Gardening: (2016– )

chromedome · August 18, 2023

The "beans 'n' greens" treadmill continues apace. The exciting departure is that yesterday saw the first "real" - if small - harvest of shelling peas, by which I mean "more than just a handful to snack on as I work." I actually took a small mixing bowl out there and filled it with them, and in the end it worked out to exactly 1 cup of shelled peas (net of snacking, because our grandson was right there watching like a hawk).

They'll be hitting full stride in another week or so, as will my fillet beans. The first half of the bed (planted earlier) is now yielding heavily, while the second half (planted later) is just on the verge of starting to yield.

I know there's a separate thread for flower gardens, but I thought I should mention at some point that my "jungle o' beans" has a "jungle o' nasturtiums" counterpart along one edge of the garden:

I like them in salads, but realistically their main use is prettying up the living room for my GF.

heidih · August 18, 2023

5 hours ago, chromedome said:

I know there's a separate thread for flower gardens, but I thought I should mention at some point that my "jungle o' beans" has a "jungle o' nasturtiums" counterpart

along one edge of the garden:

I like them in salads, but realistically their main use is prettying up the living room for my GF.

Haveb you tried pickling some of the green seed pods AKA "poor man's capers". I snagged some this year leaving plenty to drop and repopulate next year.

chromedome · August 18, 2023

35 minutes ago, heidih said:

Haveb you tried pickling some of the green seed pods AKA "poor man's capers". I snagged some this year leaving plenty to drop and repopulate next year.

This is the first year I've had a quantity of nasturtiums, so that decision isn't quite upon me. I may do, though I don't go through capers very quickly. I'm the only one in the house who eats them, and a jar lasts me a while.

FauxPas · August 18, 2023

4 minutes ago, chromedome said:

This is the first year I've had a quantity of nasturtiums, so that decision isn't quite upon me. I may do, though I don't go through capers very quickly. I'm the only one in the house who eats them, and a jar lasts me a while.

Nasturtium vinegar is beautiful and might be useful in some of your cooking?

https://www.growforagecookferment.com/nasturtium-flower-infused-vinegar/

chromedome · August 18, 2023

17 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Nasturtium vinegar is beautiful and might be useful in some of your cooking?

https://www.growforagecookferment.com/nasturtium-flower-infused-vinegar/

It's pretty and low-effort, so that might actually happen.

If so, I'll be sure to post about it.

Senior Sea Kayaker · August 23, 2023

I've been under the weather for about two weeks and am finally able to get some work done.

Bush beans done for now (I've another 57 plants due mid Sept. so now it's yard long pole beans. Also picking a lot of chard, some tomatoes, cucumbers, a few fish peppers and lots of herbs.

I've had luck planting purslane (pictured in a planter in potting soil) and also in on of the beds. I'm hoping to move this indoors in the fall.

Oregano in the same planter.

Deck planters (some of which will be eventually be moving inside): summer savory, chives, basil, Thai basil and coriander. Fish pepper on the left.

Purple long beans (which have been attracting hummingbirds).

And finally some apples from one of the trees.

Replanting chard, lettuces, bok choy, mustard greens, daikon, watermelon radishes, French breakfast radishes and hailstone radishes.

Senior Sea Kayaker · August 27, 2023

My garden has been almost pest free except for my kale and only kale. Finally ascertained it was cabbage worms. They didn't touch the collards, chard or lettuces. The photo shows the extent of the damage. Eaten to the stalks.

chromedome · August 27, 2023

2 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

My garden has been almost pest free except for my kale and only kale. Finally ascertained it was cabbage worms. They didn't touch the collards, chard or lettuces. The photo shows the extent of the damage. Eaten to the stalks.

They're voracious little bastards, aren't they?

They got into my lacinato kale while I was away in Nova Scotia a couple of months ago, so I had to squish a bunch of them and then wash their eggs off of the plants. I've taken a few measures to deter them. One is giving my grandkids carte blanche to "collect" any white butterfly they see in my garden, and start a terrarium for it. I've had to clean up several sad little forgotten Mason jars full of twigs and leaves and a dead moth, but that's a small price to pay.

