Garden thread

AnnPT77 wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Sharing because I find this funny: A couple of years back, my next door neighbor asked if he could use my veggie garden area, which I was not planting. Of course, I said "sure". What he didn't say was that he planned to plant, um, ample? amounts of rhubarb, a perennial (comes back every year, very robustly in its case). He planned to make rhubarb wine, but would let me cut what I want, too.

Now, my neighbor, who's a dear man but a little bit of a fibbertigibbet, has decided not to make rhubarb wine (as far as I know, never did make any). He will maybe plant some other things out there (still fine), but called to let me know I should cut whatever rhubarb I want, up to and including all of it. This is enough rhubarb for at least 20 normal (non-rhubarb-obsessed) families, I think. I don't even like the stuff all that much, I mean, it's OK, but I'm not going to cut it by the bushel, and freeze/can it.

This is like a 30-foot row of rhubarb.

I dislike rhubarb but this showed up in my FB feed. Thought of your right away.

80 Rhubarb Recipes to Make This Spring (and Summer!) https://tasteofhome.com/collection/rhubarb-recipes-for-spring/?trkid=soc-toh-facebook

OOoo: Some of those look really good. I especially like the looks of that tart with amaretto and mascarpone! (Now, how much do I want the tart, vs. not want to go to the grocery store for mascarpone and puff pastry . . . ? ).

Thanks!

You're welcome.

My Mom loved rhubarb and always had 1-2 plants. She still gave away a ton of it after having all she wanted. Funny thing was, every time I visited during the season she would tell me to go out and cut a big bag for myself. Every year I would tell her I hate rhubarb. Every year she would ask "since when?". Uh, Mom . . . all my life. She passed away when I was 60 and she never got it.

LoveyChar wrote: »

I love all of the pictures and ideas that are here and I hope y'all are having a fantastic day...

Checked on my plants last night and all there was was dirt and plants. I woke up this morning and opened up my door to see mushrooms in one of my Bell Pepper pots. I read that this was a sign of nutrient rich soil and that the mushrooms help decompose the wood in the soil and further enrich it. I hope this is the case! The Bell Peppers are two weeks up from seeds today and parsley is coming up in the pot on the bottom.

Super weird wonder that is nature but the mushrooms are almost gone...very interesting...

Oof, accidentally made my post go poof. Try again...

Mulberries are out in force just now, so I made a compote of sorts, needed more lemon to jam up properly but perfectly delicious and edible. I also made some lavender syrup and used that with my lemons for some soda and also in icing for scones yesterday.


Been able to eat some salad greens from my own crops. Spinach is getting a bit thin but I am good on kale for a little longer, and threw the rest of my seeds down yesterday.


Because we don't spray and trapping doesn't help a bit, I am trying some low-tech fruit protection measures. This is an apple tree we never get to see anything from, and I have some peaches I should bag today and a pomegranate that is just bursting with blooms and new fruit. Between birds and rats and squirrels I have to keep my eye on things! One year they ate the mulberry bare of even the leaves as they were sprouting. I cut the branches off the ground and flashed the trunk and now I get to enjoy my own fruit.


The bags look so silly but I think they might work!

Follow up rhubarb note, since I suspect many others are harvesting. The rhubarb sauce with ginger root** (minced, and quite a lot of it), honey (not tooooo much), and - after cooking - a splash of Cointreau . . . that was really, really good. Definitely worth doing again.

I don't do recipes, so I can't specify exactly, but I think it was around a cup and half of 2" rhubarb chunks, maybe 2-3T honey, an inch or so chunk of ginger root, and a splash (tablespoon, maybe?) of Cointreau.

** There are other good methods, but I like keeping chunks of peeled ginger root steeping in sherry in my refrigerator (just middling drinking sherry, not cooking sherry). They keep indefinitely, and as the ginger level drops, the ginger-y sherry is pretty nice in cooking, too.

