Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread

Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread - March 27 [KT]

Well, I guess the seasons are changing!

When the fig trees grew leaves, I still wasn't sure, but when the Irises open, Spring has officially arrived.
40 Miles North

I logged on and saw the crocus picture and realized I'd never sent this as I took it especially to send to the garden thread. At least they are a different color.
willow's apprentice

A beautiful color. They go with the iris, too.

What is it?

Found this in the woods behind the house. I have no idea what it is but the colors caught my eye.
- f'd

Anybody know?

Speaking of woods,

Maple Syrup

We finished maple syrup batch #3. This photo shows the difference in colour between batches 1 & 3. The beginning of maple syrup season always produces syrup with a light colour & more delicate flavor - preferable for use in making treats like maple butter & maple candy. As the season progresses the colour gets darker & the syrup has a more mapley flavor - better for pancakes & waffles or authentic maple walnut ice cream. Regardless of colour, all maple syrup contains 66% sugar (66 brix) so each batch has the same sweetness but all have subtle variations in flavor.
PointyHairedBoss

This is a photo from the first boil that I missed somehow. Steamy!

Carnivorous Plants

Hope all is well with you and yours. Just wanted to share some pics of my plants that thanks to very cold temps here in Florida( down to 28 degrees at nite for several days over several weeks), are blooming like mad and sending up pitchers and new growth.
Tony Litwin

We'll be posting more later.

Drosera capensis. Love the sparkles. Bet some little insects do, too.

Venus flytrap.

Sarracenia 'Marilyn's Blush' is lovely.

Sarracenia rubra doesn't exactly look like a carnivorous plant at this stage.

Wildlife and Wildlife Art

Here are two more heron pics. One is a portrait around sunset, which I thought was a really good picture...so much so that I thought it would make a good label for a winery. (The second photo is a PhotoShop, but I think it looks pretty good.)
Thanks again for the Gardening Thread and the Before The Gardening Thread, both excellent.
BeckoningChasm

Last Week

Unusual:

Mason bees in the fridge

Puttering

Hi KT,
Yeah Buddy AKA Traveling Man here. Here are a few quilts my wife just made up. I helped on the KC Chiefs quilt, made for a boy my daughter took in for a while.

On the KC quilt, if you look close at the black backing, you can see the thread pattern used when it was quilted.

That's some real quilting.

The second is a lap quilt

and the third is a baby quilt.

Well, I am impressed.

Now for something far less practical and durable. Have you ever thought about putting up a basketball hoop or something like it in the yard? What if you had an entire deserted resort in the French Alps to play with?

Gardens of The Horde

I posted in comments a couple weeks ago that I was hoping for a bright spring after the "year that shall not be named." So last fall I planted more than 100+ Daffodil, Hyacinth, and Crocus bulbs. Well I'm starting to see some results. Hyacinth and Daffodils have yet to pop, but the Crocus are coming along.
Shy Lurking Voter

The crocus are beautiful, and the hyacinth buds are fat!

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

ktinthegarden
at that g mail dot com place

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

Posted by: Open Blogger at 01:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Good afternoon Greenthumbs

Posted by: Skip at March 27, 2021 01:33 PM (Cxk7w)

2 Red berry plant.....Nandina?

Posted by: BignJames at March 27, 2021 01:35 PM (AwYPR)

3 Nice photos from everyone.

More herons if you want to see them:

https://tinyurl.com/czd5bhpn

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at March 27, 2021 01:37 PM (OU+8W)

4 Lovely pics. Spring has sprung!

Posted by: JuJuBee at March 27, 2021 01:37 PM (mNhhD)

5 My aunt and mom are into quitting, it's a labor of love the hours into them.
Me on other hand should turn over garden soil, sift compost from 2 years ago to put into garden.

And mini Daffodils are up, full ones just starting maybe more tomorrow.

Posted by: Skip at March 27, 2021 01:37 PM (Cxk7w)

6 Yes, I thought nandina too. They are very common in central Texas and get spread everywhere because birds eat the berries.

