# How does your garden grow?



## FlyGap

Well, not really well right now without any rain! But we got some stuff going.
So this year we planted...
Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Onions, Potatoes, Carrots, Lettuce, Spinach, Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Jalepenoes, two kinds of tomatoes, and corn!
We also have 3 new very poor apple trees, a nectarine, almost dead plum (got something wrong with it, got a good spray ideas?), great pear tree, dozens of peach trees that naturalized on the hillside, and my strawberry garden. 
We used to do a 5,000 square foot garden when we lived down by the river. Had an artesian well. Now we can hardly keep the horses watered! So we downsized, BIG TIME! Plus I got tired processing all the produce with no help, but thats another story! Please show your gardens!!!

The garden!








Pulled up all but a few of the squash, had 20 plants in that dirt area.








Anyone need green beans? LOL!








Strawberry bed, and a poor little grape vine I've been trying to grow FOR 5 YEARS! It's survived horses and a transplant, then got eaten to a nub by the pygmies, now it's got the green light! Grow baby grow!









Man I need RAIN! Hope yours is doing well!


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## Lockwood

Lovely pics!!
I'm resizing mine now, lest I feeze up the thread with a huge photo bomb....
Be back in a bit.


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## Missy May

Wow, nice garden...amazing califlower. I would be so red in the face if you saw my pathetic little potato and tomato "patch". No pics from me! I don't even have a tomato, yet! 

>>>running from computer screen, screaming for hubby...I want a nice garden patch, tooooo! sniffle<<<<


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Checked a gardening thread and scored 5 carrots! Thanks Fly!  

I do a pretty good sized garden (probably 3/4 of an acre) with my mom. We're growing sweet corn, peas (snow & snap), green beans, carrots, kohlrabi, green peppers, jalapenos, 3 different tomatoes (paste, juice, sandwich) brussel sprouts (ick - only my dad eats them), onions, gold & red potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon & honeydew. 

Then there's the herb garden with rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano & spearmint. Also do asparagus but it's gone to seed now :-( 

At my house we have a big strawberry bed and 2 bartlett pear trees. 

I, too have been watering. We really need some rain but between the horse manure fertilizer and the soaker hoses, it's doing pretty well. I have a stock tank for "manure tea" but no rainwater to fill it. Won't be long and I'll be cussing how many green beans I have to snap and can. :lol:


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## Lockwood

Ok, lets see if I can remember what I planted/am currently putting in-
broccoli, purple and green cauliflower, onions, 4 types of lettuce, 6 types of garlic, swiss chard, 4 types of potatoes, carrots, spinach, all kinds of squash, yellow and green zucchini, beans, melons, peas, pumpkins, um can't remember what else... but there are some I'm forgetting.

I also grow some herbs- 5 different basils, 3 different thymes, oregano, parsley, sage, marjoram, bee balm, tarragon, lemon balm, mint, lavender and a couple of other things.

And instead of a traditional orchard I worked the trees and bushes into the landscape design... apples (had 2 matures already here) cherry, peach, plum, pear, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, and grape. I plan to now add some of the more uncommon things like elderberry, gooseberry, mulberry, pawpaw, and a few others.

Anyway, it is a work in progress. 


One of the gardens-









ripening blueberry (Oh.. hurry hurry pretty berries!)









purple cauliflower, which is quite tasty-









young catawba grapes









lavender









buttercrunch lettuce









almost ready onions mixed with carrots









spinach with red lettuce in the background


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## Missy May

Wow, lockwood, even though you are stingy w the popcorn - I have to admit, you have a beautiful garden!


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## FlyGap

Lockwood I am *GREEN* and *PURPLE* with ENVY!
My little dehydrated garden looks so poor next to yours! It is STUNNING! So envious of your blueberries, ours are new and very pathetic! Those grapes are lovely!

We did have all the cool weather stuff, long gone now. I haven't had rain in four weeks, and there isn't any on the way. I'm actually sump pumping water out of our old hand dug well and then moving the soaker hose around 20 times a day! There isn't enough pressure to run more than one at a time, hilarious!
We've only been here for two years so there is MUCH work to be done, how do ya like that paint job on the barns??? LOL! Can't decide if I want to go brown or green...

Where did you order your purple cauliflower?!?! I love it! What little girl wouldn't eat purple veggies?! I've always wanted the pretty (nutritious) varieties but my DH thinks it's a waste of space, he's a purest. Just you wait, next year we'll be growing a rainbow, even if I have to freak him out and switch the plants at night!

WOW MHF, 3/4 of an acre! I'd go crazy! I've let the weeds go a bit nuts, I'm about to throw up my hands on this one. Does your grass look like mine? How embarrassing! We quit mowing because the dust is so bad. I've never done manure tea, saw it on Martha Stewart and I've been dying to try it! We use organic mushroom compost, goat poop, and there's a little horse in there. We'll be adding chicken litter in the fall.
Oh, I want a bucket of your snow peas! My favorite! Got too hot too early for them here. In the fall... Cuss a blue streak when snappin, I'll be cussin with you!


Ugh, my pictures look ick. We even had to start haying the horses this week.  
I swear my yard usually has nice grass! And it's usually weed eaten too! 
Guess I should have looked at that before posting. Missy, get those picts up, I can't be the only gardner of SHAME compared to ^^^THAT^^^!


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## MHFoundation Quarters

It's not too bad, we've downsized a bit actually. My sister doesn't have time to help this year so we did less. We also leave enough space between rows that we can drive the cub w/the tiller between, then we only have to weed right around the plants. It's a lot of work to can it all but it saves a good chunk of money on groceries. Couldn't tell you the last time I bought canned veggies from the store. 

Manure tea is awesome (when you get rain). We took the big kitty litter buckets and cut holes in them with a hole saw, then stapled mesh screen over the holes, fill with manure and let it soak. We use the plastic rubbermaid tanks - they have a drain spout that a hose fits on. 

Sadly, our grass is getting brown & crunchy. Haven't mowed in almost 2 weeks  I'm not wasting water on my lawn, I am watering our smaller pastures though. We've still got plenty of pasture grass but if we don't get some darn rain, I might cry. Lol.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Cruiser

We only grow stuff that we like preserved or will last in storage. So garlic, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers, beans, peas, pumpkins, zuchinni, as well as blue berries, rhubarb, and hopefully wild black berries, and plans for another kind of berry but can't decided what kind. 

The garden is only 10 by 30 feet big, but we usually get enough stuff to make dozens of breads, pies, muffins, tomato sauce, garlic paste, and more for usually into the winter. The potatoes and onions and whatever garlic isn't turned into paste are stored in our basement.


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## Corporal

Great idea for a thread. As some of you know I am an avid member of "The Easy Garden" forum, too. I've harvested lettuce, radishes, sugar snap peas, Little Marvel peas, potatoes, beets, onions and spinach (planted last FAll) so far this year, along with a couple of turnips. I got into raised beds a few years back. I've been actively studying gardening for about 3-4 years now. My beds don't look garden-magazine pretty, BUT, I've learned a few things about avoiding monocultures, mulching, severe composting, double digging and companion planting.
Here are some pictures:
2011, eight garden beds after tilling








I spent one month after my DD's April 2, 2011 wedding, double digging 4 of my beds. I ran out of 2011 Spring "window" to do the other 4, SO...they'll have to wait until after this year's harvest. Here is the article that tells you how and why to do this, and the great advantages are that you do the work ONCE, add compost regularly and always have a deep bed that nobody compresses. My "raised beds" are double dug about 30 inches deep, below ground level, and run ~3 1/2' x 12'.
G6985 Raised-Bed Gardening | University of Missouri Extension


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## Corporal

*2012 Grapes*

I thought I lost my grapes for the year but would have a good crop of my other fruit. INSTEAD, I lost all my apples (4 trees), all my pears (2 trees), all my peaches (1 tree), and most of my Montmorency cherries (2 trees.) I have possibly the best grape crop this year EVER--go figure. This is what it looked like after 2 frosts in April.








THIS is what it looked like last week.


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## Corporal

*Going to Seed*

I have 2011 onions going to seed.








I have 2 Brussel Sprouts that survived the mild winter going to seed, too.








I HATE, HATE, HATE to mow next to any building and I HATE, HATE, HATE string trimmers. You use them for 5 minutes and then spend the next 55 minutes re-stringing them. (******* STRING TRIMMERS!!!!)
So, my solution is to make garden flower/herb beds alongside my house and garage so that I can mow easily. It's been worth all of the effort over the past 6 years to do this, and I'm almost done.
Here are the radishes that I planted to fill in the spaces between flowers on the west side of my garage. I love their flowers. They're fragrant, and it chokes out the weeds, plus you can harvest the numerous seeds for later planting.


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## Corporal

*Volunteers*

I transplanted some 30-odd volunteer tomato plants--mostly cherry-- to fill in places where the weeds like to take over. One has fruit that will be red by this weekend, which is the earliest EVER at my place. Just in time for DH's birthday.
It's hard to see, but this bed is really for my newly planted asparagus. The sunflowers and cosmos behind, and the volunteer tomatoes in front as just companion plants.








I had to take out 8 arber vitae bush stumps to clear this bed.








Here's ALL EIGHT of them!








THAT's why it only looks 1/2 done. The right (east) side will fill in nicely this summer. The west and east sides are flanked by blackberry bushes, which are red and turning this week--TOTALLY num!








A month ago my clematis decided to explode around the blackberry bush. Biggest flowering ever, probably bc it likes it's roots really shaded.


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## Corporal

*Old Cattle Fencing*

Along the street I have a section of the old fencing that I replaced around my 4 acres of horse pasture. It was hard to mow, too, so I've reclaimed it as a garden bed. I started 2 years ago, and happily discovered volunteer Potato plants in the inside. I've harvested 5 of them, and left the other 12 to develop bigger spuds. So far I've harvested about 30 pounds of potatoes, even though I could have left them in the ground a little longer.








I've had a great crop of sugar snap peas there.








Unfortunately, out of 100 seeds that I planted directly only one sweat pea survived. Next year I'm starting ALL peas inside...in January. They can go out mid-March and still do well.


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## Cacowgirl

I had 1 really nice heirloom tomatoe-it was doing great-lots of blooms, but a cow (free-range) came in the yard & ate it during the night-right outside the bedroom window-while I was on vacation. hubby thinks it might come back, but I think it is too far gone. More than 2/3rds was chomped off.


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## Corporal

Heirloom tomatoes taste fantastic, but they don't produce much. I recommend planting one or two or them, and also plant hybreds. I have one bed of beefsteak, and one bed of Romas. I have one volunteer Red Crim, an heirloom, in that bed, too.
I don't know about you'all but I think this will be an early tomato harvest.


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## FlyGap

Lovely Corporal! I was hoping you'd add yours!
Yep, early tomatoes. I've got HUGE beefsteaks and pulled two red ones already. My Romas are LOADED, no reds yet but it will only be another week.
Grow grapes grow! What a success! Did you do anything special to bring them back/help them grow? Other than compost and water?

I did sweet peas too! They are still alive but tiny, I _bought_ two to grow on my balcony that got eaten by mice! I'll post a pict of my sad little flower garden. They say we have a 30% chance for rain the next two days!! Woo Hoo! I've only been able to water it once a week... Oh well!

LOVE your sunflower beds! That is a LOAD of work digging up those bushes, I'd have decorated the stumps and said THWI! I used to grow cabbage, squash, and strawberries in mine along with 4 O'Clocks, grandfathers whiskers, and sunflowers it was so lovely. Most of my beds by the house are in full shade now.


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## Corporal

FlyGap said:


> Lovely Corporal! I was hoping you'd add yours!
> Yep, early tomatoes. I've got HUGE beefsteaks and pulled two red ones already. My Romas are LOADED, no reds yet but it will only be another week.


DH is THRILLED! We're planning meals based on tomatoes...with some, um..meat on the side, later this summer. =b


FlyGap said:


> I did sweet peas too!


The edible peas have been watered to death. We've had a really dry Spring and they wouldn't have survived without it. I have enough online articles saved to my computer to fill a book, and several tell how to successfully start peas inside. I'll send you the links, if you'd like. =D


FlyGap said:


> LOVE your sunflower beds! That is a LOAD of work digging up those bushes, I'd have decorated the stumps and said THWI! I used to grow cabbage, squash, and strawberries in mine along with 4 O'Clocks, grandfathers whiskers, and sunflowers it was so lovely. Most of my beds by the house are in full shade now.


ROFL!!! My garden forum friends told me to take a vacation after I finished _that_ job. I started 4-o-clock's too, bc I understand that, though toxic (to cats and dogs and horses), Japanese Beetles will consume the leaves and fly off and die. I have mine in 2 hanging baskets, out of reach to my animals.
I also have 4 sweet corn beds, with squashes interplanted, and they are in between my fruit trees in my micro-orchard.
This is THE YEAR to be eating off of the land, IMO.


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## FlyGap

I agree 1,000% I've put up over 150 lbs. of squash, zucchini, cauliflower, and broccoli. We are trying to get solar installed, if finances allow, to run the well and the freezer. Got a deer in there too. We'll see. Love how my grocery bill has gone down a bit with all the fresh produce!

Would LOVE any great links! I'm always learning. I like the NA approach to things, DH likes the traditional "must be in a row, must be STRAIGHT and TIDY!" Ugh. Oh well, he does the tillin! Do you have any good pasta sauce recipes? It's my goal to turn the Romas into ummm ummm spaghetti sauce!

Didn't get any snap/snow peas this spring, got too hot too early. Even the broccoli suffered, they shot off shoots with only a few heads but still got plenty. Didn't KNOW that about the 4 O's! I hate the beetles, I give my kid a bucket of soapy water and let her go to town! It's the larva that got my Plum, it's hanging on for dear life, do you know of any "good" pesticides for fruit trees or natural things to do around the roots? I LOVE that tree, I know it's at least 30 years old!

I was so hoping for a cool wet summer, I got the cool part, just not the wet! IT's starting to heat up but the humidity is low so thank Heavens!


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## FlyGap

I did have a nice cutting garden this spring, the Iris were CRAZY. All dust now and my Tiger lilies are toast, maybe 100 blooms out of potentially 1,000's. Oh, it was so GREEN!


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## Lockwood

Wowie.. I'm behind here on posts. It's in the 90's today and humid so I have been busy hosing bellies to keep animals cool.

Ok everyone, are you sitting down and comfy? Good, here comes a novel....

FLY- OMG your cauliflower is beautiful!! So is the child.
I cannot for the life of me get good white cauliflower. One, I’m too lazy to tie up the leaves to blanch the heads, and two since I’m all organic the bugs eat them to bits before they are ready for picking.
I have to go green and purple if I want an actual head of cauliflower. The green tastes a lot like the white, but the purple is fab! I can’t remember if I ordered from Burgess or Jung’s seeds http://www.jungseed.com/, http://www.eburgess.com/ 
But Johnny’s is my favorite for hard to find stuff! http://www.johnnyseeds.com 

I like your garden and think you have done quite a bit in only two years! You are much farther along that I was at two years. Your beans look terrific and I love the little building with the little rock beds around it. Is it a well house?
And don’t worry about the pics of your dry grass. Come August and September it will look much worse here, trust me. 
One year it was so dry the alpacas pulled up the grass roots while trying to nibble, the earth was so scorched! I’ve still got bald spots from that year.

There was nothing at my place when I bought it but weeds. Not even a barn and I had hard clay and shale for dirt. Fun.
Thankfully alpaca poop is low in nitrogen and can be put in the garden almost immediately. It really added the organic matter that my soils lack, and I did what is called lasagna gardening because tilling here is a disaster. If it doesn’t break the tines on your tiller, then you might as well put out a neon sign for every nasty weed that exists to come live on the tilled dirt, because grass won’t survive, let alone a veggie! LOL

Yeah, very poor soil for most things. My area was heavily strip mined in the 80’s and the companies never replaced the topsoil. There are actually grants to have the top oil replaced, but the problem is that there isn’t any quality topsoil to be found here.

Anyway, I started really small with lots of layers of natural enhancement… alpaca poo, shredded paper, leaves, poo, grass clippings, some amendments I bought, and more poo! Took about two years to start resembling a rich humus type of dirt, but after that I was able to actually grow something. I just keep adding the layers and expanding as I go. Thank goodness I had the foresight to plant the trees the first summer I was here with some alpaca poo compost. 

I don’t have drip irrigation, so when things are really dry I have go around in the mornings and evenings with the hose to give things a little drink until some drops fall. I can’t hook up anything because my well is not very strong and takes forever to refill if run down, so water has to be used sparingly. 
Thankfully there is a natural spring about 3 miles away and I have been seen on many occasions hauling water in barrels.

Like your DH I used to not be into different varieties. I just stuck to the straightforward stuff. But when I started growing for farmer’s markets I needed to do something that set me apart a little bit. I mean I couldn’t charge more for the very same things so I experimented. The flavors and better growing ability actually surprised me and now I am a convert. Bok choi, yellow beans, purple beans, rainbow swiss chard, purple basil, red and yellow carrots, chiogga (bulls eye target striped) beets and anything that is unusual I will try.

And I have to admit, it sure looks pretty on my plate and that is important to me as in the deep of winter when we go for weeks or a whole month without seeing the sun (we have more cloudy days here than Portland, OR) I really need those colors to lift the gloom.

As for my pics… did ya notice only one was from a distance and the rest were very close up? Well that is for a reason. The far off one is the only one that looks good and isn’t crowded with weeds!!

Like Corporal I am allergic to weed eaters too! (Darn %*#*&#!#*^ things!!)
It has taken many years and some back breaking work to get the garden to where it is and I still have a long way to go. 
Better Homes and Gardens are definitely not knocking on my door and I gave up the notion years ago that they ever would. Cause, you know… those magazines are only published to torment us and make us feel inadequate anyway. Just like most advertising.

What’s important is not HOW the garden looks, but WHAT it can Grow!! Pretty gardens are not always healthy gardens. :wink:


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## Corporal

*I am ducks4you there...*

Neem oil is the best thing to de-bug your fruit trees. It is derived from a plant that grows in India.
IMO, you should join TEG garden forum. There are some really good experts there.
The Easy Garden
Happy 2012 Summer Gardening!!


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## Lockwood

Corporal said:


> Great idea for a thread. As some of you know I am an avid member of "The Easy Garden" forum, too. *I've harvested lettuce, radishes, sugar snap peas, Little Marvel peas, potatoes, beets, onions and spinach (planted last FAll) so far this year, along with a couple of turnips. I got into raised beds a few years back. I've been actively studying gardening for about 3-4 years now. My beds don't look garden-magazine pretty, BUT, I've learned a few things about avoiding monocultures, mulching, severe composting, double digging and companion planting.*
> Here are some pictures:
> 2011, eight garden beds after tilling
> 
> I spent one month after my DD's April 2, 2011 wedding, double digging 4 of my beds. I ran out of 2011 Spring "window" to do the other 4, SO...they'll have to wait until after this year's harvest. Here is the article that tells you how and why to do this, and the great advantages are that you do the work ONCE, add compost regularly and always have a deep bed that nobody compresses. My "raised beds" are double dug about 30 inches deep, below ground level, and run ~3 1/2' x 12'.
> G6985 Raised-Bed Gardening | University of Missouri Extension


RE: bolded part- You GO girl!

We are like minded. I've put in many hours of study and research too. I'm too lazy to double dig, but I can sure pile stuff upreal well, so I decided to go the layered route. I have only certain walk areas in the established gardens and some of my beds are raised too. Whenever I expand or put in a new flower bed it sits about 2' high unitl it "cooks" down to about 6" to equal my raised bed. 
In the winter everything that isn't planted gets topped again and I add compost too.


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## Lockwood

Corporal said:


> I thought I lost my grapes for the year but would have a good crop of my other fruit. INSTEAD, I lost all my apples (4 trees), all my pears (2 trees), all my peaches (1 tree), and most of my Montmorency cherries (2 trees.) I have possibly the best grape crop this year EVER--go figure. This is what it looked like after 2 frosts in April.
> 
> THIS is what it looked like last week.


Same thing happened to my grapes and tree blossoms this year too. Grapes survived and came back but the fruit trees are pretty sparse this year


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## Lockwood

Corporal your flowers are gorgeous and I really like the layout of your beds. Sounds like you have put a lot of hard work into things and it shows in your pretty pics.

I’ve had potatoes winter over well and since last winter was mild, many of the tomatoes that hit to ground (and were forgotten about) are now my tomatoes this year. Which is good, because I didn’t have very good luck starting the seeds indoors this year. 

I don’t have any ‘maters yet, but the flowers are just starting to bloom.
I’ve got the usuals, plus romas, beefsteaks, salads, cherry, and my favorites… yellows and oranges. 

Thanks for the good links too!

Come on Missy, I want to see your garden. There is no right or wrong way to have a garden. As long as it produces food, then is a great garden! 
I’ve killed my fair share of gardens with my black thumb and it has only been recently that I was able to start growing things well and garden like. 

You know, one of the best things I did was buy a dehydrator. I don’t mean one of the rinky dink ones from wmart, but a big 9 tray monster.
Some of the food I grow is to barter to friends with for meat for the freezer, but the rest has to be put up and that is a whole lotta cannin’! While I do fill my freezer with veggies too, I find canning to be a difficult thing when there is only one of you in a very small kitchen, so I looked into drying and have to say it has been working very well for me.

My house is very small so shelf space is at a premium.
I can some of my tomatoes, but I cook and puree the rest then spread in the dehydrator. Tomoato leather or powder needs hardly any room to store. I can take 2 gallons of cooked tomatoes or sauce and reduce it down to about a 1 quart jar. 

It is great to add into soups, stews, reconstitute for sauce, or sprinkle the dry flakes into homemade cheeses (my fav.)
I also dry herbs, fruits, many other veggies, and flowers too. Just love my dehydrator! Anyone else have one?


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## Corporal

Lockwood, it sounds like YOU'VE put a lot of hard work into your whole yard!!
RE: various composting methods, there are so many that IMO you try the ones that are easiest for you and stick with them. I tried the lasagne layering, but it wasn't as easy for ME as the other things I'm doing, but my garden forum friends who do it swear by it.
Here's a book that I love that you might want to buy on clearance (published in 2007.)
Amazon.com: Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations (9780520258068): David R. Montgomery: Books
It would be an excellent winter read. The author is _a little bit lefty-biased_ BUT his conclusions cannot be argued with. We are destroying our soil. BUT, when you have manure from horses, chickens, rabbits and alpacas, as you mentioned, and you add the "dry compost stuff", you can bring it back to life on your own property. The farmer's 50 acres behind me are in corn the 3rd year in a row, and the nitrogen fertilizer gets my DH sick every spring. I use almost NO herbicides and insecticides on my 5 acres, thank you very much!


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## Missy May

No! No pics from me...I get anxiety when I am utterly and completely humilitated.  I don't have a garden...its a "patch" of dirt raised above the rockbed ground. I am still crying over garden envy! 

I spent many of my summers growing up in NC w family - they had/have garden's like you all's....ones that look like someone painted them into the scenery. Ugh. Its hard to do in the high desert. You can in the valley, but not w this ^^pics^^ type of variety and yield. Purple cauliflower...hmph. Who needs it? I like pickled cactus ears just fine!!

I do have worm castings out the yin-yang, though. To bad you guys aren't close...they will make anything grow.

Minor "positive", I don't have grass to mow! ha!


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## FlyGap

Lockwood, I was in the same boat.
When we found this farm I fell in love, but the amount of work it's taken to get things up to snuff has completely exausted me.

It was started in 1900 by two brothers who cleared the mountain top and started a tomato farm. So we actually have good soil! Which is SHOCKING for the top of an Arkansas hill. They cleared all the rocks off and built fences with them which are mostly standing today, and helping to keep the horses in! 

The house was a complete mess. It hadn't been touched in over 30 years, not lived in for 10. So it took us an entire year to gut and rehab the inside. We still have tons of work to do, missing some trim and still don't have kitchen doors, but whatever. I absolutely ADORE it, it's like it was made for us. Two bedrooms, a huge long kitchen, two bathrooms (kid got the master LOL!), rock floors, and I think there are hardwood floors in half of it but budget wouldn't allow risking tearing up the nice subfloors and "discovering" what was underneath! So we did cheap wood laminate stuff for now.

We scoured the yard and found what seems to be the old garden plot, hence nice soil, NOT A SINGLE ROCK!! So we ammended as much as possible, like you we are 100% organic, no pesticides. Rotate the crops and pile on new compost over the entire thing. It'll get there. "Problem" I'm having is the second owner was a major gardner and her flowers pop up everywhere in the yard and garden! Morning glories and some other ground cover infiltrated it, I kinda let it go because it's so pretty! The holly hocks you see are reclaimed from the yard, poor things kept getting mowed!
So funny you said that about the close ups! I was thinking DARN, when I saw those!

Our main well is so yummy, I've never had better water, but like yours it's sparse. It's only 135 ft. deep and the bottom of it is at 2,300+ feet! So our mountain and rain water is the only source. That building I posted is a smoke house/cellar/storm shelter. I've been in it once! It is in terrible shape. Not high on my list of priorities, but _someday_ I want to get it going again. There is a hand dug well/building next to it that I've been pumping water out of, it's incredibly deep, but I haven't measured it yet.

I've used a dehydrator before but it was a cheapie from WM. I'll look into that because I use tons of tomato paste in our food. Blanching is so cathartic for me, I love it! It took FOREVER to put that cauliflower up because of the worms, but I let them be, clean the tar out of it, slice it, clean it again, then blanch. WM only charges 98 cents for a bag of GV frozen Cauli, I'm nuts but I know it's better!

I didn't grow up gardening, so everything is new to me. I'm learning, slowly. My dream is to do the farmers market in Fayetteville AR, like you do! I do art and LOVE doing hand painted children's furniture so my dream would be to combine those two. All in good time!

Love getting to talk about this stuff! Thanks!

Thanks for the links too Corporal! I'm all over it.


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## FlyGap

Come on Missy! Who cares, and YES I WILL TAKE 5 BAGS OF WORM POOP!
I've been thinking about having some rabbits because I _heard_ worms will compost their poop and break it down into MAGIC SUPER GARDEN DUNG! LOL!

MHF??? Where the photos be?


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Great stuff ladies! Going to have to check out the garden forum. Our fruit trees got it bad too. Our Bartlett trees do have some fruit on but not a fraction of what they usually yield  My mom lost all of her peaches too. 

Going to the woods to pick raspberries with my kiddo in a bit. We've been hauling water back in a drum sprayer with the quad. We WILL beat the heat and have enough for pie darnit!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Corporal

That is why I'm a garden forum member. Most Americans as SO DETACHED from the land, now, with >80% living in and around big cities, that we just don't know enough to start. There are many flowers--iris, sunflowers, knock-out roses, marigolds--that are easy to grow, and many vegetables--tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini squash--that are also easy to grow. When you start with the hard stuff, you fail and get discouraged. THEN, there is the soil and composting. There are SO MANY ARTICLES online to read, and they aren't hard to find.
Basically, I recommend tilling your soil with manure and compost, which you can make with all of the stuff Americans cut off of vegetables and fruit and throw away in a landfill, and doing SOMETHING to keep from walking all over it, so that the plants have airy spaces to dig their roots.
Learn to mulch with things like grass clippings (try not to put the ones in that have grass seeds, if you can) and stall leavings, and you'll be pretty successful. BELIEVE ME, many gardeners are super jealous of horse owners and their free manure!!


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## FlyGap

*hangs head in shame*
I burnt up my pastures last year and now all I have ARE BERRY BUSHES!!!
I'm so mad I refuse to pick them (well in bunches, I nibble on and cuss them when messing with the horses). They will meet their death this fall...


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

Yes to the worms! We have a worm box. Never go to the bait shop if I want to toss a line in the pond  We put rabbit poop in it, and we put some food scrap in there too and with this heat wet newspaper on top of the soil. 

I never thought to use the worm poop as fertilizer. Going to have to research that!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Corporal

MWA, HA, HA!!
Make sure you mulch 'em into the ground. I'll check on what they add, but I'm pretty sure they'll add to your soil.
Don't sweat it. I've been fighting burdock and thistles. Monday, I stayed home and mowed down these and the other weeds in 2 of my pastures, and got a little bit of heat exhaustion--AARRRGGHHHH!!!!
I kept them from going to seed early, though, and the population is lower than last year.
**Corporal is awaiting the opening of the berry bush killer movie**


----------



## FlyGap

Corporal said:


> That is why I'm a garden forum member. Most Americans as SO DETACHED from the land, now, with >80% living in and around big cities, that we just don't know enough to start. There are many flowers--iris, sunflowers, knock-out roses, marigolds--that are easy to grow, and many vegetables--tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini squash--that are also easy to grow. When you start with the hard stuff, you fail and get discouraged. THEN, there is the soil and composting. There are SO MANY ARTICLES online to read, and they aren't hard to find.BELIEVE ME, many gardeners are super jealous of horse owners and their free manure!!


AMEN CORPORAL, AMEN! :clap:

We do some real estate on the side and sometimes I wanna beat my head in the wall. There have been times when I've shown a cute little mini farm vs a house in a subdivision with a postage stamp yard and one or the other spouse will insist that the miniscule farm would be too much "work".
I don't see putting fresh organic produce, organic eggs, fresh air, and farm raised animals in my family as work. It's my duty. And it's easy!

Efficiency is the key to laziness.


----------



## Roperchick

haha my moms already plannnig her picking and canning days!

we have 2 pear, 8 peach, 2 apricot, 4 cherry, 6 plum, 3 walnut and 4 apple trees
2 grape vines
and i believe she planted corn, squash, pumpkin, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, carrots, cauliflower, jalepenos, strawberries, potatoes, spearmint and watermelon 

i think its about a 3/4 acre garden and our trees are just spread out around the farm...
definitely gonna miss them when we move back to TX haha


----------



## Lockwood

Corporal said:


> That is why I'm a garden forum member. Most Americans as SO DETACHED from the land, now, with >80% living in and around big cities, that we just don't know enough to start. There are many flowers--iris, sunflowers, knock-out roses, marigolds--that are easy to grow, and many vegetables--tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini squash--that are also easy to grow. When you start with the hard stuff, you fail and get discouraged. THEN, there is the soil and composting. There are SO MANY ARTICLES online to read, and they aren't hard to find.
> Basically, I recommend tilling your soil with manure and compost, which you can make with all of the stuff Americans cut off of vegetables and fruit and throw away in a landfill, and doing SOMETHING to keep from walking all over it, so that the plants have airy spaces to dig their roots.
> Learn to mulch with things like grass clippings (try not to put the ones in that have grass seeds, if you can) and stall leavings, and you'll be pretty successful. BELIEVE ME, many gardeners are super jealous of horse owners and their free manure!!


Yeah! What she said! 
Minus the tilling part. I've moved into a no-till mindset now, but I used to till.

MHF- worm castings are like having crumbled black gold! 
I studied a little vermiculture and would love to start a small scale operation, but alas... there is only one of me and not enough hours in a day! 

Missy- 
Pickled cactus ears huh? Sounds... um.... err... tasty (shudders and swallows down a little rising bile.) 

I'll take 10 bags of worm castings please! 
Oh, and feel free to come mow my lawn anytime the mood strikes you. I have plenty... too much in fact, I had to reduce the "mow area" tremendously as I can't afford the gas to run the mower, nor the time to mow daily. It is one of my most hated chores! I'm allergic and have to wear a mask like some nut and passer bys stare at me. Lawns ain't all they are cracked up to be which is why the garden is ever expanding. The more I grow the less I have to mow! 

You know, I’ve been in high mountain desert areas before and I don’t recall seeing gardens or fat lazy flowers. Not a one. 
I’m betting if you posted a photo we are all going to marvel and how you have been able to actually grow things from thin air since you have nothing to work with. I mean tomatoes and potatoes growing in rock….. ? Who ever heard of such a thing!
Come on… I’ll send you some cheesy covered popcorn if you do.
*mmmm… yummy… you know you want some*

Fly- Nuh uh girl..... no shame allowed here, even for pasture problems.
You did see the part where I mentioned my alpacas pulling up the grass, roots and all, right? 
Well not only do I have bald spots (big ones) I now have a pokeweed problem in that pasture too. Da*n stuff grows 10 feet tall! I swear when I turn my back it is sticking it's tongue out at me going "neener neener!"
Grrr, hate the stuff.

At least it sounds like you did things the right way. 
You fixed up the house before getting too settled in. Although my house wasn't empty as long as yours, it was (and still is) in need of major work. Problem is, I moved in first with all my stuff from a much bigger house since it was habitable (Hey, we LIKE old fashioned plumbing... not!) thinking I would get the must haves done immediately, like fencing for the animals that were on their way and a temp. barn, then catch back up with the house.

Uh huh, sounded like a good idea at the time...

And just as soon as I can catch up with the never ending garden, barn, animal, child, business and life stuff I'm gonna jump right on the to-do list. Yep... watch me, here I go... 
(been saying that for a few years now... LOL)


----------



## Missy May

Oh, darn!!! My cameras all broke!  THe sad little potatoe patch is suffering from heat...their leaves are starting to curl. They will produce, though...unless something goes terribly wrong, like packrats discover them. Maybe my cameras will work when I get some potatoes , and I can take some pics of the spuds and tomatoes I eventually get. 

Yeah, worm poo - its wonderful stuff, Flygap...you don't need no stinking rabbits...horse poop will work.  We have a rabbit - the result of having found someone's pet rabbit - and finally locating the owners. No one could believe it survived all the way from their house to ours. My daughter grew attatched, and was given a baby rabbit as a "thank you" for rescueing the dehydrated little lost bunny...I was afriad that might happen. A horse poops more in one "deposit" than they do in a month, and rabbit poo/urine _stinks_ when it gets wet - the smell is akin to pig poo. I throw maybe a coffee can full into a worm bin - and all I can smell that stuff until it is covered over w nice smelling horse apples. 

I use my worms as a "septic system" for horse poop in compost bins; the worms do go through it in record time relative to composting. Its kind of laborious to separate the worms from the castings, though. But worth it, they keep "things" nice and tidy.


----------



## Missy May

MHFoundation Quarters said:


> Yes to the worms! We have a worm box. Never go to the bait shop if I want to toss a line in the pond  We put rabbit poop in it, and we put some food scrap in there too and with this heat wet newspaper on top of the soil.
> 
> I never thought to use the worm poop as fertilizer. Going to have to research that!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Actually, worm castings is one of the best fertilizers there is. They haven't worked out entirely why it is so superior, pound for pound, to plain compost. It has to be used sparingly by volume, though....it is on the "super rich" side.


----------



## FlyGap

Lockwood, don't you eat your poke? Whack it down, wait till it shoots up, pick it small and fry it in bacon grease! YUM!!!!!


----------



## Missy May

Corporal said:


> Don't sweat it. I've been fighting burdock and thistles. Monday, I stayed home and mowed down these and the other weeds in 2 of my pastures, and got a little bit of heat exhaustion--AARRRGGHHHH!!!!
> I kept them from going to seed early, though, and the population is lower than last year.
> **Corporal is awaiting the opening of the berry bush killer movie**


I absolutely despise thistles. They grew in our old irrigated horse pasture which we occasionally put cattle in to "mow down" - it was only 5 acres but the horses would selectively graze - but cattle aren't as picky. Between the two, it was kept it all nice and mowed - except for those _horrid_ thistles. I declared war! I "picked" each and every stinking one I could see and put them in an oversized leaf bag as I went along - I didn't want the chance of a single seed hitting the ground. I used a shovel and picked them up by the root so they couldn't attack me. I won't use herbacides. Hubby thought my frustration had gotten the better of my judgement - and let me have a go at it thinking I would come back beaten so he could just mow them down. Well, I don't give up easily....and got most of them. It reduced the number in the following years to next to nothing! I got sooo much satisfaction out of killing those things!!! 

When does the movie open?


----------



## FlyGap

This fall...
One woman, and a 20 acre pasture, 1,000 thorny berry bushes...
Will she survive? Will the hideous beasts continue to plague their homestead?
NO! An EPIC tale of survival of the fittest!
COMING TO THEATERS NEAR YOU!
OCTOBER 2012


----------



## Missy May

Here is a baby hedgehog cactus I rescued from certian death; it was in my path and I kept stepping on it. I snapped it w my cell today, which magically started working. I figure, since I won't take one of the sorry potato patch...I would post this. It has fantastic fruit..taste like concentrated watermellon. So, its kind of a garden item.


----------



## Lockwood

FlyGap said:


> Lockwood, don't you eat your poke? Whack it down, wait till it shoots up, pick it small and fry it in bacon grease! YUM!!!!!


No :shock:
I read it was poisonous.

Well actually I have read it was poisonous (all livestock sources, but still...) but that herbalists will use parts of it for herbal things.
Just couldn't get past the poisonous part.


----------



## Lockwood

Missy May said:


> Here is a baby hedgehog cactus I rescued from certian death; it was in my path and I kept stepping on it. I snapped it w my cell today, which magically started working. I figure, since I won't take one of the sorry potato patch...I would post this. It has fantastic fruit..taste like concentrated watermellon. So, its kind of a garden item.


Cactus watermelon... whoda thunk!
See, I knew you had some green on those thumbs!

I am the only person I know who can kill cactus. I've had lots of practice and am very good at it.


----------



## Lockwood

I pulled some of my garlic from the garden today along with onions.
For whatever reason I can't get good size on my onions before they flop over, but I can grow the heck out of garlic!
YUM


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## Missy May

Wholly shlahmolley!!! You must really like onions. :wink: Seriousely, that is wonderful!

Um, I take it back, I am not going to post my potato patch yield!!! 

Where I once lived I would have to pass by acres and acres of garlic fields on my way to town...you could smell it from a pretty good distance at a certian stage of its growth. I wasn't fond of the aroma.


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## Lockwood

Missy May said:


> Wholly shlahmolley!!! You must really like onions. :wink:


Actually.... NO. I very much dislike onions. :rofl:
Like you with garlic, the smell of onions really bother me and I generally don't use them. 

Most of what you see in the pics are garlic. I grow 6 different kinds and I pulled the softnecks for braiding and the Polish variety today.
They sell really well at the farmers markets because they are beyond the norm of tomatoes and peppers, which is all that most people grow around here.

You should see what happens when I take my simple basic red and green loose leaf lettuces..... most folks bow down to me like the lettuce goddess that I am! 

