Gardening: (2016– )

[liuzhou]

I've hatched a watermelon.

 

[dcarch]

10 hours ago, heidih said:

Wonderful. Aside from saute what are your favorite uses?

 

Stir fry, pesto, pizza topping, dumpling stuffing, etc., etc. -------

 

dcarch

[kayb]

I harvested two six-inch zucchini, flowers attached, yesterday.

[TicTac]

12 hours ago, heidih said:

Wonderful. Aside from saute what are your favorite uses?

Though I no longer participate in alliums (thank you, FODMAP diet!) I used to love grilled scapes.  From there, into salads, dressings, sauces, etc.  Mortar and pestle and use the paste in anything, really.

[Annie_H]

On 6/2/2022 at 11:53 AM, TicTac said:

Update on the recycled plastic water bottle tote experiment -

Good choice. I did a side-by-side a few years ago and the pouches out-grew the standard plastic buckets. 'root pruning'. Roots travel all the way to the fabric unlike a standard plastic pot where the roots ball up interior. (I have pics somewhere). I have a few dozen of different sizes for trial breeding projects that need to be moved around. Mine have handles but no larger that 5 gallon. Yours look like ten gallon commercial?.

Mine are still looking good 5-6 years now. 

 

Just ordered another 5 pounds of garlic from HoodRiver. Last order was 5-6 years ago but I need more volume. I save and re-plant but still would like more varieties. I'm moving it out of the main garden next Fall. 

 

[Annie_H]

3 hours ago, kayb said:

I harvested two six-inch zucchini, flowers attached, yesterday.

My favorite size are the babies with the flowers. 

[KennethT]

I love fabric pots.  My kaffir lime tree's roots completely filled the space with tons of lateral branching.  When I dry rooted it, I was amazed to see the completely root structure and how it basically filled the complete pot!

[TicTac]

23 minutes ago, Annie_H said:

 Mine have handles but no larger that 5 gallon. Yours look like ten gallon commercial?.

Mine are still looking good 5-6 years now. 

 

Close.  100 Liters 😛

[TicTac]

Just now, TicTac said:

Close.  100 Liters 😛

sarcasm aside, it's tough to tell scale.  they are big beasts.  I did a version of the hugelkultur method at the base 1/3 and then organic triple mix and manures etc in the rest. 

 

Root Pouch - great company out of OR.  Great product too, very thick compared to other fabric pots I have used.

[dcarch]

On 5/27/2022 at 12:00 PM, kayb said:

Crop report:

 

Cucumbers blooming as well

 

 

A baby crookneck squash.And two tennis ball sized green tomatoes. I expect these are Early Girl.

 

Is that special fingernail polish for farmers? 

 

dcarch

[kayb]

It was a manicure that badly needed replacing.

 

@Annie_H — Confession. I have never cooked or eaten a zucchini flower. How do you cook your baby ones with flowers attached?

[Annie_H]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

I love fabric pots.  My kaffir lime tree's roots completely filled the space with tons of lateral branching.  When I dry rooted it, I was amazed to see the completely root structure and how it basically filled the complete pot!

It gets a bit frustrating on my garden forum where the old timers are so set in their ways--- but I get it to a point. Like any modernist revelations,  myth busting, some will never be convinced or even try a new method. My Meyer lemon is in a fabric pot, (GreenHouseMegastore) set into a tall pot I filled 1/3'rd with packing material. Thriving. 8 years now. 

Beauty plant in my kitchen all winter flowering and the scent of the flowers---intoxicating in such dismal weather.

 

[KennethT]

52 minutes ago, Annie_H said:

It gets a bit frustrating on my garden forum where the old timers are so set in their ways--- but I get it to a point. Like any modernist revelations,  myth busting, some will never be convinced or even try a new method. My Meyer lemon is in a fabric pot, (GreenHouseMegastore) set into a tall pot I filled 1/3'rd with packing material. Thriving. 8 years now. 

Beauty plant in my kitchen all winter flowering and the scent of the flowers---intoxicating in such dismal weather.

 

Amen to that.  All of my plants are hydroponic in coco coir, in fabric pots which works great for long term plants.  The outside of the fabric pots are pretty ugly (and they all practically live in my living room) but I'm planning on making some concrete planters (designed to look like natural rock on the outside) that the fabric pots will be able to fit into with maybe an inch of space between the pots and the planter.  The pots will sit on a metal rack about an inch above the bottom of the planter (which will be sloped to a drain port).  The runoff will be collected, analyzed and potentially added back to the reservoir to eliminate any wasted water/nutrient.  I grow my kaffir lime tree for the leaves - I don't really use the fruit, so I pinch off the flowers which leaves my fingers smelling amazing!

[heidih]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

Amen to that.  All of my plants are hydroponic in coco coir, in fabric pots which works great for long term plants.  The outside of the fabric pots are pretty ugly (and they all practically live in my living room) but I'm planning on making some concrete planters (designed to look like natural rock on the outside) that the fabric pots will be able to fit into with maybe an inch of space between the pots and the planter.  The pots will sit on a metal rack about an inch above the bottom of the planter (which will be sloped to a drain port).  The runoff will be collected, analyzed and potentially added back to the reservoir to eliminate any wasted water/nutrient.  I grow my kaffir lime tree for the leaves - I don't really use the fruit, so I pinch off the flowers which leaves my fingers smelling amazing!

