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Subscribing to my local university ag extension's RSS feeds brightened my weeks so much. Someone over there is really excited about cucurbits this year. Cucurbits!!
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Jul 31, 2020 20:18
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CommonShore posted:I did a google scholar search, and a bit more behind-paywall digging for information on spent coffee grounds in compost, and the first bunch of results I found on either platform found growth benefits from using composted coffee grounds compared to control, but that if you dump an assinine amount of uncomposted spent coffee grounds on a plant (I think it was like 20% in the soil by weight) that it won't grow as well. I find it intriguing how radically different the results are from google scholar and regular google. If any of you encounter a study that examines composted spent coffee grounds inhibiting growth due to phytotoxic chemicals, please share it. This is great news for my lazy rear end who dumps her spent coffee grounds directly on my herb bed every morning.
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Jul 31, 2020 20:42
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ColdPie posted:Subscribing to my local university ag extension's RSS feeds brightened my weeks so much. Someone over there is really excited about cucurbits this year. Cucurbits!! I'd never heard that term used for gourds so that is cool to learn! 
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Jul 31, 2020 21:57
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The Wages of Sloth: This is what happens when you get too lazy to pick okra for 2 weeks-guess I'll find out how well 9" long okra composts and have okra seeds in the compost for the rest of forever!
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Aug 1, 2020 18:12
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Sorry for the Instagram collage but YAY! First harvest of any size from my garden so I made sambal oelek. There's nothing in it but hot and sweet peppers, salt, and vinegar. Turned out great.
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Aug 1, 2020 20:37
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Something I've realized through this is, while I certainly won't be able to feed myself entirely from a roof garden, I can definitely rely on cheaper/more basic food as staples if I'm jazzing it up with garden stuff. This is just bread and cream cheese plus the sauce I made and it tasted amazing. And I've been eating tons of ramen and tuna salad with fresh mixed herbs and sweet peppers, and it's just so much nicer that way. (I'm sure it's a financial wash at this stage, but it's also really satisfying.)
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Aug 1, 2020 20:42
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showbiz_liz posted:Something I've realized through this is, while I certainly won't be able to feed myself entirely from a roof garden, I can definitely rely on cheaper/more basic food as staples if I'm jazzing it up with garden stuff. This is just bread and cream cheese plus the sauce I made and it tasted amazing. And I've been eating tons of ramen and tuna salad with fresh mixed herbs and sweet peppers, and it's just so much nicer that way. (I'm sure it's a financial wash at this stage, but it's also really satisfying.) The best advice I've heard for gardening, in relation to self sufficiency, is, "Buy your calories, grow your nutrition." You will generally not come out ahead growing your own rice or wheat or vegetable oils, but a moderately well run garden can generate produce significantly cheaper (and better) produce than what you'll get from the store. The stuff that's most sensible to grow for yourself is generally vegetables or fruit that don't store well, are low quality from most retailers (often because of shipping times), or are unavailable or expensive where you are. Plus, there's value in knowing you grew some of your own food, especially if you have an abundance to share with others. 
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Aug 1, 2020 21:22
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CommonShore posted:Speaking of compost I have an update on the coffee grounds situation: Sounds similar to the biochar situation: Regular Google = "OMG THIS WILL SAVE THE WORLD!!!!!" Google Scholar = "Not so fast there..."" "Know your soil, and what the additive will do it." was a big message there. Kaiser Schnitzel posted:The Wages of Sloth: Between the cold, wet spring/early summer and the flea beetles I have one (1!) pod developing. I might try again next year with black plastic mulch and a mini greenhouse to get them going. otoh maybe I should buy some from the store and see if they're worth it first. They're not exactly a thing in this part of the world. poeticoddity posted:The best advice I've heard for gardening, in relation to self sufficiency, is, "Buy your calories, grow your nutrition." I like that. Definitely true of drying beans. I'm going to continue futzing with them though. I'd like to know that my kidney beans haven't had a tonne of glyphosate dumped on them to save barn space by "field drying" them.
