Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread 4/25/20 [KT]

Hi, everybody! The photo above is a California Poppy from 40milesnorth.

With all the water, this poppy was larger than most. I didn't have to juice the colors BTW. It just opened, so it's really bright.

Yes, it is.

Today, we have a special feature: a coffee farm in Colombia!

Coffee and More

rld77 sent us some photos from Colombia. We will have more next week. A lot of work goes into those coffee beans that make the Saturday Morning Coffee Break possible. And there is more than just coffee here:

About a metric ton of bananas

a coffee depulper -- takes two coffee beans out of every cherry

a field we have of about 2 acres of aloe vera

a coffee field with trees on the left cut in January and coming back up from the root, and on the right - trees that came back up that are about 4-5 years old)

Looks to me like there is some real work going on there. And those are some great photos.

and finally [another waterfall on the farm]. Headed out now to do some real work-

And there are more photos, too:

THIS foto is from about midpoint on the farm- finca en spanish--down to the road in front of the farm. In the upper right you can see the driveway and our house.

Coffee in the Bin above the depulping machine that separates the cherry from the beans.
That bin has a 6inch pipe that takes the cherries to the depulper.

Beans come out of the depulper into a tank area, They are fermented 12-24 hours, then washed, then go through a sizing screen and are bagged for transport for sale at a local coffee buyer.

This is a two year old coffee tree. We planted about 4 000 of these in 2018.

Different type coffee tree - tall and spindly.

To be continued next week!

Edible Gardening

Now from a real farm to a tiny type of garden:

We have discussed growing out new plants from table scraps before, but now, guess what? they can be Victory Sills!

In 1917, as the United States deployed troops to a Europe battered by warfare and food shortages, victory gardens sprang up across the U.S. Planted by civilians with urging by the government, these small gardens were made to feed American infantry and help "win the war." Now, more than a century later, victory gardens are once again in fashion amid fears of shortages during the coronavirus pandemic, with seed companies seeing a surge in demand.
But for many people sheltering at home without access to outdoor space, their version of victory gardens look a little less like dedicated plots of earth, and more like scallions growing in glasses of water on the windowsill. Like quarantine baking, dalgona coffee, and virtual parties, this form of low-key gardening -- hereby dubbed "victory sills," trademark not pending -- has emerged as one of the pandemic's at-home micro-trends, adopted and adapted by those who are fortunate enough to be able to stay indoors and tinker with some light horticulture. . . .

There are also small, private joys that some find in tending to their victory sills. Aaron Hutcherson, a chef, recipe developer, and writer in New York, describes the simple pleasure of seeing how his scallions -- which he put in a stemless champagne flute filled with water, not long after the state's stay-at-home order went into effect -- grew practically overnight. "Having something to look after right now just feels nice," he says. "A little bit of joy amid the darkness."

Well.

Allrecipes has growing tips. And nice photos.

Gardens of The Horde

We had sort of a warm winter and cool spring here in the Central Valley of California. Unusual. My peaches, nectarines, Apriums and Pluots need more thinning. The County put insect traps in some of my trees and one of my neighbor's trees. Checking for invaders.

My Red Fuji apple tree has died. Need to get a new pollinator for my Pink Lady.

Bonus!

S. Lynn sent in the following from Idaho a few weeks ago:

The forsythia are beautiful. Especially from the street when we drive up to our place.

Looks like the forsythia is a forerunner to another show later in the season.

These violas are volunteers from last year. It"s the flower that keeps on giving. I love violas, such happy little flowers.I love violas, such happy little flowers.

And an unknown daffodil planted last fall. Fancy.

Regular double yellow ones, planted behind chicken wire so the dogs don't pull the flowers off the stems. "Need to be divided". Planted 4 years ago.

Hyacinths. Fragrant.

It's Spring!

Anything going on in your garden?

If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden
at g mail dot com

Include your nic unless you want to remain a lurker.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 01:06 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Happy gardening!

Posted by: A lotta nerve at April 25, 2020 01:10 PM (JdcHc)

2 Coffee "beans" are technically berries, no?

Posted by: Dr. Varno at April 25, 2020 01:11 PM (vuisn)

3 Been busy Greenthumbs
Hand tilled the garden, working on sifting compost of 3 fall leaves to spread on top of garden. Was given lots of tomato plants andc hot peppers

Posted by: Skip at April 25, 2020 01:16 PM (ZCEU2)

4 This thread is prohibited in Michigan by order of the Governor and must be closed to comply with social distancing guidelines.

Posted by: Your Friendly Neighborhood Commissar at April 25, 2020 01:16 PM (u8n08)

5 Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. -- Genesis 3:17-19

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at April 25, 2020 01:17 PM (NWiLs)

6 I tell you that AK 47 from Black Mountain is fucking awesome covfefe!!

Posted by: rhennigantx dont californicate my TEXAS at April 25, 2020 01:17 PM (JFO2v)

7 Dedicated coffee consumer here. Thank you.

Posted by: klaftern at April 25, 2020 01:19 PM (RuIsu)

8 The coffee pictures are very cool! Thanks for sharing those, rld

Posted by: My life is insanity at April 25, 2020 01:21 PM (Z/jzm)

9 Thank you, thank you, thank you, growers of things, bringing food and beauty to our wretched world.

Posted by: Gem at April 25, 2020 01:21 PM (kIHih)

10 Real coffee from the hills of Colombia?

youtube.com/watch?v=GpjsgPDM4t8

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at April 25, 2020 01:21 PM (NWiLs)

11 Trying to adjust to Windows 10. It's not going well. How's everyone else's weekend going?

Posted by: Rusty Nail at April 25, 2020 01:21 PM (CMW/y)

12 Still want sweet peppers but never seem to have much luck with them, and cucumbers

Posted by: Skip at April 25, 2020 01:23 PM (ZCEU2)

13 Just saw the pictures, been waiting to see them from the coffee plantation.

Posted by: Skip at April 25, 2020 01:26 PM (ZCEU2)

14 Keeping the tomato and pepper plants in greenhouse a couple weeks, haven't had frost in a few but has gotten cool, they will likd the heat in the greenhouse I think for awhile.

