Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, August 6

Man, it has been hot here. And muggy. For California. How are you and your gardens doing?

Above, some seasonal Rudbeckias from Paula. Below, some coneflowers.

Nice to see native flowers used in public places. These coneflowers seem to be thriving in the heat.
Katy - I really enjoy the thread - where else can you find a good discussion on what makes a great BLT!?

Edible Gardening

From Gordon:

The owner of my former garden in Minneapolis finally pulled the trigger and started selling her stuff at a Thursday evening market next to Tiny Diner in Minneapolis. People would buy a jar of dilly beans, eat it at their table while waiting for their food, and buy another upon leaving the restaurant.
So now she's skipping her annual week-long campout with the witchy hippies and instead canning a lot more dilly beans and salsa. Good for her; she's retired now and she enjoys the attention.

UPDATE: Just learned from the last thread that today is National Mustard Day!

Fine Gardening: How to grow and prepare mustard, plus history and tips.

Ah, Nature

By-Tor went on a family hike in Southern Utah and photographed this Desert Tortoise:

From Gordon:

Taken after Saturday night's deluge in Scottsdale, just because it's pretty for a Walmart parking lot sunset photo.

Summer Reading

Via Maggie's Farm:

"Victoria Johnson's American Eden is the kind of history I love: deeply researched, evocative of its time, and fascinating at every turn. It follows the life of David Hosack, early American doctor, botanist, New Yorker, and bon vivant, whose life touched the famous on both sides of the Atlantic. Hosack was there when Alexander Hamilton took a bullet; Hosack greeted the Marquis de Lafayette on his triumphal return in 1824; Hosack founded North America's first botanic garden on the land where Rockefeller Center now stands in midtown Manhattan. Where others saw real estate and power, Hosack saw the landscape as a pharmocopeia able to bring medicine into the modern age."
- Eric W. Sanderson, author of Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City

A forward thinker in a turbulent time. Sounds like this book includes some great history in addition to botany.

Music

Jack Hannah of Sons of the San Joaquin has passed away. He was the kind of man who was really valued in the community. Didn't do well in school (ADD, dyslexia?), but compensated in sports, music and church activity. There's a song at the link.

Here's another which seems pertinent now with our weather. Cool Water. Smooth voices, considering the subject.

Gardens of The Horde

This ball of pine branches has been slowly growing for several decades, has been home to many different birds from hummers to quail. Never seen anything like it before.
Epador

Well, does anybody know?

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, July 30

Any thoughts or questions?

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

Posted by: K.T. at 01:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hi all

Posted by: Ciampino - Insist on legislation to fix that loophole at August 06, 2022 01:34 PM (qfLjt)

2 Hi, Ciampino!

Posted by: KT at August 06, 2022 01:35 PM (rrtZS)

3 Technical difficulties today. My fault.

Posted by: KT at August 06, 2022 01:36 PM (rrtZS)

4 Podium at least
Good afternoon Greenthumbs
Not much for tomatoes but swamped in yellow squash. Wife pickled some, I have been frying it.
Finally 1 ripe Anaheim but grill needs gas so no roasting it

Posted by: Skip's phone at August 06, 2022 01:37 PM (IAr9f)

5 Gardens going well... neighbors all lock their doors and close their blinds when they see me coming in fear that I bring zucchini....

Posted by: It's me donna at August 06, 2022 01:38 PM (bs+z0)

6 Próximo Chorizo is only a phone call away.

Posted by: Holy Crap at August 06, 2022 01:39 PM (glGDV)

7 In fact thinking of pulling 2 squash plants as they take over everything in garden

Posted by: Skip's phone at August 06, 2022 01:40 PM (IAr9f)

8
Local News
Goat army joins Castle Rock fire mitigation efforts

the goats eat brush that would otherwise be a fire hazard
Also: Colorado has goat armies

Posted by: DB at August 06, 2022 01:41 PM (geLO8)

9 The ball of pine branches looks like it is a "witch's broom" - a mutation that forms on a tree with a different growth pattern from the rest of the tree. It's one way new varieties of trees are developed. Growers will take cuttings from it and grow them on to see if they develop into desirable trees or shrubs.

