Saturday Gardening Thread: Firewater [KT]

Oregon Tiger Lily, Photographed by Kindltot

Well, we've got something pretty close to "fire" going on all over the southwest. "High pressure system", they call it. "Miserable" I call it. And some actual fires in a few places. One near my cousin's home. And there is a lot of water in the Southeast about now. Is everybody OK?

The closest thing I have had to actual "firewater" this week has been sedatives for a rather unpleasant medical procedure. And we are adjusting to someone who works a night shift moving into the house. I have not been well-organized, so don't expect much of a theme today. There are some garden news items today, though.

Kindltot on our lead photo today:

These are the Oregon Tiger Lily, Lilium Columbianum. Such a showy lily in the woods here, they prefer open forest and the edges of clearing s and pastures. They grow a good 5 feet tall in the woods
The bulbs are supposed to be edible when steamed, but who would want to do that when the flowers are so beautiful? You can get them from native flower nurseries around here. They are very productive and grow even taller when they are watered and fertilized

They sound like a great plant for those who have some room.

Gizmos

Mr. Bar-the-Door has been looking at tillers. Here's something a lot smaller: a prototype Roomba for your garden. Solar powered. You need to keep your plants taller than the weeds and put collars around the seedlings you want to keep. Some other people are working on weeding robots, too. Check around.

I don't think I'me neat enough in the garden for this gizmo to work for me. How about you?

On an unrelated note, inspired by the weather, when's the last time you changed your AC filter? Do you have an older neighbor who may need help?

Recipe Time

Remember that it is time to submit your recipes for the AoSHQ Recipe Book. One of the recipes I am submitting calls for peeled tomatoes. Some varieties of garden tomatoes peel easily (pulling skin against a paring knife) without any treatment if fully ripe. But many do not, even when perfectly ripe or even a little over-ripe.

There are several methods for peeling tomatoes. This is a basic blanch-and-peel method. Bonus: Seeding a tomato:

But if you will be cooking a big batch of tomatoes, this is faster. Really. Plus, you can feed the skins to the pigs!.

Plants in the News

A study finds that green space around schools helps kids think. Plants around the house help, too. But not as much. Probably because, you know, common spaces.

Kids running through bluebells

Climate scientists are not the only ones who hide data, apparently. Here, results of a glyphosate study were apprently hidden because they were not negative enough. Heh.

I can dream, can't I?

We haven't forgotten those with cooler, shadier yards. Looking for something fragrant to go with your fragrant hostas?

Polemonium caeruleum 'Bressingham Purple' - Polemonium 'Bressingham Purple' is a Jacob's ladder with purple foliage and purple flowers that smell like grape Hubba Bubba bubblegum!

Jacob's Ladder 'Bressingham Purple'

The plant above is rated for hardiness zones 4 - 9. You can see a photo of a variegated Jacob's Ladder in this post. Even though the flowers are similar, the plants give very different effects.

Gardens of The Horde

Trying to keep plants alive in the heat. Weeding some. Anything going on where you are?

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 be a lurker.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 12:24 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good afternoon greentumbs

Posted by: Skip at June 24, 2017 12:20 PM (Ot7+c)

2 I don't think that Garden Roomba would work very well on some kinds of grass.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 12:21 PM (BVQ+1)

3 Hi, Skip. I gotta leave for a while. Nice to see you here.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 12:22 PM (BVQ+1)

4 The latest consensus among climate scientists (not politicians) is that there is no global warming.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at June 24, 2017 12:23 PM (mpXpK)

5 Things are going well, have some green/wax bean sprouts going, the onions ( 2 plants) rescued from compost are getting very big. Have first cucumber flower and a few peppers starting.
Had lots of rain but also good sun in last couple weeks.

Posted by: Skip at June 24, 2017 12:23 PM (Ot7+c)

6 And we are supposed to get thunder-boomers this afternoon.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at June 24, 2017 12:24 PM (mpXpK)

7 Kids running through bluebells. Must be TX.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at June 24, 2017 12:24 PM (mpXpK)

8 I went to a fancy-shmancy garden center last weekend and I'm pretty sure I saw a Bressingham Purple. I didn't know it was fragrant or I would have gotten one.

Posted by: Emmie at June 24, 2017 12:27 PM (ZapPq)

9 We had heavy rain last night, some plants got beat down a bit so need to go tie them up. Still getting water in basement that I'm going down to shop vac up every couple of hours.

