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Weekly Garden Thread - September 23-29, 2023 [Potpourri Edition]
September 23, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

Posted on 09/23/2023 6:03:30 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!


TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Gardening; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: food; garden; gardening; potpourri
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

I had the original 1900’s ‘Homestead House’ at my other farm. It was built into the side of the hill and the bottom was a field stone barn and the top was a small, two room house where they lived while they were building the ‘Big House’ which was a Colonial Four-Square which you can find all over Wisconsin.

I never DID find the site of the outhouse, but there had to have been one. ;)


61 posted on 09/27/2023 1:41:54 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: FRiends
Chinese Seed Packets Making the Rounds in Michigan Again

Just like in 2020 , the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is warning Michiganders about unsolicited seed packets sent from China through the mail.

MDARD doesn’t want consumers to open the packets or plant them. Instead, they should report them to MDARD. The MDARD advisory says that the seeds are sent in a diverse array of packaging, including letters to parcels in variety of colors.

Most recipients say they did not order anything, and that the packaging was labeled as jewelry. Other recipients have reported ordering seeds on Amazon and receiving these seeds.

https://www.michigannewssource.com/2023/09/chinese-seed-packets-making-the-rounds-in-michigan-again/

62 posted on 09/27/2023 1:44:27 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set. )
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To: MomwithHope

https://www.michigannewssource.com/2023/09/chinese-seed-packets-making-the-rounds-in-michigan-again/


63 posted on 09/27/2023 1:44:54 PM PDT 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

Thanks for the seed info. I loved the old Heidi movie with Shirley Temple. The grandfathers little house had the small barn right next to it. One structure, and he just had to walk through a door to milk and feed his goats. Heaven! I had to walk up and down a sloping hill 3 tines a day about 130feet from the house. And carrying a heavy milk pail. Glad those days are over.


64 posted on 09/27/2023 2:02:42 PM PDT by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

I think that 4 square is the one my parents had, with a deck and overhanging roof.

Outhouse. Old days the used to have spitoons they could use in cold weather or at night, but I stayed at a place in Iowa with no indoor plumbing. Nothing more fun than going out at 2am and weaving through the nettle and cocklebur to the reeking outhose and open hole. uhgh.

We had a farm house in Illinois and my father found the spot of the old out house when he drove the truck around the south side of the house and the rear wheel broke through the covering on the merde pit. They put an old wagon wheel over the pit and some canvas, and covered it with dirt. By the time he broke the cover it was mostly filled with dirt so did not break an axle.

Hope you get pinged the rest of the afternoon!


65 posted on 09/27/2023 2:26:40 PM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission (6B KS/MO border 76F sunny)
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

“Hope you get pinged the rest of the afternoon!”

Hey! I though you liked me?

Around here, that’s like saying ‘May you live in interesting times!’ ;)


66 posted on 09/27/2023 6:01:54 PM PDT 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
You were canning!

What does aGood Seal say?

Ping

Hoping you had a good canning session!

67 posted on 09/27/2023 6:42:06 PM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission (6B KS/MO border 70 F clear)
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

Obviously SLOW on the uptake yesterday, LOL!

I canned about a hundred jars this season and only ONE didn’t ‘ping’ but it was V-8 so I just put that in the fridge and drank that one first. ;)

I’m finally DONE! I only have some random baking to do with the apples and I’m going to dry some for snacking as well as make apple pie filling for the freezer.

Yay, me! :)


68 posted on 09/28/2023 6:03:25 AM PDT 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
A lot of work! Yah you!

"She who goes out weeping, carrying her bag of seed, will come in again rejoicing, Bearing with her, her sheaves!" paraphrased!

(I could not find the Psalm about the good wife canning deep into the night...Humm.)

The harvesting is done. Pull up the dead plants and turn the garden under, clean up the freezer and get ready for winter!

(Then go someplace with people to drink beer and eat food!)

69 posted on 09/28/2023 6:12:50 PM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission ( )
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To: Pete from Shawnee Mission

Still in the upper 80s here. Replanted multiplier green onions, Red Catawissa onions, interplanted with lettuce seed. They will survive the winter.

Plantings of beets and turnips 2 weeks ago are pretty much failures. Germinated and devoured by pill bug Roombots that infest my garden. Will plant the turnips again, since they are cool weather short season and see what happens. Peas that were planted at the same time are doing well however. Have broccoli seedlings to plant. 50 days from transplant? A crap shoot. I will cover them to protect them from the vicous destroying squirrels until they can survive on their own.

