Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, April 16

Happy Easter or Passover Weekend, everybody! Things are getting more spring-like in many parts of the world, at least part of the time. We are receiving some interesting photos and ideas in from The Horde, even some ideas for home production of food.

Don't you love the photo above?

Hiya, kt!
So I was off on a walk a couple weekends ago and made a detour off the beach to go see a huge cherry tree in full bloom.
As I was admiring the blossoms, I noticed this friendly fellow looking back at me! Of course I said hello and we had quite a little chat before I was along my merry way. Thank you for the gardening and critter thread!
nurse ratched

That great photo reminded me of this:

Photo Art, Japan

a friend of a friend did the photo art for this poster advertising an event at a gallery in Osaka. Dreamy. They take cherry blossoms seriously in Japan.

Wildflowers

Kindltot send in some wildflower photos. We only have room for a couple today. More to come later:

Spring means the lilies are blooming in the woods . .

The thing that surprised me was that I found a Calypso orchid blooming too. Oregon has an amazing number of boring orchids. They are generally tiny boring white or green flowers, but the Calypso is the pretty one. It is tiny - the flower stem is about as long as my middle finger.

Beautiful flowers, so delicate!

Easter, Eggs, Chickens

Got guests coming?

An almost-Easter Lily (Calla lily (Zantedeschia)

Our neighbor across the street gave us some eggs just in time for Easter. Three are gone already. They are better than supermarket eggs. Shown here on our culinary rosemary plant.

Our neighbor used to keep a rooster or two as well, but not now. His fencing is more secure now, too. His chickens don't visit us anymore. This was the last visit we got from one of his roosters.

Know anybody who is into fancy chickens? This is Bob Marley, a feisty Polish rooster.

He belongs to the woman who did this video, potato salad with farm-fresh eggs. The video is a little long in a neighborly sort of way, but the recipe seems good. Especially if you have chickens or leftover Easter eggs. Of course, everyone has their own opinion about potato salad ingredients. What's your favorite kind?

Here's an interesting roundup of books on Chicken Portraiture. The antagonistic chickens are really antagonistic. The glamour shots are really glamourous. h/t David Thompson

No farm where you can house chickens? Here's an idea:

UFO chicken spaceship coop directions

If you are more into fresh spring peas and new potatoes for Easter than potato salad with eggs, By-Tor has a couple of ideas for using some of those leftover Easter eggs:

This is one of those things people turn their nose up at but might like if they tried it. I have eaten beet juice pickled eggs all my life but I tried this recipe and it's just as good. And there are a ton of variations.
Start with a brine ratio of 1 water 1 vinegar and .5 sugar. Adjust to your liking. So for example 1C water, 1 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup sugar. Add salt if you like. I didnt. You'd be fine if that is all you used but I added pickling spices, garlic and jalepeno. You could do tumeric, curry, no sugar and dill...variations are endless. leave in the fridge for a couple of days then eat. They will last 4 months or so in the fridge but they will be gone long before that. Don't throw out the brine- just add more eggs to the jar.

The kind with beet juice might cover up traces of egg dye on leftover Easter eggs.

From a commenter:

Pickling is stupid easy and fun. Add a bunch of jalapeno and habanero peppers to the jar and enjoy those after the eggs are long gone.

And here's an egg salad sandwich with (purchased) designer bread from a friend and homemade fermented dill pickles. More on those later.

Passover Foods from the Garden

I have been told that romaine lettuce qualifies as one of the "bitter herbs". Especially the roots. Where you gonna get lettuce roots if you don't grown your own? Here is some growing in the bottom halves of supermarket barbecued chicken containers with holes poked in the bottom. The clear tops of the containers, with holes punched in them, were left on until the plants sprouted unless it got really warm during the day.

Some of the plants in front were cut off more than an inch above the soil line to give them a chance to re-grow. So no, those plants were not used for Passover.

And here's a planter with several edibles, which looked better a week or two before this photo. Winter was over. The escarole and parsley were starting to bolt. I think that Escarole (endive) makes the list of "bitter herbs". And parsley is used elsewhere on the Seder plate. I don't think the violas are traditional.

ESCAROLE 'En Cornet de Bordeaux', DILL 'Bouquet', PARSLEY 'Giant Italian' (Prezzemolo Gigante d'Italia), KALE 'Red Russian', VIOLA 'Sorbet Orange Duet'.

Weather

Things like this seem to be happening in a lot of places.

But what about wind?

Tumbleweeds take over neighborhood

Is your weather garden-friendly?

Weather in Switzerland

Early last week, there were signs of spring around Zurich, where our Swiss Gardening and Adventure Guide Dog, Gioia, lives. I'm not sure what this shrub is. It has trumpet-shaped blooms, scalloped at the edges. Got any ideas?