The onions, along with lettuce, are for a farming friend (who only grows tomatoes and peppers) to barter for some pork. I have no problem letting them think I'm some kind of lettuce and garlic magician and getting free pork in the process. :wink:


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## Missy May

Well, at least your are safe from vampires. I have never grown garlic, needless to say. I guess like everything there are a lot of varieties. The fields I mentioned would get quite tall...at least they looked tall from a distance, I never bothered getting closer than necessary. 

I had a friend that knew the growers and would get a boatload at harvest time. THey pickled the cloves. Odd, but true!!

Oh, forgot to say...you sound resourcefull...that is admirable.


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## Celeste

Our one little apple tree has produced a lot of apples this year. We also have several pecan trees. It will be late fall before they mature.
As far as vegetables, all we planted was squash and tomatoes. We don't have enough water for a really big garden. I also have some roses and a lot of hanging baskets with different flowers in them.


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## Lockwood

Thank you Missy.
Not sure how resourceful I would have been had I not been blessed with such a wonderful child.
And yes, vampires know better than to mess with the likes of me. :twisted:

Certain varieties of garlics grow better in different parts of the country. Most northern hardy garlics here (zone 5-6) grow about chest high. I have a hard time getting a good return on the southern varieties, so I’m wondering if it was elephant garlic which grows big like leeks. 
If you have ever planted tulips, you gan grow garlic. It's almost that easy.

Looking back over my previous post I realize it didn’t make much sense to most readers. Sorry about that…

Even though I live in a more rural area, most people here do not garden and those that do will only grow tomatoes and peppers. (Not saying there is anything wrong with that.)
It isn’t that we don’t have good soil or a good growing season, it is because that‘s just the way people have always done things around here so it makes me a bit of an oddity


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## Lockwood

Celeste said:


> Our one little apple tree has produced a lot of apples this year. We also have several pecan trees. It will be late fall before they mature.
> As far as vegetables, all we planted was squash and tomatoes. We don't have enough water for a really big garden. I also have some roses and a lot of hanging baskets with different flowers in them.


Ohhh, what color roses and flowers?
We need more flower pics on here to join MM's pretty cactus flowers! 
Pecan trees are nice to have. We had some when I lived in the south, but it is too cold here I think for them.


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## Celeste

Red ones 









and yellow ones 









and different red ones









That's all I have pictures of right now. I have a pink one, but it doesn't bloom very often.


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## franknbeans

I love to garden, when I have time....BUT, since I live at the lake house in the summer, I do NOT have much space. So, here at this house, I have a very small lot, spit in two by the road. On the lake side, I have 3 small "green areas". They average about 200 sq ft each, and we also have grass, bushes, etc, as well as a pondless waterfall. WE are truly specialists is using every square inch, inside and out. I have flowers (climbing roses (use the height) clematis, hydrangea, and a bunch of perennials in beds as well as pots, and plant my veggies and herbs among them as accents. I have several lettuces, including Romaine, which I cannot eat fast enough, tomatoes, cherry and regular slicing, mint, Stevia, Lavender, Basil (2 kinds) dill, Cilantro, Eggplant, celery, a few corn, blueberries, and several kinds of peppers-Ancho, traditional green, and jalapenos, as well as cucumbers. That is just on one side of the street, since that is where all the water (lake as well as city water service) is. 

Across the street, is where we park, so much of it is grass. I do, however, have beds on the perimeter. The south side has many trees, so watering is tough. That is mostly Hostas, with dill, lettuce and tomatoes in a couple pots. On the other side I have red raspberries, which look to be having an "off year", thanks to me cutting them back too much last fall. I also have a couple tomatoes and celery there, but the don't get enough sun, I think. I also have a small bed with Zucchini, more cukes, cauliflower(a failed experiment) as well as a couple broccoli and brussel sprouts, which I never seem to have luck with, but what the heck. Many folks have no idea it is all there.

I have fun with it, it is really manageable, and is enough for me, my kids down the street, and a few neighbors. 

My hubby lives in Va most of the time, and he has the raised beds, as well as his earth boxes. He had no intention of planting the raised beds, and thought he would just stick to the boxes on the deck, but got roped into a real garden by the adult kids who help him, since they live in townhouses....They always bring me some when they visit. I am very jealous of his extended season tho-wish I could get another couple months come fall.

I will have to try and get some pics tomorrow. I am somewhat jealous of the space some of you have, altho, mine is easy to keep, and I wouldn;t can them anyways.:wink: I can always live vicariously through my BO who has 300 acres....more than enough.


----------



## BoldComic

Zone 4 gardner here and it's slow going. Your gardens are huge compared to mine right now. My corn is only about 6" high. I am a little worried about my tomatoes because they are way behind too. I plant a "Salsa Garden" with roma tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapenos, and other peppers. I bottle tons of salsa every fall. Hubby works a lot of grave shifts and takes it to work. I also planted corn, blue potatoes, peas, beans, and carrots. I'll take pics when it's worth looking at


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## Skyseternalangel

OMG I LOVE GARDENING AND GROWING THINGS!! I seriously want sunflowers all around my home one day!

Sadly not the right place to start where I'm at.. the wind is brutal, lots of birds (due to no real predators except cats and dogs,) so my green thumbing days will wait. But I LOVE harvesting corn and garlic and little potatoes and asparagus and rhubarb and snap peas and tomatoes and cucumbers and watermelons and basically anything!! Give me a basket and a couple acres of berry bushes and you'll make my day!

Gorgeous flowers on this thread though! Roses are lovely, as are the wild flowers.


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## FlyGap

Flowers? Here's a couple, but I can't take credit. The lady who had the farm 40 years ago LOVED Iris! There are a gazillion! Only shots are a few I took to send my grandmother, will have to wait till next spring to get bed shots...

















































































Oh, sheesh, photo BOMB! Sorry.


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## franknbeans

Love the iris-and a cute little girl you grew too!


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## Lockwood

Skyseternalangel said:


> OMG I LOVE GARDENING AND GROWING THINGS!! I seriously want sunflowers all around my home one day!
> 
> Sadly not the right place to start where I'm at.. the wind is brutal, lots of birds (due to no real predators except cats and dogs,) so my green thumbing days will wait. But I LOVE harvesting corn and garlic and little potatoes and asparagus and rhubarb and snap peas and tomatoes and cucumbers and watermelons and basically anything!! Give me a basket and a couple acres of berry bushes and you'll make my day!
> 
> Gorgeous flowers on this thread though! Roses are lovely, as are the wild flowers.


The world needs more younguns' like you! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

Lockwood said:


> The world needs more younguns' like you! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


I agree Lockwood! It's sad that most kids don't learn or care to learn about gardening and being self sufficient. My daughter loves helping in the garden, she eats her veggies very well and always has. I think that growing & picking them herself helped with that. 

I have lots of friends that have never grown anything or canned. One in particular that tells me I'm crazy when I'm on the millionth quart of green beans in the canner :lol: She says "Isn't it easier just to buy them at the store?" Well of course but when it comes from home, I know exactly what's on it, in it and let's face it, tastes better. 

Had creamed peas out of the garden last night, yummo! My kiddo likes shelling them, makes it even better when I don't have to


----------



## Missy May

Those are amazing, Flygap!!! On our old place, iris came up all over in multiple colors, too...for the same reason (the prior "lady of the house" liked them). I would dig and move dirt to random places, not knowing it had bulbs in it, and they would even "pop up" in those random spots.
The neighbors told me she would "trade them" w her Iris growing friends and family, which explained why there were so many different colors. It seems to be something Iris growers practice. They do have rather lovely flowers.

Oh, and the little girl is an absolute doll!


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## FlyGap

Thanks! She's a weed. 

Too right on the canning and growing, just wait Sky, it's coming! So much work but so worth it. Holler at Lockwood when you get started! LOL!

I cringe when I have to buy corn. Mine's like yours, all organic. I know what they put on it and ewwww. I can TASTE the chemicals.
A month ago a girl from high school came up to me at a concert. She was all waiving and jumping up and down, I thought she was just having a REALLY good time. When she got to me she wanted to talk about RAISING CHICKENS and GARDENS! She had heard from a friend about all we did and couldn't believe that me, a uber sparkly hippy chick (back then) was so... domestic! My Mom and Grandma worked 24/7, we had a teeny tiny garden for fresh stuff but I had NO IDEA when I got started! Still learning, but as long as the freezer doesn't go out or I don't poison my family we'll always have SOMETHING to eat!


----------



## Clayton Taffy

The deer have eaten almost everything in the garden this year.

They have left the onions and garlic alone.


----------



## Clayton Taffy

Oh my, Thank the Lord, It is Raining.

For once in a long time, I am one of the Lucky ones.

I am going outside to do a happy/rain dance!


----------



## Lockwood

Taffy Clayton said:


> Oh my, Thank the Lord, It is Raining.
> 
> For once in a long time, I am one of the Lucky ones.
> 
> I am going outside to do a happy/rain dance!


Oh, rain! Can you please send the clouds my way when you have had your fill? 
Pretty please?? :lol:

All those thunderstorms that ripped through my area and I didn't get nary a drop. No rain in over a month for me and I'm getting real pooped from hauling 200 gallons of water almost daily from the spring and creek four miles away.


----------



## Clayton Taffy

This was the first rain in 6 weeks. 
I know what you mean, to water my baby orchard I fill a 400 gallon tank on the back of the pick-up and drive to the trees and pump it off every other day. Watering takes about 2 1/2 -3 1/2 hours a day.

I have not had my fill yet but I am sending the clouds east.


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## emily31497

all those gardens look very great!! how long did it take you to grow those? my grandma has one just like that!!


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## Lockwood

Taffy Clayton said:


> This was the first rain in 6 weeks.
> I know what you mean, to water my baby orchard I fill a 400 gallon tank on the back of the pick-up and drive to the trees and pump it off every other day. Watering takes about 2 1/2 -3 1/2 hours a day.
> 
> I have not had my fill yet but I am sending the clouds east.


Yay! Come on clouds!

OMG, your mention of the orchard just made me realize I have not been watering mine! :shock: :shock:

I've been so busy hauling water for the animals and the kitchen garden I kinda forgot about the orchard. In my defense... it is down the hill and quick glances do tell me all the trees are still upright. Naked from a late frost that killed the fruit buds, but upright none the less.


----------



## Lockwood

emily31497 said:


> all those gardens look very great!! how long did it take you to grow those? my grandma has one just like that!!


When I bought this property 6 years ago there was nothing. Not a flower, not a bush, not a garden. Nada.
I started making my gardens, flower beds, and orchard the very same year and have been working at it ever since.

Each year I start planting the food gardens in March or April, depending on the weather, and I continue right through Thanksgving. SOmetimes I can even take really hardy veggies into December.


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## Celeste

No rain here. We really need some. I believe that this heat wave will be the ruination of our squash. No matter how much I water it, the 105 degree days wilt it bad.


----------



## waresbear

You grow garlic Taffy? Love it!!! I grow flowers, lots of them, and rhubarb and my irises are just starting to bud up, we are in the cold zone as well.


----------



## Clayton Taffy

waresbear said:


> You grow garlic Taffy? Love it!!! I grow flowers, lots of them, and rhubarb and my irises are just starting to bud up, we are in the cold zone as well.


 
I love garlic too, I find the hard neck garlic easier to grow than the softneck. Right now onions and garlic are in the hayloft drying.

Amazing the differences in the hardiness zones, My iris are done and dead and cut back by about 2 months, I do love the iris.

I got my first tomato today!


----------



## Lockwood

WhooHoo...Thank you for the clouds Taffy!
They are here and so far I've gotten a 5 minute sprinkle. Granted not enough to even dampen the surface, but my fingers are crossed this next batch of clouds dumps some real rain.


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## Clayton Taffy

I am glad you got them. 
Now what you do with them is compleatly up to you. :lol:


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## Missy May

No rain here.  Although I just heard thunder...so, could it be? The 4th has me a bit nervous, it makes no difference if fireworks are banned, people still set them off. It is so dry that one spark could easily torch something off - and there would go my potato patch .


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## Lockwood

Taffy Clayton said:


> I am glad you got them.
> Now what you do with them is compleatly up to you. :lol:


Still raining and I'm doing the happy jig!!
I'll keep poking them to coax 'em into dropping the goods. 

Missy, I was really sweating tomorrow to the point of boarding my horse somewhere else for a week. :-|
My neighbors usually have a huge party with fireworks so big (illegal of course) it puts the town's display to shame.
Fortuntely (um, I mean UNfortunately) my neighbor lost his job and can't afford $2000 of fireworks this year.

Uh huh, boo hoo I'm crying a river about that. 
I'm just glad I don't have to worry about my place going up like a box of matches or paying the vet to sew someone back together after being terrorized by their fireworks and breaking the fence or barn wall.

When the clouds are done here I'll send them your way with a mission.
"Protect Missy's Potato Patch."


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## cakemom

I have been getting cukes and squash daily, my mators are starting to come off the bush finally and I have five beautiful black eggplants almost ready. Really late for my area, but as long as they produced I'm happy!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Laineylou

Psh! Sky, don't give up on New Zealand weather yet. You can grow plenty of things in New Zealand. You'll have to come down here to the Botanic Gardens in ChCh and learn a thing or two. Though Wellington does sound a bit dud with all that wind. We don't get that much wind here in Christchurch, just some rain which is nice.

I'm so jealous of everyone's pretty gardens. D: I love gardening and anything garden related. I plan to have so many beautiful gardens when I get my own place I'm not even sure I'll have room for horses. Of course I studied all about gardening back home and then moved to NZ and now need to relearn everything.

This spring I want to plant some Canna lilies. Especially the Tropicanna variety. When we get our own place my fiance wants a rose garden and I would love to do at least a few acres of native planting to attract some native birds. I would also love an indoor atrium, and of course a fruit orchard and raised vegetable garden.

That's just the beginning of my plans though. >> It may never happen, but hey, dreams are free right?


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## Delfina

Today it rained, poured and HAILED! I am torn.... be happy because we desperately needed the rain with all the fires or be sad and terrified to go see what's left of my garden....


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## Lockwood

Delfina said:


> Today it rained, poured and HAILED! I am torn.... be happy because we desperately needed the rain with all the fires or be sad and terrified to go see what's left of my garden....


You must be somewhere near me. We got dumped on too plus and some of the worst hail I've ever seen.
The garden got pretty beat up/damaged and I had to pick a lot of things I wasn't ready for. 

Now, we are melting in the heat wave...
I've not seen such droopy and unhappy veggies. Even the flowers are acting wonky. My Hibiscus and Rose of Sharons are blooming like it is August and the rest of the flowers are complaining. 

How did your garden fare?


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## Missy May

Well, skip the garden.... I wish I lived in NZ! I love sheep/cow dogs, horses, and the beach ... what could be better than NZ? 

Our weather is currently ... nice. Monsoons are moving in. The leaves on the potatoe plants in the potato patch don't look as parched and curled.  My tomatoe plant (down to one...the one w the re-inforced cage and wire) doesn't even have buds on it yet, which is a bit unusual. 
Then I went to the market (kind of a farmers market/grocery) - and got russet potatoes 10 lbs for 2 bucks...I have both red and russets. Okay - that hurt. Not that I wish for higher prices, but....2 bucks?


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## Missy May

Oh, btw. I bought a 200 gallon "dirt bag"on sale on amazon.com. They make all sorts of sizes .. down to 5 gallon, I believe. Anyway, got it to "store" my castings. But, it would make a rather large "garden container".....for anyone that has a use for that sort of thing, like myself. 
Yet to be seen - will rabbits, pack rats (not really rats), or who sie-what-nots chew through it for fun? I say, yes...since they have thus far chewed through hoses, wire fencing, engine parts, and stolen my hose nozzles and put them in their condos. I don't have the heart to kill them...I just wish they were better "neighbors".


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## Lockwood

Missy May said:


> Oh, btw. I bought a 200 gallon "dirt bag"on sale on amazon.com. They make all sorts of sizes .. down to 5 gallon, I believe. Anyway, got it to "store" my castings. But, it would make a rather large "garden container".....for anyone that has a use for that sort of thing, like myself.
> Yet to be seen - will rabbits, pack rats (not really rats), or who sie-what-nots chew through it for fun? I say, yes...since they have thus far chewed through hoses, wire fencing, engine parts, and stolen my hose nozzles and put them in their condos. I don't have the heart to kill them...I just wish they were better "neighbors".


I don't know if they will chew through the bag.
I'm too cheap to actually buy a container, but I do grow potatoes in cardboard boxes. So far (this year and last) no one chewed through the boxes, but there is plenty of other things for rodents to chew on instead.

I've used all manner of rodent proof tubs and containers I already had around for growing of tomatoes and potatoes with sucess too.
A friend uses a wooden potato box with great sucess. I would think those would foil rabbits or rodents.
My friend's is much larger as he just keeps adding slats as the potaoes grow, but iti looks similar to this...


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## Missy May

Nice box, lockwood!! I never thought of cardboard boxes...hmmm. I use to use an oversized metal water trough - it worked great, but it is now used for greater things. I might try the cardboard boxes aligned tightly inside the dirt bag to give them "integrity". Good idea! Thanks!


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## Lockwood

Here is a box from last year that I did. Since it had a gloss coating on the outside, it stood through the whole growing season on it's own.
I don't have any pics of the finished plant, but it grew to over 5 feet high
I planted the spuds on the dirt directly in the open bottom, covered with some more dirt, then mulched, mulched, mulched. 

When it was time to "dig" up the potatoes I just ripped open the side of the box, pushed aside the dirt with my fingers and wowza... it was time for mashers!


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## MHFoundation Quarters

This heatwave & drought are making gardening no good. Everything is still doing okay but I'm soooooo sick of watering it and would love for mother nature to fill up my tank for manure tea. Our 2 Bartlett trees normally bear truckloads (literally) and there's maybe a bushel on each tree at best  

We have been eating quite a bit out of it though despite the miserable weather. I think I'm going to eat a big fat slice of zucchini cream pie and have myself a pity party :lol:


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## RubaiyateBandit

Despite the "fancy" sprinkler we got, my garden is looking kinda sad too. (For some oddball reason or lettuce is doing awesomely though. )









From left to right: peas, onions, peppers (green, jalapeno, and a mystery one that dad just appeared with one day and wanted planted), lettuce and the whole two carrots that survived whatever dug them up, and tomatoes.
And some stray weeds here and there. :lol:

















My snapdragons are doing really good, but my hollyhocks.... bugs got into them, and the spray I usually use seems to have failed me. :-x Any suggestions? Is there something I can plant that will chase them off? haha
I've got some foxglove started in the house. I was going to plant a row of them in with the snapdragons, but with it being as dry as it's been, I think I'll keep them inside a bit longer. :|










"Mom's Garden" -- by which I mean, I do all the gardening work, and mom gets to 'decorate' it with all her weird stuff and call it her garden -- is growing pretty well. Likely because the two things I planted there are desert-loving plants and the groundcover is just a weed that I let take over (It's kinda pretty, and keeps the weeds down. I'm not complaining. xD)










My Ivy can't decide if it wants to wither up and die or stay alive. But it's still mostly growing, I guess. :?










This pair I inherited from my grandmother. I'm not sure why, but the flower-y one is loving this drought. I forgot to water it for a bit and it started blooming. The other one.... I really hope it'll spring back. I liked it. :-(



I also have a couple rosebushes that are doing OK, and a Chinese Lantern plant that I'm ashamed of.


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## Lockwood

RubaiyateBandit said:


> Despite the "fancy" sprinkler we got, my garden is looking kinda sad too. (For some oddball reason or lettuce is doing awesomely though. )
> 
> 
> From left to right: peas, onions, peppers (green, jalapeno, and a mystery one that dad just appeared with one day and wanted planted), lettuce and the whole two carrots that survived whatever dug them up, and tomatoes.
> And some stray weeds here and there. :lol:
> 
> 
> 
> My snapdragons are doing really good, but my hollyhocks.... bugs got into them, and the spray I usually use seems to have failed me. :-x Any suggestions? Is there something I can plant that will chase them off? haha
> I've got some foxglove started in the house. I was going to plant a row of them in with the snapdragons, but with it being as dry as it's been, I think I'll keep them inside a bit longer. :|
> 
> 
> 
> "Mom's Garden" -- by which I mean, I do all the gardening work, and mom gets to 'decorate' it with all her weird stuff and call it her garden -- is growing pretty well. Likely because the two things I planted there are desert-loving plants and the groundcover is just a weed that I let take over (It's kinda pretty, and keeps the weeds down. I'm not complaining. xD)
> 
> 
> 
> My Ivy can't decide if it wants to wither up and die or stay alive. But it's still mostly growing, I guess. :?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This pair I inherited from my grandmother. I'm not sure why, but the flower-y one is loving this drought. I forgot to water it for a bit and it started blooming. The other one.... I really hope it'll spring back. I liked it. :-(
> 
> 
> 
> I also have a couple rosebushes that are doing OK, and a Chinese Lantern plant that I'm ashamed of.


Your geranium is lovely!
Marigolds are fairly hardy little flowers and bugs hate them. Maybe that would help the bug problem?

Even though we got a spot of rain, and a ton of hail the other day, the heat is drying everything right back up. 

I hear you MHFQ-
I''ve been going back to the spring and hand carrying buckets of water to the plants again. :-(
Can I have a slice of pie too?
(Don't be offended by my puzzed face when I see it. I've never had that kind of pie before.)


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## RubaiyateBandit

Lockwood said:


> Your geranium is lovely!
> Marigolds are fairly hardy little flowers and bugs hate them. Maybe that would help the bug problem?
> 
> Even though we got a spot of rain, and a ton of hail the other day, the heat is drying everything right back up.
> 
> I hear you MHFQ-
> I''ve been going back to the spring and hand carrying buckets of water to the plants again. :-(
> Can I have a slice of pie too?
> (Don't be offended by my puzzed face when I see it. I've never had that kind of pie before.)


Is that what it is? :shock:
Excuse me, I'm a bit plant-stupid. :lol:

I'll have to go hunt down some Marigolds then~


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## Delfina

Lockwood said:


> You must be somewhere near me. We got dumped on too plus and some of the worst hail I've ever seen.
> The garden got pretty beat up/damaged and I had to pick a lot of things I wasn't ready for.
> 
> Now, we are melting in the heat wave...
> I've not seen such droopy and unhappy veggies. Even the flowers are acting wonky. My Hibiscus and Rose of Sharons are blooming like it is August and the rest of the flowers are complaining.
> 
> How did your garden fare?


Actually I am in CO so a bit away from you. I have a bunch of corn that got nailed and was lying sideways but still rooted so I stood them up and mounded dirt around to keep them up but then we flooded the next night.....so back to sideways. :-x So far it's 100 during the day, then late afternoon WHAM, 60 degrees, high wind and pouring. So far everything other than the corn seems to be ok with this except one mad Zucchini that is trying to croak and here I thought those things were supposed to be impossible to kill. :? 

Oh well..... I think at least 1 of my "mystery squash plants" (small child planted random seeds in random spots in the garden and was so proud, I couldn't weed them out...) is a zuchinni, 2 might be, the teeny squash look like it but the leaves look a bit off. Should find out shortly and they are happily thriving!


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## Delfina

Oh and due to the heat my lettuce all kicked the bucket but my SIL who has more shade than sun at her place has it coming out her ears. I am trading chicken eggs for lettuce, green beans (as something ATE every single leaf on every single plant... about 150 of them) and brussel sprouts. 

Kids are not happy about the brussel sprouts and I think had a chat with my chickens..... dang things are either not laying at all, hiding their eggs or something, I got a measly 2 eggs today! Grrrrr


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Lockwood said:


> I hear you MHFQ-
> I''ve been going back to the spring and hand carrying buckets of water to the plants again. :-(
> Can I have a slice of pie too?
> (Don't be offended by my puzzed face when I see it. I've never had that kind of pie before.)


Oh, it's a must try Lockwood! If you like any kind of cream pie, you'd like it. One would never know it was made with veggies! It's a big hit with my fam & friends, pretty much a mandatory for me to bring to any get together. Enough so that I vacuum pack & freeze tons of pre-cooked zucc just for pies. 

Here's the recipe, I promise you won't be disappointed. 

Zucchini Cream Pie
1 1/2 cups zucchini - peeled, seeded and sliced
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups white sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions

Boil zucchini until tender. Drain and let stand in cold water for about 5 minutes, then drain.
Put the zucchini, evaporated milk, sugar, egg, margarine, flour, vanilla and salt into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake at 425 for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 and bake until set.


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## Celeste

Zucchini pie.
Sounds like some vegetables that even a kid would eat.........


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## Missy May

That kind of recipe has danger written all over it....."its so healthy, another slice can't hurt me!".


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Lol Missy! My mom did try making it healthier once with Splenda instead of sugar and it was GROSS. My kiddo is a big veggie eater anyway but my nephews who aren't love zucchini pie. They'd probably change their minds if I told them what was in it though :lol:

I also like using zucchini in lasagna instead of noodles, another easy way to sneak some veggies in on the kiddos.


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## Celeste

I just spent the last hour cutting up and fixing the last of the apples from our one little tree. I coated them with a ton of sugar with cinnamon and put them in the dehydrator. I did another batch last week. They were really tasty. The kids came home for the weekend and they wiped them out. 

For that matter, they wiped out most of the edible substances in the house..........


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## FlyGap

Hi! Hope you all are doing good!
Last night I dug up the potatoes, they were toast and we only doubled what we planted. :evil: They are super YUMMY though!
E saved all the tiny ones and I boiled them up for her in butter and salt, she couldn't get enough.
The tomatoes are so good I have sores in my mouth, breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner!
MUST STOP!
Onions and jalepenoes taste like they've been baked, which they have, LOL!









And now for the drought...

My corn, :lol: I'm laughing so I don't cry.








Poor tomatoes, lost all the romas, but somehow these guys keep producing! Magic no water needed tomato plants! 









Poor fruit trees, nothing is going to pan out. All hard as a brick and falling, just hope the trees don't die.









My pasture...
















And my yard, so depressing I don't even want to go outside.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Fly, I'm feeling your pain. It's so hot & dry that everything is turning brown and crunchy  Garden is still doing somewhat okay but it's getting watered. 

Me & the little monster just picked a bunch of green beans to go in our dinner, cukes to go in vinegar & oil dressing and a bunch of zucchini that we are going to shred and then make up a bunch of muffins to freeze. They freeze well and then my hubby & daughter can take a couple out & nuke them for warm breakfast that I don't have to fix! Gotta love that!


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## Missy May

Mmm....the little egg sized potatoes boiled up w butter! Those are yum! 

You have a _lovely_ place! Sorry you're having a dry summer. I so miss farming. We irrigated....and I do _not_ miss that part! But, I guess it would be handy on a "when needed" basis in otherwise wet areas.


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## Lockwood

I’m sorry I haven’t been back to this thread in a while. 

The dry weather had me spending about 3 hours hauling water every day, which meant many other things had to be ignored as I didn’t have three extra hours a day. When we finally got some rain I though things would get better and I would catch up. 
Then the severe weather hit…. Downed trees, power outages, tornadoes, and general chaos. We are ok now and had no major damage, save for some tree damage. 

My kiddo is down with the flue right now, so I’ve been forced to be on bucket duty… L which has given me a little time to resize some pics.

For the most part, the hard work of hauling water for the garden paid off and I only lost a few things. Well until the storms flattened everything. Lost a few more things from those too but all in all not bad. The biggest losses were the hardwood trees and some of the fruit trees.
I also have big dead patches of grass and pasture, but at least it isn’t crunching under my feet as much. 

Anywho, the swiss chard is thriving, beans are growing, squash is recovering, carrots are still with me. The kohlrabi is trying to plump, the garlic and onions are done, tomatoes are finally turning colors, the cauliflower is still limping along, have more potatoes coming into flower and the broccoli is incredibly tasty. The herbs haven’t decided if they are going to die or not, and the flowers have burst like a second spring. 

It is time to get busy and get the fall crops started… more lettuce, greens, spinach, carrots, kale, choi, and garlic again in the fall for next year.

And... drum roll.... the duck finally hatched out her eggs! 35 days is a long time in this heat, but she stuck it out.
That makes about 40 different chicks/ducklings hatched this year.


Pics are below, and the dead looking tree is a plum tree by the house. Not sure it will come back and it is a shame… the pinkish white blooms in the spring are beautiful. 

MHFQ-
The Zucchini pie… hmm sounds very interesting and something I think I will try to make as soon as I can catch up (as if.) 
Thank you for posting the recipe! It is copied and pasted in my cooking files.
It looks a lot like sweet potato pie (which I love almost as much as cheesecake!) and I should be able to tweak it for my son’s allergies so he can try it.
He likes anything I can grow in the garden and happily tells his friends how much better homegrown stuff tastes and how store bought fruit and veggies are tasteless.
I have one of those rare kids that telling him “It is good for you” makes him gobble it all up.


Fly- 
It looks like you were able to salvage quite a bit! How are things going lately?
Like you, the acid in the tomatoes does a real number on my mouth too. I now grow the low acids along with yellow and orange tomatoes with my regular tomatoes and it really helps. When I make something I’ll use part normal acids for the bold flavor and part low acids to tame things and I have noticed a lot less problems, without sacrificing flavor.


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## Celeste

Beautiful pictures!!!

The heat wave got our squash and tomatoes. It also killed our fushia plants. The grass is holding up ok.


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## FlyGap

Lockwood, hope your kiddo gets to feeling better!
I just wanna squeeze those ducklings, so cute! Wow! What a flock.
Are those flowers blooming NOW? So lovely! I do have some pink ladies jumping up, out of rock hard dust. They've lost their charm... I'll take a picture, pretty funny contrast!

Hang in there, hope it doesn't get as dry up there as it is here. We are hauling over 1,000 gallons of water up the mountain a week. We put in the holding tank, then our well gave out. It's getting less than 20 gallons a day. There has been a tiny bit of rain in the area but our little mountain range acts like a wedge and splits the storms. Complete disaster. Poor horses, they are so dusty but I don't have the water to give them baths. I lost my plum tree, it's completely dead. Hope yours recovers! I bet mine was well over 30 years old, I'll have to replant it.
I did hike the hills and eat some yummy "wild" peaches today, may need to can some... They are white and really weird, super fuzzy but sugar sweet!

Chickens are happy, with no grass the grasshoppers are easier to catch! Killed some egg theiven skunks that were burrowing under the run and getting in the coop. I hated doing it, they were so cute. But I wasn't about to go in the coop and get sprayed!

Garden is a gonner, next year will hopefully be better. Lost the carrots, the tomatoes ARE STILL ALIVE! Just soooo thankful for what we got. I'll try some different tomato varieties next year, have you ever done the Cherokee Purple tomatoes? Again, DH is a major purist, if not I'd have a rainbow garden. Have you ever tried planting borage with your tomato plants and strawberries? Heard that chickens like to eat it too.

See, dreaming of next year! This was a total bust!


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## Lockwood

Thanks Fly- he is holding down fluids so far today and I think my sanity is creeping back.
I truly hope and pray you get some rain your way. It was as dry here and I was feeling it bad! 

Um, I think all of those pics were from the last week or so, but below are ones I took this morning (while looking for more sanity :wink

The first are one of the alpaca pastures and the mini ravine that opened up from the flash flooding. The ground was so dry that when the severe storms came through a lot of soil washed down the pasture. 
Much of the rain we have gotten finally has been severe storms, downpours, and hail. They hit so hard that it is far more than the ground can soak up so the crevice is much larger in person and obviously as soon as I can I’m going to have to section off the pastures so I can re-seed them this fall and winter.

The winds flattened all of the gladiolas, the hibiscus, the squash and tomatoes. I did the best I could to tie them up and some survived.

Behind the red flower pic is the tank in the back of the truck. 
I was hauling in about 250 gallons every other day for over a month just to keep the animals and the gardens alive. Then there was the fun part of getting it to where it needed to go. :evil:
My well is shallow and gave up after just two weeks into the dry spell. There was just enough water to flush the toilet and wash hands…that’s all.

I had to pile up the unimportant laundry and what I had to have for myself and the kiddo was taken to a friend’s house. Thankfully I used to backpack and camp for years, so I had the supplies for outdoor solar showers and bucket baths…… although I think my youngster enjoyed living that primitively far more that I did. :?

Anyway, the last pic is the yard this morning. The dead patches are goner for sure so I’ll re-seed those areas too.

Sorry to hear about your plum tree. Thankfully mine was only 6... Can you imagine the stories those old trees would tell us if they could only talk? The history that tress has seen…. I really hope it rallies and comes back next year.


Celeste- Glad to hear your grass is holding up! I take it your pastures are ok too? I hope so. 
Sorry about the garden and fuchsia plants… were there a lot of them?
I know the one hummingbird visitor I had was very confused after the worst of the storms destroyed the glads and hibiscus he/she was living off of. Poor thing kept flying around trying to find them. The survivors are blooming now, but I haven’t seen the humming bird again.

Tomatoes- While I haven’t grown the Cherokee Purples, I have eaten them along with Black Krim…… de-lish! 
The true heirlooms I have tried to grow so far just haven’t done well for me, save for the roma types. I seem to need hardy stock as I am not the most diligent gardener. 


There are some low acids toms that are red and you might be able to fake out the DH as they look just like typical hybrids. The yellows and orange ones make the best Honeyed Tomato Butter too. (Maybe the promise of that will be enticing enough to try??)

Although I do companion planting when I can, I haven’t tried borage yet. 
I had all these plans this year to try some new or neat garden things, but it didn’t quite work out that way. (Wonder why?!?)

What toms I am growing are actually self seeded from last year because of the mild winter. My seedlings didn’t come up well, so I just went with what was already growing and added my yellows to them. Makes for a messy tom patch, but hey… it saved me some work.


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## Celeste

I only had three fushia plants, but they were glorious. I should have brought them in when it started getting to 100 degrees. I kept them watered.


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## FlyGap

Ohhh I adore fushia Celeste!

Yuck, isn't it crazy not having water? We were going down to my MIL's for showers, like you son E thinks it's great just getting hosed off! When she was little we didn't have a tub so she took her baths in the kitchen sink. 
Hope you get decent rain not more gully washers (creators)!


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## Saddlebag

One year a fabulous crop of yellow and green beens suddenly began losing it's leaves, thanks to the mexican bean beetle. I carried one chicken to the garden and when the others saw her movements they hurried over. Within a few days they had cleaned out all the beetles and continued to do garden patrol daily thereafter. The plants recovered and there was a bumper crop of beans.


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## Lockwood

I’m playing hooky from my work load today…
I have been wanting to get back to this thread for quite some time now, but it has been a super busy fall (as IF there has ever been a fall that wasn’t busy for a farmer) and one filled with some extra stressful events. Between last week’s fiasco (see Parenting thread about explosion) plus a week of trying to put my son back together, and last night’s dinner disagreeing with me, my tummy has sent me over the edge.
Momma is nauseous, tired, and worthless today so I’m having a date with the couch, a blanket, and the computer. 
This means pictures!

By gosh carrying all those water buckets this summer really paid off! As of today I have potatoes and more carrots to dig, swiss chard coming out my ears, the broccoli is still producing (can’t believe it survived!) the cauliflower is really coming on strong, some hearty herbs still going and one little clump of tenacious flowers fighting hard to keep flowering.

Since Thanksgiving isn’t far away, something I am extremely thankful for is that I was able to first grow, then can, preserve, dry, freeze, and store enough veggies for an entire year for my son with enough left over for me. Well, still trying to get it all put up.
And, I was able to raise/secure enough natural home raised or grass fed (from friends) meat too, which is a first for me!
Yay! No grocery store bland fare for us for a while!
18 Bourbon Red turkeys that I hatched and raised here (well, the hens did the hatching part) and pork, meat chickens, and beef that I traded for with close friends. I know exactly how theses animals were raised (very humanely, and with help for me) and every single thing that went into their mouths….. which is a biggie for my son’s health.

Anyway… on to the pics-
Broccoli- green on green pic equals bad idea, so you can‘t see that is the size of a basketball.
Carrots
Fordhook Swiss Chard
Pink Cosmos
Green and purple cauliflower
Pumpkin and winter squash (my first real pumpkins, not just little gourd ones.)
Rainbow Swiss Chard (Yipee, more Chard :-|)
And Toms.
Besides the toms, these were all taken in the last few weeks right up to yesterday-


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## MHFoundation Quarters

^YUM! I'm getting ready to can the rest of my pears. I've made lots of sauce & butter, now to can slices for my little monster.


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## FlyGap

Way to go!! That broc and cauli look sooooo yummy!
Must see photos of the toms! You are my *HERO*.

I threw in the towel. Still getting tomatoes, da#m things just keep growing and producing! I'm wrapping the greenies in paper and putting them up in the barn... Should be red in a month or so. That will be a nice treat!
Ate up all my potatoes and onions , doing 5X's as many next year.


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## FlyGap

Oh, wanted to add... Girl kick your feet up! You deserve it!


After last weeks festival and the weeks prior I am EXHAUSTED, DH & DD had colds this week so I had to play nurse and super cold chef. I also scrubbed the house top to bottom, especially the bath rooms, eww. Today DH made me go back to bed after I drove DD to her car pool. I SLEPT UNTIL 11!!!! I jumped up like a freak 11 on the dot and started scrambling to get the chores done, nothing died!


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## Lockwood

Mmmm... pears are one of my favorites! I only got a few this year so I am so jealous that you have enough for butters and canned! 
My peaches did ok. They are still young trees like the pears, but there was enough for a few treats. 

Hero? 
Glutton for punishment is more like it! :lol:
I'm on this insane mission to try and feed my sone only the best and healthiest foods I can. 
Can't grow good white cauli worth a darn as all it does is feed the cabbage worms and look disgusting! But the green and purple varieties seem to do better and I love how the purple one looks and tastes.
The Broc is "Green Goliath" variety and puts the "Pacman" variety to shame! Uh huh... I got suckered into buying those wittle bitty cutie broccoli plants (Pacman) at he beginning of the season from the store while waiting for my own seedlings to grow..... never again!
*Chants... I will start _all _my own broccoli plants... I will start _all_ my own broccoli plants...*

My toms are still going too... da*n things are like weeds! I dry my tom sauce and after I had put up the equivalent of about 20 or 30 quarts I had to quit looking at them lest I go stark raving mad.
Thought I'd even try to make Honeyed Yellow Tomato Butter..... ....
Turned out to be a sticky mess and was renamed BBQ base!

