Faith-manor Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 20 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said: Mid winter here. All brassica are growing beautifully. The garden looks particularly lush. Winter gardens grow better here as it doesn't dry out in winter. We are doubling the veggie garden size. I have already prepped the veggie beds and dh has just about completed the fence. By the end of the week I will be able to start planting. We want to have enough to give to adult children. The cost of veggies here in Australia is insane. Some products have gone up quadruple. Like Broccali $14 kg , potatoes over $3kg and lettuce $10 head. I don't know how people who don't garden can afford to eat greens. I am so sorry to hear about those vegetable prices. That is scary! I fear that folks who cannot garden must be eating a lot grains and not much else. The long term health costs are disturbing to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said: We had a long cool spring and are just getting into summer temperatures. My zucchini and tomatoes are finally flowering, and my sugar snap peas are done. I am blowing through the diatomaceous earth treating the green beans and other things that are getting nibbled on. My kiwi plant never really survived, but my new grape, blueberry and raspberry plants are all happy. I am watching lumber prices and availability. I really need to make some sort of paired raised beds so I can do arches between the two and increase my growing space vertically. I would also love to poly tunnel through there also for winter to keep growing greens. No luck yet, though. No raspberry or blueberry picking for us this year. Normally I can pick at the commercial farms for $1.25-1.50/lb. The frost wiped out so many crops this year that what remains is selling at quadruple that. Something to consider. Dh and I made hoops between the two raised beds using the plastic paneling trim that is used in old mobile homes. The local hardware still had some pieces. The stuff is pretty flexible if you only need a gentle slope to your hoop. I am not going to try to garden in the winter because I would need a greenhouse with serious heat. But I want to extend my tomatoes harvest, and put in salad greens after I pull up the broccoli plants. I have white gossamer left over from a wedding event a few years back, and will use that to cover them. I might be able to harvest tomatoes through October, and have spinach and lettuce that long as well. Edited July 12, 2022 by Faith-manor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 18 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said: Mid winter here. All brassica are growing beautifully. And a 6-7 hour drive away, I let out a strangled cry because brassicas refused to grow in my yard this year! I gave up, dug out a cubic metre of the clay/gravel mix I have here, mixed it with compost, returned it, and planted a murnong. Maybe in three years I'll have enough of them to harvest. My peas and broad beans are growing happily, and I have enough weeds and garden greens to harvest when I want them. I have a new patch of wild fennel on my nature strip, which is a happy thing, and while my choko isn't growing, it isn't dead. That is also a happy thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 21 minutes ago, Loowit said: My roses had a huge bloom right at the 4th when family came over for our backyard bbq, so that was nice. The tomato plants are growing tall and have lots of blooms, but I have yet to see any fruit on them. The blueberries are just starting to ripen, as are the raspberries. The strawberries mostly went to the birds. My poor pumpkins are not doing well. I had to replant them a couple times. The first ones never sprouted. The next ones started to sprout, but then rotted from all the rain. Finally I got some to sprout. The sugar pumpkins have their second set up leaves but have been stuck at that stage for over a week. They are just not growing. My Baby Boo pumpkins just sprouted last week and still have their first set of leaves. I fertilized them this morning and am hoping the will all start growing soon. We are having a lot of warm/hot sunny weather now. The weeds are doing fabulously. We have a great "harvest" of what we think is prickly lettuce. The tallest one is about 7 feet, but most are more in the 5 to 6 foot range. DH spent a bit of his afternoon yesterday pulling them out. He is also fighting the dandelions (his archenemy) and thistles. I am going to try to replant for the third or fourth time some sunflower seeds tomorrow when it is cooler (it is almost 94 today), hoping for a fall bloom. None of them are coming up. I thought one had, but my mom said it is just a weed. I was pretty bummed about that, but I am leaving it just in case she is wrong. Tell him to get revenge on the dandelions by eating them. Hot bacon dressing with dandelion leaves and sliced hard boiled eggs is delicious. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 I have enough arugula to feed a small army. I planted some about 5 years ago and have had an abundance ever since. Last year I ripped out about a dozen plants. The ones close to the house act like perennials and were close to 3 feet tall but they still reseeded like crazy. I have a large patch that has overtaken the grass so it just gets mowed off. We've been eating it multiple times a week and thus far, I've only picked off of 3 plants and I have HUNDREDS of them. I need to more aggressively pull them in the spring but when they are little I'm just so happy to see them instead of thistles that I forget what a pain they become. We've also been eating fresh lettuce. I only planted 4 cells (which is probably 10-12 plants) next year I need to put a few more in. I mix them with the arugula but obviously my balance is way off. We tried a new variety of yellow bush cherry tomatoes in the greenhouse this year so I brought one home. So far it's the only plant that has produced (but it was 4x the size of any of the others so not surprising how early it is). It's nice to have fresh tomatoes but the taste is pretty bland. I'll have to see what other family members think but I for one will be voting to not have that variety again. I've picked some kale and basil to mix in to our salads. I need to make pesto this week before the basil gets out of hand. Peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes (with the exception of that one) are slow. Okra and eggplant are coming but still have a long way to go. I have about 60 peppers this year (every year some item doesn't sell out in the greenhouse and I take pity and plant the surplus, this year it was peppers) so I reallly hope they take off because I will be sad if I dedicated that much space to them and then they don't do much. Even the zucchini has only managed to put out 2 so far. Black and red raspberries are producing great. I forgot about my honeyberries and when I remembered they were all gone. Hopefully I will do better on those next year. We been snacking mulberries from the neighbor's tree. He has a lawn service to mow the grass and these tress sprung up in what used to be a flower bed. They are close enough to the lot line and lots of branches hang over a fence so we help ourselves to those on our side. I put out milky spore to deal with the japanese beetles last fall. While I've see a few around, it's a fraction of what we had other years. I'm hoping the milky spore did it's job and has reduce the count and it's not just a case of it's still early and they are just getting going. I did install drip irrigation to all my beds and pots this year. I can't tell you how much I LOVE not having to water. I even got an automated timer so by the time I get up in the morning everything is watered. I use to spend an hour to an hour and half watering each day. Now I just go out and smile when I see my happy plants. I got my stuff in really late this year so overall stuff isn't doing too bad but of course summer veggies is something to look forward to so they never seem to come fast enough. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 Why do people hate dandelions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 26 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said: Why do people hate dandelions? I think they just don’t know how delicious they are. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 18 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said: I think they just don’t know how delicious they are. And beneficial. We did no mow May which is low mow, so only areas where the dandelions were already spent. Their nectar is the baby food for newly hatched bumbles and honeybees. We had a ton of bees so we aren't going to pick them or mow them next year until the pollinators we see are the insect equivalent of teenagers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 (edited) We have weed patch for a front yard, mostly clover with some other native species of flowers mixed in, low growing stuff that stays green and doesn’t need watering. My across the street neighbor is a manicure/chemical/watering lawn fiend. It’s quite the comparison. He can mow for 3-4 hrs every two or three days. SMH. We maintain our yard well but the whimsy and playful, colorful fun we have going on is in stark contrast to their regimented/trimmed hedges and beds. I think our naturalizing progress is why we ended up with nesting ducks/ducklings. It was so cool! I was excited to see the big fat bumble bees flock to my yard (DD not so much) this spring and now the coneflowers and black eyed susans are in full bloom so they’re loving those too. It makes me happy to see my pollinator-magnet plan is actually working even if the caterpillars from the butterflies and moths destroyed my brassicas. Edited July 12, 2022 by Sneezyone 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 12, 2022 Author Share Posted July 12, 2022 Lettuce and kale have been great this year. Blueberries were disappointing but raspberries were nice. Green beans are ok but not great. Recent downpours caused my first real crop of tomatoes to split. I have high hopes for the next round. I should get cucumbers and squash soon. Herbs and onions have been reliably dependable. It’s time to start fall seeds!