The two usual companion-planting suggestions for the cabbage moth are alliums and marigolds, and I've used them both. I didn't set up in proper scientific fashion, with an unprotected control plot of the same cultivars, but anecdotally I can tell you that I've had fewer issues with the cabbage worms in those beds. This year, for example, I had broccoli interplanted with marigolds in the bed right next to the one containing the kale, and the broccoli was unscathed.

Ultimately I hope to have mesh covers over my brassicas, but that didn't happen this year for various reasons. Maybe next year.

rotuts · August 27, 2023

@Senior Sea Kayaker

how much are the worms charging you for that service ?

Senior Sea Kayaker · August 27, 2023

3 hours ago, chromedome said:

They're voracious little bastards, aren't they?

They got into my lacinato kale while I was away in Nova Scotia a couple of months ago, so I had to squish a bunch of them and then wash their eggs off of the plants. I've taken a few measures to deter them. One is giving my grandkids carte blanche to "collect" any white butterfly they see in my garden, and start a terrarium for it. I've had to clean up several sad little forgotten Mason jars full of twigs and leaves and a dead moth, but that's a small price to pay.

The two usual companion-planting suggestions for the cabbage moth are alliums and marigolds, and I've used them both. I didn't set up in proper scientific fashion, with an unprotected control plot of the same cultivars, but anecdotally I can tell you that I've had fewer issues with the cabbage worms in those beds. This year, for example, I had broccoli interplanted with marigolds in the bed right next to the one containing the kale, and the broccoli was unscathed.

Ultimately I hope to have mesh covers over my brassicas, but that didn't happen this year for various reasons. Maybe next year.

Unfortunately I was ill for two weeks and when I finally got enough energy to do some work it was obvious what the problem was. I do have another two areas of kale planted and they are surrounded and interspaced with alliums. We'll see what happens.

dcarch · August 27, 2023

6 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

My garden has been almost pest free except for my kale and only kale. Finally ascertained it was cabbage worms. They didn't touch the collards, chard or lettuces. The photo shows the extent of the damage. Eaten to the stalks.

Interesting for this year. I have had basically 0 leaf eaters damages in my garden, and I don't do spraying.

The only thing that I can think of is I have built a large bird feeder, which attracted a ton of birds of all kinds to my garden.

I would assume many of these birds are not vegetarians.

dcarch

Edited August 27, 2023 by dcarch (log)

weinoo · August 27, 2023

5 hours ago, dcarch said:

I would assume many of these birds are not vegetarians.

Indeed, most birds will happily eat "meat" or its equivalent.

Margaret Pilgrim · August 27, 2023

9 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Indeed, most birds will happily eat "meat" or its equivalent.

Always makes me laugh when the egg carton claims both free range and vegetarian diet. Riiiight. Tell that to the chickens!

ChocoMom · August 29, 2023

Okay....so how many of my fellow gardeners have ever heard of Electroculture? and, How many have tried Electroculture?

My husband happened to come upon a video about it, and took a deep dive into the history of it, etc. He showed it to me, and I was curious. In 2002 when we purchased the house and property, we found many clusters of copper wiring out back and never did anything with it. So, I figured- why not try it?! I'm not putting any money into it- just a few minutes locating some wooden posts to wrap the wires around. My garden is about 45 feet by 90 feet, so I made up a dozen or so of these contraptions, and when I ran out of sticks, I just stuck the wire right into the ground.

I did not fertilize the ground. I did water a few times bc the early summer was very dry here. I rototilled and pulled weeds same as I do every year. The results have been astounding:

The first cabbage I EVER GREW was this year, and weighed in at 7 pounds. There are three more in the garden - even larger.

The first brussels sprouts to ever grow beyond 3-4 inches are now boasting dozens of sprouts on each 4 foot tall plant.

The first cauliflower to ever grow at all in that garden were huge gorgeous heads.

The first broccoli to ever grow beyond a couple inches w leaves produced over 16 heads - and are still producing.

The carrots and beets are massive. I've pickled over a dozen pints of beets for hubby- and that;s less than half of the beets I planted. The carrots are insane.

The zucchini are growing faster than I've ever seen, and I've begun pickling those too!

