Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Jan. 20

Happy Saturday, everyone! Are you venturing outdoors today? It's been raining a little here, after some frosty mornings. But not frosty like in SOME places. Above, one of several lovely frost photos by Don in Kansas.

It was ten below when I got up this morning. This was the view at the front door.

A real variety of photos at the link above. If they make you cold, he also has a link to some interesting information on volcanoes.

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

I should have sent this earlier in the week; picked the big eggplant before the freeze, and all the rest afterward when the plants froze. Pulling everything out and mulching through the Sun Joe chipper, to put trimmings and pruning back around the plants for mulch and protection. Ready to start seedlings for spring planting soon in AZ (indoors). Nan in AZ

I have a hard time imagining getting eggplants this time of year. They look great!

So do the other veggies! Let us know if the frost hurt them.

Catalogs of the Week

Bluestone Perennials

This is Echinacea 'Giddy Pink'. New.

How about some Hydrangeas?

They don't seem to be offering this one currently, but I like it:

Double Delights Freedom

Pinetree Garden Seeds has its guide to winter sowingon its blog page.

There's also a pumpkin bread recipe. Moist, balanced and buttery.

Art

Navel oranges are on here. We are between peak seasons for local mandarin varieties.

Rafael Romero Barros (Spanish, 1832 - 1895)
"Still Life with Oranges", 1863.
Oil on Canvas, 68 x 54 cm.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Cordoba, Spain.

Ah, Nature

From the North Ogden Museum, Utah:

In 1920, the men hitched three teams of horses to a V-shaped wooden plow to clear the streets in North Ogden. The plow was about 17 feet wide. Some streets were left snowy for sledding.

Puttering

Beekeeping

NO PROTECTION GEAR? pic.twitter.com/9ykqj5fBPn
— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) January 16, 2024

Gardens of The Horde

Frost Fairies
The garden thread is the only place I know on AoS to post these.

They do 'grow' in the pastures here in south Texas, but only in precise meteorological conditions. A rare treat to be greeted by hundreds of them this morning. By tomorrow they will have crumbled or melted in the sun.

From The Hill Country of Texas

I've never seen one of these in real life. Fascinating. Must be a nice surprise to see hundreds of them!

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, Jan. 13

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.

In the comments, Notsothoreau wrote at 1:33

I bought some self watering pots for African violets. It's an outside glazed pot and a inner pot with an unglazed bottom. You plant in that and put water in the outside pot. Not cheap but my plants have struggled since the move. They seem to be doing better now.

Interesting.

Maybe Notsothoreau will be able to take some cuttings soon:

African violet leaf cutting after 8 weeks. pic.twitter.com/SHi4AZymON
— Michelle McQuilliam (@MMcQui13) January 15, 2024

Posted by: K.T. at 01:26 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 How many horses in a team? 2? 4?

Posted by: G'rump928(c) at January 20, 2024 01:29 PM (aD39U)

2 Good afternoon Greenthumbs and Snowmen.
Did get out in 20 degree and 20 mph wind gusts to clear driveway.
No idea if they still do it but in town there were 2 streets on hills they left covered for sledding.

Posted by: Skip at January 20, 2024 01:38 PM (fwDg9)

3 Yea, thanks for the GT, KT!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 20, 2024 01:42 PM (8wIVV)

4 Bee lady does not have all her marbles.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 20, 2024 01:45 PM (8wIVV)

5 My bit for global warming is the tree that was a Christmas eve problem is gone completely.

Posted by: Skip at January 20, 2024 01:46 PM (fwDg9)

6 The sequential rain storms are still watering all the sprouting weeds. Hula hoeing is a time consuming chore so I'm just doing it in areas that we can't drag with the fence section towed by the quad.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 20, 2024 01:47 PM (8wIVV)

7 My crocus are late!!!
Sadz.

Posted by: Diogenes at January 20, 2024 01:49 PM (W/lyH)

8 Thanks for the always lovely gardening thread K.T. Is it spring yet? Sigh

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at January 20, 2024 01:52 PM (L4QRv)

9 Our carrots are doing well. We covered them during the cold snap here in south Texas. The cauliflower was already struggling due to low rainfall, so we left them to the frost. They were never going to form heads before we have to pull them up for the “summer” garden in march.

The fall tomatoes and cucumbers were pulled out before the freeze could get them. Spring/summer plants will go in February to March.

