The Garden Thread - November, 2024

November 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!

[Pollard]

Meat's meat and we gotta eat. The tan one is the only original goat left and is 100% New Zealand Kiko. The original buck died and was 7/8 Boer, 1/8 Kiko. His son is the big black one - 3/4 Boer, 1/4 Kiko.

Starting with a full Kiko and not quite full Boer, it was always going to slide towards more Kiko but I need to slow it down asap.

Big black buck between the trees and brown buck closest on the right are the keepers. They're still looking like Boer. Smaller brown one behind big brown one and one white buck got to go. They're heading towards more Kiko looking like the buck below. His sister is pure white and just the prettiest thing.

Still not bad but the more Boer the buck, the fatter the buckling kids and the goal is to put them in the freezer before they're fully mature.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Boo! Get off my thread, LOL! ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I forgot about you having goats! Personally? I can’t stand the critters. Wish I could get over it, but having to tend to them and milk them while I was an ‘Indentured Servant’ on my Aunt’s farm for every SUMMER of my LIFE, I just can’t do it! ;)

[Pollard]

Milk goats tend to be fairly domesticated and mild mannered because goat ladies own them.

Meat goats are misbehaved juveniles their whole lives. There are zero tasks involved in my case aside from keeping them in water.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

LOOKBACK!

To link to the Previous Garden Thread for October 2024, click below!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Nice tomato...looks like a Annanas Noire! (Black pineapple!)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

FA; Polbig, 59 days. Nice quick growing tomato! I might look into it. (I have about 20 packages of tomato seeds in my seed box!)

Picus Determinate tomatoes From my November Garden. Yes, I use the squat round cages. (Pictures from November 1, 2024.)

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Picus is a commercial determinate tomato that is probably picked green most of the time and treated with ethylene to ripen them. I am at the dead end of the season and anticipate perhaps 5 or 6 more days of growth from these plants. (Loss of sunlight, increasing cold temperature.)

As soon as I got the least color break I picked the tomatoes and brought them inside to ripen. I do not have a canister of ethylene gas, but I do have some bananas in the basket with them. Works the same!

I know that these do not taste as good as heirlooms, but they do taste better than store bought! They also can well if you have enough to can.

(My current Heirloom taste favorites are Pinapple and Old German, Aunt Ruby's Green, Thorburns Terra Cotta, and Amish paste. )

[MomwithHope]

We raised registered Saanens for 25 years. Only had females. We went out for buck service and any wethers we sold for 4H projects. Never had very many. Wethered them as early as possible. (banded).. Our does were all bottle fed and easy to handle and show. The Swiss breeds are the most docile.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Nice tomatoes! I am excited to try that ‘Harvard Square.’ Beau isn’t too thrilled - he thinks it looks diseased, LOL! He lacks imagination, that boy! ;)

We had our very last tomato (’Chef’s Choice Orange’) in a salad with supper last night. :(

I really had few to spare this season with all of Mom’s ‘garden raids’ and the majority went to V-8 Juice, Salsa and Tomato Soup.

My favorite heirloom tomatoes for taste are ‘Cherokee Purple’ and ‘Brandywine.’

At Seed Savers we used to throw a ‘Tomato Tasting’ at the end of the growing season, so I’ve tasted them all. ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Well, there ya go. If Beau wants goats, they need to be the wild ones. ;)

[Pollard]

Kiko bucks get really cool horns when they get older. Lowest maintenance goat there is. As someone on HT once said; You go out and collect the babies once a year. They bring $4/lb on the hoof at the sale barn in Spring with 50-70 lb bucklings bringing the most. They're make brambles, poison ivy, sumac disappear in short order and the don't compete with cattle much. I think there's a 20% overlap in what they eat.

[Augie]

We made it home in one piece from Sunny Florida. We got to see three sessions of Blue Angels practice flights, one session of Thunderbirds practice, and a Super Delta Beach Buzz - Angels and T-Birds in a 12 plane delta formation low and slow over the beach. It was worth the ~2.5 hours wait on the fishing pier with all of the other patriots to experience that. There is video on youtube for those who would like to see it.

From what I hear it was bone dry in Misery until we got back in the wee hours last Thursday morning. We got 1.3" of rainfall from that little squall. It's rained more here since then, but I took the gauge down before I started demolition on the old hoop house so I'm not sure how much we've had since then.

I've been chore boy pretty much non-stop since we got back. New garden patch is 90% cleaned up. 5 of 6 panels have been installed on the frame for the new hoop house. Tomato cages and cucumber fence are down. Soaker hoses picked up. Old hoop house is down and most of the mess from that has been cleaned up. Garlic is starting to sprout. We're back on Standard Time so progress on outdoor work will slow down now due to lack of light in the evenings.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Glad you had such a great time with ‘The Jet Set.’ ;) After I heal up some more, I’ll be tackling more garden chores - hopefully before the snow flies.

If not? There are always those first SUNNY days of March when I can’t stand being in the house a minute longer! ;)

[FamiliarFace]

Let me know how your plug in fireplace works out. I want something like that for our bedroom. We have a real WBFP in the family room. Antique mantle. The hearth isn’t up to code anymore, but it would be pretty expensive to make it that way now. It was built to code when the house was built, so we don’t worry. It’s a beautiful FP. I just want something visual upstairs in the bedroom when those winter nights get really cold.

[FamiliarFace]

Been thinking about you and wondering what sort of things you had blooming. Very pretty!

[FamiliarFace]

Beautiful beautiful beautiful, Diana!! Love it!!

[FamiliarFace]

As usual, a great recipe! Thanks, Liz!

[FamiliarFace]

He’s so cute! I love his eyelashes!

[FamiliarFace]

I can almost picture the flyovers. Next year, I don’t think we have any wedding commitments as of right now. So I hope that means we can afford a beach vacation next year. You never know what the next year will bring though. I have a BIL that seemed pretty fit last year, and this year he’s had nothing but health problems. I’m doing everything I can to make sure we have another 20-30 years left in us.

[FamiliarFace]

Quick question. Our lilac bush is blossoming again, and I’ve noticed several neighbors have irises and some other bulb blooming. So I guess it’s been a crazy Fall. My question is, will the lilac bloom next spring?