Garden 2024

[blissful]

@rodentraiser since Jesus was in training pants..... I love that.

@pepperhead212 I really like the purple leaves, like purple mustard, or the merlot napa cabbage, gorgeous. I'm the only one that eats them here, they are a treat.

 

[taxlady]

Yes, TL, you can use the leaves from the kohlrabi - not something usually done, though maybe in areas where kohlrabi is grown the most. If looking for something to use it in, a similar item is the cauliflower greens, used in a lot of Indian dishes. And the komatsuna is a similar, mild flavor. Mustard greens are much stronger.

I figured one could eat the leaves. I was wondering if you, personally eat the leaves.

 

[pepperhead212]

Definitely I eat those, in many types of dishes, and if nothing else, a couple can be thrown in smoothies. I like them in many dishes calling for kale, more than I like the kale!

And that Merlot Napa isn't nearly as strong tasting as those purple mustard greens - something I only grew once. This just tastes like any other type of napa, and doesn't attract flea beetles, like green ones are notorious for, in my garden.

 

[larry_stewart]

Just mixed in some perlite to the garlic beds to ' fluff them up' and help the drainage. 2 weeks ago I pre-fertilized and added a layer of compost thats been cooking all summer ( with a lot of worms too). Ill likely get the garlic in this weekend or next.

Okra, string beans, pole beans, eggplants , most peppers and almost all the tomatoes ( except some grape tomatoes and the July 4th tomatoes ) are done. One huge squash vine is finally getting some mildew on its leaves. has about 6, 2 1/2 two 3 ft squash on it, most fully ripe.

Fall planted stuff ( Dill, parsley, lettuce, kale, arugula, snap peas and snow peas and an Asian green) all doing well.

The squirrels allowed me to get t about 20 - 30 chestnuts from the tree.

I threatened my persimmon tree ( which never produced 1 ripe fruit ever since I got it, that if I didnt get any fruit this year, I was going to chop it down. Sure enough, there are 1 persimmons starting to change color, so I guess it listened to me. In years past, it would produce a dozen or so fruit which would all drop before getting ripe. Apparently, thats kinda normal for persimmons, they can be temperamental.

Mushrooms haven't produced much in awhile, except the mistake, due to such dry weather. I cant remember the last time it rained here.

Almost done setting up my indoor stuff for the winter. Got some parsley, rosemary and sage cuttings going in the aquaqponics . My three tiered led lighted plant rack is waiting to be used . And of course, the mushroom tent is just about ready to go.

 

[pepperhead212]

Today I trimmed those lime trees way back, and the curry tree and bay trees a little more, so everything is ready to come in, though the curry tree is the only one I keep rolling in and out, due to the cool nights. I got over half of the trash can filled with the thorny lime branches.
About a half filled trash can, after trimming the 2 Makrut limes, with one plant behind it. 10-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tomorrow, I'll go out front early, and cut out the okra, and zinnia, since they will be in the shade then! Later, the eggplants out back will come out, and anything else that doesn't have anything left on it. Still quite a few green tomatoes, as well as a good number that have started ripening since those last ones I pulled. I might pull everything full sized, just to see what I can pickle; yesterday there were a bunch of undergrown ones, but those cherries can grow fast, and we are supposed to be getting higher than normal temps into next weekend.

 

[pepperhead212]

In the last week the squirrels destroyed most of those Merlot Napas, and the bok choy in my back garden - I think it's because it has been so dry (today is day 30 w/o rain) that nothing has been growing, other than what I'm growing. They also tore holes in the Agribon, to get to the plants under that. So far, I've trapped 6, so far, and one more out there today, with one trap door still open, last I looked. It's war again.

KOW, they didn't get to the ones on the side, and didn't seem to like the senposai (only a couple bites) or Swiss chard, but the Napa, kohlrabi, lettuce, and bok choy had no leaves left.

Got down to 38° last night - coldest night this fall, but no frost, due to the low humidity. Even the basil hasn't been bothered, and it's usually the first thing to go, before frost, but when it gets dewy in the low 40s - there just hasn't been any moisture! Supposed to be a few degrees above average today, and a few degrees higher every day, until the 81° Halloween.

 

[dragnlaw]

Suppose your squirrels are thirsty? Try putting a water dish out there and some rock hard nuts for them to bury or crack a tooth on.

 

[larry_stewart]

Planted my garlic last week. Today had enough fallen leaves to shred and use as mulch for the garlic beds. Only thing left in the garden is the kale, chard, arugula and lettuce. ( some snap peas and snow peas in large pots. Probably another week or two before the peas are with picking. Not sure they will make it.

I have a persimmon. the tree for years which never produced a ripe fruit. It always drops its fruit a few months before they ripen. I litterally threatened the tree that if it didn't produce at least one ripe fruit this year, Im going to cut it down. Damn thing has 2 fruits on it. Im excited , but part of me was looking forward to replacing it with another kind of tree. They better taste real good.