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 We've been eating lettuce for months, and beets for weeks. We had mustard greens for a while back in late May-early June, but they've bolted. My cherry tomatoes are starting to produce, but my husband and I both keep snacking on the ripe ones so we haven't had enough for a proper salad by dinnertime. Herbs doing fine. Malabar spinach much better this year than two years of prior attempts... but so far the volume only warrants a few raw leaves thrown into salad, rather than a full dinner vegetable. We had two dinners' worth of eggplants, but there's only one currently growing. Peppers are green. Zukes strangely slow in coming in, just one getting into formation. Beans (pole and bush) starting to set fruit. Watermelon (which I've never tried before) throwing off blossoms with promiscuous abandon, but no sign yet of actual fruit. What are y'all going to do for fall seeds? My husband finished my cold frame so late last fall that I only used it to protect the rosemary and some fragile perennials, plus attempted with only limited success to keep salad greens going. What works? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 (edited) 58 minutes ago, Pam in CT said: We've been eating lettuce for months, and beets for weeks. We had mustard greens for a while back in late May-early June, but they've bolted. My cherry tomatoes are starting to produce, but my husband and I both keep snacking on the ripe ones so we haven't had enough for a proper salad by dinnertime. Herbs doing fine. Malabar spinach much better this year than two years of prior attempts... but so far the volume only warrants a few raw leaves thrown into salad, rather than a full dinner vegetable. We had two dinners' worth of eggplants, but there's only one currently growing. Peppers are green. Zukes strangely slow in coming in, just one getting into formation. Beans (pole and bush) starting to set fruit. Watermelon (which I've never tried before) throwing off blossoms with promiscuous abandon, but no sign yet of actual fruit. What are y'all going to do for fall seeds? My husband finished my cold frame so late last fall that I only used it to protect the rosemary and some fragile perennials, plus attempted with only limited success to keep salad greens going. What works? I don't have enough plants to really produce the seed I need. I purchased for next year. I tend to buy plants from local nurseries for a lot of my veggies because we have many greenhouses around our Michigan location, lots of hobby greenhouse owners who sell surplus plants in the spring. It is cheap, so I do it. But I also want seeds as a hedge against the costs of plants going up. I have been saving t.p. rolls to use as starter pods, bought seeds for fall salad greens, and for next year, and have an old baker's rack I got dirt cheap at the thrift store and some plastic sheeting. I may out it in the protected area by our back door, and try starting my own plants next spring. I have never done that before. I never grow zucchini. The local gardeners seem to think they need 20 zucchini plants a piece every.single.season. and then like desperate street vendors, they spend a tremendous amount of energy trying to get non zucchini growers to take mammoth, woody, Jurassic era looking fruits off their hands. I refuse to take part in this! 😁 We don't eat a lot of it anyway, just occasionally with grilled kabobs or am occasional loaf of bread. Folks, my grape vine is trying to take over the universe. I am going to get about twenty lbs of concord grapes all at one time. I have decided to make jam, no sugar added, jyst a dribble of honey for each jar. I am scared of what the monster will produce next season. One thing I want to try in the future is spaghetti squash. Son in law and I are allergic to wheat, and the price of rice pasta is climbing. He loves pasta with pesto (night shade allergies so no tomato sauce), and I am a sucker for pasta sauce. I have heard that it really is quite tasty as spaghetti, and you can just pull the strings off and cook. So I am intrigued. It also seems like it would be very nutritious. Edited July 12, 2022 by Faith-manor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 4 minutes ago, Faith-manor said: ...One thing I want to try in the future is spaghetti sauce. Son in law and I are allergic to wheat, and the price of rice pasta is climbing. He loves pasta with pesto (night shade allergies so no tomato sauce), and I am a sucker for pasta sauce. I have heard that it really is quite tasty as spaghetti, and you can just pull the strings off and cook. So I am intrigued. It also seems like it would be very nutritious. Do you mean spaghetti squash? If so it was my MOST successful CoronApocalypse crop -- started from seeds from a gourd I had lying around before the plague set in, and produced loads and loads and loads of gourds, some of which I kept through to the following Passover. I've always loved all kinds of squash, even zukes, but spaghetti squash is my second favorite (after acorn). I've long used it as a "grain" for Passover -- roast it just so it's soft, then quickly separate the strands before it cooks into mush, then olive oil & cumin & salt. During CoronApocalypse I invented another