Posted by: Skip at April 25, 2020 01:29 PM (ZCEU2)

15 Tilled most of the garden yesterday. Planted a pound of onion sets and a pack of radishes. Radishes I planted 2 weeks ago are coming along nicely. Oregon Giant peas are emerging. A nice, soaking rain of about 1/2" overnight was perfect. Perfect for morel mushrooms - the Servicebery is in full bloom and the dark, blue violets blooming means it is time to go 'shroomin'. Anyone hunt morels/

Posted by: Cicero Kaboom! Kid, at April 25, 2020 01:30 PM (Vy7tf)

16 I got some horseradish root and planted it this last week. It's already putting up shoots.

Posted by: lin-duh en fugue at April 25, 2020 01:30 PM (UUBmN)

17
Soil is slow to warm up in KC. Still getting lettuce, but slowly.
Onions are popping. Not much else going on. everything is up, but sloooow.
Bout time for honey bee swarms, so there's that to look forward to.

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 01:31 PM (w+bbd)

18
CB Kid, I hunt them, but rarely find them. You're about two weeks behind us, it seems. Our serviceberries have set, and it looks like a glorious crop!

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 01:33 PM (w+bbd)

19
#2 son is in Kitsap Co., Wa.
Is gonna start a garden with my grandson. Reading, it seems he's late for the cool season crops.
Any gardeners in that neck of the woods for advice?

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 01:40 PM (w+bbd)

20 Wow! That poppy sure brightened my day. Thank you 40MilesNorth and KT. And the Columbian farm is fascinating.
We love coffee at our house enough to appreciate the hard work that it takes to get it into our cups. Other than braving the Rona rules to purchase, that is.

Posted by: OldDominionMom at April 25, 2020 01:41 PM (dH/BH)

21 Laughing about the Michigan comment - going off in an hour to find sugar and cakemix for fast-growing rhubarb.

Rld77, gracias por las fotos. Me interesa mucho la finca. Why are they cut down? Because new shoots on old roots produce more? The view is spectacular, particularly for me, a flatlander.

(By the way, people here insist EVERYTHING is "granja," so it's nice to see that the word "finca" isn't just a figment of my imagination.)

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 25, 2020 01:45 PM (/+bwe)

22 Anything going on in your garden?

On December 31 I went through my "seed drawer" where I keep all my seeds, and decided to clean out all the old ones dated 2016 or earlier.

But ther's no need or point to simply throwing them away - -the only reason to get rid of them is that they MIGJT be no longer viable seeds and MIGHT never make a plant. But you never know -- some kinds of seeds only last for a year, but others can last for a decade. Generally it's a percentage thing -- every year some percentage of the seeds in a packet may lose their potency, until eventually they're all kaput.

But anyway, instead of throwing them in the trash, why not just "broadcast" (in the original meaning of the term) the seeds into the garden and just see what eventually pops up?

So I did that -- broadcast hundreds/thousands of all kinds of random seed int the garden.

Well, guess what sprouted like gangbusters while most other barely spouted at all?

Siberian purple kale. I've got oceans of the stuff growing now. And I don't even particularly like it.

It's not bad tasting, it's just that when cooked, it shrinks way down, so that yo can spend an hour harvesting bin-loads of the stuff and then another hour trimming off the stems, etc., and yet when you're done cooking all that, you have about half a cup of cooked kale. And it's a little to harsh to eat raw in a kale salad. So yo have to cook it.

This year I'm going to make absolutely sure that none of it goes to seed, so I won't ever again have to grow the stuff. I've tasty enough, but just not worth the effort.

Posted by: zombie at April 25, 2020 01:46 PM (N9G0H)

23 #2 son is in Kitsap Co., Wa.
Is gonna start a garden with my grandson. Reading, it seems he's late for the cool season crops.
Any gardeners in that neck of the woods for advice?
Posted by: MarkY

DO NOT plant zucchini.
Unless you really really like it.
It grows like crazy.
At harvest time people at church keep the windows up in their cars so "well intentioned" friends don't leave bags of it on the seats.

Posted by: Diogenes at April 25, 2020 01:50 PM (axyOa)

24 Zombie, I've been meaning to ask you: Are you the cute girl in your link?

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 25, 2020 01:52 PM (/+bwe)

25 Not only green onions.. all onions will sprout like that.

There are some videos on Youtube.

Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at April 25, 2020 01:53 PM (CjFDo)

26 I greatly expanded my little herb garden this year, adding some new herbs but also a bunch of stuff to make herb tea out of. The theory is we can make our own brews with the right stuff so I have like 5 kinds of mint, lemon verbena, lavender, marjoram, etc. I wanted lemon grass but its hard to find up here.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 01:55 PM (KZzsI)

27 Just heard a report on a sports network rhat Kim Jong Un croaked.

Posted by: Lebron Horowitz at April 25, 2020 01:55 PM (UFgOG)

28 Speaking of seeds couple weeks ago planted lots of bean seeds in my greenhouse but nothing coming up yet

Posted by: Skip at April 25, 2020 01:56 PM (ZCEU2)

29 DO NOT plant zucchini.
Unless you really really like it.
It grows like crazy.
At harvest time people at church keep the windows up in their cars so "well intentioned" friends don't leave bags of it on the seats.
Posted by: Diogenes at April 25, 2020 01:50 PM

Ha ha! I LOVE zucchini. Last year, I filled half my freezer (just a refrigerator freezer) with containers of sliced zucchini. This year, I'm going to for the whole thing, including bags of pre-shredded zucchini for use in zucchini bread. I have two varieties that are going into the ground today.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 25, 2020 01:56 PM (/+bwe)

30 Skip at April 25, 2020 01:56 PM
Try replanting without soaking the seeds. If it is still cold in your greenhouse, maybe plant indoors in little flats.