Green toms in paper in the barn? :think: Hmm that's a new one on me. 
I'll poke around and see if I have anymore pictures of the tom jungle this year.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

I lucked out with the pears. I did water the trees. They are 2 Barlett's that are almost as old as I am, they are big time bearers. We don't have a fraction of what we normally do. So far I've done 32 qts of sauce (awesome with a kid that packs applesauce in her lunch every darn day) and a dozen pints of butter that I will share with family. I think I have just enough left to do a couple canner loads of slices. Normal years I can lots extra to share and take a truckload to the food pantry and even then last year I ended up dumping 2 skid loader buckets full in the woods for the deer. I normally get sick of looking at them, don't think I will feel that way anymore. Horses either, they haven't gotten any for treats. They stand at the pasture gate and look longingly at the trees (they are only about 15 feet past their fence) Makes me feel a little bit bad but then I see how "fluffy" they are and tell them mother nature did them a favor. 

Interesting about the colored cauli, will have to remember that next year. I'm sure Morgan would love having purple!


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## MHFoundation Quarters

A couple pics for you ladies. I let M can her own pears, she didn't want slices but wanted chunks "It's easier to eat" she says. She thought it was fun, apparently the jar lifter and lid magnet are the coolest inventions ever, who knew :? I pulled jars and put them in, she did the rest. She is learning multiplication and doing fractions in school so I gave her a 1/4 cup to measure everything and figure out how many she needed on her own. She did really well and got it right but when she was making her extra light syrup she says "mom, can't I just put a few more of sugar, there's a lot more water than sugar mom." Um, no. Well, she added (at least an extra 1/2 cup) when I took a potty break so then we added more water much to her dismay. Aside from varying head space in all of the jars, she did good, they all sealed so in the end it was a success :wink:

She gets her coordinating and fashion skills from her father. 







Her finished work, if you look close at the bottom left jar you can see the sticky syrup finger print on the lid...she was incessantly poking at them to see if they had sealed.


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## Celeste

So cute!! It is great to spend such good quality time with your little girl.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Thanks Celeste. I think so too. We had fun together, she loves doing anything in the kitchen with me. It's one of those things that seem to be falling by the wayside, I learned from my mom who learned from my grandma, so on and so on. I still use my great great grandmother's rolling pin to make noodles & pie crusts (with her recipes or lack of lol) In the world we are living in, I think some of the "old fashioned" or "do it yourself" provide for yourself things are going to be useful skills to have and something I want to give my daughter.


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## Delfina

I am dying of laughter.....

My girls are 8 and 11 and it's the same here. Are you sure these will seal? Poke, poke, poke.....

Quick, add more sugar, Mom won't see! This is boring mom, lets put the applesauce in gallon jars, it'll be faster! Oh yes, because everyone eats a gallon of applesauce at one time....


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## Lockwood

MHFoundation Quarters said:


> I lucked out with the pears. I did water the trees. They are 2 Barlett's that are almost as old as I am, they are big time bearers. We don't have a fraction of what we normally do. So far I've done 32 qts of sauce (awesome with a kid that packs applesauce in her lunch every darn day) and a dozen pints of butter that I will share with family. I think I have just enough left to do a couple canner loads of slices. Normal years I can lots extra to share and take a truckload to the food pantry and even then last year I ended up dumping 2 skid loader buckets full in the woods for the deer. I normally get sick of looking at them, don't think I will feel that way anymore. Horses either, they haven't gotten any for treats. They stand at the pasture gate and look longingly at the trees (they are only about 15 feet past their fence) Makes me feel a little bit bad but then I see how "fluffy" they are and tell them mother nature did them a favor.
> 
> Interesting about the colored cauli, will have to remember that next year. I'm sure Morgan would love having purple!


Too many pears usually huh?
Uh, I forgot your addy... make sure to resend it to me before I visit next pear, er.... umm.... I mean next fall season! :lol: 

I have an applesauce lover too and can only dream of making that many quarts of anything fruity for him. 
That is just awesome and must be so satisfying for you.
Your daughter and my son have the same sense of fashion I think.




MHFoundation Quarters said:


> View attachment 115745











This would be me with that many jars of pears <drool>... 
If that doesn't motivate me to go plant some more trees I don't know what will.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Lockwood you are more than welcome to swing through next fall. As long as we don't have a drought there will be tons. Bring rubbermaid totes & a truck


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## FlyGap

Yummmmmmyyyyyyy!!! Way to go M! I like the chunk idea! Are you going to enter them in the fair?

We had so few we just ate them... Horses got the bruised/fallen ones, need to plant another!
Lost my plum and 1 two year old apple tree to the drought. 
I ordered the apple trees online... Never again, it's going to be years before I get an apple off them! Nursery time! Just wish they sent out email cupins, LOL!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## FlyGap

Cupons... What the heck is a cupins stupid phone?!!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Doubt they will last that long Fly, I'm sure they will be long gone by July :lol: Maybe I should plan for that next year though! 

Maybe the nursery will have deals? The one we frequent does sometimes and will give a break if you get a lot of stuff. I have our name on a list for next spring, hoping that I'm high enough on the list to get them. Morgan asked for honeycrisp trees for her next birthday. Any suggestions on a good sauce apple that would be a cross-polinator for the hc's?


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## Lockwood

MHFoundation Quarters said:


> Lockwood you are more than welcome to swing through next fall. As long as we don't have a drought there will be tons. Bring rubbermaid totes & a truck


You're on! 
I'll bring truck and stock trailer....mmmm K? 

Does this apple chart help?
http://www.acnursery.com/apple_pollinizer.pdf

I also checked my apple book- (my review of it is in the review section titled Apple Delight by Fuzzyface Place.....…awesome book!)
The Apple Lover's Cookbook: Amy Traverso: 9780393065992: Amazon.com: Books

They list these for good saucing apples:
Tender-Tarts
Black Twig
Courtland
Empire
Jonathan
Lady Apple
Macoun (very tasty for in hand eating too)
McIntosh

Tender-Sweets
Ambrosia
Cox’s Orange Pippin
Fameuse
Fuji
Gala
Hudson’s Golden Gem
Pomme Gris
Spencer

I make an old fashioned 24 hour slow cooked apple butter and so far have found Romes and Courtlands work very well. At least that’s what the folks who beat down my door for the stuff say.

Romes aren’t the best for fresh eating, but they really shine in a sauce or baked application.
My Grandpa’s Danish Baked Rome Apples-
Leaving the skins on, core them almost all the way through, fill the hole with whatever- brown sugar, cinnamon/nutmeg, maple syrup, Cinnamon Red Hots candy, etc… 
Put into a baking dish with about an inch of water in the bottom and bake at 350 til soft, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Voila- baked “apple pie” without the fat or heavy sugar.
Great side dish, or with a dollop of cream for desert, and it does work ok with other varieties, but the Romes are to swoon over made like this.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

That sounds like a winner to me. I'm sure I have something with 4 legs to put in the trailer to send home with you too :lol:

Thanks for that chart, that is great! I will do some checking into the ones that you listed for sauce.


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## Corporal

My garden?!?!---AARRRGGGHHH!! Drought took several crops, hardly enough tomatoes to can, ONE sweet potato grew, a couple of harvests of beets, good but not GREAT hot pepper havest, NO sweet peppers, even though I watered the heck out of the bed, squash bugs took some beautiful, early pumpkins. I've replanted (august/sept.) radishes, beets, carrots, spinach and turnips--NO OKRA AT ALL THIS YEAR, even though it usually grows like the weed it is.
FINALLY broke the drought a few weeks back. Several local farmers gave up on their meager corn harvest and baled the fields for cattle round bales.
Good report--I bought enough seed--2 acres worth to replant my 3/4 acre south pasture, and other spots. It wasn't dead, just needed tilling of about 1/6 of it, where the grass died and the weeds took. Should be finished seeding it this weekend.
Lockwood, I'm logging out--too jealous to speak!!!


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## FlyGap

Booooo no fair!! Honey crisp are our favorites but they will drop early here! 

Thanks for the chart too lockwood!! I'm all over that!
Ahemmm, I'll race you to MHF's. Winner takes all! Got first dibs on her pony! Hopefully M takes after her momma and will wheel n deal behind her back with E!! Lol!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MHFoundation Quarters

LOL Fly! M sent the pony home when time came to make the decision. He was the typical ornery pony, they got along just fine but in her words when asked what she wanted to do "Mom, let's take him home, I like riding Missy Mooly more." She gave up the cute welshie to cabbage onto my warmblood the little turd! I will send you home with Woodstock so Rick has a partner in crime.


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## FlyGap

. I would shake on that, but I don't think it would be good for my sanity! Rick alone drives me insane.
Bummer on the pony, of course they go for the good stuff! What are we going to do when they can wear our clothes/shoes?!!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Lockwood

Corporal said:


> My garden?!?!---AARRRGGGHHH!! Drought took several crops, hardly enough tomatoes to can, ONE sweet potato grew, a couple of harvests of beets, good but not GREAT hot pepper havest, NO sweet peppers, even though I watered the heck out of the bed, squash bugs took some beautiful, early pumpkins. I've replanted (august/sept.) radishes, beets, carrots, spinach and turnips--NO OKRA AT ALL THIS YEAR, even though it usually grows like the weed it is.
> FINALLY broke the drought a few weeks back. Several local farmers gave up on their meager corn harvest and baled the fields for cattle round bales.
> Good report--I bought enough seed--2 acres worth to replant my 3/4 acre south pasture, and other spots. It wasn't dead, just needed tilling of about 1/6 of it, where the grass died and the weeds took. Should be finished seeding it this weekend.
> Lockwood, I'm logging out--too jealous to speak!!!







MHF- I'll swap you two of my four leggers for one of yours! 

Fly- Only room for one sassy pony around here, and that would be ME!


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Lockwood, you got yourself a deal! Bring me those longears! Which one of my brats do ya want? 

Fly, yes I would imagine that those two would be pretty good at causing some sanity issues. I can hear it now "herp derp, whatcha wanta do to make her craaaazy today?" "I know, let's open all the gates and turn on all the things that were off and turn off what was on and then we can play dead so she won't blame us...." :lol:


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## Lockwood

Hmmm...
*Lockwood is thinking of how the he!! she will ever get the longears on a trailer because the previous owner was a "big strong girl" and picked them up and _Put_ them on a trailer, which actually scared Lockwood a little bit*

Yeah, I think I could could call a friend to help me load them. 
I'll take one that loves kids and who gains weight if they even smell grain. So long as that one is not Woodstock. :lol:
(Sorry Woodstock)


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Oh my, that sounds like an interesting trailer loading plan. Makes me giggle and think of the day my farrier offered to trim my whole gang for free if I would ride along to his next appt....new to the equine world owner that ended up with a herd of mini donks, not even halter broke. They literally had to rope them, flip em & hog tie them and trimmed them while they were down. I am glad I said no, I'm no dummy! 

Yeah, you don't want Woodstock. I can assure you of that. He has a long back story and we'll just say that he is my hell & back horse, the one my hubby thought would kill me. He's a solid citizen now but he is a one person horse and unfortunately I am that one person, he doesn't much respect anyone else, hates men, tolerates my kiddo but only because kids keep pockets full of peppermints to throw in a feedpan for him


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## Lockwood

MHFoundation Quarters said:


> Oh my, that sounds like an interesting trailer loading plan. Makes me giggle and think of the day my farrier offered to trim my whole gang for free if I would ride along to his next appt....new to the equine world owner that ended up with a herd of mini donks, not even halter broke. They literally had to rope them, flip em & hog tie them and trimmed them while they were down. I am glad I said no, I'm no dummy!
> 
> Yeah, you don't want Woodstock. I can assure you of that. He has a long back story and we'll just say that he is my hell & back horse, the one my hubby thought would kill me. He's a solid citizen now but he is a one person horse and unfortunately I am that one person, he doesn't much respect anyone else, hates men, tolerates my kiddo but only because kids keep pockets full of peppermints to throw in a feedpan for him


Smart one for passing on the donkey round up. Horses they are not... clever little ******s. And I've seen a few things here and there about Woodstock.... I think he would give me grey hair with all his mischief. 

While Rosie and Chico don’t appreciate the finer points of “going for a drive” ….in all other ways they are total snuggle buns. If I even reach for her ears, Rosie will drop her chin to rest on my boot, then proceed to drool on said boot while I scratch her ear-ness. She’s ferried kids around on her back before and will also do some amazing yoga moves for a piece of peppermint candy.

Chico is a burro thus hardwired a bit differently than her, yet he wants to be within 1 foot of me at all times, especially if he spies a rubber curry comb in my possession. 
I can walk out in the barnyard and see him a ways away munching grass, turn to water, or fix something, or whatever… and when I turn back around I will trip on him. Mr. Stealth follows me like a shadow and I firmly believe if a stray dog/wild animal/monster were to try and harm me, Chico would promptly put said threat into the dust leaving numerous hoof prints all over it.

I happen to love the fact that they can stay plump on the barest of first cut hay plus a mineral block and at only 350 and 450 pounds still weight less than Digby. (But also why the girl who picked them up really scared me. Women should not be able to pick up donkeys. :shock: )


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## FlyGap

Ahhhh!!! Bunch of good sales on the seed/plant sites! Planning for next year already... I can't wait.
Have the USDA guy coming next Thursday and we are going to make some huge plans, I'M SO EXCITED! Soil samples, fencing, WEED MANAGEMENT, possible new pond locations, hoop houses, finally after all this work on the house and our water we can do something fun and beneficial!

Anything new to try? Doing the purple and lime green pointy cauliflower.
Thinking about the Indigo Rose tomatoes and red venture celery, have any of you grown them? Never done celery before...
Planted honey berry bushes this year and both made it! Course they are slow to mature and it'll be two more years before I get a taste... They were tougher than my blueberry plants, second year I killed those poor things. I'm done with them!


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## Missy May

Well, you all are blessed w beautiful gardens...and a place that you can grow a beautiful garden. I am down to one big tomato plant that still has never produced a single tomato.  While in NC this past week, my mom had 4 big beautiful cabbage plants in a _planter_ on her back deck. geez. I can't understand why the rabbits didn't demolish it! Maybe b/c they have more than cactus to munch on.  

I _might_ do a dirt bag garden next year. Currently, I have one 200 gallon dirt bag slam full of almost completed "worm casting" stuff (still active w worms) - which is how I "eliminate" my horse poo. It seems a shame to just dump it back in the corral sand which was my original plan. If I lived in NC...I would have noooo problem finding a good use for it. Poor, poor, pitiful me.  

Its always good to give thanks...so Lockwood and Fly...you should give thanks for your ability to grow such wonderful gardens!


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## FlyGap

No tomatoes? Ungrateful plant!

What about the pretty raised beds Missy? They have some really nice ones at Sam's. I've almost picked them up several times myself, no weeds, no building, just snap together and fill! I think you could do some awesome stuff there in your nice spring, maybe even year round? You got the worm poop, great start!

I'm crabby about this year, thankful for what I got but not near what I should have. Pretty much just fresh seasonal eating and going to do DOUBLE for next year on the onions and potatoes. Ate all mine up already! If Lockwood can do so much so can I!!! ;P

Have any of you filled your garden with fall leaves in the fall and tilled later?
I always bed down my strawberries with them, they are composted by spring without tilling, just add a little dirt and mix when it gets warm...


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## Missy May

FlyGap said:


> No tomatoes? Ungrateful plant!
> 
> What about the pretty raised beds Missy? They have some really nice ones at Sam's. I've almost picked them up several times myself, no weeds, no building, just snap together and fill! I think you could do some awesome stuff there in your nice spring, maybe even year round? You got the worm poop, great start!
> 
> I'm crabby about this year, thankful for what I got but not near what I should have. Pretty much just fresh seasonal eating and going to do DOUBLE for next year on the onions and potatoes. Ate all mine up already! If Lockwood can do so much so can I!!! ;P
> 
> Have any of you filled your garden with fall leaves in the fall and tilled later?
> I always bed down my strawberries with them, they are composted by spring without tilling, just add a little dirt and mix when it gets warm...


I will have to look at them - "easy to snap together" is appealing. It's the heat, rabbits and packrats. Plants do well in spring and fall (what is left of them by fall, that is). I had a really good little garden in a large stock tank in the past - it was in a heavely shaded area. You have to water the pllants daily, though. It was mostly for fun and enjoyment as I do not believe I saved a bundle.


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## FlyGap

Hmmmm, I know you're a good shot! :twisted:
They have that shade screen, not very good looking though.


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## Missy May

FlyGap said:


> Hmmmm, I know you're a good shot! :twisted:
> They have that shade screen, not very good looking though.


 
haha..I won't shoot the poor little rabbits or packrats (not actually related to a rat)...I feel sorry for the little varmits.

Actually, I _love_ that shade screen stuff. I would have to build a frame for it if I got serious. I did manage to grow some potatoes - but when I saw how cheap they were at the ranch market, I had to rethink growing them. :?

I have successfully grown soaptrees...which one cannot eat, but are difficult to grow from a seed. And, I have oodles of native blue agave babies that Lowe's charges $30 for (who would pay that?). That is my big claim to gardening fame! So, at least I can look upon my potted cacti whilst I starve!!
:lol:


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## FlyGap

Lockwood, thinking about you girl!! Hope all is ok. Hugs, hope it's over!

Ahhhh, a good mornings work, and a fine breakfast reward!
Honestly I don't know how I ever ate store bought tomatoes, you should see this Roma in person, it's blood red!!! Cleaned out the tomato patch and kept a few more, lots of wrapping and hopefully will get them canned as sauce... OR I MAY JUST EAT THEM ALLLLL!!!! MUAH HA HA!!!










Have a bunch of Jalepenoes (SP, I hate spelling that word!) that I don't know what to do with.... Hmmm, idears?


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## Missy May

Wow, Flygap! Beautiful! You are so blessed.

Jalapenos...yes, I have ideas.  We consume a lot of them. I always put them in my chili. I buy them both fresh and I buy the jars of them - so they can be canned.  My favorite use for fresh jalapeno peppers is salsa. I put chopped jalapenos, tomatoes, green chili peppers, onion, a clove of garlic, vinegar and a pinch of salt in the blender...bzzzzz...then I simmer it in a sauce pan. It is a staple around my house. I don't really measure how much of "what"....it is a bit different each time - and always good! It usually takes a 3-4 "blender rounds" b/c it doesn't all fit in the jar at once. Simmering it takes the edge off and brings all the flavors "together", its better to do it in a glass pan if you have one. I imagine one could substitute green chilis w some other kind - even bell peppers, but it wouldn't have as much of a bite.


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## FlyGap

Yummm!!! What kind of green chilies do you use (brand)? Do you ever add cilantro?
I make buckets of salsa too, but that recipe sounds yummy!
I never simmer mine but love the roasted taste of others, gonna do it!


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## Missy May

FlyGap said:


> Yummm!!! What kind of green chilies do you use (brand)? Do you ever add cilantro?
> I make buckets of salsa too, but that recipe sounds yummy!
> I never simmer mine but love the roasted taste of others, gonna do it!


Haha. This is interesting...I live in the "chili capital of the world" state, and everyone just calls them "green chilis". I don't know their true name. The big green fresh ones - the kind you roast and make chili rellenos out of.  I am not a fan of cilantro - so I don't use it, but I imagine most would.

You just have to be careful to use gloves or remember not to touch your eyes - or face for that matter. I often forget this fact...it ain't pretty. 

Yeah, I only keep store bought salsa for "back up" in case of emergencies...we can't be w/o salsa!


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## Lockwood

Thanks Fly! 
Wow...you're still getting toms??
Suddenly I have a hankering for a huge pot of marinara sauce.
(Sorry Missy, I'm not much of a salsa girl... peppers and I don't get along very well.)

The basket of eggs is just beautiful. All my girls are molting and I'm getting one whole egg a day.
Of course with the storm, I'll be lucky to see an egg at all this week. My ladies are sensitive. 
We did all made it through ok. Roughed up a bit and tired, but ok.


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## FlyGap

Ok, Gurney's is having their 50% off sale (spend $100, get $50 off etc..).
Burpee has free shipping, code NEW321, I want their new "Super Sauce" tomato seeds...

What are you guys planning, anything new or cool?

DH is going to stroke if I type those magic numbers again!! LOL!
WHAT TO DO!!


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## Lockwood

I just had to dig up the Burpee catalog to see, and then remembered their prices are double. :-|
I would really like to try their Sweet Treat Carrots, Big Mama Roma toms, Sunny Boy toms, Sweet Tangerine toms, and Golden Egg Summer Squash and even with free shipping I can't make myself pay the catalog prices.

Checked out Gurney's but all I'm getting is the regular $25 off they always seem to advertise. I'll tell you what though, Jung Seeds have always grown well for me, and I can't wait until it is time to replenish my seed stocks, and then Johnney's Select Seeds.....here I come! I love that place!!

I usually hit the Lowe's and Home Depot stores early spring to find most of what I need and when I find something unusual I snap up extras. This way I only order every three or so years the stuff I can't find locally, like my purple cauliflower or Romano beans which far out perform the traditional green beans and taste better too, I think. I'll dig through my seeds and see what other different stuff I have.
Considering I just now (last week) picked the last of the Cauliflower, Chard, and Bok Choi, then planted garlic and put the garden to bed.... I'm taking a little break for a while and not thinking anything plant, beyond watering the herbs in the window.

For those who are going to order, if it helps to know, most seeds last quite a few years so you can take advantage of sales and stock up.
I have an awesome book called "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" by Edward C. Smith and it is my top gardening book.
Here is a list of seed longevity:
(So I can enable Fly's tomato obsession- and feel free to blame me when hubby hits the roof :lol: )


Veggie Seed Longevity
Years:
2 Amaranth
5 Artichoke
5 Arugula
3 Beans, bush & pole
4 Beets
3 Broccoli
4 Brussels Sprouts
4 Cabbage
5 Cardoon
3 carrots
4 Cauliflower
3 Celery
3 Chinese Cabbage
1-2 Corn
5 Cress
5 Cucumber
4 Eggplant
4-6 Endive
3-4 Fennel
4 Kale
3 Kohlrabi
2 Leeks
1 Lettuce (I’ve had some that made it 3 years)
5 Mache
4-5 Melons
2 Okra
1 Onions
1 Parsnip
3 Peas
2 Peppers
4 Pumpkins
5 Radicchio
4 radish
4 rutabaga
1 salsify
3 Spinach
4 Squash, summer & winter
4 Swiss Chard
3 Tomatillos
4 Tomatoes
4 Turnips
4-5 Watermelon
Herbs:
5 Basil
1-2 Chives
5 Cilantro
5 Dill
1 Marjoram
1 Oregano (my plants survive outside through the winter)
1-3 Parsley (plants- same as oregano)
2 Sage (my plants come back in spring)
? Thyme (plants- same as oregano)


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## Clayton Taffy

My favorite is Jung's seeds. Good variety and by far the cheapest.

Love The Vegetable Gardeners Bible.


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## jaydee

Whats left of my veg garden is under snow today!! Peppers egg plants, tomatos, carrots, potatos parsnips beans corn & leeks all did well this year but some bugs destroyed the zucchini and cucumbers, The broccoli, sprouts and cauliflower started out great but butterflies somehow got under the insect nets and overnight I had a great collection of caterpillars - or so it seemed. I've planted fruit trees since we ame here but the late frosts killed off all the blossoms so it was a poor year for fruit, I have grapes, black and redcurrants, gooseberries, blueberries, raspberries and rhubarb and planted some no bog cranberries which seem to have struggled and 2 kiwi vines that hopefully will fruit next year. Strawberries did great but our resident fox seems partial to those - and tomatos. I grow herbs around the flower borders and in tubs on the deck - handy when cooking
I freeze whatever we dont eat fresh.


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## Lockwood

Hey Taffy, I have a question for you… and anyone else who has planted fruit trees...
Where do you get your fruit trees from?

I've had pretty good luck buying peach, a few pear and one plum tree locally, but my local bought apple trees are struggling (thankfully I already have two mature ones) and Cherries? Pfft, forget it... 
I've killed two already and the ones that are still alive (if you could call it that) bloom way late in the spring and by august have dropped their leaves.
They are in front of the house and are good sized, but it is embarrassing!

Anyway, since the draught killed several of my trees, I’m going to plan on replacing them as well as expanding the orchard too. (And because I am soooo jealous of MHF’s Pears!)

I’ll be adding several more apple trees (Melrose, McCoun, Honeycrisp, and Rome if I can find them) along with more pear, Asian pears, Pawpaws, and maybe a few Quince.
The berries I’m adding are: Gooseberry, elderberry, currants, and honeyberries. 

I have catalogs to Miller Nurseries and Stark Brother’s, but would love to hear about other nurseries ya’ll know of or have ordered from.
It is a big investment in money as well as the time it takes to get a return and I feel like a fish out of water trying to order from somewhere I have never heard feedback on.

Most of the small orders I have done are from cheap places like Burgess and for stuff like strawberries, hibiscus, and flowering shrub types of things and for the most part everything has grown well (my weigela is as tall as the house!) but they just don’t have the trees I am looking for.

Ideas??


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## jaydee

I got the fruit trees - pear, apple, plums, cherry and peach from a local nursery the apples are struggling - I lost the first ones I planted, the pear are a bit spindly but they do produce fruit. I got the apricot and kiwi fruit and the fruiting bushes type from Miller Nurseries - all doing well
I have a lilac and a wisteria (not fruit I know) that are really huge now but never flowered - ideas anyone?


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## FlyGap

Grrr... That list! Nooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
(I really really want those sauce tomatoes... hmmm, we do have a paypal account... 

I got my Honeyberries from Springhill. They were tiny (6 inches), one looked great with lots of shoots, the other was DEAD. So I got them to ship me another but didn't get it until this fall. Soooo, we'll see. The first one did make it through the drought with lots of pampering so I have highish hopes...
NOT ordering from them again. Bought tons of stuff from them the past two years and all I have to show is a stupid orange plant and those pitiful honeyberries. 

Have any of you tried the chocolate vine yet? I did, but the drought and heat killed it.

My fruit trees came from Gurney's. Paid for the standard deluxe ones... Three apples made it but MY POLLINATOR died. So gots to replace it. The goats ate my nectarine and it came back with a vengeance three feet tall now! It was nothing but a teeny tiny stump! With your green thumb (ARM) I'm sure you can make it with these. VERY vigorous. I won't have apples for another year, these poor babies are lucky to be alive! No water AT ALL for two months and 120 degree days.

This was my third year planting blueberries. I'm done. Drought, goats, chickens, and even the dogs had it out for them. Sooo maybe the honeyberries will take, fingers crossed!

Lockwood you are right! Talk about an investment! I need so much more but I'm not planting more trees until the drought snaps. We are still hauling water, putting in another, and I've had it. buuuuttttt these sales... 

Are you signed up for Gurney's emails? Going to check out the sites you guys listed!!! Thanks!


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## Clayton Taffy

I get my fruit trees from Stark Bros. They are about an hour north of me, so I even save on shipping and go pick them up myself.

I had the best luck by starting an LLC business and going to the commercial side of Starks. The customer service is great and so are the prices. This area is not good for growing a lot of the varieties of fruit trees and my sales person was a huge help guiding me on what I could grow and what I could not grow without serious complications, Like Honey Crisp, he said I needed allot more experience before trying HC.

The deer are my biggest problem, what trees they don't eat they will rub all the bark off, and kill the tree that way. Two apple trees dead this fall. They also severely damaged my new "Kindred Spirit" oak tree, I do not know if it will survive.


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## Missy May

Okay, well...I have heard about enough of this happy seed shopping pooh. All I can say is...its nice and sunny here, no snow...and it will be in the mid 70's _all week_...probably, all next week, too. So there!


----------



## Lockwood

jaydee said:


> I got the fruit trees - pear, apple, plums, cherry and peach from a local nursery the apples are struggling - I lost the first ones I planted, the pear are a bit spindly but they do produce fruit. I got the apricot and kiwi fruit and the fruiting bushes type from Miller Nurseries - all doing well
> I have a lilac and a wisteria (not fruit I know) that are really huge now but never flowered - ideas anyone?


Ok, I'm not sure about this (need to check my shrub/tree book) but I think Lilacs like a more acidic soil. I have ones I have planted here and they grow wild in the woods like crazy, but my area is on the acidic side. Rhododendrons (sp?) also grow well here and they need acidic soil.
Enough so, that one needs to lime the fields to get a good crop or even pasture going, so maybe check to see what lilac and wisteria needs for soil levels.


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## Lockwood

Missy May said:


> Okay, well...I have heard about enough of this happy seed shopping pooh. All I can say is...its nice and sunny here, no snow...and it will be in the mid 70's _all week_...probably, all next week, too. So there!


*sticks hand out in the "talk to the hand" fashion as she kicks snow off her boots and grumbles...*

FLy- I'm not signed up with Gurneys, or at least I haven't lately.... but I did check thier website and they do have some trees I'm interested in so I'm going to sign up again. Thanks for the tip and let us know how much you spent on seeds and how thrilled DH was.

Taffy- Thank very much for the info on Stark's. I like some of their varieties of trees, and I have a business and didn't think about going the commercial route for tree purchases, so thanks for that idea too.
Once upon a time I had planned to go for a large (well as large as one person can do on their own, anyway) organic something or another fruit... I may have to revisit that idea.
Good to know I can contact them for help too.


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## Celeste

Wisteria actually grows as a weed here. It is so beautiful when it blooms! What is a chocolate vine?


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## FlyGap

Hahaha!! Missy!! I'll eat a tomato to that!
It's been coooolllldddd the past few days, but 70's coming this weekend! Ride? No ride. Family coming... To fill my freezer with deer! Going to slice up my hands again, oh joy!!

Taffy I'm just below you a ways... Hmmm a trip up there...
Yeah bummer on HC's, we are too warm for them, fruit drop. Those are our favorite! Settled for pixie crunch and sundance, what did you get?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Lockwood

FlyGap said:


> Grrr... That list! Nooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> *You're soooo welcome! :twisted:*
> (I really really want those sauce tomatoes... hmmm, we do have a paypal account...
> 
> I got my Honeyberries from Springhill. They were tiny (6 inches), one looked great with lots of shoots, the other was DEAD. So I got them to ship me another but didn't get it until this fall. Soooo, we'll see. The first one did make it through the drought with lots of pampering so I have highish hopes...
> NOT ordering from them again. Bought tons of stuff from them the past two years and all I have to show is a stupid orange plant and those pitiful honeyberries.
> *I learned the hard way too... some things are ok from the small storefront type of places, other things need to be gotten from the big boys. I won't even confess to how many plants I have murdered in order to learn what NOT to do. *
> *I had a horrible black thumb for years!*
> 
> Have any of you tried the chocolate vine yet? I did, but the drought and heat killed it.
> *Not yet, have thought about one though... *
> 
> My fruit trees came from Gurney's. Paid for the standard deluxe ones... Three apples made it but MY POLLINATOR died. So gots to replace it. The goats ate my nectarine and it came back with a vengeance three feet tall now! It was nothing but a teeny tiny stump! With your green thumb (ARM) I'm sure you can make it with these. VERY vigorous. I won't have apples for another year, these poor babies are lucky to be alive! No water AT ALL for two months and 120 degree days.
> *Sorry, I didn't realize it was still bad there. Hard to focus when I'm already scooping snow. Grrrr *lockwood dislikes being cold**
> 
> This was my third year planting blueberries. I'm done. Drought, goats, chickens, and even the dogs had it out for them. Sooo maybe the honeyberries will take, fingers crossed!
> *Um...goats are great for berries. :lol:*
> 
> Lockwood you are right! Talk about an investment! I need so much more but I'm not planting more trees until the drought snaps. We are still hauling water, putting in another, and I've had it. buuuuttttt these sales...
> 
> Are you signed up for Gurney's emails? Going to check out the sites you guys listed!!! Thanks!


*Am going to sign up later today... *


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Doing talk to text so bear with me ladies, there are bound to be mistakes. Taffy I am super jealous of your proximity to Stark Brothers! I would be broke if I were that close. That is where I plan to order Apple trees. My pear trees (that hopefully have a normal year so I can make Lockwood more jealous and then she can come get a truck load haha) were transplants that my grandma moved from her grandma's farm to ours a very long time ago. I know they are older than I am. So since they are antiques does that make them "heirloom" Bartletts? Lol. 

I inherited a few more trees last month. My (not horse) grandparents made the permanent move to their winter home in FL. I now have patio fruit trees - a donut peach, cherry, pluot, apricot, and another peach. Any experience with them? I'm assuming they are just dwarfs? Only supposed to mature around 5 ft tall. 

DD has asked "since Merit is getting kicked out with the girls can I have his pasture?" He's my coming 2 yo I had cut. Asked her why and she wants to plow it up and plant sweet corn to sell, and bank all of the cash. I think I might tell my little entrepreneur yes. It's likely I will have ambrosia sweet corn taking over my pretty private stud pasture...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Missy May

FlyGap said:


> Hahaha!! Missy!! I'll eat a tomato to that!
> It's been coooolllldddd the past few days, but 70's coming this weekend!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Well, well, oh, just....oh, fine!

Yeah, what is a chocolate vine? I have wisteria. I do not like them. I did not know what it was when we first moved here and they were tiny -I should have figured it out w the large pergola above them, duh. Unfortunately I watered it. Let me tell ya...they are _drought tolerant..._I know b/c I have not watered them in hopes they would die. DH likes them, but doesn't do the watering_._


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Forgot to add about the lilac. How big is it jaydee? If they get really large and bigger trunks (are they even called trunks when it is several in a bush?) they will slow down a lot or not even flower at all. I take out a lot of the bigger, older growth every couple of years and top them. They go crazy and it is easier for my kiddo to reach on her little ladder to cut for fresh arrangements.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

Finally my garden is about 75% put to bed for the winter.
I still need to add horse manure to the beds in the ground and add compost to the raised beds. 

The tree fell this summer and landed on my garden sink, half the shed and part of a raised bed, it was a huge tree.


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## FlyGap

Way to go Taffy! Love your beds! Too bad about the tree, I hate losing the big ones. 

I have yet to compost or till, today was gorgeous but spent it with the chimney sweep and messing with the horses. I really need to clean out the barn... maybe tomorrow...

Missy a chocolate vine is cool! Has purple flowers that smell like chocolate and it makes pods filled with tapioca like pudding! But I killed it.... So funny you are trying to kill your wisteria!! I'm trying to grow it on my front patio! Only thing I can get going is a trumpet vine, will have to do for now...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

I have not tilled yet, I wait till it is very cold, so I do not till up toads, I hate that.
I buy soil for my raised beds. St louis compost has a wonderful garden mix, PH balanced, and no weed seeds. Then every year I add some "Black Gold Compost" to the raised beds. Beds in the ground get river bottom soil and old horse manure.

One more day of great weather tomorrow. I hope I get to clean the barn tomorrow too.


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## Phly

maters did good this year.  2 lbs 3oz. Cucumbers too








_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

Phly said:


> maters did good this year.  2 lbs 3oz. Cucumbers too
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I almost bit the screen!


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## Phly

I take that as a competent  Thanks!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

Someone asked about fruit trees in containers, Stark Bros just sent this in my e-mail. Will send part 2 when it comes.

*Getting Started*
*Growing Fruit Trees in Containers, Part 1*

*by Stark Bro's on 12/05/2012*

*







Getting Started*

*With the Grow Your Own movement rooting itself in our everyday lives, people everywhere are enhancing their yards (and their diets) by growing their own fruit. Some are lucky enough to have a large enough area to plant their own orchard, but others who don’t have as much room might feel like they don’t have a lot of options. Not true! If you’re renting an apartment, have limited or no space, or just want something for your patio, you should try growing your fruit trees in containers. In this article, which is part one of a two-part series, we focus on what you need to know to get started with this fun and surprisingly easy process.*

*Choosing the Right Container*
*Most people choose to grow fruit trees in containers for easy mobility. For this purpose, the ideal container size is about 10-15 gallons — substantial enough to support a tree, but small enough to move easily. This size is perfect if you’re growing in a window or on a balcony or patio, so you can bring the tree indoors for protection when the weather starts getting too cold. It also comes in handy if you need to relocate your tree to an unheated garage, shed, basement or cellar during winter.*
*And containers are perfect for growing warm-weather varieties, like citrus trees, banana plants, or fig trees you’ll find at Stark Bro’s, in areas where the climates are cooler than where they grow naturally.*
*If you want to start out smaller, then try a 7-gallon container. As the tree grows in a container of this size, it will eventually become root-bound. At that point, you can simply re-pot it into a larger container. You will be able to tell that your tree has become root-bound to its current container by its lack of vertical growth. It will still produce leaves and even fruit at this point, but you might want to start looking for something bigger to support continual growth and increased production.*
*No matter what size you choose, your tree won’t grow at all for very long if it doesn’t have adequate drainage. Make sure the container you use has holes (usually in the bottom and/or sides), so that any excess water can drain, and air can access the soil. This will help you to prevent potentially fatal diseases like root rot.*
*Planting in Containers*
*It is important to choose the right soil. Potting soil is best, since it is specially designed for container planting, and it is easy to find at your local garden supply store. You should avoid using top soil, since it is prone to becoming compacted, and it will eventually cause water to run down the inside edges of the container and out the bottom, barely reaching the tree’s roots.*
*When you are ready to fill your container, you should first add a layer of gravel or rock to the bottom of your container to help with drainage. Then, add some of your soil mix for the roots to rest on, and place your tree in the center of the pot so that it is vertical and straight. After that, add the rest of your soil until the tree is properly situated in the container. Make sure to tamp the soil down around the tree in order to remove any air pockets, just like you would if you were planting your tree in the ground. Give it a thorough watering, and you’re set!*
*Be sure to check out part two of our series on growing fruit trees in containers, which will focus on the care and upkeep of potted trees.*


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Thanks Taffy. It was me that asked, I inherited a bunch when my grandparents moved to FL. They could go in the ground but they look nice in the pots so I plan to leave them potted and put them on my decks.


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## Clayton Taffy

Good luck! I am terrible at keeping things in a pot. I forget to water them, I will water everything else, I can blame it on my ADD.:lol:


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Thanks! The ADD comment made me giggle, a friend posted this on fb this morning...I can totally relate LOL


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## Lockwood

Thanks from me too Taffy!
And, I checked out the commercial side of Starks online and downloaded that catalog.....
Holey smokes does it have some good information in it!
I went ahead and ordered a paper copy just for the info and the price list came with it.... 
...now I'm trying to figure out who has to give up pasture space so I can plant 30 new trees (min. purchase)....
The vigor chart was a huge help too, looks like I will have to wait on the honeycrisp... I'll most likely kill them with my still present black tree thumb.

BTW, I like your raised beds too. I have a few using boards fastened together for the strawberry beds, but plan to eventually have many more.
A friend of mine obtained some old claw footed bathtubs and painted them in bright colors, then lined them up along one side of her large garden. It is very cute and now I'm on the look out for some old tubs too.


