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Post by mnjrutherford on May 5, 2010 9:50:24 GMT -5
Thanks Penny! Spring suppers always look the best to me! Especially when I can count increasing amounts of ingredients from the garden.
Yea, asparagus is interesting to say the least Mary! ::sigh:: Well, I'm sure not gonna give up though. To yummy for that! ;o) The onion scapes are sure yummy though. Garlic scapes are supposed to be on tonights menu. Along with manicotti. LOTS of spinach with the ricotta, hand made pasta using guinea eggs... more fresh bread... life is good!
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on May 5, 2010 10:12:17 GMT -5
My stupidest gardening trick happened when I moved. I had been growing my own varieties of a number of vegetables for years, and saving the seed in paper envelopes, in a cardboard box. So when I moved I just picked up the box and put it in the garage at the new place.
By spring mice had gotten into it and eaten every seed, (except for the Indian corn which was stored in a glass bottle).
I have been known to run a seeder down the row without paying attention to whether or not the wheel is spinning. This spring I put a bit of grease on the seed plate hub. It's much more reliable now.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on May 5, 2010 10:59:32 GMT -5
Oh NO, Joseph. Mousies ate your seeds  One of the reasons why we housed my seed collection in glass jars and hard plastic totes inside the spare refrigerator on the farm. Now that I no longer have room (nor the need) for a spare fridge, I house them still inside jars, etcetera and inside a large rubbermaid tote. |
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Post by littleminnie on May 5, 2010 20:05:14 GMT -5
I did a stupid thing yesterday. I came home for lunch and there was a strong east wind. So I brought all my trays out for the afternoon on the west side of the house. I had a tray just filled with seed mix and no cells and it had lots of lettuce seedlings. I set it on something instead of on the ground with the rest of the trays. When I got home later the wind had changed and got stormy and that tray was blown over and the dirt was basically in the neighbors yard. A few lettuce seedlings clung to the bottom of the tray. It was all lost. The weather has not been cooperating with hardening off anything. |
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Post by blackthumbmary on May 5, 2010 20:49:25 GMT -5
littleminnie - Maybe your neighbors will end up with a mysterious patch of lettuce in their yard that they would be willing to let you harvest. Hope you are on amicable terms with them! Joseph - I will remember your seed stealing mice when I do my first seed saving this fall. Rutherford - What time is dinner being served? I will bring wine, coffee, or any other requested goodies  Seriously I LOVE Manicotti...especially those made with fresh spinach and hand made pasta (using fresh eggs). Not to mention fresh bread.... How much better can life get? |
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Post by mnjrutherford on May 6, 2010 5:35:21 GMT -5
Rutherford - What time is dinner being served? I will bring wine, coffee, or any other requested goodies Seriously I LOVE Manicotti...especially those made with fresh spinach and hand made pasta (using fresh eggs). Not to mention fresh bread.... How much better can life get? OH my gosh the pasta was GREAT! I made thick sheets of the stuff and layered it into a lasgna style rather than stuffed rolls. The color was a deep yellow speckled with dried thyme and basil. It had such a wonderful chew. I made a saute with onion, baby garlic, garlic scapes, and a ton of spinach and added it to the ricotta. I really want to learn how to make my own mozzarella cheese but I had a good one that I added. I cooked sausages separate, left the lasagna vegetarian as a side... ::sigh:: Thank goodness there is plenty left over for breakfast! =o) Oh, yea, fresh bread... So, like, aren't you supposed to be here with the coffee? Fresh churned butter would work for me too!  |
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Post by johno on May 6, 2010 11:46:37 GMT -5
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Post by sandbar on May 8, 2010 18:55:29 GMT -5
... I was horrified to see HUGE gaps between the plants...like 5 feet! ... You said "broadcast planter" and I'm wondering if you meant "row planter" instead? A broadcast planter (broadcast spreader?) is used to sow seed on top of the ground (i.e. grass seed) or to spread granular fertilizer. Or, maybe I don't know what a "broadcast planter" is ... I have an Earthway seeder that I use to sow my corn. I, too, had problems with large gaps in the rows. I discovered that I was going too fast and the seeds didn't have an opportunity to drop. So, I slowed down and it worked much better. I found that if I was going at the proper rate, I could hear the seed drop through the chute. If I didn't hear anything, I slowed down. Additionally, I could see the seeds drop into the chute. The corn rows are still spotty at times, but it beats the tar out of sowing by hand. I have to hand sow my popcorn because it would drop 4 or 5 popcorn seeds in each spot if I used the seeder. Also, I've found that the hybrid super-sweet corn seeds are small enough to drop a couple in many holes. You may have to do a little thinning if using those seeds. HTH. |
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Post by sandbar on May 8, 2010 19:02:26 GMT -5
I sure wish you would come down and tell my garlic this Lynn! I've been waiting and waiting for them, but they are getting close to harvest with no sign yet.  I am under the impression that only hardneck garlic produces a scape. Anyone know if this is true? |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on May 8, 2010 22:29:20 GMT -5
I am under the impression that only hardneck garlic produces a scape. Anyone know if this is true? The hardnecked garlics are also called the ophioscorodon subspecies. Greek for, ophis (snake), skordon (garlic) So producing a scape is what defines the hardnecked garlics. Regards, Joseph |
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Post by bunkie on May 9, 2010 8:17:35 GMT -5
sandbar, we just got an earthway seeder last fall and will be trying it with our corn, etc... this year. can one soak the corn seed before planting with it, or do you have to leave it dry?