Posted by: KT at April 25, 2020 01:58 PM (BVQ+1)

31 We got some pineapple sage, I have no idea what that stuff will be like, and I'm curious. The chocolate mint smells and tastes very much like chocolate mint, I haven't tried any of the orange mint yet.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 01:59 PM (KZzsI)

32 24 Zombie, I've been meaning to ask you: Are you the cute girl in your link?
Posted by: NaughtyPine

Only my hairdresser knows for sure!

I intentionally remain vague about such things.

Posted by: zombie at April 25, 2020 02:00 PM (N9G0H)

33 Trying to adjust to Windows 10. It's not going well. How's everyone else's weekend going?
Posted by: Rusty Nail

.....

http://www.classicshell.net/

Install Classic Shell for your old familiar start button.. it makes transitioning toi Win 10 much easier.

Lots of customization available for look and feel of the Start menu as well as file explorer. you can even choose to make it look like Windows 7

Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at April 25, 2020 02:00 PM (CjFDo)

34 Wow, love the coffee pictures! Thanks, rld77!

---

Zombie, I'm tempted to mix and scatter contents of my oldest veggie seed packets too. Next year... (and NO kale or spaghetti squash)... need to clear out some space before doing that.

Tempted to mix and scatter the flower seeds *this* year; the flower beds have looked skimpy the last few seasons.

Spring seems late this year. Will probably go from lingering mild winter straight into hell-hot summer without much of my favorite "in-between" weather.

Posted by: JQ at April 25, 2020 02:01 PM (whOIk)

35 I'd be willing to wager that it's no accident that the Siberian kale seeds were the one type of seed to survive all those years and still be viable. I think that the DNA of arctic plants has evolved to make the seeds remain potent for a very very long time, while they sit there in the permafrost for several years before an extra-warm spring finally thaws them out and lets them sprout. Warmer climate seeds don't need that capability, because it's good weather every year, so they never evolved to last for a long time.

Anyway, sounds like a good theory whether or not it;s true, so I'm sticking by it.

Posted by: zombie at April 25, 2020 02:07 PM (N9G0H)

36 Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 01:59 PM
Pineapple sage is a lovely plant, generally grown as an annual. Red flowers may attract hummingbirds. Resembles some ornamental sages, but doesn't bloom as heavily.

Leaves smell strongly of pineapple lifesavers. Lose their fragrance when dried. Put a leaf and maybe some flowers in a drink you want to smell like pineapple.

Posted by: KT at April 25, 2020 02:08 PM (BVQ+1)

37 Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at April 25, 2020 02:00 PM

Thanks. I'll check it out.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at April 25, 2020 02:15 PM (CMW/y)

38 I am completely ignorant about coffee. I assumed coffee beans were just as they were, somehow. I had no idea that they were surrounded by fruit.

Is the fruit useful for anything? Is it edible?

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at April 25, 2020 02:15 PM (l9m7l)

39 It gets too cold in Oregon to grow coffee outdoors, but there was a retired nurse who worked in Colombia who was running a hotel on the coast, and she kept a coffee tree in a planter in her hotel atrium.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 25, 2020 02:17 PM (WyVLE)

40 Leaves smell strongly of pineapple lifesavers. Lose their fragrance when dried. Put a leaf and maybe some flowers in a drink you want to smell like pineapple.

SOunds great for tea

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 02:19 PM (KZzsI)

41 Today I planted one pansy.

*pats self on the back*

Posted by: Emmie at April 25, 2020 02:24 PM (ouBhA)

42 #2 son is in Kitsap Co., Wa.

Is gonna start a garden with my grandson. Reading, it seems he's late for the cool season crops.

Any gardeners in that neck of the woods for advice?
Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 01:40 PM (w+bbd)

Grandma was from Tacoma, and my Mom always envied the sandy soil up there in the Puget Sound area for being perfect for growing carrots and other root crops, especially next to the clay we are on here.

It is also good for strawberries and blueberries, and there is (or was) a big pickle manufacturer there so cucumbers grow well.

Whatever they sell in the store or at the farmers' market will likely be best.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 25, 2020 02:25 PM (WyVLE)

43 41 Today I planted one pansy.

*pats self on the back*
Posted by: Emmie at April 25, 2020 02:24 PM (ouBhA)

Your gay-bashing is intolerable.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at April 25, 2020 02:25 PM (NWiLs)

44 31 - Pineapple sage is fantastic! It starts off as a little plant, but it'll grown to 3 feet high, with big strong stems. Almost like a bush. And the leaves really do have a lovely pineapple scent. I don't EAT the stuff, but I like to pick a leaf and smell it when I pass by. And it has a bonus: in October, when all your other plants are dying down, it suddenly puts out sprays of brilliant scarlet flowers!

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 25, 2020 02:25 PM (eDtp3)

45 My lilac bushes got quick frozen last Fall. The leaves still haven't fallen. I suppose they are all dead. It's always something.

Posted by: Ronster at April 25, 2020 02:26 PM (3nh/+)

46 Redskins loading up on offense after picking Chase Young. This will be interesting.

Posted by: Puddi Head at April 25, 2020 02:26 PM (QZCjk)

47 This is the year I am finally ready to plant fruit trees. Problem is that inventory at the garden centers is pitiful. Stupid shutdown!