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## BlueSpark

It grew well this year, but now its burried under a foot of snow! I live in town, but I have a small garden and grow lots in pots.
Baker Creek Heirloom seeds is now the only place I get seeds from, high germination rates, amazing vareties and reall good customer service.
I grew green zebra tomatoes, gold metal tomatoes, white oxhearts. I also grew several hot peppers, sweet peppers and the usual cabage, zuccini, pumpkin, carrots, beets and garlic.

ended up with lots of peppers and a bumper crop of tomatoes. I started them in my window sill, then transpanted directly out side. The plants were around 6' tall, and off a handful in the garden and a few in pots I got about 300#. Spent two weeks making pickles, sauce, relish and mincemeat

here are a few pics, pretty excited for next year

Some of the green tomatoes harvested in october:








inside of a green zebra


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## FlyGap

Lockwood... That would make you a copycat :lol:!
Go find some old wagons or VW shells, bah ha ha!! I had a neighbor once use a toilet, in her front yard, as a planter! It was HILARIOUS!

Wish I could handle 30 trees, no wata! You go girl!

Taffy thanks for the info, I have a citrus to repot. It's one of the only "fancy" things I've been able to keep alive!


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## Lockwood

FlyGap said:


> Lockwood... That would make you a copycat :lol:!
> Go find some old wagons or VW shells, bah ha ha!! I had a neighbor once use a toilet, in her front yard, as a planter! It was HILARIOUS!
> 
> Wish I could handle 30 trees, no wata! You go girl!
> 
> Taffy thanks for the info, I have a citrus to repot. It's one of the only "fancy" things I've been able to keep alive!


Meow! 
I have no problem with that, they were wayyy cute!
Although, I hadn't considered using something else so thanks for the idea!

Oh, yeah... I forgot to think about how I would water 30 lovely little baby trees....
*scratches 30 new trees of the wish list.... *


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## MHFoundation Quarters

FlyGap said:


> I had a neighbor once use a toilet, in her front yard, as a planter! It was HILARIOUS!


:lol: M desperately wants to do that. Have you watched Gnomeo & Juliet with E by chance? One of the gnome family's prized garden items is wisteria growing out of the toilet tank. 

My mom has an antique horse drawn seeder (not in good enough shape to restore for use) in one of her barns that's just been sitting there for years. I'd love to turn it into a planter - raised strawberry bed? That is if I ever convince her to let me have it :-(


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## Clayton Taffy

Lockwood said:


> Oh, yeah... I forgot to think about how I would water 30 lovely little baby trees....
> *scratches 30 new trees of the wish list.... *


If you talk to a salesman, they will work with you. Tell them you want to start a small orchard and don't want to risk 30 trees, they might let you trade some trees for some, say, blackberries, raspberries or strawberries, they did that for me. When I ordered it was a 50 tree minimum... no way was I going to be able to take care of 30 trees.


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## Lockwood

Taffy Clayton said:


> If you talk to a salesman, they will work with you. Tell them you want to start a small orchard and don't want to risk 30 trees, they might let you trade some trees for some, say, blackberries, raspberries or strawberries, they did that for me. When I ordered it was a 50 tree minimum... no way was I going to be able to take care of 30 trees.


Oh, thank you!
I didn't think of that and I do want to expand the bramble fruits.
I'm sure you have already mentioned it, but I forgot, which kind of trees/fruits did you get from them?


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## Clayton Taffy

BlueSpark said:


> I live in town, but I have a small garden and grow Baker Creek Heirloom seeds is now the only place I get seeds from, high germination rates, amazing vareties and reall good customer service.


Your veggies are amazing I can't believe you grew them in pots, *In Canada.*

I love Baker Creek seeds. I have gone to their festival a couple times and met Geere and his wife. That guy is pretty impressive for as young as he is. Quite the buisness he has built for his family.

At his festival I learned how to make an solar oven and got the designs for my raised beds, from this guy....

http://gardeningrevolution.com/files/Raised-bed.pdf


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## Clayton Taffy

Lockwood said:


> Oh, thank you!
> I didn't think of that and I do want to expand the bramble fruits.
> I'm sure you have already mentioned it, but I forgot, which kind of trees/fruits did you get from them?


I got 15 peach trees 3 different varieties to extend the season.
2 differnt kinds of prune plum, total 7
3 different kinds of apples, total 6
2 different kinds of Asian pears, total 6
3 apricot trees DEAD
4 Sour cherries DEAD


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## Lockwood

Taffy Clayton said:


> I got 15 peach trees 3 different varieties to extend the season.
> 2 differnt kinds of prune plum, total 7
> 3 different kinds of apples, total 6
> 2 different kinds of Asian pears, total 6
> 3 apricot trees DEAD
> 4 Sour cherries DEAD


Very nice assortment!
So far I have 4 apple trees, 4 peach trees, 5 pear (itty bitty things)2 plum, and 2 cherry still alive.
I've killed (or let the draught kill) 3 cherries, two plums, and countless berries.
Are you in zone 6 over there in Missouri?
Is Stark going to work with you on the trees that died? Like the big box home improvement stores that give you a year to exchange/refund for dead things?


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## Clayton Taffy

Lockwood said:


> Very nice assortment!
> So far I have 4 apple trees, 4 peach trees, 5 pear (itty bitty things)2 plum, and 2 cherry still alive.
> I've killed (or let the draught kill) 3 cherries, two plums, and countless berries.
> Are you in zone 6 over there in Missouri?
> Is Stark going to work with you on the trees that died? Like the big box home improvement stores that give you a year to exchange/refund for dead things?


We are zone 5.
Starks does have a garantee on their trees, I dropped the ball on that one and did not tell them about my deaths untill after the warranty was up.
I can't remember what the warranty was it might be in the catalog.


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## Clayton Taffy

*Good news!!* A.M. Leonard, Horticultural Tool & Supply Co. Has free shipping today!!

www.amleo.com use promo code SHIP12P at checkout.... *Today only*.

My favorite things at AMLEO are the Felco hand tools, well worth the $$$$
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Also Starks bros has free shipping till Dec 20th on orders of $75 or more, and *today only* has 12% off till midnight.

Just in case you are shopping.



.


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## Clayton Taffy

*Growing Fruit Trees in Containers, Part 2*

by Stark Bro's on 12/13/2012








*Caring for Potted Trees*

In part one of our series on growing fruit trees in containers, we gave you some helpful tips for getting started. In this article, part two of the series, we focus on what you need to do to take proper care of your potted fruit trees, so they can stay healthy, grow and thrive.

*Watering Potted Trees*
One of the number-one threats to a young potted tree is overwatering. Once the tree is planted in the container, it is very important to keep a close eye on it and only water when needed. While you want to avoid letting the soil dry out completely, daily watering may not be necessary. You should water when the soil is dry to the touch a couple inches below the surface. The sun may play a part in drying it out, so be aware of exposure to the location of your tree. This can vary if the tree is moved at different times of year.
Note: Mature trees in containers outdoors, during the months where they are in full leaf (late spring, all through summer), can’t get enough water. You might notice that water appears to run through the roots and right out the bottom of the pot. Your mature, leafed-out trees would benefit from daily watering, until the temperatures cool off and the trees begin to harden off for the winter again.
*Fertilizing Container Fruit Trees*
Many potting soil mixes come with fertilizer included. If you are using a mix like that, then you will not need to fertilize additionally at planting time. However, you may choose to fertilize during the growing season. If you do, be sure to use a water-soluble fertilizer, like Stark® Tre-Pep®, so that the roots are able to absorb the nutrients successfully.
*Winterizing Trees in Containers*


Just like trees planted in your yard or anywhere outdoors, trees in containers benefit from winter care and protection. After your tree becomes dormant in the fall, there are a few important actions you should take:

Pruning will give you the chance to remove any damaged, dead or diseased limbs, and it plays a key role in the survival, stimulation, shaping and production of your tree.
Watering the soil around the roots will help to avoid freeze damage if you have not yet prepared to bring your container indoors, and the weather calls for a cold snap.
Mulching over the surface of the soil helps to insulate the roots and protect them from the winter elements if your potted tree must remain outdoors for the winter.
For additional details or to learn more about winterizing, check out our article, Fruit Tree Care: Winterizing Your Plants. Be sure to check out winter-care information specifically for fig trees in our article, Fig Trees on Wheels!
When it comes down to it, growing fruit trees in containers can be just like growing them in a backyard. With the same kind of care, you can have your very own container orchard on your balcony, patio, sunroom or wherever you want!
http://www.starkbros.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/containers.jpg


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## FlyGap

Great stuff!! Thank you!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

Jung's Seed catalog came today, Yea! spring is down the hall and right around the corner.

I always start my onion seeds in the basement in January, They always die before I get them outside but I can't help but plant them. It is a sickness.


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## Lockwood

My catalog came yesterday along with a new one from RH Shumway. Not impressed with the latter, but have been studying the Jungs and making my "want" list to compare with other places.

LOL, my sickness is starting too many seedlings. I'll get the garden planted with my starts and not have enough room for all of them, but way too many left over to just toss. So I just stick them in little containers and let the sorry things jusy keep growing in their tiny little peat pot starter pots. I'm always amazed when one of these poor things actually blooms or produces an itty bitty weird something.

Now I'm practically watching the mailbox all day long to see when the mail lady goes by so I can rush out to see if any other catalogs have arrived.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Too funny ladies. The kiddo & I were looking through new catalogs today too. She asked to turn one of the pastures into sweet corn for her to sell...I'm pretty sure this plan is directly related to her desire to own every single thing in the American Girl catalog :lol:


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## Clayton Taffy

Put Jade bush beans from Jumg's on your wish list. They are the best growers and they are not fuzzy, I don't care to pick or to eat fuzzy green beans.
They have Jade ll in this catalog, I hope they are as good as Jade. My other never miss favorite is the Kaleidoscope mix of lettuce.


I too was not impressed with Shumway. I do like Territorial and Johnnie's catalogs. They are pricy but have wonderful information in them, I love reading the growing facts and tips.

Do you have any favorite seeds that are an every year order order.


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## Lockwood

huh... my entire post, which was quite long, just went poof!
I'll have to re-write it later.
Sorry guys.


----------



## FlyGap

I hate that. I'll be waiting for it...

I've been back and forth here getting ideas... DH was the one that dented the credit cards on seed! OY! How cruel to take away a girls fun!

I have a huge list made over at Johnnys, thank you for clueing me in. Love that site! Their prices are about .75 lower than Burpee and higher seed quantities. Need to hurry up and get those monster sauce seeds from B's, have you seen them, Super Sauce? I'm so excited about them!

Working on DH to get a small green house, we may put in a hoop house this spring but I am so jumping the gun. I want dirt in my nails like yesterday!


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## stevenson

Taffy what type of tree is that ? The easiest way to grow fruit trees is find out what grows best in your soil and for your climate. I cannot grow Avocados or cherry trees. Gets to hot. and my soil has poor drainage. I do have some apple trees growing, one I started from seeds, but dont really get fruit. my pears are small this year, but hoping they get bigger and that the last freeze did not kill them. I tried corn, but it grew to stunted. and last year my tomatoes did nothing which is not normal.


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## Lockwood

Taffy Clayton said:


> Put Jade bush beans from Jumg's on your wish list. They are the best growers and they are not fuzzy, I don't care to pick or to eat fuzzy green beans.
> They have Jade ll in this catalog, I hope they are as good as Jade. My other never miss favorite is the Kaleidoscope mix of lettuce.
> 
> 
> I too was not impressed with Shumway. I do like Territorial and Johnnie's catalogs. They are pricy but have wonderful information in them, I love reading the growing facts and tips.
> 
> Do you have any favorite seeds that are an every year order order.


My yearly, or rather bi-yearly or even every third year orders are-
Pole Romano Italian beans (not very fuzzy) Purple Graffiti cauliflower, low acid and yellow tomatoes. It irks me on the catalogs that s&h can be upwards of 7 or 8 bucks for a few packets of seeds that could be mailed in a business envelope so I buy in bulk for the seeds that are known to last and store them well. So far my old seeds have always sprouted, even some as old as 5 years.

This will probably be my year to splurge though as I want some unusual berry varieties and more fruit trees, so I may do a big catalog order for all the odd seed things I have been wanting to try. 
I’ll check out the Jade beans and thank for the tip on those.

I did re-write what got lost earlier, but it ended up being a book :shock: so I’ll refrain from hijacking and posting it all at once. 

Love love love Johnny's! I keep the old catalogs as reference materials!
They are almost as good as Starks commercial catalog for being informative.


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## Clayton Taffy

I just found a great seed company in Missouri. This summer I want to an Amish community to a harness shop and ran into this seed company. 

I just looked at the catalog and the prices are amazing, most seeds are priced 1/2 - 3/4% cheaper than Jungs and Johnnies. The catalog has no photos but carries most of the same varieties as the the big companies.
The store was very nice and they have been in buisness for years and years.

Every 3-4 years I dump all my seeds and buy all new, and this is the replenishing year, so I am expecting to save over $100.

They also have asparagas. Garlic, onion plants, green houses. fertilizer and most anything you need.

Morgan County Seeds LLC
18761 Kelsay RD.
Barnett, MO 65011
573-378-2655
nice catalog but no website


STEVENSON, I don't know what kind of tree that is, It was a photo in the artical from Starks.


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## FlyGap

Thanks Taffy, I'll give them a holler and order a catalogue!
Good eye, Good eye!!!!


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## Lockwood

I'm gonna have to call them too!
Thanks for the info taffy!


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## FlyGap

FYI Gurney's is having their 50% off sale! Don't know if you guys buy from them?


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## MHFoundation Quarters

My sister & I are going to plan our garden and order seeds today! Going to try a new company. 

Heirloom Open Pollinated Vegetable Garden and Flower Seeds, Gardening Books, Cookbooks, Worm Castings, Heritage Seeds, Non GMO - St Clare Heirloom Seeds - all non-gmo seeds


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## Lockwood

MHFoundation Quarters said:


> My sister & I are going to plan our garden and order seeds today! Going to try a new company.
> 
> Heirloom Open Pollinated Vegetable Garden and Flower Seeds, Gardening Books, Cookbooks, Worm Castings, Heritage Seeds, Non GMO - St Clare Heirloom Seeds - all non-gmo seeds


Clicked the link... and ....
OMG! YAY! They have the pink bananas on the front page!!!
They are so hard to find but sooooo yummy!!
I did see them at Gurney's this year, but I like to support these types of seed places.....guess I know another place I will be ordering from this year.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

I've not tried the pink bananas. What do they compare too? I'm a big fan of squash. We decided this year we are going with "go big or go home" and going to try to put up enough that we can avoid the grocery store until garden is ready again the next season. I'm going to till up one of my smaller pastures - so this year my garden is going to be about 1.5 acres. Though a large amt (at least 1/2 acre, probably more) is going to be devoted to sweet corn - YUM!


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## Lockwood

Sweet, but not overly so. Can be used to replace kabotcha, butternuts, or just about any winter squash in recipes, or picked when small to replace summer squashes. They also keep a long time.
They can grow quite large and the plant is a bit of a monster... but with 1+ acres, you will have plenty of room for it to spread.
I'm a middle of the road squash person. Used to like them ok, and would bake winter ones and serve with butter or a tiny bit of brown sugar, however, was never nutso over any type of squash for any type of eating.
This one and the Delicata have made me a squash person. 
Since I bake and puree (to be used in muffins or pancakes just like sweet potato or pumpkin puree) or dry all my extra squashes, I need something that is really tasty and hold up well and the ones I have grown so far have all been wonderful. Just hard to find.

This is off a web site about them-
*Current Facts*


Banana squash is a member of the winter squash family and of the species Cucurbita maxima, the most diverse domesticated and cultivated species of squash in the world. There are far more than one single cultivar of Banana squash, including Pink and Blue Banana squash varieties, hybrid varieties (often labeled as "Rainbow") and the highly regarded heirloom varieties, Sibley and Pike's Peak. Regardless of what variety you knowingly or unknowingly choose, Banana squash are considered top tier among all winter squash.


*Description/Taste*


Banana squash are cylindrical in shape and imposing in size, reaching up to 2 to 3 feet in length and averaging 8" in diameter. Though the average weight is about ten pounds, a heavy Banana squash can weigh up to 35 pounds. Their thick-walled rind, when ripe is salmon pink in color. The flesh: thick, firm, dense and meaty with a true pumpkin orange color. Regardless of the monumental size of the squash itself, its seed cavity holds few and small seeds. The cooked flesh of the banana squash is fragrant, rich and earthy sweet.


*Applications*


As Banana squash is a true winter squash variety, it can be used in place of other orange-flesh colored winter squash varieties such as butternut and kabocha. Banana squash is in its perfect culinary element when roasted and added to soups and stews. It can be thinly shaved and added to fresh salad greens or used as a topping for pizzas. Banana squash favors the pairing of rich and bold partners such as butter, creme fraiche, aged sheep's cheeses, cream, pork belly, lamb and truffles. The best herb and spice pairings include thyme, bay, sage, rosemary, cumin, curry, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Proper storage conditions can extend the post-vine life of Banana Squash, as well as winter squash in general, for up to six months. The best way to lengthen the post-harvest is to store them in a cool (50 to 60 Degrees Fahrenheit) unlit area with relative humidity


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## FlyGap

Great. Another MUST HAVE!!! Now off to convince hub that there IS life outside of the basic tomatoes, green beans, straight necks, and corn... Wish me luck.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Going to have to check them out!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

I've never heard of pink banana squash, When you first said pink bananas I thought I can't grow these in my zone.:wink: Might have to try them.

Maple syrup season started at our place last weekend, I am already sore from carrying sap up and down the hills. We have 250 gallons of sap already and it has only been two days, our first boil will be this weekend.

I am going to Morgan County seeds on Thursday to pick up all my seeds there, and save on shipping. Morgan County has a big Amish community and my friends are going to the quilt shops, while I go to the seed store and the harness maker to get a piece of my harness repaired.
Then we go to the bulk foods store which is amazing.

I am planting onions, lettuce and spinach this week. I have a plastic cover for some of my raised beds. I hope it is not too early.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Ooooh, that sounds like a lot of work but sounds really good TC! That's something I've not done before. Would love to see pics of the process!


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## Lockwood

FlyGap said:


> Great. Another MUST HAVE!!! Now off to convince hub that there IS life outside of the basic tomatoes, green beans, straight necks, and corn... Wish me luck.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


The trick is, you gotta hide just one little "new" plant among the regulars. Discretely slip it in something and act like you never knew it was there until afterwards while hubby is going on and on about the flavor. 

Most of the different things I grow started with adding just one or two plants/seeds I found locally as a trial to see if I likes them.
I usually did and still had the rest of the seed packet saved for the next year.
The flat Italian beans happened this way. I happen to buy some frozen ones for a recipe (years ago) and found that I liked them better than regular green beans. Once I started gardening I remembered that, but was still unsure about growing them. So the first time I planted them, it was only a few.
Now, they are about the only green bean I will plant. When I had a DH, he was like that and I had to sneak stuff in.:wink:

Wow Taffy... you do syrup too?
I have friends who do Sorghum syrup and have to grind/press the stalks and then boil it the same way as maple syrup.
That is quite the adventure... my hat's off to you for taking that on.


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## Celeste

How many gallons of maple syrup will you get from 250 gallons of sap?

I helped make sorghum syrup when I was about 20 . Draft horses were used to operate the press that squeezed out the juice from the stalks. It was a ton of fun. I don't think that I ever worked that hard in my life to be paid one pint of syrup.


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## egrogan

I know this is an older thread, and have to admit, I haven't read every page, but I'm wondering if anyone has tips on terrace gardens?

We have a large open back area, but it is quite sloped and hilly. It gets great sun, but parts of it also get pretty wet based on how water flows from even farther up the hill. I don't have great pictures that show the grade of the hill, but picture the scariest sledding hill you've ever been on, and that's pretty much it! :wink: I'll try to get some pictures soon. Anyone have any general thoughts on how to build up terraced raised beds?


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## Clayton Taffy

egrogan said:


> I know this is an older thread, and have to admit, I haven't read every page, but I'm wondering if anyone has tips on terrace gardens?
> 
> We have a large open back area, but it is quite sloped and hilly. It gets great sun, but parts of it also get pretty wet based on how water flows from even farther up the hill. I don't have great pictures that show the grade of the hill, but picture the scariest sledding hill you've ever been on, and that's pretty much it! :wink: I'll try to get some pictures soon. Anyone have any general thoughts on how to build up terraced raised beds?


Photos would be good, What is the hill used for now?
What do you want to do with the hill? Veggies? natural? pasture? orchard?
Is the hill terraced already?
How much maintenance do you want to do for upkeep?

I will try and find some photos of terraces in my landscaping albums.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

There is a terrace garden on our lake that I am totally in love with. If it wasn't butt cold and snowing I'd take the boat out and take a picture. It's an older couple that are retired farmers, when they sold their land they bought on the water and have a very steep hill down to the water. It's terraced in beautiful stone, they are all her veggie garden minus the lower couple of tiers and they are for cut flowers. They have an electric lift, she puts her bushel baskets on the lift and takes them up. It's really, really cool.


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## Delfina

I did a raised garden with a retaining wall several houses ago to fix the slope problem. It was so sloped that not only could I not grow anything on it really but the neighbor fence/yard were sliding into mine. 

This was a CA yard (so the size of a postage stamp) so I didn't make it a huge garden but it was big enough to grow a ton of fruit trees in a row and as a bonus, they created privacy for my yard. 

You can't see the wall really in this picture.... geraniums are a WEED in So CA but basically the garden was about 4 feet deep from the fence to the retaining wall, the wall itself was about 4 ft tall and then below the wall we leveled the ground to have the rest of the yard flat. 










The wall is more visible in this picture, this is the right side where I was struggling to get trees to grow due to a MASSIVE tree in the neighbor's yard. The tree fell over in a windstorm and took out the fence and a couple of my small trees. There's small replacement trees in this picture that were just starting to grow in. 










The wall blocks were from Home Depot. Just level the ground for the first layer, then stack 'em on up while backfilling the garden with dirt. Hubby cut the end blocks with a circular saw. Amazing thing about these is no mortar or glue required so when the neighbor's behemoth of a tree fell, we just cleaned up the mess and re-stacked our wall! Only one block broke.


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## egrogan

Taffy, sorry to be vague. I am looking to turn a small portion of the hillside into a vegetable garden. I sacrificed most of my flat "yard" to a fenced area for the dogs & chickens, so I need to get creative. I don't want to build up too much infrastructure, as I eventually will want to use most of the hillside for pasture, but a few raised beds won't take up too much room. 

There is currently no terracing in place, and I don't have any experience with it so am not quite sure what to expect in terms of how hard it will be. Would love to see more pictures (thanks, Delfina!). The property itself will provide all the rocks we could ever want for retaining walls, it's just a matter of collecting them all!

I've lived all over the US in the past 10 years, but having a vegetable garden has always been a constant for me. I miss the hot humidity of Louisiana (man, the tomatoes there! Plus, having a huge lemongrass plant right outside my door made for some great cooking), but most of my gardening experience has been in Zone 5. The veggies we love to grow include: tomatoes, beans, lettuces, garlic, shallots, cukes, carrots, and a couple of squash and pumpkins. I try to find heirloom varieties and like trying out oddball old-timey seeds from places like Baker Creek & their newish acquisition, Comstock Ferre (I like that it's based in New England, helps to find heartier varieties that will make it in our region). I've also had great luck with Fedco in Maine-our local conservation district has a plant sale fundraiser every year, and brings in a lot from Fedco. I'd like to try asparagus for the first time now that I'm actually living in a place I know we'll be long enough to be able to harvest it! We also have a pretty good kitchen herb garden started.

In addition to the veggies, I'd like to eventually do some blueberries, though that might be next year. I am extremely lucky to have a lot of really productive red and black raspberries well established on the property- if I can just get them before the chipmunks and birds this year!

These pictures don't really show you the full grade on the hill; to really see it, I'd probably have to go stand at the bottom and take a picture facing up the hill, but that's tough with all the snow right now.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Was doing garden planning today  Almost time to start seed inside. Makes me really anxious for Spring! 

Was browsing seed/plant sites and thought I would share, Jung has an online garden planner (that is actually pretty decent and lets you make a sizeable garden plan, not the 12 x 12 max that most seem to have online) and it is free for the first month, no cc # needed upfront. It also after you plan the garden, makes a plant list with # needed, when to sow seed (indoor & direct) and harvest timeline.


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## FlyGap

Putting in the cold weather stuff today!! :happydance: (well, DH mostly!)
Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, onions, and snow peas! Yeee HAW!

Doubled the size of the garden! Just so excited I can't stand it! Went to the grocery store yesterday, I am so sick of buying that crud. Flavorless goo. I ran out of onions a month ago, store ones are GROSS.

The hoop house is coming soon, it's going to be massive! Whew, do I have my work cut out for me. Preparing a game plan. If you guys know of any great sites or books please let me know. Watched this video, check it out, so cool!





It's almost time!


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## MHFoundation Quarters

That video is awesome!


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## Clayton Taffy

Maple syrup is finished... finally. I am getting too old to carry 7 plus gallons of sap at a time up the hill. At our house we have a 4 wheeler that we use to at least get close to the trees but at bIL's the hills are to steep, so it is all done by hand, and it is straight up hill. One day i collected over 70 gallons there. i SWORE NEVER AGAIN.
Ended up getting a total of 21 gallons of syrup. 
40 gallons of sap makes one gallon of syrup, sooooo we boiled off 819 gallons of water.
Now just cleaning up. Haven't even thought about the garden. still snow on the ground here.

Erogan I have an idea for your hillside garden I just need to get in on paper, maybe tonight:lol:


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## FlyGap

Taffy that is AWESOME!
I'm needing to pick your brain on syrup. We are just now starting to make plans for our bottom 60. Looks like we have multitudes of nice mature Maples, sugar and reds. (Pretty uncommon for them to naturalize so well in our forest but the hillside is north facing and shaded.) I'll be looking more into it this summer, I'd love love love to see photos of your operation!

Anyone hunt ginseng? Course it isn't the right time to even worry about it but I know we have tons of it... Our area is primo. Need to order seeds and get some forest beds started, that stuff takes forever.
Hmmm, maybe a Naturalist Thread is in order...


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## Lockwood

Fly- A hoop house?
You _GO _girl!
(me jealous)


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## jaydee

We still have snow on the ground and then a good layer of frozen soil to thaw out before I can even think of doing anything outside
I try to have plants raised and ready to plant out as soon as possible so they get chance to mature and produce before it goes cold again
I use fleece and pop up covers to protect against any late frosts
This company has some good ideas for *raised beds* - my DH made mine in the same way and as we have really stony ground and an inherited weed problem its worked a lot better than trying to grow direct into the soil here - I've mostly had to buy top soil to put in them.
Gardener's Supply Company | Garden Supplies and Gardening Tools


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## JaphyJaphy

Beautiful gardens, everyone! 

Now that I've moved back to "the country", I'm planning on starting a very small garden and getting some chickens for meat and eggs. I'm going to keep it simple this year, and stick with what I know, so I'm planting tomatoes, lettuce, basil, mint (and other herbs), hot peppers and potatoes (which I don't eat, but will trade for other foods).

Our growing season is so short that just about everything gets started inside, and some people even have wood stoves in their green houses. However, there are some very successful gardens up here.


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## Nightside

The only thing that grows in my garden are my wild blackberries. I water them and make sure the cows save me some but other than that, I don't do diddly and have tons of yummy blackberries. I'm admittedly a lazy farmer in that department but I'm making my suddenly health conscious dad a basket to take hone with some of our own organic eggs and all natural berries. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Missy May

Whenever I feel like getting depressed b/c I can't grow a garden, I come to this thread. It works - every time!!! 
I just harvested more worms and put them back in fresh poo...and marveled at my wonderful silky black "product". And, since I can't win againt the pack rats, rabbits and what-not - I put a nice big pile of some out of date senior feed in the desert for them to enjoy. 
I thought harvesting worms was tediouse...good thing I don't make maple syrup! Shwew! That sounds labor intensive!


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## FlyGap

Missy, can you feed them fresh(ish) manure? Just curious because I don't have a clue! Any tips? What are you raising them in? (I may have asked you this already, but I know you know I'm a scatter brain! Sorry!!)


Anyone grow soybeans? Just ordered an ounce to try them out this year!
Midori Giant Organic, home grown organic edamame here I come!!!

How about Long Island Cheese Pumpkins? Got those coming too!!


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## Saddlebag

I don't want to read about people starting their gardens. As I type this I am looking at a foot of snow, 6' snow banks and I know a bitter cold wind is blowing. It feels like spring will never come. The weather has teased us with beautiful warm days and now this. I'm jealous.


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## Missy May

FlyGap said:


> Missy, can you feed them fresh(ish) manure? Just curious because I don't have a clue! Any tips? What are you raising them in? (I may have asked you this already, but I know you know I'm a scatter brain! Sorry!!)


OMG! This is an honor! Fly asked _me_ something on the garden thread!!!! :lol: It makes me feel all bubbly! 

Yeah, you can "feed" them fresh poo, contrary to popular belief, but always put a bit of "home material" with them.

This is what I do:

Prepare a breeding container. 
Start with a container of manure that is well on its way to "composted". I use an old water trough for this.

Add worms. 
You can buy worms, but I imagine where you live you can just find them in garden or ground (?). Dig a little "pit" in your composted manure and put the worms in the pit along w some nice rich dirt. They will eventually disperse into the compost. They don't breed like flies, but they will multiply pretty quickly. So, the more you start with the faster your supply of worms will grow. For reference, I started w a pound. After a while your container will have ooooodles of worms and cocoons in it.

Add worms to fresh poop. 

I put my fresh horse poop in 4'x4'x4' wooden containers w one side "open" so that I can slide boards into it as it fills. I don't see why you couldn't just put the manure in a pile, but I have to add water so I like to keep it "contained". And, containers reduce the surface area to poop ratio. I do this for fly control and poop disposal. You, on the other hand, could actually use the finished product. ****I am cupping my ear listening for, "poor, poor missy"** Anyway, keep the fresh poo damp. Once it gets a foot or so deep, dig a few little pits of a volume about equal to that of a 3 lb coffee can, and fill the pits w some worms from your "breeding container" along w _lots_ of "home material" from same. Cover the filled in pits w a layer of the fresh poo. Just keep doing that as you fill the "big" container (or free standing pile, whatnot). NO further composting effort necessary. They will do _all_ the work for you!

Every so often, top your "breeding container" back off w fresh poop to keep the little ******s happy. I actually try to move the old material to one side, and fill the other half once the container is half full or so.

I try to overfill the big containers b/c the material will_ really_ "sink". It will reduce the original volume to less than a fifth or so. Bonus..the worked and finished product has no odor _at all._

A friend of mine just digs pits (for containers) in TN , I don't know if your ground is soft enough to do that. ? 

Don't ever drown the littly guys...but always make sure the poop is pretty damp. Here that is a chore, but I imagine where you live it wouldn't be. 

Here are some photos of my garden making material. :wink:

Poop bins:









Near finished material (it is not all castings, but pretty close). The bright sun makes it look light..it is actually black. 








Here is my standing stallion worm, an own son of Fuzzy Wuzzy. :lol:


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## MHFoundation Quarters

^That is awesome Missy! Something I've thought about doing too. My dad keeps a worm box at his house for fishing bait - I supply horse & rabbit poo for them. My mom keeps the tailings. His is half of a plastic barrel in the ground with a wood box top he puts over it, always has damp newspaper on top of the "dirt". I really should look into it more. How many boxes do you have, how much do they make, etc? Let's hear details! I think this is something DH would be totally on board with, he could save a few trips to the bait shop (and I wouldn't have boxes of worms in my fridge!)


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## Missy May

haha, MHF...I forgot I, too, add an occasion "helping" of rabbit puffs. I am always amazed how a small bucket of rabbit puffs stinks far worse than tons of horse manure. 

I have 2 boxes right now. Two are being rebuilt. I need 4 (my size) for 2 horses so that oldest poop is "ready" by the time I fill the 4th. The fresh poo will be reduced to less than 1/5 its volume of castings...so over time you get quite a bit. With 2 horses, you would eventually get more than enough for a good sized family garden.

It is _extremely_ rich - you wouldn't want to actually plant something in just castings...just a light spreading will do for most things. 

Oh, and you mentioned your dad's newspaper. Sometimes I put a layer of cardboard here and there...they _love_ cardboard and it holds moisture really well when buried in poop...if you live in a dry area, thats important.

Oh, and birds love them. We have a lot of thrashers...and they in fact "thrash" the boxes. It makes me feel good that they get a good meal b/c it is a tough environment - nothing comes easy.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Well with 15 equine residents & one rabbit I could fertilize my whole farm lol! I will tell my dad to try cardboard. Last year with the drought it was needed much more than a normal year. Wasn't worth using them for bait, water was low & warm, makes for mushy fish. Fingers crossed we don't deal with that again.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## FlyGap

Thank you!! Wow those are NICE! (Psh girl I'm sure you know more about gardening than me!) 

I have a friend who sells it but he makes it sound sooo complicated... Everyone around here does it in old fridges and I'm not about to have a couple in my yard, lol! Yours are fantastic! I'm worried about moisture (not that we still aren't in a drought) but a loose lid should be ok?

I found an old sign in my barn that's for the "Flygap" bait farm! Too bad it's got the old number or else I'd set up shop! Hmmm now to convince DH he NEEDS another project....

Thank you!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Lockwood

So Missy,... why couldn't you mix the black gold with some bagged dirt from (insert favorite home improvement/garden store here) and make contained beds to grow veggies in?? Wrapped snug in wire for the super bunnies? 
*taps foot*
You have been holding out on me here. All this time you've been make the best thing since natural humus soil whilst I toil away at cold compost beds to rejuvinate my poor strip mined soils....

Curious though, over here in the East (most people, not just my farm) the fresh horse manure piles don't have worms in them. The universities say that the residues from using dewormers have to age out of the fresh manure for a while before the worms can dig in and feast or they die.
Plus, horse manure is high in nitrogan and heats up in our conditions (hot compost as opposed to cold and slow compost) and fries the little boogers.

Nice stud by the way. Impressive genetics! :thumbsup:


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## Missy May

You are on to me Lockwood, I have done run out of excuses.  Actually, it is the June/july heat. I have had small (relative to yours, _microscopic_) contained gardens (really contained..as in a large water trough) here and stuff grew well until the intense heat hit - the plants don't die, they just stop growing, don't produce and never recover. I would have to have a shaded green house. 

If only you lived next door...you could have all of mine.

I have heard that about wormers killing them off - and it makes sense. I worm every 3 months, but it doesn't seem to effect the overall population. They may very well die in the heavily loaded "pockets" (visualizing little graveyards here and there and the church bell "dong" sound affect).  The composting process does generate a lot of heat, but I think w a larger pile or bin they move around the hot pockets. The heat is a plus in the winter for them, though. The one thing about back east is composting time is hugely excellerated vs the desert - so it shouldn't take long to let it compost a bit for a precautionary measure....if you don't want to feed them the straight poop.  Its easy to keep a breeding container going "just in case". 

And, Fly...I know people cover their bins/piles where it rains a lot so they don't get "soggy". So a loose lid/tarp would probably be needed if it rains a lot. No old frig in the front yard? And why not?  The flygap sign is a sign!! You need to do this project!!!


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Missy, I'm afraid my hubby might not like you. I've informed him that he is building worm boxes over spring break. We were planning to go on a cruise, instead I got a new range & another horse (for the kiddo)...he already had requested the time off so I should make sure he has something to do right? :lol: I was toying with the idea of how could we make them using pallets (thank you pinterest people that build everything out of them for getting me thinking), I have a TON of extra pallets, all in good shape, would I cook them if I built boxes out of them and lined them with plastic of some sort? 

I was wondering about the heat too. I leave my manure pile to sit most of the winter and it really heats up, by the time spring rolls around and everyone's coming to get it to till into their gardens it's a lot of ash & a bit of smoke when you get to the center. It's not near anything that could catch on fire but the pile itself, hasn't happened yet, knock on wood. I took advantage of the warm spell awhile back and spread the whole pile on my neighbor's corn field. He does both field & popcorn, he's contracted with Orville Redenbacher and this year the field I fertilized he is doing in a medium hull less popcorn. I donated the poop and after he harvests I get to walk his field (okay ride the 4-wheeler and pull the little wagon around his field) and pick up all of the missed ears to shell for myself to use, yay!


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## Lockwood

Finally! A real POPCORN post that can stay!! 
LOL


Don't forget this....


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## Missy May

It is a good thing lockwood doesn't live next to your neighbor, MHF...I have a feeling their popcorn yield would be pitifully low. 

Hmmmm, good question about the plastic. I have never used plastic to line them, so I don't know. But, my immediate thought would be that it is best not to b/c it just seems that letting it breath a bit is best. But, honestly, I don't know.

I am _lazy_. If I had 15 horses I would put it in a pile against a bank w a front end loader and call that my container.:lol: 

Oh, I forgot...I hang flytraps on shepard hooks right next to the bins. Like I said .. my main objective is fly control. My mare is the most sensitive creature I have every seen when it comes to insects. So, her every wish is my command.


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## FlyGap

Missy do you have a bottom on your bins? That stud looks dangerous! :lol:
You don't want him wandering the neighborhood impregnating every poor ware out there, right!

Are yours in direct sun 24/7?


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## Lockwood

Missy May said:


> It is a good thing lockwood doesn't live next to your neighbor, MHF...I have a feeling their popcorn yield would be pitifully low.
> 
> :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
> 
> Hmmmm, good question about the plastic. I have never used plastic to line them, so I don't know. But, my immediate thought would be that it is best not to b/c it just seems that letting it breath a bit is best. But, honestly, I don't know.


I've studied vermiculture a little bit (was looking at it large scale once upon a time) and had a bin like this going for a while as an experiment-
Amazon.com: Worm Factory 360 WF360G Worm Composter, Green: Patio, Lawn & Garden

They are made entirely of plastic, but in stackable trays. The trays have large holed "screens" in them for changing the order of the stack and gathering the castings. There is a spigot on the bottom to drain excess moisture, and a lid, but there is not much ventilation on the sides. 
We also did a smaller colony set up in tote tubs with some drainage holes in the bottom, but found it was hard to control the moisture levels (too much) so I'm not sure if the plastic lining would hurt or help.
OTOH, the leachage from the plastic or the plastic's ability to hold in too much heat may not be good.

