Thanksgiving Weekend Gardening and Puttering Thread

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to all you gardeners, putterers and nature enthusiasts! The photo above (and one below) are from The Famous Pat*:

This is my 'Autumn Blaze' maple, nicknamed Eric the Red, caught at its peak on Oct. 31st. It's silhouetted against my northside neighbor's "French Blue" house.

That tree is breath-taking.

This is my silver maple, nicknamed "Jupiter" (for the King of the Gods, and you can see why), on Oct. 31st, with my house dwarfed in the background. It's past its best color, alas. I'm standing by "Eric the Red", at left.

You have some magnificent trees, Pat*

The Horde Cares
EveR got some good suggestions a couple of weeks ago to this comment:

I think having a garden will become a necessity soon. I had terrible luck in the past (crittters ate everything I planted but the hot peppers.) Wondering, what would be good first steps now, to be garden ready next spring?

This is the response from The Famous Pat*:

EveR, are you wondering what to do now, to be ready next spring? My thoughts (if someone was just starting out):
Decide how much time and energy you're realistically going to be able to devote to the garden. No sense doing a whole bunch of start-up work, and not being able to keep it weeded/picked, and the veggies/fruits processed/eaten.
Consider sun and water availability at the proposed garden location.
Decide what you're actually going to eat. No sense planting things you don't like.
Assuming planting in the ground, I'd loosen the soil to one spade depth (two, if you have the energy) before the ground freezes. Have fun browsing local garden stores, see what brands of seeds are available, do some online research into varieties adapted to your area.
I always draw out a plan for my beds in winter - then when I plant, I draw another that reflects what I *actually* did.
Husband and I built 2 garden beds the first year (we stapled hardware cloth to the bottoms to prevent burrowing critters) and added more beds as we went. If you go this route, you could build them now, research garden stores' compost/soil quality/availabilty, and set the beds up in the spring.

If you have more tips for EveR, post them here. Don't comment on old threads. Or else.

Puttering

I was busy yesterday puttering, here's a picture of me in action.
This is how we do yard work in AZ!
AZ deplorable moron

Wow.

Food involving produce (which may come from gardens)

By-Tor has a way of photographing a salad featuring fresh mozzarella, tomato, cucumber, fresh dill and cayenne with olive oil. MMMM. Imagine it made with garden-fresh produce next summer . . .

And this, too:

I found some late season pickling cucumbers so I made some spicy bread and butters and dills. And a jar of giardiniera.

And earlier, peach jam:

Earlier in the week, I posted some recipes for pumpkin-based soups. Here's another one that uses your Thanksgiving turkey carcass. It has some other veggies in it, too. From Terroir Seeds. Or maybe "Terror Seeds" if you use a Jack-o-Lantern instead of a cooking pumpkin or winter squash. Sounds good. I have a turkey carcass now. How about you?

And here's a not-too-sweet casserole featuring sweet potatoes. Video at the link. I grew sweet potatoes one year. It was an adventure. I got some HUGE ones. And some strange-looking ones.

Here are some of the slips, ready to be planted:

Indoor Gardening

African Violets from Notsothoreau:

You posted my picture of these when I first got them. One has finally bloomed!
"Throw out the radio and take the fiddle down from the wall."
- - Andrew Nelson Lytle*, Tennessee, 1930

* The South's most gracious man of letters

Fun! Like the name on the little one, too.

Violets, violins . . . .

Maple Sugar

Nature?

The Icelandverse

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

ktinthegarden
at that g mail dot com place

Include the nic by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ,
unless you want to remain a lurker.

Posted by: K.T. at 01:01 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 BOING!

Posted by: Biden's Dog at November 27, 2021 01:04 PM (zoOS0)

2 What did I win, Johnny?

Posted by: Biden's Dog at November 27, 2021 01:05 PM (zoOS0)

3 Thanks for the info on the author of my nic! For some reason, I've never looked him up. It's a comment like Michelle Shocked's "Music is too important to be left to professionals".

