Victory Garden

[Oldguy]

Update on my garden:

From first flats planted, I only got 3 pumpkin plants to come up. I've since transplanted those pumpkin peat pots into stew cans. I burned up my first planting by putting flats in direct sun...

From Picnic Day in Davis I was gifted seedlings, I planted 4 tomato plants and 1 pepper plant in stew cans. They are about 4 inches high.

From second planting in peat pot flats , I have 2 full flats growing: 34 corn,18 zucchini, 16 lettuce, 24 tomato, 16 radish, 22 string beans, and 3 peppers so far. Corn has 2 seedlings per pot, lettuce and tomato have several seedlings from each pot.

Corn is 3 inches high. Beans are 6 inches high. Zucchini is 4 inches high. Lettuce, tomato, radish, and peppers are small. I've put some beans and corn in stew can pots.

I have a third peat pot flat with 62 pots unplanted. I think I'll buy some more seed this week and do a third planting. I have some blue corn heritage seed and some ornamental sunflower seed I'll use up. I want to put up veggies this fall and try the self-sustainability thing this winter.

The rain should stop tonight and I'll dig up a patch tomorrow. I'm going to Earth Day Saturday in Davis, I'll probable start transplanting stew can garden into the ground Sunday, Mother's Day. (Easy to remenber date for timing harvest days.)
..........
From GE Appliances website:
GE Recipes
Vegetable Lasagna

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 package (10 oz.) frozen spinach
2 cans (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (6oz.) tomato paste
1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushrooms
1 zucchini squash, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 package (16 oz.) lasagna noodles, precooked
2 cups small-curd cottage cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Preparation
1. Cook spinach according to directions and drain well.

2. Mix together tomato sauce, tomato paste, mushrooms, onion, oregano, basil, garlic powder and salt.

3. Spread a half cup of mixture over the bottom of a 12-inch x 8-inch x 2-inch or equivalent casserole dish.

4. Layer half of the lasagna noodles over sauce, followed by half of the remaining spinach, zucchini, yellow squash slices, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce mixture.

5. Repeat layers.

6. Cover well and freeze.

7. When ready to bake, remove from freezer and preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for 30–45 minutes until hot and bubbly.

[Ugly Dougly]

Got mizuna sprouting. It came up so fast I thought the shiso and mitsuna were bad seeds. But along they come too, slow but sure.

[Monkeypoo]

*excited*


I have 5 green tomatoes that I have been watching slowly grow. I am sooooooo fucking excited. This first batch of 'maters is soooooo gonna be some luscious Fried Green Tomatoes in my cast iron fry pan!!!!

Pateince, Poo.....


No matter how many times I go outside and look and gaze at those dang tomatoes, I have learned that they ain't gonna grow any faster by me watchin' 'em and willing them and praying to the great tomato goddess in the sky to make them get fatter.

Fried green tomatoes.

YUM-FUCKING-OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[Monkeypoo]

Oldguy or anyone here,

I need some help with my freesias.
I love my freesia flowers....so fragrant and pretty!
Next to roses and daisies, they are my most fave.

Okay, so I bought them at a supermarket outside for a silly $2.99 about
2 months ago. I did what the taggy thing said and the flowers were pretty
and fragrant but then they wilted and died. I did research. It said they
bloom in Spring, awesomely fragrant beautiful happy hippie flowers (Yay!),
then the flowers wilted and died.

Is that it? I was tempted to cut off the stems, but NOW they are growing
little nodule thingys. Internet told me the stems and leaves would die off
and turn brown and then I should put them away, saving the bulbs, then
the freesias would come back next year. Okay. Cool. BUT....

Back to the nodules. They are coming out of the places where the the
original flowers popped out. Are there more flowers about to come?

Peace.

[SilverOrange]

Hey Monkeypoo...

Freesias are propagated by offsets of bulbs and seeds

My guess is they're probably seed pods. Don't have any experience with freesias. (I'm an orchid guy.)

[Ugly Dougly]

I got jalapeno growing - and a basil next to it. I don't think they are getting along well.