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Aug 1, 2020 21:47
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I'm going to plant a plot of pot beans next year just to see how the yield looks, for fun. I have some saved seeds and space so why not
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Aug 2, 2020 00:16
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It's the time of year. First four quarts of tomatoes and a whole pile of beets I needed to pull so I can put in the fall crop. 
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Aug 2, 2020 01:00
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Hello, I have a small front lawn which I am extremely lazy about mowing, and is full of weeds. It will be spring here soon, and I am contemplating giving up on grass altogether and sowing the lawn with wildflower seeds. Is this a good idea?? At the back of the lawn I have a small raised bed for veges, and last year I had good success with leafy greens for salad ingredients all summer. But, the garden gets hammered by the wind (I live in a windy spot in a city where gale force winds are a normal occurrence), and the snow peas I planted last year mostly got destroyed. Does anyone have any genius ideas for windbreaks to protect climbing plants, short of building a solid glass house?
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Aug 2, 2020 04:55
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Anyone have thoughts on home soil pH kits? It turns out that the probes you stick in the ground are worthless (mine registered white vinegar at a pH of 8), so I’m looking at either the test strips with the color changing squares on them, or the ones with the little containers. Any thoughts? I’m primarily concerned about pH here.
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Aug 2, 2020 07:54
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Yoruichi posted:Hello, I have a small front lawn which I am extremely lazy about mowing, and is full of weeds. It will be spring here soon, and I am contemplating giving up on grass altogether and sowing the lawn with wildflower seeds. Is this a good idea?? Think about the height of your wildflower plot when in full growth. If you're happy with that idea give it a go. You can always solarize it and reseed if you change your mind. Re windbreak: you can get decorative metal fence panels with polycarbonate infill so they let the light in but block the wind, I've seen them from 3' up to 8' not cheap but looks good and does the job.
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Aug 2, 2020 08:16
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Just remember that any windbreak is also a projectile in waiting and anchor/foundation it accordingly! Having had a close call with a fence panel I don't think an airborne steel/polycarb would be a fun experience.
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Aug 2, 2020 08:53
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Yoruichi posted:Hello, I have a small front lawn which I am extremely lazy about mowing, and is full of weeds. It will be spring here soon, and I am contemplating giving up on grass altogether and sowing the lawn with wildflower seeds. Is this a good idea?? I'm giving up on mowing (actually weed whacking cuz my small yard is so hilly and stumpy) so I'm ripping it out and planting a no mow fescue mix. I just want something soft I can lay in
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Aug 2, 2020 12:05
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Solkanar512 posted:Anyone have thoughts on home soil pH kits? It turns out that the probes you stick in the ground are worthless (mine registered white vinegar at a pH of 8), so I’m looking at either the test strips with the color changing squares on them, or the ones with the little containers. I've always used Lamotte test kits. I don't know the exact one, as I use one from my dad from when he did testing professionally, but they have some home pH and NPK test kits.
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Aug 2, 2020 15:05
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Yoruichi posted:Hello, I have a small front lawn which I am extremely lazy about mowing, and is full of weeds. It will be spring here soon, and I am contemplating giving up on grass altogether and sowing the lawn with wildflower seeds. Is this a good idea?? Depending on where you live, a wildflower lawn may be against the rules (and in the periods when it's not flowering, it may just look like an overgrown grass lawn). But there are lots of low-growing non-grass options. If I had a lawn I'd be looking into clover or maybe creeping thyme. Actually though where do you live specifically? It would be cool to be able to recommend native plant options.
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Aug 2, 2020 16:30
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Hexigrammus posted:
Okra likes it really hot, sunny, humid and wet though, which you may not have. It's about the only thing that keeps plugging along this time of year down here. Mine's taller than me at this point. there are some cool red varieties I want to try next year.