 

[taxlady]

Larry, since your tree seems to understand English, you should probably thank it for the two fruits. You might want to tell it what a good job it did and how it could improve.

 

[blissful]

@taxlady

 

[blissful]

@pepperhead212 OUCH! Sorry to hear about the squirrel damage.

The okra 'stumps' are OUT! They went down 14 inches, not all the way to china.

edit: I forgot to follow up on the lettuce having aphids and the help I received here. Thank you. We treated them once and the aphids were gone, no reinfestation.

 

[pepperhead212]

That okra is pretty bad to pull out! The Little Lucy is a little easier to pull out, and the stalks are smaller in diameter - some of those Emperors are over 2" in diameter! I have to cut some to about 2" high and basically let them rot, through the winter.

 

[blissful]

Larry, since your tree seems to understand English, you should probably thank it for the two fruits. You might want to tell it what a good job it did and how it could improve.

That was incredibly funny to me. They love the appreciation.

Mr bliss and I both talk to the plants and the trees and the bees.
I adore my favorite magnificent tree (a linden) and mr bliss used to talk about cutting it down, UNTIL he found out the bees LOVE it. Now he is also in love with my tree. The world stands still under that tree, so much peace and tranquility. The trunk structure is so solid, the branches so protective, even the breeze is calm standing under it. That tree will outlive both of us, it already towers over everything else in the yard.

 

[dragnlaw]

@taxlady

ditto ditto ditto

I talked to all my plants, indoor and out, always have. I also talk to my food, clothes, floors, anything I'm dealing with. And I'm seriously talking to them. When I answer for them I know I'm getting the best responses ever! Always correct and always polite.

You know those batty old women who talk to things? Well, be nice to them, that is their world now.

 

[rodentraiser]

My rose bush is missing all its leaves. It looks like deer damage but I don't see where a deer could even get to the rose bush and the sunflower on the other side is just fine. Plus, all the blooms on it are still there, too. Do roses lose their leaves in the fall?

 

[larry_stewart]

Larry, since your tree seems to understand English, you should probably thank it for the two fruits. You might want to tell it what a good job it did and how it could improve.

Good point!! But, I'm going to wait until taste the fruit before I compliment the tree. If it tastes bad, Ill be getting more fire wood.

 

[larry_stewart]

That was incredibly funny to me. They love the appreciation.

Mr bliss and I both talk to the plants and the trees and the bees.
I adore my favorite magnificent tree (a linden) and mr bliss used to talk about cutting it down, UNTIL he found out the bees LOVE it. Now he is also in love with my tree. The world stands still under that tree, so much peace and tranquility. The trunk structure is so solid, the branches so protective, even the breeze is calm standing under it. That tree will outlive both of us, it already towers over everything else in the yard.

My parents used to have this huge Oak tree on their property. I remember the day my dad planted it, we used to be excited when he got home from work, and we would have him stand next to the tree to see how much it grew and who was taller. Fast forward a few decades, this was the tree that we would all sit under ( during the summer) when the family got together. Birthdays, holidays, BBQ's... When my parents decided to move out of that house ( the house I grew up in), I was really sad, cause that tree had so many memories. Then, hurricane Sandy hit, knocked down that tree. My parents had to delay moving for a few months due to the storm. But once the tree was gone, the house just didnt feel the same, so it was much easier to accept that the house would no longer be in the family.

 

[pepperhead212]

Besides all those tomatoes, I also weedwacked all those dried up garlic chives flat, and I'll have a lot more of them next year, with all those seed heads! I also harvested a bunch of that Syrian Oregano, that is spreading back there every year, and it is an herb that dries well, so I always harvest some about now. And I got what I needed for the hydroponics, from the shed, and continued that this evening.
Syrian Oregano, ready to dry. 10-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Getting the hydroponics set up, the large tub filled, just starting the smaller one. 10-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

Besides all those tomatoes, I also weedwacked all those dried up garlic chives flat, and I'll have a lot more of them next year, with all those seed heads! I also harvested a bunch of that Syrian Oregano, that is spreading back there every year, and it is an herb that dries well, so I always harvest some about now. And I got what I needed for the hydroponics, from the shed, and continued that this evening.
Syrian Oregano, ready to dry. 10-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Getting the hydroponics set up, the large tub filled, just starting the smaller one. 10-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

How does the Syrian Oregano compare to other varieties ?

 

[pepperhead212]

How does the Syrian Oregano compare to other varieties ?

Another name for that Syrian oregano is Thyme-scented oregano, and that's what I use it for - a substitute for thyme, since it is much easier to strip from the stems, and harvest a large amount of. And it does spread, almost like regular oregano, which is why I planted it behind my shed - along with those garlic chives. Let them take over as weeds! Better than the weeds that were back there before. It doesn't spread quite as fast as some varieties because it does not produce seeds (produces a lot of flowers, and pollen, which the bees like, but it's sterile) - it is only propagated by cuttings, like tarragon, and the spreading is by the roots, like the mint.