Posted by: Emmie at April 25, 2020 02:27 PM (ouBhA)

48 Up here in Canada, zone 5b, it's just getting warm enough to sit outside for a little while in the sun. Siberian squills are the only flowers to be seen so far, but the daffodils and tulips have poked above ground. No leaves on the trees yet, but they're getting sort of prickly-looking, which means the buds are swelling.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 25, 2020 02:28 PM (eDtp3)

49 Really enjoyed the coffee pics. Thank you, rld77!

Our raised bed frames are built and filled with soil. Tomato, cuke, squash, green onion and various flower seedlings are growing indoors. Just need to get the deer netting up before planting. And figure out how to handle the hated and inevitable squash borers.

Re: old seeds (FWIW) - I've had a set of "survival seeds" in my freezer for about 8 years. I took them out and did a test germination (put a few seeds in damp paper towels, place in sealed plastic bag check in a week). Everything germinated. I figured if there was ever a time to use them, it's now.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at April 25, 2020 02:28 PM (XXNQ+)

50 Your gay-bashing is intolerable.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at April 25, 2020 02:25 PM (NWiLs)

Just wait till I get around to the insomniacs, bub!

Posted by: Emmie at April 25, 2020 02:29 PM (ouBhA)

51 Our town nursery is open today! Glory be to the benevolent, the beneficent Governor Whitmer for allowing us this crumb on a beautiful Spring day.

Got my mom a pot of pansies and three different kinds of lily bulbs.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at April 25, 2020 02:33 PM (Dc2NZ)

52 Thanks for the pics, rld77! I remember when he posted on the EMT and someone suggested that he send pictures to you, KT. I've been looking forward to seeing them. What a gorgeous place and you can't get more essential than coffee.
I have been starting sunflower seeds in pots. I will transplant once they are big enough. Such a happy flower and the birds appreciate the efforts.

Posted by: Mrs. Leggy at April 25, 2020 02:34 PM (Vf4Y7)

53 How's everyone else's weekend going?--
Like I'm still on MS Bob

Posted by: FrodoB-
cause I am at April 25, 2020 02:35 PM (dQF3z)

54 I love all the photos today!

Posted by: Emmie at April 25, 2020 02:38 PM (ouBhA)

55 I love pansies, they are so pretty. And, despite the name, surprisingly durable. They can take quite the beating and be just fine

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 02:39 PM (KZzsI)

56 Posted by: Mrs. Leggy at April 25, 2020 02:34 PM

Mrs. Leggy, do you remove the seeds from their shells before planting?

Just wondering if it made any difference...

Posted by: JQ at April 25, 2020 02:40 PM (whOIk)

57 Hey, a guy just walked down the sidewalk on the other side of the road playing the bagpipes! I don't think it's Burns Day, maybe his wife just didn't want him doing that in the house any more. Anyway, my daughter and I ran outside and applauded once he finished his tune. When someone gives you a gift like that, you should thank him.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 25, 2020 02:43 PM (eDtp3)

58 Sifted more old compost, its hard work. Will take maybe 5 hours to get through the pile. Using a piece or masonry wire it gets out roots, stones, seeds like peach and walnut, sticks and the hundreds of stickers on loose fruit like bananas. Also breaks up the egg shells in there.

Posted by: Skip at April 25, 2020 02:44 PM (ZCEU2)

59 Is NORK leader dead/vegetative?

Posted by: Bitter Clinger at April 25, 2020 02:45 PM (mq34m)

60 Putting eggshells in my compost tended to attract... vermin, let's say, so I stopped doing that. I wonder if I kept them separate, and washed and crushed them and kept them in a jar, if I could just sprinkle them in the garden on their own?

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 25, 2020 02:47 PM (eDtp3)

61 Might get around to cleaning out the flower beds today. If it doesn't turn wet and windy again...

Posted by: JQ at April 25, 2020 02:47 PM (whOIk)

62 Putting eggshells in my compost tended to attract... vermin, let's say, so I stopped doing that.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 02:47 PM (KZzsI)

63 sigh...

Yeah we had the same experience, supposed to be good for compost but it was attracting nasty stuff

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 02:47 PM (KZzsI)

64 Is NORK leader dead/vegetative?
Posted by: Bitter Clinger

Credible reports say yes.

Posted by: rickb223 at April 25, 2020 02:51 PM (rGtm/)

65 57 Hey, a guy just walked down the sidewalk on the other side of the road playing the bagpipes! I don't think it's Burns Day, maybe his wife just didn't want him doing that in the house any more. Anyway, my daughter and I ran outside and applauded once he finished his tune. When someone gives you a gift like that, you should thank him.
Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 25, 2020 02:43 PM (eDtp3)

Burns Day is co-incident with the Feast of St. Andrew, Nov. 30, IIRC.

Posted by: Fox2! at April 25, 2020 02:51 PM (qyH+l)

66 Lovely coffee info, thanks!

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at April 25, 2020 02:52 PM (aA3+G)

67 We've got tomatoes and peppers going under lights out in the shop, still a couple weeks out from tilling and planting as we just had a decent frost on Wednesday.

Doing corn for the first time this year, decided to go a little bigger than I have before. Will send photos when we get it all in the ground and as things progress.