So Missy, how much is the stud fee on the slimy boy? 

*runs off to dig worm hotel out of storage and research worm pedigrees...*


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## FlyGap

That set up is _sweet_! But I think we could all fill that in an hour, lol!!

That stud looks like he has good lack of bone! Has he ever thrown color? I'm in the market for an "App"adrilacea. 

Missy I got all these *EVIL* trees around, so leaves might help cool the manure?


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## Lockwood

FlyGap said:


> Missy I got all these *EVIL* trees around, so leaves might help cool the manure?


No!
The more "correct" the carbon to nitrogen ratio, the more heat you will generate. It takes very little nitrogen (green stuff/fresh manure/food scraps/fresh clipped grass) to get things going in comparison to carbons (brown stuff/dried leaves/bedding/" starchy" things)
The heat has a lot to do with aerobic and an-aerobic activity. The more heat the more weed seeds killed and the faster it gets "done."
_Not _good for little wigglers. 

Uh...sorry, I just checked and my name isn't Missy.


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## FlyGap

Oh girl, it's sunday and I've only got one cup of joe in me... You made my brain hurt!

I should have said dried leaves, not green ones, my trees would hate me! Those are ok, right?


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## FlyGap

Lookie lookie! 
Doing good, it froze last week but they all made it! 48 broccoli, 28 cabbage, 24 cauliflower, three rows of spinach. 300 white onions got put in yesterday ... Supposed to have put in the snow peas and lettuce today but it's a muddy sloppy rainy mess. The soil is much much darker than this photo, just dry.
(Missy I need you to ship me 50 lbs of castings, you take paypal? LOL!!)
Doubled the size of the garden but it'll NEVER be big enough!


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## Lockwood

300 Onions?! :shock:
Remind me _Not_ to sit next to you at the next meeting. :lol:
Nice garden too! I've got snow right now.:-(

I knew you meant dry leaves. :wink: And honestly, it all depends on the ratios if you want to cool the pile.
Slurp a lot of coffee, then go here- Carbon to Nitrogen Ratio - Composting 101
(It's just a chart... promise.)

So, some dried leaves equals fuel for the "heat" 
Too many dried leaves equals a "stall out" or cold compost. 
Remembering that there is already some bedding/carbons mixed in with the manure anyway, which is what makes the pile cook.

It's like muffins girl...
Too much flour equals little dense door stop stones.
Too much liquid equals mushy crepes in a muffin pan.
Just the right ratio equals yummy, moist, and delish!


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## FlyGap

Now I can understand the muffin reference! Thanks!
Great link, and there were some awesome links in the article, I still can't get my eyes to focus today... Maybe it's the nice steady drip, drip, drip on the roof. :lol:

Yep, 300 onions! Swear I won't breathe on you! Just promise to keep me in mind after you gorge on all that lovely garlic! Or else I'll return the favor! :twisted:


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## Missy May

Wow, 300 onions! For personal use? I know in NC the older farmers ate/eat onion sandwiches. Its the only group of people I have ever seen do that. I mean - just onions and mayo...thats it. Just in case you needed a recipe. 

It's just no fair you guys have a garden! My husband always reminds me I could grow a garden on our property in NC. Yeah, or go skiiing if we were in Vail. His point?!?

I don't know about leaves, I don't have any.  I defer to Lockwood. They do need a little dirt though, as I understand it, for digestion. My horse's area is sandy, so no need to sprinkle in dirt, here. 

That little plastic thingy is neat. So, I guess plastic is okay. 

If it were simple to shade the bins in the summer, I would, Fly. I imagine a roof over bins where it is really rainy and humid would be the absolute ideal set up. My bins are backed up against a 4ft wall which provides some protection from the sun. The dry poop top layer (very dry here, hard to keep the top layer damp) actually acts as a pretty good barrier in both summer and winter.

Our stud is currently at the trainers (he was just getting to hard to handle). We regret to have to announce to all of his fans that we have decided we will no longer be taking any more outside bookings. Sorry guys.


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## Lockwood

Missy May said:


> Our stud is currently at the trainers (he was just getting to hard to handle). We regret to have to announce to all of his fans that we have decided we will no longer be taking any more outside bookings. Sorry guys.


 :shock: :-(

*lockwood _was_ excited, now she is crushed*


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## FlyGap

Darn it! My next question was going to be if you shipped...! How you would collect? Never saw a dummy worm. 
Hmmm maybe there'd be a market for THAT! 

Don't you know I'm from the hillbilly south? Onions are the other white vegetable. It ain't proper to put out a spread without a sliced onion!
(BTW I don't eat them raw, yuck. Just like I don't drink sweet tea. I know, my family says its sacrilege. I have to bring my own.)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Celeste

FlyGap said:


> I don't drink sweet tea. I know, my family says its sacrilege.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


That is terrible. We need to try to find a cure. Sweet tea is a necessary nutrient.


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## Clayton Taffy

Ahhhhhh No one has been talking about potatoes, I completely forgot about them. 
I was making a pork roast for the upcoming snow storm, 5-8", I was cutting new potatoes that had buds that were sprouting, I said to myself these would be good to plant.
I realized just then I was a week over due to plant potatoes and my onion plants.
Of course the two places I buy my potatoes from close at noon on Sat. Now with the storm coming, I am going to be two weeks late, Shucks!

No one was talking about potatoes, does anyone else plant them?


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## FlyGap

Yep. But like you haven't gotten them in, grrrr.
How do you do it? Golds? Reds?
Did both last year, the golds did much better, but with the drought we only got a bag off a fifty foot row. XO
Last year we did trenches, never again! My back still hurts! I'm thinking about using cardboard boxes maybe? Or burying 6 inches down and using old but still good hay. It's pretty stalky like straw...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

I don't mess with anything but Yukon Golds and the little red ones. They are the best sellers, I pick them as new potatoes, they sell better at the farmers market that size, and I always miss plenty that get big for me to eat. If I wait to pick too long the voles take a bite out of every one, and they are unsellable.

I do a modified trench, It does kill the back, I am out there on all fours planting potatoes.
I plant them about 4" deep and add composted horse manure as they grow to hill them up. 

I have heard of cardboard or newspaper, let us know how it works.


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## FlyGap

I will! We are going to do both, a much shallower trench and cardboard along the side of the garden.
Digging the trench wasn't the bad part for me, it was the digging out the potatoes with my bare hands, OY!

Gals DH just sent me this article, wow, very interesting.
Average U.S. Farmer's Age Rising, Younger People Needed In Agriculture


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Very interesting article. Can't say I'm terribly surprised though. I live in a huge ag area and while most farmers kids grow up and take over family farms, the number of those who don't is growing. 

M is on a big Lorax kick, we've been listening to this and talking about planting garden. I love this song


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## iRide Ponies

This was my first year growing a garden (well, growing anything actually! My first attempt ever.), I got peas, herbs and beans, all in large pots (so I don't have to weed so much, HA!)

The peas are doing great. I have been getting a weird fascination with turning the pot and timing how long it takes them to change direction (they are aways twisting towards the light) but the bean looks kinda funny. It continues to die, then regrow, then die. yet to get any produce out of either.

The herbs (some kinda of fancy basil), on the other hand, has been growing flat out and smells Delicious! Hopefully next year will be a touch more productive.


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## Lockwood

Grrr, It snowed every single day for the past ten days and they are calling for snow every single day this coming week so I have been somewhat avoiding this thread. :-(

Potatoes- I do them too. I like Kennebecs, Yukon Golds, and Reds. I think I posted a pic somewhere of the yeilds last year... the Idahos were pitiful so I won't do them again, but I did buy some fancy purple/blue ones to try this year.

I've also leaned my lesson from doing them the "traditional way." Nope... not again. 
Now I do a modified mulch and box system. My pc crashed last month and all my pics are off of here or I would post how I do the boxes.
But basically I put out boxes that are shiny on the poutside (they last longer) with the bottom flaps spread out like feet. I put bricks on the feet too because it gets windy here.
Then I put the spudlings in the bottom, cover with a few inches of soil/compost, then pile on the straw/bedding/shredded paper/mulch type materials at the appropriate intervals until the plants turn brown in the early fall.
Rip open the sides of the box and bingo...we got taters.

I also have a section of the garden that is somewhat of a raised bed with wood sides and I rotate the spuds through there as well. I pull the soft dirt aside, plant and cover with a few to 6 inches of soil, then pile on the mulches. In late summer/fall I rake off the mulch and dig my hands through the soft soil (kiddo likes doing it too) like a treasure hunt.

No more trenches for me.
But... the good thing about trenches is that they often survive the winter here and I continue to get harvests for years. Gotta dig them up though.


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## egrogan

re: potatoes; I have heard people do them in wooden barrels or plastic drum barrels. Anyone tried that? I'm debating trying but since I'm getting everything else up and running from scratch this year in the new house, it might be something I save for next year.

Another thing I don't think I read anyone mention in this thread- beans for drying (i.e., kidney's, turtles, canellini's). I always do snap beans, but we eat so many dried beans all winter, I was contemplating trying some of those too. I've read there's a pretty specific window that you have to get them off the plant, and I'm not sure about the process for drying. Anyone have any thoughts?

I just ordered a bunch of seeds this morning, which I know probably sounds late to most of you- but, given that there is still a solid foot of snow on the ground (thanks to yet _another_ storm last week), I don't think anything's going into the ground any time soon, and I mostly like to do direct sowing. So I am living vicariously through all of you for now


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## Clayton Taffy

I have about 20 people coming to my house today to have a garden tour. I have not done a thing to it. I have been working all morning preparing the raised beds for seed planting. I have 2.5 yards of garden soil/compost mix in the back of the truck, that did not get unloaded. I think I might give everyone some seed potatoes and say plant them. I don't know why I said I would do this, I should have most all of my cool season crops in the ground and up by now. I hope they are not disappointed. 

I guess they can see how the beds are made and what my soil recipe is.

I do this because I need so many hours of instruction or volenteer work to keep my Master Gardener certificate up to date. I always told clients and customers that I had a degree in Horticulture. They would then ask, But are you a master gardener?
I would say, no but I graduated with a degree in horticulture, and am a certified arborist. They would say, But are you a Master Gardener? I got sick of it and took the course to become a master gardener. Now when asked I can say Yes!


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## Lockwood

Taffy Clayton said:


> I have about 20 people coming to my house today to have a garden tour. I have not done a thing to it. I have been working all morning preparing the raised beds for seed planting. I have 2.5 yards of garden soil/compost mix in the back of the truck, that did not get unloaded. I think I might give everyone some seed potatoes and say plant them. I don't know why I said I would do this, I should have most all of my cool season crops in the ground and up by now. I hope they are not disappointed.
> 
> I guess they can see how the beds are made and what my soil recipe is.
> 
> I do this because I need so many hours of instruction or volenteer work to keep my Master Gardener certificate up to date. I always told clients and customers that I had a degree in Horticulture. They would then ask, But are you a master gardener?
> I would say, no but I graduated with a degree in horticulture, and am a certified arborist. They would say, But are you a Master Gardener? I got sick of it and took the course to become a master gardener. Now when asked I can say Yes!


LOL, I've learned very well to say no, and to say it often. :wink:

Master Gardener...Hmmm.... we have a program here and I have been thinking of taking it. 
Aside from your degrees, did you find it really useful in terms of information? Would you do it again? Did it benefit you/your garden, or did it more or less prepare you to help others instead?
I realize I'll probably get something different out of it because my knowledge is only self taught thus far, but I'm wondering if it's a good place to start in working towards something certifiable, or to add to my degree.


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## Cruiser

I started my garden again, I have 50 brandywine (multicolored ones for fun) seedlings inside, garlic, peas and rubarb started outside. And will be planting onions, potatos (in plastic drums), corns, beans and peas. My little sister is planting baby carrots and spinch for our guinea pigs in window boxes.


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## Clayton Taffy

Lockwood said:


> LOL, I've learned very well to say no, and to say it often. :wink:
> 
> Master Gardener...Hmmm.... we have a program here and I have been thinking of taking it.
> Aside from your degrees, did you find it really useful in terms of information? Would you do it again? Did it benefit you/your garden, or did it more or less prepare you to help others instead?
> I realize I'll probably get something different out of it because my knowledge is only self taught thus far, but I'm wondering if it's a good place to start in working towards something certifiable, or to add to my degree.


Yes I would recommend Taking the Master gardener classes. My county is one of the smallest in the state with limited resources and personel. The reason why it was such a joke in my case was because I took the second offering of the MG classes in my county. So what happened in my case is the first group of MG grads taught the second group of MG, (me). And it was a total joke, they just read the power points to us. The power points that were someone else's presentation, I think it was the first time they even looked at the presentation. If someone asked a question, they had no idea what the answer was, and this was done in about 8 presentations out of the eleven needed for the MG program.

That said I think it is a very good program and well worth taking. The book alone was worth 3/4 the enrollment fee. 

I was kind of making fun because so many people thought being a MG was more advanced than a degree. But you will learn lots of stuff, like how water moves through different layers of soil. It is facinating. 
There was:
landscaping
soils
Plant identification
roots
seed starting
veggie garening
tree planting
Integrated pest management
Fertilization
pruning
just to name a few.

You will really learn a lot


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## MHFoundation Quarters

My mom works for our extension office and she did the MG class a few years ago. I love the resource material she got with it. I frequently reference her big binder. 

Any thoughts on good plants for my new fish/garden pond? I think I want a hardy lily of some sort and planned to have a bit of water lettuce for the fish. Other than that would like to use semi and submerged pots. Here is the most recent shot of my pond in progress. The yard around will become stone patio. I plan to put 2 big potted ferns on either side of the filter box to help hide it.


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## Hidalgo13

I'll be starting a vegetable garden this year. Mainly tomatoes, peppers, (perhaps cukes) and lots of herbs. Any tips so that my first year is successful?  I've been reading a lot on what to do but any advice from experienced gardeners would be great!  Also, is 3 hours of strong sun (like it's really hot because the plot is next to a wall so it becomes quite hot and dry quickly) and then 2 hours of lighter sun enough for tomatoes to grow happily? :/


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## Lockwood

Thanks Taffy! That actually helps alot. 

MHF- Ferns, ferns, ferns!
Oh.. you already said ferns?? Well I'm fresh out of ideas besides water lilies. I'm not familiar with water plants beyond ferns ans water lilies.

Hidalgo, I've had luck in my area with growing tomatoes in semi shady areas while still getting nice tomatoes. My first thought though is... if this wall is a building, then I wonder if the soil might be a little too alkaline. I don't know if tomatoes do ok in alkaline soil (maybe Taffy does) but foundation plantings or things near bricks, stones, and concrete usually have to be able to tolerate alkaline soil from those locations.


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## Hidalgo13

It is a building (my house, lol) I live in the city you see . And yes the soil is very alkaline and filled with rocks ><, but when it gets warmer my dad and me intend to dig out a foot of soil, build a raised bed and then add some good stuff.  I shall be getting a pH tester to make sure the new earth is well balanced for my plants as well.


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## tinyliny

Interesting. Our soil is very acidic. The rain causes it to be that way . We have to add Lime from time to time to make it more alkaline. The moss just loves tha acidic soil. my front lawn is now solid moss.


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## tinyliny

MHFoundation Quarters said:


> My mom works for our extension office and she did the MG class a few years ago. I love the resource material she got with it. I frequently reference her big binder.
> 
> Any thoughts on good plants for my new fish/garden pond? I think I want a hardy lily of some sort and planned to have a bit of water lettuce for the fish. Other than that would like to use semi and submerged pots. Here is the most recent shot of my pond in progress. The yard around will become stone patio. I plan to put 2 big potted ferns on either side of the filter box to help hide it.
> View attachment 154673


this site has some images of all kinds of water features, with plants



Plants For Water Features Design Ideas, Pictures, Remodel, and Decor - page 2


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## Phly

Any thoughts on good plants for my new fish/garden pond? I think I want a hardy lily of some sort and planned to have a bit of water lettuce for the fish. Other than that would like to use semi and submerged pots. Here is the most recent shot of my pond in progress. The yard around will become stone patio. I plan to put 2 big potted ferns on either side of the filter box to help hide it. 
View attachment 154673
[/QUOTE]

We built a pond very similar to yours into my mommas deck. She planted lemon grass on the back side of it and it looks so natural and doesn't require any care. Well other the cutting back when it gets a lil over grown.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## tinyliny

would papyrus work? or is your climate too cold?


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## MHFoundation Quarters

I think it's likely too cold for papyrus. Might be something that I could winter in the house though? From what I've looked at they are listed zone 8 and above. Depending on which map you look at I am in zone 4 or 5. 

Any pics of her pond Phly? Lemon grass would be a great option, added to the list of possibles


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## stevenson

I have to add some compost to my soil, I am in a clay 5. hold water, crappy for soil. my tomatoes do good with compost, fertilzer and they are in full sun.
well, as long as the grasshoppers and rodents leave them alone..
I liked the MG class that I took at the Jr College. Some info I found useful, some was a repeat , but there were nice people in the class.


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## clippityclop

Just popping in and haven't read much of the other posts - has anyone had any luck growing artichoke? I've planted several plants this spring and they are about 8 inches tall and thriving. Considering they are related to thistles (and thistles grow over 5 foot tall here in TX), I thought it would be easy to do...time will tell! But I'm curious to know if anyone else has had any luck with them?


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## FlyGap

HELP!
Mom is making a run to the Amish bulk food store!
Am I forgetting something???
Citric/ascorbic acid
Pickling salt
Fruit pectin
Dried dill
Crushed red peppers
Bay leaves
Mustard seed & powder
Turmeric
Dill seeds & dried dill
Black pepper corn
Celery seed
Marjoram
Dried oregano
Garlic granules roasted
Roasted red/green peppers
Celery flakes
Thyme
Cayenne pepper
Thyme
Dried green onions
Sea salt
Corn starch
Baking powder
(This is my canning/staple list, she would stroke if I re upped on everything, LOL!)

Anything you guys use? Anything else I need for canning? Thanks!!! Wish I was with her, I can spend DAYS in there!

Lockwood, flours you love? I spaced it and can't find that recipe you posted for me... I know it's buried in my special box...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## FlyGap

M what about iris? Don't spread too bad and add great height. Get those giant lily pads, the ones that look like pizzas! You have the room!
I asked mom what she had in hers, sent me photos out of a magazine that she'd had. I'll post in the morning.
It's lookin awesome super amazing!
Way to go! Find any gold yet? 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Lockwood

The primary base flours to make an all purpose "flour" mix are: 
-Brown Rice Flour (6 parts)
-Potato Starch (not flour) (2 parts)
-Tapioca Starch/flour (same) (1 part)

Also need
-Xanthan Gum (tiny amounts)
-Sorghum Flour (for yeast bread mixes)
-Millet Flour (" " " ")
-Corn Starch (" " " ")

Get the most of the Brown Rice and Millet flours as they are the biggest ingredient in any flour mix and don't forget the Xanthan Gum. It's expensive, but you'll only need small amounts for any recipe (usually 1 -2 teaspoons)

ETA: I can't post the link, but here's the mix copied from gluten free recipe box dot com. It's the same mix I use for all the fab muffins, waffles, and pancakes I make.
*Gluten-Free Brown Rice Flour Mix*

This gluten-free brown rice flour mix recipe comes to us compliments of Robert Rose Inc., publishers of _750 Best Muffin Recipes_ by Camilla V. Saulsbury. She provides a very important tip in using brown rice flour in a flour blend or in any gluten-free recipe. This rice flour mix is used in the Gluten-free Quinoa Pecan Chocolate Muffins recipe from the same cook.
http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-brown-rice-flour-mix/gluten-free-brown-rice-mix-2

*Ingredients*

2 cups finely ground brown rice flour 500 mL
2⁄3 cup potato starch 150 mL
1⁄3 cup tapioca starch 75 mL
*Directions*
1. In a bowl, whisk together brown rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch. Use as directed in recipes.
*Tips*
• You can also make the blend in smaller amounts by using the basic proportions: 2 parts finely ground brown rice flour, 2⁄3 part potato starch and 1⁄3 part tapioca starch.
• You can double, triple or quadruple the recipe to have it on hand. Store the blend in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 months, or in the freezer for up to 1 year. Let warm to room temperature before using.
*Excerpted from 750 Best Muffin Recipes by Camilla V. Saulsbury *


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## Delfina

Well crud, my garden may not happen this year.

Hubby has torn a tendon in his arm and is looking at surgery so there is no way, he can go rototill for me. Our rototiller is utterly huge and heavy and there's no way a 100lb me can operate it (tried last year and failed) and the garden fence is sunk 12" into the ground to keep bunnies, antelope and the kids PIA goats out so I can't get a tractor or ATV in there. 

Hubby of course is insisting that he can go rototill no problem :-x so I can't even unbury the machine out of the shed for fear stupid will go try! Grr... maybe I can hire the neighbor boy when hubby is at work.


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## FlyGap

THANK YOU LOCKWOOD!
I can do that. I'm horrible at making traditional breads, it's a talent I just don't have.
But I'm heck bent on figirrin that out!

Del thats a huge bummer. Hope the kid can come over!

I am putting in kale today, it's late for it but I need to give it a shot.
12 new strawberry plants, the drought got most of mine last year .
Soybeans! I'm super excited for these!


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## Lockwood

Del- I don't till at all.
While both my gardens are smaller now and with fencing around them, at one time I had 3 larger areas planted and still didn't till. I do layers (like a "lasagna garden." Google will yield good info on it) and I've also done heaps of old straw, and papers shredding covered with bagged soil to grow in when I needed more room quickly.
Heck, one can even throw out old aged compost and plant squashes and greens in that. 
Probably half my garden soil was something else at one time. Old bedding, shredded paper, dried leaves (mowed to oblivion,) scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, dried grass clippings...any and everything non-toxic.
Come to think of it... I don't even know how to use a tiller and I'm too lazy to double dig or do any kind of major digging by hand unless planting a tree is the goal.


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## Lockwood

FlyGap said:


> THANK YOU LOCKWOOD!
> I can do that. I'm horrible at making traditional breads, it's a talent I just don't have.
> But I'm heck bent on figirrin that out!


 LOL... I was too! 
Bread Machine my friend, bread machine. :wink:

I could/can bake the heck out of muffins and non-yeasted breads (regular or GF) but beyond that I'm fairly hopeless.
That's where Mr Breadman comes to my rescue. 
Actually my Breadman recently died (20 years old) so I bought a super duper delux one from Amazon with GF options. But up until then I used it like crazy! I also own a super cheapy Sunbeam from Walmart that works fine for most things.
Cool thing about bread machines is that they can make pizza dough, cakes, batters, cornbread, jellies,jams, bagel dough, sweet bread, specialty breads, and....and....and. 

I'll try kale again in the fall. Soybeans huh? Hmmm.


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## Corporal

Ok, here goes for 2013.
Sugar snap peas, dwarf sugar snap peas, dwarf sweet peas. spinach, radishes, lettuces, onions, marigold and alyssium and basil seeds in the vegetable beds.
Inside, started seeds for Roma tomatoes, Cherokee Purple tomatoes, Rutgers tomatoes, cabbage and sweet peppers.
Pruned ALL of my fruit trees: 2 Montmorency Cherry, 2 Pear, 4 apple, and 2 Peach. There was a LOT of sawing for my reciprocating saw, and we had to drag 4 of the limbs out with a chain and my truck. My 20 ft. tall GD apple tree had never been pruned before and the dieback left it less than 1/2 the size it was in 2011. 'O'
So, I started my bonfire pile for my annual October "Salsa Party." This year it will be Columbus Day weekend bc everybody has Monday off. I need a big pile for hot dogs, marshmallows, s'mores and "Witches Brew." We party and drink until we can't stand the cold anymore, then everyone from out of town sleeps over. We sleep late into Sunday morning. =D


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## Corporal

OMGosh, Flygap. You need to come to my house and I'll show you how to make traditional bread. It's not that hard, you just have to set aside 4 hours of your time, so I like to make it on Saturdays. Here is how I do it, and I've been making bread about 1-2x/week lately.
Take a medium sized microwavable bowl. Measure 2 tablespoons butter, 1 cup milk ( I use skim, btw ), 1 cup water and 5-6 teaspoons sugar/and/or honey for the yeast. Heat up one minute. Check the temperature with your hand in the liquid. As soon as you are comfortable with the temp. measure the yeast, usually 2 1/4 teaspoons for an average batch.
(Read the expiration date on your yeast. Old yeast will work, but you may have to double the amount. That COULD be your problem.)
Let sit in the microwave for about 15 minutes to rise. If you forget about it and come back in an hour, it still works--I've done that. =/
Measure 5-6 cups of flour and mix it in with a spoon. I have been using high fiber flour, like King Arthur's, which is a very old company. When it looks like you have too much flour, pour the contents onto a clean counter. Here's the fun part! *You roll and punch and take out all your week's aggression on that ball of bread flour.* When it starts to stick to the surface add more flour and roll the flour into the ball. After about 5 minutes of beating it up like a boxer, stop and spread some more butter into the bowl, put the dough back into the bowl, and let rise in the microwave, for about one hour, until it is DOUBLED in size.
_I prefer my microwave bc it isn't always in use, nobody will come along and "preheat" it, like the oven, and there is warmth without draft. Yeast likes it warm, as...um...some women will attest. **Corporal rolls eyes**_
Prepare your bread pans. I have a glass bread pan--same size as my meatloaf pans, which could be used, and I bought several of those mini-loaf pans a Christmas ago. Spray Pam or use some kind of non-stick stuff in the pans. As soon as your bread has doubled in size, dump it on the same surface you used before, beat it up some more--the bread usually has "potty mouth" and must be taught a lesson =b --then, portion it out in your pans. I usually put 2/3 of it into my ~3 x 10 pan, and then 1/2 of what is left goes into each of my mini-loaf pans. Put into either the microwave OR your cold oven to rise again for another hour. When it's doubled, leave it or move it to the cold oven, start it at 350 degrees and time for 25 minutes. It will have a golden top, but still be soft. If you try it and think it needs more time, do that in 5 minute increments.
My family eats it without butter.


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## FlyGap

Thank you guys!

Corporal you are the woman! My mom is excellent at all that, she has given me all kinds of starts and tried to teach me a billion times over. The problem is it NEVER tastes like hers!! Mine always turns out dense, then gets hard as a brick, LOL!! I'm going to print out your instructions. Thank you!
Eating without butter is the ULTIMATE compliment!


Lockwood, bread maker is going on my wish list! I can just imagine all the cool things I can add... YUMMY! I hate hate commercial bread, try to stock up from the health food store (local co-op local bakers) but it's an hour away and *sigh* freakin expensive!

Yes, soybeans! I got them from High Mowing Organic. Midori Giant's.
I can taste the edamame already. This will be a test year (and preserving my own seed for next year, they ain't cheap), eventually I want to be able to grow and dry enough to supplement my chicken feed.

I love the no till method! We till but have only been growing up here for two years (last year was supposed to be the biggie, BLAH!) tilling was a must to get our hard packed soil prepared. Delfina there is an awesome farm north of us that has a great site with lots of details, I'll go fish for it. They rock! All organic and natural, and except for some stirring it seems pretty easy. They alternate rows every year. Compost between the rows so they don't have weeds, then plant there the next and alternate. 

I'm going to attempt it this year. We are also going to try vinegar spray to kill the weeds between the rows instead of hoeing/tilling between, then bury with compost. Hard part is finding organic straw, yeah around here they fertilize with commercial chicken crap..... NOPE! Not feeding my family that crud! I'm going out tomorrow to scrape up the hay bale remains (organic we cut) and horse poop, compost for a few months, then add for next year.

Guys do you think I could spread a moderate layer of it in my walking rows and let it break down without composting? Hmmm....

What do you guys think about starting a "Baking and Canning" thread?
Have questions about recipes. Normally I freeze everything, but where is the satisfaction in that? I wanna see my stuff on the shelves!!

I was thinking about a "Livestock Processing" thread too... *Warning GRAPHIC* 
I can go look that all up on other forums but I like talking to you all better!
I have a horrific story about a hen I did in the other day, I am still traumatized.
I told my wednesday Church group about it, by the end all the old timers were in tears! It's hilarious.

And now a cold front blew through and it's pouring rain outside, sorry garden, maybe tomorrow...


----------



## Corporal

Flygap, LOTS of people just love their breadmakers, so get one and enjoy!!!
Delfina, you need to learn about alternatives to tilling. I am on a super friendly and informative garden forum, called, "The Easy Garden."
There I am aka ducks4you
We were just discussing low till and no till gardening this week. It is FULL of garden nerds, including "Marshallsmyth," who has openly admitted to gardening outside at 3 AM, in CA.
Please join us over there and you CAN have a garden this year!! PROMISE!! =D


----------



## tinyliny

Here's how I make bread, and I do almost NO kneading.

Use a large bowl, preferable glass or ceramic, but any kind will do.

warm up some water . I like to use water that I have reserved from the last time I boiled some potatoes. 
I guess about 1 cup?
I warm the whole bowl with water in the microwave, if it will fit.

add 2 tblsps sugar, or a bit more
2 tsps salt
one package dry yeast (Inever use rapid rise)

1/3 cup oil olive is great

then I add a half cup of ground flax, a half cup of wheat bran or germ or oat flour or any other kind of grain you'd like to have in your bread. No more than about 1.5 cups total


Stir it all up. It should be quite liquidy. If not, add some more water or milk. milk is good.

allow it to stand off somewhere for a few hours, while you go about your business. periodically, (like after at least one hour, maybe two) you come back and you will see it has bubbled up. The yeast is at work.
Now, to build the good yeasty flavor, you TORTURE the yeast.
You stir down the bread, so that the yeast has to start all over again. But, you feed the yeast a little bit of white bread flour at the same time. Like say, two tablespoons.

Stir it down, set aside. repeat, and repeat and repeat. You stir down, add a TBSP of flour . If it gets really dry, add some more milk. 
you can even leave it out overnight, but if you do, make sure it's not too dry and not too close to the lip of the bowl that it would overflo if it raises . IF it raises and then falls, don't worry. Just add a bit more "food" and stir and allow it to keep working.

I make my bread overnight, so technically, it takes a long time, but the amount of work I put into it is minmial.

When it starts to smell nice and yeasty, (whenever you want to) you add as much flour as the dough will accept without actually kneading. Then , you pour it out onto a floured countertop and you do KNEAD. But , not a ton. just enough to get big air bubbles out and to shape it into loaves.

While you are doing this, you should have had the oven heating at 400 degrees F. I bake my bread on a Pizza Stone, but I guess you can use bread pans.

put it in, and bake for 12 minutes at 400, then turn it down for another 12 minutes on 350. 

tap the loaves to test for doneness. the sound should be kind of thud-like, dull.


----------



## Corporal

Omg--bread making party!!!


----------



## tinyliny

I lose all sense and reason when fresh bread comes out of the oven. I will eat until i feel like I swallowed an anchor.


----------



## Corporal

You should try high fiber flour. I'll eat 1/2 a load of Wonder Bread...well, maybe 4 slices. But I eat my bread moderately. SOMETIMES, we even have to give some leftovers to the chickens!


----------



## tinyliny

Shoot! i haven't had a bite of Wonder bread in something like 35 years. I do make high fiber bread, with flax meal and someties almond meal, corn meal, oat floar, wheat bran/germ, graham flout, spelt flour. 

YUM!


----------



## Lockwood

Corporal and Tiny, ya’ll make me tired! :shock:

Lockwood’s Amazing Bread in 4 easy steps-

1. Open bread machine.
2. Dump in ingredients.
3. Press the “On” button.... and back away.
4. Pounce on bread the second it’s done. Eat while still hot enough to burn fingers.. sans butter!

Whew! *wipes brow* That was hard work!

Seriously, ya’ll work too hard at it. The machine mixes, kneads, rises, and even sings it a lullaby before baking it. Tastes every bit as good as when fresh from a regular oven, no matter the kind. Promise. 
I will NEVER be without one and it’s the reason I shelled out major bucks for the Zorjirushi Supreme. 
Amazon.com: Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker, Black: Home & Kitchen

(Note the number and rating of the reviews- :wink

Fly- Love the canning and baking thread idea! I can torture all you normal folks with my weird flours! :twisted:

The processing one? Well…. I’m a ninny these days so not sure how often I’ll hang out there. I pay the Mennonites a buck eighty-five to do the dirty deed for me.  
Also sounds like it’s high time I try edamame.


----------



## Delfina

As far as alternatives to tilling.... we don't have dirt. I'm not sure what the heck it is but it's awful, awful stuff. A mixture of clay and sand basically...

I can't afford to bring in semi-loads of actual dirt so I am doing this the labor intensive way and tilling in loads of compost, goat manure and so on. I let the plants die off in the garden last year (sudden freeze + 2 feet of snow I was not expecting) so what is left that the goats didn't munch I still need to till in. I;d eventually like to move to no-till but that's just not feasible yet. 

I'd love to know more about processing. We've did our own turkeys last year. Haven't tried chickens yet and I prefer an actual butcher does the cows and pigs.


----------



## Clayton Taffy

This is REDICULOUS!


----------



## Phly

Got my tractor out and ready to stir up some. And it snowed today. Hope to plow this weekend.















_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Phly

knocked the rust off the plow today. Worked neighbor lady's garden up. I'll go back and till it, or disc it depending how it looks.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Muppetgirl

I'm an avid gardener and may take pics of my slowly emerging garden tomorrow.....but coming from NZ to AB I've had to learn to garden the Canadian way!!! It's a bit frustrating I must say.....in NZ virtually anything will grow all year around.....I have one question for the AB gardeners here, I planted daffodil bulbs out last fall, shouldn't they be coming up now???? The hollyhocks are, the tulips are poking through, even the ferns have a little new growth....,where are my daffs!!!!!! ????????


----------



## Muppetgirl

Ugly now.......will post another pic in June when it's beautiful!!


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

Taffy, I can relate to your pics. I'm glad I didn't get stuff put out yet. Thank you hectic life. With all the rain we've had (there are some in my county on the river that have water in their homes up to the 2nd story roofs!) my poor pastures and garden are a bit wet. I'm hoping the next few days will dry them all up some and plan to get everything out next weekend *fingers crossed*. This is what one of my pastures looked like..before we got 3 more straight days of rain. It's not standing like it was now but it's a sloppy darn mess.  










My pear & peach trees are blooming and I've had to mow my yard twice. I'm impatiently waiting on the redbud tree so I can hit my morel hunting spots. Bring on the fungi!


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

Yoooohoooo Lockwood....your fall order is being processed. The drought was a bit rough on the trees last year but even though they look a bit worse for the wear, they are loaded with blooms. Looks like a normal pear year again, YAY! 

Heirloom Bartletts, trees were transplants from my grandpa's old family homestead. They've been on this property for 25 years or more. Some heavy bearing suckers. Normal years I can literally fill pickup truck loads. I always end up taking several skid loader buckets full that I don't get to (or am sick of looking at by the end of it) back to the woods to feed the deer. We also take 10 or so big rubbermaid totes full to the food pantry. 
































And my little Elberta patio peach tree just because the blooms are such a pretty color. 









A few buds on the redbud tree and lilac bush is just starting. Fingers crossed they will go crazy this week, that's the all systems go signs for morel hunting! I'm so ready, I could eat them every day.


----------



## Lockwood

Hot diggity dog MHF!!
I am already wiping the drool now… I just adore pears. Pear sauce, pear bits, dried pears, fried pears, baked pears, caked pears…all things pears!!
You actually inspired me with your pics of the canning last year and telling of how many you had …. So I bought 15 more fruit trees this year. 
I already had 15, but I wanted more!

This year (so far anyway) I bought more: Ayers, Keiffer, and Bartlett. Apples: I bought: Gala, Jonathan, Jonagold, Mutsu, and Honey crisp. (I know Taffy, you said Starks said they were risky, but I found it locally and thought I‘d give it a try… just to see)
Plus: 2 Stella cherries and a Montmorency. The Stellas should pollinate my Royal Anne and the…I forget the other one.
Also bought a Garnet Beauty peach and a Goldmine nectarine to go with my Red Haven, Elberta, and Belle of Georgia. 

And… my Mulberry trees, currents, and gooseberries arrived just today. Yay! But now I have far too much to plant, LOL…. Thankfully most are in pots and I have a bit of time.

The garden: Garlic is up. Strawberries are up, (Weeds are UP!) and I’ve planted some potatoes, carrots, spinach, and lettuces all of which are sprouting.
Lilacs are budded up, but no blooms yet.
Dogwoods are just opening up, along with my Redbuds, Crabapple, fruit trees and tulips.
T-shirt weather today to boot….Woohoo!!

*runs off to start hoarding pear recipes*


----------



## Lockwood

Well, I'm smacking myself in the forehead because I got suckered in by a half price sale. Does it to me every time...:?
In addition to the above madness I have yet to plant, I just finished clicking the "finalize order" button. (again) 
Chorjuro, Olympic Giant, and Drippin Honey Asian peara are one the way.

This year seems to be the year of the baby fruit trees.

Snapped these this morning before it started pouring- (crappy cell pics, sorry)

Starting to green up









I can almost (almost) smell the lilac... not quite there yet.









16 new baby trees! The one on bloom is a Cleveland Pear for the front of the house


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

You're going to have fruit coming out your ears!


----------



## Missy May

Well, still feeling left out, here.  Soooo...you can't eat ocotillo, but they produce one of my absolute favorite flowers - this one is in my very natural garden :wink: and has just started blooming. 















They (ocotillo) just bloomed within the last couple of days.


----------



## Missy May

I love your pics lockwood - especially the top one. 
You might as well donate that there chair though, it looks like you won't have time to use it.


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

Oooh, that is beautiful Missy!


----------



## Celeste

Missy, I love those flowers!


----------



## Missy May

Thanks, that is nice of you guys to say. We use to have irrigated pastures, which I miss although they were a lot of work. I love the beautiful "natural green" pictures on this board, and the gardens. Such a collection of talent! As it is for me DH won't let me cut back our grape vine (our only "fruit bearing plant) b/c he believes he will get the grapes before the birds do.:lol:


----------



## jaydee

Lockwood said:


> Corporal and Tiny, ya’ll make me tired! :shock:
> 
> Lockwood’s Amazing Bread in 4 easy steps-
> 
> 1. Open bread machine.
> 2. Dump in ingredients.
> 3. Press the “On” button.... and back away.
> 4. Pounce on bread the second it’s done. Eat while still hot enough to burn fingers.. sans butter!
> 
> Whew! *wipes brow* That was hard work!
> 
> Seriously, ya’ll work too hard at it. The machine mixes, kneads, rises, and even sings it a lullaby before baking it. Tastes every bit as good as when fresh from a regular oven, no matter the kind. Promise.
> I will NEVER be without one and it’s the reason I shelled out major bucks for the Zorjirushi Supreme.
> Amazon.com: Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker, Black: Home & Kitchen
> 
> (Note the number and rating of the reviews- :wink
> 
> Fly- Love the canning and baking thread idea! I can torture all you normal folks with my weird flours! :twisted:
> 
> The processing one? Well…. I’m a ninny these days so not sure how often I’ll hang out there. I pay the Mennonites a buck eighty-five to do the dirty deed for me.
> Also sounds like it’s high time I try edamame.


