The Victory Garden Thread - May, 2026

May 1, 2026 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The MONTHLY Victory Garden 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 Victory Garden 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.

[gleeaikin]

Yes daffodils. In late April my 12 foot densely filled daffodil bed with 6 varieties was doing well. I also found daffodil leaves in the middle of the lawn near the place were we removed a wrecked small shed 45 years ago when we bought the place for our kids. I placed barricades around them so the mowers would not mistake them for grass and this year they produced a variety of daffodil with many petals unlike the others I had there. I think we had some like that growing where we lived when I was a child 80 years ago, although these seemed larger and fuller. Perhaps they were an improvement on the ones from my childhood at that house which had been abandoned for 50 years before we moved into it.

This fall I will dig up these bulbs from the lawn, and remove some bulbs from the existing row against the fence. There is an unplanted area along that fence just crying for some pretty daffodils, and perhaps some tulips and hyacinths among them. Tulips and hyacinths plus lilies I planted last year had been nibbled by deer, so thanks for the suggestion.

Between the deer and the drought the small fig shrub that was just beginning to bear fruit last year seems dead, but I hope I am wrong. I had placed some scraps of tin roofing around it which deer did not like to walk on, but that probably prevented enough water from getting into the soil to counteract the drought.

[FamiliarFace]

Thank you, that’s so kind of you!

I am at the point of these two options.

*** Corticosteroid Injections: If pain persists, a doctor may suggest injections to significantly reduce inflammation.

Shockwave Therapy: A non-surgical option using sound waves to break down scar tissue and promote healing.***

I truly believe that this was caused, in part, by wearing terrible sneakers for my daily walks. They were easy to slip into, but didn’t really have much support. Unfortunately, I’ve now learned my lesson, and I hope to encourage others to wear very good footwear.

The other thing weighing against me is my age. The older I get, the more I feel the aches and pains. I fight it, but I definitely feel it more every year.

I’m going kicking and screaming, though. 😉

[FamiliarFace]

Wow, that’s almost a fuschia pink! Very very pretty!

[FamiliarFace]

I had to run to Walmart this evening for an ingredient for dinner. I stopped by the garden center and noted they has shishito pepper starters finally. I bought 2 as a safety net in case the ones I’m growing from seed take a bad turn.

I figured that I would do a better job of keeping my purchases in good shape with these near freezing temps. So any little plants that are very tender are back in the house and under grow lights (off for 8 hours). On Monday I can get back out there and “dig in.”

Oh, a pot with 5 basil plants in it was $13, but a pot with 1 starter basil was $5. Guess which pot I chose.

[Paul R.]

It’s a chilly start to May, here! But this afternoon was great for working outdoors! :-)

[gleeaikin]

In my early thirties (currently 87) I discovered the books of Adelle Davis on nutrition and health. She sold millions, still appearing for sale on ebay, etc.
1. Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit, to general audiences for mending the body with good diet and appropriate supplements.
2. Let’s Get Well, a somewhat more technical book for one with High School or College Biology on healing specific illness.
3. Let’s Have Healthy Children, preparing to produce healthy infants and raising them to adulthood.
4. Let’s Cook It Right, how to prepare all that lovely food you grow, raise, or buy for maximum nutrition and variety.

With these and other health oriented books I have overcome each negative body change to maintain my overall health. Sometimes from something external, like a diseased tick bite, I use modern medicine like antibiotics; or hospital care for a car accident and broken ribs, where I told them I would sue if they didn’t let me use the supplements I had with me for this trip. Two months after the accident, at 53 I won a Limbo contest where I was the oldest participant.

Around age 65 previously eliminated lower back pain recurred. I read that Boron was good for bones and added 3 mg. to my daily supplements. At 75 more back pain and shrinking from 5’5” to 5’3”. I added 3 mg. with evening supplements. Shrinking and pain stopped. At age 82 was told cataract surgery would soon be needed. I did the usual, Googled “nutrition and supplements to help (in this case CATARACTS). I found 5 I was not using, added them and cataracts are 70 to 80% improved. In fall 2022 when researching cancer because 3 loved ones had it, I discovered the Astaxanthin that was helping my eyes helped normal cells live longer while causing cancer cells to die younger. I added virus killer zinc and 3 that I helped all had shrinking of their cancer tissue.

Recently a good friend age 70 was having arthritic pain in his hands, and I started having back pain again. I got a supplement for him primarily containing Glucosamine HCl, Chondroitin/MSM Complex, and Boswellia serrata Extract. His arthritis has improved greatly. I had already been taking some of these items. Now for the backache I plan to add 3 mg. more to my morning Boron intake. I had run out, and my usual sources no longer sold it, so just started them again, with some improvement already noted. Incidentally, 3 years ago I had grown an inch back up to 5’4”. I think it was the new Cataract vitamins, probably especially the Astaxanthin.

If you have any chronic illness you will need to check your supplement choices with your doctor. Luckily when I started and asked my Gynechologist, he said “I don’t know much about supplements, but since I see you regularly, I can catch any negative signs that show up.” It may be hard to find such an understanding and honest doctor these days. As I studied more and more about my body and it’s signs, I began trying new things with or without medical approval. In fact when I told my new opthalmologist about the success with the 5 new supplements for Cataracts, he said, “there have been no double blind tests on these supplements” with a scornful tone. Fortunately his predecessor had just increased me from a Cataract check each year, to one every 2 years to continue driving.