Then winter returned, spoiling lots of blossoms. Drat. Gioia agreed with her humans that it was time to visit Lugano.

Ahhh, Lugano.

Tulips along the lake in Lugano

But this week, it has warmed up back at home, too. Here is Gioia waiting among the lawn daisies and dandelions for her rhododendrons to open. There are a couple more shots of Gioia on vacation in the Pet Thread, doing dog stuff.

And here are some Bleeding Hearts, already blooming:

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

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

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

Oh, and a little reminder from Dr_No about your seed-starting and indoor gardening endeavors:

Posted by: K.T. at 01:16 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Howdy

Posted by: Duke Lowell at April 16, 2022 01:17 PM (u73oe)

2 What a fantastic picture nurse!

Posted by: Jewells45 at April 16, 2022 01:17 PM (nxdel)

3 I called the otters.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at April 16, 2022 01:18 PM (u73oe)

4 Good afternoon Greenthumbs

Posted by: Skip's new phone at April 16, 2022 01:20 PM (2JoB8)

5 Nothing much new,cooler this week so not going to get plants yet

Posted by: Skip's new phone at April 16, 2022 01:21 PM (2JoB8)

6 Why is there a white dude flying through the air on that Japanese poster?

Posted by: sniffybigtoe at April 16, 2022 01:22 PM (Y5qcH)

7 Great pics!
I had to go retrieve a bat from the kitchen, or no food today.
Forgot to take a pic, but did remember the long handled fishing net.

Posted by: Willowed at April 16, 2022 01:22 PM (8a9V2)

8 Sorry. Forgot when I last posted from here

Posted by: Mky at April 16, 2022 01:22 PM (8a9V2)

9 Got two new bee nucs yesterday. I must be closing in on the worst beek anywhere record.

Posted by: Mky at April 16, 2022 01:23 PM (8a9V2)

10 Who's up for a little Saturday afternoon genocide?

Posted by: Insomniac - Outlaw. Hoarder. Wrecker. Honker. at April 16, 2022 01:24 PM (lR7Oz)

11 Willowed at April 16, 2022 01:22 PM

Why is a bat interested in your kitchen?

Posted by: KT at April 16, 2022 01:24 PM (0ghg2)

12 How stately is Gioia!

Posted by: m at April 16, 2022 01:24 PM (/xkVv)

13 sniffybigtoe at April 16, 2022 01:22 PM

I'm not sure that is a white dude.

Posted by: KT at April 16, 2022 01:26 PM (0ghg2)

14 12 How stately is Gioia!
Posted by: m at April 16, 2022 01:24 PM (/xkVv)

What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!

Posted by: Insomniac - Outlaw. Hoarder. Wrecker. Honker. at April 16, 2022 01:27 PM (lR7Oz)

15 Don't you love the photo above?

------

Yeah.

Totally awesome.

Also - don't look up.

Posted by: Hirohito & Tojo at April 16, 2022 01:27 PM (UGDPW)

16 Why is a bat interested in your kitchen?
Posted by: KT

Doubt if it is. They used to come in from the roof somewhere, but hadn't seen one in the house since I "trimmed" the upstairs... 3 years ago?
I expect it got in, and couldn't get out.
Little brown bat.

Posted by: Mky at April 16, 2022 01:28 PM (8a9V2)

17 We haven't had a lot of inclement weather this April, except for a lot of wind. But it has been unusually cold. Even today it's sunny but only 38 degrees. Which is about 20 degrees solder than average.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gen X Ne'er-Do-Well at April 16, 2022 01:28 PM (x8Wzq)

18 Well, "piece of work" is right!

Posted by: m at April 16, 2022 01:28 PM (/xkVv)

19 Hi KT.

Thanks for the Gardening Thread.

The tumbleweed invasion is great! I include a direct link:
https://is.gd/6BGBn8

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at April 16, 2022 01:28 PM (es5Qa)

20 13 sniffybigtoe at April 16, 2022 01:22 PM

I'm not sure that is a white dude.
Posted by: KT at April 16, 2022 01:26 PM (0ghg2)

Looks like a dude. Looks white.

Posted by: m at April 16, 2022 01:29 PM (/xkVv)

21 Why is there a special word for bat poop, but for everything else it's just poop?

Posted by: sniffybigtoe at April 16, 2022 01:29 PM (UuD2k)

22 Great photo, nurse ratched.

Posted by: m at April 16, 2022 01:30 PM (/xkVv)

23 We get the red-shouldered hawks coming into the yard looking for tasty chipmunks.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at April 16, 2022 01:31 PM (vuisn)

24
Looks like a dude. Looks white.
Posted by: m

Looks pale, there are lots of pale natives in Japan.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at April 16, 2022 01:32 PM (es5Qa)

25 I have been reading up on remineralizing soil. Working my way through the Intelligent Gardener by Steve Solomon. The chapter on soil tests is slow going. I also picked up Landrace Gardening by Joseph Lofthouse. I always like gardeners that experiment. You encourage genetic diversity by planting several varieties of a vegetable, letting the hardiest grow and using seeds from those plants to develop a variety that grows well in your area.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 01:32 PM (YynYJ)

26 re: fresh eggs. I was able to get some fresh duck eggs this week, very tasty. A little bit bigger than chicken eggs, with a noticeably bigger yolk.