Posted by: BunkerInTheBurbs at April 25, 2020 02:52 PM (YVYpf)

68 I've tried growing peppers here and they just never work. I know it can be done because I know people who have, but they are just tiny and the hot ones have no heat.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 02:54 PM (KZzsI)

69 Same here, Bunker; our tomatoes, peppers and squash are several weeks away even from hardening off. I grew corn about 10 years ago, and it was lots of fun. The first year was a success, but the second year, the raccoons discovered it and got everything.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 25, 2020 02:55 PM (eDtp3)

70 Thanks so much for the coffee-farm pictures. When I visited Hawaii (Big Island) in 2012 Brown Line and I stayed on one coffee-farm/bnb, and I spent a couple of happy days wandering around the Kona Historical Society coffee farm - formerly belonging to a family named Uchida, now basically a museum. I marvel that they can grown anything there, given how thin the soil is.
Brown Line bought a pear tree last week, pre-espaliered for our convenience, and it's in the backyard now, alongside the Indestructible Raspberry Canes.
Oh - greetings ::waves hand:: to Grammie Winger and other Wisconsinites, and how I wish our Governor wasn't such a dimbulb. BTW WE ARE DRIVING TO MADISON TOMORROW TO VISIT OUR DAUGHTER. We're not sick, she's not sick, I'm bringing along a lasagna and we'll eat dinner and have a good time. I'm afraid that's all I can do at the moment that constitutes Fighting the Power.

Posted by: Annalucia at April 25, 2020 02:55 PM (S6ArX)

71 I planted new raspberries last year, and was very worried they'd succumbed, but I spotted the first little tips of purple leaves coming up, so they look OK. You know what's indestructible? Currants. I never cover them or anything, and they return like rhubarb. The black currants get their flowers before other plants even have their leaves!

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 25, 2020 02:58 PM (eDtp3)

72 Is anyone else getting weird advertisements for obscure industrial equipment lately or is my Goolag profile off track?

Posted by: drerbrerard at April 25, 2020 02:59 PM (EA1BR)

73
Sifted more old compost, its hard work. Will take maybe 5 hours to get through the pile. Using a piece or masonry wire it gets out roots, stones, seeds like peach and walnut, sticks and the hundreds of stickers on loose fruit like bananas. Also breaks up the egg shells in there.
Posted by: Skip at April 25, 2020 02:44 PM (ZCEU2)

I've looked at videos to do that on a more ambitious scale. I dump wood chips on about 1 acre. It makes beautiful compost, but needs screening to keep the big chunks out. Give me til next winter, and I'll have pics.
We put egg shells on our garden to keep cutworms out. Also, zukes, for the calcium.
Haven't had an issue with vermin... yet.

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 02:59 PM (w+bbd)

74 I have been dumping the laws clippings on the compost and has gone black and stinky on the inside. However the temperature has shot up and it steams in the morning.

I am torn to start planting now, or to till again. I have a couple of garden plots separated by narrow strips of lawn, it is less muddy that way, but it is a pain to till. Tilling is a quick way to kill the weeds, though.

I planted potatoes and I have been covering them back up when the shoot up. Maybe this year I will have more than a couple of gallons of taters.

the slugs ate all my melon sprouts so I get to sprout them again. And start being very aggressive on putting out the slug bait. I wish I could get ducks. They are fantastic on eating slugs and other insect pests. Unfortunately I also have raccoons in the neighborhood and they are even better at eating ducks.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 25, 2020 02:59 PM (WyVLE)

75 I need the horde brain. I was out cutting back the roses. Get to the last one and fkn snake is in it. I absolutely HATE snakes. How do I get it dead? It slithered into the railroad ties.

Posted by: Infidel at April 25, 2020 03:01 PM (nvc6v)

76
Oh, I trap raccoons. Is that the vermin?

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 03:01 PM (w+bbd)

77
Should one like snakes, one should never spray weed-killer on the lawn. Never.

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 03:02 PM (w+bbd)

78 No, the vermin was actually rats!

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 25, 2020 03:03 PM (eDtp3)

79 I don't count raccoons as vermin, though they are real troublemakers. They're just too cute.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at April 25, 2020 03:04 PM (eDtp3)

80 I can't go looking for it. I'm terrified. How can I poison it?

Posted by: Infidel at April 25, 2020 03:05 PM (nvc6v)

81 Interesting pics on the coffee farm. I'm happy in the mornings because of your work. Thank you

We have the prettiest little white flowers that come up from some bright green in our mulch beds the past years. They die out in the June heat. This year we have them in quite a few areas. I was going to take a picture and see if this group knew what it was. It has not flowered yet, so I gurgled it

Star of Bethlehem. Some invasive that is hard to get rid of because it comes from a bulb.
So we will star digging this week, also roundup is supposed to work also

Posted by: Bruce at April 25, 2020 03:07 PM (vd8XM)

82
Infidel,
Get a 12 year old girl to find it and kill it for you.
J/K
I know for some that fear is primal.
Don't worry about it, it'll go away... and carry a forked stick around to poke in areas you're gonna work first.
My wife can't look at pictures of snakes, but she can clear an area to calm down with a stick.

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 03:08 PM (w+bbd)

83 I can't go looking for it. I'm terrified. How can I poison it?
Posted by: Infidel at April 25, 2020 03:05 PM (nvc6v)
----------
That's scary. Do you know if it was a deadly variety. I mean, other than being able to scare fraidy-cats like you and me to death?

Posted by: PennaLady at April 25, 2020 03:09 PM (8HBLI)

84 Infidel - The reason I ask is because many varieties of snakes are excellent at keeping insects out of the garden. You don't want to kill a garter snake (smallish and green).

Posted by: PennaLady at April 25, 2020 03:12 PM (8HBLI)

85
Kindltot, we tilled in the fall, but it has been too wet to till this year. Opened rows with the gardening fork, but mucho work. So...
We spent about 4 hours last week hand weeding the parts of the garden not planted yet, and now the weeds are taking over!
Gonna nuke them with Roundup when the wind sets down.
Word of caution, BTW, pure glysophate concentrate is getting hard to find. Do NOT use the RU Plus, or RU anything but pure glysophate when using, and watch drift.

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 03:13 PM (w+bbd)

86 I've tried growing peppers here and they just never
work. I know it can be done because I know people who have, but they
are just tiny and the hot ones have no heat.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 02:54 PM (KZzsI)

You can grow them in the central Willamette Valley but I have found there is a trick to it.