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Aug 2, 2020 17:23
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Is there a houseplant/indoor container gardening thread that isn’t the bonsai thread or hydroponics? You guys seem more about outdoor/vegetable stuff and my windowsill basil/thyme/parsley plots in currently-repurposed bonsai training pots don’t really sound like they cut the mustard. I want to share all of my obnoxious millennial succulents and tropicals (a buncha my succulents are flowering  )
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Aug 2, 2020 17:26
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Ok Comboomer posted:Is there a houseplant/indoor container gardening thread that isn’t the bonsai thread or hydroponics? You guys seem more about outdoor/vegetable stuff and my windowsill basil/thyme/parsley plots in currently-repurposed bonsai training pots don’t really sound like they cut the mustard. My post history in this thread is 100% about container gardening in my condo/balcony. You're fine.
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Aug 2, 2020 17:30
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Ok Comboomer posted:Is there a houseplant/indoor container gardening thread that isn’t the bonsai thread or hydroponics? You guys seem more about outdoor/vegetable stuff and my windowsill basil/thyme/parsley plots in currently-repurposed bonsai training pots don’t really sound like they cut the mustard. Yeah there is plenty of houseplant chat here, or feel free to make a houseplant/succulent thread. There are lots of goons that are into growing those and not into outdoor plants.
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Aug 2, 2020 17:38
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Yeah there is plenty of houseplant chat here, or feel free to make a houseplant/succulent thread. There are lots of goons that are into growing those and not into outdoor plants. Big fan of both, love all the posts! I’ve finally put some stuff out in the porch like my avocado tree, grandmother’s christmas cactus, and added some hydrangeas, begonias, Coleus, and Boston Fern to the mix. Got a cheap bakers rack style shelf to leave on the covered porch and move plants inside for the winter. Never thought plants would make me this happy showbiz_liz posted:Sorry for the Instagram collage but YAY! First harvest of any size from my garden so I made sambal oelek. There's nothing in it but hot and sweet peppers, salt, and vinegar. Turned out great. This is really neat! I love seeing the great concoctions people put together from the garden. We just picked up the new Ball Canning cookbook, and the very first line is about how they updated it for modern palettes. I remember the salsa recipe from my moms old canning cookbook only had like one de-seeded jalapeno and while the salsa was tasty, it lacked any heat whatsoever. Excited to try out the new recipes! Also, speaking of canning supplies, holy poo poo are shelves barren. Fair warning to anyone expecting to buy a pressure cooker and canning lids come harvest time, better start looking now. The All-American canners are going for like 3x retail or more on ebay last I checked, and the Amish Hardware store says they won’t be getting new stock till October.
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Aug 2, 2020 21:19
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Yoruichi posted:Hello, I have a small front lawn which I am extremely lazy about mowing, and is full of weeds. It will be spring here soon, and I am contemplating giving up on grass altogether and sowing the lawn with wildflower seeds. Is this a good idea?? I'll second the clover recommendation. At least here in NC the wildflowers tend to get 3-6' high in good dirt. I love growing them but it's not a lawn.
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Aug 2, 2020 22:13
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Ok Comboomer posted:I want to share all of my obnoxious millennial succulents and tropicals (a buncha my succulents are flowering There has historically been a lot of indoor plant chat in the Plants thread which is why you probably aren't seeing a lot of it here but I think that kind of stuff is supposed to go in this thread now.
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Aug 2, 2020 23:02
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I got an Aerogarden and have been very pleased with it for herb growing thus far
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Aug 2, 2020 23:19
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DarkHorse posted:I got an Aerogarden and have been very pleased with it for herb growing thus far After a month of waiting, I finally received my Aerogarden Farm, aaaand the motor to raise the right side light is borked right out of the box. I’m guessing poor QC or a wire got pinched or pulled out in the housing or something. I tried reaching out to customer service, so we’ll see what they say. I’m just not keen to possibly have to box it up and ship the drat thing back after assembling it and everything. Probably would be less hassle to pull apart the housing and troubleshoot it myself at that point.