Posted by: Skip at June 24, 2017 12:28 PM (Ot7+c)

10 >>>Kids running through bluebells

FFS. If they trample her to death, she'll never finish the cookbook.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at June 24, 2017 12:31 PM (xAvrH)

11 We had a few tiger lilies when I was a kid. They looked exactly like that. Bright orange with black spots.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at June 24, 2017 12:33 PM (xAvrH)

12 I have some African daisies that were supposed to have wilted in the Midwest summer heat, but they're doing surprisingly well so far. Better than my geraniums, oddly enough. I give them a good watering every evening. I've heard it's better to water in the morning but I never have time before work.

Posted by: Aunt Luna at June 24, 2017 12:38 PM (Zd2ZF)

13
Round up is bad man. F's up the food chain. First the worms eat it, then the birds, then we eat the birds, then the sharks eat us when we try to go in the ocean to escape global warming. Where will it end?

Posted by: Leftist 'F' Student at June 24, 2017 12:39 PM (PduNE)

14 Kids running through bluebells. Must be TX.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at June 24, 2017 12:24 PM (mpXpK)
-----------

Or Virginia! Love the picture.

KT, I'm glad to hear you're submitting something for our cookbook!

Posted by: bluebell - if your recipe's a hit, you must submit! at June 24, 2017 12:47 PM (sBOL1)

15 Finally got a recipe submitted bluebell!

Posted by: DeplorableJewells45 at June 24, 2017 12:48 PM (CNHr1)

16 KT, Hope you are doing better and thanks for the thread. Those photos are wonderful. The little girls running through the stand of bluebells are adorable and the tiger lily at the top makes me wish I could do botanical illustration.

Posted by: JTB at June 24, 2017 12:49 PM (V+03K)

17 And I do pretty much the same thing as the video lady as far as peeling tomatoes, but I don't freeze them first. Also, I don't have tattoos.

But it really is a good method if you have a lot of tomatoes to peel. Tattoos optional.

Posted by: bluebell - if your recipe's a hit, you must submit! at June 24, 2017 12:49 PM (sBOL1)

18 My corn is taking off. We had a week and a half of cloudy, cool weather and the garden did little during that, but once we started getting the hot weather, everything started popping up.
When the corn seedlings are little they grow little drops of water from transpiration when the night starts to cool down, when they are watered enough. That is my gauge for when I need to re-water.

I like to water and weed in the morning, it is a nice way to start the day. I water with buckets with about a 3/16 " hole in the bottom, so I can fill a bunch, hoe while they are draining and then move them to new plants and repeat.

this is the time of year I try to keep the weed seeds sprouting in the garden by raking the dirt with a garden rake. That keeps the weeds down, and it also makes a crumbly surface that insulates the lower down layers from drying out, especially if you have clayey soil that likes to crack.

Each crack opens right down to the lower layers that are still moist, and allows air in to evaporate the moisture directly. The crumbly layer of dry soil acts as a blanket of sorts to keep the dry air from the moist dirt.

Posted by: Kindltot at June 24, 2017 12:50 PM (mkDpn)

19 Yay, Jewells! And I hope your sales go well today.

Posted by: bluebell - if your recipe's a hit, you must submit! at June 24, 2017 12:50 PM (sBOL1)

20 I'm getting concerned. Our tomato plants are doing great and plenty of green fruits. Best our plants have looked in some time. It's got me wondering what natural disaster is around the corner to take them out: locusts, tornado/sharknado, earthquake, glaciers, or all of them.

Why no, I'm not paranoid. Why do you ask?

Posted by: JTB at June 24, 2017 12:58 PM (V+03K)

21 A lot of Target garden stuff went on clearance this week. I was looking at a bow rake by Fiskars. This is the kind of rake you use to level dirt and rake out rocks. The head is aluminum, the handle sturdy plastic. It is very light. Normally I never hesitate over any Fiskars tool--those Finns make great stuff, often innovative. But that aluminum head worries me. Too soft, I fear. Does anyone have experience with this?

Posted by: Gordon at June 24, 2017 01:02 PM (CzG+m)

22 Gonna be HOT this weekend, close to 100*.

To do today:

Make big ol' batch of tea

Water our container garden

Pot-up the now rooted yellow cherry tomato (piece that broke off last weekend)

Hose off the deck

Wash truck

Wash the dog! (oh, man-- she reeeeaaallly needs it)

Kick back in the shade with iced tea.