I hope the tiny violet blooms some day! It's slow growing. Both are vareigated but the light from the Ott lamp seems to keep them green.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at November 27, 2021 01:09 PM (YynYJ)

4 2 What did I win, Johnny?
Posted by: Biden's Dog at November 27, 2021 01:05 PM (zoOS0)

A dinner at my house!

Posted by: Jug Hussein Ears at November 27, 2021 01:11 PM (DTX3h)

5 Notsothoreau - look forward at November 27, 2021 01:09 PM

I like how you have them in little casserole dishes.

Posted by: KT at November 27, 2021 01:12 PM (0ghg2)

6 Good afternoon Greenthumbs
Been slowly working on gathering all the leaves I have but it's a long slow process.

Posted by: Skip at November 27, 2021 01:13 PM (2JoB8)

7 Ha! "Icelandverse" guy has a nice light touch with the comedy. Love when he's at the door.

Posted by: t-bird at November 27, 2021 01:13 PM (1vynn)

8 t-bird at November 27, 2021 01:13 PM

He cracked me up. Has that Zuckerberg look, too.

Posted by: KT at November 27, 2021 01:15 PM (0ghg2)

9 Skip and leaves. A familiar story.

Posted by: KT at November 27, 2021 01:16 PM (0ghg2)

10 Spicy bread and butter pickles for sammiches.

The peach jam is beautiful.

The salad is beautiful.

Posted by: KT at November 27, 2021 01:17 PM (0ghg2)

11 I wanted to water them from the bottom up and they seemed like the perfect size. The Violet Barn grows nice plants.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at November 27, 2021 01:18 PM (YynYJ)

12 I love trees ... on someone else's property. Ours are just work!

Posted by: leber at November 27, 2021 01:20 PM (t/+rf)

13 I lived in Lubbock for 4 years. This stuff bothers me because it was just stupid. 2 Texans get into a pissing contest and one brings out a gun. The other guy tries to take it from him and gets shot dead. Sickens me.
https://tinyurl.com/yp7njh4p

Posted by: Xipe Totec at November 27, 2021 01:28 PM (/B6Iw)

14 Each of those first two trees cover as much ground as most of the residential lots in this area.

We're a little different, maybe I should get a pic of the Coastal Redwood my wife picked up as a landscaping leftover at a garage sale, I planted in our backyard when my daughter was five and I told her "you will never again be taller than this tree".

Oh God.

We're in bayside landfill in the Bay Area, we get some bay fog but that's about it. But this tree...whatever we've got it damn well loves where it sleeps and it's knocking on 50ft tall. Fortunately the sometimes-nasty winds around here from the northwest keep the bit that's facing the neighbor from growing much, but damn, we're under the approach for Rwy 28L into SFO and eventually they'll start using it as a reporting point.

"Southwest 123, over RDWD at 3000 inbound for 28L"

Really, we're so close to the ILS outer marker for the 28s it hardly matters.

Posted by: JEM at November 27, 2021 01:30 PM (cgz1y)

15 "The tree is breathtaking!" Yes, Indeed, but then they drop all those leaves. It is my considered opinion therefore Maples are best observed in somebody elses yard lol

Posted by: Common Tater at November 27, 2021 01:33 PM (KNsfV)

16 It is a great tragedy that burning leaves in the Fall, as God intended, is no longer allowed in much of the occupied territories. Perhaps the inevitable collapse of "civilization" that seems probable at this point will at least provide the return of such.

Posted by: Common Tater at November 27, 2021 01:35 PM (KNsfV)

17 ???

Posted by: logprof at November 27, 2021 01:40 PM (oZuI0)

18 I cannot fully grok having so many trees/leaves that one has to rake and remove them. Always lived in steppe climates that were borderline arid. Have to water trees in the yard if you want shade and the # of leaves is just a thin covering and then the wind blows most of them away.

Posted by: PaleRider. Yay long weekend at November 27, 2021 01:40 PM (3cGpq)

19 hiya

Posted by: JT at November 27, 2021 01:42 PM (arJlL)

20 logprof, there's a nic I haven't seen in ages.