Posted by: Tom Servo at April 16, 2022 01:33 PM (trdmm)

27 I'm adding my new red currant plants today!

Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 01:34 PM (ONvIw)

28 That pic is great, nurse! Story is a hoot, too!

Posted by: Taqiyyologist, Rickrolled by Jesus at April 16, 2022 01:34 PM (OssQ4)

29 You encourage genetic diversity by planting several varieties of a vegetable, letting the hardiest grow and using seeds from those plants to develop a variety that grows well in your area.
Posted by: Notsothoreau

If your neighbor plants sweet corn and you plant any other corn type your neighbor will really not be pleased.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at April 16, 2022 01:34 PM (es5Qa)

30 What a great photo from Nurse to open the thread.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 01:36 PM (nC+QA)

31 well in my part of E.T., all the small things are doing well and coming back to life. Many of the big things, sadly, have been laid waste. I've counted nearly thirty 100 year old oak trees in the blocks around me that came down 3 nights ago. Still things are getting back to normal, and everyone is out cleaning up today.

Posted by: Tom Servo at April 16, 2022 01:37 PM (trdmm)

32 There be owls!

Posted by: Eromero at April 16, 2022 01:37 PM (gktX6)

33 Good afternoon, guys and dolls! And morons.... Thanks for the garden thread, KT.

The new neighbors haven't owned property before. The young man already took out the ugly supposed-to-be lilac tree and bought too many actual trees. He gave me from lilac from his over-enthusiastic bounty.

Not sure where to put it yet, but it's already got leaves. The rhubarb is up, too.

Currently I am burning old gas and snowblower oil mix over a pile of branches. It's too windy to burn leaves. I put the chairs and table onto the front porch in anticipation of warmer days.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 16, 2022 01:39 PM (/+bwe)

34 Tom Servo @ 26-
Waldo Way usually has duck eggs, so does Granary.

Posted by: Eromero at April 16, 2022 01:39 PM (gktX6)

35 Beautiful blossom picture from Nurse and love the owl in there too.

We get to listen to owls in the morning here; but, we don't see them often.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at April 16, 2022 01:39 PM (es5Qa)

36 I have looked at so many places in the Midwest where they don't have gardens. I might well be the only person with one. And I am looking at places with larger lots. I have some of Carol Deppe's corn, which was developed for cornmeal. That's what I would plant to start.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 01:40 PM (YynYJ)

37 Weed it and reap

Posted by: ghost of hallelujah at April 16, 2022 01:40 PM (sJHOI)

38 re: fresh eggs. I was able to get some fresh duck eggs this week, very tasty. A little bit bigger than chicken eggs, with a noticeably bigger yolk.
Posted by: Tom Servo at April 16, 2022 01:33 PM

Taste a difference? My colleague sells me duck eggs; she says not many people here like them.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 16, 2022 01:42 PM (/+bwe)

39 Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 01:34 PM (ONvIw)

One of my favorites, and the blossoms smell absolutely amazing.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 01:42 PM (nC+QA)

40 Thanks Eromero. I go by the Granary every couple of weeks to get something or other, so I'll look there.

Posted by: Tom Servo at April 16, 2022 01:43 PM (trdmm)

41 UW Green Bay has a student worked center for biodiversity. The greenhouses provide vegetables for campus food services. They have a fundraiser annually with heirloom plants for sale. I have had good luck with them, and I like the opportunity to support them
https://www.uwgb.edu/heirloom-plant-sale/

Posted by: Lurking Grandma at April 16, 2022 01:44 PM (sujqA)

42 Taste a difference? My colleague sells me duck eggs; she says not many people here like them.
Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 16, 2022 01:42 PM (/+bwe)

I think they're a little more richly flavored and I like them; most store bought chicken eggs are rather bland without a lot of seasoning.

Posted by: Tom Servo at April 16, 2022 01:45 PM (trdmm)

43 FIRST!!!!!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at April 16, 2022 01:45 PM (Zz0t1)

44 Fun facts: before the Empire of Japan seeded our capital with cherry trees in a show of heathen dominance, the national trees were 13 American chestnuts planted by George Washington.

In the late nineteenth century a plague called ink disease killed all American chestnuts, and they had to be removed. They were pieces out in private collections.

