The Garden Thread - September, 2024

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

[Qiviut]

My SIL just told me about fig leaf tea the other day. She trimmed her fig tree way back last year so the figs this year will be very late (by comparison, my Brown Turkey is about finished). She was looking for something ‘fig’ in the meawhile & came upon fig leaf tea - She says it’s really good & blog author says the same:

https://homelyhens.com/health/fig-leaf-tea/

Dehydrator info in comments & other interesting observations.

[Qiviut]

Mom likes the beds ... not sure what she wants to plant. We are visiting my niece’s flower garden Saturday for inspiration/ideas & I also got her the ‘Floret Farms Cut Flower Garden’ book. She does like zinnias - they hold up well in arrangements (which she likes to make) & they are easy to grow so for sure we’ll start with those.

[Pollard]

Only thing I’ve ever heard that about is people saying they do something to potatoes to prevent growing them but if they’ll sprout eyes, they’ll make plants and all the ones I buy will sprout eyes.

What generally makes seed useful for saving is that it has to be from non-hybrids. Hybrids won’t breed true because the grandparent plants are four different varieties.

Seed needs to be from heirloom plants. One variety for parents, grand parents, great grandparents and on and on.

You can save and sprout/grow hybrid seeds but you never know what you’ll get. I had volunteer cherry tomatoes from the prior year’s hybrid plants one time. Different colors and sizes and none were as good as the hybrid.

[Pollard]

Sorry, it's a thing I do

Mexican Chicken Rice Soup (Caldo Cantina)
World class deliciousness. Use plenty of lime, onion and cilantro; can use veg stock.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups chicken stock,
• 1⁄4 cup long-grain rice s/p
• 1 cup diced fresh tomato
• 1⁄2 cup minced white onion,
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken, can use leftover or store-bought rotisserie
• 1⁄4 cup or more fresh lime juice
• 1⁄2 cup chopped cilantro (or more to taste) minced jalapeno (or other chilies, to taste)

Steps:
Bring stock to boil on med-high.
Add rice, s/p; lower heat; bubble-cook, stirring, til rice is tender, 20 min.
Meanwhile, combine vegs, chicken, lime juice, cilantro and chilies. Place in bowl. When soup is ready, ladle it into bowls. Taste; adjust seasoning if necessary.

[Pollard]

Ahh, Shishito. Definitely saveable and grow-able as they are an heirloom. Those seeds I’m saving this year are from store bought plants. We’ll have Shishito peppers next year.(and the year after and year after and ....)

[MomwithHope]

I dried some paw paw leaves last week and tried a cup of tea, Delicious and a little fruity.

[FamiliarFace]

I’m in Central Indiana, I think on the edge of 5/6. I appreciate your insights about the seeds. These are whitish, flat, and sorta round. So I think I will try about half in prepared soil as you suggested, and the other half I will start in small pots. It’s always an experiment in my house! (Been doing experiments since I was a teen, and that has kept up!)

P.S. I appreciate the hugs.

[FamiliarFace]

Without going into more detail, your post was spot on, and I can also say that I have 4 BFF’s that are similar to your group. We’ve been together for 50 years. I was the fourth to the group, much like your C.

*** That said, I will also say that some women can really be a PITA. ;) (But, usually it’s a sibling, LOL!)***

I have two sisters who I love dearly, and one of them is definitely a PITA, but I love her, and never want to have any regrets. So I forgive her when she acts up and move on. It never lasts for long. Back together and laughing about silly things from when we grew up. The 3 of us are characters when we get to reminiscing the crazy times we endured together. (Have I mentioned that my 8 person family went on cross country tent-camping trips in a station wagon?) The family that survives adversity can usually figure out the little stuff.

[FamiliarFace]

Thank you! I’m definitely going to try to get these to grow into pepper plants. We will se what happens next summer!

[FamiliarFace]

Mostly sun there? So many flowers to choose from!! My experience with zinnias is to plant from seeds directly. If it were me, I’d have a nice mix of spring, summer, and fall perennials with annuals to round it out. Zinnias are one of my favorites. Just pick her favorite plants (which may change from time to time), and give it a whirl. I think you are so lovely to do this for your mom.

I think part of the reason I’m so into gardening is because my mom loved every flower. She loved coming to my house, and when I went to hers, I worked with her plants and took great care of them. (I also polished the silver when I was there, one of the only kids who would do that chore for her. Put a movie on, and grab the silver polish and a rag…by morning everything was gleaming again!) ;)

[FamiliarFace]

That looks great, too!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Dry and you probably had some prey insect in your yard.

I found that if I put 3 or 4 foot bamboo poles around a birth bath they like to perch near the tops.

There was a near by run off cachement that was pretty much drained and dry and that has reduced the number of dragonflies we get.

I did have an 7" long walking stick on my back screen. Impressive!

[FamiliarFace]

Excellent! Hubby will be so happy if anything comes up next year. Me too!

[FamiliarFace]

I soooo wish I could find paw paws around here. I still haven’t come across anyone who sells them at local farmers markets.

[FamiliarFace]

7” is pretty long! I think I usually see 5-6” here.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

When picking be careful of the sap, it can damage your skin.

Efficacy and Safety of Fig (Ficus carica L.) Leaf Tea in Adults with Mild Atopic Dermatitis: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Preliminary Trial

"Fig leaf tea was prepared from the leaves of ‘Griśe de Tarascon’ (‘Dauphine’ sensu Condit) a fig cultivar that does not contain furanocoumarin [36,37]."

5. Conclusions

We evaluated the safety and AD-relieving effects of prolonged fig leaf tea consumption. Prolonged consumption of fig leaf tea was shown to significantly reduce EASI values. Fig leaf tea use was largely found to be safe. Therefore, prolonged consumption of fig leaf tea may be a safe and effective alternative to current therapies for AD. The findings of this study must be further validated in a larger sample size.

There are other studies with different goals.

I have a potted fig variety called I-258 (Italian 258). About the best I have tasted, a jammy strawberry flavor. Here is a picture. (You can see the syrup exuding from the ostieol!

(Good night!)

[Qiviut]

In the comments on the blog post, one person had issues with the fig leaf tea & furanocoumarin came up as the possible culprit.

When I pick figs, I avoid the sap - very sticky.

Thanks for the info.

[Qiviut]

Sun from early morning until about 5 when shade starts to creep, easily 7 t0 9 hours.

Until this year, I had 1-2 raised beds of zinnias every year (saved my own seeds). Mom would make small arrangements & take them to people - she loves doing this. For sure one bed will have zinnias.

I planted dahlias last year & fell in love with them. My niece grew them last year for the first time too & she went big time with them this year - she is saving us some tubers & also gladiolus bulbs.

Another flower I love: Snap dragons. My Valley Granny grew them as did one of my aunts. I tried to start some last year, but none came up .... my niece had great luck & I asked her to start some for me next year.

The garage part of the shop has great windows on the side of the flower garden. The plan is to build some tables for starting seeds ... on wheels so I can turn them every day for even sunlight. It will be a ‘garage greenhouse’ & save me the time & $ of building one.

[MomwithHope]

Don’t know what climate you are in but the seeds should stratify first, either in a cold garage for the winter or in the fridge for a few weeks if you are in a warmer climate.

[MomwithHope]

They are kind of like morel mushrooms. Locations not shared much. What state are you in?