Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread, June 27, 2020 [KT]

Hello, gardeners, putterers and refugees from any remaining lock-downs! Admirale's Mate has sent in some remarkable photos of lurkers:

My sister lives in a small rural town in northern Pennsylvania. She has been putting out food for a crippled deer but noticed something else had been eating the food so she installed a game camera to catch the perp. Yesterday she got this photo. I guess bears gotta eat too.

Below, one returns by night:

And here's the crippled deer whose food was being stolen by the bears. Awww:

And another lurker from NaughtyPine:

It rained, so I left off the landscaping for a bit. But neighbour cat thought damp mulch was the perfect place for a catnap.

Edible, Maybe?

From Admirale's Mate again:

Shroom soup anyone?

He has been told that those are Oyster Mushrooms. I've seen similar ones that were called Chicken of the Woods. Anyone recognize them? Wonder how hard they are on trees?

Reminder: Be very careful that you I.D. mushrooms correctly before eating them.

Wonder if bears eat them?

Edible Gardening

Naughty Pine:

I grew a couple radishes from tops with a bit of root. Had no idea that when they bloom, they're downright pretty. And they get really, really tall!

And she can eat the blooms and young pods, too.!

We tasted our first garden tomatoes last weekend. Small, but luscious. Zippy.
From Misanthropic Humanitarian via CBD:

Seems about right. Heh.

Gordon got his first tomatoes, too. Way up in Minnesota!

UFla's Garden Gem. These were bred for a good appearance, good shelf life, and good flavor. The wife likes it as a sandwich slicer, because it doesn't get the bread all soggy. But it is really a paste variety. These are small. The ones on the vine below are about three times the mass of these.

Fruits and plants look great!

And more news on Farmers Markets, from last Saturday:

We went to Menomonie, WI, to get strawberries today. There's about a three-week window, and these berries are so amazingly juicy and flavorful. We bought a flat (ten pounds or so) at a farm where folks can pick their own. We didn't, as we are old and creaky.
Then we were in Menomonie proper, and drove past a gal setting out buckets of berries on a table in a C-store parking lot. We grabbed a quick bite and by the time we returned, she was down to three buckets, which my wife claimed. Two other cars stopped and were disappointed, but she said she would have some more "soon".
Soon was about five minutes, when her hubby showed up with seven more buckets. Before he finished unloading, two trucks stopped and bought all seven, at $18 each.
Tomorrow the jam maker will be busy.

Let us know, Gordon . . .

Big news from Larro from earlier this month:

We sold house and loaded up rv and staying down at bro's compound.
Here's their garden and pet, plus 50 cattle or so . . .

Now THAT's a garden, and a garden pet.

Gardens of The Horde

Zanne sent in a surprise:

I was off work for a couple of weeks and no one bothered to water my cactus. I went back to work and watered my cactus and a week or so later these blooms appeared. I was very surprised.

I bet you were surprised!

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

ktinthegarden
at g mail dot com

Include your nic unless you want to remain a lurker.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 12:53 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Got a list of 16 repairs to make to rental house to get occupancy permit. That's my puttering for the forseeable future.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at June 27, 2020 12:56 PM (oVJmc)

2 Great photos/gardens! My wife roasted some radishes w/oil and garlic the other day....pretty good!

Posted by: BignJames at June 27, 2020 12:58 PM (X/Pw5)

3 BignJames at June 27, 2020 12:58 PM
We don't usually hear about cooked radished in the USA. Sometimes the pods are stir-fried.

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 12:59 PM (BVQ+1)

4 Poped in early, didn't expect it.
Good afternoon Greenthumbs.
Have blossoms on most tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Actual tomatoes on a few so just a matter of time.

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2020 01:02 PM (6f16T)

5 Top 10 and i looked at the pix

Posted by: Le Garde Vieux at June 27, 2020 01:03 PM (agkAc)

6 I thought this was the pet thread for a minute there!

Posted by: Chris M at June 27, 2020 01:03 PM (6XZdO)

7 First shroom picture looks like a moose head

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2020 01:04 PM (6f16T)

8 We don't usually hear about cooked radished in the USA. Sometimes the pods are stir-fried.

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 12:59 PM (BVQ+1)

Wife is...wait for it....Russian!

Posted by: BignJames at June 27, 2020 01:04 PM (X/Pw5)

9 I had a bear on my deck a couple of weeks ago, woke me up in the middle of the night trying to get my bird feeder. I scared it off with a strobing flashlight. Took the bird feeder down the next morning.

Posted by: Kat_man at June 27, 2020 01:04 PM (+omKc)

10 Haven't seen a bear yet here in East Tennessee. Did see a bobcat on a trail cam photo...

Posted by: Hawkpilot at June 27, 2020 01:07 PM (Apqm1)

11 Ha. OF course, you grow tomatoes for the flavor not the savings.

Posted by: Grump928© at June 27, 2020 01:07 PM (yQpMk)

12 Chris M at June 27, 2020 01:03 PM
Know anybody in The Horde with a pet bear?

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 01:08 PM (BVQ+1)

13 I grew up in the back of beyond and maybe that's it but feeding wild animals near your house just seems well.... kooky and unwise.

I get it's an act of kindness and comes from a good place but.... seems to lack all perspective.

Posted by: Thesokorus at June 27, 2020 01:10 PM (5NvG9)

14 My Sugar-loo Bear was a cat

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2020 01:14 PM (6f16T)

15 hiya

Posted by: JT at June 27, 2020 01:15 PM (arJlL)

16 Very beautiful garden photos. That poor deer, hope she makes it.

The playhouse in the background of the bears photo made me think of Goldilocks and the three bears.

Does digging out and repairing sprinklers and sprinkler valves count as gardening?

Posted by: BifBewalski - sinis est culus at June 27, 2020 01:15 PM (VcFUs)

17 That crippled deer looks pretty scrawny.

Posted by: Ronster at June 27, 2020 01:16 PM (zR8oF)

18 Does digging out and repairing sprinklers and sprinkler valves count as gardening?
Posted by: BifBewalski - sinis est culus at June 27, 2020 01:15 PM (VcFUs)

DAMN! You are fast!

