The Garden Thread - May, 2024

May 1, 2024 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a 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 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/removed from our New & Improved Ping List.

NOTE: This is a once a MONTH Ping List, but we DO post to the thread all throughout the month. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time!

[Paul R.]

Are there ANY veggies that grow well in hot conditions and only 3-5 hours of full sun?

(I’m in zone 7a, almost in 7b.)

Reason for asking is my area of full sun for over 6 hours a day is small.

[Paul R.]

Perhaps I should say “very warm, humid conditions”. 90 deg. F days with high humidity are very common here in summer, but 100 deg. is unusual.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You can grow a lot of veggies, but your timing has to be the thing to avoid the heat in the middle of the summer - aside from tomatoes and peppers, maybe? I’ve never gardened in Zone 7a, so my first bit of advice would be to get a few books on gardening in that zone.

Here’s some good planting data for timing of planting:

https://veggieharvest.com/calendars/zone-7-vegetable-planting-calendar-schedule/

Veggies that can grow in partial shade. There are a lot of them:

https://www.gardeningchannel.com/sun-and-shade-loving-vegetables-list/

I have a friend in AZ who calls me every February to tell me about his tomatoes this season...when I haven’t even STARTED mine, yet!

[Pollard]

Ok, can't pass this one up - for the gable vents. Four inch linear actuator and I was going to pay $144 ea for a product marketed to DYI-ers.

Better brand than what I've been planning on using. This brand is sold at Grainger, a long time well known industrial supplier. I doubt I'd be lucky enough to find longer ones on clearance for my sides and if I bought this brand, it would be $2400 which ain't happening. I'll get the DIY units which will cost me $600. When/of they fail, I might replace one at a time with the good ones or I might not. Those are low to the ground and easy to swap. The gable vents will require a ladder to install/repair so I'm grateful to have stumbled on these.

[metmom]

I ***HATE*** that bird.

It has almost destroyed our mountain ash tree. Left oozing holes in it like your picture shows.

We wrapped the trunk loosely with chicken wire and put bird netting on as much as we could.

As fortune would have it, the power company came up the driveway clearing the trees near the lines and anything that looked dangerous enough to come down and take the lines out.

They took out two of the trees where the bird was always flying to. That helped some. Mr mm and DS took down another one that was leaning way too far over and was a good candidate for coming down in an ice storm or heavy early snow. We have not seen that bugger since then.

I’m hoping we disturbed it’s nesting site enough to chase it further into the forest. It isn’t like there aren’t enough other trees for it to choose to destroy.

[cherry]

I've got most of my tomatoes in the ground and of course we had near frost last night and tonite as well....they looked okay today...peppers are still waiting in the green house....

I mean, its May 30,yesterday, and I had to turn the heat in the house up.....lol....

I have some exciting things in my garden this year if they grow....trying tomatillos again, only because I thought they were tomatoes...

lots of peppers including some jalapenos for making my own red hot sauce...delicious...

I decided at age 70 that I needed asparagus and have two beds and they've been in several weeks with a only about 3 poking their heads up....cross my fingers...

some beautiful herbs coming along...thyme, and marjaram, and some oregano....dill is spontaneous with lots of it...just finishing up my quart size jar of dried dill from last season...its been a gift.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thanks for the reminder on Dill. I want to make Dilly Beans this season and can’t do it without fresh Dill! Getting some started, today. Beans are going in this weekend.

I grow ‘Diana’ Dill. ;) Always got a kick out of that. It’s a smaller plant that doesn’t bolt in the heat (as much).

Jung’s didn’t name it after me; it’s originally from Germany though - and so is my family. ;)

https://www.jungseed.com/product/J02256/883

“Our longest lasting dill. This variety imported from Germany has an upright growth habit and a very dense leaf mass. The dark blue-green, ferny foliage is highly aromatic and flavorful. Very late to bolt. Ornamental yellow flowers are also pretty fillers in bouquets.”

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You sound like me finding my favorite shoe brands on Clearance at Zappos-dot-com. SCORE! :)

[Liz]

Asparagus Gratin / 4 servings
Heavy cream and Parm. What could possibly go wrong? Easy to make,
asparagus swaddled in a cheesy, creamy sauce makes a steak dinner complete.