Speaking of my part of Texas, wildflowers are starting to come out including our beloved bluebonnets. Despite the big freeze, it looks like a pretty good (albeit late) season for wildflowers since the seeds the fledgling plants were insulated by all of the snow.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at March 27, 2021 01:40 PM (fTtFy)

7 what a cruel thread-
bare trees, dormant grass, snow still on the ground here
the only flowers are in the grocery store

Springtime in Colorado

Posted by: DB- just DB at March 27, 2021 01:40 PM (iTXRQ)

8 Chives are growing and abundant. First dandelions have appeared.

Posted by: Mrs. JTB at March 27, 2021 01:40 PM (7EjX1)

9
My daffodils are blooming and it's almost 70 degrees outside.

I save all the little hunks of small garlic in a bowl and planted about 100 of them in December and they're popped up 6" in the air. Not really sure if it works but I'm giving it a try. Anyone with garlic growing 'sperience?

Posted by: Bill from Attainder at March 27, 2021 01:41 PM (N/gDA)

10 Still working on planning the new food garden. Wood is too damned expensive so I'm making the sides of the planters out of corrugated galvanized steel, with a 2x4 frame to save cash. I'm going to build about 1/3 of it this spring, and maybe expand it through the summer. Started my tomatoes, cukes and peppers, which are an indoor crop up here. I need to collect some 5 gal buckets for planters for those if I want a good yield. I'm going to try green beans up against the house and see if they can get warm enough there to grow. Light is not a problem up here in the summer, but it doesn't get up to 80 degrees often, so that's a limiting factor.

Maybe by next year we can build the big greenhouse.

Outdoors: potatoes, strawberries, peas, carrots, green beans, parsley, sunflowers, a couple of other things. I'm farmin' this year, dammit.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at March 27, 2021 01:41 PM (N5Tno)

11 crazy weather too
Monday- sunny, 68
Tuesday- snow, 38

Posted by: DB- just DB at March 27, 2021 01:41 PM (iTXRQ)

12 Springtime in Colorado
Posted by: DB- just DB at March 27, 2021 01:40 PM (iTXRQ)

Yeah, we have about 2 feet of snow just sitting there, but yesterday started breakup and we had puddles like lakes. Froze again overnight. So begins the messy mess that is spring.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at March 27, 2021 01:43 PM (N5Tno)

13 Correct, that's a Nandina. An illegal immigrant from Asia (heavenly bamboo). Invasive and a total bitch to try to remove.

Posted by: Lurkerette at March 27, 2021 01:44 PM (B4Nkq)

14 Yay, spring!

We were at our new house this week. It rained several times and I noticed standing water in the front yard between the sidewalk and the driveway and the off-street parking. I'm betting this becomes a mosquito factory as the weather warms.

Anyone have any creative ideas for dealing with standing water in a low point? Would just adding dirt help or do we need to engineer something? I noticed a culvert poking out in the neighbor's yard.

Posted by: Emmie at March 27, 2021 01:44 PM (ofYez)

15 Posted by: Bill from Attainder

Just leave them be until they start to turn yellow, then pull them out of the ground and hang them by the stalks somewhere dark and well ventilated to cure for about 4-6 weeks.

Posted by: Lurkerette at March 27, 2021 01:46 PM (B4Nkq)

16 13 Correct, that's a Nandina. An illegal immigrant from Asia (heavenly bamboo). Invasive and a total bitch to try to remove.
Posted by: Lurkerette at March 27, 2021 01:44 PM (B4Nkq)

Roundup. FTW.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at March 27, 2021 01:47 PM (N5Tno)

17 Good day all. I am busily cleaning up all our maple syrup equipment.

Posted by: Muad'dib at March 27, 2021 01:47 PM (sjdRT)

18 Posted by: Lurkerette at March 27, 2021 01:46 PM

Thanks.

Posted by: Bill from Attainder at March 27, 2021 01:48 PM (N/gDA)

19 My two Crandall currant plants arrived this week and I planted them in two huge, maybe 17 gallon, containers. I can't lift them but I can drag them, to better sun if needed. Right now they look like two forked sticks but they have buds.