approach involving jarred sundried tomatoes and their oil (mmmmmm), fresh mint, and lots of pepper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 16 minutes ago, Pam in CT said: Do you mean spaghetti squash? If so it was my MOST successful CoronApocalypse crop -- started from seeds from a gourd I had lying around before the plague set in, and produced loads and loads and loads of gourds, some of which I kept through to the following Passover. I've always loved all kinds of squash, even zukes, but spaghetti squash is my second favorite (after acorn). I've long used it as a "grain" for Passover -- roast it just so it's soft, then quickly separate the strands before it cooks into mush, then olive oil & cumin & salt. During CoronApocalypse I invented another approach involving jarred sundried tomatoes and their oil (mmmmmm), fresh mint, and lots of pepper. Yes. Typing on my kindle. Grrrrrrr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 I am zone 8b, so kale, turnips, broccoli, etc. can all happen through winter. I just have to protect things from saturating rains. I am growing the above things for sure, and I am doing fava beans as a cover crop/nitrogen fixer on the other half of the bed. If I can get a poly tunnel for a bit of the garden I will also do a ton of lettuce. We eat a lot of salad and lettuce continues to be sketchy here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 12, 2022 Author Share Posted July 12, 2022 3 hours ago, Faith-manor said: I don't have enough plants to really produce the seed I need. I purchased for next year. I tend to buy plants from local nurseries for a lot of my veggies because we have many greenhouses around our Michigan location, lots of hobby greenhouse owners who sell surplus plants in the spring. It is cheap, so I do it. But I also want seeds as a hedge against the costs of plants going up. I have been saving t.p. rolls to use as starter pods, bought seeds for fall salad greens, and for next year, and have an old baker's rack I got dirt cheap at the thrift store and some plastic sheeting. I may out it in the protected area by our back door, and try starting my own plants next spring. I have never done that before. I never grow zucchini. The local gardeners seem to think they need 20 zucchini plants a piece every.single.season. and then like desperate street vendors, they spend a tremendous amount of energy trying to get non zucchini growers to take mammoth, woody, Jurassic era looking fruits off their hands. I refuse to take part in this! 😁 We don't eat a lot of it anyway, just occasionally with grilled kabobs or am occasional loaf of bread. Folks, my grape vine is trying to take over the universe. I am going to get about twenty lbs of concord grapes all at one time. I have decided to make jam, no sugar added, jyst a dribble of honey for each jar. I am scared of what the monster will produce next season. One thing I want to try in the future is spaghetti squash. Son in law and I are allergic to wheat, and the price of rice pasta is climbing. He loves pasta with pesto (night shade allergies so no tomato sauce), and I am a sucker for pasta sauce. I have heard that it really is quite tasty as spaghetti, and you can just pull the strings off and cook. So I am intrigued. It also seems like it would be very nutritious. Omg. I love having too much zucchini. I shred it, freeze it, then sneak it into everything all year long. Most things that call for sautéed onions can take a little zucchini added without anyone noticing. I also make the BEST chocolate zucchini bread which is really just an awesome cake. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 Regarding saving seeds. You need a huge growing area if you want to have space to let plants mature and save seeds. Plus depending on the plant type you also need a certain number of plants saved and a specific distance form similar plants that might cross pollinate. there is a real science to saving seeds. and while I have researched it and understand the theory I realize that my now larger than a tennis court garden is way too small to do completely all veggie seed saving. plus the longer the plant is left sitting there maturing the more pest insects bread up on it. Things we have successfully saved seeds from are lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, butternut pumpkin and mixed success from green beans. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 re saving seeds 3 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said: Regarding saving seeds. You need a huge growing area if you want to have space to let plants mature and save seeds. Plus depending on the plant type you also need a certain number of plants saved and a specific distance form similar plants that might cross pollinate. there is a real science to saving seeds. and while I have researched it and understand the theory I realize that my now larger than a tennis court garden is way too small to do completely all veggie seed saving. plus the longer the plant is left sitting there maturing the more pest insects bread up on it. Things we have successfully saved seeds from are lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, butternut