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Topic: Summer gardening thread
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Sharon
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4090
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posted 17 June 2008 01:40 PM
Our perennial herbs -- sage, oregano, thyme, chives, parsley (both curly and flat-leaf), mint (which needs to be reined in regularly!) -- are all doing well. The peach tree has a gazillion tiny peaches on it. They won't all mature but it looks as if it will be a good crop. And the grapevines are starting to look lush. As for the garden area itself, my loving chief gardener (husband Dan) is very discouraged because the goutweed has taken over so completely that it will take a major effort and much time (that none of us have) to try to conquer it. It's very invasive and it's not uncommon around here. We've tried many ways to get rid of it but in the end, it will have to be dug out. And we know that every last microscopic bit of it has to go or else it will be back with a vengeance.
From: Halifax, Nova Scotia | Registered: May 2003
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Sineed
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11260
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posted 17 June 2008 06:36 PM
My parents up north have a cat that sits in wait outside mole holes, pouncing when they appear. He's a great mouser, too.I used to have a backyard composter that made beautiful rich soil, but had to get rid of it because of the rats and the mice. You'd open the lid and it was like animation: zoom! in all directions. We're close to a Loblaws, and we share an alley with several restaurants and a butcher. In short, Rat City: huge frigging rats that sometimes go running through our backyard. Most of us own cats, and they help keep the rodentia at bay. No rats in the house so far. My apricot tree has a bumper crop of apricots for the first time in eight years. I thought I might try drying them. Fresh apricots don't keep, and they're kind of blah.
From: # 668 - neighbour of the beast | Registered: Dec 2005
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Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
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posted 18 June 2008 11:23 AM
If you can stand long hard winters and considerable isolation, you can get a deal like mine: nice property, garage, woodshed, ocean view, lots of wild plants, two gardens (one small flower garden, the other a large veggie garden) and completely furnished house, for $28k. Oh, and lots of wild birds here every day, including a family of 7 Mourning Doves that visit my backyard bird sanctuary every day - all year long!
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
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Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560
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posted 19 June 2008 05:48 AM
I think my attitude towards gardening, if anyone ever blessed me with a little plot of yard to garden in, would be similar to Heather Mallick's: quote: It was April and my garden felt wonderfully incipient. I felt incipient in solidarity, a fallacy that was pathetic. I saw a snowdrop, the hatefully chirpy Disney character of the bulb world, and my brain bubbled serotonin.I was eager to start work. There's digging, planting, training, clipping, fertilizing, watering, painting, repairing, shoring up, amending, mulching, thinning, picking up with a shovel and carrying delicately away, edging, raking, grafting, weeding, hoeing, top-dressing, deadheading, shifting, scraping, scrubbing, hauling, bickering, replacing, spending, weeping, more spending. And then something breaks inside you. You throw away your mulch fork and spend the rest of the summer in a Muskoka chair, scratching at your mosquito bites till they go septic. You have no interest in this, this thing, this fenced green experiment. It's not an Eden; it's a rod for your back. Everything goes raggy and yellow in August and then winter comes. Then you do it all again next year.
The rest.
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001
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Lard Tunderin' Jeezus
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1275
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posted 19 June 2008 06:46 AM
We gave up on the vegetable garden; it's now an herb garden, doing nicely. Too much shade and too dry (the century-old manitoba maple deflects half the rain, and sucks up the rest with its roots). But herbs do well with little care: sage, oregano, tarragon, chives, parsley, 3 kinds of basil, 2 of mint, sorrel, coriander, dill, wild celery (smallage) and a rosemary bush.A cherry tree and hanging strawberries round out our attempts at growing-our-own. The squirrels are well-fed; we get an occasional taste. [ 19 June 2008: Message edited by: Lard Tunderin' Jeezus ]
From: ... | Registered: Aug 2001
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Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
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posted 19 June 2008 06:54 AM
I love reading Heather Mallick's exercise in gardening. It's a lot like my experience here, where I spend 6 to 8 hours (and sometimes more) every day weeding, watering, mowing the lawn, and feeding the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks (I try not to feed the mice and moles, but they grab what they can). My back is constantly in pain, but nevertheless I enjoy all the work - this morning my property looks gorgeous, and the flowers aren't even blooming (it's cold and cloudy). And, beginning in mid-August, I should have a basket (at least) of fresh veggies every day.
