2022 Garden Thread

[begreen]

Looks like our weather is going to shift in a week if the models are correct. The jet stream is predicted to flatten out and deliver us some cold and stormy weather. We will be going from the driest and warmest summer (and early fall) to a very wet one if they are correct. I will check on the models on Monday to see if they concur. If so, it's harvest time for all plants that are not going to overwinter.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I hope you heal faster than predicted Dan! Be careful with those pain killers. They have a habit of sneaking up on people and causing problems.

 

[clancey]

Wow Freeman that sounds like something that I would do and I already had my ribs hurt but only about six of them bruised many years ago because I fell out of a attic when I got off the beams going across and fell down on top of a kitchen table with my arms dangling on the rafters--wow I suffered for about three or four weeks and the only thing that gave me relief was a ace bandage keeping the area still for that amount of time. I feel for you and sure hope you get feeling better real real soon. Thoughts and prayers are with you...All of rest of you people on this thread all I can say is I am so glad that I have one plant and you all it seems to me to be working "overtime" but your plants look just beautiful..My one plant is very productive and I have given many tomato's away to my neighbors. I just had a feeling that this plant would give me all the tomato's that are ready all at one time..Guessing with count here but I figure so far over 80 tomatoes and I picked 12 more today and the plant is still going strong with lots and lots of small green ones ready to maybe turn red if the weather holds. Once again freeman so sorry about your ladder accident and you will feel better each day and finally "one day" you will say-" wow I feel better today" and you will be on your way to a full recovery and those ribs will grow stronger than they were before and take vitamin d and plenty of calcium and cheese and milk and all calcium foods to help your recovery and make sure you put a ace bandage on it to hold your chest still...Saying prayers for you and God Bless....clancey

 

[Dan Freeman]

I hope you heal faster than predicted Dan! Be careful with those pain killers. They have a habit of sneaking up on people and causing problems.

I hope so, too. They had me on 10mg of Oxycodone and 1mg of Dilaudid (intravenous) alternating every 2 hours for the 24 hours I was in the hospital. That's a good amount. I had them delete the Dilauded (pills) and cut the Oxy in half for use at home and only for 5 days. Doesn't take long to get dependent on these drugs, besides the fact that they can plug up bowel movements real fast!

 

[Dan Freeman]

Wow Freeman that sounds like something that I would do and I already had my ribs hurt but only about six of them bruised many years ago because I fell out of a attic when I got off the beams going across and fell down on top of a kitchen table with my arms dangling on the rafters--wow I suffered for about three or four weeks and the only thing that gave me relief was a ace bandage keeping the area still for that amount of time. I feel for you and sure hope you get feeling better real real soon. Thoughts and prayers are with you...All of rest of you people on this thread all I can say is I am so glad that I have one plant and you all it seems to me to be working "overtime" but your plants look just beautiful..My one plant is very productive and I have given many tomato's away to my neighbors. I just had a feeling that this plant would give me all the tomato's that are ready all at one time..Guessing with count here but I figure so far over 80 tomatoes and I picked 12 more today and the plant is still going strong with lots and lots of small green ones ready to maybe turn red if the weather holds. Once again freeman so sorry about your ladder accident and you will feel better each day and finally "one day" you will say-" wow I feel better today" and you will be on your way to a full recovery and those ribs will grow stronger than they were before and take vitamin d and plenty of calcium and cheese and milk and all calcium foods to help your recovery and make sure you put a ace bandage on it to hold your chest still...Saying prayers for you and God Bless....clancey

Thanks, Mrs Clancey, and I winced when I read about your fall. That must have been horrific.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

@Dan Freeman, I’m sorry to hear about that fall. I hope you get well soon with no complications. How’s the breathing going?

@begreen, it sounds as though your garden season ended up being a really productive one despite your slow start and your dry months recently. I hope you do end up with some good moisture to help replenish the supplies up there.

 

[GrumpyDad]

I hope you heal faster than predicted Dan! Be careful with those pain killers. They have a habit of sneaking up on people and causing problems.

I love painkillers. I was putting out xmas decorations once and dislocated my shoulder. MAN does that hurt.
Wifey had a percoset sitting in the cabinet, I washed it down with a beer and while I could still feel the pain, I didnt care.
Ive been in a situation whereas I was prescribed 30! Pain went away on day 15 and I still had 5 pills left. I hoarded those pills like I was smeagle from lord of the rings. MY PRECIOUS! Bad day at work, take a half of pill suddenly Im chipper! Old pain coming back a bit but not worth of anything or anything beyond maybe one advil, another half. Eventually, the pills ran out. And I was like...eh...oh well.