Posted by: Cheriebebe at June 27, 2020 01:17 PM (w6A0l)

19 It may be a Bondarzewia berkeleyi, commonly known as Berkeley's polypore, or stump
blossoms, is a species of polypore fungus in the family Russulaceae. It
is a parasitic species that causes butt rot in oaks and other hardwood
trees. Although Bondarzewia berkeleyi is edible, it has been compared to eating shoe leather.

Posted by: Admirale's Mate at June 27, 2020 01:18 PM (Cme7M)

20 My dream retirement place is five acres in the northern Idaho forests with just enough open space to grow enough tomatoes to save $2.17.

Posted by: Diogenes at June 27, 2020 01:19 PM (axyOa)

21 It may be a Bondarzewia berkeleyi, commonly known as Berkeley's polypore, or stump
blossoms, is a species of polypore fungus in the family Russulaceae. It
is a parasitic species that causes butt rot in oaks and other hardwood
trees. Although Bondarzewia berkeleyi is edible, it has been compared to eating shoe leather.

Posted by: Admirale's Mate at June 27, 2020 01:18 PM (Cme7M)

Tasty but chewy, then!

Posted by: BignJames at June 27, 2020 01:19 PM (X/Pw5)

22 ..Know anybody in The Horde with a pet bear?

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 01:08 PM (BVQ+1)

"kdbabear" posts regularly in the ONT, publishing photos of ladies blessed by their Creator with all manner of delightful attributes.

The pictures are.. bearable.

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at June 27, 2020 01:20 PM (QzJWU)

23 "He has been told that those are Oyster Mushrooms. I've seen similar
ones that were called Chicken of the Woods. Anyone recognize them?
Wonder how hard they are on trees?"
I can't put my hands on my mushroom book at the moment (it's packed up still), otherwise I'd be able to tell you the color of the spoors. You place some of the mushroom on white paper [RAAAAYCISS!] and cover it with a glass to encourage it to release spoors, part of the ID process.
I wasn't overly impressed with the flavor of oyster mushrooms myself. I believe they're one of the few types that grow on wood that are edible.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 01:20 PM (rCwaK)

24 Had a bad hail storm here yesterday. Lots of damage to the plants.

Posted by: Ronster at June 27, 2020 01:22 PM (zR8oF)

25 Cheriebebe

It took me a week to expose the whole problem. About a 4' x 8' section dug out a foot down. Then another trench about a foot deep and 8" wide to run to where i am relocation g the two new valves to.

A day to think about how to undo their poor repair. Picked up two new valves and various and sundry PVC parts and pipe and started putting it back tog6this morning.

Then it started raining.

Now waiting for it to dry up a little so I can go back out and finish. I should have it function by tomorrow so i can pressure test it all on Monday after the PVC joint welds cure.

Then I can start burying it all again. Whooo hoo!

Posted by: BifBewalski - sinis est culus at June 27, 2020 01:22 PM (VcFUs)

26 That deer might have Chronic Wasting Disease.

Posted by: davidt at June 27, 2020 01:23 PM (l3+k2)

27 Posted by: davidt at June 27, 2020 01:23 PM (l3+k2)

That's what I was thinking.

Posted by: BignJames at June 27, 2020 01:26 PM (X/Pw5)

28 I laughed at the truth of the tomato photo. But I love growing them from seed, seeing them develop, and the taste, of course, is worth the effort.

A couple of times we had enough of a tomato crop to preserve some. My favorite method was the scald and peel them then freeze the whole fruit. The texture changed but the flavor remained surprising vibrant.

Posted by: JTB at June 27, 2020 01:26 PM (7EjX1)

29 Around 1997 not that that matters worked at a estate on Pennsylvania Main Line area, there was a small herd of deer that made it though every day, one had 3 legs but seemed to keep up even getting over fences.

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2020 01:29 PM (6f16T)

30 Then I can start burying it all again. Whooo hoo!
Posted by: BifBewalski - sinis est culus at June 27, 2020 01:22 PM (VcFUs)

Holy god that makes my back ache just reading that!!
Hope it comes together quickly for you without any issues!

Posted by: Cheriebebe at June 27, 2020 01:31 PM (w6A0l)

31 I love the garden thread and our gracious host KT!

But I find I don't talk much about gardening as I did when I first started, so not many comments.

I do want to give a shoutout to honeyberryusa.com for unique fruit trees and bushes. My high-sugar sour cherry bushes arrived in perfect condition. Unfortunately, the deer chewed off the tips of all the branches where the blossoms were, so no cherries this year.

I had a very bad shipment from Richter's Herbs this year. I can't remember if I've ordered from them before, but a former neighbor has. And it turns out their guarantee only covers shipping damage. The plants I ordered were obviously in bad shape before they were even packaged.

Posted by: Emmie at June 27, 2020 01:33 PM (clsJu)

32 Vegetable garden report: Corn is approaching waist-high, no tassling yet. Purple-hulled peas are going gangbusters. Contender beans have flowers. Okra plants also developing flowers - some of them, anyway. They're still pretty short. Flowers on the zucchini (which have been pampered) but not yet on the squash (which have not). I've got a dozen tomato plants out there, and maybe 2 dozen green tomatoes so far. Peppers are sad, due to neglect early on. I'm fussing over them to try to make up for that. Eggplant has a few flower buds. Carrots are sad, maybe 3 dozen sprouts in 20 feet. Publius' mom says carrots always struggle out there. Leaf lettuce is still tiny. I sowed the carrots an dlettuce maybe a month ago, and they seem to need watering. God is not taking care of that for us so far. We've only had an inch plus in the past month, after being inundated with over 6" in the space of a week back in May.
Today I'm planting cucumbers in pots. Yeah it's late, but not too late. We'll put them out as soon as they're established, in the pamper zone (where I water). We're going to plant a second round of corn and some Blue Lake beans today.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 01:35 PM (rCwaK)

33 I will send you a picture of the 30 or so half pints of jam and the remnant of the second strawberry rhubarb pie, K.T.

Posted by: Gordon at June 27, 2020 01:36 PM (NnXXy)

34 Used to have a bunch of Weeping Conk mushrooms growing on old tree stumps. Strange things.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at June 27, 2020 01:37 PM (vuisn)

35 Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 01:35 PM (rCwaK)

You're in Laurens Co? Fountain Inn area?

Posted by: BignJames at June 27, 2020 01:38 PM (X/Pw5)

36 Chronic wasting disease is killing the Virginia White Tailed deer across the northern states. She should shoot that doe and end her pain. I think it's a prion, similar to mad cow and krura.