Posted by: PaleRider. Yay long weekend at November 27, 2021 01:42 PM (3cGpq)

21 Thank you for the content, nice autumn blaze maple and all the other photos.
That IcelandVerse video was very funny. Good job by the guy and his team. Was a bit worried when he was looking a bit mime-y. But he got rid of that.
I love puffins. More and more, I feel god just made this stuff to entertain us.
Side topic; I think if I lived in the olden times, I would try to live near a hot spring but keep it very very secret.

Posted by: MikeM at November 27, 2021 01:42 PM (QMG4P)

22 Really, we're so close to the ILS outer marker for the 28s it hardly matters.

My Aunt used to live on a hill overlooking SFO. If you wanted to you could sit out in her front yard and watch the planes come and go. You'd have to sit on the grass, though, too steep for a chair.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - moronhorde.com. Not insurgents, counterrevolutionaries. at November 27, 2021 01:47 PM (SchxB)

23 No. 1 son's back yard backs onto a huge area of forest on the bank of the Missouri River. Once again, his garden was raped and pillaged by raccoons, deer, and anything else living along the river. Any one have any suggestions for combating the trash pandas? Keep in mind that his finances are tight. Thanks in advance.

Posted by: Captain Josepha Sabin -- bitterly clinging to the deplorable life '70s style! at November 27, 2021 01:50 PM (j0p94)

24 No. 1 son's back yard backs onto a huge area of forest on the bank of the Missouri River. Once again, his garden was raped and pillaged by raccoons, deer, and anything else living along the river. Any one have any suggestions for combating the trash pandas? Keep in mind that his finances are tight. Thanks in advance.

Cotton candy. They'll grab some, take it down to the river to wash it, and have it disappear. After four or five trips they'll leave out of frustration.

Well, that or tear stuff up even worse because they're pissed off.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - moronhorde.com. Not insurgents, counterrevolutionaries. at November 27, 2021 01:54 PM (SchxB)

25 He needs an electric fence.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at November 27, 2021 01:54 PM (YynYJ)

26 He needs an electric fence.
Posted by: Notsothoreau

And a way to remind himself to turn it off *before* he gets into the garden...

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 01:56 PM (mMQZc)

27 Its amazig what you can pickle and it tastes great. I love all sorts of pickled foods and have experimented quite a bit

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 27, 2021 01:57 PM (KZzsI)

28 The planes landing at SkyHarbor look like a line of bright pearls from this house.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 01:58 PM (mMQZc)

29 Green house?

Posted by: Infidel at November 27, 2021 01:58 PM (LZkdC)

30 Thanks KT for great content on this Thanksgiving Saturday.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 01:58 PM (mMQZc)

31 14 JEM -- Almost forty years ago, a local bank was giving away blue spruce seedlings. The XO grabbed one for the kids to give me as a Mother's Day present. Forty years later, that sucker is at least thirty feet tall. I'd always lusted over the big blue spruce in other people's yards, never dreaming I'd have a huge, beautiful one of my own.

Posted by: Captain Josepha Sabin -- bitterly clinging to the deplorable life '70s style! at November 27, 2021 01:59 PM (j0p94)

32 {{{ Captain Josepha Sabin }}}

Hope your Thanksgiving was full of your extended family.

Greenhouse is the only way to be sure. But plan B is a dog.

Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at November 27, 2021 02:00 PM (u82oZ)

33 Captain Josepha Sabin

Your yard is full of goodness.

Me -- prairie.

Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at November 27, 2021 02:01 PM (u82oZ)

34 I'll be starting a lazyman's backyard compost attempt this winter. Not for gardening, but for improving the lawn's soil, which is heavily clay.

Posted by: Count de Monet. Unvaccinated Rotund Meatbag at November 27, 2021 02:01 PM (4I/2K)

35 Moles love my tiny yard. Sigh. Need to put up an owl box.

Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at November 27, 2021 02:02 PM (u82oZ)

36 I hate Fall

Posted by: Skip at November 27, 2021 02:02 PM (2JoB8)

37 Electric fence can be set up pretty cheaply, but I'm not sure it keeps the raiders out 100%. Chickens still need to be in a coop at night as the predators will find a way through from what friends with chickens have told me, but perhaps they won't try as hard just for veggies. Maybe try and buy some relatively cheap field corn and plant in the forest as here you go and fence off the people garden. Need electric and for deer need to get it tall.