Realized I will have to protect them from cicadas laying their eggs on them this year, so ordered insect netting. At least they are cicadas, not locusts, so my planned container veggies will be okay.

Posted by: skywch at March 27, 2021 01:48 PM (Y/Ps0)

20 Emmie, a catch basin is easiest.
If I blow the margins, forgive me...

https://youtu.be/izzlAlOaXpo

Posted by: Lurkerette at March 27, 2021 01:49 PM (B4Nkq)

21 (Oh, and they usually turn yellow when it gets really hot, like late June/July.)

Posted by: Lurkerette at March 27, 2021 01:50 PM (B4Nkq)

22 11

Sounds like spring to me!
We had it much worse, back in my day.

Posted by: Pleistocene Megafauna at March 27, 2021 01:50 PM (doAIC)

23 hiya

Posted by: JT at March 27, 2021 01:53 PM (arJlL)

24
That Red Bull skiing vid needs to be an opening scene in a Bond film.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 27, 2021 01:54 PM (U50PB)

25 I was wondering if anyone ever made alcohol out of tree sap, especially maple syrup, and I found this:

Maple Sap Ale
Making beer from the last run of sap is a forgotten tradition that is now making a comeback. Many years ago, rather than making really dark and potentially off-flavored syrup from the yellowish, bacteria-laden sap at the end of the season, some sugarmakers used this sap to brew a strong beer. They would boil it down partially and then add yeast, hops, and perhaps some raisins or sugar, then stick it in a barrel for a few months until it was ready. The tradition of sap beer was popular enough that Vermont artist John Cassel recorded a song all about sap beer in the 1970s.

Posted by: banana Dream at March 27, 2021 01:54 PM (6kpT2)

26 tcn in AK, 01:41 PM

Soil temperature to start green beans may be more of a deal than air temperature later. You might want to start them indoors and transplant them before they get too big.

Choice of variety is important, too. Some beans do a lot better in cool weather than others. I would go for the varieties typical in New England or the PNW. Or in the UK. Provider is one. It's a bust where I live.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 01:55 PM (BVQ+1)

27 and maple wine:

Maple Wine
While touring different sugarbushes in Quebec a few years ago I met Alberto Milan, the owner of a Canadian wine company. This was during the height of the recession when many businesses were suffering, yet Alberto's sales were soaring. He provided us with a brilliant rationale for why he decided to focus on using maple for wine rather than as a pancake topping. According to Alberto, "When the economy is good, people have lots of money and they like to celebrate and drink alcohol . . . and when the economy is bad, people are upset and like to drown their sorrows by drinking alcohol." cont. ...

Posted by: banana Dream at March 27, 2021 01:55 PM (6kpT2)

28 ... cont.

So no matter what happens with the economy, the sale of alcoholic beverages continues to grow. Sales have been particularly strong in China and are now expanding into the US market through a distributor under the name of Maple Connoisseur. His company produces a table wine, sparkling wine, and ice wine all made with pure maple syrup. The process involves diluting the syrup with water and then starting the fermentation process until most of the sugar is consumed by yeast. Venerable is the table wine and is not nearly as sweet as you would imagine it to be, though the ice wine

Posted by: banana Dream at March 27, 2021 01:56 PM (6kpT2)

29 tcn,

Runner beans are another possibility. They grow
those in the UK a lot. Heat prevents beans from setting on some of
those. They take a long season, though. Might start indoors. Don't
eat raw.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 01:56 PM (BVQ+1)

30 Posted by: banana Dream at March 27, 2021 01:54 PM (6kpT2)

That's interesting....I've made a 'Braggot' using honey...very good and $$.

Posted by: BignJames at March 27, 2021 01:57 PM (AwYPR)

31 What a nice selection of pictures today, kt. Love all the purple flowers. And, BC, your heron pictures are impressive. Heron in silhouette. Temps have already gotten into the 90s a few times. No rain to bring out the desert flowers. Although my daughter did bring over a few tomatoes from their plants. Nothing like fresh from the plant tomatoes.