Posted by: Asscheeks of Saturn at June 27, 2020 01:40 PM (6Jgtn)

37 Was already out getting rid of a cart of branches, should get out and do other stuff.

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2020 01:42 PM (6f16T)

38 Nice to see pics of such a well kept garden ... only my cantaloupe are so clean, only because I used two strips of 3' wide ground cover, and pulled grass in the little strip in between. Tomatoes are green but coming along.

Local news said there is a black bear a little north of here, that wandered down from Wisconsin. They said it briefly went over to Iowa, and I wondered how it got across the Mississippi. The "pet" groundhog under my porch has a trap waiting for him ... a couple have been dispatched already. Black bears are welcome ... to stay up near Wisconsin, with the cougars.

Posted by: illiniwek at June 27, 2020 01:48 PM (Cus5s)

39 I'm puttering with weed spraying, a bit of fence fixing and later need to get the doggie gate installed so the little terrierist can't get into the guest bedroom and mess with stuff. Imma have a room-mate, at least for a few weeks. I rather expect she'll want a place of her own or at least to room with someone who keeps more similar hours and doesn't have rambunctious dogs pretty quickly. Don't want to have to keep the door closed cuz that would make it too hot and stuffy in there.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at June 27, 2020 01:51 PM (T9Hmo)

40 I figured out how to remove, transport and replant mature shrubs.

I had 3 fragrant viburnum in my front yard which outgrew their location. They can get 8'x8'.

I decided to take them to my daughter's place over two hours away. She has 3.5 acres.

Getting them out was awful. The tap roots go to China.

I pruned 50 percent off the shrubs before I dug them out. When they were removed, I found I had no pots big enough to hold the roots. So I soaked huge bath towels in water and wrapped them around the roots. I covered the wrapped roots with large plastic bags.

Getting three large shrubs into my car was a challenge, but when I got to my daughters house the next day, the shrubs hadn't even started to wilt.

They now are planted on my daughter's property and look like they've been there for years.

Next time, however, I'll just send her a gift certificate to a garden center.

Posted by: Ladyl--now mask-free! at June 27, 2020 01:53 PM (TdMsT)

41 Those, sadly, are not oyster mushrooms. Oysters are gilled. These are polypores but I'm not sure which.

Posted by: creeper at June 27, 2020 01:55 PM (XxJt1)

42 "She should shoot that doe and end her pain."

yes, especially if it has that disease, since it is contagious, and a major threat to deer populations. Call the wildlife department? I'd guess they would take care of it. And it would be more humane for the deer, which would meet a worse fate by predator.

Posted by: illiniwek at June 27, 2020 01:56 PM (Cus5s)

43 Mom had a black bear steal her trashcan, drag it out to the nearby woods, and start eating watermelon rinds out of it. All the while she was watching from her porch. Bear looked at her like, "What??"

Posted by: jmel at June 27, 2020 02:03 PM (bVhJi)

44 Next time, however, I'll just send her a gift certificate to a garden center.
Posted by: Ladyl--now mask-free! at June 27, 2020 01:53 PM (TdMsT)

Ladyl, your idea was a great success!

Posted by: Emmie at June 27, 2020 02:13 PM (clsJu)

45 This week I harvested yellow beans and green beans (there are a lot more to come going by the amount of flowers). These were all blanched and frozen.

I also harvested snow peas and regular peas. Never again on the regular peas ... by the time I was done shelling there was next to nothing there. In the past I have grown snow and sugar snap and that has worked out very well, so back to what I know. These were all blanched and frozen. The rest I will gather will be eaten fresh as there are not that many left on the vines.

I harvested a LOT of cucumbers... a first in June for me! There's at least a dozen more ready to pick, and over 100 flowers. I foresee "gifts" to all that visit. That'll teach 'em to stop over.

I cleaned up the leaf lettuce, spinach, mustard greens, and arugula. The heat is on and the spinach bolted while the rest wilted in the heat.

My peppers are looking good! I planted six different varieties and I am hoping for a decent harvest.

I also took the time to dry some basil and parsley. I finished up the frozen herbs last month, the fresh started producing, and now it is on to freezing the excess for use during the rest of the year.

NYS (container gardening)

Happy Gardening!

Posted by: Ann at June 27, 2020 02:13 PM (NDO5Q)

46 I love the bears with the playhouse - - just perfect and storybook-like.

Posted by: Emmie at June 27, 2020 02:14 PM (clsJu)

47 Emmie

Agree.
But what about their porridge temperature control?

Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 02:15 PM (u82oZ)

48 I'm nervous about canning. I guess maybe blanching and freezing is the way to go for now. But kudos to you all who know how to put up your harvest!

Posted by: Emmie at June 27, 2020 02:15 PM (clsJu)

49 I learned to never store a kayak in the open. Bad idea.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 02:16 PM (u82oZ)

50 But what about their porridge temperature control?
Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 02:15 PM (u82oZ)

Heh.

What is the correct temperature for deer food?

Posted by: Emmie at June 27, 2020 02:17 PM (clsJu)

51 I'm chomping at the bit on perennials. I've got a few dozen Shasta daisies in pots, waiting for our new house to be completed. A butterfly bush, rudbeckia, coreopsis, echinacea and lavender - all are deer-resistant (something I'm going to have to deal with, as the deer here are numerous and very sneaky and only come out at night).
The other day, Publius asked me to hop onto the trailer since he had a bunch of stuff to dump. We arrived at the dumping place, which is an area that slopes rather steeply at the edge of the field. This happens to be at the edge of the area where we're building the house.
I spied a broken toilet, plus a number of rusted and unidentified items that had been tossed down there over the years. I said, "You didn't tell me there was a dump in my future back yard. The toilet is the crowning insult, glowing white in the dark of the woods."
He looked stricken, and said they never imagined they'd be building up there. He offered to move everything (an unimaginable amount of work, especially for someone with RA). I said he should just procrastinate on that for the time being, and we'll see how it falls out once the house is built. Maybe I can plant something there by the edge of the slope, so I can come to terms with it.