Posted by: PaleRider. Yay long weekend at November 27, 2021 02:06 PM (3cGpq)

38 I bookmarked the pumpkin/turkey page, it looks like it would be a fine after Thanksgiving soup.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 02:07 PM (mMQZc)

39 The autumn colors weren't very good in our area, even the 'old reliable' maples were muted. But the white oak in our yard came through. It doesn't get brilliant, mostly yellow and brown. However, there is a two week period when the morning sun hits it and the leaves look like old burnished gold and seem to glow. It is glorious.

Posted by: JTB at November 27, 2021 02:08 PM (7EjX1)

40 Dog is a good idea. A fence to help them out and a dog that sleeps outside in gardening season would deter a lot of raiding.

Posted by: PaleRider. Yay long weekend at November 27, 2021 02:08 PM (3cGpq)

41 28 The planes landing at SkyHarbor look like a line of bright pearls from this house.
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 01:58 PM (mMQZc)

Used to live Mesa, 11 miles from the runway at Sky Harbor. Watched the continuous light show of planes arriving from dusk to about 10pm every night and then starting up again at 4:30am. Hated the noise. Always knew when the British Airways 747 was taking off or landing. Also hated the scheduled 2am Mesa PD helicopter fly-over.

Posted by: az_desert_rat at November 27, 2021 02:09 PM (S6qq5)

42 Eric the Red and Jupiter are magnificent.

Posted by: JuJuBee at November 27, 2021 02:10 PM (mNhhD)

43 Posted by: az_desert_rat

Our last place in Tempe was on one of the flight paths used with 'one' of the wind directions. Not close to the airport and not right over us; but, a pretty constant background noise.
We get the lights and not the noise here in AJ, although we get some biplanes and that B17 that swing through.
During a fire we really get so see helicopters and borate bombers.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 02:14 PM (mMQZc)

44 We built our deer fence starting with 5' T posts, 8' centers; 4' garden fencing (cheap 2x4 welded wire) around it. Bailing wire and zip ties both.
Then, 10' sticks of 1/2" conduit, cut in two.
Bailing wire and/or zip ties to the posts, then chicken wire up. We zip tied the two fences together.
Tied ribbons about every 3-4 feet to keep something from not seeing the fence in low light.
We haven't had a deer incursion in 4 years. One coon incursion only.
We completely re-did it this spring, cause I'd left the door open, and the deer wandered in, but decided they didn't want to go by my wife to get out. Destroyed the south side. 2 men, maybe 1/2 day.

Posted by: MkY at November 27, 2021 02:17 PM (Foq6I)

45 The door, BTW, is just the 2x4 wire, turned on end (4' wide) with two stakes as the gate posts.
We use baling wire to latch it. Real high tech stuff.

Posted by: MkY at November 27, 2021 02:19 PM (Foq6I)

46 You still can catch moles with mouse traps, have actually caught them in my garage traps.

Posted by: Skip at November 27, 2021 02:20 PM (2JoB8)

47 I also trap coons, cause they're the number 1 predator of wild turkey eggs.
One year I caught 65! Got ahold of the Conservation Dept. They found out the Community Gardens about 3 miles downstream were trapping and releasing in our neck of the woods. Conservation folks taught them catching problem animals is a killing proposition.

Posted by: MkY at November 27, 2021 02:23 PM (Foq6I)

48 My trees are almost competely denuded now and I find that almost as much fun as when the leaves are there. I look into the branches and just follow them around the trunk. It's like a mysterious map and the intricacy of the interweaving is fascinating.
And about then Mrs D hides the scotch so my day dreaming is over...but I still enjoy the trees none-the-less.