Ingredients 1 pound med fresh asparagus, trimmed 1 large shallot, thinly sliced (1/2 cup) 1/3 cup h/cream 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard 1 tsp flour 2 garlic cloves, minced 3/4 teaspoon k/salt/1/2 tsp pepper 4 oz fontina cheese, shredded, divided 1 ounce Parm, grated

Directions Preheat oven to 400°F with oven rack about 6 inches from heat. Toss asparagus and shallot in a 10-inch broiler-safe skillet or 8-inch square broiler-safe baking dish. Stir cream, mustard, flour, garlic, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the fontina. Pour over asparagus, and using tongs, gently toss to coat asparagus. Top w/ Parm and 1/2 cup fontina; bake til asparagus is almost tender-crisp and cheese is melted, 10-12 min. Set oven temp to broil, and broil golden brown, 2-3 min.

[Pollard]

2 to 4 times the quality at half the price? Wiggle wire can wait. The completion date is based on funding time limits so the less I have to spend, the sooner it gets done.

Oddly enough, they have a purchase limit of 1, so I just bought 1, and then immediately bought another 1.

Two different orders back to back which means paying shipping twice or close to it. Goofy but whatever.

With shipping it was a $160 total of for the two of them and the cheap ones cost $144 ea plus shipping.

These things are the last piece of the puzzle for figuring out the logic for opening/closing the tunnel under varying weather/climate conditions inside and outside the tunnel.

I already have all the sensors for that. Inside temp/hunidity. Outside temp, rain amount, wind speed and direction.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That is GORGEOUS! Asparagus season is done by me, BUT I can still get it at the grocery store. My patch is really lame and needs some work. I miss my 40-foot, established row at the other farm. :(

We REALLY love Asparagus oven-roasted. Once you try it, it’s hard to make it any other way. Easy-Peasy!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/214931/oven-roasted-asparagus/

Fresh or frozen works fine in the above recipe.

Commercially CANNED Asparagus? Forgeddabouddit!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Once you have this all together you will be be a Garden Overlord! You gardening life will be on auto-pilot. ;)

I do envy that - but running to and from the Greenhouse to close things down or open them up again IS good exercise. By the 10th or so of June, it will be a barren wasteland - Nothing wants to live in there in the summer heat and humidity. Beau won’t ‘electrify’ it for me, but to his credit he bought more gravel screenings so I can fill in ‘trip hazards’ on the walkways around the greenhouse. So, I guess there’s THAT. ;)

My ‘Space-Age Technology’ is an indoor/outdoor thermometer. ;)

[Liz]

Yuck is right-—no canned asparagus.

Glad you liked the recipe-—so easy.
Market asparagus is good.....or frozen.

[Liz]

Btw, thx for the roasted asparagus recipe.
A real keeper.

[Pollard]

Nothing wants to live in there in the summer heat and humidity.

Our first two years here were 110 heat waves and humidity is always high here.

High tunnel won't help that anymore than shade cloth, aside from the occasional splitting rain no longer being a thing. It's a watering control and also season extender. I'll be able to start a month earlier and end a month later on many things and grow a few right through winter.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I do the same. My greenhouse is unheated. Gives a jump on the season and extends it on the other end. Plus, it’s my She Shed and makes me SMILE whenever I am in it. :)

My best? Ripe tomatoes at Christmastime. But, that has only happened ONCE so far in a very MILD winter. ;)

[Pollard]

Bookmarked that second link for tunnel growing in the short days of Winter.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Weekly Round Up from ‘Abandon All Hope’ Farm:

This morning Beau took our three best ‘swimmers’ to a Water Race. They hold them in the spring to start getting the dogs in shape for hunting season - raccoon and black bear. Shasta, Fremont, Paiute and Bella Coola made the cut. All are Plott Hounds. Of course, it’s RAINING, but it’s still going to be in the 70’s, so tolerable.

Tomatoes are in, and I’ve been adding flowers here and there. Started some Dill yesterday as I want to can Dilly Beans later this season. We have been cool and wet, and I KNOW it’s the first of June, but my beans aren’t in, yet. Peppers, either. But, it’s just a few hours’ work to get that done, so we’ll be fine. :)

Puppies are growing fast and are starting to explore their little world - with Mama Taylor at their side most of the time. We give her a break from them every day. They are confined to the Puppy Pen, so they can’t get out and no other dogs can get in. Looks like the Baby Daddy owner may be taking one or two, so that’ll be less work for me this summer. Yay! :)

We have been enjoying really good salad greens from the garden, but not much else, yet. The floodgates will open come July. ;)

Peonies have been spectacular this season - gonna brave the rain and cut a big bouquet for the Kitchen this morning. ‘Festiva Maxima’ and ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ (White and Shell Pink in color).

Not much else to report - other than Beau bought me some gravel screenings so I can do some fixing up in the pathways around my greenhouse that have become trip hazards. Gravel settles; you add more. :)

[Pollard]

Good morning, it’s June 1st. Happy new month.