When Jesse James designed President Trump's special 1911, he got his hands on a piece of one, and made it into the presentation box.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at April 16, 2022 01:45 PM (UGDPW)

45 Fresh eggs are always awesome. I'd love to keep chickens, but between the local fox population and the local bear population, they wouldn't last long enough to be anything but dinner for some wild critter.

I have a friend who founded and runs a "chicken rental" business with his wife (yes, a chicken rental business) and they do quite well at it. They've got franchises all over the place now.

https://tinyurl.com/2p9h9j9x

Posted by: Pennsyltucky at April 16, 2022 01:46 PM (lNHqD)

46 I have looked at so many places in the Midwest where they don't have gardens. I might well be the only person with one. And I am looking at places with larger lots. I have some of Carol Deppe's corn, which was developed for cornmeal. That's what I would plant to start.
Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 01:40 PM

I noticed that when I moved to the Detroit area. Certain ethnicities plant vegetables. Some don't even have flowers. Even when I lived in apartments, I always had a container garden.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 16, 2022 01:46 PM (/+bwe)

47 Posted by: Tom Servo at April 16, 2022 01:37 PM (trdmm)

Hogmartin said he thought you'd gotten hit hard by that storm. Oaks are like that, sadly. In PA it was important not to be in any of the parks if there was wind along with a rainstorm. The oaks' roots were so shallow that the only question was how many would end up falling over.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 01:46 PM (nC+QA)

48 Was hunting down at Rancher Bob's last weekend and we saw an owl in the woods. That thing was HUGE.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at April 16, 2022 01:48 PM (Zz0t1)

49 And I found this interesting. Recreating Terra Preta

https://youtu.be/DnTaWiO5Eso

One of the comments said "when you're gone, I bet someone will raise an eyebrow at the grave shaped spot where things grow really well. "

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 01:49 PM (YynYJ)

50 Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 16, 2022 01:42 PM (/+bwe)

My mom liked them for baking but not eating. After I grew up she said she just didn't really like eating eggs in general so I don't know if I would have liked them or not.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 01:49 PM (nC+QA)

51 The English (and their descendants) have got to be the greatest gardeners in the world. And their gardens are not just functional, they are always beautiful.

Posted by: Tom Servo at April 16, 2022 01:50 PM (trdmm)

52 Izzat a Spotted Owl? I thought they'd all been eaten.

Posted by: BignJames at April 16, 2022 01:51 PM (AwYPR)

53 I was once waiting on a ferry late at night and one of those big horned owls landed on a nearby sign and sat there for a while. I sat really still in my car so I could watch him.

Posted by: sniffybigtoe at April 16, 2022 01:52 PM (UuD2k)

54 I have a bad connection, but the photos finally loaded. What great pictures!

Great work, Nurse! That looks like a professional model, if owls were into that sort of thing.

Gioia is a photogenic dog, too. I'm a bit jealous when I see blooms from European and British Columbian friends; there is still ice chunks when I turn over the sod. But my pals suffered a lot of bad weather, so they deserve an earlier spring!

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 16, 2022 01:54 PM (/+bwe)

55 One of my favorites, and the blossoms smell absolutely amazing.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 01:42 PM (nC+QA)

They do. It was a slog getting them to NJ, as most sellers used to refuse to send currants, believing all varieties were banned. Only the black currants are carriers of the disease that got them all tossed. Now I can plant as many as I like.

Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 01:54 PM (ONvIw)

56 I know it's spring here in NE Texas because I am on my 3rd lawn mowing of the year.

Posted by: Mister Scott (formerly GWS) at April 16, 2022 01:57 PM (bVYXr)

57 I haven't checked them in a few years but I know where there are a few American chestnuts. There is a place that was established as a government tree nursery in the 30s. They grew mostly Doug fir for reforestation. They planted an arborteum, with all sorts of trees and they are labeled. There are American chestnuts there. If you try to take a seedling to a lower elevation, it dies from the virus. Since the Forest Service closed the station, the Arboreteum is overgrown.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 02:03 PM (YynYJ)

58 Duck egg reference reminds me somewhere on the planet they eat duck eggs well developed in growth, quite disgusting.

Posted by: Skip at April 16, 2022 02:04 PM (2JoB8)

59 I know the areas I''m checking for houses are areas where it's dry. And the houses may have had renters or been unoccupied. I don't even see places using Dutch clover in the lawn, which is what my grandfather did in OK. Just seems sad.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 02:07 PM (YynYJ)

60 Sent the kids a photo of the mauve irises that have been growing in our three yards since 1978, before three of them were even born.
They were originally from my great-aunt's big iris border in Denton. No telling how long she had had them.

It's not Easter without irises!

Lovely thread, K.T.

