Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Jan. 6

Early primrose in a friend's yard
Washington State

Happy New Year, everybody! Doing anything outdoors, or are you cuddled up with your seed catalogs? Doing any indoor gardening?

We have been having cold fog and some rain, a little frost. Not the best gardening weather. Probably miserable for folks picking citrus.

Is weather hindering your outdoor activity?

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

Winter lettuce

I have grown winter lettuce outdoors in barbecued chicken containers. Turned out well, though I harvested it young. Romaine types are a good bet. Have you ever tried winter sowing? Growing in a cold frame?

How about winter herbs indoors?

Winter herbs

Our featured catalog for today, Trueleaf, offers seeds and supplies for indoor growing:

We carry a huge selection of vegetable garden seeds, herb seeds & flower seeds, including heirloom, organic and hybrid seed types. Try our specialty seeds for microgreens, sprouting, wheatgrass and cover crops. Other specialties include grain seeds and Asian seeds

I think microgreens take less work than sprouts and may be safer. And they don't take much longer to grow. Sunflower sprouts are generally really microgreens.

Ah, Nature

Any Port in a Storm

Frogs finding shelter in dahlia blooms

📹Alison Lamb/snohomishlavenderfarm
pic.twitter.com/28AyOpFono
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) December 31, 2023

Puttering

Attracted to a new hobby on the Weekend Hobby Thread but don't know where to keep the supplies?

A friend made this:

A Murphy table and cabinet. Easily folds away when not in use, only projects from the wall 5.5 inches. Great for a crafting or office table. Can be built in one weekend. It was fun to build and I think it turned out pretty nice.

Someone suggested an unfinished version for a shop table.

Seasonal puttering:

Garden Art

flowers by monet pic.twitter.com/QdCXBZxUs6
— Academia Aesthetics (@AcademiaAesthe1) October 15, 2023

Adventure

Christmas Tree Lane in Fresno is an adventure for lots of families, especially those who walk, and sometimes an adventure for all of the families along the lane who cooperate by putting up interesting Christmas displays. Quite a volunteer undertaking for a season each year.

Gardens of The Horde

What's going on in your yard or garden?

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

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

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

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

Week in Review

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

Any thoughts or questions?

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

Posted by: K.T. at 01:21 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 The frog in the flower is great!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 06, 2024 01:25 PM (gSZYf)

2 2nd

Posted by: rhennigantx at January 06, 2024 01:25 PM (lwOKI)

3 Good Afternoon Greenthumbs and Snowmen

Posted by: Skip at January 06, 2024 01:28 PM (fwDg9)

4 Kudos on the murphy table. I've still got a murphy ironing board, sadly I iron nothing anymore.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at January 06, 2024 01:29 PM (MeG8a)

5 Painting miniatures right now, pondered a paint rack of some kind to clear off the bottles from table

Posted by: Skip at January 06, 2024 01:29 PM (fwDg9)

6 I had no tree this year. Daughter bought a sleigh decoration with lights. It was neat. It has allredy been put away.

Posted by: vic at January 06, 2024 01:30 PM (A5THL)

7 sadly I iron nothing anymore.
Posted by: gourmand

How can that be a 'sad' thing?

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 06, 2024 01:34 PM (S8LYt)

8 I have the sads... If you water the desert it grows. All the ground, and all the gravel, and all the rocks have a carpet of green sprouts on them.
All of which need to be destroyed before they seed again.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 06, 2024 01:35 PM (S8LYt)

9 "How can that be a 'sad' thing?"
You're right! I should convert it in to a spice rack.
But it's an original 1949 feature and as such I am loathe to modify it. Might get in trouble with the historical society or something...

Posted by: gourmand du jour at January 06, 2024 01:36 PM (MeG8a)

10 Beautiful as usual!

Posted by: Eromero at January 06, 2024 01:39 PM (ZXAG8)

11 But it's an original 1949 feature and as such I am loathe to modify it. Might get in trouble with the historical society or something...
Posted by: gourmand

Get a brass plaque with a suitable statement and place it on the wall next to it proclaiming is ancientness.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 06, 2024 01:42 PM (S8LYt)

12 Taking the mickey out of all our 'getting there to 29 ladies' with that snow/ice melter. You better hide, we have some sharpshooters here.