I grew red onions and they are huge!

The acorn, buttercup and pumpkins seem to be growing faster than normal.

The green and yellow beans are producing more than I have ever seen. I've picked them four times- and there's so many I've had to freeze dry, freeze, give away, cook- I cannot believe it. I blanched and froze 12 pounds in one harvest, and today will be the fifth harvest.

Peas, I've picked three times- freezing or freeze drying 3-4 quarts. They are still producing.

Sweet potatoes are ridiculous. Not even done growing, and they are massive.

The tomatoe plants are so huge, I had to pound T-posts inside the tomatoe cones to hold them up.

The basil was so plentiful, I made 6 jars of pesto- and they are still producing!!!

The parsley has grown so well, I've been able to make salads using the parsley as greens. Like in Shopska salad.

The only thing that did not fare well were the potatoes. The potatoe beetles were the most horrendous I've even witnessed. I did a second planting, and hope to harvest in Sept/Oct. We will see.

But, I was just curious if anyone else has tried it and had similar results. Fun experiment, nonetheless.

KennethT · August 29, 2023

48 minutes ago, ChocoMom said:

Okay....so how many of my fellow gardeners have ever heard of Electroculture? and, How many have tried Electroculture?

My husband happened to come upon a video about it, and took a deep dive into the history of it, etc. He showed it to me, and I was curious. In 2002 when we purchased the house and property, we found many clusters of copper wiring out back and never did anything with it. So, I figured- why not try it?! I'm not putting any money into it- just a few minutes locating some wooden posts to wrap the wires around. My garden is about 45 feet by 90 feet, so I made up a dozen or so of these contraptions, and when I ran out of sticks, I just stuck the wire right into the ground.

I did not fertilize the ground. I did water a few times bc the early summer was very dry here. I rototilled and pulled weeds same as I do every year. The results have been astounding:

The first cabbage I EVER GREW was this year, and weighed in at 7 pounds. There are three more in the garden - even larger.

The first brussels sprouts to ever grow beyond 3-4 inches are now boasting dozens of sprouts on each 4 foot tall plant.

The first cauliflower to ever grow at all in that garden were huge gorgeous heads.

The first broccoli to ever grow beyond a couple inches w leaves produced over 16 heads - and are still producing.

The carrots and beets are massive. I've pickled over a dozen pints of beets for hubby- and that;s less than half of the beets I planted. The carrots are insane.

The zucchini are growing faster than I've ever seen, and I've begun pickling those too!

I grew red onions and they are huge!

The acorn, buttercup and pumpkins seem to be growing faster than normal.

The green and yellow beans are producing more than I have ever seen. I've picked them four times- and there's so many I've had to freeze dry, freeze, give away, cook- I cannot believe it. I blanched and froze 12 pounds in one harvest, and today will be the fifth harvest.

Peas, I've picked three times- freezing or freeze drying 3-4 quarts. They are still producing.

Sweet potatoes are ridiculous. Not even done growing, and they are massive.

The tomatoe plants are so huge, I had to pound T-posts inside the tomatoe cones to hold them up.

The basil was so plentiful, I made 6 jars of pesto- and they are still producing!!!

The parsley has grown so well, I've been able to make salads using the parsley as greens. Like in Shopska salad.

The only thing that did not fare well were the potatoes. The potatoe beetles were the most horrendous I've even witnessed. I did a second planting, and hope to harvest in Sept/Oct. We will see.

But, I was just curious if anyone else has tried it and had similar results. Fun experiment, nonetheless.

Wow! Can you go into a bit more detail of what you did, wire wise?

ChocoMom · August 30, 2023

Sure. So, I used wooden posts/sticks 4-6 feet high. I spiral-wrapped 2-or 3 wires around each post with extra wire at both ends. The ground end of the wire extends pretty far into the soil- maybe 1-2 feet. The other end has the wires going into the air 1-2 feet. The idea is, that the electromagnetic energy flowing through the air from say, lightening or solar events, would be "caught" and conducted into the ground so as to re-energize the soil. Supposedly, this had been done in Europe and Australia for decades - before commercial fertilizer was a thing.

Now, if you take a deep dive, there are some pretty elaborate designs out there- but I just went with simple.