 I'm with you on the bread maker - I love boasting that I've just made all my bread for the week - the hardest part is washing the thing!!
Also makes jam really well.


----------



## Missy May

Yeah, Lockwood, I didn't know there was a machine like that - almost like cheating. Thanks for the info!


----------



## Celeste

The bread machine makes jam? Can you tell us more?


----------



## Delfina

It's snowing...... /sigh

I have 216 seedlings under lights in the house but I;d love to get the peas and lettuce in the ground.


----------



## jaydee

Celeste said:


> The bread machine makes jam? Can you tell us more?


 Its called a Breadman Pro. It says it also makes pasta and bakes though I've never tried either, the pasta sounds beyond what I want to do and I'm avoiding baking till I get my weight back to normal (says she who is sitting here munching a shortcake biscuit (cookie))
*Delfina* - I have my seedlings in clear plastic crates that I bought from Home Depot. That way I can have them under lights in my mechanicals part of the basement when its cold and carry them outside to get natural light when its OK - seems to harden them off better


----------



## Lockwood

Missy May said:


> I love your pics lockwood - especially the top one.
> You might as well donate that there chair though, it looks like you won't have time to use it.


That would be about right. The chair complains because it doesn't get enough butt traffic.



MHFoundation Quarters said:


> Oooh, that is beautiful Missy!


Yes. Beautiful flowers. Such a fiery orange!!



Missy May said:


> Yeah, Lockwood, I didn't know there was a machine like that - almost like cheating. Thanks for the info!


Just call me "Cheater cheater pumpkin eater."
(Literally :wink: ) 


Celeste said:


> The bread machine makes jam? Can you tell us more?


Yep, just like Jaydee said. They don't do the processing, but if you dump everything in according to their recipe, out comes a sticky yummy mess ready to be put in jars and water bathed.
I've made several jam recipes using it. 
It also bakes cakes (loaf shaped of course, but yummy anyway) and I make the best cinnamon swirl bread in mine, all crusted over with cinnamon suger baked on top.

It makes dough, bagel dough, sour dough starter, sweet breads line banana, and of course any yeast bread you can think of.
Even the cheap Sunbeam brand ones from the discount store do the jams too.

I haven' had store bought bread in years. Partly because of our gluten issue, but also because what I make at home tastes so much better.
Heck, I even bake my corn bread in it... and sometimes I will mix up a batter in a bowl, but bake it in the machine for ease.


----------



## jaydee

Lockwood said:


> That would be about right. The chair complains because it doesn't get enough butt traffic.
> 
> 
> Yes. Beautiful flowers. Such a fiery orange!!
> 
> 
> Just call me "Cheater cheater pumpkin eater."
> (Literally :wink: )
> 
> Yep, just like Jaydee said. They don't do the processing, but if you dump everything in according to their recipe, out comes a sticky yummy mess ready to be put in jars and water bathed.
> I've made several jam recipes using it.
> *It also bakes cakes (loaf shaped of course, but yummy anyway) and I make the best cinnamon swirl bread in mine, all crusted over with cinnamon suger baked on top.*
> 
> It makes dough, bagel dough, sour dough starter, sweet breads line banana, and of course any yeast bread you can think of.
> Even the cheap Sunbeam brand ones from the discount store do the jams too.
> 
> I haven' had store bought bread in years. Partly because of our gluten issue, but also because what I make at home tastes so much better.
> Heck, I even bake my corn bread in it... and sometimes I will mix up a batter in a bowl, but bake it in the machine for ease.


 Shut up will you. My bathroom floor is covered in summer jeans that I cant fasten up this morning - minor temper tantrum. Now here you are taunting me with yummy food ideas :lol:


----------



## Muppetgirl

Muppetgirl said:


> Ugly now.......will post another pic in June when it's beautiful!!
> 
> View attachment 168729


Ok....we're getting there! I'm going to move all my vege boxes around soon too.....

Ps. This is only 1/4 of the gardens I have! Will wait until its all blooming and post a string of pics!










Grrr and the photos sideways!!!


----------



## Lockwood

Only 1/4?? :shock:
WOW!

*lockwood tucks tail between legs and hides behind couch vowing not to post any more pics of her itty bitty postage stamp sized garden*


----------



## Muppetgirl

Lockwood said:


> Only 1/4?? :shock:
> WOW!
> 
> *lockwood tucks tail between legs and hides behind couch vowing not to post any more pics of her itty bitty postage stamp sized garden*


Haha! I'm a crazy gardener!!! Out the front of my property it's mainly shrubs and trees in the gardens and out the back it's a very large variety of perennial gardens! We moved in last year and I planted much of it but the lady that lived here was once an avid gardener but couldn't keep up with it, so much of it was restarted on some good bones:wink:

I'm a bit bummed though, I planted daffodil bulbs last fall and haven't seen a sign of them yet:-(

All the irises and lilys are up, ferns are making a move, poppies are going crazy.....

It's a lot of work though and I enjoy it......but I find these first few real weeks of spring and the last few geeks of fall is when the real work has to be done


----------



## Clayton Taffy

I hope you didn't plant your daffodils up side down. They should be up by now.


----------



## Muppetgirl

Taffy Clayton said:


> I hope you didn't plant your daffodils up side down. They should be up by now.


Haha no, I made sure they had their pointers the right way! I have something coming up in one spot, but sadly I think it's an onion!!!


----------



## Clayton Taffy

That is just wrong, usually daffodils are so predictable, that is why I love them.


----------



## Muppetgirl

Taffy Clayton said:


> That is just wrong, usually daffodils are so predictable, that is why I love them.


I know!! It's so horribly wrong!!! I planted them out in late fall, I'm in Calgary......I'm still learning how to grow things in this climate!


----------



## Clayton Taffy

Muppetgirl said:


> I know!! It's so horribly wrong!!! I planted them out in late fall, I'm in Calgary......I'm still learning how to grow things in this climate!



I didn't think anything grew up there:lol:


----------



## FlyGap

COMPLETE disaster. We got three days of snow/ice and below freezing temps.

The already drought stressed trees have blackened leaves, my figs are withered, my 7 year old grape vine FINALLY produced blooms... They won't make it, of course. My broccoli has already crowned, only 4 inch heads, DH let the chickens in the garden the other day and they tore them up. The evil birds also ate all my sprouting sunflowers :-(.
All the new growth on my stunted fruit babies froze and is black, may lose my big peach, it looks awful! Thank heavens I hadn't put in the corn/toms/potatoes/etc earlier!

I CAN'T CATCH A BREAK!!!! :evil:

My hundreds of Iris are getting ready to bloom, curious how they will do...
1/2 my beds have wild sweet peas growing in them and I can't wait to take picts! My strawberries are rockin, planted a bunch in my flower beds too, awesome ground cover, hope it does well cause I'm tired of weeding.

I'm so envious of the new/old fruit trees guys!! I need more. Looks like I may have to transplant my babies, need more room for the hoop house!
Which of your varieties has the softest, thinnest skin?

Missy I love your "garden"! That photo is BREATHTAKING!

Bees will be here on the 28th!!!! Hope the Black Locust holds out for them, ohhhh thats gonna taste GOOODDDDDD!!!


----------



## Muppetgirl

FlyGap - figs? Grapes? Where do you live? Greece?? Lol!


----------



## FlyGap

Ba HA HA! Noooo, Arkansas!
We live in a special "mountain" region known for good grapes... Not mine, but everyone else's... Muscadines grow really really well here.

Figs grow well in AR too! One of my friends has one that is at least 20 feet tall! I have several but one that refuses to produce? Idears?


----------



## FlyGap

Photo Bomb!

Poor Figgies...


Figlets.


Grape, strawberry bed, fig in background, the storm blew off the door siding to my cellar! It needs a makeover. UGH!!!! I refuse to let DH weed eat around it, that vine makes purdy flowers! LOL!


Grape Bloom?


Yummmmm.... Can't WAIT!


Iris Beds...



I love hollyhocks! Hate this bulb (the weedy grass stuff), makes cool red flowers but gets all beat up between blooming and growing. Getting mushroom compost for mulch, waiting for the 4 O'clocks to get started before I dump it in. The leaves look tacky, I hand tilled them in after they broke down this winter... Me thinks I should have done a better job, LOL!!


----------



## Delfina

FlyGap said:


> Figs grow well in AR too! One of my friends has one that is at least 20 feet tall! I have several but one that refuses to produce? Idears?


Move it to a really horrible spot? We have a 30ft tall fig tree growing up that was tearing up the fence and invading the neighbor's yard. We couldn't KILL that thing! Pruning at the wrong time of year, hacking so far back it *should* had died... nope. No matter what, it lived on and had thousands of figs each year until we finally hired someone to chop it completely down and dig up the root ball.


----------



## Muppetgirl

This is my biggest hollyhock so far (they got over 9ft tall last year!)


----------



## Corporal

No drought here, just an abundance of rain and a really cold Spring. I've had to cover my beds where I planted spring vegetables, but that's really helped. (It helped that I had to replace several white shower curtains, too.)
I have in the ground and in containers:
lettuce
onion sets
radishes
carrots 
sugar snap peas
I bought one of those indoor greenhouses with the plastic cover and zippers. I started tomatoes and peppers early, and they are in the greenhouse on the enclosed porch and doing nicely. As you probably know, it's good to transplant your tomato starts several times before planting them. You bury the stems to the top leaves at every transplanting bc the plant can develop roots with all of the "hairs" on the stems and this gives them a substantial root system so they won't dry out after planting in your garden bed. THIS year I'm not putting ANY tomatoes out until Memorial Day weekend.


----------



## FlyGap

MG what color are yours?

All mine are pink , I dug them up from the yard, I guess back in the day the lady had them and they naturalized. Poor things kept getting mowed so I moved them to the beds. Bloomed the first year, only about 6/7 feet high.

Yummy Corp, I keep meaning to plant SSP's but didn't get around to it, AGAIN!
?Photos? 
Kale got put on the back burner too. Too hot down here too quick.


----------



## Corporal

Are hollyhocks hard to grow? I've heard that they get bugs in them sometimes, and I've got a high sun area I'd like to plant some in.


----------



## Muppetgirl

FlyGap said:


> MG what color are yours?
> 
> All mine are pink , I dug them up from the yard, I guess back in the day the lady had them and they naturalized. Poor things kept getting mowed so I moved them to the beds. Bloomed the first year, only about 6/7 feet high.
> 
> Yummy Corp, I keep meaning to plant SSP's but didn't get around to it, AGAIN!
> ?Photos?
> Kale got put on the back burner too. Too hot down here too quick.


Mine are red, pink, and a really dark red - nearly black. 
They are really easy to grow and they start seeding in my lawn so I cut the stalks down and shake the seeds out back into their bed before they hit the lawn! In this pic you can see one just about at the roof line!!! Last years pic:wink: this was also late in the year so they were getting seed heads.....normally the flowers cover the whole stalk!


----------



## FlyGap

Easiest plants I've ever grown, seems like they take well to almost any soil.
The only problem I've had is with slugs marking up the leaves, some DE around the base of the plant helps.


----------



## Corporal

I could just crush eggshells. I get about 13 eggs/DAY now.


----------



## Missy May

Wow Fly! Your place is sooo gorgeous!! I love the rock work.

My prediction...the irises will be no worse for the wear. I use to live in the high sierras...lots of snow. The one thing that always survived a late snow - iris!!!

A fig tree saved my life, once! Their leaves drop and get all curled and dry (in the desert) and make a lot of noise if just slightly disturbed. Before I reached down to turn on the spigot to water it, I heard rustling in the dried leaves on the ground...it was a rattler - _right_ there. May yours bring you luck and lots of figs!!!


----------



## Corporal

Missy May said:


> *A fig tree saved my life, once!* Their leaves drop and get all curled and dry (in the desert) and make a lot of noise if just slightly disturbed. Before I reached down to turn on the spigot to water it, I heard rustling in the dried leaves on the ground...it was a rattler - _right_ there. May yours bring you luck and lots of figs!!!


Guess you should be called, "Missy May Jonah," now. =b


----------



## Lockwood

Muppetgirl said:


> FlyGap - figs? Grapes? Where do you live? Greece?? Lol!


LOL
Grapes grow really well all over the US! Lots and lots of them around the Great Lakes too. If you drive along the south side of lake Erie towards Buffalo NY, there are miles and miles and miles of them! 
Ohio and PA have some decent vineyards and my grapes here in western PA grow really well.

I had fig trees when I lived in the Carolinas and I had one here too (hardy to zone 5) but didn’t plant it at the right time…ooops it died.

I put in 4 red Hollyhocks for the first time and will see how they do.

The lilac are blooming and I put in three new climbing roses. I’m hoping to shade the house in summer because it gets blazing hot in the house with no shade trees near. (working on that too)
The roses are-
Joseph’s Coat (starts yellow, turns orange, then finished bright red)
Rhode Island Red (red..just like the chicken….lol)
CL Blaze -red
Still to put in is a Pink Peace- it’s a dark deep pink hybrid tea rose. 

When I moved here there was some huge monster pink rose the size of a bus that was 50 years old. It was in the wrong place, so I took cuttings and replanted them elsewhere before I ripped it out.
It’s some special limited presidential “so and so” (forget) antique thing that made despise roses for a while because the thorns are bigger than shark’s teeth and sharper too… but I went shopping with a friend earlier this year and ..... Yep, she bought roses so it was monkey see monkey do.

And….I’m SOOOO excited! My Asian pears arrived and I’m planting them today. (have to..they are bare root plants, all my other fruit trees are in pots)

Oh Fly… I’m sorry about the cold damage. That sucks! :-(
But, your place is gorgeous!!!


----------



## jaydee

My grapes are a total failure, I've even tried replacing and moving them to other parts of the garden but they still don't do great yet we have good vineyards in CT
I planted kiwi fruit 2 years ago but no sign of any blossom on them at all this year so may end up like the wisteria and one lilac that never have flowers
My fig tree lives in a large pot and gets moved into the basement over winter - that does produce fruit
Also trying 'no bog cranberries this year which look like the ones that grow on heath and moor land in the UK


----------



## Corporal

I have tried and failed 4x to replace my 1/6 original, established grapes when I moved in. I bought them at garden centers. I'm thinking that if you ordered from a catalog, and paid full price *with a guarantee*, you might be more successful.


----------



## jaydee

Corporal said:


> I have tried and failed 4x to replace my 1/6 original, established grapes when I moved in. I bought them at garden centers. I'm thinking that if you ordered from a catalog, and paid full price *with a guarantee*, you might be more successful.


 I think you might be right as the cherry, plum and even a little apricot I bought last year via catalogue have done better than the stuff I've bought from garden centres


----------



## Corporal

Now, ALL of my cheapo fruit trees have thrived, but I think it's bc I plant them methodically, not too high and not too low, and I don't amend the soil bc the roots won't spread out if the food is right there.


----------



## Lockwood

Hmmm, I'm guessing it's your soil Jaydee and maybe not the plants themselves.
I don't know how you feekl about the big box stores (Lowe's, Homedepot, and such) but they all have 1 year guarantees on all their plant items. I've returned dead stuff the next year and they will indeed let you pick out a new one.
Mail order too.

So, I needed to go to the store to pick up a couple of things for planting the new Asian pears. (YAY!)
And, here I was…mindin’ by own business… and lookey what jumped into my cart!!
A Pink Knockout, and a Chrysler Imperial. 
I have absolutely no idea how they got there!!! :-|


































(I’m sure that has _never _happened to any of you guys!)

Guess I will be starting a small rose garden for all these poor strays.


----------



## jaydee

So things jump into your carts too do they. Glad its not just me!!!
They look lovely. 
I'm still learning what grows here and what doesn't compared to the UK so I've had quite a few disasters
I've had stuff from Home Depot & Lowes, they seem OK
It could be the soil - the healthier trees are at the bottom end of the garden and the rather sad looking ones at the front, though they do have lots of blossom on this year which is hopeful.
Maybe I should get soil samples done from both places and see if I need to add something - its annoying as its the location I had in mind for my mini orchard.
I have noticed there are lots more japanese beetles there too, I had to use Grubex (?) in the end at that bottom area where my veg patch is too as they were eating stuff as fast as I planted it so that's reduced them there by a lot. It was a desperation measure that I'd rather not have done
I have never seen bugs and weeds like they grow here!!!


----------



## FlyGap

Ohhhh lovely!! Darn pots of flowers always jumpin in the carts... Unfortunately DH is a good blocker. WHAM, SLAM, BAM!!! Drat!

I need photos if your Joseph's Coat, those are my favorite! 

I'll post iris photos later, they are sploding!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Corporal

If a knockout rose jumps in your cart, take it home and plant it. MINE is 3 1/2 ft. tall today, NO drought damage, NO frost damage, getting ready to bloom in a few weeks.


----------



## FlyGap

Corporal that's a great tip! I'm looking for a couple sundance and Pixie's, if you guys come across a deal let me know...

Yesterday Morning! It's been pouring since I took these and now there are double, of course!






See all the Sumac in the background? I like it, smells so good in bouquets.




These tiny sweet peas grow in 1/2 my beds and I've noticed that the Iris produce DOUBLE where they grow... Think they are putting nutrients in the soil?


My fave!


I can't take credit for planting these! They were here when I got the place! Never thought I really liked them, now it's my favorite flower here!
Lucky me, kind of. This year I have to thin them out, I've spent the last three years covered with poison ivy trying to clean out 20 years of scrub growth, trees, brush, briars... I have a ways to go... Anyone want bulbs this fall?


----------



## Lockwood

jaydee said:


> I planted kiwi fruit 2 years ago but no sign of any blossom on them at all this year so may end up like the wisteria and one lilac that never have flowers


This statement makes me think your soil is too high in nitrogen. When there is a lot of nitrogen on soil, the flowers/food/shrub/whatever will produce a lot of green growth, but won't make flowers/food/fruit buds etc.
A soil test kit like you mentioned would really be helpful. They have them at walmart, lowe's, etc.. and some are so easy that all you have to do is stick them in the soil and you will get an instant reading... kind of like a thermometer.
Or, you local ag extension office may offer soil tests. You send in a little sample and they tell you everything you need to know.




jaydee said:


> So things jump into your carts too do they. Glad its not just me!!!
> *Yep, happens to me all the time..*.
> 
> It could be the soil - the healthier trees are at the bottom end of the garden and the rather sad looking ones at the front, though they do have lots of blossom on this year which is hopeful.


When you say bottom... is there a slight slope at all? If there is... the good soil "stuff" is probably seeping down hill to where you say things grow better.
Or if not, someone at some point put something in the soil near the top end that was harmful. Could have been a toxic batch of compost or manure (if it came from a farm that uses a lot of herbicides or chemicals it could still be in the soil) or maybe they used an herbicide directly in that area and messed up the soil.




Corporal said:


> If a knockout rose jumps in your cart, take it home and plant it. MINE is 3 1/2 ft. tall today, NO drought damage, NO frost damage, getting ready to bloom in a few weeks.


I was not impressed with KO's at first, but since I found a pink one with an actual smell, I had to have it!
I'll be putting in more, that's for sure!



FlyGap said:


> Corporal that's a great tip! I'm looking for a couple sundance and Pixie's, if you guys come across a deal let me know...
> 
> See all the Sumac in the background? I like it, smells so good in bouquets.
> 
> *I have Staghorn Sumacs and they don't have a smell*. :-(
> 
> These tiny sweet peas grow in 1/2 my beds and I've noticed that the Iris produce DOUBLE where they grow... Think they are putting nutrients in the soil?
> Lucky me, kind of. This year I have to thin them out, I've spent the last three years covered with poison ivy trying to clean out 20 years of scrub growth, trees, brush, briars... I have a ways to go... Anyone want bulbs this fall?


*jumps up and down with hand in the air*
Oooh Me! Me!

(we can trade something! :thumbsup

And yes, peas and beans actually put nitrogen in the soil and if your soils are deficient in those, it really boosts nutrients.
Your Iris are LOVELY!! You have a very cute house too!...like the color. Yellow would not look good on my house, but I like it on other people's houses.

Ok, here is the Joseph's Coat.

















No, really it's there. I promise! 
In the first pic it's the itty bitty twig thing.... with three whole leaves....
.
.
.
Right above the semi-box shaped shadow? (my camera.)
.
.
.
.
Under the azalea??
See it?? 

In the second picture it's the brightly colored flowers all over the side of the house. 
Well, ok..ya gotta use the imagination to fast forward what it will look like between the twiggy thing (Rose of Sharon) behind the Azalea, and next to the Lilac.:wink:


----------



## Delfina

So here's what is probably a really dumb question.

Are there any pretty flowers that goats WON'T eat?


----------



## FlyGap

I see it I see it, oh yes VERY lovely! LOL! Your beds are so nice and tidy! Good Job!


Yellow? Um no. I detest it. ONE of these days I want to do it in more of an arts & crafts style with fire proof shingle siding. Gotta love living in the National Forest!
See the balcony? That is MINE, no child, no DH, trespassers beware! Guess where I'm sitting when I post?


----------



## jaydee

Our land slopes quite steeply from top to bottom so yes could be that
The previous owner was a 'townie' who had a dream for being self sufficient and organic - unfortunately he didn't seem to realize that hard works involved in that scheme. His attempts at sheep and chickens failed badly (they all died) and his idea for rotavating all the weeds in at the end of the year gave him the best weed seed deposit bank imaginable. When we moved in the few surviving tomatoes and egg plants were hidden in a jungle!! There was no flower garden at all other than around the pool that the people he bought it off had landscaped but he'd let the junipers overgrow so much they'd choked off all the plants and were nice homes for voles, mice & snakes
**My iris' are only just budding but yesterdays rain is already having an effect on stuff


----------



## FlyGap

Del goats didn't eat my Iris or Daffodil, everything else... Slurp.
Just look for deer resistant varieties, avoid foxglove because it's poisonous. 
I want some so bad but knowing my luck the horses will get out as soon as I get some going...

We should do a major plant swap, Corporal and I have one going! :twisted:
(Girl, it's been pouring, I'll get them sent out tomorrow! :lol


----------



## Missy May

Delfina said:


> So here's what is probably a really dumb question.
> 
> Are there any pretty flowers that goats WON'T eat?


Um...No.


----------



## jaydee

Goats are a pain - and they will even eat poisonous stuff too, shame as I'd really like a couple. I might fence off a rough patch that's too steep for the horses


----------



## Delfina

They ate my Iris, Tulips, Daffodils and whatever else the previous owner has planted (literally the minute a but of green plant came up... CHOMP). 

I don't have anything poisonous so I gave up trying to contain them. Our house is in the middle of the property, completely fenced and they have zero desire to walk a half-mile down the gravel driveway to leave so they live under my back porch, crawl under the cattle fence to share their water, help themselves to the haystack and nibble on Chicken Scratch with the chickens. Stupid things have a heated house, an appropriate height, heated waterer and lovely pen but no.... a box under the back porch, standing on their tiptoes to reach the cattle water and scrounging with the chickens for some scratch is much better...


----------



## Missy May

Well, lockwood, if anything jumps in my cart w thorns on it...I drop kick it back into whence it came.  But, those are very pretty roses (they are roses?).

Goats. I love all creatures, but I draw the line at the devil himself in disguise ..aka, goats.:wink: Here is something they won't eat..weeds!

Flygap, Iris...told ya! They are _tough_. I inherited bazzillions of them when we bought our old farm. A good "gardener" friend of mine had a "friendship" iris garden (trade bulbs w friends), and assumed that was what I had inherited. It was an amazing array. I added a few "friends" to it...it something "fun" to do w your bulbs.


----------



## FlyGap

WOW, those are some determined goats!
Mine decided that they liked living on my front door step... I was keeping them in my coop at night (before chickens), they busted holes in the welded wire. Devoured EVERYTHING except what I suggested, you should see my bushes, I still have topiaries and they aint pretty. 
After they learned to pry the garden fence up with their horns DH had enough and hauled them to the sale. Poor goats, LOL!

I don't know what would yours wouldn't eat? Kryptonite? :lol:
(they'd probably get fat on it!)

Missy I love how those old timers left us with some good stuff, but I'm thinking this lady was a bit insane...


----------



## Delfina

Mine don't have horns... so they dig under fences if they can't go over them! They'd live on the porch I'm sure but our dog likes to take naps in the sun on it and they're terrified of him. No clue why, he's big, dumb and slow.... never even bothered to chase a chicken much less them.


----------



## Lockwood

Delfina said:


> So here's what is probably a really dumb question.
> 
> Are there any pretty flowers that goats WON'T eat?


Um, I don’t know.
My goats have _Never _gotten out. 
Not _ever._
 
Oh, and BTW, my goats love weeds! They will eat all the weeds first before touching the grass… like a good goat should. 



FlyGap said:


> I see it I see it, oh yes VERY lovely! LOL! Your beds are so nice and tidy! Good Job!
> See the balcony? That is MINE, no child, no DH, trespassers beware! Guess where I'm sitting when I post?


Um.. ahh... it's called the "crop" feature on the photo editor!
Honey I have weeds coming out my ears because I can't put the goats near the house. Too many bad things for them to eat... so I'm very good at strategic cropping. :wink:

I did see the balcony... very nice!
I Want one!



Missy May said:


> Well, lockwood, if anything jumps in my cart w thorns on it...I drop kick it back into whence it came.  But, those are very pretty roses (they are roses?).
> 
> Goats. I love all creatures, but I draw the line at the devil himself in disguise ..aka, goats.:wink: Here is something they won't eat..weeds!


Yes, they are roses, which I really wasn't interested in until shopping with a gardeny rose loving friend.

Hey now… shush….my girls will hear you and get their feelings hurt. 
See, that’s your guy’s problem right there. You have to be _nice _to goats and not curse at them and call them bad names. Treat then nicely and they will eat the bad weeds, leave to good stuff and provide lots of fresh milk for cooking and baking with.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.


Iris swap?? 
I’m down for that! My pale bearded lavender/purple ones need thinning badly! I just gave my gardeny friend mentioned above two huge pot fulls (maybe 20??) for her birthday. 
I only have one color and they are a terrific backdrop for my pale pink peonies.


----------



## FlyGap

Peonies???? Did you say p e o n i e s? :think:
What have got I that that Lockwood would want....... :lol:


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## Corporal

We need to have an exchange. I need to thin my black iris--they're deep purple and gorgeous.


----------



## Delfina

Mine eat weeds.... and flowers and trees and alfalfa and grass and birdseed and chicken feed/scratch and horse feed and cow feed and ICE MELT (DARN goat camps out at the garage door in an attempt to sneak in and eat ice melt!!) and anything else they can stuff in their mouths. 

I don't get any milk though... not with a wether and a free female (free because they couldn't get her PG no matter what they tried). 

I even have PAPERED goats! Yeah.... purebred, papered goats.... the papers aren't good for a darn thing except maybe I could feed them to the goats!


----------



## Lockwood

Delfina said:


> Mine eat weeds.... and flowers and trees and alfalfa and grass and birdseed and chicken feed/scratch and horse feed and cow feed and ICE MELT (DARN goat camps out at the garage door in an attempt to sneak in and eat ice melt!!) and anything else they can stuff in their mouths.
> 
> I don't get any milk though... not with a wether and a free female (free because they couldn't get her PG no matter what they tried).
> 
> I even have PAPERED goats! Yeah.... purebred, papered goats.... the papers aren't good for a darn thing except maybe I could feed them to the goats!


 Now Del... some goats can be very ornery... but ya can't call them that bad of a name here. :wink:

I just can't believe the Ice Melt didn't kill it???
Um, perhaps a dumb question, but do thay have their own salt lick? A horse one will do just fine.
I find if a goat's mineral needs are met they seem less likely to...um... sample the local goods.


----------



## Lockwood

Corporal said:


> We need to have an exchange. I need to thin my black iris--they're deep purple and gorgeous.


:shock: :shock:  



FlyGap said:


> Peonies???? Did you say p e o n i e s? :think:
> What have got I that that Lockwood would want....... :lol:


Does it get cold enough for Peony there?
I know you don't to hear this, but most of mine are from the little bagged roots they sell at walmart in the spring in the huge bins.
The others are from a mail order place.
I can go to the local nursery and pay five times the price for a peony with leaves on it... but what fun is that? :lol: 

I have to run off right now, but will dig up pics of the peopny and iris later. Mine aren't blooming yet, but I have pics from previous years.


----------



## Delfina

Lockwood said:


> Now Del... some goats can be very ornery... but ya can't call them that bad of a name here. :wink:
> 
> I just can't believe the Ice Melt didn't kill it???
> Um, perhaps a dumb question, but do thay have their own salt lick? A horse one will do just fine.
> I find if a goat's mineral needs are met they seem less likely to...um... sample the local goods.


Yup, they've got a goat specific block, an all stock block in the cattle pen and loose salt/minerals in the pen with the bull. They routinely visit all three.

The one goat just has this desperation to eat Ice Melt. I don't think he's gotten more than a mouthful the one time since I am just as desperate to keep him out of it. It's now in a secured metal can which he can't open... knock over with a crash and send rolling down the driveway though, yes.


----------



## Corporal

Both peonies and iris grow well in PA--you're in the same zone as me. Also, both are super easy to grow. Iris have to been thinned. I've already thinned this clump of black and [email protected] iris once, but they need it again. As long as you plant it above the ground it just keeps coming back and blooming every year. If you don't thin them out they can get parasites that eat out the core. Giving them room to grow keeps them healthy.
Peonies need full sun. When I moved in there was one there in partial sun, and I need to move it. The sister peonies are 6x bigger bc they get the sun they need. I have another peony that I bought at Aldi, and it's very healthy.


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## FlyGap

I'm looking for sorbet ones. My grandmother had a full on HEDGE around her yard when I was little. Loved to watch the ants help them open! Of course my Papa got a wild hair a few years ago and ripped them all out... Crazy!

We can grow them here, I have a few spots picked out. Might have to check WM or the like, the ones on the internet cost a fortune! $16 for a root? No thanks.


----------



## Celeste

FlyGap said:


> These tiny sweet peas grow in 1/2 my beds and I've noticed that the Iris produce DOUBLE where they grow... Think they are putting nutrients in the soil?
> http://s241.photobucket.com/user/ampnart/media/securedownload-2_zpsa3f42756.jpeg.html




That is hairy vetch. It improves the soil for sure.

"Hairy vetch is a legume used primarily for soil improvement along roadsides and for bank stabilization. Well-nodulated hairy vetch can enrich the soil with 60 to 120 lb/acre of nitrogen through nitrogen fixation. Later seeded vetch grown as a cover crop for green manure, will supply a smaller amount of N."
[URL="http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/vetch.html"]http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/vetch.html


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## Missy May

I _love _vetch! I think it is sooooo beautiful. I don't know what variety it is that I like, but it grows like _crazy_ in western NC. I didn't know it was good for the soil - interesting. I brought a pound of seed home once to my then home (high desert). It didn't make it, _none_ of it. :-( Was it too dry?:lol: Beautiful stuff, though!!!!


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## Celeste

Probably too dry. I am thinking it is toxic if animals eat it, but most won't.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

I think a swap is a fabulous idea, I'm game! Most of my plants are all transplants from family and friends, a lot from the homestead my grandpa grew up on. I have peonies too - deep fushcia and pale pink. The fuschia I could get you starts of Fly. They are old plants and spread every year, plenty of babies to snag for you. They are my second favorite flowers in my yard after the hibiscus. Then I have light purple & dark purple iris that need split up. Oh and yucca, anyone want some darn yucca? That stuff is impossible to kill. I moved some that had been planted next to the house years and years ago, used the skid loader and dug roots out a good 6 ft deep...the stupid things have starts coming back up in my landscape. I hate using chemicals but every one of them I see has a date with some tordon. :evil:


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

Meant to ask for ideas. Thinking about what I'm going to do around the new pond. We've discussed stone patio (so it's one less area to mow) but I'm kind of thinking I'd like a moss or groundcover of some sort to go around the stone instead of cement or other rock. Any plant ideas/experience? Would like something that spreads fast (I'm a bit impatient). A good part where it will go is shaded, rest gets part sun. 

Here's where my project is at. Starting to come together


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## Missy May

I really like it the way it is. MHF, I don't see how it can be improved.


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## FlyGap

HOLY COW that looks AWESOME! Great job!

Not sure on the ground cover. A while back I read an article on growing moss.
I think you blend up a big chunk with some buttermilk and water, put in a squirt bottle, spray and viola! Fluffy moss on rocks etc.
Have yet to try it...

Creeping Phlox is pretty tough, I can send you some of that! I had some growing in an area that the dogs liked to wrestle, lasted for quite a while, **** dogs finally tromped it out there...

Violets I have too, can't kill those if you tried. There is also a tiny bulb, guys help with the name, its got a lovely bunch of star shaped white flowers in the spring. Makes a great ground cover for not too heavily trafficked areas. 

Can you do hens and chicks up there?
How about wild strawberries? They grow like crazy here, tiny, not too upright, and yummy (if I can get to them before the turkeys do...)

Thanks for the info on the vetch Celeste!


----------



## FlyGap

Double post? That hasn't happened in a while...

Grape hyacinths too!


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## jaydee

I think its lovely, you could extend the area with a mix of cobbles or irregular shaped slabs I suppose - maybe plant some chamomile, oregano or marjoram in between - smells lovely when you cut it down.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Thanks guys! I'm happy with how it's turning out. Fly, funny you mentioned hens & chicks, I have several pots overflowing with them. Plan to plant some in the rock around the waterfall. Related to that but not really, my mom showed me the coolest thing with them in a mag (Grit maybe?) and they made wall art with them, planted them on wire in frames. Way cool looking! 

The area for patio is out farther, I had to look back for a pic that shows more area...so this was in the beginning of the project and everything is still all dead and yuk looking lol. The patio part would be the rest of the grass area that can be seen in these pics pretty much. To corner of the covered porch and then out to the driveway. I have a bunch of flat slab/river rock type stuff to use for stones but not sure about filler.


----------



## Corporal

GORGEOUS pond!! **Corporal shows jealous fatty face**
Where in IN are you?


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Thanks Corporal! Closest bigger town to me is Lafayette (Purdue). I'm about 45 miles or so north of campus.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Corporal

I'm 22 miles SSE of Cham-bana. You're about 3 hours from me. I went to a Purdue game several years ago, and we took SR41 north to get there. Ever been to "The Beef House?"


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Sure have but it has been ages. The Beef House is the only reason to go to Covington lol. Thinking about their rolls makes me hungry!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

Here is an idea.


----------



## Corporal

MHFoundation Quarters said:


> Sure have but it has been ages. The Beef House is the only reason to go to Covington lol. Thinking about their rolls makes me hungry!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I've figured out their recipe. They use honey.


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## Corporal

Taffy, either Warner Bros. Cartoons OR Animaniacs took over your computer. =b



...maybe it was P.Allen Smith?


----------



## Clayton Taffy

Corporal said:


> Taffy, either Warner Bros. Cartoons OR Animaniacs took over your computer. =b
> 
> 
> 
> ...maybe it was P.Allen Smith?



My color choice was limited by Walt Disney.


----------



## Lockwood

Taffy, I wish I could do something like that to pics of my house to help with a visual when planting things. 
My house was completely bare with no foundation plantings at all....and the blank canvas has been a bit overwhelming at times.
I know there is fancy software for that, but I'd rather spend the money of flowers or shrubs.


Guys, I couldn't find a recent of the iris or a regular pic of peonies... they are on another pc, but here are the iris from two farms ago at my grandpa's place. We dug them from there and took them to a different farm, then dig some and brought them to here where they've had oodles of babies. 











This is my iris and peony that I was working on making for a background, but you can see how well they go together.










Here is a pic off the web of the Sara Bernhard variety and I have others (don't remember name/color) that will bloom for the first time this year and I'll get pics when they do.










Baby Asian pear trees! I had forgotten how rocky my yard is too! :-|











See the lilac to the left? (This side of the drive in front of the huge maple)
When I first moved here the old owners had chopped them down to about a foot high. Now you can see how high it is compared to my truck. It and my other lilacs seem to bloom heavily every other year. Last year was the heavy blooms, but everything was late frost damaged. This year no damage (yet) but the blooms are sparse.
The whole yard still smells nice even with the slightest breeze from these and the ones next to the house.










See the little 2' x 4' boxes in the background? That is where the strawberries are _supposed_ to live. Apparently they don't like to be confined. LOL


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

DD's strawberries must not like confinement either. She has a 24' x 6' raised bed and they've spilled out. I pulled grass & weeds around the overflow for a friend to come dig up the spare plants, well DH with his manly tunnel vision, blasted them all with the weedeater. Ugh.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Saddlebag

My tomato and cucumber seedling are almost two inches tall and I wonder if I will ever get them in the ground as we are still getting frost at night. I was thinking back to when one horse arrived, it was an easter weekend and the ground was already fairly dry with pleasant temps. And now I'm seeing fine snow.


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## nikina

may 11th and it snowed today...no gardening in my backyard yet


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## Lockwood

Happy Mother's day to our gardening Moms and Grandmoms!

Some more stray roses ended up finding my place. :shock:
I guess the first two strays sent invitations to all their stray brothers and sisters. :?

So for Mother's Day I'm reading up on the care and feeding of roses. This week I'll start making them a new home. 
Great... more mouths to feed and things to take care of. 
*sigh*

Sorry you all got snow up north. It's calling for a hard frost tonight and tomorrow night, so I'll be out throwing sheets over everything....


----------



## Muppetgirl

Look at what I found in the garden this morning!! I guess the daffs have quit sulking!


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## Delfina

Mother's Day has passed so it's theoretically okay to plant here!

DH started up the Rototiller and got a few passes done, then helped me finish it. All new tines and it was CRAZY that thing would hit a tough spot and take off dragging a 6'2" 200lb big ol' guy behind it. Beets are in, three 200' strips of weedblock are down and I gave up for the day since I had horses to feed/barn to clean. 