Posted by: Ciampino - marshmellows at January 06, 2024 01:42 PM (qfLjt)

13 OT my apologies but just in case some of you might miss it:

THREE LAUNCHES
SpaceX - Falcon 9 - Starlink Group 6-35
Launch time: Window opens on
Sunday, January 7th: 4 p.m. EST (2100 UTC)
https://shorturl.at/jmPU9

SpaceX - Falcon 9 - Starlink Group 7-10
Launch time: Approx. January 7th/8th:
9 p.m. to 1:27 a.m. PST (12:00-4:27 a.m. EST)
https://shorturl.at/fryJV

ULA - Vulcan Centaur VC25 - Cert-1 -
SLC-41 - Cape Canaveral SFS
Launch time: January 8th: 2:18 a.m. EST
https://t.ly/_C_nv

Posted by: Ciampino - Cook wieners on that rocket exhaust at January 06, 2024 01:44 PM (qfLjt)

14 hiya

Posted by: JT at January 06, 2024 01:49 PM (T4tVD)

15 My garden is completely dormant. The ground is frozen; outside, it's sleeting. I'm waiting for a still, sunny day so I can prune my fruit trees and grape vines, now that they're completely dormant. In the meantime, I grow herbs in the sunniest room in the house: spearmint, oregano, and rosemary.

Posted by: Nemo at January 06, 2024 01:50 PM (S6ArX)

16 Using this weather event to get rid of that pine tree took down 2 weeks ago

Posted by: Skip at January 06, 2024 01:54 PM (fwDg9)

17 15 My garden is completely dormant. The ground is frozen; outside, it's sleeting. I'm waiting for a still, sunny day so I can prune my fruit trees and grape vines, now that they're completely dormant. In the meantime, I grow herbs in the sunniest room in the house: spearmint, oregano, and rosemary.

sounds like me Nemo - except have slightly different herbs going - oregano, rosemary, winter savory, stevia - I use them a lot.

lots of things to prune as well

nice and snowy outside! trying to find a way to calendar my seed starting - like an app or something? I'm too discombobulated to keep track correctly and am trying a bunch of new veggies this year

Posted by: BlackOrchid, I meant to say at January 06, 2024 01:55 PM (AcWfM)

18 I cut back the old canes on my black cap raspberries, and strung the second year canes so they will put out fruit where I can find them. I also trimmed back and mulched them and the thimbleberries. I figure the more mulch I can get on them the better, they are understory plants locally and they like cool roots.
I have been pacing out my back yard, I think I have room for a few more trees. I have a grafted plum that I want to move into the grid (out of the raspberry bed where it sprouted) and I think I have room for an apple or maybe a cherry.
I have to start thinking about pruning the grapes as well.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 06, 2024 01:55 PM (D7oie)

19 My garden area will be blooming in 3 or 4 months. Everything that I fear I had killed is coming up again.
This is good news. I will have documented a year long transformation from overgrown, gopher ridden jungle madness to a beautiful, orderly and useful space soon and will forward it to KT for future consideration.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at January 06, 2024 01:58 PM (MeG8a)

20 I bought a poinsettia a month ago, and nestled it among 6-packs of cola on the floor in front of the seat so it wouldn't tip over. Of course a bag with a pack of Fancy Feast rolled on top of it and broke off a branch.

So I put the stem in a vase in the kitchen window. It stayed just as beautiful all these weeks. I just noticed that it's putting out roots. I had no idea that you could root poinsettias this way.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at January 06, 2024 02:02 PM (Mzdiz)

21 It's SNOWING !

Posted by: JT at January 06, 2024 02:03 PM (T4tVD)

22 It's SNOWING !
Posted by: JT

They are threatening the low AZ desert with snow mixed with rain Sunday night.
This a really a low blow and I think AOP might have brought this weather with him when migrated South for the Winter.

I tried to root some basil that I bought for pizza, it was dead this morning. I think the dual pane window didn't keep it from getting to cold.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 06, 2024 02:07 PM (S8LYt)

23 I tried to root some basil that I bought for pizza, it was dead this morning. I think the dual pane window didn't keep it from getting to cold.

Genovese basil is ridiculous. I like greek basil better now. prettier tastier and more hardy

Posted by: BlackOrchid, I meant to say at January 06, 2024 02:11 PM (AcWfM)

24 Genovese basil is ridiculous. I like greek basil better now. prettier tastier and more hardy
Posted by: BlackOrchid, I meant to say at January 06, 2024 02:11 PM (AcWfM)

Like Oliver Hardy ?

Does it have a mustache ?

