The Victory Garden Thread - September, 2026

September 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.

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TOPICS: Agriculture; Food; Gardening; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: food; garden; hobbies; victory

[lee martell]

Those are some impressive red jalapenos! Mine are always the itty-bitty kind.
The Candy Apple Red pepper commands attention, but I’m told, some are more sweet than firey. You probably had to wash your hands after handling them. Don’t want to ‘bless’ the corners of your eyes by accident.

[Qiviut]

They’re not a problem when whole, like in the picture. I wear disposable gloves when I process jalapeños. No way would I ‘bare hand’ them!

[BipolarBob]

100 degree temps for weeks. I have renamed mine The Defeated Garden. It was good while it lasted but it’s over.

[Paul R.]

Here's something for the bigfoot garden:

[Paul R.]

I made that mistake. Once. :-(

[Persevero]

I will be moving to a house with a front side and backyard in the fall so would love to be added to your list as I will finally be gardening/landscaping.

[dakine]

While on vacation, friend made a fresh salsa of peppers and green/heirloom tomatoes - not sure the type of Michigan green tomatoes - but darn it was good!

Think your cheese thread earlier is why I married an Italian girl... 😃

[WhoisAlanGreenspan?]

We have been eating tomatoes like crazy but there's no way to keep up with how many are ripening right now. My plan was starting 6 Roma San Marzano plants and thinning them down to two, but they were super slow to start so I bought two nursery ones that were at least a month ahead. Now I've got 4 plants producing. Was thinking I should make some spaghetti sauce but even that won't use up very many before they start going bad. I've never canned anything but I'm thinking maybe I should try. Found this But I've heard some leave the skins on. Any beginner canning video suggestions?

[Qiviut]

This is how I canned tomatoes for years without using a water bath. You could get the skins off per the video you posted, then cook the tomatoes & get them in hot canning jars per the video I posted. Adding lemon juice makes sure the acidity is high enough. I never had a jar spoil & they were fine to use at least 2 years later.

Back in the day when I grew probably 8 tomato plants, I would have roasting pans full of tomatoes I needed to do something with & Linda’s canning method was a life & time saver for me. I still use her method of heating my (very clean) jars in the oven when I do jelly instead of boiling them in a water bath - the jars stay nice & hot until you need them

https://youtu.be/7kmTH_q1usI?si=CtYwfiw0s8SpNxVA

[Paul R.]

There were still no clearance deals on potting soil, etc., but clearances seem to have made it to the indoor portion of Wally World's Garden Centers in our region. (Carbondale-Paducah region)

In particular, some garden soil fertilizers and such were on clearance. I snagged a bag of perlite, 2 bags of the Expert Tomato and Garden Vegetables fertilizer, a bag of Epsom Salts, and a bag of that "Dr.Earth" veggie garden fertilizer with Mycorrhizae. All were 8 lbs. for $5.50, except the Dr. Earth fertilizer was 4 lbs. for $5.50. So, not "crazy" markdowns, but, not bad. Some pots were on clearance too, but were sold out. I was hoping some of the boxed plant food that gets mixed with water would be on sale, as it can be used for foliar feeding for fast results, but, no luck there, either. Over at Rural King they had 20 lb. bags of 9-Lives cat food for $12 - our cat will be happy! They were also clearing out BIG (4 gallon?) bags of popcorn for $1 - I can't eat all that, but, our chickens will go nuts! Menards had 3x outlet plus 3x USB charge ports adapters for $3.99 (after rebate) and SIX packs of motion sensing 60 watt equivalent LED motion sensing light bulbs for (IIRC $7.something) -- super useful!!) I almost forgot - Wal Mart had corn-in-husk for 25 cents each again (was 33 cents last week). So I bought 4 ears, and when I picked up wifey she had TEN ears from a friend, already shucked and boiled. (I didn't realize what was in the big bag, until we got home.) I like corn just fine, but I'm afraid some of this is going to have to go to the chickens. (More joy in the chicken yard!!)

[Paul R.]

With all the humidity, it’s supper foggy this morning - I can hardly see the barn!

You know you're in trouble of one sort or another, if you wake up to that and it's not humidity and not smoke. ;-)

[Paul R.]

Ok, brunch is over, “back out to it” briefly. It’s a cooker - 91 deg. a bit before 11 a.m., and no breeze. :-(

[murrie]

Greetings from Tennessee. We may not be in hell but we are sure copping a squat on the hinges to hell. Whew. This is typical for these parts. Usually starts cooling down the third week in September. Main goal is to keep the yard and garden watered. The chickens get their water refreshed often plus a huge fan in the afternoon along with shade. We are at that time of year where preventing heat stress takes most of your time. Oooeeee. So looking forward to fall!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That sounds wonderful and simple. My favorite kind of recipe. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You’re in! Congrats on the move. You’ll find lots of help here. :)

[PUGACHEV]

Sometimes I add a chopped small, sweet pepper while sauteing the garlic and red peppers.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I always leave skins on tomatoes - that’s where the fiber is! A whirl with my immersion (stick) blender takes care of that.

If your tomatoes are coming in/ripening at different rates, why not make Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce when you have enough to fill a roasting pan? I use the one that normally would hold a turkey.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/267258/roasted-tomato-sauce/

That way, you can refrigerate the various batches (or freeze if you need to) and combine them all when you are ready to can them. Check various canning recipes, but you’ll probably have to add some lemon juice to each mason jar as you can it, to keep the acidity level up for safe water bath canning.

If you don’t have fresh basil to use, just sprinkle the whole thing with Italian Seasoning. And be generous with the garlic! ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“We are at that time of year where preventing heat stress takes most of your time.”

I hear that! My chickens get extra water and have a fan in their coop these days, too. They slow down laying in the heat but I am 2 dozen ahead right now as it is.

Heat, as well as HUGE BUGS are the main reasons I’ll never live below the Mason Dixon line. ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Oh, Lordy! That poor skunk! Ouch! I smell more skunks out here than I ever see, but we came home after sunset a week ago and there was one ambling down our lane.

My dopey Yellow Lab got skunked TWICE within a week one year. She also got lost out here twice, but I think Beau’s dogs were leading her astray just to make fun of her! She had good ‘dog collar info’ on her, so we got her back both times.

[AFB-XYZ]

Thank God it’s September. Maybe this damned HEAT WILL GO AWAY!!! I had a nice garden at the beginning of July, but after more than a solid month of temps ranging from 101°F to 109°F, everything is dead.

BUT . . . I’m a stubborn old caveman, and for once in my life have listened to my sister’s sage advice to try a second planting in the near future. If fall is more kind than summer was, there might be some healthy edibles after all ! :-)