Posted by: JQ Flyover at June 24, 2017 01:02 PM (5muuD)

23 Don't forget the mater badgers, JTB. They're vicious and voracious.

Posted by: Gordon at June 24, 2017 01:04 PM (CzG+m)

24 Thanks for the recipe book plug, KT!

That's a bunch of bluebells!

Posted by: Weasel at June 24, 2017 01:05 PM (Sfs6o)

25 Oh, and bluebell, before you ask; grilled ham, cheese and tomato sammich with a bowl of vegetable soup.

Posted by: Weasel at June 24, 2017 01:07 PM (Sfs6o)

26 We finally got rid of the wisteria that was sheltering what seemed to be most of the rodents in the area. The traps had done their work but not enough. The wisteria had been planted inside a small dog enclosure over thirty years ago and had grown through the chain link and around the bottom, basically welding it all together. I was smart for once and hired a landscaper to remove the whole magilla. It took a three man crew of healthy, strong young men about seven hours to get rid of it all. It would have taken me several years. We'll miss the spring blossoms but it will be easier to maintain the yard. I'll put up a hummingbird feeder and check for plants to put in that they like so we don't lose those little winged jewels.

Posted by: JTB at June 24, 2017 01:18 PM (V+03K)

27 Skip at June 24, 2017 12:23 PM

Glad things are going better in the garden!

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:24 PM (BVQ+1)

28 Ugh - mulching today. The professionals wanted $2000 to do it.

Ummmm. . . . No.

Posted by: Tonypete at June 24, 2017 01:27 PM (tr2D7)

29 23 ..."Don't forget the mater badgers, JTB. They're vicious and voracious."

Gordon, That's what the 12 gauge is for. I use slugs so I don't damage too many tomatoes. :-)

Posted by: JTB at June 24, 2017 01:27 PM (V+03K)

30 bluebell - if your recipe's a hit, you must submit! at June 24, 2017 12:49 PM

About the video lady and tattoos: I would have felt kinda intimidated by her if it hadn't been for the little finger kiss at the end of the video.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:29 PM (BVQ+1)

31 Skip at June 24, 2017 12:28 PM

Sorry about the water issues. I hate water in the basement, especially.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:32 PM (BVQ+1)

32 Our elite Simpson leaf lettuce is doing great despite the heat but the spinach is starting to fade. Think I'll gather all the spinach for a Florentine style topping I love. When the weather starts to cool down in a few months I hope to try an autumn crop of the spinach and other greens. The idea of garden fresh salad in November sounds delicious.

Posted by: JTB at June 24, 2017 01:32 PM (V+03K)

33 Thanks bluebell! I hope so too.

Posted by: DeplorableJewells45 at June 24, 2017 01:32 PM (CNHr1)

34 JTB at June 24, 2017 12:49 PM

Interesting observation. That photo would, indeed, make a nice botanical drawing. We have a lurker who does those, I think.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:34 PM (BVQ+1)

35 Kindltot at June 24, 2017 12:50 PM

My Dad taught us to do a dry-layer mulch like that with a swan-neck how that was shaped like a crescent moon. Never seen another like it. Sharp on all edges, glided just under the surface of the soil.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:39 PM (BVQ+1)

36 One cucumber has some blossoms, some tomatoes have blossoms, but the leaves are curling. Maybe the heat or a disease. Wife says they are champions.

Posted by: Ronster at June 24, 2017 01:40 PM (CDUSe)

37 JTB at June 24, 2017 01:18 PM

Wow. What a project. Are you thinking about putting in an annual for this year? Sparkler Clemoe? Purple Wave Petunia? Quartz Burgundy Verbena?

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:46 PM (BVQ+1)

38 hey y'all

I picked my first squash yesterday. My plants from Burpee seeds are doing great, whereas my southern seed exposure squash have fungus. They are loaded with blossoms, but are not producing fruit.

There must be something to those hybridization/GMO things, huh?

Posted by: moki at June 24, 2017 01:49 PM (V+V48)

39 37 ... KT, We'll probably just go with a hummingbird feeder this year. (The latest Birds and Blooms magazine has an article about keeping the feeders free of pests.) We just adopted two very senior rescue dogs the other day and they are our main focus right now. More details in the pet thread.

Posted by: JTB at June 24, 2017 01:50 PM (V+03K)

40 Tonypete at June 24, 2017 01:27 PM

TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS To spread mulch? Would there be a film crew coming?