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
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Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
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posted 19 June 2008 08:29 AM
There are a few job postings here from the provincial government - assorted jobs for health and teaching professionals. However, not all in the same community - I think I've seen two for Kegaska, and one apiece for all the other communities of Quebec's Lower North Shore.My property is small, but I make the best of it. I'm still trying to get something done about shoreline erosion, after two years of trying. Outside the village limits, we can dig up whatever trees or bushes or indeed any plants we want, and transplant them to our own properties. I'd like a few small trees, but I don't know how to deal with the massive root structures even the smallest trees have. Canadian Tire in Sept-Iles has a plant nursery, with their tree roots bagged, but you actually have to go there and pick out what you want - and I doubt I'll be leaving the coast this year.
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
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Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
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posted 21 June 2008 06:37 AM
All I have growing at the moment are garlic and tomatoes (in the greenhouse) and sunflowers - I guess the sunflower seeds were dropped by the birds, as I didn't plant any sunflower seeds this year. They're growing everywhere, and that's okay, because I like sunflowers.My wildflowers are dying, except for a few, as we've had very little sun since last month. On the other hand, some of my shrubs are doing very well. If we do get some sun by the end of the month, then the veggies should do well. Our forecast is for more cold, wet weather at least until Wednesday. Right now it's cold at 9C, drizzling rain, and foggy. I had the furnace on yesterday (before the hydro went out for eight hours...) because the house was freezing - in the middle of June! This could be the coldest June on record here. I'm at a loss to explain this cold, damp weather.
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
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Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560
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posted 21 June 2008 06:57 AM
I think if I had a yard, I wouldn't even bother with grass. I would love to get the courage up to ask my landlord if I can take care of the front yard this year and plant it all over with perennials, because this summer and last, he's tried to seed it for grass, but the grass never takes because we have a huge maple shading the yard.But I haven't gotten the nerve up yet, because I'm not an experienced gardener at all, and I'm afraid of failing. I wouldn't be afraid of failing if it was MY yard, but I certainly don't want to fail in his! But anyhow...if it were my yard, I would make the entire front into perennials (low maintenance ones like hostas) and herbs, with maybe a few big rocks here and there (perhaps in pathways, or separating beds). I often feel like inside me there is a gardener trying to get out, but I have no confidence, and my houseplants often die because I forget to water them. So I have a feeling I wouldn't be a great gardener either, despite my longings. My big dream is to have a beautiful (in a wild way, not manicured way), yet useful garden, even in the front yard. With almost all plants being edible, that sort of thing. [ 21 June 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001
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Stargazer
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 6061
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posted 21 June 2008 07:01 AM
quote: I guess the sunflower seeds were dropped by the birds, as I didn't plant any sunflower seeds this year. They're growing everywhere, and that's okay, because I like sunflowers.
I put a bird feeder over a part of the garden and now I am swarmed with sunflowers. There are so many that the dirt is covered in some type of moss. They are growing well though. Lillis just bloomed and the Morning Glories are everywhere. My neighbours and I are setting up a garden/outside art studio. We'll be dividing the lawn in half, with one part studio, one part garden. Although I'm not too sure if it is too late to start planting now.
From: Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist. | Registered: Jun 2004
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Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
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posted 21 June 2008 08:01 AM
I have a beautiful small flowering garden just outside my LR window where the shrubs are doing very well, and the marigolds look ready to bloom as soon as we get some sun. As for sunflowers - last year I planted what were called Russian Giant Sunflowers from Veseys, and they grew over seven feet tall with thick stems - thick stems are good, because it's so windy here. I decided not to plant any this year because they take so much space. Now I have regular sunflowers starting to grow just about everywhere, so this will be an interesting gardening year if the sun ever makes an appearance. By the way, I have four feeding stations for the birds, I guess that's a reason I have so many sunflowers taking root everywhere.