Posted by: JT at January 06, 2024 02:13 PM (T4tVD)

25 This last year I started a row of basil from a bunch I bought at the farmers' market. I read that I could start them that way and never believed it. It was a log cheaper than buying the pots.
I have to figure out how to preserve it for winter, now. I dried it too hot apparently and it lost all the flavor.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 06, 2024 02:18 PM (D7oie)

26 Keep running outside, thinking tea or cognac
Flakes getting bigger starting to amount a bit

Posted by: Skip at January 06, 2024 02:22 PM (fwDg9)

27 I have to figure out how to preserve it for winter, now. I dried it too hot apparently and it lost all the flavor.
Posted by: Kindltot

What I do is I wash and freeze.
- wash, but dont dry - the water helps.
- remove stems, but don't worry too much. I usually leave the top portion where the stems are soft.
- pace into very wide mouthed glass jar. Not too tight, but not loose.
- freeze. In real freeezer (without defrost cycle) they will last a year. I grow every year, freeze intermittently and then make pesto with what is in freezer when fresh basil comes around next summer.

When you need basil, open the jar and scrape off what you need with a fork. Because they are frozen they scrape nicely and the moisture from washing helps.

You can not get whole leaves this way.

Posted by: Gentlemen, this is junta manifest at January 06, 2024 02:28 PM (F+Yao)

28 Kindltot at January 06, 2024 02:18 PM

Chop it up in oil for pesto? Marinate it in vinegar?

Posted by: KT at January 06, 2024 02:33 PM (rrtZS)

29 Not puttering per se, but working purposefully to make a machine table from the carcass of an old washing machine. Got the casters on it, the framing around the front opening welded in, and the cleats for the bottom shelf in, and a shelf screwed to it with Tek screws. The cleats for the middle shelf are now all welded in. Middle shelf will hold the old washing-machine motor, re-purposed to drive a small bench-top bandsaw. There will also be a small drill press and bench grinder on this table. I think it will all work out. Washing machines can make very sturdy tables. This will be my third such.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 06, 2024 02:39 PM (tkR6S)

30 That Murphey table is slick. We're always short on space, storage here. (It's a modular / mobile home)

That might be a "project" this year.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 06, 2024 02:40 PM (Q4IgG)

31 It's SNOWING !
Posted by: JT at January 06, 2024 02:03 PM

Later tonight in my neck of the woods, but the prediction is for a good foot of global warming, +/- a few inches overnight and into tomorrow.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at January 06, 2024 02:42 PM (wYtkg)

32 It's SNOWING !
Posted by: JT at January 06, 2024 02:03 PM

Later tonight in my neck of the woods, but the prediction is for a good foot of global warming, +/- a few inches overnight and into tomorrow.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at January 06, 2024 02:42 PM (wYtkg)

You win !

Posted by: JT at January 06, 2024 02:44 PM (T4tVD)

33 You win !
Posted by: JT at January 06, 2024 02:44 PM

Um...thanks. I'll just wait for my winnings to be deposited on the driveway.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at January 06, 2024 02:46 PM (wYtkg)

34 That Murphey table is slick. We're always short on space, storage here. (It's a modular / mobile home)

That might be a "project" this year.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 06, 2024 02:40 PM (Q4IgG)

Seconded! Very nice work. Useless for me to attempt, since once built, and opened out, it would stay that way, loaded with stuff, until the heat death of the Universe.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 06, 2024 02:46 PM (tkR6S)

35 Note: Thread remains open. I accidentally posted the Pet Thread early.

Migraine yesterday. Still not telling time normally, I guess.

Posted by: KT at January 06, 2024 02:53 PM (rrtZS)

36 Migraine yesterday. Still not telling time normally, I guess.
Posted by: KT at January 06, 2024 02:53 PM (rrtZS)

Hope you get better quickly.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 06, 2024 02:55 PM (nC+QA)

37 I have enough new peas to harvest a handful about twice a week. It was probably really too cold to plant the black-eyed peas, but the lentils seem to be doing well. It's much warmer this year than the same time last year, so I have good hope that all the tender perennials will make it through. Probably need to give them a bit more water though. At least it's been raining weekly again, thank God.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 06, 2024 02:59 PM (nC+QA)

38 1 inch on deck railing
Probably could fit what's left of 40 foot pine in 1 wheelbarrow

Posted by: Skip at January 06, 2024 03:02 PM (fwDg9)

39 On behalf of the older folks, I'm going to be smiling at that cartoon for days.

Posted by: JTB at January 06, 2024 03:10 PM (7EjX1)

40 KT, Thanks, of course, for the thread. I hope your migraine is gone or at least better.

Posted by: JTB at January 06, 2024 03:11 PM (7EjX1)

41 We went to see Christmas Tree Lane long ago. After seeing everything and having a quick supper (meaning fast food) we headed home to Lemoore. A big sign soon changed our plans. There had been a big rain and the road was flooded. Had to drive all the way to Visalia to get home. We were pooped.