Posted by: AlmostYuman at March 27, 2021 01:59 PM (Jhy7Y)

32 20 Emmie, a catch basin is easiest.
If I blow the margins, forgive me...

https://youtu.be/izzlAlOaXpo
Posted by: Lurkerette at March 27, 2021 01:49 PM (B4Nkq

Thank you, Lurkerette! That looks interesting.

Going for a walk in the sunshine now. Ahhhh!

Posted by: Emmie at March 27, 2021 02:00 PM (ofYez)

33 Wife asked me to plant some peonies last year. Having lived in central Texas most of my life, I've enjoyed learning to grow new things here in the Tennessee mountains. When the peonies died off I assumed I did something wrong - too much shade or water. Well, much to my surprise, they're coming back up right now. I had no idea that peonies died back each year. I thought they were a perennial bush!

Posted by: Cumberland Astro at March 27, 2021 02:00 PM (d9Cw3)

34
The "Today We Cook" poster from 'Breaking Bad" is so appropriate and lol funny.

Posted by: Bill from Attainder at March 27, 2021 02:01 PM (N/gDA)

35 Great thread!
The crocus pics are great. Mine have peaked so now it's on to tulips and daffs.

Posted by: Diogenes at March 27, 2021 02:01 PM (axyOa)

36 Local deer have developed a taste for the wife's tulips...she's pissed.

Posted by: BignJames at March 27, 2021 02:03 PM (AwYPR)

37 Wife asked me to plant some peonies last year. Having lived in central Texas most of my life, I've enjoyed learning to grow new things here in the Tennessee mountains. When the peonies died off I assumed I did something wrong - too much shade or water. Well, much to my surprise, they're coming back up right now. I had no idea that peonies died back each year. I thought they were a perennial bush!
Posted by: Cumberland Astro

They are. An herbaceous perennial. Roots can live for hundreds of years, especially if divided routinely.

Posted by: MkY at March 27, 2021 02:03 PM (OvvOO)

38 >>> That's interesting....I've made a 'Braggot' using honey...very good and $$.
Posted by: BignJames at March 27, 2021 01:57 PM (AwYPR)

From the same article, I read that there are places that make a honey/maple mead which is referred to as an "acerglyn".

Posted by: banana Dream at March 27, 2021 02:06 PM (6kpT2)

39 tcn,
'Bountiful' is another New England bean variety. Light colored, early, good canner, they say.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 02:06 PM (BVQ+1)

40
Roundup. FTW.
Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail

All hail Makaze from the co-op.

Posted by: Infidel at March 27, 2021 02:06 PM (E0OEG)

41 Choice of variety is important, too. Some beans do a lot better in cool weather than others. I would go for the varieties typical in New England or the PNW. Or in the UK. Provider is one. It's a bust where I live.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 01:55 PM (BVQ+1)

Thanks for the advice. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't, but I won't go another year without making dilly beans. My ultimate Keto snack.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at March 27, 2021 02:09 PM (N5Tno)

42 It's still freezing here at night. I found a nice wrought iron shelf for the front porch. I want to put some herbs in pots out there. Southern exposure. Not sure how to start the seeds. Any ideas?

Mom used to plant wonderful tomatoes on the tiered patio. She passed in 94. Now it needs replaced. The railroad ties and all decaying (circa 75) and he planted plastic plants, weed barrier and bark. Has anyone used interlocking block? I'm thinking I could do it myself if I could get someone to pull out the ties. My 29 yo self would hurt itself doing that.

Posted by: Infidel at March 27, 2021 02:12 PM (E0OEG)

43 Beautiful top picture of iris. Looks just like the ones that used to grow all along the side of my house.

My tulips are starting to come up. Not much else out there right now.

Posted by: Jewells45 at March 27, 2021 02:13 PM (nxdel)

44 A question for this segment of the Horde: does trying to learn oil painting (Bob Ross style) count as puttering? 'Cause due to age and Texas heat, I don't do outside stuff much any more.