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
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al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807
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posted 23 June 2008 08:31 PM
We have little-bitty kiwis today. Last year they didn't grow much bigger than small olives, although we were away for a month and didn't take care of them.I finally had chopped cilantro to spread over my tagine at supper this evening. My wild roses (rescued from a gravel road ten years ago) are blooming and spreading over my front yard, which, incidentally, is about to explode in lily blossoms. The wild tiger lily I rescued from urban sprawl a couple of years ago popped out of the ground last week and is ready to bloom in a few days. The French courgettes are making their Canadian cousins look like wimps. I hope they produce! My basil and tomato transplants have finally taken hold and are growing, and some basil I sowed about ten days ago is up today too, as is the Italian parsley that I planted about a month ago. And the Heyer #12 crab I planted three years ago is loaded with little green apples this year, while the gooseberry I planted the same summer finally has berries this year. One of my mint patches seems to have gone barren, and has but a couple of tiny shoots where I had a mint jungle the last couple of years.
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 23 June 2008 08:43 PM
I have a tarragon plant that is trying to take over my rosemary and mint. I'm going to try cutting it back and dividing it. I see some apples on our September ruby tree, but I'm not sure the hardy mac will produce this year (new last year and still quite small). Raspberries are going great guns, though, and the gooseberry is loaded, although we have to watch for bugs -- if they chew up the leaves it will drop all the berries.The grape vines look like they'll produce a nice crop this year. Basil is finally looking like it's going to take off, and the oregano and thyme are doing beautifully. The tomatoes are looking good, and we already have some zucchinis growing on the plants. Everything is up and we are already eating Ms B's radishes. We'll soon have lettuce, too. Bloody squirrels are eating my lilies this year, which irritates me. My front yard is shady and they add some much-needed colour to the front of the porch.
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807
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posted 24 June 2008 06:58 AM
We have a September Ruby too. We planted one three years ago (when we planted everything - it was our first summer in our new home) but last year realised that those bitter little things it produced were the fruit of the graft that had taken over, and not September Ruby apples.The nursery let us have a new tree and I planted it last year. I stuck the old one in the alley behind my fence (did I tell you the tale of how the city paved the alley, digging up my nice potato patch back there? The spot is a weed-infested ugly mess now.) and it's actually growing. Anyway, the new tree has a few apples on it this year. We'll see if they're red and medium-sized or green and small later this summer. We have clusters of little flowers on our Valiant grape, which is exciting, since we hadn't seen those before.
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 24 June 2008 07:48 AM
I can't remember what variety our grapes are, but they are smallish and have a fair number of seeds, but taste like concord grapes. I may try grape jelly this year, if I have time.The apples from our September Ruby tree are not especially big, but they are lovely, sweet apples. We just have to keep the damned squirrels out of it. Sorry to hear about your potato patch. Our alleys have been paved for decades... I lived in this 'hood when I was very small, and they had been paved long before that. We have a plot of raspberries just off the alley. I think some of the neighbors raid them, but they produce like mad so we've never been short.
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
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posted 24 June 2008 08:29 AM
Today is the thrid day in a row I've to don a parka to go outside, it was so cold. Plus, early this morning we had a very heavy rainfall. Everything in the garden is starting to grow, despite the lousy weather. A week of sun and warm weather, which we should get sooner or later, and I think my five gardens will look very nice. In the greenhouse, my 44 tomato plants aren't any taller, but they're much leafier. We really need the sun.
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
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al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807
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posted 24 June 2008 09:49 AM
quote: The apples from our September Ruby tree are not especially big, but they are lovely, sweet apples.
Uh oh. I was hoping they'd be tart, like Macs. I made cider from a neighbour's crabapples a couple of years ago. I heard September Ruby's are good for juicing, so maybe I can make cider from them once the tree gets big enough. I saw a couple of these bugs ( top row, second from the right) on my wild roses this morning, poking and slurping away at my rose buds: Click! [ 24 June 2008: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ] [ 25 June 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003
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Sharon
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4090
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posted 25 June 2008 09:31 AM
quote: I would love to get the courage up to ask my landlord if I can take care of the front yard this year and plant it all over with perennials, because this summer and last, he's tried to seed it for grass, but the grass never takes because we have a huge maple shading the yard.