[Oldguy]

I left my pots and flats outside last night to start hardening them off. I dropped some pots moving them inside the other day. I got to let them make it on thier own now, sort of like pushing the kids out the door for school. Milder temps this week here, I'll not put them in direct sun till they are bigger. I've hesitated putting them into the Earth where insects, critters and the weather will have their way.

I suppose a lot of farmers get this mother hen feeling.

[Ugly Dougly]

Hardening off? I guess you're in Sutter County. Down in the flatlands we-uns don't even know what that means!

[Monkeypoo]

Hey Monkeypoo...

Freesias are propagated by offsets of bulbs and seeds

My guess is they're probably seed pods. Don't have any experience with freesias. (I'm an orchid guy.)

And from the look on that little gal's face into the little boys pants in your avatar...
I'd say you have a nice orchid growing? Sweeeeeeeet. Let it grow, let it grow....
No, wait. I'm thinking of this song....

[youtube][/youtube]

[Oldguy]

OK classtime: Hardening off 101
Hardening off Transplants
_________________

Many gardeners have only the foggiest idea of what "hardening off" means. To get advice from a professional, I want to give you guidelines written up by Norma Rossel, Quality Assurance Manager for Johnny's Selected Seeds. Johnny's is in Maine and it specializes in short-season cultivars. They are very aware that, in order to get heat-loving crops to mature in places like Seattle, giving plants a head start as transplants is absolutely necessary. Transplants are also an essential element in intensive gardening, which is important to urban gardeners with limited land.

Here are Norma's recommendations. Keep in mind, this is an optimum, best-case scenario.
Harden off gradually, so that seedlings become accustomed to strong sunlight, cool nights and less-frequent watering over a 7-10 day period.
On a mild day, start with 2-3 hours of sun in a sheltered location.
Protect seedlings from strong sun, wind, hard rain and cool temperatures.
Use an automatically opening cold frame, if you have one.
Increase exposure to sunlight a few additional hours at a time and gradually reduce frequency of watering, but do not allow seedlings to wilt. Avoid fertilizing.
Keep an eye on the weather and listen to the low temperature prediction. If temperatures below the crop's minimum are forecast, bring the plants indoors or close the cold frame and cover it with a blanket or other insulation.
Know the relative hardiness of various crops. Onions and brassicas are hardy and can take temperatures in the 40's. After they are well hardened off, light frosts won't hurt them. Warm-season crops such as eggplants, melons and cukes prefer warm nights, at least 60° F. They can't stand below-freezing temperatures, even after hardening off. (See chart below for more detail.)
Gradually increase exposure to cold.
Root-prune plants in flats a week before setting out. Use a sharp knife and cut down to the bottom of the flat between the plants. Water thoroughly.
After transplanting to the garden, use a weak fertilizer solution to get transplants growing again and to help avoid transplant shock.




Recommended Minimum Temperatures Hardy 40° F. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, cabbage, onions, leeks, parsley
Half-Hardy 45° F. Celery, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, endive
Tender 50° F. Squash, pumpkin, sweet corn
60° F. Cucumber, muskmelon
65° F. Basil, tomatoes, peppers




Note: Temperatures regularly below 50° F. can cause Chinese cabbage to bolt. Temperatures below 55° F. for 10 days or more causes celery to bolt. Harden by reducing water slightly for 7-10 days before setting celery out, but do not reduce temperature.

As I said above, these recommendations are a goal. Few gardeners, even the best ones, always follow these procedures to the letter. Do the best you can. A maximum/minimum thermometer is one of the first, best tools you can buy to help you. A self-opening cold frame would be a nice investment, but an inexpensive, plastic cloche or row cover can do the job.

One last note: the terms "hardy" and "tender" are possibly as poorly understood as "hardening off." They relate to whether a crop can withstand frost. Hardy plants can, tender crops can't and half-hardy ones may be able to take brief, light frosts.



Holly S. Kennell, WSU Extension Agent, King County
For more information contact your local WSU Extension Office.