Posted by: Advo at January 20, 2024 01:55 PM (VHN21)

10 18 degrees for the high today in Knoxville. Road in front of my house is a solid sheet of ice. 6 degrees expected for tomorrow morning 🥶

Posted by: Jmel at January 20, 2024 01:59 PM (bVhJi)

11 I must admit I have the warm and fuzzies for the bee lady...

Posted by: gourmand du jour at January 20, 2024 02:00 PM (MeG8a)

12 That's pretty much what I would have done with the bees. Except with a flamethrower

Posted by: Wally at January 20, 2024 02:08 PM (gKtPM)

13 Bee lady seems nice and caring, way more than I would have been.

Posted by: Skip at January 20, 2024 02:14 PM (fwDg9)

14 The photo of the frost on a window reminds me of our place before we got new windows and doors.

The windows that were here when we moved in were single pane. I recall heavy frost forming on the inside for several winters before we replaced them.

What a mess that was.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 20, 2024 02:17 PM (Q4IgG)

15 I've never seen a frost fairy either!

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 20, 2024 02:21 PM (EFUZI)

16 >>> They do 'grow' in the pastures here in south Texas, but only in precise meteorological conditions. A rare treat to be greeted by hundreds of them this morning.

Frost fairies (never knew they had a name) usually happen in late fall in New England. The water in the surface soil freezes and thrusts upwards.

Posted by: fluffy at January 20, 2024 02:23 PM (86W+h)

17
Bought our Fraser Fir Christmas tree right before Thanksgiving and got it up and into water right away. Took it down today, still fresh. 55 days of enjoyment. So about $1.25 per day.

LED lights use less then a watt of electricity per hour, but they don't warm up the room the way a tree filled with 15 watt bulbs used to.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at January 20, 2024 02:24 PM (nIvob)

18 Does anyone here do container gardening? I homeschool my grandson, and have bought Greenstalk garden towers for him. This started as a science project, but now the little guy calls himself a “farmer.” He loves planting things, and measuring and charting growth.

Problem is, I’m a natural born plant murderer. I’ve gotten better over the last two years, trying hard to learn, but I’d love to see him have big success. He’s autistic, and when he gets passionate about something, exciting learning happens.

I’d sure appreciate advice from you experienced gardeners, especially on a good potting soil and specific seeds that do well in this tower container.

We want to grow small tomatoes, lettuces, spinach, small carrots, maybe the round ones? Also, I’ve tried to grow beets and never gotten a single plant to live.

Last year he really wanted to grow strawberries, and we had lots of leafy growth with few berries.

Thank you!

Posted by: Menagerie at January 20, 2024 02:29 PM (n/MLA)

19 The snow is as shoveled as it going to get. Still icy areas for now. I'm not leaving the house until it warms up in a couple of days. Slipping on the ice is to be avoided at my age and size. The temps are supposed to get into the 40s next week. In the meanwhile, I can try to keep the Norfolk Island pine alive and peruse the seed catalogs.

Posted by: JTB at January 20, 2024 02:31 PM (zudum)

20 How do the Frost Fairies form? I've tried looking it up and was directed to the Rockettes and the IRS.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 20, 2024 02:31 PM (nC+QA)

21 That eggplant looked great. My forst thought was : baba ganoush!

Posted by: JTB at January 20, 2024 02:32 PM (zudum)

22 >>> How do the Frost Fairies form?

Wet, uncovered soil freezes and the crystals grow upwards. My guess is that it takes a relatively sharp drop in temperature.

It was fun to crush them underfoot when I was a kid.

Posted by: fluffy at January 20, 2024 02:36 PM (86W+h)

23 The photos in the garden thread are always lovely, sometimes inspiring, and some are just interesting. That picture of the Double Delights Freedom is pretty and makes me think about how it could be made into a painting. That would be a challenge with all those subtly blended colors.

Posted by: JTB at January 20, 2024 02:36 PM (zudum)

24 It was fun to crush them underfoot when I was a kid.

And that kid...was me.

Posted by: Klaus Schwab at January 20, 2024 02:39 PM (pKFK0)

25 Posted by: Menagerie at January 20, 2024 02:29 PM (n/MLA)

Leafy growth with few blossoms means too much Nitrogen, because that focuses plants on leaf growth. You need more Phosphorus to promote blossoms and fruit. Fortunately, strawberry leaves are edible and quite pleasant as a tea.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 20, 2024 02:39 PM (nC+QA)

26 It's ranged between -5F and 15F in my neck of the woods for close to a week. Also, 8" of snow on Monday, that obviously hasn't melted in that cold. A bit more on Friday.