Interesting - so you think the faux rock  concrete will still allow the breathing those fabric pots promote? Looking forward to a report. As to the liime flowers- they make a lovely tisane either hot or cold. 

[KennethT]

43 minutes ago, heidih said:

Interesting - so you think the faux rock  concrete will still allow the breathing those fabric pots promote? Looking forward to a report. As to the liime flowers- they make a lovely tisane either hot or cold. 

No - the planter is just decoration. The fabric pot will sit inside with an inch of space all around between fabric pot and the planter. 

[heidih]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

No - the planter is just decoration. The fabric pot will sit inside with an inch of space all around between fabric pot and the planter. 

I understood that. My question for future was if that air gao was sufficient. But you are meticulous so sure we will see excellent results.

[Annie_H]

16 hours ago, kayb said:

Confession. I have never cooked or eaten a zucchini flower. How do you cook your baby ones with flowers attached?

I'm not much of a recipe writer but here is one, stuffed zucchini flowers

I use goat cheese and fresh herbs. Thick and stickier than ricotta. No sun-dried tomatoes in mine. Pry open the flower by tearing and add a heaping teaspoon. Gently squeeze shut. I dredge in egg, then corn flower, (not corn starch)--just the bottom that hits the hot pan. 

I like to serve just like the link posted for a crowd. Male flowers. With the female fruit attached I slice down the length of the zucchini one or two times. Press down with a weight--anything that gets them to fan out a bit to make good contact with the hot pan. Cast iron. A bit of butter and olive oil. 

When I have a ton of flowers I make fritters using a mound of a corn cake recipe and press the stuffed flowers into the batter. These I do flip briefly. Less time on the flipped side. I also press them into frittatas halfway through the baking. And on Roman style pizza. 

[KennethT]

11 hours ago, heidih said:

I understood that. My question for future was if that air gao was sufficient. But you are meticulous so sure we will see excellent results.

Sorry - I didn't know if I was clear.  From my research, what's needed for air pruning is the presence of air (or the lack of media or water).  I don't think it needs to be fresh air.  I think most of the fresh air to get to the roots comes during watering - as the water goes down, it creates a vacuum and air comes in to fill the space.  Plus, I keep my nutrient reservoir chilled to about 65F and have a 24 hour pump which waterfalls to provide good aeration.  Room temp water doesn't hold much oxygen, but chilled water holds much more.

[kayb]

Thanks!

[Annie_H]

For soil in fabric pouches, the fabric is similar to a felt. It stay wet as long as the plant is watered. Even as the planter starts to dry out the 'felt' is often still damp. The roots will grow all the way to the edge of the wet bag. Then stop growing but more roots will form. Plastic pots, especially black ones, will dry out around the pots when the sun hits them. Why trees are best wrapped in burlap. 

[KennethT]

56 minutes ago, Annie_H said:

For soil in fabric pouches, the fabric is similar to a felt. It stay wet as long as the plant is watered. Even as the planter starts to dry out the 'felt' is often still damp. The roots will grow all the way to the edge of the wet bag. Then stop growing but more roots will form. Plastic pots, especially black ones, will dry out around the pots when the sun hits them. Why trees are best wrapped in burlap. 

I actually have 2 different types of fabric pouches - I'm not sure which I like better.  I have the standard felt ones but I also use these.  I have found that many times, marijuana growers are at the forefront of growing technology, probably because it's such a high value crop.  The Radicle bags are a woven pvc mesh.  My kaffir lime and curry leaf plant are both in them and they love them.  I moved my lemongrass from a fabric to Radicle bag and its growth exploded, although I'm going to move it bag to fabric because I want to change it from a round pot to rectangular to make it easier to harvest some of the inside stalks.  Right now it's in a 3 gallon radicle bag which has become filled edge to edge with lemongrass.

[Shelby]

Couldn't resist taking a picture of the potato plants.  The flowers are so pretty.

 

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

Couldn't resist taking a picture of the potato plants.  The flowers are so pretty.

 

I didn't realize that potatoes flowered.  What happens after the flowers have been pollinated?

[lemniscate]

10 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I didn't realize that potatoes flowered.  What happens after the flowers have been pollinated?

 

In some years, a fruit that looks like green cherry tomatoes will appear on the vines.  DO NOT EAT.  The flowers, vines and fruit of potato plants are pretty poisonous.   The tubers are the only human friendly edible  of the potato plant.

 

Edited June 4, 2022 by lemniscate (log)

[Shelby]

8 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I didn't realize that potatoes flowered.  What happens after the flowers have been pollinated?

They say that if you pick the flowers off,  the potatoes will be bigger....I'm not sure about that.  After they flower they sometimes  produce a green ....kind of a green tomato looking thing--not edible.  I'll try to remember to take a picture.  The flowers don't last long so I'm not sure anything pollinates them at all.......You dig the potatoes after the plants start to die off.