Posted by: AlmostYuman at January 06, 2024 03:15 PM (Altjf)

42 That murphy table setup is brilliant. It would be useful for so many activities. My first thought was for tying flies where the materials tend to procreate in the dark and spread all over any available space. So many other possibilities.

Posted by: JTB at January 06, 2024 03:18 PM (7EjX1)

43 A niece and nephew surprised us with a Norfolk pine. They know we don't have much space for a full size Christmas tree and the little 18" pine worked nicely. Now the challenge is to keep it alive for a while. Not easy as they need rather humid conditions and indirect light. I'm using a misting/sprayer daily. A bonus is when the light comes in from the side it highlights the misty drops on the green needles. A lovely sight.

Posted by: JTB at January 06, 2024 03:23 PM (7EjX1)

44 KT, Thanks, of course, for the thread. I hope your migraine is gone or at least better.
Posted by: JTB at January 06, 2024 03:11 PM (7EjX1)

Seconded !

Posted by: JT at January 06, 2024 03:23 PM (T4tVD)

45 Thirded!

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at January 06, 2024 03:26 PM (Mzdiz)

46 KT,
Try drinking slushy water as fast as possible to give yourself a "brain freeze." It really does help to ease migraine headaches.

Posted by: nurse ratched at January 06, 2024 03:33 PM (MZ8pM)

47 I don't know if one of those rotisserie chicken plastic houses would work right now. We are getting some VERY cold rain on the edge of becoming ice. But such a setup could let a garden start a month or so early. Worth investigating.

Posted by: JTB at January 06, 2024 03:34 PM (7EjX1)

48 Well, got the middle shelf cut, and screwed into the cleats, Discovered that Tek screws really don't like being driven in the slightest bit obliquely, but I persisted, and won.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 06, 2024 04:02 PM (tkR6S)

49 Certain neighbors fed the young squirrels before they went to Florida, Arizona, or wherever. Now three look for hand-outs from any likely-looking human. I didn't know this until I took vacation and thus have been home during daylight. Honestly, I give them each walnuts because I'm afraid I might have added to their misery. The oak I removed probably had their drey in it.

I also noticed in the broad daylight that there is quite a lot of branches and cement pieces from the tree-removal and driveway repair. I'm planning to take a rake to the area on Monday, when the weather is supposed to be good.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at January 06, 2024 04:19 PM (fxCK2)

50 Posted by: NaughtyPine at January 06, 2024 04:19 PM (fxCK2)

I learned a new word today. Didn't know squirrels made nests in the exteriors of trees, or that such nests had their own special name.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 06, 2024 05:20 PM (nC+QA)

51 If there were not an electrical outlet under that Murphy table, you could probably extend the cabinet almost to the floor and maybe put more shelves, with doors.

Perfessor Squirrel might put paperback books there.

Posted by: KT at January 06, 2024 06:01 PM (rrtZS)

52 nurse ratched at January 06, 2024 03:33 PM

Thanks for the tip. I'll try it sometime.

Posted by: KT at January 06, 2024 06:02 PM (rrtZS)

53 From Boise area: Lows 28-34 F, highs 36-46. A little light rain Wed. evening, and snow starting this afternoon - will have to see how much, and how long it stays. A few colder nights predicted for this coming week.

Husband is still throwing leaves in the trash. This week, he got some tomato plants cut down as well.

We did do the vegetable garden layout planning, at least in broad strokes - which crops to grow, and which beds to put them in. There are often a few last minute adjustments. We'll probably start indoor seed sprouting at the start of March. (We started on Valentines Day once, and everything got too leggy before planting-out time.)

Regarding the cartoon: A friend in Vermont has a refrigerator magnet, "I'm out of estrogen... and I've got a gun." Wish I'd stolen it from her.

Posted by: Pat* at January 06, 2024 09:26 PM (wd7fb)

54 Working out my seed order for this spring. We've had a bit of snow and some rain coming early but then big snow (4-8 inches) next weekend.

Looking to prune fruit trees next month. Tear down outdoor Christmas decor before next week's snow. Can't take it down until Christmas is officially over of course. Last day of Christmas season is today.

Posted by: Black JEM at January 07, 2024 05:16 PM (UVyKP)

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