KennethT · August 30, 2023

10 hours ago, ChocoMom said:

Sure. So, I used wooden posts/sticks 4-6 feet high. I spiral-wrapped 2-or 3 wires around each post with extra wire at both ends. The ground end of the wire extends pretty far into the soil- maybe 1-2 feet. The other end has the wires going into the air 1-2 feet. The idea is, that the electromagnetic energy flowing through the air from say, lightening or solar events, would be "caught" and conducted into the ground so as to re-energize the soil. Supposedly, this had been done in Europe and Australia for decades - before commercial fertilizer was a thing.

Now, if you take a deep dive, there are some pretty elaborate designs out there- but I just went with simple.

Thanks. Are the wires coated in any way? Like stranded wire with the plastic coating? Or is it solid wire?

ChocoMom · August 30, 2023

Just solid wire, no coatings.

Some of the sources I looked at recommended wires being 6 ft or higher in the air; place the posts 6 feet apart. I just kinda did it willy nilly. And still, wow.

TicTac · August 30, 2023

Amazed that our resident hydro guru Ken has not heard of this! 😛

I stumbled upon a youtube video a couple years ago and was intrigued, have not tried it out myself (working on a no till organic self sufficient raised pot garden which has turned out great) but if I ever get out of the city with some land, I will experiment for sure.

I think more research and scientific side by side testing needs to be done, but from what I have heard, it is certainly intriguing!

KennethT · August 30, 2023

1 hour ago, TicTac said:

Amazed that our resident hydro guru Ken has not heard of this! 😛

Ha! Anyway, my research has been focused on indoor, controlled environment growing... this wouldn't work indoors.... hehe...

TicTac · August 30, 2023

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

Ha! Anyway, my research has been focused on indoor, controlled environment growing... this wouldn't work indoors.... hehe...

I wondered about that as well....why not though?

Theoretically it is taking the 'good stuff' out of the air around us and channeling it into the soil, in your case, coco....listen, its a bit out there to begin with - worth a shot, at least!

I will put a few into a couple of my raised pots next year and compare the same tomatoes side by side, see what happens...

dcarch · August 30, 2023

Interesting for sure. I have not done much research on this topic, but I do have questions at this point.

1. First, I seem to think that for those who has tried, many say Wow! should have done this earlier, and many say it makes no difference after trying.

2. Why is that so many plants next to metal structures with massive electromagnetic energy fields are not benefited? like near power transmission towels, microwave transmission antennas, etc.

3. I have many metal construction and electrical installations (solar panel system) in my garden, I have not seem any difference in plant growth, that including a 24 hour LED lighting system and an electric fence system which has a high voltage field.

4. Does using copper for the antenna make a difference? As far as I know, to electrons as long as a material is conductive, they don't care. That includes plants, they are electrically conductive. That's how thunder lightning can blow a tree apart, and that's why for some radios, you get better reception if you touch the antenna.

5. If the plants are electrically conductive, they can form what's known as Faraday cage and cut out a lot of "energy" from reaching that tiny antenna under the leaves.

6. This year, I am shocked by how productive my garden have been. Given the fact that all element for my garden is the same as all previous years, the one thing that's changed big time is the weather. Hot and rained every other day. I would not believe any thing I have done can explain this "miracle" .

When Alternate current (AC) was introduced, Thomas Edison insisted DC current was better, when frequency modulation (FM) was invented, many feel that amplitude modulation (AM) was better. They were all wrong. So I will remain open minded.

dcarch

Edited August 30, 2023 by dcarch (log)

Senior Sea Kayaker · August 30, 2023

I'm not meaning to be too critical however I will comment.

Correlation does not equal causation.

That is an important axiom to remember with anecdotes like this. They focus on one aspect and tend to ignore other salient factors such, as @dcarch has pointed out, increased rainfall....etc....

Edited August 31, 2023 by Senior Sea Kayaker (log)

heidih · August 30, 2023

In L.A. County the land under major power lines is almost always leased by nurseries. Cuz it is cheap

TicTac · August 31, 2023

Only comment to @dcarch's points - from what I have read so far, copper is a key element.

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