They need heat and water to grow and mature, so make sure they are in full sun.
Plant about 3 feet apart, and water them deeply but only about 2 -3 times a week.
Make sure to weed aggressively because the weeds suck out the moisture from the dirt, I use a garden rake to keep the top of the soil weed free and fluffed up to act as a barrier to evaporation, especially for those cracks we get in the clay soil.

I use 5 gallon buckets each with a single 3/16" hole in the bottom, and run an entire bucket on each pepper plant. I can fertilize in that water too, and that gets the fertilizer to the roots where it does the most good.

The wide spacing makes sure they are not competing for moisture, and watering only a couple of days a week doesn't cool the plants and the dirt too much and they grow and mature better.

I grow Thai, Jalapeno and Cayenne peppers, and I have done paprika too. Last summer was cool and I planted at the shady end of the garden, so they didn't get very red. On the other hand, they did get very spicy.

I think watering rarely makes the peppers' heat greater even if they are green. I think the extra stress makes them mean.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 25, 2020 03:13 PM (WyVLE)

87 My !Resistance! mask is a pair of Groucho glasses.

Covers my nose, covers my mouth with that little fake 'stache, about as well as Karen's bandana.

Not mandatory here except in one food store, The Fresh Market.

Posted by: Les Kinetic at April 25, 2020 03:13 PM (+fPHo)

88 Not poisonous. About 5-6 feet long. Garter snake or some such.

Posted by: Infidel at April 25, 2020 03:14 PM (nvc6v)

89 Dad always hired someone to come and kill them. I found a 'sonic' repellant, but I'm afraid it would affect the neighbors bee hives and chickens.

Posted by: Infidel at April 25, 2020 03:16 PM (nvc6v)

90 I'd say MarkY's advice is probably best then. Use a long Y-shaped stick to poke around in leaves and such to scare it off. It's less of a threat to you than the 8-legged variety of insect-killers. I got a sting from one of those whitish-green ones that was a problem for the whole summer.

Posted by: PennaLady at April 25, 2020 03:17 PM (8HBLI)

91 >> 20 Wow! That poppy sure brightened my day. Thank you 40MilesNorth and KT.

Glad to hear it. Apologies for not responding sooner, I was mowing the front lawn.

Posted by: 40 miles north at April 25, 2020 03:17 PM (o2vOl)

92 I even have a hard time binging it because all the sites have pics of fkn snakes.

Posted by: Infidel at April 25, 2020 03:18 PM (nvc6v)

93 Not poisonous. About 5-6 feet long. Garter snake or some such.
Posted by: Infidel

If you can, don't kill it. They are very beneficial to a yard.

Posted by: Bruce at April 25, 2020 03:18 PM (vd8XM)

94 68 I've tried growing peppers here and they just never work. I know it can be done because I know people who have, but they are just tiny and the hot ones have no heat.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 02:54 PM (KZzsI)
---
Christopher, perhaps the dewy PNW climate is to blame regarding hot peppers. I've heard that dry heat makes the flavor more intense; overwatering (to a hot pepper) makes them bland.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at April 25, 2020 03:19 PM (Dc2NZ)

95 Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kind comments. One way or another, we'll make it through. Forgive me for being so slow to respond - I read the blog a lot & usually a good portion of the comments, but actually commenting is hard - at the moment, I've got both the newborn and the toddler on my lap.

In so many ways, I know I shouldn't be complaining. My husband had family leave because of the baby, and through a fluke, ended up getting fired while having another job lined up, so, with severance, it ended up being a little bonus. And we, in turn, have been doing what we can to patronize local (and US) businesses. We even managed to get all five Easter outfits ordered over the internet, and when the tulips are blooming, I'll do pictures.

I haven't been out much, but a couple of weeks ago, I was out to bring the baby to the pediatrician, and felt like I was being treated like a criminal for even being in the hospital building. Coming back, and just seeing all the empty parking lots reminded me of living in Chicago during the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Yet this is different, because there's almost a neighbor against neighbor thing - walking around, while there are some people who are greeting others, a good number of people "social distance" to the other side of the street... You don't know who to trust, not just about "spreading", but who might rat you out for not following protocol to the letter.

Two close friends are nurses working with COVID-19 patients, one in ICU, and the other as a pulmonary nurse. Both seem to think that the whole scare is overblown. Furthermore, WI doesn't even have a whole lot of active cases, and there is no way that this lengthening of the order is anything but a power play. And in the meantime, pretty much everything that would matter vis a vis the kids (athletic lessons, enrichment out of school) don't even seem to be on the radar for ever being restored. You can't learn to swim without being in the water. Then you have businesses - Menard's first and foremost - who are really cracking down on having kids in the stores. I was on the phone with my state senator really asking what they're doing to make sure that there is some way for children to be out, because if they're not allowed to go anywhere, it's not good for them, and it's not good for me.

Sorry for rambling... I've got some African violets blooming. Ordered a bunch more a few weeks ago for something bright an cheery. It just takes time, and hopefully the weather will improve.

Posted by: Katja at April 25, 2020 03:19 PM (GDvjU)

96 Screw the benefit to the yard. I can't even go out in the back now.

Posted by: Infidel at April 25, 2020 03:19 PM (nvc6v)

97
I don't like snakes. I don't get the heeby-jeebies from them though.
I actually rescued a black rat snake last year that was probably 6 feet long. It had gotten tangled in some netting we took off the garden area, and was hanging around for three days in the same area. I knew something wasn't right.
I had to cut that crap off with a pocketknife while this "darned" thing was getting frisky.
I figgered I gots all the "don't kill them" karma I need for that one act. Gloves are off. It's now, kill first, ID later.

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 03:21 PM (w+bbd)

98 I have had no success growing bell peppers but, good success with horn shaped sweets. Jalapenos, poblanos, anaheims do well, too.