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:50 PM (BVQ+1)

41 Ronster at June 24, 2017 01:40 PM

Have you looked really close for spider mites?

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:51 PM (BVQ+1)

42 KT, Steve Solomon advocated getting one of those garden cultivators, big front wheel, two handles like a wheel-barrow, but cultivating plows to turn the rows over and doing clean-up between the plants with a hoe.

But that would require having rows and probably doing a larger garden than I have. I just make sure all the rows are wider than the head on my garden rake.

Also, have you seen all the types of hoes that are advertised on the internet? The mind simply boggles.

Posted by: Kindltot at June 24, 2017 01:51 PM (mkDpn)

43 moki at June 24, 2017 01:49 PM

There are a few squash varieties that are GMO, but I think regular old hybridization can reduce powdery mildew. This may explain why your Southern Exposure seeds have more fungus problems.

I know of only one open-pollinated zucchini that is supposed to be resistant to powdery mildew.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:55 PM (BVQ+1)

44 I planted 8 hills of taters from the organic reds that I didn't cook up before they got wrinkled and sprouted eyes. 7 came up and are looking great, on the verge of flowering already. I don't know why I planted them though, the extra watering is one more stress and duh I don't cook many taters, but maybe the neighbors will take some.

The hollyhocks that did nothing last year and putting on a pretty good display. I didn't get after the cheat grass yet and will have to cut off the heads soon or it will be crazy thick next year. Zucchinis are up. My 2 baby tree transplants that survived winter seem OK, more watering and wondering why I am working so hard to preserve/improve value of this place.

Posted by: PaleRider at June 24, 2017 01:57 PM (8qFZP)

45 Moki, when squash are under stress they pop a lot of male flowers. Generally the male flowers have a rod-like pistil (hehehe) and the female ones have a rounded or fist-shaped one. You can pick the male flowers off, that does no real harm.

If you have that grey powdery mildew, there is not much to do but plant new plants. I am told you could try to water in the morning so they dry in the full sun, and maybe fertilize in the hopes you can grow leaves faster than the mildew will clog them up.

Posted by: Kindltot at June 24, 2017 01:58 PM (mkDpn)

46 JTB at June 24, 2017 01:50 PM

The dogs sound like a project!

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:59 PM (BVQ+1)

47 I need to go dead head the roses and geraniums.

It has cooled off here tremendously.

My tomatoes look a little shocked from the heat, so does everything else really.

I've been trimming sucker growth off of trees. Never ending job.

Posted by: CaliGirl at June 24, 2017 02:00 PM (Ri/rl)

48 Kindltot at June 24, 2017 01:51 PM

Mr. Ber-the-Door has a row farmer mindset.

There are lots of kinds of hoes out there, for sure.

I really loved that little crescent hoe.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:00 PM (BVQ+1)

49 Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 01:51 PM (BVQ+1)

Not yet. Thanks for the tip.

Posted by: Ronster at June 24, 2017 02:03 PM (CDUSe)

50 Posted by: Kindltot at June 24, 2017 01:51 PM (mkDpn)

I watch our big tractors that do that. At the end of the field the implement turns over. I'm not sure of the name of that implement.

Posted by: CaliGirl at June 24, 2017 02:03 PM (Ri/rl)

51 PaleRider at June 24, 2017 01:57 PM

Sounds like a lot of work! Now that those potatoes have blossomed maybe you should dig up one plant and steam some! Maybe you'll change your mind about giving them away.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:04 PM (BVQ+1)

52 CaliGirl at June 24, 2017 02:00 PM

Glad to hear it has cooled off for you. It's cloudy here this morning. Hasn't broken 90 yet. Forecast is 101.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:06 PM (BVQ+1)

53 I have the land and have bought the seeds. What chemicals should I stockpile for the apocalypse?

Actually a real gardeners question what garden chemicals do you trust sprayed on stuff in the garden that you are going to eat? And conversely what chemicals would you never use.

Posted by: X-ray at June 24, 2017 02:07 PM (6hUAo)

54 Was thinking I might be digging a hole for our old dog today but the #@*@! vet clinic announced they don't have an opening until friday and we are leaving for a 5 day trip on thursday. I *should* give the benefit of doubt because I don't do hysteric hyperbole cuz would just be a puddle of tears so I didn't scream that it was an emergency but when you say your 12 year old giant breed dog will hardly eat and is dropping a lot of weight it should not have to be spelled out. Of course dad is way back on "maybe we need to buy some canned dog food to entice her appetite" when I've been giving her the years old pork butt roast I found in the freezer and cooked up. Sorry OT and whinging but I'm so tired of always having to be the strong one who sets aside sentiment to be compassionate.