Posted by: sal at April 16, 2022 02:07 PM (bJKUl)

61 58 Duck egg reference reminds me somewhere on the planet they eat duck eggs well developed in growth, quite disgusting.
Posted by: Skip at April 16, 2022 02:04 PM (2JoB

Philippines. It's called balut.

Posted by: Insomniac - Outlaw. Hoarder. Wrecker. Honker. at April 16, 2022 02:08 PM (lR7Oz)

62 On currants: There are some native black currants that don't carry that blight for white pine trees. You have to seek them out. They come certified as immune to the blight. They're not exactly like "regulation" black currants.

"Clove currants" are the only ones that will grow in our hot climate. Mine are on the North side of the house. "Crandall" is the variety, I think.

Posted by: KT at April 16, 2022 02:08 PM (0ghg2)

63 Hubbymayhem is getting the mower ready! He says he might just mow the yard too. Works for me. I'm the one who does most of the mowing but I hat doing it when the temps are below 70. Today's high temp? 60 degrees.

Our weather here in South Central Indiana has been so stupid. Cold or cool, rainy and windy.

Posted by: Madamemayhem (uppity wench) at April 16, 2022 02:08 PM (Vxu+H)

64 Posted by: Skip at April 16, 2022 02:04 PM (2JoB

Seems like Philippines or China, although they may both have a version. I think the point is that they're *fertilized* eggs that then ferment.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 02:09 PM (nC+QA)

65 Hoot! Hoot!
Thanks, guys!!

It's a barred owl. And we had quite the conversation. I love talking to the critters.

Posted by: nurse ratched at April 16, 2022 02:11 PM (U2p+3)

66 Posted by: sal at April 16, 2022 02:07 PM (bJKUl)

I love the mauve colored irises. They just seem extra classy to me for some reason.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 02:11 PM (nC+QA)

67 The English (and their descendants) have got to be the greatest gardeners in the world. And their gardens are not just functional, they are always beautiful.
Posted by: Tom Servo at April 16, 2022 01:50 PM

I also like Italian-style gardens because they always have statuary. Used to drive past a modular home with a fancy birdbath in a square of grass bordered by flowers and stone.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 16, 2022 02:12 PM (/+bwe)

68 Here's something weird. Despite the concern over food prices and scarcity, two of the local CSAs are going "flower cooperative" and not doing any vegetables.

Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 02:12 PM (ONvIw)

69
I applied my 1st of 5 de-mosquito sprayings, (probably 2 weeks too late). Unless you live in Florida where there are bugs all year, April 1st is a good time to begin spraying.

The Key to effective DIY bug spraying is using IGR, insect growth regulator, in conjunction with Bifen IT. The IGR will prevent Future Generations of insects by attacking the larvae while the Bifen is killing the adults.

Posted by: Soothsayer, the #1 most trusted name in news at April 16, 2022 02:13 PM (WiRUY)

70 Re: chickens

The southern author Flannery O'Connor raised ornamental fowl, including peafowl on her family farm in Georgia.
A couple from Mississippi traveled over to buy some birds.
When she mentioned that she was a writer, they said they lived near a writer, too.
A fellow called William Faulkner. Was he any good?
O'Connor allowed that, yes, he was pretty good.

Posted by: sal at April 16, 2022 02:14 PM (bJKUl)

71 I have looked at so many places in the Midwest where they don't have gardens. I might well be the only person with one. And I am looking at places with larger lots. I have some of Carol Deppe's corn, which was developed for cornmeal. That's what I would plant to start.
Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 01:40 PM (YynYJ)

I have Indian corn I bought as a table decoration more than a decade ago and I have been planting ever since. I did interplant with some sort of white hominy corn and some neighbors plant sweet corn, so it is a bit more varied, but it is still flint corn.
I parch it until it starts cracking in the pan, and some of the kernels turn into pop-corn, and then I grind it into meal.
It makes a chewy cornbread, but it makes super tasty cornmeal mush, and I have been experimenting with simmering it in wood-ash lye to make hominy to grind up to make corn cakes.

I started watching the David the Good's channel on your suggestion, and I am now thinking about making a wheel hoe for cultivation

Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:16 PM (xhaym)

72 My nephew is raising chickens. Some for eggs and some for meat. He is also raising rabbits, ducks, and he plans to get at least one goat. He wants to raise beef and pork but that's more money than he can spend right now. He is also planning to plant a Veg garden.
My brother and his wife are planting a veg garden this year also. They live close enough for me to steal veggies!

Posted by: Madamemayhem (uppity wench) at April 16, 2022 02:16 PM (Vxu+H)

73 I adore duck eggs, I love the taste and the color. I also like the way they eat all the slugs bugs and snails, and I would have some if I could bring my wife around to the idea.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:18 PM (xhaym)

74 68 Here's something weird. Despite the concern over food prices and scarcity, two of the local CSAs are going "flower cooperative" and not doing any vegetables.
Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 02:12 PM

What's a CSA? If it's a bureaucratic organization, they may be following a pre-inflation plan.