Posted by: empire 1 at March 27, 2021 02:14 PM (JJatH)

45 empire 1

Yes, painting counts. Drawing counts. Doodling counts.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 02:15 PM (BVQ+1)

46 Lovely pics. I need to go feed the horses and peck at the list of 'things that should be done around this darned place' I tend to feel overwhelmed and still fighting resentment that dad aint going to do squat anymore. He's 81, so its totally illogical to expect he'd still be doing mowing and shit even with the tractor and riding mower.

I'd probably care less if I didn't feel like I'm supposed to maintain some value on the place to split with the siblings who live out of state. I should probably just decide to embrace the decline. They both get another asset and its not like I need to get a big hunk of cash out of the 'estate.' If either of them feels ripped off down the road too bad so sad.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at March 27, 2021 02:16 PM (Aashi)

47 Painting is one of the highest forms of art. Doesn't matter if you are any good. Using color and creating is the bomb. I've been teaching my son acrylics. He's done a color wheel, an object (his bass guitar, of course) and is starting to work from a photo. I"m also going to have him copy one of the masters. It's fun.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at March 27, 2021 02:17 PM (N5Tno)

48 17 Good day all. I am busily cleaning up all our maple syrup equipment.

It looks like we have maybe one run of sap left coming week. We had 3 days of 60 plus temperatures last week (very unusual for our area) which totally confused the trees. Because of the warm weather I had to dump 60 gallons of sap I was saving to boil, it went cloudy. First time I've had to do that. Our crop this year will be our lowest in 10 years but no worries: lots more than we need for the year, not so much for family & friends

Posted by: PoityHairedBoss at March 27, 2021 02:17 PM (SBLkv)

49 I have enjoyed quite a few meads. I knew a bee keppes who made a lot of honey products from his hives and realized mead would be a great addition. I am sure some don't know how to do it or government red tape stops them. But we don't need another Bees wax soap variation, make some mead.

Posted by: Quint at March 27, 2021 02:18 PM (mP2It)

50 If either of them feels ripped off down the road too bad so sad.
Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at March 27, 2021 02:16 PM (Aashi)

Hire somebody to do the big stuff. Take that much from the estate when the time comes.

Posted by: tcn in AK, Hail to the Thief at March 27, 2021 02:18 PM (N5Tno)

51 Infidel at 02:12 PM
Depends on your climate. A lot of herbs that do well in a hot southern exposure - rosemary, thyme, oregano etc. are best bought as little plants. You can also get the best culinary varieties this way.

Annual herbs are mostly pretty easy to start indoors. Parsley takes a long time to sprout.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 02:19 PM (BVQ+1)

52 34
The "Today We Cook" poster from 'Breaking Bad" is so appropriate

When visitors come to see our syrup operation you always know the Breaking Bad fans. The others (of which there are few) just have a confused look on their faces

Posted by: PoityHairedBoss at March 27, 2021 02:21 PM (SBLkv)

53 Northern blue flag iris is my 2nd favorite wildflower.

They won't be blooming until May in these parts.

Posted by: fluffy at March 27, 2021 02:22 PM (UnQlg)

54 Here at casa mayhem....
Daffydills are blooming, peonies are sprouting, Bradford pear is starting to bloom, the spice bush is getting close to bloom, and Hubbymayhem is getting the mower ready. Yay spring!!

Also the girl spawn just had her first driving lesson, she is painting a big sawmill blade for her aunt, and spring cleaning a flower bed at the library. Busy day already.

Posted by: Madamemayhem (uppity wench) at March 27, 2021 02:24 PM (Vxu+H)

55 I have had maple infused mead. And the worst commercial whiskey I know of is Knob Creek Smoked Maple. But I don't think I have ever had a mead like drink made from maple syrup. You really can't call it a beer because it is not based on grain. And you can't call it a wine because it is not made from fruit. It would be a mead like fermented beverage as far as I know.

I heard the original recipes for root beer. And even then they said it was non alcoholic. That is something I can't understand. If you add yeast to a sugary product and let it ferment, alcohol will be produced. It might not have been produced in sufficient quantities, but if you are adding yeast to sugar at the right temperature, you are going to get what you are going to get.