pumpkin and mixed success from green beans. Yeah, aside from these issues/risks and my intermittent slacker/ Darwinian approach to everything outdoors and my only mediocre success rate at germination, I don't even try for anything besides winter gourds. A packet of lettuce has like 1000 seeds. Even at my 50% germination rate the trouble is not worth the saved cents. Now there are FLOWERS that self-seed all over the place with serendipitous abandon -- chleome, foxglove, astilbe., cosmos If they alight in a truly stupid place like between the patio stones I will dig them out and replant them somewhere intentional. But usually I leave them wherever they land and delight in the sole solitary chleome towering amidst the blueberries or whatever. My grandmother used to call them "the chleome that God sent me".... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 1 hour ago, Pam in CT said: re saving seeds Yeah, aside from these issues/risks and my intermittent slacker/ Darwinian approach to everything outdoors and my only mediocre success rate at germination, I don't even try for anything besides winter gourds. A packet of lettuce has like 1000 seeds. Even at my 50% germination rate the trouble is not worth the saved cents. Now there are FLOWERS that self-seed all over the place with serendipitous abandon -- chleome, foxglove, astilbe., cosmos If they alight in a truly stupid place like between the patio stones I will dig them out and replant them somewhere intentional. But usually I leave them wherever they land and delight in the sole solitary chleome towering amidst the blueberries or whatever. My grandmother used to call them "the chleome that God sent me".... Agreed. Flowers are so much easier. I water some, neglect a lot and next year there are volunteer bloomers. This is the only chance I have. If I actually tried to save vegetable seed, the universe would stack the deck against me. If I am ever unable to buy seed, I.am.doomed. I will say this if you kick your decorative pumpkins onto the ground from your front steps and wildly ignore them while they naturally compost in a cold, rainy, November, you do get volunteer pumpkin plants. Not exactly standard front door landscaping, but since my philosophy is natural, and as little work as possible when it comes to yard, I let it go! Who knows what the neighbors think. 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 9b here so July is a planning month for fall. I just have basil, oregano, Italian parsley, and rosemary growing in pots. I always have green onions growing in a pot and just cut off the green parts as needed. We had some cherry tomatoes but they decided it was too hot to continue producing. One thing that surprised me is a pot of sweet banana peppers that were an impulse buy from Costco several months ago. They're still producing even though usually only hot peppers grow here in summer. They seem to be taking longer to ripen - these are sweet red ones - but they're still tasty and the plant is still healthy. We're in an HOA with lawn maintenance included and our growing area where we can do anything is quite small. We've been planting natives for the pollinators but Florida native plants can look weedy to those who don't love such things. I love the look of native wildflowers but I'm not sure my neighbors do. Luckily we have a Florida Friendly Landscape law that prevents the HOA from stopping me. Still, I don't want to attract the ire of more lawn loving neighbors so I'm trying to make it look good. We've had monarch caterpillars on our milkweed and a few actually made it to the butterfly stage (birds have to eat too). We currently have gulf fritillary cats on our passion flower and I'm hoping zebra longwings will lay eggs there too. We should have daily afternoon rain but it's been unusually dry even though we're not officially in a drought. The native plants can mostly take all extremes but I have to water the ones in containers daily. As for edibles that we're planning, we have a raised bed for our screen porch. I'm also looking at what I can grow in pots outside the screened area. I think I have to give up anything that rambles because we just don't have the space. At our old house I grew Seminole pumpkins and just let them have the run of the yard. That's not an option here. Next month I want to get some carrots and eggplant started. Sept-Oct. will be bush beans, bush cucumbers, arugula, romaine, and some leaf lettuces. October we'll plant broccoli. All of these will either be in our raised bed or containers. