The Garden Thread - July, 2024

July 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.

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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!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Do any of you with shishito extras freeze them? I’m wondering if I should chop them up first, or just freeze whole?”

Mom! Your expertise is needed here! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Great topic! So, SO easy to do!

Don’t Toss It, Plant It! 12 Vegetables You Can Regrow From Scraps

https://www.farmersalmanac.com/regrow-vegetables-from-kitchen-scraps

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Last weekend in July - where has this month gone?”

We’ve all been busy, LOL! Thanks for the update! Keep them coming! :)

[FamiliarFace]

I knew there was someone else I should ping. Thx for doing my bidding for me!

[FamiliarFace]

Super cool! I will try some of these others also. (Hoping my baby potatoes will work out.)

[metmom]

They’re the prettiest ones I ever saw and like I said, great keepers.

I didn’t grow them in NY for the same reason. CNY had such great agriculture, onions (and potatoes) were cheap and plentiful.

NH is not as agriculturally inclined.

[metmom]

They’ve got some kick to them, too.

[metmom]

Thanks.

It helps to know what I’m looking for.

[MomwithHope]

Hi all. Sorry I have been super busy taking care of what’s coming out of the garden.
Shishito peppers. A staple here, have picked about 3 gallons already. Made a batch of the sauce and doing some freezing. I slice lengthwise and remove ALL seeds and any membrane. Chop small, Saute in olive oil, enough to coat for only as minute. Let cool. I pack in small ziploc snack bags. Enough to throw in an omelet, dinner dish, anything really. Great in stir frys and with any rice or noodle dish. Adds a nice flavor dimension. Plus they are very nutritious. Someone asked about stuffing them. I don’t because they are just too thin. Anyway, when I put a servings worth in the snack bag I roll up and press out any air. Then I take a quart freezer bag and put those little bags inside. Yes it’s prep work but if you have enough peppers for year round it is so easy to use them. I always date the quart bag too or number them. Eaten raw, same thing, clean out , good chop. Great in salads. I have also split lengthwise, clean and add to the pan with some sliced onion and cook an italian sausage. That and a little mayo, maybe a smidgen of stone ground mustard and its delish. If you try to freeze them just raw they will come out as mush. Haven’t even tried. The saute lightly is as close to raw as you will get.

[FamiliarFace]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have saved me from mushy shishitos!

[MomwithHope]

Pollard I think it was either you or Pete that posted the shishito sauce a year or so ago. I scribbled it down on a recipe card. So It’s not the exact wording. And one of you has all the credit. This stuff is amazing. So I finally got around to typing this up.

Shishito pepper sauce
In skillet, 1 tbl. Olive oil
8 ounces of cleaned and chopped shishitos
2 chopped shallots or smaller amount sweet onion
2 crushed garlic cloves (or more)
Kosher salt and pepper. I use my homemade Lawrys seasoning
Saute together about 10-15 minutes until peppers are soft.
Add 1 cup heavy cream
1 oz, (or a little more) shredded parmesan
Pinch of fresh ground nutmeg.
Stir for a bit, it will get thick.
Turn off heat and let cool.

Great on steak, chicken, any grilled meat, even a slice of toast. I freeze any extra in small deli containers.

Also wanted to mention another garden staple around here, the chinese long beans or some call them asparagus beans. Grow up a pole. Easy to grow and pick. They come off the pole like a shower of green fireworks. Delicious and easy to cook. I prep by a very light saute in olive oil and then vacuum seal and freeze. We had enough for the winter but to the spring so we are growing more this year. I pick a handful every other day enough for a couple of dinner packets. They are also good cut up smaller and raw in salads. We quit growing green beans awhile ago and have never looked back. Have a great harvest everyone and great rest of the summer.

[MomwithHope]

Sorry I have been so delinquent with an answer. Just read your question last night.

[Pollard]

Tomato/rain report

Rain - 1-1/2" yesterday and 9" total for July

* Sun Sugar -- definitely less prone to splitting than Sungold -- decent taste
* Black Krim -- splitter
* Sonic -- medium -- decent tasting -- not major splitter
* Mountain Fresh -- decent sized globe shape and not a splitter
* Mortgage Lifter -- big with the typical beefsteak ribbed shape but black in the crannies

Looking at pics on the web, some Mortgage Lifters have the crooks and crannies but not black in them. Some are globe shaped. People tend to post pics of their best produce so it's hard to judge by them.

This is a brandywine but my biggest Mortgage Lifter is headed this way. Edible but not purty.

Any beefsteak I've grown, which is not many, has been black in the crannies.

Scapify AI calls it blossom end rot and one of the black crannies does turn into a black stripe across the blossom end. The other four globe shaped mortgage lifter fruits have a dark spot where the blossom was but it's not mushy and doesn't look to be spreading.

Scapify says When there's a lack of calcium, or if the plant is unable to absorb enough calcium from the soil due to inconsistent watering (either too much or too little), the developing fruit can't form properly, leading to the blackened areas you're seeing.

