Posted on 06/01/2026 6:10:43 AM PDT by 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.
Me too. Now I just have this hard, crusty shell!
I was skinny until age 50 or so. Now, not so much. Need to lose 10 lbs., really. It’d prolly help with my joints, navel down or so... :-(
Well, at least you are not half-baked, right?
Depends on the day. At least that what SHE tells me.
It was 53° this morning with fog.
Very cool nights have retarded growth of tomatoes and even some weeds.
LOL! :)
I’m having the same situation with my tomatoes. They are fruiting right now, but the plants should be about 1/3 bigger than they are - all due to cool night temps.
Rain overnight; a good soaker which we did NOT need, but what can ya do?
I fertilized tomatoes and peppers yesterday. We’ll see if that helps any. I have warmer temps ahead next week.

My 'Trial Run' on making Blueberry Pie Filling for the first time was a success! I need to borrow Mom's REALLY BIG pot, then I can make the 7-quart batches at a time and put those Blueberries (now frozen) to good use this fall and winter. I'll use this test batch to make Beau a pie when he's back home again this Saturday from visiting his wife & kids in Canada. (Just kidding - about them, not the pie!)
Here’s the recipe I used. Visit Ashley at ‘Creative Canning. She’s a great instructor on how to do all of this stuff.
I’m interested on canning homemade soups, and I did not know you could can your own baked beans, did you?
I learn something new every day! :)
https://creativecanning.com/canning-blueberry-pie-filling/
"Look at me Ray! I am a woman! I have Children! This is a working body! These are working breasts!"
(Character Debra frustrated with Ray's constant teasing about her post-pregnancy body and her efforts to stay fit.)
Link to a You Tube discussion of a pheremone trap for the Squash Vine Borer Moth. (Leaving 2 other insect pests, Squash Nymphs and Cucumber Beetles to deal with!)
Shelly with Garden Jargon discusses Squash Vine Borer Moth Trap
She is in a community garden behind her Church in (I think)Batavia Illinois.
Here is her source: Great Lakes IPM
I have some melons and some butternut vines. I just bought the trap. I think I will now have to plant some red kuri squash to justify this purchase.
One lure trap (w 3 lures) will cover an entire garden. This is expensive with about 1/2 the cost being shipping. ($74 total. 3 lures. You can save the plastic trap and store extra lures in the freezer. The lures last for 3 or 4 weeks. )
I previously the covered wing type sticky traps and they were effective, but they get filled up quickly, accidentally stick together, are affected by rain.
Here is a video that discusses other protection methods. At 3:12 she provides a video shot of solitary Moth eggs on the squash vine stem so you will know what to look for. (Great shade of red on her nails! Wish I had a daughter this interested in gardening! ) She also discusses foil around the stem and other methods.
Love that show! It often hit close to home for us. I thought Debra always looked pretty good.
Congratulations! Beau is a lucky man!
F.F.; Patricia is a very conservative for an actor.
Probably why I like her.
I actually wish I had some of those grubs. The little woman and I are heading to lake to do some perch fishing. It would save me from having to buy some fathead minnows. Bbs
Lucky Beau .... I love Blueberry pie :-)
I do not have a pressure canner so no canned baked beans for me although I like the idea.
Cow Chronicles:
There hasn’t been much cow news lately ... until today. I was lazily watching the cow herd make their way up a grassy slope when something caught my eye. Nah, couldn’t be ... or could it? After some not-so-lazy watching, it became clear that one cow is waaay off schedule and has had a calf in the last couple of days! Little bitty thing - I wonder if the farmer has seen it yet. I don’t know if he’s doing daily checks since it’s not calving season & with plenty of grass, he’s no longer feeding round bales. If he doesn’t catch & tag that calf soon, he’ll have a rodeo on his hands :-)
I was curious as to what y’all are presently seeing for gasoline prices? Somewhat oddly for us, BP has been leading the way with the price drops, tho’ the last time I was in town, 87 oct was still $3.49 / gal.
Incidentally, people (including Trump) gripe about the price drops not fully reflecting the drops in oil prices, but what is happening is that gas station owners and managers do not, understandably, want to drop prices on inventory purchased at a higher price. It’s when prices are jumping up and they are still selling old inventory that they really “clean up”.
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