Last year IIRC there was a group of Singaporean elders who planted vegetables on a long-unused lot.The city sent workers to tear it out; said they'd be putting in a municipal park with flowers for everyone to enjoy. It made me angry on the gardeners' behalf.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 16, 2022 02:18 PM (/+bwe)

75 We have 2 or 3 trailerloads downed trees to get rid of befor we can cut lawns again. May pile and burn 36" diameter pine on the stump and burn in place. I may have a guy that wants the cedar

Posted by: Eromero at April 16, 2022 02:21 PM (gktX6)

76 One of the comments said "when you're gone, I bet someone will raise an eyebrow at the grave shaped spot where things grow really well. "

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 01:49 PM (YynYJ)

LOL. "Compost your enemies"

I spent part of last winter digging holes in the garden with a post hole digger and dumping compost, kitchen compostable scraps, dead leaves, charcoal and *ahem* sintered grains of bentonite *cough* down them and capping them with my local clay.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:23 PM (xhaym)

77 Community Supported Agriculture. Some of the farms offer "shares" and you front the money before planting and get a share, which is usually enough to give away quite a bit. I have done it for years, and have had plenty of tomatoes, onions, leeks, cabbage, lettuce, beans and whatever I like (some people prefer tomatoes to beans and vice versa, so they accommodate where possible). I was always able to share, too. Now I have to look elsewhere. I have messages out, and hope I can get into another, even if it's more chard, less tomatoes.

Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 02:23 PM (ONvIw)

78 Kindltot!
Duck eggs are so very good. I can get them at the local Farmers Market on occasion. They are expensive though, so just as a treat.

I'd love to have them regularly. And just having a little flock of quackers around all the time would be hysterical. Good luck on convincing the wife.

Posted by: nurse ratched at April 16, 2022 02:24 PM (U2p+3)

79 Seems like Philippines or China, although they may both have a version. I think the point is that they're *fertilized* eggs that then ferment.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 02:09 PM

They are called Balut in the Philippines and they are nasty.

Posted by: Mister Scott (formerly GWS) at April 16, 2022 02:25 PM (bVYXr)

80 Hubbymayhem and the boy spawn cut down an old apple tree last fall. It was half dead and hadn't produced any fruit for at least a decade. They left a six foot tall section of the trunk standing and are still debating on whether to burn it in place. I expect chaos.

Posted by: Madamemayhem (uppity wench) at April 16, 2022 02:25 PM (Vxu+H)

81 Last year IIRC there was a group of Singaporean elders who planted vegetables on a long-unused lot.The city sent workers to tear it out; said they'd be putting in a municipal park with flowers for everyone to enjoy. It made me angry on the gardeners' behalf.
Posted by: NaughtyPine at April 16, 2022 02:18 PM (/+bwe)

I bet. that's cruel. These CSAs are local small farmers looking to have a locked in vegetable buying clientele. I'd rather buy vegetables than celosia and zinnias, and was happy to put the money down early in the season. I'm not keen on the pre-paid flower plan.

Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 02:27 PM (ONvIw)

82 Need a UFO Cow Barn....

Posted by: Romeo13 at April 16, 2022 02:27 PM (oHd/0)

83 They do. It was a slog getting them to NJ, as most sellers used to refuse to send currants, believing all varieties were banned. Only the black currants are carriers of the disease that got them all tossed. Now I can plant as many as I like.
Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 01:54 PM (ONvIw)

I am in Oregon, and the local nurseries will ask if you live within a mile of white pines, since it is a white pine blister rust that they are concerned about.

The nice thing about currants is that when you trim them next winter, you can take the cuttings and plant them where you want the next bushes. The nursery told me that is how they propagate them. I like the black currants better.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:28 PM (xhaym)

84 I planted some nasturtium seeds in a planter and they all sprouted really well. And then they've started dying one by one as something seems to be attacking them at, or below, soil level and shriveling their stems. Anyone have any ideas? I've seen some tiny flies in the soil. Is that possibly related?

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 02:28 PM (nC+QA)

85 Lot of work on this post. Nice job!

Anyway I've decided to dig up my dead hedges (from last years freeze) against the front of my house and replace them with a couple of 6-8 ft long planters. I prefer 8ft foot but I can't find any and don't know if they even make them. My internet search comes up empty. Anyone know of any vendor or companies that might have them?