Posted by: Mr. Bultitude at August 06, 2022 01:41 PM (aXVIl)

10 are those Black-eyed Susans up there? My home state flower

Posted by: DB at August 06, 2022 01:42 PM (geLO8)

11 Hi KT. We have sunny weather here in S. IL
No rain predicted til Monday.

Posted by: Ciampino - earth at August 06, 2022 01:42 PM (qfLjt)

12 What's a tortoise?

Posted by: Leon Kowalski at August 06, 2022 01:42 PM (xhaym)

13 {3}Technical difficulties today. My fault.

Posted by: KT at August 06, 2022 01:36 PM (rrtZS)

It's Saturday, don't sweat it, but thank you for conquering whatever gremlins were preventing you from posting.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at August 06, 2022 01:42 PM (nRMeC)

14 >What's a tortoise?

it's different from a turtle

Posted by: DB at August 06, 2022 01:43 PM (geLO8)

15 Mr. Bultitude at August 06, 2022 01:41 PM

Interesting. There are other things that are called "witch's broom", too. Things that are not so nice. Parasitic plants and such.

Posted by: KT at August 06, 2022 01:44 PM (rrtZS)

16 It's a Tribble.

Posted by: Eromero at August 06, 2022 01:45 PM (gktX6)

17 Lots of weeds growing right now in the yard. Another week or so of monsoon storms and then it's time to break out the propane torch.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - moronhorde.com - Email for morons. at August 06, 2022 01:46 PM (Bd6X8)

18 that tree branch growth is called a witches' broom, and it is a deformity, generally it forestry you just cut the tree next harvest.
Something gets the tree to sprout a lot of tiny branches together and they all grow instead of shading each other out.
It can be caused on Douglas Fir by dwarf mistletoe and that is about as far as I know.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 06, 2022 01:46 PM (xhaym)

19 Our garden has peaked. One of the tomato plants is producing plenty of tomatoes but they're all cracked due to the heat and rains. One other plant has nothing on it but green tomatoes and the cherry tomatoes are gangbusters.

We're going to try to dehydrate a couple racks of those over night.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 06, 2022 01:50 PM (BFigT)

20 My pole beans are starting to put out beans, and I have enough to start eating them for dinner.
The peppers are going great guns but are not spicy yet - I planted 8 peppers to see what grew best. Apparently all of them.

I have flowers on all my tomato plants, and one slightly pink tomato that split when I watered heavily without thinking (damn) and my melons are starting to flower.

I transplanted a couple of rows of Napa cabbage from two very crowded rows that I didn't get thinned timely enough, and they survived even with this hot weather. My next task is to dig up my old green onions, the first row of my early planted potatoes, and then put in cabbage for the fall

Posted by: Kindltot at August 06, 2022 01:51 PM (xhaym)

21 PSA

CSPAN, now - The Frontline Prescription, Ronny Jackson, Rich McCormick, Joseph Humire
https://bit.ly/3vLh4zp

Posted by: Braenyard at August 06, 2022 01:55 PM (woO3w)

22 I have a lot of squash growing now, but they are volunteers so the all look like "some sort of zucchini" except for one plant that looks like "some sort of pumpkin shaped zucchini"

Zucchini can be diced and dried, and it turns out slightly sweet smelling, and almost completely tasteless. When cooked in stews it has the texture of mushrooms with the flavor of whatever you cooked it with. +10 as a filler.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 06, 2022 01:55 PM (xhaym)

23 You garden looks great, Paula!

Posted by: 40 Miles North at August 06, 2022 01:57 PM (uWF4x)

24 >What's a tortoise?

Tortoise lives on land. Turtle lives in water. Terrapin lives in both.

Posted by: 40 Miles North at August 06, 2022 01:59 PM (uWF4x)

25 Good coneflower pic, I grow some too. Scientific name, Echinacea; amazing plant. It apparently has some natural antibiotic qualities, and it also appears to be able to reduce inflammation. Not bad for a pretty garden flower.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 06, 2022 01:59 PM (r46W7)

26 Harvested a total of five (5) green beans. Gardens have been very unhappy in the area this year. Even the zucchini has been tame! I will blame the weird weather patterns in spring and not my brown thumb.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at August 06, 2022 02:00 PM (P+D9B)

27 I have no idea what dilly beans are.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 06, 2022 02:00 PM (r46W7)

28 The "ball of pine" is what we call a Witch's Broom.

NCSU developed a dwarf Loblolly Pine from one.