Later, while I was weeding the garden, he drove up on the tractor and said, "The toilet is gone. You'll never see it again."
That's how much he loves me.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 02:18 PM (rCwaK)

52 Emmie, I prefer to blanch and then freeze (blanch, fast freeze, then foodsavered freezer bags) for later use over canning. I will can, but the freezing tastes better to us, is easier to do, and we have the freezer space, so why not?

Posted by: Ann at June 27, 2020 02:18 PM (NDO5Q)

53 Ann at June 27, 2020 02:13 PM
I am impressed!
Regular peas are for eating raw.

Then again, I am not supposed to eat snap peas because they can trigger migraine.

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 02:18 PM (BVQ+1)

54 In a Kansas crop reports, the wheat harvest is starting. Crop reports say wheat has recovering some from a cold snap that did damage, but we shall see.

Prices are a dollar under the former low. This will affect a lot of farmers going forward.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 02:19 PM (u82oZ)

55 Peas, raw, right in the garden.

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 02:19 PM (BVQ+1)

56 NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 02:19 PM

Hoping news for the harvest gets better.

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 02:20 PM (BVQ+1)

57 Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 01:35 PM (rCwaK)

You're in Laurens Co? Fountain Inn area?

Posted by: BignJames at June 27, 2020 01:38 PM (X/Pw5)

Currently in Ft Inn, right at the Laurens Co line. Publius is 5 miles north of me, also near the Laurens Co line. Not far from Harper's Folly Lake.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 02:22 PM (rCwaK)

58 KT, we love to eat the sugar snap fresh. I am so sorry you cannot eat them as they are terrific. Hubby will snag and eat the regular peas raw out of the garden, but when you have hundreds that it is a bit too much fiber (although that does not stop me from eating raw sugar snap or snow peas, soooo :shrug

Posted by: Ann at June 27, 2020 02:22 PM (NDO5Q)

59 Emmie

Ambient temps.

I have a neighbor that puts out a lot of cracked corn in deer feeders. He does not hunt them, because his kids name the deer.

What he does is attracts them to his property, and as they leave, via a neighbor's property, his neighbor harvests the deer.

That neighbor has a 8' tall fence around a garden plot, with concrete footers and a net above the concertina wire. Very secure.

He lets his deer-feeding neighbor harvest the garden when he goes on vacation in the late summer.

The circle of life, and rural friendships abide.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 02:24 PM (u82oZ)

60 Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen

That sounds like a divine area, your Grace.

Are you not married yet?

Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 02:27 PM (u82oZ)

61 Nice to see pics of such a well kept garden ... only
my cantaloupe are so clean, only because I used two strips of 3' wide
ground cover, and pulled grass in the little strip in between.

Posted by: illiniwek at June 27, 2020 01:48 PM (Cus5s)

I was wondering about that - it appeals to me, as a control freak in the garden. I imagine that pulling it up at the end of the season is a real PIA, though. Not to mention the cost. We'd be looking at lining maybe 9 x 100 ft rows.
Maybe I'll do that on a smaller scale for my future kitchen garden. I have this dream of rows of lavender along the drive. Don't know how well it would do here. It didn't do well in PA at my mom's house without special attention.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 02:29 PM (rCwaK)

62 We got the dust plume here today in CenTex, so staying inside...
The weather has been unseasonably cool for late June- though I did spend the third night we were without AC in the inn.

Larro, if I was twenty or thirty years younger, I'd be so jealous of your brother.

Been harvesting chamomile, calendula, dill weed and lavender (though leaving some of that for the bees).
Just tried one of the Black Krim tomatoes- so good!
Juicy and a rich complex taste.

A church friend gave me a baby vitex, which will hopefully be the big shrub in the butterfly border my husband has requested. This will be a good way to sneak in some more herbs, as larvae food and will be a nice visual from the busy street.

After much thought, I have decided to bow to circumstances and make this the last year I do vegetables and concentrate on a large and varied herb garden instead. They really are my first love,
so not too much of a sacrifice.

Always love to hear what everyone is doing and seeing the photos!

Posted by: Sal at June 27, 2020 02:29 PM (bo8pf)

63 Getting three large shrubs into my car was a
challenge, but when I got to my daughters house the next day, the shrubs
hadn't even started to wilt.

They now are planted on my daughter's property and look like they've been there for years.

Next time, however, I'll just send her a gift certificate to a garden center.

Posted by: Ladyl--now mask-free! at June 27, 2020 01:53 PM (TdMsT)

You're a fucking workhorse, Ladyl. I think I'll bring you over to my place next spring for a few months.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 02:30 PM (rCwaK)

64 "kdbabear" posts regularly in the ONT, publishing photos of ladies blessed by their Creator with all manner of delightful attributes.
Jim, Sunk New Dawn, Galveston, TX

I think lower-case "creators" have a great deal of input on most of kbdabear's ladies.

Posted by: Downcast at June 27, 2020 02:31 PM (xgpfE)

65 What ever happened to those hanging tomato plant pots that were all over the info commercials a few years ago. Grow lots of tomatoes just by hanging the pot and add water... As seen on TV stuff. Haven't seen them around in awhile, I wanted to try them.

Posted by: Colin at June 27, 2020 02:31 PM (X3dij)

66 yes, especially if it has that disease, since it is
contagious, and a major threat to deer populations. Call the wildlife
department? I'd guess they would take care of it. And it would be more
humane for the deer, which would meet a worse fate by predator.

Posted by: illiniwek at June 27, 2020 01:56 PM (Cus5s)

Isn't that nature's way to cull overpopulation?

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 02:32 PM (rCwaK)

67 Good afternoon! Wow, I would not want bears anywhere near my house. My father's cousin was the go-to guy for problem bears, and he has stories.

Since that photo of that particular radish, I have harvested its seedpods three times. It has grown three separate branches, each about two feet long. I like seedpods possibly more than the usual red radish taste. I tried the blossoms today. Mild flavor, but not as distinctive as nasturiums.

The tomato quote is rather funny. The tomato plants are growing pretty well from seeds, which were cheap, and needed only two buckets of water so far. I don't think I'd plant cucumbers or peppers again; they aren't flourishing.

On the other hand, the squashes and watermelon plant look great. The first one to flower is, naturally, the planting of "old" seeds in the middle of the yard. As soon as I've harvested fifteen zucchini, I will have earned back the total I spent on all my seeds, dirt, and growing bags.