Michelle, I do think you should ask your landlord if you could do this. We live on a heavily-treed street and, on our side, most front yards get almost no sun. (Our backyard, thankfully, is sheltered and gets lots of sun so it's a nice little micro-climate.) Many of our neighbours have magnificent shady front yard gardens with many varieties of hostas but also exotic grasses, flowers, herbs and veg -- I'm just enthralled by them. You would probably have to do some work with the soil -- that maple tree is not only shading your yard but its roots are sucking a lot of nutrients from the soil. I hope you do it!
From: Halifax, Nova Scotia | Registered: May 2003
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Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
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posted 25 June 2008 11:36 AM
Here, I think it's the opposite situation. Most housing lots on Quebec's Lower North Shore have been carved out of thick, heavy treed bush, and homeowners struggle to lay down a nice field of grass - sadly. In the effort to have a nice manicured lawn, some beautiful trees and shrubbery have been removed, on virtually every lot. Some of us are trying to reverse this trend by planting trees and shrubbery native to the area on our properties, with some nice results, although it's a struggle, because much of the original topsoil has been allowed to blow away. There's a lot of empty properties here overrun with weeds and their pollen blows everywhere, so it's a lost cause trying to remove dandelions and the like - we all just cut them down with the grass, and the result are lawns that are about half weeds and half grass.
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 25 June 2008 06:07 PM
My lawn is patchy, but not where the rink was. Unfortunately, dog pee over the winter has taken its toll. Our goal this summer is to teach Luna to use one small corner of the yard (where nothing much grows anyway) to do her business. Kali's already pretty good that way, but last fall we were just focused on getting Lou to keep it outside. And the digging. We're also working on the digging. Ah, well, I get more joy from life with a setter than I would a pristine lawn... Haven't been out to the garden plot for a few days, but we've gotten enough rain to keep it damp. Everything's been up for a week or two and is doing well, except for the cukes. Lots of attrition on the cuke front. My "heirloom" variety tomatoes are doing really well, and so are the brussels sprouts. [ 25 June 2008: Message edited by: Timebandit ]
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Jerry West
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1545
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posted 28 June 2008 05:03 PM
quote: Originally posted by Ghislaine: I wish I could afford to be a property owner so I could garden! I am envious of you lucky property owners....
If you have any space at all try large pots. I live in a condo with a bit of yard space and most of my garden is raised in big pots (Canadian Tire, $6 each) and half barrels. Currently I have over a dozen pots of snow peas doing well, and about seven or eight of scarlet runner beans doing well. Tomatoes which I have sheltered started well, but the last part of spring was so dark and cold they are just now setting fruit. Squash which should have come up in May is just now busting ground, but my chard and Chinese greens have had a good time in the cool weather. Basil is so-so, but my rosemary, in pots and sheltered every winter, is into its fourth or fifth year and still growing. Strawberries are just getting ripe, about a month off schedule. The oregano, mint, parsely and wild black berries and raspberries which I encourage are unstoppable as usual.
From: Gold River, BC | Registered: Oct 2001
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Digiteyes
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8323
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posted 20 July 2008 10:09 AM
quote: Originally posted by Boom Boom: Thanks. I'll give away as many as I can and use the rest for compost. They're the big variety of tomatoes. I figure I only need ten plants, but I've got 70.
ROFL! If you had enough space, you could stock the local grocery store and pizzeria! (edited for speeling) [ 20 July 2008: Message edited by: Digiteyes ]
From: Toronto | Registered: Feb 2005
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Farmpunk
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12955
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posted 21 July 2008 04:09 PM
Yes, hot, humid, and lots of rain here, too. And as EQ says, it causes everything to grow. Nature always has a challenge for gardeners. Rain and warm weather is a recipe for weeds to a farmer. Good for pasture growers, if the weeds don't outgrow the grass. I'm trying to establish a pasture and it's more diffcult than you might imagine. Rain gives and takes away. Take for instance the recent thunderstorms and hot humid weather in SWOnt. Wheat is ready to harvest right now. But, due to weather, the wheat may end up sprouting on the stalk, with the fields and stalk too wet to work. Remember that $14 dollar wheat? Bye bye. Hope you didn't sign a contract. Beware, tomato growers. Hot, wet, humid - and bushy, tight plants in a greenhouse, Boomster - could mold your fruit, and will at least stress the plants and cause premature death. Fungicides can help, but need to be applied early, before the problems start. Overall, and it pains me to admit it, but a dry year it is actually easier to manage food, given the ability to apply water. This is why I imagine California and other sunny and hot, dry-ish, regions are such big producers. And why they also lead the league in irrigation. Potatoes in Idaho and not PEI.