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Post by sandbar on May 11, 2010 22:06:56 GMT -5
Bunkie, I don't know, but I wouldn't soak the seed. I would think that would make it kind of sticky and clumpy and not drop well in the seeder. Joseph, thanks for the confirmation. I don't know what you said, but I'm studying the pronunciation of them there multi-syllable words you wrote and will use them the next opportunity I have! Then people will actually think I'm intelligent!  |
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Post by sandbar on May 11, 2010 22:09:22 GMT -5
BTW, if folks are looking for to acquire Earthway seeders, ask your auction-hound friends to keep an eye out for one. A friend got me mine for $10 and it included the optional plates!
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Post by blueadzuki on May 30, 2010 11:11:07 GMT -5
The dumbest gardening thing I ever done probably occured last year when I decied to grow both cucumbers and watermelons in the stump. (The stump is (or was) a giant hollow oak stump in the middle of our side yard which were the remains of a truly ancient enormous oak tree (it had actually developed that "onion bulb effect on the bottom that really old oak trees can) we had on that side (whne it finally had to come down as a kid I had them take a slice as far down as they could find that was still solid so I could figure out how old it actually was by counting rings. I lost count around 500.....) the bulb itself which, had gone hollow (that's why the tree had to come down, the hollow center had finally gotten so bit the tree was cracking under its own weight and was about to collapse) was left in pace, and we filled it with soil and used it as a planter (spots with good soil and acess to light are at a premium on our property and any place we can put another one in is always welcome) Note: the reason I keep using the past tense is that by now all abovegroud peices of the oak stump have rotted away and while we still use the spot we should really start calling it "The Mound" anyhoo, so for a while now the stump has been the tradional spot where I plant my watermelons (they like the area, and the rim of the stump use dot keep them out of the lawn and the gardeners way.) last year I found I had some cucumber seeds lying around (Dragon's Egg, if you are curios) and decied, "Hey it's a big stump its usally only half flilled anyway why not put the melons on one side, the cukes on the other at get the best of both worlds.) so I did and in the fulness of time, both came up. The thing I hadnt thought (or known about) was that watermelons grow a lot slower than cukes (at least the Cream fleshed Sukia's I was growing do). Within a month the cukes had take over the whole stump and then some (I remember having to weave exploring shoot tips back into the mass to keep them out of the lawn and the reach of the gardeners mowers). Ne result tons of cukes, no melons. Of course, I coud be putting to much blame on the cukes, the melon seeds may have been crappy (In fact I think they probably were, as out of the 20 or so that went in only 2 came up and at the end of a year the largest of those two (which found a gap in the cukes and had free growth only got about 1.5 feet long (it had started getting buds at that point so it wasn't a case of still growing)
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Post by bobinthebul on Jun 2, 2010 5:40:58 GMT -5
I planted Korean radishes; it's the first time I've ever tried to grow any of the large Asian varieties. And I didn't do enough research, so I planted them in the spring just like other radishes. They grew like gangbusters, and now I have a dense patch of deep green leaves forming the perfect backdrop for clouds of beautiful lavender flowers. And not single radish of course. On the other hand, I'll have lots of seeds later in the summer for real planting time. Oh - I moved 2 years ago and brought a Clematis montana with me. It didn't really appreciate the transplant but crept along that first year. Later in the summer I was ripping out runners of the enormous wisteria that is growing up the wall to the railing that was to be the abode of the clematis - and noticed some "different" looking leaves on one of the runners... So much for C. montana! It thanked me by not reappearing the next spring. |
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One of the reasons why we housed my seed collection in glass jars and hard plastic totes inside the spare refrigerator on the farm. Now that I no longer have room (nor the need) for a spare fridge, I house them still inside jars, etcetera and inside a large rubbermaid tote. 