[Oldguy]

From www.theflowerexpert.com :

___________
Freesia Flowers
Freesia Flowers are one of the most fragrant flowers. The Freesia specie, Freesia alba caused a sensation when introduced into cultivation in 1878! Along with Freesia leichteinii, this is the most deliciously, sweetest of all Freesia species.
Freesia is a genus of about 14 species. Freesia bulbs are usually grown for use asCut Flowers. All the 14 species of Freesia are African in origin. Of The 14 Freesia species, 12 are native to Cape Province, South Africa, the remaining two to tropical Africa, with one these species extending north of the equator to Sudan. Freesia flowers are very fragrant, typically white or yellow, and are borne in spikelike racemes. This blooming beauty captures your heart and is a springtime favorite.

Kingdom
Plantae
Division
Magnoliophyta
Class
Liliopsida
Order
Asparagales
Family
Iridaceae
Genus
Freesia
Freesia plants grow from a corm (a solid bulb, as in Gladiolus). The Freesia orm sends up a tuft of long narrow leaves and a slightly branched stem. Freesia Flowers are borne as loose one-sided spikes of narrowly funnel-shaped flowers along a side few leaves. Some excellent Freesia varieties (old-fashioned) for fragrance include: Athene, Allure, Demeter, Excelsior, Golden Wave, Mirabel, Pink Westlind, Snowdon, and Welkin.

The tender, cormous plant, Freesia originated in South Africa. The leaves on Freesia are sword shaped and light green and may be up to 1 feet high. Freesia Flower stalks are slender and about the same height. As many as 8 funnel-shaped Freesia flowers form a loose cluster at the top of each stalk. Where the flowers begin, the stem makes a sharp bend so that the Freesia flowers face upward.

Facts About Freesia
•Freesia bloom was named by Dr. Freese (1785-1876) , a native of Kiel, Germany.
•The flowers come in a great variety of colors - white, golden yellow, orange, red, pink, mauve, lavender, purple and bicolors.
•Freesia perfume has a light, sweet, soap-like floral scent - trendy in soaps, lotions and so forth.
•Freesia flower bouquets are also used for gifting on special occassions. Freesia flowers are symbolic of innocence.
•Freesia are very poularly used in the perfume, scented oils and baths and other related industries.

Freesia Fragrance Oil
Fragrance Oils are artificially created fragrances, which contain artificial substances. Freesia fragrance oil is suitable for use in oil burners and vapourisers. It can also be used to refragrance pot pourries. Freesia fragrance oil can also be used in any of the vapourisers, such as the ceramic lamp ring, drivetime car vapouriser, radiator vapouriser or mini vaporiser.

Freesia essence oil is uncut, undiluted, alcohol free, long lasting, high grade essence oil. The oil is excellent for aromatherapy uses - to scent candles, freshen potpourri, in soap making, massage oils, bath oil and of course, as a Freesia perfume body oil - to smell just truly great.

Growing Freesia Flowers
•The corms should be planted close - six will do nicely in a 5 inch pot.
•Soil should be light and should be drained well.
•Place the top of the corm, 1 inch below the soil.
•For winter flowers, plant freesia in late summer or early fall and keep them cool until frosts are due.
•During winter, bring freesia bulbs in and keep them in a sunny window.

Plant Care
•Freesias are propagated by offsets of bulbs and seeds.
•Freesia plants need full sun and cool night temperatures, preferably between 45 and 40 degrees.
•Keep the plants well watered while the leaves and flowers are developing.
•When the leaves begin to brown after the flowers have faded, the plants may be gradually dried off and the corms saved for the following year.
____________
I think your flowers are simply spring bloomers. Save your corms, then you can replant. Hot nights could have triggered the bolt.

[theCryptofishist]

thought Dr. Freese was some sort of supervillen.

[Oldguy]

Arnold even got the accent correctly, but the Governor is Austrian not German. South Africans in the Trans-vaal spoke Dutch. The Boors were fiesty too. Winston Churcill had a go with them, remember? Dutch, German, and Austrian people are one in the same to me. My grandfather was very opinionated and some of it stuck. I'm getting over it...