From: SW Ontario | Registered: Jul 2006
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triciamarie
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12970
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posted 21 July 2008 06:26 PM
Apparently these gastropods -- slugs / snails --also drink near beer. I'm assuming it doesn't knock them out though (unless they're American?) so you'd have to I guess, round them up manually and deal with them. This Ontario Ministry of Agriculture article says you can also just set out a plank of punky old wood and pick them off when they take up residence underneath. These little slimers are decimating my hostas so I may try that. Hopefully the wood doesn't attract termites.Is there any non-toxic, non-crunchy way to dispatch these things quickly? I once tried putting a bunch of them in my yard waste bag. Then I remembered they can climb. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/hort/news/grower/2004/10gn04a1.htm [ 21 July 2008: Message edited by: triciamarie ]
From: gwelf | Registered: Jul 2006
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al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807
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posted 23 July 2008 07:59 PM
We've had lots of heat and rain, so everything's now looking great.We had pesto today, made from our own basil and garlic. We also had Caesar salad, made from our Cos lettuce. Yesterday was Indian - with home-grown cilantro chutney and a spinach-rice dish in which I substituted beet tops (which gave the rice a pinkish hue)for spinach. I've been throwing mint into everything. Rasberry clafouti was dessert. Two days ago we had stuffed koosas and stuffed swiss chard, followed by rhubarb crumble. Peas are just about ready, and it looks like I might soon have an explosion of fava/broad beans. There isn't much action on the aubergine front, though; the plants are still pretty small.
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 24 July 2008 12:37 PM
My eggplant is blooming, and a not bad size. We had a serious downpour yesterday and another the day before, so everything is well-watered. Have some weeding to catch up on, though, and the grass is getting too long in the back yard.My raspberries are finally in gear, we put up some saskatoon berry and rhubarb jam last week and have been enjoying lettuce, chard and zucchinis from the garden. There may finally be some green and yellow beans this week. The tomato plants are getting nice and big, and I have lots of green tomatoes on the plants. Nothing like home-grown tomatoes!
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791
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posted 24 July 2008 02:18 PM
My beets, radishes, tomato, cucumber, turnip, rutabaga, and spinach plants are doing very well, but the beans, onions, lettuce and carrots have barely survived the lousy cold, wet and windy weather we had all June. I've ordered new carrots and lettuce seeds and will plant them next week. Should be ready for picking by either the middle or end of September. I've ordered the quickest growest plants I could find.My wildflowers all died - May and June were just too cold and wet, and no sun whatsoever. However, all that rain and the sun we're getting now has given me a bumper crop of marigolds and the sunflowers are really growing as well. I have sunflowers growing everywhere. Next year I will plant ALL my veggies no earlier than July 1st. I've learned my lesson. The blackflies are really bad this year, because of the wet May and June we had. I can't even go into my backyard without being doused in fly dope or mosquito netting. I think I'm allergic to blackflies, because I get tired and have to lie down after I get bit. Flowering wild weeds are doing fine here, so I think I'll let them be, because I have so few flowers at all, although the marigolds and sunflowers are doing really well. I have wild roses growing in one section of my yard, and I'm trying more sophisicated roses in my backyard, but they're not doing so well. There's a lesson there, too: better to rely on native species than introduce new stuff. Friends of mine here own four properties joined together, with a gorgeous house they rebuilt, and their gardens are amazing - but they're inland further than I am (I'm right on the edge of the salt water sea) and they don't get salt water spray that harms the crops. Flowers that grow well there are chives (yes, it's a herb, but chive flowers are gorgeous), sunflowers, marigolds, daisies, and forget-me-nots. I planted chives this year but they're slow growing. Next year I'm going to try both daisies and forget-me-nots instead of the tulips and wildflower bulbs that failed this year. I mentioned in an earlier thread that my backyard/garden is also a sanctuary for small birds - these include a family of seven beautiful Mourning Doves that drop by in the daytime, but usually gather as a group and feed in the early evening. I love those birds. I also have Finches (Purple, and House), Common Gackles, Boreal Chickadees, Swainson's Thrush, too many crows and Common Ravens (which I would like to see move elsewhere - they scare off the smaller birds), American Gold Finch, Sparrows (different varieties), Tree Swallow, Evening Grosbeak, and European Starling. Other birds that fly overhead but don't actually come into the sanctuary are a variety of hawks, eagles, Canada Geese, and lots of seagulls which poop over everything and drop stuff like crab legs here and there that they've been feeding on. I just had a tossed salad with a huge radish from my garden - it was great. There's two friends here I grow radishes for - they don't have a garden - and another friend I am growing beets for - he also doesn't have a garden. The beet greens are enormous, very leafy - but the beets themselves are still pretty small. I found some more lettuce growing near the weeds, and also some carrots. I also have a row of rutabagas doing well. What the heck can you do with rutabagas - anyone know? I usually boil them with potatoes and just mash them along with the potatoes - gives mashed potatoes a bit of a kick. I think I'd hate to eat rutabagas by themselves - too strong a taste.
