Results 326 to 350 of 407
Thread: Garden 2022
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09-15-2022, 09:46 AM #326
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09-15-2022, 09:50 AM #327
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09-15-2022, 10:32 AM #328
One thing I've learned is that tomato cages are a joke. They're just way too small. Tomato's are vines, treat them as such. I made these simple frames with 8' lengths of 2x2. I was planning to wrap them with a grid of twine but the kind I had on hand was this really slippery plasticky stuff that was too finnicky work with so I just covered it with chicken wire. Takes a bit of training at the beginning (just need to make sure the plants are growing on the outside of the structure for easy access) but works really well.
Before
After (and embarrassingly overgrown, these really got away from me this year)
As for pinching or 'stopping off' I read somewhere that for my zone (5B) to pinch the tops around mid September to stop the plants from growing more, and I assume that means more energy is available to grow the fruits. Thought I found that on the Almanac site, was going to link it but can't find it now so take this with a grain of salt.
Unrelated - I have a pile of grocery store quality green peppers that I'm not going to be able to use. Have donated tons to the food bank, usually have some at the side of my house in the Free basket, but want to try preserving some. Anyone have any favourite methods? Blanch and freeze maybe?
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09-15-2022, 11:31 AM #329it just depends
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09-15-2022, 12:01 PM #330
^^^^^ lucky, plums are absolutely glorious!
Re: tomatoes, agree that there is absolutely no point in getting cages for them, they'll always be too small. I made cages out of 5' tall horse fencing wrapped into a 2' diameter tube. They go around the plant immediately after it goes in the ground. It looks massively oversized for a few weeks and incredibly undersized as soon as the plants decide to go to town, outgrow the cages, reach across the top to the next ones, they grow horizontally across the whole area. Maintaining tomatoes is a full time job unless you go full crazy with 10' tall arches they can grow over to form a tunnel you can harvest from the inside..."Your wife being mad is temporary, but pow turns do not get unmade" - mallwalker the wise
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09-15-2022, 12:08 PM #331Registered User
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09-15-2022, 12:10 PM #332
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09-15-2022, 12:34 PM #333
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09-15-2022, 12:52 PM #334Registered User
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09-21-2022, 01:14 PM #335
I really wanted to try it one year but didn't have the room. Or was convinced I didn't which I think is wrong. Looking at the footprint of a couple indeterminate plants gone wild vs 2 rows trained over an arch, it's clear the arch wins. The tomatoes give no fucks if they're growing 10' off the deck either...
Harvested a bunch yesterday and started aggressively pruning bigger branches that aren't producing. The results look like early July for a regular season but I'll take it.
Ms Boissal admitted to buying a habanero plant and not a habanada. No wonder I set my face on fire when I diced one of these orange fuckers in my eggs. Guess I'll show myself to the spicy sauce thread now."Your wife being mad is temporary, but pow turns do not get unmade" - mallwalker the wise
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09-22-2022, 06:12 AM #336
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09-22-2022, 08:05 AM #337
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09-22-2022, 08:31 AM #338
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09-22-2022, 07:18 PM #339
Man every time I see grapes like that I want to find the previous owner of our house who decided to rip out mature vines and replace them with Virginia creeper. Only a gargantuan asshole would do something like that, grapes are the best thing ever.
Re: purples squashes, they're fingerling eggplants, Tgapp knows. Some turn yellow but most go purple with white stripes. They're much easier to grow than the chunky ones and easier to cook as you can just slice and fry them. They don't work in dishes that require the giant flat slices though... but you don't find me making moussaka every week so it's not a big loss. I've found that ratatouille is the best way to get rid of the little guys and the squashes. I make huge pots of it and use it everywhere, it makes great pasta sauce as well.
Best part of the haul were the cantaloupes. We got a whole bunch of small charentais (the common light yellow guy with orange flesh) that you could smell from 10' away and some kajari melons (the striped orange globes next to the round zuccs) that were heavenly. The dog has stolen countless of them, she its them whole, rind and flesh, makes for some really strange poops."Your wife being mad is temporary, but pow turns do not get unmade" - mallwalker the wise
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09-23-2022, 08:53 AM #340
Damned Virginia Creeper. I've been fighting this off my property for awhile. Successfully in a couple spots, too! Newish neighbour next door has completely embraced it though, has trained it all over their side of our shared fence (and all over the rest of their backyard) so that side will always be an issue.
Tomatoes had a bit of a surge but have slowed down again. This will probably be the last big harvest. Cucumbers still going nuts. Putting handfuls outside in the freebie box daily.
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09-23-2022, 10:30 AM #341
I've had 1 cucumber this year. One single cuc. Unreal. Usually by this time even the chickens are begging for a break...
I like the idea of the freebie box, that's rad. In most years ours would be full daily. We have a sign under our peach tree to tell people to help themselves (within reason), might as well do the same with the veggies.
When I lived closer to downtown SLC I asked a neighbor 3 houses down if he would let me pick plums from his 2 trees that were dumping pound after pound on the sidewalk. Dude told me to fuck off and he'd rather let the fruit rot on the ground. He made it clear he hated plums but would not let anyone else take them either. Weird vibe..."Your wife being mad is temporary, but pow turns do not get unmade" - mallwalker the wise
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09-23-2022, 11:37 AM #342
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09-23-2022, 11:42 AM #343
My squash colonized one of the trees. I might leave this one up as food for the PNW tree octopus.
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09-23-2022, 11:44 AM #344
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09-23-2022, 01:49 PM #345
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09-28-2022, 04:32 PM #346
A local rancher keeps his cows and calves in a field across the street from my house. He lives 15 miles away. A couple of times the steer got loose, so I called the po-po to call him to herd them back into the field. He gave me his contact info. and asked me to call him direct if they made it thru the fence. I did. Today he showed up at my house with this bounty:
THANK YOU!.
Tonight's dinner: zucchini parmasean.“How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher”. — Jimi Hendrix
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09-28-2022, 04:36 PM #347
Well... tomatoes came in late this season, but without a frost yet and none in the forecast, I'm being inundated. Which is a good thing.
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09-28-2022, 08:01 PM #348one of those sickos
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09-30-2022, 07:54 PM #349
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10-18-2022, 08:00 AM #350
Getting ready for winter. I just bought 25 cu. yds. of shredded mulch for and 1800 sq. ft. section of my property that is covered with grassy weeds. Eventually, I will place 5 or six spruces in this area. Although there are pros and cons regarding the placement of organic landscape fabric as a weed barrier between the weeds/soil and mulch, I will do this. I will spread the mulch the old-fashioned way: with wheel barrow, shovel and rake. I suspect that my back will be hurting for the next few weeks. This will also help me get into ski shape. Pics to follow.
“How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher”. — Jimi Hendrix
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