It’s so nice to see plants in their all their glory! I used to think this was a honeysuckle bush on our property — now I’m not so sure. It’s super fragrant. I figured a gardening wizard here might know.

The first of my potatoes broke the surface of the soil.

My blueberries are looking good (flowers, no fruit yet). My strawberries seem behind, but are doing okay. My lettuce and kale and cauliflower, etc., all look good except something is eating my cabbage. Onions are growing very slowly. Herbs are good, still hoping to save my hydrangea.

MeganD1704 wrote: »

Planted this weekend- got my lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli in the planter
Ran out of dirt though so the second one awaits. Will be carrots, onions, more lettuce (we eat a loooot of lettuce).

Really glad we built little lids this year- it hailed immediately following my planting.

There's never enough dirt, I keep running out too! I need to stock the entire shed with dirt or stay away from any seed packet stands and seedlings, I've been awful this year. Just planted 15 snap pea seeds and am soaking peas for microgreens tonight.

MeganD1704 wrote: »

Katmary71 wrote: »

MeganD1704 wrote: »

Planted this weekend- got my lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli in the planter
Ran out of dirt though so the second one awaits. Will be carrots, onions, more lettuce (we eat a loooot of lettuce).

Really glad we built little lids this year- it hailed immediately following my planting.

There's never enough dirt, I keep running out too! I need to stock the entire shed with dirt or stay away from any seed packet stands and seedlings, I've been awful this year. Just planted 15 snap pea seeds and am soaking peas for microgreens tonight.

Right!? our little store here has none left in stock currently- I think everyone went out planting this weekend haha. Hopefully this coming weekend they get some back in. The weather isnt supposed to be great this week.

Mmm snap peas, my favorite. I hope to one day have a big enough area to grow some.

Tractor Supply was out this weekend! I was shocked! My “Victory Garden” prediction looks to be coming true - and that makes me happy! I hope it’s a renewed love of gardening for many people out there!

MeganD1704 wrote: »

Katmary71 wrote: »

MeganD1704 wrote: »

Planted this weekend- got my lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli in the planter
Ran out of dirt though so the second one awaits. Will be carrots, onions, more lettuce (we eat a loooot of lettuce).

Really glad we built little lids this year- it hailed immediately following my planting.

There's never enough dirt, I keep running out too! I need to stock the entire shed with dirt or stay away from any seed packet stands and seedlings, I've been awful this year. Just planted 15 snap pea seeds and am soaking peas for microgreens tonight.

Right!? our little store here has none left in stock currently- I think everyone went out planting this weekend haha. Hopefully this coming weekend they get some back in. The weather isnt supposed to be great this week.

Mmm snap peas, my favorite. I hope to one day have a big enough area to grow some.

The soil I prefer is out of stock in the 2 cubic foot size but they do have 1 cu ft. I am done with most planting but I like to have some extra on hand so I did pick up 2 of the smaller bags (better for my back anyway).

Funny story: my Mom grew up on a farm and my Dad graduated from college with a degree in Conservation (these days better known as Natural Resources). I learned from an early age that the black stuff you plant things in is soil. We got corrected if we ever called it dirt (but if it is under your fingernails it is definitely dirt).

I have a raised garden bed where I planted lettuce, spinach, bunching onions, carrots, and snap peas. The nice thing about snap peas is that they do well in containers as long as they are given something to climb.

We had a few days of cold, rainy weather. Starting tomorrow we are expected to have almost a week of warm temps and plenty of sun. I hope everything in the garden will take off.

Hey everyone I hope you are well, this is my first post MFP!
I have done fairly well over the last six weeks, cutting my weight by 9 lbs.
I do like a lot of fruit and vegetables in my diet and I have decided to try and start growing my own in the garden. Obviously I am completely green and new to this, so was looking for some advice on which types I could start to build my confidence with it.
I know I could spend hours researching on the internet but I have often found it easier to go straight to the source of experienced people. Thank you for reading and I hope you are well.