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
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Sineed
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11260
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posted 24 July 2008 02:50 PM
One way of doing rutabagas is to mash them with milk (or cream), lots of butter, and brown sugar. Not exactly a diet recipe, but the taste is much too pungent otherwise. (I also do what you do, and mix them with potatoes.)The record rainfall we've had in Toronto has been good for my tomatoes; I planted them kind of late, and they're taller every time I look outside with lots of baby tomatoes. The green pepper plant is also doing well. But something is munching my herb garden and sunflowers. I planted three varieties of basil, and the Thai basil is doing okay, but the other two are heavily damaged. And the sunflowers have been killed; their leaves look like lace curtains. I'm nervous about planting root vegetables. I live in a former industrial area, and the neighbours tell me the soil is contaminated. My herbs are in pots, and the tomatoes are in a spot I've excavated and added home-made compost to from our old composter (the one I had to get rid of because of the rats).
From: # 668 - neighbour of the beast | Registered: Dec 2005
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Sineed
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11260
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posted 24 July 2008 06:51 PM
Don't like the idea of sugar in a mashed veggie??It's a variation of a "neeps" recipe you might serve on Robbie Burns Day, when the rutabagas (or turnips) are mashed with butter and sugar along side "cock-a-leekie" soup made with chicken, prunes, and leeks. (And the haggis, of course, which is boiled for 20 minutes.) Yum! I wish I could get sunflowers to grow. This year they got eaten by (I think) slugs. Last year, the racoons took them out. For all my gardening problems, though, tomatoes always seem to work. I've never had a problem with pests. The racoons ate my pumpkins, but never the tomatoes.
From: # 668 - neighbour of the beast | Registered: Dec 2005
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triciamarie
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12970
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posted 31 July 2008 07:21 AM
Oh! Okay, thanks.This is such a silly question but... when a slug falls into beer and starts drinking, is that volitional on their part? Or do they just like, fall in and drown like any other animal? They must feel pain. How long before they go into a stupor? I'm just wondering if I should get over myself and step on the things (or get my four-year-old to do it!) if that would cause them less suffering. Maybe I'll just let them eat the hostas.
From: gwelf | Registered: Jul 2006
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al-Qa'bong
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Babbler # 3807
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posted 13 August 2008 09:25 PM
quote: Originally posted by WendyL: al-Qa', I really like schlurmed. Please tell me 'bout it.
I just made it up. I dug up my garlic three days ago. The stalks were all brown, so I figured they weren't going to grow any more. The odd thing is, both those that I planted last fall and the spring plants turned brown. Anyway, I have some nice big heads of garlic this year. Yhe French courgettes are producing like mad. The aubergines that I started in the house in March are finally blooming, only a week behind the volunteer aubergine that is growing among my swiss charge. The kiwis haven't grown a bit in a month; they're still the size of grapes. But my grapes actually look like grapes! I planted marigolds out in the allotment to deter onion maggots. I don't know if the bugs are staying away, but the flowers out there in the middle of nowhere look incredible! What a waste! Today we had new spuds - steamed, green beans sautéed in garlic and butter, beets, zucchinis baked with mozzarella, salad made from various lettuces, cucumbers, and other greens, as well as tofu Italian sausages that my 11-year old insisted we buy. I like eating during this time of the year, when all I have to buy are things like butter, vinegar and olive oil.