Posted by: PaleRider at June 24, 2017 02:09 PM (8qFZP)

55 I just realized that something is getting to my sno peas. I haven't seen the culprit, but I suspect it's a squirrel or maybe a chipmunk. Whatever it has killed a couple of plants and taken one or two bites out of every pea pod.

Posted by: Weasel at June 24, 2017 02:15 PM (Sfs6o)

56 Sorry, PaleRider.

Wish you had an emergency vet clinic near you like the one near us. They are so good with situations like that. Maybe because they see a lot of desperate people with animals in really bad shape.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:16 PM (BVQ+1)

57 First time to the gardening thread- For so many years the grasshoppers ate everything so planting was out.

Last fall I out some pumpkins out for decoration and let them decompose. Well they started sprouting in the Spring . I now have a very large pumpkin patch in front of the barn.
I have harvested 6 very large pumpkins and 8 more ready to come off the vines shortly .

Any ideas on how to store them?

Posted by: Ben Had at June 24, 2017 02:17 PM (koJdH)

58 Weasel at June 24, 2017 02:15 PM

Noooo . . . Disaster has hit your crop! Just when it was going so nicely!

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:18 PM (BVQ+1)

59 Gone for 2 weeks and Bambi and it's mom have been in the flower beds. 1 rudbeckia completely gone and the others with major hair cuts. Also hit my asiatic lilies pretty hard.
Haven't been able to get to the veggie garden. Almost 3 inches of rain since we returned home, too wet to even try.
Looks like the heat has finished the peas.

Posted by: never enough caffeine at June 24, 2017 02:19 PM (N3JsI)

60 Crows selectively thinned the corn as it sprouted. They also took out an entire row of bush beans as they started to sprout (but left the pole beans?). Potatoes look great, Bind weed everywhere. Asparagus about done. Zero peaches set, a few plums set.

Posted by: stonecutter at June 24, 2017 02:20 PM (Bfr22)

61 Noooo . . . Disaster has hit your crop! Just when it was going so nicely!
Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:18 PM (BVQ+1)
---------
I know! Kind of a bummer on the heels of last summer's cherry tomato fiasco. Whatever it is hasn't found the cucumbers underneath the sno-pea trellis yet.

Posted by: Weasel at June 24, 2017 02:21 PM (Sfs6o)

62 Ben Had at June 24, 2017 02:17 PM

Welcome to the Garden Thread!

This is awfully early for pumpkins. "Cool and dry" are ideal storage conditions, but usually they are hardened off outdoors first if they will be stored indoors.

If they started out as decorative pumpkins, they may not have good eating quality, but you might try one in a month or so.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:21 PM (BVQ+1)

63 never enough caffeine at June 24, 2017 02:19 PM

Wow. Tought week.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:23 PM (BVQ+1)

64 Tiger Lily features prominently in Chinese dishes such as Hot and Sour Soup, or Mu Shih Pork. Representative Cooks.com search here:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,tiger_lily,FF.html

Posted by: Monty James at June 24, 2017 02:23 PM (p9IYq)

65 First, thanks for all the squash tips- I will try them all!

Second, Palerider, what breed of dog do you have? Is she drinking water and urinating? Does the stomach feel full or distended? If you even have a smidgen of thought that it could be bloat, that's a full blown emergency, and you can call the vet back and be as hysterical as you want. They should have an emergency vet number available, if they are unable to help you.

We just lost our lab to a stroke a couple of weeks ago, and we are still crying when it's obvious she is no longer with us.

Also, if you still have the pork roast left, I would not give her anymore. It could be bad (even frozen) and making her sick. Get the cheap chub of ground beef, cook it and mix it with rice and canned green beans, and feed her that in small portions (about a cup) three to four times a day.

And I will be praying for you through this.

Posted by: moki at June 24, 2017 02:24 PM (V+V48)

66 stonecutter at June 24, 2017 02:20 PM

Crows can be infuriating. Is is possible for you to cover seedlings for a while when they are young?

I hate bindweed.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:25 PM (BVQ+1)

67 Monty James at June 24, 2017 02:23 PM

Something I didn't know about tiger lilies!