Posted by: Diogenes at November 27, 2021 02:24 PM (axyOa)

49 And about then Mrs D hides the scotch so my day dreaming is over...but I still enjoy the trees none-the-less.
Posted by: Diogenes at November 27, 2021 02:24 PM (axyOa)

Ha!

Posted by: MkY at November 27, 2021 02:25 PM (Foq6I)

50 One other thing. We pulled green tomatoes about a month ago, and successfully ate red tomatoes from our garden on Thanksgiving!
Maybe once every 3 year thing.

Posted by: MkY at November 27, 2021 02:26 PM (Foq6I)

51 And about then Mrs D hides the scotch so my day dreaming is over...but I still enjoy the trees none-the-less.
Posted by: Diogenes

You obviously need to hide some in the gardening area's shed or the garage!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 02:27 PM (mMQZc)

52 We used to live not far from the Monterey, CA airport. When the USAF Thunderbrids were in town for the airshow they'd stage at Monterey with the sole purpose of buzzing the Naval Postgraduate School that was at the end of the main runway. From one of the buildings, rooftop, those F-16's looked as if you could reach out and touch them they were so low.

And really, really loud.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at November 27, 2021 02:28 PM (BFigT)

53 Stunning color from those maple trees

Posted by: San Franpsycho at November 27, 2021 02:29 PM (EZebt)

54 Used to live failry far away from the airport. But under the flight path. Planes would take off and about 2 miles into lift, make a right turn. 6 miles past that, was my house and the planes would fly right over. It was pretty loud even though I was nowhere near the airport itself. But luckily only 2-3 planes an hour on that route. And the last flight of the day was 8:30pm.

Posted by: JoeXiDen - Lessko Brandon at November 27, 2021 02:34 PM (ty5qb)

55 You obviously need to hide some in the gardening area's shed or the garage!
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 02:27 PM (mMQZc)

Ssshhhh!!!!!

Posted by: Diogenes at November 27, 2021 02:37 PM (axyOa)

56 Unfortunately I'm going to have to dig up my hedges in front of my house as they never recovered from the Houston freeze. Looking to replant another attractive but hardy hedging plant.
Any recommendations?

Posted by: Just a side note at November 27, 2021 02:38 PM (xIkNd)

57 It is a great tragedy that burning leaves in the Fall, as God intended, is no longer allowed in much of the occupied territories. Perhaps the inevitable collapse of "civilization" that seems probable at this point will at least provide the return of such.
Posted by: Common Tater at November 27, 2021 01:35 PM (KNsfV)

If I really cared I could take them to a friend who's property is half out of the city, but I compost them myself. They do good breaking down and make a decent compost. This year I am putting left over charcoal from the woodstove in it as well, biochar is supposed to be good for binding nutrients in the compost.

I am also doing a test plot of mixing charcoal, last years compost pile, some manure and some clay down post holes to see if I can make decent soil that way.
I am tempted to do a charcoal burn and if the city fire department shows up to complain I can tell them I am not burning yard debris, I am making terra preto

Posted by: Kindltot at November 27, 2021 02:42 PM (P9T5R)

58 Just raked the leaves up out of the corner of the driveway where they seem to love to gather. No one else has this problem I swear. We hire someone to do the rest of the yard and deck usually around Dec 1. Too old for that shit.

Posted by: Jewells45 deplorablethug#FJB at November 27, 2021 02:43 PM (nxdel)

59 JASN: How tall a hedge do you need/want?

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 02:43 PM (mMQZc)

60 Nil Butron is a pud.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at November 27, 2021 02:44 PM (vuisn)

61 Man,I don't know what is in those jars but it looks good enough to turn me into a vegetarian, almost.

Posted by: Javems at November 27, 2021 02:45 PM (DveAR)

62 Unfortunately I'm going to have to dig up my hedges in front of my house as they never recovered from the Houston freeze. Looking to replant another attractive but hardy hedging plant.
Any recommendations?