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003
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al-Qa'bong
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posted 23 August 2008 03:14 PM
quote: Originally posted by Boom Boom: You must have a fairly large property - corn takes a lot of space. I decided not to grow potatoes this year, last year's crop wasn't worth the effort.
I don't plant corn in the backyard any more, but grow it out on the allotment, which is about a 50' X 30' plot. Many of my spuds rotted in the ground last fall. It rained so much I couldn't get to them. I'd dig up a hill and find tiny pea-sized second-growth tubers and nothing else - the potatoes had composted themselves into nothing already. This year's potato crop looks good so far.
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003
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Sharon
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Babbler # 4090
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posted 23 August 2008 04:50 PM
sandpiper, I'm trying to get organized to start a babble pickling thread/workshop which first came up last winter sometime -- when harvest seemed so far away. Michelle and writer -- and others (I'd have to look back) -- were interested and because I have lots of experience, I said I'd direct the workshops. I don't think we got so far as to figure out how we were going to do it, however. But it sounds like fun. Michelle, thank you. I'll definitely look for delicious Iranian pickles. [ 23 August 2008: Message edited by: Sharon ]
From: Halifax, Nova Scotia | Registered: May 2003
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Timebandit
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posted 24 August 2008 12:53 PM
Please do share the tomatillo recipe, BA, I haven't grown any but saw some at the supermarket the other day and was tempted to buy some and go looking for something to do with them.Last night we ate the first two proper-sized eggplants I've grown. I used a variation on a Marcella Hazan recipe -- cut them in half, cut cross hatches in the flesh with a paring knife, stuffed the cuts with garlic slices. Then I browned the cut side in a fry pan with olive oil, then turned them to let the backs cook, covered, for a few minutes. Meanwhile, I made a sauce with peppers and tomatoes (also from the garden). I then put the eggplant in a baking dish cut side up, layered with mozzarella slices, sprinkled with fresh basil (from my herb bed!) and spooned the sauce overtop, then baked the whole shebang until the cheese was runny and the eggplant cooked through. I have several butternut squashes growing, but they won't be ready for a while. There are some great fall recipes I will use them in. Our potatoes are not as good this year, I don't think, but will do okay. Lots of carrots and the beets are doing well. I think our beans and peas are done for this year, so I need to pull them up and start a compost pile. Tomatoes are going like mad. I will have to can some, probably tonight. Oh, and I have a one-jar-at-a-time pickle recipe if anyone's interested. Super easy, even my 10 yr old makes her own jars of pickles.
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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RosaL
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Babbler # 13921
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posted 24 August 2008 02:27 PM
quote: Originally posted by Frustrated Mess:
I made my first pickles this year. Can't wait to try them.
Do you have a good recipe? I like them really sour! I'm also interested in Bookish Agrarian's tomato recipes - and anything else people think might be good. (Recipe posters: Please describe things in detail: nothing is too obvious to mention. ) [ 24 August 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]
From: the underclass | Registered: Mar 2007
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sandpiper
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Babbler # 10581
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posted 24 August 2008 06:04 PM
That sounds amazing Sharon. It would make dial-up internet (a first for me this fall) worth it.
quote: Originally posted by Sharon: sandpiper, I'm trying to get organized to start a babble pickling thread/workshop which first came up last winter sometime -- when harvest seemed so far away. Michelle and writer -- and others (I'd have to look back) -- were interested and because I have lots of experience, I said I'd direct the workshops. I don't think we got so far as to figure out how we were going to do it, however. But it sounds like fun.
From: HRM | Registered: Oct 2005
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al-Qa'bong
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Babbler # 3807
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posted 24 August 2008 10:03 PM
quote: Last night we ate the first two proper-sized eggplants I've grown.