Posted by: Quint at March 27, 2021 02:24 PM (mP2It)

56 That top pick needs a Godzilla photoshop

Posted by: Big V Caffeinated at March 27, 2021 02:28 PM (6Pqz7)

57 Thanks, KT. There is a great locally owned nursery juts down the road. Next weekend. Still too cold here.

Posted by: Infidel at March 27, 2021 02:29 PM (E0OEG)

58 >> Beautiful top picture of iris.
Thanks, Jewells.

Posted by: 40 Miles North at March 27, 2021 02:32 PM (uWF4x)

59 Yup. Too early for anything here but bulbs already in. Will be below freezing tomorrow night and lows in the 20's (�F) mid next week.

Gonna unpack the patio furniture anyway.

Posted by: Pussy Galore at March 27, 2021 02:33 PM (doAIC)

60 Posted by: Quint at March 27, 2021 02:24 PM (mP2It)

last post so I don't mess up the gardening commentary. But of course a maple based fermented beverage or even distilled beverage would be most similar to a rum. Maple syrup is probably too dear to make into a distilled beverage. But I wouldn't doubt for a second that there are fermented, mead like products available.

Posted by: Quint at March 27, 2021 02:35 PM (mP2It)

61 My tulips come and go, but my hyacinths and daffodils are forever. The iris and day lilies and peonies also seem to stay around forever, and with no assistance the clematis by my porch has continued for 25 years (or more, my uncle put it there).

This year I did not cut back the iris, and some of them held the green and the leaves came back this spring, despite that really cold month. Low maintenance flowers that hold their own without much attention, my kind of gardening. ...

The iris above is about the color of mine, but mine are "bearded" ... lots of nice variations available. -- Nice slab of wood for the windowsill holding the maple syrup.

Posted by: illiniwek at March 27, 2021 02:37 PM (Cus5s)

62 Thanks, KT and tcn! Great, now I can contribute to this thread.

I've only been doing it for a couple of weeks now, since I felt a need to develop an indoor hobby other than the fabric arts I used to do (cat gets too involved for me to actually accomplish anything!). So I'm still at the bottom of the left hand of the learning curve, but at least I AM learning.

A couple of the first things I found out: 1) Hobby Lobby's Master's Touch oil paints don't have enough body for the wet-on-wet method.

2) Get the best natural-bristle brushes you can afford. Results with the first set I got were poor enough I'm passing all but one along to a youngster just getting into an art form that's less challenging to brushes than the wet-on-wet method.

Posted by: empire 1 at March 27, 2021 02:37 PM (JJatH)

63 Gonna unpack the patio furniture anyway.

That's what I'm doing tomorrow. Hubby needs to paint a small portion of the deck where it somehow discolored over the winter. I'm not sure if it was the umbrella holder or something else but it's right under where the holder sat. So the table will be off center for a day or two.

Posted by: Jewells45 at March 27, 2021 02:38 PM (nxdel)

64 Nice thread, as always, KT. Impressive that some of the horde can produce their own maple syrup.

Posted by: 40 Miles North at March 27, 2021 02:41 PM (uWF4x)

65 Actually did some yard work today! Raked up dead leaves and palo verde straw, and some litter from the SE corner of the yard, and hula-hoed some weeds.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at March 27, 2021 02:42 PM (mzC78)

66 We inherited a little chihuahua when our friend died, and he is blind now. He is getting livelier with the change in seasons, somehow. This morning, he got lost in the back bedroom. Took me a while to find him.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 02:45 PM (BVQ+1)

67 Actually did some yard work today! Raked up dead leaves and palo verde straw, and some litter from the SE corner of the yard, and hula-hoed some weeds.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon

Were ya wearin' a grass skirt ?

Posted by: JT at March 27, 2021 02:46 PM (arJlL)

68 FIRST!!!!!

Posted by: Sponge - Saying Ashli Babbitt at March 27, 2021 02:47 PM (Zz0t1)

69 Ok.

The dude doing the speedriding thing is a legit straight up badass.