Don't know why, but they did.

Posted by: Golfman at August 06, 2022 02:04 PM (IjimJ)

29 hiya

Posted by: JT at August 06, 2022 02:05 PM (T4tVD)

30 "What's a tortoise?"

$20K. Same as in DC.

Posted by: Mitch at August 06, 2022 02:10 PM (sn5EN)

31 Tortoise lives on land. Turtle lives in water. Terrapin lives in both.
___________

Terrapins are native to Maryland.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 06, 2022 02:12 PM (BFigT)

32 KT, Thanks for the thread. The veggie garden, except for the herbs, wasn't very good this year. Maybe that's why it is called gardening, not growing. The crepe myrtle is doing its usual fashionably late arrival. But it loaded with buds that are close to blooming and August is the usual time. Last one in the neighborhood.

Posted by: JTB at August 06, 2022 02:12 PM (7EjX1)

33 I'm now inZona. Starting a new life out here by Tucson. Does that count as an adventure?

Lots of unpacking. Does that count as puttering?

Posted by: InCali at August 06, 2022 02:15 PM (ep37o)

34 The photos in the thread are always great but that one of the tortoise is fantastic. It would be interesting to try a pencil sketch of it and capture all the variations in the shell and grades of shading.

Posted by: JTB at August 06, 2022 02:19 PM (7EjX1)

35 Gardening. I watered the stray hollyhock, I haven't been keeping the 'flower garden' watered well enough. The HHs are surviving but definitely not flourishing. Putting. I let the horses out. Now I need to suck it up and take down some old fencing in a dry lot that used to be spit into 3 pens. Gates and other sections of fence were removed in the past. This section had been left but it has become a bit of an injury hazard so it has to go.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at August 06, 2022 02:20 PM (3cGpq)

36 Rudibeckia, purple cone flower and Shasta daisies do pretty well here in the heat of the summer. My gladiolas, torch lilies and crocosmia are busting out.

So is that MF'n puncture vine.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at August 06, 2022 02:20 PM (ikkIg)

37 34 The photos in the thread are always great but that one of the tortoise is fantastic. It would be interesting to try a pencil sketch of it and capture all the variations in the shell and grades of shading.
Posted by: JTB at August 06, 2022 02:19 PM (7EjX1)

hmm, I wonder what color one would say a tortoise shell is...

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 06, 2022 02:22 PM (r46W7)

38 KT, I have a cool picture, hope to get it to you this coming week.

Posted by: Eromero at August 06, 2022 02:22 PM (gktX6)

39 The Black-Eye-Susan's are loving the heat here. They were a bit slow earlier in the summer, then we had days on end with rain.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 06, 2022 02:25 PM (BFigT)

40 I'm now inZona. Starting a new life out here by Tucson. Does that count as an adventure?

Lots of unpacking. Does that count as puttering?

Welcome to Arizona!

Posted by: Blanco Basura - moronhorde.com - Email for morons. at August 06, 2022 02:25 PM (Bd6X8)

41 I get paid over $85 per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. I never thought I'd be able to do it but my best friend earns over 10k a month doing this and she convinced me to try. The potential with this is endless.
Here's what I've been doing... http://www.salarycash1.com

Posted by: Sarah at August 06, 2022 02:29 PM (S+WjR)

42 So does "adventure" include riding the Newark subway?

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 06, 2022 02:31 PM (EZebt)

43 Thanks for the Witch’s Broom nomenclature. My best guess is a nest and retained
‘Fertilizer’ started the process.

Posted by: epador at August 06, 2022 02:31 PM (ns4uC)

44 I've never had pickled beets but I love beets and pickles and I would like to try.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 06, 2022 02:32 PM (EZebt)

45 37 ... Tom Servo,
I wondered about how to achieve those subtle colors on the tortoise shell. A medium brown mixed with different amounts of black? Perhaps some dark green thrown in? And no idea how to achieve the lighter reddish areas. Someone with talent and knowledge might know, which isn't me.