OK, I hate you. My aubergines are blooming nicely. The flowers are incredibly intricate and lovely...but they aren't producing any fruit! I tried growing tomatillos from seed last year. I managed to plant a couple of wee sprouts out in the garden, but they croaked within a week or so. I have a stack of zucchinis that look like they ought to be loaded onto a Gotha bomber, if anyone's interested. The carrots are stubby and tasteless this year. I'm considering emigrating to Perigord any season now. [ 24 August 2008: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ]
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003
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Timebandit
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Babbler # 1448
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posted 25 August 2008 06:45 AM
quote: Originally posted by Boom Boom:
I'm interested! Please post.
For a quart jar: Take a clean, sterilized jar (you can heat or just wash with soap, water, and a smidge of bleach and then rinse well with hot water - I use this method for jam, pickles and bottling mead) and add: 1/4 cup vinegar 1 tablespoon pickling salt (the coarse kind) dill, garlic, peppers or whatever you wish to flavour the pickles Stuff jar with whatever veg you are pickling, cukes or beans or carrots or whatever -- works for anything. Top up with boiling water and put the sealer lid on immediately. As they cool, the lids should "pop" as they seal.
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 25 August 2008 06:52 AM
quote: Originally posted by al-Qa'bong:
OK, I hate you. My aubergines are blooming nicely. The flowers are incredibly intricate and lovely...but they aren't producing any fruit! I tried growing tomatillos from seed last year. I managed to plant a couple of wee sprouts out in the garden, but they croaked within a week or so. I have a stack of zucchinis that look like they ought to be loaded onto a Gotha bomber, if anyone's interested. The carrots are stubby and tasteless this year. I'm considering emigrating to Perigord any season now. [ 24 August 2008: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ]
Aw, I hate you too, Al Q! I only put in one plant -- my cukes died (3 times I planted cukes!!! And they produced SFA), and I saw eggplants at the greenhouse when I went to replace them, so this was purely experimental. We love eggplant, so I may try a few more next year. It's been a rough summer for gardening out here. Everything has been off kilter - raspberries, strawberries late, beans and peas slow. Must have been the cold, dry spring. It's time to start baking zucchini cake and freezing it. I believe you posted the recipe I use, Al Q, a couple of years back, courtesy of Mrs. Bong. Thank her for us, it's become a regular around here.
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Boom Boom
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Babbler # 7791
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posted 25 August 2008 07:21 AM
I'm going to either have to change my soil, modify it, or just not try to grow certain items. The stuff that doesn't grow here includes corn, melons of all kinds, cucumbers (I get nice vines and flowers, but no real cukes), strawberries, and potatoes (soil too acidic I think). I have green tomatoes, but not very many. The stuff that grows really well in the soil here includes lettuce, carrots, beets, cabbage, radishes, and all varieties of turnips. Lettuce is by far my best crop - they're huge, and delicious.
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004
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Farmpunk
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Babbler # 12955
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posted 25 August 2008 08:38 AM
The market garden is mixed this year. Rainy weather, not a lot of strong sun and heat, until recently.First year growing celery. Been interesitng. Celery grows very slowly and can be hard to manage in a dry year because it likes regular moisture. Otherwise they go hard and bitter. Tomatoes are awful. I won't be putting any out by the road because they look like shite and the taste just isn't there. Should still have enough to do some canning. Next year I'm going to experiment with potted organic tomatoes grown in a greenhouse. Eggplant was really good. Fruit a little scarred, but big. Fun plants to grow, very pretty and freaky. Unfortunately I can't sell the damn things, so they might get cut out of the rotation next year. Cabbage. Doing well. Beets. Doing okay. Not the size I like. Sweet corn (probably three and a half acres). Has done well. A little later starting harvest than I like, but can't help that. Good rain helps corn on this sandy loam. Bugs not a big issue. But the last week of hot and sunny weather is accelerating the maturity process and the plants are dying fast. Something seems to be affecting the late season plantings, too. Stunted growth. Possibly due to my hack weed control program in the later plantings. Corn is selling well. Peppers are okay. Nothing special. Jalapenos are good, drying some in the greenhouse as I write. Peppers don't sell by the road. Onions are large but with thick necks. The whites are doing better than the reds. Storage may become an issue with this year's crop. If I find the time, I'm going to try and pickle beets. I've been on a beet kick lately and I want that taste in the winter.
From: SW Ontario | Registered: Jul 2006
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