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 Update: I am harvesting a ton of cherry tomatoes. I made regard lie (homemade) noodles tonight, and then used scallions and cherry tomatoes from the garden as well as fresh basil to make a cooked tomato salad for the noodles which we topped with fresh mozzarella. I wasn't going to attempt homemade pasta because I tend to be bad with anything related to dough. But, last second, I decided to do it, and they turned out pretty well. I am nor going to get eggplant or bell peppers. I have been struggling with some sort of insect that eats the leaves. I finally have them under control using diatomacous (sp?) earth. I dont think there is enough time left in the growing season for them to blossom and produce fruit before we get a frost. The drought is deepening. Thankfully, we have a deep well so we can irrigate. But, I haven't irrigated enough for the apple trees, and now some of the apples are already ripening, and they are very small so I think I can kiss that harvest goodbye. Green beans at my mom's garden are doing well, and we will be canning and freezing them soon. I am going to have a crazy grape harvest, even more than I originally thought. At the Alabama house, the fig and kiwi are growing nicely. The young grape vine is going to produce two nice clumps of grapes. The blueberries have been done for a while as have the strawberries, but they ate well off them. Dd has a quart of dehydrated cherry tomatoes so far. The little volunteer pumpkins are doing fine. We are planning on building two, 16'x4' raised beds this fall. Dd has saved up enough pallets, found some free for the hauling, that with just a small amount of lumber, we can get them made. We are going to do a quasi-hugelkultre (sp?) thing. Since these will be 4' tall to discourage the ants, and some other ground insects, we are going to fill the first 2' of depth with sticks, leaves, grass, anything compost worthy after laying down agricultural fabric, and then fill with top soil and compost so we don't have to buy quite so much up front. Then as the organics compost down, we can add soil, but not have to buy as much up front because then budget will be tight at that time. They will have mulch from.the property. We have a dead maple that is losing branches at a high rate. It isn't near the house, so Mark and I will be felling it this fall as well. We will rent a wood chipper so there will be a good pile of mulch. We have decided to fill the sunroom with herbs in pots, and put a dwarf tangerine tree and a dwarf lemon in the living room because there is so much space and light. we are still on deck to plant two dwarf peach trees as well as a pear tree. Dd found a deer tick on our youngest grandson yesterday. It was barely engorged at all so we are hoping he is okay. The pediatrician was informed. However, this is making us evaluate the possibility of getting four laying hens and four guinea hens. We do have a shed that can be made into a nice coup, and enough fencing to keep them in the yard. I do wonder how easy it will be to keep the birds of prey away from the poultry. The downside is that at this time, dd doesn't know anyone who can watch the livestock when they are gone. Since we are still figuring it out, she purchased several bags of diatoms again to spread around the yard. We looked it up, and apparently it does help. It isn't cheap, that's for sure! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 20, 2022 Author Share Posted July 20, 2022 I made the best salad tonight with green beans, lettuce, beets, and onions from my garden! I roasted the beets, pickled the onions, added goat cheese, and dressed it with a balsamic vinaigrette. We had it with muscles and crusty bread. It felt extra summery and I love summer. 😊 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said: I made the best salad tonight with green beans, lettuce, beets, and onions from my garden! I roasted the beets, pickled the onions, added goat cheese, and dressed it with a balsamic vinaigrette. We had it with muscles and crusty bread. It felt extra summery and I love summer. 😊 That sounds really yummy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 (edited) Blackberries are ready. And so many blackberries. I am resorting to randomly dropping of quarts of blackberries at friends homes. We don’t need a ton of blackberry preserves. Tomatoes are coming in and I started making sauce to can. Might do salsa tomorrow. I have enough cukes for a good patch of pickles. Bell peppers are coming in ( purple and blonde ones). Some of my potatoes are starting to die off so I will be harvesting those soon. I did an experiment with a green house last year and it worked. So I ordered a larger one and it will arrive tomorrow. Won’t be long until I set it up. Edited July 20, 2022 by itsheresomewhere 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 21 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said: Blackberries are ready. And so many blackberries. I am resorting to randomly dropping of quarts of blackberries at friends homes. We don’t need a ton of blackberry preserves. I read in a Georgian cookbook that they eat blackberries with chicken. It's pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarita Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 Did not read the entire thread, but I love the bramble we grow in the front yard, Brambleberries are the best (definitely not something you can get at a store literally will fall apart as you pick them). The kids love when the berries come out and pick them all the time. They do attract a lot of bees so I guess I don't want it everywhere as a ground cover but I am always debating that. On the other hand I would love suggestions for a 1-2 ft strip next to my fake grass. I would love something edible (just