Amazing things can be done with nutrition, unfortunately Big Pharma is not interested. Be careful, inform yourself and if possible find a doctor that is at least as honest as the one I had 50 years ago, to keep an eye on you. If you cannot, we still have the legal right to take supplements, but start with lower doses, and only one new supplements every few days while developing a personal daily program. Use Google searches and the new AI information helps to check on dosage, and good or bad effects. Also what should not be mixed with others. Some may be better in the morning, others better at night.

I hope no one is upset I used so much Garden Thread space for all this information, but we are already doing the smart thing by growing good fresh food for ourselves and families.

[MomwithHope]

Sounds like how I used to be on buying shishito backups. What I found was my very small ones started from seed once plants outside with the much bigger Bonnie plants, well mine shot up so fast they all bore peppers around the same time.

[FamiliarFace]

Thanks for the tips. We do use supplements and I should investigate further about which ones I should be taking, no longer taking, or switch the schedule. We started taking more of them once CoVid came around. We both take AREDS vitamins for our eyes, which include the astaxanthin. I will check out Adelle Davis books.

[FamiliarFace]

I hope that’s the case! At any rate, I hope to have a great supply again this year. That was too much fun last year. I also bought a variety of jalapeño that supposedly isn’t very hot, and cherry tomato plants.

So far, I’ve had my vegetables in containers on my deck or in the front walkway, but I’m considering trying a couple of things in the ground out in the backyard. My problem with that is that all the wild animals will have easier access to them than I will. I will try to plant some things near them that the deer, bunnies, raccoons, etc won’t like. We will see how the season progresses.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Nope. Too bright a color to be Sara Bernhardt! :)

[Honorary Serb]

As Arizonans know, May is cactus blooming time!

[Qiviut]

I looked at some pics & while the blooms are big & similar, the color didn’t seem to match. I don’t know what ours are, but they’re wonderful - size, shape & color.

[Albion Wilde]

He also recommends blocking deer out as much as you can, either with spiky varieties like barberry or holly bushes or with a thick row of arborvitae.

What??? The developer put an arbor vitae in front of each of the 150 houses in our community. Deer ate every one of them. Such a headache on Year Two!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Peonies....I purchased 2 red peony roots (Karl Rosenfeld) for about $6 apiece at my local Building supply store (Sutherlands...KC based). Looking at some of the online prices $27 maybe I should go back and get the one that was left!

Carrots! Here is a video of a Lady in Quebec sowing carrots with a method I have not seen, seeds suspended in a corn starch solution. When I did, what my Father did was to sow, water, put a board over the row method, which worked well to preserve moisture and encourage germination. If anyone triess this let us know how it works!

[Albion Wilde]

The spine clinic doc is pretty much down to "this is arthritis and there's nothing we can do but try to help manage the pain", so she has scheduled me in on the 7th at the pain management clinic.

Unless you want to become drug-dependent, get another opinion or two. Try someone with a physical therapy degree rather than a pharmaceutical-oriented degree.

[Albion Wilde]

The only plant I’ve ever heard is deer proof are daffodils.

When I started my garden here 30+ years ago, the internet was not built out yet, so I much have gone through $1,000 worth of plants and shrubs the first couple of years, only to find them eaten to a nub or torn up out of the ground. But the two types of daffodils were never touched!—even the ones near the woods. I feed them occasionally and they are still thriving and multiplying.

The only other reliably deer proof flower is the marigold, but they are only annuals. However, they produce abundant seed and even self-sow here and there. Oh, and don't let me forget my gorgeous bugleweed ground cover. It only blooms (to a height of maybe 5 inches) for about three weeks, but it spreads prolifically and soon you will have lots to share. The rest of the year it is a hardy groundcover (Baltimore area). Look here:

[Albion Wilde]

I much have gone through = I must have gone through

I hate autocorrect

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I mostly spent the day inside cleaning, though I took breaks and puttered in the greenhouse as much as I could. I’m glad Mom calls and wants to come over ‘spur of the moment’ because it’s a great motivator to get it together, LOL!

Mowing yesterday was uneventful, but the first few ‘mows’ of the year require a lot of going over some spots a few times. Not sure if it’s the blend of grass or the mower blades, or more sun than shade in parts but I seem to have to ‘cross-hatch’ a few spots.

Last night we had temps at 32 degrees, so late in the day I moved all the tomatoes and peppers under cover. Glad I did! Nothing else in the greenhouse (Ferns, Petunias, the flats of Marigold and Zinnia) seemed to suffer at all.

Supper tonight is my ‘cheater’ Chicken Pot Pie, which is just in a casserole dish and you put biscuits on top, and fresh asparagus from the garden and a salad. I should have home grown lettuce and spinach to start using soon. Yay, Spring!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“I hope no one is upset I used so much Garden Thread space for all this information, but we are already doing the smart thing by growing good fresh food for ourselves and families.”

Not at all. We talk about anything and everything here.

I’m going to look into you suggestion of Astaxanthin as Cataracts and Glaucoma and Mac-Degen all run in my family. I already take an eye ‘vitamin’ with Lutien and a few other things in it, per an Eye Doctor I had years ago; now retired.

My eye exams to date are always good! (at 65)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

‘Karl’ is a keeper! The current Peonies I have were all started from cheap roots from Walmart. Two of the four are thriving and two are wimpy, so I’ll probably just replace them with another ‘Sara Bernhardt’ and another ‘Festiva Maxima.’

The raised beds that Beau built for me all around the greenhouse have been trial and error. I thought Roses would LOVE it there - but, not really. :(

It’s looking more and more like Perennial Grass Land and your standard perennials like Day Lilies and Sedum, which are all doing well.

Meh. A girl could do worse in life! ;)