I have a few padron and shoshito seedlings growing indoors with their cousins this year. We'll see how that goes!

And snakes have run me off many times. Copperheads should be banned.

Posted by: OldDominionMom at April 25, 2020 03:22 PM (dH/BH)

99 Infidel - When I said smallish, I meant in girth. The garter snakes I've seen are pretty slender compared to the deadly ones I've seen on TV. We have copperheads and timber rattlers, but I've never come face-to-face with one of those.

Got to get back to chores, so good luck with calming down and finding the courage to go back outside.

Posted by: PennaLady at April 25, 2020 03:22 PM (8HBLI)

100 Good luck, Katja! It will get better. It's just so frustrating bc and the little tyrants everywhere.

Posted by: Infidel at April 25, 2020 03:23 PM (nvc6v)

101
Penna lady- y'all have the Eastern Hognose?
One exception to the thick rule. Da&%ed things are scary and benign. Also dead, if I see them.

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 03:29 PM (w+bbd)

102 Christopher R Taylor at April 25, 2020 02:19 PM

I'm thinking "lower temperature" when it comes to tea and pineapple sage. The fragrance is released from bruised leaves and seems quite volatile.

Posted by: KT at April 25, 2020 03:57 PM (BVQ+1)

103 Infidel at April 25, 2020 03:19 PM
Any chance of renting a hog?

Posted by: KT at April 25, 2020 03:57 PM (BVQ+1)

104 Hey JQ if you are still here. I just put the sunflower seeds the pots in as is.

Posted by: Mrs. Leggy at April 25, 2020 04:05 PM (Vf4Y7)

105 MarkY - I looked them up. Looks like we are in the geographic range for them. I do not like their looks. We have lots of toads so I'm sure those things are around. I'm in SW Penna at the base of the Appalachians here (Laurel Ridge).

Posted by: PennaLady at April 25, 2020 04:06 PM (8HBLI)

106
PennaLady- Whiskey Rebellion area?
Scots and Cumberland Presbyterians posing as a religion?
Never been there. Like the sounds of it.

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 04:12 PM (w+bbd)

107 Thanks, Mrs. Leggy!

I'm going to start some sunflowers indoors, too.

Think I'll take half of them out of the shells before planting, just for curiosity's sake.

Posted by: JQ at April 25, 2020 04:19 PM (whOIk)

108 Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. -- Genesis 3:17-19
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo

Hiya Mr. Sunshine !

Posted by: JT at April 25, 2020 04:21 PM (arJlL)

109 72 Is anyone else getting weird advertisements for obscure industrial equipment lately or is my Goolag profile off track?
Posted by: drerbrerard at April 25, 2020 02:59 PM

Is "obscure industrial equipment" what the kids are calling it these days? I've been getting lovely foreign ladies. I'm not even interested in the domestics.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 25, 2020 04:27 PM (/+bwe)

110 MarkY - I'm a little east of the Whiskey Rebellion counties where it got hot, but I imagine the farmers from my area were participants. We're still pretty feisty. Most of us are wearing masks only because the fascists won't let us into the stores without one. The mayor went around town on Easter throwing candy out with the Easter Bunny. A neighbor's son had a birthday parade come up our tiny street complete with fire trucks and police cars, sirens blariing. So yeah, a little of the rebel is in our blood.

My town is about 2 miles from the actual foot of the Laurel Ridge, which is the westernmost ridge of the Appalacians in PA. If you ever travel the PA Turnpike, I'm at the bottom of that last big, dangerous, twisting hill if you're travelling west toward Pittsburgh. The turnpike cuts through our township. I live two blocks off the original turnpike, now state route 31.

Posted by: PennaLady at April 25, 2020 04:36 PM (8HBLI)

111 Garter snakes are great! They eat the voles that eat my beets!

Posted by: Derak at April 25, 2020 04:41 PM (BMFHr)

112 Garter snakes are great! They eat the voles that eat my beets!
Posted by: Derak at April 25, 2020 04:41 PM (BMFHr)
-----
Blasted voles.

Now, what is that from... Is it the excavating gopher from one of the Winnie the Pooh cartoons? You know, the one with the whistling speech impediment?

Posted by: PennaLady at April 25, 2020 04:49 PM (8HBLI)

113 Here ya go Infidel:
Safer Brand 5951 Shield Snake Repellent Granular 4 LB

this was on Amazon. I think any sulfur pellets/powder repels them, least thats what the outfitters on our failed hog hunt in Texas said. Safe for plants and pets. There are various brands.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at April 25, 2020 04:52 PM (T9Hmo)

114 In SoCal I love my pineapple sage but it has growing patterns like mint if you soil is good--it gets very invasive if I don't keep an eye on it.

Posted by: keena at April 25, 2020 05:27 PM (RiTnx)

115 If you follow my posts, check back tonight or tomorrow. I've been outside working, but husband and I have a 5 PM Mountain time video chat with his family out east and I gotta get showered before that. Chat will end about 6 to 6:30 somewhere, then comes dinner - so I'll be posting late.

Posted by: Pat* at April 25, 2020 05:54 PM (2pX/F)

116 We have a ten dollar coffee grinder that was used for spices. A newer better grinder replaced it, so now el cheapo grinder does egg shells. It gets them down to pieces a millimeter or less. Some goes on the compost pile but I also throw a handful in each raised bed.

Posted by: Gordon at April 25, 2020 06:26 PM (EXkrA)

117 Pat* I will be back.

Gordon, that is a great idea. I keep them in a freezer baggie and, when it gets full enough, I use a rolling pin on it.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 25, 2020 06:43 PM (/+bwe)

118 Well, out doing manual labor so, missed the gardening thread.

Not much to report. All things planted are growing well. May even have some strawberries pretty soon. Though, they may be on the small side.