That's why I thought of pencil instead of paint. I've learned with my attempts at pencil drawing that erasers are my friend.

Posted by: JTB at August 06, 2022 02:33 PM (7EjX1)

46 looks like it could be mistletoe, we get it alot here on the lodgepole pines.

Posted by: robert kendall at August 06, 2022 02:36 PM (PyQ5T)

47 Nicest Wally World parking lot ever, it has landscaping and stuff. The one in the 'nice' Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie has high tension power lines going through it. Suffice to say the posh-boy locals shopped elsewhere.

Posted by: CppThis at August 06, 2022 02:37 PM (UewuT)

48 This has been a strange summer for weather. We usually have dry periods by now but the rain has been quite regular, often stormy. Haven't had to hook up the hose even once this season.

Posted by: JTB at August 06, 2022 02:38 PM (7EjX1)

49 Eh, to be fair the Walmart in Knoxville's upscale Turkey Creek shopping district is also more than just a sea of asphalt; it's one of the newer/nicer stores and is decent.

Posted by: CppThis at August 06, 2022 02:39 PM (UewuT)

50 I picked up some exceptional mustard from the Puckerbutt Pepper Company. It's made with Carolina Reapers and it is hot!

Mustard is wonderful and should be celebrated.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at August 06, 2022 02:41 PM (WHt4f)

51 I'm guessing a type of Witches' Broom:

https://tinyurl.com/43dry2ux

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 06, 2022 02:44 PM (id1Da)

52 Sarah what's in your garden is what we want to know?

Posted by: Skip's phone at August 06, 2022 02:48 PM (IAr9f)

53 I picked up some exceptional mustard from the Puckerbutt Pepper Company. It's made with Carolina Reapers and it is hot!

The Puckerbutt Pepper Company.....

Posted by: JT at August 06, 2022 02:50 PM (T4tVD)

54 This ball of pine branches has been slowly growing for several decades, has been home to many different birds from hummers to quail. Never seen anything like it before.
Epador
And Mr. Bultitude. Prezactly. there was a Scotch pine growing just north of the main entrance of Loose Park in Kansas City that had a mugo pine growing in it.
Many of our weird varieties are genetic sports.

Posted by: MkY at August 06, 2022 02:55 PM (cPGH3)

55 >>>The Puckerbutt Pepper Company.....

Posted by: JT

>Yes I'm kind of mustard fanatic. I probably have at least four different flavors of mustard in my frig at all times.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at August 06, 2022 02:57 PM (WHt4f)

56 I'm impressed that lady from Minneapolis is growing... well, anything this year. We've had very little rainfall this summer. Lawns all around me are dead. We had some rain today, and hopefully will be getting more, plus additional storms predicted for next week. So hopefully the dry spell is at an end.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at August 06, 2022 02:58 PM (RFKzk)

57 And a question for the hoarde... is there a good variety of green bean that comes true to seed?

Posted by: MkY at August 06, 2022 03:03 PM (cPGH3)

58 horde?

Posted by: MkY at August 06, 2022 03:03 PM (cPGH3)

59 My damson plum tree is showing signs of stress. The main trunk near the ground is rotting in the center, but the trunk on either side is still sound, so every year it survives, but I think its days are numbered. One sign is that it's putting up suckers coming up out of the ground from the roots several feet from the trunk. In the past I've just pulled these up, but now I'm thinking of the future, and wondering if I can uproot these suckers and breed a new tree from them. I dug up 5, severed them from the original tree root and placed them in pots. Two appear to be surviving, but it's dicey - they're very wilted with brown leaves, but some leaves still look green and alive. I only need one to make it, but this is harder than it sounds. I also left one sucker still growing in the ground, a few feet from the original tree. If all my breeding attempts fail, maybe the sucker can grow to maturity and become a replacement tree.

Posted by: Dr. Mabusette at August 06, 2022 03:05 PM (rEXI5)

60 InCali, I too welcome you to Arizona! Gardening is a little harder than in California but I am sure you will get the hang of it!

Posted by: WeeKreekFarmGirl at August 06, 2022 03:05 PM (iplQb)

61 I've never had pickled beets but I love beets and pickles and I would like to try.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 06, 2022 02:32 PM (EZebt)

Whoa!!!