Posted by: Anti doesn't matter at April 16, 2022 02:31 PM (PCUPG)

86 The nursery told me that is how they propagate them. I like the black currants better.
Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:28 PM (xhaym)

I like the tart red ones. My grandmother had all three colors, red, black and white. I don't recall the nearby pines suffering.
Yes, I plan on making cuttings and growing more, but I started with larger plants. I'm very excited to have them. Red currants do very well next to roses. So I will put them near the roses, maybe get some asparagus to plant as well. Complete the grandma border.

Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 02:32 PM (ONvIw)

87 nurse, that is a really great photo up top.
Nice capture.
Getting some blessed rain here in northern CA.
I was starting to get worried about more drought, more fires.
(We'll still be in a drought, of course, the same way covid will never go away.)
I've got a succulent plant that I can't identify. It usually only grows about a foot high, but this one grew a big stalk and a huge yellow bloom on top. Grew to about 5 feet. The bumble bees love it.
I'll send it in for future consideration.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at April 16, 2022 02:32 PM (jTmQV)

88 I'd love to have them regularly. And just having a little flock of quackers around all the time would be hysterical. Good luck on convincing the wife.
Posted by: nurse ratched at April 16, 2022 02:24 PM (U2p+3)

Wife would go for pigs, first, I think. She raised them for FFA and adores them. She has a friend with kids and some land, I wonder if she can convince them to have ducks.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:32 PM (xhaym)

89 Hubbymayhem and the boy spawn cut down an old apple tree last fall. It was half dead and hadn't produced any fruit for at least a decade. They left a six foot tall section of the trunk standing and are still debating on whether to burn it in place. I expect chaos.

Posted by: Madamemayhem (uppity wench) at April 16, 2022 02:25 PM (Vxu+H)

I had one of those in my back yard, they cut it to the ground and the root sent up suckers, so I taught myself to graft apples. (I failed a lot, but you only have to get it right once)

Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:34 PM (xhaym)

90 I like the tart red ones. My grandmother had all three colors, red, black and white. I don't recall the nearby pines suffering.[ . . . ]
Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 02:32 PM (ONvIw)

I keep thinking I want to do gooseberries, though they are thorny. I might take out the arborvitae hedge and put them in instead. The neighbors hate the arborvitae worse than I do.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:37 PM (xhaym)

91 Carol Deppe found the duck eggs to trigger fewer allergies for her. I think she talks about raising ducks in her first gardening book. I really liked raising geese.

I did buy some herbs, so need to plant those. I want to grow a few things. I figure I can leave plants with my stepson if I finally get moved.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 02:37 PM (YynYJ)

92 I wish you could raise Bison in southeast Texas. They are hands free livestock. I'm surprised they aren't thousands of Bison ranches in the plains states.

Posted by: Anti doesn't matter at April 16, 2022 02:38 PM (PCUPG)

93 Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:37 PM

There are some great gooseberries out there, including some bred in the Nordic countries. Look around before deciding on the sour ones of the past.

Posted by: KT at April 16, 2022 02:39 PM (0ghg2)

94 It's kind of a lackluster year for wildflowers here in central Texas. Too dry over the winter and early spring I guess.

However I've got a window box of impatiens on a wall that's high enough to miss the deer--I hope--so at least I get to look at some flowers this year. First time since we moved here five years ago. They ate everything else--except lantana.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at April 16, 2022 02:41 PM (fTtFy)

95 I keep thinking I want to do gooseberries, though they are thorny. I might take out the arborvitae hedge and put them in instead. The neighbors hate the arborvitae worse than I do.
Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:37 PM (xhaym)

We got rid of our arborvitae and junipers about 10 years ago. Great decision. I liked the idea of them for the color contrast, but there are alternatives.

I can envision gooseberries growing along the back fence where something thorny might be nice.

It would also be nice in Mercer County accepted that the deer population is a pestilence and had a great big cull.

Posted by: CN The First at April 16, 2022 02:41 PM (ONvIw)

96 Posted by: Anti doesn't matter at April 16, 2022 02:38 PM (PCUPG)

Bison have to be crossbred with cattle unless you have thousands of acres. They are huge, aggressive, and like to range a long way.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 02:41 PM (nC+QA)

97 American Thinker article today saying writing on the wall Tater will be looking for a new job very soon.

Posted by: Skip at April 16, 2022 02:46 PM (2JoB8)

98 Northern PA on a back road passed by a Bison farm

Posted by: Skip at April 16, 2022 02:48 PM (2JoB8)

99 KT, there are a couple of local nurseries that grow and sell goosesberries, I can ask what grows best and what is sweetest.
I was thinking of putting in Salal, since it is evergreen, but everyone looks at me funny when I suggest it

Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:49 PM (xhaym)

100 Kindltot,
Have you considered salmonberries?

Posted by: nurse ratched at April 16, 2022 02:50 PM (U2p+3)

101 The replacement retaining wall should be finished on Monday. Was supposed to be done last week, but I was told the place in GA sent the wrong steps. Whatever. Cant wait for it to be finished so I can start planting.