Plant bamboo, wait for it to grow to the height you prefer, then move because it will take over the yard.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - moronhorde.com. Not insurgents, counterrevolutionaries. at November 27, 2021 02:46 PM (SchxB)

63 hardy hedging plant.
Any recommendations?
Posted by: Just a side note
A friend from California just decided on something called a Silver Sheen hedge.
I wanted an evergreen, and I am in North Idaho, so I am thinking of Techny Arborvitae.
But still thinking.
I have some pretty ugly chain link fence along one side of my property. It is functional for keeping out the commies. So I do not want to tear it down. But I am trying to think of a way to hide it, and make it look okay. I am thinking about painting it black*, and then planting something, preferably evergreen, that will hide it.
*People use rollers to do paint chain link. It comes out pretty good.

Posted by: MikeM at November 27, 2021 02:46 PM (QMG4P)

64 That poor guy doing the Icelandverse simply cannot invoke the uncanny valley the way Zuckenberg does. Points for trying though.

Posted by: clutch cargo - processed in a facility that may contain lead at November 27, 2021 02:46 PM (wAnMi)

65 California, Idaho, Texas... trust me, all 3 will be different.
And what works here in KC won't work in any of the 3.

Posted by: MkY at November 27, 2021 02:50 PM (Foq6I)

66 I lived in Lubbock for 4 years. This stuff bothers me because it was just stupid. 2 Texans get into a pissing contest and one brings out a gun. The other guy tries to take it from him and gets shot dead. Sickens me.
https://tinyurl.com/yp7njh4p
Posted by: Xipe Totec at November 27, 2021 01:28 PM (/B6Iw)

Somebody posted this yesterday evening - just stupid AF. Anybody could have walked away at any time. If the guy in the home really felt threatened, this is a perfect use of hot sauce baptism.

Posted by: clutch cargo - processed in a facility that may contain lead at November 27, 2021 02:52 PM (wAnMi)

67 California, Idaho, Texas... trust me, all 3 will be different.
Posted by: MkY
Yup. You have to look at what zone you are in. The Silver Sheen will work for my friend. And I think it is one of the favorites of people looking for hedges, but not sure about Houston.

Posted by: MikeM at November 27, 2021 02:53 PM (QMG4P)

68 13 I lived in Lubbock for 4 years. This stuff bothers me because it was just stupid. 2 Texans get into a pissing contest and one brings out a gun. The other guy tries to take it from him and gets shot dead. Sickens me.
https://tinyurl.com/yp7njh4p

Posted by: Xipe Totec at November 27, 2021 01:28 PM (/B6Iw)

My first wife and the guy she ran off with live in Lubbock. Alas....

Posted by: Javems at November 27, 2021 02:53 PM (DveAR)

69 The problem with hedges is that they suffer from the weather, they don't keep critters out, they always need trimming and people dump their trash in them.

I suggest you build a barrier out of stone filled wire mesh boxes, gabions. They are like the Hesco barriers but classier.
I built a bunch to make a terraced garden for a friend out of chain link and stones I picked out of a neighbor's pasture.

They are also a decent vehicle barrier

Posted by: Kindltot at November 27, 2021 02:53 PM (P9T5R)

70 Houston Hedge ideas
https://tinyurl.com/23nn5esv

Posted by: MikeM at November 27, 2021 02:56 PM (QMG4P)

71 So I do not want to tear it down. But I am trying to think of a way to hide it, and make it look okay.
Posted by: MikeM

My mom planted hollywood juniper. It took a while for them to get large; but, they are pretty even when young.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 02:57 PM (mMQZc)

72 JASN: How tall a hedge do you need/want?
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 27, 2021 02:43 PM (mMQZc)

3 to 4 feet tall

Posted by: Just a side note at November 27, 2021 02:59 PM (xIkNd)

73 PET NOOD

Posted by: Skip guy who says NOOD at November 27, 2021 03:00 PM (2JoB8)

74 Houston Hedge ideas
https://tinyurl.com/23nn5esv
Posted by: MikeM at November 27, 2021 02:56 PM (QMG4P)

Thanks. First thing they said was now was a good time to plant. I thought it was too late,

Posted by: Just a side note at November 27, 2021 03:02 PM (xIkNd)

75 52 We used to live not far from the Monterey, CA airport. When the USAF Thunderbrids were in town for the airshow they'd stage at Monterey with the sole purpose of buzzing the Naval Postgraduate School that was at the end of the main runway. From one of the buildings, rooftop, those F-16's looked as if you could reach out and touch them they were so low.