Oh, and Pat I look forward to your post.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing
at April 25, 2020 06:54 PM (WEBkv)

119 Oh, forgot to mention, our "bring toads back to the yard for insect control" worked quite well.

We had a hatch from a nearby pond where I work, I grabbed several of the little critters, brought them back to Che Blake and a little over a year later, they've done gone and grown into good size toads.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing
at April 25, 2020 06:57 PM (WEBkv)

120 So interesting about growing coffee. The perfect climate, soil, growers make amazing things happen.

Posted by: S.Lynn at April 25, 2020 07:49 PM (c+3Dp)

121 Welp, it turned out wet and windy, so no flowerbed clean out today. Hoping for decent weather tomorrow. I've got to get out there *sometime*!

Posted by: JQ at April 25, 2020 08:13 PM (whOIk)

122 Second real spring in a new townhome in a mountain town. First spring after trying to do something with the 'yard' that is attached to the property. For a moment, I had a bunch of pretty crocuses coming up through the grass! But then it snowed again, heavy and wet, and that knocked down all the flowers. That's gunna be a common occurence. But all the leaves are still there, so hopefully I'll have an even stronger crop next spring.

Posted by: Castle Guy at April 25, 2020 08:19 PM (Lhaco)

123 You're right, Castle Guy. As long as the leaves haven't been destroyed (and you don't mow them off before they've died back naturally!) they'll feed those little bulbs.

Congrats on the new(ish) home and good luck w/garden and landscape!

Posted by: JQ at April 25, 2020 09:31 PM (whOIk)

124
PennaLady
Whistling pig would have been a "whistle pig"... a ground hog.
Much bigger than a vole. Supposedly edible. Dunno..
Will watch for the report, Pat.

Posted by: MarkY at April 25, 2020 10:09 PM (pVQCi)

125 Thank you to those who said they'd check back for my posts, all two of you! Another couple million followers and I'll be famous!

26 Christopher R. Taylor, have you grown any German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) for your teas? It's the main ingredient in Sleepytime Tea. I'll bet that plus spearmint would be delicious.

60 Dr. Mabuse, and 63 Christopher R. Taylor, about eggshells: I read that if tomatoes have a problem with blossom end rot, they need more calcium (and mine always have that problem). I've been saving and washing eggshells for a while. I started the crushing process with a potato masher and continued it by hand. I plan to dig my tomato holes deep enough that I can bury the crushed shells under the plant by an inch or two, so the roots will find it later, and it won't attract pests. I haven't put shells into the compost - but if I did, I would wash/dry/crush them first. So far, our compost is 100% vegetable matter.

74 Kindltot, about stinky compost: Husband and I have wire bins we put shredded autumn leaves in (maple and linden work best), so we have them to mix with the grass cuttings all summer. It's husband's job to mow the grass and put whatever he collects into the active compost bin, my job to add leaves and get it mixed up all nice and fluffy ASAP. I *think* stinky grass happens when the grass all sticks together and turns black and rots.
* * *
From Idaho's Treasure Valley, Boise area: We got the patio set up this week - put the firewood back behind the shed, so there was room for the bench and table again.

It was neighborhood irrigation turn-on week!, so husband has spent time making sure all the rotating sprayers rotate (3 heads needed replacing).

The corn patch got tilled last week - I raked it out flat, and we're working on resetting the network of drip lines we built for the corn rows (we nicknamed that network The Squid, and keep it in the shed for the winter).

I finished removing all the dead strawberry leaves and got them stuffed in the trash. Each bed got iron chelate solution put on, because the leaves are generally pale - I'll see if that helps.

The indoor tomato and poblano sprouts get put on the patio table each afternoon, to start hardening off.

I've now planted all the carrots, and the first plantings (of 3) are starting to come up. The first 2 plantings of radishes and green onions are sprouted. Some of the potatoes are starting to sprout, but they've been slow. The chives are ridiculously vigorous, and have very fat buds, so they may flower by next week.

We did have our first harvest - a few asparagus spears (from the patch that started with 20 plants, and now has about 5...).

Our old probably-Jonathan apple tree is flowering nicely - the old Golden Delicious is taking its time about it. The 3 new trees are starting to show leaves and flowers.

Today was busy - in the morning, I filled the trash with yard debris, and planted the 3rd batch of 20 onion starts. I also started digging up the grass in the area around my cat's grave. In the afternoon, I finished digging that grass, up to a wild rosebush I wanted to get rid of. I had to hack the base off, below ground level, with a mattock! All the dead wood went on the fall burn pile. There's a second rosebush there I still have to go after, then I'll re-smooth the soil around the grave. I trimmed down my 2 'Provence' lavenders, and put the debris on that burn pile. They're not quite dead, there are a few small areas with new leaves, but they are not in good shape. (Which is confusing, because this was a mild winter.) Husband was testing out the aerator device he bought to go with the new riding mower - I didn't hear any cussing so I assume it worked well.

And he continues to spray weeds.

S.Lynn and I have been trading tulip and other flower photos - we both have midget pansies (Johnny Jump-Ups). I'll have to look at my photos and decide if any are good enough for the Moron Horde's viewing pleasure. I have lilies of the valley starting to bloom, so I'll have to see if I can get a photo of some of those as well.
* * *
Everybody remember - we are strong.
We are rough 'n' tough *Americans*!
We can improvise, adapt, overcome.
We can build over, build under, build around.
We will make plans to endure - then we will make plans to be greater than before!

For now, buy locally - later, vacation locally (in your state or in the USA) - help your neighbors - and "Remember, remember, when comes November!", which politicians turned into dictators when given power over you!

Posted by: Pat* at April 25, 2020 10:24 PM (2pX/F)

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