It's not a big deal to me, but nobody here has seen weather like this in more than three decades.

People here are freaking out. The weather girl is having a real moment, breathlessly breaking down snow totals, and Explaining Blizzards - What They Are, and How They Curse Us.

People descended on stores and picked them clean. The town government keeps a bunch of plow blades they attach for our normal

It's charming. It's like seeing small boys play football.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at January 20, 2024 02:43 PM (0FoWg)

27 The bee video is pretty cool.

If I ever het pried out of the city/suburbs, I'd like yo have some beehives.

Posted by: Bees are neat, and honey at January 20, 2024 02:43 PM (pjs7m)

28
[looks outside]

Snow-covered ground, 14 deg. and falling.

*think I'll hold off on the yard work today*

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 20, 2024 02:44 PM (XeU6L)

29 >>> I must admit I have the warm and fuzzies for the bee lady.

ASMR voice, nice mane, has abundant honey.

Posted by: fluffy at January 20, 2024 02:44 PM (86W+h)

30 18 ... "Does anyone here do container gardening?"

Menagerie,

I am by no means an expert but we have had some good results from containers. tomatoes will often do well but might need to be staked which isn't difficult. Salad greens like leaf lettuce (try Black seeded Simpson) and similar, and spinach give fast results, just don't let them get too leggy and bitter. Many herbs like rosemary, parsley, thyme and chives usually do well and will often reseed themselves.

Posted by: JTB at January 20, 2024 02:45 PM (zudum)

31 "Still Life with Oranges", 1863.

outstanding painting, thank you for posting it!

It would almost be worth the absence of modern conveniences for me to have lived at the turn of the 20c, just for the beautiful art that was being produced in all media, including architecture.

But the lack of air conditioning and women having to be corseted is a dealbreaker. Nice art though!

Posted by: kallisto at January 20, 2024 02:45 PM (dCxaZ)

32 Weird. Part of my comment just vanished.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at January 20, 2024 02:46 PM (0FoWg)

33 Toad strangler rain forecast for San Fernando valley Sunday-Monday. Drizzle today, mid fifties.

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in solidarity with the struggle to maintain Moron standards at January 20, 2024 02:46 PM (uYJK1)

34 Herbs have to be easiest and most useful container plants, and not waiting months to use them as well as some can be used all year around.

Posted by: Skip at January 20, 2024 02:47 PM (fwDg9)

35 We don't get snow fairies here, but occasionally one can find a spider web coated in dew that has frozen. They can be beautiful.

Posted by: Diogenes at January 20, 2024 02:47 PM (W/lyH)

36 Bee Lady does great work, certainly, but she must get stung quite often.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 20, 2024 02:48 PM (w/OAj)

37 Don't let them get too leggy and bitter.

My favorite kinda gal.

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in solidarity with the struggle to maintain Moron standards at January 20, 2024 02:48 PM (uYJK1)

38 I have a blooming 'waxed' amaryllis bulb, received at Christmas. Lovely, and yet doomed, it seems. I'm giving some thought to trying to salvage/plant it, but I am dubious.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 20, 2024 02:49 PM (XeU6L)

39 How many horses in a team? 2? 4?

20? Like downtown?

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in solidarity with the struggle to maintain Moron standards at January 20, 2024 02:49 PM (uYJK1)

40 I had my own bee experience this past summer. Basically, a hive was established in an overturned pot on my deck. When I tried to move it away, a bee came and stung me on my butt. (I was wearing shorts).

so after that I would do my gardening and watering the other plants very carefully around them. Sometimes one or two of them would buzz my head or my face, but they sensed I wasn't in annihilation mode, I guess, so they didn't sting me. I wouldn't call them "gentle" but they weren't exactly aggressive or hostile either. Just trying to protect their turf.

when we were well into autumn, like November, I went out to remove the hive. There were actually 2 bees skulking around but they looked pretty sickly, maybe close to death. I "unboxed" the hive, and was amazed at what I found. They had built quite an ambitious hive, layers, just like the girl in the video unearthed.

I really hope they don't come back this year. I think I'll remove all pots from my deck until I know it's safe.

Posted by: kallisto at January 20, 2024 02:51 PM (dCxaZ)

41 My coworker has bees. He got a call from a guy about a swarm. So he went to check it out. Turned out to be hornets. He decided to get the nest into a trash bag for disposal. Suited up in his bee suit. They found a hole in the suit and led to him wandering out in the woods, after the nest was bagged, and stripping down to get rid of them. He sent me the video, which fortunately didn't include the stripping part.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 20, 2024 02:51 PM (L8hCM)

42 Weird. Part of my comment just vanished.
Posted by: Yudhishthira
--------

It had the earmarks of malinformation.