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Aug 3, 2020 00:33
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OSU_Matthew posted:After a month of waiting, I finally received my Aerogarden Farm, aaaand the motor to raise the right side light is borked right out of the box. I’m guessing poor QC or a wire got pinched or pulled out in the housing or something. I got the one that you raise the lights by hand, the only moving part is the pump for the water
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Aug 3, 2020 01:12
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I'M GETTING A BIG PILE OF MINIATURE DONKEY POOP AND BEDDING STRAW
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Aug 3, 2020 03:58
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showbiz_liz posted:Actually though where do you live specifically? It would be cool to be able to recommend native plant options. New Zealand
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Aug 3, 2020 05:34
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CancerCakes posted:Just remember that any windbreak is also a projectile in waiting and anchor/foundation it accordingly! Having had a close call with a fence panel I don't think an airborne steel/polycarb would be a fun experience. I don't live anywhere with that kind of wind so I hadn't considered the projectile possibilities, good call. Anchor it deep.
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Aug 3, 2020 09:45
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Yoruichi posted:New Zealand Check this out then - a bunch of native groundcover options!
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Aug 3, 2020 18:06
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Today we had a tree company take down 6 trees that were too close to our house for safety reasons. They told me that they would have to run over my pachysandra, which didn’t bother me at all. They said maybe they’d have to run over my strawberry plants which I told them I wasn’t thrilled about. They said they would try not to run them over. They did all of the work while I was at work. When I got home all of my sunflowers were gone. They were just about to flower. My wildflowers were gone. One of my peonies was gone. I actually cried. There’s nothing I can do now, but man did that suck to come home to 
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Aug 3, 2020 22:11
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My parents had to cut out a mature hydrangea and a ton of flowers last year to get their well pump replaced. Then the herb garden was covered to get some old windows and siding replaced. Most recovered this year, but it doesn’t change the sadness of a year. My point is that it will grow again (but maybe look at some pictures from last year because that helps).
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Aug 3, 2020 22:20
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Thank you. I knew you all would get it. On the plus side, at least there will be more sunlight next year. More possibilities.
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Aug 3, 2020 22:22
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Lost about two-thirds of my cucumbers to wilt so far. Remaining plants look more or less healthy, but I don't trust them. Planted a few more in one gallon pots when I first noticed the problem, so those will be going into the ground soon to replace the fallen. If I'm lucky, they might come online with a month or so before frost hits. Still, super disappointing. Also noticed borer damage on two of my zucchini plants, which is extremely uncool since I didn't plant many this year. One plant's stem was so damaged that the whole thing just snapped in half when I went to move it so that guy's a loss. Pretty sure I dealt with the problem on the other one and it might make it, but holy poo poo I am annoyed. On the bright side I have a billion cucamelons.
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Aug 4, 2020 05:21
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 Tomatosplosion begins again. We've been making pasta with the little ones but I think I'm going to have to start giving big ones away.
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Aug 6, 2020 22:17
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Very nice. Time to start canning! Or even just cooking them down the freezing them if you have the space.
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Aug 6, 2020 23:36
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Toss 'em in a food processor with garlic and some hot peppers and make a shitload of salsa and freeze that
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Aug 7, 2020 04:48
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Or if you want to save them for sauce for later you can also cook them down, push them through a sieve, and freeze it in bags or tupperware. I find that this is the most effort-efficient.
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Aug 7, 2020 04:57
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CommonShore posted:Or if you want to save them for sauce for later you can also cook them down, push them through a sieve, and freeze it in bags or tupperware. I find that this is the most effort-efficient. If you've got the freezer space that works really really well. For my canning I cut them in quarters (or less as apprpriate) and cook them down, then put them through a food mill (which seems to be something people don't know about anymore: https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Food-1071478/dp/B000I0MGKE). Then they get canned. But if I was gonna freeze them that's where I would do it, right after the mill. The beauty of the mill is you don't need to do the whole old school open canning (super unsafe, but hey.....that's how I learned but I don't do it anymore) method where you need to blanch the tomatoes so you can spend 30 minutes scalding your hands while peeling them and taking out the stem/core. I only do that procedure now for the few cans of whole tomatoes I may or may not can each year. If I get a particularly good crop of good sauce tomatoes I will for some, just in case I want to make something that need them. But it's kinda miserable.
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Aug 7, 2020 05:08
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