DH and I are ticked though, no more than 20mins after we finished up and parked the rototiller out in the driveway median to clean off the mud, the neighbor send their KIDS over to borrow it. Ok, whatever... I cleaned it up, re-assembled it, hubby and I loaded it onto our flatbed trailer (it probably weighs 200lbs), hooked it to their truck and sent them home. 

Hubby's boss asks to borrow it (good friend, I babysit his kids and we loan all sorts of farm stuff back and forth), so I told him I'd drop it by figuring that when the neighbors brought it back it'd already be loaded so I'd just swap to my truck and then drop off trailer + rototiller across town. WRONG! Neighbors brought it back without so much as a peep, unloaded it and dumped it in the dirt in front of the house and left. No thank you, no here's it back, no where would you like it, just dumped and ran! 

Hubby was asleep so I go digging in the shed for ramps and find the neighbors who had also "borrowed" 20 alfalfa bales during our Spring blizzard, never replaced those either!! :-x


----------



## FlyGap

Oh I'd be ticked too! People are so inconsiderate! Sheesh!

Any of you ever planted a beneficial bug blend flower mix?
I got nadda for Mother's Day... :-( SO, I decided I'm going to buy myself flowers! 
Oh darn right? (I'm also shopping for a good bread maker, LOL! Brands?)
Gurney's® Beneficial Bug Blend


----------



## Lockwood

FlyGap said:


> I got nadda for Mother's Day... :-( SO, I decided I'm going to buy myself flowers!
> Oh darn right? (I'm also shopping for a good bread maker, LOL! Brands?)
> Gurney's® Beneficial Bug Blend


Well, at least when you shop for yourself you never have to worry about getting something you don't want. :wink:
(I'm an expert at that! LOL)

Actually this is the first year in a while that I did get something....that I didn't have to buy for myself.
A good friend took munchkin shopping and he picked out a cute little birdbath and a little teacup houseplant pot for me, with a cute little card that sings when you open it (my first singing card )
Corny, but very cute... until he started dancing to it. LOL :-o 

Breadman and Zojirushi are the brands I would look for.
They both make a horizontal shaped loaf, which I prefer over the upright, and give you good options on both type and on bread size- (1, 1 1/2, or 2 lb loaves)

Sunbeam from Walmart also turns out a decent product, but is an upright model and I'm not sure you can do much size wise with it.


----------



## jaydee

I really like my Breadman Pro - very easy to use which is important for me - and easy to clean
I've never had much joy with sowing flower seeds direct into the garden - I think the bugs eat them. I grow them in the little plastic seed tray pots in a cold frame and then plant them out when they're bigger.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Delfina said:


> Mother's Day has passed so it's theoretically okay to plant here!


That's the rule I've always followed too. Got my veg garden in on mother's day, still have a bit to do but for the most part it's done. Still have to plant marigolds around the garden, trying to do all heirlooms and go organic so the marigolds, hot wire (and the .22 most likely) are my pest deterrent plan. Then there will be two more plantings of corn staggered so I don't go crazy (all said I will have 45 - 50 ft rows) - will be putting a lot in the freezer and veggie soup to can, then DD will sell the excess to family to add to her college savings account. 

She plans to do the same with the excess eggs from her new 'girls'. Though with the eggs, she has begged to save half and spend half. I agreed, as long as she does all of the work. She has a long list of things she just has to have out of the american girl catalog and this mama refuses to spend that kind of money on ridiculous things (like a $250 sail boat!) so she has to fund that hobby herself.


----------



## Muppetgirl

45 - 50 ft rows? You opening a corn maze? :lol:


----------



## jaydee

Mark it in your calendar everyone - trip to MHFQ's maize (UK for corn) maze


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Lol Muppet. My kiddo might think so. I've considered doing a couple acres to sell but too much work even though there is good money in it. Jaydee, come on over! Should be ready the third week of July and will have 2 week spacings, so will have it fresh up until September. Par for the course when you live in Indiana, it's corn country! Even the amusement park close to us has a slogan song related that starts off with "There's more than corn in Indiana..." :lol:


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## Lockwood

jaydee said:


> Mark it in your calendar everyone - trip to MHFQ's maize (UK for corn) maze


 Count me in!
Mmmm...polenta...
(Lockwood for hot yellow mush )

45 - 50ft rows?
That's it??
You in corn country girl... gotta have more corn than that!


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Lockwood said:


> 45 - 50ft rows?
> That's it??
> You in corn country girl... gotta have more corn than that!


Ha! Pasture is more important to this corn country girl :wink:


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## Delfina

MFHQ... be HAPPY that your child is planning on buying things that do not breathe, eat or poop!

I have an egg sign smack in the middle of my driveway (I apparently am no longer supposed to leave my house, I might miss a customer) and they have already painted one for veggies. My girls however want Bottle Calves and Pigs!!

They seem to be under the impression that if they haul said animal home that the feed will magically just appear in the feed shed like it does for the rest of the menagerie around here...


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## Muppetgirl

Ok...just took the kids to the bus stop and did my usual garden walk around before heading back inside.....look at what I have completely overlooked!! Like I say the garden is big!


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## Muppetgirl

And then I found this! It's like it all grew overnight!!










I'm not sure why my pics turn themselves around!


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## jaydee

I hope you can sort it out muppetgirl because standing on my head to look at them makes me feel dizzy
We had a bit of a frost here last night but nothing seems to have been damaged so I can relax again


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## Corporal

Saddlebag said:


> My tomato and cucumber seedling are almost two inches tall and I wonder if I will ever get them in the ground as we are still getting frost at night. I was thinking back to when one horse arrived, it was an easter weekend and the ground was already fairly dry with pleasant temps. And now I'm seeing fine snow.


I started tomatoes again, this year. I bought myself a 4-rack, inside greenhouse that has a plastic cover with 2 zippers in the front. I've transplanted all of my different types of tomatoes once, and some peppers. The first day, on the east facing porch, they all perked up and are doing very well. My MIL wouldn't put her tomatoes out until Memorial Day. THIS year is so cold, that I'm thinking of putting them out in the exisiting carrot bed--carrots love tomatoes, ya know--2nd week of June. My gardening forum friends have commented that the late starts catch up with the early ones, so you don't gain much, unless you have cold frames. Cold frames are great, but you have to babysit according to the weather. On my enclosed front porch I can use my little space heat, that looks like a woodburning stove to warm it up. I did that twice in April.


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## Muppetgirl

jaydee said:


> I hope you can sort it out muppetgirl because standing on my head to look at them makes me feel dizzy
> We had a bit of a frost here last night but nothing seems to have been damaged so I can relax again


Didn't you know, it's the rare gravity defying hanging tulip!! Only I could grow one of those!:lol:


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## Missy May

FlyGap said:


> Oh I'd be ticked too! People are so inconsiderate! Sheesh!
> 
> Any of you ever planted a beneficial bug blend flower mix?
> I got nadda for Mother's Day... :-( SO, I decided I'm going to buy myself flowers!
> Oh darn right? (I'm also shopping for a good bread maker, LOL! Brands?)
> Gurney's® Beneficial Bug Blend


Thank you Fly for new found money!!!! I got cards. But, really...is that a gift? I want a new, fully adjustable leather halter for my girl (not for the red-headed step child filly), w a rolled throatlatch, and a touch of silver. Good thing I didn't get any flowers.  Forget the flowers, girl, you have leverage here...no flowers, no chocolate? oooooh, that is so worth _something_! :lol:


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## Muppetgirl

*Today's project....*

So my vege garden has been bugging me, the last owners lacked imagination. So while riding today I have a momentary brain awakening and got an idea, i like all the vege planters...theyre just boring.....here is a before pic:


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## Muppetgirl

And here is the after pic, it only took two hours....and yes I refilled them with soil and managed to mix three any colonies together so let's hope they all kill each other now!!! 










Who says a vege garden has to be boring!


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## Corporal

OMG--I have your ducks!!


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## Lockwood

Muppetgirl said:


> And here is the after pic, it only took two hours....and yes I refilled them with soil and managed to mix three any colonies together so let's hope they all kill each other now!!!
> 
> View attachment 185514
> 
> 
> 
> Who says a vege garden has to be boring!


Nice switch! Now you have more ground space to plant more things!!

I guess I'm boring too, I wouldn't have thought to move them you did, but I would have painted them a bright color.  
I like your ducks too.


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## Muppetgirl

Actually painting was the next step!!! Have to go look through all hubby's cast off paint cans!! I have to move three other planters first though:-( and they have ant colonies in them too.....lets lets the ant tribes mix and canabalize each other! I mixed three others today too...they were all different, medium sized light brown ant nest, black ant nest and large brown ant nest.....I'm itching just thinking about them:shock:


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## Celeste

My kids used to mix ants up intentionally to watch them war. Evil children.


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## jaydee

I like the higher raised beds idea - less bending over is good
I like the ducks too - I admit to being a collector of totally tasteless garden
(t)chotchkies, I've seen this peacock thing in a catalogue called Wind & Weather and I just have to buy it. I have so many solar lights I'm amazed light aircraft don't land here at night!!


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## stevenson

My grapes are growing like crazy, no grapes yet. My peach,apricot,pear have bloomed but the wind blew like crazy so I dont know how much fruit I will get. 
Fig tree has not done anything yet. My apple trees blossomed may get one or two small apples ,not enough cold days in a row. My squash have flowers and one tomatoe plant has little green tom's on it.  the grass hoppers ate the bell pepper plants, but I think one is making a come back. Oh and the nectarine trees have bloomed, I have not checked my oranges. I hope the squirrels and rabbits dont get all my stone fruits this year.


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## Missy May

First prickly pear bloom of the season. It is up against a west facing wall, so I guess it just popped out early. All the rest are just barely budding. I am not a fan of prickly pears, but they have pretty flowers. Oh, come one now!! All of you have "magazine quality" gardens, throw the desert rat a crumb!!


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## Saddlebag

My poor babies have to wait another week, at least. They are still stuck in their peat pots. For mother's day I was given a potted, already blooming pink petunia. It's now doing well in a large pot. I open the porch door a little which allows sunshine yet shelters it from the wind.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

And for your entertainment, without further ado, my garden "fences". :lol: Sorry for the crummy cell pic. I used one end of my arena for part of my veg garden, was thinking about temp fencing and the massive amt of standards and poles in the end of my barn caught my eye. I couldn't get the whole thing with my phone but it's 150' across, all jumps lol. One of my students yesterday that rides a 13hh Haffy joked and said, Kate (pony) won't jump that high but when there's something to eat in there she might think about doing the limbo and sneaking under...

It might make me a complete loony toon but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about dragging out my brush & flower boxes :lol:


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## apachiedragon

I am not a gardener. I would truly like to be. Every year I peruse dozens of plant catalogs, wander my yard thinking what I'd like to plant where, I try, I really do. I drool over threads like this, with beautiful gardens. 

Usually my stuff dies. No matter what I do, how or where I plant it, it dies. Once in a while I get lucky. One year I put squash in my flower bed and I had it running out my ears all summer. Last year I planted a bunch of sweet peppers in pots and they did pretty well. But the only thing I can consistently grow is tomatoes. We have a grape vine that I have managed enough grapes off of to make jelly ONE TIME in 14 years. Everyone raved about how good it was. My strawberry jam is marvelous, but people have to bring me the berries. The plants grow fine, but the slugs, turtles, rabbits always beat me to the fruit. We have 4 peach trees, 4 blueberry bushes, and a plum tree. We have gotten one plum one time off the tree. We might actually have some blueberries this year, but no doubt the squirrels will get all the green peaches again.

I SHOULD have the gardening gene built in. My mom always had a half acre garden when I was growing up and I was always helping her do something. She had racks and racks of canned goods in the basement and was always giving stuff away. My grandmother has a 3 acre iris garden with literally thousands of varieties that she sells. Everyone in our area knows about it, total strangers are amazed to find out I am part of that family. But I fail. I will keep trying, but I am not holding out much hope, lol. Still, if I have any luck, I will post it here. I will try to take pics of what I do have if it ever stops raining.

ETA, I do have the most fantastic hostas! They grow HUGE and take over half my sidewalk. Oddly enough, they are in full sun, where they aren't supposed to grow well or at all. I guess they took pity on me.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

You can do it apachie! I'm not as good at it as my mom or grandma either. The secret to my garden doing good every year, horse poop. Horse poop, water & elbow grease.


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## Farmchic

Still waiting to get mine in : ( Maybe today. We did FINALLY plant some fruit trees and may even get to the berry bushes.


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## Missy May

apachiedragon said:


> I am not a gardener. *I would truly like to be.* Every year I peruse dozens of plant catalogs, wander my yard thinking what I'd like to plant where, I try, I really do. *I drool over threads like this, with beautiful gardens. *
> 
> *Usually my stuff dies*. No matter what I do, how or where I plant it, it dies. Once in a while I get lucky. One year I put squash in my flower bed and I had it running out my ears all summer. Last year I planted a bunch of sweet peppers in pots and they did pretty well. But the only thing I can consistently grow is tomatoes. We have a grape vine that I have managed enough grapes off of to make jelly ONE TIME in 14 years. Everyone raved about how good it was. My strawberry jam is marvelous, but people have to bring me the berries. The plants grow fine, but the slugs, turtles, rabbits always beat me to the fruit. We have 4 peach trees, 4 blueberry bushes, and a plum tree. We have gotten one plum one time off the tree. We might actually have some blueberries this year, but no doubt the squirrels will get all the green peaches again.
> 
> *I SHOULD have the gardening gene built* in. My mom always had a half acre garden when I was growing up and I was always helping her do something. She had racks and racks of canned goods in the basement and was always giving stuff away. My grandmother has a 3 acre iris garden with literally thousands of varieties that she sells. Everyone in our area knows about it, total strangers are amazed to find out I am part of that family. But I fail. I will keep trying, but I am not holding out much hope, lol. Still, if I have any luck, I will post it here. I will try to take pics of what I do have if it ever stops raining.
> 
> ETA, I do have the most fantastic hostas! They grow HUGE and take over half my sidewalk. Oddly enough, they are in full sun, where they aren't supposed to grow well or at all. I guess they took pity on me.


OMG! A kindred spirit!!!


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## stevenson

I just got my first zucchini , and have been getting artichokes, they are small this year, but i just picked 5 yesterday. I missed the larger ones, forget to check the plant, so they started to bloom . I hope my yellow squash comes up soon, and my tomatoes are forming. I got about 2 lbs of asparagus this year.


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## Missy May

After my daughter's graduation they gave each student a beautiful pot of white "cyclamen", laser synchra is what it says. At first I thought they were fake b/c they look to "perfect" to be real..but I figured they wouldn't put damp soil w fake flowers. To my knowledge, I have never seen these before.....but I just love them! I looked them up...they don't do well in dry heat. :-( If I lived in a humid climate like some of you do....I'd be planting these here "cyclamen" like _crazy_!!! DD's will just have to stay inside.


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## Muppetgirl

How's it doing now


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## Muppetgirl

One more! I can't wait until it all starts flowering!!!


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## FlyGap

Oooooooo!!! Lookin good MG!

Here is the veg garden... Cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, and onions. We have the potatoes and tomatoes in too. Going out for some r&r in a bit and putting in the soybeans!


_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

FG, Lookin' Good!!!!!


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## FlyGap

Apachie you can do it!
Horse and chicken poop helps like MHF said, but I too have had my struggles.
(It's hard to see from my photo but I missed spreading a few areas with chicken and some of the cauliflower is considerably smaller.. LOL!!)

Drought, bad soil, one year we put the entire garden in and then it rained almost 24 inches in three days! I saw it coming on the forecast and thought free water... Drowned the whole thing. I've killed hundreds of dollars of plants... Poor dears. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## apachiedragon

Here are my giant hostas. The one thing I have successfully not killed over the years. So far the only seeds I have had come up are tomatoes, of course. We do have lots of little green blueberries though!


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## FlyGap

Those are lovely!
*makes note*. Move scraggly hostas to sun.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Lookin' good ladies! 

I think we are going to have strawberries coming out of our ears. Holy cow are they loaded. DD is way excited about that. In the veg garden beans are up, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew), cukes, zucchini, onions & corn. I can't wait for it to be ready! Yesterday we had rhubarb pie for DD's birthday. True farm girl, she asked for pie instead of cake. In my yard, the lily of the valley is full of flowers and smells heavenly. Hibiscus is up, can't wait for them, they are my hands down favorite.


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## apachiedragon

I have a crazy amount of honeysuckle blooming right now, and the smell is amazing. I have let them take over the chain link fence in the backyard - instant privacy fence. In another couple weeks the mimosas will start blooming. And the lilacs.


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## BoldComic

Arragghhhhh! So my stupid chickens flew the coop and dug up all my newly sprouted seeds!!!!! Now I have to cover the dang chicken coop and re-plant the entire garden and hope I have a long enough growing season this year to get anything. Big Fat


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## Muppetgirl

Have to share my rhubarb! It's been enjoying the last week or two of rain we've had!!


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## Muppetgirl

Also thought I'd share my WIP - mulching! We had 10 cubic foot of mulch delivered on Saturday and I've been working hard to get it spread!


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## jaydee

I'm hating all you people that have veggies growing so fast as mine are all struggling this year for some reason - and no shortage of well rotted horse poo!!!
Some critter ate all the first strawberries so I think we need a higher netting fence
Garden is coming on slowly but we seem to be back in monsoon season again today after a run of days in the 90's - I am still struggling to come to terms with the heat here
The kiddies slide thing came with the house and we have no kiddies to use it so I'm growing honeysuckle and clematis around it


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## MHFoundation Quarters

After being gone for several days on a mini vacation and getting massive amounts of rain, I desperately need to weed my veg garden, so no pics of that today lol. It is doing well though! Will snap some pics of DD's strawberry bed, it's gone crazy! We're going to have berries coming out of our ears.


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## Muppetgirl

MHFoundation Quarters said:


> After being gone for several days on a mini vacation and getting massive amounts of rain, I desperately need to weed my veg garden, so no pics of that today lol. It is doing well though! Will snap some pics of DD's strawberry bed, it's gone crazy! We're going to have berries coming out of our ears.


I have a strawberry patch just off to the right of my rhubarb - they're the worst tasting strawberries ever! Birds can have em!


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## MHFoundation Quarters

That's a bummer Muppet! I need to thin out DD's something awful after this season is over, want me to ship you some plants? 

We ate most of our rhubarb last week. DD in true farm girl fashion asked for rhubarb pie instead of cake for her birthday. It was so yum, I wish the strawberries would have been ready to go with it but they aren't. Rhubarb is still going so fingers crossed it doesn't go to seed before berries are ripe and I'll get to make some strawberry rhubarb jam!


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## Muppetgirl

Oh gee instill have rhubarb in the freezer from last year! I did find a recipe for rhubarb and orange spread.....may have to dig it out! I tried netting my strawberries last year - I spent more time untangling birds and the. When I tasted them, well....the birds won!


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Make pie, it's yum and frozen rhubarb works pretty well (if you let it sit and drain for awhile anyway, otherwise it will be a really soupy filling) and uses a lot of it (5 or so cups diced for a single pie) so if you have excess it will use it up.


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## apachiedragon

I pinned something on pinterest about strawberries. THIS

I wonder if would really work to keep birds away? Or am I being gullible again?


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## MHFoundation Quarters

DD wanted to do that Apachie. Haven't tried it yet though so don't know how well it works. I have a bunch of disposable aluminum pie tins around ours. I put a few of the electric fence posts around it, string between and tied the pie tins on to it.


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## Muppetgirl

apachiedragon said:


> I pinned something on pinterest about strawberries. THIS
> 
> I wonder if would really work to keep birds away? Or am I being gullible again?


I've heard that the painted rocks work....sigh....I don't have time to paint stones let alone do my serious art work!


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## Delfina

Muppetgirl said:


> I've heard that the painted rocks work....sigh....I don't have time to paint stones let alone do my serious art work!


That's what kids are for! I have plenty of painted rocks and there's no bird problem out here..... not quite sure WHY I have painted rocks but I do! :lol:


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Delfina said:


> That's what kids are for! I have plenty of painted rocks and there's no bird problem out here..... not quite sure WHY I have painted rocks but I do! :lol:


I know what DD is doing this week.


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## Saddlebag

As tho it wasn't enough that winter hung around too long, we were hit with frost two nights in a row. I think my plantings survived as they were only a few inches tall and they are in a raise frame over a foot above the surrounding ground.


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## Lockwood

It's been a wacky spring all around! It was 87 here this time last week, and this morning... just above freezing. I'm almost afraid to see if there is damage out there.
When we had several days of hard frost 2 weeks ago I covered everything including the flowers and all survived, but didn't know last night would be so cold.
Garden is probably ok, roses and flowers... dunno if they are too happy right now.

Jaydee, you have a lovely place!
And.. as much grass to mow as I do! 
If I stand still I can see it growing before my very eyes, it comes on so fast in late spring. :-|

I'm a little behind in my plantings because I've been focusing on fixing some things around here and some landscaping. 
Will post pics soon of the projects and new flowers.
(and more roses :shock: )

ETA: Love the idea of the painted rocks.... just beacuse.


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## Farmchic

still no garden here. Weather is crazy, cool and wet. Normally I would say I'm too late but I don't know, I might be ok IF I get it in this weekend. 

My roses are doing great!


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## clippityclop

Woo hoo! Got all of my tomatoes canned (well, as many as I felt like canning - there comes a point in time where you almost get sick of tomatoes ALMOST :wink and just filled up a 5 gallon horse bucket of carrots to can tomorrow. I just love opening jars of fresh tomatoes in the middle of winter!









Anyone else enjoy canning?


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## stevenson

WOW .. great bushels of gardens ! I just did a small small one. grass hoppers eat everything. I planted mint in my flower beds, hoped to deter mice etc, well now I have mint to pull out and curse, all it does is make me sneeze and itch, and attract bees ;( mice and bunnies nest in it. 
i would liek to grow spinach and lettuce cauliflower, but it gets to hot here. spose to be 106 saturday ;( and if get humidity with it , it will be awful.. 
Maybe next year i can get a larger garden , may try planting in the rows between the orchard trees


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## clippityclop

I had to move a nest of bunnies from out of the middle of my carrot patch this morning - hopefully mom will find them this eve and move them somewhere else b/c I pulled up all the carrots they were nesting in.

We had a bunch of weird days this spring. We would have a week of 70's, then a freeze. Then a week of 80's then a freeze. I replanted some things three times. Lost my peas, beans and about 24 tomato plants (the latter I won't complain about) but I didn't get a single green bean and I was really wanting to can those this year.


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## BoldComic

I am so jealous of everyone who is already harvesting from their gardens. I can almost take the water walls off of my tiny tomato plants. I spent the entire day on Tuesday weaving chicken wire together with hay string to make a roof for my coop so the chickens wouldn't be able to get out and dig up my garden again. After a huge fight with a 12'x17' piece of chicken wire (Not sure who won that) the coop is secure. It looks kinda red-neck but it works! Now I've got to replant everything. I'm about 7-10 days behind where I like to be. I actually could have planted a couple of weeks early this year but if I had done that I'm sure we would have gotten a hard freeze. 

So out to the garden to till the corn patch and replant everything. Good luck to everyone growing gardens this year. We may need to start a "canning" thread towards the fall


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## Missy May

Ah, painting rocks. I don't have a bird problem, just everything else. I was going to paint rocks just for the fun of it - with "petroglyph" designs. mm hmm...I was going to do this after I painted the wrought iron, a chore I thought would take me a day or two at the most. Yeah, it has been two weeks now and I am still not finished w the wrought iron "project"..all those curly q's and sides - and b/c of the heat on black I can only do it in the morning and evening. I don't want to paint anything - now.


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## Farmchic

We plowed ours up today and hopefully will get plants in the ground tomorrow. I know it is way late but so many around us are just getting theirs in too. 

I love to can!! I love making salsa and just tomatoes for soups. It's been a couple of years since I've put up anything. I would like to make some jelly this year as a project with my kids. We shall see


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## Muppetgirl

Whoever guesses how many irises I've lifted and am relocating from weed mountain gets a cookie!


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## MHFoundation Quarters

No guesses here Muppet. If it were my pile I was moving, the answer is likely the same....too darn many! Lol. 

We're eating strawberries, lots of yummy strawberries right now. Just getting started and there are tons of them. 

Rest of my garden is coming along, beans, melons, carrots, corn, tomatoes, peppers all looking great. So ready for them to be ready to pick and can. I agree, we should start a canning thread when we are all underway. Pear sauce, mmmm.


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## Muppetgirl

I'm just about finished planting them, and I did a rough head count - 800!!!!! I've never grown pumpkins before here in AB, so may be pushing my luck, they are started in the greenhouse, so I'm going to make mounds for them today....at least the kids enjoy them!! They may only be the size if tennis balls by the time the fall comes!! Lol!


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## Clayton Taffy

Discussion in the garden?


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## clippityclop

Has anyone ever heard of eating the flowers off of a squash plant (before they turn into yellow squash)? I haven't but apparently you can consume them- so i've been told.

So the story goes like this. We had a HUGE topsoil pile outside the back of the house from some work we were doing with a new patio we were putting in. It had the right mix of horse poo and soil and everything and we just started throwing seed on it from the stuff we would eat. Pretty soon I had some really nice vines growing - canteloupe, potatoes - all kinds of things.

A friend is over at the house one night and he informs us we should be eating the squash flowers (he is POSITIVE that one of the plants is yellow squash - we were not sure what was what at the time) and that it is what all the gourmet cooks use in their dishes, etc - and he picks one and quickly shoves it in his mouth and starts to chew.

He spits it out and says that is not what he expected - but maybe it was just the soil it was growing in or something (he continued to gag for about an hour - I was thinking about getting out an epi pen). We didn't say a word, but there was NO WAY we were going to eat the yellow flowers no matter how much he went on about it. He was really sure it was a squash plant - after all, he knew veggies - this big green VINE with the yellow/orange flowers.

That was early in the spring when he ate that flower. By the end of July, that vine gave us some of the best looking jack-o-lantern pumpkins you've ever seen. :lol::lol:


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Squash blossoms are tasty. Pumpkin blossoms are even more tasty, one of my very favorite things to eat! The pumpkin blossoms have a very similar taste to morel mushrooms. Pick them early in the day, rinse them and put them in damp paper towel in a ziploc until you are ready to fix them. Light egg wash & dredge in flour seasoned with whatever you like, I use a bit of sea salt, black & cayenne pepper. Fry them. They go really well with pan fried crappie or bluegill.


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## roseann

I have heard of eating squash flowers but I forget where. I.was on a huge kick of edible flowers and grew a bunch. I really don't like eating flowers much...they were very strong tasting. I tried rose petals, nasturtium, and violets, then gave up.
I have been lurking here on this thread awhile. Love all the green, green gardens. I live in the high desert. My green is surrounded by sand. It kind of ruins the effect some.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Celeste

I like squash too much to waste it by eating the flowers.


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## roseann

My potatos. First year I have ever grown them. Thos photo is actually about two weeks ago. They are knee high now. I am going to have go buy some topsoil to continue mounding. I am kind of proud of them.


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## clippityclop

I wash my garden was that neat and kept up. It's buried under 2-3 foot tall rye/bermuda grass. That's what I get for scooping the pasture to fertilize my garden.


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## Missy May

Okay, here is the beginnings of my second ever yellow Chinese banana plant bloom - it will take it over a month to fully develop - the plant itself is just now beginning to put out leaves (they put out massive amounts of leaves). They die after they bloom like agaves:-(. It is not a real banana tree. Yes, eh - hem, these are very difficult to grow and only true masters have ever reported having one bloom under their care. :wink: haha. If I can grow one...you know it must be one of those "stick it in the ground and forget it" things. They have amazing blooms - they are _huge _(wouldn't fit in a small coffee can). I will post another pic when it finally fully hatches out. I imagine they would grow like crazy at your place, fly.









And here is my little friend. I talk to him often...the deal is - he eats ants and I guarantee his water supply. :wink:


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Look forward to seeing them in bloom Missy and your little friend is pretty cute too. 

Sad news here, my heirloom Bartlett trees have fire blight. They are very old trees that came from my great grandparents homestead so I'm going to try and save them. If they weren't, I think I would start over. So bummed.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

Missy looking forward to the big bloom.
MH Fire blight is horrible around here, good luck on the nursing back to health.


----------



## Missy May

I am sorry to hear about your trees MH, how sad. I hope they pull through!


----------



## FlyGap

Missy those are awesome!!! Can't wait for that to bloom!
Must get some for me and my Papa, he collects exotics and would love that!!!

M that's terrible, I'll say a prayer for them. With the drought(s) seems like everything is struggling this year. 
Hands clasped that they pull through! 

I'll have pictures up soon. During the last three weeks of insanity my cauliflower decided to EXPLODE. I have we'll over 100 lbs to freeze. I needed a break, but with the way things look around here I won't get a lick of rest!

Hope everything is sproutin and bloomin purdy for y'all!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Muppetgirl

Sometimes I forget to sit and enjoy the fruits of my labor.....


----------



## clippityclop

^^^^^that's really pretty!!!


----------



## Muppetgirl

Thanks clippityclop! Here's another random shot I took today after more MORE rain today!









(Notice all the irises? They came from weed mountain! There's more scattered all over around the corner)


----------



## Muppetgirl

What is this stuff! I'm going to post three pictures of it, this is my garden nemesis it grows all around the workshop and mulch dies t seem to slow it down! Ya can't pull it out of the ground effectively because it breaks off and spraying it is a PITA because there's hardly anything to spray! You wouldn't know I drenched it in round up three days ago.....grrrr! I'm in Alberta if that helps! I've seen 'mares broom' or 'mares tail' before and this stuff is very simar expect it looks narrower.....hate this stuff!


----------



## Muppetgirl

Sorry about the upside down pic....don't know why that happens, here's another pic:


----------



## Missy May

Maybe some form of selaginella "stuff"?


----------



## Muppetgirl

Missy May said:


> Maybe some form of selaginella "stuff"?


Haha ok going to google ^^^^ I'm stumped by it!


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

The first oriental lily has started blooming. I love them. I have a bunch, this, red, orange, yellow & some that are white & pink. 

These are probably my favorite color I have.


----------



## apachiedragon

My calla lilies are blooming. We planted them many years ago and they never grew. We redid the beds a few years back and apparently the bulbs were still there. We chopped them up with the tiller, and suddenly they sprouted all over the place. 

Kind of like the crepe myrtle in the front yard that we tried everything to get to grow and it stayed straggly, barely a foot tall. I got tired of it, mowed it down and it took off. Now its probably 20 ft tall and gorgeous.


----------



## toto

Double tiger Lilly's blooming


----------



## toto

All of the caladiums i planted and the crimson reds come up- i do like them the best but still only two in a bag of a few bulbs-- there was three or four colors planted and only two popped out and were the reds, lol.


----------



## Saddlebag

After looking at the wondrous beauties I'm almost ashamed to confess that my tomato plants are reached the grand height of 6" with the cukes coming in at about 5". Cold weather slowed them right down. The thunderstorm predicted for today didn't happen, so not it's predicted for tomorrow afternoon. That usually gives plants a good boost.


----------



## clippityclop

It is really dry here in TX - have a drip system in the garden and flowerbeds and I have to run it every couple of days - 90's+ temps here. The water we have is so chlorinated that it does squat for the plants. Going to try to hang gutters on the chicken coop and catch rain water in barrels to see if that will help. The veggie season here is starting to wane - altho it is still amazing to see broccoli plants that I have growing in the shade still sprouting little heads of broccoli here and there. LOTS of swallowtail butterfly caterpillars on my parsley so that's a nice thing to see!


----------



## HorseLovinLady

Here's some of my home grown flowers. I'll post some pics of my vegetable garden later.

Gonna post this sunflower pic again, it's too pretty to not share again lol.









Pink Zinnia, they're all over our yard and are every color of the rainbow.









Dahlia.









More dahlias.









Purple gladiolis, hope I spelled it right lol.









Orange lillies.









Last one! I've never seen canna lillies this color.


----------



## tinyliny

MHFoundation Quarters said:


> The first oriental lily has started blooming. I love them. I have a bunch, this, red, orange, yellow & some that are white & pink.
> 
> These are probably my favorite color I have.
> View attachment 216506


 
OK, I'm going to be a bit of a know it all, but I am pretty certain those are either an Asiatic, or an Asiatic hybrid. Do they have any perfume?


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

They are very fragrant. This is where I ordered from last year, not seeing the red on there now but I think the variety was crimson? They call them dwarf orientals but who knows. Whatever they are, they're pretty  

Dwarf Oriental Lilies - Hallson Gardens


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

Started a canning thread for us all to share our goodies. DD & I are in raspberry heaven atm.  

http://www.horseforum.com/farm-forum/what-you-canning-222290/#post2920434


----------



## Clayton Taffy

Saw this on the grounds of the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island, MI.


----------



## toto

^Icicle Radishes-- picked them early but wanted to thin the rows.. i have a ton more!!


----------



## FlyGap

Hi!! Hope you all are well!

Cauliflower and Cabbage in the freezer!


What I have left to dehydrate and eat fresh... Onions are good!


Onions, Potatoes, and Tomatoes... A little parched, again, we need RAIN!

(I have been weeding most of this by hand, I feel so strong and healthy!! C'mon abs and glutes!)

Pears, coming along nicely!


Dew berries, picked the first ones today!


Wild peaches!


Attack of the hollyhocks!!

(Yard is mowed now, took this the day we got back from vacay, yuck!)

(That's better, see more of the berries in the background? YUM!)


----------



## Missy May

Amazing Fly!! Spectacular! 
I did not know you could freeze cabbage. Hmm. 
Are dew berries different from blackberries? I like blackberries, but I will confess I when in NC I couldn't/can't ever bring myself to go pick any on foot b/c of the thorns...ouch! On horseback you can snag the big fat juicy ones on top w/o getting bit!
And those hollyhocks! Wow! Those are tall!


----------



## clippityclop

Forgive my ignorance, but for you gals that are north, what are the prime months that your gardens produce? Here in TX, veggies start producing as early as March and by mid April, we are buried in produce. By mid-June, plants start getting a little scrawny and if they do manage to bud, the fruit is tiny compared to what it produced in the spring. It's in the 90's by that time. Then everything pretty much becomes toast (except pepper plants) until the end of September - if you've managed to nurse your bell pepper plants along, they will begin producing again with vigor until the first freeze mid- December gets them.


----------



## Clayton Taffy

MY first beans and my first tomato!

Clipclop. here in MO, everyone strives to have a tomato by the 4th of July,
My frost dates are April 15, and October 15, this year we had a frost in May.


----------



## Missy May

I don't live in the North but I have spent a lot of time in the mountains of _North_ Carolina.:wink: They tend to go by the "general rule" - plant after the first part to the middle of May. And their veggies start to "come in" in June, depending on what they are...and keep coming in all summer.


----------



## Missy May

Here is an update on the yellow Chinese banana plant flower, it is about a third the way "there".


----------



## apachiedragon

My Callas
























My Hydrangea 









And my "garden". Pole beans, limas, okra, squash, tomatoes, peppers, catnip, lemongrass, and a Vick's plant. 









And my front yard planter full of tomatoes as well.


----------



## Clayton Taffy

I love your hydrangea, pink and blue on the same plant, beautiful.


----------



## Saddlebag

My tomato and cuke plants were a bit pale but what to feed them? Instead of composting I was blundering all my veggie and fruit scraps. I'd dig small holes and pour this in. A week later the plants have nice darkish green coloring. The cukes have tendrils that were feeling for something to grab so there was a good use for old binder twine.


----------



## Muppetgirl

Well since we haven't been hit by a July hail storm (yet) everything has managed to REALLY grow....


----------



## clippityclop

Man it is already time to start thinking about a fall/winter garden - well, for me it is b/c I start seeds indoors under lights. I love brussel sprouts and carrots - so I guess I will plant those and nothing else. One can never have too many carrots when you live with horses. The temps here will be in the triple digits thru August. We will still be in the 80-90's thru September, but by October, the transplants will be 6-8 weeks old and ready to be hardened off and planted. Our freeze is usually mid December but the cold plants don't even notice. Our nasty weather (ice that burns plants and actually kills things) isn't until Feburary. Then it gets hot again by March.

My garden went wild after it got hot this summer - really wild complete with rabbit families, snakes, birds and every insect that crawls. I let everything go to seed so it will be fun to see tomatoes and carrots, brocolli, parsley, lettuce - all of that will come up in random places next spring. But I think I will take a break this fall and not fill up the entire garden and take a bit of a break. Maybe ride a horse for a change? ;-)

I planted 1 yr old asparagus roots this spring - were supposed to be all male, but of course almost every one produced berries. One of the lovely things about chickens is that they LIKE the berries and picked off every one. So the female plants were retaliating by sending out more spears. haha! So the beds are nice and bushy right now and from the looks of things, I should have a really good crop of asparagus next spring. That's one I haven't tried to can yet - am looking forward to it!


----------



## Missy May

I had never noticed this guy before and saw him on the way to the mailbox. The recent monsoons made it "pop". Hedgehog.


----------



## tinyliny

my front garden oriental lillies. Tulips in spring, lillies in summer. they smell intoxicatingly good!


----------



## Missy May

Wow, tiny, those are pretty! I bought some lilly bulbs and even bought them a nice big garden planter to put them in. The blooms just shriveled and blew away before they "opened".  I had "images" in my head of what yours look like when I planted them. boo hoo.

I snapped this w my cell today in my "natural garden". Not a high def pic, but I love this particular color (as opposed to the yellow ones).


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

Missy, love the cactus blooms! They are beautiful. 

I need to get a current pic of the pond area, my Hibiscus has gone crazy and the stuff I planted around the pond has grown, it is starting to look somewhat finished! Of course it is raining right now, maybe it will stop soon and I will get a couple when the sun makes an appearance. 

In the veggie garden, first staggered planting of corn is very close (I will likely have 40 dozen or so to put up this weekend) have done 35 qts of green beans (and more to do), 14 qts of carrots, 21 qts of tomato juice (going to be doing marinara sauce & beef veggie soup this weekend), 28 pints of peas, froze green peppers, shredded zucchini (for bread & pie), beets and we've been eating lots of cucumbers - they are really good with vinaigrette made with the raspberry vinegar I did. I've also been drinking cucumber/lemon water, so refreshing! Melons are getting big and it's killing me waiting on them to be ready. 