Posted by: Infidel at April 16, 2022 02:51 PM (AhBAQ)

102 Expanding on my last comment, I suspect that anyone trying to ranch bison would be very dependent on federal/state grazing land and, after what happened to the Bundys, that probably doesn't look very attractive. Especially for an endeavor with a pretty high entry cost.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at April 16, 2022 02:52 PM (nC+QA)

103 I would grow salal. I've seen it used in landscaping. It's a medicinal plant too.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 02:54 PM (YynYJ)

104 Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:49 PM

I bought my Mom a couple by mail order, low-growing and not real thorny. May even be thornless. One deep red, one golden. Great flavor.

Posted by: KT at April 16, 2022 02:57 PM (0ghg2)

105 The chicken coop video reminds me of an old radio sci-fi program I heard once. And oddly, of the headquarters of one of the big outfits that supplies our military.

Posted by: KT at April 16, 2022 02:58 PM (0ghg2)

106 From Boise area: Weather sucked. We need the moisture, but still, this is *March* weather. Snow on Sun., Mon., and Wed., with rain on and off in between those. Lows 28-34, highs 41-50 F.

Last Sat., I finished the "bin 2 to bin 1" compost shift and started the "3 to 2" shift. I plan to continue if weather cooperates tomorrow - it's pouring rain right now... I did manage to find one weather break earlier this week to check on peach blossoms, which were still there - but who knows, at this point.

Under puttering: we started a batch of hard cider - hung 3 pictures in the dining room - replaced a toilet seat with corroded fittings - got new "summer tires" on my car and stored the studded ones in the shed.

WARNING to all - do not use cornstarch powder and try to wash it down the shower/tub. Husband had to snake the shower drain to get the clog out. I always "powdered up" post-shower, inside the shower enclosure, but will not do that again...

Next week is a local Project Appleseed event, so I'm not sure when I'll post - most likely late Saturday.

Posted by: Pat* at April 16, 2022 03:00 PM (2pX/F)

107 PET NOOD

Posted by: Skip at April 16, 2022 03:02 PM (2JoB8)

108 Nurse, I am trying to grow thimbleberries now, the salmon berries do really well up in the hills but you don't find them this low. The thimbleberries do well on the valley floor.
My raspberry plot got when I suspect is root canker and stopped doing anything, so thimbleberries was my choice to replant. It may not work and I may have to move them to another place. (I have great memories of walking at Point Defiance park picking thimbleberries with my Grandma and a little kid)

I am fighting himalaya black berries on the back fence, and so far I might be winning, but it involved taking out the old marion berries too. I have been reading up on blackberries and one of the early spring wild foods for the local indians was the first blackberry buds. They are not bad, they taste faintly like a bowl of fresh picked berries smells. If anyone watched me pick and eat them I am sure they thought I'd gone mad.

Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 03:08 PM (xhaym)

109 Rain, snow, wind & cold... ugh! But at least the grass quit growing, so I get a day off re: mowing the lawn.

Temps should get back to normal next week.

There are 3 more roses to prune back, plenty of edging to do and many weeds to kill. All can wait until it's above 50F.

Posted by: JQ at April 16, 2022 04:28 PM (dpnJh)

110 57 I haven't checked them in a few years but I know where there are a few American chestnuts. There is a place that was established as a government tree nursery in the 30s. They grew mostly Doug fir for reforestation. They planted an arborteum, with all sorts of trees and they are labeled. There are American chestnuts there. If you try to take a seedling to a lower elevation, it dies from the virus. Since the Forest Service closed the station, the Arboreteum is overgrown.
Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 02:03 PM (YynYJ)

"They" (I forget who) are working on a hybrid American/Chinese chestnut to make it less susceptible to the blight. I think they are having good success. There are still random old American chestnuts in various locations, but few and far between. I watched a UTOOB video about them.

Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at April 16, 2022 04:32 PM (9qiMu)

111 I started watching the David the Good's channel on your suggestion, and I am now thinking about making a wheel hoe for cultivation
Posted by: Kindltot at April 16, 2022 02:16 PM (xhaym)

He does a lot of cool stuff!

Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at April 16, 2022 04:33 PM (9qiMu)

112 Landrace Gardening by Joseph Lofthouse. I always like gardeners that experiment. You encourage genetic diversity by planting several varieties of a vegetable, letting the hardiest grow and using seeds from those plants to develop a variety that grows well in your area.
Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at April 16, 2022 01:32 PM (YynYJ)

This is something I am very interested in and have been reading about it. There are several people in some online gardening groups that do this. I plan to do it as soon as I MOVE.

Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at April 16, 2022 04:35 PM (9qiMu)

113 Test

Posted by: Gordon at April 17, 2022 01:14 PM (hiCe9)

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