Gardening: (2016– )

[heidih]

39 minutes ago, TicTac said:

Unless you have the foresight (or much smaller ones) to put these on wheels (I have seen this done!), you ain't moving around a full 75 gallon pot 😛

 

Perhaps if you have a skid steer lying around....

The ones I had were not that large. I am not good with distance or volume visualization but imagining amount of 5 ga buckets in mine - much less than your biggies. 

[Smithy]

Do you leave the plants in those soft pots? Plant them eventually, like burlap bags? or dump them out for reuse, or...?

[heidih]

24 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Do you leave the plants in those soft pots? Plant them eventually, like burlap bags? or dump them out for reuse, or...?

I only did tomatoes in them and so would replenish soil after season and re-use. I've used them for non food plants and got som special plants pretty goodlooking for years. The ones I had the roots could penetrate bottom. 

[chromedome]

Sent to me by my stepdaughter:

[haresfur]

First greenbean harvest. Not sure what has been eating them - only on a few beans. I cut a couple open and didn't see anything moving so only composted the worst ones. The rest had the everloving heck fried out of them with slivered almonds toasted at the tail end.

 

 

 

[chromedome]

Kind of a fun story:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/carports-gardens-montreal-greenhouses-1.6755873

[FillPizza]

With each passing year, I am increasingly convinced that it is easier to buy vegetables, flowers, etc. than to spend half the warm season dealing with a garden. There are much more interesting activities to do... it's always nice to receive the same flowers with an easy delivery. The guys from https://myglobalflowers.com/international-flower-delivery never disappoint.

Edited April 3, 2023 by FillPizza (log)

[chromedome]

3 hours ago, FillPizza said:

With each passing year, I am increasingly convinced that it is easier to buy vegetables, flowers, etc. than to spend half the warm season dealing with a garden. There are much more interesting activities to do...

A classic case of "to each his own."

 

I can't quibble with the first half of your statement because it's the plain truth, just as it's easier to microwave something from the supermarket's frozen section than to cook from scratch. But many of us take pleasure in preparing meals, and do so whenever we can. Similarly, many of us garden because it's deeply satisfying (and in my case, a compulsion: I had a grow light and a planter of lettuces on my windowsill in a third-floor walkup).

As for the second half of your statement, well...clearly we don't see eye to eye on that one.   But gardening still leaves me plenty of time for books and research and everything else I take pleasure in - less so at planting and harvest time, I'll grant - so I hardly feel that I'm missing out.

 

In any case, welcome to eG and enjoy the goings-on! Whatever your culinary (and culinary-adjacent) interests, there's almost certain to be good stuff awaiting you in the various threads and forums here.

[dcarch]

7 hours ago, FillPizza said:

With each passing year, I am increasingly convinced that it is easier to buy vegetables, flowers, etc. than to spend half the warm season dealing with a garden. There are much more interesting activities to do...

 

If you do lots of gardening, it really slows down the "With each passing year ------" deterioration to your body and mind.👍

 

"There are much more interesting activities to do..."  I agree. you will have less time if you garden to sit on the couch watching TV and eating chips. 😆

 

dcarch

Edited March 13, 2023 by dcarch (log)

[TicTac]

10 hours ago, FillPizza said:

With each passing year, I am increasingly convinced that it is easier to buy vegetables, flowers, etc. than to spend half the warm season dealing with a garden. There are much more interesting activities to do...

 

If you do not find the cultivation of the raw ingredients going into your body interesting, or worthy of merit as a way to spend your 'warm season' - then certainly this thread is not for you (your 4th post was to share this shining beacon of insight?!) and perhaps your time would be better spent on https://www.reddit.com/r/storeboughtprecookedmeals/.....?

 

 

[heidih]

My intention was to get some of my large soil filled pots moved to a spot I could access with my current disabiities and that had the exposure I wanted. The rains here have caused me to delay that. My big nasturtium patch is good for young peppery leaves now, my recumbant roisemary pushing on (slowest rosemary I've ever had), mallow and dandelion in the open field are thriving after rain and more rain on way tomorrow, and windowsill unknown mint from grocery store live section. I've grown a lot of different mints. This is wimpy! But it has a unique funk and works as last minute add to a soup or curry. I have a 1/2 acre of flat open space so thinking of getting some pumpkin/winter squash seeds to strew out there. Worked in the past and more wet coming. We have left La Nina and are supposedly heading to El Nino. Not a space I can water. A seed packet is a little envelope of possibiity w/o big $ investment. 

[Smithy]

What kind of mallow, @heidih? Do you cook it? Eat it raw? Or simply enjoy the flowers?

[heidih]

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/malva-neglecta/

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

What kind of mallow, @heidih? Do you cook it? Eat it raw? Or simply enjoy the flowers?

