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Posted on 08/01/2025 6:03:57 AM PDT by 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.
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Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
I love watermelon, but I can’t eat it anymore, nor cantaloupe or honeydew. It’s like a food allergy of sorts. Not hives, but my sinus cavities (inside my ears, nose, and throat) get inflamed and itch like crazy. It’s unbearable, even if I take Benadryl. It makes me want to chop off my head. So, I don’t eat them anymore. Even if I have a drink infused with watermelon, it does the same thing. Just not worth it for me. But, I miss them all so much!
Is your Cactus a Prickly Pear? Believe it or not, my Mom had one for many years up here in Wisconsin. She never covered it in winter, and it came back stronger every year.
It had beautiful yellow blooms in late summer.
Thanks, Pete!
Thanks for that great report! Sounds like some of the same issues I’ve been having in Zone 5a, SW corner of Wisconsin.
I am doing/saving/canning what I can this season and just mentally ‘letting it go.’ I haven’t had this bad of a season in DECADES, so I was due for one. Even the year I broke my right foot in August, I managed a productive harvest with help from friends - who were paid back in veggies. ;)
Luckily, I know where the Piggly Wiggly is, LOL! Pretty sure we won’t starve. ;)
Mandatory Union Lunch Break! And since I’m eating a Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Sandwich, I am reminded that we usually have ‘The Great BLT Debate’ in August when tomatoes are coming in.
How to Make a Perfect BLT
https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-make-perfect-blt/
Mine is on lightly toasted Sourdough bread, lots of mayo, ‘Grandma’s Pick’ Tomato, plain old Romaine lettuce and real bacon crumbles - I didn’t feel like heating up the kitchen to bake bacon this week, but I will going forward. :)
Check this video out - it’s a way to can tomatoes without a water bath. It’s the only way I can tomatoes, usually by the quart. All you need is a stove top & oven, no big canning pot or pressure cooker. I also learned to sterilize my clean jars in the oven from this video & they stay hot & clean until you need them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kmTH_q1usI
I love opening a jar of tomatoes I’ve canned - that fresh tomato smell reminds me of the good days of summer!
Windy & ‘cool’ here now, humidity has dropped, but still can go lower. Cloudy overall with very low clouds hanging over the mountain ridges. The wind is drying out the grass, but the ground is too soft, don’t want to make tracks with the mower.
I made dinner early (the one pan lemon chicken orzo I posted a while back). Mom loved it - I’m not sure what I expected ... good, but not great. All I have to do is heat some up when I come in from outside.
The mailbox is buried under Johnson Grass (horrible stuff) so I need to get it visible again. At least the mail lady knows where it is! Still want to do some chainsaw work. No garden watering necessary today.
I put my jars in the cold oven, the whole bunch of them, and turn the oven to 200F so that the jars don’t crack from thermal shock when I pour in the hot contents.
It’s SO much easier than sterilizing them on a hot water bath which can still cause cracking because of the thermal shock.
I put the jars in something with sides, like a lasagna pan & put them in the oven. I put the oven on 225 & make sure the jars are at temperature for at least 20 minutes, but they stay in however long it takes to have jelly, tomatoes, chutney or whatever ready to fill. I take them out just before filling with a pair of tongs. I’ve never had a jar crack.
The part I hated most about canning was sterilizing jars in the water bath. Using the oven is so much easier (as you know :-)
Great videos! Thank you!
The only thing I can add to make an even more scrumptious BLT, is to add a perfectly fried green tomato (or two) in addition to the red tomatoes. Heavenly! (Add a little homemade remoulade sauce if you wish.)
Awesome! That sounds great!
No, it’s shaped much like a Green Stink Bug, only smaller in size. Weird! I wonder, do they have some kind of a “juvenile” stage, where they’re not full-sized yet, but still do damage?
I like the Tiger Beetle. Very cool-looking!
I just lay them on the racks.
And yes, it is far easier.
“I like the Tiger Beetle. Very cool-looking!”
Beau brought a dead Tiger Beetle to me a few years ago because I’m like a Crow and he knows I like ‘shiny things,’ and said, ‘What is this?’
So I did some research. You’ll just have to keep looking on-line for a bug that matches what you have - before we can decide if it should live or die, LOL!
I gave myself the day off from canning, but picking Green Beans is on the docket for tomorrow - as well as mowing the lawn...until I run out of gas, LOL!
When I crank up, ‘The Canning Machine’ on Sunday I will be making Dilly Beans:
Good Old-Fashioned Pickled Dilly Beans
https://growagoodlife.com/dilly-beans/
Did a Grocery Run (Shop The Pig!) today and got the sugar, vinegar and additional garlic I need to get this done, as well as a few odds and ends for the V-8 Juice. I will NOT go through a winter without that luscious & healthy stuff! So much veggie goodness crammed into every sip - and the homemade is SO much LOWER in salt...and in my case so much HIGHER in Horseradish. ;)
LOL! My SIL always had that breed of dog - and they were VERY accomplished diggers when they weren’t game bird hunting. ;)
Good doggie! Bury that bone! And that squirrel corpse!
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