Pretty flowers though...

[theCryptofishist]

Dutch, German, and Austrian people are one in the same to me. My grandfather was very opinionated and some of it stuck.

Dear Lord, man, when your grandfather was born Germany wasn't even a country yet! Well, certainly when his grandfather was born. The Prussians are the stereotypical "Alles muss in Ordnung sein!" and the Bavarians are regarded as hopeless hicks. Austrians are even goofier.

Oh well.

[Oldguy]

My grandpa Lyfurs was too old for WWII. He lost two younger brother-in-laws in the Pacific. One in the Aleutions, one who survived Bataan only to die on the main island of Japan in a prison camp. My grandma Clara was a two gold star sister.

3 uncles of mine were overseas. Virgil was based in England. Alan, a paratrooper, was in Itay. Young Billy was an island hopping Marine. My dad was in highschool, I ain't that old...

My grandad thought the "Limeys" were as bad as the "Krauts". He thought the Royals were really Germans, "ever since Crazy George". Hanovor line, and all that.

Prince William is more English than his dad through the Spencer line.
My ancestors were Scots/Irish who left Edinburg at the time the "Bonnie Prince" was exiled. Their ancestors were Norman raiders who settled on the Firth of Forth.

The Scots settled off Cape Fear, north of Charleston. Westward movement and all that. Perhaps my ancestors will settle China after We burn them back to the stoneage.

Lyfurs was from Nagadoches, Clara was from Austin (her mom was full-blood Quapa). Their family moved West after the Dustbowl. They became migrant farmworkers. My parents met in the fields and orchards... California dreamers... My dad was 21 and my mom 16 when they got married. I came along when mom was 17. I'm only 58 but the men in my family die young.

What was the question?
___________
Insecurity? Does my life mean anything?

[Ugly Dougly]

Boojum.

[Oldguy]

oh, I see. Thankyou.
From the last verse of a Lewis Carrol poem, " For the Snark was a Boojum..."
It appears this old dog can learn new tricks...

"In the midst of the word he was trying to say
In the midst of his laughter and glee
He had softly and suddenly vanished away
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see" - Lewis Carrol

And yes," I don't know. " is a perfectly good answer.

[Monkeypoo]

bump

So, how is everyone's garden growing?

It's a JOY each morning when I go outside to watch the sun rise and I see a new flower that has popped open to greet me with a smile. I smile right back at 'em!

Herbs are growing like weeds. Very little maintenance and very yummy. Strawberries are yummy. Tomatoes are even yummier. They're not getting much of a chance to get red 'cuz the South spoiled me and I love my fried green tomatoes! YUM!!! Cherry tomatoes get eaten as soon as I see they're ready to get eaten. One tomato plant isn't enough. Neither is one cherry tomato plant. Next year I'm planting at least 6-8 plants each.

I'm learning a lot from this year's patio garden. Jeez, I hate living in an apartment complex, but...oh well. I can't wait til we move to Ukiah/Potter Valley in a few months. At first I was a bit hesitant, but I think it's all gonna be A-OK. Change is always strange.

I'm gonna do things a whole lot different next year with my garden and it's definitely gonna be BIGGER. I'll have the room to do it up there. Yay! Looking forward to making a chicken coop and raising some chickens, maybe raising a cow and a piggy too. It'll be a good teaching experience for baby RJ as well.

I have high hopes and great dreams.

And maybe I'll meet me a mountain man who will carry me off to a nudist hippie commune and we'll live happily ever after.

[Monkeypoo]

The garden of my dreams....

[littleflower]

(I'm an orchid guy.)

orchids! what kind of plants? you have some native beauties up on the north coast .... do you have tropicals, too?

i have a bunch, all tropical... but they are pretty easy to grow here in coastal so cal.

they're wonderful, aren't they? i never get sick of looking at them ... and, like monkeypoo, i love to watch things grow, watch the flowers bloom ... they are like little miracles .....