Sounds like it's our crazy weather which is typical weather here. Will have to look for beefsteaks with blossom end rot resistance or just stay away from beefsteaks.

[Pollard]

Not me on the shishito sauce.

It was me that mentioned stuffed shishito as an idea but yeah, as thin as they are, any stuffing that requires cooking would have to be precooked.

Try to cook something at once with the shishitos and there wouldn’t be anything left of the shishitos when done.

I still think stuffed shishito pepper poppers could be a thing. Cream cheese and precooked minced sausage/chorizo/bacon bits? Stuff raw peppers and then do the regular whole shishito cook method like broiling or grilling until soft and blistered.

So far all I’ve done is chopped into a salad which, was good because I’m not into the thick chunks of bell pepper. That and brushed with olive oil, broiled until blistered and topped with coarse salt for a finger food.

Need to get some Parmesan cheese and try in place of coarse salt. I do that on big pretzels.

[FamiliarFace]

Not a problem. I appreciate your expertise with them.

[FamiliarFace]

In case anyone is looking for that recipe that I tried, here it is. It was so good and so easy. I highly recommend if you’re looking for another shishito recipe. It’s from TheFitFork.com

East-West Shishito Pepper and Mushroom Saute
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
Total Time 15 mins

This easy saute of mild peppers, mushrooms, corn, and onions will rock your socks off with bold umami taste! Great as a vegetarian dish but also fantastic atop a steak or beef taco.

Course: Condiment, Side Dish
Cuisine: Asian, Southwestern
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups chopped shishimo peppers or other mild green pepper or other mild green pepper
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 ears corn peeled and shucked
2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Instructions

Heat olive oil in large skilled over medium-high heat.
Add peppers and onion and saute for 2 minutes, or until softening.
Add thawed corn and mushrooms to pepper mixture and continue to saute for another 3 minutes.
Add soy sauce and stir until vegetables coated, cook for about 30 more seconds.
Sprinkle with cilantro and serve as a side, on a salad, steak or taco.

***

I’ve also sautéed chopped shishitos with my other veggies in our scrambled eggs or an omelette.

I grew up eating a LOT of bell peppers, since we had a half acre that we farmed for making extra money. We had them so often that I stopped eating them for about 30 or more years. So I hear you on bell peppers, and it’s a reason I’m so happy to have found shishitos.

[Qiviut]

Made it to the house - uneventful trip, thank goodness. Everything is OK. While we got rain at the old house, enough to get the grass growing again at warp speed, this place looks like it hasn’t gotten a drop (I saw rain several times on radar - must have been a sprinkle). Definitely drought conditions - they had the same last year. With 2 years in a row, the trees are now starting to die - we lost a big pine near the road that had to be taken down & 4 -6 Leyland cypress planted as a screen are dying - I will have to cut them down this winter - too far gone to recover :-( River level is down, too - last year there were places you could walk across. The weather mets are saying it would take tropical storm remnants to break the drought, but that means bad things for other parts of the country.

With potential move (furniture from old house) in mid-September, I have an eye out for where certain pieces of furniture can go. Decades ago, I fell in love with a hall tree at an antique show & bought it. There is a perfect spot in our front foyer for it - can’t wait to see it there! I will be SO glad not to be traveling between the 2 houses on a regular basis (2.5 - 3 hour trip one way).

[Pollard]

I've got a Carolina Reaper going.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with the world's second hottest pepper. Make hot sauce I guess and lots of it. DIY pepper spray?

Me and my son's favorite hot sauce. A little FIRE, a lot of flavor.

Carrots and onion are ingredients that add flavor while taming the heat.

My son uses hot sauce like it's bbq sauce or ketchup. Would be nice to come up with a recipe and make hot sauce in bulk and can it in pint jars and save some money.

Also growing Mini Snack Peppers which are little sweet peppers with a pointed bottom. Ought to be small/thin enough for me.

Of all the peppers I've tried to grow, Shishito have been the only prolific producer here in my low pH soil. Makes me wonder what the soil pH is in East Asia - Japan.

Bell peppers, might get one or two small ones. The Reaper currently has two peppers and a ton of small buds so we'll see what it does.

I'm heading to the store and will grab a sweet onion and try that pepper and mushroom saute. Store has KC Strip on sale so that's tonight's dinner and I've always liked sauted peppers/onions with a steak and like mushrooms. Might have to do two saute sessions at the same time in one pan. Mini Snack pepper in one and Shishito in the other.

Just bought a dozen farm fresh eggs from a co-worker. Steak, eggs and the above saute would be a good breakfast.

[FamiliarFace]

Don’t forget the corn! The whole combo was really really good!

[FamiliarFace]

One of the pepper sauces I enjoy is from datil peppers, which are grown in the U.S. around St. Augustine, FL. They were brought over from the old country when the area was settled.

They are a slightly sweet pepper, with some heat, that doesn’t last forever.

I myself can’t handle the hotter peppers. No way could I do Carolina Reapers. Bring on the Pepto Bismol.