 🐸 )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Japanese Beetles are jerks.
😠
I squish ‘em as much as possible.


115 posted on 01/25/2023 6:16:48 PM PST by TheConservativeParty (Comfy with Frens 🐸 )
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To: Sacajaweau

Thanks for reminding me about green metal stakes. I have bamboo stakes but for heavier uses I need to get some metal stakes.
☺️


116 posted on 01/25/2023 6:19:30 PM PST by TheConservativeParty (Comfy with Frens 🐸 )
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To: Qiviut

I’ll take your word for it! Not crazy about eating ‘filtering organs’ but I did love Mom’s Fried Chicken Livers & Onions when I was a kid.

I needed a BIG pile of Mashed Taters to go with them, though. ;)

I think the only other liver I’ve ever had was from a doe that Beau bagged which was probably 10 years ago? It was good; nothing spectacular, though.

Naturally ‘raised.’ Corn and soybean fed! ;)


117 posted on 01/25/2023 6:20:07 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin; Ellendra

Both of my nieces use local co-ops or farmers, not TS, for their chicken feed. They both think TS feed is too expensive as well. My SIL does use TS.


118 posted on 01/25/2023 6:21:37 PM PST by Qiviut (I'm not out of control, I'm just not in their control. $hot $hills: Sod Off)
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To: TheConservativeParty
More likely than not. I had none on mine...but the guy in the garden next to mine...his tomatoes had it.

I'm not sure where I discovered the bit about calcium. Probably from my farmer friend.

I watched a lot of videos by Gary of "The Rusted Garden", too. Also found lotsa info at Farmer's Almanac site.

119 posted on 01/25/2023 6:21:51 PM PST by Sacajaweau ( )
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To: Sacajaweau

I did an internet search of Espoma tomato tone, so now I know what the bag looks like. I am sure I will see it at some of the places I shop at.


120 posted on 01/25/2023 6:27:31 PM PST by TheConservativeParty (Comfy with Frens 🐸 )
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