The garden of Larro's bro looks like my childhood garden. My mother canned stewed and regular tomatoes, made three kinds of pickles (not including the occasional pickled green beans), and put up a bushel of apples as applesauce. She and Dad have a much smaller garden now, but still freeze zucchini, corn, and beans for the winter.

Other than plants, my garden has a lot of insects. Last week, clouds of damselflies were in the five o'clocks and the overgrown chives. This week, there are dragonflies everywhere. I particularly like the bright, spring-green kind. The flooding over the last year has created a lot more semi-permanent puddles, so maybe it's why there are so many.

The mayflies aka fish flies are showing up all over the place, too. I keep laughing at the friends in the Pointes (Grosse and East) who freak out EVERY. YEAR. because they think mayflies are gross.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at June 27, 2020 02:32 PM (/+bwe)

68 In gardening news, I though marigolds were supposed to be skeeter repellers. They got me almost as bad as the rabbits got my pepper plants.

Posted by: Downcast at June 27, 2020 02:33 PM (xgpfE)

69 The circle of life, and rural friendships abide.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 02:24 PM (u82oZ)

Lovely!

Posted by: Emmie at June 27, 2020 02:34 PM (clsJu)

70 Mosquitos.

I've used this, and it actually works in our area (southern Colorado):

https://preview.tinyurl.com/y4kxxkhs

Posted by: Emmie at June 27, 2020 02:37 PM (clsJu)

71 I haven't planted anything, so I'm not expecting much from the backyard garden this year.

Posted by: Weasel at June 27, 2020 02:38 PM (MVjcR)

72 I haven't planted anything, so I'm not expecting much from the backyard garden this year.

I always get sweet potato volunteers.

Posted by: Grump928© at June 27, 2020 02:39 PM (yQpMk)

73 That cactus has been taking steroids.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at June 27, 2020 02:40 PM (bPH26)

74 71 I haven't planted anything, so I'm not expecting much from the backyard garden this year.
Posted by: Weasel at June 27, 2020 02:38 PM (MVjcR)

Check your compost pile. If it's like mine, you may have some nice squash out there.

Posted by: Emmie at June 27, 2020 02:40 PM (clsJu)

75 Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen

That sounds like a divine area, your Grace.

Are you not married yet?

Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 02:27 PM (u82oZ)

Yeah, well, I would like to get married at our house. But Publius says that the paperwork would all be easier if we could just tie the knot soon, then have the ceremony/party in May as I'd hoped. So it looks like we'll do a small thing in the next few months, while the house is being built. Just his parents. my brother, and his godmother. If we can get the preacher to come to the farm, his daddy won't have to go anywhere (he's getting really feeble now, at 92, and may not even make it to next spring).
I've made the deck of his parents' house really pretty, with planters of flowers and such, so it would be very easy to do it there.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 02:40 PM (rCwaK)

76 Our cherry trees draw bears like marigolds draw mosquitoes.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at June 27, 2020 02:41 PM (bPH26)

77 65 What ever happened to those hanging tomato plant pots?
Posted by: Colin

Walgreens and Target both have small sections of "As seen on TV". Might be off the shelves by now. Are you feeling craftsy?

Https://www.thespruce.com/make-an-upsi
de-down-tomato-bucket-848255
(Remove the space)

Posted by: Downcast at June 27, 2020 02:42 PM (xgpfE)

78
74 71 I haven't planted anything, so I'm not expecting much from the backyard garden this year.
Posted by: Weasel at June 27, 2020 02:38 PM (MVjcR)

Check your compost pile. If it's like mine, you may have some nice squash out there.
Posted by: Emmie at June 27, 2020 02:40 PM (clsJu)
-------
NOTE TO SELF: establish compost pile.

Posted by: Weasel at June 27, 2020 02:42 PM (MVjcR)

79 I have one of those German-style wayside shrines in my garden, attached to a big pecan tree, which contains a statue of the Sacred Heart.

It was a puttering project, involving scrap lumber and an eBay purchase.

Glanced at it yesterday and thought "What is wrong with your hair?" Investigated and found a locust had stumbled in and gotten caught between the statue and the back and was flapping its wings, trying to escape. Got it free- it did not help- and all is back to normal.

Posted by: Sal at June 27, 2020 02:42 PM (bo8pf)

80 it to next spring).
I've made the deck of his parents' house really pretty, with planters of flowers and such, so it would be very easy to do it there.
Posted by: Miley
======

I've heard that marigolds repel diesel aroma.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at June 27, 2020 02:43 PM (bk3Sg)

81 "He has been told that those are Oyster Mushrooms. I've seen similar ones that were called Chicken of the Woods. Anyone recognize them?"

Two different mushrooms, and by the fact that these are white, much more likely to be oysters. (Plus, too early for Chicken of the Woods, that's an autumn mushroom). The good news is that there are no toxic polypores, so the worst that misidentification there will get you is a mouth full of wood.

Posted by: Schuler at June 27, 2020 02:44 PM (x+oi4)

82 What ever happened to those hanging tomato plant pots?

Hanging? Like with a noose?

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at June 27, 2020 02:44 PM (NWiLs)

83 NaughtyPine at June 27, 2020 02:32 PM
Thanks for the interesting details!

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 02:45 PM (BVQ+1)

84 OK. Back to slaving over the video editor.

Posted by: Weasel at June 27, 2020 02:45 PM (MVjcR)

85 Our cherry trees draw bears like marigolds draw mosquitoes.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at June 27, 2020 02:41 PM (bPH26)

My dear departed and I used to camp at a place west of Winchester VA, fairly isolated. His mom had a bear fall out of a cherry tree in her yard one morning. I would not want bears that close to me!

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 02:46 PM (rCwaK)

86 Too bad there isn't a photo of the top of those mushrooms, but I don't think they're chicken anyway. Chicken mushroom is bright orange on top (sometimes with lighter and darker banding), and sulfur yellow underneath. It's easy to find since that color combo glows like a beacon in the woods. It usually grows on well rotted oak logs/stumps, but may occasionally be found on live trees. And it does indeed taste like chicken. It's one of the safest mushrooms for amateurs to eat, since nothing else looks like it, though caution is advised for first-timers. A small percentage of the population may experience a mild allergic reaction (swollen lips, tongue, etc.).