That shit cray.

Posted by: Sponge - Saying Ashli Babbitt at March 27, 2021 02:47 PM (Zz0t1)

70 The little sundews are my favorite carnivorous plants. I think they look kind of festive.

They all seem to like the spring weather.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 02:48 PM (BVQ+1)

71 The Sarracenia rubra reminds me of poppies.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 02:50 PM (BVQ+1)

72 My aunt and mom are into quitting,

Posted by: Skip at March 27, 2021 01:37 PM (Cxk7w)

You should tell them quitters never win.

Posted by: Sponge - Saying Ashli Babbitt at March 27, 2021 02:51 PM (Zz0t1)

73 1" of rain thursday in the rain guage followed by some wind and cool, seasonal temps here in N. Iindiana.

Lettuce be thankful!

Srsly. Transplanted 65 lettuce plants, iceburg, bibb, romaine and some looseleaf. They took a pounding but look great today. Also put in 45 foot of Oregon Giant snow peas which now have a set of cat tracks going right down the row. The radishes i planted 12 days ago are sprouting as are the mustard green seed from 2013 that i had in a pint jar. I sowed them THICK. Pepper seedlings are green, oh, green under the cool white tubes.

Posted by: Cicero Kaboom! Kid at March 27, 2021 02:51 PM (n/szn)

74 Sponge:
Yes. And he got a bunch of people to help him, too.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 02:52 PM (BVQ+1)

75 We inherited a little chihuahua when our friend died, and he is blind now. He is getting livelier with the change in seasons, somehow. This morning, he got lost in the back bedroom. Took me a while to find him.

Awww!!

Posted by: Jewells45 at March 27, 2021 02:52 PM (nxdel)

76 Glad I could share with the horde. Having just a little problem with the Crocus. Got either a bunnie or a deer that has taken a liking to the blooms. Had a few lopped off at the top overnight.

Several of the Hyacinth are starting to get real fat though, and the critters leave them alone.

A few of the Daffodils have now bloomed and look great. A bunch of my neighbors already have some nice Daffodil patches in full bloom. Not too jealous since I know it will take a season or 3 for them to spread and fill out.

All in all, a nice respite from last spring.

Posted by: Shy Lurking Voter at March 27, 2021 02:53 PM (DkHo+)

77 61 ... Nice slab of wood for the windowsill holding the maple syrup.

Every year during maple syrup season I have a small project on the go to fill in between collecting sap & stoking the boiler. This year I made a cabinet to replace the mish mash of stuff under our front window. The wood top came from a maple tree I cut down & had sawn into slabs about 5 years ago. You can see what it replaced here:
https://youtu.be/FspQDw-HFIs

Posted by: PoityHairedBoss at March 27, 2021 02:58 PM (SBLkv)

78 Shy Lurking Voter at March 27, 2021 02:53 PM
Yes, crocus are definitely more susceptible to critters than daffodils.

C. tomasianus (sp?) may be less so. It's an early one. They're called "Tommies"

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 02:59 PM (BVQ+1)

79 The stitch patterns on the reverses of the quilts are great.

Posted by: KT at March 27, 2021 03:00 PM (BVQ+1)

80 Pet NOOD

Posted by: Skip guy who says NOOD at March 27, 2021 03:02 PM (Cxk7w)

81
My lettuce *did* survive the winter. Don't ask which variety, I don't know. I trimmed it down to nothing in late October and it survived a Pennsylvania winter with ease.

Posted by: Bill from Attainder at March 27, 2021 03:05 PM (N/gDA)

82 Did get some hobby spraying done with the nice weather, 9 weeks of miniatures coated with clear coat. Hopefully came out well because with humidity to high they look dusted.
Also paint coated my cartridge wheelbarrow.