So I can see why people get hooked on those, and stay hooked, and do what they can to stay hooked and on them.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Interesting Tiny Tim observation… they have a really thick stalk and stiff branches. They’re going to be able to support a lot of fruit and leave weight.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Yup, they are tough little plants that can hold a lot of weight, but they can also fall over. A couple of years back I bought a package of 16" bamboo sticks. I don't tie the plant to the sticks; I just put a few in the ground around the plant so it can "lean" on them if it starts to get lopsided.
Amazon product ASIN B08H21B8Z6

 

[DuaeGuttae]

At the end of July I planted two different types of beans: a red noodle yardlong bean (a cowpea species that can take heat) and Woods Mountain Crazy Bean, an old-fashioned bush bean for snaps or shellies. They both sprouted and grew and bloomed, but the yardlong bean set pods in the heat, but the bush bean did not. However, the yardlong bean didn’t last. It started withering up and dying, especially on the western side of my trellis. I’ve taken most of the vines out, and these are seeds I saved from dried beans. The bush beans have kept growing and blooming, but only this week have they really started setting pods on a few of the plants. We’re supposed to have a cool down (and possibly rain!) at the beginning of the week. I’m thinking they’ll love it. (If it doesn’t rain, I’m going to run out of water in my tanks again.)



I also transplanted some leeks a while back. My son and I seeded a bunch indoors and really only about a quarter of them germinated. I figured it was a combination of old seed and warm temperatures, but I went ahead and transplanted them a week or two ago. Amusingly enough, a volunteer potato decided to sprout up just where I put one of the leeks. It’s probably not a great situation for the growth of either of them, but every time I water there, I think of vichyssoise.



The funny thing is is that after I transplanted the leeks, the other seeds that were still in sponges on my deck started germinating. I think they just needed some cooler weather.

I got hold of some Beaver Dam Pepper seeds after @begreen mentioned them on this thread. I planted just two, and right now I have just two peppers, one on each plant. The first one is pretty ripe, and the second is turning. I plan to dry these to grind into paprika.



Once I’ve harvested the mature peppers, I’m either going to cut the plants back to some smaller growth at the bottom where there are both leaves and flowers now so that I can more easily protect them from cold, or I’m going to dig them up and try to overwinter them inside. I’m leaning toward just leaving them in the garden to see if I can keep them alive till spring. If a really strong cold spell gets forecast, I suppose I could dig them up then if I had to.

 

[clancey]

Sounds like a good idea to me but a cold spell is suppose to come real soon I think..The pictures are real nice to see and learn from--lots of work you are doing DG and it makes me tired--ugh...but you sure are going to have good food for the winter....nice posting...clancey

 

[EatenByLimestone]

How’s your back, Mrs Clancy?

 

[begreen]

Change is coming. This is after a dry streak since June 19th, which had one brief (.15") rain event on Sept 15th. It's going to be a shock for us and our gardens after so much sunshine, but good to finally knock down the wildfires and smoke.

 

[clancey]

Hey Lime my back is fine and my problem is I can't stay up and doing work for more than 15 or twenty minutes because then I have to sit down in my chair and take a break and start my 15 or so minutes like before but I do accomplish a lot of work in that time--lol---its mostly the back muscles and I am trying to do exercises for that each day and also its part of aging for me--ugh--wish I was young again...thanks for asking and be good....My plant has went on a production craze and I gave 18 tomato's away today and I have 11 on my counter---thinking about them--lol... I will try to take some pictures later...These tomatoes seem more "juicy" then my other plant and when one cuts them the whole cutting board is wet with juice..I like my last years plant better unless someone wants stewed tomato's or something.. But my neighbors "love them" so I guess its a matter of taste and they taste real good but half my yard is taken up on that side with this "huge plant"--Big Boy--they sure named it right...clancey

 

[DuaeGuttae]

@begreen, I sure do hope you get some good rain the next couple of days. We have a chance starting late tonight, so I harvested a few things this evening: a luffa that was drying down, some dried basil flowers to save seeds, and the last two ears of my Glass Gem Corn. The last one became the kids’ new favorite..


I harvested my first Beaver Dam Pepper yesterday and seeded it and cut it up for drying. I was surprised at how hot it was. It’s supposed to have a mild heat, but several of us tasted a tiny bit and agreed it was pretty hot. I’ll still make my paprika, but it might be a hot paprika rather than a sweet with mild heat. We’ll see.

