Posted on 11/01/2026 6:19:40 AM PST 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.
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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.
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I took it over 20 years ago when my SIL served a tofurkey. Never to go back. We usually have about 25 depending on who is away at school or too weak to come. I do the whole deal but note that the three cottage hams that I serve are always, always gone. All nine pounds of falling apart smoked pork with green beansThe turkey - not so much.
Mom! Late frost most places this year it seems! Good thing, my broccoli and sweet potatoes are still growing! (And we also have a few tomatoes ripening in the kitchen.)
That’s a sweet story. You found a way to make Thanksgiving special without all the work!
We always got a small fresh turkey and dry brined it. Always turned out great very juicy and not a ton of leftovers. My second day leftover turkey pot pie was always a hit.
Christmas was always prime rib and any leftovers went to next day stroganoff.
I’ve got 5 very ripe tomatoes in the kitchen. Precious.
The subprime ones set aside for planting were kept in the garage.
Upon harvest, all were laid out on my utility trailer in the garage to dry out the dirt on them. After about 10 days I brushed off the dirt and top layer and trimmed the stems. The ones meant to last all year are hanging in the basement from the rafters in bunches of 10 to keep them cool and in a mostly dark environment.
They are hardnecks so they can’t be braided but in the late spring I clip the top center scapes and fry them in olive oil.
I too avoid chinese grown garlic.
I agree on the kimchi and anchovies. More for me on the other picks. ;)
We used to whip up a batch of this at Christmastime.
Grandpa would say, ‘Light Her UP!’ LOL!
Old-Fashioned Swedish Glögg
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/180453/old-fashioned-swedish-glogg/
Turkey can be too much, but it certainly is Traditional.
I bake the ‘breasts only’ ahead of time, then slice and put in the crock pot with homemade chicken stock to keep it moist.
I always ‘fake’ the gravy, but no complaints so far. Gotta have stuffing, though. And sliced cranberry sauce from a can, LOL!
The 2026 National Gardening Reports Are Here!
(A few excerpts for you all...)
A Smaller Audience. A Record-Spending Market.
For the first time since 2019, the U.S. gardening audience contracted — and yet total spending hit an all-time high. The 2026 reports tell the full story behind the paradox.
Renters Now Out-Buy Homeowners in Seed
Renters who garden out-purchase homeowners in vegetable seed (43.5% vs. 36.6%) and herb seed (32.7% vs. 22.0%) — the leading signal of where small-space, container-driven demand is showing up first.
Under-35s Are Replacing Lawns with Wildflowers
Households under 35 are converting lawns into natural or wildflower landscapes at nearly 4× the rate of the 65+ cohort (19% vs. 5%). 38% of under-35 gardeners buy natural or organic fertilizer, vs. 14% of those 65+.
The Home Garden Is Now a Household-Economy Strategy
Among households planning to garden more in 2026, roughly two in three cite inflation as an important reason. Home centers won 2025, raising spend share +5 points to 43.0%, while online delivery hit a record 45.9%.
I surprised the family one Christmas. We lived in FL and I was near a Boston Lobster Feast restaurant. We’re originally from MA and my dad was a lobsterman at one time and his uncle still was so I grabbed a bunch of live lobsters and brought them. It was a hit.
Lobsta
My assigned dishes for Thanksgiving are green bean casserole & sweet potato casserole. With my dietary issues, if I make these casseroles myself, I will be able to eat them (lactose free, etc.).
I know the feelings some have regarding green bean casserole, but if made with fresh green beans & a sauce from scratch, it won’t be mushy like the original recipe using canned mushroom soup & canned green beans.
On to the sweet potato casserole ... my SIL’s mom always made this, but she passed away some years ago. I found out today that my SIL doesn’t like it so she doesn’t assign it to anyone. My mom wants sweet potato casserole some kinda’ bad so I am on the hook to make it this year. What topping to use? I personally love the pecans & brown sugar option while others love marshmallows. What to do, what to do ... Pioneer Woman to the rescue! Her sweet potato casserole has a mix of both for the topping & it looks really good to me so that’s what I’ll be making :-)
Rainwise, the rain bucket people, have jumped on the all-in-one weather station bandwagon it seems. The usual $1-2k but the "replacement" wind sensor is $160.
Maybe next year. Meanwhile the Davis unit that will be here this morning will be going atop the SE peak of the tunnel. I was thinking about a clear spot to put it where I wouldn't run it over and realized that doesn't exist. Then I read in the instructions for the Davis unit, if mounting to house, be sure it's at least 4 foot above the peak. That made images of barns with weather vane atop the peak pop into my head. Gothic peak perfect.
Stumbled across an integration for HA called HA Homestead. Veggies, orchard, chicken coup, compost and more. Haven't played with it much but enough to think, I don't need that thing I was making with WordPress. Now I just need to talk the developer into adding support for Imperial units because brrr, that celcius looks cold year round. To Do List? I love To Do Lists.
Dinner one night was going to be pork chops and green bean casserole so I decided to make it sort of a one dish meal and put the pork chops under the green bean casserole. I did fry brown them real quick. It was those little loin chops (the other white meat cut) that are easy to dry out when frying them. Problem solved. I don’t even brown them anymore.
Sounds good!
Christmas shopping for the 4 great-nephews & 2 great-nieces is DONE!! Woo hoo!! I was really stuck on my nephew’s 2 boys (4 & going on 2). I rarely see them & don’t know them hardly at all (plus they’re ‘city’ boys) so it’s tough coming up with something - no junk, educational at a minimum.
Now, I need to wrap everything up for delivery to their parents at our family Thanksgiving feast. I also need to get busy doing some canning so I can give the parents & my brothers their Christmas canned gifts.
Looking at mom’s emails, a friend from Ohio is going to be visiting relatives nearby & wants to stop in for a visit. She lost her husband earlier this year - her husband was actually a distant relative of my dad’s (thus me, too) & they met at a family reunion and have stayed in touch. I don’t think they’ll spend the night, but I’m sure I’ll be cooking at least one meal. I believe their departure date from Ohio is Nov. 6 (yikes!) so they could be here probably early to the middle of next week.
Progress: today was the first day I went without a bandaid on my mandolin mangled finger! No glove needed for washing dishes, taking a shower etc. - so nice to have my ‘hand’ back after almost 3 weeks.
Guess I don't really need the 210 degree readout. That thinking is leftover from when I didn't think I'd be able to have a compass and was going to have to do a bunch of math to convert degrees into SSW etc. I'll leave it. Good to know the wind direction in degrees. I think it's safe to round it to a whole number though. LOL Leftover from some other sensor that was connected to that Input.
It was up close to 270 or West but this is a; last 5 minutes graph; so that's missing. Hasn't been hooked up long enough for a 1 hour graph. A graph for the airport looks different since it gets updated every 5 minutes instead of being in real-time. Looks like a sine wave - square wave with the line going either vertical or horizontal.
Caught about 60 gal of rain off 1/4 of the tunnel roof today from our mist to occasional rain.
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