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:26 PM (BVQ+1)

68 KT- Thanks. Yeah this is not pumpkin season by any stretch but I started watching them as a curiosity and the flowers were pretty. The ones I have harvested are in the feed room with airspace underneath. I did not take them off until they were of uniform color.

They were just the ordinary ones they sell in the grocery store.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 24, 2017 02:28 PM (koJdH)

69 57 ... Ben Had, If you have freezer space here is what I do with winter squash. I bake them the same way I would to eat, except leave out the butter and other seasoning. Scrape out the pulp and freeze individual portions in freezer bags. I have reheated some after 9 months and it was still delicious.

Posted by: JTB at June 24, 2017 02:32 PM (V+03K)

70 JBT- Thank you. I'll give that a try.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 24, 2017 02:37 PM (koJdH)

71 compost heap squash are always a mystery. Sometimes they cross with something tasty and sometimes they cross with something like loofa.

I dig a couple out and plant them in among my corn.

peeling and chopping them up to freeze is a good idea. You could also cook them down and puree them to freeze.
I used to can them, but that is a lot of hassle for something I don't much like. I used to make pies with a quart of puree, but I don't know anyone who like pumpkin pie, and I can't make a decent crust

Posted by: Kindltot at June 24, 2017 02:37 PM (mkDpn)

72 Oh, and a thought. It is supposed to be a treat to batter fry the squash blossoms. Supposedly you could also stuff them with cheese.

Posted by: Kindltot at June 24, 2017 02:40 PM (mkDpn)

73 Ben Had at June 24, 2017 02:37 PM

For your other pumpkins still on the vine, also make sure that the rind is tough enough that a fingernail doesn't penetrate easily. Leave part of the stem on when you harvest.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:41 PM (BVQ+1)

74 You can also stir fry squash and pumpkin blossoms with veggies. Easier than stuffing or batter frying. A good use for extra male blossoms.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:43 PM (BVQ+1)

75 Kindltot- I love pumpkin pie and found a recipe for pumpkin blossom soup.

As KT mentioned, how will I know if these are edible?

Posted by: Ben Had at June 24, 2017 02:43 PM (koJdH)

76 Ben Had at June 24, 2017 02:43 PM

They are all edible. But some squash and pumpkins don't have very good flavor and some are very stringy.

You might try cooking some of questionable quality like cushaw squashes: cut in cubes and fried with onions and garlic.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 03:05 PM (BVQ+1)

77 As KT mentioned, how will I know if these are edible?
Posted by: Ben Had at June 24, 2017 02:43 PM (koJdH)

taste them. If they are bitter or nasty don't eat them.

The original wild gourds had bitter alkaloids in them, and the 'gourd' types still do. They taste bitter and nasty because they are.
The chances are the volunteers you have are OK, as most growers grow standard types of edible squash, and those have been bred for being edible.

It is just that if you get a volunteer with a pumpkin seed, it probably was grown next to a field of other types of squash, so it may show characteristics of other types.

Posted by: Kindltot at June 24, 2017 03:07 PM (mkDpn)

78 Not sure where we are going with this but my uncle can make "pumpkin " pie with any kind of squash that is as long as its edible

Posted by: Skip at June 24, 2017 03:16 PM (Ot7+c)

79 The best pumpkin for pie I think is the sweet meat. They are battleship grey on the outside but inside they are orange, sweet and tasty.

Posted by: Kindltot at June 24, 2017 03:18 PM (mkDpn)

80 In our little square mile of northeast Ohio, we hadn't had any rain since before Memorial Day. After the rains stopped, the temperatures were in the eighhties to ninety - not good for new tender plants. We use a lot of straw chaff to mulch with which is a big help in several ways. We finally got over an inch of nice soaking rain yesterday.It had rained almost every day in May, so we got a late start on the vegetable garden.

Most of the veggies look good to fair so far, if a little small. I finally got the hoses laid out and would be watering today if it hadn't finally rained. I kept putting off the watering because the forecast was always calling for rain, and it did rain frequently just not on us. I watched the local radar often and could see the rain clouds head our way, and would watch them split and go just north or south, or would dissipate before reaching us.

This week's forecast calls for highs only in the low 70's to high 60's, with rain toward the end of the week. Go figure.

So here's hoping for some more normal weather for the rest of the season (if there is such a thing as normal.) Good luck to all you other
moronic gardeners!