It is the one as a kid we called Gottes Brot or God's cheese An abundant weed here. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/malva-neglecta/ it cooks as a nice green

[Smithy]

15 minutes ago, heidih said:

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/malva-neglecta/

It is the one as a kid we called Gottes Brot or God's cheese An abundant weed here. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/malva-neglecta/ it cooks as a nice green

 

Oh, of course! We had it in abundance where I grew up too, though we never knew it was edible. I remember now that you have posted about pickling the buds as an alternative to capers.

[heidih]

1 minute ago, Smithy said:

 

Oh, of course! We had it in abundance where I grew up too, though we never knew it was edible. I remember now that you have posted about pickling the buds as an alternative to capers.

No no no = that was the nastiurtiums. Poor mans capers   

 

[Smithy]

Just now, heidih said:

No no no = that was the nastiurtiums. Poor mans capers   

 

 

Haha! So much for my memory! Good thing I never tried the mallow buds! 😆

[heidih]

5 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Haha! So much for my memory! Good thing I never tried the mallow buds! 😆

They might just have been boring. As I recall it is more a texture thing. Like when I told the cousins when we hiked that the Indians split open the dried mustard plant stalks and chewed the white innards like chewing gum. No illness or death ocurred

Edited March 14, 2023 by heidih (log)

[heidih]

PS: I've not played with the mustard. It used to be everywhere. No animals (horses, goats) would eat it. Beutful but as link notes INVASIVE. Drought 86'd it I think. Will see if any emerges with all these rains.   http://thecarrotrevolution.com/wild-foraging-cooking-with-wild-mustard/

[Smithy]

32 minutes ago, heidih said:

PS: I've not played with the mustard. It used to be everywhere. No animals (horses, goats) would eat it. Beutful but as link notes INVASIVE. Drought 86'd it I think. Will see if any emerges with all these rains.   http://thecarrotrevolution.com/wild-foraging-cooking-with-wild-mustard/

 

Drought didn't 86 it in San Diego area, for sure. Funny, I thought the Sahara mustard was a more recent arrival, and that there was a mustard natie to this area. The Sahara mustard grows joyfully in the washes where we're camped. Hairy, bristly stuff. I haven't tried doing anything with it except pulling it up -- but I had thought there was another, native variety also growing here.

[heidih]

33 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Drought didn't 86 it in San Diego area, for sure. Funny, I thought the Sahara mustard was a more recent arrival, and that there was a mustard natie to this area. The Sahara mustard grows joyfully in the washes where we're camped. Hairy, bristly stuff. I haven't tried doing anything with it except pulling it up -- but I had thought there was another, native variety also growing here.

No = pretty but bad. But maybe tasty.  https://calmatters.org/environment/2019/02/californias-charred-hills-bloom-again-not-all-good/ and here https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/588888/PVPLC_Reducing_Fuel_Load_Project_RH_2020-Update.pdf

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Host's note: this post and its immediate responses were moved from the topic Collecting Bones and Scraps for Stock.

 

 

Interesting topic. 

I do wash and reuse ziplock bags. The twenty bags of berries I froze and have been using over the winter will be reused next season.

I hadn't thought of the inner/outer bag and have been wrapping usable portions in plastic wrap. It's a good use of something that usually gets tossed.

Something for Canadians: if you buy your milk in plastic bags the bags are pretty tough and make excellent freezer bags for small portions (close with elastic bands). I'll be using my accumulated stash when I start my tomato and pepper plants indoors (great for developing large root systems before transplanting outdoors).

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by Smithy
Added host's note (log)

[TicTac]

5 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

Interesting topic. 

I do wash and reuse ziplock bags. The twenty bags of berries I froze and have been using over the winter will be reused next season.

I hadn't thought of the inner/outer bag and have been wrapping usable portions in plastic wrap. It's a good use of something that usually gets tossed.

Something for Canadians: if you buy your milk in plastic bags the bags are pretty tough and make excellent freezer bags for small portions (close with elastic bands). I'll be using my accumulated stash when I start my tomato and pepper plants indoors (great for developing large root systems before transplanting outdoors).

 

Smart idea, just make sure you create some drainage - only concern with plastic containers is lack of oxygen to the roots.  Also good for seed starting are egg cartons which you can theoretically plant into the ground as it will degrade and roots will penetrate through.

 

 

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

13 minutes ago, TicTac said:

Smart idea, just make sure you create some drainage - only concern with plastic containers is lack of oxygen to the roots.  Also good for seed starting are egg cartons which you can theoretically plant into the ground as it will degrade and roots will penetrate through.

 

 

 

Technique with the bags is to roll the bags down, put in 5 cm. of whatever starting mix you use, use an awl or something similar to punch holes in the bag, then seed.

The trick is as the seedling grows you can pinch off lower leaves, roll up the bag some and backfill with more mix and so on.

When time to harden off and transplant you end up with a large root system.

 

 

[SLB]

For the gardeners:  https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/20/what-we-learn-from-leafing-through-seed-catalogues?utm_source=onsite-share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=the-new-yorker

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

It's starting.

Planning the upcoming season, assessing what I'll need.....and so on.

Started tomato and hot pepper seeds today.