@clancey , you have a way with tomatoes. I wish mine would produce so well.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Hey Lime my back is fine and my problem is I can't stay up and doing work for more than 15 or twenty minutes because then I have to sit down in my chair and take a break and start my 15 or so minutes like before but I do accomplish a lot of work in that time--lol---its mostly the back muscles and I am trying to do exercises for that each day and also its part of aging for me--ugh--wish I was young again...thanks for asking and be good....My plant has went on a production craze and I gave 18 tomato's away today and I have 11 on my counter---thinking about them--lol... I will try to take some pictures later...These tomatoes seem more "juicy" then my other plant and when one cuts them the whole cutting board is wet with juice..I like my last years plant better unless someone wants stewed tomato's or something.. But my neighbors "love them" so I guess its a matter of taste and they taste real good but half my yard is taken up on that side with this "huge plant"--Big Boy--they sure named it right...clancey

Most of your neighbors buy their produce from the grocery store. Market farmers grow for profit. Traits like color and ease of transport become more important than taste. When they try your tomatoes, they get something they aren’t used to!

 

[begreen]

I harvested my first Beaver Dam Pepper yesterday and seeded it and cut it up for drying. I was surprised at how hot it was. It’s supposed to have a mild heat, but several of us tasted a tiny bit and agreed it was pretty hot. I’ll still make my paprika, but it might be a hot paprika rather than a sweet with mild heat. We’ll see.

Those Beaver Dams are deceptive. One end, usually the tip, can be sweet and mild while the other end near the stem can have real heat. Their flavor is great. We were telling a friend about them and she exclaimed, "My mom grew up in Beaver Dam, WI and no one has ever heard of the place."

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Those Tiny Tim’s are drinking massive amounts of water! I’m thinking I should be feeding them more too.

They have some tiny little suckers on a couple of the lower branches. Should I grab a set of those little scissors for nose hair and trim them off? Would it even matter on such a small plant?

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Those Beaver Dams are deceptive. One end, usually the tip, can be sweet and mild while the other end near the stem can have real heat. Their flavor is great. We were telling a friend about them and she exclaimed, "My mom grew up in Beaver Dam, WI and no one has ever heard of the place."

That’s great information, @begreen. Thanks. I had cut a circle out of the stem end to get access to the seeds that way, and all our sample came from pieces that I trimmed off the circle. Maybe the pepper as a whole will tone down the heat we had there.

I have another out in the garden getting redder. It will be ready to harvest soon, I think, so I’ll be sure to try a sample from the tip of that one.

How funny about your friend’s mom growing up in Beaver Dam. I wonder if the mom knows about the peppers from her childhood there.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Those Tiny Tim’s are drinking massive amounts of water! I’m thinking I should be feeding them more too.

They have some tiny little suckers on a couple of the lower branches. Should I grab a set of those little scissors for nose hair and trim them off? Would it even matter on such a small plant?

I don’t know anything specifically on the culture of Tiny Tims, but I do try to leave most suckers on my determinate tomatoes unless they’re too close to the soil, which is totally irrelevant here, I suppose. I remember reading a really helpful article several years ago put out by Aerogarden that explained the purpose of pruning, but I couldn’t find it in a quick search just now. I did find one that I’ll link below, but it’s not what I’m remembering. (The one I remembered dealt with the hormone auxin, but using that in my search terms didn’t help either.). I do remember pruning horizontal growth on my tomatoes when they’d go outside the light hood, but that was about it. It was mostly vertical growth that had to get cut back.

Caring For Your Tomato and Pepper Plants | AeroGarden

AeroGarden

aerogarden.com

 

[begreen]

Those Tiny Tim’s are drinking massive amounts of water! I’m thinking I should be feeding them more too.

They have some tiny little suckers on a couple of the lower branches. Should I grab a set of those little scissors for nose hair and trim them off? Would it even matter on such a small plant?

Pictures please.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Those Tiny Tim’s are drinking massive amounts of water! I’m thinking I should be feeding them more too.

They have some tiny little suckers on a couple of the lower branches. Should I grab a set of those little scissors for nose hair and trim them off? Would it even matter on such a small plant?

Once I see the first bloom, I usually begin applying Scott's Super Bloom, but any fertilizer high in phosphate will encourage blooming.

Scotts Super Bloom Water Soluble Plant Food | Scotts

Contains high phosphorus to help plants bloom. Water-soluble plant food feeds plants instantly.

www.scotts.com

I remove the suckers because I think they just rob some energy that could be going into the fruiting of the plant. In addition, unlike the aero garden setup, I use regular pots and water from the top (at the soil level), so I remove all this low growth, otherwise it can make it difficult to water.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Pictures please.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

They’re growing so fast! The bottle of fertilizer is the 3oz that came with the aerogarden.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Here's a pic I took of my "winter garden" so far.

2 pots on left: 20 day old Tiny Tim seedlings
2 pots on right: 13 day old Tiny Tim seedlings
2 middle pots: Romaine lettuce in back pot; buttercrunch lettuce in front pot.

I was due to plant more seeds last week and today, but with the 3 broken ribs, I have fallen behind in everything.