because I prefer having edible plants in my yard for my kids to forage). The strip has a part that is full sun and a part that is probably considered full shade. I would love something that would at least self seed in an area that is clay soil and covered with oak leaves a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChickaDeeDeeDee Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 (edited) @Clarita I don't know how well they grow in clay but ground cherries are smallish, produce lots of fruit, and are great to go pick and snack on while outside. The "cherries" have a husk covering them so they really don't even need to be washed. They will readily self seed yearly if you leave a few on the ground and have the right conditions. Oh, and everyone here thinks they're delicious 🙂 Edited July 20, 2022 by ChickaDeeDeeDee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 7 hours ago, Clarita said: Did not read the entire thread, but I love the bramble we grow in the front yard, Brambleberries are the best (definitely not something you can get at a store literally will fall apart as you pick them). The kids love when the berries come out and pick them all the time. They do attract a lot of bees so I guess I don't want it everywhere as a ground cover but I am always debating that. On the other hand I would love suggestions for a 1-2 ft strip next to my fake grass. I would love something edible (just because I prefer having edible plants in my yard for my kids to forage). The strip has a part that is full sun and a part that is probably considered full shade. I would love something that would at least self seed in an area that is clay soil and covered with oak leaves a lot. Not sure of your zone but my petite houseguest is enjoying picking and feeding me blueberries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 2 hours ago, ChickaDeeDeeDee said: @Clarita I don't know how well they grow in clay but ground cherries are smallish, produce lots of fruit, and are great to go pick and snack on while outside. The "cherries" have a husk covering them so they really don't even need to be washed. They will readily self seed yearly if you leave a few on the ground and have the right conditions. Oh, and everyone here thinks they're delicious 🙂 Ground cherry pie and we add them to stews, chili besides just eating them. So good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 On 7/11/2022 at 5:39 PM, itsheresomewhere said: Tell him to get revenge on the dandelions by eating them. Hot bacon dressing with dandelion leaves and sliced hard boiled eggs is delicious. Drying the roots for tea is also delicious. Dandelion root tea is great for the liver. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 We have zucchini finally on our plants, but no tomatoes have set yet. We have hot weather this week (90s) and I need to go find my paint brush and see if I can help pollinate a bit. I am starting my fall seeds today indoors. I am using my Aerogarden to do it for the first time so 🤞 it goes well. I need to get another folding table so I can set up the rest of my grow lights and timers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarita Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 6 hours ago, Sneezyone said: Not sure of your zone but my petite houseguest is enjoying picking and feeding me blueberries. We actually have an area for the blueberries and blackberries, but still it can be a thought. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popmom Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 (edited) I think I’m on the line of zone 8a and 8b. I got a very late start this year. I have a long enough growing season that I can get away with planting late. I’ve got about 30 okra plants—still not quite to blooming stage. I’ve got (too many to count) Dragon’s Tongue beans—also not quite ready to bloom. Rattlesnake pole beans. My first tomato planting hasn’t done well. I’m going to get a few more out of them. They aren’t setting fruit due to the heat. So it’s time to get my smaller plants in the ground. I don’t think I get quite enough hours of sun for tomatoes. 😞 A few squash. A few watermelon. About seed saving… I have SO, SO many mustard seeds—Komatsuna. (It’s sort of like spinach.) They are prolific seed producers. They pop up all over my yard volunteer. Even in summer. I let two buttercrunch lettuce go to seed, and I already have volunteers coming up in those containers—perfect timing for fall. It’s always the accidental and volunteers that do the best for me. Kinda frustrating! We really need to improve our soil. Our backyard was sloped so original owners built a retaining wall and brought in fill. It’s chert. Terrible. I’m thinking about bringing in a truck load of compost, spreading it all over, and then bring in a truckload of wood chips to lay on top. I’ve done something similar on a small patch next to my raised beds. It helps, but it takes a long time. I really have nothing to lose. Dandelions won’t even grow in it. Dallis grass and chamber bitter love it. 🙄 Edited July 21, 2022 by popmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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