On the fruit front, the pear trees are still looking a bit sad, the local ag agent told me to leave them alone and see how they fare come spring. He thinks that since they are such old trees that they may come out of it on their own. There is still a ton of fruit on them and they are growing, so fingers crossed they're going to make it. Glad they have fruit, DD has just finished off the pear sauce I made last year and is whining that it's gone. :lol:


----------



## jaydee

Peaches have done well - just a shame that DH didn't get off his bum and support the one branch before it snapped off under the load (I do love him but I asked so many times it just made me SO ANGRY)
Pears are finally growing after two years of nothingness
I have one single solitary fruit on my 'no bog' cranberry plants. Guess the birds like them too
Lots of plums almost ready on one tree
None at all on the other tree
Deer got on the veg patch and ate all the corn and pulled up some onions - didn't think they would like onions.
Decided to move entire veg plot to the back of the summer house for next year as I think we can make a better fence there to protect it. I've started to Roundup all the grass off.
One of my lilies - and a weed that got away from me, please ignore that it shouldn't be there


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## Celeste

jaydee said:


> One of my lilies - and a weed that got away from me, please ignore that it shouldn't be there


My flower garden never had a solitary weed left unattended. I am afraid that my weeds will get lonely so I leave them lots of friends..............


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## clippityclop

I just had a group of friends sign up for a farmers co-op type thing - where you pay a fixed amount per week and farmers deliver a full share or part share of their produce with you (you sort of take a chance - sometimes mother nature steps in and wrecks havoc on crops and you won't get anything) - anyway, she was boasting she paid $60 for this: 









which more or less (in quantity) is delivered every week at the (what I think is high priced) price of $240 a month...

so I told her that she and some of the other ladies (who also balked at the price) should come put in a half day with me in my garden every spring pulling weeds/transplanting/maintaining and I'd let them take home that much and fresh eggs once a week. LOL!

I would LOVE to have an extra pair or two of hands in the spring. Then I can go BIGGER! They (whoever 'they' is - maybe the garden gods? LOL) say that if the grass out grows your garden and you can't keep it pulled, then your garden is too big for you. I don't care - I still have so much fun planting and growing -- the veggies grow JUST FINE in the grass - you just have to search harder for them when you want something to eat. haha!


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## jaydee

Celeste said:


> My flower garden never had a solitary weed left unattended. I am afraid that my weeds will get lonely so I leave them lots of friends..............


 I have no shortage of weeds either - but I try to remove any from areas I want to photograph because I send pics to my sister in the UK and weeds are afraid to grow in her garden so it always looks pristine - I think she just stares at them and they wilt away!!!


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## barrelbeginner

I had a good garden growing.. watermelon. pumpkinds peppers tomatos..everything lol..

untill... the hail.. darn hail.. next year.. were gonna have a green house


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## Celeste

Speaking of weeds, I have pretty much misplaced my rose garden. I know where it must be; I just have a hard time finding it for the weeds. I am a bad flower parent.


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## jaydee

I don't think CT likes roses, they never do well for me here
Anyone else have problems with Japanese Beetles and Red Lily Beetles?
They seem to destroy even large shrubs from the roots up


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## tinyliny

I red about them in the newpaper. We have never had them here, until recently. must be migrating from East to West.


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## tinyliny

jaydee;3291881
One of my lilies - and a weed that got away from me said:


> OMG! she has a weed! how did that get there?


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## Celeste

I have Japanese beetles. I have sprayed for them several times. 
They have a harder time finding my roses now that they are hiding in the weeds.


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## jaydee

I might be herding those bugs from east to west :twisted:

Isnt it lovely to be able to relax in the garden.................


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Ugh, hate the Japanese beetles. I'm trying hard to go organic & not Sevin the heck out of everything. So my current beetle elimination plan, my kiddo. She discovered that her hens LOVE them so first thing every morning she is catching (& squishing so they don't fly away) them as treats for her "chickie pickies" lol. I planted a ton of smelly marigolds around the veg garden too and they haven't seemed to have helped with them but they certainly have kept out the rabbits and deer are happy staying in the abandoned apple orchard down the road (a total shame) and the food plots in our woods so they've stayed out of it too 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## apachiedragon

We usually have a TON of Japanese beetles but we haven't had but a few this year. I wonder if it's been too wet for them? This is the wettest summer we've ever had, and that's the only thing different here. 

I have some cute little baby squash and sweet peppers finally growing. And my tomato plants are out of control thanks to all this rain. Homemade spaghetti sauce coming soon!


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## Clayton Taffy

I am making Blackberry jam.
I have made 3 batches of plain jam already, 2 with seeds and one without seeds.
I have enough blackberries for two more batches of jam and want to make something different. It was a good blackberry year this year. 

Here are some options, I have never made any of these,
Do they sound good to you? More important, do any sound like bad flavor combinations. Or even better do you have any ideas?
I do sell the jam so I like to try interesting combinations.

Blackberry Amaretto
Blackberry Port
Blackberry Jalapeno
Blackberry Lime
Blackberry Lemon
Blackberry Peach - I have made this before and it was an okay seller

I try and stick to what is in season right now.

Thanks .


----------



## Missy May

Taffy Clayton said:


> I am making Blackberry jam.
> I have made 3 batches of plain jam already, 2 with seeds and one without seeds.
> I have enough blackberries for two more batches of jam and want to make something different. It was a good blackberry year this year.
> 
> Here are some options, I have never made any of these,
> Do they sound good to you? More important, do any sound like bad flavor combinations. Or even better do you have any ideas?
> I do sell the jam so I like to try interesting combinations.
> 
> Blackberry Amaretto
> Blackberry Port
> Blackberry Jalapeno
> Blackberry Lime
> Blackberry Lemon
> Blackberry Peach - I have made this before and it was an okay seller
> 
> I try and stick to what is in season right now.
> 
> Thanks .


What taste/sounds like it would taste good is so subjective. So, this is just one data point for you. I prefer plain. My aunts use to make bb jam, cobbler, whatnot by the bucket load. So, when I see it for sale I want _that_ ... plain old down home blackberry jam.


----------



## Clayton Taffy

^^^ True, I do make mostly plain Blackberry jam, I try and entice someone to buy more jam by offering unique flavors. Some customers feel they can get plain blackberry jam at the grocery store, so I like to have interesting combinations as well.

This is the first year in a long time that I have enough blackberries to make anything besides plain.


----------



## Zexious

This might be a stupid question, but are Japanese beetles the big, scary, black ones? ._.


----------



## Missy May

Taffy Clayton said:


> ^^^ True, I do make mostly plain Blackberry jam, I try and entice someone to buy more jam by offering unique flavors. Some customers feel they can get plain blackberry jam at the grocery store, so I like to have interesting combinations as well.
> 
> This is the first year in a long time that I have enough blackberries to make anything besides plain.


In that case, the amaretto sounds interesting. 
One of my aunts use to make this "stuff" for a cake or ice cream topping. I do not know what she put in it, and was foolish enough not to ask how to make it...but it was a rich mixture of blackberries, walnuts, and other "stuff" with some sort of liqueur and lots of sugar....wow, that was yum. So, amaretto has my vote. :wink:


----------



## Celeste

CDFA > PLANT > PDEP > Japanese Beetle Pest Profile


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

Blackberry Port gets my vote. I love blackberry wine, can definitely see that combo turning out well. 

I love summer. Tonight's dinner was pretty much all from home except turkey bacon & pantry staples, even made the bread and ice cream. BLT's, sweet corn, cukes/peppers/tomatoes in v&o dressing & peach crisp a la mode. I feel like a slug and should probably add a few extra minutes to my elliptical time.


----------



## jaydee

Zexious said:


> This might be a stupid question, but are Japanese beetles the big, scary, black ones? ._.


 No they are an average size, the larvae are bigger than the beetle when mature. 
They seem to focus on one plant - presumable where they hatch underground - and feed on the roots which then kills the plant or makes it unhealthy
The adults do the same above ground and cause damage there that also exposes the plant/shrubs/trees to disease
Control of Japanese Beetle Adults and Grubs in Home Lawns
Each beetle that survives goes on to produce even more and you just get a population explosion


----------



## Zexious

Ugh, scary.... /I hate beetles


----------



## FlyGap

Onions and potatoes in!


That was the first bit of tomatoes, I'll post a photo of my tomato FOREST tomorrow... My tomatoes are splitting left and right and aren't as yummy as last years drought ones. (But I'll take the rain!) I pulled my onions to let their roots cure, it rained and got them muddy! DOH! Slow me should have known better and put them in the barn... All's good though, they dried up nicely in the house, thank Heavens!

ETA: These are the best potatoes I've ever eaten! So silky, yummy, won't last long... wish I had planted 10X's more!


----------



## apachiedragon

Well, the squirrels got all my plums and my peaches. Grrr. And the deer ate half of my pole beans. And something got most of my concord grapes too. Not a good year here. I do have a ton of tomatoes and a very large pot of lemongrass (that I don't know how to use but it smells heavenly). Waiting on my scuppernongs to come ripe, hopefully I can get enough from them to make jam this year. I had a dream last night about finding muscadines as big as my palm, wouldn't that be something?


----------



## Clayton Taffy

They are here!!!! 

Six weeks late but they finally made it!











Washed and waiting to be peeled for salsa.


----------



## FlyGap

Lovely!!!
Obviously yours are faring better than mine with all this rain! I just got in from picking and had to toss every other one due to splitting! Grrr!

Absolutely lovely! I'm red with envy!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Clayton Taffy

Mine didn't split so bad, but a whole lot were rotting right on the vine.


----------



## apachiedragon

Okay, hoping you guys can help me out. I took a day trip to the beach the other day, and ran across this plant. I want to get one, but I don't know what its called.


----------



## roseann

Apache, I beleive those are Crotons(sp?). Wherr I live they are only houseplants. They are tropical so of you have winters that dont go below 45° they should survive outside, otherwise bring them in.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## apachiedragon

Thank you so much! That looks like exactly what it was. I will have to see about getting one! I would have to bring it in for maybe 2 months out of the year. Our winters aren't particularly harsh in central NC, but it does get below freezing at night in Dec and Jan. I am a bit surprised they were using them for landscaping along the boardwalk at Myrtle Beach, their winters are pretty much the same as ours. They quite regularly get temps in the 30's.


----------



## roseann

Cities usually have a larger disposable income for annual landscaping than most of us.... One of my local towns spends huge $$$ at a local greenhouse on their HUGE annual hanging baskets and line the entire old town mainstreet with them. Those baskets are massive and over [email protected] Its a pretty small town too.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## FlyGap

Corn, corn, and more corn...


Tomatoes going crazy, I'm going to have to start looping them over to the next post. Might start a trend, tomato arches!


----------



## jaydee

I hate anyone that has ripe tomatos because mine still look like this
The squash have gone a bit crazy though & carrots doing OK but I should have thinned the leeks out - will have to do it and use them as mini veg.


----------



## clippityclop

Ornamental gourds grow well here along fences (if you set them up with a drip system - they are very needy when it comes to moisture) and for awhile, had a GREAT line up of gourds that were wide and flat like bowls, 2 foot long handled ones that looked like ladels, bird house, you name it. I found my wood burning tools, carving tools and I was all ready to harvest them and begin decorating them later this year. NOT ONE MADE IT. SQUIRRELS. I'm so disgusted...they cut them off, break into them, and leave them half eaten rotting on the ground. GRRRRR!

On another note, does anyone know anything about keeping bees? A friend of mine has just started doing bees. She ordered a bee starter kit from a place nearby that starts you out with a queen and some workers, and you go set them up and let them start making honey. I thought it sounded like a neat idea - I actually have several acres of good places to put bees.

Just playing with the thought - would be nice to have some honey - mentioned it to hubby (who loves honey) and figured I'd get the usual 'ok - let me know what we need to build/etc' (his hobby is construction projects-the latest being my HUGE and wonderful chicken coop) well I've never seen anyone get so excited. I guess I need to read up on bees and figure out what kind of flowers I need that I don't already have...crape myrtles are supposed to be a good start??


----------



## WSArabians

I always had a brown thumb but figured I would try this year again.
I planted flowers back in May, and I am just getting one to start to bloom. Right in time for the frost to kill it. 
Never doing it again. :evil:


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

Fly, I will have to get pics of my "tomato cages" for you. My old cages were junk and I was a bit late getting around to getting some and of course the farm store was out. We put t-posts in down the row and hung cattle panels. My ******* ingenuity has actually worked out really well! Keeping them contained and holes are plenty big enough to get hands in & out of. 

I've thought about beekeeping too. If I do, I'd put hives by my pear trees. Working on DH to let me give it a go next year.


----------



## FlyGap

I really want to see your set up!

Last night we got a major wind storm that tore up my corn... And of course it didn't even rain. Hopefully some good watering will bring it back up?


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

I totally forgot to snap pics of the panel cages....will try to do that in a bit. Our corn got hit hard early and was all but laying completely over and it came back just fine but it was early so Idk? 

Dehydrated some cucumbers last night and made chips, omg they were good! But...this morning, not so much. They are chewy, chewy cukes just doesn't do it for me. I'm thinking of trying to re-hydrate them and see what happens, if that works I may do some to make dip with this winter and to add to my water to drink. If you all haven't ever made cucumber dip, you have to. It's awesome! 

Did 2 canner loads of tomato juice & 2 loads of green beans yesterday. Going to freeze corn & pull what is left of my carrots to do today though it won't be a whole lot. DD & lesson kids have had open season on carrots & there are some very happy old lesson horses around here. Lol. 

I have melons coming out of my ears. Extra watermelon will become fruit leather for DD & rinds will become pickles but don't know what to do with all of the darn cantaloupes. Anyone freeze it with any success?


----------



## FlyGap

Yummy cucumber dip! Love that stuff.
Maybe dehydrate it again, then grind into powder, then freeze? Or just get those oxypacks (?) and saver? Hmmm....

Picked 30 lbs of romas yesterday, a few dozen more tomorrow... What to do? Any tips on crushing them, they are pretty small... Seed extracting is gonna be a witch. But I need crushed for stew!!!!
Going to try the Tom jelly posted on your thread M.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## clippityclop

Taffy every time I open up this page to scroll to the newest posts, the pics of your beautiful ripe, red tomatoes stand out to me and my mouth waters.


----------



## Clayton Taffy

I just got home from 12 days in Germany, it has been 94 degrees plus, with no rain, here in Missouri since I left, I am scared to go out to the garden in the morning. I am afraid there will be nothing left. My hubbies brother was supposed to water, but it is a big garden and I can't expect that he was able to keep up.


----------



## FlyGap

So how is it Taffy? Hope all is ok and glad you had a wonderful safe trip!

I'm getting so excited about my corn! It's 8ft high and most of it stood back up!
:happydance:
In the mornings I go out and visit it, my bees are having a hay day pollinating, you can hear their roar from across the yard. So peaceful and lovely!
TODAY I love my garden...


----------



## Clayton Taffy

Well.. it could be better... but it could be worse. 
BIL did a good job, he kept watering even though the leaves were falling off the tomato plants. I got enough tomatoes for 13 quarts of Marinara sauce. And hopefully some more tomatoes will ripen.
The peppers were in good shape, but the eggplant were dry and seedy.
After the weather breaks I am going to clean up and plant, garlic. carrots lettuce and all the cool season crops again. Whoo Hoo!
I am going to have to take a photo of the tomato carnage.


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## Saddlebag

My cukes produced until I was sick of them. I couldn't find dill anywhere so I made fermented relish, quarts and quarts. Tomatoes are just trying to ripen now but I've chopped and frozen some green ones for freezing to make salsa. Disheartening or what. Our weather was nice, not too hot, rain at the right time, then it got danged cool/cold for a week, then blazing hot for a week then more moderate temps and rain, rain and more rain.


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## FlyGap

Glad they made it, kinda... :-|

It's sad when the tomatoes go... Means fall.:-o
But I'm getting excited too!
Kale, kale, and more kale, add in some spinach and carrots, and, and, and...:lol:

My house is starting to stink from all the sauce making, one can only take the smell of garlic and tomatoes for so long. :?
I have one more round of picking to do too, crushed. I'm not chopping another onion!


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## Clayton Taffy

FG, how do you thicken your marinara sauce? I cook mine in the roaster for about 40 hours. Do you, or anyone else have a faster way?

I tried kale for the first time this year and some bug skeletonized it, twice. I didn't get a leaf.


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## jaydee

The humidity here this year hasn't done my tomato's any good at all and I'm losing a lot to a blight type disease
Potatos, beans and carrots are amazing though - taste so much better than store bought. Really pleased to have grown 'broad beans' for the first time here too - that's what we call them in the UK, they're a type of fava bean but I've never seen them in the shops here other than maybe dried.


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## FlyGap

I do mine on the stove top. It only takes about 6 hours total!

Saute the garlic, onions, add the quartered toms & spices, saute them all.
(About 45 mins)
Run it all through the mill. (You can hand peel some to add in chunks)
Goes back in pot to reduce by half (medium high heat), then can.
(For the good roasted flavor I add dried green/red peppers and a handful of my dehydrated tomatoes.)

Out of the pot I use I get 14/15 pints out of my stock pot when done. And it's thick.
More if I can keep DH out of it.....


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## FlyGap

:happydance::happydance::happydance:
I'm so excited, I just can't hide it!!!!!!

Ordered the hoop house today! :happydance:
Will be here in two weeks, OH YEAH!

I can't tell you guys how hard we've been working for this!
30X48, upgraded crank roll up sides and super heavy duty cover, went with the non zip doors because zippers wouldn't last up here with the wind (so says the rep...). We have a dump truck load of organic mushroom compost coming, so lots of tilling and weeding to get done before it all arrives.

So who wants to come over for a hoop house raisin? :lol:
I'll supply food, drinks, and music? 
And maybe even a years worth of veggies? :?
...Anyone? :-(

Ok... I understand, but get ready for lots and lots of photos!!! :happydance:


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## Clayton Taffy

I am super envious! I always wanted a hoop house. 

*TOO COOL!!* I would be at the raising in a minute, but I think I am busy that day.


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## Marcie

Wow there are some lovely gardens on here! And so many veggie ones. I tried doing lettuce this year and it was a failure lol. I'll try again next year though! I have quite a few flowers that I planted this year. I'll have to come back when I'm on my home computer so I can post some pictures.


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## Missy May

Congrats Fly! I'd be there - and you could have all of my black "mushroom compost" . That really is exciting! 

Oh, woe is me. All I have coming in are weeds that popped up from the recent massive rains. A few are edible, but I believe I will pass on that, just yet.


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## FlyGap

WOOO HOOO!!! Best tasting corn I've ever grown!
Had to beat DD out of it because she kept trying to eat it before it was ready, and look for worms. We shucked and froze 122 ears tonight, and I have that much to do tomorrow!
(Steamed and dunked a bunch in butter too... They GOT IN MY BELLAH!)



I am VERY pleased how this crop turned out. Organic, no pesticides or herbicides, still came out clean. There were a _few_ worms but they only got the very tops. I gave a bunch to a neighbor and forgot to warn him... Hope he don't grill em!!

Sure y'all don't wanna come throw down????? I won't make you do much more than screw in a few screws... and EAT! :lol:


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## tinyliny

HOt ****! ( I mean "darn"). those look so Yummeh! if only you weren't like 3,000 miles away!


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## jaydee

What is a 'hoop house'?
Not translating!!!!


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## FlyGap

A hoop house is like a green house. It's a long steel structure with a heavy duty opaque cover that allows you to extend the growing season.


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## jaydee

A polytunnel


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## tinyliny

Short interruption here. I had a gorgeous old ornamental plum tree in the front of my house. until last week, wehn I made the difficult decision to have it taken down. it had become so big that it was leaning way out over the street and impeding the passage of persons on the sidewalk (remember, I am a "city" girl). the tree was likely 40 to 50 years old, twisted into marvelouss squiggly shapes. 
I agreed to take it down becuse it was inevitable that it needed to come down, and the sooner is is down, the sooner we can get anotehr shade tree growing. it will be very hot for the next few years!

I cried all day the tree came down. LOVED that tree, and it felt like murder to cut it down. But, life goes on. 

now the guy is out there grinding out the huge, convuluted stump. it's a mess! will need to relandscape and it's going to cost bucks, but my house is almost 60 years old, so it DOES need new thigns.

back to your regular programming . . .


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## jaydee

I get very fond of trees - my father was the same and refused to take down an old elm tree in our garden that we grew up with - it eventually fell down by itself - very dangerous!!!


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## Zexious

'Dat corn. Man, there are so many talented people on this forum!


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## Clayton Taffy

Tiny I remember you posted a photo of that tree. It was magnificent. I am so sorry. It was a beauty. 

Me being a country girl., I would have had people duck. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

Tiny., In school we were told to do what you did. Cut it down as soon as you know it needs to come down., and plant another.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Sauce, sauce & more sauce. Did marinara last weekend with the last of my tomatoes. Went to my aunt's and picked 3 large laundry baskets of apples today and will be making sauce, butter & pie filling. Pears are just starting to ripen, will be doing them shortly too. They're my fave, can't wait!!!

Have been eating lots of acorn squash. It did really well this year. Had them for dinner last night baked with pork chops on top. Yum! 

Sorry about your tree tiny.  I would have cried too.


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## Clayton Taffy

It is starting again!!!
I just received Morgan's and Jung's seed catalogs in the mail yesterday.

*Dreaming of spring!*


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## FlyGap

Yea Taffy!

Just placed my first seed order! 

Roma's 
San Marzano's
Trying Gurneys Goliath spinach
Black magic zucchini 
Forono beets
Scarlet nantes carrots
Tendersweet carrots
Kale mix

(About 400 seeds each for the toms, 1,000's for the rest, gonna be a BIG year here!)

Thinking about starting my onions from seed this year... Thoughts?
I'll post the next order later and ask what you think on my varieties.

Hoop house is still just a frame . Thank heavens though because with all the ice we've had it would already be torn to shreds! See... Sometimes procrastination DOES pay off! LOL!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## FlyGap

Anyone grind their own cornmeal or grow feed/dent corn? I want to try some heirloom varieties for the birds and us. What about heirloom sweet corn? I have some picked out, just can't make up my mind!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Saddlebag

Anyone know what to do with about 3 quarts of frozen green tomatoes cut in chunks?


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## Clayton Taffy

Fly Gap you need to get your onion seeds in now, you are already a month late.
I have always wanted to try San Marzano's where did you get them?

I have started onions from seeds and it did work, transplanting the seedlings was a pain. but I got good varieties like the cute little chippolinas. (SP)


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## Clayton Taffy

Saddlebag said:


> Anyone know what to do with about 3 quarts of frozen green tomatoes cut in chunks?


I saw something on the cooking channel that used green tomatoes, I even thought, what a good idea, but darned if I can remember what it was,
I think it was on Dinners, drives and dives.


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## Missy May

FlyGap said:


> Anyone grind their own cornmeal or grow feed/dent corn? I want to try some heirloom varieties for the birds and us. What about heirloom sweet corn? I have some picked out, just can't make up my mind!!!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Well, no. But, my relatives use to grow feed corn in abundance. I preferred it to the "sweet corn" they grew in their gardens b/c there was nothing sweet about it at all, it tasted like "corn". I don't know what help that was...so, just ignore me.


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## apachiedragon

You can make chow chow with green tomatoes. 

I am thinking about buying several of those cheap round plastic kiddie pools and doing my gardening in them this year. I did everything in pots last year because I don't have a good place to plow up, and I'm terrible at weeding.


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## jaydee

Green Tomato Chutney?
Green Tomato Chutney Recipe, Green Tomato Relish Recipe | Simply Recipes

I've grow onions from seed but they never transplanted really well so gave it up as a waste of time


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## PrairieChic

Kiddie pools are a great idea apachiedragon. I was thinking of doing the a few test plants of the straw bale potatoes. Anyone ever try that method? So envious of all you southerners starting gardens already. I still have snow that is up to my chest in my garden. So be middle of may before I start seeding. Maybe you guys could start fanning your warm weather this way, lol!


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## FlyGap

Ha ha! I'm terribly behind here, again!
So no warm weather to you from me, at least not yet .

Hoop house is being worked on as I type! So excited, will post photos Sunday! 
We are expecting yet another ice storm on Sunday night, of course.

Broccoli babies are leafed out, only doing 46...
Have yet to start anything else, cabbage and cauliflower seeding Monday... What a mess!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jaydee

My veg patch is still covered in a layer of ice and snow!!!


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## stevenson

I planted yellow and white corn this year. Last year the grasshoppers ate them.
I also put in some tomatoes 4 plants, okra, green and grey zucchini, crooked neck yellow squash, and two types of water melons large striped, and smaller green round. 
I am still waiting for sprouts. My early oranges are in bloom as well as some of plums and nectarines. I hope this year I get a decent crop and its not ruined by wild critters.  
last weekend we were at 80 degrees.. no real winter here. I will be watering in the early am , due to the water cut backs. I hope next winter we actually get a winter .


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## Jayknee

PrairieChic said:


> Kiddie pools are a great idea apachiedragon. I was thinking of doing the a few test plants of the straw bale potatoes. Anyone ever try that method? So envious of all you southerners starting gardens already. I still have snow that is up to my chest in my garden. So be middle of may before I start seeding. Maybe you guys could start fanning your warm weather this way, lol!


Ii was also thinking of doing the straw bale potatoes but decided against it. I ran across a article where someone did a series of tests to find out what worked best for potatoes. Straw, Dirt, Raised beds, a mixture of straw/dirt ect. The potatoes did best in the Raised bed with well cultivated soil. next was the regular in ground planting, than the straw/ dirt combo. The plain straw bale was the very bottom of the list. While it did produce potatoes the harvest was not really worth the effort, According to the author. I am growing potatoes this year by first planting them in a raised bed with well cultivated soil first then I will be heaping my potato mounds with a combination of soil/straw. The potato's I planted this year should lead to a interesting harvest as I planted Purple Majesty potatoes! 
They will go nicely with the rainbow blend carrots! The yum yum mini bell peppers and heirloom tomatoes! This year should be interesting! I cant wait for my tomatoes to come in as I don't yet know what variety of tomatoes I'm being sent, LOL! They should be here sometime between the 27th and the 1st. :lol:

I'll try to send you some warm air but in return you have to send some moisture this way! It's way too dry here its going to be a tough summer fire wise if we don't get some moisture soon. The town I live in already lost the only good place to get a burger to a fire last week. Its a good thing that the fire department is only 2 doors down or the brush behind the restaurant could have caught fire! Its only about a half mile from the restaurant to my house :shock:


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## jaydee

I've found potatos to do best in raised beds
I lost most of my tomatoes to some sort of blight last year so I'm going to try planting in a new area this year.


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## FlyGap

Wish it would hurry up and get warm for you guys! We had a freeze last night but no ice :happydance:!

Here is the hoop house... Got a bunch done this weekend but it's STILL not finished! This thing is soooo hard to put up, especially since we've never done one before. I recommend hiring a professional crew... But don't tell all the wonderful people that came out to help this weekend! We had a BLAST!

Got the big beams in and the side runners in.


Then the cross beams (which took four guys to get in) then yesterday DH, DBIL, and I got ONE door installed... SHEESH!


Summer project is painting my barns, they look terrible now that I see them online, :?.


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## Celeste

I remember somebody on here talking about growing potatoes in a cardboard box. Does anybody know how it is done?


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## FlyGap

I think you just open the ends, add soil/compost/straw under/around/over the potato start. Then keep adding straw/soil as they grow. Put bricks or cinder blocks on the bottom flaps spread outwards to keep it upright and steady.
I have some cloroplast that I was thinking about using the same way... Just duct tape the sides.

I did the trench method two years ago and it was MURDER getting them dug up. Last year I only dug them in six inches and mounded on top and had a great crop. The potato bugs were awful last year so I'm companion planting with onions/garlic to help ward them off. Any other companion plants you guys know of that are good for potatoes?


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## stevenson

i have sprouts ! I think they are squash . the baby corn stalks are up, and so far the critters have left my tomato plants alone, and one that i put in a pot by the kitchen door has a bloom .


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## jaydee

Oh for goodness sake stop having stuff growing will you!!! My ground is still frozen solid here. I'm never going to catch up
Love the hoop house FlyGap


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## Saddlebag

Anyone in Arizona is welcome to free snow. Just send a big tank truck. We'll load it with snow and keep melting it until it's up to the brim. It's a win/win, you get your water I get rid of the snow.


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## Hidalgo13

We still have so much snow up here.  It's gradually getting warmer, so it should melt... soon... i hope? 

I have tomatoes and peppers started indoors for my container garden though. Just planted the zucchini too, but they haven't germinated yet. SO excited for spring!!


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## stevenson

We actually and finally got a little bit of rain ! So i did not have to water the garden for the last 2 days. The Sacramento area had funnel clouds and small tornado touch down.. SO unusual
for CA .. Odd odd weather this year. We are at 68 today , a tad cooler yesterday .
I dont like snow , but we do need water ! the rain we get is only .10 to .25 " with yearly rain at 6 -8 " . and maybe even some SNOW down to the 4400 ' which will be a cold storm to get that low for next week. YEAH .


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## PrairieChic

Thanks for the info Jayknee. Sure you can have moisture too - we still have most of our flood water too so you can take that. Lol 
That hoop house looks great Flygap! Onions work for potato bugs?! Never knew that. Had them last year for the first time. Wanted to know what to do to get rid of them. I heard African marigolds help. I have the super tall marigolds in garden every year so I guess I have to switch. I also read about covering your hills in wet newspaper worked - something about the bugs not being able to get into the soil.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## FlyGap

Hoop house is DONE! Woo hoo!
Got tilled today! Photos coming soon... 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## FlyGap

Outside!
Sorry for the crooked photo, it's square, I promise!
The roll up door looks wopyjod, been to get a better system but hey... It works!

My poor yard is trashed, add that to the project list too... .


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## FlyGap

Inside! First till done, some amending to do yet.


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## Missy May

Wow, Fly!!


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## Mingiz

We want to start a garden this year. We have a good open spot picked out. It will be about 20x60. My question to all you gardeners is: After it is tilled what do you do to prep the soil? My dad had a great garden when I was a kid but of course my only part of it was picking the veggies. What types of fertilizers do you use etc. Thanks!!!!


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## FlyGap

Cool Mingiz!

We use organic mushroom compost and worm castings and I'm composting manure. Take a soil sample to your local ag office and have them do a test to see what you need. This year we added lime too.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Clayton Taffy

I like cotton burr compost and rice hulls for soil amendments. As for fertilizer I like anything from the Espoma line of fertilizers. I find they are easy to use and it is very hard to harm the plants with them.

Espoma â€“ Organic Fertilizers & Pesticides for Lawns & Gardens!


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## FlyGap

Where's the photos?? 

Here is the outside bed, 118 broccoli plants! Ha ha ha!!!
We started most of them but they were looking puny so we bought some more... Now ours are looking better than the ones we bought, go figure.
Onions in, corn in, green beans in, potatoes in, now all we have to do is get the tomatoes and squash in the greenhouse. Doing sunflowers around the outside garden fence, and carrots... Must get in the carrots!


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## FlyGap

Baby broccoli so cute!!


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## stevenson

Hoop house is neat. what keeps it from becoming a kite with the wind ? do you have two garden areas, one under the hoop and then one where your broccoli is planted ? 
that will be a lot of broccoli do you sell it at Farmers markets ?


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## FlyGap

Hmmm? Welllll WE LOVE BROCCOLI! Ha ha!
We eat it twice a day. So go through about 8 and more pounds a week... 

The hoop house has big "hoops" that are about 4 feet apart. Each one is pounded in the ground almost two feet on each end. Then there are 4X4 posts on the outside of each end to keep it steady. It's rock solid. The cover is a bit tricky...
In a bad storm it could be damaged or destroyed, but it's not too expensive to replace. I'll let you know Monday if we survive the tornado weather... 

I plan on doing markets in the future. Was going to this year but we were behind on construction. Next year for sure and if I have any bumper crops I'll sell on the local square. The main goal is to COMPLETELY become independent and never have to buy pesticide ridden produce again... I did good last year but have a looong ways to go.

Buy the time I'm done with this place the whole yard will be a produce garden, LOL!!!
That picture is the outside garden, then we have the hoop house, a tiny slow growing orchard, and my strawberry bed.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Rob55

FlyGap said:


> Hoop house is DONE! Woo hoo!
> Got tilled today! Photos coming soon...
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Wow that is a big green house.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Foxhunter

At the moment my garden is just starting.
I retired and returned home to care for my elderly mother. The house and gardens had got to much for her an my father so, to say it was a mess is an understatement! Dad was a hoarder so there was all sorts of things in the garden which took me months to clear. 
Just last week I finished clearing the last bed, it was a flower/shrub bed but is going to be more veggies. I have wired it to grow beans up. I have planted rhubarb, raspberries, loganberries, Tay berries, around the perimeter, also three mini fruit trees, cherry, plum and apple, I built some cold frames from junk that was here, planted out spuds, beets, spinach, rocket and a few other things. No room for a greenhouse and a shed so the shed won as I needed storage. I have many large sheets of glass so, I am looking at a way to fix them in one area to make a three sided protective area for peppers, tomatoes and gherkins. 

We have had ideal weather, sunny and rain. Certainly the weeds are showing through though not quite as bad as I was expecting them to. 

I sacrificed half the veggie patch to make a car standing for four cars. About the only thing I could do as there is never anywhere to park around the area. I had access from the private road to the property but it meant inconveniencing the neighbours which is why I made the area for four cars. 

When things are up a bit higher I will send before and after pictures.


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## FlyGap

Tap tap... Hello...?

Where are the photos Foxhunter??? 

Today I picked, snapped, blanched, and froze 20 pounds of green beans! I'm tuckered out! And that's only the first round!
Got about 9 squash and zucchini, they are just getting started...
Picked a bunch of broccoli side shoots, they didn't do as well as I'd have liked. Only got 15 or so pounds.
The potatoes are dying out so it's time to dig those...
Tomatoes have tons of nice greenies... Must fry some.
The greenhouse got its final till today after adding tons of compost the last two weeks. Have over 80 tomato babies to go in it, more squash and zucchini, carrots, onion babies, garlic, okra, peppers, and sweet potatoes. Will do the cold stuff when that's all harvested.
Corn looks like crud, we got hit by a late frost and lost half of it so more will go in the greenhouse too.
I NEED ANOTHER FREEZER! 

Lost all my fruit to the frost and the black locust blooms so only got wildflower honey, but it's DIVINE anyways!

Hope your gardens are thriving and you're getting bucket loads!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Indiana2

I love this forum!!! I love gardening, and am just rehabbing an old garden that hasn't been used in oh...how long does it take a birch sapling to grow to 6 feet tall?? I just bought this house last fall, and have been working on the garden, removing trees and tilling the soil  The potatoes are all up and looking fabulous but my greens aren't up yet. We have almost 24 hours a day of sunlight where I live in the north, so we plant late because of late frosts (we had 4 inches of snow June 4th!) but when things start growing, they grow like they are on steroids. Seriously, we have to mow our lawn every 3 days in summer.


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## jaydee

My weeds are doing wonderfully!!!
The rest - not so great


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## Foxhunter

All pictures are still on my camera! 

It is funny how I put things in much earlier than others in the US yet you are picking beans already. Mine are in flower but nothing to pick yet. Peas are nearly ready. Plenty of lettuce and spinach, pulled some baby beets to thin them out a bit. 

Tomatoes aren't amounting to much, really need a green house for them. I haven't a lot of room for one so I have decided to build an 'Eden Project' and get some polythene and build something in a small area I do have. 

The Eden Project is in Cornwall, large domes under which they grow all sorts of exotic plants. When I never had enough room where I was before, I built a polythene greenhouse which worked brilliantly and lasted for three or four years before it needed new polythene. 

I have things to plant on from the cold frame into the ex flower bed. Only problem there is that I buried my mother's old dog there and my darn GSD keeps digging to get him up! Luckily he is 4+ feet deep but she has got to the lime around him! 
Lovely! 

I will get the pictures off the camera later.


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## jaydee

We are behind the UK in planting - the grounds still frozen here when you lot are putting seeds in - and its going to be some time before I'm harvesting beans, tomatos etc - I did get some good asparagus this year though and the rhubarb was better - I moved it further over and seems to have helped


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## Foxhunter

Well I took some pictures off the camera and couldn't find how to mail them to me or upload them to photobucket. My nephew will show me how. He has my computer I only have the iPad.


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## FlyGap

Can't wait to see it!

Here's mine... The broccoli needs tore out, so much to do to do...
Those spindly sticks are what's left of the potato plants, time to dig!!


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## FlyGap

Anyone know what the next rotation to plant after broccoli? I lost my chart.


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## Foxhunter

My area is tiny by comparison! 

I never worry about rotational just dig in plenty of horse muck in the fall and it will grow again!


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## jaydee

I think as long as you avoid anything from the same family you're OK - Cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, brussels sprouts, radish, swede. kohl rabi, kale - not sure if that's the lot but they're the Cruciferaea group if you google that
The eggplants (aubergines) I planted in the same place that I had tomatos last year are pathetic but the ones I planted where I had brussels sprouts last year are going great


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## Zexious

Fly--Wow, that's amazing looking! You are all so talented and resourceful! I hope, someday, I can have a little garden with edible stuff in it :> /subbing.


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## Missy May

I haven't been in here for a while b/c all those beautiful veggie gardens just make me jealous and depressed.  But, I spotted this guy today, and snapped a few pics. The rains have the hedgehogs blooming - for the second time.


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## whisperbaby22

I think this is just a vegetable gardening area, does anybody here grow moss roses?


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## Missy May

whisperbaby22 said:


> I think this is just a vegetable gardening area, does anybody here grow moss roses?


Fruits_ and_ vegetables, such as hedgehog fruit - no moss, no roses. :wink:


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## stevenson

my squash got some disease, and some wierd looking bugs. The sheep are eating the ones with the gourdy thick skins. I think it got to hot here.


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## FlyGap

Sooo quiet!

So who's growing fall gardens? 

So far I have broccoli, Kale, and beets started...
Still have to start my spinach.

My green beans came back up so hopefully I'll get a few bags full before the frost. I've got 38 tomato plants (second planting in the hoop house) just now starting to ripen...

DD won reserve champion in the horticulture department at the county fair for her "crown of thorns" gourds!!
She hand tilled her plot and grew them all on her own!! I'm sooooo proud of her!! 

Hope everyone had a bountiful year!!!


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## stevenson

No garden for me for fall. A lot of the plants got buggy, was just to hot and dry here. 
I may just put that little section of land in pistachio trees, and to have a small crop to sell. 
or I may try just Artichokes for a farmers market.


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