Posted by: Golfman at August 06, 2022 03:05 PM (uO/LJ)

62 Any of the heirloom should breed true, but they will crossbreed with any other beans within bee-flight.

Has anyone looked up landrace gardening? It is a way to get true breeding veggies that are bred specifically for your area. It is generally planting a lot of varieties close together, saving the seeds, planting them the following year and seeing which ones grow best and taste best. Save those and keep going for continuing generations to make sure you are raising the best for you and what you like.

You do have to plant a lot because the seeds tend to get overbred when the genetic pool is too small.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 06, 2022 03:06 PM (xhaym)

63
After two bouts of Lyme disease I purchased an outdoor 'solar' shower. It has a lower nozzle for filling watering cans and the like with cold water. The upper nozzle is for showering and rinsing any ticks away. I have about 150 feet of garden hose, wrapped into a neat bundle that sits on the walkway and preheats the shower from about 10 am to 4 pm. The shower is adjustable from about 90 degrees to more than 160 degrees. I probably get about six months of use out of it here in Pennsylvania. I would highly recommend to the gardening types with ticks around. I've had it for three years now and while the initial cost was in the one hundred dollar range, it's been well worth it, as it seems built to last.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at August 06, 2022 03:08 PM (jE276)

64 I would be inclined to try Blue Lake Pole Bean from Territorial. It's the variety grown for canneries in the Willamette Valley. I tend to grow Kentucky Wonders though.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 06, 2022 03:08 PM (9WSy4)

65 We didn't put out maters til the third week of May. Soil temps weren't there. Then, the next week, we hit the upper nineties. Brutal.
We are just now getting maters ripening. Last belly I cured and smoked was 3 months ago. I loaded up today. Thank you, Costco. Bellies went from $3.49/# to $4.29/S#.
That's pretty good. Bellies are thinner by far, and wider by far, but they're bellies.

Posted by: MkY at August 06, 2022 03:09 PM (cPGH3)

66 Hot. Omaha is hot. No rain for the last week or so and none forecast in the next ten days. God, I love Omaha in August. But at least it's not South Jersey. I will be the first tio admit I could not survive another south Jersey summer. The heat is horrible, but the humidity is obscene.

Posted by: Captain Josepha Sabin -- I wasn't particularly fond of the '70s the first time around at August 06, 2022 03:10 PM (H31K8)

67 away. I have about 150 feet of garden hose, wrapped into a neat bundle that sits on the walkway and preheats the shower from about 10 am to 4 pm.
Posted by: Divide by Zero at August 06, 2022 03:08 PM (jE276)

Smart.

Posted by: Golfman at August 06, 2022 03:11 PM (uO/LJ)

68 Thanks for mentioning "American Eden," KT. My library doesn't have it in digital so I am thinking about buying it and would like to know if anyone has read it. I'm starting to cultivate (ha!) an interest in learning more about medicinal uses of plants in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Gardening-wise, nothing. In central Texas we have had extreme heat and drought all summer so almost everything is dead or sickly. At least we haven't had to mow the yard for a many weeks!

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at August 06, 2022 03:11 PM (fTtFy)

69 I've never had pickled beets but I love beets and pickles and I would like to try.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 06, 2022 02:32 PM (EZebt)

A friend (Greek, of course) owns a restaurant and adds cloves to his. Best beets ever.

Posted by: Golfman at August 06, 2022 03:13 PM (uO/LJ)

70 Dr. Mabusette, you can also let the suckers grow and try grafting on wood from your main plum. There is a lot of information on Yootuub that discusses how to graft, and that information is pretty good.
I had a lot of failures because I kept thinking I didn't need instructions, how difficult could it be?

I now have a lot of successes because I figured out that instructions have value.
The nice thing is that the grafted wood could be giving you fruit within three years.

i am doing this with my favorite yellow plum that is having issues. I grafted some wood onto a volunteer that got big in the middle of the berry thicket on the fenceline, and onto another sucker that is coming up from near the trunk.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 06, 2022 03:13 PM (xhaym)

71 From Boise area: Corn crop is indeed a complete loss. Hope green beans do well, otherwise there won't be much in the chest freezer this year. Well, other than zucchini, which is the only harvest right now - we have both green and yellow ones, and I shred/freeze those in 2 cup portions. Those become zatkes or zucchini bread - fresh ones become zoodles. (Squash bugs become squished bugs!)