Posted by: Equirhodont at June 27, 2020 02:47 PM (+2GwM)

87 "I imagine that pulling it up at the end of
the season is a real PIA, though. Not to mention the cost. We'd be
looking at lining maybe 9 x 100 ft rows." Posted by: Miley, the Duchess

pulling it up end of season is optional ... I probably will. These guys (in the link) do a larger area, looks like they decided to not pull it up. I've had a little dirt get on it, and weeds will germinate on top and tiny roots find their way through it, if allowed time.

And weeds along the edge creep a foot over the fabric as well. I spray chemicals on those, if I get around to it, but it is not magically maintenance free. The guys in this link cover their whole garden with it, so don't have the edge maintenance issue. I've mowed low over the edges, but a mower can pull it up at times.

https://tinyurl.com/ya7l7v3h

Posted by: illiniwek at June 27, 2020 02:47 PM (Cus5s)

88 . Back to slaving over the video editor.
Posted by: Weasel
----------

ISWYDT.

Building a case for reparations?

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at June 27, 2020 02:47 PM (bk3Sg)

89 Edit of 81: OK, I got it wrong. There is at least one toxic polypore.
https://tinyurl.com/ya8uzrw3

Posted by: Schuler at June 27, 2020 02:47 PM (x+oi4)

90 Just watched an episode of food factory and they showed a hydroponic tomato farm in a 15 acre or so sized Greenhouse. Pretty interesting and a look at how we will probably grow food once we colonize Mars.

Posted by: Can't resist temptation at June 27, 2020 02:47 PM (2DOZq)

91 Awwww.

Yogi and Boo Boo having a pick-a-nick!

Posted by: Muldoon at June 27, 2020 02:49 PM (Fc5rx)

92 I've heard that marigolds repel diesel aroma.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at June 27, 2020 02:43 PM (bk3Sg)

Ha! I got it mostly out now, you can only smell it if you hold it up to your nose.
He had to weld the handle of the lawnmower yesterday. It's old and gave out. Made him pretty happy, since he loves to weld.
Next week it's gonna be a Ditch Witch - he's got to run the water pipe up to the house lot, and another to the garden. Maybe 800 ft in all. Gonna be a busy boy. Well's getting drilled Tuesday, I think.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 02:50 PM (rCwaK)

93 Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 01:35 PM
You have been busy!

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 02:51 PM (BVQ+1)

94
ISWYDT.

Building a case for reparations?
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at June 27, 2020 02:47 PM (bk3Sg)
-------
For the WeaselCommunity, yes!

Posted by: Weasel at June 27, 2020 02:51 PM (MVjcR)

95 3 months of your life to saving $2.17

I spend that much on 3 termaters yesterday. For a salad.

Posted by: weft cut-loop at June 27, 2020 02:56 PM (L6ZYH)

96 Those are indeed Oyster Mushrooms. There are many different kinds.

Posted by: RichardWindsor at June 27, 2020 02:58 PM (DRgs8)

97 Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen

Your Grace, sound lovely.

There are many Morons that had to console themselves with you off the market. Not me. I'm firmly married. But others. You have a great man by your side.

Are you not putting everything in waist high planters, to spare the bending?

Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 03:02 PM (u82oZ)

98 "3 months of your life to saving $2.17"

ha, yeah, there is a point there ... but he's doing it wrong if those are his outcomes. I do like the minimal maintenance plans, with garden times to be meditative and dreamy, not frustrating and laborious. At times an all out assault on weeds is needed though, or on critters.

Posted by: illiniwek at June 27, 2020 03:02 PM (Cus5s)

99 VERY cute Pet Nood.

Posted by: Weasel at June 27, 2020 03:04 PM (MVjcR)

100 illiniwek

We need to invent autonomous laser garden defenses.

Weeds is natures way of telling us we are overspecializing our crops.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 03:04 PM (u82oZ)

101 There was a artist who used to do really nice drawings on the large mushrooms that grow on dead (mostly) trees in the forest. I saw his exhibit at a fair a few years ago. Beautiful drawings on an unique canvas. He was selling them, not sure how long they would last, or if he preserved them somehow.

Posted by: Colin at June 27, 2020 03:13 PM (X3dij)

102 I'm nervous about canning. I guess maybe blanching
and freezing is the way to go for now. But kudos to you all who know
how to put up your harvest!
Posted by: Emmie at June 27, 2020 02:15 PM (clsJu)

Canning tomatoes in a hot water bath is not a big deal, your risk of botulism is reduced if you keep the pH correct. You can contact the extension agency for information, or even Ball canning company -- in fact my suggestion to everyone who wants to can to get the Ball Blue Book for canning.
You can also look into getting a canner, like Presto brand.

Mom used to can tomatoes in the boiling water process and wouldn't bother skinning them half the time since she always intended it for stews and soups. I can't seem to can them so they don't look terrible, so I cook them down and run them through my Foley food mill and can as puree instead . . . for the exact same reason. I usually put in basil, salt and chili peppers. (instant bloody Mary OR stew base)

If I have lots of tomatoes I have to process immediately and I don't have time to set up the canners, I wash, blanch and peel the tomatoes, and then cut them up and freeze them in quart ziploc bags.

I would say that I grow tomatoes because I enjoy the struggle of having to process a couple of 5 gallon buckets of dead ripe tomatoes that I picked as they were splitting during a torrential downpour.

It is getting to the point when I harvest early, I kind of miss the panic . . .

Posted by: Kindltot at June 27, 2020 03:16 PM (WyVLE)

103 Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 01:35 PM
You have been busy!

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 02:51 PM (BVQ+1)

Gardening on this scale seems like farming to me, and Publius just laughs. They used to farm 500 acres, and this is maybe 1/4 acre (33 3 foot rows, between 100- 125 ft long, and we've only planted a quarter of that so far). Last summer was a nightmare since the weeds got out of hand while we were erecting the fence. I won't let that happen again. I'm not really good at hoeing, since I always weeded by hand in my smaller gardens, but I'm learning.
Publius' mom is walking out to the garden regularly now, using 2 canes for balance (one of her cats follows her out there so he can roll in the dirt). He's glad to see her renewed interest in the garden. She wants me to plant wildflowers in an empty patch. I think it might be too late now, but I'm willing to try. Thoughts?

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 03:18 PM (rCwaK)

104 Late to the party but, here goes: My wife and I have had a squash extravaganza. Yellow zucchini, regular zucchini, crook neck squash, etc. That stuff is great in veggie stir fries, roasted on the grill, etc.