Posted by: Skip at March 27, 2021 03:05 PM (Cxk7w)

83 >>> last post so I don't mess up the gardening commentary. But of course a maple based fermented beverage or even distilled beverage would be most similar to a rum. Maple syrup is probably too dear to make into a distilled beverage. But I wouldn't doubt for a second that there are fermented, mead like products available.
Posted by: Quint at March 27, 2021 02:35 PM (mP2It)

The article I was reading said that indeed, maple is to valuable for direct distilling into liquor. That's why it's been mostly used for ales, beers, wine, and mead. But I guess there's a lot of maple left over at the end of the season that's much darker and doesn't market as well. A few distilleries have used that in large quantities to make vodka and then flavor with a small amount of the finer, lighter, more valuable maple at the end of distilling to make full maple vodka.

Posted by: banana Dream at March 27, 2021 03:09 PM (6kpT2)

84 "I had no idea that peonies died back each year."

There are less-common tree peonies that only drop their leaves from thin woody stalks. The one I brought down from my parents' house in Virginia has a few deep purple blooms, but hasn't grown in size in 30 years. Kinda weird to see giant 8" flowers on a 2' plant.

Posted by: Ralph L at March 27, 2021 03:15 PM (74Jqn)

85 Ahh. I decided where I could put some leaky old water troughs to try and grow a few spuds and maybe something else. It is calming just to have a plan to grow something.

Posted by: PaleRider is simply irredeemable at March 27, 2021 03:38 PM (Aashi)

86 "The wood top came from a maple tree I cut down had sawn into slabs about 5 years ago." PHB

wow, even more way cool seeing the cabinetry with it. That is some prime "puttering".

Posted by: illiniwek at March 27, 2021 03:41 PM (Cus5s)

87 Ugh, gardening puttering thread need more action. I feel responsible for this. Lots of fun projects coming this summer.

Posted by: KarlHungus at March 27, 2021 06:54 PM (dn7n1)

88 Ummm unidentified plant... Leaves of 3 let it be, leaves of 4 eat some more?

Posted by: KarlHungus at March 27, 2021 06:59 PM (dn7n1)

89 From Boise area: Daytime temperatures warming up, nights still usually around 35 F; though we had a surprise snow squall Mon. eve. Tree crew was in on Mon. morning to remove large limbs from 2 trees (saved the future firewood size pieces). Husband got part of the grass seed down before a rainy night.
I planted 3 cabbage seeds, 2 feet of radish row, 7 bags of fingerlings, 3 bags of German Butterball potatoes (experiment). More seed planting planned for tomorrow, as well as "up-potting" some indoor starts.
Tall-type daylily behind garage has leaves up to 6", short-type by front sidewalk is 2". Lily of the valley pips now showing out back. Hyacinths at peak bloom.
I'm removing dead strawberry leaves - made progress today but still plenty to go. Husband brought the patio bench out of the shed. Main project for today was planting 3 fruit trees - Warren and Seckel pears, Elberta peach.

Posted by: Pat* at March 27, 2021 07:00 PM (2pX/F)

90 Remember: We are not The Deplorables. We are The Unconquerables! We won't be lied to, and we won't live under the lash. Stay alert, stay prepared, stay safe out there. Be ready to build over, build under, build around, and have Unfettered Conversations!

My usual encouragement to all here: improve survival skills, build a trustworthy network of friends/allies!, keep up morale, resist oppressive "FedCoats", and mock gov't officials & media (without getting caught red-handed). Also, write to your Senators/Reps to express opinions (politely will work better to get them to listen).

Today's prepping suggestion (I totally welcome others adding suggestions in future posts!): If you have a *secure* place to hide cash at home, stow some. Electricity out, probably equals no working ATM's. Same thing if you have a *safe* place to store a gas can - gas pumps may not work without electricity.

Posted by: Pat* at March 27, 2021 07:05 PM (2pX/F)

91 Love your posts Pat. We are unconquerables! Except for maybe insane thunderstorms. I was driving last week, 8 days ago. Between twin falls and boise, it rained so hard the slight hill on i84 turned into a river and my back tires would not stay connected to the roadway. Most traffic slowed to 20mph and I put it in 4high, still had traction issues but made it out alive!

Posted by: KarlHungus at March 27, 2021 08:06 PM (dn7n1)

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