We did pick a cabbage today, and have to eat it before the other of the same age decides to split.

This week, mostly puttering. Hired a guy to gas the burrowing critters. Husband's trying to kill lawn grubs and such. I'm working on compost shifting, finished 4 of 6 bins. I also spent time under the old apple tree, pulling out nightshade/weeds and cutting down suckers. Husband cut some branches off a dying maple and I hauled them to our burn pile - still need to drop the tree.

My faithful Johnny Jump-Ups are at their low ebb; many are brown and dead, but a small number in shade soldier on.

Posted by: Pat* at August 06, 2022 03:14 PM (2pX/F)

72 The photo of the Rudbeckias would make a fantastic oil painting to hang. I may have to add that to my list.

Posted by: Italian roc Ingersol at August 06, 2022 03:15 PM (V4q4k)

73 Off wop sock

Posted by: Italian roc Ingersol at August 06, 2022 03:16 PM (V4q4k)

74 I am off to a wedding.

Personally I don't like blue lake beans, because I worked in canneries for too many years canning them commercially.
I adore Kentucky Wonders though, they have a good flavor.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 06, 2022 03:16 PM (xhaym)

75 Damn

Posted by: roc Ingersol at August 06, 2022 03:17 PM (V4q4k)

76 > Posted by: Divide by Zero
____________

I had about 100 feet of underground sprinkler line, the black flexible stuff. I painted a 4X8 sheet of plywood black and then mounted the hose in a radiator pattern on it. Put it in the sun next to the pool, hooked up a pump to circulate water through it. Instant heated pool. Sort of.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 06, 2022 03:19 PM (BFigT)

77 BTW. Getting ready to mow the garden. Maybe 30 tomatoes and 8 squash.

Weed crop was outstanding.

Total fail. Dry then hot. Not a good combination.

Posted by: Golfman at August 06, 2022 03:20 PM (uO/LJ)

78 Kindltot - how would the grafting work? Would I take a branch from the existing tree, graft it on to the sucker and then dig the whole thing up? Or would it develop its own separate root system? I'm thinking a new young tree, developed from a sucker one way or another, should be moved to some new place where it won't be competing for sun and nutrients with the old tree.

Posted by: Dr. Mabusette at August 06, 2022 03:21 PM (rEXI5)

79 Sitting in Dallas airport, over 2 hours before my connecting flight.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 06, 2022 03:22 PM (qEscH)

80 Pickled beets have a very intense flavor that is both earthy and pickle-y. Once you've had them it's a craving, for some. Auntie Vonnie's are very popular in the Jewish community of St. Louis Park, for some reason. She thinks it's because she uses less sugar.

Dilly beans are just green beans, pickled. She throws in a clove of garlic, a dill blossom and a small pepper for a bit of heat. Allow three weeks before sampling. They should retain a bit of snap, and it's really easy to gobble a whole jar without noticing.

Posted by: Gordon Scott at August 06, 2022 03:24 PM (vICW1)

81 Posted by: Dr. Mabusette at August 06, 2022 03:21 PM (rEXI5)

Many Bradford pears trees are grafted to Pyracantha root stock. I have seen many Pyracantha spouting from the base of a Bradford Pear.

Posted by: Golfman at August 06, 2022 03:24 PM (uO/LJ)

82

I'll apologize in advance for being a big dummy.

I was give some tomatoes and want to make fresh bloody mary mix. Do I have to cook the tomatoes or can I just blend and strain?

Thank you.

Posted by: Ima Idjit at August 06, 2022 03:27 PM (7DYli)

83 I just planted two snowfall bushes in my large concrete planters . Hopefully they will eventually take root in this heat before they die. I will be sure to keep them watered until they take root. Possible waste of $50.

Posted by: roc Ingersol at August 06, 2022 03:29 PM (V4q4k)

84 ima idjit, if you quarter and roast the tomatoes with some onion and garlic and basil, for an hour or so, and then strain out the vegetables, you have a very nice tomato juice. Add a spicy pepper to the mix above, and now you have really good tomato juice, needing just a bit of salt for perfection. You can can this juice easily.