I've got a lot of tomatoes, some of them close to being ripe. In fact, the beefsteak tomatoes are so large and heavy, they're too much for the tomato cage, so, I'm having to tie the cage so it doesn't fall over.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing
at June 27, 2020 03:18 PM (WEBkv)

105 Your Grace, sound lovely.

There are many Morons that had to console themselves with you off
the market. Not me. I'm firmly married. But others. You have a great
man by your side.

Are you not putting everything in waist high planters, to spare the bending?

Posted by: NaCly Dog at June 27, 2020 03:02 PM (u82oZ)

LOL, you're too sweet! I told Publius that I can be a handful, but he says that's part of the attraction. He's a brave man.
When I start planning the area near the house, that may well be included. In 20 years, I won't be up to so much bending. We'll see how it plays out.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 03:21 PM (rCwaK)

106 Some years ago my parents had those hanging tomato pots, seem to have worked well for them then.

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2020 03:22 PM (6f16T)

107 They were building a 200K sq ft hydroponic building near me to grow mostly tomatoes. Not sure it ever got finished, but will have drive over and see if it was completed. I know Cuomo put and end to construction for awhile, not sure what he allows in building construction right now.
Another one was planned also not that far away, but the NIMBY's put an end to the idea. The company was from Texas, and also found out about how hard it is to build in NY State. The neighbors said in would bring in traffic. Yeah those places sure clog up the neighborhood roads..../sarc

Posted by: Colin at June 27, 2020 03:22 PM (X3dij)

108 Off to Lowe's to get Publius some zip ties. Later, all!

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen at June 27, 2020 03:30 PM (rCwaK)

109 Did anyone else see the little face on the underside of the mushrooms? Or 2 chickens in Larro Bro's garden? Only noticed them because of the color. I do miss all the green which is in short supply in the desert.

Posted by: AlmostYuman at June 27, 2020 03:32 PM (fP8Xt)

110 "We need to invent autonomous laser garden defenses.
Weeds is natures way of telling us we are overspecializing our crops" NaCly Dog

I'm waiting for just that, a solar power robot with a laser, than can identify weeds ... it can wander the fields and gardens all day every day.

I did get a nice torch with a 20 pound propane tank ... I almost forgot about it. Time to use that on those edge plants, see if I can kill them and not melt the fabric. This is not work, this is entertainment. ha

Posted by: illiniwek at June 27, 2020 03:35 PM (Cus5s)

111 My icicle radishes, volunteer squash and potatoes are all doing well, some of the potatoes actually have those fruit on them, which I knew was possible but I have never seen. Don't eat the fruit from the potatoes, it is poisonous, by the way.

The radishes, along with the lettuce is all starting to bolt from the heat, but they lasted longer than I thought it would.
I am just getting flowers on some of the peppers, and the eggplant, and the tomatoes. I even have a few green tomatoes, and I hope they get red soon.

This year because everything was to flocked up the tomatoes in the market were kind of spendy, so I transplanted a bunch of the volunteers that came up early from my compost. No idea what they are, but they probably will be the smallish ones that you get when you plant seed saved from hybrids. This is not an issue since they are tasty and the will can nice. When the farmers' market opened I got my usual heirlooms like cherokee purple and such. I got lots of tomatoes this year.

The corn is knee-high, and my pole beans finally sprouted. I got the trellis strung and filled in the holes with some scarlet runner beans, and planted the left over runner bean seeds in with the corn.
I like a bean trellis in a garden, it makes it look "finished" some how.

I had volunteer squash, and since they are where I wanted to plant the corn, I just left it. May have been a bad idea since it is shading out some of the corn (it is really big) but it is putting out flowers almost the size of my hand, so it is probably going to be the Hubbard.

My cantaloupes are sprouting, and the Korean melons are doing so well I will have to thin them.

I also, on a whim, took a bundle of those green onions from the produce section of the store, and heeled them in my garden and I now have some sort of white onion growing there. they are about 3 feet tall, and I cut off leaves to cook with when I need "green onion" in a recipe. I am pretty sure they are doing some sort of bulb too.
I may do this more in the years to come. This is cheaper and more fun that buying onion sets,

Posted by: Kindltot at June 27, 2020 03:40 PM (WyVLE)

112 blake - semi lurker in marginal standingat June 27, 2020 03:18 PM

Maybe we need to discuss tomato supports. Most tomato cages are not big enough for most tomato plants.

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 03:41 PM (BVQ+1)

113 By the way, I don't grow tomatoes to save money.

I grow tomatoes because I can grow better tomatoes than one can buy in a store.

Nothing beats vine ripened tomatoes in tacos, salads, tomato sauce, etc.

Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing
at June 27, 2020 03:41 PM (WEBkv)

114 Looks like Mississippi will be getting a new state flag today, or at least dispensing with the current one.

Posted by: Bert G at June 27, 2020 03:42 PM (3SIUH)

115 Kindltot at June 27, 2020 03:40 PM

The onions sound fun. The volunteer tomatoes will probably turn out OK. The squashes are a gamble. Melons are more of a gamble, especially with hybirds the preceding year.

Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 03:43 PM (BVQ+1)

116 Maybe we need to discuss tomato supports. Most tomato cages are not big enough for most tomato plants.
Posted by: KT at June 27, 2020 03:41 PM (BVQ+1)

About 1973, Dad went to the local concrete tile works and got some 6" mesh welded wire reinforcement netting for concrete tiles cut into 5' x 3-1/2 foot panels, had the projecting stubs on one side bent into hooks, and turned them into circular tomato cages. Pi tells me they should be 1.59 feet in diameter, and they probably started out that way, but they have been beat around a bit.

one year I experimented running melons up them for a trellis, but that didn't work well for me.

I was wondering if they could be left taller and used for beans
The nice thing about getting cut-to-order is you can make them as large as you want.

Ideally you can flatten them out at the end of each year and hang them on the garage wall for storage, but we never had wall space so we just left them out in the weather.

I am using them this year, and I will probably need new ones in a decade.
40 years is pretty good on a tomato cage, though.

Posted by: Kindltot at June 27, 2020 04:00 PM (WyVLE)

117 KT, last year I had volunteer melons that had crossed with the Korean melons, and they turned out super sweet and had emerald flesh.