We live about where the Blues would reform at the south end of their routine during Fleet Week, got a fair number of pics of F-18s (the old ones) collecting up noisily over my locale.

Posted by: JEM at November 27, 2021 03:06 PM (cgz1y)

76 Our yard is kind of a forest.

The first leave to drop are from the big Eastern Cottonwood (it drops leaves all summer, too) in the front yard. Then the maples (there are four big ones in the front yard), then the pin oaks are last. The big (80 ft) pin oak in the back yard has finally dropped most of it's leaves. And it drops tons of leaves.
The back part of the yard is all trees, and a lot falls into the yard. The ones that fall into the woods never get touched, and we blow a lot of leaves with the leaf blower back into the woods.
Still a YUGE amount of raking to do; and I have taken to driving the mower over them and mulching them up, too.
Last Wednesday I put a lot into the trash hoppers and burned a lot too, in the fire pit. Burned a lot of fallen sticks and vines we cut out this summer and fall. Burning wet leaves makes a ton of smoke.

The burning times have come to my yard.

Posted by: Bozo Conservative...Living on the Prison Planet at November 27, 2021 03:06 PM (tjZg/)

77 Love those Maple pics. Leaves were a little late turning color here this year, but they srill dropped at the same time as usual, so color season was a little short. Also loved the Maple Sugar string music.

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at November 27, 2021 03:39 PM (d9Cw3)

78 Those maples are so lovely, Pat*!

Here it's snowing. Today was allotted for putting away the porch furniture, which I did.

Planting the crocus bulbs in front yard went well; the backyard, no. I thought the guy on the parallel street would stay indoors instead of burning yet more leaves. Ha! He started a burn-pile next to the road and went back inside.

Smoke all over the backyard; those crocuses went into the pot with the mums.

Posted by: NaughtyPine - now with extra holiday naughtiness! at November 27, 2021 03:45 PM (/+bwe)

79 EveR, I have three bits of advice.

First, plan! Answer three questions: What to grow, Where to grow it, and When to plant. "What" should be what you like to eat, and what thrives in your local climate. "Where" should be a spot that sunny and well drained, and well off the beaten track. "When" depends on the climate in your region.

Second, Think small! One of the principal mistakes made by first-time gardeners is that attempting too much, too soon. Far better to have a small garden that yields successfully, than a huge one that turns into a weed-choked mess because you don't have the time or energy to maintain it.

Third, Herbs! If nothing else, plant an herb garden. Pick an isolated spot that is semi-sunny and not to far from your kitchen. You can plant a nice mix of perennials (oregano, chive, sage, and thyme, plus rosemary if your local climate isn't too cold) and annuals (basil, parsley, arugula). Once established, an herb garden doesn't require much work, and nothing enhances your meals like fresh herbs!

Good luck, and please let us know how it works out.

Posted by: Nemo at November 27, 2021 04:15 PM (S6ArX)

80 From Boise area: Most mornings have had frost (one 2-minute snow flurry Tues. morning), but we're expecting a week with daytime temps up to 50 F.

Got rid of some garden debris in the trash. Did several rounds of cider pressing, still need to do more.

Regarding leaves: we can burn them because we have a former horse paddock, which has a sandy base (rather than soil or grass). We burned oak leaves on the corn patch this year, to kill weed seeds and discourage burrowing critters. Oak's waxy coating means it doesn't shred well for compost. You may mock my messy maples as you will, but their leaves make great compost - sweetgum and linden leaves too. Sycamore leaves are good for nothing - don't burn well, don't compost well, turn ugly brown in fall, and drop all the way to February. So of course I have four of them... stupid developer.

Not much else to say, except those Johnny Jump-Ups by the shed are still flowering!

Posted by: Pat* at November 27, 2021 10:41 PM (2pX/F)

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