Posted by: Bob, at the NSA at January 20, 2024 02:52 PM (XeU6L)

43 That eggplant looked great. My forst thought was : baba ganoush!
Posted by: JTB at January 20, 2024 02:32 PM (zudum)

Gesundheit !

Posted by: JT at January 20, 2024 02:55 PM (T4tVD)

44 Frost Fairies/Frost Flowers
https://www.weather.gov/lmk/frost_flowers

Posted by: Tom H at January 20, 2024 02:58 PM (osoon)

45 I'd never seen frost fairies before (not even in pictures). Didn't know they existed.

Posted by: not as cool as bees, but still cool at January 20, 2024 03:04 PM (pjs7m)

46 Mid 20s, windy and cold in Babylon DC. Worse elsewhere so we got lucky. Suppose to warm up. Spring like weather will show up later next week. 40s-50s, rainy. Mid 60s Friday.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at January 20, 2024 03:05 PM (sAmhv)

47 How many horses in a team? 2? 4?

20? Like downtown?
Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in solidarity with the struggle to maintain Moron standards at January 20, 2024 02:49 PM (uYJK1)

9 in a baseball team
11 in a football team
5 in a basketball team

Posted by: JT at January 20, 2024 03:08 PM (T4tVD)

48 How many horses in a team? 2? 4?
Posted by: G'rump928(c)

I think it depends on the animal / hitch.

Rent-a-cabs had 1 horse. Carriages 2. Stage coach 4. Etc.

Mule trains were 20: but it was 18 mules and 2 horses per wiki.

Posted by: Porgy at January 20, 2024 03:14 PM (4Winp)

49 I use 6 horses for heavy, 4 for light artillery

Posted by: Skip at January 20, 2024 03:15 PM (fwDg9)

50 That beehive video was interesting. I had no idea bees could be so cooperative and accommodating. I've often thought it would be cool to have a beehive or two. Should have started that a long time ago.

Posted by: JTB at January 20, 2024 03:16 PM (zudum)

51 My old motorcycle had about 60 horses.

Posted by: Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in solidarity with the struggle to maintain Moron standards at January 20, 2024 03:18 PM (uYJK1)

52
>1 = Team

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 20, 2024 03:18 PM (XeU6L)

53 That Still Life With Oranges painting is gorgeous but I was surprised it was done in the 1800s instead of a century or two earlier. It has a classic Low Country look.

Posted by: JTB at January 20, 2024 03:19 PM (zudum)

54 Another container veggie that works is radish. They can be planted very early in the season and are ready to harvest quickly. And there are many shapes and colors available to choose from.

I love the idea of Menagerie's grandson calling himself a farmer.

Posted by: JTB at January 20, 2024 03:23 PM (zudum)

55 Great post, KT! The frost fairies from my childhood were shorter than those. Probably because the false spring in March never completely thaws the ground before winter returns.

No gardening here, not even clean-up. I'm waiting for a big windstorm to drop the widow-maker (aka NaughtyPine-killer) from my backyard tree. Until then, the fallen branches will remain. Luckily, the recent snowfall is hiding them from view except for a couple of bigger limbs.

Inside, the no-name succulent has turned brown except for the sections nearest the roots and the very tips of the tendrils. I know: send a photo and you'll help me figure out what it is.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at January 20, 2024 03:25 PM (fxCK2)

56 This past week, we harvested the last of the winter carrots from the raised bed. I thought it prudent before the subzero temps slammed us. I forgot to send in a photo. Boy are they sweet!

I also put fireplace ashes over the new kitchen garden beds yesterday, right on top of the snow.

That's all the gardening I will do until the "February Thaw" at which time I will finish cleaning the hoop houseand sow the brassica seeds, start pruning the orchard, and dig a few sunchokes.

I'm 29 [ahem] and last year's growing season kind
of tired me out.

Posted by: Question Authority bumper sticker at January 20, 2024 03:26 PM (Rbu5d)

57 Ventured out of basement, seems winds lessened some

Posted by: Skip at January 20, 2024 03:26 PM (fwDg9)

58 Thank you!
Posted by: Menagerie at January 20, 2024 02:29 PM (n/MLA)

Baker Creek seeds [rareseeds dot com] has a variety of tomato that is good for containers. It is small and doesn't vine.

Flowers are always a good bet. Nasturtium are pretty and can be eaten.