Posted by: bergerbilder at June 24, 2017 03:25 PM (lIZQs)

81 My bindweed roots apparently grow through the earth and emerge in China where they cut the root tips off and call it asparagus.

Posted by: stonecutter at June 24, 2017 03:27 PM (Bfr22)

82 The most nasty, bitter tasting thing I ever tasted was a volunteer yellow zucchini. Imagine the bitter end of a late season cucumber, times 40. So that was a nice casserole that went straight into the trash.

Posted by: bergerbilder at June 24, 2017 03:47 PM (lIZQs)

83 Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 02:06 PM (BVQ+1)

I hope it cools off for you soon as well. It's still hot in Paso too. It cooled off to a more tolerable 80's here.

Posted by: CaliGirl at June 24, 2017 04:46 PM (Ri/rl)

84 I seeded a tomato but it seed me first and pulpated it lil cherry off.........

Posted by: saf at June 24, 2017 05:53 PM (cS/ge)

85 @80 Bilderberger: "I watched the local radar often and could see the rain clouds head our way, and would watch them split and go just north or south, or would dissipate before reaching us. "

Being a former Air Force weather guy, I can give you a very technical explanation of that "split" phenomenon. Imagine the radar beam is a flashlight beam. Aim it out into the dark. It lights up a tree to one side. Now the part of the radar that sucks up the signal that comes back after bouncing off the rain? It's not as smart as you are. You can see that the tree only covers part of the flashlight beam. But the radar will display as if the whole beam is seeing rain, even though only a little of the beam's width is actually bouncing off rain.

Of course, the further you get from the radar transmitter, the wider the beam gets. Mostly it's kind of fuzzy beyond about 120 miles.

So what looks like a solid line of rain coming toward the radar can break up into discrete individual storms as it gets closer.

Either that, or Nimbus, the rain god, decided you didn't need any rain for a while. He's like that, sometimes.

Posted by: Gordon at June 24, 2017 06:46 PM (dZfVU)

86 Skip at June 24, 2017 03:16 PM

The canned pumpkin people buy in the store is usually squash. Libby's has its preferred variety. Can't remember offhand what it is, but I've bought canned pumpkin that is lighter in color.

A lot of people recommend Butternut. And as Kindltot notes, Sweetmeat is a favorite for pumpkin pie in the Northwest.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 08:02 PM (BVQ+1)

87 bergerbilder at June 24, 2017 03:47 PM

I wonder if that bitterness was a doubling of genes from a wild parent of an F1 hybrid in the F2 generation? Sometimes some wild genes are inclused in the parent lines of hybrids to add disease resistance.

You get some awful weird stuff if you grow out seeds from hybrid specialty melons, too.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 08:06 PM (BVQ+1)

88 81
"My bindweed roots apparently grow through the earth and emerge in China where they cut the root tips off and call it asparagus."

Sounds totally plausible.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 08:08 PM (BVQ+1)

89 85
@80 "Bilderberger: "I watched the local radar often and could see the
rain clouds head our way, and would watch them split and go just north
or south, or would dissipate before reaching us. "

Being a former Air Force weather guy, I can give you a very technical explanation of that "split" phenomenon."

Fascinating. Happened to us a lot during the drought.

Posted by: KT at June 24, 2017 08:10 PM (BVQ+1)

90 Too tired to report. Idaho's Treasure Valley hosted a Revere's Riders (Tm or R or something) carbine event. Did lots of shooting of an AR-15 in 3 positions. Did well enough to earn a patch, completely shocking myself - especially since I had to do it with a borrowed rifle - and also since I was the only one of 6 students who managed it. Tomorrow I'll be even more tired, but I'll try to write something. (Weather here about normal, which is 90 degrees today, 95 tomorrow.)

Posted by: Pat* at June 24, 2017 11:29 PM (qC1ju)

91 Pat* at June 24, 2017 11:29 PM

Sounds like a nice event. Congrats on your shooting skills!

Posted by: KT at June 25, 2017 09:53 AM (BVQ+1)

92 Nope, not managing a full report this week. It's nearly 10 PM and I'm just about face down in my last soda of the day. (I didn't even shoot for most of day 2 of our event, because it was so hot - it hit 102 F!) All I can remember is that we're harvesting strawberries, and lots of snow peas, and that I have to pull out the last lettuce and spinach soon, and start picking the last batch of spring radishes.

Posted by: Pat* at June 25, 2017 11:45 PM (qC1ju)

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