[Monkeypoo]

OK. So I live in the city.
I only have a patio garden BUT I love it!
And it loves me.

Herbs are a good thing.
Cosmos are a good thing.
Strawberries are a good thing.
Marigolds are a good thing.
Succulents are a good thing.

[can't sit still]

Just the right thread; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... t-veg.html

[Monkeypoo]

Howdy gardening peeps! I have a question about SEEDS. I didn't use all my packets this year and was wondering can I use them next Spring? How do I keep them from going bad/stale/yucky? I'm guessing I just put them in a coffee can or something and keep them in a cool place, right?

My cherry tomatoes are still producing gobs of yummy tomatoes. My regular tomato plant stopped producing ahile back, so I chopped it, and then it grew back and is producing again! I was told it wouldn't, but I said, "Well, it'll be my experiment now, won't it?"

Had to transplant all my herbs into separate pots. The BBQ pit just couldn't sustain them all. They are going wild! What I love about growing herbs is that they are like weeds. Very little thought and care has to go into them.

The snails finally won at killing all my marigolds. Bastards. Next year I'm using Bugetta! I was realy trying to be nice to them, removing them from my garden and throwing them onto the lawn about 15 feet away. Then I got pissed and started smashing them onto the sidewalk. Sorry PETA.

My lavendar plant is huge and keeps bringing in beautiful butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. Man! Those big black huge bumble bees are scary!

So, please let me know what I need to do to preserve my packets of seeds. Thanks!

[can't sit still]

Monkeypoo, the book says that 8% humidity is best and to put them in the freezer. Sounds OK to me.

[unjonharley]

Monkeypoo, the book says that 8% humidity is best and to put them in the freezer. Sounds OK to me.

for early planting i put seeds in the frig to fool them into thinking it's spring.

my pet worms have eaten all the personal papers shreded(no ID theft here) along with all table scrapes.. Been giving them stuff from the edge of the compost pile..hungry little guys.. worm shit tea is twice as good as mirical grow..

[Monkeypoo]

Monkeypoo, the book says that 8% humidity is best and to put them in the freezer. Sounds OK to me.

for early planting i put seeds in the frig to fool them into thinking it's spring.

my pet worms have eaten all the personal papers shredded(no ID theft here) along with all table scrapes.. Been giving them stuff from the edge of the compost pile..hungry little guys.. worm shit tea is twice as good as miracle grow..

So, are you saying it's OK to put them in the freezer for now,
and then in Spring I put them in the fridge to help get them to sprout?

[unjonharley]

i dry store seeds.. in glass pints.. pui a cracker in to take up moister.. two week in the frig to fake spring.. dirt should be 75° for the seed to sprout.. 7ph is just right for must veggies.. 7ph is what worn shit is..

[Monkeypoo]

I found this on a site. Thanks for your input, guys.




Tips on Preserving Seeds

Well, the thing about container and small-scale gardening is the shear number of seeds. If I get a packet of 1000 lettuce seeds and have room for only, say 20 heads of lettuce at a time, chances are that I'm not going to use use up all the seeds. So I save the leftovers for the next year, because I know that most varieties of seeds will last for at least two years (sometimes even 4 or 5) if properly stored.

Nope, you don't have to buy all new seeds every year!

But not all seeds will last two years (onion seeds aren't as likely to make it), and you also have to make sure you store them correctly. I personally put all of my seed packets in a large zip-lock baggie, throw in small handful of uncooked rice to absorb moisture, and put it in the refrigerator. Some people even opt for the freezer, while others simply put them up in a cool, dark cabinet. Whatever you decide on, the essential ingredients here are dark, dry, and cool.

[can't sit still]

Here's a recipe for natural fertilizer;
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/ ... 2009-09-04

[unjonharley]

Here's a recipe for natural fertilizer;
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/ ... 2009-09-04

There comes a time in every growing season where a gardener feels like "piss on it"

This can save me time.. instead of going to the house to leak.. Just pee in the tomatoe hydro tank.. The wood ash is already in the earth worm tea..