Thyme herb is nearly indestructible.

Posted by: Question Authority bumper sticker at January 20, 2024 03:31 PM (Rbu5d)

59 Ventured out of basement, seems winds lessened some
Posted by: Skip at January 20, 2024 03:26 PM (fwDg9)

You're just trying to trick me into going outside !

Posted by: JT at January 20, 2024 03:34 PM (T4tVD)

60 Fire and ice!

First, I've been following the Icelandic volcano since early November. The latest one, the fissure near Grindavik, was just amazing to behold. I was on a livestream by Shawn Willsey when a new fissure opened up, and unzipped its way to the northeastern part of town. It was slow motion horror as the houses became consumed by the lava. Of course it was only a foot or two deep, so they burned from the bottom up. So weird. Anyway, if this topic interests you, I recommend Shawn Willsey and Just Icelandic.

Strange ice crystals form here under just the right conditions - it's call "spew ice." Or needle ice. The crystals grow up like little stalagmites.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at January 20, 2024 03:36 PM (w6EFb)

61 Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 20, 2024 02:49 PM

They say you can't re-grow the waxed amaryllis bulbs.

Posted by: KT at January 20, 2024 03:42 PM (rrtZS)

62 We got a waxed amaryllis bulb over the holidays.
It is in full glory right now on our kitchen table, 3 lovely white blossoms. Pretty nifty how they do that.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at January 20, 2024 03:44 PM (MeG8a)

63 Question Authority bumper sticker at January 20, 2024 03:26

Glad to hear about your extra-sweet carrots. Often happens when they are left in the ground as the weather gets cold.

Posted by: KT at January 20, 2024 03:47 PM (rrtZS)

64 OT sort of. I checked out the blurb about the space heater ad on our home page, the Musk heater. For absolutely hilarious unscientific bullshit we have:
"The materials we use in Ultra Air Heater are the best conductors in the world. Normally you have to force electricity into heat, but since our proprietary conductors have the electrons(electricity) moving so fast on an aSamic level, as soon as they hit the heating plates they instantly turn to heat since they have carried more energy with them."
1. Best conductors are Gold, Copper. So this is a goldmine pr just copper?
2. '.... force electricity into heat.' Not really, it's the other way around, you normally get unwanted heat from an electric current. Ask AMD or INTEL.
3. See, these electrons have backpacks so they can carry more energy than what Physics tells us they have, you know, like the Wetbacks/mules bringing in drugs.

Posted by: Ciampino - Who writes this crud? at January 20, 2024 03:51 PM (qfLjt)

65 There's a channel on YouTube called The Honeystead. A lady's family has a homestead (with bee hives)next door to her parents' property and she and her mom or certified herbalists so they talk about homesteading, bees, and home/botanical remedies for basic illnesses or to support general health.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 20, 2024 03:53 PM (nC+QA)

66 Thanks guys, I’ve copied your recommendations into a folder. Appreciate the help!

JTB, the farmer gig is hilarious. He told me last year he needed a farmer uniform. Which I take to be overalls!

We do things like expose plants to different levels of sun, water some more, things that he can observe and see the results of the science he learns about plants.

He’s a smart little boy, but he’s not crazy about school. Things like this help us both.

Posted by: Menagerie at January 20, 2024 04:55 PM (n/MLA)

67 Frrom Boise area: Lows 3-30 F, highs 12-36. In a normal season that 3 F would've come between Christmas and New Years. First frost was late, date of temperatures bottoming out also late - just hope spring is not late... (If I have the hyacinth sprouts I often have in Jan., they are still under a foot of snow!)

By my estimate, we've had 17-18 inches of snow. I've been able to join in on the shoveling (carefully). This week is predicted to stay above freezing, so we'll wait for the rest to melt - looking forward to finding out where the mushroom lights by the driveway ends are (lost track of them after the 2nd wave of snow).

We had to cancel 2 juniors rifle classes this past week due to snow - looks like we can resume this coming week. District matches are in April - have to get the students psyched up for that!

Hope all in Snow & Cold Country are staying safe!

Posted by: Pat* at January 20, 2024 05:28 PM (y4ng/)

68 cob loggers:
Last comment on WEF thread (#299) appears to be a pornbot: not that I'm stupid enough to go to the link and check.

Posted by: Dr. Weevil at January 20, 2024 06:37 PM (uL3GK)

69 Dr. Weevil at January 20, 2024 06:37 PM

Thanks.

Posted by: KT at January 21, 2024 09:47 AM (rrtZS)

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