I think the Korean melons are OK because they set fruit earlier than the cantaloupe.

Posted by: Kindltot at June 27, 2020 04:02 PM (WyVLE)

118 ooh. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and get "Remesh" the concrete reinforcing mesh panels 7' by 42"

$8.50 each.

that is lot for a single tomato cage I suppose. But figure out the replacement cost.

Posted by: Kindltot at June 27, 2020 04:07 PM (WyVLE)

119 Any Chiefs fans? Your QB has gone off the reservation.

Posted by: Dr Spank at June 27, 2020 04:19 PM (bi3O6)

120 Later, while I was weeding the garden, he drove up on the tractor and said, "The toilet is gone. You'll never see it again."
That's how much he loves me.
Posted by: Miley, the Duchess, also a Karen

Didja look under the bed ?

Posted by: JT at June 27, 2020 04:50 PM (arJlL)

121 I put in a lot of new perennials today, presents from the kids.

I added 3 red echinacea, three English lavender, three large gaillardia (a favorite since childhood), 3 stokesia, coral bells for the shadier spots and some new pink spirea. Then, as if by design, it rained like hell for the first time in weeks!

Posted by: CN at June 27, 2020 05:01 PM (ONvIw)

122 I would agree with a number of people here that they look a little white on the underside to be chicken of the woods. I vociferously disagree that they are only a fall mushroom...we have been finding them for a week or more in southern Michigan, as we do most any summer with adequate precipitation. Lastly, any one that claims that they are oyster mushrooms, please place your glasses on the bridge of your nose, and tell me where you see the graceful upsweep of the mushroom from the underside, with the gills clearly visible all the way up. I hope you don't give your friends mushrooms!

Posted by: Roger at June 27, 2020 05:09 PM (wLtJD)

123 From Idaho's Treasure Valley, Boise area: I've been sitting here reading, and I suddenly realized I hadn't posted yet.

I'm sure everybody here already knows... if yer growin tomatoes to save money, yer doin it wrong.

Our linden tree is flowering! If you've never smelled a blooming linden tree, you're missing out! Plus it's attracted tiger swallowtail butterflies.

I finally finished deadheading all the stems of purple Siberian Iris around the yard. The "mother-clump" by the garage had 60 stems. The 5 clumps on the south side of the house had between 60 and 100 stems!! I think this fall we need to thin them, and toss some, or arrange to give some away (one friend's already asked).

The strawberry crop was pitiful - not a lot of fruit, and half of that had bugs or was rotted. After finally getting one of the marauding bugs under a hand lens... we have millipedes. After we get the last berries, we're going remove the larger plants to improve the plants' air circulation, then dose both beds with Sevin.

The spinach and lettuce are bolting. I think we need to plant only 4 feet of row each, instead of 8, since we never eat it fast enough. It's not going to waste, though; I'm delivering treats to my neighbor's chickens each morning.

I have *got* to pull out some of the chamomile plants... I'm going nuts with how much picking I have to do, to keep it all from seeding out.

Today I did a major thinning/harvesting pass on the 32 feet total of carrot rows. When I weighed the bag of washed chopped carrots, I had 3 pounds! Did I go overboard on carrot planting? Maybe, just maybe... The best performers were the Territorial Seed Co.'s "Yellowstone", which says it's also a good fall/winter carrot (so I'll plant some later on, mostly for fresh eating) - and my boring orange "Little Finger" (mini-Nantes type) packaged in... (wait for it) 2014. I was disappointed with the results from the red type I got, and very disappointed with the purple - I'm hoping that now they're all thinned and have room to grow, the rest of the harvest will be more like what the catalog promised.

It's almost time to check the shelling pea pods, and the tomatoes too - the neighbor's gifts, the "Beefsteak" and "Legend" plants, will be first to produce.

I'm also watching our 3 little blueberry bushes, since I just spotted one turning blue today.

The hummingbird-attracting mix I planted last year has produced huge larkspurs this year, a good 5 feet tall, multiple branches, in purple and in white/lavender. I cut some of the purples, plus red penstemon, and stems from the cilantro and their delicate white flowers, for a patriotic vase for the kitchen. The bed itself has the blue-ish purple larkspur, and some of the Sweet William Pinks are red, and white, so the garden itself is celebrating Independence Day.

Everybody out there have a Joyous Independence Day!
And stay safe out there - Constant Vigilance.

Posted by: Pat* at June 27, 2020 07:17 PM (2pX/F)

124 Some large creature attacked and damaged two bird feeders and a squirrel feeder last night. It could have been deer, but it wasn't deer. What's the best recipe for bear?

Posted by: FlimFlammed at June 27, 2020 07:21 PM (ZTDnL)

125 Too bad there isn't a photo of the top of those mushrooms, but I don't think they're chicken anyway. Chicken mushroom is bright orange on top (sometimes with lighter and darker banding), and sulfur yellow underneath. It's easy to find since that color combo glows like a beacon in the woods. It usually grows on well rotted oak logs/stumps, but may occasionally be found on live trees. And it does indeed taste like chicken. It's one of the safest mushrooms for amateurs to eat, since nothing else looks like it, though caution is advised for first-timers. A small percentage of the population may experience a mild allergic reaction (swollen lips, tongue, etc.).
Posted by: Equirhodont

That's L. sulfureus. L. cincinnatus is whitish.

Posted by: MarkY at June 27, 2020 09:14 PM (JiE7b)

126 I may do this more in the years to come. This is cheaper and more fun that buying onion sets,
Posted by: Kindltot at June 27, 2020 03:40

I've done that before. Also planted the rooted bottoms of 2 large onopns last yr. Got some of the largest onions I'n ever grown, and they were free. Let one seed head go and i've planted more this yr and have seed for next yr.
Just got in 5 min before it started raining here again, hooray.

Posted by: Farmer at June 27, 2020 09:55 PM (NdOIs)

127 So jealous of everyone's tomatoes. We've had such crappy spring weather. Heated up the past week so at least we're seeing some blooms. We are harvesting squash and no squash bugs yet (fingers crossed). On second planting of lettuce. Carrots taste great. Seeds were from last years that went to seed. I love growing most things from seed, although it takes longer to harvest. But it's good experience in case the SHTF.

Posted by: S.Lynn at June 28, 2020 12:54 AM (+MAQj)

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