MeganD1704 wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

MeganD1704 wrote: »

Katmary71 wrote: »

MeganD1704 wrote: »

Planted this weekend- got my lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli in the planter
Ran out of dirt though so the second one awaits. Will be carrots, onions, more lettuce (we eat a loooot of lettuce).

Really glad we built little lids this year- it hailed immediately following my planting.

There's never enough dirt, I keep running out too! I need to stock the entire shed with dirt or stay away from any seed packet stands and seedlings, I've been awful this year. Just planted 15 snap pea seeds and am soaking peas for microgreens tonight.

Right!? our little store here has none left in stock currently- I think everyone went out planting this weekend haha. Hopefully this coming weekend they get some back in. The weather isnt supposed to be great this week.

Mmm snap peas, my favorite. I hope to one day have a big enough area to grow some.

The soil I prefer is out of stock in the 2 cubic foot size but they do have 1 cu ft. I am done with most planting but I like to have some extra on hand so I did pick up 2 of the smaller bags (better for my back anyway).

Funny story: my Mom grew up on a farm and my Dad graduated from college with a degree in Conservation (these days better known as Natural Resources). I learned from an early age that the black stuff you plant things in is soil. We got corrected if we ever called it dirt (but if it is under your fingernails it is definitely dirt).

I have a raised garden bed where I planted lettuce, spinach, bunching onions, carrots, and snap peas. The nice thing about snap peas is that they do well in containers as long as they are given something to climb.

We had a few days of cold, rainy weather. Starting tomorrow we are expected to have almost a week of warm temps and plenty of sun. I hope everything in the garden will take off.

Haha - that is true. That is good to know about the peas- I want to ask hubby to make me a raised bed next year in addition to the planter boxes but I think if I ask for anything else as we also renovate the inside of the house it wont go well . Hope it stays sunny for you

Get some felt planting bags. You can plant them and move them anywhere you want but are much lighter weight.

We're working on our raised bed garden. We have:

2 4'x8' beds - 1 for asparagus. The other bed is going to be renovated.
3 3'x8' beds - 1 for asparagus. The other two vary - springtime (greens, broccoli, etc.) and then summer - tomatoes, etc.
2 2'x12' beds - mostly for strawberries and a couple of grape vines
2 1'x13' beds - mostly for strawberries and a couple of grape vines

Here's the current spring greens bed - broccoli, cabbage, collard greens and swiss chard.

ReenieHJ wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

ReenieHJ wrote: »

Question: I planted green/red pepper seeds from a couple peppers we'd had. None of the seeds planted in dirt have poked through and it's been well over 3 weeks now. But I also put some in a plastic bag in the window, with a wet paper towel and they're sprouting so I can plant those. Why the difference?? I'm hoping putting the seedlings into dirt won't kill them.

In dirt outside? You're north of me, in VT or NH, right? It was too early to plant those seeds outside:

https://todayshomeowner.com/how-to-measure-soil-temperature-for-planting/

Garden Vegetable Seed Germination Temperatures
The soil temperature for planting vegetables should be:

• 40° F or warmer: Lettuce, kale, peas, spinach.
• 50° F or warmer: Onions, leeks, turnips, Swiss chard.
• 60° F or warmer: Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, beans, beets.
• 70° F or warmer: Tomatoes, squash, corn, cucumbers, melons, peppers.

If in dirt inside, then likely you over or under watered them.

I'm just seeing this, sorry! I took a bit of a hiatus.
Yes, it was potting soil, actually 3 different bags mixed together that I had leftover from last year. I got disheartened and things started drooping/dying so I just threw all the potting soil into a huge tub and will work it into my regular garden space. I did plant them all inside because I have some nice sunny windows. I think someone mentioned on here, you need to use started soil, which I didn't have much of so maybe that's why the disaster. Anyways, I bought tomato plants and onion sets today, there were no pepper plants to be found. And I'm planning on planting green beans and cucumbers from seed this weekend. Usually I wait until Memorial Day but this whole week is supposed to be 60's and up.
Plus I bought a whole boatload of flowers for our house and the cemetery. It's so hard to stop.