After this long hot season, one of the last two Rouge Vif squash vines decided to produce some Female flowers. (About 5.) Since there are now fewer bees I hand pollinated one of them. I do not think there is enough time for them to mature. The squash and cucumber bugs have mostly disappeared. (Laid their eggs and died) Who knows? I might get a green squash or two if the bugs are not around to destroy the young fruit.


70 posted on 09/28/2023 6:32:13 PM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission (6B KS/MO border 78F 08:13pm Clear, almost full moon. )
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Neighbor’s darn horses got loose while we were away. Evidently, there was an attempt to confine them in our front pasture, but since we no longer have horses, we took a double set of gates down on the yard side. I also cut out one panel of boards so I have a straight shot from the front steps to the garden instead of having to walk to a gate opening. I suspect the horses were not contained for long.

My garden is in the front pasture and the horses ran through the area of the garden where I had just put down weed barrier, but had not covered it with chips yet. One strip is torn up & they punched holes in a couple of places ... grrrr! I have material to fix it, but it’s just annoying.

Per the neighbor across the street, at one point (before people started chasing them) the horses were standing right in the road - we have a pretty bad hill in front of both of our places & people fly over it with no regard for the speed limit, which is 35 ... many are going at least 50 & the young guys on motorcycles go faster than that. Hitting a horse at any speed is going to be a bad situation. The neighbor called Animal Control & evidently, they figured out the horse owner - I didn’t know these particular people have horses although they have a herd of sheep/goats that have gotten out before & into a neighborhood just down the road.


71 posted on 09/28/2023 8:54:39 PM PDT by Qiviut (To the living, we owe respect. To the dead, we owe the truth (Voltaire) $hot $hills: Sod Off)
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To: Qiviut

I had something similar happen last year with Mama beef cattle and their spring babies!

It took my brain a while to understand that there were a bunch of COWS in my garden! But when that clicked in, I called the neighbor that owned them and he was none too pleased, but took care of it right away.

Not much damage, but a lot of cow pies to toss into the compost - so not totally A Bad Thing, LOL!


72 posted on 09/29/2023 7:45:48 AM PDT 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

Years ago ... well, decades ago, I had just gotten up on a Saturday morning. When I looked out the kitchen window, the horses were galloping like idiots, tails straight up in the air (look like flags)! I went out on the deck to see what I could see ... heard ‘mooing’ and a herd of cows was coming down the old roadbed on the other side of our fence - across the yard from the horse pasture. I threw on some decent clothes (shorts/T-shirt) and ran down the driveway to close the gate at our entrance - did not want the cows coming up in the yard, possibly falling through the septic tank (old one that needed replacing).

Since I knew who the owner was, I ran back inside and called - woke him up. He asked if I would please try to keep the cows out of the road until he could get there - I told him I would try. Ran back down the driveway, got through the gate & started shooing cows off the road. A neighbor across the street came out on his deck - he’d thrown on a pair of shorts and was barefooted, did not want to get involved with the cows, but he was watching & calling “encouragement” to me.

So one large cow was in the road - a car came and I waved them down, they slowly made their way around the cow. I tried shooing “it” out of the road, but it was the herd bull ... somehow, I had not noticed. He put his head down and started snorting and pawing ... ruh roh!! I took cover behind a large bush just off the road, at which point the neighbor was almost rolling on the floor of his deck laughing - I have been chased by bulls before (at my grandparent’s farm) and I didn’t think it was funny at all!!

Once I was behind the bush & no longer flapping my arms at him, the bull lightened up a bit, but he wasn’t moving. About that time, the neighbor pulled up - his wife was driving, he was in a bathrobe, and he had his ‘herding stick’. The cows knew him and he started herding them down the road, back to what ended up being a break in the fence. This guy could herd anything - he had helped herd two very large (400 lbs +), stinky hogs that escaped from an elderly neighbor behind us. The hogs got into the subdivision that is off our road and were rooting through landscaping. Animal Control was called - they tried ‘herding’ the hogs by flashing their lights & whooping their siren ... not very successful. Somebody thought to call the ‘herding whisperer’ ... he had his stick and very quickly had the hogs going down the road, back to the old man’s place.

We do have a large pile of horse poop at the lower entrance, near a pot of my mom’s fall flowers. She is NOT happy. I guess I’ll go clean it up & add it to my compost pile.


73 posted on 09/29/2023 8:36:58 AM PDT by Qiviut (To the living, we owe respect. To the dead, we owe the truth (Voltaire) $hot $hills: Sod Off)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
New Gardening Thread! Click on the picture to link to the new Weekly Garden Thread - September 30 to October 6

Poof sorry image href gone!

74 posted on 09/30/2023 8:15:15 AM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission ( )
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