Oh, and the stuff you strained out, if you run it through a blender or tomato processor, you get marinara.

Posted by: Gordon Scott at August 06, 2022 03:37 PM (vICW1)

85 Posted by: Ima Idjit at August 06, 2022 03:27 PM (7DYli)

Cook them for about 25 minutes and strain. I'm sure there are multiple different recipes on the intertubes,

Posted by: roc Ingersol at August 06, 2022 03:39 PM (V4q4k)

86 pets are up!

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at August 06, 2022 03:42 PM (llON8)

87 >>>I was give some tomatoes and want to make fresh bloody mary mix. Do I have to cook the tomatoes or can I just blend and strain?

>Like making a good salsa, I would blanch them, peel them, and strip out the seeds before making a sauce or mix. Also this gives you the opportunity to spice up your mix.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at August 06, 2022 03:45 PM (WHt4f)

88 I wondered about how to achieve those subtle colors on the tortoise shell. A medium brown mixed with different amounts of black? Perhaps some dark green thrown in? And no idea how to achieve the lighter reddish areas. Someone with talent and knowledge might know, which isn't me.

That's why I thought of pencil instead of paint. I've learned with my attempts at pencil drawing that erasers are my friend.
Posted by: JTB at August 06, 2022 02:33 PM (7EjX1)

Well the cat named for the shell does it by having small areas of orange and black mottling and then the overlaying of the hairs gives the effect. You might be able to get the effect with a paint like watercolors

Posted by: Oldcat at August 06, 2022 04:04 PM (eoQWY)

89 Kindltot - how would the grafting work? Would I take a branch from the existing tree, graft it on to the sucker and then dig the whole thing up? Or would it develop its own separate root system? I'm thinking a new young tree, developed from a sucker one way or another, should be moved to some new place where it won't be competing for sun and nutrients with the old tree.
Posted by: Dr. Mabusette at August 06, 2022 03:21 PM (rEXI5)

Not sure where the digging comes in for grafting. For fruits, you stick the alien branch into a tree and then if it takes, the original tree feeds the other plant's branch and it grows from there.

Posted by: Oldcat at August 06, 2022 04:07 PM (eoQWY)

90 roc Ingersol at August 06, 2022 03:29 PM

Do you mean "snowball bushes"? If they look like they are stressed, you might try removing some of the foliage. Or draping some shade over them.

Posted by: KT at August 06, 2022 04:22 PM (rrtZS)

91 Sons of the San Joaquin: On the night of my father's death as he faded in and of consciousness, I played the Sons' version of "Lead Me Gently Home Father" as my sister and I held his hands.

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at August 06, 2022 04:38 PM (d9Cw3)

92 Now I’m gonna try and root from the Witch’s Broom and see what we get. The trees are pretty old for the species and area. Of the original 7 planted in early 80’s there are 4 left. Losses due to irrigation failures when away from home. This is the Mohave Desert after all, only able to get away with them here as we’re at about 1800 feet. The neighbors hate the needles, but the trees were here before their houses, and they chose to move in anyways.

Posted by: epador at August 06, 2022 04:43 PM (ns4uC)

93 Thanks for the photo of the pine branch. We have seen several here in Phoenix parks high up inside pine trees and wondered what those were. Must be excellent nests for owls and such.

Posted by: Son of Dad at August 06, 2022 05:44 PM (Eus9b)

94 There are a lot of Phoenix-area gardeners here. Besides WeeKreekFarmGirl, AZ Deplorable, and now Son of Dad, who else? Should we have a gardening meetup?

Posted by: Gordon Scott at August 06, 2022 06:48 PM (lcTpO)

95 Buck Throckmorton at August 06, 2022 04:38 PM

"Sons of the San Joaquin: On the night of my father's death as he faded in and of consciousness, I played the Sons' version of "Lead Me Gently Home Father" as my sister and I held his hands."

I am so touched by that. Sounds absolutely perfect.

Here is one with a related theme, for someone having a tough time:

https://tinyurl.com/yt8djzau

Posted by: KT at August 07, 2022 05:40 PM (rrtZS)

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