I've been dreading going to the greenhouses. One place wasn't too bad because it wasn't busy. But the other place, even with signs requiring face masks, there were at least 3 people I saw without them, and 1 was a worker! No social distancing whatsoever. I just did NOT like it even though that place has the choicest plants.

I went to a Lowes* a few weekends ago and it was super-busy. However, everyone was wearing masks and trying to social distance in lines. There was a sign on the door that masks were required for entrance.

People have complained about Massachusetts being a nanny-state, but in times like this it's sure been nice. I've seen excellent mask usage for some time.

From https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10789131/coronavirus-memes:



*I usually avoid big box stores for plants but my neighbor told me about this Lowes, which takes unusually good care of their plants.

kshama2001 wrote: »

ReenieHJ wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

ReenieHJ wrote: »

Question: I planted green/red pepper seeds from a couple peppers we'd had. None of the seeds planted in dirt have poked through and it's been well over 3 weeks now. But I also put some in a plastic bag in the window, with a wet paper towel and they're sprouting so I can plant those. Why the difference?? I'm hoping putting the seedlings into dirt won't kill them.

In dirt outside? You're north of me, in VT or NH, right? It was too early to plant those seeds outside:

https://todayshomeowner.com/how-to-measure-soil-temperature-for-planting/

Garden Vegetable Seed Germination Temperatures
The soil temperature for planting vegetables should be:

• 40° F or warmer: Lettuce, kale, peas, spinach.
• 50° F or warmer: Onions, leeks, turnips, Swiss chard.
• 60° F or warmer: Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, beans, beets.
• 70° F or warmer: Tomatoes, squash, corn, cucumbers, melons, peppers.

If in dirt inside, then likely you over or under watered them.

I'm just seeing this, sorry! I took a bit of a hiatus.
Yes, it was potting soil, actually 3 different bags mixed together that I had leftover from last year. I got disheartened and things started drooping/dying so I just threw all the potting soil into a huge tub and will work it into my regular garden space. I did plant them all inside because I have some nice sunny windows. I think someone mentioned on here, you need to use started soil, which I didn't have much of so maybe that's why the disaster. Anyways, I bought tomato plants and onion sets today, there were no pepper plants to be found. And I'm planning on planting green beans and cucumbers from seed this weekend. Usually I wait until Memorial Day but this whole week is supposed to be 60's and up.
Plus I bought a whole boatload of flowers for our house and the cemetery. It's so hard to stop.

I've been dreading going to the greenhouses. One place wasn't too bad because it wasn't busy. But the other place, even with signs requiring face masks, there were at least 3 people I saw without them, and 1 was a worker! No social distancing whatsoever. I just did NOT like it even though that place has the choicest plants.

I went to a Lowes* a few weekends ago and it was super-busy. However, everyone was wearing masks and trying to social distance in lines. There was a sign on the door that masks were required for entrance.

Home Depot here has been great. (Especially since with the run on plants and seeds other places have been out of some stuff I wanted, and also I needed light bulbs and ended up picking up a ton of paper towels too.) I went last week, during the day, and it was pretty empty (when I'd been before was on the weekend). No line, but I know they are strict about how many can come in (I waited in line on the weekend), they were enforcing masks, sanitizing carts, and people were social distancing, which was easy given the reduced number of people in the stores.

My local plant shops are one that is delivering only (but for one neighborhood store nowhere near me, thus the trip to HD, since some stuff I wanted is now out unless you go to the one open store, and not available for delivery), and another that is normally packed but only just reopened after being voluntarily closed (an employee lost her husband to COVID, which might be part of that), and now has a strict "no one in without masks, and we would prefer you wear gloves" policy and is of course limiting entrance. I haven't been there yet, but have friends who went and reported that it is enforcing the requirements on the website.