The Garden Thread - August, 2025

August 1, 2025 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I am JUST starting to get some decent reds, and am picking any tomatoes that have a ‘blush’ to the shoulders for ripening indoors.

They are few and far between this season, but I am going to save all that I can!

My Cherokee Purple are looking GOOD - but are still green and solid as a rock!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I've made a similar soup - looks so good! Love the addition of BACON!

I LOVE anything Pumpkin; I cannot WAIT for FALL! :)

I don't care if it's 90 degrees! I'm gettin' my FALL ON!

[Liz]

I’ve made a similar soup - looks so good! Love the addition of BACON!

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How many pumpkins you buying in that pic?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I bought all they had and I went back for more! ;) (She has CUTE AS HECK UGG Boots - mine are black.)

We have a Farm Stand and an Orchard about 30 minutes away - she grows EVERY kind of Pumpkin, Squash and Gourd you can imagine. I’ve grown my own before, but it takes up SO much real estate, it’s ridiculous. All of hers are field-grown by her husband.

So far, I have my Mums, but I can’t wait to visit her farm. She does such an excellent job and her displays make you want to buy EVERYTHING. :)

[Liz]

I bought all they had and I went back for more!

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Aha.......a “pumpkin glutton” comes clean.

[MomwithHope]

Wow I am gobsmacked I actually had a tip for you!
I do the same thing with fresh basil. Stack individual leaves, chiffonade, stuff a quart freezer bag with 4 or 5 handfuls and add olive oil. Smush it good and freeze flat. You can break off and use whatever you want. Both the basil and shishitos will last a year easy frozen.

[Liz]

Wow I am gobsmacked I actually had a tip for you!

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It happens.....but not often......chuckle.

[Qiviut]

You’re 2 for 2 today with helpful tips! I did not know you could freeze basil - I always made pesto & froze it, but you need a lot & it’s a bit of a chore. Next time I trim my basil, it will get frozen!

[Qiviut]

I made a casserole today that was ‘different’, but quite good. It’s a sweet potato & sausage ‘breakfast’ casserole, but you could eat it any time.

I was looking for casseroles without dairy (cheese, sour cream, cream cheese) & they are few & far between, but this is one of them.

Ingredients are few:

Sweet potatoes, diced & roasted
Sausage*, fried
Onions fried (with sausage is fine)
Eggs (8)
Half cup of coconut milk, Lactaid, or regular milk if you can tolerate it
Spices

Of course, I made a few changes:

Instead of 2 sweet potatoes, I used 3.
Instead of a half pound of sausage, I used a whole pound of plain ground pork. I used a sausage seasoning mix & added it to the egg mixture instead of the meat to better incorporate the flavor throughout the casserole.
All else was the same.

Link to casserole - it’s the 2nd one listed “Dairy-Free Sweet Potato and Sausage Breakfast Casserole”:
https://chefsbliss.com/dairy-free-breakfast-casserole-recipes/

Link to sausage seasoning - I used the 2 Tablespoon recipe & put all of it in the egg mixture:
https://thecookful.com/breakfast-sausage-seasoning-recipe/

[Liz]

Mmmmmmm.......so yummy.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That sounds good! We only eat two meals a day, so that would be a lovely ‘Brunch’ for us.

I like Sweet Potatoes in anything. :)

Hold the Marshmallows though, LOL!

[numberonepal]

Big planting weekend in Zone 10b. Fall is our Spring.

[Liz]

Bacon Tart with Pumpkin and Maple / A stellar combo from a popular bistro.

Ing Tart 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (10x10") 8 slices bacon 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup 7 oz butternut or Jap pumpkin, peeled/diced in 5" cubes 1/2 tbsp olive oil (if roasting pumpkin) 1 tbsp butter S/p

Instructions Preheat oven to 425F. Spray or grease baking sheet with olive oil. Cook Pumpkin. Transfer to large bowl (cools faster) and add butter plus a pinch of s/p. Mash smooth w/ fork and set aside. Cut puff pastry in half. Place one piece on top of the other. Place the double layered pastry on the baking tray. Cover pastry w/ parchment (not weighed down, just place it on top ). Bake 15 min til it has puffed up a bit and it is a very light golden brown. While the pastry is pre-baking, trim the bacon so it is wider than the width of the tart by approximately 1/2". Remove the pastry from the oven and discard baking paper. Working quickly, spread pumpkin on pastry, leaving a 1/4" border.

Place bacon on tart, overlapping---8 slices should cover whole tart. Bake 20 min deep golden. Remove from oven and brush half the maple syrup on the bacon and the pastry border. Bake 7-10 min, til bacon and pastry is a deep, dark golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with remaining maple syrup. Season. Serve with a light side salad. This tart reheats well in the oven and keeps for 2 days in the fridge, but it is best served fresh out of the oven.

Cooking the Pumpkin Roasting: Toss pumpkin in olive oil and roast for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven, then proceed with recipe directions. Microwaving: Place pumpkin in a microwave proof bowl (or steamer) with a splash of water. Cover with lid or cling wrap (pierce with a fork a few times if using cling wrap) then microwave on high for 8 minutes. Drain water before use, then proceed with recipe.

[MomwithHope]

Thanks I am just recycling old ones I have posted in years past.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Happy Gardening! Keep us up to date on what you’re planting and how things are doing! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Diana;

Someone was asking about injecting B.T. into your squash vines to control squash borers.

Here is a picture of these moths, the damage from the borer, and the borer.

University of MN (Link below) mentions that foliar sprays of Bt Bacillus thuringiensis are not effective against squash vine borers once they are in the vine. It is however, still possible to inject Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in squash vine stems in order to control borers. (As some here have done.) It is also possible to do this with live parasitic nematodes, or to buy parasitic nematodes to spray on your garden soil to control this and other garden pests.

See: Garden Joe Squash Vine Borer Prevention & Control

Some tips for people trying this method. If you are attempting to inject Bt into a vine you will probably have problems getting your needle into the vine and with the needle becoming clogged with squash vine. (I had this problem and had to use a wire from a Wire brush to unclog it.)

Before injecting I wipe things down with alcohol to not spread bacterial infections. I use a portable drill with the smallest drill bit available to pre drill the hole, working the bit back and forth a bit. Be careful to not go all the way through both sides of the vine! I then use a toothpick to clear the hole, then inject 1cc of the Bt into the vine stem. Finally, I just return the toothpick to the hole to plug it and mark the entry point. I did this last year and just did this yesterday. (Saw these red moths flying around the vines.)

I had 3 volunteer pumpkin vines from a Halloween pumpkin (Rouge de Vif?) I lost one. I do not know what I will get but here is a picture of one of the 2 pumpkins that have grown on the remaining 2 vines.

There is more information at these links. The first link that shows a picture of the eggs and locations for both the borer and for Squash Nymphs.

Squash Vine Borer Managment U. Mich.

University of MN Squash vine borers

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

"Although, I think the Sevin finally did them all in."

Consider using Bt on your tomato plants. It will kill the hornworms and southern armyworms without killing any beneficial pollinators or hornworm parasites. (Yes, tomatoes are mostly air pollinated but bees do visit them!)

https://www.familyplotgarden.com/qa-ndash-just-how-safe-is-sevin-insecticide.html

Cool weather is here! Good growing!